Phase Characterization Capability Report for Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) Splicing

Abstract

A mobile device may report to a network node its capabilities regarding one or more phase characteristics between Sounding Resource Signal (SRS) resources transmitted by the mobile device under one or more circumstances, thereby enabling the network to configure the mobile device accordingly. Such reporting may enable the network to coherently process multiple SRS resources, effectively increasing the bandwidth of the SRS resources and ultimately increasing the accuracy of the mobile device's positioning determination. Various techniques are provided for reporting capabilities and determining applicable conditions.

Description

[0001] Related applications

[0002] This application claims the benefit of Indian Patent Application No. 202041045124, filed on October 16, 2020, and titled “PHASE CARACTERISTIC CAPABILITY REPORTING FOR SOUNDING REFERENCE SIGNAL (SRS) STITCHING,” which application is assigned to the assignee of this application and is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Background Art 1. Technical Field

[0004] The present invention relates generally to the field of wireless communications, and more particularly to determining the location of a user equipment (UE) using radio frequency (RF) signals.

[0005] 2. Description of Related Technology

[0006] In fifth generation (5G) New Radio (NR) mobile communication networks, a UE may transmit an uplink (UL) sounding reference signal (SRS) that may be received by a base station and / or other transmit / receive points (TRPs) to determine the UE's position using any of a variety of network-based positioning methods for angle and / or distance measurements. An increase in the bandwidth of the reference signal transmitted by the UE may result in an increase in the accuracy of the positioning determined for the UE. The network may obtain bandwidth-related UE capabilities to help ensure efficient bandwidth usage. Summary of the Invention

[0007] A mobile device may report to a network node its capabilities regarding one or more phase characteristics between Sounding Resource Signal (SRS) resources transmitted by the mobile device under one or more circumstances, thereby enabling the network to configure the mobile device accordingly. Such reporting may enable the network to coherently process multiple SRS resources, effectively increasing the bandwidth of the SRS resources and ultimately increasing the accuracy of the mobile device's positioning determination. Various techniques are provided for reporting capabilities and determining applicable conditions.

[0008] According to the present disclosure, an example method for wireless communication at a mobile device may include sending an indication to a network node of an ability of the mobile device to maintain a phase relationship between a first sounding reference signal (SRS) using a first component carrier (CC) and a second SRS using a second CC, wherein the ability includes an ability to maintain a phase characteristic below a threshold, an ability to maintain the phase characteristic at a constant value, or an inability to maintain the phase characteristic, or any combination thereof. The method may also include sending the first SRS and the second SRS.

[0009] According to the present disclosure, an example method for wireless communication at a network node may include receiving from a mobile device an indication of the mobile device's ability to maintain a phase relationship between a first sounding reference signal (SRS) transmitted by the mobile device using a first component carrier (CC) and a second SRS transmitted by the mobile device using a second CC, wherein the ability includes an ability to maintain a phase characteristic below a threshold, an ability to maintain the phase characteristic at a constant value, or an inability to maintain the phase characteristic, or any combination thereof. The method may also include sending a configuration for transmitting the first SRS and the second SRS to the mobile device, wherein the configuration is based at least in part on the capability.

[0010] According to the present disclosure, an example mobile device for wireless communication may include a transceiver, a memory, and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory, wherein the one or more processors are configured to send an indication of the mobile device's ability to maintain a phase relationship between a first sounding reference signal (SRS) using a first component carrier (CC) and a second SRS using a second CC to a network node, wherein the ability includes: an ability to maintain a phase characteristic below a threshold, an ability to maintain the phase characteristic at a constant value, or an inability to maintain the phase characteristic, or any combination thereof. The one or more processors may also be configured to send the first SRS and the second SRS via the transceiver.

[0011] According to the present disclosure, an example network node for wireless communication may include a transceiver, a memory, and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory, wherein the one or more processors are configured to receive, from a mobile device via the transceiver, an indication of the mobile device's ability to maintain a phase relationship between a first sounding reference signal (SRS) transmitted by the mobile device using a first component carrier (CC) and a second SRS transmitted by the mobile device using a second CC, wherein the ability includes: an ability to maintain a phase characteristic below a threshold, an ability to maintain the phase characteristic at a constant value, or an inability to maintain the phase characteristic, or any combination thereof. The one or more processors may also be configured to send, to the mobile device via the transceiver, a configuration for transmitting the first SRS and the second SRS, wherein the configuration is based at least in part on the ability.

[0012] This summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used in isolation to determine the scope of the claimed subject matter. The subject matter should be understood by reference to appropriate portions of the entire specification, any or all of the drawings, and each claim. The foregoing, along with other features and examples, are described in more detail in the following description, claims, and drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] Figure 1is a diagram of a positioning system according to an embodiment.

[0014] Figure 2 is a diagram of a 5G NR positioning system according to an embodiment.

[0015] Figure 3 is a diagram showing a frame structure and associated terminology for NR according to an embodiment.

[0016] Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating a radio frame sequence with a Positioning Reference Signal (PRS) positioning opportunity according to an embodiment.

[0017] Figure 5 is a diagram of different reference signal structures for a reference signal according to an embodiment.

[0018] Figure 6 is a diagram of the hierarchy of PRS resources as currently defined in 5G NR.

[0019] Figure 7 is a time diagram illustrating two different options for time slot usage of a resource set according to an embodiment.

[0020] Figure 8 is a signal flow diagram illustrating how a mobile device communicates capabilities related to phase characteristics between SRS resources to a network according to an embodiment.

[0021] Figures 9-13 It is a diagram that plots the transmission of SRS resources in frequency and time.

[0022] Figure 14 is a flow chart of a method of wireless communication at a mobile device according to an embodiment.

[0023] Figure 15 is a flowchart of a method of wireless communication at a network node according to an embodiment.

[0024] Figure 16 is a block diagram of a UE according to an embodiment.

[0025] Figure 17 is a block diagram of a transmit / receive point (TRP) according to an embodiment.

[0026] Figure 18 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a computer system.

[0027] According to certain example embodiments, similar reference numerals in the various drawings indicate similar elements. In addition, multiple instances of an element can be represented by following a letter or hyphen and a second digit after the first digit of the element. For example, multiple instances of element 110 can be represented as 110-1, 110-2, 110-3, etc., or as 110a, 110b, 110c, etc. When only the first digit is used to refer to such an element, it should be understood that any instance of the element (for example, element 110 in the previous example will refer to elements 110-1, 110-2, and 110-3 or to elements 110a, 110b, and 110c) is included. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] Several illustrative embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof.While some embodiments of one or more aspects of the present disclosure may be implemented as described below, other embodiments may be used and various modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0029] For the purpose of describing the innovative aspects of various embodiments, the following description is directed to certain implementations. However, one of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that the teachings herein may be applied in many different ways. The described implementations may be implemented in a manner that is capable of operating in accordance with any communication standard, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) IEEE 802.11 standard (including those identified as any of those technologies) The present invention is implemented in any device, system or network that sends and receives radio frequency (RF) signals or other known signals for communicating within a wireless, cellular or Internet of Things (IoT) network, such as a system utilizing 3G, 4G, 5G, 6G technology or further implementations thereof, based on the standards of the present invention, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), GSM / General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Enhanced Data GSM Environment (EDGE), Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA), Wideband CDMA (W-CDMA), Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO), 1xEV-DO, EV-DO Rev A, EV-DO Rev B, High-Speed ​​Packet Data (HRPD), High-Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA), High-Speed ​​Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA), High-Speed ​​Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA), Evolved High-Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA+), Long Term Evolution (LTE), Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS)).

[0030] A UE may have certain capabilities regarding being able to use multiple component carriers (CCs) to send reference signals to one or more transmit / receive points (TRPs). The use of multiple reference signals in multiple CCs can effectively increase the bandwidth of the reference signals used for measurements to determine the UE's position. More specifically, this increase in bandwidth is achieved by aggregating the reference signals (e.g., jointly processing the reference signals in the signal domain). The ability of the UE to send reference signals that can be aggregated (e.g., by TRPs) may be limited by channel spacing, timing offset, phase offset (or phase misalignment), frequency error, power imbalance, and other such factors between reference signals of different CCs. The embodiments provided herein provide a manner in which a UE can provide a report to a network (e.g., a network node) with an indication of its ability to maintain one or more phase characteristics (e.g., phase offset, phase ramp, phase slope, and / or phase time drift) between reference signals of different CCs. The network can respond by configuring the UE accordingly. Additional details are provided herein.

[0031] As used herein, an "RF signal" includes electromagnetic waves that transmit information through the space between a transmitter (or transmitting device) and a receiver (or receiving device). As used herein, a transmitter may transmit a single "RF signal" or multiple "RF signals" to a receiver. However, due to the propagation characteristics of RF signals through multipath channels, a receiver may receive multiple "RF signals" corresponding to each transmitted RF signal. The same transmitted RF signal on different paths between a transmitter and a receiver may be referred to as a "multipath" RF signal.

[0032] Furthermore, unless otherwise specified, references to "reference signals," "positioning reference signals," "reference signals used for positioning," etc., may be used to refer to signals used for positioning of user equipment (UE). As described in more detail herein, such signals may include any of a variety of signal types, but are not necessarily limited to positioning reference signals (PRS) defined in relevant wireless standards.

[0033] Figure 1is a simplified illustration of a positioning system 100 according to an embodiment, in which a UE 105, a location server 160, and / or other components of the positioning system 100 can use the techniques provided herein to provide phase characteristic capability reports for SRS stitching. The techniques described herein can be implemented by one or more components of the positioning system 100. The positioning system 100 may include: a UE 105; one or more satellites 110 (also referred to as space vehicles (SVs)) for a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) such as a Global Positioning System (GPS), GLONASS, Galileo, or BeiDou; a base station 120; an access point (AP) 130; a location server 160; a network 170; and an external client 180. In general, the positioning system 100 can estimate the position of the UE 105 based on RF signals received by and / or transmitted from the UE 105 and the known positions of other components (e.g., GNSS satellites 110, base stations 120, APs 130) that transmit and / or receive RF signals. Additional details regarding specific position estimation techniques will be referred to in detail in the accompanying drawings. Figure 2 Discuss in more detail.

[0034] It should be noted that Figure 1 Only a general description of the various components is provided, any or all of which may be used as appropriate, and each component may be replicated as needed. Specifically, although only one UE 105 is shown, it should be understood that many UEs (e.g., hundreds, thousands, millions, etc.) may utilize the positioning system 100. Similarly, the positioning system 100 may include Figure 1 1. The illustrated connections connecting the various components in positioning system 100 include data and signaling connections, which may include additional (intermediate) components, direct or indirect physical and / or wireless connections, and / or additional networks. Furthermore, components may be rearranged, combined, separated, replaced, and / or omitted depending on the desired functionality. In some embodiments, for example, external client 180 may connect directly to location server 160. Those skilled in the art will recognize many modifications to the illustrated components.

[0035] Depending on the desired functionality, network 170 may include any of a variety of wireless and / or wired networks. For example, network 170 may include any combination of public and / or private networks, local area networks and / or wide area networks, etc. In addition, network 170 may utilize one or more wired and / or wireless communication technologies. In some embodiments, network 170 may include a cellular network or other mobile network, such as a wireless local area network (WLAN), a wireless wide area network (WWAN), and / or the Internet. Examples of network 170 include long-term evolution (LTE) wireless networks, fifth-generation (5G) wireless networks (also known as new radio (NR) wireless networks or 5G NR wireless networks), Wi-Fi WLAN, and the Internet. LTE, 5G, and NR are wireless technologies defined or being defined by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). Network 170 may also include more than one network and / or more than one type of network.

[0036] The base station 120 and the access point (AP) 130 may be communicatively coupled to the network 170. In some embodiments, the base station 120 may be owned, maintained, and / or operated by a cellular network provider and may employ any of a variety of wireless technologies, as described below. Depending on the technology of the network 170, the base station 120 may include a Node B, an evolved Node B (eNodeB or eNB), a base transceiver station (BTS), a radio base station (RBS), an NR NodeB (gNB), a next generation eNB (ng-eNB), etc. In the case where the network 170 is a 5G network, the base station 120 as a gNB or ng-eNB may be part of a next generation radio access network (NG-RAN) that may be connected to a 5G core network (5GC). For example, the AP 130 may include a Wi-Fi AP or AP or an AP with cellular functionality (e.g., 4G LTE and / or 5G NR). Thus, UE 105 can send and receive information with network-connected devices such as location server 160 by accessing network 170 via base station 120 using first communication link 133. Additionally or alternatively, because AP 130 can also be communicatively coupled to network 170, UE 105 can communicate with network-connected devices including location server 160 and Internet-connected devices using second communication link 135 or via one or more other UEs 145.

[0037] As used herein, the term “base station” may generally refer to a single physical transmission point, or may refer to multiple co-located physical transmission points that may be located at a base station 120. A transmit receive point (TRP) (also referred to as a transmit / receive point) corresponds to this type of transmission point, and the term “TRP” may be used interchangeably herein with the terms “gNB,” “ng-eNB,” and “base station.” In some cases, a base station 120 may include multiple TRPs—e.g., each TRP is associated with a different antenna or antenna array of the base station 120. A physical transmission point may include an antenna array of the base station 120 (e.g., as in the case of a multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) system and / or the base station employs beamforming). The term “base station” may also refer to multiple non-co-located physical transmission points, which may be a distributed antenna system (DAS) (a network of spatially separated antennas connected to a common source via a transmission medium) or a remote radio head (RRH) (a remote base station connected to a serving base station).

[0038] As used herein, the term "cell" may generally refer to a logical communication entity for communicating with base station 120 and may be associated with an identifier (e.g., a physical cell identifier (PCID), a virtual cell identifier (VCID)) for distinguishing adjacent cells operating via the same or different carriers. In some examples, a carrier may support multiple cells, and different cells may be configured according to different protocol types (e.g., machine type communication (MTC), narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), or other) that may provide access to different types of devices. In some cases, the term "cell" may refer to a portion of a geographic coverage area (e.g., a sector) over which the logical entity operates.

[0039] The location server 160 may include a server and / or other computing device configured to determine an estimated location of the UE 105 and / or provide data (e.g., “assistance data”) to the UE 105 to facilitate location measurement and / or location determination by the UE 105. According to some embodiments, the location server 160 may include a Home Security User Plane Location (SUPL) Location Platform (H-SLP), which may support the SUPL User Plane (UP) positioning solution defined by the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) and may support location services for the UE 105 based on subscription information of the UE 105 stored in the location server 160. In some embodiments, the location server 160 may include a Discovered SLP (D-SLP) or an Emergency SLP (E-SLP). The location server 160 may also include an Enhanced Serving Mobile Location Center (E-SMLC) that supports positioning of the UE 105 using a control plane (CP) positioning solution for the LTE radio access of the UE 105. The location server 160 may also include a location management function (LMF) that supports UE 105 positioning using a control plane (CP) positioning solution for NR or LTE radio access of the UE 105.

[0040] In the CP positioning solution, signaling for controlling and managing the location of the UE 105 may be exchanged between elements of the network 170 and with the UE 105 using existing network interfaces and protocols, and as signaling from the perspective of the network 170. In the UP positioning solution, signaling for controlling and managing the location of the UE 105 may be exchanged between the location server 160 and the UE 105 from the perspective of the network 170 as data (e.g., data transmitted using the Internet Protocol (IP) and / or the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)).

[0041] As previously mentioned (and discussed in more detail below), the estimated position of UE 105 may be based on measurements of RF signals transmitted from and / or received by UE 105. Specifically, these measurements may provide information regarding the relative distances and / or angles of UE 105 from one or more components in positioning system 100 (e.g., GNSS satellites 110, APs 130, base stations 120). The estimated position of UE 105 may be estimated geometrically (e.g., using multi-angle measurements and / or multilateration) based on the distance and / or angle measurements and the known positions of the one or more components.

[0042] Although terrestrial components such as AP 130 and base station 120 may be fixed, embodiments are not limited thereto. Mobile components may be used. For example, in some embodiments, the position of UE 105 may be estimated based at least in part on measurements of RF signals 140 transmitted between UE 105 and one or more other UEs 145 (which may be mobile or fixed). When one or more other UEs 145 are used for positioning determination of a particular UE 105, the UE 105 for which positioning is to be determined may be referred to as a "target UE," and each of the one or more other UEs 145 used may be referred to as an "anchor UE." For positioning determination of the target UE, the corresponding positions of the one or more anchor UEs may be known and / or determined jointly with the target UE. Direct communication between one or more other UEs 145 and UE 105 may include sidelink and / or similar device-to-device (D2D) communication technologies. Sidelink, defined by 3GPP, is a form of D2D communication under the cellular-based LTE and NR standards.

[0043] The estimated position of the UE 105 can be used for various applications—for example, to assist with direction finding or navigation for a user of the UE 105, or to assist another user (e.g., associated with an external client 180) in locating the UE 105. "Position" is also referred to herein as a "position estimate," "estimated position," "position," "position estimate," "position fix," "estimated position," "position fix," or "fix." The process of determining a position may be referred to as "positioning," "position determination," "position determination," or the like. The position of the UE 105 may include an absolute position of the UE 105 (e.g., latitude and longitude, and possibly altitude) or a relative position of the UE 105 (e.g., expressed as a distance north or south, east or west, and possibly above or below some other known fixed position (including, for example, the position of a base station 120 or an AP 130), or some other position such as the position of the UE 105 at some known previous time, or the position of another UE 145 at some known previous time). The location may be specified as a geodetic location, including coordinates that may be absolute (e.g., latitude, longitude, and optionally altitude), relative (e.g., relative to some known absolute location), or local (e.g., X, Y, and optionally Z coordinates according to a coordinate system defined relative to a local area, such as a factory, warehouse, university campus, shopping mall, stadium, or convention center). The location may alternatively be a city location, which may then include one or more street addresses (e.g., including country, state, county, city, road, and / or street names or labels, and / or road or street numbers) and / or labels or names of a place, building, part of a building, floor of a building, and / or room within a building. The location may also include an uncertainty or error indication, such as a horizontal and possibly vertical distance that the location is expected to be erroneous or an indication of an area or volume (e.g., a circle or ellipse) within which the UE 105 is expected to be located with a certain confidence level (e.g., 95% confidence).

[0044] The external client 180 may be a network server or a remote application that has some association with the UE 105 (e.g., accessible by a user of the UE 105), or may be a server, application, or computer system that provides location services to one or more other users that may include obtaining and providing the location of the UE 105 (e.g., to enable services such as a friend or relative finder, asset tracking, or child or pet location). Additionally or alternatively, the external client 180 may obtain the location of the UE 105 and provide it to emergency service providers, government agencies, etc.

[0045] As previously mentioned, the example positioning system 100 may be implemented using a wireless communication network, such as an LTE-based or 5G NR-based network. Figure 2A diagram of a 5G NR positioning system 200 is shown, illustrating an embodiment of a positioning system (e.g., positioning system 100) that implements 5G NR. The 5G NR positioning system 200 may be configured to determine the location of a UE 105 by using access nodes, which may include NR NodeBs (gNBs) 210-1 and 210-2 (collectively referred to herein as gNBs 210), ng-eNBs 214, and / or WLANs 216 to implement one or more positioning methods. The gNBs 210 and / or ng-eNBs 214 may correspond to Figure 1 The base station 120 and the WLAN 216 may correspond to Figure 1 130. Optionally, the 5G NR positioning system 200 may also be configured to determine the location of the UE 105 using the LMF 220 (which may correspond to the location server 160) to implement one or more positioning methods. Here, the 5G NR positioning system 200 includes the UE 105 and components of a 5G NR network including a next generation (NG) radio access network (RAN) (NG-RAN) 235 and a 5G core network (5G CN) 240. The 5G network may also be referred to as an NR network; the NG-RAN 235 may be referred to as a 5G RAN or NR RAN; and the 5G CN 240 may be referred to as an NG core network. The 5G NR positioning system 200 may further utilize information from GNSS satellites 110 of a GNSS system such as the Global Positioning System (GPS) or similar systems (e.g., GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou, Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS)). Additional components of the 5G NR positioning system 200 are described below. The 5G NR positioning system 200 may include additional or alternative components.

[0046] It should be noted that Figure 2 Only a general description of the various components is provided; any or all components may be used as appropriate, and each component may be duplicated or omitted as needed. Specifically, while only one UE 105 is shown, it should be understood that many UEs (e.g., hundreds, thousands, millions, etc.) may utilize the 5G NR positioning system 200. Similarly, the 5G NR positioning system 200 may include a greater (or fewer) number of GNSS satellites 110, gNBs 210, ng-eNBs 214, wireless local area networks (WLANs) 216, access and mobility management functions (AMFs) 215, external clients 230, and / or other components. The illustrated connections connecting the various components in the 5G NR positioning system 200 include data and signaling connections, which may include additional (intermediate) components, direct or indirect physical and / or wireless connections, and / or additional networks. Furthermore, components may be rearranged, combined, separated, replaced, and / or omitted depending on the desired functionality.

[0047] UE 105 may include and / or be referred to as a device, a mobile device, a wireless device, a mobile terminal, a terminal, a mobile station (MS), a terminal supporting secure user plane location (SUPL) (SET), or some other name. In addition, UE 105 may correspond to a mobile phone, a smart phone, a laptop, a tablet, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a navigation device, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, or some other portable or portable device. Typically, but not necessarily, UE 105 may support wireless communications using one or more radio access technologies (RATs), such as GSM, CDMA, W-CDMA, LTE, High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), IEEE 802.11 Bluetooth, Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX TM ), 5G NR (e.g., using NG-RAN 235 and 5G CN 240), etc. The UE 105 may also support wireless communications using WLAN 216, which may be one or more RATs and as previously described with respect to Figure 1 The use of one or more of these RATs may allow the UE 105 to communicate with external clients 230 (e.g., via Figure 2 elements of the 5G CN 240 not shown, or possibly via a Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) 225) and / or allowing external clients 230 to receive location information about the UE 105 (e.g., via the GMLC 225). Figure 2 The external client 230 may correspond to Figure 1 The external client 180 is implemented in a 5G NR network or is communicatively coupled with a 5G NR network.

[0048] UE 105 may comprise a single entity or may comprise multiple entities, such as in a personal area network where a user may employ audio, video, and / or data I / O devices and / or body sensors and a separate wired or wireless modem. The estimate of the location of UE 105 may be referred to as location, location estimate, location fix, fix, position, position estimate, or position fix, and may be geodetic, providing location coordinates (e.g., latitude and longitude) for UE 105, which may or may not include an altitude component (e.g., height above sea level, height above or depth below ground level, floor or basement level). Alternatively, the location of UE 105 may be expressed as an urban location (e.g., as a postal address or a designation of a point or small area in a building, such as a particular room or floor). The location of UE 105 may also be expressed as an area or volume (defined in geodetic or urban terms) within which UE 105 is expected to be located with a certain probability or confidence level (e.g., 67%, 95%, etc.). The location of the UE 105 may also be a relative location, including, for example, distance and direction or relative X, Y (and Z) coordinates relative to some origin at a known location (which may be defined geodetically in urban terms, or by reference to a point, area, or volume indicated on a map, floor plan, or building plan). In the description contained herein, unless otherwise stated, the use of the term location may include any of these variations. When calculating the location of the UE, local X, Y, and possibly Z coordinates are typically solved, and then, if necessary, the local coordinates are converted to absolute coordinates (e.g., latitude, longitude, and altitude above or below mean sea level).

[0049] Figure 2 The base stations in the NG-RAN 235 shown in FIG may correspond to Figure 1 The base stations 120 in the NG-RAN 235 may include gNBs 210. The pairs of gNBs 210 in the NG-RAN 235 may be connected to each other (e.g., as Figure 2 The communication interface between the base stations (gNB 210 and / or ng-eNB 214) may be referred to as an Xn interface 237. Access to the 5G network is provided to the UE 105 via wireless communications between the UE 105 and one or more of the gNBs 210, which may provide wireless communication access to the 5G CN 240 on behalf of the UE 105 using 5G NR. The wireless interface between the base station (gNB 210 and / or ng-eNB 214) and the UE 105 may be referred to as a Uu interface 239. 5G NR radio access may also be referred to as NR radio access or 5G radio access. In Figure 2In the example, it is assumed that the serving gNB for UE 105 is gNB 210-1, although if UE 105 moves to another location, other gNBs (e.g., gNB 210-2) can serve as the serving gNB, or can serve as a secondary gNB to provide additional throughput and bandwidth to UE 105.

[0050] Figure 2 The base stations in the NG-RAN 235 shown in FIG may also or instead include a next generation evolved Node B, also referred to as an ng-eNB 214. The ng-eNB 214 may be connected to one or more gNBs 210 in the NG-RAN 235, for example, directly or indirectly via other gNBs 210 and / or other ng-eNBs. The ng-eNB 214 may provide LTE radio access and / or evolved LTE (eLTE) radio access to the UE 105. Figure 2 Some gNBs 210 (e.g., gNB 210-2) and / or ng-eNBs 214 in the 5G network may be configured to act as positioning-only beacons, which may transmit signals (e.g., positioning reference signals (PRS)) and / or may broadcast assistance data to assist in positioning of the UE 105 but may not receive signals from the UE 105 or from other UEs. Some gNBs 210 (e.g., gNB 210-2 and / or another gNB not shown) and / or ng-eNBs 214 may be configured to act as detection-only nodes, which may scan for signals containing, for example, PRS data, assistance data, or other location data. Such detection nodes may not transmit signals or data to the UE but may transmit signals or data (related to, for example, PRS, assistance data, or other location data) to other network entities (e.g., one or more components of the 5G CN 240, the external client 230, or the controller), which may receive and store or use the data for positioning of at least the UE 105. Note that while in Figure 2 Only one ng-eNB 214 is shown in the figure, and some embodiments may include multiple ng-eNBs 214. Base stations (e.g., gNB 210 and / or ng-eNB 214) can communicate directly with each other via the Xn communication interface. Additionally or alternatively, the base stations can communicate directly or indirectly with other components of the 5G NR positioning system 200, such as LMF 220 and AMF 215.

[0051] The 5G NR positioning system 200 may also include one or more WLANs 216 that may be connected to a non-3GPP interworking function (N3IWF) 250 in the 5G CN 240 (e.g., in the case of an untrusted WLAN 216). For example, the WLAN 216 may support IEEE 802.11 Wi-Fi access for the UE 105 and may include one or more Wi-Fi APs (e.g., Figure 1 130). Here, the N3IWF 250 can be connected to other elements in the 5G CN 240, such as the AMF 215. In some embodiments, the WLAN 216 can support another RAT, such as Bluetooth. The N3IWF 250 can support secure access of the UE 105 to other elements in the 5G CN 240 and / or can support interworking of one or more protocols used by the WLAN 216 and the UE 105 with one or more protocols used by other elements of the 5G CN 240. For example, the N3IWF 250 can support IPSec tunnel establishment with the UE 105, termination of the IKEv2 / IPSec protocol with the UE 105, termination of the N2 and N3 interfaces to the 5G CN 240 for the control plane and user plane, respectively, and relay of uplink (UL) and downlink (DL) control plane non-access stratum (NAS) signaling between the UE 105 and the AMF 215 across the N1 interface. In some other embodiments, WLAN 216 may be directly connected to elements in 5G CN 240 (e.g., Figure 2 215) instead of via the N3IWF 250. For example, if the WLAN 216 is a trusted WLAN for the 5GCN 240, a direct connection of the WLAN 216 to the 5GCN 240 may occur and the Trusted WLAN Interworking Function (TWIF) ( Figure 2 (not shown) (which may be an element within WLAN 216) to enable. It should be noted that although Figure 2 While only one WLAN 216 is shown in FIG, some embodiments may include multiple WLANs 216.

[0052] The access node may include any of a variety of network entities that enable communication between the UE 105 and the AMF 215. As described above, this may include a gNB 210, ng-eNB 214, WLAN 216, and / or other types of cellular base stations. However, the access node providing the functionality described herein may additionally or alternatively include a means to enable communication with the AMF 215. Figure 2An access node is an entity that communicates using any of a variety of RATs (not shown), which may include non-cellular technologies. Therefore, the term "access node" used in the embodiments described below may include, but is not necessarily limited to, gNB 210, ng-eNB 214, or WLAN 216.

[0053] In some embodiments, access nodes such as gNB 210, ng-eNB 214, and / or WLAN 216 (alone or in combination with other components of 5G NR positioning system 200) may be configured to, in response to receiving a location information request from LMF 220, obtain location measurements for uplink (UL) signals received from UE 105 and / or obtain downlink (DL) location measurements from UE 105, which are obtained by UE 105 for DL ​​signals received by UE 105 from one or more access nodes. As previously described, although Figure 2 Access nodes (gNB 210, ng-eNB 214, and WLAN 216) configured to communicate according to 5G NR, LTE, and Wi-Fi communication protocols, respectively, are depicted, but access nodes configured to communicate according to other communication protocols may be used, for example, a Node B using the Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) protocol for a Universal Mobile Telecommunications Service (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN), an eNB using the LTE protocol for an Evolved UTRAN (E-UTRAN), or an eNB using the Bluetooth protocol for a WLAN. For example, in a 4G Evolved Packet System (EPS) that provides LTE radio access to UE 105, the RAN may include E-UTRAN, which may include base stations including eNBs that support LTE radio access. The core network of the EPS may include an Evolved Packet Core (EPC). The EPS may then include the E-UTRAN plus the EPC, where the E-UTRAN corresponds to Figure 2 NG-RAN 235 in and EPC corresponds to Figure 2 5GCN 240. The methods and techniques described herein for obtaining the urban location of a UE 105 may be applicable to such other networks.

[0054] The gNB 210 and ng-eNB 214 may communicate with the AMF 215, which in turn communicates with the LMF 220 for positioning functions. The AMF 215 may support the mobility of the UE 105, including cell changes and handovers of the UE 105 from an access node of a first RAT (e.g., gNB 210, ng-eNB 214, or WLAN 216) to an access node of a second RAT. The AMF 215 may also participate in supporting signaling connections to the UE 105 and possibly data and voice bearers for the UE 105. When the UE 105 accesses the NG-RAN 235 or the WLAN 216, the LMF 220 may support positioning of the UE 105 using a CP positioning solution and may support positioning procedures and methods, including UE-assisted / UE-based and / or network-based procedures / methods, such as Assisted GNSS (A-GNSS), Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA) (which may be referred to as Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA) in NR), Real-Time Kinematics (RTK), Precise Point Positioning (PPP), Differential GNSS (DGNSS), Enhanced Cell ID (ECID), Angle of Arrival (AoA), Angle of Departure (AoD), WLAN positioning, Round Trip Delay (RTT), Multi-Cell RTT, and / or other positioning procedures and methods. The LMF 220 may also process location service requests for the UE 105 received, for example, from the AMF 215 or the GMLC 225. The LMF 220 may be connected to the AMF 215 and / or the GMLC 225. In some embodiments, such as 5GCN The network of 240 may additionally or alternatively implement other types of location support modules, such as an evolved serving mobile positioning center (E-SMLC) or a SUPL positioning platform (SLP). Note that in some embodiments, at least a portion of the positioning functionality (including determination of the location of UE 105) may be performed at UE 105 (e.g., by measuring downlink PRS (DL-PRS) signals transmitted by wireless nodes such as gNB 210, ng-eNB 214, and / or WLAN 216, and / or using assistance data provided to UE 105 by, for example, LMF 220).

[0055] The Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) 225 may support location requests for the UE 105 received from the external client 230 and may forward such location requests to the AMF 215 for forwarding by the AMF 215 to the LMF 220. A location response from the LMF 220 (e.g., containing a location estimate for the UE 105) may similarly be returned to the GMLC 225, directly or via the AMF 215, and the GMLC 225 may then return a location response (e.g., containing a location estimate) to the external client 230.

[0056] A network exposure function (NEF) 245 may be included in the 5GCN 240. The NEF 245 may support secure exposure of capabilities and events about the 5GCN 240 and the UE 105 to external clients 230, which may then be referred to as an access function (AF) and may enable secure provision of information from the external client 230 to the 5GCN 240. The NEF 245 may connect to the AMF 215 and / or the GMLC 225 to obtain the location of the UE 105 (e.g., city location) and provide the location to the external client 230.

[0057] like Figure 2 As further shown, the LMF 220 may communicate with the gNB 210 and / or ng-eNB 214 using the NR Positioning Protocol Annex (NRPPa) as defined in 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 38.455. NRPPa messages may be transmitted between the gNB 210 and the LMF 220 and / or between the ng-eNB 214 and the LMF 220 via the AMF 215. Figure 2 As further shown, the LMF 220 and the UE 105 may communicate using the LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) as defined in 3GPP TS 37.355. Here, LPP messages may be transmitted between the UE 105 and the LMF 220 via the AMF 215 and the serving gNB 210-1 or serving ng-eNB 214 for the UE 105. For example, the LPP messages may be transmitted between the LMF 220 and the AMF 215 using messages for service-based operations (e.g., based on Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)) and may be transmitted between the AMF 215 and the UE 105 using the 5G NAS protocol. The LPP protocol may be used to support positioning of the UE 105 using UE-assisted and / or UE-based positioning methods such as A-GNSS, RTK, TDOA, multi-cell RTT, AoD, and / or ECID. The NRPPa protocol may be used to support positioning of UE 105 using network-based positioning methods such as ECID, AoA, uplink TDOA (UL-TDOA) and / or may be used by LMF 220 to obtain location-related information from gNB 210 and / or ng-eNB 214, such as parameters defining DL-PRS transmissions from gNB 210 and / or ng-eNB 214.

[0058] In the event that the UE 105 accesses the WLAN 216, the LMF 220 may use NRPPa and / or LPP to obtain the location of the UE 105 in a manner similar to that just described for the UE 105 accessing the gNB 210 or ng-eNB 214. Thus, NRPPa messages may be transmitted between the WLAN 216 and the LMF 220 via the AMF 215 and the N3IWF 250 to support network-based positioning of the UE 105 and / or to transmit other location information from the WLAN 216 to the LMF 220. Alternatively, NRPPa messages may be transmitted between the N3IWF 250 and the LMF 220 via the AMF 215 to support network-based positioning of the UE 105 based on location-related information and / or location measurements known to or accessible to the N3IWF 250 that are transmitted from the N3IWF 250 to the LMF 220 using NRPPa. Similarly, LPP and / or LPP messages may be transmitted between the UE 105 and the LMF 220 via the AMF 215, the N3IWF 250, and the serving WLAN 216 for the UE 105 to support UE-assisted or UE-based positioning of the UE 105 by the LMF 220.

[0059] In the 5G NR positioning system 200, positioning methods can be classified as "UE-assisted" or "UE-based." This can depend on where the request to determine the location of the UE 105 originates. For example, if the request originates from the UE (e.g., from an application or "app" executed by the UE), the positioning method can be classified as UE-based. On the other hand, if the request originates from an external client or AF 230, LMF 220, or other device or service within the 5G network, the positioning method can be classified as UE-assisted (or "network-based").

[0060] Using UE-assisted positioning methods, the UE 105 may obtain location measurements and send the measurements to a location server (e.g., LMF 220) to calculate a location estimate for the UE 105. For RAT-dependent positioning methods, the location measurements may include one or more of received signal strength indicator (RSSI), round-trip signal propagation time (RTT), reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), reference signal time difference (RSTD), time of arrival (TOA), AoA, receive time transmit time difference (Rx-Tx), differential AoA (DAoA), AoD, or timing advance (TA) of the gNB 210, ng-eNB 214, and / or one or more access points of the WLAN 216. Additionally or alternatively, similar measurements may be made on sidelink signals transmitted by other UEs, which, if their locations are known, may be used as anchor points for positioning the UE 105. Position measurements may also or instead include measurements of RAT-independent positioning methods such as GNSS (eg, GNSS pseudorange, GNSS code phase, and / or GNSS carrier phase for GNSS satellites 110 ), WLAN, etc.

[0061] Using the UE-based positioning method, the UE 105 can obtain a position measurement (e.g., which can be the same or similar to the position measurement used for the UE-assisted positioning method) and can further calculate the position of the UE 105 (e.g., with the help of assistance data received from a location server such as LMF220, SLP or broadcast by the gNB 210, ng-eNB 214 or WLAN 216).

[0062] Using network-based positioning methods, one or more base stations (e.g., gNB 210 and / or ng-eNB 214), one or more APs (e.g., in WLAN 216), or N3IWF 250 can obtain location measurements (e.g., measurements of RSSI, RTT, RSRP, RSRQ, AoA, or TOA) for signals sent by UE 105, and / or can receive measurements obtained by UE 105 or, in the case of N3IWF250, by APs in WLAN 216, and can send the measurements to a location server (e.g., LMF 220) for calculating a position estimate for UE 105.

[0063] Depending on the type of signal used for positioning, positioning of UE 105 can also be classified as UL-based, DL-based, or DL-UL-based. For example, if positioning is based only on signals received at UE 105 (e.g., from a base station or other UE), positioning can be classified as DL-based. On the other hand, if positioning is based only on signals sent by UE 105 (e.g., which can be received by a base station or other UE), positioning can be classified as UL-based. DL-UL-based positioning includes positioning based on signals sent and received by UE 105, such as RTT-based positioning. Sidelink (SL)-assisted positioning includes signals transmitted between UE 105 and one or more other UEs. According to some embodiments, UL, DL, or DL-UL positioning as described herein may be able to use SL signaling in addition to or as a substitute for SL, DL, or DL-UL signaling.

[0064] Depending on the type of positioning (e.g., UL, DL, or DL-UL based), the type of reference signal used can vary. For example, for DL-based positioning, these signals can include PRS (e.g., DL-PRS transmitted by the base station or SL-PRS transmitted by other UEs), which can be used for TDOA, AoD, and RTT measurements. Other reference signals that can be used for positioning (UL, DL, or DL-UL) can include sounding reference signal (SRS), channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), synchronization signals (e.g., synchronization signal block (SSB) synchronization signal (SS)), physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), demodulation reference signal (DMRS), etc. In addition, the reference signals can be transmitted in the Tx beam and / or received in the Rx beam (e.g., using beamforming techniques), which may affect angle measurements such as AoD and / or AoA.

[0065] Figure 3 is a diagram showing an example of a frame structure and associated terminology for NR, which may be used as a basis for physical layer communications between a UE 105 and a base station / TRP. The transmission timeline for each of the downlink and uplink may be divided into radio frame units. Each radio frame may have a predetermined duration (e.g., 10 ms) and may be divided into 10 subframes, each of 1 ms, indexed from 0 to 9. Each subframe may include a variable number of slots, depending on the subcarrier spacing. Depending on the subcarrier spacing, each slot may include a variable number of symbol periods (e.g., 7 or 14 symbols). The symbol periods in each slot may be assigned indices. A microslot may include a subslot structure (e.g., 2, 3, or 4 symbols). Figure 3Shown is the complete orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) of a subframe, illustrating how a subframe can be divided into multiple resource blocks (RBs) across time and frequency. A single RB can include a grid of resource elements (REs) spanning 14 symbols and 12 subcarriers.

[0066] Each symbol in a slot may indicate a link direction (e.g., downlink (DL), uplink (UL), or flexible) or data transmission, and the link direction of each subframe may be switched dynamically. The link direction may be based on the slot format. Each slot may include DL / UL data and DL / UL control information. In NR, a synchronization signal (SS) block is transmitted. The SS block includes a primary SS (PSS), a secondary SS (SSS), and a two-symbol physical broadcast channel (PBCH). The SS block may be sent at a fixed slot position, such as Figure 3 Symbols 0-3 are shown. The PSS and SSS can be used by the UE for cell search and acquisition. The PSS provides half-frame timing, and the SS provides the cyclic prefix (CP) length and frame timing. The PSS and SSS provide cell identification. The PBCH carries some basic system information, such as downlink system bandwidth, timing information within the radio frame, SS burst set period, and system frame number.

[0067] supply Figure 4-Figure 7 To provide some background on PRS transmission for positioning within wireless communication networks. Figure 4-Figure 7 While the described embodiments often relate to DL-PRS, aspects such as comb type, resource repetition, etc. apply similarly to uplink reference signals (eg, SRS / UL-PRS).

[0068] Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a radio frame sequence 400 with a PRS positioning opportunity. A "PRS instance" or "PRS opportunity" is an instance of a periodically repeating time window (e.g., a set of one or more consecutive time slots) in which PRS resources (explained in more detail below) are expected to be transmitted. A PRS opportunity may also be referred to as a "PRS positioning opportunity," "PRS positioning instance," "positioning opportunity," "positioning instance," or simply "opportunity" or "instance." The subframe sequence 400 may be suitable for broadcasting a PRS signal (DL-PRS signal) from a base station 120 in the positioning system 100. The radio frame sequence 400 may be used in 5G NR (e.g., in the 5G NR positioning system 200) and / or in LTE. Similar to Figure 3 , time is Figure 4 In the diagram, time is represented horizontally (e.g., on the X-axis), with time increasing from left to right. Frequency is represented vertically (e.g., on the Y-axis), with frequency increasing (or decreasing) from bottom to top.

[0069] Figure 4410-1, 410-2, and 410-3 (collectively referred to herein as positioning opportunities 410) are shown as being composed of a system frame number (SFN), a cell-specific subframe offset (Δ PRS )415、L PRS The length or span of the subframe, and the PRS periodicity (T PRS ) 420. The cell-specific PRS subframe configuration may be determined by a “PRS configuration index” included in assistance data (eg, TDOA assistance data) that may be defined by the governing 3GPP standard. PRS Definition. Cell-specific subframe offset (Δ PRS )415 can be defined based on the number of subframes transmitted starting from system frame number (SFN) 0 to the start of the first (subsequent) PRS positioning opportunity.

[0070] The PRS is sent by a wireless node (e.g., base station 120 or other UE) after being properly configured (e.g., by an operations and maintenance (O&M) server). The PRS may be sent in special positioning subframes or time slots grouped into positioning opportunities 410. For example, the PRS positioning opportunity 410-1 may include N PRS consecutive positioning subframes, where the number N PRS can be between 1 and 160 (e.g., can include values ​​1, 2, 4, and 6, among others). The PRS opportunities 410 can be grouped into one or more PRS opportunity groups. As described, the PRS positioning opportunities 410 can be spaced in milliseconds (or subframes). PRS The intervals represented by T occur periodically, where PRS Can be equal to 5, 10, 20, 40, 80, 160, 320, 640 or 1280 (or any other suitable value). In some embodiments, T PRS It may be measured in terms of the number of subframes between the start of consecutive positioning opportunities.

[0071] In some embodiments, when UE 105 receives the PRS configuration index I in the assistance data for a particular cell (eg, base station), PRS When , UE 105 can use the stored index data to determine the PRS period T PRS 420 and cell-specific subframe offset (Δ PRS ) 415. When the PRS is scheduled in the cell, the UE 105 can then determine the radio frame, subframe and time slot. The assistance data can be provided by, for example, a location server (e.g., Figure 1 Location server 160 and / or Figure 2 The LMF 220 in FIG. 2 is determined and includes assistance data for a reference cell and multiple neighboring cells supported by various wireless nodes.

[0072] The PRS opportunities from all cells in the network using the same frequency may be aligned in time and may have a fixed known time offset (e.g., a cell-specific subframe offset (Δ PRS ) 415). In an SFN synchronous network, all wireless nodes (e.g., base stations 120) may be aligned on frame boundaries and system frame numbers. Thus, in an SFN synchronous network, all cells supported by various wireless nodes may use the same PRS configuration index for any particular frequency of PRS transmission. On the other hand, in an SFN asynchronous network, various wireless nodes may be aligned on frame boundaries rather than system frame numbers. Thus, in an SFN asynchronous network, the PRS configuration index for each cell may be individually configured by the network so that the PRS opportunities are aligned in time. If the UE 105 can obtain the cell timing (e.g., SFN or frame number) of at least one cell (e.g., a reference cell or a serving cell), the UE 105 may determine the timing of the PRS opportunities 410 of the reference cell and neighboring cells for TDOA positioning. The timing of the other cells may then be derived by the UE 105 based on, for example, the assumption that the PRS opportunities from different cells overlap.

[0073] refer to Figure 3 In the OFDM frame structure, the set of resource elements (REs) used for PRS transmission is called a "PRS resource." This set of resource elements can span multiple RBs (reservoir-based switching resources) in the frequency domain and one or more consecutive symbols within a slot in the time domain, in which a pseudo-random quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK) sequence is transmitted from the antenna ports of the TRP. Within a given OFDM symbol in the time domain, PRS resources occupy consecutive RBs in the frequency domain. The transmission of PRS resources within a given RB has a specific combination or "comb" size. (Comb size may also be 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, where the configuration uses every Nth subcarrier of some symbols of an RB. For example, for comb-4, for each of the four symbols of the PRS resource configuration, the REs corresponding to every fourth subcarrier (e.g., subcarriers 0, 4, and 8) are used to transmit the PRS of the PRS resource. For example, comb sizes of comb-2, comb-4, comb-6, and comb-12 can be used for PRS. Examples of different comb sizes using different numbers of symbols are given in Figure 5 Available in.

[0074] A "PRS resource set" comprises a set of PRS resources for PRS signal transmission, wherein 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 specific TRP (identified by a cell ID). A "PRS resource repetition" is a repetition of a PRS resource during a PRS opportunity / instance. The number of repetitions of a PRS resource may be defined by a "repetition factor" of the PRS resource. In addition, the PRS resources in a PRS resource set may have the same period, a common muting pattern configuration and the same cross-slot repetition factor. The length of the periodicity may be selected from 2 m ×{4, 5, 8, 10, 16, 20, 32, 40, 64, 80, 160, 320, 640, 1280, 2560, 5120, 10240} time slots, where μ = 0, 1, 2, 3. The length of the repetition factor can be selected from {1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 16, 32} time slots.

[0075] A PRS resource ID in a PRS resource set can be associated with a single beam (and / or beam ID) transmitted from a single TRP (where a TRP can transmit one or more beams). That is, each PRS resource in a PRS resource set can be transmitted on a different beam, and therefore, a PRS resource (or simply "resource") can also be referred to as a "beam." Note that this has no effect on whether the UE knows the TRP and beam in which the PRS is transmitted.

[0076] exist Figure 2 In the illustrated 5G NR positioning system 200, the TRP (gNB 210, ng-eNB 214, and / or WLAN 216) may transmit frames or other physical layer signaling sequences that support PRS signals (i.e., DL-PRS) according to the frame configuration as previously described, which may be measured and used for positioning determination of the UE 105. As described, other types of radio network nodes, including other UEs, may also be configured to transmit PRS signals configured in a similar (or identical) manner as described above. Because the transmission of PRS by a radio network node may be directed to all UEs within radio range, the radio network node may be considered to transmit (or broadcast) the PRS.

[0077] Figure 6This is a hierarchical diagram of how different TRPs of a given positioning frequency layer (PFL) as defined in 5G NR use PRS resources and PRS resource sets. With respect to the network (Uu) interface, the UE 105 can be configured with one or more DL-PRS resource sets from each of one or more TRPs. Each DL-PRS resource set includes K ≥ 1 DL-PRS resources, which, as previously described, can correspond to the Tx beam of the TRP. A DL-PRS PFL is defined as a collection of DL-PRS resource sets with the same subcarrier spacing (SCS) and cyclic prefix (CP) type, the same DL-PRS bandwidth value, the same center frequency, and the same comb size value. In the current iteration of the NR standard, a UE 105 can be configured with up to four DL-PRS PFLs.

[0078] NR has multiple frequency bands across different frequency ranges (e.g., frequency range 1 (FR1) and frequency range 2 (FR2)). PFLs may be in the same frequency band or in different frequency bands. In some embodiments, they may even be in different frequency ranges. Figure 6 As shown in , multiple TRPs (e.g., TRP1 and TR2) can be on the same PFL. Currently under NR, each TRP can have up to two PRS resource sets, and each resource set has one or more PRS resources, as described above.

[0079] Different PRS resource sets can have different periods. For example, one PRS resource set can be used for tracking while another PRS resource set can be used for acquisition. Additionally or alternatively, one PRS resource set can have more beams while another resource set can have fewer beams. Thus, a wireless network can use different resource sets for different purposes. Example repetition and beam sweeping options for resource sets are shown in Figure 7 Shown in.

[0080] Figure 77 is a time diagram illustrating two different options for the use of time slots of resource sets according to an embodiment. Because each example repeats each resource four times, the repetition factor of the resource set is four. Continuous scanning 710 includes repeating a single resource (resource 1, resource 2, etc.) four times before proceeding to the subsequent resource. In this example, if each resource corresponds to a different beam of the TRP, the TRP repeats one beam for four consecutive time slots before moving to the next beam. Because each resource is repeated in consecutive time slots (e.g., resource 1 is repeated in time slot n, n+1, n+2, etc.), the time interval is referred to as one time slot. On the other hand, for interleaved scanning 720, for each subsequent time slot, the TRP can move from one beam to the next, rotating through four beams for four rounds. Because each resource is repeated every four time slots (e.g., resource 1 is repeated in time slot n, n+4, n+8, etc.), the time interval is referred to as one time slot. Of course, the embodiment is not limited to this. Resource sets can include different numbers of resources and / or repetitions. Furthermore, as described above, each TRP may have multiple resource sets, multiple TRPs may utilize a single PFL, and the UE may be able to measure PRS resources sent via multiple FLs.

[0081] Therefore, in order to obtain PRS measurements from PRS signals sent by the TRP in the network and / or the UE, the UE can be configured to observe the PRS resources during a time period called a measurement period. That is, in order to determine the location of the UE using the PRS signals, the UE and the location server (e.g., Figure 2 The LMF 220 of the UE may initiate a location session in which the UE is given a period of time to observe the PRS resources and report the resulting PRS measurements to the location server. As described in more detail below, the measurement period may be determined based on the capabilities of the UE.

[0082] Similar functionality can be implemented to obtain SRS-based measurements. That is, in order for the network to obtain SRS measurements using SRS resources sent from UE 105 by one or more TRPs (and / or other UEs), the network can configure UE 105 to send SRS resources during specific time periods. Just as UE 105 can be configured to measure DL-PRS resources of multiple PFLs, UE 105 can be configured to send multiple SRS resources using multiple CCs. Therefore, the network can configure UE 105 to use certain CCs to send multiple SRS resources. As previously mentioned, although SRS resources can be separated in frequency and / or time, a TRP can aggregate multiple SRS resources under certain conditions (for example, when the SRS resources are related by phase offset and phase slope), processing them jointly rather than independently. This can effectively increase the bandwidth of the SRS resources and improve the accuracy of measurements performed by the TRP (for example, TOA measurements). This can ultimately increase the accuracy of the UE 105's position determined based on the measurements, because the resolution of the position determination is inversely proportional to the increase in bandwidth.

[0083] Aggregation of SRS resources in different CCs (also referred to herein as "reference signal aggregation" and "SRS aggregation") can be accomplished, for example, by jointly processing the resources by combining the resources in the signal domain. As used herein, this type of SRS aggregation is referred to as "coherent" processing, or "splicing" the SRS resources / reference signals together. In contrast, where the SRS resources are not combined in this manner, it is referred to as "incoherent" processing. Again, coherent processing of SRS resources can occur where the SRS resources are separated in frequency and / or time, via phase offset and phase slope correlation. As described in more detail below, not only can SRS resources from different CCs be stitched together, but the CCs can be in different frequency bands and / or frequency ranges (FRs).

[0084] Because coherent processing of SRS resources from different CCs may depend on a phase relationship or characteristic between the SRS resources, embodiments herein provide for reporting of UE capabilities for maintaining phase characteristics between SRS resources. That is, according to some embodiments, the UE 105 may report to a network node its capabilities regarding the UE's ability to maintain phase characteristics between SRS resources in one or more situations, thereby enabling the network to configure the UE 105 accordingly. According to some embodiments, the UE 105 may report its capabilities regarding an exhaustive set of conditions, and the network may determine the set of conditions that apply or will apply to a specific scenario for transmitting SRS resources. Alternatively, according to some embodiments, the UE may report its capabilities regarding a default set of conditions, and the network may interpret how these reported capabilities apply to additional sets of conditions based on regulatory standards or other agreed-upon protocols.

[0085] Figure 8 is a signal flow diagram illustrating how the mobile device 805 communicates capabilities related to phase characteristics between SRS resources to the network according to an embodiment. Figure 8 The diagram illustrates a communication exchange between a mobile device 805 and a network node 810. Here, the mobile device 805 may correspond to the network node 810 as previously described. Figure 1-Figure 7 The described UE 105. The network node 810 may include, for example, a TRP (e.g., Figure 2 Serving gNB 210-1) or location server (e.g., Figure 2 Thus, in some embodiments, there may be a LMF 220 for relaying communications between the mobile device 805 and the network node 810 (shown as Figure 8 The middle component of the .

[0086] Depending on the type of network node 810, Figure 8 The communication exchanges may use different protocols and / or occur in different communication sessions. For example, for a network node 810 including an LMF 220, Figure 8 The communication exchange in may occur during or before the positioning session between the mobile device 805 and the LMF 220 using the LPP protocol. Alternatively, if the network node 810 includes a serving gNB 210-1, then Figure 8 The communication exchanges may occur during an RRC connection via the RRC protocol.

[0087] The process may begin at arrow 820 and Figure 8 , where the network node 810 sends a capability request to the mobile device 805. Figure 8 In other words, some embodiments may not include the network node 810 explicitly providing a capability request to the mobile device 805.

[0088] The content of the capability request may vary depending on the desired functionality. According to some embodiments, for example, the capability request 820 may request the mobile device 805's ability to maintain phase characteristics between SRS resources under all conditions. Alternatively, the capability request 820 may request capability under a limited number of conditions based on different options available for transmission of SRS resources (e.g., CC, frequency band, time slot, etc.).

[0089] At action 830, the mobile device provides a capability report to the network node 810. As described above, this may be in response to the capability request 820 or may be provided to the network node 810 without a request. In short, the capability report 830 provides the network with an indication of the mobile device's ability to maintain a phase relationship between the first SRS and the second SRS. This may enable the network to determine whether to stitch the first SRS resource and the second SRS resource together. The phase relationship may be described as a phase characteristic, such as a phase offset, a phase ramp, a phase slope, or a phase time drift.

[0090] Regarding the phase ramp, the phase ramp can be a phase ramp across time, across frequency, or both. A phase ramp across frequency corresponds to, for example, a case where the first CC and the second CC corresponding to the first SRS resource and the second SRS resource have a time drift. For example, a phase ramp across time corresponds to a case where a carrier frequency offset (CFO) or different Doppler shifts exist between CCs.

[0091] The ability of the mobile device to maintain the phase relationship between the first SRS and the second SRS can be communicated in any of a variety of ways. The following examples will discuss three such capabilities:

[0092] Capability #1: The mobile device may be capable of maintaining a phase characteristic between a first SRS resource and a second SRS resource below a threshold. For example, for a phase offset between a first SRS resource and a second SRS resource given by θ=∈, the mobile device 805 may be capable of maintaining the phase offset below a threshold θ=∈th for a given set of conditions. Phase characteristics such as phase ramp, phase slope, and phase drift may have similar thresholds.

[0093] Capability #2: The mobile device may be capable of maintaining a phase characteristic between the first SRS resource and the second SRS resource at a constant value. That is, while the value of the phase offset, ramp, slope, etc. between the first SRS resource and the second SRS resource may be unknown to the mobile device 805, the mobile device 805 may be able to maintain the value constant for a given set of conditions.

[0094] Capability #3: The mobile device cannot maintain phase characteristics. In other words, the mobile device 805 may not be able to maintain the phase relationship between the first SRS resource and the second SRS resource under a given set of conditions. In such a case, the network can then configure the mobile device 805 not to assume that stitching SRS resources is possible under those conditions. This functionality (no stitching) is essentially legacy behavior.

[0095] Given these capabilities, the network node 810 can provide an SRS configuration to the mobile device 805 at arrow 840. The SRS configuration can be tailored to the capabilities of the mobile device, taking into account available network resources. Additionally or alternatively, the network node 810 can similarly configure the TRP (e.g., indicating to the TRP whether to process SRS resources coherently) to receive SRS transmissions from the mobile device 805, taking into account the capabilities of the mobile device.

[0096] At block 850, the mobile device 805 then sends an SRS transmission according to the SRS configuration received at arrow 840. Because the network node 810 may include a TRP, the network node 810 may receive an SRS transmission from the mobile device 805, as indicated by arrow 860. As described, the SRS transmission 850 may be received by additional or alternative TRPs. In embodiments where the network node 810 includes the LMF 220, measurements of the SRS transmission 850 made by one or more TRPs may be forwarded to the LMF 220 to determine the location of the mobile device 805.

[0097] As described, the capabilities of the mobile device 805 (e.g., capabilities #1 through #3 above) can vary based on various conditions. These conditions can include, for example, whether the CCs are in the same frequency band or different frequency bands, whether there is full / partial / no time overlap between the SRS resources, whether the SRS resources have the same bandwidth or different bandwidths, and / or whether the comb types of the SRS resources are the same or different. The capabilities may additionally be affected by the time mask (also known as a "transient period" or "guard period") between one or both SRS resources and an adjacent channel in one of the CCs. Examples of various conditions are described in Figures 9-13 Available in.

[0098] Figure 9 900 is a diagram illustrating an example of a first condition set according to an embodiment. Diagram 900 plots SRS resources SRS1 and SRS2 at frequencies (e.g., subcarrier blocks) that vary over time, showing the relationship of time and frequency to each other. Similar to the PRS resources described previously, and SRS resources can occupy different symbols within a time slot (e.g., according to the example of FIG. Figure 5 ), can span one or more time slots, and can repeat (e.g., as shown in Figure 7 ).

[0099] Figure 9The set of conditions in may represent a set of conditions that best preserves the phase characteristics between SRS1 and SRS2. Specifically, there is complete temporal overlap between SRS1 and SRS2 (i.e., they start and end at the same time). Furthermore, there is no overlap between any SRS resource and the time mask 910 generated by adjacent channel transmission 920. Additionally, the bandwidth 930 of SRS1 is identical to the bandwidth 940 of SRS2. Although not shown, the comb type between SRS1 and SRS2 may also be identical.

[0100] As mentioned, according to some embodiments, the mobile device 805 may report capabilities with respect to a default set of conditions, such as Figure 9 In such a case, the network node 810 may be able to determine the capabilities of the mobile device under other conditions. For example, capability #1 may represent the capabilities of the mobile device under favorable conditions, capability #2 may represent the capabilities of the mobile device under less favorable conditions, and capability #3 may represent the capabilities of the mobile device under the most unfavorable conditions. If this is the case, and the mobile device 805 is in a state such as Figure 9 , network node 810 can then determine that mobile device 805 has capability #3 under all other conditions. Alternatively, if mobile device 805 reports capability #2 or capability #1 under the default conditions, network node 810 can use a rule set (e.g., as specified by a regulatory standard or protocol) to determine which capabilities mobile device 805 has under a different set of conditions based on the capabilities reported by mobile device 805. According to other embodiments, mobile device 805 can provide capabilities under different sets of conditions.

[0101] Figure 10 FIG1 is a diagram 1000 illustrating another set of conditions according to an embodiment. Here, CC1 and CC2 are located in different frequency bands: Band 1 and Band 2, respectively. Additionally, the time mask 1010 from the adjacent channel transmission 1020 overlaps with SRS1 and SRS2 during the overlap period 1030. Furthermore, the bandwidth 1040 of SRS1 is different from the bandwidth 1050 of SRS2. Figure 9 Each of these differences in conditions may affect the ability of the mobile device 805 to maintain the phase characteristic between SRS1 and SRS2. Figure 9 Under the conditions shown, a mobile device 805 with capability #1 is Figure 10 Different sets of conditions in may have capability #2 and / or capability #3.

[0102] The time mask 1010 is a specified time period used to allow a mobile device to transition from transmitting something on an adjacent channel to transmitting an SRS. The length of the time mask 1010 can be defined in microseconds (e.g., by a regulatory standard or protocol). Furthermore, the length can vary, depending on the frequency band or frequency range. (For example, the time mask 1010 can be set to 5 μs in FR1 and 15 μs in FR2.) Additionally, as shown, adjacent channel transmissions 1020 can include a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), or other SRS resources.

[0103] The time mask 1010 can be applied to the SRS (e.g., SRS1) on the same CC as the adjacent channel transmission 1020 and other CCs in the same frequency band. This is because CCs in the same frequency band generally use the same power amplifier (PA), and the adjacent channel transmission 1020 can cause frequency-selective phase interruption of the SRS in the same frequency band for the length of the time mask 1010. In other words, Figure 10 As shown, in the case where the same PA is used for two frequency bands, the time mask 1010 can also be applied to the SRS in a different frequency band (eg, SRS2).

[0104] The impact of the overlapping period 1030 may be different. For example, according to some embodiments, the mobile device 805 may have a first capability during the overlapping period 1030 and a second capability during the non-overlapping period 1060. These capabilities may be assumed by the network (based on default capabilities reported by the UE 805 and an applicable set of rules for applying default capabilities to time mask overlaps) or may be explicitly provided by the mobile device 805. Alternatively, the mobile device 805 may have a single capability for the entire duration of SRS1 and SRS2, which may be based in part on the overlap with the time mask 1010. For example, where the mobile device 805 may otherwise have capability #1 for the duration of SRS1 and SRS2, it may instead have capability #2 for the entire duration of SRS1 and SRS2 due to the overlap with the time mask 1010.

[0105] Figure 1111 is a diagram illustrating another set of conditions according to an embodiment. Here, diagram 1100 shows three adjacent CCs in the same frequency band. SRS1 and SRS2 are transmitted in CC1 and CC3, respectively, and an adjacent CC transmission 1110 (PUSCH) occurs in CC2 during SRS1 and SRS2. This results in an overlapping period 1120 sandwiched between a first non-overlapping period 1130 and a second non-overlapping period 1140. According to some embodiments, this may result in a different phase offset between SRS1 and SRS2 for each of these periods. However, if the phase offset remains below a threshold, capability #1 will still apply for the entire duration of SRS1 and SRS2. Alternatively, adjacent CC transmission 1110 may result in different capabilities for different periods.

[0106] It can be noted that different capabilities can be applied to the mobile device 805 for different phase characteristics. For example, as described above, for each of the periods 1120, 1130, and 1140, the UE may be able to maintain a phase offset less than a threshold. Therefore, for each of these periods 1120, 1130, and 1140, the UE may have capability #1 with respect to phase offset. However, Figure 11 Conditions in the phase shift or phase slope may affect each other differently. For example, adjacent CC transmission 1110 may cause the UE to have capability #2 and / or capability #3 for one or more of periods 1120, 1130, and 1140. With this in mind, according to some embodiments, the UE 805 may report (and / or the network node 810 may determine) different capabilities for different phase characteristics.

[0107] Figure 12 12 is a diagram illustrating another set of conditions according to an embodiment. Here, SRS1 and SRS2 only partially overlap in time. The overlapping portion 1210 may span a set of symbols or one or more time slots. Under other conditions (not shown), SRS1 and SRS2 may not overlap at all. However, in Figure 12 , there is an overlapping portion 1210 and two non-overlapping portions 1220 and 1230. Depending on the capabilities of UE 805, there may be a difference between the capabilities of UE 805 during overlapping portion 1210 and one or both of the non-overlapping portions. Again, depending on the desired functionality, these capabilities may be determined by the network via explicit reporting from UE 805 or derivation from a management specification that takes into account default capabilities. For example, UE 805 may report a capability for the default condition of complete overlap of SRS1 and SRS2. Network node 810 may apply this capability to overlapping portion 1210 and further infer the capabilities of non-overlapping portions 1220 and 1230 based on the capabilities reported by UE 805 and the rules defined in the management specification or protocol for determining non-overlapping portions.

[0108] Figure 13 1300 is a diagram illustrating yet another set of conditions according to an embodiment. Figure 13 The diagram illustrates an extreme case with multiple sets of conditions for different time periods. These periods include 1310 (a period during which SRS1 overlaps with the time mask), 1315 (a period during which only SRS1 is transmitted), 1320 (a period during which SRS1 and SRS2 overlap), 1325 (a period during which both SRS1 and SRS2 overlap with the time mask), 1330 (a period during which both SRS1 and SRS2 overlap with the time mask and PUSCH), 1335 (a period during which both SRS1 and SRS2 overlap with PUSCH), and 1340 (a period during which only SRS2 is transmitted). The conditions in each of these periods can be considered to determine the ability of the mobile device 805 to maintain the phase characteristic between SRS1 and SRS2.

[0109] It should be noted that, according to some embodiments, time factors may also be considered. As previously described, the overlap between the SRS and the time mask may affect not only the capabilities of the overlap period between the SRS and the time mask, but also the entire duration of the SRS. More generally, different capabilities may apply to a given condition set based on one or more condition sets preceding it.

[0110] Figure 14 1 is a flow chart of a method 1400 for wireless communication at a mobile device according to an embodiment. The method 1400 provides specific reporting of phase characteristic capabilities of a mobile device in the manner indicated in the previously described embodiments. Figure 14 The components of the functions shown in the blocks shown in FIG may be performed by hardware and / or software components of the UE. Example components of the UE are shown in FIG. Figure 16 , which is described in more detail below.

[0111] At block 1410, the functionality includes sending an indication to a network node of the mobile device's ability to maintain a phase relationship between a first SRS using a first CC and a second SRS using a second CC. The ability includes the ability to maintain a phase characteristic below a threshold, the ability to maintain a phase characteristic at a constant value, or an inability to maintain the phase characteristic, or any combination thereof. As discussed in the embodiments above, the phase characteristic may include a phase offset; a phase ramp across time, frequency, or both; a phase slope; or a phase time drift; or any combination thereof. Furthermore, the UE's ability to maintain the phase characteristic between the first SRS and the second SRS may vary. Thus, the ability of block 1410 may depend on conditions, including whether the first CC and the second CC are in the same frequency band or different frequency bands, whether the first SRS and the second SRS fully overlap or partially overlap in time, whether the first SRS and the second SRS have the same bandwidth or different bandwidths, or whether the first SRS and the second SRS have the same comb type or different comb types, or any combination thereof. According to some embodiments, method 1400 may also include sending an indication of the condition to the network node.

[0112] According to some embodiments, additional conditions may apply. For example, the capability may depend on whether the first SRS overlaps with the time mask between a channel in the first CC and the first SRS. The channel may include a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), or another SRS resource.

[0113] Means for performing the functions at block 1410 may include a wireless communication interface 1630, a bus 1605, a digital signal processor (DSP) 1620, processor(s) 1610, memory 1660, and / or other components of the UE 105, such as Figure 16 As shown in .

[0114] The functions at block 1420 include sending a first SRS and a second SRS. As previously described, the network node may include a TRP (e.g., a serving gNB) or a location server (LMF). According to some embodiments, the indication of the capability is sent via a radio resource control (RRC) protocol. Means for performing the functions at block 1420 may include a wireless communication interface 1630, a bus 1605, a digital signal processor (DSP) 1620, processor(s) 1610, memory 1660, and / or other components of the UE 105, such as Figure 16 As shown in .

[0115] As mentioned above and Figure 8As shown in , transmitting the indication of the capabilities of the mobile device and transmitting the first SRS and the second SRS can be part of a larger communication exchange with the network node and / or the TRP. For example, the indication of the capabilities can be transmitted in response to a capability request from the network node. Additionally or alternatively, method 1400 can include, after transmitting the indication of the capabilities, receiving a configuration for transmitting the first SRS and the second SRS from the network node. Transmitting the first SRS and the second SRS can then include transmitting the first SRS and the second SRS according to the configuration.

[0116] Figure 15 1 is a flow chart of a method 1500 for wireless communication at a network node according to an embodiment. The method 1500 provides for receiving a capability report from a mobile device for maintaining a phase relationship in the manner indicated in the previously described embodiments. Figure 15 The components of the functions shown in the blocks shown in FIG may be performed by hardware and / or software components of a TRP (e.g., serving gNB) or a location server (e.g., LMF). Example components of a TRP and a server are shown in FIG. Figure 17 and Figure 18 , which will be described in more detail below.

[0117] The functionality at block 1510 includes receiving, from a mobile device, an indication of the mobile device's ability to maintain a phase relationship between a first SRS transmitted by the mobile device using a first CC and a second SRS transmitted by the mobile device using a second CC. The ability includes the ability to maintain a phase characteristic below a threshold, the ability to maintain a phase characteristic at a constant value, or an inability to maintain a phase characteristic, or any combination thereof. Again, the phase characteristic may include a phase offset; a phase slope across time, frequency, or both; a phase slope; or a phase time drift; or any combination thereof. The indication of the ability is received via an RRC protocol.

[0118] As described in the above embodiments, in addition to the indication of capabilities provided by the mobile device, the network node may also determine the capabilities of the mobile device based on additional considerations. Therefore, according to some embodiments, method 1500 may further include determining a second capability based on the received capability and a determination of overlap between the first SRS and the time mask between the channel in the first CC and the first SRS. The second capability may be determined for the entire duration of the first SRS. Alternatively, the second capability may be determined only for the duration during which the first SRS overlaps the time mask. According to some embodiments, method 1500 may further include determining conditions related to the transmission of the first SRS and the second SRS. As described above, the indication of the conditions may be explicitly provided to the network node by the mobile device or obtained by the network node in other ways. This configuration may also be based on conditions. According to some embodiments, the conditions may include whether the first CC and the second CC are in the same frequency band or different frequency bands, whether the first SRS and the second SRS fully or partially overlap in time, whether the first SRS and the second SRS have the same bandwidth or different bandwidths, or whether the first SRS and the second SRS have the same comb type or different comb types, or any combination thereof.

[0119] Means for performing the functions at block 1510 may include a wireless communication interface 1730, a bus 1705, a digital signal processor (DSP) 1720, processor(s) 1710, memory 1760, and / or other components of the TRP 1700, such as Figure 17 or wireless communication interface 1833, bus 1805, (multiple) processors 1810, memory 1835 and / or other components of computer system 1800, such as Figure 18 shown.

[0120] The functions at block 1520 include sending a configuration for sending a first SRS and a second SRS to a mobile device, wherein the configuration is based at least in part on the capabilities. Means for performing the functions at block 1520 may include a wireless communication interface 1730, a bus 1705, a digital signal processor (DSP) 1720, processor(s) 1710, a memory 1760, and / or other components of the TRP 1700, such as Figure 17 or wireless communication interface 1833, bus 1805, (multiple) processors 1810, memory 1835 and / or other components of the computer system 1800, such as Figure 18 shown.

[0121] Figure 16 An embodiment of a UE 105 is illustrated, which may be used as described above (e.g., in conjunction with Figures 1-14 ). For example, UE 105 may execute Figure 14One or more functions of the method shown. It should be noted that Figure 16 It is intended only to provide a general description of the various components, any or all of which may be used as appropriate. It may be noted that in some cases, Figure 16 The components shown may be confined to a single physical device and / or distributed across various networked devices that may be located at different physical locations. In addition, as previously mentioned, the functionality of the UE discussed in the previously described embodiments may be provided by Figure 16 The system may be executed by one or more of the hardware and / or software components shown in FIG.

[0122] UE 105 is shown as including hardware elements that may be electrically coupled via bus 1605 (or may be in communication in other ways, as appropriate). The hardware elements may include processor(s) 1610, which may include, but is not limited to, one or more general-purpose processors, one or more special-purpose processors (such as DSP chips, graphics acceleration processors, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), and / or the like), and / or other processing structures or components. Figure 16 As shown, some embodiments may have a separate DSP 1620, depending on the desired functionality. Position determination and / or other determinations based on wireless communication may be provided in the processor(s) 1610 and / or the wireless communication interface 1630 (discussed below). The UE 105 may also include one or more input devices 1670, which may include, but are not limited to, one or more keyboards, touch screens, touch pads, microphones, buttons, dials, switches, etc.; and one or more output devices 1615, which may include, but are not limited to, one or more displays (e.g., touch screens), light emitting diodes (LEDs), speakers, etc.

[0123] UE 105 may also include a wireless communication interface 1630, which may include but is not limited to a modem, a network card, an infrared communication device, a wireless communication device and / or a chipset (such as a Devices, IEEE 802.11 devices, IEEE 802.15.4 devices, Wi-Fi devices, WiMAX devices, WAN devices, and / or various cellular devices, etc.) and / or similar devices, which can enable the UE 105 to communicate with other devices as described in the above embodiments. Thus, the wireless communication interface 1630 may include RF circuitry capable of tuning between an active BWP and one or more frequency bands having one or more FLs for PRS signals, as described herein. The wireless communication interface 1630 may allow data and signaling to be communicated (e.g., transmitted and received) with a TRP of a network, for example, via an eNB, gNB, ng-eNB, access point, various base stations and / or other access node types and / or other network components, computer systems, and / or any other electronic device communicatively coupled to the TRP, as described herein. Communication may be performed via one or more wireless communication antennas 1632 that transmit and / or receive wireless signals 1634. According to some embodiments, the wireless communication antenna(s) 1632 may include multiple discrete antennas, antenna arrays, or any combination thereof.

[0124] Depending on the desired functionality, the wireless communication interface 1630 may include separate receivers and transmitters, or any combination of transceivers, transmitters, and / or receivers to communicate with base stations (e.g., ng-eNBs and gNBs) and other terrestrial transceivers (such as wireless devices and access points). The UE 105 may communicate with different data networks, which may include a variety of network types. For example, a wireless wide area network (WWAN) may be a CDMA network, a time division multiple access (TDMA) network, a frequency division multiple access (FDMA) network, an orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) network, a single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) network, a WiMAX (IEEE 802.16) network, or the like. A CDMA network may implement one or more RATs, such as CDMA2000, WCDMA, or the like. CDMA2000 includes IS-95, IS-2000, and / or IS-856 standards. A TDMA network may implement GSM, Digital Advanced Mobile Phone System (D-AMPS), or other RATs. An OFDMA network may employ LTE, Advanced LTE, 5G NR, or the like. 5G NR, LTE, LTE-Advanced, GSM, and WCDMA are described in documents from the 3GPP. Cdma2000 is described in documents from a consortium called the 3rd Generation Partnership Project 3 (3GPP2). 3GPP and 3GPP2 documents are public. A WLAN can also be an IEEE 802.11x network, and a wireless personal area network (WPAN) can be a Bluetooth network, IEEE 802.15x, or some other type of network. The techniques described herein can also be used for any combination of WWAN, WLAN, and / or WPAN.

[0125] The UE 105 may also include sensor(s) 1640. The sensors 1640 may include, but are not limited to, one or more inertial sensors and / or other sensors (e.g., accelerometer(s), gyroscope(s), camera(s), magnetometer(s), altimeter(s), microphone(s), proximity sensor(s), light sensor(s), barometer(s), etc.), some of which may be used to obtain measurements and / or other information related to positioning.

[0126] Embodiments of the UE 105 may also include a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receiver 1680 that is capable of receiving signals 1684 from one or more GNSS satellites using an antenna 1682 (which may be the same as antenna 1632). Positioning based on GNSS signal measurements may be used to supplement and / or incorporate the techniques described herein. The GNSS receiver 1680 may use conventional techniques to extract the position of the UE 105 from GNSS satellites 110 of GNSS systems such as the Global Positioning System (GPS), Galileo, GLONASS, the Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS) over Japan, the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) over India, the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) over China, and the like. In addition, the GNSS receiver 1680 can be used with various augmentation systems (e.g., satellite-based augmentation systems (SBAS)), which can be associated with or otherwise enabled for use with one or more global and / or regional navigation satellite systems, such as the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), the Multifunctional Satellite Augmentation System (MSAS), and the Geographic Augmentation Navigation System (GAGAN), among others.

[0127] It can be noted that although Figure 16 16. The GNSS receiver 1680 is illustrated as a distinct component in FIG, but the embodiments are not limited thereto. As used herein, the term "GNSS receiver" may include hardware and / or software components configured to obtain GNSS measurements (measurements from GNSS satellites). Thus, in some embodiments, the GNSS receiver may include a measurement engine executed (as software) by one or more processors, such as processor(s) 1610, DSP 1620, and / or a processor within wireless communication interface 1630 (e.g., in a modem). The GNSS receiver may also optionally include a positioning engine that may use the GNSS measurements from the measurement engine to determine the position of the GNSS receiver using an extended Kalman filter (EKF), weighted least squares (WLS), hatch filter, particle filter, etc. The positioning engine may also be executed by one or more processors, such as processor(s) 1610 or DSP 1620.

[0128] The UE 105 may also include and / or communicate with memory 1660. The memory 1660 may include, but is not limited to, local and / or network accessible storage, disk drives, drive arrays, optical storage devices, solid-state storage devices, such as random access memory (RAM) and / or read-only memory (ROM), which may be programmable, flash-updatable, and / or the like. Such storage devices may be configured to implement any suitable data storage, including, but not limited to, various file systems, database structures, and the like.

[0129] The memory 1660 of the UE 105 may also include software elements ( Figure 16 16), including an operating system, device drivers, executable libraries, and / or other code, such as one or more application programs, which may include computer programs provided by various embodiments, and / or may be designed to implement methods provided by other embodiments, and / or configure systems, as described herein. By way of example only, one or more processes described with respect to the method(s) discussed above may be implemented as code and / or instructions in the memory 1660 that may be executed by the UE 105 (and / or the processor(s) 1610 or DSP 1620 within the UE 105). In one aspect, such code and / or instructions may be used to configure and / or adapt a general-purpose computer (or other device) to perform one or more operations in accordance with the described methods.

[0130] Figure 17 An embodiment of a TRP 1700 is shown, which may be used as described above (e.g., in conjunction with Figures 1-15 ), and can be further executed Figure 15 The functionality of one or more of the boxes shown. It should be noted that Figure 17 It is intended only to provide a general description of the various components, any or all of which may be used as appropriate.

[0131] TRP 1700 is shown as including hardware elements that may be electrically coupled via bus 1705 (or may be in communication in other ways, as appropriate). The hardware elements may include processor(s) 1710, which may include, but are not limited to, one or more general-purpose processors, one or more special-purpose processors (such as DSP chips, graphics acceleration processors, ASICs, etc.), and / or other processing structures or components. Figure 17As shown, some embodiments may have a separate DSP 1720, depending on the desired functionality. According to some embodiments, position determination and / or other determinations based on wireless communications may be provided in the processor(s) 1710 and / or the wireless communication interface 1730 (discussed below). The TRP 1700 may also include one or more input devices, which may include, but are not limited to, a keyboard, a display, a mouse, a microphone, button(s), dial(s), switch(es), and the like; and one or more output devices, which may include, but are not limited to, a display, a light emitting diode (LED), a speaker, and / or the like.

[0132] The TRP 1700 may also include a wireless communication interface 1730, which may include but is not limited to a modem, a network card, an infrared communication device, a wireless communication device and / or a chipset (such as a Devices such as IEEE 802.11 devices, IEEE 802.15.4 devices, Wi-Fi devices, WiMAX devices, cellular communication facilities, etc.) and / or similar devices can enable the TRP 1700 to communicate as described herein. The wireless communication interface 1730 can allow data and signaling to be transmitted (e.g., sent and received) to the UE, other base stations / TRPs (e.g., eNBs, gNBs, and ng-eNBs), and / or other network components, computer systems, and / or any other electronic devices described herein. Communication can be performed via one or more wireless communication antennas 1732 that transmit and / or receive wireless signals 1734.

[0133] The TRP 1700 may also include a network interface 1780, which may include support for wired communication technologies. The network interface 1780 may include a modem, a network card, a chipset, etc. The network interface 1780 may include one or more input and / or output communication interfaces to allow data to be exchanged with a network, a communication network server, a computer system, and / or any other electronic device described herein.

[0134] In many embodiments, the TRP 1700 may also include memory 1760. Memory 1760 may include, but is not limited to, local and / or network accessible storage, disk drives, drive arrays, optical storage devices, solid-state storage devices such as RAM and / or ROM, which may be programmable, flash-updatable, and / or the like. Such storage devices may be configured to implement any suitable data storage, including, but not limited to, various file systems, database structures, and the like.

[0135] The memory 1760 of the TRP 1700 may also include software elements ( Figure 171700 (and / or the processor(s) 1710 or DSP 1720 within the TRP 1700). In one aspect, such code and / or instructions can be used to configure and / or adapt a general-purpose computer (or other device) to perform one or more operations in accordance with the described methods.

[0136] Figure 18 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a computer system 1800 that may be used, in whole or in part, to provide the functionality of one or more network components as described in the embodiments herein (e.g., Figure 1 Location server 160, Figure 2 LMF 220, etc.) It should be noted that Figure 18 It is intended only to provide a general description of the various components, any or all of which may be used as appropriate. Figure 18 It is broadly illustrated how the individual system elements can be implemented in a relatively separate or relatively more integrated manner. In addition, it can be noted that Figure 18 The components shown may be localized in a single device and / or distributed among various networked devices that may be located in different geographical locations.

[0137] Computer system 1800 is shown as including hardware elements that can be electrically coupled via bus 1805 (or can communicate in other ways, as the case may be). The hardware elements may include (multiple) processors 1810, which may include but are not limited to one or more general-purpose processors, one or more special-purpose processors (such as digital signal processing chips, graphics acceleration processors, etc.), and / or other processing structures, which can be configured to perform one or more methods described herein. Computer system 1800 may also include one or more input devices 1815, which may include but are not limited to a mouse, keyboard, camera, microphone, etc.; and one or more output devices 1820, which may include but are not limited to a display device, printer, etc.

[0138] The computer system 1800 may also include (and / or communicate with) one or more non-transitory storage devices 1825, which may include, but are not limited to, local and / or network accessible storage, and / or may include, but are not limited to, disk drives, drive arrays, optical storage devices, solid-state storage devices such as RAM and / or ROM, which may be programmable, flash-updatable, etc. Such storage devices may be configured to implement any suitable data storage, including, but not limited to, various file systems, database structures, etc. Such data storage may include database(s) and / or other data structures for storing and managing messages and / or other information to be sent to one or more devices via the hub, as described herein.

[0139] The computer system 1800 may also include a communication subsystem 1830, which may include wireless communication technologies managed and controlled by a wireless communication interface 1833, as well as wired technologies (such as Ethernet, coaxial communication, universal serial bus (USB), etc.). The wireless communication interface 1833 can send and receive wireless signals 1855 (e.g., signals according to 5GNR or LTE) via (multiple) wireless antennas 1850. Therefore, the communication subsystem 1830 may include a modem, a network card (wireless or wired), an infrared communication device, a wireless communication device and / or a chipset, etc., which can enable the computer system 1800 to communicate with any device on the corresponding network on any or all communication networks described herein, including user equipment (UE), base stations and / or other TRPs, and / or any other electronic devices described herein. Therefore, the communication subsystem 1830 can be used to receive and send data, as described in the embodiments of this document.

[0140] In many embodiments, the computer system 1800 will further include a working memory 1835, which may include a RAM or ROM device as described above. The software elements shown as being located within the working memory 1835 may include an operating system 1840, device drivers, executable libraries, and / or other code, such as one or more applications 1845, which may include computer programs provided by various embodiments and / or may be designed to implement methods and / or configure systems provided by other embodiments, as described herein. By way of example only, one or more of the processes described with respect to the method(s) described above may be implemented as code and / or instructions executable by a computer (and / or a processor within a computer); then, in one aspect, such code and / or instructions may be used to configure and / or adapt a general-purpose computer (or other device) to perform one or more operations in accordance with the described methods.

[0141] A set of these instructions and / or codes may be stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, such as the aforementioned storage device(s) 1825. In some cases, the storage medium may be incorporated into a computer system, such as computer system 1800. In other embodiments, the storage medium may be separate from the computer system (e.g., removable media such as an optical disc) and / or provided in an installation package such that the storage medium may be used to program, configure, and / or adapt a general-purpose computer having the instructions / code stored thereon. These instructions may take the form of executable code that can be executed by computer system 1800 and / or may take the form of source code and / or installable code that, when compiled and / or installed on computer system 1800 (e.g., using any of a variety of commonly available compilers, installers, compression / decompression utilities, etc.), then takes the form of executable code.

[0142] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that substantial variations can be made depending on specific requirements. For example, customized hardware can be used and / or specific elements can be implemented in hardware, software (including portable software such as applets), or both. In addition, connections to other computing devices such as network input / output devices can be employed.

[0143] With reference to the accompanying drawings, the components that may include memory may include non-transitory machine-readable media. As used herein, the terms "machine-readable medium" and "computer-readable medium" refer to any storage medium that participates in providing data that enables a machine to operate in a specific manner. In the embodiments provided above, various machine-readable media may involve providing instructions / codes to a processor and / or (multiple) other devices for execution. Additionally or alternatively, machine-readable media can be used to store and / or carry such instructions / codes. In many embodiments, computer-readable media are physical and / or tangible storage media. Such media can take a variety of forms, including but not limited to non-volatile media, volatile media, and transmission media. Common forms of computer-readable media include, for example, magnetic and / or optical media, any other physical media with a hole pattern, RAM, programmable ROM (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM), FLASH-EPROM, any other memory chip or cassette tape, carrier waves described below, or any other medium from which a computer can read instructions and / or code.

[0144] The methods, systems, and devices discussed herein are examples. Various embodiments may omit, substitute, or add various processes or components as appropriate. For example, features described with respect to certain embodiments may be combined in various other embodiments. Different aspects and elements of the embodiments may be combined in a similar manner. The various components of the figures provided herein may be embodied in hardware and / or software. Furthermore, technology is evolving, and therefore many elements are examples and do not limit the scope of this disclosure to those specific examples.

[0145] At times, it has proven convenient, primarily for reasons of common usage, to refer to such signals as bits, information, values, elements, symbols, characters, variables, terms, numbers, digits, or the like. It will be understood, however, that all of these or similar terms are to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels. Unless specifically stated otherwise, as will be apparent from the above discussion, it will be understood that terms such as "processing," "computing," "calculating," "determining," "ascertaining," "identifying," "correlating," "measuring," "performing," and the like, used throughout this specification, will refer to the actions or processes of a specific apparatus, such as a special-purpose computer or similar special-purpose electronic computing device. Thus, in the context of this specification, a special-purpose computer or similar special-purpose electronic computing device is capable of manipulating or converting signals, typically represented as physical electronic, electrical, or magnetic quantities in a memory, register, or other information storage device, a transmission device, or a display device of a special-purpose computer or similar special-purpose electronic computing device.

[0146] As used herein, the terms "and" and "or" may include multiple meanings that depend, at least in part, on the context in which such terms are used. Generally, "or" if used in an associative list, such as A, B, or C, means A, B, and C, as used herein in an inclusive sense, and A, B, or C, as used herein in an exclusive sense. In addition, as used herein, the term "one or more" may be used to describe any feature, structure, or characteristic in the singular, or may be used to describe some combination of features, structures, or characteristics. However, it should be noted that this is merely an illustrative example and the claimed subject matter is not limited to this example. In addition, the term "at least one of..." if used in an associative list, such as A, B, or C, may be interpreted to mean any combination of A, B, and / or C, such as A, AB, AA, AAB, AABBCCC, etc.

[0147] Several embodiments have been described, and various modifications, alternative configurations, and equivalents may be used without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure. For example, the above elements may simply be components of a larger system, wherein other rules may take precedence over or otherwise modify the application of the various embodiments. Furthermore, multiple steps may be taken before, during, or after considering the above elements. Therefore, the above description does not limit the scope of the present disclosure.

[0148] In view of this description, embodiments may include different combinations of features. The following numbered clauses describe implementation examples:

[0149] Clause 1. A method of wireless communication at a mobile device, the method comprising: sending an indication to a network node of an ability of the mobile device to maintain a phase relationship between a first sounding reference signal (SRS) using a first component carrier (CC) and a second SRS using a second CC, wherein the ability comprises: an ability to maintain a phase characteristic below a threshold, an ability to maintain the phase characteristic at a constant value, or an inability to maintain the phase characteristic, or any combination thereof; and sending the first SRS and the second SRS.

[0150] Clause 2. The method of clause 1, wherein the phase characteristic comprises: a phase offset; a phase slope across time, frequency, or both; a phase slope; or a phase time drift; or any combination thereof.

[0151] Clause 3. A method according to any of clauses 1-2, wherein the capability depends on a condition, the condition comprising: whether the first CC and the second CC are in the same frequency band or different frequency bands, whether the first SRS and the second SRS overlap completely or partially in time, whether the first SRS and the second SRS have the same bandwidth or different bandwidths, or whether the first SRS and the second SRS have the same comb type or different comb types, or any combination thereof.

[0152] Clause 4. The method of clause 3 further comprising sending an indication of the condition to a network node.

[0153] Clause 5. The method of any of clauses 1-4 further comprises, after sending the indication of the capability, receiving a configuration from the network node for sending the first SRS and the second SRS, wherein sending the first SRS and the second SRS comprises sending the first SRS and the second SRS according to the configuration.

[0154] Clause 6. A method as described in any of clauses 1-5, wherein the network node comprises a serving transmission / reception point (TRP) or a location server.

[0155] Clause 7. A method as described in any of clauses 1-6, wherein the indication of the capability is sent via a Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol.

[0156] Clause 8. The method of any of clauses 1-7, wherein the capability depends on whether the first SRS overlaps with a time mask between a channel in the first CC and the first SRS.

[0157] Clause 9. The method of clause 8, wherein the channel comprises a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), or another SRS resource.

[0158] Clause 10. The method of any of clauses 1-9, wherein the indication of the capability is sent in response to a capability request from the network node.

[0159] Clause 11. A method for wireless communication at a network node, the method comprising: receiving from a mobile device an indication of an ability of the mobile device to maintain a phase relationship between a first sounding reference signal (SRS) sent by the mobile device using a first component carrier (CC) and a second SRS sent by the mobile device using a second CC, wherein the ability comprises: an ability to maintain a phase characteristic below a threshold, an ability to maintain the phase characteristic at a constant value, or an inability to maintain the phase characteristic, or any combination thereof; and sending to the mobile device a configuration for sending the first SRS and the second SRS, wherein the configuration is based at least in part on the ability.

[0160] Clause 12. The method of clause 11, wherein the phase characteristic comprises: a phase offset; a phase slope across time, frequency, or both; a phase slope; or a phase time drift; or any combination thereof.

[0161] Clause 13. The method of any of clauses 11-12 further comprising receiving an indication of a condition from the mobile device, wherein the configuring is further based on the condition.

[0162] Clause 14. A method as described in any of clauses 11-13, wherein the network node comprises a serving transmission / reception point (TRP) or a location server.

[0163] Clause 15. A method as described in any of clauses 11-14, wherein the indication of the capability is received via a Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol.

[0164] Clause 16. The method of any of clauses 11-15 further comprising determining a second capability based on the indication of the capability and a determination of a time mask overlap between the first SRS and a channel in the first CC and the first SRS.

[0165] Clause 17. The method of clause 16, wherein the second capability is determined for the entire duration of the first SRS.

[0166] Clause 18. The method of clause 16, wherein the second capability is determined only for a time duration during which the first SRS overlaps the time mask.

[0167] Clause 19. A mobile device for wireless communication, the mobile device comprising: a transceiver; a memory; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: send an indication to a network node of an ability of the mobile device to maintain a phase relationship between a first sounding reference signal (SRS) using a first component carrier (CC) and a second SRS using a second CC, wherein the ability comprises: an ability to maintain a phase characteristic below a threshold, an ability to maintain the phase characteristic at a constant value, or an inability to maintain the phase characteristic, or any combination thereof; and send the first SRS and the second SRS via the transceiver.

[0168] Clause 20. A mobile device according to clause 19, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to send an indication of a condition to the network node, the condition comprising: whether the first CC and the second CC are in the same frequency band or different frequency bands, whether the first SRS and the second SRS completely overlap or partially overlap in time, whether the first SRS and the second SRS have the same bandwidth or different bandwidths, or whether the first SRS and the second SRS have the same comb type or different comb types, or any combination thereof.

[0169] Clause 21. A mobile device according to any of clauses 19-20, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to receive a configuration for sending the first SRS and the second SRS from the network node after sending the indication of the capability, wherein, in order to send the first SRS and the second SRS, the one or more processors are configured to send the first SRS and the second SRS according to the configuration.

[0170] Clause 22. The mobile device of any of clauses 19-21, wherein the network node comprises a serving transmission / reception point (TRP) or a location server.

[0171] Clause 23. The mobile device of any of clauses 19-22, wherein the one or more processors are configured to send the indication of the capability via a radio resource control (RRC) protocol.

[0172] Clause 24. The mobile device of any of clauses 19-23, wherein the capability is dependent on whether the first SRS overlaps with a time mask between a channel in the first CC and the first SRS.

[0173] Clause 25. The mobile device of any of clauses 19-24, wherein the one or more processors are configured to send the indication of the capability in response to a capability request from the network node.

[0174] Clause 26. A network node for wireless communication, the network node comprising: a transceiver; a memory; one or more processors communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: receive from a mobile device via the transceiver an indication of an ability of the mobile device to maintain a phase relationship between a first sounding reference signal (SRS) sent by the mobile device using a first component carrier (CC) and a second SRS sent by the mobile device using a second CC, wherein the ability comprises: an ability to maintain a phase characteristic below a threshold, an ability to maintain the phase characteristic at a constant value, or an inability to maintain the phase characteristic, or any combination thereof; and send to the mobile device via the transceiver a configuration for sending the first SRS and the second SRS, wherein the configuration is based at least in part on the ability.

[0175] Clause 27. The network node of clause 26, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to receive an indication of a condition from the mobile device, wherein the configuring is further based on the condition.

[0176] Clause 28. A network node as recited in any of clauses 26-27, wherein the network node comprises a serving transmission / reception point (TRP) or a location server.

[0177] Clause 29. The network node of any of clauses 26-28, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to determine the second capability based on the indication of the capability and a determination of a time mask overlap between a channel in the first CC and the first SRS.

[0178] Clause 30. The network node of clause 29, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to determine the second capability (i) for the entire duration of the first SRS, or (ii) only for a duration during which the first SRS overlaps the time mask.

[0179] Clause 31. An apparatus having means for performing the method of any of clauses 1-18.

[0180] Clause 32. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions, comprising code for performing the method of any of clauses 1-18.

Claims

1. A method for wireless communication at a mobile device, the method comprising: Sending an indication to a network node of a capability of the mobile device to maintain a phase relationship between a first sounding reference signal (SRS) using a first component carrier (CC) and a second SRS using a second component carrier (CC), wherein the capability comprises: The ability to keep phase characteristics below threshold, the ability to maintain said phase characteristic at a constant value, or The phase characteristics cannot be maintained, or any combination thereof; and The first SRS and the second SRS are transmitted.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein The phase characteristics include: Phase offset; phase ramps across time, frequency, or both; Phase slope; or Phase time drift; or any combination thereof.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein The capability is subject to conditions including: whether the first CC and the second CC are in the same frequency band or different frequency bands, whether the first SRS and the second SRS completely overlap or partially overlap in time, whether the first SRS and the second SRS have the same bandwidth or different bandwidths, or whether the first SRS and the second SRS have the same comb tooth type or different comb tooth types, or any combination thereof. The method of claim 3 , further comprising sending an indication of the condition to the network node.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: After sending the indication of the capability, receiving a configuration from the network node for sending the first SRS and the second SRS, wherein sending the first SRS and the second SRS includes sending the first SRS and the second SRS according to the configuration.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein The network node includes a serving transmission / reception point TRP or a location server.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein The indication of the capability is sent via a Radio Resource Control, RRC, protocol.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein The capability depends on whether the first SRS overlaps with a time mask between a channel in the first CC and the first SRS.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein The channel includes a physical uplink shared channel PUSCH, a physical uplink control channel PUCCH, or another SRS resource.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein The indication of the capability is sent in response to a capability request from the network node.

11. A method for wireless communication at a network node, the method comprising: Receiving, from a mobile device, an indication of a capability of the mobile device to maintain a phase relationship between a first sounding reference signal (SRS) transmitted by the mobile device using a first component carrier (CC) and a second SRS transmitted by the mobile device using a second CC, wherein the capability comprises: The ability to keep phase characteristics below threshold, the ability to maintain said phase characteristic at a constant value, or The phase characteristics cannot be maintained, or any combination thereof; and A configuration for transmitting the first SRS and the second SRS is transmitted to the mobile device, wherein the configuration is based at least in part on the capabilities.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein The phase characteristics include: Phase offset; phase ramps across time, frequency, or both; Phase slope; or Phase time drift; or any combination thereof.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising receiving an indication of a condition from the mobile device, wherein The configuration is also based on the condition.

14. The method according to claim 11, wherein The network node includes a serving transmission / reception point TRP or a location server.

15. The method according to claim 11, wherein The indication of the capability is received via a Radio Resource Control, RRC, protocol.

16. The method of claim 11, further comprising determining a second capability based on the indication of the capability and a determination that the first SRS overlaps a time mask between a channel in the first CC and the first SRS.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein The second capability is determined for an entire duration of the first SRS.

18. The method according to claim 16, wherein The second capability is determined only for a time duration during which the first SRS overlaps with the time mask.

19. A mobile device for wireless communication, the mobile device comprising: transceiver; Memory; as well as one or more processors communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: Sending an indication to a network node of a capability of the mobile device to maintain a phase relationship between a first sounding reference signal (SRS) using a first component carrier (CC) and a second SRS using a second component carrier (CC), wherein the capability comprises: The ability to keep phase characteristics below threshold, the ability to maintain said phase characteristic at a constant value, or The phase characteristics cannot be maintained, or any combination thereof; and The first SRS and the second SRS are transmitted via the transceiver.

20. The mobile device according to claim 19, wherein The one or more processors are further configured to send an indication of a condition to the network node, the condition comprising: whether the first CC and the second CC are in the same frequency band or different frequency bands, whether the first SRS and the second SRS completely overlap or partially overlap in time, whether the first SRS and the second SRS have the same bandwidth or different bandwidths, or whether the first SRS and the second SRS have the same comb tooth type or different comb tooth types, or any combination thereof.

21. The mobile device according to claim 19, wherein The one or more processors are further configured to receive, from the network node, a configuration for sending the first SRS and the second SRS after sending the indication of the capability, wherein, to send the first SRS and the second SRS, the one or more processors are configured to send the first SRS and the second SRS according to the configuration.

22. The mobile device of claim 19, wherein: The network node includes a serving transmission / reception point TRP or a location server.

23. The mobile device of claim 19, wherein: The one or more processors are configured to send the indication of the capability via a Radio Resource Control, RRC, protocol.

24. The mobile device of claim 19, wherein: The capability depends on whether the first SRS overlaps with a time mask between a channel in the first CC and the first SRS.

25. The mobile device of claim 19, wherein: The one or more processors are configured to send the indication of the capability in response to a capability request from the network node.

26. A network node for wireless communication, the network node comprising: transceiver; Memory; as well as one or more processors communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: receiving, via the transceiver, from a mobile device, an indication of a capability of the mobile device to maintain a phase relationship between a first sounding reference signal (SRS) transmitted by the mobile device using a first component carrier (CC) and a second sounding reference signal (SRS) transmitted by the mobile device using a second component carrier (CC), wherein the capability comprises: The ability to keep phase characteristics below threshold, the ability to maintain said phase characteristic at a constant value, or The phase characteristics cannot be maintained, or any combination thereof; and A configuration for transmitting the first SRS and the second SRS is transmitted to the mobile device via the transceiver, wherein the configuration is based at least in part on the capabilities.

27. The network node according to claim 26, wherein: The one or more processors are further configured to receive an indication of a condition from the mobile device, wherein the configuring is further based on the condition.

28. The network node according to claim 26, wherein: The network node includes a serving transmission / reception point TRP or a location server.

29. The network node according to claim 26, wherein: The one or more processors are further configured to determine a second capability based on the indication of the capability and a determination that the first SRS overlaps a time mask between a channel in the first CC and the first SRS.

30. The network node according to claim 29, wherein: The one or more processors are further configured to determine the second capability (i) for an entire duration of the first SRS, or (ii) only for a duration during which the first SRS overlaps with the time mask.

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