Phase coherent positioning reference signal (PRS) and sounding reference signal (SRS) resource sets

Abstract

Techniques for wireless sensing and / or positioning are disclosed. In an aspect, a base station (BS) may define a resource set including a plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources including a phase-coherent positioning reference signal (PRS) resource, a phase-coherent sounding reference signal (SRS) resource, or a combination thereof. The BS may configure the set of resources for a user equipment (UE). The BS may use the plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources, including: transmitting a phase-coherent PRS signal using the phase-coherent PRS resource; receiving a phase coherent SRS signal using the phase coherent SRS resource; or a combination thereof.

Description

Background Art 1. Technical Field

[0001] Aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to wireless sensing.

[0002] 2. Description of related technologies

[0003] Wireless communication systems have evolved over many generations, including first generation analog wireless telephone service (1G), second generation (2G) digital wireless telephone service (including transitional 2.5G and 2.75G networks), third generation (3G) high speed data, wireless service with Internet capabilities, and fourth generation (4G) services (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE) or WiMax). There are many different types of wireless communication systems in use today, including cellular systems and personal communications service (PCS) systems. Examples of known cellular systems include the cellular analog Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS), and digital cellular systems based on code division multiple access (CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), and the like.

[0004] The fifth generation (5G) wireless standard, known as New Radio (NR), enables higher data transfer speeds, a greater number of connections, and better coverage, among other improvements. According to the Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance, the 5G standard is designed to provide higher data rates, more accurate positioning (e.g., based on reference signals for positioning (RS-P), such as downlink, uplink, or sidelink positioning reference signals (PRS)), and other technical enhancements compared to previous standards. These enhancements, along with the use of higher frequency bands, advances in PRS processes and technologies, and high-density deployments of 5G enable high-precision positioning based on 5G. Summary of the invention

[0005] The following presents a simplified summary of the invention related to one or more aspects disclosed herein. Therefore, the following summary of the invention should neither be considered as an exhaustive overview related to all conceived aspects, nor should it be considered to identify key or decisive elements related to all conceived aspects or to delineate the scope associated with any particular aspect. Therefore, the sole purpose of the following summary of the invention is to present certain concepts related to one or more aspects related to the mechanisms disclosed herein in a simplified form before the detailed embodiments presented below.

[0006] In an aspect, a method includes defining a resource set including a plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources; configuring the resource set for a user equipment (UE); and using the plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources.

[0007] In an aspect, a method includes transmitting a request for a resource set including a plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources to a base station (BS) serving a UE; receiving the resource set including the plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources from the BS; and transmitting the resource set including the plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources to the UE.

[0008] In an aspect, a method includes receiving a resource set including a plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources; and using the plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources.

[0009] In one aspect, a BS comprises: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor, the at least one processor being communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: define a resource set comprising a plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources; configure the resource set for a UE; and use the plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources.

[0010] In one aspect, a network entity includes: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor, the at least one processor being communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: transmit, via the at least one transceiver, a request for a resource set including a plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources to a BS serving a UE; receive, via the at least one transceiver, the resource set including the plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources from the BS; and transmit, via the at least one transceiver, the resource set including the plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources to the UE.

[0011] In one aspect, a UE comprises: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor, the at least one processor being communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: receive a resource set comprising a plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources via the at least one transceiver; and use the plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources.

[0012] Other objects and advantages associated with the various aspects disclosed herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art based on the drawings and detailed description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] The accompanying drawings are presented to aid in describing various aspects of the present disclosure and are provided solely for illustration and not limitation of the various aspects.

[0014] Figure 1 An example wireless communication system in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0015] Figure 2A , Figure 2B and Figure 2C Example wireless network structures according to aspects of the present disclosure are illustrated.

[0016] Figure 3A , Figure 3B and Figure 3C is a simplified block diagram of several sample aspects of components that may be employed in a user equipment (UE), a base station (BS), and a network entity, respectively, and configured to support communications as taught herein.

[0017] Figure 4A is a diagram illustrating an example of a downlink frame structure according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0018] Figure 4B is a diagram illustrating an example of channels within a downlink frame structure according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0019] Figure 4C is a diagram illustrating an example of an uplink frame structure according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0020] Figure 4D is a diagram illustrating an example of channels within an uplink frame structure according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0021] Figure 5 is a diagram illustrating a Positioning Reference Signal (PRS) transmitted by a BS and a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) transmitted by a UE according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0022] 6A and 6B illustrate phase coherent signal transmission and non-phase coherent signal transmission, respectively.

[0023] Figure 7 The use case of sending several pulses (chirps) in sequence where phase coherence across time and antennas is required is illustrated.

[0024] Fig. 8A and Figure 8B A MIMO antenna array and its virtual equivalent are illustrated respectively.

[0025] Fig. 9 is a signaling and event diagram illustrating a process for providing phase-coherent PRS resource sets according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0026] Fig.10 is a signaling and event diagram illustrating a process for providing phase-coherent SRS resource sets according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0027] Fig.11 is a flow diagram of an example process performed by a BS associated with phase-coherent positioning of resource sets in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0028] Fig.12is a flow diagram of an example process performed by a network entity associated with phase-coherent positioning of resource sets in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0029] Fig.13 is a flow diagram of an example process performed by a UE associated with phase-coherent positioning of resource sets in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] Techniques for wireless sensing are disclosed. In one aspect, a base station (BS) may define a resource set including a plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources, the phase-coherent positioning resources including phase-coherent positioning reference signal (PRS) resources, phase-coherent sounding reference signal (SRS) resources, or a combination thereof. The BS may configure the resource set for a user equipment (UE). The BS may use the plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources, including: using the phase-coherent PRS resources to send phase-coherent PRS signals; using the phase-coherent SRS resources to receive phase-coherent SRS signals; or a combination thereof.

[0031] Various aspects of the present disclosure are provided in the following description and related drawings for various examples provided for illustrative purposes. Alternative aspects may be designed without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Additionally, well-known elements of the present disclosure will not be described in detail or will be omitted to avoid making the relevant details of the present disclosure difficult to understand.

[0032] The words "exemplary" and / or "example" are used herein to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration." Any aspect described herein as "exemplary" and / or "example" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects. Likewise, the term "aspects of the disclosure" does not require that all aspects of the disclosure include the discussed feature, advantage, or mode of operation.

[0033] It should be understood by those skilled in the art that any of a variety of different technologies and methods may be used to represent the information and signals described below. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be mentioned throughout the following description may be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, light fields or optical particles, or any combination thereof, which depends in part on the specific application, in part on the desired design, in part on the corresponding technology, and so on.

[0034] In addition, many aspects are described in terms of a sequence of actions to be performed by, for example, an element of a computing device. It will be appreciated that the various actions described herein may be performed by a specific circuit (e.g., an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC)), by program instructions executed by one or more processors, or by a combination of the two. Additionally, the sequence of actions described herein may be considered to be fully embodied in any form of non-transient computer-readable storage medium, in which a corresponding computer instruction set is stored, which, when executed, will cause or command the associated processor of the device to perform the functionality described herein. Therefore, various aspects of the present disclosure may be embodied in a variety of different forms, all of which have been contemplated to be within the scope of the claimed subject matter. In addition, for each of the various aspects described herein, the corresponding form of any such aspect may be described herein as, for example, "logic configured to perform the described actions".

[0035] As used herein, unless otherwise specified, the terms "user equipment" (UE) and "base station" are not intended to be specific or otherwise limited to any specific radio access technology (RAT). In general, a UE may be any wireless communication device (e.g., a mobile phone, a router, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a consumer asset location device, a wearable device (e.g., a smart watch, glasses, an augmented reality (AR) / virtual reality (VR) head-mounted device, etc.), a vehicle (e.g., a car, a motorcycle, a bicycle, etc.), an Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc.) used by a user to communicate over a wireless communication network. A UE may be mobile or may be stationary (e.g., at certain times) and may communicate with a radio access network (RAN). As used herein, the term "UE" may be interchangeably referred to as an "access terminal" or "AT", "client device", "wireless device", "subscriber device", "subscriber terminal", "subscriber station", "user terminal" or "UT", "mobile device", "mobile terminal", "mobile station" or variations thereof. In general, a UE may communicate with a core network via a RAN, and through the core network, the UE may connect to external networks such as the Internet and to other UEs. Of course, other mechanisms for the UE to connect to the core network and / or the Internet are also possible, such as through a wired access network, a wireless local area network (WLAN) network (e.g., based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 specification, etc.), etc.

[0036] A base station may operate according to one of several RATs to communicate with a UE, depending on the network in which the base station is deployed, and may alternatively be referred to as an access point (AP), a network node, a Node B, an evolved Node B (eNB), a next generation eNB (ng-eNB), a new radio (NR) Node B (also referred to as a gNB or gNodeB), etc. A base station may be primarily used to support wireless access for UEs, including supporting data, voice, and / or signaling connections for supported UEs. In some systems, a base station may provide only edge node signaling functions, while in other systems it may provide additional control and / or network management functions. The communication link by which a UE may transmit a signal to a base station is referred to as an uplink (UL) channel (e.g., a reverse traffic channel, a reverse control channel, an access channel, etc.). The communication link by which a base station may transmit a signal to a UE is referred to as a downlink (DL) or forward link channel (e.g., a paging channel, a control channel, a broadcast channel, a forward traffic channel, etc.). As used herein, the term "traffic channel (TCH)" may refer to an uplink / reverse traffic channel or a downlink / forward traffic channel.

[0037] The term "base station" may refer to a single physical transmit-receive point (TRP) or multiple physical TRPs that may or may not be co-located. For example, where the term "base station" refers to a single physical TRP, the physical TRP may be an antenna of the base station corresponding to a cell (or several cell sectors) of the base station. Where the term "base station" refers to multiple co-located physical TRPs, the physical TRP may be an antenna array of the base station (e.g., as in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system or where the base station employs beamforming). Where the term "base station" refers to multiple non-co-located physical TRPs, the physical TRP may be a distributed antenna system (DAS) (a network of spatially separated antennas connected to a common source via a transmission medium) or a remote radio head (RRH) (a remote base station connected to a serving base station). Alternatively, the non-co-located physical TRP may be a serving base station that receives measurement reports from a UE and an adjacent base station whose reference radio frequency (RF) signal the UE is measuring. Because, as used herein, a TRP is a point by which a base station transmits and receives wireless signals, references to transmitting from a base station or receiving at a base station should be understood to refer to a specific TRP of a base station.

[0038] In some specific implementations of supporting UE positioning, the base station may not support wireless access for the UE (e.g., may not support data, voice, and / or signaling connections for the UE), but may instead send a reference signal to be measured by the UE to the UE and / or may receive and measure a signal sent by the UE. Such a base station may be referred to as a positioning beacon (e.g., in the case of sending a signal to the UE) and / or as a position measurement unit (e.g., in the case of receiving and measuring a signal from the UE).

[0039] An "RF signal" includes an electromagnetic wave of a given frequency that transmits information through the space between a transmitter and a receiver. As used herein, a transmitter may transmit a single "RF signal" or multiple "RF signals" to a receiver. However, due to the propagation characteristics of RF signals through multipath channels, a receiver may receive multiple "RF signals" corresponding to each transmitted RF signal. The same transmitted RF signal on different paths between a transmitter and a receiver may be referred to as a "multipath" RF signal. As used herein, an RF signal may also be referred to as a "wireless signal" or simply a "signal" where it is clear from the context that the term "signal" refers to a wireless signal or an RF signal.

[0040] Figure 1 An example wireless communication system 100 according to various aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. The wireless communication system 100 (which may also be referred to as a wireless wide area network (WWAN)) may include various base stations 102 (labeled as "BS") and various UEs 104. The base stations 102 may include macro cell base stations (high power cellular base stations) and / or small cell base stations (low power cellular base stations). In one aspect, the macro cell base stations may include eNBs and / or ng-eNBs (where the wireless communication system 100 corresponds to an LTE network), or gNBs (where the wireless communication system 100 corresponds to an NR network), or a combination of the two, and the small cell base stations may include femto cells, pico cells, micro cells, etc.

[0041] The base stations 102 may collectively form a RAN and interface with a core network 170 (e.g., an evolved packet core (EPC) or a 5G core (5GC)) through a backhaul link 122, and interface with one or more location servers 172 (e.g., a location management function (LMF) or a secure user plane location (SUPL) location platform (SLP)) through the core network 170. The location server 172 may be part of the core network 170 or may be external to the core network 170. The location server 172 may be integrated with the base station 102. The UE 104 may communicate with the location server 172 directly or indirectly. For example, the UE 104 may communicate with the location server 172 via the base station 102 currently serving the UE 104. The UE 104 may also communicate with the location server 172 via another path, such as via an application server (not shown), via another network, such as via a wireless local area network (WLAN) access point (AP) (e.g., AP 150 described below), etc. For signaling purposes, communications between UE 104 and location server 172 may be represented as an indirect connection (e.g., through core network 170, etc.) or a direct connection (e.g., as shown via direct connection 128), with intermediate nodes (if any) omitted from the signaling diagram for clarity.

[0042] Among other functions, the base station 102 may perform functions related to one or more of the following: delivering user data, radio channel encryption and decryption, integrity protection, header compression, mobility control functions (e.g., handover, dual connectivity), inter-cell interference coordination, connection establishment and release, load balancing, distribution of non-access stratum (NAS) messages, NAS node selection, synchronization, RAN sharing, multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS), subscriber and equipment tracking, RAN information management (RIM), paging, positioning, and delivery of warning messages. The base stations 102 may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., through EPC / 5GC) via a backhaul link 134, which may be wired or wireless.

[0043] Base station 102 may communicate wirelessly with UE 104. Each of base stations 102 may provide communication coverage for a corresponding geographic coverage area 110. In one aspect, one or more cells may be supported by base station 102 in each geographic coverage area 110. A "cell" is a logical communication entity used to communicate with a base station (e.g., on a certain frequency resource, which is referred to as a carrier frequency, component carrier, carrier, frequency band, etc.), and may be associated with an identifier (e.g., a physical cell identifier (PCI), an enhanced cell identifier (ECI), a virtual cell identifier (VCI), a cell global identifier (CGI), etc.) used to distinguish cells operating via the same or different carrier frequencies. In some cases, different cells may be configured according to different protocol types (e.g., machine type communication (MTC), narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), or other protocol types) that may provide access to different types of UEs. Because a cell is supported by a specific base station, the term "cell" may refer to either or both of the logical communication entity and the base station supporting it, depending on the context. In addition, since the TRP is generally the physical transmission point of the cell, the terms "cell" and "TRP" may be used interchangeably. In some cases, the term "cell" may also refer to a geographic coverage area (e.g., a sector) of a base station, as long as a carrier frequency can be detected and used for communications within a portion of the geographic coverage area 110.

[0044] Although the geographic coverage areas 110 of neighboring macrocell base stations 102 may partially overlap (e.g., in a handover region), some of the geographic coverage areas 110 may substantially overlap with the larger geographic coverage areas 110. For example, a small cell base station 102' (labeled "SC" for "small cell") may have a geographic coverage area 110' that substantially overlaps with the geographic coverage areas 110 of one or more macrocell base stations 102. A network that includes both small cell base stations and macrocell base stations may be referred to as a heterogeneous network. A heterogeneous network may also include a home eNB (HeNB), which may provide services to a restricted group called a closed subscriber group (CSG).

[0045] The communication link 120 between the base station 102 and the UE 104 may include uplink (also referred to as a reverse link) transmissions from the UE 104 to the base station 102 and / or downlink (DL) (also referred to as a forward link) transmissions from the base station 102 to the UE 104. The communication link 120 may use MIMO antenna technology, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and / or transmit diversity. The communication link 120 may be over one or more carrier frequencies. The allocation of carriers may be asymmetric for the downlink and uplink (e.g., more or fewer carriers may be allocated to the downlink than to the uplink).

[0046] The wireless communication system 100 may also include a WLAN access point (AP) 150 that communicates with a wireless local area network (WLAN) station (STA) 152 in an unlicensed spectrum (e.g., 5 GHz) via a communication link 154. When communicating in the unlicensed spectrum, the WLAN STA 152 and / or the WLAN AP 150 may perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) or a listen before talk (LBT) process prior to communication to determine whether a channel is available.

[0047] The small cell base station 102' can operate in licensed and / or unlicensed spectrum. When operating in the unlicensed spectrum, the small cell base station 102' can adopt LTE or NR technology and use the same 5GHz unlicensed spectrum used by the WLAN AP 150. The small cell base station 102' using LTE / 5G in the unlicensed spectrum can improve the coverage of the access network and / or increase the capacity of the access network. NR in the unlicensed spectrum can be referred to as NR-U. LTE in the unlicensed spectrum can be referred to as LTE-U, Licensed Assisted Access (LAA) or MulteFire.

[0048] The wireless communication system 100 may also include a millimeter wave (mmW) base station 180, which can operate at mmW frequencies and / or near mmW frequencies to communicate with UE 182. Extremely high frequency (EHF) is part of RF in the electromagnetic spectrum. EHF has a range of 30 GHz to 300 GHz, with a wavelength between 1 mm and 10 mm. The radio waves in this band may be referred to as millimeter waves. Near mmW can be extended downward to a frequency of 3 GHz, with a wavelength of 100 mm. The super high frequency (SHF) band extends between 3 GHz and 30 GHz, and it is also referred to as centimeter waves. Communications using mmW / near mmW radio frequency bands have high path loss and relatively short distances. The mmW base station 180 and UE 182 can utilize beamforming (transmitting and / or receiving) on ​​the mmW communication link 184 to compensate for extremely high path loss and short distances. In addition, it should be understood that in an alternative configuration, one or more base stations 102 may also use mmW or near mmW and beamforming for transmission. Therefore, it should be understood that the foregoing illustrations are merely examples and should not be construed as limiting the various aspects disclosed herein.

[0049] Transmit beamforming is a technique for focusing an RF signal in a specific direction. Traditionally, when a network node (e.g., a base station) broadcasts an RF signal, it broadcasts the signal in all directions (omnidirectionally). With transmit beamforming, the network node determines where a given target device (e.g., a UE) is located (relative to the transmitting network node) and projects a stronger downlink RF signal in that specific direction, thereby providing a faster (in terms of data rate) and stronger RF signal to the receiving device. In order to change the directionality of the RF signal when transmitting, the network node can control the phase and relative amplitude of the RF signal at each of the one or more transmitters that broadcast the RF signal. For example, a network node can use an array of antennas (called a "phased array" or "antenna array") that creates RF beams that can be "steered" to point in different directions without actually moving the antennas. Specifically, the RF current from the transmitter is fed to each antenna in the correct phase relationship so that the radio waves from the separate antennas are added together to increase the radiation in the desired direction while canceling to suppress the radiation in the undesired direction.

[0050] The transmit beams can be quasi-co-located, which means that they appear to the receiver (e.g., UE) to have the same parameters, regardless of whether the network node's own transmit antenna is physically co-located. In NR, there are four types of quasi-co-location (QCL) relationships. Specifically, a given type of QCL relationship means that certain parameters about the second reference RF signal on the second beam can be derived based on information about the source reference RF signal on the source beam. Therefore, if the source reference RF signal is QCL type A, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, and delay spread of the second reference RF signal sent on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL type B, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and Doppler spread of the second reference RF signal sent on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL type C, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and average delay of the second reference RF signal sent on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL type D, the receiver may use the source reference RF signal to estimate spatial reception parameters of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel.

[0051] In receive beamforming, the receiver uses receive beams to amplify RF signals detected on a given channel. For example, the receiver may increase the gain setting of the antenna array in a particular direction and / or adjust the phase setting of the antenna array in a particular direction to amplify the RF signal received from that direction (e.g., increase its gain level). Therefore, when a receiver is said to perform beamforming in a certain direction, it means that the beam gain in that direction is high relative to the beam gain along other directions, or the beam gain in that direction is the highest compared to the beam gain in that direction of all other receive beams available to the receiver. This results in a stronger received signal strength (e.g., reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR), etc.) of the RF signal received from that direction.

[0052] The transmit beam and the receive beam may be spatially correlated. The spatial relationship means that parameters of a second beam (e.g., a transmit beam or a receive beam) for a second reference signal may be derived based on information about a first beam (e.g., a receive beam or a transmit beam) for a first reference signal. For example, a UE may use a specific receive beam to receive a reference downlink reference signal (e.g., a synchronization signal block (SSB)) from a base station. The UE may then form a transmit beam for transmitting an uplink reference signal (e.g., a sounding reference signal (SRS)) to the base station based on the parameters of the receive beam.

[0053] Note that depending on the entity forming the "downlink" beam, the beam can be a transmit beam or a receive beam. For example, if the base station is forming a downlink beam to send a reference signal to the UE, the downlink beam is a transmit beam. However, if the UE is forming a downlink beam, the downlink beam is a receive beam that receives a downlink reference signal. Similarly, depending on the entity forming the "uplink" beam, the beam can be a transmit beam or a receive beam. For example, if the base station is forming an uplink beam, it is an uplink receive beam, while if the UE is forming an uplink beam, it is an uplink transmit beam.

[0054] The electromagnetic spectrum is typically subdivided into various categories, bands, channels, etc. based on frequency / wavelength. In 5GNR, two initial operating bands have been identified as frequency range designations FR1 (410 MHz-7.125 GHz) and FR2 (24.25 GHz-52.6 GHz). It should be understood that, although a portion of FR1 is greater than 6 GHz, FR1 is often (interchangeably) referred to as the "below 6 GHz" band in various documents and articles. A similar naming problem sometimes occurs with respect to FR2, which is often (interchangeably) referred to as the "millimeter wave" band in documents and articles, although different from the extremely high frequency (EHF) band (30 GHz-300 GHz) identified as the "millimeter wave" band by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

[0055] Frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are generally referred to as mid-band frequencies. Recent 5G NR research has identified the operating bands for these mid-band frequencies as frequency range designation FR3 (7.125GHz-24.25GHz). The bands falling within FR3 can inherit FR1 characteristics and / or FR2 characteristics, so the features of FR1 and / or FR2 can be effectively extended to mid-band frequencies. In addition, higher frequency bands are currently being explored to extend 5G NR operations to more than 52.6GHz. For example, three higher operating bands have been identified as frequency range designations FR4a or FR4-1 (52.6GHz-71GHz), FR4 (52.6GHz-114.25GHz) and FR5 (114.25GHz-300GHz). Each of these higher frequency bands falls within the EHF band.

[0056] In view of the above aspects, unless otherwise specifically stated, it should be understood that if used herein, the term "below 6 GHz" or the like can broadly refer to frequencies that can be less than 6 GHz, can be within FR1, or can include mid-band frequencies. In addition, unless otherwise specifically stated, it should be understood that if the term "millimeter wave" or the like is used herein, it can broadly refer to frequencies that can include mid-band frequencies, can be within FR2, FR4, FR4-a or FR4-1 and / or FR5, or can be within the EHF band.

[0057] In a multi-carrier system (such as 5G), one of the carrier frequencies is referred to as the "primary carrier" or "anchor carrier" or "primary serving cell" or "PCell", and the remaining carrier frequencies are referred to as "secondary carriers" or "secondary serving cells" or "SCells". In carrier aggregation, the anchor carrier is a carrier operating on the primary frequency (e.g., FR1) utilized by the UE 104 / 182 and the cell in which the UE 104 / 182 performs an initial radio resource control (RRC) connection establishment procedure or initiates an RRC connection re-establishment procedure. The primary carrier carries all common and UE-specific control channels and can be a carrier in a licensed frequency (however, this is not always the case). A secondary carrier is a carrier operating on a second frequency (e.g., FR2) that can be configured and used to provide additional radio resources once an RRC connection is established between the UE 104 and the anchor carrier. In some cases, the secondary carrier can be a carrier in an unlicensed frequency. The secondary carrier may contain only necessary signaling information and signals, for example, since the primary uplink carrier and the primary downlink carrier are usually UE-specific, those UE-specific signaling information and signals may not be present in the secondary carrier. This means that different UEs 104 / 182 in a cell may have different downlink primary carriers. The same is true for the uplink primary carrier. The network is able to change the primary carrier of any UE 104 / 182 at any time. This is done, for example, to balance the load on different carriers. Because a "serving cell" (whether PCell or SCell) corresponds to a carrier frequency / component carrier on which a base station communicates, the terms "cell", "serving cell", "component carrier", "carrier frequency", etc. are used interchangeably.

[0058] For example, still referring to Figure 1, one of the frequencies utilized by the macrocell base station 102 may be an anchor carrier (or "PCell"), and the other frequencies used by the macrocell base station 102 and / or the mmW base station 180 may be secondary carriers ("SCells"). Simultaneous transmission and / or reception of multiple carriers enables the UE 104 / 182 to significantly increase its data transmission and / or reception rate. For example, two 20 MHz aggregated carriers in a multi-carrier system would theoretically result in a doubling of the data rate (i.e., 40 MHz) compared to the data rate obtained with a single 20 MHz carrier.

[0059] The wireless communication system 100 may also include a UE 164, which may communicate with the macrocell base station 102 via a communication link 120 and / or communicate with the mmW base station 180 via a mmW communication link 184. For example, the macrocell base station 102 may support a PCell and one or more SCells for the UE 164, and the mmW base station 180 may support one or more SCells for the UE 164.

[0060] In some cases, UE 164 and UE 182 are capable of sidelink communication. A UE with sidelink capability (SL-UE) can communicate with base station 102 via communication link 120 using a Uu interface (i.e., an air interface between UE and base station). SL-UEs (e.g., UE 164, UE 182) can also communicate directly with each other via a wireless sidelink 160 using a PC5 interface (i.e., an air interface between UEs with sidelink capability). A wireless sidelink (or just "sidelink") is an adaptation of a core cellular network (e.g., LTE, NR) standard that allows direct communication between two or more UEs without communicating through a base station. Sidelink communications can be unicast or multicast and can be used for device-to-device (D2D) media sharing, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2X) communications (e.g., cellular V2X (cV2X) communications, enhanced V2X (eV2X) communications, etc.), emergency rescue applications, etc. One or more SL-UEs in a group of SL-UEs utilizing sidelink communications may be located within the geographic coverage area 110 of the base station 102. Other SL-UEs in such a group may be outside the geographic coverage area 110 of the base station 102, or may be unable to receive transmissions from the base station 102 for other reasons. In some cases, each group of SL-UEs communicating via sidelink communications may utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system, in which each SL-UE transmits to each other SL-UE in the group. In some cases, the base station 102 facilitates the scheduling of resources for the sidelink communications. In other cases, the sidelink communications are performed between the SL-UEs without involving the base station 102.

[0061] In one aspect, the sidelink 160 may operate on a wireless communication medium of interest, which may be shared with other vehicles and / or infrastructure access points and other wireless communications between other RATs. A "medium" may include one or more time, frequency, and / or spatial communication resources associated with wireless communications between one or more transmitter / receiver pairs (e.g., covering one or more channels across one or more carriers). In one aspect, the medium of interest may correspond to at least a portion of an unlicensed band shared between various RATs. Although different licensed bands have been reserved for certain communication systems (e.g., by government entities such as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the United States), these systems (particularly those employing small cell access points) have recently expanded operations into unlicensed bands such as the unlicensed National Information Infrastructure (U-NII) band used by wireless local area network (WLAN) technology (most notably the IEEE 802.11x WLAN technology commonly referred to as "Wi-Fi"). Example systems of this type include different variations of CDMA systems, TDMA systems, FDMA systems, orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA) systems, single carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) systems, and the like.

[0062] Note that although Figure 1 Only two of these UEs are illustrated as SL-UEs (i.e., UEs 164 and 182), but any of the illustrated UEs may be SL-UEs. In addition, although only UE 182 is described as being capable of beamforming, any of the illustrated UEs (including UE 164) may be capable of beamforming. In the case where SL-UEs are capable of beamforming, they may beamform toward each other (i.e., toward other SL-UEs), toward other UEs (e.g., UE 104), toward base stations (e.g., base stations 102, 180, small cells 102', access point 150), etc. Therefore, in some cases, UE 164 and UE 182 may utilize beamforming via side link 160.

[0063] exist Figure 1 In the example of FIG. 1 , the UE illustrated (for simplicity, in Figure 1Any of the UEs 104 (shown as a single UE 104 in FIG. 1 ) may receive a signal 124 from one or more earth orbiting space vehicles (SVs) 112 (e.g., satellites). In one aspect, the SVs 112 may be part of a satellite positioning system that the UEs 104 may use as an independent source of location information. A satellite positioning system typically includes a transmitter system (e.g., SV 112) positioned to enable a receiver (e.g., UE 104) to determine its position on or above the earth based at least in part on a positioning signal (e.g., signal 124) received from the transmitter. Such a transmitter typically transmits a signal of a repeating pseudo-random noise (PN) code marked with a set number of chips. Although typically located in the SVs 112, the transmitters may sometimes be located on ground-based control stations, base stations 102, and / or other UEs 104. The UEs 104 may include one or more dedicated receivers that are specifically designed to receive the signal 124 in order to derive geographic location information from the SVs 112.

[0064] In a satellite positioning system, the use of signal 124 may be enhanced by various satellite-based augmentation systems (SBAS) that may be associated with or otherwise enabled for use with one or more global and / or regional navigation satellite systems. For example, SBAS may include augmentation systems that provide integrity information, differential corrections, etc., such as Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), Multifunction Satellite Augmentation System (MSAS), Global Positioning System (GPS) Assisted Geographic Augmented Navigation, or GPS and Geographic Augmented Navigation System (GAGAN), etc. Thus, as used herein, a satellite positioning system may include any combination of one or more global and / or regional navigation satellites associated with such one or more satellite positioning systems.

[0065] In one aspect, SV 112 may additionally or alternatively be part of one or more non-terrestrial networks (NTNs). In an NTN, SV 112 is connected to an earth station (also referred to as a ground station, NTN gateway, or gateway), which in turn is connected to an element in a 5G network, such as an improved base station 102 (without a ground antenna) or a network node in a 5GC. This element in turn will provide access to other elements in the 5G network, and ultimately provide access to entities outside the 5G network (such as Internet web servers and other user equipment). In this way, instead of or in addition to communication signals from a ground base station 102, a UE 104 can receive communication signals (e.g., signal 124) from a SV 112.

[0066] The wireless communication system 100 may also include one or more UEs (such as UE 190) that are indirectly connected to one or more communication networks via one or more device-to-device (D2D) peer-to-peer (P2P) links (referred to as “side links”). Figure 1 In the example of FIG. 1 , UE 190 has a D2D P2P link 192 with one of UEs 104 connected to one of base stations 102 (e.g., UE 190 can indirectly obtain cellular connectivity through the D2D P2P link), and has a D2D P2P link 194 with WLAN STA 152 connected to WLAN AP 150 (UE 190 can indirectly obtain WLAN-based Internet connectivity through the D2D P2P link). In an example, D2D P2P links 192 and 194 can be supported by any well-known D2D RAT, such as LTE Direct (LTE-D), WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), etc.

[0067] Figure 2A An example wireless network structure 200 is illustrated. For example, the 5GC 210 (also referred to as the Next Generation Core (NGC)) can be functionally viewed as a control plane (C-plane) function 214 (e.g., UE registration, authentication, network access, gateway selection, etc.) and a user plane (U-plane) function 212 (e.g., UE gateway function, access to data networks, IP routing, etc.), which operate in conjunction to form a core network. The user plane interface (NG-U) 213 and the control plane interface (NG-C) 215 connect the gNB 222 to the 5GC 210, and specifically to the user plane function 212 and the control plane function 214, respectively. In an additional configuration, the ng-eNB 224 can also be connected to the 5GC 210 via the NG-C 215 to the control plane function 214 and the NG-U 213 to the user plane function 212. In addition, the ng-eNB 224 can communicate directly with the gNB 222 via the backhaul connection 223. In some configurations, the next generation RAN (NG-RAN) 220 may have one or more gNBs 222, while other configurations include one or more of ng-eNBs 224 and gNBs 222. Either the gNB 222 or the ng-eNB 224 (or both) may communicate with one or more UEs 204 (e.g., any of the UEs described herein).

[0068] Another optional aspect may include a location server 230 that can communicate with the 5GC 210 to provide location assistance for the UE 204. The location server 230 may be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules distributed across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively may each correspond to a single server. The location server 230 may be configured to support one or more location services for the UE 204 that may be connected to the location server 230 via the core network, the 5GC 210, and / or via the Internet (not illustrated). In addition, the location server 230 may be integrated into a component of the core network, or alternatively may be external to the core network (e.g., a third-party server, such as an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) server or a service server).

[0069] Figure 2B Another example wireless network structure 240 is illustrated. 5GC 260 (which may correspond to Figure 2AThe 5GC 210 in the 5GC 210 can be functionally considered as a control plane function provided by an access and mobility management function (AMF) 264, and a user plane function provided by a user plane function (UPF) 262, which operate in conjunction to form a core network (i.e., 5GC 260). The functions of the AMF 264 include: registration management, connection management, reachability management, mobility management, lawful interception, transmission of session management (SM) messages between one or more UEs 204 (e.g., any of the UEs described herein) and a session management function (SMF) 266, a transparent proxy service for routing SM messages, access authentication and access granting, transmission of short message service (SMS) messages between the UE 204 and a short message service function (SMSF) (not shown), and security anchor functionality (SEAF). The AMF 264 also interacts with an authentication server function (AUSF) (not shown) and the UE 204, and receives an intermediate key established as a result of the UE 204 authentication process. In the case of authentication based on the UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) Subscriber Identity Module (USIM), the AMF 264 retrieves security material from the AUSF. The functionality of the AMF 264 also includes security context management (SCM). The SCM receives keys from the SEAF, which it uses to derive access network specific keys. The functionality of the AMF 264 also includes location service management for regulatory services, for the transmission of location service messages between the UE 204 and the Location Management Function (LMF) 270 (which acts as a location server 230), for the transmission of location service messages between the NG-RAN 220 and the LMF 270, for the allocation of Evolved Packet System (EPS) bearer identifiers for interoperation with EPS, and UE 204 mobility event notifications. In addition, the AMF 264 also supports functionality for non-3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project) access networks.

[0070] The functions of UPF 262 include: acting as an anchor point for intra-RAT / inter-RAT mobility (when applicable), acting as an external protocol data unit (PDU) session point for interconnection to a data network (not shown), providing packet routing and forwarding, packet inspection, user plane policy rule enforcement (e.g., gating, redirection, service steering), lawful interception (user plane collection), service usage reporting, user plane quality of service (QoS) handling (e.g., uplink / downlink rate enforcement, reflective QoS marking in downlink), uplink service verification (service data flow (SDF) to QoS flow mapping), transport level packet marking in uplink and downlink, downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering, and transmitting and forwarding one or more "end markers" to the source RAN node. UPF 262 can also support the delivery of location service messages between UE 204 and a location server (such as SLP 272) on the user plane.

[0071] The functions of SMF 266 include session management, UE Internet Protocol (IP) address allocation and management, selection and control of user plane functions, traffic steering configuration for routing traffic to the correct destination at UPF 262, partial control of policy enforcement and QoS, and downlink data notification. The interface through which SMF 266 communicates with AMF 264 is called the N11 interface.

[0072] Another optional aspect may include an LMF 270 that can communicate with the 5GC 260 to provide location assistance for the UE 204. The LMF 270 can be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules distributed across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively can each correspond to a single server. The LMF 270 can be configured to support one or more location services for the UE 204, which can be connected to the LMF 270 via the core network, the 5GC 260, and / or via the Internet (not illustrated). SLP 272 may support similar functionality as LMF 270, but LMF 270 may communicate with AMF 264, NG-RAN 220, and UE 204 on a control plane (e.g., using interfaces and protocols designed to carry signaling messages rather than voice or data), and SLP 272 may communicate with UE 204 and external clients (e.g., third-party servers 274) on a user plane (e.g., using protocols designed to carry voice and / or data, such as the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and / or IP).

[0073] Yet another optional aspect may include a third-party server 274 that can communicate with the LMF 270, SLP 272, 5GC 260 (e.g., via AMF 264 and / or UPF 262), NG-RAN 220, and / or UE 204 to obtain location information (e.g., location estimate) of UE 204. Thus, in some cases, the third-party server 274 may be referred to as a location service (LCS) client or an external client. The third-party server 274 may be implemented as a plurality of separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules distributed across multiple physical servers, etc.), or may alternatively each correspond to a single server.

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

[0075] The functionality of the gNB 222 may be divided between a gNB central unit (gNB-CU) 226, one or more gNB distributed units (gNB-DU) 228, and one or more gNB radio units (gNB-RU) 229. The gNB-CU 226 is a logical node that includes base station functions other than those specifically assigned to the gNB-DU 228, including delivery of user data, mobility control, radio access network sharing, positioning, session management, and the like. More specifically, the gNB-CU 226 generally hosts the radio resource control (RRC), service data adaptation protocol (SDAP), and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) protocols of the gNB 222. The gNB-DU 228 is a logical node that generally hosts the radio link control (RLC) and medium access control (MAC) layers of the gNB 222. Its operation is controlled by the gNB-CU 226. One gNB-DU 228 may support one or more cells, and one cell is supported by only one gNB-DU 228. The interface 232 between the gNB-CU 226 and one or more gNB-DUs 228 is referred to as the "F1" interface. The physical (PHY) layer functionality of the gNB 222 is typically hosted by one or more independent gNB-RUs 229, which perform functions such as power amplification and signal transmission / reception. The interface between the gNB-DU 228 and the gNB-RU 229 is referred to as the "Fx" interface. Thus, the UE 204 communicates with the gNB-CU 226 via the RRC layer, the SDAP layer, and the PDCP layer, communicates with the gNB-DU 228 via the RLC layer and the MAC layer, and communicates with the gNB-RU 229 via the PHY layer.

[0076] The deployment of a communication system (such as a 5G NR system) can be arranged with various components or components in a variety of ways. In a 5G NR system or network, a network node, a network entity, a mobility element of a network, a RAN node, a core network node, a network element or a network equipment (such as a base station or one or more units (or one or more components) that perform base station functionality can be implemented in an aggregated or decomposed architecture. For example, a base station (such as a node B (NB), an evolved NB (eNB), an NR base station, a 5GNB, an access point (AP), a transmit receive point (TRP) or a cell, etc.) can be implemented as an aggregated base station (also referred to as an independent base station or a single-chip base station) or a decomposed base station.

[0077] A converged base station may be configured to utilize a radio protocol stack physically or logically integrated within a single RAN node. A decomposed base station may be configured to utilize a protocol stack physically or logically distributed between two or more units, such as one or more central or centralized units (CUs), one or more distributed units (DUs), or one or more radio units (RUs). In some aspects, a CU may be implemented within a RAN node, and one or more DUs may be co-located with the CU, or alternatively, may be geographically or virtually distributed in one or more other RAN nodes. A DU may be implemented to communicate with one or more RUs. Each of a CU, a DU, and a RU may also be implemented as a virtual unit, i.e., a virtual central unit (VCU), a virtual distributed unit (VDU), or a virtual radio unit (VRU).

[0078] Base station type operations or network designs may take into account the aggregated nature of base station functionality. For example, a disaggregated base station may be used in an integrated access backhaul (IAB) network, an open radio access network (O-RAN (network configurations such as those initiated by the O-RAN Alliance)), or a virtualized radio access network (vRAN, also known as a cloud radio access network (C-RAN)). Decomposition may include distributing functionality across two or more units at various physical locations, as well as virtually distributing functionality of at least one unit, which may enable flexibility in network design. Individual units of a disaggregated base station or disaggregated RAN architecture may be configured for wired or wireless communication with at least one other unit.

[0079] Figure 2C An example disaggregated base station architecture 250 is illustrated in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The disaggregated base station architecture 250 may include one or more central units (CUs) 280 (e.g., gNB-CUs 226), which may communicate directly with a core network 267 (e.g., 5GC 210, 5GC 260) via a backhaul link, or indirectly with a core network 267 through one or more disaggregated base station units, such as a near real-time (near-RT) RAN intelligent controller (RIC) 259 via an E2 link or a non-real-time (non-RT) RIC 257 associated with a service management and orchestration (SMO) framework 255, or both. The CU 280 may communicate with one or more distributed units (DUs) 285 (e.g., gNB-DUs 228) via respective midhaul links (e.g., F1 interfaces). The DUs 285 may communicate with one or more radio units (RUs) 287 (e.g., gNB-RUs 229) via respective fronthaul links. The RU 287 can communicate with a corresponding UE 204 via one or more radio frequency (RF) access links. In some implementations, a UE 204 can be served by multiple RUs 287 simultaneously.

[0080] Each of these units (i.e., CU 280, DU 285, RU 287, and near-RT RIC 259, non-RT RIC 257, and SMO framework 255) may include or be coupled to one or more interfaces configured to receive or send signals, data, or information (collectively referred to as signals) via a wired or wireless transmission medium. Each of these units or an associated processor or controller that provides instructions to the communication interface of these units may be configured to communicate with one or more of the other units via a transmission medium. For example, these units may include a wired interface configured to receive or send signals to one or more of the other units via a wired transmission medium. Additionally, the unit may include a wireless interface that may include a receiver, a transmitter, or a transceiver (such as a radio frequency (RF) transceiver) that is configured to receive or send signals, or both, to one or more of the other units via a wireless transmission medium.

[0081] In some aspects, CU 280 may host one or more higher-layer control functions. Such control functions may include radio resource control (RRC), packet data convergence protocol (PDCP), service data adaptation protocol (SDAP), etc. Each control function may be implemented using an interface that is configured to communicate signals with other control functions hosted by CU 280. CU 280 may be configured to handle user plane functionality (i.e., central unit-user plane (CU-UP)), control plane functionality (i.e., central unit-control plane (CU-CP)), or a combination thereof. In some specific implementations, CU 280 may be logically divided into one or more CU-UP units and one or more CU-CP units. When implemented in an O-RAN configuration, the CU-UP unit may communicate bidirectionally with the CU-CP unit via an interface (such as an E1 interface). As needed, CU 280 may be implemented to communicate with DU 285 for network control and signaling.

[0082] DU 285 may correspond to a logical unit that includes one or more base station functions for controlling the operation of one or more RU 287. In some aspects, DU 285 may host one or more of a radio link control (RLC) layer, a medium access control (MAC) layer, and one or more high physical (PHY) layers (such as modules for forward error correction (FEC) encoding and decoding, scrambling, modulation and demodulation, etc.) depending at least in part on a functional split such as defined by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). In some aspects, DU 285 may further host one or more low PHY layers. Each layer (or module) may be implemented using an interface that is configured to communicate signals with other layers (and modules) hosted by DU 285 or with control functions hosted by CU 280.

[0083] The lower layer functionality may be implemented by one or more RUs 287. In some deployments, a RU 287 controlled by a DU 285 may correspond to a logical node that hosts RF processing functions or low PHY layer functions (such as performing Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), Inverse FFT (iFFT), digital beamforming, physical random access channel (PRACH) extraction and filtering, etc.), or both, based at least in part on functional partitioning (such as lower layer functional partitioning). In such an architecture, the RU 287 may be implemented to handle over-the-air (OTA) communications with one or more UEs 204. In some implementations, real-time and non-real-time aspects of control plane communications and user plane communications with the RU 287 may be controlled by the corresponding DU 285. In some scenarios, this configuration may enable the implementation of the DU 285 and the CU 280 in a cloud-based RAN architecture (such as a vRAN architecture).

[0084] The SMO framework 255 may be configured to support RAN deployment and provisioning of non-virtualized network elements and virtualized network elements. For non-virtualized network elements, the SMO framework 255 may be configured to support the deployment of dedicated physical resources for RAN coverage requirements, which may be managed via an operation and maintenance interface (such as an O1 interface). For virtualized network elements, the SMO framework 255 may be configured to interact with a cloud computing platform (such as an open cloud (O-Cloud) 269) to perform network element lifecycle management (such as to instantiate virtualized network elements) via a cloud computing platform interface (such as an O2 interface). Such virtualized network elements may include, but are not limited to, CU 280, DU 285, RU 287, and near-RT RIC 259. In some specific implementations, the SMO framework 255 may communicate with hardware aspects of the 4G RAN (such as an open eNB (O-eNB) 261) via the O1 interface. Additionally, in some specific implementations, the SMO framework 255 may communicate directly with one or more RUs 287 via the O1 interface. The SMO framework 255 may also include a non-RT RIC 257 configured to support the functionality of the SMO framework 255 .

[0085] The non-RT RIC 257 may be configured to include logic functions that enable non-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources, artificial intelligence / machine learning (AI / ML) workflows including model training and updating, or policy-based guidance of applications / features in the near-RT RIC 259. The non-RT RIC 257 may be coupled to or communicate with the near-RT RIC 259 (such as via an A1 interface). The near-RT RIC 259 may be configured to include logic functions that enable near-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources via data collection and actions through an interface (such as via an E2 interface) that connects one or more CUs 280, one or more DUs 285, or both, and the O-eNB with the near-RT RIC 259.

[0086] In some implementations, in order to generate an AI / ML model to be deployed in the near-RT RIC 259, the non-RT RIC 257 may receive parameters or external enrichment information from an external server. Such information may be utilized by the near-RT RIC 259 and may be received from a non-network data source or from a network function at the SMO framework 255 or the non-RT RIC 257. In some examples, the non-RT RIC 257 or the near-RT RIC 259 may be configured to tune RAN behavior or performance. For example, the non-RT RIC 257 may monitor long-term trends and patterns of performance and employ AI / ML models to perform corrective actions through the SMO framework 255 (such as via reconfiguration of O1) or via the creation of RAN management policies (such as A1 policies).

[0087] Figure 3A , Figure 3B and Figure 3C The example may be incorporated into a UE 302 (which may correspond to any of the UEs described herein), a base station 304 (which may correspond to any of the base stations described herein), and a network entity 306 (which may correspond to or embody any of the network functions described herein, including the location server 230 and the LMF 270, or alternatively may be independent of Figure 2A and Figure 2B Several example components (represented by corresponding boxes) in the NG-RAN 220 and / or 5GC 210 / 260 infrastructure depicted in the 5GC 210 / 260 (such as a dedicated network) are shown to support operations as described herein. It should be understood that these components can be implemented in different types of devices with different specific implementations (e.g., in an ASIC, in a system on a chip (SoC), etc.). The illustrated components can also be incorporated into other devices in the communication system. For example, other devices in the system may include components similar to those described as providing similar functionality. Moreover, a given device may include one or more of these components. For example, a device may include multiple transceiver components that enable the device to operate on multiple carriers and / or communicate via different technologies.

[0088] UE 302 and base station 304 each include one or more wireless wide area network (WWAN) transceivers 310 and 350, respectively, which provide means (e.g., means for transmitting, means for receiving, means for measuring, means for tuning, means for preventing transmitting, etc.) for communicating via one or more wireless communication networks (not shown), such as NR networks, LTE networks, GSM networks, etc. WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 may each be connected to one or more antennas 316 and 356, respectively, for communicating with other network nodes (such as other UEs, access points, base stations (e.g., eNBs, gNBs), etc.) via at least one designated RAT (e.g., NR, LTE, GSM, etc.) on a wireless communication medium of interest (e.g., a set of time / frequency resources in a particular spectrum). The WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 may be configured in various ways according to the specified RAT to send and encode signals 318 and 358 (e.g., messages, indications, information, etc.), and vice versa, to receive and decode signals 318 and 358 (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, etc.). Specifically, the WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 include: one or more transmitters 314 and 354 for sending and decoding the signals 318 and 358, respectively, and one or more receivers 312 and 352 for receiving and decoding the signals 318 and 358, respectively.

[0089] At least in some cases, the UE 302 and the base station 304 each further include one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360, respectively. The short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 can be connected to one or more antennas 326 and 366, respectively, and provide for communicating over the wireless communication medium of interest via at least one designated RAT (e.g., WiFi, LTE-D, The short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 are components (e.g., components for sending, components for receiving, components for measuring, components for tuning, components for preventing sending, etc.) for communicating with other network nodes (such as other UEs, access points, base stations, etc.) using a PC5, dedicated short-range communication (DSRC), wireless access for vehicle environments (WAVE), near field communication (NFC), ultra-wideband (UWB), etc.). The short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 can be configured in various ways according to the specified RAT to send and encode signals 328 and 368 (e.g., messages, indications, information, etc.), and conversely, to receive and decode signals 328 and 368 (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, etc.). Specifically, the short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 respectively include: one or more transmitters 324 and 364 for sending and decoding signals 328 and 368, respectively, and one or more receivers 322 and 362 for receiving and decoding signals 328 and 368, respectively. As a specific example, the short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 may be WiFi transceivers, Transceiver, and / or transceiver, NFC transceiver, UWB transceiver or vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and / or vehicle-to-everything (V2X) transceiver.

[0090] At least in some cases, the UE 302 and the base station 304 also include satellite signal receivers 330 and 370. The satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 may be connected to one or more antennas 336 and 376, respectively, and may provide components for receiving and / or measuring satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378, respectively. In the case where the satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 are satellite positioning system receivers, the satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378 may be global positioning system (GPS) signals, global navigation satellite system (GLONASS) signals, Galileo signals, Beidou signals, Indian regional navigation satellite system (NAVIC), Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), etc. In the case where the satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 are non-terrestrial network (NTN) receivers, the satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378 may be communication signals (e.g., carrying control and / or user data) originating from a 5G network. The satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 may include any suitable hardware and / or software for receiving and processing satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378, respectively. Satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 may request appropriate information and operations from other systems and, at least in some cases, perform calculations using measurements obtained by any suitable satellite positioning system algorithm to determine the positions of UE 302 and base station 304, respectively.

[0091] The base station 304 and the network entity 306 each include one or more network transceivers 380 and 390, respectively, which provide components (e.g., components for sending, components for receiving, etc.) for communicating with other network entities (e.g., other base stations 304, other network entities 306). For example, the base station 304 may employ one or more network transceivers 380 to communicate with other base stations 304 or network entities 306 through one or more wired or wireless backhaul links. For another example, the network entity 306 may employ one or more network transceivers 390 to communicate with one or more base stations 304 through one or more wired or wireless backhaul links, or communicate with other network entities 306 through one or more wired or wireless core network interfaces.

[0092] The transceiver may be configured to communicate over a wired or wireless link. A transceiver (whether a wired transceiver or a wireless transceiver) includes a transmitter circuit (e.g., transmitters 314, 324, 354, 364) and a receiver circuit (e.g., receivers 312, 322, 352, 362). In some implementations, the transceiver may be an integrated device (e.g., implementing the transmitter circuit and the receiver circuit in a single device), in some implementations may include separate transmitter circuits and separate receiver circuits, or in other implementations may be implemented in other ways. The transmitter circuit and the receiver circuit of a wired transceiver (e.g., network transceivers 380 and 390 in some implementations) may be coupled to one or more wired network interface ports. The wireless transmitter circuitry (e.g., transmitters 314, 324, 354, 364) may include or be coupled to multiple antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such as antenna arrays, which allow the corresponding device (e.g., UE 302, base station 304) to perform transmit "beamforming", as described herein. Similarly, the wireless receiver circuitry (e.g., receivers 312, 322, 352, 362) may include or be coupled to multiple antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such as antenna arrays, which allow the corresponding device (e.g., UE 302, base station 304) to perform receive beamforming, as described herein. In one aspect, the transmitter circuitry and the receiver circuitry may share the same multiple antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366) so that the corresponding device can only receive or only transmit at a given time, rather than both receive and transmit at the same time. The wireless transceivers (eg, WWAN transceivers 310 and 350, short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360) may also include a network listening module (NLM) or the like for performing various measurements.

[0093] As used herein, various wireless transceivers (e.g., transceivers 310, 320, 350, and 360 in some implementations, and network transceivers 380 and 390) and wired transceivers (e.g., network transceivers 380 and 390 in some implementations) may be generally characterized as a "transceiver," "at least one transceiver," or "one or more transceivers." Thus, whether a particular transceiver is a wired or wireless transceiver may be inferred based on the type of communication being performed. For example, backhaul communications between network devices or servers typically involve signaling via a wired transceiver, while wireless communications between a UE (e.g., UE 302) and a base station (e.g., base station 304) will typically involve signaling via a wireless transceiver.

[0094] UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 also include other components that can be used in conjunction with the operations disclosed herein. UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 include one or more processors 332, 384, and 394, respectively, for providing functionality related to, for example, wireless communication, and for providing other processing functionality. Thus, processors 332, 384, and 394 may provide means for processing, such as means for determining, means for calculating, means for receiving, means for sending, means for indicating, etc. In one aspect, processors 332, 384, and 394 may include, for example, one or more general purpose processors, multi-core processors, central processing units (CPUs), ASICs, digital signal processors (DSPs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), other programmable logic devices or processing circuits, or various combinations thereof.

[0095] UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 include memory circuitry implementing memory 340, 386, and 396 (e.g., each including a memory device) for maintaining information (e.g., information indicating reserved resources, thresholds, parameters, etc.). Thus, memory 340, 386, and 396 may provide means for storing, means for retrieving, means for maintaining, etc. In some cases, UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 may include sensing modules 342, 388, and 398, respectively. Sensing modules 342, 388, and 398 may be hardware circuits that are part of or coupled to processors 332, 384, and 394, respectively, which, when executed, cause UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 to perform the functionality described herein. In other aspects, the sensing modules 342, 388, and 398 may be external to the processors 332, 384, and 394 (e.g., part of a modem processing system, integrated with another processing system, etc.). Alternatively, the sensing modules 342, 388, and 398 may be memory modules stored in the memories 340, 386, and 396, respectively, which, when executed by the processors 332, 384, and 394 (or a modem processing system, another processing system, etc.), cause the UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306 to perform the functionality described herein. Figure 3A Possible locations for the sensing module 342 are illustrated, which may be, for example, part of one or more WWAN transceivers 310, memory 340, one or more processors 332, or any combination thereof, or may be a standalone component. Figure 3B Possible locations for the sensing module 388 are illustrated, which may be, for example, part of one or more WWAN transceivers 350, memory 386, one or more processors 384, or any combination thereof, or may be a standalone component. Figure 3C Possible locations for the sensing module 398 are illustrated, which may be, for example, part of one or more network transceivers 390, memory 396, one or more processors 394, or any combination thereof, or may be a stand-alone component.

[0096] UE 302 may include one or more sensors 344 coupled to one or more processors 332 to provide a means for sensing or detecting movement and / or orientation information that is independent of motion data derived from signals received by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320, and / or satellite signal receivers 330. By way of example, sensor 344 may include an accelerometer (e.g., a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) device), a gyroscope, a geomagnetic sensor (e.g., a compass), an altimeter (e.g., a barometric altimeter), and / or any other type of motion detection sensor. In addition, sensor 344 may include multiple different types of devices and combine their outputs to provide motion information. For example, sensor 344 may use a combination of a multi-axis accelerometer and an orientation sensor to provide the ability to calculate positioning in a two-dimensional (2D) and / or three-dimensional (3D) coordinate system.

[0097] In addition, the UE 302 includes a user interface 346, which provides means for providing indications to the user (e.g., audible and / or visual indications) and / or for receiving user input (e.g., when the user actuates a sensing device such as a keypad, touch screen, microphone, etc.). Although not shown, the base station 304 and the network entity 306 may also include a user interface.

[0098] Referring to the one or more processors 384 in more detail, in a downlink, IP packets from the network entity 306 may be provided to the processor 384. The one or more processors 384 may implement functionality for an RRC layer, a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, and a medium access control (MAC) layer. One or more processors 384 may provide: RRC layer functionality associated with broadcasting of system information (e.g., master information block (MIB), system information block (SIB)), RRC connection control (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connection modification, and RRC connection release), inter-RAT mobility, and measurement configuration for UE measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression / decompression, security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification), and handover support functions; RLC layer functionality associated with delivery of upper layer PDUs, error correction through automatic repeat request (ARQ), concatenation, segmentation and reassembly of RLC service data units (SDUs), re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, scheduling information reporting, error correction, priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0099] The transmitter 354 and the receiver 352 may implement layer 1 (L1) functionality associated with various signal processing functions. Layer 1, including the physical (PHY) layer, may include: error detection on the transport channel, forward error correction (FEC) coding / decoding of the transport channel, interleaving, rate matching, mapping to the physical channel, modulation / demodulation of the physical channel, and MIMO antenna processing. The transmitter 354 handles the mapping to the signal constellation based on various modulation schemes (e.g., binary phase shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), M-phase shift keying (M-PSK), M-quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM)). The coded and modulated symbols may then be separated into parallel streams. Each stream may then be mapped to an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) subcarrier, multiplexed with a reference signal (e.g., a pilot) in the time and / or frequency domain, and then combined together using an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) to produce a physical channel carrying a time domain OFDM symbol stream. The OFDM symbol stream is spatially pre-decoded to generate multiple spatial streams. Channel estimates from a channel estimator may be used to determine coding and modulation schemes and for spatial processing. Channel estimates may be derived from a reference signal and / or channel state feedback sent by the UE 302. Each spatial stream may then be provided to one or more different antennas 356. The transmitter 354 may modulate an RF carrier with a corresponding spatial stream for transmission.

[0100] At the UE 302, the receiver 312 receives the signal through its corresponding antenna 316. The receiver 312 recovers the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provides the information to one or more processors 332. The transmitter 314 and the receiver 312 implement layer 1 functionality associated with various signal processing functions. The receiver 312 can perform spatial processing on the information to recover any spatial streams destined for the UE 302. If the destination of multiple spatial streams is the UE 302, they can be combined into a single OFDM symbol stream by the receiver 312. The receiver 312 then converts the OFDM symbol stream from the time domain to the frequency domain using a fast Fourier transform (FFT). The frequency domain signal includes a separate OFDM symbol stream for each subcarrier of the OFDM signal. The symbols on each subcarrier and the reference signal are recovered and demodulated by determining the most likely signal constellation point sent by the base station 304. These soft decisions can be based on channel estimates calculated by a channel estimator. The soft decisions are then decoded and deinterleaved to recover the data and control signals originally sent by the base station 304 on the physical channel. The data and control signals are then provided to one or more processors 332, which implement layer 3 (L3) and layer 2 (L2) functionality.

[0101] In the downlink, one or more processors 332 provide demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packet reassembly, decryption, header decompression, and control signal processing to recover IP packets from the core network. One or more processors 332 are also responsible for error detection.

[0102] Similar to the functionality described in conjunction with downlink transmissions performed by the base station 304, the one or more processors 332 provide: RRC layer functionality associated with system information (e.g., MIB, SIB) acquisition, RRC connection, and measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression / decompression and security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification); RLC layer functionality associated with delivery of upper layer PDUs, error correction through ARQ, concatenation, segmentation and reassembly of RLC SDUs, re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing of MAC SDUs onto transport blocks (TBs), demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction through hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ), priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0103] Channel estimates derived by the channel estimator from a reference signal or feedback sent by the base station 304 may be used by the transmitter 314 to select appropriate coding and modulation schemes and to facilitate spatial processing. The spatial streams generated by the transmitter 314 may be provided to different antennas 316. The transmitter 314 may modulate an RF carrier with a corresponding spatial stream for transmission.

[0104] The uplink transmissions are processed at the base station 304 in a manner similar to that described in conjunction with the receiver functionality at the UE 302. The receiver 352 receives the signal through its respective antenna 356. The receiver 352 recovers the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provides the information to one or more processors 384.

[0105] In the uplink, the one or more processors 384 provide demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packet reassembly, decryption, header decompression, control signal processing to recover IP packets from the UE 302. The IP packets from the one or more processors 384 may be provided to the core network. The one or more processors 384 are also responsible for error detection.

[0106] For convenience, UE 302, base station 304 and / or network entity 306 may Figure 3A , Figure 3B and Figure 3C, is shown as including various components that can be configured according to the various examples described herein. However, it should be understood that the illustrated components may have different functionality in different designs. Specifically, FIG. 3A to FIG. 3C Various components in are optional in alternative configurations, and various aspects include configurations that may vary due to design choice, cost, use of the device, or other considerations. For example, in Figure 3A In the case of a wearable device or a tablet computer or a PC or a laptop computer, a specific implementation of the UE 302 may omit the WWAN transceiver 310 (e.g., a wearable device or a tablet computer or a PC or a laptop computer may have Wi-Fi and / or Bluetooth capabilities but no cellular capabilities), may omit the short-range wireless transceiver 320 (e.g., only cellular, etc.), may omit the satellite signal receiver 330, may omit the sensor 344, etc. In another example, in Figure 3B In the case of a wireless LAN, a specific implementation of the base station 304 may omit the WWAN transceiver 350 (e.g., a Wi-Fi "hotspot" access point without cellular capabilities), or may omit the short-range wireless transceiver 360 (e.g., cellular only, etc.), or may omit the satellite signal receiver 370, etc. For the sake of brevity, illustrations of various alternative configurations are not provided herein, but will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art.

[0107] Various components of the UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 may be communicatively coupled to one another via data buses 334, 382, ​​and 392, respectively. In an aspect, the data buses 334, 382, ​​and 392 may form or be part of communication interfaces for the UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306, respectively. For example, where different logical entities are embodied in the same device (e.g., gNB and location server functionality incorporated into the same base station 304), the data buses 334, 382, ​​and 392 may provide for communication between the different logical entities.

[0108] Figure 3A , Figure 3B and Figure 3C The components of can be implemented in various ways. In some specific implementations, Figure 3A , Figure 3B and Figure 3CThe components may be implemented in one or more circuits, such as, for example, one or more processors and / or one or more ASICs (which may include one or more processors). Here, each circuit may use and / or be combined with at least one memory component for storing information or executable code used by the circuit to provide the functionality. For example, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 310 to 346 may be implemented by the processor and memory components of UE 302 (e.g., by executing appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor components). Similarly, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 350 to 388 may be implemented by the processor and memory components of base station 304 (e.g., by executing appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor components). Moreover, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 390 to 398 may be implemented by the processor and memory components of network entity 306 (e.g., by executing appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor components). For simplicity, various operations, actions and / or functions are described herein as being performed by "UE", "by base station", "by network entity", etc. However, as should be understood, such operations, actions and / or functions may actually be performed by specific components or combinations of components of the UE 302, base station 304, network entity 306, etc., such as processors 332, 384, 394, transceivers 310, 320, 350 and 360, memories 340, 386 and 396, sensing modules 342, 388 and 398, etc.

[0109] In some designs, the network entity 306 may be implemented as a core network component. In other designs, the network entity 306 may be operated separately from a network operator or a cellular network infrastructure (e.g., NG RAN 220 and / or 5GC 210 / 260). For example, the network entity 306 may be a component of a dedicated network that may be configured to communicate with the UE 302 via the base station 304 or independently of the base station 304 (e.g., via a non-cellular communication link such as WiFi).

[0110] Various frame structures may be used to support downlink and uplink transmissions between network nodes (eg, base stations and UEs). FIG. 4A to FIG. 4D is a diagram illustrating example frame structures and channels within these frame structures in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.Other wireless communication technologies may have different frame structures and / or different channels.

[0111] Figure 4A4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a downlink frame structure according to various aspects of the present disclosure. LTE (and in some cases NR) utilizes OFDM on the downlink and single carrier frequency division multiplexing (SC-FDM) on the uplink. However, unlike LTE, NR also has the option of using OFDM on the uplink. OFDM and SC-FDM divide the system bandwidth into multiple (K) orthogonal subcarriers, which are also often referred to as frequency tones, frequency bins, etc. Each subcarrier can be modulated with data. In general, modulation symbols are transmitted in the frequency domain using OFDM and in the time domain using SC-FDM. The spacing between adjacent subcarriers can be fixed, and the total number of subcarriers (K) can depend on the system bandwidth. For example, the spacing of subcarriers can be 15 kilohertz (kHz), and the minimum resource allocation (resource block) can be 12 subcarriers (or 180kHz). Thus, for a system bandwidth of 1.25 megahertz (MHz), 2.5 MHz, 5 MHz, 10 MHz, or 20 MHz, the nominal FFT size may be equal to 128, 256, 512, 1024, or 2048, respectively. The system bandwidth may also be partitioned into multiple subbands. For example, a subband may cover 1.8 MHz (i.e., 6 resource blocks), and there may be 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 subbands for a system bandwidth of 1.25 MHz, 2.5 MHz, 5 MHz, 10 MHz, or 20 MHz, respectively.

[0112] LTE supports a single parameter set (subcarrier spacing (SCS), symbol length, etc.). In contrast, NR may support multiple parameter sets (μ), for example, 15kHz (μ=0), 30kHz (μ=1), 60kHz (μ=2), 120kHz (μ=3), and 240kHz (μ=4) or larger subcarrier spacings may be available. In each subcarrier spacing, there are 14 symbols per slot. For 15kHz SCS (μ=0), there is one slot per subframe, 10 slots per frame, the slot duration is 1 millisecond (ms), the symbol duration is 66.7 microseconds (μs), and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with a 4K FFT size is 50. For 30kHz SCS (μ=1), there are two slots per subframe, 20 slots per frame, the slot duration is 0.5ms, the symbol duration is 33.3μs, and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with a 4K FFT size is 100. For 60kHz SCS (μ=2), there are four slots per subframe, 40 slots per frame, the slot duration is 0.25ms, the symbol duration is 16.7μs, and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with a 4K FFT size is 200. For 120kHz SCS (μ=3), there are eight slots per subframe, 80 slots per frame, the slot duration is 0.125ms, the symbol duration is 8.33μs, and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with a 4K FFT size is 400. For 240kHz SCS (μ=4), there are 16 slots per subframe, 160 slots per frame, the slot duration is 0.0625ms, the symbol duration is 4.17μs, and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) is 800 with 4K FFT size.

[0113] exist FIG. 4A to FIG. 4D In the example of , a parameter set of 15 kHz is used. Therefore, in the time domain, a 10 ms frame is divided into 10 equally sized subframes, each subframe is 1 ms, and each subframe includes one time slot. FIG. 4A to FIG. 4D , time is represented horizontally (on the X-axis), where time increases from left to right, and frequency is represented vertically (on the Y-axis), where frequency increases (or decreases) from bottom to top.

[0114] A resource grid may be used to represent a time slot, each of which includes one or more time-concurrent resource blocks (RBs) (also referred to as physical RBs (PRBs)) in the frequency domain. The resource grid is further divided into a plurality of resource elements (REs). An RE may correspond to one symbol length in the time domain and one subcarrier in the frequency domain. FIG. 4A to FIG. 4DIn the parameter set of , for a normal cyclic prefix, an RB may contain 12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain and 7 consecutive symbols in the time domain, for a total of 84 REs. For an extended cyclic prefix, an RB may contain 12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain and six consecutive symbols in the time domain, for a total of 72 REs. The number of bits carried by each RE depends on the modulation scheme.

[0115] Some of these REs carry downlink reference (pilot) signals (DL-RS). DL-RS may include positioning reference signal (PRS), tracking reference signal (TRS), phase tracking reference signal (PTRS), cell-specific reference signal (CRS), channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), demodulation reference signal (DMRS), primary synchronization signal (PSS), secondary synchronization signal (SSS), synchronization signal block (SSB), etc. Figure 4A Example locations of REs carrying PRS (labeled "R") are illustrated.

[0116] A set of resource elements (REs) used for transmission of PRS is referred to as a "PRS resource". A set of resource elements may span multiple PRBs in the frequency domain and "N" (such as 1 or more) consecutive symbols within a slot in the time domain. In a given OFDM symbol in the time domain, a PRS resource occupies consecutive PRBs in the frequency domain.

[0117] The transmission of PRS resources within a given PRB has a specific comb size (also referred to as "comb density"). The comb size "N" represents the subcarrier spacing (or frequency / tone spacing) within each symbol of the PRS resource configuration. Specifically, for comb size "N", the PRS is transmitted in every Nth subcarrier of one symbol of the PRB. For example, for comb-4, for each symbol of the PRS resource configuration, the RE corresponding to every fourth subcarrier (such as subcarriers 0, 4, 8) is used to transmit the PRS of the PRS resource. Currently, for DL-PRS, comb sizes of comb-2, comb-4, comb-6, and comb-12 are supported. Figure 4A An example PRS resource configuration for comb-6 (which spans 6 symbols) is illustrated. That is, the positions of shaded REs (labeled as "R") indicate a comb-6 PRS resource configuration.

[0118] Currently, DL-PRS resources may span 2, 4, 6, or 12 consecutive symbols within a slot using a full frequency domain staggered pattern. DL-PRS resources may be configured in any downlink or flexible (FL) symbol configured by higher layers in a slot. There may be a constant energy per resource element (EPRE) for all REs of a given DL-PRS resource. The following are symbol-by-symbol frequency offsets for comb sizes 2, 4, 6, and 12 over 2, 4, 6, and 12 symbols. 2-symbol comb-2: {0,1}; 4-symbol comb-2: {0,1,0,1}; 6-symbol comb-2: {0,1,0,1,0,1}; 12-symbol comb-2: {0,1,0,1,0,1,0,1,0,1,0,1}; 4-symbol comb-4: {0,2,1,3}; 12-symbol comb-4: {0,2,1,3,0,2,1,3,0,2,1,3}; 6-symbol comb-6: {0,3,1,4,2,5}; 12-symbol comb-6:

[0119] {0,3,1,4,2,5,0,3,1,4,2,5}; and 12-symbol comb - 12: {0,6,3,9,1,7,4,10,2,8,5,11}.

[0120] A "PRS resource set" is a set of PRS resources used to send a PRS signal, where each PRS resource has a PRS resource ID. In addition, the PRS resources in a PRS resource set are associated with the same TRP. A PRS resource set is identified by a PRS resource set ID and is associated with a specific TRP (identified by the TRP ID). In addition, the PRS resources in a PRS resource set have the same periodicity, a common muting pattern configuration, and the same repetition factor (such as "PRS-ResourceRepetitionFactor") across time slots. The periodicity is the time from the first repetition of the first PRS resource of the first PRS instance to the same first repetition of the same first PRS resource of the next PRS instance. The periodicity may have a length selected from: 2^μ*{4,5,8,10,16,20,32,40,64,80,160,320,640,1280,2560,5120,10240} time slots, where μ=0,1,2,3. The repetition factor may have a length selected from {1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 16, 32} slots.

[0121] A PRS resource ID in a PRS resource set is associated with a single beam (or beam ID) transmitted from a single TRP (where one TRP may transmit one or more beams). That is, each PRS resource in a PRS resource set may be transmitted on a different beam, and therefore, a "PRS resource" (or simply "resource") may also be referred to as a "beam". Note that this does not have any implication on whether the UE knows the TRP and beam on which the PRS is transmitted.

[0122] A "PRS instance" or "PRS opportunity" is an instance of a periodically repeated time window (such as a group of one or more consecutive time slots) in which a PRS is expected to be sent. A PRS opportunity may also be referred to as a "PRS positioning opportunity", "PRS positioning instance", "positioning opportunity", "positioning instance", "positioning repetition", or simply "opportunity", "instance", or "repetition".

[0123] A "positioning frequency layer" (also referred to simply as a "frequency layer") is a set of one or more PRS resource sets with the same values ​​for certain parameters across one or more TRPs. Specifically, the set of PRS resource sets has the same subcarrier spacing and cyclic prefix (CP) type (meaning that all parameter sets supported by PDSCH are also supported by PRS), the same point A, the same value of the downlink PRS bandwidth, the same starting PRB (and center frequency), and the same comb size. The point A parameter takes the value of the parameter "ARFCN-ValueNR" (where "ARFCN" stands for "Absolute Radio Frequency Channel Number") and is an identifier / code that specifies a pair of physical radio channels for transmission and reception. The downlink PRS bandwidth can have a granularity of four PRBs, and the minimum value is 24 PRBs and the maximum value is 272 PRBs. Currently, up to four frequency layers have been defined, and up to two PRS resource sets can be configured per TRP per frequency layer.

[0124] The concept of frequency layer is somewhat similar to the concept of component carrier and bandwidth part (BWP), but the difference is that component carrier and BWP are used by one base station (or macro cell base station and small cell base station) to send data channels, while frequency layer is used by several (usually three or more) base stations to send PRS. The UE can indicate the number of frequency layers that the UE can support when the UE transmits its positioning capabilities to the network (such as during an LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) session). For example, the UE can indicate whether it can support one or four positioning frequency layers.

[0125] Figure 4B430 is a diagram illustrating an example of a channel within a downlink frame structure according to aspects of the present disclosure. In NR, the channel bandwidth or system bandwidth is divided into multiple BWPs. A BWP is a set of contiguous PRBs selected from a contiguous subset of common RBs for a given parameter set for a given carrier. In general, a maximum of four BWPs may be specified in the downlink and uplink. That is, the UE may be configured to have up to four BWPs on the downlink and up to four BWPs on the uplink. Only one BWP (uplink or downlink) may be active at a given time, which means that the UE may only receive or transmit on one BWP at a time. On the downlink, the bandwidth of each BWP should be equal to or greater than the bandwidth of the SSB, but it may or may not contain the SSB.

[0126] refer to Figure 4B , the primary synchronization signal (PSS) is used by the UE to determine the subframe / symbol timing and the physical layer identification. The secondary synchronization signal (SSS) is used by the UE to determine the physical layer cell identity group number and the radio frame timing. Based on the physical layer identity and the physical layer cell identity group number, the UE can determine the PCI. Based on the PCI, the UE can determine the location of the aforementioned DL-RS. The physical broadcast channel (PBCH) carrying the MIB can be logically grouped with the PSS and SSS to form an SSB (also referred to as SS / PBCH). The MIB provides the number of RBs in the downlink system bandwidth, and the system frame number (SFN). The physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) carries user data, broadcast system information that is not sent via the PBCH (such as system information blocks (SIBs)), and paging messages.

[0127] The physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) carries downlink control information (DCI) in one or more control channel elements (CCEs), each CCE includes one or more RE group (REG) bundles (which can span multiple symbols in the time domain), each REG bundle includes one or more REGs, each REG corresponds to 12 resource elements (one resource block) in the frequency domain and one OFDM symbol in the time domain. The set of physical resources used to carry PDCCH / DCI is called a control resource set (CORESET) in NR. In NR, PDCCH is confined to a single CORESET and is transmitted with its own DMRS. This enables UE-specific beamforming for PDCCH.

[0128] exist Figure 4BIn the example of , there is one CORESET per BWP, and the CORESET spans three symbols in the time domain (although it could be just one symbol or two symbols). Unlike LTE control channels that occupy the entire system bandwidth, in NR, the PDCCH channel is localized to a specific region (i.e., CORESET) in the frequency domain. Thus, Figure 4B The frequency components of the PDCCH shown are illustrated as less than a single BWP in the frequency domain. Note that although the illustrated CORESETs are contiguous in the frequency domain, the CORESETs need not be contiguous. Furthermore, a CORESET may span less than three symbols in the time domain.

[0129] The DCI within the PDCCH carries information about uplink resource allocations (persistent and non-persistent) and a description of downlink data sent to the UE (referred to as uplink grant and downlink grant, respectively). More specifically, the DCI indicates resources scheduled for downlink data channels (e.g., PDSCH) and uplink data channels (e.g., PUSCH). Multiple (e.g., up to eight) DCIs may be configured in the PDCCH, and these DCIs may have one of a variety of formats. For example, there are different DCI formats for uplink scheduling, downlink scheduling, uplink transmit power control (TPC), etc. The PDCCH may be transmitted by 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 CCEs to accommodate different DCI payload sizes or coding rates.

[0130] Figure 4C 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of an uplink frame structure according to aspects of the present disclosure. Figure 4C As illustrated, some of these REs (labeled "R") carry DMRS for channel estimation at a receiver (e.g., a base station, another UE, etc.). The UE may additionally send an SRS, for example, in the last symbol of a slot. The SRS may have a comb-tooth structure, and the UE may send the SRS on one of the teeth. Figure 4C In the example of , the illustrated SRS is a comb-2 on one symbol. SRS can be used by the base station to obtain channel state information (CSI) for each UE. CSI describes how the RF signal propagates from the UE to the base station and represents the combined effect of scattering, attenuation, and power loss with distance. The system uses SRS for resource scheduling, link adaptation, massive MIMO, beam management, etc.

[0131] Currently, an SRS resource with a comb size of Comb-2, Comb-4, or Comb-8 may span 1, 2, 4, 8, or 12 consecutive symbols within a slot. The following are the symbol-by-symbol frequency offsets for the currently supported SRS comb patterns. 1-symbol comb-2: {0}; 2-symbol comb-2: {0,1}; 4-symbol comb-2: {0,1,0,1}; 4-symbol comb-4: {0,2,1,3}; 8-symbol comb-4: {0,2,1,3,0,2,1,3}; 12-symbol comb-4: {0,2,1,3,0,2,1,3,0,2,1,3}; 4-symbol comb-8: {0,4,2,6}; 8-symbol comb-8: {0,4,2,6,1,5,3,7}; and 12-symbol comb-8: {0,4,2,6,1,5,3,7,0,4,2,6}.

[0132] The set of resource elements used for the transmission of SRS is called "SRS resource" and can be identified by the parameter "SRS-ResourceId". The set of resource elements can span multiple PRBs in the frequency domain and N (e.g., one or more) consecutive symbols within a time slot in the time domain. In a given OFDM symbol, the SRS resource occupies consecutive PRBs. An "SRS resource set" is a set of SRS resources used for the transmission of SRS signals and is identified by an SRS resource set ID ("SRS-ResourceSetId").

[0133] In general, the UE sends an SRS so that the receiving base station (serving base station or neighboring base station) can measure the channel quality between the UE and the base station. However, the SRS may also be specifically configured as an uplink positioning reference signal for uplink-based positioning procedures, such as uplink arrival time difference (UL-TDOA), round-trip time (RTT), uplink arrival angle (UL-AoA), etc. As used herein, the term "SRS" may refer to an SRS configured for channel quality measurement or an SRS configured for positioning purposes. When it is necessary to distinguish between two types of SRS, the former may be referred to as "SRS for communication (SRS-for-communication)" and / or the latter may be referred to as "SRS for positioning (SRS-for-positioning)" in this article.

[0134] Several enhancements to the previous definition of SRS have been proposed for "SRS for positioning" (also known as "UL-PRS"), such as a new staggering pattern within the SRS resource (in addition to a single symbol / comb-2), a new comb type for SRS, a new sequence for SRS, a larger number of SRS resource sets per component carrier, and a larger number of SRS resources per component carrier. In addition, the parameters "SpatialRelationInfo" and "PathLossReference" are to be configured based on downlink reference signals or SSBs from neighboring TRPs. Furthermore, one SRS resource may be sent outside the active BWP, and one SRS resource may span multiple component carriers. Moreover, the SRS may be configured in the RRC connected state and sent only within the active BWP. In addition, there may be no frequency hopping, no repetition factor, a single antenna port, and new lengths for the SRS (e.g., 8 and 12 symbols). There may also be open-loop power control and no closed-loop power control, and comb-8 (i.e., SRS sent every eighth subcarrier in the same symbol) may be used. Finally, the UE may transmit from multiple SRS resources through the same transmit beam for UL-AoA. All of these are features outside the current SRS framework, which is configured through RRC higher layer signaling (and potentially triggered or activated through MAC Control Element (CE) or DCI).

[0135] Figure 4D 480 is a diagram illustrating an example of channels within an uplink frame structure according to various aspects of the present disclosure. A random access channel (RACH), also known as a physical random access channel (PRACH), may be within one or more time slots within a frame based on a PRACH configuration. The PRACH may include six consecutive RB pairs within a time slot. The PRACH allows a UE to perform initial system access and achieve uplink synchronization. The physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) may be located at the edge of the uplink system bandwidth. The PUCCH carries uplink control information (UCI), such as scheduling requests, CSI reports, channel quality indicators (CQI), precoding matrix indicators (PMI), rank indicators (RI), and HARQ ACK / NACK feedback. The physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) carries data and may additionally be used to carry buffer status reports (BSRs), power headroom reports (PHRs), and / or UCI.

[0136] It should be noted that the terms "positioning reference signal" and "PRS" generally refer to specific reference signals used for positioning in NR and LTE systems. However, as used herein, the terms "positioning reference signal" and "PRS" may also refer to any type of reference signal that can be used for positioning, such as but not limited to: PRS, TRS, PTRS, CRS, CSI-RS, DMRS, PSS, SSS, SSB, SRS, UL-PRS, etc. as defined in LTE and NR. In addition, the terms "positioning reference signal" and "PRS" may refer to downlink or uplink positioning reference signals, unless otherwise indicated by the context. If it is necessary to further distinguish the type of PRS, the downlink positioning reference signal may be referred to as "DL-PRS", and the uplink positioning reference signal (e.g., SRS, PTRS used for positioning) may be referred to as "UL-PRS". In addition, for signals that can be sent in both uplink and downlink (e.g., DMRS, PTRS), these signals may be prepended with "UL" or "DL" to distinguish the direction. For example, "UL-DMRS" can be distinguished from "DL-DMRS".

[0137] Figure 5 5 is a diagram 500 illustrating a positioning reference signal (PRS) transmitted by a base station (BS) 502 (which may correspond to any of the base stations described herein) and a sounding reference signal (SRS) transmitted by a UE 504 (which may correspond to any of the UEs described herein). Figure 5 In the example shown, the base station 502 may transmit beamformed PRS signals to the UE 504 on one or more transmit beams 502a, 502b, 502c, 502d, 502e, 502f, 502g, for example, by transmitting a first PRS on beam 502a, then a second PRS on beam 502b, and so on, until finally transmitting a "beam scan" of PRS on beam 502g. The UE 504 may transmit beamformed SRS signals on one or more transmit beams 504a, 504b, 504c, 504d. Note that while the UE 504 is illustrated as being capable of beamforming, some UEs may not have this capability, in which case the UE 504 will transmit the SRS omnidirectionally one or more times.

[0138] In NR, both DL-PRS configuration and UL-SRS configuration are provided in layers. Referring to DL-PRS, for example, there may be up to 4 positioning frequency layers (PFLs), each PFL has up to 64 TRPs, and each TRP may have two DL-PRS resource sets per PFL. Therefore, there may be up to 8 resource sets per TRP. Each resource set may have up to 64 resources. Measurements at the UE are expected to be made on a per-resource basis. The data structure NR-DL-PRS-Info defines the downlink PRS configuration, and for illustrative purposes, the following example shows part of the downlink PRS configuration:

[0139]

[0140]

[0141] The PRS signal and the SRS signal may be transmitted multiple times, for example, multiple PRS signal or SRS signal transmissions may occur, each transmission occupying a PRS resource within a PRS resource set or an SRS resource within an SRS resource set. Currently, phase coherence of PRS or SRS resource transmissions across resources and across resource sets is not expected. That is, it is not guaranteed that the second transmission of a signal is in phase with the first transmission of the signal. FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B illustrate a difference between a phase coherent signal and a non-phase coherent signal.

[0142] Fig. 6A illustrates three transmissions of signals with phase coherence relative to each other. In the simplified signal over time graph shown in Fig. 6A, these transmissions occur during the three transmission windows marked as 600, 602 and 604. These transmissions are shown with solid lines. Transmission for the first time has a specific phase 606 during window 600, and this specific phase is shown as a dotted line outside the transmission window. Fig. 6A shows that if transmission for the first time has continued until the second transmission window 602, transmission for the second time has the same relative phase as the relative phase that will be transmitted for the first time during window 602. Similarly, if transmission for the first time has continued until the third transmission window 604, transmission for the third time has the same relative phase as the relative phase that will be transmitted for the first time during window 604. That is to say, transmission for the first time, transmission for the second time and transmission for the third time are phase coherent with each other in time.

[0143] Fig. 6B illustrates three transmissions of signals that are not phase-coherent relative to each other. In the simplified signal versus time graph shown in Fig. 6B, these transmissions also occur during three transmission windows, but in the example illustrated in Fig. 6B, if the first transmission has continued until the second transmission window 602, the second transmission does not have the same relative phase as the first transmission during window 602. Similarly, if the first transmission has continued until the third transmission window 604, the third transmission does not have the same relative phase as the first transmission during window 604. That is, the first transmission and the second transmission are not phase-coherent with each other in time. In Fig. 6B, the second transmission is out of phase with the first transmission by the first phase delay 608, and the third transmission is out of phase with the first transmission by the second phase delay 610.

[0144] Many new use cases require coherent operation, i.e., they require the signal to have a fixed phase reference over several consecutive transmissions or occasions. Example use cases include Doppler measurements in RF sensing and improved angular resolution in massive input / massive output (MIMO) radar / sensing.

[0145] Figure 7 An example of an automotive radar is illustrated as a use case, where several pulses (chirps) are sent in sequence with phase coherence across time and antennas being required. Figure 7 A number of possible frame structures are illustrated, such as: frame 700, in which a particular chirp A1 is repeated multiple times; frame 702, in which a sequence of chirp A1 and A2 is sent in alternating order over the duration of the frame; and frame 704, in which a sequence of chirp A1, A2, A3, A4, ... A511, and A512 is sent such that each individual chirp is sent only once in each frame 704. Each of the differently numbered chirp pulses (e.g., A1, A2, etc.) in the sequence of chirp pulses may differ from one another in terms of starting frequency, ending frequency, duration, rate of change of frequency over time (slope of the sawtooth waveform), etc., or some combination thereof. Figure 7 As shown, a frame (such as frame 706) has a frame time 708 and an inter-frame time 710, which together determine a frame periodicity 712. For each range position (i.e., a time sample point), a Doppler / velocity estimate of the target is obtained by a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) operation or enhanced frequency estimation technique across different chirps. This requires that the chirps have phase coherence over time.

[0146] Fig. 8A and Figure 8B MIMO antenna array 800 and its virtual equivalent 802 are illustrated respectively. Fig. 8AAs shown, the MIMO antenna array 800 includes two transmit antennas Tx0 and Tx1 and four receive antennas Rx0, Rx1, Rx2 and Rx3. Through the antenna array 500, the angle of arrival (AoA) estimation can be achieved through FFT on multiple receive antennas. Through the appropriate antenna spacing d between the Rx antennas and the appropriate antenna spacing N*d between the Tx antennas, the MIMO radar with NTx and NRx is actually equivalent to 1-Tx and NTx·NRx-Rx. Therefore, Fig. 8A The 2Tx, 4Rx MIMO antenna array 800 in is equivalent to Figure 8B 1Tx, 8Rx virtual MIMO antenna array 802 in, that is, there are actually additional Rx antennas Rx4, Rx5, Rx6 and Rx7. If the Tx antennas send orthogonal waveforms, the additional Rx antennas provide higher angular resolution. For FMCCW MIMO radar, TDM is usually assumed for FMCW, which will reduce the maximum clear velocity |v|max≤λ / (4NTxTchirp) for the MIMO radar. OFDM MIMO radar is also possible, for example, using wideband signals such as PRS, but in this case, phase coherence across antennas must also exist.

[0147] However, the current standards do not mention, let alone address, the question of whether PRS or SRS resource transmissions across resources and resource sets should be phase coherent. Therefore, PRS and SRS transmissions are not subject to coherence requirements.

[0148] Therefore, this document provides the concept of phase-coherent PRS and / or SRS resource sets, as well as methods and techniques for defining and using them (including corresponding capability signaling).

[0149] A phase-coherent PRS resource set is a PRS resource set in which the transmission of the PRS resources within the set is coherent. In some aspects, a new field is added to 3GPP TS 37.355, as shown in the underlined bold text below:

[0150]

[0151]

[0152] In some aspects, the new field is named "dl-PRS-ResourceSet-PhaseCoherence" and indicates whether the PRS resources are coherent. In some aspects, if this field is not present in the configuration, a default behavior may be assumed, eg, the PRS resources are not coherent.

[0153] In some aspects, coherence may be maintained at a granular level within a resource set. For example, for a given resource, coherence may be across time (i.e., the same resource repetitions are coherent); across resources (e.g., Tx antennas) - in some aspects, transmissions across resources are coherent, but repetitions of the same resource may not be coherent; across time and antennas (e.g., in space); across frequency; or a combination thereof. In some aspects, the level of granularity may be specified as part of the configuration information.

[0154] Fig. 9 is a signaling and event diagram illustrating a process 900 for providing phase-coherent PRS resource sets according to aspects of the present disclosure. Fig. 9 In the example shown, a network server (e.g., location management function (LMF) 902 or sensing function) communicates with a base station (e.g., gNB 904 or other base station) to determine a PRS configuration for UE 906.

[0155] like Fig. 9 As shown, at block 908, the LMF 902 requests PRS configuration information from the gNB 904. At block 910, the gNB 904 responds to the request by transmitting PRS configuration information. In some aspects, the PRS configuration information may include both coherent PRS resource sets and incoherent PRS resource sets. In other aspects, the PRS configuration information may include only incoherent PRS resource sets. In some aspects, the gNB 904 may transmit capability information to the LMF 902, the capability information indicating that the gNB 904 has the ability to configure a coherent PRS resource set. In some aspects, the capability information may be transmitted as part of the PRS configuration information. In some aspects, the capability information may be transmitted separately from the PRS configuration information.

[0156] Fig. 9 A scenario is illustrated in which the PRS configuration information does not include information about coherent PRS resource sets, but the capability information indicates to the LMF 902 that the gNB 904 can support coherent PRS resource sets, so at block 912, the LMF 902 specifically requests coherent PRS resource set configuration from the gNB 904. In this example, the gNB 904 has not configured any coherent PRS resource sets, and at block 914, the gNB 904 notifies the LMF 902 that coherent PRS resource sets have not been configured.

[0157] At block 916, the LMF 902 requests the gNB 904 to create a PRS resource set configuration. In some aspects, the request may specify what kind of PRS resource set the LMF 902 desires (e.g., by specifying specific properties that the PRS resource set should exhibit, what level of granularity the coherence should be, etc.). At block 918, the gNB 904 generates a coherent PRS resource set configuration, and at block 920, the gNB 904 transmits the PRS resource set configuration to the LMF 902.

[0158] At block 922, the LMF 902 selects some or all of the coherent PRS resource set configurations to be used by the UE 906. At block 924, the LMF 902 transmits to the UE 906 the PRS configuration including the coherent PRS resource sets.

[0159] In some aspects, the LMF 902 may request only a set of available coherent PRS resource sets from the gNB 904. In some aspects, the LMF 902 may request information only for coherent PRS resource sets of a specific type, such as coherent PRS resource sets with a specified bandwidth, periodicity, number of resources, coherence level, etc. In some aspects, the gNB 904 may only provide information related to coherent PRS resource sets. If the request specifies certain types or attributes, the gNB 904 may only provide information about coherent PRS resource sets of the specified type or attributes.

[0160] A phase-coherent SRS resource set is a set of SRS resources where the transmission of the SRS resources within the set is coherent. 3GPP Release 16 defines SRS for positioning (SRS-p), but the same SRS-p signal can be used for other use cases, including, for example, dual-station sensing, where the UE is the transmitter (Tx) and the gNB or another UE is the receiver (Rx). In some aspects, new fields are added to 3GPP TS 39.455, as shown in the underlined bold text below:

[0161]

[0162]

[0163] In some aspects, the new field is named "possrsResourceSetPhaseCoherence" and indicates whether the SRS resources are coherent. In some aspects, if the field is not present in the configuration, a default behavior may be assumed, e.g., the SRS resources are incoherent. In some aspects, coherence may be maintained or specified at a finer granularity level. For example, within an SRS resource set, for a given resource, coherence may be maintained across time (e.g., repetitions of the same SRS resource over time are coherent with each other, but different SRS resources are incoherent with each other), across space (across different resources) (such as Tx antennas) (e.g., transmissions across different resources are coherent, but repetitions of the same resource may be incoherent), or across both time and space (e.g., transmissions on different resources are coherent with each other, and transmissions of the same resource over time are coherent with each other).

[0164] Fig.10 1 is a signaling and event diagram illustrating a process 1000 for providing a phase-coherent SRS resource set according to aspects of the present disclosure. Fig.10 In the example shown, a network server (e.g., location management function (LMF) 1002 or sensing function) communicates with a base station (e.g., gNB 1004 or other base station) to determine an SRS configuration for UE 1006.

[0165] like Fig.10 As shown, at block 1008, LMF 1002 requests gNB 1004 to configure phase-coherent SRS resources for UE 1006. In some aspects, the request may specify desired attributes of the SRS resources, such as bandwidth, periodicity, phase-coherent granularity, etc. Fig.10 In the illustrated example, at block 1010, the gNB 1004 transmits a request to the UE 1006 to report its phase coherent SRS capability; and at block 1012, the UE 1006 provides the information to the gNB 1004. In some aspects, the capability information may include an indication of the duration for which the UE can maintain phase coherent transmission, information indicating the granularity of the coherent capability across time and / or space (e.g., Tx antennas). In some aspects, the capability information may be indicated to the gNB 1004. In some aspects, the capability information may be indicated directly to the LMF 1002 or other network entity.

[0166] If gNB 1004 is unable to configure UE 1006 as requested by LMF 1002 (e.g., because UE 1006 does not have the capability to transmit phase-coherent SRS signals), gNB 1004 may notify LMF 1002 of this fact and may include an error code to indicate the unsuccessful configuration (which may also optionally indicate the specific reason why UE 1006 could not be so configured). Fig.10In the illustrated scenario, the UE 1006 can be configured with phase-coherent SRS resources, and therefore at block 1014, the gNB 1004 transmits phase-coherent SRS resource configuration information to the UE 1006, and at block 1016, transmits information to the LMF 1002 regarding which phase-coherent SRS resource set configurations are provided to the UE 1006. Fig.10 In the example shown, at block 1018, the gNB 1004 also transmits information indicating the phase coherent SRS configuration capability of the UE to the LMF 1002, e.g., for future use by the LMF 1002 or other network entities. For example, if the LMF 1002 or other network entity knows that the UE 1006 is capable of coherent SRS transmission, the LMF 1002 or other network entity may utilize the UE 1006 to transmit a Doppler estimation-enabled sensing signal.

[0167] Fig.11 is a flow chart of an example process 1100 associated with phase coherent positioning resource sets according to aspects of the present disclosure. In some implementations, Fig.11 One or more process blocks of may be performed by a base station (BS) (eg, BS102). In some implementations, Fig.11 One or more process blocks of may be performed by another device or a group of devices separate from or including the BS. Additionally or alternatively, Fig.11 One or more process blocks may be executed by one or more components of BS 304 (such as processor 384, memory 386, WWAN transceiver 350, short-range wireless transceiver 360, satellite signal receiver 370, network transceiver 380 and sensing module 388), any one or all of which may be components for performing operations of process 1100.

[0168] like Fig.11 As shown, process 1100 may include, at block 1110, defining a resource set including a plurality of phase coherent positioning resources. Means for performing the operations of block 1110 may include processor 384, memory 386, or WWAN transceiver 350 of BS 304. For example, BS 304 may use processor 384 and memory 386 to define a resource set.

[0169] like Fig.11 As further shown, process 1100 may include configuring a resource set for a user equipment (UE), at block 1120. Means for performing the operations of block 1120 may include processor 384, memory 386, or WWAN transceiver 350 of BS 304. For example, BS 304 may configure the resource set for a user equipment (UE) by sending the configuration to the UE using transmitter 354.

[0170] like Fig.11 As further shown, process 1100 may include using the plurality of phase coherent positioning resources at block 1130. Means for performing the operations of block 1130 may include processor 384, memory 386, or WWAN transceiver 350 of BS 304. For example, BS 304 may utilize transmitter 354 and receiver 352 to utilize the plurality of phase coherent positioning resources.

[0171] In some aspects, defining the resource set comprising a plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources comprises defining phase-coherent positioning reference signal (PRS) resources, phase-coherent sounding reference signal (SRS) resources, or a combination thereof.

[0172] In some aspects, using the plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources includes: transmitting a phase-coherent PRS signal using the phase-coherent PRS resources; receiving a phase-coherent SRS signal on the phase-coherent PRS resources; or a combination thereof.

[0173] In some aspects, using the plurality of phase-coherent resources includes using the plurality of phase-coherent resources for sensing, positioning, or both.

[0174] In some aspects, defining the set of resources includes defining the set of resources in response to receiving a request to define the phase-coherent positioning resources from a network entity.

[0175] In some aspects, receiving the request to define a phase-coherent positioning resource includes: receiving a request specifying at least one attribute of the phase-coherent positioning resource; and wherein defining the resource set includes: defining a resource set including a plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources having the at least one attribute.

[0176] In some aspects, the at least one attribute of the phase-coherent positioning resource comprises: a bandwidth of the phase-coherent positioning resource, a periodicity of the phase-coherent positioning resource, a phase-coherent granularity of the phase-coherent positioning resource, or a combination thereof.

[0177] In some aspects, the phase coherence granularity of the phase coherent positioning resource includes: phase coherence over time, phase coherence over space, or phase coherence over time and space.

[0178] In some aspects, defining the set of resources includes defining the set of resources based on a capability of the UE to support phase-coherent positioning resources.

[0179] Process 1100 may include additional implementations, such as any single implementation or any combination of implementations described below and / or in conjunction with one or more other processes described elsewhere herein. Fig.11An example block diagram of process 1100 is shown, but in some implementations, process 1100 may include Fig.11 The blocks depicted in the process 1100 may include additional blocks, fewer blocks, different blocks, or blocks arranged in a different manner than those depicted in the process 1100. Additionally or alternatively, two or more blocks in the blocks of the process 1100 may be performed in parallel.

[0180] Fig.12 is a flow chart of an example process 1200 associated with phase coherent positioning resource sets according to aspects of the present disclosure. In some implementations, Fig.12 One or more process blocks of may be performed by a network entity (e.g., location server 172, LMF 270). In some implementations, Fig.12 One or more process blocks of may be performed by another device or a group of devices separate from or including the network entity. Additionally or alternatively, Fig.12 One or more process blocks may be executed by one or more components of the network entity 306 (such as the processor 394, the memory 396, the network transceiver 390, and the sensing module 398), any or all of which may be components for performing the operations of process 1200.

[0181] like Fig.12 As shown, process 1200 may include, at block 1210, transmitting a request for a resource set including a plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources to a base station (BS) serving a user equipment (UE). Means for performing the operations of block 1210 may include a processor 394, a memory 396, or a network transceiver 390 of the network entity 306. For example, the network entity 306 may use the network transceiver 390 to transmit the request for the resource set.

[0182] like Fig.12 As further shown, process 1200 may include receiving the resource set including the plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources from the BS at block 1220. Means for performing the operations of block 1220 may include processor 394, memory 396, or network transceiver 390 of network entity 306. For example, network entity 306 may receive the resource set from the BS using network transceiver 390.

[0183] like Fig.12 As further shown, process 1200 may include transmitting the resource set including the plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources to the UE at block 1230. Means for performing the operations of block 1230 may include processor 394, memory 396, or network transceiver 390 of network entity 306. For example, network entity 306 may transmit the resource set to the UE using network transceiver 390.

[0184] In some aspects, the plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources include: a plurality of phase-coherent positioning reference signal (PRS) resources, a plurality of phase-coherent sounding reference signal (SRS) resources, or a combination thereof.

[0185] In some aspects, the request for the set of resources specifies at least one attribute of the phase-coherent positioning resources.

[0186] In some aspects, the at least one attribute of the phase-coherent positioning resource comprises: a bandwidth of the phase-coherent positioning resource, a periodicity of the phase-coherent positioning resource, a phase-coherent granularity of the phase-coherent positioning resource, or a combination thereof.

[0187] In some aspects, at least one attribute of the phase coherent positioning resource is determined based on capabilities of the BS, capabilities of the UE, or a combination thereof. In some aspects, the network entity may receive BS capability information from the BS and may receive UE capability information from the BS or directly from the UE.

[0188] In some aspects, receiving the set of resources includes receiving the set of resources including a plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources having the at least one attribute.

[0189] Process 1200 may include additional implementations, such as any single implementation or any combination of implementations described below and / or in conjunction with one or more other processes described elsewhere herein. Fig.12 An example block diagram of process 1200 is shown, but in some implementations, process 1200 may include Fig.12 The blocks depicted in the process 1200 may include additional blocks, fewer blocks, different blocks, or blocks arranged in a different manner than those depicted in the process 1200. Additionally or alternatively, two or more blocks in the blocks of the process 1200 may be performed in parallel.

[0190] Fig.13 is a flow chart of an example process 1300 associated with phase coherent positioning resource sets according to aspects of the present disclosure. In some implementations, Fig.13 One or more process blocks of may be performed by a user equipment (UE) (e.g., UE 104). In some implementations, Fig.13 One or more process blocks of may be performed by another device or a group of devices separate from or including the UE. Additionally or alternatively, Fig.13 One or more process blocks of process 1300 may be performed by one or more components of UE 302 (such as processor 332, memory 340, WWAN transceiver 310, short-range wireless transceiver 320, satellite signal receiver 330, sensor 344, user interface 346, and sensing module 342), any or all of which may be means for performing the operations of process 1300.

[0191] like Fig.13 As shown, process 1300 may include receiving a resource set including a plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources at block 1310. Means for performing the operations of block 1310 may include processor 332, memory 340, or WWAN transceiver 310 of UE 302. For example, UE 302 may use receiver 312 to receive a resource set including a plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources.

[0192] like Fig.13 As further shown, process 1300 may include using the plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources at block 1320. Means for performing the operations of block 1320 may include processor 332, memory 340, or WWAN transceiver 310 of UE 302. For example, UE 302 may transmit phase-coherent SRS signals on the phase-coherent positioning resources using transmitter 314, receive phase-coherent PRS signals on the phase-coherent positioning resources via receiver 312, or a combination thereof.

[0193] In some aspects, receiving the set of resources comprising the plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources comprises receiving the set of resources comprising phase-coherent positioning reference signal (PRS) resources, phase-coherent sounding reference signal (SRS) resources, or a combination thereof.

[0194] In some aspects, using the plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources includes: using the phase-coherent PRS resources to receive phase-coherent PRS signals; using the phase-coherent SRS resources to send phase-coherent SRS signals; or a combination thereof.

[0195] In some aspects, using the plurality of phase-coherent resources includes using the plurality of phase-coherent resources for sensing, positioning, or both.

[0196] Process 1300 may include additional implementations, such as any single implementation or any combination of implementations described below and / or in conjunction with one or more other processes described elsewhere herein. Fig.13 An example block diagram of process 1300 is shown, but in some implementations, process 1300 may include Fig.13 The blocks depicted in the process 1300 may include additional blocks, fewer blocks, different blocks, or blocks arranged in a different manner than those depicted in the process 1300. Additionally or alternatively, two or more blocks in the blocks of the process 1300 may be performed in parallel.

[0197] As should be appreciated, a technical advantage of the techniques disclosed herein is that they provide a mechanism for indicating a particular set of positioning resources for use with phase-coherent PRS or SRS signals, which can then be used for use cases that require or benefit from phase-coherent positioning signals.

[0198] In the above detailed description, it can be seen that different features are grouped together in each example. This disclosure should not be understood as an intention that the example clauses have more features than the features explicitly mentioned in each clause. On the contrary, various aspects of the present disclosure may include less than all the features of the disclosed individual example clauses. Therefore, the following clauses should be considered to be incorporated into the description accordingly, wherein each clause itself can be used as a separate example. Although each dependent clause may refer to a specific combination of one clause with other clauses in a clause, the aspects of the dependent clause are not limited to a specific combination. It should be understood that other example clauses may also include a combination of the subject matter of the dependent clause aspect with any other dependent clause or independent clause or any feature with other dependent clauses and independent clauses. Various aspects disclosed herein explicitly include these combinations, unless it is clearly expressed or can be easily inferred that a specific combination is not intended to be used (e.g., contradictory aspects, such as defining an element as both an electrical insulator and an electrical conductor). In addition, it is also expected that various aspects of the clause may be included in any other independent clause, even if the clause is not directly dependent on the independent clause.

[0199] Specific implementation examples are described in the following numbered clauses:

[0200] Clause 1. A method of phase-coherent positioning performed by a base station (BS), the method comprising: defining a resource set including a plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources; configuring the resource set for a user equipment (UE); and using the plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources.

[0201] Clause 2. The method of clause 1, wherein defining the resource set comprising a plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources comprises defining phase-coherent positioning reference signal (PRS) resources, phase-coherent sounding reference signal (SRS) resources, or a combination thereof.

[0202] Clause 3. The method of clause 2, wherein using the plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources comprises: using the phase-coherent PRS resources to send phase-coherent PRS signals; receiving phase-coherent SRS signals on the phase-coherent PRS resources; or a combination thereof.

[0203] Clause 4. The method of any of clauses 1 to 3, wherein defining the set of resources comprises defining the set of resources in response to receiving a request to define the phase-coherent positioning resources from a network entity.

[0204] Clause 5. A method according to clause 4, wherein receiving the request to define a phase-coherent positioning resource includes: receiving a request specifying at least one attribute of the phase-coherent positioning resource, and wherein defining the resource set includes: defining a resource set including multiple phase-coherent positioning resources having the at least one attribute.

[0205] Clause 6. The method of clause 5, wherein the at least one attribute of the phase-coherent positioning resource comprises: a bandwidth of the phase-coherent positioning resource; a periodicity of the phase-coherent positioning resource; a phase-coherent granularity of the phase-coherent positioning resource; or a combination thereof.

[0206] Clause 7. The method of clause 6, wherein the phase coherence granularity of the phase coherent positioning resources comprises: phase coherence over time, phase coherence over space, or phase coherence over time and space.

[0207] Clause 8. A method as described in any of clauses 1 to 7, wherein defining the resource set includes: defining the resource set based on the ability of the UE to support phase-coherent positioning resources.

[0208] Clause 9. A method for phase-coherent positioning performed by a network entity, the method comprising: transmitting a request for a resource set including a plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources to a base station (BS) serving a user equipment (UE); receiving the resource set including the plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources from the BS; and transmitting the resource set including the plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources to the UE.

[0209] Clause 10. The method of clause 9, wherein the plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources comprises: a plurality of phase-coherent positioning reference signal (PRS) resources, a plurality of phase-coherent sounding reference signal (SRS) resources, or a combination thereof.

[0210] Clause 11. The method of any of clauses 9 to 10, wherein the request for the set of resources specifies at least one attribute of the phase-coherent positioning resources.

[0211] Clause 12. The method of clause 11, wherein the at least one attribute of the phase-coherent positioning resource comprises: a bandwidth of the phase-coherent positioning resource; a periodicity of the phase-coherent positioning resource; a phase-coherent granularity of the phase-coherent positioning resource; or a combination thereof.

[0212] Clause 13. The method of any one of clauses 11 to 12, wherein the at least one attribute of the phase-coherent positioning resource is determined based on capabilities of the BS, capabilities of the UE, or a combination thereof.

[0213] Clause 14. The method of any of clauses 11 to 13, wherein receiving the set of resources comprises receiving the set of resources comprising a plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources having the at least one attribute.

[0214] Clause 15. A method of phase-coherent positioning performed by a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: receiving a resource set comprising a plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources; and using the plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources.

[0215] Clause 16. The method of clause 15, wherein receiving a resource set comprising the plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources comprises receiving a resource set comprising phase-coherent positioning reference signal (PRS) resources, phase-coherent sounding reference signal (SRS) resources, or a combination thereof.

[0216] Clause 17. The method of clause 16, wherein using the plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources comprises: using the phase-coherent PRS resources to receive phase-coherent PRS signals; using the phase-coherent SRS resources to send phase-coherent SRS signals; or a combination thereof.

[0217] Clause 18. A base station (BS), comprising: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor, the at least one processor being communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: define a resource set comprising a plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources; configure the resource set for a user equipment (UE); and use the plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources.

[0218] Clause 19. The BS of clause 18, wherein, to define the resource set, the at least one processor is configured to define a plurality of phase-coherent positioning reference signal (PRS) resources, a plurality of phase-coherent sounding reference signal (SRS) resources, or a combination thereof.

[0219] Clause 20. A BS according to Clause 19, wherein, in order to use the multiple phase-coherent positioning resources, the at least one processor is configured to: use the phase-coherent PRS resources to send phase-coherent PRS signals; receive phase-coherent SRS signals on the phase-coherent PRS resources; or a combination thereof.

[0220] Clause 21. The BS of any of clauses 18 to 20, wherein, to define the resource set, the at least one processor is configured to define the resource set in response to receiving a request to define the phase-coherent positioning resources from a network entity.

[0221] Clause 22. A BS according to clause 21, wherein the request to define a phase-coherent positioning resource specifies at least one attribute of the phase-coherent positioning resource, and wherein, in order to define the resource set, the at least one processor is configured to define a resource set including multiple phase-coherent positioning resources having the at least one attribute.

[0222] Clause 23. The BS of Clause 22, wherein the at least one attribute of the phase-coherent positioning resource comprises: a bandwidth of the phase-coherent positioning resource; a periodicity of the phase-coherent positioning resource; a phase-coherent granularity of the phase-coherent positioning resource; or a combination thereof.

[0223] Clause 24. The BS of Clause 23, wherein the phase coherence granularity of the phase coherent positioning resources comprises: phase coherence over time, phase coherence over space, or phase coherence over time and space.

[0224] Clause 25. The BS of any of clauses 18 to 24, wherein, to define the resource sets, the at least one processor is configured to define the resource sets based on a capability of the UE to support phase coherent positioning resources.

[0225] Clause 26. A network entity, comprising: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor, the at least one processor being communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: transmit a request for a resource set including a plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources to a base station (BS) serving a user equipment (UE) via the at least one transceiver; receive the resource set including the plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources from the BS via the at least one transceiver; and transmit the resource set including the plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources to the UE via the at least one transceiver.

[0226] Clause 27. The network entity of Clause 26, wherein the plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources comprises: a plurality of phase-coherent positioning reference signal (PRS) resources, a plurality of phase-coherent sounding reference signal (SRS) resources, or a combination thereof.

[0227] Clause 28. The network entity of any of Clauses 26 to 27, wherein the request for the set of resources specifies at least one attribute of the phase-coherent positioning resources.

[0228] Clause 29. The network entity of clause 28, wherein the at least one attribute of the phase-coherent positioning resource comprises: a bandwidth of the phase-coherent positioning resource; a periodicity of the phase-coherent positioning resource; a phase-coherent granularity of the phase-coherent positioning resource; or a combination thereof.

[0229] Clause 30. The network entity of any of clauses 28 to 29, the at least one processor configured to determine at least one attribute of the phase-coherent positioning resource based on capabilities of the BS, capabilities of the UE, or a combination thereof.

[0230] Clause 31. The network entity of any of clauses 28 to 30, wherein, to receive the set of resources, the at least one processor is configured to receive the set of resources comprising a plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources having the at least one attribute.

[0231] Clause 32. A user equipment (UE), the user equipment (UE) comprising: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor, the at least one processor being communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: receive a resource set comprising a plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources via the at least one transceiver; and use the plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources.

[0232] Clause 33. A UE according to clause 32, wherein, in order to receive a resource set, the at least one processor is configured to receive a resource set comprising multiple phase-coherent positioning reference signal (PRS) resources, multiple phase-coherent sounding reference signal (SRS) resources, or a combination thereof.

[0233] Clause 34. A UE according to clause 33, wherein, in order to use the multiple phase-coherent positioning resources, the at least one processor is configured to: use the phase-coherent PRS resources to receive phase-coherent PRS signals; use the phase-coherent SRS resources to send phase-coherent SRS signals; or a combination thereof.

[0234] Clause 35. An apparatus, comprising: a memory; a transceiver; and a processor, the processor being communicatively coupled to the memory and the transceiver, the memory, the transceiver, and the processor being configured to perform the method of any one of clauses 1 to 17.

[0235] Clause 36. An apparatus comprising means for performing the method of any one of clauses 1 to 17.

[0236] Clause 37. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions, the computer-executable instructions comprising at least one instruction for causing a computer or a processor to perform the method according to any one of clauses 1 to 17.

[0237] It should be understood by those skilled in the art that information and signals may be represented using any of a variety of different techniques and methods. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be mentioned throughout the above description may be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, light fields or optical particles, or any combination thereof.

[0238] In addition, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the various exemplary logic blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithmic steps described in conjunction with the various aspects disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination of the two. In order to clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various exemplary components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been generally described above in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends on the specific application and the design constraints imposed on the entire system. Those skilled in the art may implement the described functionality in different ways for each specific application, but such specific implementation decisions should not be interpreted as resulting in a departure from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0239] The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in conjunction with the various aspects disclosed herein may be implemented or performed with a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an ASIC, a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in an alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, such as a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, a combination of one or more microprocessors and a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0240] The methods, sequences and / or algorithms described in conjunction with the various aspects disclosed herein may be directly embodied in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. The software module may reside in a random access memory (RAM), a flash memory, a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), a register, a hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An example storage medium is coupled to the processor so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium. In an alternative, the storage medium may be integral with the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in a user terminal (e.g., UE). In an alternative, the processor and the storage medium may reside in a user terminal as discrete components.

[0241] In one or more example aspects, the function can be implemented in hardware, software, firmware or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the function can be stored on a computer-readable medium or sent by a computer-readable medium as one or more instructions or codes. Computer-readable media include both computer storage media and communication media, including any medium that facilitates the transfer of computer programs from one place to another. Storage media can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example and not limitation, such computer-readable media may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program codes in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer. In addition, any connection is appropriately referred to as a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is sent from a website, a server or other remote source using a coaxial cable, an optical fiber cable, a twisted pair, a digital subscriber line (DSL) or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio and microwaves, then coaxial cable, optical fiber cable, twisted pair, DSL or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio and microwaves are included in the definition of the medium. As used herein, disk and disc include compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and Blu-ray disc, where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0242] Although the foregoing disclosure shows the exemplary aspects of the present disclosure, it should be noted that various changes and modifications may be made herein without departing from the scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims. In addition, the functions, steps and / or actions of the method claims according to the various aspects of the present disclosure described herein do not need to be performed in any particular order. In addition, although the elements of the present disclosure may be described or claimed in the singular, the plural form may also be considered unless it is explicitly stated to be limited to the singular form.

Claims

1. A method for phase coherent positioning performed by a base station (BS), the method comprising: defining a resource set including a plurality of phase coherent positioning resources; configuring the resource set for a user equipment (UE); as well as The plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources are used.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein defining the resource set comprising a plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources comprises: Define phase-coherent positioning reference signal (PRS) resources, phase-coherent sounding reference signal (SRS) resources, or a combination thereof.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein using the plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources comprises: Using the phase-coherent PRS resources to send a phase-coherent PRS signal; receiving a phase-coherent SRS signal on the phase-coherent PRS resources; Or a combination of these.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein using the plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources comprises: The plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources are used for sensing, positioning, or both.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein defining the resource set comprises: The set of resources is defined in response to receiving a request to define the phase-coherent positioning resources from a network entity.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein receiving the request to define a phase-coherent positioning resource comprises: A request is received specifying at least one attribute of the phase-coherent positioning resource, and wherein defining the resource set comprises defining a resource set comprising a plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources having the at least one attribute.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the at least one attribute of the phase coherent positioning resource comprises: The bandwidth of the phase coherent positioning resource; The periodicity of the phase coherent positioning resource; a phase coherent granularity of the phase coherent positioning resource; or A combination of them.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the phase coherent granularity of the phase coherent positioning resource comprises: Phase coherence over time, phase coherence over space, or phase coherence over time and space.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein defining the resource set comprises: The resource set is defined based on a capability of the UE to support phase coherent positioning resources.

10. A method for phase coherent positioning performed by a network entity, the method comprising: transmitting a request for a resource set including a plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources to a base station (BS) serving a user equipment (UE); receiving, from the BS, the set of resources comprising the plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources; as well as The resource set including the plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources is transmitted to the UE.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the plurality of phase coherent positioning resources comprises: Multiple phase-coherent positioning reference signal (PRS) resources, multiple phase-coherent sounding reference signal (SRS) resources, or a combination thereof.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the request for the set of resources specifies at least one attribute of the phase-coherent positioning resources.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the at least one attribute of the phase coherent positioning resource comprises: The bandwidth of the phase coherent positioning resource; The periodicity of the phase coherent positioning resource; a phase coherent granularity of the phase coherent positioning resource; or A combination of them.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the at least one attribute of the phase coherent positioning resource is determined based on a capability of the BS, a capability of the UE, or a combination thereof.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein receiving the set of resources comprises: The resource set comprising a plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources having the at least one attribute is received.

16. A base station (BS), comprising: Memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor, the at least one processor being communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: defining a resource set including a plurality of phase coherent positioning resources; configuring the resource set for a user equipment (UE); and The plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources are used.

17. The BS according to claim 16, wherein: To define the set of resources, the at least one processor is configured to define a plurality of phase-coherent positioning reference signal (PRS) resources, a plurality of phase-coherent sounding reference signal (SRS) resources, or a combination thereof.

18. The BS according to claim 17, wherein: To use the plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources, the at least one processor is configured to: transmit phase-coherent PRS signals using the phase-coherent PRS resources; receive phase-coherent SRS signals on the phase-coherent PRS resources; or a combination thereof.

19. The BS of claim 17, wherein the at least one processor is configured to use the plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources for sensing, positioning, or both.

20. The BS according to claim 16, wherein: To define the set of resources, the at least one processor is configured to define the set of resources in response to receiving a request to define the phase-coherent positioning resources from a network entity.

21. The BS of claim 20, wherein the request defining a phase-coherent positioning resource specifies at least one attribute of the phase-coherent positioning resource, and wherein: To define the resource set, the at least one processor is configured to define a resource set comprising a plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources having the at least one property.

22. The BS of claim 21, wherein the at least one attribute of the phase coherent positioning resource comprises: The bandwidth of the phase coherent positioning resource; The periodicity of the phase coherent positioning resource; a phase coherent granularity of the phase coherent positioning resource; or A combination of them.

23. The BS of claim 22, wherein the phase coherent granularity of the phase coherent positioning resource comprises: Phase coherence over time, phase coherence over space, or phase coherence over time and space.

24. The BS according to claim 16, wherein: To define the resource set, the at least one processor is configured to define the resource set based on a capability of the UE to support phase-coherent positioning resources.

25. A network entity, comprising: Memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor, the at least one processor being communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: transmitting, via the at least one transceiver, to a base station (BS) serving a user equipment (UE), a request for a resource set comprising a plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources; receiving, via the at least one transceiver from the BS, the set of resources comprising the plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources; as well as The set of resources including the plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources is transmitted to the UE via the at least one transceiver.

26. The network entity of claim 25, wherein the plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources comprises: Multiple phase-coherent positioning reference signal (PRS) resources, multiple phase-coherent sounding reference signal (SRS) resources, or a combination thereof.

27. The network entity of claim 25, wherein the request for the set of resources specifies at least one attribute of the phase-coherent positioning resources.

28. The network entity of claim 27, wherein the at least one attribute of the phase-coherent positioning resource comprises: The bandwidth of the phase coherent positioning resource; The periodicity of the phase coherent positioning resource; a phase coherent granularity of the phase coherent positioning resource; or A combination of them.

29. The network entity of claim 27, the at least one processor configured to determine at least one attribute of the phase-coherent positioning resource based on a capability of the BS, a capability of the UE, or a combination thereof.

30. The network entity according to claim 27, wherein: To receive the set of resources, the at least one processor is configured to receive the set of resources comprising a plurality of phase-coherent positioning resources having the at least one property.

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