Method and apparatus for resource allocation for sidelink positioning

Abstract

Logic may perform resource selection from a resource pool to determine a set of resources from the resource pool for transmission of reference signals. Logic may autonomously allocate a set of resources for transmission of reference signals within a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) or as an independent transmission. Logic may generate a control information signal to signal a set of resources for a reference signal, the control information signal including a source identifier field, a destination identifier field, and one or more fields to indicate automatic gain control, a protection symbol, or a combination thereof. And logic may encode the control information signal for transmission to the second UE via the interface.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 394,872, entitled “MODE 2 RESOURCE ALLOCATION FOR SIDELINK POSITIONING”, filed on August 3, 2022, pursuant to 35 USC § 119, and its subject matter is incorporated herein by reference. This application also claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 412,298, entitled “MODE 2 RESOURCE ALLOCATION FOR SIDELINK POSITIONING”, filed on September 30, 2022, pursuant to 35 USC § 119, and its subject matter is incorporated herein by reference. This application also claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 485,664, entitled “MODE 2 RESOURCE ALLOCATION FOR SIDELINK POSITIONING”, filed on February 17, 2023, pursuant to 35 USC § 119, and its subject matter is incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] Embodiments herein relate to wireless communications, and more particularly, to a solution for Mode 2 Resource Allocation (RA) for sidelink (SL) positioning. Background Art

[0004] Mobile communications have evolved significantly from early voice systems to today's highly complex integrated communications platforms. The next generation of wireless communication systems, fifth generation technology (5G) or new radio (NR) for broadband cellular networks will enable a variety of users and applications to access information and share data anywhere and at any time. NR is expected to be a unified network / system designed to meet widely varying and sometimes conflicting performance dimensions and services. This diverse multi-dimensional demand is driven by different services and applications. Typically, NR will evolve based on 3GPP LTE-Advanced with additional potential new radio access technologies (RATs) to enrich people's lives with better, simple and seamless wireless connectivity solutions. NR will enable everything to be connected wirelessly and deliver fast, rich content and services.

[0005] With the wide bandwidth and beamforming capabilities for positioning signals in the mmWave frequency band, RAT-dependent positioning technology can achieve higher positioning accuracy. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0006] Figure 1A An embodiment of a communication network is shown;

[0007] Figure 1BAn embodiment of an example of sidelink positioning with an anchor UE and a target UE is depicted;

[0008] Figure 1C Depicting an exemplary embodiment of two modes of SL resource allocation for positioning;

[0009] Figure 2 An embodiment of a simplified block diagram of a base station and a user equipment (UE) is depicted;

[0010] Figure 3 depicts an embodiment of a diagram showing positioning errors due to movement between RTT transmission communications;

[0011] Figure 4A An embodiment of periodic SL resource allocation is depicted;

[0012] Figure 4B The road side unit (RSU) and the UE (eg, Figures 1A-1C and Figure 2 Communication between UEs in the network;

[0013] Figure 4C-4G Different embodiments of SL resource allocation in a shared resource pool (s-pool) for aperiodic transmission for RTT-based ranging / positioning are shown;

[0014] Figure 4H An embodiment of a message sequence for SL resource allocation in a shared resource pool (s-pool) for aperiodic transmission for RTT-based ranging / positioning is shown;

[0015] Fig. 4I An embodiment for multiplexing PSCCH / PSSCH and SL PRS in a shared resource pool is shown;

[0016] Figure 5A An embodiment showing examples of different frequency allocation options for SL PRS frequency resources of a dedicated resource pool;

[0017] Figure 5B An embodiment of time allocation within a window W for a dedicated resource pool is shown;

[0018] Figure 5C An embodiment for multiplexing PSCCH and SL PRS in a dedicated resource pool is shown;

[0019] Figure 5D An embodiment of a one-to-one mapping between PSCCH subchannels and SL PRS resources in a dedicated resource pool is shown;

[0020] Figure 6 A flowchart of a UE allocating SL resources for sidelink communication is depicted, for example in conjunction with Figures 1A-1C , 2-3, 4A-4I and 5A-5D described embodiments;

[0021] Figure 7 A flow chart of side link (SL) positioning performed by a UE is depicted, for example in conjunction with Figures 1A-1C , 2-3, 4A-4I, 5A-5D and 6 described embodiments;

[0022] Figure 8 Describes such Figures 1A-1C and Figure 2 An embodiment of a protocol entity in a wireless communication device such as a base station and a user equipment as shown in;

[0023] Fig. 9 Depicted is a circuit diagram of a baseband circuit and an RF transceiver circuit (eg, Figure 2 An embodiment of the format of a physical layer data unit (PDU) formed by the baseband circuit and RF transceiver shown in FIG.

[0024] Figures 10A-10B Depicts a communication circuit (e.g., Figure 2 Embodiments of the components and modules shown in the user equipment and the base station shown in FIG.

[0025] Fig.11 Depicted are embodiments of the storage media described herein;

[0026] Fig.12 Describes the network (e.g. Figures 1A-1C Embodiment of the system architecture of the communication network in FIG.

[0027] Fig.13 Describes the equipment (e.g. Figure 1A , Figure 1B , Figure 1C and Figure 2 An embodiment of a base station or user equipment) shown in ;

[0028] Fig.14 Depicts baseband circuitry (e.g., Figure 2 An embodiment of an interface of the baseband circuit shown in ); and

[0029] Fig.15 Depicts methods for performing the functions described herein (e.g., in conjunction with Figure 1A-14 An embodiment of a block diagram of components of the present invention (describes the functionality). DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] The following is a detailed description of the embodiments depicted in the accompanying drawings. The detailed description encompasses all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the scope of the appended claims.

[0031] The automotive industry is currently transitioning towards autonomous driving and advanced driver assistance systems, where vehicles are able to react to changes in the driving environment on their own. In this context, Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) is seen as a key technology to provide complete environmental awareness around the vehicle by exchanging messages with other vehicles, roadside units, and pedestrians with low latency and high reliability. V2X communications are expected to offer potential in different areas (e.g., faster alerts and notifications, law enforcement, better road services, reduced global traffic load, reduced emissions, time savings, and increased car safety), thereby helping to prevent collisions / injuries and save lives.

[0032] The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is moving towards its evolution in New Radio (NR) systems in the context of so-called NR V2X. This new technology is expected to complement LTE C-V2X for advanced services by providing low-latency, high-reliability and high-throughput V2X services for advanced driving applications. To this end, NR V2X is equipped with new features, such as support for multicast and unicast communications, novel feedback channels and new control channel designs.

[0033] NR V2X supports high-precision positioning in both vertical and horizontal dimensions, which relies on timing-based, angle-based, power-based or hybrid techniques to estimate the user position in the network. Specifically, the following RAT-dependent positioning techniques have been introduced to meet positioning requirements for various use cases (e.g., indoor, outdoor, industrial Internet of Things (IoT), etc.): Downlink Time Difference of Arrival (DL-TDOA), Uplink Time Difference of Arrival (UL-TDOA), Downlink Angle of Departure (DL-AoD), Uplink Angle of Arrival (UL AoA), Multi-cell Round Trip Time (Multi-RTT), and NR Enhanced Cell ID (E-CID).

[0034] Embodiments herein may describe the allocation of sidelink (SL) resources (e.g., uplink (UL) resources, downlink (DL) resources, and flexible resources) to schedule sounding or reference signals to determine and convey positioning information. Some embodiments may define a resource allocation pool for allocation of resources, a configuration of a resource allocation pool, and the use of a pool for resource allocation. Some embodiments may define signaling for scheduling reference signals, delivering decoding or demodulation information for resource allocation, and positioning-related information. Some embodiments define signaling for defining how to respond to location information (e.g., round-trip time (RTT) information for ranging determination). Some embodiments may define priority information for scheduling reference signals in a resource pool. Some embodiments may define triggering of reference signals for SL positioning.

[0035] Two modes have been defined for centralized and distributed scheduling of UE transmissions: Mode 1 and Mode 2, which have been renamed as Scheme 1 and Scheme 2, respectively, in Rel 17. Centralized scheduling occurs at the eNB (in-coverage Scheme 1), while distributed scheduling is performed by the device-to-device (D2D) or vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) UE itself, without being in the coverage area of ​​the eNB (out-of-coverage Scheme 2). For Scheme 1, the NR base station (gNB) schedules the sidelink resources to be used by the UE for sidelink transmissions. For Scheme 2, the UE's resource logic circuitry can autonomously determine the sidelink transmission resources within the sidelink resources configured by the gNB or pre-configured by the cellular network.

[0036] Scheme 2 is a distributed scheduling method for side link (SL) resource allocation for positioning. For periodic services, in many embodiments, the resource logic circuit of the UE can perform resource selection via listening-based resource selection to select resources that are not used by other UEs. For non-periodic services, in many embodiments, the resource logic circuit of the UE can implement short-term listening and dynamic reservation.

[0037] The two schemes share the same resource allocation structure, in which the transmission of data is scheduled during the sidelink control period. During the sidelink control period, a set of subframes is allocated for physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) transmission, and a different set of subframes is allocated for physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH). The corresponding PSCCH for a given PSSCH is sent before the PSSCH data. The PSCCH includes a first-level sidelink control information (SCI) (also known as scheduling assignment), and the PSSCH may include a second-level SCI, from which the receiver can identify the occupancy of PSSCH radio resources. In both schemes, SCI can be sent twice using different subframes in the same resource block (RB). Due to the absence of a feedback channel in the sidelink communication, the second transmission can improve the reliability of SCI message delivery at the receiver. The receiver blindly detects SCI by monitoring all possible PSCCH resources. The transmitting UE can send a transport block four times in four consecutive subframes within the resource pool to allow the receiving UE to implement open-loop hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) by combining four redundant versions of the transport block.

[0038] To support a wide range of V2X applications with different quality of service requirements and to support scenarios with high vehicle density, 3GPP continues standardization efforts for V2X communications over NR V2X in Releases 16 and 17. NR V2X has been designed to support a variety of use cases. In some embodiments, resource logic of the UE and cellular network (e.g., access node (AN) or base station) for SL positioning using NR V2X Scheme 2 allocation can support the transmission of periodic services as well as reliable delivery of non-periodic messages.

[0039] NR V2X goes beyond the broadcast-only communications proposed by LTE C-V2X and provides support for three types of transmissions - broadcast, multicast, and unicast. In NR V2X unicast transmissions, the transmitting UE has a single receiving UE associated with the communication. In multicast transmissions, the transmitting UE communicates with a subset (or group) of UEs in its vicinity. In addition, broadcast transmissions enable the UE to communicate with all UEs within the transmission range.

[0040] In many embodiments, the resource logic circuits of the UE and AN can perform sidelink communications in NR V2X on the following physical channels: 1) Physical Sidelink Broadcast Channel (PSBCH), used to send broadcast information (e.g., synchronization of the sidelink); 2) PSCCH, used to send control information (first-level SCI); 3) PSSCH, used to send control (second-level SCI), data and channel state information (CSI) in the case of unicast; and 4) Physical Sidelink Feedback Channel (PSFCH), used to send HARQ feedback in unicast and multicast modes. PSSCH can support modulation schemes such as QPSK, 16-QAM, 64-QAM and 256-QAM. PSCCH can support QPSK transmission.

[0041] NR V2X may use, for example, the following reference signals: 1) Sidelink primary / secondary synchronization signal (S-PSS / S-SSS) for synchronization. The S-PSS / S-SSS is sent in a synchronization signal / PSBCH block (SSB) along with the PSBCH. The SSB uses the same parameter set as the PSCCH / PSSCH on this carrier. 2) Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS), used to estimate the channel, perform data decoding, and in some embodiments, as a sounding or reference signal for SL positioning. 3) Phase Tracking Reference Signal (PT-RS), used to compensate for phase noise. 4) Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS), used to estimate the channel, report channel quality information, similar to NR, and in some embodiments, as a sounding or reference signal for SL positioning.

[0042] In some embodiments, the resource logic of the UE and / or AN may use reference signals such as: 5) Sidelink Positioning Reference Signal (SL PRS) as a sounding or reference signal for SL positioning. The SL PRS may be a layer 1 reference signal (also referred to as L1 SL PRS), and the resource logic may send the SL PRS within the PSSCH or as a standalone transmission. For Scheme 1 SL PRS resource allocation, the transmitting UE may receive SL PRS resource allocation signaling from the gNB via dynamic grant, configuration grant type 1, or configuration grant type 2.

[0043] In some embodiments, the resource logic circuit of the UE may be configured or pre-configured with one or more side link resource pools. The side link resource pool may include resources for transmission and reception allocated to PSCCH / PSSCH and may be associated with side link resource allocation scheme 1 or scheme 2. In some embodiments, for SL PRS transmission, a dedicated resource pool or a shared resource pool or both may be pre-configured or configured in the SL portion bandwidth (BWP) of the carrier. In many embodiments, the resource logic circuit of the UE may be pre-configured or configured with one or more dedicated SL resource pools and pre-configured or configured with one or more shared SL resource pools.

[0044] In the frequency domain, the side link resource pool may include several consecutive subchannels. The size of each subchannel may be fixed and may consist of N consecutive RBs. Both the number of subchannels and the subchannel size may be preconfigured at a high level by the radio resource control (RRC) layer. For possible subchannel sizes, NR V2X supports N = 10, 15, 20, 25, 50, 75, and 100 RBs. In the time domain, the resources available for the side link (i.e., time slots) are determined by repeating the side link bitmap. The bitmap may be preconfigured and characterized by a specific size. The resource pool parameter sl-TimeResource from RRC may define the bitmap size and take values ​​such as 10, 11, 12, ..., 160. In the case of time division duplex (TDD), the resources available for the side link are given by a combination of a TDD pattern and a side link bitmap. In many embodiments, the NR side link specification is flexible, and any valid NR TDD pattern may be used with a side link bitmap of any structure (having a size specified by the 3GPP specification). Within a time slot available for the sidelink, the specific orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols used for sidelink transmission / reception may be fixed and preconfigured.Two RRC parameters may preconfigure the symbol index and the set of consecutive symbols of the first symbol in a time slot available for the sidelink.

[0045] In many embodiments, resource logic circuits of the base station and / or UE may support a shared resource pool and / or a dedicated resource pool for transmission and reception of PSCCH / PSSCH for resource allocation in Scheme 2.

[0046] For an out-of-coverage NR V2X UE operating in any V2X band using Scheme 2, the sidelink resource pool may include several consecutive subchannels in the frequency domain. On the other hand, the resource logic circuit of an in-coverage NR V2X UE operating in Scheme 1 or Scheme 2 may determine the time / frequency structure according to the TDD pattern, sidelink bitmap and subchannels provided by the next generation Node B (gNB).

[0047] In many embodiments, the resource logic circuitry of the UE and the cellular network may define an SCI format, SCI format 1-A, for scheduling of the PSSCH and the second level SCI on the PSSCH. In some embodiments, the resource logic circuitry of the UE and the cellular network may define a new first level format, SCI format 1-B, for scheduling of the SL PRS. In many embodiments, the resource logic circuitry of the UE and the cellular network may also define three or more formats for the second level SCI, such as SCI format 2-A, SCI format 2-B, and SCI format 2-C. In some embodiments, the resource logic circuitry of the UE and the cellular network may also define a fourth format for the second level SCI, such as SCI format 2-D.

[0048] When the HARQ-ACK information includes ACK or NACK, when the HARQ-ACK information includes only NACK, or when there is no feedback of the HARQ-ACK information, SCI format 2-A can convey information for decoding of the PSSCH with a HARQ operation. In some embodiments, when the HARQ-ACK information includes only NACK, or when there is no feedback of the HARQ-ACK information, SCI format 2-B can convey information for decoding of the PSSCH with a HARQ operation. SCI format 2-C can convey information for decoding of the PSSCH and provide UE-to-UE coordination information or request UE-to-UE coordination information. SCI format 2-C can be used for unicast communication. In some embodiments, the new SCI format 2-D can convey the decoding of the PSSCH and the scheduling of the SL PRS. In some embodiments, SCI format 2-D may include one or more or all of the following fields: HARQ process number-4 bits, new data indicator-1 bit, redundant version-2 bits, source ID-8 bits, and destination ID-16 bits, HARQ feedback enable / disable indicator-1 bit.

[0049] Each of the following fields defined in the second level SCI format is mapped to information bits a0 to a A-1 Each field is mapped in the order in which it appears in the description, with the first field mapped to the lowest order information bit a0 and each successive field mapped to a higher order information bit. The most significant bit of each field may be mapped to the lowest order information bit for that field (e.g., the most significant bit of the first field is mapped to a0).

[0050] The 1st-stage-SCI indicates the reservation of Nmax_reserve (preconfigured) number of sidelink resources within the resource selection window. Nmax_reserve can be 2 or 3. The resource reservation is indicated in the time resource assignment field of the 1st-stage-SCI. This means that not all slots in the resource reservation period of the UE carry the first-stage SCI in the PSCCH; some slots have empty PSCCH and carry information only in the PSSCH, as indicated by the 1st-stage-SCI in the previous slot.

[0051] To address Scheme 2 Resource Allocation (RA) for Sidelink (SL) positioning, use cases such as autonomous driving, sidelink, or vehicle-to-everything (V2X) based positioning are considered. More specifically, various scenarios including in-coverage, partial coverage, and out-of-network coverage can be considered for sidelink positioning.

[0052] Some embodiments may implement a listening-based semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) for periodic traffic. This is defined as a distributed scheduling protocol for autonomous selection of radio resources. Based on listening SPS, the UE may reserve subchannels in the frequency domain for a random number of continuous periodic transmissions in the time domain. The number of time slots used for transmission and retransmission within each periodic resource reservation period depends on the number of blind retransmissions (if any) and the resource selection process. The number of reserved subchannels per time slot depends on the size of the data to be sent. The listening-based resource selection process consists of the following two phases: 1) the listening process and 2) the resource selection process.

[0053] Some embodiments may define Mode 2 resource allocation (RA) for sidelink (SL) positioning for both cases of a shared resource pool (s-pool) with SL communication and a dedicated SL positioning resource pool (d-pool). Note that for the s-pool, backward compatibility may need to be ensured. The shared resource pool refers to resources shared with other SL communications for NR systems described in Releases 16 and 17 of 3GPP. The dedicated resource pool may refer to resources dedicated to SL communications for vehicle-to-everything (V2X) and not shared with other communications. Resources typically describe physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) radio resources (e.g., resource blocks and resource elements of a subframe of a frame) used to convey positioning information. Sidelink control information (SCI) is information that is transmitted to reserve resources for conveying reference signals and positioning information in the PSSCH and is sent via the physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH).

[0054] In order for SL communication and positioning to coexist in the same resource pool (shared resource pool), resource determination in the first-level PSCCH and resource reservation signaling can be the same for SL PRS transmission.

[0055] In some embodiments, with respect to SCI signaling in a shared resource pool, in addition to SL PRS transmission, the resource logic circuitry of the UE also sends SCI format 1-A (SCI 1-A) and a second level SCI format (eg, SCI 2-D) for SL PRS indication.

[0056] For the RAN, the base station may execute codes and protocols for E-UTRA, the air interface for the base station and interaction with other devices (eg, UE) in the E-UTRAN. E-UTRA may include radio resource management (RRM) in the radio resource control (RRC) layer.

[0057] Various embodiments can be designed to address different technical issues associated with Scheme 2 resource allocation for SL positioning (e.g., there is currently a lack of support for highly precise positioning in Scheme 2; there is a lack of support for resource allocation for positioning in the vertical and horizontal dimensions in Scheme 2; there is a lack of support for timing-based, angle-based, power-based, or hybrid techniques to estimate user location in the network in Scheme 2; there is a lack of support for SL resource allocation in Scheme 2 for downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA); there is a lack of support for SL resource allocation in Scheme 2 for uplink time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA); there is a lack of support for SL resource allocation in Scheme 2 for downlink angle of departure (DL-AoD); there is a lack of support for SL resource allocation in Scheme 2 for uplink angle of arrival (UL AoA); there is a lack of support for SL resource allocation in Scheme 2 for multi-cell round-trip time (multi-RTT); there is a lack of support for SL resource allocation in Scheme 2 for out-of-network coverage, etc.).

[0058] Different technical problems (eg, those discussed above) may be addressed by one or more different embodiments. An embodiment may address one or more of these problems associated with scheme 2 resource allocation for SL positioning. For example, some embodiments that solve the problem of resource allocation for scheme 2 for SL positioning can be accomplished by one or more different technical means such as: performing resource selection from at least one resource pool to determine a resource set from at least one resource pool for transmitting a reference signal in a physical side link shared channel (PSSCH); autonomously allocating a resource set for transmitting a reference signal within the PSSCH; generating a control information signal to signal the resource set for the reference signal, wherein the control information signal includes a source identifier field, a destination identifier field, and one or more fields for indicating automatic gain control, protection symbols, or a combination thereof; encoding the control information signal for transmission to a second UE; generating a reference signal for unicast, broadcast, or multicast transmission; encoding the reference signal for transmission via a resource set within the PSSCH; selecting periodic or non-periodic resources for SL PRS; determining a resource selection window (RSW) to limit the reservation of resources to a time window for ranging based on a round-trip time (RTT); etc.

[0059] Several embodiments include systems with multiple processor cores (e.g., central servers, access points and / or stations (STAs) (e.g., modems, routers, switches, servers, workstations, netbooks, mobile devices (laptops, smartphones, tablets, etc.), sensors, meters, controls, instruments, monitors, home or office appliances, Internet of Things (IoT) equipment (watches, glasses, headphones, cameras, etc.), etc.). Some embodiments may provide, for example, indoor and / or outdoor "smart" grid and sensor services. In various embodiments, these devices are related to specific applications (e.g., healthcare, home, commercial office and retail, security and industrial automation and monitoring applications, and vehicle applications (cars, self-driving vehicles, aircraft, drones, etc.), etc.).

[0060] The technology disclosed herein may involve transmitting data through one or more wireless connections using one or more wireless mobile broadband technologies. For example, various embodiments may involve transmitting through one or more wireless connections according to one or more Third Generation Partnership Projects (3GPP), 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE), 3GPP LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), 4G LTE and / or 5G New Air (NR) technologies and / or standards (including their revisions, successors and variants). Various embodiments may additionally or alternatively involve transmitting according to one or more Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) / Enhanced Data Rate for GSM Evolution (EDGE), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) / High Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA) and / or GSM and General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Systems (GSM / GPRS) technologies and / or standards (including their revisions, successors and variants).

[0061] Examples of wireless mobile broadband technologies and / or standards may also include, but are not limited to, any of the following: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.16 wireless broadband standards (e.g., IEEE 802.16m and / or 802.16p), International Mobile Telecommunications Advanced (IMT-ADV), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) and / or WiMAX II, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) 2000 (e.g., CDMA2000 1xRTT, CDMA2000 EV-DO, CDMA EV-DV, etc.), High Performance Wireless Metropolitan Area Network (HIPERMAN), Wireless Broadband (WiBro), High Speed ​​Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA), High Speed ​​Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) Packet Access (HSOPA), High Speed ​​Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA) technologies and / or standards (including their amendments, successors and variations).

[0062] Some embodiments may additionally perform wireless communications according to other wireless communication technologies and / or standards. Examples of other wireless communication technologies and / or standards that may be used in various embodiments may include, but are not limited to, other IEEE wireless communication standards (e.g., IEEE 802.11-2020, IEEE 802.11ax-2021, IEEE 802.11ay-2021, IEEE 802.11ba-2021, and / or other specifications and standards (e.g., specifications developed by the Wi-Fi Alliance (WFA) Neighbor Aware Networking (NAN) Task Group, Machine Type Communication (MTC) standards (e.g., 3GPP Technical Report (TR) 23.887, 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 22.368, 3GPP TS 23.682, 3GPP TS 36.133, 3GPP TS 36.306, 3GPP TS 36.321, 3GPP TS.331, 3GPP TS 38.133, 3GPP TS 38.306, 3GPP TS 38.321, 38.214 and / or the standards embodied in 3GPP TS 38.331)) and / or Near Field Communication (NFC) standards (e.g., standards developed by the NFC Forum) (including any amendments, successors and / or variations of any of the foregoing standards)). Embodiments are not limited to these examples.

[0063] Figure 1A An embodiment of a communication network 100 is shown. The communication network 100 is an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) network, which includes a master base station 101, a first user equipment UE-1, a second user equipment UE-2, a third user equipment UE-3 and a secondary base station 102. In a 3GPP system based on an orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) downlink, radio resources are divided into subframes in the time domain, and each subframe consists of two time slots. Each OFDMA symbol is further composed of several OFDMA subcarriers in the frequency domain (this depends on the system (or carrier) bandwidth). The basic unit of the resource grid is called a resource element (RE), and RE spans OFDMA subcarriers on one OFDMA symbol. A resource block (RB) includes a group of REs, wherein each RB may include, for example, 12 consecutive subcarriers in one time slot.

[0064] Several physical downlink channels and reference signals use a set of resource elements that carry information from higher layers of the code. For downlink channels, the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) is the main data-bearing downlink channel, while the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) can carry downlink control information (DCI). The control information may include scheduling decisions, information related to reference signal information, rules for forming corresponding transport blocks (TBs) to be carried by the PDSCH, and power control commands. The UE can use the cell-specific reference signal (CRS) for demodulation of control / data channels in non-precoded or codebook-based precoded transmission mode, radio link monitoring, and measurement of channel state information (CSI) feedback. The UE can use the UE-specific reference signal (DM-RS) for demodulation of control / data channels in non-codebook-based precoded transmission mode.

[0065] The communication network 100 may include a cell (e.g., a micro cell or a macro cell), and the base station 101 may provide wireless services to UEs within the cell. The base station 102 may provide wireless services to UEs within another cell adjacent to or overlapping the cell. In other embodiments, the communication network 100 may include a macro cell, and the base station 102 may operate a smaller cell (e.g., a micro cell or a pico cell) within the macro cell. Other examples of small cells may include, but are not limited to, a micro cell, a femto cell, or another type of smaller cell.

[0066] In various embodiments, base station 101 and base station 102 may communicate via a backhaul. In some embodiments, the backhaul may include a wired backhaul. In various other embodiments, the backhaul may include a wireless backhaul. In some embodiments, the backhaul may include an Xn interface or an F1 interface, which are interfaces defined between two RAN nodes or base stations (e.g., a backhaul between base station 101 and base station 102). If the architecture of communication network 100 is a central unit / distributed unit (CU / DU) architecture, the Xn interface is an interface for gNB, and the F1 interface is an interface for gNB-distributed unit (DU).

[0067] Base stations 101 and 102 may transmit protocol data units (PDUs) via backhaul. As an example, for the Xn interface, base station 101 may send or share control plane PDUs via the Xn-C interface, and may send or share data PDUs via the Xn-U interface. For the F1 interface, base station 101 may send or share control plane PDUs via the F1-C interface, and may send or share data PDUs via the F1-U interface. Note that the discussion herein about signal transmission, sharing, reception, or transmission via the Xn interface may refer to signal transmission, sharing, reception, or transmission via the Xn-C interface, the Xn-U interface, or a combination thereof. Similarly, the discussion herein about signal transmission, sharing, reception, or transmission via the F1 interface may refer to signal transmission, sharing, reception, or transmission via the F1-C interface, the F1-U interface, or a combination thereof.

[0068] In some embodiments, base stations 101 and 102 may include resource logic circuitry for establishing or defining one or more shared resource pools for sidelink control information (SCI) and / or one or more dedicated resource pools for SCI. In some embodiments, a UE (e.g., UE-1) may be preconfigured for a cellular network to define one or more shared resource pools for sidelink control information (SCI) and / or one or more dedicated resource pools for SCI. In addition, the UE may perform a listening-based selection and / or random selection of SL resources for positioning in one or more shared resource pools for sidelink control information (SCI) and / or one or more dedicated resource pools for SCI. In some embodiments, the resource logic circuitry of a base station or UE may be configured or preconfigured to exclusively use listening-based resource allocation in one or more of the dedicated and / or shared resource pools.

[0069] In many embodiments, the resource logic circuit of the UE can use resources from one or more shared resource pools for sidelink control information (SCI) and / or one or more dedicated resource pools for SCI based on partial listening and / or full listening to establish periodic and / or non-periodic SL resource allocations.

[0070] Figure 1B An embodiment 130 of an example of sidelink positioning with an anchor UE and a target UE is depicted. In this embodiment, a "target UE" corresponds to a UE to be positioned, and an "anchor UE" corresponds to a UE that supports positioning of the target UE, for example, by sending and / or receiving a SL PRS and providing positioning related information. Note that the SL PRS can be transmitted between the anchor UE and the target UE for sidelink positioning.

[0071] To illustrate, Figure 1A The UE-1 may include an anchor UE, and the anchor UE may support the target UE (eg, Figure 1A UE-2). UE-1 may perform sensing of SL resources to select SL resources for periodic or non-periodic SL positioning of UE-2. In some embodiments, UE-1 may schedule SL resources for SL PRS for transmission to UE-2 via SCI format 1-B in unicast mode within PSCCH. In these embodiments, UE-2 may schedule SL resources for responses with positioning information. In some embodiments, UE-1 may schedule SL resources for SL PRS and SL resources for responses with positioning information for transmission to UE-2 via SCI format 1-B in unicast mode within PSCCH. Thereafter, UE-1 may send periodic or non-periodic SL PRS to one or more target UEs within PSSCH or as an independent transmission, and in response thereto, may receive positioning information from UE-2 during the scheduled SL resources for response. In other embodiments, UE-1 may schedule SL PRS for transmission to UE-2 and one or more other target UEs via SCI format 1-B in groupcast mode or broadcast mode. In yet other embodiments, UE-1 may schedule transmission of a different sounding reference signal (eg, a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) or a channel state information (CSI) reference signal (CSI-RS)) instead of the SL PRS.

[0072] In some embodiments, resource logic circuits of one or more of the coordinating UEs (e.g., UEs) may communicate with each other to prevent resource allocation conflicts and collisions between downlink (DL) SL PRS transmissions from different UEs within a group of transmitting UEs (e.g., anchor UEs). In some embodiments, the group of transmitting UEs and the group of coordinating UEs are either the same, have no overlap, or have partial overlap. In some embodiments, alignment between the coordinating UEs may be achieved via message exchange using one or more of the following interfaces:

[0073] • PC5 broadcasts for resource allocations for participating devices (assuming other coordinating UEs also receive these messages).

[0074] PC5 resource pool user plane for general communications.

[0075] • A PC5 resource pool user plane dedicated to this coordination.

[0076] PC5 control plane.

[0077] Use the data plane of the network.

[0078] Use the network's control plane.

[0079] • These coordinate any other communication interfaces between UEs.

[0080] Figure 1C An embodiment 150 of two modes of SL resource allocation for positioning - Mode 1 and Mode 2 (also referred to as Scheme 1 and Scheme 2, respectively) - is depicted. The example depicts an access node (gNB) performing controlled resource allocation in Mode 1 (Scheme 1) to schedule SL resources for sidelink positioning with an anchor UE and a target UE. Mode 2 (Scheme 2) is also shown, in which the UE autonomously selects SL resources for allocation. Note that for Scheme 2, the anchor UE may use sensor-based selection of SL resources for scheduling SL PRS and positioning information. In some embodiments, the anchor UE may perform sensor-based resource selection based on full listening. In other embodiments, the anchor UE may perform sensor-based resource selection based on partial listening. In yet other embodiments, the UE may use random-based selection of SL resources for scheduling SL PRS and positioning information.

[0081] Figure 2 A base station 201 and a user equipment (UE) 211 (eg, Figure 1A , Figure 1B and Figure 1C 1 , a simplified block diagram 200 of a base station 101, a UE, and a communication network 100 is shown in FIG. 1 . For the base station 201, the antenna 221 transmits and receives radio signals. The RF circuit 208 (which is the physical layer of the base station 201) coupled to the antenna 221 receives RF signals from the antenna 231, converts the signals into digital baseband signals or uplink data, and sends them to the processor 203 (also referred to as a processing circuit or baseband processing circuit) of the baseband circuit 251 via the interface of the baseband circuit 251. The RF circuit 208 also receives digital baseband signals or downlink data from the processor 203 via the interface of the baseband circuit 251, converts them into RF signals, and sends the RF signals to the antenna 221.

[0082] The processor 203 decodes and processes the digital baseband signal or uplink data and calls different functional modules to perform features in the base station 201. The memory 202 stores program instructions or codes and data 209 to control the operation of the base station 201. The processor 203 can also execute codes (e.g., RRC layer codes) from the codes and data 209 to implement RRC layer functions.

[0083] A similar configuration exists in UE 211, where antenna 231 transmits and receives RF signals. RF circuit 218 coupled to the antenna receives RF signals from antenna 221, converts them into baseband signals or downlink data, and sends them to processor 213 of baseband circuit 261 via an interface of baseband circuit 261. RF circuit 218 also receives digital baseband signals or uplink data from processor 213, converts them into RF signals, and sends the RF signals to antenna 231.

[0084] RF circuit 218 shows multiple RF chains. Although RF circuit 218 shows five RF chains, each UE may have a different number of RF chains, and each RF chain in the diagram may represent multiple time domain receive (RX) chains and transmit (TX) chains. The RX chain and the TX chain include circuits that can operate or modify time domain signals sent through the time domain chain (e.g., circuits for inserting guard intervals in the TX chain and circuits for removing guard intervals in the RX chain). For example, RF circuit 218 may include transmitter circuits and receiver circuits, which are often referred to as transceiver circuits. The transmitter circuit may prepare digital data from processor 213 for transmission through antenna 231. In preparation for transmission, the transmitter may encode the data, modulate the encoded data, and form the modulated encoded data into orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) and / or orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) symbols. Thereafter, the transmitter may convert the symbols from the frequency domain to the time domain for input into the TX chain. The TX chains may include one chain per subcarrier of the bandwidth of the RF chain, and may operate on time domain signals in the TX chains to prepare them for transmission on the component subcarriers of the RF chains. For wide bandwidth communications, more than one RF chain may simultaneously process symbols representing data from the baseband processor.

[0085] The processor 213 decodes and processes the digital baseband signal or downlink data and calls different functional modules to execute features in the UE 211. The memory 212 stores program instructions or code and data 219 to control the operation of the UE 211. The processor 213 can also execute medium access control (MAC) layer code for the code and data 219 for the UE 211. For example, the MAC layer code can be executed on the processor 213 to send UL communications to the base station 201 via one or more of the RF chains of the physical layer (PHY). The PHY is the RF circuit 218 and associated logic (e.g., some or all functional modules).

[0086] Base station 201 and UE 211 may include several functional modules and circuits for performing some embodiments. Different functional modules may include circuits or circuit systems that can be configured and implemented by code, hardware, or any combination thereof. Each functional module may implement a function as a code and a processing circuit or a circuit configured to perform a function, and may also be referred to as a functional block. For example, processor 203 (e.g., via execution program code 209) is a circuit for configuring and implementing a functional module to allow base station 201 to schedule (via scheduler 204), encode or decode (via codec 205), modulate or demodulate (via modulator 206), and send data to UE 211 via RF circuit 208 and antenna 221 or receive data from UE 211.

[0087] The processor 213 (e.g., via program code in the execution code and data 219) can be a circuit for configuring and implementing functional modules to allow the UE 211 to receive or transmit, demodulate or modulate (via the modulator 216), and decode or encode data (via the codec 215) accordingly via the RF circuit 218 and the antenna 231.

[0088] Both UE 211 and base station 201 may include functional modules, resource logic circuits 240 and 235, respectively. In some embodiments, resource logic circuits 235 of base station 201 may include some code and data 209 in memory 202, and may cause processor 203 to perform actions to configure one or more shared resource pools and / or one or more dedicated resource pools for scheme 2SL resource allocation for UE (e.g., UE 211). For example, processor 203 may cause base station 201 to send a resource pool configuration including configurations for one or more shared resource pools and / or one or more dedicated resource pools to UE 211.

[0089] After sending the resource pool configuration to UE 211, the resource logic circuit 240 of UE 211 may enable the processor 213 to perform autonomous SL resource allocation based on the configuration of one or more shared resource pools and / or one or more dedicated resource pools for scheme 2 SL resource allocation. For example, UE 211 may perform autonomous scheme 2 SL resource allocation from one or more shared resource pools. For SL communication and positioning, in order to coexist in the same resource pool, the resource determination in the first-level physical side link control channel (PSCCH) and the resource reservation signaling may be the same for SL PRS transmission. In one embodiment, the first-level SCI for SL PRS transmission in the shared resource pool is used in the same manner as the transmission of the SL communication channel / signal, and one of the resource indication bits may be used to indicate the transmission of SL PRS together with the transmission of PSCCH / PSSCH. In another variation of this embodiment, it may be indicated that the DMRS associated with the PSSCH may be used for positioning-based measurements. In some embodiments, the first-level SCI may be used as a single-level SCI for SL PRS transmission.

[0090] In another embodiment, the resource logic circuit of UE 211 may deliver a new second-level SCI format (e.g., SCI format 2D) that includes only positioning related information or includes positioning related information together with information required to demodulate PSCCH and / or PSSCH. Positioning related information may include one or more of the following information fields:

[0091] ·SL PRS Presence field, used to indicate the presence of SL PRS.

[0092] ·The SL PRS identification field may include one or more of the following: the starting symbol for the SL PRS, the number of symbols used for the SL PRS, the comb index for the SL PRS, the starting physical resource block (PRB) for the SL PRS, the number of PRBs or the number of subchannels used for the SL PRS, the SL PRS resource index, the SL PRS resource set index, the SL PRS repetition index and / or the number of repetitions for SL PRS transmission.

[0093] - The PSCCH DMRS field may indicate the presence of DMRS for the PSCCH resources of the shared resource pool (if used for positioning).

[0094] - The PSSCH DMRS field may indicate the presence of DMRS for the PSSCH resources of the shared resource pool (if used for positioning).

[0095] DMRS symbol indication field, used to identify the symbol to be used for receiver (Rx) timing estimation.

[0096] Information field, used to identify which DMRS layer can be used for positioning.

[0097] • CSI-RS field, used to indicate the presence of CSI-RS (if used for positioning).

[0098] The transmission time information field is used to indicate the transmission time.

[0099] The previous reception time information field is used to indicate the previous reception time.

[0100] Round Trip Time (RTT) information field, used to indicate how to respond to the location information, for use in RTT-based ranging.

[0101] Source ID field, used to indicate the source ID of the transmitter of SCI format 2D.

[0102] • Destination ID field, used to indicate the destination ID of the intended recipient of SCI format 2D.

[0103] The Resource Reservation Period field is used to indicate the resource reservation period for the SL PRS.

[0104] · SL PRS Priority field, used to indicate the priority for SL PRS reservation.

[0105] The broadcast type field is used to indicate the broadcast type, which may include an indication from a higher layer (eg, RRC layer).

[0106] • One or more indication fields for indicating the presence of automatic gain control (AGC) and / or guard symbols between SL PRS resources within the SL PRS resource pool.

[0107] In another embodiment, the resource logic circuit of UE 211 may deliver the positioning related information via signaling (layer 2 signaling) based on medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) (MAC CE). The positioning related information may include one or more of the following information fields:

[0108] ·SL PRS Presence field, used to indicate the presence of SL PRS.

[0109] ·The SL PRS identification field may include one or more of the following: the starting symbol for the SL PRS, the number of symbols used for the SL PRS, the comb index for the SL PRS, the starting physical resource block (PRB) for the SL PRS, the number of PRBs or the number of subchannels used for the SL PRS, the SL PRS resource index, the SL PRS resource set index, the SL PRS repetition index and / or the number of repetitions for SL PRS transmission.

[0110] - The PSCCH DMRS field may indicate the presence of DMRS for the PSCCH resources of the shared resource pool (if used for positioning).

[0111] - The PSSCH DMRS field may indicate the presence of DMRS for the PSSCH resources of the shared resource pool (if used for positioning).

[0112] DMRS symbol indication field, used to identify the symbol to be used for receiver (Rx) timing estimation.

[0113] Information field, used to identify which DMRS layer can be used for positioning.

[0114] • CSI-RS field, used to indicate the presence of CSI-RS (if used for positioning).

[0115] The transmission time information field is used to indicate the transmission time.

[0116] The previous reception time information field is used to indicate the previous reception time.

[0117] The RTT information field is used to indicate how to respond to the location information for RTT-based ranging.

[0118] • A field used to indicate which future transmission will be used for the SL PRS.

[0119] A field used to periodically indicate whether the transmission for SL PRS is the sender.

[0120] • One or more indication fields for indicating the presence of automatic gain control (AGC) and / or guard symbols between SL PRS resources within the SL PRS resource pool.

[0121] In another embodiment, the resource logic circuit of UE 211 may transmit the positioning related information via RRC-based signaling. The positioning related information may include one or more of the following information fields:

[0122] ·SL PRS Presence field, used to indicate the presence of SL PRS.

[0123] ·The SL PRS identification field may include one or more of the following: the starting symbol for the SL PRS, the number of symbols used for the SL PRS, the comb index for the SL PRS, the starting physical resource block (PRB) for the SL PRS, the number of PRBs or the number of subchannels used for the SL PRS, the SL PRS resource index, the SL PRS resource set index, the SL PRS repetition index and / or the number of repetitions for SL PRS transmission.

[0124] - The PSCCH DMRS field may indicate the presence of DMRS for the PSCCH resources of the shared resource pool (if used for positioning).

[0125] - The PSSCH DMRS field may indicate the presence of DMRS for the PSSCH resources of the shared resource pool (if used for positioning).

[0126] DMRS symbol indication field, used to identify the symbol to be used for receiver (Rx) timing estimation.

[0127] Information field, used to identify which DMRS layer can be used for positioning.

[0128] • CSI-RS field, used to indicate the presence of CSI-RS (if used for positioning).

[0129] The transmission time information field is used to indicate the transmission time.

[0130] The previous reception time information field is used to indicate the previous reception time.

[0131] The RTT information field is used to indicate how to respond to the location information for RTT-based ranging.

[0132] • A field used to indicate which future transmission will be used for the SL PRS.

[0133] A field used to periodically indicate whether the transmission for SL PRS is the sender.

[0134] • One or more indication fields for indicating the presence of automatic gain control (AGC) and / or guard symbols between SL PRS resources within the SL PRS resource pool.

[0135] In many embodiments, the resource logic circuit of UE 211 can perform different measures to perform SL positioning. In some embodiments, single-sided RTT, dual-sided RTT, SL-AoA and SL-TDoA (in Rx) can be applied to the shared resource pool. SL-TDoA (in Rx) is a method such as UL-TDoA on the Uu interface, where a UE (e.g., UE 211) is transmitting and multiple (highly synchronized) other devices (e.g., Figure 1B The target UE and / or anchor UE in Rx receives the signal and performs positioning based on the arrival time difference. Note that from the perspective of SL resource allocation, these latter positioning techniques can be classified into two categories: single-shot transmission and transmission with response. In some embodiments, one-sided RTT, SL-AoA and SL-TDoA (in Rx) can all fall within a single-shot transmission. In some embodiments, two-sided RTT can include a subsequent transmission from the receiving node or base station 201 (for example, Figure 1A-Figure 1C Transmission of a response from the AN or base station shown.

[0136] For shared resource pool single-shot positioning transmission, the resource logic circuit of UE 211 can support both periodic and non-periodic transmission. For example, in one embodiment, the resource logic circuit of UE 211 can support SL resource allocation for periodic SL PRS transmission for single-shot positioning transmission. The resource logic circuit of UE 211 can use the same mechanism as communication transmission for resource allocation, and can perform SL resource allocation based on full listening, partial listening or random resource allocation. For mode 2 resource allocation for SL PRS transmission, different resource allocation parameters can be defined. For SL positioning transmission, all or a subset of the parameters that define resource allocation (e.g., resource selection window) can be defined. In some embodiments, only a subset of all periods defined for communication are applicable to SL PRS transmission.

[0137] In another embodiment, the resource logic circuit 240 of the UE 211 may support non-periodic transmissions including blind and / or HARQ for single-shot positioning transmissions. In some embodiments, the resource logic circuit 240 of the UE 211 may support SL resource allocation using the same mechanism as communication transmissions, and may support SL resource allocation based on full listening, partial listening, or random resource allocation for non-periodic transmissions. The resource logic circuit 240 of the UE 211 may define all or a subset of the parameters that define resource allocation (e.g., resource selection window) for SL positioning transmissions. In some embodiments, the resource logic circuit 240 of the UE 211 may be defined only as a subset of all periods defined for communication for SL positioning transmissions. In another embodiment, HARQ may, for example, indicate that the positioning measurement has not reached sufficient accuracy.

[0138] In another embodiment, the resource logic circuit 240 of UE 211 can process the resource from a sending UE (e.g., Figure 1A-Figure 1C The method may be used to combine multiple one-sided RTT measurements of a target UE or UE-2 in the transmission to achieve TDoA in combination with knowledge of the movement of the UE that occurred between these measurements. In other words, the UE can measure or track its movement. Such tracking of the UE position may be possible based on time synchronization or time difference information maintained by the transmitting UE. The resource logic circuit 240 of UE 211 may combine the time difference with the UE trajectory (or movement) to estimate the relative position from the transmitting UE. If the absolute position of one or more of the transmitting UEs is known, the resource logic circuit 240 of UE 211 may perform positioning with high accuracy.

[0139] In another embodiment, resource logic 240 of UE 211 may support SL resource allocation for dual-sided RTT for one or both of periodic and aperiodic transmissions. In many embodiments, SL resource allocation for both transmissions may be as close in time as possible. Figure 3 An embodiment of a graph 300 is depicted that illustrates positioning error due to movement between RTT transmission communications. Graph 300 illustrates that if the time between the two transmissions used for RTT-based ranging is too long, the ranging error introduced as the UE moves between the two transmissions may introduce significant additional error. Therefore, resource logic circuit 240 of UE 211 may provide a positioning error signal defined as t maxRTT The design parameters ensure a relatively small time gap between two transmissions.

[0140] Figure 4A The resource logic circuits of UE 1 are depicted (e.g., Figure 2 Embodiment 400 of periodic SL resource allocation for a resource logic circuit 240 of UE 211 shown in the figure) periodically sends positioning information related to an initial transmission for RTT. The resource logic circuits of other UEs can detect that UE 1 is periodically sending positioning information for RTT. The resource logic circuits of other UEs can then respond to the upcoming periodic transmission opportunity by autonomously allocating SL resources from one of one or more shared resource pools for responses with their own RTT response messages through random selection. Taking into account the maximum distance of two RTT transmissions, the resource logic circuits of such responding UEs can perform relevant random selection of SL resources for the response from one or more shared resource pools. Based on the knowledge of the SL resources for the periodic RTT transmission of positioning information, the resource logic circuit of the responding UE can establish a resource (re)selection trigger and a remaining time budget for the response, so that the resulting resource selection window (RSW) is limited to the maximum time distance between the periodic RTT transmission and the transmission of the response.

[0141] In embodiment 400, considering that the transmission occurs in a shared resource allocation pool (s-pool) for RTT, the resource logic circuit of the UE can send all necessary information in the PSSCH along with the periodic transmission. Figure 4B The signal flow (including necessary timestamps) is shown in .

[0142] Figure 4B A roadside unit (RSU) and a UE (eg, Figures 1A-1C and Figure 2 Note that the RSU may be an anchor UE (e.g., Figures 1A-1C and Figure 2 At time t1, the RSU may send a periodic transmission with location information, which arrives at the UE at time t2. Note that since SL is based on absolute synchronization, the transmitting UE's understanding of the time of the start of the transmission containing the reference symbols used for positioning is known at the receiving UE. This assumes that the transmitting UE is aware of all delays introduced in the signal path before transmitting the resulting EM wave at the antenna, and compensates for these delays appropriately.

[0143] After hearing the periodic RTT transmission, the resource logic circuit of the UE may allocate SL resources from the shared resource pool to respond to the periodic transmission with a response transmission including positioning information. The response from the UE may arrive at the RSU at time t4. After the RSU receives the response from the UE at time t4, the resource logic circuit of the RSU may send any additional information toward the UE to facilitate ranging or positioning. The additional information may include one or more fields with the following information:

[0144] ·Time difference t_4-t_1.

[0145] Timestamp t_4.

[0146] The accuracy of the time difference or timestamp.

[0147] The location of the RSU.

[0148] • The accuracy or confidence level of the RSU's location.

[0149] Additional positioning information, which can be used by other UEs in the vicinity to facilitate positioning.

[0150] Figure 4CAnother embodiment 420 of SL resource allocation in a shared resource pool (s-pool) for non-periodic transmissions for RTT-based ranging / positioning is shown. The resource logic circuitry of UE 2 can be configured to respond to an initial transmission for RTT-based ranging / positioning either in an ad hoc manner after receiving information for selecting shared pool resources from UE 1 using an SL RSW, or after the resource allocation circuitry of UE 1 has allocated SL resources to send an SCI to UE 2 to notify UE 2 that the next transmission originating from UE 1 has a target resource allocation for initiating an RTT exchange. Note that in this case, it may be desirable to prioritize the earliest available resources for the reply transmission. In some embodiments, the resource logic circuitry of UE 2 may define a priority for acquiring resources from the shared resource pool within the RSW.

[0151] Figure 4D Another embodiment 430 of SL resource allocation in a shared resource pool (s-pool) for non-periodic transmission for RTT-based ranging / positioning is shown. For embodiment 430, the resource logic circuit of UE 1 and the resource logic circuit of UE 2 can negotiate and agree on the time or resource location or RSW for RTT-based transmission via higher layers (e.g., RRC). These parameters can be adjusted to ensure that the maximum time difference between the two transmissions is no longer than t maxRTT .

[0152] Figure 4E Another embodiment 440 of SL resource allocation in a shared resource pool (s-pool) for non-periodic transmissions for RTT-based ranging / positioning is shown. For embodiment 440, the resource logic circuit of UE 1 and the resource logic circuit of UE 2 can negotiate and agree on the roles of the initiating UE and the responding UE via high-level signaling (e.g., RRC). The initiating UE 1 can send an initial transmission that is allocated as a transmission with two transmission times. In this case, the resource logic circuit of the responding UE 2 can know in advance when the second transmission may occur, and can adjust its own resource allocation to have an RSW immediately after the transmission. In addition, in this case, it may be beneficial if there is a bias for resources with earlier time in the resource determination.

[0153] Figure 4FAnother embodiment 450 of SL resource allocation in a shared resource pool (s-pool) for non-periodic transmissions for RTT-based ranging / positioning is shown. For embodiment 450, the resource logic circuit of UE 1 and the resource logic circuit of UE 2 can negotiate and agree on the roles of the initiating UE and the responding UE via high-level signaling (e.g., RRC). Subsequently, the initiating UE 1 can send using multiple transmissions, where the SCI used for the first transmission is also used to reserve resources for the second transmission. The responding UE 2 can be informed when the second transmission may occur and trigger resource (re)selection at the appropriate time so that the RSW starts immediately after the initial transmission of UE 1.

[0154] Figure 4G Another embodiment 460 of SL resource allocation in a shared resource pool (s-pool) for non-periodic transmission for RTT-based ranging / positioning is shown. For embodiment 460, the resource logic circuit of UE 1 and the resource logic circuit of UE 2 can negotiate and agree on the location of the RSW via high-level signaling (e.g., RRC). In some embodiments, the resource logic circuit of the UE can also determine the use of time slots for transmission between the two UEs, for example, UE 1 can use only odd time slots for transmission, while UE 2 can use only even time slots for transmission, and vice versa. This can be achieved either during the resource (re)selection process or in the MAC layer resource determination. In such embodiments, it is also advantageous if the two UEs have the same preference for early or late in the RSW or any other well-defined resource.

[0155] Figure 4H An embodiment 470 of a message sequence for SL resource allocation in a shared resource pool (s-pool) for non-periodic transmission for RTT-based ranging / positioning is shown. For embodiment 470, the resource logic circuit of UE 1 and the resource logic circuit of UE 2 may negotiate and agree on the location of the RSW via high-level signaling (e.g., RRC). Note that in this embodiment and some of the above embodiments and examples, it is assumed that a unicast connection has been established. After the unicast connection is established, the resource logic circuits of UE 1 and UE 2 may exchange RRC-based messages. The RRC messages may organize the RTT-based exchanges and may include one or more fields with one or more of the following information:

[0156] • The time positions of the RSWs for these two UEs.

[0157] Identify the initiating UE and the responding UE.

[0158] Mode for aperiodic RTT message / information exchange.

[0159] RSW for initial transmission.

[0160] • Which UE can use the even numbered time slots and which UE can use the odd numbered time slots.

[0161] ·The length of the RSW in a slot.

[0162] After defining an aperiodic resource allocation (RA) pattern for an RTT exchange, the resource logic circuitry of the UE may initiate the resource allocation pattern based on the exchanged information. To facilitate ranging and potential positioning following the exchange, the resource logic circuitry of UE 1 may send all necessary positioning information to the resource logic circuitry of UE 2, and vice versa. For example, UE 1 may send an RRC message for an aperiodic positioning resource allocation, and UE 2 may respond with an acknowledgment (ACK) for the aperiodic positioning resource allocation. If necessary, UE 1 may send an initial transmission to UE 2, and may then send a transmission with positioning information at time t1, which is received by UE 2 at time t2. UE 2 may send a response to the transmission with positioning information at time t3, which arrives at UE 1 at time t4. Thereafter, UE 1 may send the rest of the UE 1 information to facilitate ranging, and upon receipt, UE 2 may respond with additional UE 2 information to facilitate ranging.

[0163] Fig. 4I An embodiment 480 of multiplexing of PSCCH / PSSCH and SL PRS in a shared resource pool is shown. Note that SL PRS only exists in OFDM symbols without PSSCH DMRS. For a shared resource pool, the resource logic circuitry of the UE cannot map SL PRS and PSSCH DMRS in the same OFDM symbol. If the SL PRS collides with a PT-RS in the same symbol, the same design principle may apply. Specifically, the resource logic circuitry of the UE cannot map SL PRS and PT-RS in the same OFDM symbol for a shared resource pool.

[0164] Refer again Figure 2 , the resource logic circuit 240 of the UE 211 can support scheme 2SL resource allocation from a dedicated resource pool (d-pool). In some embodiments, scheme 2 resource allocation for a dedicated positioning resource pool can be based on long-term and / or short-term listening of available resources. This can include reservation, blind retransmission and listening of periodic and aperiodic transmissions.

[0165] In another embodiment, the resource logic circuit 240 of the UE 211 may share the reservation information for periodic and / or aperiodic transmission of positioning resources in the dedicated resource pool with other UEs via one or more of the following:

[0166] SCI in a dedicated resource pool

[0167] SCI in a shared resource pool

[0168] MAC CE in a dedicated resource pool

[0169] MAC CE in shared resource pool

[0170] RRC signaling in dedicated resource pools

[0171] RRC signaling in shared resource pools

[0172] PC5 user plane signaling

[0173] Uu control or user plane signaling

[0174] In the above, the SCI may correspond to only level 1 SCI or both level 1 and level 2 SCI. Further, the resource logic circuit 240 of the UE 211 may transmit the shared information via broadcast, multicast or unicast.

[0175] In another embodiment, the resource logic circuit 240 of the UE 211 may use all or a subset of the following information for listening for scheme 2 resource allocation in the dedicated positioning resource pool:

[0176] • A periodic reservation signaled via

[0177] oSCI in a dedicated resource pool

[0178] oSCI in a shared resource pool

[0179] oMAC CE in dedicated resource pool

[0180] oMAC CE in a shared resource pool

[0181] oRRC signaling in dedicated resource pool

[0182] oRRC signaling in shared resource pool

[0183] o PC5 user plane signaling

[0184] o Uu control or user plane signalling

[0185] Aperiodic reservations (potentially multiple) signaled via

[0186] oSCI in a dedicated resource pool

[0187] oSCI in a shared resource pool

[0188] oMAC CE in dedicated resource pool

[0189] oMAC CE in a shared resource pool

[0190] oRRC signaling in dedicated resource pool

[0191] oRRC signaling in shared resource pool

[0192] o PC5 user plane signaling

[0193] o Uu control or user plane signalling

[0194] In the above, the SCI may correspond to only level 1 SCI or both level 1 and level 2 SCI.

[0195] In another embodiment, the resource logic circuit 240 of the UE 211 may perform a resource selection process for the dedicated resource pool based on the listening information to construct a candidate resource set, wherein the potential SL PRS resources in the dedicated resource pool are within the determined resource selection window. Thereafter, the resource logic circuit 240 of the UE 211 may exclude resources, for example, in an iterative process. The iterative process for exclusion may end after achieving a certain amount of resources. The resource selection window (RSW) may be defined by a (pre)configured value in combination with a latency constraint (if applicable).

[0196] The resource exclusion process can be based on one or more of the following:

[0197] Exclude reserved positioning resources

[0198] Excluding reserved positioning resources based on the reference signal received power (RSRP) of the relevant transmission

[0199] o RSRP of the associated PSCCH DMRS

[0200] o RSRP of the associated PSSCH DMRS (if resource reservation is carried via PSSCH).

[0201] The maximum number of resources that the UE can select from the resource pool may be (pre-)configured based on one or more of the following parameters:

[0202] The absolute number of (pre)configured resources

[0203] Application-specific resource quantity

[0204] · Percentage of available resource quantity rounded up

[0205] ·Round down the percentage of the available resource quantity

[0206] In another embodiment, if a conflicting reservation is detected, the resource logic circuit 240 of the UE 211 may reselect the previously reserved resources. In this case, the priority for reserving the reservation conflicting resource allocation may be resolved based on one or more of the following:

[0207] High physical layer source (SRC) ID

[0208] Low physical layer SRC ID

[0209] High physical layer destination (DST) ID

[0210] Low physical layer DST ID

[0211] Earlier transmission of resource reservation

[0212] Late transmission of resource reservation

[0213] Periodic reserved resources take precedence over non-periodic reserved resources

[0214] Non-periodic reserved resources take precedence over periodic reserved resources

[0215] In another embodiment, the resource logic circuit 240 of UE 211 may provide resource allocation information for SL PRS transmission from the second UE and / or for SL PRS reception at a third UE. In some embodiments, the first UE may provide the information to coordinate transmissions from multiple other UEs, wherein the information may include one or more of: an indication of resource reservation, resource occupancy information, prioritization of specific resources, or pre-emption of the use of specific resources. The resource logic circuit 240 of UE 211 may signal the SL PRS resource allocation for transmission and / or reception and / or the configuration for resource coordination via one or more of unicast, broadcast, or multicast transmissions using one or more of the following:

[0216] SCI in a dedicated resource pool

[0217] SCI in a shared resource pool

[0218] MAC CE in a dedicated resource pool

[0219] MAC CE in shared resource pool

[0220] RRC signaling in dedicated resource pools

[0221] RRC signaling in shared resource pools

[0222] Power Control (PC) - PC5 User Plane Signaling

[0223] Control signaling via the network

[0224] User plane signaling via the network

[0225] In one embodiment, the resource logic circuit 240 of UE 211 can coordinate resource allocation for SL PRS transmission from multiple UEs with one or more other UEs within its communication range to prevent resource allocation conflicts and collisions between DL PRSs from different UEs. In some embodiments, the group of potential transmitting UEs can be the same as the group of coordinating UEs, or have no overlap or partial overlap. The resource logic circuit 240 of UE 211 can use one or more of the following interfaces to achieve alignment between coordinating UEs via message exchange:

[0226] PC5 broadcasts for resource allocations for participating devices (assuming other coordinating UEs also receive these messages)

[0227] PC5 resource pool user plane for general communications

[0228] PC5 resource pool user plane dedicated to this coordination

[0229] PC5 control plane

[0230] Using the data plane of the network

[0231] Use the network's control plane

[0232] Any other communication interface between these coordinating UEs

[0233] In another embodiment, the content of the single-stage or two-stage SCI may include any combination of the following fields carried by the PSCCH or PSSCH in the resource pool.

[0234] SL PRS transmission priority

[0235] SL PRS resource index or SL PRS resource set index,

[0236] SL PRS time and frequency resources potentially for multiple past and future resources

[0237] o In the case of past resources, there may also be a resource index or time offset marker

[0238] SL PRS comb offset ID

[0239] Resource reservation period

[0240] Reserved bits

[0241] Sequence ID for SL PRS

[0242] Broadcast type indicator

[0243] MCS (or code rate for the second level SCI)

[0244] beta shift

[0245] Source ID

[0246] Destination ID

[0247] Second level SCI format (for dedicated SL PRS pool)

[0248] DMRS port and mode configuration

[0249] Repeat index of SL PRS transmission;

[0250] • Number of SL PRS repetitions.

[0251] • Indication of the presence of AGC and / or guard symbols between SL PRS resources within a SL PRS resource pool.

[0252] In another embodiment, the resource logic circuit 240 of the UE 211 may define a (pre)configured number of priority levels for the SL PRS and may associate the SL PRS with a priority level. The resource logic circuit 240 of the UE 211 may define several priority levels in a resource pool manner or for all dedicated resource pools for the SL PRS associated with the SL BWP. In some embodiments, the resource logic circuit 240 of the UE 211 may define an integer number of priority values. In some embodiments, the resource logic circuit 240 of the UE 211 may indicate the number of priority levels using 1, 2 or 3 bits, respectively, resulting in 2, 4 or 8 different priority values. In some embodiments, the resource logic circuit 240 of the UE 211 may not configure the priority and the relevant information field is omitted.

[0253] Figure 5AAn embodiment 500 of an example of different frequency allocation options for SL PRS frequency resources for a dedicated resource pool is shown. The resource logic circuit 240 of the UE 211 may define the frequency resources of the SL PRS in terms of their bandwidth. This means either in terms of subchannels or parts of the frequency band of a predefined size of the PRB. Note that it is also possible that the resource logic circuit 240 of the UE 211 may define only the full bandwidth allocation of the SL PRS in the dedicated SL PRS resource pool. In some embodiments, the resource logic circuit 240 of the UE 211 may be preconfigured to define, for one or more dedicated resource pools, whether the SL PRS allocation may be allocated a maximum bandwidth that is less than the bandwidth of the resource pool, and if so, to define the granularity of the allocation, or to define whether the SL PRS allocation from the resource pool is restricted to have the same bandwidth as the resource pool. Note that for subchannels, it is possible that the remainder of the PRB is added to the last subchannel, distributed to all subchannels, or not used as in the SL communication case. For the "pool fraction" case, the remainder of the PRB may also be added to the last fraction of the pool, distributed among all fraction parts, or not used. In the full pool case, all SL PRS frequency resources are allocated towards SL PRS and segment allocation is not possible.

[0254] In another embodiment, the number of time resources available for different SL PRS transmissions per time slot may define the granularity of the time domain resource allocation, and the resource logic 240 of the UE 211 may be (pre)configured per resource pool to enable correct sensing and multiplexing of these resources. The term logical SL PRS resource is used to define an index to the available SL PRS resources. If there is only one SL PRS per logical time slot in a dedicated SL PRS pool, it is the same as the logical time slot. If there are multiple SL PRS resources per time slot, the resource logic 240 of the UE 211 may increment the index for the logical SL PRS resource accordingly.

[0255] In another embodiment, the resource logic 240 of the UE 211 may be (pre-)configured per SL PRS resource pool with the number of resources in different slots or mini-slots that may be signaled simultaneously.

[0256] In another embodiment, the resource logic circuit 240 of the UE 211 may signal together in a single value the time and frequency resources for the SL PRS mapped to multiple time slots. The value may signal a combination of one or more of: the number of frequency resources in different time slots, the number of time resources, the index of the frequency resources, and the number of total resources. Note that in some embodiments, the resource logic circuit 240 of the UE 211 may force the frequency location of all frequency resources in different time slots to be the same. In such an embodiment, the resource logic circuit 240 of the UE 211 may not need to signal that the same frequency location of all frequency resources in different time slots is the same.

[0257] In another embodiment, the resource logic circuit 240 of the UE 211 may separately signal the time and frequency resources for the SL PRS mapped to multiple time slots. The time position may include one or both of the following: the number of time resources signaled in the current SCI and their position within the time window. In some embodiments, the resource logic circuit 240 of the UE 211 may define the time window by the number of logical time slots starting from the time slot in which the SCI is sent. The frequency resources may indicate one or both of the following: the number of allocated frequency resources and their starting position. The starting position in the current time slot may also be implicitly determined from the position of the PSCCH in the dedicated SL PRS resource pool time slot. Note that it is also possible to force the same frequency position of all frequency resources in different time slots to be the same, so it may not be necessary to signal it.

[0258] Figure 5B An embodiment 510 of time allocation within a window W for a dedicated resource pool is shown. The resource logic circuit 240 of the UE 211 can signal the time resources and the number of resources in different logical SL PRS resources within the window W of logical SL PRS resources with the following index values: i.e., a combined index r corresponding to N logical SL PRS indices from the window W, where And by the formula Given, where is the expanded binomial coefficient, resulting in a unique label Value i represents an offset in terms of the logical SL PRS resource index, where the SL PRS resources are indexed in ascending order of the first symbol within the time window W and indicate a time offset for the SL PRS resources relative to a previous allocation.

[0259] In another embodiment, the resource logic circuit 240 of the UE 211 may separately signal the frequency resources used for each SLPRS. The indication may include the number of frequency resources and their locations for different special cases. For explanation, the resource logic circuit 240 of the UE 211 may define the following parameters:

[0260] The number of available subchannels in a time slot: N FR

[0261] The number of resources beyond the first signaled: n

[0262] The number of allocated frequency resources: m

[0263] Time slots k0,…,k n-1 List of frequency resource start indices in

[0264] Assuming a priori knowledge of these parameters, and under the assumption that m remains the same for each allocation, a general index d for defining the frequency resource indicator can be defined as:

[0265]

[0266] For the case where the index of the first resource can be inferred from the location of the control channel, and under the assumption that m remains the same for each allocation, the index can be defined as

[0267]

[0268] For the case where the index of each frequency resource remains the same, and under the assumption that m remains the same for each allocation, d = N FR (m-1)+k0.

[0269] For the case where the index of each frequency resource remains the same, the index of the first frequency resource can be inferred from the position of the control channel, and under the assumption that m remains the same for each allocation, d=(m-1).

[0270] Figure 5C An embodiment 520 of multiplexing of PSCCH and SL PRS in a dedicated resource pool is shown. When multiplexing in a dedicated resource pool, the resource logic circuit 240 of the UE 211 can only signal a single-stage SCI for the dedicated resource pool for SL positioning. The PSCCH and the associated SL PRS are time-division multiplexed in the same time slot. As shown in embodiment 520, since the transmission bandwidths of the PSCCH and SL PRS are usually different, it may be necessary to insert AGC symbols between the PSCCH and the SL PRS to ensure correct operation at the receiver side.

[0271] Figure 5D An embodiment 530 of a one-to-one mapping between PSCCH subchannels and SL PRS resources in a dedicated resource pool is shown. SL PRS resources refer to time-frequency resources within a time slot of a dedicated SL PRS resource pool for SL PRS transmission, which are identified by a SLPRS resource ID, which is unique within a time slot of the dedicated SL PRS resource pool. In addition, in the dedicated resource pool, one subchannel consisting of consecutive PRBs can be configured for PSCCH transmission. This allows the PSCCH design to be reused for SL communication, thereby minimizing implementation and specification efforts.

[0272] As defined for SL communications, the lowest subchannel used for sidelink transmission is the subchannel that transmits the lowest PRB of the associated PSCCH. To facilitate SL PRS resource allocation in a dedicated resource pool, it may be more appropriate to support a mapping between subchannel indices used for PSCCH transmissions and associated SL PRS resource indices, which can help reduce signaling overhead. In this case, explicit indication of SL PRS resources in a dedicated resource pool is not required in a single-level SCI.

[0273] Figure 6 Describes a method for a UE to allocate SL resources for sidelink communication (e.g., in conjunction with Figures 1A-1C , Figure 2-3 , Figures 4A-4I and Figures 5A-5D 6000 of an embodiment described in the present invention. At the beginning of flowchart 6000, the first UE performs resource selection from a resource pool to determine a set of resources from the resource pool for transmitting a reference signal in a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) (element 6005). For example, the first UE can be an anchor UE or a transmitting UE, and performs resource allocation to obtain positioning and (optionally) ranging information from a target UE. The first UE can be configured (possibly, pre-configured) with one or more shared resource pools and / or one or more dedicated resource pools for scheme 2SL positioning. In preparation for performing resource allocation, the first UE may have monitored one or more frames or subframes of a frame to locate a set of resources for allocation. In some embodiments, the first UE may perform resource selection based on full listening. In other embodiments, the first UE may perform resource allocation based on partial listening. In yet other embodiments, the first UE may perform random-based resource allocation.

[0274] After selecting the resource set, the first UE may autonomously allocate the resource set for transmitting the reference signal within the PSSCH (element 6010). In some embodiments, the first UE may reserve the resource set for a group of one or more coordinated UEs. In some embodiments, the first UE may include a priority for the reservation request to reserve the selected resource set. In some embodiments, the first UE may include priority-related information with the priority request. For example, the priority for the reservation may be based on a configured (possibly preconfigured) priority level for transmitting the reference signal (e.g., SL PRS). In some embodiments, the priority level is based on the configuration of one or more resource pools in which the resource set resides. As an example, a dedicated resource pool may have a different priority than a shared resource pool, a first shared resource pool may have a different priority than a second shared resource pool, and / or a first dedicated resource pool may have a different priority than a second dedicated resource pool. As another example, the priority may be related to the reservation type, in that an aperiodic reservation may have a different priority than a periodic reservation. Note that any one or all of these characteristics may affect the priority level, i.e., the periodicity of the reservation, the one or more specific pools associated with the reservation, the signaling associated with the reservation, or even the subframe in which the resource set resides.

[0275] After allocating the resource set, the first UE may generate a control information signal to signal the resource set for the reference signal, the control information signal comprising a source identifier field, a destination identifier field, and one or more fields for indicating automatic gain control, protection symbols, or a combination thereof (element 6015). In some embodiments, the control information signal may include an SL PRS. In other embodiments, the control information signal may include a DMRS. In yet other embodiments, the control information signal may include a CSI-RS. In many of these embodiments, the control information signal may include layer 1 signaling. In some of these embodiments, the layer 1 signaling may include information from a higher layer (e.g., an RRC layer).

[0276] Once the first UE generates the control information signal, the first UE may encode the control information signal for transmission (element 6020).

[0277] Figure 7 Described is a side link (SL) positioning method for a UE (e.g., in conjunction with Figures 1A-1C , Figure 2-3 , Figures 4A-4I , Figures 5A-5D and Figure 67000 of the present invention (described in detail in detail in the embodiments described herein). More specifically, flowchart 7000 may illustrate that a UE receives SL positioning and responds thereto. At the beginning of flowchart 7000, the UE may decode a control information signal to determine a resource set for a reference signal, the control information signal comprising a source identifier field, a destination identifier field, and one or more fields for indicating automatic gain control, protection symbols, or a combination thereof (element 7005). In some embodiments, the UE may receive a control information signal indicating a subsequent reference signal for SL positioning. In some embodiments, the UE may receive a reference signal for SL positioning and ranging, but may not be able to respond in sufficient time to perform positioning and ranging.

[0278] After receiving and decoding the control information signal or before receiving the control information signal, the UE may reserve resources from a shared resource pool or a dedicated resource pool for responding to the reference signal. After receiving the reference signal, the UE may decode the reference signal in a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) based on values ​​in one or more fields in the control information signal (element 7010) and generate a response to the reference signal having measurements, calculations, and / or other location-related information related to notifying the sending UE of positioning information for the UE.

[0279] After or during the generation of the response, the UE may begin encoding the response to the received reference signal with the positioning information (element 7015). In some embodiments, the sending UE may be performing positioning and ranging with RTT. To perform ranging, the sending UE may respond to the positioning information with additional positioning information for ranging.

[0280] In order to perform ranging calculations, the UE may need to respond to the reference signal within a short period of time after receiving the reference signal so that the UE can perform resource reservation under time constraints or restrictions. The time limit or restriction may limit the selection and reservation of resources from the resource pool to only select or reserve resources that are within the time limit or restriction of the resources used to send the reference signal. Otherwise, the selection or reservation may not occur close enough to the transmission of the reference signal so that ranging cannot be performed within a predetermined error margin or a predetermined accuracy level. In other embodiments, the time limit or restriction may be based on a degree of accuracy. In yet other embodiments, the time limit or restriction may be based on a degree of accuracy and a degree of accuracy.

[0281] In some embodiments, the higher layer (e.g., RRC layer) of the sending UE and the UE may negotiate communications and / or resources for coordinating the reservation of the sending UE and the reservation of the UE so that the UE can reserve RSWs within the time limit or time constraint. Such negotiation may facilitate positioning and ranging communications.

[0282] Figure 8 An embodiment of a protocol entity 8000 that can be implemented in a wireless communication device according to some aspects is depicted, and the wireless communication device includes one or more of a user equipment (UE) 8060, a base station (which can be referred to as an evolved Node B (eNB) or a new air interface, a next generation Node B (gNB) 8080), or a network function (which can be referred to as a mobility management entity (MME) or an access and mobility management function (AMF) 8094).

[0283] In some aspects, the gNB 8080 can be implemented as one or more of dedicated physical devices (e.g., a macro cell, a femto cell, or other suitable devices), or in alternative aspects, the gNB 8080 can be implemented as one or more software entities running on a server computer as part of a virtual network (referred to as a cloud radio access network (CRAN)).

[0284] According to some aspects, one or more protocol entities that may be implemented in one or more of the UE 8060, the gNB 8080, and the AMF 8094 may be described as implementing all or part of a protocol stack, in which the layers are considered to be ordered from lowest to highest in the order of physical layer (PHY), medium access control (MAC), radio link control (RLC), packet data convergence protocol (PDCP), radio resource control (RRC), and non-access layer (NAS). According to some aspects, one or more protocol entities that may be implemented in one or more of the UE 8060, the gNB 8080, and the AMF 8094 may communicate with corresponding peer protocol entities that may be implemented on another device, and they perform such communication using the services of the corresponding lower layer protocol entities.

[0285] According to some aspects, the UE PHY layer 8072 and the peer entity gNB PHY layer 8090 may communicate using signals sent and received via a wireless medium. According to some aspects, the UE MAC layer 8070 and the peer entity gNB MAC layer 8088 may communicate using services provided by the UE PHY layer 8072 and the gNB PHY layer 8090, respectively. According to some aspects, the UE RLC layer 8068 and the peer entity gNB RLC layer 8086 may communicate using services provided by the UE MAC layer 8070 and the gNB MAC layer 8088, respectively. According to some aspects, the UE PDCP layer 8066 and the peer entity gNB PDCP layer 8084 may communicate using services provided by the UE RLC layer 8068 and the gNB RLC layer 8086, respectively. According to some aspects, the UE RRC layer 8064 and the gNB RRC layer 8082 may communicate using services provided by the UE PDCP layer 8066 and the gNB PDCP layer 8084, respectively. In accordance with some aspects, the UE NAS 8062 and the AMF NAS 8092 may communicate using services provided by the UE RRC layer 8064 and the gNB RRC layer 8082, respectively.

[0286] The PHY layers 8072 and 8090 may send or receive information used by the MAC layers 8070 and 8088 over one or more air interfaces. The PHY layers 8072 and 8090 may also perform link adaptation or adaptive modulation and coding (AMC), power control, cell search (e.g., for initial synchronization and handover purposes), and other measurements used by higher layers (e.g., RRC layers 8064 and 8082). The PHY layers 8072 and 8090 may further perform error detection on transport channels, forward error correction (FEC) encoding / decoding of transport channels, modulation / demodulation of physical channels, interleaving, rate matching, mapping to physical channels, and multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna processing.

[0287] The MAC layers 8070 and 8088 can perform mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplex MAC service data units (SDUs) from one or more logical channels into transport blocks (TBs) to be transmitted to PHY via transport channels, demultiplex MAC SDUs from transport blocks (TBs) transmitted from PHY via transport channels to one or more logical channels, multiplex MAC SDUs into TBs, reporting of scheduling information, error correction through hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ), and logical channel priority sorting.

[0288] The RLC layers 8068 and 8086 can operate in multiple operating modes, including: transparent mode (TM), unacknowledged mode (UM), and acknowledged mode (AM). The RLC layers 8068 and 8086 can perform transmission of upper layer protocol data units (PDUs), error correction through automatic repeat request (ARQ) (for AM data transmission), and concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC SDUs (for UM and AM data transmission). The RLC layers 8068 and 8086 can also perform re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs (for AM data transmission), reordering of RLC data PDUs (for UM and AM data transmission), detection of duplicate data (for UM and AM data transmission), discarding RLC SDUs (for UM and AM data transmission), detecting protocol errors (for AM data transmission), and performing RLC re-establishment.

[0289] The PDCP layers 8066 and 8084 can perform header compression and decompression of Internet Protocol (IP) data, maintain PDCP sequence numbers (SN), perform in-sequence delivery of upper layer PDUs when re-establishing the lower layer, eliminate duplication of lower layer SDUs for radio bearers mapped on RLC AM when re-establishing the lower layer, encrypt and decrypt control plane data, perform integrity protection and integrity verification of control plane data, control timer-based data discard, and perform security operations (e.g., encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification, etc.).

[0290] The main services and functions of the RRC layers 8064 and 8082 may include broadcasting of system information (e.g., included in a master information block (MIB) or a system information block (SIB) related to a non-access stratum (NAS)), broadcasting of system information related to an access stratum (AS), paging, establishment, maintenance, and release of an RRC connection between a UE and an E-UTRAN (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connection modification, and RRC connection release), establishment, configuration, maintenance, and release of point-to-point radio bearers, security functions including key management, inter-radio access technology (RAT) mobility, and measurement configuration for UE measurement reporting. The MIB and SIB may include one or more information elements (IEs), each of which may include a separate data field or data structure.

[0291] UE 8060 and RAN node, gNB 8080 can exchange control plane data via a protocol stack using a Uu interface (e.g., LTE-Uu interface), which protocol stack includes PHY layers 8072 and 8090, MAC layers 8070 and 8088, RLC layers 8068 and 8086, PDCP layers 8066 and 8084, and RRC layers 8064 and 8082.

[0292] The non-access stratum (NAS) protocol 8092 constitutes the highest layer of the control plane between the UE 8060 and the AMF 8005. The NAS protocol 8092 supports the mobility and session management procedures of the UE 8060 to establish and maintain an IP connection between the UE 8060 and the packet data network (PDN) gateway (P-GW).

[0293] Fig. 9 An embodiment of a format of a PHY data unit (PDU) according to some aspects is shown, which can be sent by a PHY device via one or more antennas and by a MAC entity (e.g., Figure 2 The processors 203 and 213 in Figure 13-14 In some embodiments, a higher layer frame (e.g., a frame including an RRC layer information element) may be transmitted from a base station to a UE as one or more MAC service data units (MSDUs) in a payload of one or more PDUs in one or more subframes of a radio frame, or vice versa.

[0294] According to some aspects, the MAC PDU 9100 may be composed of a MAC header 9105 and a MAC payload 9110, the MAC payload being composed of zero or more MAC control elements 9130, zero or more MAC service data unit (SDU) parts 9135, and zero or one padding part 9140. According to some aspects, the MAC header 8105 may be composed of one or more MAC subheaders, each of which may correspond to a MAC payload part and appear in a corresponding order. According to some aspects, each of the zero or more MAC control elements 9130 included in the MAC payload 9110 may correspond to a fixed length subheader 9115 included in the MAC header 9105. According to some aspects, each of the zero or more MAC SDU parts 9135 included in the MAC payload 9110 may correspond to a variable length subheader 9120 included in the MAC header 8105. According to some aspects, the padding part 9140 included in the MAC payload 9110 may correspond to a padding subheader 9125 included in the MAC header 9105.

[0295] Fig. 10A A communication circuit 1000 (eg, Figure 2 The communication circuit 1000 is an embodiment of the circuit in the base station 201 and the user equipment 211 shown in FIG. The communication circuit 1000 is alternatively grouped according to function. The components shown in the communication circuit 1000 are shown here for illustrative purposes and may include Fig. 10A Other components not shown.

[0296] The communication circuit 1000 may include a protocol processing circuit 1005, which may implement one or more of medium access control (MAC), radio link control (RLC), packet data convergence protocol (PDCP), radio resource control (RRC), and non-access stratum (NAS) functions. The protocol processing circuit 1005 may include one or more processing cores (not shown) for executing instructions and one or more memory structures (not shown) for storing program (code) and data information.

[0297] The communication circuit 1000 may also include a digital baseband circuit 1010, which may implement physical layer (PHY) functions, including hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) functions, scrambling and / or descrambling, encoding and / or decoding, layer mapping and demapping, modulation symbol mapping, received symbol and / or bit metric determination, multi-antenna port precoding and / or decoding (which may include one or more of space-time, space-frequency or space coding), reference signal generation and / or detection, preamble sequence generation and / or decoding, synchronization sequence generation and / or detection, control channel signal blind decoding, and other related functions.

[0298] The communication circuit 1000 may further include a transmitting circuit 1015 , a receiving circuit 1020 and / or an antenna array circuit 1030 .

[0299] The communication circuit 1000 may also include a radio frequency (RF) circuit 1025 (eg, Figure 2 In one aspect of the embodiment, the RF circuit 1025 may include multiple parallel RF chains for one or more of the transmit function or the receive function, each RF chain connected to one or more antennas in the antenna array 1030.

[0300] In one aspect of the present disclosure, the protocol processing circuit 1005 may include one or more instances of a control circuit (not shown) to provide control functionality for one or more of the digital baseband circuit 1010 , the transmit circuit 1015 , the receive circuit 1020 , and / or the RF circuit 1025 .

[0301] Fig. 10B It shows that according to some aspects Fig. 10A The RF circuit 1025 (eg, Figure 2 RF circuitry 1025 may include one or more instances of radio chain circuitry 1072, which in some aspects may include one or more filters, power amplifiers, low noise amplifiers, programmable phase shifters, and power supplies (not shown).

[0302] The radio frequency circuit 1025 may include a power combining and distribution circuit 1074. In some aspects, the power combining and distribution circuit 1074 may operate bidirectionally, so that the same physical circuit may be configured to operate a bit power divider when the device is transmitting and a bit power combiner when the device is receiving. In some aspects, the power combining and distribution circuit 1074 may include one or more fully or partially separated circuits to perform power distribution when the device is transmitting and power combining when the device is receiving. In some aspects, the power combining and distribution circuit 1074 may include a passive circuit including one or more bidirectional power dividers / combiners arranged in a tree shape. In some aspects, the power combining and distribution circuit 1074 may include an active circuit including an amplifier circuit.

[0303] In some aspects, the RF circuit 1025 can be connected to the radio link interface 1076 or the combined radio link interface 1078 via one or more radio link interfaces 1076 or the combined radio link interface 1078. Fig. 10A The transmit circuit 1015 and the receive circuit 1020 in the combined radio link interface 1078 can form a wide or very wide bandwidth.

[0304] In some aspects, the one or more radio link interfaces 1076 may provide one or more interfaces to one or more receive signals or transmit signals, each associated with a single antenna structure that may include one or more antennas.

[0305] In some aspects, the combined radio link interface 1078 may provide a single interface for one or more receive signals or transmit signals, each signal being associated with a set of antenna structures including one or more antennas.

[0306] Fig.11 An example of a storage medium 1100 for storing code and data is shown, and the code and data are executed by one or more processors and / or processing circuits described herein. Storage medium 1100 may include an article of manufacture. In some examples, storage medium 1100 may include any non-transient computer-readable medium or machine-readable medium, such as optical, magnetic or semiconductor storage. Storage medium 1100 may store different types of computer-executable instructions, such as instructions for implementing the logic flow and / or technology described herein. Examples of computer-readable or machine-readable storage media may include any tangible medium capable of storing electronic data, including volatile or non-volatile memory, removable or non-removable memory, erasable or non-erasable memory, writable or rewritable memory, etc. Examples of computer-executable instructions may include any suitable type of code, such as source code, compiled code, interpreted code, executable code, static code, dynamic code, object-oriented code, visual code, etc.

[0307] Fig.12 1 shows an architecture of a system 1200 of a network according to some embodiments. The system 1200 is shown as including a user equipment (UE) 1201 and a UE 1202 (e.g., Figures 1A-1C and Figure 2 UE 1201 and 1202 are shown as smartphones (e.g., handheld touch screen mobile computing devices that can connect to one or more cellular networks), but may also include any mobile or non-mobile computing device, such as a personal data assistant (PDA), a pager, a notebook computer, a desktop computer, a wireless handset, or any computing device that includes a wireless communication interface.

[0308] In some embodiments, any of UEs 1201 and 1202 may include an Internet of Things (IoT) UE, and the IoT UE may include a network access layer designed for low-power IoT applications that utilize short-lived UE connections. The IoT UE may utilize technologies such as machine-to-machine (M2M) or machine-type communication (MTC) to exchange data with an MTC server or device via a public land mobile network (PLMN), proximity service (ProSe) or device-to-device (D2D) communication, a sensor network, or an IoT network. The M2M or MTC data exchange may be a machine-initiated data exchange. The IoT network describes interconnected IoT UEs, which may include uniquely identifiable embedded computing devices (within the Internet infrastructure) with short-lived connections. The IoT UE may execute background applications (e.g., keep-alive messages, status updates, etc.) to facilitate connectivity to the IoT network.

[0309] UEs 1201 and 1202 may be connected (eg, communicatively coupled) to a radio access network (RAN) - in this embodiment, an Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) 1210 (eg, Figure 1A-1B and Figure 2 UE 1201 and 1202 utilize connections 1203 and 1204, respectively, each connection including a physical communication interface or layer (discussed in further detail below); in this example, connections 1203 and 1204 are shown as air interfaces for achieving communication coupling, and may conform to cellular communication protocols, such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) protocols, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) network protocols, Push-to-Talk (PTT) protocols, Cellular PTT (POC) protocols, Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) protocols, 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) protocols, fifth generation (5G) protocols, new radio (NR) protocols, etc.

[0310] In this embodiment, UE 1201 and 1202 may also directly exchange communication data via ProSe interface 1205. ProSe interface 1205 may alternatively be referred to as a sidelink interface, which includes one or more logical channels, including but not limited to a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH), a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), a physical sidelink discovery channel (PSDCH), and a physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH).

[0311] UE 1202 is shown as being configured to access access point (AP) 1206 via connection 1207. Connection 1207 may include a local wireless connection, such as a connection compliant with any IEEE 802.11 protocol, wherein AP 1206 would include Wi-Fi. router. In this example, AP 1206 is shown as being connected to the Internet, but not to the core network of the wireless system (described in further detail below). E-UTRAN 1210 may include one or more access nodes that implement connections 1203 and 1204. These access nodes (ANs) may be referred to as base stations (BSs), NodeBs, evolved NodeBs (eNBs), next generation NodeBs (gNBs), RAN nodes, etc., and may include ground stations (e.g., terrestrial access points) or satellite stations that provide coverage within a geographic area (e.g., a cell). E-UTRAN 1210 may include one or more RAN nodes (e.g., macro RAN nodes 1211) for providing macro cells, and one or more RAN nodes (e.g., low power (LP) RAN nodes 1212) for providing femto cells or pico cells (e.g., cells with smaller coverage areas, smaller user capacity, or higher bandwidth than macro cells).

[0312] Either of the RAN nodes 1211 and 1212 may terminate the air interface protocol and may be the first point of contact for the UEs 1201 and 1202. In some embodiments, either of the RAN nodes 1211 and 1212 may implement various logical functions for the E-UTRAN 1210, including but not limited to radio network controller (RNC) functions such as radio bearer management, uplink and downlink dynamic radio resource management, and data packet scheduling and mobility management.

[0313] According to some embodiments, UEs 1201 and 1202 may be configured to communicate with each other or with any one of RAN nodes 1211 and 1212 using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) communication signals on a multi-carrier communication channel according to various communication techniques, such as but not limited to orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) communication techniques (e.g., for downlink communications) or single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) communication techniques (e.g., for uplink and ProSe or sidelink communications), although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. OFDM signals may include multiple orthogonal subcarriers.

[0314] In some embodiments, a downlink resource grid may be used for downlink transmissions from any of the RAN nodes 1211 and 1212 to the UEs 1201 and 1202, while uplink transmissions may utilize similar techniques. The grid may be a time-frequency grid, referred to as a resource grid or a time-frequency resource grid, which is the physical resource for the downlink in each time slot. This time-frequency plane representation is a common practice for OFDM systems, which makes radio resource allocation intuitive. Each column and row of the resource grid corresponds to an OFDM symbol and an OFDM subcarrier, respectively. The duration of the resource grid in the time domain corresponds to a time slot in a radio frame. The smallest time-frequency unit in the resource grid is called a resource element. Each resource grid includes a plurality of resource blocks, which describe the mapping of certain physical channels to resource elements. Each resource block contains a set of resource elements; in the frequency domain, this may represent the minimum number of resources that can currently be allocated. There are several different physical downlink (DL) channels transmitted using such resource blocks.

[0315] The physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) may carry user data and higher layer signaling to the UEs 1201 and 1202. The physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) may carry information about the transport format and resource allocation associated with the PDSCH channel, etc. It may also inform the UEs 1201 and 1202 of the transport format, resource allocation, and HARQ (Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request) information associated with the uplink shared channel. Typically, downlink scheduling (assigning control and shared channel resource blocks to the UEs 102 within the cell) may be performed at either of the RAN nodes 1211 and 1212 based on channel quality information fed back from either of the UEs 1201 and 1202. Downlink resource assignment information may be sent on the PDCCH for (e.g., assigned to) each of the UEs 1201 and 1202.

[0316] PDCCH can use control channel elements (CCE) to transmit control information. Before being mapped to resource elements, PDCCH complex symbols can first be organized into quadruplets, and then the quadruplets can be arranged using a sub-block interleaver for rate matching. Each PDCCH can be sent using one or more of these CCEs, where each CCE can correspond to nine groups of four physical resource elements called resource element groups (REGs). Four orthogonal phase shift keying (QPSK) symbols can be mapped to each REG. Depending on the size of the downlink control information (DCI) and the channel conditions, one or more CCEs can be used to send PDCCH. There may be four or more different PDCCH formats (e.g., aggregation levels, L=1, 2, 4, or 8) with different numbers of CCEs defined in LTE.

[0317] Some embodiments may use a resource allocation concept that is an extension of the above concept for control channel information. For example, some embodiments may utilize an enhanced physical downlink control channel (EPDCCH) that uses PDSCH resources for control information transmission. One or more enhanced control channel elements (ECCEs) may be used to send EPDCCH. Similar to the above, each ECCE may correspond to nine groups of four physical resource elements referred to as enhanced resource element groups (EREGs). In some cases, ECCEs may have other numbers of EREGs.

[0318] RAN nodes 1211 and 1212 may communicate with each other and / or with other access nodes in E-UTRAN 1210 and / or in another RAN via an X2 interface, which is a signaling interface for transferring data packets between ANs. Some other suitable interface for directly transferring data packets between ANs may be used.

[0319] The E-UTRAN 1210 is shown as being communicatively coupled to a core network, in this embodiment, to an Evolved Packet Core (EPC) network 1220, via an S1 interface 1213. In this embodiment, the S1 interface 1213 is divided into two parts: an S1-U interface 1214, which carries traffic data between the RAN nodes 1211 and 1212 and a Serving Gateway (S-GW) 1222; and an S1-Mobility Management Entity (MME) interface 1215, which is a signaling interface between the RAN nodes 1211 and 1212 and the MME 1221.

[0320] In this embodiment, the EPC network 1220 includes an MME 1221, an S-GW 1222, a packet data network (PDN) gateway (P-GW) 1223, and a home subscriber server (HSS) 1224. The MME 1221 may be similar in function to the control plane of a legacy serving general packet radio service (GPRS) support node (SGSN). The MME 1221 may manage mobility aspects in access, such as gateway selection and tracking area list management. The HSS 1224 may include a database for network users (including subscription-related information) to support the processing of communication sessions by network entities. The EPC network 1220 may include one or several HSSs 1224, depending on the number of mobile users, the capacity of the devices, the organization of the network, etc. For example, the HSS 1224 may provide support for routing / roaming, authentication, authorization, naming / addressing resolution, location dependency, etc.

[0321] The S-GW 1222 may terminate the S1 interface 1213 to the E-UTRAN 1210 and route data packets between the E-UTRAN 1210 and the EPC network 1220. In addition, the S-GW 1222 may be a local mobility anchor for inter-RAN node handovers and may also provide an anchor for inter-3GPP mobility. Other responsibilities may include lawful interception, charging, and some policy enforcement.

[0322] The P-GW 1223 may terminate the SGi interface to the PDN. The P-GW 1223 may route data packets between the EPC network 1220 and an external network (e.g., a network including an application server 1230 (alternatively referred to as an application function (AF))) via an Internet Protocol (IP) interface 1225. Typically, the application server 1230 may be an element that provides applications using IP bearer resources to the core network (e.g., UMTS packet service (PS) domain, LTE PS data service, etc.). In this embodiment, the P-GW 1223 is shown as being communicatively coupled to the application server 1230 via the IP interface 1225. The application server 1230 may also be configured to support one or more communication services (e.g., Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) sessions, PTT sessions, group communication sessions, social networking services, etc.) for the UEs 1201 and 1202 via the EPC network 1220.

[0323] The P-GW 1223 may also be a node for policy enforcement and charging data collection. The Policy and Charging Enforcement Function (PCRF) 1226 is a policy and charging control element of the EPC network 1220. In a non-roaming scenario, there may be a single PCRF associated with the UE's Internet Protocol Connection Access Network (IP-CAN) session in the Home Public Land Mobile Network (HPLMN). In a roaming scenario where the service is out of local, there may be two PCRFs associated with the UE's IP-CAN session: the Home PCRF (H-PCRF) in the HPLMN and the Visited PCRF (V-PCRF) in the Visited Public Land Mobile Internet (VPLMN). The PCRF 1226 may be communicatively coupled to the application server 1230 via the P-GW 1223. The application server 1230 may signal the PCRF 1226 to indicate a new service flow and select appropriate quality of service (QoS) and charging parameters. The PCRF 1226 may distribute the rules to the Policy and Charging Enforcement Function (PCEF) (not shown) with the appropriate Traffic Flow Template (TFT) and QoS Class Identifier (QCI), which enables the QoS and charging specified by the Application Server 1230 to begin.

[0324] Fig.13 An apparatus 1300 (eg, in combination with Figure 1A-12 Example components of the base station and UE shown and / or discussed above. In some embodiments, the device 1300 may include application circuitry 1302, baseband circuitry 1304, radio frequency (RF) circuitry 1306, front end module (FEM) circuitry 1308, one or more antennas 1310, and power management circuitry (PMC) 1312, which are coupled together at least as shown. The components of the device 1300 shown may be included in a UE or a RAN node (e.g., a base station or gNB). In some embodiments, the device 1300 may include fewer elements (e.g., the RAN node may not utilize application circuitry 1302, but instead include a processor / controller to process IP data received from the EPC). In some embodiments, the device 1300 may include additional elements, such as memory / storage, a display, a camera, a sensor, or an input / output (I / O) interface. In other embodiments, the components described below may be included in more than one device (e.g., for a cloud-RAN (C-RAN) implementation, the circuitry may be separately included in more than one device).

[0325] The application circuit 1302 may include one or more application processors. For example, the application circuit 1302 may include circuits such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The processor may include any combination of general-purpose processors and special-purpose processors (e.g., graphics processors, application processors, etc.). The processor may be coupled to memory / storage, or may include them, and may be configured to: execute instructions stored in memory / storage to enable various applications or operating systems to run on the device 1300. In some embodiments, the processor of the application circuit 1302 may process IP data packets received from the EPC.

[0326] The baseband circuit 1304 may include circuits such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The baseband circuit 1304 may include one or more baseband processors or control logic to process baseband signals received from the receive signal path of the RF circuit 1306 and generate baseband signals for the transmit signal path of the RF circuit 1306. The baseband circuit 1304 may interface with the application circuit 1302 to generate and process baseband signals and control the operation of the RF circuit 1306. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuit 1304 may include a third generation (3G) baseband processor 1304A, a fourth generation (4G) baseband processor 1304B, a fifth generation (5G) baseband processor 1304C, or other baseband processors 1304D for other existing generations, generations under development, or generations to be developed in the future (e.g., second generation (2G), sixth generation (6G), etc.). In many embodiments, the fourth generation (4G) baseband processor 1304B may include the capability to generate and process baseband signals for LTE radios, and the fifth generation (5G) baseband processor 1304C may include the capability to generate and process baseband signals for NR.

[0327] The baseband circuitry 1304 (e.g., one or more of the baseband processors 1304A-D) may handle various radio control functions that enable communication with one or more radio networks via the RF circuitry 1306. In other embodiments, some or all of the functions of the baseband processors 1304A-D may be included in a module stored in the memory 1304G and executed via the central processing unit (CPU) 1304E. The radio control functions may include, but are not limited to, signal modulation / demodulation, encoding / decoding, radio frequency offset, etc.

[0328] In some embodiments, the modulation / demodulation circuitry of the baseband circuitry 1304 may include fast Fourier transform (FFT), precoding, or constellation mapping / demapping functionality. In some embodiments, the encoding / decoding circuitry of the baseband circuitry 1304 may include convolution, tail-biting convolution, turbo, Viterbi, or low-density parity check (LDPC) encoder / decoder functionality. The embodiments of the modulation / demodulation and encoder / decoder functionality are not limited to these examples, and may include other suitable functionality in other embodiments.

[0329] In some embodiments, the baseband circuit 1304 may include one or more audio digital signal processors (DSPs) 1304F. The audio DSP 1304F may include elements for compression / decompression and echo cancellation, and may include other suitable processing elements in other embodiments. In some embodiments, the components of the baseband circuit may be appropriately combined in a single chip, a single chipset, or arranged on the same circuit board. In some embodiments, some or all of the constituent components of the baseband circuit 1304 and the application circuit 1302 may be implemented together, for example, on a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the baseband circuit 1304 may provide communications compatible with one or more radio technologies. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuit 1304 may support communications with an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN) or other wireless metropolitan area networks (WMANs), wireless local area networks (WLANs), and wireless personal area networks (WPANs). An embodiment in which the baseband circuit 1304 is configured to support radio communications of more than one wireless protocol may be referred to as a multimode baseband circuit.

[0330] RF circuit 1306 may use modulated electromagnetic radiation through a non-solid medium to achieve communication with a wireless network. In various embodiments, RF circuit 1306 may include switches, filters, amplifiers, etc. to facilitate communication with a wireless network. RF circuit 1306 may include a receive signal path, which may include circuits for down-converting RF signals received from FEM circuit 1308 and providing baseband signals to baseband circuit 1304. RF circuit 1306 may also include a transmit signal path, which may include circuits for up-converting baseband signals provided by baseband circuit 1304 and providing RF output signals to FEM circuit 1308 for transmission.

[0331] In some embodiments, the receive signal path of the RF circuit 1306 may include a mixer circuit 1306a, an amplifier circuit 1306b, and a filter circuit 1306c. In some embodiments, the transmit signal path of the RF circuit 1306 may include a filter circuit 1306c and a mixer circuit 1306a. The RF circuit 1306 may also include a synthesizer circuit 1306d for synthesizing frequencies or component carriers for use by the mixer circuit 1306a of the receive signal path and the transmit signal path. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 1306a of the receive signal path may down-convert the RF signal received from the FEM circuit 1308 based on the synthesized frequency provided by the synthesizer circuit 1306d. The amplifier circuit 1306b may amplify the down-converted signal, and the filter circuit 1306c may be a low pass filter (LPF) or a band pass filter (BPF) to remove unwanted signals from the down-converted signal to generate an output baseband signal. The output baseband signal may be provided to the baseband circuit 1304 for further processing.

[0332] In some embodiments, the output baseband signal may be a zero frequency baseband signal, but this is not a requirement.In some embodiments, mixer circuit 1306a of the receive signal path may include a passive mixer, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[0333] In some embodiments, mixer circuit 1306a of the transmit signal path may be configured to up-convert an input baseband signal based on a synthesized frequency provided by synthesizer circuit 1306d to generate an RF output signal for FEM circuit 1308. The baseband signal may be provided by baseband circuit 1304 and may be filtered by filter circuit 1306c.

[0334] In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 1306a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 1306a of the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for quadrature down-conversion and up-conversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 1306a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 1306a of the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for image rejection (e.g., Hartley image rejection). In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 1306a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 1306a of the transmit signal path may be arranged for direct down-conversion and direct up-conversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 1306a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 1306a of the transmit signal path may be configured for superheterodyne operation.

[0335] In some embodiments, the output baseband signal and the input baseband signal may be analog baseband signals, but the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. In some alternative embodiments, the output baseband signal and the input baseband signal may be digital baseband signals. In these alternative embodiments, the RF circuit 1306 may include an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuit, and the baseband circuit 1304 may include a digital baseband interface to communicate with the RF circuit 1306.

[0336] In some dual-mode embodiments, separate radio IC circuits may be provided to process signals for each spectrum, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[0337] In some embodiments, synthesizer circuit 1306d may be a fractional-N synthesizer or a fractional-N / N+1 synthesizer, but the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect, as other types of frequency synthesizers may be suitable. For example, synthesizer circuit 1306d may be a delta-sigma synthesizer, a frequency multiplier, or a synthesizer including a phase-locked loop with a frequency divider.

[0338] The synthesizer circuit 1306d may synthesize an output frequency based on the frequency input and the divider control input for use by the mixer circuit 1306a of the RF circuit 1306. In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuit 1306d may be a digital N / N+1 synthesizer.

[0339] In some embodiments, the frequency input may be the output of a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO), but this is not a requirement. Depending on the desired output frequency, the divider control input may be the output of an application processor of baseband circuit 1304 or application circuit 1302. Some embodiments may determine the divider control input (e.g., N) from a lookup table based on the channel indicated by application circuit 1302.

[0340] The synthesizer circuit 1306d of the RF circuit 1306 may include a frequency divider, a delay locked loop (DLL), a multiplexer, and a phase accumulator. In some embodiments, the frequency divider may be a dual-mode frequency divider (DMD), and the phase accumulator may be a digital phase accumulator (DPA). In some embodiments, the DMD may be configured to divide the input signal by N or N+1 (e.g., based on a carry output) to provide a fractional division ratio. In some example embodiments, the DLL may include a set of cascaded tunable delay elements, a phase detector, a charge pump, and a D-type flip-flop. In these embodiments, the delay element may decompose the VCO cycle into Nd equal phase groups, where Nd is the number of delay elements in the delay line. In this way, the DLL provides negative feedback to help ensure that the total delay through the delay line is one VCO cycle.

[0341] In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuit 1306d can generate a carrier frequency (or component carrier) as an output frequency, while in other embodiments, the output frequency can be a multiple of the carrier frequency (e.g., twice the carrier frequency, four times the carrier frequency) and used in conjunction with the orthogonal generator and divider circuit to generate multiple signals with multiple different phases at the carrier frequency. In some embodiments, the output frequency can be a local oscillator (LO) frequency (fLO). In some embodiments, the RF circuit 1306 can include an IQ / polar converter.

[0342] FEM circuitry 1308 may include a receive signal path that may include circuitry for operating on RF signals received from one or more antennas 1310, amplifying the received signals, and providing an amplified version of the received signals to RF circuitry 1306 for further processing. FEM circuitry 1308 may also include a transmit signal path that may include circuitry configured to amplify signals provided by RF circuitry 1306 for transmission for transmission by one or more of the one or more antennas 1310. In various embodiments, amplification by either the transmit receive signal path or the receive signal path may be accomplished only in RF circuitry 1306, only in FEM circuitry 1308, or in both RF circuitry 1306 and FEM circuitry 1308.

[0343] In some embodiments, the FEM circuit 1308 may include a TX / RX switch to switch between transmit mode and receive mode operation. The FEM circuit may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the FEM circuit may include a low noise amplifier (LNA) to amplify the received RF signal and provide the amplified received RF signal as an output (e.g., to the RF circuit 1306). The transmit signal path of the FEM circuit 1308 may include a power amplifier (PA) for amplifying the input RF signal (e.g., provided by the RF circuit 1306), and one or more filters for generating an RF signal for subsequent transmission (e.g., by one or more antennas in the one or more antennas 1310).

[0344] In the present embodiment, radio refers to the combination of RF circuit 1306 and FEM circuit 1308. Radio refers to the portion of the circuit that generates and transmits or receives, and processes radio signals. RF circuit 1306 includes a transmitter for generating a time domain radio signal using data from a baseband signal and applying the radio signal to subcarriers of a carrier frequency that forms a channel bandwidth. The PA in FEM circuit 1308 amplifies the tones used for transmission and amplifies the tones received from one or more antennas 1310 via an LNA to increase the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for interpretation. In wireless communications, FEM circuit 1308 may also search for detectable patterns that appear as wireless communications. Thereafter, the receiver in RF circuit 1306 receives the received tones via one or more functional modules (e.g., Figure 2 The functional modules shown in the base station 201 and the user equipment 211 in FIG. 2 convert the time domain radio signal into a baseband signal.

[0345] In some embodiments, PMC 1312 can manage the power provided to baseband circuit 1304. Specifically, PMC 1312 can control power selection, voltage scaling, battery charging, or DC-DC conversion. When device 1300 is capable of being powered by a battery, for example, when the device is included in a UE, PMC 1312 can often be included. PMC 1312 can improve power conversion efficiency while providing a desired implementation size and heat dissipation characteristics.

[0346] Although Fig.13 PMC 1312 is shown coupled only to baseband circuit 1304, however in other embodiments, PMC 1312 may be additionally or alternatively coupled to other components (such as, but not limited to, application circuit 1302, RF circuit 1306, or FEM circuit 1308) and perform similar power management operations for the other components.

[0347] In some embodiments, the PMC 1312 may control or otherwise be part of various power saving mechanisms of the device 1300. For example, if the device 1300 is in the RRC_Connected state (wherein it is still connected to the RAN node because it expects to receive traffic soon), it may enter a state known as discontinuous reception mode (DRX) after a period of inactivity. During this state, the device 1300 may be powered down for brief intervals, thereby saving power.

[0348] If there is no data traffic activity for an extended period of time, the device 1300 may transition to the RRC Idle state, in which it is disconnected from the network and does not perform operations such as channel quality feedback, handover, etc. The device 1300 enters a very low power state, and it performs paging (in which it wakes up periodically again to listen to the network, and then powers down again). The device 1300 cannot receive data in this state, and in order to receive data, it must transition back to the RRC Connected state.

[0349] An additional power saving mode may allow a device to be unavailable to the network for longer periods than the paging interval (ranging from a few seconds to a few hours). During this time, the device is completely unreachable to the network and may be completely powered off. Any data sent during this time will incur a significant delay, assuming that the delay is acceptable.

[0350] The processor of the application circuit 1302 and the processor of the baseband circuit 1304 can be used to execute elements of one or more instances of the protocol stack. For example, the processor of the baseband circuit 1304 can be used alone or in combination to perform layer 3, layer 2, or layer 1 functions, and the processor of the application circuit 1302 can utilize data received from these layers (e.g., packet data) and further perform layer 4 functions (e.g., transmission communication protocol (TCP) and user datagram protocol (UDP) layers). As mentioned herein, layer 3 may include a radio resource control (RRC) layer, which is further described in detail below. As mentioned herein, layer 2 may include a medium access control (MAC) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, and a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, which are further described in detail below. As mentioned herein, layer 1 may include a physical (PHY) layer of a UE / RAN node, which is further described in detail below.

[0351] Fig.14 Baseband circuits (eg, Figures 1A-1C , Figure 2 and Fig.13 As described above, Fig.13 The baseband circuit 1304 may include processors 1304A-1304E and a memory 1304G used by the processors. Each of the processors 1304A-1304E may include a memory interface 1404A-1404E, respectively, to send data to / receive data from the memory 1304G.

[0352] The baseband circuit 1304 may also include one or more interfaces to communicatively couple to other circuits / devices, such as a memory interface 1412 (e.g., an interface for sending data to / receiving data from a memory external to the baseband circuit 1304), an application circuit interface 1414 (e.g., an interface for sending data to / from a memory external to the baseband circuit 1304), Fig.13 1302 to send data / receive data from it), RF circuit interface 1416 (for example, for Fig.13 an interface for sending / receiving data from the RF circuit 1306 of the wireless device), a wireless hardware connection interface 1418 (e.g., for sending / receiving data to / from a near field communication (NFC) component, Components (e.g., low power ), components and other communication components to send data / receive data from it), and a power management interface 1420 (e.g., an interface for sending power or control signals to / receiving power or control signals from PMC 1312).

[0353] Fig.15 is a block diagram illustrating components capable of reading instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium) and executing any one or more of the methods discussed herein, according to some example embodiments. Specifically, Fig.15 A diagrammatic representation of hardware resources 1500 is shown, including one or more processors (or processor cores) 1510, one or more memory / storage devices 1520, and one or more communication resources 1530, each of which may be communicatively coupled via a bus 1540. For embodiments utilizing node virtualization (e.g., NFV), a hypervisor 1502 may be executed to provide an execution environment for one or more network slices / sub-slices to utilize the hardware resources 1500.

[0354] Processor 1510 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processor, a complex instruction set computing (CISC) processor, a graphics processing unit (GPU), a digital signal processor (DSP) (e.g., a baseband processor), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), another processor, or any suitable combination thereof) may include, for example, processor 1512 and processor 1514.

[0355] The memory / storage device 1520 may include main memory, disk storage, or any suitable combination thereof. The memory / storage device 1520 may include, but is not limited to, any type of volatile or non-volatile memory, such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, solid-state storage, etc.

[0356] The communication resources 1530 may include an interconnect or network interface component or other suitable device to communicate with one or more peripheral devices 1504 or one or more databases 1506 via the network 1508. For example, the communication resources 1530 may include a wired communication component (e.g., for coupling via a universal serial bus (USB)), a cellular communication component, an NFC component, Components (e.g., low power ), components and other communication components.

[0357] The instructions 1550 may include software, programs, applications, applet, apps, or other executable code for causing at least any one of the processors 1510 to perform any one or more of the methods discussed herein. The instructions 1550 may reside in whole or in part in at least one of the processor 1510 (e.g., within a cache memory of the processor), the memory / storage device 1520, or any suitable combination thereof. In addition, any portion of the instructions 1550 may be transmitted to the hardware resources 1500 from any combination of the peripheral device 1504 or the database 1506. Therefore, the memory of the processor 1510, the memory / storage device 1520, the peripheral device 1504, and the database 1506 are examples of computer-readable and machine-readable media.

[0358] In an embodiment, Fig.12 , 13 , 14 and / or 15 may be configured to perform one or more processes, techniques or methods as described herein or portions thereof. In an embodiment, Fig.12 , 13 One or more elements of 14 and / or 15 may be configured to perform one or more processes, techniques or methods, or portions thereof, as described in the following examples.

[0359] As used herein, the term "circuitry" may refer to, be a part of, or include an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group) and / or memory (shared, dedicated, or group) that executes one or more software or firmware programs, combinational logic circuits, and / or other suitable hardware components that provide the described functionality.

[0360] Various examples can be implemented using hardware elements, software elements or a combination of the two. In some examples, hardware elements may include devices, components, processors, microprocessors, circuits, circuit elements (e.g., transistors, resistors, capacitors, inductors, etc.), integrated circuits, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), digital signal processors (DSPs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), storage units, logic gates, registers, semiconductor devices, chips, microchips, chipsets, etc. In some examples, software elements may include software components, programs, applications, computer programs, applications, system programs, machine programs, operating system software, middleware, firmware, software modules, routines, subroutines, functions, methods, processes, software interfaces, application program interfaces (APIs), instruction sets, computing codes, computer codes, code segments, computer code segments, words, values, symbols or any combination thereof. Determining whether an example is implemented using hardware elements and / or software elements can be implemented according to the expectations of a given implementation, depending on any number of factors, such as the expected computing rate, power level, heat resistance, processing cycle budget, input data rate, output data rate, memory resources, data bus speed and other design or performance constraints.

[0361] Some examples may be described using the expression "in one example" or "example" and its derivatives. These terms mean that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the example is included in at least one example. The appearance of the phrase "in one example" in different places in the specification does not necessarily refer to the same example.

[0362] Some examples may be described using the expressions "coupled" and "connected" and their derivatives. These terms are not necessarily synonymous with each other. For example, descriptions using the terms "connected" and / or "coupled" may indicate that two or more elements are in direct physical or electrical contact with each other. However, the term "coupled" may also mean that two or more elements are not in direct contact with each other, but still cooperate or interact with each other.

[0363] In addition, in the foregoing detailed description, it can be seen that various features are combined in a single example for the purpose of making the present disclosure flow smoothly. This method of disclosure should not be interpreted as reflecting the following intention: the examples claimed for protection require more features than those expressly recited in each claim. On the contrary, as reflected in the appended claims, the subject matter of the invention lies in less than all the features of a single disclosed example. Therefore, the appended claims are hereby incorporated into the detailed description, wherein each claim itself serves as a separate example. In the appended claims, the terms "including" and "wherein" are used as the plain English equivalents of the corresponding terms "comprising" and "wherein", respectively. In addition, the terms "first", "second", "third", etc. are used only as labels and are not intended to impose numerical requirements on their objects.

[0364] Although the subject matter has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

[0365] The data processing system suitable for storing and / or executing program code will include at least one processor directly or indirectly coupled to the memory element by the system bus. The memory element may include the local memory, mass storage and cache memory (it provides temporary storage of at least some program codes to reduce the number of times that code must be obtained from mass storage during execution) used during the actual execution of the program code. The term "code" covers a wide range of software components and structures, including applications, drivers, processes, routines, methods, modules, firmware, microcodes and subroutines. Therefore, the term "code" can be used to refer to any instruction set for performing one or more operations of expectation when executed by a processing system.

[0366] The processing circuits, logic circuits, devices, and interfaces described herein may perform functions implemented in hardware or functions implemented in code executed on one or more processors. A processing circuit or logic circuit refers to hardware or hardware and code that implements one or more logical functions. A circuit system is hardware and may refer to one or more circuits. Each circuit may perform a specific function. The circuits in the circuit system may include discrete electronic components, integrated circuits, chip packages, chipsets, memories, etc. interconnected with one or more conductors. An integrated circuit includes a circuit created on a substrate such as a silicon wafer and may include components. And an integrated circuit, processor package, chip package, and chipset may include one or more processors.

[0367] The processor may receive signals such as instructions and / or data at an input and process the signals to generate at least one output. When executing code, the code changes the physical state and characteristics of the transistors that make up the processor pipeline. The physical state of the transistors is converted into logical bits 1 and 0 stored in registers within the processor. The processor may transfer the physical state of the transistors to registers and transfer the physical state of the transistors to another storage medium.

[0368] A processor may include circuits or circuit systems for performing one or more sub-functions implemented to perform the overall function of the "processor". Note that a "processor" may include one or more processors, and each processor may include one or more processor cores that process code and / or data independently or interdependently. Each processor core is also a "processor" and is distinguishable from a processor only for the purpose of describing the physical arrangement or architecture of a processor having multiple processor cores on one or more dies and / or in one or more chip packages. A processor core may include a general-purpose processing core, or may include a processor core configured to perform a specific task, depending on the design of the processor. A processor core may be a processor having one or more processor cores. As described and required herein, when discussing functions performed by a processor, processing circuit, etc.; a processor, processing circuit, etc. may include one or more processors, each having one or more processor cores, and any one or more processors and / or processor cores may be located on one or more dies, located in one or more chip packages, and may perform some or all of the processing required for the execution of the function.

[0369] An example of a processor is a state machine or an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) comprising at least one input and at least one output. The state machine can manipulate at least one input to generate at least one output by performing a predetermined series of serial and / or parallel manipulations or transformations on the at least one input.

[0370] Several embodiments have one or more potential advantageous effects. For example, a user equipment (UE) may advantageously perform resource selection from at least one resource pool to determine a resource set for transmitting a reference signal from the at least one resource pool when allocating a side link (SL) resource for side link communication. A user equipment (UE) may advantageously autonomously allocate a resource set for transmitting a reference signal within a physical side link shared channel (PSSCH) or as an independent transmission. A user equipment (UE) may advantageously generate a control information signal for allocating a side link (SL) resource for side link communication to signal a resource set for a reference signal, wherein the control information signal includes a source identifier field, a destination identifier field, and one or more fields for indicating automatic gain control, a protection symbol, or a combination thereof. A user equipment (UE) may advantageously encode a control information signal for transmission to a second UE when allocating a side link (SL) resource for side link communication. A user equipment (UE) may advantageously generate a reference signal for unicast, broadcast, or multicast transmission when allocating a side link (SL) resource for side link communication. The user equipment (UE) allocates side link (SL) resources for side link communication, and can advantageously encode reference signals for transmission via resource sets within PSSCH. The user equipment (UE) allocates side link (SL) resources for side link communication, and can advantageously select periodic or non-periodic resources for SL PRS. The user equipment (UE) allocates side link (SL) resources for side link communication, and can advantageously include resource selection based on full listening, resource selection based on partial listening, or random resource selection. The user equipment (UE) allocates side link (SL) resources for side link communication, and can advantageously reserve resource sets for a group of one or more coordinated UEs, wherein one or more coordinated UEs resolve reservation conflicts. The user equipment (UE) allocates side link (SL) resources for side link communication, and can advantageously monitor communication for CLI. The user equipment (UE) allocates side link (SL) resources for side link communication, and advantageously determines a resource selection window (RSW) to limit resource reservation to a time window based on round trip time (RTT) ranging.

[0371] Other Examples of Embodiments

[0372] The following examples relate to further embodiments. Details in the examples may be used anywhere in one or more embodiments.

[0373] Example 1 is an apparatus for allocating sidelink (SL) resources for sidelink communication by a user equipment (UE), comprising: an interface for wireless communication; and a processing circuit coupled to the interface, for: performing resource selection from a resource pool to determine a resource set from the resource pool for transmission of a reference signal in a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH); autonomously allocating the resource set for transmission of the reference signal within the PSSCH or as an independent reference signal; generating a control information signal to signal the resource set for the reference signal, the control information signal comprising a source identifier field, a destination identifier field, and one or more fields for indicating automatic gain control, protection symbols, or a combination thereof; and encoding the control information signal for transmission to a second UE via the interface. In Example 2, the apparatus as described in Example 1, wherein the processing circuit comprises: a processor; and a memory coupled to the processor; a radio frequency circuit coupled to the processor; and one or more antennas coupled to the radio frequency circuit. In Example 3, in the apparatus as described in Example 1, the processing circuit is further used to: generate the reference signal for unicast, broadcast or multicast transmission; and encode the reference signal for transmission via a resource set within the PSSCH. In Example 4, in the apparatus as described in Example 3, the reference signal includes a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL PRS), a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) or a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), and the control information signal includes a field for indicating the presence of the SL PRS, DMRS or CSI-RS, respectively. In Example 5, in the apparatus as described in Example 1, wherein performing the resource selection includes: selecting periodic or non-periodic resources for the SL PRS. In Example 6, in the apparatus as described in Example 1, wherein performing the resource selection includes: resource selection based on full listening, resource selection based on partial listening, or random resource selection. In Example 7, in the apparatus as described in Example 1, wherein autonomous allocation includes: reserving the resource set for a group of one or more coordinated UEs, wherein the one or more coordinated UEs resolve reservation conflicts. In Example 8, an apparatus as described in Example 1, wherein the control information signal includes a first-level sidelink control information (SCI) format 1-B for transmission via a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH), medium access control-control element (MAC-CE) based signaling, or radio resource control layer signaling.In Example 9, the apparatus as described in Example 1, wherein the control information signal includes the first-level sidelink control information (SCI) format 1-B or the second-level SCI format 2-D, wherein the first-level SCI format 1-B includes a source identifier field, a destination identifier field, a resource reservation period, an SL PRS priority field, and a broadcast type field, and one or more additional fields, wherein the one or more additional fields include an SL PRS presence field, a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) presence field for positioning-based measurement, a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) presence field, or a combination thereof. In Example 10, the apparatus as described in any of Examples 1-9, wherein the processing circuit is used to: determine a resource selection window (RSW) to limit the reservation of resources to a time window for ranging based on a round-trip time (RTT).

[0374] Example 11 is a method for a user equipment (UE) to allocate sidelink (SL) resources for sidelink communication, comprising: performing resource selection from at least one resource pool to determine a resource set from the at least one resource pool for transmission of a reference signal in a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH); autonomously allocating the resource set for transmission of the reference signal within the PSSCH or as an independent reference signal; generating a control information signal to signal the resource set for the reference signal, wherein the control information signal includes a source identifier field, a destination identifier field, and one or more fields for indicating automatic gain control, protection symbols, or a combination thereof; and encoding the control information signal for transmission to a second UE. In Example 12, the method as described in Example 11 further includes: generating the reference signal for unicast, broadcast, or multicast transmission; and encoding the reference signal for transmission via a resource set within the PSSCH. In Example 13, the method of Example 12, wherein the reference signal comprises a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL PRS), a demodulation reference signal (DMRS), or a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), and the control information signal comprises a field for indicating the presence of the SL PRS, DMRS, or CSI-RS, respectively. In Example 14, the method of any one of Examples 11-13, wherein performing the resource selection comprises: selecting a periodic or aperiodic resource for the SL PRS.

[0375] Example 15 is a machine-readable medium comprising instructions for a user equipment (UE) to allocate side link (SL) resources for side link communication, the instructions, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations, the operations being used to: perform resource selection from at least one resource pool to determine a resource set from the at least one resource pool for transmission of a reference signal in a physical side link shared channel (PSSCH); autonomously allocate the resource set for transmission of the reference signal within the PSSCH or as an independent reference signal; generate a control information signal to signal the resource set for the reference signal, wherein the control information signal includes a source identifier field, a destination identifier field, and one or more fields for indicating automatic gain control, protection symbols, or a combination thereof; and encode the control information signal for transmission to a second UE. In Example 16, the machine-readable medium as described in Example 12, wherein performing the resource selection includes: resource selection based on full listening, resource selection based on partial listening, or random resource selection. In Example 17, the machine-readable medium of Example 12, wherein the autonomous allocation includes: reserving the resource set for a group of one or more coordinated UEs, wherein the one or more coordinated UEs resolve reservation conflicts. In Example 18, the machine-readable medium of any one of Examples 12-17, wherein the control information signal includes a first-level sidelink control information (SCI) format 1-B for transmission via a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH), medium access control-control element (MAC-CE) based signaling, or radio resource control layer signaling.

[0376] Example 19 is an apparatus for a base station for sidelink (SL) positioning, comprising: an interface for wireless communication; and a processing circuit coupled to the interface for: decoding a control information signal to determine a resource set for a reference signal, the control information signal comprising a source identifier field, a destination identifier field, and one or more fields for indicating automatic gain control, protection symbols, or a combination thereof; decoding a reference signal in a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) or decoding it into an independent reference signal transmission based on the value in one or more fields in the control information signal; and encoding a response to receiving the reference signal with positioning information for transmission via the interface. In Example 20, the apparatus as described in Example 19, wherein the processing circuit comprises: a processor; and a memory coupled to the processor; a radio frequency circuit coupled to the processing circuit; and one or more antennas coupled to the radio frequency circuit. In Example 21, the apparatus as described in any of Examples 19-20, the processing circuit is also used to: decode the communication including the remaining information for facilitating ranging.

[0377] Example 22 is a method of a base station for sidelink (SL) positioning, comprising: decoding a control information signal to determine a resource set for a reference signal, the control information signal comprising a source identifier field, a destination identifier field, and one or more fields for indicating automatic gain control, protection symbols, or a combination thereof; decoding a reference signal in a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) or decoding it into an independent reference signal transmission based on a value in one or more fields in the control information signal; and encoding a response to receiving the reference signal with positioning information. In Example 23, the method as described in Example 20 further includes: determining a resource selection window (RSW) to limit the reservation of resources to a time window for round trip time (RTT)-based ranging.

[0378] Example 24 is a machine-readable medium comprising instructions for sidelink (SL) positioning, which, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to perform operations to report cross-link interference, the operations being used to: decode a control information signal to determine a resource set for a reference signal, the control information signal comprising a source identifier field, a destination identifier field, and one or more fields for indicating automatic gain control, protection symbols, or a combination thereof; decode a reference signal in a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) or decode it as an independent reference signal transmission based on values ​​in one or more fields in the control information signal; and encode a response to receiving the reference signal with positioning information. In Example 25, in the machine-readable medium as described in Example 24, the operations are also used to: perform negotiation with a sending UE to agree on the roles of the initiating UE and the responding UE; and perform resource selection from a resource pool to allocate a resource set to the RSW for the sending UE to subsequently transmit a subsequent reference signal.

[0379] Example 26 is a device comprising components for use in any of Examples 11-14.

[0380] Example 27 is a device comprising components for use in any of Examples 22-23.

Claims

1. An apparatus for allocating sidelink (SL) resources for sidelink communication by a user equipment (UE), comprising: Interface for wireless communication; and A processing circuit, coupled to the interface, configured to: performing resource selection from a resource pool to determine a set of resources from the resource pool for transmitting a reference signal; autonomously allocating the set of resources for transmitting the reference signal within a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) or as a standalone reference signal transmission; generating a control information signal to signal a resource set for the reference signal, the control information signal comprising a source identifier field, a destination identifier field, and one or more fields for indicating automatic gain control, guard symbols, or a combination thereof; as well as The control information signal is encoded for transmission to a second UE via the interface.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein: The processing circuit comprises: processor; a memory coupled to the processor; a radio frequency circuit coupled to the processor; and One or more antennas are coupled to the radio frequency circuit.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to: generating the reference signal for unicast, broadcast or multicast transmission; and The reference signal is encoded for transmission via a resource set within the PSSCH.

4. The device as claimed in claim 3, wherein: The reference signal includes a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL PRS), a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) or a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), and The control information signal includes fields for indicating the presence of the SL PRS, the DMRS, or the CSI-RS, respectively.

5. The device according to claim 1, wherein: Executing the resource selection includes: Full-sense-based resource selection, partial-sense-based resource selection, or random resource selection and periodic or aperiodic resource selection for SL PRS, The autonomous allocation includes: reserving the resource set for a group of one or more coordinated UEs, The one or more coordinating UEs resolve reservation conflicts.

6. The device according to claim 1, wherein: The control information signal includes single-stage sidelink control information (SCI) format 1-B for transmission via a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH), medium access control-control element (MAC-CE)-based signaling or radio resource control layer signaling, or wherein the control information signal includes the single-stage side link SCI format 1-B or the second-stage SCI format 2-D, The single-level SCI format 1-B includes the source identifier field, the destination identifier field, the resource reservation period, the SL PRS priority field and the broadcast type field and one or more additional fields, wherein the one or more additional fields include the SL PRS presence field, the demodulation reference signal (DMRS) presence field for positioning-based measurement, the channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) presence field or a combination thereof.

7. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein: The processing circuit is used for: A resource selection window (RSW) is determined to limit reservation of resources to a time window for round trip time (RTT) based ranging.

8. A method for a user equipment (UE) to allocate side link (SL) resources for side link communication, comprising: performing resource selection from at least one resource pool to determine a set of resources from the at least one resource pool for transmitting a reference signal; autonomously allocating the set of resources for transmitting the reference signal within a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) or as a standalone reference signal transmission; generating a control information signal to signal a resource set for the reference signal, wherein the control information signal comprises a source identifier field, a destination identifier field, and one or more fields for indicating automatic gain control, guard symbols, or a combination thereof; and The control information signal is encoded for transmission to a second UE.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising: generating the reference signal for unicast, broadcast or multicast transmission; as well as The reference signal is encoded for transmission via a resource set within the PSSCH or as the independent reference signal transmission.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein: The reference signal includes a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL PRS), a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) or a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), and The control information signal includes fields for indicating the presence of the SL PRS, the DMRS, or the CSI-RS, respectively.

11. A machine-readable medium comprising instructions for a user equipment (UE) to allocate side link (SL) resources for side link communication, the instructions, when executed by a processor, causing the processor to perform operations for: performing resource selection from at least one resource pool to determine a set of resources from the at least one resource pool for transmitting a reference signal; autonomously allocating the set of resources for transmitting the reference signal within a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) or as a standalone reference signal transmission; generating a control information signal to signal a resource set for the reference signal, wherein the control information signal comprises a source identifier field, a destination identifier field, and one or more fields for indicating automatic gain control, guard symbols, or a combination thereof; and The control information signal is encoded for transmission to a second UE.

12. The machine-readable medium of claim 11, wherein: Executing the resource selection includes: Full listening based resource selection, partial listening based resource selection, or random resource selection, The autonomous allocation includes: reserving the resource set for a group of one or more coordinated UEs, The one or more coordinating UEs resolve reservation conflicts.

13. The machine-readable medium of any one of claims 11-12, wherein: The control information signal includes single-stage sidelink control information (SCI) format 1-B for transmission via a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH), medium access control-control element (MAC-CE) based signaling, or radio resource control layer signaling.

14. An apparatus for sidelink (SL) positioning, comprising: Interface for wireless communication; and A processing circuit, coupled to the interface, configured to: decoding a control information signal to determine a set of resources for a reference signal, the control information signal comprising a source identifier field, a destination identifier field, and one or more fields for indicating automatic gain control, guard symbols, or a combination thereof; Decoding a reference signal in a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) or decoding into an independent reference signal transmission based on values ​​in one or more fields in the control information signal; and A response to receiving the reference signal is encoded with positioning information for transmission via the interface.

15. The device of claim 14, wherein: The processing circuit comprises: processor; a memory coupled to the processor; a radio frequency circuit coupled to the processing circuit; and One or more antennas are coupled to the radio frequency circuit.

16. The device according to any one of claims 14 to 15, wherein: The processing circuit is further configured to: The communication including the remaining information used to facilitate ranging is decoded.

17. A method for sidelink (SL) positioning, comprising: decoding a control information signal to determine a set of resources for a reference signal, the control information signal comprising a source identifier field, a destination identifier field, and one or more fields for indicating automatic gain control, guard symbols, or a combination thereof; Decoding a reference signal in a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) or decoding into an independent reference signal transmission based on values ​​in one or more fields in the control information signal; and A response to receiving the reference signal is encoded with positioning information.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising: A resource selection window (RSW) is determined to limit reservation of resources to a time window for round trip time (RTT) based ranging.

19. A machine-readable medium comprising instructions for side link (SL) positioning, the instructions, when executed by a processor, causing the processor to perform operations to report cross-link interference, the operations being for: decoding a control information signal to determine a set of resources for a reference signal, the control information signal comprising a source identifier field, a destination identifier field, and one or more fields for indicating automatic gain control, guard symbols, or a combination thereof; Decoding a reference signal in a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) or decoding into an independent reference signal transmission based on values ​​in one or more fields in the control information signal; and A response to receiving the reference signal is encoded with positioning information.

20. The machine-readable medium of claim 19, wherein: The operations are also used to: performing negotiation with the sending UE to agree on the roles of the initiating UE and the responding UE; and Resource selection is performed from the resource pool to allocate another set of resources for the RSW for subsequent transmission of a subsequent reference signal by the transmitting UE.

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