Carrier phase measurement assisted location estimation

Abstract

Techniques for wireless communication are disclosed. In one aspect, a wireless node may measure a time of arrival or beam signal strength of a first one or more reference signals at the wireless node. The wireless node may measure a carrier phase of the second one or more reference signals at the wireless node. A wireless node may perform a location estimation procedure of a user equipment (UE) or transmit one or more measurement reports based on a time of arrival or beam signal strength of a first one or more reference signals and based on a carrier phase of a second one or more reference signals.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to wireless communications. Background Art

[0002] Wireless communication systems have evolved over several generations, including first generation (1G) analog wireless telephone service, second generation (2G) digital wireless telephone service (including temporary 2.5G and 2.75G networks), third generation (3G) high-speed data and Internet-capable wireless service, and fourth generation (4G) service (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE) or WiMax). There are many different types of wireless communication systems in use today, including cellular and personal communications service (PCS) systems. Examples of known cellular systems include 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.

[0003] The fifth generation (5G) wireless standard, referred to as New Radio (NR), enables higher data transmission 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 procedures and technologies, and high-density deployments of 5G, enable highly accurate 5G-based positioning. Summary of the invention

[0004] A simplified overview of one or more aspects disclosed herein is given below. Therefore, the following overview should not be considered as a broad overview of all intended aspects, nor should it be considered as identifying key or important elements related to all intended aspects or delineating the scope associated with any particular aspect. Therefore, the sole purpose of the following overview is to present certain concepts related to one or more aspects of the mechanisms disclosed herein in a simplified form prior to the detailed description given below.

[0005] In one aspect, a method of operating a wireless node includes: measuring, at the wireless node, an arrival time or beam signal strength of a first one or more reference signals at the wireless node; measuring, at the wireless node, a carrier phase of a second one or more reference signals; and performing a position estimation process of a user equipment (UE) or sending one or more measurement reports based on the arrival time or beam signal strength of the first one or more reference signals and based on the carrier phase of the second one or more reference signals.

[0006] In one aspect, a method of operating a network entity includes: receiving one or more measurement reports, the one or more measurement reports indicating an arrival time or beam signal strength of a first one or more reference signals at a wireless node and a carrier phase of a second one or more reference signals at the wireless node, the first one or more reference signals and the second one or more reference signals being sent or received by a user equipment (UE); and performing a position estimation process for the UE based on the arrival time or beam signal strength of the first one or more reference signals and based on the carrier phase of the second one or more reference signals.

[0007] In one aspect, a wireless node includes: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: measure a first one or more reference signal arrival times or beam signal strengths at the wireless node; measure a second one or more reference signals carrier phases at the wireless node; and perform a user equipment (UE) position estimation process or send one or more measurement reports based on the first one or more reference signals arrival times or beam signal strengths and based on the second one or more reference signals carrier phases.

[0008] In one aspect, a network entity includes: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: receive one or more measurement reports via the at least one transceiver, the one or more measurement reports indicating an arrival time or beam signal strength of a first one or more reference signals at a wireless node and a carrier phase of a second one or more reference signals at the wireless node, the first one or more reference signals and the second one or more reference signals being sent or received by a user equipment (UE); and perform a position estimation process for the UE based on the arrival time or beam signal strength of the first one or more reference signals and based on the carrier phase of the second one or more reference signals.

[0009] In one aspect, a wireless node includes: a component for measuring the arrival time or beam signal strength of a first one or more reference signals at the wireless node; a component for measuring the carrier phase of a second one or more reference signals at the wireless node; and a component for performing a position estimation process of a user equipment (UE) based on the arrival time or beam signal strength of the first one or more reference signals and based on the carrier phase of the second one or more reference signals or for sending one or more measurement reports.

[0010] In one aspect, a network entity includes: a component for receiving one or more measurement reports, the one or more measurement reports indicating an arrival time or beam signal strength of a first one or more reference signals at a wireless node and a carrier phase of a second one or more reference signals at the wireless node, the first one or more reference signals and the second one or more reference signals being sent or received by a user equipment (UE); and a component for performing a position estimation process for the UE based on the arrival time or beam signal strength of the first one or more reference signals and based on the carrier phase of the second one or more reference signals.

[0011] In one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium stores computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a wireless node, cause the wireless node to: measure an arrival time or beam signal strength of a first one or more reference signals at the wireless node; measure a carrier phase of a second one or more reference signals at the wireless node; and perform a position estimation process for a user equipment (UE) or send one or more measurement reports based on the arrival time or beam signal strength of the first one or more reference signals and based on the carrier phase of the second one or more reference signals.

[0012] In one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium stores computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a network entity, cause the network entity to: receive one or more measurement reports indicating an arrival time or beam signal strength of a first one or more reference signals at a wireless node and a carrier phase of a second one or more reference signals at the wireless node, the first one or more reference signals and the second one or more reference signals being sent or received by a user equipment (UE); and perform a position estimation process for the UE based on the arrival time or beam signal strength of the first one or more reference signals and based on the carrier phase of the second one or more reference signals.

[0013] Other objects and advantages associated with the aspects disclosed herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art based on the accompanying drawings and detailed description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] The accompanying drawings are presented to aid in describing various aspects of the disclosure and are provided solely for illustrative purposes and not limiting thereof.

[0015] Figure 1 An example wireless communication system in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0016] Figure 2A , Figure 2B and Figure 2C Example wireless network structures in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure are shown.

[0017] 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, and a network entity, respectively, and configured to support communications as taught herein.

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

[0019] Figure 5 An example Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) call flow between a UE and a location server for performing positioning operations is shown.

[0020] Figure 6 Examples of various positioning methods supported in New Radio (NR) according to aspects of the present disclosure are shown.

[0021] Fig. 7A is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a measured carrier phase of a carrier of a reference signal and a distance from a transmitter of the reference signal to a receiver of the reference signal according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0022] Figure 7B is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a first measured carrier phase of a first carrier of a reference signal, a second measured carrier phase of a second carrier of the reference signal, and a distance from a transmitter of the reference signal to a receiver of the reference signal according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0023] Figure 8 is a signaling and event diagram illustrating various operations of an example carrier phase measurement-assisted position estimation process in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0024] Fig. 9 is a signaling and event diagram illustrating various operations of another example carrier phase measurement-assisted position estimation process in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0025] Fig.10 is a signaling and event diagram illustrating various operations of another example carrier phase measurement-assisted position estimation process in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0026] Fig.11A is a timing diagram illustrating performing measurements according to a first mode and a second mode during different time windows in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0027] Fig. 11B is a diagram showing the various aspects of the present disclosure corresponding to Fig.11A A timing diagram of power consumption levels of a first mode and a second mode executed in an example.

[0028] Fig.12

[0013] Example methods of operating a wireless node to perform a position estimation procedure for a user equipment (UE) in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure are shown.

[0029] Fig.13 Example methods of operating network entities to perform a position estimation procedure for a user equipment (UE) in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure are illustrated. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] Various aspects of the present invention are provided in the following description and related drawings for various examples provided for illustrative purposes. Alternative aspects may be designed without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In addition, well-known elements of the present disclosure will not be described in detail or will be omitted to avoid obscuring the relevant details of the present disclosure.

[0031] As used herein, the words "exemplary" and / or "example" 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.

[0032] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the information and signals described below may be represented using any of a variety of different techniques and technologies. 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, optical 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, etc.

[0033] 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 instructions being executed by one or more processors, or by a combination of the two. In addition, the (multiple) action sequences described herein may be viewed as being completely embedded in any form of a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having a corresponding computer instruction set stored therein, which, when executed, will cause or command the associated processor of the device to perform the functions 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" that is "configured to" perform the described actions.

[0034] As used herein, unless otherwise specified, the terms "user equipment" (UE) and "base station" are not intended to be specific to or otherwise limited to any particular radio access technology (RAT). 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, augmented reality (AR) / virtual reality (VR) headsets, 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 equipment", "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 be connected to external networks such as the Internet and to other UEs. Of course, other mechanisms for connecting to the core network and / or the Internet are also possible for the UE, 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.

[0035] A base station may operate according to one of several RATs to communicate with a UE, depending on the network in which it is deployed, and may be alternatively 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 by a UE, including supporting data, voice, and / or signaling connections for the supported UE. In some systems, a base station may provide a pure edge node signaling function, while in other systems, it may provide additional control and / or network management functions. A communication link through which a UE may send 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.). A communication link through which a base station may send 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 or downlink / forward traffic channel.

[0036] The term "base station" may refer to a single physical transmit-receive point (TRP) or may or may not be co-located physical TRPs. 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 a TRP is a point from which a base station transmits and receives wireless signals, as used herein, references to transmissions from a base station or receptions at a base station should be understood as referring to a specific TRP of a base station.

[0037] In some embodiments of supporting positioning of a UE, a base station may not support wireless access by 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., when sending a signal to the UE) and / or as a position measurement unit (e.g., when receiving and measuring a signal from the UE).

[0038] "RF signals" include electromagnetic waves of a given frequency that transmit 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, RF signals may also be referred to as "wireless signals" or simply "signals", where it is clear from the context that the term "signal" refers to either wireless signals or RF signals.

[0039] Figure 1An example wireless communication system 100 is shown in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. 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 macrocell base stations (high-power cellular base stations) and / or small cell base stations (low-power cellular base stations). In one aspect, the macrocell base stations 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 both, and the small cell base stations may include femtocells, picocells, microcells, etc.

[0040] 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)) via 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)) via 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., the AP 150 described below), etc. For signaling purposes, communication 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) being omitted from the signaling diagram for clarity.

[0041] The base stations 102 may also perform functions related to, among other things, transmitting user data, radio channel encryption and decryption, integrity protection, header compression, mobility control functions (e.g., handover, dual connectivity), inter-cell interference coordination, connection establishment and release, load balancing, distribution of non-access stratum (NAS) messages, NAS node selection, synchronization, RAN sharing, multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS), subscriber and device tracking, RAN information management (RIM), paging, positioning, and delivery of warning messages. The base stations 102 may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., through EPC / 5GC) over a backhaul link 134, which may be wired or wireless.

[0042] Base stations 102 may communicate wirelessly with UEs 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 stations 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, because the TRP is generally the physical transmission point of the cell, the terms "cell" and "TRP" can be used interchangeably. In some cases, the term "cell" can also refer to the geographic coverage area (e.g., sector) of a base station, as long as the carrier frequency can be detected and used for communication within a certain portion of the geographic coverage area 110.

[0043] Although the geographic coverage areas 110 of neighboring macrocell base stations 102 may partially overlap (e.g., in a handover region), some geographic coverage areas 110 may substantially overlap with 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 referred to as a Closed Subscriber Group (CSG).

[0044] The communication link 120 between the base station 102 and the UE 104 may include an uplink (also referred to as a reverse link) transmission from the UE 104 to the base station 102 and / or a downlink (DL) (also referred to as a forward link) transmission from the base station 102 to the UE 104. The communication link 120 may use MIMO antenna technology, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and / or transmit diversity. The communication link 120 may be over one or more carrier frequencies. The allocation of carriers may be asymmetric with respect to the downlink and uplink (e.g., more or fewer carriers may be allocated for the downlink compared to the uplink).

[0045] The wireless communication system 100 may also include a wireless local area network (WLAN) access point (AP) 150 that communicates with a WLAN station (STA) 152 via a communication link 154 in an unlicensed spectrum (e.g., 5 GHz). When communicating in the unlicensed spectrum, the WLAN STA 152 and / or the WLAN AP 150 may perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) or a listen-before-talk (LBT) process to determine whether a channel is available before communicating.

[0046] 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' adopting LTE / 5G in the unlicensed spectrum can expand 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, License Assisted Access (LAA) or MulteFire.

[0047] The wireless communication system 100 may also include a millimeter wave (mmW) base station 180 that communicates with the UE 182, which may operate in mmW frequencies and / or near mmW frequencies. Extremely high frequency (EHF) is part of the RF in the electromagnetic spectrum. EHF has a range of 30 GHz to 300 GHz and a wavelength between 1 mm and 10 mm. The radio waves in this band may be referred to as millimeter waves. Near mmW may extend down 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, also known 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 the UE 182 may utilize beamforming (sending 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 alternative configurations, one or more base stations 102 may also transmit using mmW or near mmW and beamforming. Therefore, it should be understood that the foregoing description is merely an example and should not be construed as limiting the various aspects disclosed herein.

[0048] 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 (multiple) receiving devices. 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 are broadcasting the RF signal. For example, the network node can use an antenna array (called a "phased array" or "antenna array") that creates an RF beam that can be "steered" to point in different directions without actually moving the antenna. 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.

[0049] The transmit beams can be quasi-co-located, meaning that they appear to the receiver (e.g., UE) to have the same parameters, regardless of whether the transmit antennas of the network nodes themselves are physically co-located. In NR, there are four types of quasi-co-location (QCL) relationships. Specifically, a given type of QCL relationship means that certain parameters about the second reference RF signal on the second beam can be derived from 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.

[0050] In receive beamforming, a receiver uses a receive beam to amplify an RF signal detected on a given channel. For example, a receiver may increase the gain setting of an antenna array and / or adjust the phase setting of an antenna array in a particular direction to amplify (e.g., increase its gain level) the RF signal received from that direction. Thus, when a receiver is said to be beamforming in a certain direction, this means that the beam gain in that direction is high relative to the beam gain along other directions, or that the beam gain in that direction is the highest compared to the beam gain in the directions 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.

[0051] The transmit and receive beams may be spatially correlated. The spatial relationship means that parameters of a second beam (e.g., a transmit or receive beam) for a second reference signal may be derived from information about a first beam (e.g., a receive beam or a transmit beam) for a first reference signal. For example, a UE 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 sending an uplink reference signal (e.g., a sounding reference signal (SRS)) to the base station based on the parameters of the receive beam.

[0052] Note that a "downlink" beam can be either a transmit beam or a receive beam, depending on the entity that forms it. 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, it is a receive beam that receives the downlink reference signal. Similarly, an "uplink" beam can be either a transmit beam or a receive beam, depending on the entity that forms it. For example, if the base station is forming an uplink beam, it is an uplink receive beam, and if the UE is forming an uplink beam, it is an uplink transmit beam.

[0053] 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 ranges named 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 referred to (interchangeably) as a "below 6 GHz" band in various documents and articles. Similar naming issues sometimes occur with respect to FR2, which is often (interchangeably) referred to as a "millimeter wave" band in documents and articles, although it is different from the extremely high frequency (EHF) band (30 GHz-300 GHz) identified as a "millimeter wave" band by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

[0054] Frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are generally referred to as mid-band frequencies. Recent 5G NR research has identified the operating bands of these mid-band frequencies as frequency range designation FR3 (7.125GHz-24.25GHz). The frequency bands falling within FR3 can inherit FR1 characteristics and / or FR2 characteristics, and thus can effectively extend the characteristics of FR1 and / or FR2 to mid-band frequencies. In addition, higher frequency bands are currently being explored to extend 5G NR operations to above 52.6GHz. For example, three higher operating bands have been identified as frequency range designations FR4a or FR4-1 (52.6GHz-71 GHz), FR4 (52.6GHz-114.25GHz) and FR5 (114.25GHz-300GHz). Each of these higher frequency bands falls within the EHF band.

[0055] In view of the above aspects, unless otherwise specifically stated, it should be understood that if the term "sub-6 GHz" or the like is used in this document, it can be broadly referred to as a frequency 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 in this document, it can be broadly referred to as a frequency 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.

[0056] In a multi-carrier system such as 5G, one of the carrier frequencies is referred to as a "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 reestablishment 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 can be 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, those signaling information and signals that are UE-specific may not be present in the secondary carrier because the primary uplink and downlink carriers are typically both UE-specific. This means that different UEs 104 / 182 in a cell can have different downlink primary carriers. The same is true for the uplink primary carrier. The network can 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 a PCell or an SCell) corresponds to a carrier frequency / component carrier on which a certain base station is communicating, the terms "cell", "serving cell", "component carrier", "carrier frequency", etc. can be used interchangeably.

[0057] 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 utilized 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 two-fold increase in data rate (i.e., 40 MHz) compared to the data rate obtained with a single 20 MHz carrier.

[0058] 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.

[0059] In some cases, UE 164 and UE 182 may be able to perform sidelink communications. A sidelink-capable UE (SL-UE) may communicate with base station 102 via communication link 120 using a Uu interface (i.e., an air interface between a UE and a base station). SL-UEs (e.g., UE 164, UE 182) may also communicate directly with each other via a wireless sidelink 160 using a PC5 interface (i.e., an air interface between sidelink-capable UEs). A wireless sidelink (or just "sidelink") is an adaptation of a core cellular (e.g., LTE, NR) standard that allows direct communication between two or more UEs without communicating through a base station. Sidelink communications may be unicast or multicast and may be used for device-to-device (D2D) media sharing, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications (e.g., cellular V2X (cV2X) communications, enhanced V2X (eV2X) communications, etc.), emergency rescue applications, etc. One or more of a group of SL-UEs utilizing sidelink communications may be 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 otherwise unable to receive transmissions from the base station 102. In some cases, a group of SL-UEs communicating via sidelink communications may utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system, where each SL-UE transmits to every other SL-UE in the group. In some cases, the base station 102 facilitates scheduling of resources for sidelink communications. In other cases, sidelink communications are performed between SL-UEs without involving the base station 102.

[0060] In one aspect, the sidelink 160 can operate on a wireless communication medium of interest, which can be shared with other wireless communications between other vehicles and / or infrastructure access points and other RATs. A "medium" can consist of one or more time, frequency, and / or spatial communication resources (e.g., including one or more channels across one or more carriers) associated with wireless communications between one or more transmitter / receiver pairs. 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 that employ small cell access points) have recently expanded operations to 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 variants of CDMA systems, TDMA systems, FDMA systems, orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA) systems, single carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) systems, and the like.

[0061] Note that although Figure 1 Only two of the UEs are shown as SL-UEs (i.e., UEs 164 and 182), but any of the shown UEs may be SL-UEs. In addition, although only UE 182 is described as being capable of beamforming, any of the shown UEs (including UE 164) may be capable of beamforming. In the case where the 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 a base station (e.g., base station 102, 180, small cell 102', access point 150), etc. Therefore, in some cases, UEs 164 and 182 may utilize beamforming on sidelink 160.

[0062] exist Figure 1 In the example of FIG. 1 , any UE among the UEs shown (for simplicity, in FIG. 1 ) Figure 1A UE 104 (shown as a single UE 104) may receive a signal 124 from one or more earth orbiting spacecraft (SV) 112 (e.g., satellites). In one aspect, the SV 112 may be part of a satellite positioning system that the UE 104 may use as an independent source of location information. A satellite positioning system typically includes a system of transmitters (e.g., SV 112) positioned so that a receiver (e.g., UE 104) can 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 marked with a repeating pseudo-random noise (PN) code of a set number of chips. Although typically located in the SV 112, the transmitter may sometimes be located on a ground-based control station, base station 102, and / or other UE 104. The UE 104 may include one or more dedicated receivers specifically designed to receive the signal 124 for deriving geographic location information from the SV 112.

[0063] 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 support use with one or more global and / or regional navigation satellite systems. For example, an SBAS may include (multiple) augmentation systems that provide integrity information, differential corrections, etc., such as a Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), a European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), a Multifunction Satellite Augmentation System (MSAS), a Global Positioning System (GPS) Assisted Geographic Augmented Navigation or a GPS and Geographic Augmented Navigation System (GAGAN), and / or similar systems. 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.

[0064] 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 a modified 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 devices). In this way, UE 104 can receive communication signals (e.g., signal 124) from SV 112 instead of or in addition to receiving communication signals from ground base station 102.

[0065] The wireless communication system 100 may also include one or more UEs (such as UE 190) 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., through which UE 190 can indirectly obtain cellular connectivity) and a D2D P2P link 194 with WLAN STA 152 connected to WLAN AP 150 (through which UE 190 can indirectly obtain WLAN-based Internet connectivity). In one example, D2D P2P links 192 and 194 can be connected using any well-known D2D RAT (such as LTE Direct (LTE-D), WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), etc.) to support.

[0066] Figure 2A An example wireless network structure 200 is shown. 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 collaboration 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 connect to the control plane function 214 and to the user plane function 212 via the NG-U 213. 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 (or both) the gNB 222 or the ng-eNB 224 may communicate with one or more UEs 204 (e.g., any UE described herein).

[0067] Another optional aspect may include a location server 230 that can communicate with the 5GC 210 to provide location assistance for (multiple) UEs 204. The location server 230 can be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules distributed across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively can each correspond to a single server. The location server 230 can be configured to support one or more location services for the UE 204, which can be connected to the location server 230 via the core network 5GC 210 and / or via the Internet (not shown). In addition, the location server 230 can be integrated into a component of the core network, or alternatively can be external to the core network (e.g., a third-party server, such as an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) server or a service server).

[0068] Figure 2B Another example wireless network structure 240 is shown. 5GC 260 (which may correspond to Figure 2AThe 5GC 210 in the embodiment of the present invention 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 cooperation 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 UE described herein) and a session management function (SMF) 266, a transparent proxy service for routing SM messages, access authentication and access authorization, transmission of short message service (SMS) messages between the UE 204 and a short message service function (SMSF) (not shown), and a security anchor function (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 functions of the AMF 264 also include security context management (SCM). The SCM receives from the SEAF its keys for deriving access network specific keys. The functions of the AMF 264 also include 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 interworking with EPS, and UE 204 mobility event notifications. In addition, the AMF 264 also supports the functions of non-3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project) access networks.

[0069] 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 with a data network (not shown), providing packet routing and forwarding, packet inspection, user plane policy rule enforcement (e.g., gating, redirection, traffic steering), lawful interception (user plane collection), traffic usage reporting, user plane quality of service (QoS) processing (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 sending and forwarding one or more "end markers" to the source RAN node. UPF 262 can also support the transmission of location service messages between UE 204 and a location server (such as SLP 272) over the user plane.

[0070] 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 at UPF 262 to route traffic to the appropriate destination, control section policy enforcement and QoS, and downlink data notification. The interface through which SMF 266 communicates with AMF 264 is called the N11 interface.

[0071] Another optional aspect may include LMF 270, which may communicate with 5GC 260 to provide positioning assistance for UE 204. LMF 270 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, each may correspond to a single server. LMF 270 may be configured to support one or more location services for UE 204, which may be connected to LMF 270 via core network 5GC 260 and / or via the Internet (not shown). SLP 272 can support similar functionality as LMF 270, but LMF 270 can communicate with AMF 264, NG-RAN 220, and UE 204 on the control plane (e.g., using interfaces and protocols designed to transmit signaling messages rather than voice or data), while SLP 272 can communicate with UE 204 and external clients (e.g., third-party servers 274) on the user plane (e.g., using protocols designed to carry voice and / or data, such as Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and / or IP).

[0072] Yet another optional aspect may include a third-party server 274 that may 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 the UE 204. Thus, in some cases, the third-party server 274 may be referred to as a location service (LCS) client or external client. The third-party server 274 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.

[0073] The user plane interface 263 and the control plane interface 265 connect the 5GC 260 (specifically, the UPF 262 and the AMF 264) to one or more gNBs 222 and / or ng-eNBs 224 in the NG-RAN 220, respectively. The interface between the gNB(s) 222 and / or ng-eNB(s) 224 and the AMF 264 is referred to as the "N2" interface, and the interface between the gNB(s) 222 and / or ng-eNB(s) 224 and the UPF 262 is referred to as the "N3" interface. The gNB(s) 222 and / or ng-eNB(s) 224 of the NG-RAN 220 may communicate directly with each other via the backhaul connection 223 (referred to as the "Xn-C" interface). One or more of the gNB 222 and / or ng-eNB 224 may communicate with one or more UEs 204 via a wireless interface referred to as the "Uu" interface.

[0074] The functions 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 for base station functions including transmission of user data, mobility control, radio access network sharing, positioning, session management, etc., except for those functions specifically assigned to the gNB-DU(s) 228. More specifically, the gNB-CU 226 typically 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 typically 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 functions of the gNB 222 are typically hosted by one or more independent gNB-RUs 229 that 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, SDAP, and PDCP layers, with the gNB-DU 228 via the RLC and MAC layers, and with the gNB-RU 229 via the PHY layer.

[0075] The deployment of a communication system (such as a 5G NR system) can be arranged in a variety of ways with various components or constituent parts. 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 device, such as a base station or one or more units (or one or more components) performing base station functions, can be implemented in an aggregated or deaggregated architecture. For example, a base station (such as a B node (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 called a standalone base station or a monolithic base station) or a deaggregated base station.

[0076] An aggregated base station may be configured to utilize a radio protocol stack physically or logically integrated within a single RAN node. A deaggregated 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, DU, and 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).

[0077] Base station type operations or network designs may take into account the aggregated nature of base station functions. For example, disaggregated base stations may be utilized in an integrated access backhaul (IAB) network, an open radio access network (O-RAN (such as a network configuration sponsored by the O-RAN Alliance)), or a virtualized radio access network (vRAN, also known as a cloud radio access network (C-RAN)). Disaggregation may include distributing functions between two or more units at various physical locations, as well as distributing functions virtually for 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.

[0078] Figure 2CAn exemplary disaggregated base station architecture 250 is shown 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 via an E2 link through one or more disaggregated base station units (such as a near real-time (near-RT) RAN intelligent controller (RIC) 259, or a non-real-time (non-RT) RIC 257 associated with a service management and coordination (SMO) framework (SMO) Framework) 255, or both. The CU 280 may communicate with one or more distributed units (DUs) 285 (e.g., gNB-DUs 228) via corresponding mid-haul links (e.g., F1 interfaces). The DUs 285 may communicate with one or more radio units (RUs) 287 (e.g., gNB-RUs 229) via corresponding fronthaul links. The RU 287 may communicate with a corresponding UE 204 via one or more radio frequency (RF) access links. In some implementations, a UE 204 may be served by multiple RUs 287 simultaneously.

[0079] Each unit (i.e., CU 280, DU 285, RU 287, and near-RT RIC 259, non-RT RIC 257, and SMO framework 255) may include one or more interfaces, 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 the units or an associated processor or controller that provides instructions to the communication interface of the unit may be configured to communicate with one or more of the other units via a transmission medium. For example, a unit may include a wired interface that is configured to receive signals from one or more other units or send signals to one or more other units via a wired transmission medium. In addition, a 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 other units via a wireless transmission medium.

[0080] 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 configured to transmit signals with other control functions hosted by CU 280. CU280 may be configured to process user plane functions (i.e., central unit-user plane (CU-UP)), control plane functions (i.e., central unit-control plane (CU-CP)), or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, 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). CU 280 may be implemented to communicate with DU 285 as needed for network control and signaling.

[0081] DU 285 may correspond to a logical unit including 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.) based at least in part on a functional partitioning such as those defined by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). In some aspects, DU 285 may also host one or more low PHY layers. Each layer (or module) may be implemented using an interface configured to communicate signals with other layers (and modules) hosted by DU 285 or with control functions hosted by CU 280.

[0082] The lower layer functions may be implemented by one or more RUs 287. In some deployments, the RU 287 controlled by the 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, (multiple) RUs 287 may be implemented to handle over-the-air (OTA) communications with one or more UEs 204. In some embodiments, real-time and non-real-time aspects of control and user plane communications with (multiple) RUs 287 may be controlled by the corresponding DU 285. In some scenarios, this configuration may enable the DU 285 and CU 280 to be implemented in a cloud-based RAN architecture (such as a vRAN architecture).

[0083] The SMO framework 255 may be configured to support RAN deployment and provisioning of non-virtualized 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 an instantiated virtualized network element, 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 embodiments, the SMO framework 255 may communicate with hardware aspects of the 4G RAN, such as an open eNB (O-eNB) 261, via an O1 interface. In addition, in some embodiments, the SMO framework 255 may communicate directly with one or more RUs 287 via an O1 interface. The SMO framework 255 may also include a non-RT RIC 257 configured to support the functionality of the SMO framework 255 .

[0084] The non-RT RIC 257 may be configured to include logic functions that implement 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 in communication with the near-RT RIC 259 (e.g., via an A1 interface). The near-RT RIC 259 may be configured to include logic functions that implement near-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources via data collection and actions through an interface that connects one or more CUs 280, one or more DUs 285, or both, and O-eNBs to the near-RT RIC 259 (e.g., via an E2 interface).

[0085] In some embodiments, 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 used 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).

[0086] Figure 3A , Figure 3B and Figure 3C 2. The diagram shows a network entity 306 that 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 a location server 230 and a LMF 270, or alternatively, may be independent of the network entity 306. 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 present invention, such as a dedicated network, are shown to support the operations described herein. It should be understood that in different embodiments, these components can be implemented in different types of devices (e.g., in an ASIC, in a system on a chip (SoC), etc.). The components shown can also be incorporated into other devices in the communication system. For example, other devices in the system may include components similar to the described components to provide similar functions. And, a given device may include one or more components. For example, a device may include multiple transceiver components, which enable the device to operate on multiple carriers and / or communicate via different technologies.

[0087] 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 adjusting, means for suppressing transmission, 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 can each be connected to one or more antennas 316 and 356, respectively, for communicating with other network nodes (such as other UEs, access points, base stations (e.g., eNBs, gNBs), etc.) over a wireless communication medium of interest (e.g., a certain set of time / frequency resources in a specific spectrum) via at least one designated RAT (e.g., NR, LTE, GSM, etc.). The WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 may be configured differently according to the specified RAT for respectively transmitting and encoding signals 318 and 358 (e.g., messages, indications, information, etc.), and conversely, for respectively receiving and decoding 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 respectively transmitting and encoding signals 318 and 358, and one or more receivers 312 and 352 for respectively receiving and decoding signals 318 and 358.

[0088] At least in some cases, UE 302 and base station 304 each further include one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360, respectively. Short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 can be connected to one or more antennas 326 and 366, respectively, and provide for communication via at least one designated RAT (e.g., WiFi, LTE-D, The short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 may be configured differently according to the specified RAT for respectively sending and encoding signals 328 and 368 (e.g., messages, indications, information, etc.), and conversely, for respectively receiving and decoding signals 328 and 368 (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, etc.). Specifically, the short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 include one or more transmitters 324 and 364 for respectively sending and encoding signals 328 and 368, and one or more receivers 322 and 362 for respectively receiving and decoding signals 328 and 368. 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.

[0089] At least in some cases, the UE 302 and the base station 304 also include satellite signal receivers 330 and 370. The satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 can be connected to one or more antennas 336 and 376, respectively, and can 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 can 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 can be communication signals (e.g., carrying control and / or user data) originating from a 5G network. The satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 can 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 information and operations from other systems as appropriate and, at least in some cases, perform calculations using measurements obtained by any suitable satellite positioning system algorithm to determine the position of UE 302 and base station 304, respectively.

[0090] The base station 304 and the network entity 306 each include one or more network transceivers 380 and 390, respectively, which provide means (e.g., means for transmitting, means 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 via one or more wired or wireless backhaul links. As another example, the network entity 306 may employ one or more network transceivers 390 to communicate with one or more base stations 304 via one or more wired or wireless backhaul links, or communicate with other network entities 306 via one or more wired or wireless core network interfaces.

[0091] The transceiver can be configured to communicate over a wired or wireless link. The transceiver (whether a wired transceiver or a wireless transceiver) includes a transmitter circuit (e.g., transmitter 314, 324, 354, 364) and a receiver circuit (e.g., receiver 312, 322, 352, 362). In some embodiments, the transceiver can be an integrated device (e.g., embedding the transmitter circuit and the receiver circuit in a single device), in some embodiments, the transceiver can include a separate transmitter circuit and a separate receiver circuit, or in other embodiments, can be embodied in other ways. The transmitter circuit and the receiver circuit of the wired transceiver (e.g., in some embodiments, the network transceivers 380 and 390) can 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., receiver 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 transmit at a given time, rather than simultaneously. 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.

[0092] As used herein, various wireless transceivers (e.g., in some embodiments, transceivers 310, 320, 350, and 360, and network transceivers 380 and 390) and wired transceivers (e.g., in some embodiments, network transceivers 380 and 390) may be generally characterized as a "transceiver," "at least one transceiver," or "one or more transceivers." As such, whether a particular transceiver is a wired or wireless transceiver may be inferred from the type of communication being performed. For example, backhaul communications between network devices or servers generally 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) generally involve signaling via a wireless transceiver.

[0093] 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 functions related to, for example, wireless communication, and for providing other processing functions. Thus, processors 332, 384, and 394 can provide components for processing, such as components for determining, components for calculating, components for receiving, components for sending, components for indicating, etc. In one aspect, processors 332, 384, and 394 can include, for example, one or more general-purpose processors, multi-core processors, central processing units (CPUs), ASICs, digital signal processors (DSPs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), other programmable logic devices or processing circuit systems, or various combinations thereof.

[0094] The UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306 include memory circuits implementing memories 340, 386, and 396, respectively (e.g., each memory including a memory device), for maintaining information (e.g., information indicating reserved resources, thresholds, parameters, etc.). Thus, the memories 340, 386, and 396 may provide means for storing, means for retrieving, means for maintaining, etc. In some cases, the UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306 may include carrier phase measurement components 342, 388, and 398, respectively. The carrier phase measurement components 342, 388, and 398 may be hardware circuits that are part of or coupled to the processors 332, 384, and 394, respectively, which when executed cause the UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306 to perform the functions described herein. In other aspects, the carrier phase measurement components 342, 388, and 398 can be external to the processors 332, 384, and 394 (e.g., part of a modem processing system, integrated with another processing system, etc.). Alternatively, the carrier phase measurement components 342, 388, and 398 can 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 functions described herein. Figure 3A Possible locations are shown for a carrier phase measurement component 342, which can be, for example, part of one or more WWAN transceivers 310, memory 340, one or more processors 332, or any combination thereof, or can be a standalone component. Figure 3B Possible locations are shown for a carrier phase measurement component 388, which can be, for example, part of one or more WWAN transceivers 350, memory 386, one or more processors 384, or any combination thereof, or can be a standalone component. Figure 3C Possible locations are shown for a carrier phase measurement component 398, which can be, for example, part of one or more network transceivers 390, memory 396, one or more processors 394, or any combination thereof, or can be a standalone component.

[0095] 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 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. For example, sensor(s) 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(s) 344 may include multiple different types of devices and combine their outputs to provide motion information. For example, sensor(s) 344 may use a combination of a multi-axis accelerometer and an orientation sensor to provide the ability to calculate a position in a two-dimensional (2D) and / or three-dimensional (3D) coordinate system.

[0096] 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.

[0097] 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 the functions of the RRC layer, the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, the Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, and the 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 transmission 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.

[0098] The transmitter 354 and the receiver 352 may implement layer-1 (L1) functions associated with various signal processing functions. Layer-1, including the physical (PHY) layer, may include error detection on the transmission channel, forward error correction (FEC) encoding / decoding of the transmission channel, interleaving, rate matching, mapping to the physical channel, modulation / demodulation of the physical channel, and MIMO antenna processing. The transmitter 354 processes 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 split into parallel streams. Each stream may then be mapped to an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) subcarrier, multiplexed with a reference signal (e.g., pilot) in the time domain and / or frequency domain, and then combined together using an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) to produce a physical channel carrying a time domain OFDM symbol stream. The OFDM symbol stream is spatially precoded to produce multiple spatial streams. Channel estimates from a channel estimator may be used to determine coding and modulation schemes, as well as for spatial processing. Channel estimates may be derived from reference signals and / or channel condition 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.

[0099] 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 functions associated with various signal processing functions. The receiver 312 can perform spatial processing on the information to recover any spatial stream destined for the UE 302. If multiple spatial streams are destined for the UE 302, the receiver 312 can combine them into a single OFDM symbol stream. The receiver 312 then converts the OFDM symbol stream from the time domain to the frequency domain using a fast Fourier transform (FFT). The frequency domain signal includes a separate OFDM symbol stream for each subcarrier of the OFDM signal. The symbols and reference signals on each subcarrier 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) functions.

[0100] In the downlink, one or more processors 332 provide demultiplexing between transport channels 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.

[0101] Similar to the functions described in conjunction with downlink transmissions performed by the base station 304, one or more processors 332 provide: RRC layer functions associated with system information (e.g., MIB, SIB) acquisition, RRC connection, and measurement reporting; PDCP layer functions associated with header compression / decompression and security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification); RLC layer functions associated with transmission of upper layer PDUs, error correction through ARQ, concatenation, segmentation and reassembly of RLC SDUs, resegmentation 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 to 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.

[0102] The transmitter 314 may select appropriate coding and modulation schemes, and facilitate spatial processing, using channel estimates derived by a channel estimator from a reference signal or feedback sent by the base station 304. The spatial streams generated by the transmitter 314 may be provided to different antennas 316. The transmitter 314 may modulate an RF carrier with the corresponding spatial stream for transmission.

[0103] The base station 304 processes the uplink transmission 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.

[0104] In the uplink, 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 UE 302. IP packets from one or more processors 384 may be provided to the core network. One or more processors 384 are also responsible for error detection.

[0105] For convenience, UE 302, base station 304 and / or network entity 306 may be configured to: Figure 3A , Figure 3B and Figure 3C1 is shown as including various components that can be configured according to the various examples described herein. However, it should be understood that the components shown can have different functions in different designs. In particular, 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 particular implementation of UE 302 may omit WWAN transceiver(s) 310 (e.g., a wearable device or tablet or PC or laptop may have Wi-Fi and / or Bluetooth capabilities but no cellular capabilities), or may omit short-range wireless transceiver(s) 320 (e.g., only cellular, etc.), or may omit satellite signal receiver 330, or may omit sensor(s) 344, etc. In another example, in Figure 3B In the case of a wireless cellular network, a specific implementation of the base station 304 may omit the WWAN transceiver(s) 350 (e.g., a Wi-Fi "hotspot" access point without cellular capabilities), or may omit the short-range wireless transceiver(s) 360 (e.g., cellular only, etc.), or may omit the satellite signal receiver 370, etc. For the sake of brevity, a description of various alternative configurations is not provided herein, but is readily apparent to those skilled in the art.

[0106] The various components of the UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306 may be communicatively coupled to each other via data buses 334, 382, ​​and 392, respectively. In an aspect, the data buses 334, 382, ​​and 392 may form or be part of a communication interface of the UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306, respectively. For example, in the case where different logical entities are embedded in the same device (e.g., gNB and location server functions incorporated into the same base station 304), the data buses 334, 382, ​​and 392 may provide communication between them.

[0107] Figure 3A , Figure 3B and Figure 3C The components of can be implemented in various ways. In some embodiments, Figure 3A , Figure 3B and Figure 3CThe components may be implemented in one or more circuits, 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 incorporate at least one memory component for storing information or executable code used by the circuit to provide the function. For example, some or all of the functions represented by blocks 310 to 346 may be implemented by the processor and (multiple) memory components of UE 302 (e.g., by executing appropriate codes and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor components). Similarly, some or all of the functions represented by blocks 350 to 388 may be implemented by the processor and (multiple) memory components of base station 304 (e.g., by executing appropriate codes and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor components). In addition, some or all of the functions represented by blocks 390 to 398 may be implemented by the processor and (multiple) memory components of network entity 306 (e.g., by executing appropriate codes 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, it should be understood that 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, carrier phase measurement components 342, 388 and 398, etc.).

[0108] In some designs, the network entity 306 may be implemented as a core network component. In other designs, the network entity 306 may be different from a network operator or operation of 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).

[0109] Various frame structures may be used to support downlink and uplink transmissions between network nodes (eg, base stations and UEs). Figure 4 4 is a diagram illustrating an example frame structure according to aspects of the present disclosure. The frame structure may be a downlink or uplink frame structure. Other wireless communication technologies may have different frame structures and / or different channels.

[0110] LTE, and in some cases NR, utilizes orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (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 commonly referred to as tones, bins, etc. Each subcarrier can be modulated with data. Typically, modulation symbols are sent 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 the 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, 2.5, 5, 10, or 20 megahertz (MHz), the nominal fast Fourier transform (FFT) size may be equal to 128, 256, 512, 1024, or 2048, respectively. The system bandwidth may also be partitioned into subbands. For example, a subband may cover 1.08 MHz (i.e., 6 resource blocks), and there may be 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 subbands for a system bandwidth of 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10, or 20 MHz, respectively.

[0111] LTE supports a single parameter set (subcarrier spacing (SCS), symbol length, etc.). In contrast, NR can 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) with a 4K FFT size is 800.

[0112] exist Figure 4 In the example of , a parameter set of 15 kHz is used. Therefore, in the time domain, the 10 ms frame is divided into 10 equally sized subframes, each subframe is 1 ms, and each subframe includes one time slot. Figure 4 , the horizontal direction (on the X-axis) represents time, which increases from left to right, and the vertical direction (on the Y-axis) represents frequency, which increases (or decreases) from bottom to top.

[0113] A resource grid may be used to represent a time slot, each of which includes one or more time-concurrent resource blocks (RBs) in the frequency domain, also called physical RBs (PRBs). The resource grid is further divided into multiple resource elements (REs). An RE may correspond to one symbol length in the time domain and one subcarrier in the frequency domain. Figure 4In the parameter set of , for a normal cyclic prefix, an RB can contain 12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain and 7 consecutive symbols in the time domain, for a total of 84 REs. For an extended cyclic prefix, an RB can contain 12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain and 6 consecutive symbols in the time domain, for a total of 72 REs. The number of bits carried by each RE depends on the modulation scheme.

[0114] Some of the REs may carry reference (pilot) signals (RS). The reference signals may include positioning reference signals (PRS), tracking reference signals (TRS), phase tracking reference signals (PTRS), cell-specific reference signals (CRS), channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS), demodulation reference signals (DMRS), primary synchronization signals (PSS), secondary synchronization signals (SSS), synchronization signal blocks (SSB), sounding reference signals (SRS), etc., depending on whether the frame structure shown is for uplink or downlink communication. Figure 4 Example locations of REs carrying reference signals (labeled "R") are shown.

[0115] Figure 5 An example Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) process 500 is shown between a UE 504 and a location server (shown as a Location Management Function (LMF) 570) for performing positioning operations. Figure 5 As shown in , the positioning of UE 504 is supported via the exchange of LPP messages between UE 504 and LMF 570. LPP messages can be exchanged between UE 504 and LMF 570 via the serving base station of UE 504 (shown as serving gNB 502) and the core network (not shown). LPP process 500 can be used to locate UE 504 in order to support various location-related services, such as navigation for UE 504 (or a user of UE 504), or for routing, or for providing an accurate location to a public safety answering point (PSAP) in association with an emergency call from UE 504 to the PSAP, or for some other reason. LPP process 500 can also be referred to as a positioning session, and there can be multiple positioning sessions for different types of positioning methods (e.g., downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA), round trip time (RTT), enhanced cell identity (E-CID), etc.).

[0116] Initially, the UE 504 may receive a request for its positioning capabilities (e.g., an LPP Request Capabilities message) from the LMF 570 at stage 510. At stage 520, the UE 504 provides its positioning capabilities with respect to the LPP protocol to the LMF 570 by sending an LPP Provide Capabilities message indicating the positioning methods supported by the UE 504 using LPP and the characteristics of those positioning methods to the LMF 570. In some aspects, the capabilities indicated in the LPP Provide Capabilities message may indicate the types of positioning supported by the UE 504 (e.g., DL-TDOA, RTT, E-CID, etc.) and may indicate the ability of the UE 504 to support those types of positioning.

[0117] Upon receiving the LPP Provide Capability message, at stage 520, based on the indicated positioning type(s) supported by the UE 504, the LMF 570 determines to use a particular type of positioning method (e.g., DL-TDOA, RTT, E-CID, etc.), and determines a set of one or more transmit-receive points (TRPs) at which the UE 504 will measure downlink positioning reference signals or towards which the UE 504 will send uplink positioning reference signals. At stage 530, the LMF 570 sends an LPP Provide Assistance Data message to the UE 504 identifying the set of TRPs.

[0118] In some embodiments, in response to an LPP request assistance data message ( Figure 5 ), LMF 570 may send the LPP provide assistance data message at stage 530 to UE 504. The LPP request assistance data message may include an identifier of a serving TRP of UE 504 and a request for positioning reference signal (PRS) configuration of a neighboring TRP.

[0119] At stage 540, the LMF 570 sends a request for location information to the UE 504. The request may be an LPP Request Location Information message. The message typically includes information elements that define the type of location information, the desired accuracy of the location estimate, and the response time (i.e., the desired latency). Note that a low latency requirement allows for a longer response time, while a high latency requirement requires a shorter response time. However, a long response time is referred to as high latency, and a short response time is referred to as low latency.

[0120] It should be noted that in some embodiments, if, for example, UE 504 sends a request for assistance data to LMF 570 after receiving the request for location information at stage 540 (e.g., in an LPP Request Assistance Data message, Figure 5 (not shown), the LPP provide assistance data message sent in stage 530 may be sent after the LPP request location information message in stage 540.

[0121] At stage 550, the UE 504 utilizes the assistance information received at stage 530 and any additional data received at stage 540 (e.g., desired positioning accuracy or maximum response time) to perform positioning operations for the selected positioning method (e.g., measurement of DL-PRS, transmission of UL-PRS, etc.).

[0122] At stage 560, the UE 504 may send an LPP Provide Location Information message to the LMF 570 to communicate the results of any measurements (e.g., time of arrival (ToA), reference signal time difference (RSTD), received to transmitted (Rx-Tx), etc.) obtained at stage 550 and before or at the expiration of any maximum response time (e.g., the maximum response time provided by the LMF 570 at stage 540). The LPP Provide Location Information message at stage 560 may also include the time at which the positioning measurement was obtained and the identification of the TRP from which the positioning measurement was obtained. It should be noted that the time between the request for location information at 540 and the response at 560 is the "response time" and indicates the latency of the positioning session.

[0123] At stage 560, the LMF 570 computes an estimated location of the UE 504 using an appropriate positioning technique (eg, DL-TDOA, RTT, E-CID, etc.) based at least in part on the measurements received in the LPP Provide Location Information message.

[0124] NR supports a variety of cellular network-based positioning technologies, including downlink-based positioning methods, uplink-based positioning methods, and downlink and uplink-based positioning methods. Downlink-based positioning methods include observed time difference of arrival (OTDOA) in LTE, downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDoA) in NR, and downlink angle of departure (DL-AoD) in NR. Figure 6 Examples of various positioning methods according to aspects of the present invention are shown. In the OTDOA or DL-TDoA positioning process shown in scenario 610, the UE measures the difference between the arrival times (TOA) of reference signals (e.g., positioning reference signals (PRS)) received from base station pairs, referred to as reference signal time difference (RSTD) or arrival time difference (TDOA) measurements, and reports them to the positioning entity. More specifically, the UE receives identifiers (IDs) of a reference base station (e.g., a serving base station) and multiple non-reference base stations in auxiliary data. The UE then measures the RSTD between the reference base station and each non-reference base station. Based on the known positions of the base stations involved and the RSTD measurements, a positioning entity (e.g., a UE for UE-based positioning or a location server for UE-assisted positioning) can estimate the position of the UE.

[0125] For DL-AoD positioning illustrated by scenario 620, the positioning entity determines the angle(s) between the UE and the transmitting base station(s) using the measurement reports from the UE of the received signal strength measurements of the multiple downlink transmit beams. The positioning entity can then estimate the position of the UE based on the determined angle(s) and the known positions(s) of the transmitting base station(s).

[0126] Uplink-based positioning methods include uplink time difference of arrival (UL-TDoA) and uplink angle of arrival (UL-AoA). UL-TDoA is similar to DL-TDoA, but is based on uplink reference signals (e.g., sounding reference signals (SRS)) sent by the UE to multiple base stations. Specifically, the UE sends one or more uplink reference signals measured by a reference base station and multiple non-reference base stations. Each base station then reports the reception time of the reference signal (called relative time of arrival (RTOA)) to a positioning entity (e.g., a location server) that knows the location and relative timing of the base stations involved. Based on the receive-to-receive (Rx-Rx) time difference between the reported RTOA of the reference base station and the reported RTOA of each non-reference base station, the known location of the base station and its known timing offset, the positioning entity can use TDOA to estimate the position of the UE.

[0127] For UL-AoA positioning, one or more base stations measure the received signal strength of one or more uplink reference signals (e.g., SRS) received from the UE on one or more uplink receive beams. The positioning entity uses the signal strength measurements and the (multiple) angles of the receive beams to determine the (multiple) angles between the UE and the base (multiple) stations. Based on the determined (multiple) angles and the (multiple) known positions of the base stations, the positioning entity can then estimate the position of the UE.

[0128] Downlink and uplink based positioning methods include enhanced cell ID (E-CID) positioning and multi-round trip time (RTT) positioning (also known as "multi-cell RTT" and "multi-RTT"). In the RTT process, a first entity (e.g., a base station or UE) sends a first RTT-related signal (e.g., a PRS or SRS) to a second entity (e.g., a UE or base station), and the second entity sends a second RTT-related signal (e.g., an SRS or PRS) back to the first entity. Each entity measures the time difference between the arrival time (ToA) of the received RTT-related signal and the transmission time of the transmitted RTT-related signal. This time difference is called the receive-transmit (Rx-Tx) time difference. The Rx-Tx time difference measurement can be performed, or the Rx-Tx time difference measurement can be adjusted to include only the time difference between the nearest time slot boundaries of the received signal and the transmitted signal. The two entities may then send their Rx-Tx time difference measurements to a location server (e.g., LMF 270), which calculates the round-trip propagation time (i.e., RTT) between the two entities from the two Rx-Tx time difference measurements (e.g., as the sum of the two Rx-Tx time difference measurements). Alternatively, one entity may send its Rx-Tx time difference measurement to the other entity, which then calculates the RTT. The distance between the two entities may be determined from the RTT and a known signal speed (e.g., the speed of light). For multi-RTT positioning, as shown in scenario 630, a first entity (e.g., a UE or base station) performs an RTT positioning process with multiple second entities (e.g., multiple base stations or UEs) to enable the location of the first entity to be determined (e.g., using multi-point positioning) based on the distance to the second entity and the known location of the second entity. RTT and multi-RTT methods may be combined with other positioning techniques (such as UL-AoA and DL-AoD) to improve location accuracy, as shown in scenario 640.

[0129] The E-CID positioning method is based on radio resource management (RRM) measurements. In E-CID, the UE reports the serving cell ID, timing advance (TA), and the identifiers, estimated timing, and signal strength of detected neighboring base stations. The UE's position is then estimated based on this information and the known locations of (multiple) base stations.

[0130] To assist the positioning operation, a location server (e.g., location server 230, LMF 270, SLP 272) may provide assistance data to the UE. For example, the assistance data may include an identifier of the base station (or cell / TRP of the base station) from which the reference signal is measured, reference signal configuration parameters (e.g., the number of consecutive time slots containing PRS, the periodicity of consecutive time slots containing PRS, muting sequence, frequency hopping sequence, reference signal identifier, reference signal bandwidth, etc.), and / or other parameters applicable to a particular positioning method. Alternatively, the assistance data may originate directly from the base station itself (e.g., in a periodically broadcast overhead message, etc.). In some cases, the UE may be able to detect neighboring network nodes on its own without using assistance data.

[0131] In the case of OTDOA or DL-TDOA positioning process, the auxiliary data may also include an expected RSTD value and associated uncertainty or a search window around the expected RSTD. In some cases, the expected RSTD value range may be + / -500 microseconds (μs). In some cases, when any resource used for positioning measurement is in FR1, the value range of the uncertainty of the expected RSTD may be + / -32μs. In other cases, when all resources used for positioning measurement are in FR2, the value range of the uncertainty of the expected RSTD may be + / -8μs.

[0132] A position estimate may be referred to by other names, such as position estimate, location, position, position fix, fix, etc. A position estimate may be geodetic and include coordinates (e.g., latitude, longitude, and possibly altitude), or may be urban and include a street address, postal address, or some other verbal description of the location. A position estimate may also be defined relative to some other known location, or in absolute terms (e.g., using latitude, longitude, and possibly altitude). A position estimate may include expected errors or uncertainties (e.g., by including an area or volume that is expected to contain the location with some specified or default confidence level).

[0133] Fig. 7A 7 is a diagram showing the measured carrier phase of the carrier 712 of the reference signal according to aspects of the present disclosure. Graph of the relationship between the distance p from the transmitter 720 of the reference signal to the receiver 730 of the reference signal. In some aspects, the distance p between the transmitter 720 (e.g., gNB) and the receiver 730 (e.g., UE) of the reference signal can be expressed in terms of N full wavelengths λ of the carrier 712 and the residual fractional wavelength of the carrier 712. The measured carrier phase to determine the residual fractional wavelength. Therefore, the distance ρ can have the following expression:

[0134]

[0135] That Indicates the residual fractional wavelength. Measures carrier phase Information about the fractional part can be provided because the measured carrier phase is modulo 2π. However, N may still be ambiguous and may require further estimation via different cycle counting techniques.

[0136] Figure 7B is a first measured carrier phase of a first carrier 714 of a reference signal according to aspects of the present disclosure. The second measured carrier phase of the second carrier 716 of the reference signal and a diagram of the relationship between the distance p from the transmitter 720 of the reference signal to the receiver 730 of the reference signal. In some aspects, the distance p between the transmitter 720 and the receiver 730 can be expressed in terms of the N1 full wavelengths λ1 of the first carrier 714 and the first residual fractional wavelength of the first carrier 714, or in terms of the N2 full wavelengths λ2 of the second carrier 716 and the second residual fractional wavelength of the second carrier 716. Therefore, when the received waveform of the reference signal consists of multiple carriers (e.g., the first carrier 714 and the second carrier 716), multiple carrier phase observations can be made. For example, mathematically, the received phase of the i-th carrier can have the following expression:

[0137]

[0138] Where N i An integer representing the wavelength period of the ith carrier, λ i represents the wavelength of the ith carrier, and represents the noise in the phase measurement of the ith carrier. In addition, in some aspects, λ i =c / f i where c is the speed of light (assuming that the i-th carrier travels at the speed of light), and f i is the frequency of the ith carrier.

[0139] According to some communication standards, such as LTE or NR, the PRS is an OFDM-based signal and therefore has a waveform consisting of multiple subcarriers. In some aspects according to LTE or NR, a reference signal (e.g., PRS) can be received in the frequency domain in the form of a resource element (RE). In some aspects, many position estimation processes are based on determining that an IFFT operation needs to be performed to convert the received RE in the frequency domain to a channel impulse response in the time domain. In some other aspects, using carrier phase measurements and wide-lanning (or ultra-wide-lanning) methods, the UE's position estimation process can be performed in the frequency domain without the requirement of an IFFT operation.

[0140] In some aspects, wide channelization or ultra-wide channelization corresponds to methods also used in global navigation satellite system (GNSS) technology. Wide channelization or ultra-wide channelization corresponds to the combination of two or more received wavelengths at the receiver so that a wider wavelength can be mathematically obtained, and carrier phase measurements can be performed based on the wider wavelength. Using the multiple subcarriers available in an OFDM-based communication system, several combinations of subcarrier frequencies can be made to obtain many wide lanes (e.g., many wider wavelengths). In some aspects, carrier phase measurements can be performed on these wider wavelengths to resolve integral cycle ambiguities, thereby determining accurate distances accordingly.

[0141] In some aspects, carrier phase measurements may be very sensitive to noise (such as noise caused by the receiver and / or the channel). In some aspects, carrier phase measurements may be very sensitive to whether the signal path has a line-of-sight (LOS) scenario or a non-line-of-sight (NLOS) scenario. In some aspects, carrier phase measurements may be very sensitive to multipath scenarios. Therefore, in many embodiments, using carrier phase measurements as a standalone method of the position estimation process in all scenarios will bring many practical challenges.

[0142] On the other hand, frequency domain estimation of carrier phase can be a very simple task and requires negligible processing resources. When signal path conditions permit, such as with good LOS conditions, or with a greater likelihood of LOS scenarios, instead of using only carrier measurements as an independent positioning method, carrier phase measurements can be used to use timing measurements and / or angle measurements to assist other timing-based and / or angle-based positioning estimation processes, such as TDOA, angle of departure (AOD), time of arrival (TOA), multi-cell RTT, or a combination thereof. Therefore, the positioning accuracy of timing-based and / or angle-based positioning estimation processes can be improved with the aid of carrier phase measurements.

[0143] Thus, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure, carrier phase measurements may be used to assist timing-based and / or angle-based positioning estimation processes rather than being used as a standalone positioning estimation method without increasing performance capability requirements.

[0144] Figure 8 is a signaling and event diagram illustrating various operations of an example carrier phase measurement-assisted position estimation process according to aspects of the present disclosure. Figure 8 Example interactions are shown between a UE 802 (e.g., any UE described in the present disclosure), a TRP or base station 804 (e.g., any TRP or base station described in the present disclosure that serves the UE 802), one or more TRPs or base stations 806 (e.g., any TRP or base station described in the present disclosure that does not serve the UE 802), and a location server 808 (e.g., a location server 230, an LMF 270, or an SLP 272 described in the present disclosure).

[0145] At 812, the location server 808 may send a message including assistance data to the UE 802 for performing a position estimation procedure for the UE. In some aspects, the assistance data includes information indicating a TRP, a PRS resource set, and / or a PRS resource element that may be required for the UE 802 to perform the position estimation procedure. In some aspects, the assistance data also specifies which timing-based positioning method and / or which angle-based positioning method is to be used in the position estimation procedure for the UE.

[0146] In some aspects, the assistance data may also include an indication of whether the carrier phase is to be applied to the position estimation process (e.g., applied to the position estimation process itself for UE-based positioning or applied to one or more measurement reports for UE-assisted positioning). In some aspects, the indication may also indicate whether the application of the carrier phase is mandatory, optional and / or conditional for the UE802. In some aspects, whether the carrier phase is to be applied to the position estimation process or one or more measurement reports may be conditioned at least on the transmission of a reference signal for the position estimation process (or a previous transmission within a duration) having a probability of a LOS scenario greater than a threshold, the reference signal (or a previous transmission within a duration) having a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) greater than a threshold, or scheduling provided by the server 808.

[0147] In some aspects, whether the carrier phase is to be applied to the position estimation process (e.g., applied to the position estimation process itself for UE-based positioning or applied to one or more measurement reports for UE-assisted positioning) can be defined according to the communication standard, and additional signaling can be simplified or omitted.

[0148] In some aspects, the server 808 may be a LMF and may be responsible for determining when to enable carrier phase measurements on PRS resources. In some aspects, the LMF may have the ability to enable or disable PRS carrier phase measurements during a positioning session.

[0149] In some aspects, the timing-based positioning method may include DL-TDoA positioning, RTT positioning, or multi-RTT positioning. In some aspects, the angle-based positioning method may include DL-AoD. In some aspects, one or more measurement reports may include DL-TDoA signal measurement information, multi-RTT signal measurement information, or DL-AoD signal measurement information.

[0150] At 816a, the TRP or base station 804 sends one or more downlink reference signals to the UE 802. At 816b, the neighboring TRP or base station 806 also sends one or more downlink reference signals to the UE 802. In some aspects, the downlink reference signal may be a PRS.

[0151] At 822, the UE 802 performs one or more timing measurements or angle measurements on the reference signal for performing a positioning estimation process as specified in the assistance data. In some aspects, the timing measurement may include measuring the arrival time of one or more reference signals and / or determining the time difference based on the arrival time of one or more reference signals. In some aspects, the angle measurement may include: measuring the beam signal strength of one or more reference signals so that the directional relationship between the UE and the TRP and the base station can be determined based on the beam with the strongest beam signal strength. Next, at 826a, when the positioning estimation process is a UE-based positioning process, the UE 802 performs a timing-based and / or angle-based positioning estimation process to determine the position of the UE based on a method specified by the assistance data (e.g., DL-TDoA, DL-AoD, RTT, or a combination thereof) and based on timing measurements (e.g., measured arrival time or time difference) and / or angle measurements (e.g., measured beam signal strength).

[0152] At 832, when the carrier phase is to be applied to the positioning estimation process or one or more measurement reports, the UE 802 performs one or more carrier phase measurements to measure at least the carrier phase of the reference signal. Next, at 836a, when the positioning estimation process is a UE-based positioning process, the UE performs carrier phase assisted refinement to refine the UE's position determined at 826a based on the carrier phase measured at 832.

[0153] Alternatively, when the positioning estimation process is a UE-assisted positioning process, at 840, the UE may send one or more measurement reports to the server 808 based on the timing measurement (e.g., the measured arrival time or time difference) and / or the angle measurement (e.g., the measured beam signal strength) and based on the measured carrier phase. In some aspects, the one or more measurement reports may also include an indication indicating the likelihood that the transmission of each of the reference signals has a LOS or NLOS scenario. The server 808 may determine a confidence level for each carrier phase measurement based at least on the LOS / NLOS indication.

[0154] At 826b, the server performs a timing-based and / or angle-based positioning estimation process to determine the position of the UE based on a method specified by the assistance data (e.g., DL-TDoA, DL-AoD, RTT, or a combination thereof) and based on timing measurements (e.g., measured time of arrival or time difference) or angle measurements (e.g., measured beam signal strength). At 836b, the UE performs carrier phase assisted refinement to refine the position of the UE determined at 826a based on carrier phase. In some aspects, during the carrier phase assisted refinement 836a or 836b, integer ambiguities of carriers of the reference signal can be resolved based on a distance corresponding to the position determined at 826a or 826b.

[0155] In some aspects, carrier phase measurements can work very well when the transmission of the reference signal has a LOS scenario, such as in an indoor LOS use case. However, in NLOS or multipath scenarios, carrier phase measurements may not work well or conveniently. Therefore, in some aspects, to implement carrier phase measurements in NLOS and multipath scenarios, the UE 802 can perform addition processing on the channel energy response (CER) in the time domain. Therefore, the UE 802 can be implemented under increased processing power requirements, reaching a level similar to that required when carrier phase is used as a separate (independent) positioning method.

[0156] On the other hand, most timing-based and / or angle-based positioning estimation processes may already include a process for descrambling PRS resource elements in the frequency domain. In some aspects, descrambling PRS resource elements may be used to measure carrier phase and / or integer ambiguity of a carrier. Therefore, in some aspects according to the present disclosure, in order to support carrier phase measurement, UE 802 may only calculate carrier phase measurement in the frequency domain. Therefore, in some aspects, no processing capability enhancement is required on the UE to support carrier phase measurement and / or carrier phase measurement-assisted positioning estimation process.

[0157] Fig. 9is a signaling and event diagram illustrating various operations of another example carrier phase measurement-assisted position estimation process according to aspects of the present disclosure. Fig. 9 Example interactions are shown between a UE 902 (e.g., any UE described in the present disclosure), a TRP or base station 904 (e.g., any TRP or base station described in the present disclosure that serves the UE 902), one or more TRPs or base stations 906 (e.g., any TRP or base station described in the present disclosure that does not serve the UE 902), and a location server 908 (e.g., a location server 230, an LMF 270, or an SLP 272 described in the present disclosure).

[0158] At 912, the location server 908 sends configuration information to the UE 902 for performing a positioning estimation process for the UE. In some aspects, the configuration information includes information indicating TRP and / or SRS resource elements that may be required for the UE 902 to perform the positioning estimation process. At 916a, the TRP or base station 904 receives a set of one or more reference signals sent according to the configuration information from the UE 902. At 916b, a neighboring TRP or base station 906 receives the same set or another set of one or more reference signals sent according to the configuration information from the UE 902. In some aspects, the reference signal may be an SRS.

[0159] In some aspects, the server 908 may command the TRP or base station 904 and / or the neighboring TRP or base station 906 to apply the carrier phase to the location estimation process unconditionally or conditionally (e.g., to be measured and reported to the server 908 in one or more measurement reports). In some aspects, the server 908, the TRP or base station 904, and / or the neighboring TRP or base station 906 have been configured to apply the carrier phase to the location estimation process defined according to the communication standard unconditionally or conditionally. In some aspects, whether the carrier phase is to be applied to the location estimation process may be conditioned on the probability that the transmission of the reference signal used for the location estimation process has a LOS scenario greater than a threshold, the reference signal has a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) greater than a threshold, or a schedule provided by the server 908.

[0160] At 922a, the TRP or base station 904 performs one or more timing measurements or angle measurements on the reference signal for performing a positioning estimation process. In some aspects, the timing measurement may include measuring the arrival time of one or more reference signals and / or determining the time difference based on the arrival time of one or more reference signals. In some aspects, the angle measurement may include measuring the beam signal strength of one or more reference signals so that the directional relationship between the UE and the TRP and the base station can be determined based on the beam with the strongest beam signal strength. At 932a, when the carrier phase is to be applied to the positioning estimation process, the TRP or base station 904 performs one or more carrier phase measurements to measure at least the carrier phase of the reference signal.

[0161] Next, at 942a, the TRP or base station 904 may send one or more measurement reports to the server 908 based on timing measurements (e.g., measured arrival time or time difference) and / or angle measurements (e.g., measured beam signal strength) and based on the measured carrier phase.

[0162] In addition, at 922b, the neighboring TRP or base station 906 performs one or more timing measurements or angle measurements on the reference signal for performing a positioning estimation process. At 932b, when the carrier phase is to be applied to the positioning estimation process, the neighboring TRP or base station 906 performs one or more carrier phase measurements to measure at least the carrier phase of the reference signal. Next, at 942b, the neighboring TRP or base station 906 may send one or more measurement reports to the server 908 based on the timing measurement (e.g., the measured arrival time or time difference) and / or angle measurement (e.g., the measured beam signal strength) and based on the measured carrier phase.

[0163] In some aspects, the one or more measurement reports sent at 942a and / or 942b may also include an indication of a likelihood that the transmission of each of the reference signals has a LOS or NLOS scenario. The server 908 may determine a confidence level for each carrier phase measurement based at least on the LOS / NLOS indication.

[0164] At 950, the server 908 performs a timing-based and / or angle-based positioning estimation process to determine the position of the UE 902 based on UL-TDoA, UL-AoA, RTT, or a combination thereof and based on timing measurements (e.g., measured time of arrival or time difference) or angle measurements (e.g., measured beam signal strength). At 960, the server 908 performs a refinement of carrier phase assistance to refine the position of the UE determined at 950 based on the carrier phase measured at 932a and / or 932b. In some aspects, during the refinement 960 of the carrier phase assistance, integer ambiguities of the carrier of the reference signal can be resolved based on the distance corresponding to the position determined at 950.

[0165] Fig.10 is a signaling and event diagram illustrating various operations of another example carrier phase measurement-assisted position estimation process according to aspects of the present disclosure. Fig.10 Example interactions are shown between a UE 1002 (e.g., any UE described in the present disclosure), a TRP or base station 1004 (e.g., any TRP or base station described in the present disclosure that serves the UE 1002), one or more TRPs or base stations 1006 (e.g., any TRP or base station described in the present disclosure that does not serve the UE 1002), and a location server 1008 (e.g., a location server 230, an LMF 270, or an SLP 272 described in the present disclosure).

[0166] At 1012, the location server 1008 may send a message including assistance data for performing a positioning estimation procedure for the UE to the UE 1002. In some aspects, the assistance data includes information indicating a TRP, a PRS resource set, and / or a PRS resource element that may be required for the UE 1002 to perform the positioning estimation procedure. In some aspects, the assistance data also specifies which timing-based positioning method and / or which angle-based positioning method to use in the positioning estimation procedure for the UE.

[0167] In some aspects, the assistance data may also include an indication of whether the carrier phase is to be applied to the position estimation process (e.g., to be applied to the position estimation process itself for UE-based positioning, or to be applied to one or more measurement reports for UE-assisted positioning). In some aspects, whether the carrier phase is to be applied to the position estimation process (e.g., to be applied to the position estimation process itself for UE-based positioning, or to be applied to one or more measurement reports for UE-assisted positioning) may be predetermined as defined according to a communication standard.

[0168] In some aspects, the timing-based positioning method may include DL-TDoA positioning, RTT positioning, or multi-RTT positioning. In some aspects, the angle-based positioning method may include DL-AoD. In some aspects, one or more measurement reports may include DL-TDoA signal measurement information, multi-RTT signal measurement information, or DL-AoD signal measurement information.

[0169] In addition, in some aspects, the assistance data may indicate that measurements on the reference signals are to be performed according to two different modes, the two different modes comprising: a first mode of performing one or more timing measurements or angle measurements on the first one or more reference signals and a second mode of performing carrier phase measurements on the second one or more reference signals. In some aspects, the first mode may include: performing carrier phase measurements on the first one or more reference signals. In some aspects, the second mode may be exempt from performing or reporting any timing measurements or angle measurements on the second one or more reference signals. In some aspects, the first mode and the second mode may be performed in an alternating manner during different time windows. In some aspects, Fig.10 1022, 1026a, 1032, 1036a, and 1040 may correspond to the first mode of operation, and 1062, 1066a, and 1070 may correspond to the second mode of operation. In some aspects, the time window for executing the first mode may correspond to a position acquisition period, and the time window for executing the second mode may correspond to a position tracking period.

[0170] At 1016a, the TRP or base station 1004 sends one or more downlink reference signals to the UE 1002. At 1016b, the neighboring TRP or base station 1006 also sends one or more downlink reference signals to the UE 1002. In some aspects, the downlink reference signal may be a PRS. The reference signals at 1016a and 1016b may correspond to the first one or more reference signals for the first mode.

[0171] At 1022, the UE 1002 performs one or more timing measurements or angle measurements on the first one or more reference signals for performing a positioning estimation process as specified in the assistance data. In some aspects, the timing measurement may include measuring the arrival time of the one or more reference signals and / or determining the time difference based on the arrival time of the one or more reference signals. In some aspects, the angle measurement may include: measuring the beam signal strength of the one or more reference signals so that the directional relationship between the UE and the TRP and the base station can be determined based on the beam with the strongest beam signal strength. Next, at 1026a, when the positioning estimation process is a UE-based positioning process, the UE 1002 performs a timing-based or angle-based positioning estimation process to determine the position of the UE based on a method specified by the assistance data (e.g., DL-TDoA, DL-AoD, RTT, or a combination thereof) and based on timing measurements (e.g., measured arrival time or time difference) and / or angle measurements (e.g., measured beam signal strength).

[0172] At 1032, when the carrier phase is to be applied to the positioning estimation process or one or more measurement reports for the first mode, the UE 1002 performs one or more carrier phase measurements to measure at least the carrier phase of the reference signal. Next, at 1036a, when the positioning estimation process is a UE-based positioning process, the UE performs carrier phase assisted refinement to refine the position of the UE determined at 1026a based on the carrier phase measured at 1032.

[0173] In some aspects, when the positioning estimation process according to the first mode is a UE-assisted positioning process, at 1040, the UE 1002 can send a first one or more measurement reports to the server 1008 based on the timing measurement (e.g., the measured arrival time or time difference) and / or the angle measurement (e.g., the measured beam signal strength) and / or based on the measured carrier phase. In some aspects, the first one or more measurement reports can also include an indication of the likelihood that the transmission of each of the reference signals has a LOS or NLOS scenario. The server 1008 can determine a confidence level for each carrier phase measurement based at least on the LOS / NLOS indication.

[0174] At 1026b, when the positioning estimation process according to the first mode is a UE-assisted positioning process, the server 1008 may determine the position of the UE based on a method specified by the assistance data (e.g., DL-TDoA, DL-AoD, RTT, or a combination thereof) and based on timing measurements (e.g., measured arrival time or time difference) and / or angle measurements (e.g., measured beam signal strength). At 1036b, the server 1008 may perform carrier phase assisted refinement to refine the position of the UE determined at 1026b based on carrier phase. In some aspects, during carrier phase assisted refinement 1036a or 1036b, integer ambiguities of carriers of the reference signal may be resolved based on a distance corresponding to the position determined at 1026a or 1026b.

[0175] At 1052a, the TRP or base station 1004 sends one or more downlink reference signals to the UE 1002. At 1052b, the neighboring TRP or base station 1006 also sends one or more downlink reference signals to the UE 1002. In some aspects, the downlink reference signal may be a PRS. The reference signals at 1052 and 1052b may correspond to the second one or more reference signals for the second mode.

[0176] At 1062, the UE 1002 performs one or more carrier phase measurements to measure at least the carrier phase of the reference signal. Next, at 1066a, when the positioning estimation process is a UE-based positioning process, the UE performs carrier phase assisted refinement to refine the position of the UE determined at 1026a or 1036a based on the carrier phase measured at 1062.

[0177] In some aspects, when the positioning estimation process according to the second mode is a UE-assisted positioning process, at 1070, the UE may send a second one or more measurement reports to the server 1008 based on the measured carrier phase. In some aspects, the second one or more measurement reports do not indicate the arrival time and beam signal strength of the second one or more reference signals. In some aspects, the second one or more measurement reports may also include an indication indicating the likelihood that the transmission of each of the reference signals has a LOS or NLOS scenario. The server 1008 may determine a confidence level for each carrier phase measurement based at least on the LOS / NLOS indication.

[0178] At 1066b, when the positioning estimation process according to the first mode is a UE-assisted positioning process, the server 1008 may perform carrier phase-assisted refinement to refine the position of the UE determined at 1026b or 1036b based on the carrier phase. In some aspects, during the carrier phase-assisted refinement 1066a or 1066b, integer ambiguities of carriers of the reference signal may be resolved based on a distance corresponding to the position determined at 1026a, 1026b, 1036a, or 1036b.

[0179] Thus, during the first time window for performing the first mode, the UE 1002 may measure all PRS resources based on the configuration provided in the assistance data. After measuring according to the first mode, the UE 1002 may know whether the transmission of the reference signal during the first time window has a LOS scenario or a multipath scenario. In some aspects, given that the UE 1002 is given a good number of PRS resources during the first window for the first mode, the UE 1002 may identify and / or use PRS resources that are more likely to have a LOS scenario. Thus, the UE 1002 may have a good estimate of the positioning fix.

[0180] In addition, in some aspects, during a second time window in which the second mode is performed after the first time window, instead of performing all PRS measurements, the UE 1002 can measure only the PRS resources with good LOS scenarios based on the results from the first time window. In some aspects, the UE 1002 can perform carrier phase measurements in the frequency domain and omit corresponding timing measurements and angle measurements. Therefore, in some aspects, the UE 1002 can save power consumption during the second time window by not operating the IFFT and / or earliest arrival path (EAP, or sometimes referred to as the first arrival path, FAP) processing engine or circuit.

[0181] In some aspects, the time window for executing the first mode or the second mode may be determined by the server 1008 or may be based on UE implementation.

[0182] In some aspects, the time window for performing the second mode can be based on the SNR of the reference signal. For example, the UE can monitor the SNR of the received PRS. In the case where the SNR is greater than a predetermined threshold, the UE can start reporting only carrier phase measurements (i.e., the second mode) in a subsequent reporting session. The SNR threshold can trigger the transmission of continuous carrier phase-only measurement reports, and the UE can continue to measure and report only carrier phase (i.e., the second mode) within a window defined by the duration T after the trigger condition for the transmission of continuous measurement reports is met. In some aspects, the duration T can be provided in seconds. In some aspects, the duration T can be controlled by the server 1008 or implemented by the UE 1002.

[0183] In some aspects, the time window for performing the second mode may be based on the LOS factor of the reference signal. For example, the UE may monitor the LOS factor of the received PRS, where the LOS factor may indicate the possibility that the transmission of the PRS has a LOS scenario. In some aspects, the LOS factor may be in the range of 0.0 to 1.0, where 1.0 indicates that the transmission is very likely to have a LOS scenario, and 0.0 indicates that the transmission is very unlikely to have a LOS scenario. In the case where the LOS factor is greater than a predetermined threshold (e.g., greater than 0.9), the UE may start reporting only carrier phase measurements (i.e., the second mode) in a subsequent reporting session. The LOS factor threshold may trigger the transmission of continuous carrier phase-only measurement reports, and the UE may continue to measure and report only carrier phase (i.e., the second mode) within a window defined by a duration T after the triggering condition for the transmission of continuous measurement reports is met. In some aspects, the duration T may be provided in seconds. In some aspects, the duration T may be controlled by the server 1008 or implemented by the UE 1002.

[0184] In some aspects, the time window for performing the second mode may be based on a schedule provided by the server 1008. For example, the LMF may indicate that the UE only needs to report a set of TRPs, a set of PRS resources, and / or PRS resource elements for CP measurements (ie, the second mode).

[0185] In some aspects, carrier phase only measurements and reports correspond to measurements or reports that do not indicate corresponding measured reference signal arrival times and beam signal strengths, and may still include other configuration or system information.

[0186] Fig.11A1 is a timing diagram illustrating performing measurements according to a first mode and a second mode during different time windows according to aspects of the present disclosure. In this example, the first mode corresponds to performing one or more timing measurements or angle measurements on a first one or more reference signals, and optionally performing one or more carrier phase measurements on the first one or more reference signals. The second mode corresponds to performing one or more carrier phase measurements on a second one or more reference signals without performing any timing measurements and angle measurements on the second one or more reference signals.

[0187] like Fig.11A As shown, a server (such as Fig.10 The LMF or server 1008 in the Fig.10 The UE 1002 in the embodiment is configured to perform measurements according to the first mode during the time window T1 and the time window T3, and to perform measurements according to the second mode during the time window T2 and the time window T4. In some aspects, the duration of the time window T2 and the time window T4 may not exceed the predetermined duration T, as shown in FIG. Fig.10 As described.

[0188] Fig. 11B is a diagram showing the various aspects of the present disclosure corresponding to Fig.11A A timing diagram of power consumption levels of the first mode and the second mode performed in an example of . In some aspects, although the UE may need to operate an IFFT or EAP processing engine or circuit to perform timing and / or angle measurements according to the first mode, the UE may not need to operate an IFFT or EAP processing engine or circuit to perform carrier phase measurements according to the second mode. Therefore, the power consumption level P2 during the time window T2 and the power consumption level P4 during the time window T4 can be lower than the power consumption level P1 during the time window T1 and the power consumption level P3 during the time window T3. In some aspects, by mixing measurements according to the first mode and the second mode, the overall power consumption of the UE can be reduced.

[0189] In addition, according to some communication standards, the results of the timing measurement and / or angle measurement of the reference signal may be mandatory or required in each measurement report. In some aspects of the examples according to the present disclosure, the communication standard may be modified or a new communication standard may be drafted by omitting the requirement to include the results of the timing measurement and / or angle measurement of the reference signal in each measurement report.

[0190] For example, according to 3GPP NR standard Release 16, the DL-TDoA measurement report includes the measured RSTD of the reference signal (e.g., nr-RSTD-r16 in NR-DL-TDOA-MeasElement-r16); the DL-AoD measurement report includes the measured RSRP of the reference signal (e.g., nr-DL-PRS-RSRP-ResultRSTD-r16 in NR-DL-AoD-MeasElement-r16); and the multi-RTT measurement report includes the measured Rx-Tx time difference between the transmitted reference signal and the received reference signal (e.g., nr-UE-RxTxTimeDiff-r16 in NR-Multi-RTT-MeasElement-r16).

[0191] In some aspects, when carrier phase measurements can be used to assist timing-based and / or angle-based positioning estimation processes, omitting the results of timing measurements or angle measurements (e.g., RSTD, RSRP, and / or Rx-Tx time difference) in the measurement report and reporting the results of carrier phase measurements instead can be very useful in terms of power saving. For example, when the transmission of the reference signal has very good SNR conditions or very good LOS conditions, the carrier phase measurement alone may be good enough to update the positioning estimate of the UE accurately enough.

[0192] Therefore, in the presence of carrier phase reports, or when the UE optionally reports carrier phase measurements together with the results of timing measurements and / or angle measurements, the communication standard may omit the reporting of the results of timing measurements and / or angle measurements. For example, the nr-RSTD-r16 information element may be optional in an NR DL-TDOA report; the nr-DL-PRS-RSRP-ResultRSTD-r16 information element may be optional in an NR DL-AoD report; or the nr-UE-RxTxTimeDiff-r16 information element may be optional in an NR multi-RTT report.

[0193] Fig.12 An example method 1200 of operating a wireless node to perform a position estimation procedure for a user equipment (UE) in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0194] In some aspects, the method 1200 may correspond to a positioning estimation process that may be performed by a UE (e.g., any UE described herein). In some aspects, the method 1200 may correspond to operations performed by UE 802, 902, and / or 1002. In one aspect, the method 1200 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or carrier measurement component 342, any or all of which may be considered as means for performing one or more of the following operations of the method 1200.

[0195] In some aspects, method 1200 may correspond to a positioning estimation process that may be performed by a TRP or a base station (e.g., any of the TRPs or base stations described herein). In some aspects, method 1200 may correspond to operations performed by TRPs or base stations 804, 904, and / or 1004. In one aspect, method 1200 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 350, one or more processors 384, memory 386, and / or carrier measurement component 388, any or all of which may be considered as means for performing one or more of the following operations of method 1200.

[0196] At 1210, the wireless node measures the arrival time (i.e., for timing measurement) or beam signal strength (i.e., for angle measurement) of a first one or more reference signals at the wireless node. In some aspects, when the wireless node is a UE, the first one or more reference signals may be a PRS from one or more base stations. In some aspects, when the wireless node is a base station, the first one or more reference signals may be an SRS from a UE.

[0197] At 1220, the wireless node measures a carrier phase of a second one or more reference signals at the wireless node (i.e., for carrier phase measurement). In some aspects, when the wireless node is a UE, the second one or more reference signals may be a PRS from one or more base stations. In some aspects, when the wireless node is a base station, the second one or more reference signals may be an SRS from a UE.

[0198] At 1230, the wireless node performs a position estimation process for the UE or sends one or more measurement reports based on the arrival time or beam signal strength of the first one or more reference signals and based on the carrier phase of the second one or more reference signals.

[0199] In some aspects, performing a position estimation process of the UE is based on DL-TDoA positioning, DL-AoD positioning, RTT positioning, or a combination thereof based at least on a time of arrival or beam signal strength of the first one or more reference signals. In some aspects, the measurement report includes information about performing DL-TDoA positioning, DL-AoD positioning, RTT positioning, or a combination thereof based at least on a time of arrival or beam signal strength of the first one or more reference signals.

[0200] In some aspects, the second one or more reference signals are the same as the first one or more reference signals. In this case, method 1200 may correspond to Figure 8 and / or Fig. 9 The UE-based or UE-assisted positioning estimation process is shown.

[0201] In some aspects, the wireless node may receive a message (e.g., assistance data) from a server, and the message may include an indication of whether a carrier phase is to be applied to a position estimation process for the UE or to be included in one or more measurement reports. In some aspects, performing a position estimation process for the UE or sending one or more measurement reports may be based on the carrier phase based on an indication included in the message indicating that the carrier phase is to be applied to a position estimation process for the UE or to be included in the measurement report.

[0202] In some aspects, the wireless node may obtain an indication indicating a likelihood that the transmission of the first one or more reference signals has a LOS scenario. In some aspects, based on the indication indicating that the likelihood that the transmission of the first one or more reference signals has a LOS scenario is greater than a threshold (e.g., greater than 0.9), performing a position estimation process for the UE or sending one or more measurement reports may be based on carrier phase.

[0203] In some aspects, the second one or more reference signals are received at the wireless node after the first one or more reference signals. In this case, method 1200 may correspond to as described with reference to Fig.10 A UE-based or UE-assisted positioning estimation process is shown.

[0204] In some aspects, a measurement report in the one or more measurement reports may be based on a carrier phase of a second one or more reference signals, while another measurement report in the one or more measurement reports performing a position estimation process for the UE may be based on a time of arrival or beam signal strength of the first one or more reference signals. In some aspects, a measurement report in the one or more measurement reports does not indicate a time of arrival and beam signal strength of the second one or more reference signals at the wireless node.

[0205] In some aspects, the wireless node may obtain an indication indicating a likelihood that the transmission of the first one or more reference signals has an LOS scenario. In some aspects, based on the indication indicating that the likelihood that the transmission of the first one or more reference signals has an LOS scenario is greater than a threshold (e.g., 0.9), a measurement report based on the second one or more reference signals may not indicate an arrival time and beam signal strength of the second one or more reference signals.

[0206] In some aspects, the wireless node may obtain an SNR of the first one or more reference signals. In some aspects, based on the SNR of the first one or more reference signals being greater than a threshold, a measurement report based on the second one or more reference signals may not indicate an arrival time and beam signal strength of the second one or more reference signals at the wireless node.

[0207] In some aspects, the wireless node may receive a message from a server, and the message may indicate a schedule for transmission of a measurement report without a time of arrival and without a beam signal strength. In some aspects, based on the schedule, a measurement report based on the second one or more reference signals may not indicate a time of arrival and a beam signal strength of the second one or more reference signals at the wireless node.

[0208] In some aspects, the wireless node may obtain a duration T for transmission of continuous measurement reports that do not indicate a corresponding measured time of arrival and beam signal strength of a reference signal, and the wireless node may configure itself to send the continuous measurement reports during a time window within the duration after a trigger condition for sending the continuous measurement reports (e.g., based on an SNR threshold or based on a LOS condition) is met. In some aspects, based on such measurement reports being scheduled to be sent during the time window, a measurement report based on the second one or more reference signals may not indicate a time of arrival and beam signal strength of the second one or more reference signals at the wireless node.

[0209] As will be appreciated, the technical advantage of method 1200 is that carrier phase measurements are used to assist the timing-based and / or angle-based positioning estimation process of the UE so as to increase the positioning accuracy of the UE, while only negligible demand for additional processing power. In addition, when the wireless node is a UE, by mixing timing-based and / or angle-based measurements with carrier phase measurements, the overall power consumption of the UE can be reduced.

[0210] Fig.13An example method 1300 of operating a network entity to perform a position estimation process for a user equipment (UE) in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is shown. In some aspects, the method 1300 may be performed by a network entity (e.g., any of the network entity, LMF, SLP, or server described herein). In some aspects, the method 1300 may correspond to operations performed by servers 808, 908, and / or 1008. In one aspect, the method 1300 may be performed by one or more network transceivers 398, one or more processors 394, memory 398, and / or carrier phase measurement component 398, any or all of which may be considered as means for performing one or more of the following operations of the method 1300.

[0211] At 1310, the network entity receives one or more measurement reports indicating an arrival time or beam signal strength of a first one or more reference signals at a wireless node and a carrier phase of a second one or more reference signals at the wireless node. The first one or more reference signals and the second one or more reference signals are sent or received by a UE. In some aspects, when the wireless node is a UE, the first one or more reference signals and the second one or more reference signals may be PRSs from one or more base stations. In some aspects, when the wireless node is a base station, the first one or more reference signals and the second one or more reference signals may be SRSs from the UE.

[0212] At 1320, the network entity performs a position estimation process for the UE based on the arrival time or beam signal strength of the first one or more reference signals and based on the carrier phase of the second one or more reference signals.

[0213] In some aspects, performing a position estimation process of the UE is based on DL-TDoA positioning, DL-AoD positioning, RTT positioning, or a combination thereof based at least on a time of arrival or beam signal strength of the first one or more reference signals. In some aspects, the measurement report includes information about performing DL-TDoA positioning, DL-AoD positioning, or RTT positioning, or a combination thereof based at least on a time of arrival or beam signal strength of the first one or more reference signals.

[0214] In some aspects, the second one or more reference signals are the same as the first one or more reference signals. In this case, method 1300 may correspond to Figure 8 and / or Fig. 9 The network-based positioning estimation process is shown.

[0215] In some aspects, the second one or more reference signals are received at the wireless node after the first one or more reference signals. In this case, method 1300 may correspond to as described with reference to Fig.10 The network-based positioning estimation process is shown.

[0216] As will be appreciated, the technical advantage of method 1300 is that carrier phase measurements are used to assist the timing-based and / or angle-based positioning estimation process of the UE so as to increase the positioning accuracy of the UE, while only negligible demand for additional processing power. In addition, when the wireless node is a UE, by mixing timing-based and / or angle-based measurements with carrier phase measurements, the overall power consumption of the UE can be reduced.

[0217] In the above specific embodiments, it can be seen that different features are combined together in the examples. This disclosure should not be understood as an intention that the exemplary 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 various example clauses. Therefore, the following clauses should be considered to be incorporated into the specification, where each clause itself can be used as a separate example. Although each dependent clause may refer to a specific combination with one of the other clauses in the clause, the aspects of the dependent clause are not limited to specific combinations. It should be understood that other example clauses may also include a combination of dependent clause aspects with the subject matter of any other dependent clause or independent clause, or any combination of features with other dependent and independent clauses. Various aspects disclosed herein explicitly include these combinations, unless it is explicitly expressed or it can be easily inferred that a specific combination is not intended (for example, contradictory aspects, such as defining an element as an electrical insulator and an electrical conductor). In addition, it is also intended that various aspects of the clause can be included in any other independent clause, even if the clause is not directly dependent on the independent clause.

[0218] Various implementation examples are described in the following numbered clauses:

[0219] Clause 1. A method of operating a wireless node, comprising: measuring the arrival time or beam signal strength of a first one or more reference signals at the wireless node; measuring the carrier phase of a second one or more reference signals at the wireless node; and performing a position estimation process of a user equipment (UE) or sending one or more measurement reports based on the arrival time or beam signal strength of the first one or more reference signals and based on the carrier phase of the second one or more reference signals.

[0220] Clause 2. A method according to clause 1, wherein the UE position estimation process is performed based on downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDoA) positioning, downlink angle of departure (DL-AoD) positioning, or round trip time (RTT) positioning, or a combination thereof, based at least on the arrival time or beam signal strength of the first one or more reference signals.

[0221] Clause 3. A method according to any one of clauses 1 to 2, wherein one or more measurement reports include information about performing downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDoA) positioning, downlink angle of departure (DL-AoD) positioning or round trip time (RTT) positioning, or a combination thereof based at least on the arrival time or beam signal strength of a first one or more reference signals.

[0222] Clause 4. The method of any one of clauses 1 to 3, wherein the second one or more reference signals are the same as the first one or more reference signals.

[0223] Clause 5. The method according to Clause 4 further includes: receiving a message from a server, the message including an indication of whether a carrier phase is to be applied to a position estimation process of the UE or to be included in one or more measurement reports, wherein, based on the indication included in the message indicating that the carrier phase is to be applied to a position estimation process of the UE or to be included in one or more measurement reports, performing the position estimation process of the UE or sending one or more measurement reports is based on the carrier phase.

[0224] Clause 6. The method according to any one of clauses 4 to 5 further includes: obtaining an indication indicating the possibility that the transmission of the first one or more reference signals has a line-of-sight (LOS) scenario, wherein, based on the indication that the possibility that the transmission of the first one or more reference signals has a LOS scenario is greater than a threshold, performing a UE position estimation process or sending one or more measurement reports is based on carrier phase.

[0225] Clause 7. The method of clause 1, wherein the second one or more reference signals are received at the wireless node after the first one or more reference signals.

[0226] Clause 8. A method according to Clause 7, wherein: a measurement report in the one or more measurement reports is based on a carrier phase of a second one or more reference signals, and performing a UE position estimation process or another measurement report in the one or more measurement reports is based on an arrival time or beam signal strength of a first one or more reference signals.

[0227] Clause 9. The method according to Clause 8 further includes: measuring another carrier phase of the first one or more reference signals at a wireless node, wherein performing a UE position estimation process or another measurement report in the one or more measurement reports is also based on the carrier phase of the first one or more reference signals.

[0228] Clause 10. The method according to Clause 9 further includes: obtaining an indication indicating the possibility that the transmission of the first one or more reference signals has a line-of-sight (LOS) scenario, wherein, based on the indication indicating that the possibility that the transmission of the first one or more reference signals has a LOS scenario is greater than a threshold, performing a UE position estimation process or another measurement report in one or more measurement reports is based on the carrier phase of the first one or more reference signals.

[0229] Clause 11. The method of clause 8, wherein the measurement report in the one or more measurement reports does not indicate a time of arrival and a beam signal strength of a second one or more reference signals at the wireless node.

[0230] Clause 12. A method according to clause 8, wherein the power consumption level for preparing a measurement report that does not indicate the arrival time and beam signal strength of a second one or more reference signals at a wireless node is less than the power consumption level for preparing another measurement report that indicates the arrival time or beam signal strength of a first one or more reference signals in the one or more measurement reports.

[0231] Clause 13. The method according to any one of clauses 11 to 12 further includes: obtaining an indication indicating the possibility that the transmission of the first one or more reference signals has a line-of-sight (LOS) scenario, wherein based on the indication indicating that the possibility that the transmission of the first one or more reference signals has a line-of-sight (LOS) scenario is greater than a threshold, the measurement report in the one or more measurement reports does not indicate the arrival time and beam signal strength of the second one or more reference signals at the wireless node.

[0232] Clause 14. The method according to any one of clauses 11 to 12 further includes: obtaining a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of a first one or more reference signals, wherein based on the SNR of the first one or more reference signals being greater than a threshold, a measurement report in one or more measurement reports does not indicate an arrival time and beam signal strength of a second one or more reference signals at the wireless node.

[0233] Clause 15. The method according to any one of clauses 11 to 12 further includes: receiving a message from a server indicating a schedule for sending no arrival time and no beam signal strength measurement reports; and wherein, based on the schedule, the measurement reports in the one or more measurement reports do not indicate the arrival time and beam signal strength of a second one or more reference signals at the wireless node.

[0234] Clause 16. The method according to any one of clauses 11 to 12 further includes: obtaining a duration for transmission of a continuous measurement report, the continuous measurement report not indicating the arrival time and beam signal strength of a corresponding measured reference signal; and configuring the wireless node to send the continuous measurement report during a time window within the duration after a trigger condition for transmission of the continuous measurement report is met, wherein, based on the measurement report being scheduled to be sent during the time window, a measurement report in the one or more measurement reports does not indicate the arrival time and beam signal strength of a second one or more reference signals at the wireless node.

[0235] Clause 17. The method according to clause 16, further comprising: receiving a message from a server, the message indicating the duration.

[0236] Clause 18. A method as described in any of clauses 1 to 17, wherein: the wireless node is a UE, and the first one or more reference signals and the second one or more reference signals are from one or more base stations.

[0237] Clause 19. A method as described in any of clauses 1 to 18, wherein: the wireless node is a base station, and the first one or more reference signals and the second one or more reference signals are from a UE.

[0238] Clause 20. A method of operating a network entity, comprising: receiving one or more measurement reports, wherein the one or more measurement reports indicate an arrival time or beam signal strength of a first one or more reference signals at a wireless node and a carrier phase of a second one or more reference signals at the wireless node, the first one or more reference signals and the second one or more reference signals being sent or received by a user equipment (UE); and performing a position estimation process for the UE based on the arrival time or beam signal strength of the first one or more reference signals and based on the carrier phase of the second one or more reference signals.

[0239] Clause 21. A method according to Clause 20, wherein the process of performing the position estimation of the UE includes: determining the first position of the UE based on downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDoA) positioning, downlink angle of departure (DL-AoD) positioning or round-trip time (RTT) positioning or a combination thereof using at least the arrival time or beam signal strength of a first one or more reference signals; and determining the second position of the UE based on the first position and the carrier phase of a second one or more reference signals.

[0240] Clause 22. The method of any one of clauses 20 to 21, wherein the second one or more reference signals are the same as the first one or more reference signals.

[0241] Clause 23. A method according to any one of clauses 20 to 21, wherein a second one or more reference signals are received at a wireless node after a first one or more reference signals, and the one or more measurement reports include a first measurement report indicating an arrival time or beam signal strength of the first one or more reference signals and a second measurement report indicating a carrier phase of the second one or more reference signals.

[0242] Clause 24. The method according to Clause 24 further includes: sending a message to a wireless node, the message indicating a duration, so that the wireless node can configure the wireless node to send a continuous measurement report that does not indicate the arrival time and beam signal strength of the corresponding measured reference signal during a time window within the duration after the trigger condition for the transmission of the continuous measurement report is met, wherein, based on the second measurement report being scheduled to be sent during the time window, the second measurement report does not indicate the arrival time and beam signal strength of the second one or more reference signals at the UE.

[0243] Clause 25. The method according to any one of clauses 23 to 24 further includes: sending a message to a wireless node indicating a scheduling for the transmission of a measurement report without arrival time and without beam signal strength, wherein, based on the scheduling, a second measurement report does not indicate the arrival time and beam signal strength of a second one or more reference signals at the UE.

[0244] Clause 26. A method according to any one of clauses 20 to 25, further comprising: sending a message to a wireless node, the message comprising an indication that the carrier phase is to be applied to the position estimation process of the UE or to be included in one or more measurement reports.

[0245] Clause 27. A wireless node comprising: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: measure an arrival time or beam signal strength of a first one or more reference signals at the wireless node; measure a carrier phase of a second one or more reference signals at the wireless node; and perform a position estimation process of a user equipment (UE) or send one or more measurement reports based on the arrival time or beam signal strength of the first one or more reference signals and based on the carrier phase of the second one or more reference signals.

[0246] Clause 28. A wireless node according to clause 27, wherein the UE's position estimation process is based on downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDoA) positioning, downlink angle of departure (DL-AoD) positioning, or round-trip time (RTT) positioning, or a combination thereof based at least on the arrival time or beam signal strength of the first one or more reference signals.

[0247] Clause 29. A wireless node according to any one of clauses 27 to 28, wherein one or more measurement reports include information about performing downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDoA) positioning, downlink angle of departure (DL-AoD) positioning, or round trip time (RTT) positioning, or a combination thereof based at least on the arrival time or beam signal strength of the first one or more reference signals.

[0248] Clause 30. A wireless node as defined in any of clauses 27 to 29, wherein the second one or more reference signals are the same as the first one or more reference signals.

[0249] Clause 31. A wireless node according to clause 30, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: receive a message from a server via the at least one transceiver, the message including an indication of whether a carrier phase is to be applied to a position estimation process of the UE or to be included in one or more measurement reports, wherein the position estimation process of the UE or the one or more measurement reports is based on the carrier phase based on the indication included in the message indicating that the carrier phase is to be applied to the position estimation process of the UE or to be included in one or more measurement reports.

[0250] Clause 32. A wireless node according to any one of clauses 30 to 31, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: obtain an indication indicating the possibility that the transmission of the first one or more reference signals has a line-of-sight (LOS) scenario, wherein, based on the indication indicating that the possibility that the transmission of the first one or more reference signals has a LOS scenario is greater than a threshold, the UE's position estimation process or one or more measurement reports are based on carrier phase.

[0251] Clause 33. A wireless node as defined in clause 27, wherein the second one or more reference signals are received at the wireless node after the first one or more reference signals.

[0252] Clause 34. A wireless node according to clause 33, wherein: a measurement report in one or more measurement reports is based on a carrier phase of a second one or more reference signals, and a position estimation process of the UE or another measurement report in one or more measurement reports is based on an arrival time or beam signal strength of a first one or more reference signals.

[0253] Clause 35. A wireless node according to clause 34, wherein the at least one processor is also configured to: measure another carrier phase of the first one or more reference signals at the wireless node, wherein the UE's position estimation process or the other measurement report in one or more measurement reports is also based on the carrier phase of the first one or more reference signals.

[0254] Clause 36. A wireless node according to clause 35, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: obtain an indication indicating the possibility that the transmission of the first one or more reference signals has a line-of-sight (LOS) scenario, wherein, based on the indication indicating that the possibility that the transmission of the first one or more reference signals has a LOS scenario is greater than a threshold, the UE's position estimation process or another measurement report in one or more measurement reports is based on the carrier phase of the first one or more reference signals.

[0255] Clause 37. A wireless node as defined in clause 34, wherein a measurement report in the one or more measurement reports does not indicate a time of arrival and a beam signal strength of a second one or more reference signals at the wireless node.

[0256] Clause 38. A wireless node according to clause 34, wherein the power consumption level for preparing a measurement report that does not indicate the arrival time and beam signal strength of a second one or more reference signals at the wireless node is less than the power consumption level for preparing another measurement report that indicates the arrival time or beam signal strength of a first one or more reference signals in the one or more measurement reports.

[0257] Clause 39. A wireless node according to any one of clauses 37 to 38, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: obtain an indication indicating the possibility that the transmission of the first one or more reference signals has a line-of-sight (LOS) scenario, wherein, based on the indication indicating that the possibility that the transmission of the first one or more reference signals has a line-of-sight (LOS) scenario is greater than a threshold, the measurement reports in the one or more measurement reports do not indicate the arrival time and beam signal strength of the second one or more reference signals at the wireless node.

[0258] Clause 40. A wireless node according to any one of clauses 37 to 38, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: obtain a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of a first one or more reference signals, wherein, based on the SNR of the first one or more reference signals being greater than a threshold, a measurement report in the one or more measurement reports does not indicate an arrival time and beam signal strength of a second one or more reference signals at the wireless node.

[0259] Clause 41. A wireless node according to any one of clauses 37 to 38, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: receive a message from a server via at least one transceiver, the message indicating a schedule for transmission of a measurement report with no arrival time and no beam signal strength; and wherein, based on the schedule, a measurement report in the one or more measurement reports does not indicate an arrival time and beam signal strength of a second one or more reference signals at the wireless node.

[0260] Clause 42. A wireless node according to any one of clauses 37 to 38, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: obtain a duration for sending a continuous measurement report, the continuous measurement report not indicating the arrival time and beam signal strength of the corresponding measured reference signal; and configure the wireless node to send the continuous measurement report during a time window within the duration after a trigger condition for transmission of the continuous measurement report is met, wherein, based on the measurement report being scheduled to be sent during the time window, a measurement report in the one or more measurement reports does not indicate the arrival time and beam signal strength of a second one or more reference signals at the wireless node.

[0261] Clause 43. The wireless node of clause 42, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: receive a message from a server via the at least one transceiver, the message indicating the duration.

[0262] Clause 44. A wireless node as defined in any of clauses 27 to 43, wherein: the wireless node is a UE, and the first one or more reference signals and the second one or more reference signals are from one or more base stations.

[0263] Clause 45. A wireless node as defined in any of clauses 27 to 44, wherein the wireless node is a base station, and the first one or more reference signals and the second one or more reference signals are from a UE.

[0264] Clause 46. A network entity comprising: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: receive, via the at least one transceiver, one or more measurement reports indicating an arrival time or beam signal strength of a first one or more reference signals at a wireless node and a carrier phase of a second one or more reference signals at the wireless node, the first one or more reference signals and the second one or more reference signals being sent or received by a user equipment (UE); and perform a position estimation process for the UE based on the arrival time or beam signal strength of the first one or more reference signals and based on the carrier phase of the second one or more reference signals.

[0265] Clause 47. A network entity according to clause 46, wherein the at least one processor is configured to perform a position estimation process for the UE, including the at least one processor being further configured to: determine a first position of the UE based on downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDoA) positioning, downlink angle of departure (DL-AoD) positioning, or round-trip time (RTT) positioning, or a combination thereof, using at least the arrival time or beam signal strength of a first one or more reference signals; and determine a second position of the UE based on the first position and a carrier phase of a second one or more reference signals.

[0266] Clause 48. A network entity as set forth in any one of clauses 46 to 47, wherein the second one or more reference signals are the same as the first one or more reference signals.

[0267] Clause 49. A network entity according to any one of clauses 46 to 47, wherein a second one or more reference signals are received at a wireless node after the first one or more reference signals, and the one or more measurement reports include a first measurement report indicating an arrival time or beam signal strength of the first one or more reference signals and a second measurement report indicating a carrier phase of the second one or more reference signals.

[0268] Clause 50. A network entity according to clause 49, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: send a message to a wireless node via at least one transceiver, the message indicating a duration, so that the wireless node can configure the wireless node to send a continuous measurement report that does not indicate the arrival time and beam signal strength of the corresponding measured reference signal during a time window within the duration after the trigger condition for the transmission of the continuous measurement report is met, wherein, based on the second measurement report being scheduled to be sent during the time window, the second measurement report does not indicate the arrival time and beam signal strength of a second one or more reference signals at the UE.

[0269] Clause 51. A network entity according to any one of clauses 49 to 50, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: send a message to a wireless node via at least one transceiver, the message indicating a scheduling for transmission of a measurement report with no arrival time and no beam signal strength, wherein, based on the scheduling, a second measurement report does not indicate the arrival time and beam signal strength of a second one or more reference signals at the UE.

[0270] Clause 52. A network entity according to any one of clauses 46 to 51, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: send a message to a wireless node via at least one transceiver, the message comprising an indication that a carrier phase is to be applied to a position estimation process for a UE or to be included in one or more measurement reports.

[0271] Clause 53. A wireless node comprising: a component for measuring the arrival time or beam signal strength of a first one or more reference signals at the wireless node; a component for measuring the carrier phase of a second one or more reference signals at the wireless node; and a component for performing a position estimation process of a user equipment (UE) based on the arrival time or beam signal strength of the first one or more reference signals and based on the carrier phase of the second one or more reference signals or for sending one or more measurement reports.

[0272] Clause 54. A wireless node according to clause 53, wherein the UE's position estimation process is based on downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDoA) positioning, downlink angle of departure (DL-AoD) positioning, or round-trip time (RTT) positioning, or a combination thereof, based at least on the arrival time or beam signal strength of the first one or more reference signals.

[0273] Clause 55. A wireless node according to any one of clauses 53 to 54, wherein one or more measurement reports include information about performing downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDoA) positioning, downlink angle of departure (DL-AoD) positioning, or round trip time (RTT) positioning, or a combination thereof based at least on the arrival time or beam signal strength of a first one or more reference signals.

[0274] Clause 56. A wireless node as defined in any one of clauses 53 to 55, wherein the second one or more reference signals are the same as the first one or more reference signals.

[0275] Clause 57. The wireless node according to clause 56 further includes: a component for receiving a message from a server, the message including an indication of whether the carrier phase is to be applied to the UE's position estimation process or to be included in one or more measurement reports, wherein the UE's position estimation process or one or more measurement reports is based on the carrier phase based on the indication included in the message that the carrier phase is to be applied to the UE's position estimation process or to be included in the one or more measurement reports.

[0276] Clause 58. A wireless node according to any one of clauses 56 to 57, further comprising: a component for obtaining an indication of the possibility of transmission of a first one or more reference signals having a line-of-sight (LOS) scenario, wherein, based on the indication that the possibility of transmission of the first one or more reference signals having a LOS scenario is greater than a threshold, the UE's position estimation process or one or more measurement reports are based on carrier phase.

[0277] Clause 59. A wireless node as defined in clause 53, wherein the second one or more reference signals are received at the wireless node after the first one or more reference signals.

[0278] Clause 60. A wireless node according to clause 59, wherein: a measurement report in the one or more measurement reports is based on a carrier phase of a second one or more reference signals, and a position estimation process of the UE or another measurement report in the one or more measurement reports is based on an arrival time or beam signal strength of a first one or more reference signals.

[0279] Clause 61. The wireless node according to clause 60 further includes: a component for measuring another carrier phase of the first one or more reference signals at the wireless node, wherein the UE's position estimation process or another measurement report in the one or more measurement reports is also based on the carrier phase of the first one or more reference signals.

[0280] Clause 62. The wireless node according to clause 61 further includes: a component for obtaining an indication indicating the possibility that the transmission of the first one or more reference signals has a line-of-sight (LOS) scenario, wherein, based on the indication that the possibility that the transmission of the first one or more reference signals has a LOS scenario is greater than a threshold, the UE's position estimation process or another measurement report in the one or more measurement reports is based on the carrier phase of the first one or more reference signals.

[0281] Clause 63. A wireless node as defined in clause 60, wherein a measurement report in the one or more measurement reports does not indicate a time of arrival and a beam signal strength of a second one or more reference signals at the wireless node.

[0282] Clause 64. A wireless node according to clause 60, wherein the power consumption level for preparing a measurement report that does not indicate the arrival time and beam signal strength of a second one or more reference signals at the wireless node is less than the power consumption level for preparing another measurement report that indicates the arrival time or beam signal strength of a first one or more reference signals in the one or more measurement reports.

[0283] Clause 65. A wireless node according to any one of clauses 63 to 64, further comprising: a component for obtaining an indication indicating the possibility that the transmission of the first one or more reference signals has a line-of-sight (LOS) scenario, wherein, based on the indication indicating that the possibility that the transmission of the first one or more reference signals has a LOS scenario is greater than a threshold, the measurement reports in the one or more measurement reports do not indicate the arrival time and beam signal strength of the second one or more reference signals at the wireless node.

[0284] Clause 66. A wireless node according to any one of clauses 63 to 64, further comprising: a component for obtaining a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of a first one or more reference signals, wherein based on the SNR of the first one or more reference signals being greater than a threshold, a measurement report in the one or more measurement reports does not indicate an arrival time and beam signal strength of a second one or more reference signals at the wireless node.

[0285] Clause 67. A wireless node according to any one of clauses 63 to 64, further comprising: a component for receiving a message from a server, the message indicating a schedule for the transmission of a measurement report with no arrival time and no beam signal strength; and wherein, based on the schedule, a measurement report in the one or more measurement reports does not indicate an arrival time and beam signal strength of a second one or more reference signals at the wireless node.

[0286] Clause 68. A wireless node according to any one of clauses 63 to 64, further comprising: a component for obtaining a duration of transmission of a continuous measurement report that does not indicate the arrival time and beam signal strength of a corresponding measured reference signal; and a component for configuring the wireless node to send the continuous measurement report during a time window within the duration after a trigger condition for transmission of the continuous measurement report is met, wherein, based on the measurement report being scheduled to be sent during the time window, a measurement report in the one or more measurement reports does not indicate the arrival time and beam signal strength of a second one or more reference signals at the wireless node.

[0287] Clause 69. The wireless node of clause 68, further comprising: means for receiving a message from a server, the message indicating the duration.

[0288] Clause 70. A wireless node as defined in any one of clauses 53 to 69, wherein: the wireless node is a UE, and the first one or more reference signals and the second one or more reference signals are from one or more base stations.

[0289] Clause 71. A wireless node as defined in any one of clauses 53 to 70, wherein: the wireless node is a base station, and the first one or more reference signals and the second one or more reference signals are from a UE.

[0290] Clause 72. A network entity comprising: a component for receiving one or more measurement reports, the one or more measurement reports indicating an arrival time or beam signal strength of a first one or more reference signals at a wireless node and a carrier phase of a second one or more reference signals at the wireless node, the first one or more reference signals and the second one or more reference signals being sent or received by a user equipment (UE); and a component for performing a position estimation process for the UE based on the arrival time or beam signal strength of the first one or more reference signals and based on the carrier phase of the second one or more reference signals.

[0291] Clause 73. A network entity according to clause 72, wherein the component for performing the UE position estimation process includes: a component for determining the first position of the UE based on downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDoA) positioning, downlink angle of departure (DL-AoD) positioning, or round-trip time (RTT) positioning, or a combination thereof using at least the arrival time or beam signal strength of a first one or more reference signals; and a component for determining the second position of the UE based on the first position and the carrier phase of a second one or more reference signals.

[0292] Clause 74. A network entity as set forth in any of clauses 72 to 73, wherein the second one or more reference signals are identical to the first one or more reference signals.

[0293] Clause 75. A network entity according to any one of clauses 72 to 73, wherein a second one or more reference signals are received at a wireless node after the first one or more reference signals, and the one or more measurement reports include a first measurement report indicating an arrival time or beam signal strength of the first one or more reference signals and a second measurement report indicating a carrier phase of the second one or more reference signals.

[0294] Clause 76. The network entity according to clause 75 further includes: a component for sending a message to a wireless node, the message indicating a duration, so that the wireless node can configure the wireless node to send a continuous measurement report during a time window within the duration after the trigger condition for the transmission of the continuous measurement report is met, and the continuous measurement report does not indicate the arrival time and beam signal strength of the corresponding measured reference signal, wherein, based on the second measurement report being scheduled to be sent during the time window, the second measurement report does not indicate the arrival time and beam signal strength of the second one or more reference signals at the UE.

[0295] Clause 77. A network entity according to any one of clauses 75 to 76, further comprising: a component for sending a message to a wireless node, the message indicating a scheduling for the transmission of a measurement report with no arrival time and no beam signal strength, wherein, based on the scheduling, a second measurement report does not indicate the arrival time and beam signal strength of a second one or more reference signals at the UE.

[0296] Clause 78. A network entity according to any of clauses 72 to 77, further comprising: means for sending a message to a wireless node, the message comprising an indication that the carrier phase is to be applied to a UE position estimation process or to be included in one or more measurement reports.

[0297] Item 79. A non-temporary computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a wireless node, cause the wireless node to: measure the arrival time or beam signal strength of a first one or more reference signals at the wireless node; measure the carrier phase of a second one or more reference signals at the wireless node; and perform a position estimation process for a user equipment (UE) or send one or more measurement reports based on the arrival time or beam signal strength of the first one or more reference signals and based on the carrier phase of the second one or more reference signals.

[0298] Clause 80. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to clause 79, wherein the UE's position estimation process is based on downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDoA) positioning, downlink angle of departure (DL-AoD) positioning, or round-trip time (RTT) positioning, or a combination thereof based at least on the arrival time or beam signal strength of the first one or more reference signals.

[0299] Clause 81. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of clauses 79 to 80, wherein one or more measurement reports include information about performing downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDoA) positioning, downlink angle of departure (DL-AoD) positioning, or round-trip time (RTT) positioning, or a combination thereof based at least on the arrival time or beam signal strength of a first one or more reference signals.

[0300] Clause 82. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 79 to 81, wherein the second one or more reference signals are the same as the first one or more reference signals.

[0301] Clause 83. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to clause 82 further includes computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a wireless node, cause the wireless node to execute the following: receiving a message from a server, the message including an indication of whether a carrier phase is to be applied to the UE's position estimation process or is to be included in the one or more measurement reports, wherein, based on the indication included in the message indicating that the carrier phase is to be applied to the UE's position estimation process or is to be included in the one or more measurement reports, the UE's position estimation process or one or more measurement reports are based on the carrier phase.

[0302] Clause 84. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of clauses 82 to 83, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a wireless node, cause the wireless node to execute the following: obtaining an indication indicating the likelihood that the transmission of the first one or more reference signals has a line-of-sight (LOS) scenario, wherein, based on the indication that the likelihood that the transmission of the first one or more reference signals has a LOS scenario is greater than a threshold, the UE's position estimation process or sending of one or more measurement reports is based on carrier phase.

[0303] Clause 85. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 79, wherein the second one or more reference signals are received at the wireless node after the first one or more reference signals.

[0304] Clause 86. A non-temporary computer-readable medium according to clause 85, wherein: a measurement report in the one or more measurement reports is based on a carrier phase of a second one or more reference signals, and a position estimation process of the UE or another measurement report in the one or more measurement reports is based on an arrival time or beam signal strength of a first one or more reference signals.

[0305] Clause 87. The non-temporary computer-readable medium according to clause 86 further includes computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a wireless node, cause the wireless node to perform the following: measuring another carrier phase of the first one or more reference signals at the wireless node, wherein the UE's position estimation process or another measurement report in the one or more measurement reports is also based on the carrier phase of the first one or more reference signals.

[0306] Clause 88. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to clause 87 further includes computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a wireless node, cause the wireless node to execute the following: obtain an indication indicating the likelihood that the transmission of the first one or more reference signals has a line-of-sight (LOS) scenario, wherein, based on the indication indicating that the likelihood that the transmission of the first one or more reference signals has a LOS scenario is greater than a threshold, the UE's position estimation process or another measurement report in the one or more measurement reports is based on the carrier phase of the first one or more reference signals.

[0307] Clause 89. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 86, wherein a measurement report in the one or more measurement reports does not indicate a time of arrival and a beam signal strength of a second one or more reference signals at the wireless node.

[0308] Clause 90. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to clause 86, wherein a power consumption level for preparing a measurement report that does not indicate an arrival time and beam signal strength of a second one or more reference signals at a wireless node is less than a power consumption level for preparing another measurement report that indicates an arrival time or beam signal strength of a first one or more reference signals in the one or more measurement reports.

[0309] Clause 91. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of clauses 89 to 90, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a wireless node, cause the wireless node to execute the following: obtaining an indication indicating a likelihood that the transmission of a first one or more reference signals has a line-of-sight (LOS) scenario, wherein, based on the indication indicating that the likelihood that the transmission of the first one or more reference signals has a LOS scenario is greater than a threshold, a measurement report in the one or more measurement reports does not indicate an arrival time and beam signal strength of a second one or more reference signals at the wireless node.

[0310] Clause 92. A non-temporary computer-readable medium according to any one of clauses 89 to 90, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a wireless node, cause the wireless node to execute the following: obtain a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of a first one or more reference signals, wherein based on the SNR of the first one or more reference signals being greater than a threshold, a measurement report in the one or more measurement reports does not indicate an arrival time and beam signal strength of a second one or more reference signals at the wireless node.

[0311] Clause 93. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of clauses 89 to 90, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a wireless node, cause the wireless node to perform the following: receiving a message from a server indicating a schedule for the transmission of a measurement report with no arrival time and no beam signal strength; and wherein, based on the schedule, a measurement report in the one or more measurement reports does not indicate an arrival time and beam signal strength of a second one or more reference signals at the wireless node.

[0312] Clause 94. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of clauses 89 to 90, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a wireless node, cause the wireless node to execute the following: obtain a duration for the transmission of a continuous measurement report that does not indicate the arrival time and beam signal strength of a corresponding measured reference signal; and configure the wireless node to send the continuous measurement report during a time window within the duration after a trigger condition for the transmission of the continuous measurement report is met, wherein, based on the measurement report being scheduled to be sent during the time window, a measurement report in the one or more measurement reports does not indicate the arrival time and beam signal strength of a second one or more reference signals at the wireless node.

[0313] Clause 95. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 94, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a wireless node, cause the wireless node to: receive a message from a server, the message indicating the duration.

[0314] Clause 96. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 79 to 95, wherein: the wireless node is a UE, and the first one or more reference signals and the second one or more reference signals are from one or more base stations.

[0315] Clause 97. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any one of clauses 79 to 96, wherein: the wireless node is a base station, and the first one or more reference signals and the second one or more reference signals are from a UE.

[0316] Clause 98. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a network entity, cause the network entity to: receive one or more measurement reports indicating an arrival time or beam signal strength of a first one or more reference signals at a wireless node and a carrier phase of a second one or more reference signals at the wireless node, the first one or more reference signals and the second one or more reference signals being sent or received by a user equipment (UE); and perform a position estimation process for the UE based on the arrival time or beam signal strength of the first one or more reference signals and based on the carrier phase of the second one or more reference signals.

[0317] Clause 99. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to clause 98, wherein the computer executable instructions that cause the network entity to perform a position estimation process for the UE include instructions that cause the network entity to perform the following operations: determine the first position of the UE based on downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDoA) positioning, downlink angle of departure (DL-AoD) positioning, or round-trip time (RTT) positioning, or a combination thereof, using at least the arrival time or beam signal strength of a first one or more reference signals; and determine the second position of the UE based on the first position and the carrier phase of a second one or more reference signals.

[0318] Clause 100. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 98 to 99, wherein the second one or more reference signals are the same as the first one or more reference signals.

[0319] Clause 101. A non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in any of clauses 98 to 99, wherein a second one or more reference signals are received at a wireless node after a first one or more reference signals, and the one or more measurement reports include a first measurement report indicating an arrival time or beam signal strength of the first one or more reference signals and a second measurement report indicating a carrier phase of the second one or more reference signals.

[0320] Clause 102. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to clause 101 further includes computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a network entity, cause the network entity to execute the following: sending a message to a wireless node, the message indicating a duration, enabling the wireless node to configure the wireless node to send a continuous measurement report during a time window within the duration after a trigger condition for transmission of a continuous measurement report is met, the continuous measurement report not indicating an arrival time and beam signal strength of a corresponding measured reference signal, wherein, based on the second measurement report being scheduled to be sent during the time window, the second measurement report does not indicate an arrival time and beam signal strength of a second one or more reference signals at the UE.

[0321] Clause 103. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of clauses 101 to 102, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a network entity, cause the network entity to perform the following: sending a message to a wireless node indicating a schedule for the transmission of a measurement report with no arrival time and no beam signal strength, wherein, based on the schedule, a second measurement report does not indicate the arrival time and beam signal strength of a second one or more reference signals at the UE.

[0322] Clause 104. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of clauses 98 to 103, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a network entity, cause the network entity to perform the following: sending a message to a wireless node, the message comprising an indication that a carrier phase is to be applied to a position estimation process for a UE or is to be included in one or more measurement reports.

[0323] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that any of a variety of different technologies and techniques may be used to represent information and signals. 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, optical fields or optical particles, or any combination thereof.

[0324] In addition, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in conjunction with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrative 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 overall system. Those skilled in the art may implement the described functionality in different ways for each specific application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present invention.

[0325] The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in conjunction with the 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 the 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, for example, 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.

[0326] The methods, sequences and / or algorithms described in conjunction with the various aspects disclosed herein may be embodied directly 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 a 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 integrated into the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in a user terminal (e.g., a UE). In an alternative, the processor and the storage medium may reside in a user terminal as discrete components.

[0327] In one or more example aspects, the functions described can be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions can be stored on a computer-readable medium or transmitted by a computer-readable medium as one or more instructions or codes. Computer-readable media include both computer storage media and communication media, and communication media include any media that helps to transfer a computer program from one place to another. Storage media can be any available media that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example and not limitation, such computer-readable media may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage devices, magnetic disk storage devices or other magnetic storage devices, or any other media that can be used to carry or store the desired program code in the form of an instruction or data structure and can be accessed by a computer. In addition, any connection is appropriately referred to as a computer-readable medium. For example, if software is sent from a website, server or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technology (such as infrared, radio, and microwave), coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technology (such as infrared, radio, and microwave) 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.

[0328] Although the foregoing disclosure shows illustrative 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. The functions, steps and / or actions of the method claims according to the aspects of the present disclosure described herein do not need to be performed in any particular order. In addition, although elements of the present invention may be described or claimed in singular form, plural forms are encompassed unless explicitly stated to be limited to the singular form.

Claims

1. A method of operating a wireless node, comprising: measuring, at the wireless node, a time of arrival or a beam signal strength of a first one or more reference signals; measuring, at the wireless node, a carrier phase of a second one or more reference signals; as well as Based on the arrival time or the beam signal strength of the first one or more reference signals and based on the carrier phase of the second one or more reference signals, a position estimation procedure of a user equipment (UE) is performed or one or more measurement reports are sent.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The position estimation process of the UE is performed based on downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDoA) positioning, downlink angle of departure (DL-AoD) positioning, or round-trip time (RTT) positioning, or a combination thereof based at least on the arrival time or the beam signal strength of the first one or more reference signals.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The one or more measurement reports include information about performing downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDoA) positioning, downlink angle of departure (DL-AoD) positioning, or round trip time (RTT) positioning, or a combination thereof based at least on the arrival time or the beam signal strength of the first one or more reference signals.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The second one or more reference signals are the same as the first one or more reference signals.

5. The method according to claim 4, further comprising: receiving a message from a server, the message comprising an indication that the carrier phase is to be applied to the position estimation process of the UE or to be included in the one or more measurement reports, Wherein, based on the indication included in the message, the carrier phase is to be applied to the position estimation process of the UE or to be included in the one or more measurement reports, the position estimation process of the UE is performed or the one or more measurement reports are sent based on the carrier phase.

6. The method according to claim 4, further comprising: obtaining an indication of a likelihood that transmission of the first one or more reference signals has a line-of-sight (LOS) scenario, Wherein, based on the indication that the possibility of the transmission of the first one or more reference signals having the LOS scenario is greater than a threshold, performing the position estimation process of the UE or sending the one or more measurement reports is based on the carrier phase.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The second one or more reference signals are received at the wireless node after the first one or more reference signals.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein: A measurement report of the one or more measurement reports is based on the carrier phase of the second one or more reference signals, and Performing the position estimation process of the UE or another measurement report of the one or more measurement reports is based on the arrival time or the beam signal strength of the first one or more reference signals.

9. The method according to claim 8, further comprising: measuring, at the wireless node, another carrier phase of the first one or more reference signals, The performing of the position estimation process of the UE or the another measurement report in the one or more measurement reports is also based on the carrier phase of the first one or more reference signals.

10. The method according to claim 9, further comprising: obtaining an indication of a likelihood that transmission of the first one or more reference signals has a line-of-sight (LOS) scenario, 11. The method according to claim 8, wherein: The measurement report of the one or more measurement reports does not indicate an arrival time and a beam signal strength of the second one or more reference signals at the wireless node.

12. The method according to claim 8, wherein: The power consumption level for preparing the measurement report that does not indicate the arrival time and the beam signal strength of the second one or more reference signals at the wireless node is less than the power consumption level for preparing another measurement report that indicates the arrival time or the beam signal strength of the first one or more reference signals in the one or more measurement reports.

13. The method according to claim 11, further comprising: obtaining an indication of a likelihood that transmission of the first one or more reference signals has a line-of-sight (LOS) scenario, Wherein, based on the indication that the possibility of transmission of the first one or more reference signals having the LOS scenario is greater than a threshold, the measurement report in the one or more measurement reports does not indicate the arrival time and the beam signal strength of the second one or more reference signals at the wireless node.

14. The method according to claim 11, further comprising: obtaining a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the first one or more reference signals, Wherein, based on the SNR of the first one or more reference signals being greater than a threshold, the measurement report in the one or more measurement reports does not indicate the arrival time and the beam signal strength of the second one or more reference signals at the wireless node.

15. The method according to claim 11, further comprising: receiving a message from a server indicating a schedule for transmission of no arrival time and no beam signal strength measurement reports; as well as Wherein, based on the scheduling, the measurement report in the one or more measurement reports does not indicate the arrival time and the beam signal strength of the second one or more reference signals at the wireless node.

16. The method according to claim 11, further comprising: obtaining a duration for transmission of a continuous measurement report that does not indicate a corresponding measured time of arrival and beam signal strength of a reference signal; as well as configuring the wireless node to send the continuous measurement report during a time window within the duration after a triggering condition for transmission of the continuous measurement report is met, Wherein, based on the measurement report being scheduled to be sent during the time window, the measurement report in the one or more measurement reports does not indicate the arrival time and the beam signal strength of the second one or more reference signals at the wireless node.

17. The method according to claim 16, further comprising:

18. The method of claim 1, wherein: The wireless node is the UE, and The first one or more reference signals and the second one or more reference signals are from one or more base stations.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein: The wireless node is a base station, and The first one or more reference signals and the second one or more reference signals are from the UE.

20. A method of operating a network entity, comprising: receiving one or more measurement reports indicating an arrival time or beam signal strength of a first one or more reference signals at a wireless node and a carrier phase of a second one or more reference signals at the wireless node, the first one or more reference signals and the second one or more reference signals being transmitted or received by a user equipment (UE); as well as A position estimation process of the UE is performed based on the arrival time or the beam signal strength of the first one or more reference signals and based on the carrier phase of the second one or more reference signals.

21. The method according to claim 20, wherein: The process of performing the position estimation of the UE includes: determining a first position of the UE based on downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDoA) positioning, downlink angle of departure (DL-AoD) positioning, or round trip time (RTT) positioning, or a combination thereof, using at least the arrival time or the beam signal strength of the first one or more reference signals; and A second position of the UE is determined based on the first position and the carrier phase of the second one or more reference signals.

22. The method according to claim 20, wherein: The second one or more reference signals are the same as the first one or more reference signals.

23. The method according to claim 20, wherein The second one or more reference signals are received at the wireless node after the first one or more reference signals, and The one or more measurement reports include a first measurement report and a second measurement report, the first measurement report indicating the arrival time or the beam signal strength of the first one or more reference signals, and the second measurement report indicating the carrier phase of the second one or more reference signals.

24. The method according to claim 23, further comprising: sending a message to the wireless node, the message indicating a duration so that the wireless node can configure the wireless node to send a continuous measurement report during a time window within the duration after a trigger condition for transmission of a continuous measurement report is met, the continuous measurement report not indicating a corresponding measured time of arrival and beam signal strength of a reference signal, Wherein, based on the second measurement report being scheduled to be sent during the time window, the second measurement report does not indicate the arrival time and beam signal strength of the second one or more reference signals at the UE.

25. The method of claim 23, further comprising: sending a message to the wireless node indicating a schedule for transmission of no time of arrival and no beam signal strength measurement reports, Wherein, based on the scheduling, the second measurement report does not indicate the arrival time and beam signal strength of the second one or more reference signals at the UE.

26. The method of claim 20, further comprising: A message is sent to the wireless node, the message including an indication that the carrier phase is to be applied to the position estimation process of the UE or to be included in the one or more measurement reports.

27. A wireless node, comprising: Memory; at least one transceiver; as well as at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor configured to: measuring, at the wireless node, a time of arrival or a beam signal strength of a first one or more reference signals; measuring, at the wireless node, a carrier phase of a second one or more reference signals; as well as Based on the arrival time or the beam signal strength of the first one or more reference signals and based on the carrier phase of the second one or more reference signals, a position estimation procedure of a user equipment (UE) is performed or one or more measurement reports are sent.

28. The wireless node of claim 27, wherein: The position estimation process of the UE is based on downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDoA) positioning, downlink angle of departure (DL-AoD) positioning, or round-trip time (RTT) positioning, or a combination thereof based at least on the arrival time or the beam signal strength of the first one or more reference signals.

29. The wireless node of claim 27, wherein: The one or more measurement reports include information about performing downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDoA) positioning, downlink angle of departure (DL-AoD) positioning, or round trip time (RTT) positioning, or a combination thereof based at least on the arrival time or the beam signal strength of the first one or more reference signals.

30. The wireless node of claim 27, wherein: The second one or more reference signals are the same as the first one or more reference signals.

31. The wireless node of claim 30, wherein: The at least one processor is further configured to: receiving, via the at least one transceiver, a message from a server, the message comprising an indication that the carrier phase is to be applied to the position estimation process of the UE or to be included in the one or more measurement reports, Wherein, based on the indication included in the message, the carrier phase is to be applied to the position estimation process of the UE or to be included in the one or more measurement reports, and the position estimation process of the UE or the one or more measurement reports are based on the carrier phase.

32. The wireless node of claim 30, wherein: The at least one processor is further configured to: obtaining an indication of a likelihood that transmission of the first one or more reference signals has a line-of-sight (LOS) scenario, Wherein, based on the indication that the possibility of the transmission of the first one or more reference signals having the LOS scenario is greater than a threshold, the position estimation process or the one or more measurement reports of the UE are based on the carrier phase.

33. The wireless node of claim 27, wherein: The second one or more reference signals are received at the wireless node after the first one or more reference signals.

34. The wireless node of claim 33, wherein: A measurement report of the one or more measurement reports is based on the carrier phase of the second one or more reference signals, and The position estimation process of the UE or another measurement report of the one or more measurement reports is based on the arrival time or the beam signal strength of the first one or more reference signals.

35. The wireless node of claim 34, wherein: The at least one processor is further configured to: measuring, at the wireless node, another carrier phase of the first one or more reference signals, The position estimation process of the UE or the other one of the one or more measurement reports is also based on the carrier phase of the first one or more reference signals.

36. The wireless node of claim 35, wherein: The at least one processor is further configured to: obtaining an indication of a likelihood that transmission of the first one or more reference signals has a line-of-sight (LOS) scenario, Wherein, based on the indication that the possibility of transmission of the first one or more reference signals having the LOS scenario is greater than a threshold, the position estimation process of the UE or the other measurement report in the one or more measurement reports is based on the carrier phase of the first one or more reference signals.

37. The wireless node of claim 34, wherein: The measurement report of the one or more measurement reports does not indicate an arrival time and a beam signal strength of the second one or more reference signals at the wireless node.

38. The wireless node of claim 34, wherein: The power consumption level for preparing the measurement report that does not indicate the arrival time and the beam signal strength of the second one or more reference signals at the wireless node is less than the power consumption level for preparing another measurement report that indicates the arrival time or the beam signal strength of the first one or more reference signals in the one or more measurement reports.

39. The wireless node of claim 37, wherein: The at least one processor is further configured to: obtaining an indication of a likelihood that transmission of the first one or more reference signals has a line-of-sight (LOS) scenario, Wherein, based on the indication that the possibility of transmission of the first one or more reference signals having the LOS scenario is greater than a threshold, the measurement report in the one or more measurement reports does not indicate the arrival time and the beam signal strength of the second one or more reference signals at the wireless node.

40. The wireless node of claim 37, wherein: The at least one processor is further configured to: obtaining a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the first one or more reference signals, Wherein, based on the SNR of the first one or more reference signals being greater than a threshold, the measurement report in the one or more measurement reports does not indicate the arrival time and the beam signal strength of the second one or more reference signals at the wireless node.

41. The wireless node of claim 37, wherein: The at least one processor is further configured to: receiving, via the at least one transceiver, a message from a server indicating a schedule for transmission of no-time-of-arrival and no-beam signal strength measurement reports; as well as Wherein, based on the scheduling, the measurement report in the one or more measurement reports does not indicate the arrival time and the beam signal strength of the second one or more reference signals at the wireless node.

42. The wireless node of claim 37, wherein: The at least one processor is further configured to: obtaining a duration for transmission of a continuous measurement report that does not indicate a corresponding measured time of arrival and beam signal strength of a reference signal; as well as configuring the wireless node to send the continuous measurement report during a time window within the duration after a triggering condition for transmission of the continuous measurement report is met, Wherein, based on the measurement report being scheduled to be sent during the time window, the measurement report in the one or more measurement reports does not indicate the arrival time and the beam signal strength of the second one or more reference signals at the wireless node.

43. The wireless node of claim 42, wherein: The at least one processor is further configured to:

44. The wireless node of claim 27, wherein: The wireless node is the UE, and The first one or more reference signals and the second one or more reference signals are from one or more base stations.

45. The wireless node of claim 27, wherein: The wireless node is a base station, and The first one or more reference signals and the second one or more reference signals are from the UE.

46. ​​A network entity comprising: Memory; at least one transceiver; as well as at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor configured to: receiving, via the at least one transceiver, one or more measurement reports indicating an arrival time or beam signal strength of a first one or more reference signals at a wireless node and a carrier phase of a second one or more reference signals at the wireless node, the first one or more reference signals and the second one or more reference signals being transmitted or received by a user equipment (UE); as well as A position estimation process of the UE is performed based on the arrival time or the beam signal strength of the first one or more reference signals and based on the carrier phase of the second one or more reference signals.

47. The network entity according to claim 46, wherein: The at least one processor being configured to perform the position estimation process of the UE includes the at least one processor being further configured to: determining a first position of the UE based on downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDoA) positioning, downlink angle of departure (DL-AoD) positioning, or round trip time (RTT) positioning, or a combination thereof, using at least the arrival time or the beam signal strength of the first one or more reference signals; and A second position of the UE is determined based on the first position and the carrier phase of the second one or more reference signals.

48. The network entity according to claim 46, wherein: The second one or more reference signals are the same as the first one or more reference signals.

49. The network entity of claim 46, wherein The second one or more reference signals are received at the wireless node after the first one or more reference signals, and The one or more measurement reports include a first measurement report and a second measurement report, the first measurement report indicating the arrival time or the beam signal strength of the first one or more reference signals, and the second measurement report indicating the carrier phase of the second one or more reference signals.

50. The network entity according to claim 49, wherein: The at least one processor is further configured to: sending a message to the wireless node via the at least one transceiver, the message indicating a duration so that the wireless node can configure the wireless node to send a continuous measurement report during a time window within the duration after a triggering condition for transmission of a continuous measurement report is met, the continuous measurement report not indicating a corresponding measured time of arrival and beam signal strength of a reference signal, Wherein, based on the second measurement report being scheduled to be sent during the time window, the second measurement report does not indicate the arrival time and beam signal strength of the second one or more reference signals at the UE.

51. The network entity of claim 49, wherein: The at least one processor is further configured to: sending, via the at least one transceiver, a message to the wireless node indicating a schedule for transmission of no arrival time and no beam signal strength measurement reports, Wherein, based on the scheduling, the second measurement report does not indicate the arrival time and beam signal strength of the second one or more reference signals at the UE.

52. The network entity of claim 46, wherein: The at least one processor is further configured to: A message is sent to the wireless node via the at least one transceiver, the message including an indication that the carrier phase is to be applied to the position estimation process of the UE or to be included in the one or more measurement reports.

Images