Radio frequency multipath detection

Abstract

A multipath condition detection method includes determining a first signal quality value corresponding to a first wireless signal received by a receiver of a mobile device, at a first frequency, and from a signal source; determining a second signal quality value corresponding to a second wireless signal at a second frequency different from the first frequency received by the receiver; and determining whether at least one difference value corresponding to the first signal quality value and the second signal quality value indicates that the mobile device is in a multipath condition relative to the signal source.

Description

[0001] Cross - Reference to Related Applications

[0002] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Application No. 18 / 050,860, filed on October 28, 2022, entitled "RADIO FREQUENCY MULTIPATH DETECTION", which is assigned to the assignee of the present application, and the entire content thereof is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes. Background Art

[0003] Wireless communication systems have evolved through several generations, including first - generation analog wireless telephone services (1G), second - generation (2G) digital wireless telephone services (including transitional 2.5G and 2.75G networks), third - generation (3G) high - speed data wireless services with Internet capabilities, fourth - generation (4G) services (e.g., Long - Term Evolution (LTE) or WiMax), fifth - generation (5G) services, etc. There are many different types of wireless communication systems currently in use, including cellular systems and Personal Communication Service (PCS) systems. Examples of known cellular systems include the cellular analog Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS), and digital cellular systems based on Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) TDMA variants, etc.

[0004] The fifth - generation (5G) mobile standard requires higher data transfer speeds, a larger number of connections, better coverage, and other improvements. According to the Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance, the 5G standard is designed to provide data rates of tens of megabits per second to each of tens of thousands of users, with data rates of 1 gigabit per second to dozens of workers on an office floor. To support large - scale sensor deployments, hundreds of thousands of simultaneous connections should be supported. Therefore, the spectral efficiency of 5G mobile communications should be significantly improved compared to the current 4G standard. In addition, compared to the current standard, the signaling efficiency should be improved, and the latency should be significantly reduced.

[0005] Signals received by a mobile device (e.g., 5G signals, satellite vehicle signals, etc.) can be multipath signals, which may lead to inaccurate determination of the location of the mobile device. In RF (Radio Frequency) - based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) technologies, signal multipath can be a significant error source affecting PNT performance. Inaccurate positioning may lead to undesired actions and / or inactions, such as incorrect directions, autonomous driving decisions that result in collisions, etc. Summary of the Invention

[0006] An example apparatus includes: a memory; and a processor communicatively coupled to the memory, the processor being configured to: determine a first signal quality value corresponding to a first wireless signal of a first frequency received by a receiver of a mobile device and from a signal source; determine a second signal quality value corresponding to a second wireless signal of a second frequency different from the first frequency received by the receiver; and determine whether at least one difference corresponding to the first signal quality value and the second signal quality value indicates that the mobile device is in a multipath condition relative to the signal source.

[0007] An example multipath condition detection method includes: determining a first signal quality value corresponding to a first wireless signal of a first frequency received by a receiver of a mobile device and from a signal source; determining a second signal quality value corresponding to a second wireless signal of a second frequency different from the first frequency received by the receiver; and determining whether at least one difference corresponding to the first signal quality value and the second signal quality value indicates that the mobile device is in a multipath condition relative to the signal source.

[0008] Another example apparatus includes: means for determining a first signal quality value corresponding to a first wireless signal of a first frequency received by a receiver of a mobile device and from a signal source; means for determining a second signal quality value corresponding to a second wireless signal of a second frequency different from the first frequency received by the receiver; and means for determining whether at least one difference corresponding to the first signal quality value and the second signal quality value indicates that the mobile device is in a multipath condition relative to the signal source.

[0009] An example non-transitory processor-readable storage medium includes processor-readable instructions for causing a processor of a device to: determine a first signal quality value corresponding to a first wireless signal of a first frequency received by a receiver of a mobile device and from a signal source; determine a second signal quality value corresponding to a second wireless signal of a second frequency different from the first frequency received by the receiver; and determine whether at least one difference corresponding to the first signal quality value and the second signal quality value indicates that the mobile device is in a multipath condition relative to the signal source. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] Figure 1 is a simplified diagram of an example wireless communication system.

[0011] Figure 2 is Figure 1 a block diagram of components of the example user equipment shown.

[0012] Figure 3 is a block diagram of components of an example transmit / receive point.

[0013] Figure 4is a block diagram of components of an example server, with various implementations of the example server shown in Figure 1 as follows.

[0014] Figure 5 is a block diagram of an example user equipment.

[0015] Figure 6 is a simplified diagram of a navigation environment.

[0016] Figure 7 is Figure 5 a block diagram of an example of the user equipment shown in

[0017] Figure 8 is a block diagram of a multipath condition detection method. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0018] Techniques for detecting multipath conditions are discussed herein. For example, RF (radio frequency) signals of different frequencies received by a mobile device from the same signal source (the same entity, although possibly from different components of that entity, such as different antennas) can be analyzed to determine whether there is a multipath condition between the mobile device and the signal source. A measure of the signal quality of each of the RF signals of different frequencies can be used to determine whether there is a multipath condition. For example, a standard deviation of the residuals of signal strength measures being greater than a threshold and / or a difference between signal strength measures of different signals can indicate a multipath condition. The signal source can be any of a variety of devices, such as, for example, a satellite vehicle (SV), a low Earth orbit device, a base station (e.g., a cellular network tower), an access point, etc. The RF signals can be any of a variety of types of signals, such as, for example, satellite positioning system signals, 5G NR signals, LTE signals, WiFi signals, UWB (ultra-wideband) signals, etc. These techniques are examples, and other techniques can be implemented.

[0019] The items and / or techniques described herein can provide one or more of the following capabilities and other capabilities not mentioned. Multipath conditions can be accurately detected. Positioning estimate accuracy can be improved, e.g., by ignoring and / or de-weighting measurements based on multipath signals. Negative consequences of poor positioning estimates (e.g., autonomous driving vehicle collisions) can be avoided. Positioning estimate convergence time can be reduced and / or positioning robustness can be improved. Other capabilities can be provided, and not every specific implementation according to the present disclosure must provide any of the capabilities discussed, let alone all of them.

[0020] The location of a mobile device accessing a wireless network can be used for many applications, including, for example, emergency calls, personal navigation, consumer asset tracking, locating friends or family members, etc. Existing location methods include methods based on measuring radio signals sent from various devices or entities, which include satellite vehicles (SVs) and terrestrial radio sources in a wireless network, such as base stations and access points. It is expected that the standardization for 5G wireless networks will include support for various location methods, which can utilize reference signals sent by base stations for location determination in a manner similar to how LTE wireless networks currently utilize positioning reference signals (PRSs) and / or cell-specific reference signals (CRSs).

[0021] The description herein may refer to sequences of actions to be performed by, for example, elements of a computing device. The various actions described herein can be performed by dedicated circuitry (e.g., an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC)), by program instructions being executed by one or more processors, or by a combination of both. The sequences of actions described herein can be embodied within a non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon a corresponding set of computer instructions that, when executed, will cause the associated processor to perform the functionality described herein. Accordingly, the various examples described herein can be embodied in several different forms, all of which fall within the scope of the present disclosure, including the claimed subject matter.

[0022] As used herein, the terms “user equipment” (UE) and “base station” are not dedicated to or otherwise limited to any particular radio access technology (RAT), unless otherwise specified. In general, such a UE can be any wireless communication device (e.g., a mobile phone, router, tablet computer, laptop computer, consumer asset tracking device, Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc.) used by a user to communicate over a wireless communication network. The UE can be mobile or can be stationary (e.g., at certain times) and can communicate with a radio access network (RAN). As used herein, the term “UE” can be interchangeably referred to as “access terminal” or “AT,” “client device,” “wireless device,” “subscriber device,” “subscriber terminal,” “subscriber station,” “user terminal” or “UT,” “mobile terminal,” “mobile station,” “mobile device,” or variants thereof. Generally, a UE can communicate with a core network via a RAN, and through the core network, the UE can connect to an external network 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 a UE, such as via a wired access network, a WiFi network (e.g., based on IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 802.11, etc.).

[0023] Depending on the network in which the base station is deployed, the base station can operate according to one of several RATs when communicating with a UE. Examples of base stations include access points (APs), network nodes, NodeB, evolved NodeB (eNB), or general Node B (gNodeB, gNB). Additionally, in some systems, the base station may provide only edge node signaling functions, while in other systems, the base station may provide additional control functions and / or network management functions.

[0024] The UE can be implemented by any of several types of devices, including but not limited to printed circuit (PC) cards, compact flash devices, external or internal modems, wireless or wired telephones, smart phones, tablet devices, consumer asset tracking devices, asset tags, etc. The communication link through which the UE can transmit signals to the RAN is referred to as an uplink channel (e.g., reverse traffic channel, reverse control channel, access channel, etc.). The communication link through which the RAN can transmit signals to the UE is referred to as a downlink or forward link channel (e.g., paging channel, control channel, broadcast channel, forward traffic channel, etc.). As used herein, the term "traffic channel (TCH)" can refer to an uplink / reverse traffic channel or a downlink / forward traffic channel.

[0025] As used herein, depending on the context, the term "cell" or "sector" can correspond to one of the multiple cells of a base station or to the base station itself. The term "cell" can refer to a logical communication entity used for communication with a base station (e.g., on a carrier), and can be associated with an identifier to distinguish adjacent cells operating via the same or different carriers (e.g., physical cell identifier (PCID), virtual cell identifier (VCID)). In some examples, a carrier can support multiple cells, and different cells can be configured according to different protocol types that can provide access for different types of devices (e.g., machine type communication (MTC), narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), or other protocol types). In some examples, the term "cell" can refer to a portion of the geographical coverage area over which a logical entity operates (e.g., a sector).

[0026] Reference Figure 1, examples of the communication system 100 include User Equipment (UE) 105, UE 106, a Radio Access Network (RAN) (here, a Fifth Generation (5G) Next Generation (NG) RAN (NG-RAN) 135), a 5G Core Network (5GC) 140, and a server 150. UE 105 and / or UE 106 can be, for example, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, location tracker devices, cellular phones, vehicles (e.g., cars, trucks, buses, ships, etc.), or other devices. The 5G network can also be referred to as a New Radio (NR) network; the NG-RAN 135 can be referred to as 5G RAN or NR RAN; and the 5GC 140 can be referred to as the NG Core Network (NGC). The standardization of the NG-RAN and 5GC is being carried out in the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). Accordingly, the NG-RAN 135 and 5GC 140 can follow the current or future standards from 3GPP for 5G support. The NG-RAN 135 can be another type of RAN, for example, a 3G RAN, a 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) RAN, etc. UE 106 can be similarly configured and coupled to UE 105 to transmit and / or receive signals from / to similar other entities in the system 100, but for simplicity of the figures, such signaling is not indicated in Figure 1 . Similarly, for simplicity, the discussion focuses on UE 105. The communication system 100 can utilize information from a constellation 185 of satellite vehicles (SVs) 190, 191, 192, 193 from a Satellite Positioning System (SPS) (e.g., a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)), such as the Global Positioning System (GPS), the Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS), Galileo, or Beidou or some other local or regional SPS (such as the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), or the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS)). Additional components of the communication system 100 are described below. The communication system 100 can include additional or alternative components.

[0027] As Figure 1As shown, the NG-RAN 135 includes NR nodeBs (gNBs) 110a, 110b and next-generation eNodeBs (ng-eNBs) 114, and the 5GC 140 includes an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 115, a Session Management Function (SMF) 117, a Location Management Function (LMF) 120, and a Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) 125. The gNBs 110a, 110b and ng-eNB 114 are communicatively coupled to each other, each is configured to perform two-way wireless communication with the UE 105, and each is communicatively coupled to the AMF 115 and is configured to perform two-way communication with the AMF. The gNBs 110a, 110b and ng-eNB 114 may be referred to as Base Stations (BSs). The AMF 115, SMF 117, LMF 120 and GMLC 125 are communicatively coupled to each other, and the GMLC is communicatively coupled to an external client 130. The SMF 117 may serve as an initial contact point for a Service Control Function (SCF) (not shown) to create, control, and delete media sessions. A base station (such as gNB 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114) may be a macro cell (e.g., a high-power cellular base station) or a small cell (e.g., a low-power cellular base station) or an access point (e.g., a short-range base station that is configured to communicate with short-range technologies such as WiFi, WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), low-power (BLE), Zigbee, etc.). One or more base stations (e.g., one or more of gNB 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114) may be configured to communicate with the UE 105 via multiple carriers. Each of the gNBs 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114 provides communication coverage for a corresponding geographical area (e.g., a cell). Each cell may be divided into multiple sectors according to the base station antenna.

[0028] Figure 1Generalized illustrations of the various components are provided, any or all of which may be utilized as appropriate, and each component may be repeated or omitted as needed. Specifically, although one UE 105 is illustrated, many UEs (e.g., hundreds, thousands, millions, etc.) may be utilized in the communication system 100. Similarly, the communication system 100 may include a greater (or smaller) number of SVs (i.e., more or fewer than the four SVs 190 - 193 shown), gNB 110a, gNB 110b, ng-eNB 114, AMF 115, external client 130, and / or other components. The illustrated connections that connect the various components in the communication system 100 include data and signaling connections, which may include additional (intermediate) components, direct or indirect physical and / or wireless connections, and / or additional networks. Additionally, the components may be rearranged, combined, separated, replaced, and / or omitted according to the desired functionality.

[0029] Although Figure 1 a 5G-based network is illustrated, similar network implementations and configurations may be used for other communication technologies, such as 3G, Long Term Evolution (LTE), etc. The specific implementations described herein (which are for 5G technology and / or for one or more other communication technologies and / or protocols) may be used to transmit (or broadcast) directional synchronization signals, receive and measure directional signals at a UE (e.g., UE 105), and / or provide location assistance to the UE 105 (via the GMLC 125 or other location server), and / or calculate the location of the UE 105 at a device with positioning capabilities (such as the UE 105, gNB 110a, gNB 110b, or LMF 120) based on the measurement parameters of the signals transmitted directionally and received at the UE 105. The Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) 125, Location Management Function (LMF) 120, Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 115, SMF 117, ng-eNB (eNodeB) 114, and gNB (gNodeB) 110a, 110b are examples, and in various embodiments may be replaced or include respectively various other location server functionality and / or base station functionality.

[0030] System 100 is capable of wireless communication because the components of System 100 can communicate with each other directly or indirectly (at least sometimes using a wireless connection) via, for example, gNBs 110a, 110b, ng-eNB 114, and / or 5GC 140 (and / or one or more other devices not shown, such as one or more other transceiver base stations). For indirect communication, the communication can be changed during transmission from one entity to another, for example, to change the header information of a data packet, change the format, etc. UE 105 can include multiple UEs and can be a mobile wireless communication device, but can communicate wirelessly as well as via a wired connection. UE 105 can be any of a variety of devices, such as a smart phone, a tablet computer, a vehicle-based device, etc., but these are only examples because UE 105 does not need to be any of these configurations and other configurations of the UE can be used. Other UEs can include wearable devices (e.g., smart watches, smart jewelry, smart glasses, or head-mounted devices, etc.). Other UEs can also be used, whether currently existing or developed in the future. In addition, other wireless devices (whether mobile or not) can be implemented within System 100 and can communicate with each other and / or with UE 105, gNBs 110a, 110b, ng-eNB 114, 5GC 140, and / or external client 130. For example, such other devices can include Internet of Things (IoT) devices, medical devices, home entertainment, and / or automation devices, etc. 5GC 140 can communicate with external client 130 (e.g., a computer system), for example, to allow external client 130 (e.g., via GMLC 125) to request and / or receive location information about UE 105.

[0031] UE 105 or other devices may be configured to communicate in various networks and / or for various purposes and / or using various technologies (e.g., 5G, Wi-Fi communication, multi-frequency Wi-Fi communication, satellite positioning, one or more types of communication (e.g., GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), LTE (Long Term Evolution), V2X (Vehicle-to-Everything), such as V2P (Vehicle-to-Pedestrian), V2I (Vehicle-to-Infrastructure), V2V (Vehicle-to-Vehicle), etc.), IEEE 802.11p, etc.). V2X communication can be cellular (Cellular-V2X (C-V2X)) and / or Wi-Fi-based (e.g., DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Communications)). System 100 may support operation on multiple carriers (waveform signals of different frequencies). A multi-carrier transmitter may simultaneously transmit modulated signals on multiple carriers. Each modulated signal can be a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) signal, a Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) signal, an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) signal, a Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) signal, etc. Each modulated signal can be transmitted on a different carrier and can carry pilots, overhead information, data, etc. UEs 105, 106 may communicate with each other via UE-to-UE sidelink (SL) communication by transmitting on one or more sidelink (SL) channels, such as the Physical Sidelink Synchronization Channel (PSSCH), the Physical Sidelink Broadcast Channel (PSBCH), or the Physical Sidelink Control Channel (PSCCH). Direct device-to-device communication (without going through the network) is generally referred to as sidelink communication, without limiting the communication to a specific protocol.

[0032] UE 105 may include and / or may be referred to as a device, a mobile device, a wireless device, a mobile terminal, a terminal, a mobile station (MS), a Secure User Plane Location (SUPL)-enabled terminal (SET), or some other name. Additionally, UE 105 may correspond to a cellular phone, a smartphone, a laptop computer, a tablet device, a PDA, a consumer asset tracking device, a navigation device, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, a health monitor, a security system, a smart city sensor, a smart meter, a wearable tracker, or some other portable or mobile device. Generally, although not necessarily, UE 105 may use one or more radio access technologies (RATs) to support wireless communication, such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), LTE, High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), IEEE 802.11 Wi-Fi (also known as Wi-Fi), (BT), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), 5G New Radio (NR) (e.g., using NG-RAN 135 and 5GC 140), etc. The UE 105 may use a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) to support wireless communication, and the WLAN may be connected to other networks (e.g., the Internet) using, for example, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) or packet cable. Using one or more of these RATs may allow the UE 105 (e.g., via elements of the 5GC 140 ( Figure 1 not shown in the figure), or possibly via the GMLC 125) to communicate with an external client 130 and / or allow the external client 130 (e.g., via the GMLC 125) to receive location information about the UE 105. The UE 105 may include a single entity or may include multiple entities, such as in a personal area network, where a user may employ audio, video, and / or data I / O (Input / Output) devices, and / or body sensors, as well as separate wired or wireless modems.

[0033] The estimation of the location of the UE 105 may be referred to as location, location estimation, position fixing, fixing, positioning, positioning estimation, or position fixing, and may be geographical, thus providing location coordinates of the UE 105 (e.g., latitude and longitude), which may or may not include an altitude component (e.g., height above sea level; height above or depth below a ground plane, floor plane, or basement plane). Alternatively, the location of the UE 105 may be expressed as a civic location (e.g., a postal address or a designation of a point or a smaller area within a building, such as a specific room or floor). The location of the UE 105 may be represented as an area or volume (geographically or in civic form) within which the UE 105 is expected to be located with a certain probability or confidence level (e.g., 67%, 95%, etc.). The location of the UE 105 may be represented as a relative location, which includes, for example, distance and direction relative to a known location. The relative location may be represented as relative coordinates (e.g., X, Y (and Z) coordinates) defined relative to an origin at a known location, which may be defined, for example, geographically, in civic form, or with reference to a point, area, or volume indicated on a map, floor plan, or building plan. In the descriptions contained herein, the use of the term "location" may include any of these variants, unless otherwise indicated. When calculating the location of a UE, local x, y, and (possibly) z coordinates are typically solved for and then (if necessary) converted to absolute coordinates (e.g., with respect to latitude, longitude, and altitude above or below mean sea level).

[0034] UE 105 may be configured to communicate with other entities using one or more of a variety of techniques. UE 105 may be configured to indirectly connect to one or more communication networks via one or more device-to-device (D2D) peer-to-peer (P2P) links. The D2D P2P links may be supported using any suitable D2D radio access technology (RAT), such as Long Term Evolution Direct (LTE-D), Wi-Fi Direct (Wi-Fi-D), etc. One or more UEs in a group of UEs utilizing D2D communication may be located within the geographical coverage area of a transmit / receive point (TRP) (such as one or more of gNBs 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114). Other UEs in the group may be outside such geographical coverage area or may be unable to receive transmissions from the base station for other reasons. A group of UEs communicating via D2D communication may utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system, where each UE may transmit to other UEs in the group. The TRP may facilitate the scheduling of resources for D2D communication. In other cases, D2D communication may be performed between UEs without involving the TRP. One or more UEs in a group of UEs utilizing D2D communication may be located within the geographical coverage area of a TRP. Other UEs in the group may be outside such geographical coverage area or may be unable to receive transmissions from the base station for other reasons. A group of UEs communicating via D2D communication may utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system, where each UE may transmit to other UEs in the group. The TRP may facilitate the scheduling of resources for D2D communication. In other cases, D2D communication may be performed between UEs without involving the TRP.

[0035] Figure 1 The base stations (BSs) in the illustrated NG-RAN 135 include New Radio Node Bs (referred to as gNBs 110a and 110b). Pairs of gNBs 110a, 110b in the NG-RAN 135 may be connected to each other via one or more other gNBs. Wireless communication between UE 105 and one or more of gNB 110a, gNB 110b provides access to the 5G network for UE 105, and these gNBs may provide wireless communication access to 5GC 140 on behalf of UE 105 using 5G. In Figure 1 it is assumed that the serving gNB of UE 105 is gNB 110a, but another gNB (e.g., gNB 110b) may act as the serving gNB in the event that UE 105 moves to another location or may act as a secondary gNB to provide additional throughput and bandwidth to UE 105.

[0036] Figure 1The base station (BS) in the NG-RAN 135 shown may include an ng-eNB 114, which is also referred to as a next-generation evolved Node B. The ng-eNB 114 may be connected to one or more of the gNBs 110a, 110b in the NG-RAN 135 via one or more other gNBs and / or one or more other ng-eNBs. The ng-eNB 114 may provide LTE radio access and / or evolved LTE (eLTE) radio access to the UE 105. One or more of the gNB 110a, gNB 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114 may be configured to function as a positioning beacon only, which may send signals to assist in determining the location of the UE 105 but may not receive signals from the UE 105 or other UEs.

[0037] Each of the gNBs 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114 may include one or more TRPs. For example, each sector within a cell of the BS may include a TRP, but multiple TRPs may share one or more components (e.g., share a processor but have separate antennas). The system 100 may include only macro TRPs, or the system 100 may have different types of TRPs, such as macro TRPs, pico TRPs, and / or femto TRPs, etc. A macro TRP may cover a relatively large geographical area (e.g., with a radius of several kilometers) and may allow unrestricted access by terminals with a service subscription. A pico TRP may cover a relatively small geographical area (e.g., a pico cell) and may allow unrestricted access by terminals with a service subscription. A femto or home TRP may cover a relatively small geographical area (e.g., a femto cell) and may allow restricted access by terminals associated with the femto cell (e.g., terminals of users in a home).

[0038] Each of gNB 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114 may include a Radio Unit (RU), a Distributed Unit (DU), and a Central Unit (CU). For example, gNB 110b includes RU 111, DU 112, and CU 113. RU 111, DU 112, and CU 113 divide the functionality of gNB 110b. Although gNB 110b is shown as having a single RU, a single DU, and a single CU, a gNB may include one or more RUs, one or more DUs, and / or one or more CUs. The interface between CU 113 and DU 112 is referred to as the F1 interface. RU 111 is configured to perform Digital Front End (DFE) functions (e.g., analog-to-digital conversion, filtering, power amplification, transmit / receive) and digital beamforming, and includes a part of the Physical (PHY) layer. RU 111 may use massive Multiple-Input / Multiple-Output (MIMO) to perform DFE and may be integrated with one or more antennas of gNB 110b. DU 112 hosts the Radio Link Control (RLC), Medium Access Control (MAC), and Physical layer of gNB 110b. One DU may support one or more cells, and each cell is supported by a single DU. The operation of DU 112 is controlled by CU 113. CU 113 is configured to perform functions for delivering user data, mobility control, radio access network sharing, positioning, session management, etc., although some functions are only assigned to DU 112. CU 113 hosts the Radio Resource Control (RRC), Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP), and Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) protocols of gNB 110b. UE 105 may communicate with CU 113 via the RRC, SDAP, and PDCP layers, communicate with DU 112 via the RLC, MAC, and PHY layers, and communicate with RU 111 via the PHY layer.

[0039] As mentioned, although Figure 1 nodes configured to communicate according to a 5G communication protocol are depicted, nodes configured to communicate according to other communication protocols (such as, for example, the LTE protocol or the IEEE 802.11x protocol) may also be used. For example, in an Evolved Packet System (EPS) that provides LTE radio access to UE 105, the Radio Access Network (RAN) may include an Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN), which may include base stations containing evolved Node Bs (eNBs). The core network for EPS may include an Evolved Packet Core (EPC). EPS may include E-UTRAN plus EPC, where E-UTRAN corresponds to Figure 1 NG-RAN 135 in this figure and EPC corresponds to 5GC 140 in this figure.

[0040] gNBs 110a, 110b, and ng-eNB 114 can communicate with AMF 115; for positioning functionality, the AMF communicates with LMF 120. AMF 115 can support the mobility of UE 105 (including cell change and handover), and can participate in supporting the signaling connection with UE 105 and (possibly) the data and voice bearers for UE 105. LMF 120 can communicate directly with UE 105, for example, via wireless communication, or directly with gNBs 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114. LMF 120 can support the positioning of UE 105 when UE 105 accesses NG-RAN 135, and can support various positioning procedures / methods, such as Assisted GNSS (A-GNSS), Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA) (e.g., Downlink (DL) OTDOA or Uplink (UL) OTDOA), Round Trip Time (RTT), Multi-Cell RTT, Real Time Kinematics (RTK), Precise Point Positioning (PPP), Differential GNSS (DGNSS), Enhanced Cell ID (E-CID), Angle of Arrival (AoA), Angle of Departure (AoD), and / or other positioning methods. LMF 120 can process, for example, location service requests for UE 105 received from AMF 115 or GMLC 125. LMF 120 can be connected to AMF 115 and / or GMLC 125. LMF 120 can be referred to by other names, such as Location Manager (LM), Location Function (LF), Commercial LMF (CLMF), or Value-Added LMF (VLMF). The node / system implementing LMF 120 can additionally or alternatively implement other types of location support modules, such as Enhanced Serving Mobile Location Center (E-SMLC) or Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) Location Platform (SLP). At least a part of the positioning functionality (including the derivation of the location of UE 105) can be performed at UE 105 (e.g., using signal measurements of signals transmitted by wireless nodes (such as gNBs 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114) obtained by UE 105, and / or auxiliary data provided to UE 105 by LMF 120, for example). AMF 115 can be used as a control node for handling the signaling between UE 105 and 5GC 140, and can provide QoS (Quality of Service) flow and session management. AMF 115 can support the mobility of UE 105 (including cell change and handover), and can participate in supporting the signaling connection with UE 105.

[0041] The server 150 (e.g., a cloud server) is configured to obtain a location estimate of the UE 105 and provide it to the external client 130. The server 150 can be configured, for example, to run a microservice / service that obtains the location estimate of the UE 105. The server 150 can obtain, for example, a location estimate from one or more of the UE 105, gNBs 110a, 110b (e.g., via the RU 111, DU 112, and CU 113), and / or ng-eNB 114, and / or LMF 120 (e.g., by transmitting a location request). As another example, one or more of the UE 105, gNBs 110a, 110b (e.g., via the RU 111, DU 112, and CU 113), and / or LMF 120 can push the location estimate of the UE 105 to the server 150.

[0042] The GMLC 125 can support a location request for the UE 105 received from the external client 130 via the server 150, and can forward the location request to the AMF 115 for forwarding by the AMF 115 to the LMF 120, or can forward the location request directly to the LMF 120. A location response from the LMF 120 (e.g., containing the location estimate of the UE 105) can be returned to the GMLC 125 directly or via the AMF 115, and the GMLC 125 can then return the location response (e.g., containing the location estimate) to the external client 130 via the server 150. The GMLC 125 is shown connected to both the AMF 115 and the LMF 120, but may not be connected to the AMF 115 or the LMF 120 in some specific implementations.

[0043] As Figure 1 Further exemplified, the LMF 120 can use the New Radio Positioning Protocol A (which can be referred to as NPPa or NRPPa) to communicate with the gNBs 110a, gNB 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114, and the New Radio Positioning Protocol A can be defined in 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 38.455. The NRPPa can be the same as, similar to, or an extension of the LTE Positioning Protocol A (LPPa) defined in 3GPP TS 36.455, where NRPPa messages are transmitted between the gNB 110a (or gNB 110b) and the LMF 120, and / or between the ng-eNB 114 and the LMF 120 via the AMF 115. As Figure 1As a further illustration, the LMF 120 and the UE 105 may communicate using the LTE positioning protocol (LPP), which may be defined in 3GPP TS36.355. The LMF 120 and the UE 105 may alternatively or additionally communicate using a new radio positioning protocol (which may be referred to as NPP or NRPP), which may be the same as, similar to, or an extension of the LPP. Here, LPP and / or NPP messages may be passed between the UE 105 and the LMF 120 via the AMF 115 and the serving gNB 110a, gNB 110b, or serving ng-eNB 114 of the UE 105. For example, LPP and / or NPP messages may be passed between the LMF 120 and the AMF 115 using the 5G location service application protocol (LCS AP), and may be passed between the AMF 115 and the UE 105 using the 5G non-access stratum (NAS) protocol. The LPP and / or NPP protocols may be used to support positioning the UE 105 using UE-assisted and / or UE-based positioning methods such as A-GNSS, RTK, OTDOA, and / or E-CID. The NRPPa protocol may be used to support positioning the UE 105 using network-based positioning methods such as E-CID (e.g., in conjunction with measurements obtained by the gNB 110a, 110b, or ng-eNB 114) and / or may be used by the LMF 120 to obtain location-related information from the gNB 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114, such as parameters defining the transmission of the directional SS or PRS from the gNB 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114. The LMF 120 may be co-located with or integrated with the gNB or TRP, or may be arranged to be remote from the gNB and / or TRP and configured to communicate directly or indirectly with the gNB and / or TRP.

[0044] Using UE-assisted positioning methods, the UE 105 may obtain position measurements and transmit these measurements to a location server (e.g., the LMF 120) for calculating a position estimate of the UE 105. For example, the position measurements may include one or more of the received signal strength indication (RSSI), round-trip signal propagation time (RTT), reference signal time difference (RSTD), reference signal received power (RSRP), and / or reference signal received quality (RSRQ) of the gNB 110a, gNB 110b, ng-eNB 114, and / or WLAN AP. The position measurements may alternatively or additionally include measurements of GNSS pseudorange, code phase, and / or carrier phase of the SVs 190-193.

[0045] Using a UE-based positioning method, UE 105 can obtain position measurements (e.g., which can be the same as or similar to the position measurements of a UE-assisted positioning method), and can calculate the position of UE 105 (e.g., with the aid of assistance data received from a position server such as LMF 120 or broadcast by gNB 110a, gNB 110b, ng-eNB 114, or other base stations or APs).

[0046] Using a network-based positioning method, one or more base stations (e.g., gNB 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114) or APs can obtain position measurements (e.g., measurements of RSSI, RTT, RSRP, RSRQ, or time of arrival (ToA) of signals transmitted by UE 105) and / or can receive measurements obtained by UE 105. One or more base stations or APs can transmit the measurements to a position server (e.g., LMF 120) for calculating a position estimate of UE 105.

[0047] The information provided by gNB 110a, gNB 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114 to LMF 120 using NRPPa can include timing and configuration information for directional SS or PRS transmission and position coordinates. LMF 120 can provide some or all of this information to UE 105 as assistance data in LPP and / or NPP messages via NG-RAN 135 and 5GC 140.

[0048] The LPP or NPP message transmitted from LMF 120 to UE 105 can command UE 105 to perform any of a variety of things according to the desired functionality. For example, the LPP or NPP message can contain instructions for UE 105 to obtain measurements of GNSS (or A-GNSS), WLAN, E-CID, and / or OTDOA (or some other positioning method). In the case of E-CID, the LPP or NPP message can command UE 105 to obtain one or more measurement parameters (e.g., beam ID, beam width, average angle, RSRP, RSRQ measurements) of a directional signal transmitted within a specific cell supported by one or more of gNB 110a, gNB 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114 (or supported by some other type of base station such as an eNB or WiFi AP). UE 105 can transmit these measurement parameters back to LMF 120 in an LPP or NPP message (e.g., within a 5G NAS message) via serving gNB 110a (or serving ng-eNB 114) and AMF 115.

[0049] As noted, while the communication system 100 has been described with respect to 5G technology, the communication system 100 may be implemented to support other communication technologies (such as GSM, WCDMA, LTE, etc.), which are used to support and interact with mobile devices (such as UE 105) (e.g., to enable voice, data, positioning, and other functionality). In some such implementations, the 5GC 140 may be configured to control different air interfaces. For example, the 5GC 140 may use a non-3GPP interworking function (N3IWF, Figure 1 not shown in FIG.) in the 5GC 140 to connect to a WLAN. For example, the WLAN may support IEEE 802.11 WiFi access for the UE 105 and may include one or more WiFi APs. Here, the N3IWF may be connected to the WLAN as well as other elements in the 5GC 140, such as the AMF 115. In some implementations, both the NG-RAN 135 and the 5GC 140 may be replaced by one or more other RANs and one or more other core networks. For example, in EPS, the NG-RAN 135 may be replaced by an E-UTRAN including eNBs, and the 5GC 140 may be replaced by an EPC, which includes a mobility management entity (MME) that replaces the AMF 115, an E-SMLC that replaces the LMF 120, and a GMLC that may be similar to the GMLC 125. In such an EPS, the E-SMLC may use LPPa instead of NRPPa to transmit location information to and receive location information from eNBs in the E-UTRAN, and may use LPP to support the positioning of the UE 105. In these other implementations, the positioning of the UE 105 using the directional PRS may be supported in a manner similar to that described herein for 5G networks, except that the functions and procedures described herein for the gNB 110a, gNB 110b, ng-eNB 114, AMF 115, and LMF 120 may alternatively be applied to other network elements in some cases, such as eNBs, WiFi APs, MMEs, and E-SMLCs.

[0050] As noted, in some implementations, positioning functionality may be implemented at least in part using directional SS or PRS beams transmitted by base stations (such as gNB 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114) that are within the range of the UE (e.g., Figure 1 UE 105) for which the positioning is to be determined. In some instances, the UE may use directional SS beams or directional PRS beams from multiple base stations (such as gNB 110a, 110b, ng-eNB 114, etc.) to calculate the positioning of the UE.

[0051] Also refer to Figure 2, UE 200 may be an example of one of UEs 105, 106, and may include a computing platform including a processor 210, a memory 211 including software (SW) 212, one or more sensors 213, a transceiver interface 214 for a transceiver 215 (which includes a wireless transceiver 240 and a wired transceiver 250), a user interface 216, a satellite positioning system (SPS) receiver 217, a camera 218, and a positioning device (PD) 219. The processor 210, the memory 211, the sensors 213, the transceiver interface 214, the user interface 216, the SPS receiver 217, the camera 218, and the positioning device 219 may be communicatively coupled to each other via a bus 220 (which may be configured for, for example, optical communication and / or electrical communication). One or more of the illustrated devices (e.g., the camera 218, the positioning device 219, and / or one or more of the sensors 213, etc.) may be omitted from the UE 200. The processor 210 may include one or more intelligent hardware devices, such as a central processing unit (CPU), a microcontroller, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc. The processor 210 may include multiple processors, including a general-purpose / application processor 230, a digital signal processor (DSP) 231, a modem processor 232, a video processor 233, and / or a sensor processor 234. One or more of the processors 230 to 234 may include multiple devices (e.g., multiple processors). For example, the sensor processor 234 may include, for example, processors for RF (radio frequency) sensing (where one or more (cellular) wireless signals transmitted and reflections are used to identify, map, and / or track objects) and / or ultrasound, etc. The modem processor 232 may support dual SIM / dual connectivity (or even more SIMs). For example, a SIM (subscriber identity module or subscriber identification module) may be used by an original equipment manufacturer (OEM), and another SIM may be used by an end user of the UE 200 to obtain connectivity. The memory 211 may be a non-transitory storage medium that may include, for example, random access memory (RAM), flash memory, disk memory, and / or read-only memory (ROM), etc. The memory 211 may store software 212, which may be processor-readable, processor-executable software code including instructions that may be configured to cause the processor 210 to perform the various functions described herein when executed. Alternatively, the software 212 may not be directly executable by the processor 210, but may be configured to cause the processor 210 to perform these functions, for example, when compiled and executed. The description herein may refer to the processor 210 performing functions, but this includes other specific implementations, such as specific implementations where the processor 210 executes software and / or firmware. The description herein may refer to the processor 210 performing functions as an abbreviation for one or more of the processors 230 to 234 performing the function.The description herein may refer to the UE 200 performing a function as a shorthand for one or more appropriate components of the UE 200 performing the function. The processor 210 may include a memory with stored instructions as a supplement to and / or alternative to the memory 211. The functionality of the processor 210 is discussed more fully below.

[0052] Figure 2 The illustrated configuration of the UE 200 is an example and not a limitation on the present disclosure (including the claims), and other configurations may be used. For example, an example configuration of the UE may include one or more of processors 230 to 234 in the processor 210, the memory 211, and the wireless transceiver 240. Other example configurations may include one or more of processors 230 to 234 in the processor 210, the memory 211, the wireless transceiver, and one or more of the following: the sensor 213, the user interface 216, the SPS receiver 217, the camera 218, the PD 219, and / or the wired transceiver.

[0053] The UE 200 may include a modem processor 232 that may be capable of performing baseband processing on signals received and downconverted by the transceiver 215 and / or the SPS receiver 217. The modem processor 232 may perform baseband processing on signals to be upconverted for transmission by the transceiver 215. Additionally or alternatively, the baseband processing may be performed by the general-purpose / application processor 230 and / or the DSP 231. However, other configurations may be used to perform the baseband processing.

[0054] The UE 200 may include a sensor 213, which may include, for example, one or more sensors of various types, such as one or more inertial sensors, one or more magnetometers, one or more environmental sensors, one or more optical sensors, one or more weight sensors, and / or one or more radio frequency (RF) sensors, etc. The inertial measurement unit (IMU) may include, for example, one or more accelerometers (e.g., jointly responsive to the acceleration of the UE 200 in three dimensions) and / or one or more gyroscopes (e.g., three-dimensional gyroscopes). The sensor 213 may include one or more magnetometers (e.g., three-dimensional magnetometers) to determine orientation (e.g., relative to magnetic north and / or true north), which may be used for any of various purposes (e.g., to support one or more compass applications). The environmental sensors may include, for example, one or more temperature sensors, one or more barometric pressure sensors, one or more ambient light sensors, one or more camera imagers, and / or one or more microphones, etc. The sensor 213 may generate analog and / or digital signals, and indications of these signals may be stored in the memory 211 and processed by the DSP 231 and / or the general-purpose / application processor 230 to support one or more applications (such as, for example, applications related to positioning and / or navigation operations).

[0055] The sensor 213 can be used for relative position measurement, relative position determination, motion determination, etc. The information detected by the sensor 213 can be used for motion detection, relative displacement, dead reckoning, sensor-based position determination, and / or sensor-assisted position determination. The sensor 213 can be used to determine whether the UE 200 is stationary (immobile) or mobile and / or whether to report certain useful information related to the mobility of the UE 200 to the LMF 120. For example, based on the information obtained / measured by the sensor 213, the UE 200 can notify / report to the LMF 120 that the UE 200 has detected movement or the UE 200 has moved, and report the relative displacement / distance (e.g., via dead reckoning implemented by the sensor 213, or sensor-based position determination, or sensor-assisted position determination). In another example, for relative positioning information, the sensor / IMU can be used to determine the angle and / or orientation of another device relative to the UE 200, etc.

[0056] The IMU can be configured to provide measurements regarding the direction and / or speed of movement of the UE 200, and these measurements can be used for relative position determination. For example, one or more accelerometers and / or one or more gyroscopes of the IMU can detect the linear acceleration and rotational speed of the UE 200 respectively. The linear acceleration measurements and rotational speed measurements of the UE 200 can be integrated over time to determine the instantaneous direction of movement and displacement of the UE 200. The instantaneous direction of movement and displacement can be integrated to track the position of the UE 200. For example, the reference position of the UE 200 at a certain moment can be determined, for example, using the SPS receiver 217 (and / or by some other means), and the measurements obtained from the accelerometer and gyroscope after that moment can be used for dead reckoning to determine the current position of the UE 200 based on the movement (direction and distance) of the UE 200 relative to the reference position.

[0057] The magnetometer can determine the magnetic field strength in different directions, and these magnetic field strengths can be used to determine the orientation of the UE 200. For example, this orientation can be used to provide a digital compass for the UE 200. The magnetometer can include a two-dimensional magnetometer configured to detect and provide an indication of the magnetic field strength in two orthogonal dimensions. The magnetometer can include a three-dimensional magnetometer configured to detect and provide an indication of the magnetic field strength in three orthogonal dimensions. The magnetometer can provide components for sensing the magnetic field and, for example, providing an indication of the magnetic field to the processor 210.

[0058] The transceiver 215 may include a wireless transceiver 240 and a wired transceiver 250 configured to communicate with other devices via a wireless connection and a wired connection, respectively. For example, the wireless transceiver 240 may include a wireless transmitter 242 and a wireless receiver 244 coupled to an antenna 246 for transmitting and / or (e.g., on one or more uplink channels and / or one or more sidelink channels) receiving wireless signals 248 and converting the signals from the wireless signals 248 to wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals and from the wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals to wireless signals 248. The wireless transmitter 242 includes appropriate components (e.g., power amplifiers and digital-to-analog converters). The wireless receiver 244 includes appropriate components (e.g., one or more amplifiers, one or more frequency filters, and analog-to-digital converters). The wireless transmitter 242 may include multiple transmitters that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components, and / or the wireless receiver 244 may include multiple receivers that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components. The wireless transceiver 240 may be configured to communicate signals (e.g., with a TRP and / or one or more other devices) according to various radio access technologies (RATs) such as 5G New Radio (NR), GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone System), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), WCDMA (Wideband CDMA), LTE (Long-Term Evolution), LTE Direct (LTE-D), 3GPP LTE-V2X (PC5), IEEE 802.11 (including IEEE 802.11p), WiFi, WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Zigbee, etc.). The New Radio may use millimeter wave frequencies and / or sub-6 GHz frequencies. The wired transceiver 250 may include a wired transmitter 252 and a wired receiver 254 configured for wired communication, e.g., a network interface that may be utilized to communicate with the NG-RAN 135 to convey communications to the NG-RAN 135 and receive communications from the NG-RAN. The wired transmitter 252 may include multiple transmitters that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components, and / or the wired receiver 254 may include multiple receivers that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components. The wired transceiver 250 may be configured for, e.g., optical communication and / or electrical communication. The transceiver 215 may be communicatively coupled to the transceiver interface 214, e.g., via an optical connection and / or an electrical connection. The transceiver interface 214 may be at least partially integrated with the transceiver 215. The wireless transmitter 242, the wireless receiver 244, and / or the antenna 246 may each include multiple transmitters, multiple receivers, and / or multiple antennas, respectively, for transmitting and / or receiving appropriate signals.

[0059] The user interface 216 may include one or more of a number of devices such as, for example, a speaker, a microphone, a display device, a vibration device, a keyboard, a touch screen, etc. The user interface 216 may include more than one of any of these devices. The user interface 216 may be configured to enable a user to interact with one or more applications hosted by the UE 200. For example, the user interface 216 may store an indication of an analog and / or digital signal in the memory 211 in response to an action from the user for processing by the DSP 231 and / or the general-purpose / application processor 230. Similarly, an application hosted on the UE 200 may store an indication of an analog and / or digital signal in the memory 211 to present an output signal to the user. The user interface 216 may include an audio input / output (I / O) device that includes, for example, a speaker, a microphone, a digital-to-analog circuitry, an analog-to-digital circuitry, an amplifier, and / or a gain control circuitry (including more than one of any of these devices). Other configurations of the audio I / O device may be used. Additionally or alternatively, the user interface 216 may include one or more touch sensors that respond to a touch and / or pressure on, for example, the keyboard and / or the touch screen of the user interface 216.

[0060] The SPS receiver 217 (e.g., a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver) may be capable of receiving and acquiring an SPS signal 260 via the SPS antenna 262. The SPS antenna 262 is configured to convert the SPS signal 260 from a wireless signal to a wired signal (e.g., an electrical signal or an optical signal) and may be integrated with the antenna 246. The SPS receiver 217 may be configured to fully or partially process the acquired SPS signal 260 to estimate the location of the UE 200. For example, the SPS receiver 217 may be configured to determine the location of the UE 200 by performing trilateration using the SPS signal 260. The general-purpose / application processor 230, the memory 211, the DSP 231, and / or one or more dedicated processors (not shown) may be utilized in conjunction with the SPS receiver 217 to fully or partially process the acquired SPS signal and / or calculate an estimated location of the UE 200. The memory 211 may store an indication (e.g., a measurement) of the SPS signal 260 and / or other signals (e.g., signals acquired from the wireless transceiver 240) for performing positioning operations. The general-purpose / application processor 230, the DSP 231, and / or one or more dedicated processors, and / or the memory 211 may provide or support a location engine for processing measurements to estimate the location of the UE 200.

[0061] UE 200 may include a camera 218 for capturing still or moving images. The camera 218 may include, for example, an imaging sensor (e.g., a charge-coupled device or a CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) imager), a lens, analog-to-digital circuitry, a frame buffer, etc. Additional processing, conditioning, encoding, and / or compression of the signal representing the captured image may be performed by the general-purpose / application processor 230 and / or the DSP 231. Additionally or alternatively, the video processor 233 may perform conditioning, encoding, compression, and / or manipulation of the signal representing the captured image. The video processor 233 may decode / decompress the stored image data for presentation on a display device (not shown), such as, for example, the user interface 216.

[0062] The positioning device (PD) 219 may be configured to determine the location of the UE 200, the movement of the UE 200, and / or the relative location of the UE 200, and / or time. For example, the PD 219 may communicate with the SPS receiver 217 and / or may include a part or all of the SPS receiver. The PD 219 may cooperate appropriately with the processor 210 and the memory 211 to perform at least a part of one or more positioning methods, although this specification may refer to the PD 219 being configured to perform according to a positioning method or the PD performing according to a positioning method. The PD 219 may additionally or alternatively be configured to: perform trilateration using ground-based signals (e.g., at least some of the wireless signals 248), assist in obtaining and using SPS signals 260, or both to determine the location of the UE 200. The PD 219 may be configured to determine the location of the UE 200 based on the cell of the serving base station (e.g., cell center) and / or another technique such as E-CID. The PD 219 may be configured to determine the location of the UE 200 using one or more images from the camera 218 and image recognition in combination with the known locations of landmarks (e.g., natural landmarks such as mountains and / or artificial landmarks such as buildings, bridges, streets, etc.). The PD 219 may be configured to: use one or more other techniques (e.g., relying on the self-reported location of the UE (e.g., part of a positioning beacon of the UE)) to determine the location of the UE 200, and may use a combination of techniques (e.g., SPS and ground positioning signals) to determine the location of the UE 200. The PD 219 may include one or more sensors 213 (e.g., gyroscopes, accelerometers, magnetometers, etc.), which may sense the orientation and / or movement of the UE 200 and provide an indication of the orientation and / or movement, and the processor 210 (e.g., the general / application processor 230 and / or the DSP 231) may be configured to use the indication to determine the movement of the UE 200 (e.g., velocity vector and / or acceleration vector). The PD 219 may be configured to provide an indication of the uncertainty and / or error of the determined location and / or movement. The functionality of the PD 219 may be provided in various ways and / or configurations, for example, by the general / application processor 230, the transceiver 215, the SPS receiver 217, and / or another component of the UE 200, and may be provided by hardware, software, firmware, or various combinations thereof.

[0063] Also refer to Figure 3, examples of the TRP 300 of gNB 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114 include a computing platform including a processor 310, a memory 311 including software (SW) 312, and a transceiver 315. The processor 310, the memory 311, and the transceiver 315 may be communicatively coupled to each other via a bus 320 (which may be configured for, e.g., optical communication and / or electrical communication). One or more of the illustrated devices (e.g., the wireless transceiver) may be omitted from the TRP 300. The processor 310 may include one or more intelligent hardware devices, such as a central processing unit (CPU), a microcontroller, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc. The processor 310 may include multiple processors (e.g., including a general-purpose / application processor, a DSP, a modem processor, a video processor, and / or a sensor processor, as Figure 2 shown). The memory 311 may be a non-transitory storage medium that may include, e.g., random access memory (RAM), flash memory, disk memory, and / or read-only memory (ROM), etc. The memory 311 may store software 312, which may be processor-readable, processor-executable software code containing instructions that are configured to cause the processor 310 to perform the various functions described herein when executed. Alternatively, the software 312 may not be directly executable by the processor 310 but may be configured to cause the processor 310 to perform these functions when compiled and executed, for example.

[0064] The description herein may refer to the processor 310 performing functions, but this includes other specific implementations, such as specific implementations where the processor 310 executes software and / or firmware. The description herein may refer to the processor 310 performing functions as a shorthand for one or more of the processors included in the processor 310 performing the function. The description herein may refer to the TRP 300 performing functions as a shorthand for one or more appropriate components of the TRP 300 (and thus one of gNB 110a, gNB 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114) (e.g., the processor 310 and the memory 311) performing the function. The processor 310 may include a memory with stored instructions as a supplement and / or alternative to the memory 311. The functionality of the processor 310 is discussed more fully below.

[0065] The transceiver 315 may include a wireless transceiver 340 and / or a wired transceiver 350 configured to communicate with other devices via a wireless connection and a wired connection, respectively. For example, the wireless transceiver 340 may include a wireless transmitter 342 and a wireless receiver 344 coupled to one or more antennas 346 for transmitting and / or (e.g., on one or more uplink channels and / or one or more downlink channels) receiving wireless signals 348 and converting the signals from the wireless signals 348 to wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals and from wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals to wireless signals 348. Thus, the wireless transmitter 342 may include multiple transmitters that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components, and / or the wireless receiver 344 may include multiple receivers that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components. The wireless transceiver 340 may be configured to communicate signals (e.g., with the UE 200, one or more other UEs, and / or one or more other devices) according to various radio access technologies (RATs) such as 5G New Radio (NR), GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone System), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), WCDMA (Wideband CDMA), LTE (Long-Term Evolution), LTE Direct (LTE-D), 3GPP LTE-V2X (PC5), IEEE 802.11 (including IEEE 802.11p), WiFi, WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Zigbee, etc.). The wired transceiver 350 may include a wired transmitter 352 and a wired receiver 354 configured for wired communication, e.g., a network interface that may be utilized to communicate with the NG-RAN 135 to convey communications to and receive communications from, e.g., the LMF 120 and / or one or more other network entities. The wired transmitter 352 may include multiple transmitters that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components, and / or the wired receiver 354 may include multiple receivers that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components. The wired transceiver 350 may be configured for, e.g., optical communication and / or electrical communication.

[0066] Figure 3 The configuration of the TRP 300 shown is an example and not a limitation of the present disclosure (including the claims), and other configurations may be used. For example, the description herein discusses that the TRP 300 may be configured to perform several functions or the TRP performs several functions, but one or more of these functions may be performed by the LMF 120 and / or the UE 200 (i.e., the LMF 120 and / or the UE 200 may be configured to perform one or more of these functions).

[0067] Reference is also made to Figure 4 , the server 400 (an example of which can be the LMF 120) may include: a computing platform including a processor 410, a memory 411 including software (SW) 412, and a transceiver 415. The processor 410, the memory 411, and the transceiver 415 may be communicatively coupled to each other via a bus 420 (which can be configured for, e.g., optical communication and / or electrical communication). One or more of the illustrated devices (e.g., the wireless transceiver) may be omitted from the server 400. The processor 410 may include one or more intelligent hardware devices, e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a microcontroller, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc. The processor 410 may include multiple processors (e.g., including a general / applications processor, a DSP, a modem processor, a video processor, and / or a sensor processor, as Figure 2 illustrated). The memory 411 may be a non-transitory storage medium that can include, e.g., random access memory (RAM), flash memory, disk memory, and / or read-only memory (ROM), etc. The memory 411 may store software 412, which may be processor-readable, processor-executable software code containing instructions that are configured to cause the processor 410 to perform the various functions described herein when executed. Alternatively, the software 412 may not be directly executable by the processor 410 but may be configured to cause the processor 410 to perform these functions, e.g., when compiled and executed. The description herein may refer to the processor 410 performing functions, but this includes other specific implementations, such as specific implementations where the processor 410 executes software and / or firmware. The description herein may refer to the processor 410 performing functions as a shorthand for one or more of the processors included in the processor 410 performing the function. The description herein may refer to the server 400 performing functions as a shorthand for one or more appropriate components of the server 400 performing the function. The processor 410 may include a memory with stored instructions as a supplement and / or alternative to the memory 411. The functionality of the processor 410 is discussed more fully below.

[0068] The transceiver 415 may include a wireless transceiver 440 and / or a wired transceiver 450 configured to communicate with other devices via a wireless connection and a wired connection, respectively. For example, the wireless transceiver 440 may include a wireless transmitter 442 and a wireless receiver 444 coupled to one or more antennas 446 for transmitting and / or (e.g., on one or more downlink channels) receiving wireless signals 448 and converting the signals from the wireless signals 448 into wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals and from the wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals into wireless signals 448. Accordingly, the wireless transmitter 442 may include multiple transmitters that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components, and / or the wireless receiver 444 may include multiple receivers that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components. The wireless transceiver 440 may be configured to communicate signals (e.g., with the UE 200, one or more other UEs, and / or one or more other devices) according to various radio access technologies (RATs) such as 5G New Radio (NR), GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone System), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), WCDMA (Wideband CDMA), LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE Direct (LTE-D), 3GPP LTE-V2X (PC5), IEEE 802.11 (including IEEE 802.11p), WiFi, WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Zigbee, etc.). The wired transceiver 450 may include a wired transmitter 452 and a wired receiver 454 configured for wired communication, e.g., a network interface that may be utilized to communicate with the NG-RAN 135 to convey communications to and receive communications from, e.g., the TRP 300 and / or one or more other network entities. The wired transmitter 452 may include multiple transmitters that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components, and / or the wired receiver 454 may include multiple receivers that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components. The wired transceiver 450 may be configured for, e.g., optical communication and / or electrical communication.

[0069] This specification may refer to the processor 410 performing functions, but this includes other specific implementations, such as specific implementations where the processor 410 executes software (stored in the memory 411) and / or firmware. This specification may refer to the server 400 performing functions as an abbreviation for the one or more appropriate components of the server 400 (e.g., the processor 410 and the memory 411) performing the functions.

[0070] Figure 4The configuration of the server 400 shown is an example and not a limitation of the present disclosure (including the claims), and other configurations may be used. For example, the wireless transceiver 440 may be omitted. Additionally or alternatively, this specification discusses the server 400 being configured to perform several functions or the server performing several functions, but one or more of these functions may be performed by the TRP 300 and / or the UE 200 (i.e., the TRP 300 and / or the UE 200 may be configured to perform one or more of these functions).

[0071] Multipath Detection and Mitigation

[0072] The UE may receive various types of signals, and any one of these signals may be subject to multipath conditions. Determining whether a signal is subject to multipath conditions when the UE is in a multipath condition relative to the signal source can help avoid using measurements of reflected or non-line-of-sight (NLOS) signals to determine the location estimate of the UE.

[0073] Reference Figure 5 and Figure 6 , in the navigation environment 600, the UE 500 may receive RF signals from one or more signal sources (e.g., from one or more of the satellites 190 - 193, from one or more base stations (such as base station 610), from one or more access points (such as access point 620), and / or from one or more other sources). In the example shown, the UE 500 is in a multipath condition relative to satellite 192, base station 610, and access point 620, i.e., capable of receiving RF signals from each of these entities via multiple paths as shown. Although only one access point and one base station are shown in Figure 6 , the UE 500 may receive signals from more than one access point and / or from more than one base station (e.g., a sufficient number of signal sources) in order to determine the location estimate of the UE 500 (e.g., by trilateration and / or another technique). The location estimate may be determined by the UE 500 and / or by another entity (e.g., a server performing location services).

[0074] Specifically referring to Figure 5 , and further referring to Figures 1 to 4 , the UE 500 includes a processor 510, an interface 520, and a memory 530, which are communicatively coupled to each other via a bus 540. The UE 500 may include Figure 5 some or all of the components shown in Figure 2Any of the components shown in may be such that UE 200 can be an example of UE 500. Processor 510 may include one or more components of processor 210. Interface 520 may include one or more components of transceiver 215, for example, wireless transmitter 242 and antenna 246, or wireless receiver 244 and antenna 246, or wireless transmitter 242, wireless receiver 244, and antenna 246. Additionally or alternatively, interface 520 may include wired transmitter 252 and / or wired receiver 254. Interface 520 may include SPS receiver 217 and antenna 262. Memory 530 may be configured similarly to memory 211, for example, including software having processor-readable instructions configured to cause processor 510 to perform functions.

[0075] This specification may refer to processor 510 performing functions, but this includes other specific implementations, such as specific implementations where processor 510 executes software (stored in memory 530) and / or firmware. This specification may refer to UE 500 performing functions as a shorthand for one or more appropriate components of UE 500 (e.g., processor 510 and memory 530) performing the function. Processor 510 (possibly in combination with memory 530 and, where appropriate, interface 520) includes signal quality value unit 560, multipath detection unit 570, and multipath mitigation unit 580. Signal quality value unit 560, multipath detection unit 570, and multipath mitigation unit 580 are discussed further below, and this specification may generally refer to processor 510 or generally refer to device 500 performing any function of intensity value unit 560, multipath detection unit 570, and / or multipath mitigation unit 580, where device 500 is configured to perform these functions.

[0076] Reference Figure 7 , and further reference Figures 1 to 5 , UE 700 (which is an example of UE 500) includes controller 710, memory 730, antennas 741, 742, and receiver 750, which are communicatively coupled to each other. Memory 730 may be an example of memory 530. Controller 710 may be implemented by processor 510 and may be configured to control the components of receiver 750. Antennas 741, 742 may be configured to receive signals 701, 702 (e.g., satellite signals, cellular communication signals, WiFi signals, UWB signals, etc.) of different frequencies (e.g., different satellite bands) from signal source 705 (e.g., SV, base station, access point, etc.).

[0077] Receiver 750 includes multiple receive chains 760, 770 for measuring signals of different frequencies. These signals may be in the same frequency band, in different but overlapping frequency bands (with one or more shared frequencies), or in separate (non-overlapping) frequency bands (without shared frequencies). Although inFigure 7 Two receive chains are shown, but UE 700 may include more than two receive chains, e.g., for measuring signals at more than two different frequencies. For example, receive chains 760, 770 may be configured to measure satellite signals in the L1 and L2 / L5 frequency bands, although this is an example and not a limitation of the present disclosure since either or both of receive chains 760, 770 may be configured to measure non-satellite signals and / or measure signals at other frequencies or frequency bands, and / or additional receive chains may be included in UE 700.

[0078] The receive chains 760, 770 may include respective components for measuring signals at different frequencies. The receive chain 760 may include antenna 741, and the receive chain 770 may include antenna 742. The receive chain 760 may include a BPF 761 (band-pass filter), an LNA 762 (low-noise amplifier), a DCA 763 (digital control amplifier for down-conversion, signal conditioning / filtering, and amplification), an ADC 764 (analog-to-digital converter), a baseband block 765, and a computation block 767. The BPF 761 is configured to pass signals at frequencies within a desired frequency band with little (if any) attenuation and to significantly attenuate signals at frequencies outside the desired frequency band of the BPF 761. The LNA 762 is configured to amplify the signal passed by the BPF 761. The DCA 763 may be configured to down-convert the analog amplified signal output by the LNA 762 to a baseband frequency to perform signal conditioning and / or filtering (e.g., anti-aliasing filtering) and amplification in addition to the amplification performed by the LNA 762. The ADC 764, which is part of the RFIC 780 (radio frequency integrated circuit) here, is configured to convert the analog signal output by the DCA 763 into a digital signal. The baseband block 765 may be configured to perform signal processing (e.g., correlating the digital signal output by the ADC 764 with a corresponding reference pseudo-random signal (e.g., a gold code)) by integrating the signal (e.g., for 1 ms) and dumping the integrated signal for further processing to determine whether the correlation result has sufficient energy to indicate a real signal. The computation block 767, which is part of the CPU 790 (central processing unit) here, may be configured to perform one or more computations on the signal output by the baseband block 765 to determine one or more signal parameters (e.g., pseudorange, SNR (signal-to-noise ratio), CN0 (carrier-noise density ratio), Doppler, carrier phase, etc.). The computation block 767 may include a part of the CPU 790 for performing computations for the receive chain 760, i.e., for signals in the desired frequency band of the BPF 761. Thus, the computation block 767 is shown for computations for frequency band 1 (FB1). The CPU 790 may be part of the processor 510. The receive chain 770 includes a BPF 771, an LNA 772, a DCA 773, an ADC 774, a baseband block 775, and a computation block 777. The BPF 771 is configured to pass signals at frequencies within a desired frequency band with little (if any) attenuation and to significantly attenuate signals at frequencies outside the desired frequency band of the BPF 771. The LNA 772, DCA 773, ADC 774, baseband block 775, and computation block 777 may be configured similarly to the LNA 762, DCA 763, ADC 764, baseband block 765, and computation block 767 but are appropriately configured for processing signals corresponding to the signals in the desired frequency band of the BPF 771.Accordingly, computation block 777 is shown for computation for frequency band N (FBN) as there may be N receive chains, where N is an integer of two or greater.

[0079] The signal quality value unit 560 may be configured to determine one or more measurement values based on the signal quality of received signals at different frequencies. For example, the signal quality value unit 560 may be configured to determine a measure of signal strength relative to noise. For example, the signal quality value unit 560 may be configured to determine the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for each of a plurality of signals at different frequencies (e.g., signals received by antennas 741, 742 and receive chains 760, 770). The signal quality value unit 560 may be configured to determine the CN0 of the satellite signal.

[0080] The signal quality value unit 560 may be configured to determine an expected signal quality value. For example, the signal quality value unit 560 may be configured to determine an expected signal strength value based on a computation using device / component characteristics (e.g., a computation based on a link budget). The signal quality value unit 560 may be configured to consider, for example, RF losses, antenna gains (of antennas 741, 742 and the antennas of signal sources 701, 702 that transmit signals 701, 702), geometry, and the transmit power of signal source 705 to determine the link budget for signals 701, 702 for signal source 705 for a situation without any signal interference (e.g., line-of-sight (LOS)). Each link budget provides an expected signal strength value (e.g., SNR, CN0, etc.) as a baseline.

[0081] An expected signal quality value may be determined using actual signal quality value measurements. Depending on the environment near UE 700, actual signal propagation conditions may result in an offset between the actual signal quality value (e.g., actual SNR or actual CN0 or actual signal strength (e.g., RSSI)) and the expected signal quality value (e.g., expected SNR or expected CN0 or expected signal strength (e.g., RSSI)). Accordingly, as an alternative or supplement to computing an expected signal quality value (e.g., CN0 from a link budget), actual measurements of signal quality may be made to determine the expected signal quality. For example, the signal quality value unit 560 may determine an average value of the actual signal quality measure over time. For example, the signal quality value unit 560 may determine the expected CN0 for the L1 frequency band as the average value of the measured CN0 values over time

[0082]

[0083] where t nis the nth time instance. The signal quality value unit 560 can provide on-device learning by implementing machine learning (e.g., neural network) to determine an expected signal quality metric (e.g., CN0) based on empirical statistics of the UE 700 in LOS conditions. The expected signal quality value can also or alternatively be determined by another entity (i.e., different from the UE 700) (e.g., the server 400). For example, the server 400 can receive indications of measurements from the UE 700 and / or one or more other devices to determine (e.g., via machine learning) the expected signal quality value. Although examples are shown for satellite signals and specifically for satellite signals in the L1, L2, and L5 frequency bands, these are examples and do not limit the present disclosure as other signal types (other than SV signals) and / or other signal frequencies can be used.

[0084] Based on the expected signal quality value (e.g., calculated based on known device characteristics or determined empirically), a signal quality residual can be determined. For example, the multipath detection unit 570 can calculate the signal quality value residual for each epoch t, e.g., the CN0 residual, as follows

[0085]

[0086] where Li = L1, L2, or L5. For other signal quality values (e.g., SNR, signal strength, etc.), the signal quality value residual can be calculated similarly.

[0087] The signal quality values of different received signals at different frequencies can be calculated. For example, the multipath detection unit 570 can calculate the difference between the signal quality values of different signals. Continuing the SV example with signals in the L1, L2, and L5 frequency bands, the signal quality value difference of the CN0 measurement can be determined as follows

[0088]

[0089] The multipath detection unit 570 can detect multipath conditions based on the signal quality residual and / or the comparison of the signal quality values of signals at different frequencies. For example, the multipath detection unit 570 can determine the standard deviation of multiple signal quality value residuals corresponding to different times and / or can determine the comparison of signals at different frequencies. It has been found that the standard deviation of the signal quality value residual (e.g., CN0 residual) can be greater in multipath conditions than in non-multipath conditions. It has also been found that the signal quality values of signals at different frequencies may differ more from each other in multipath conditions than in non-multipath conditions. For example, the CN0 difference shown in equations (3)-(5) measured by the UE 700 from the SV as the signal source 705 may differ by a greater amount in multipath conditions (of the UE 700 relative to the signal source 705) than in non-multipath conditions (of the UE 700 relative to the signal source 705).

[0090] The multipath detection unit 570 may be configured to detect a multipath condition based on the standard deviation of the signal quality values exceeding a threshold. For example, the multipath detection unit 570 may be configured to determine whether the standard deviation of the signal quality values corresponding to two or more signals of different frequencies exceeds the threshold for the standard deviation of the signal quality values for signals of different frequencies when the signal source and the signal receiver are not in a multipath condition. For example, the multipath detection unit 570 may be configured to check whether the following residual consistency is true

[0091]

[0092] where TH is the threshold. If the standard deviation of the CN0 values corresponding to the signals in the L1, L2, or L5 frequency bands respectively exceeds the threshold TH, the residual consistency check (6) is true, and the multipath detection unit 570 may infer that the UE 700 is in a multipath condition relative to the signal source 705. The threshold TH may be empirically determined, for example, based on the learning results on the device (on the UE 700), such as the residual analysis under multipath and non-multipath conditions. In addition, although the residual consistency check (6) includes the CN0 values corresponding to three signals, the standard deviations of other numbers (e.g., two, four, or more) of signals may be determined and used to detect the multipath condition.

[0093] The multipath detection unit 570 may be configured to detect a multipath condition based on the signal quality values corresponding to signals of different frequencies differing by more than a respective threshold. For example, the multipath detection unit 570 may be configured to check whether any of the following inequalities is true

[0094]

[0095] where TH 1 、TH 2 and TH 3 are thresholds that can be determined based on the learning results on the device and may be different from each other (or two or more of these thresholds may be the same). The multipath detection unit 570 may be configured to infer the existence of a multipath condition if any comparison of the signal quality measures corresponding to signals of different frequencies exceeds the threshold for such comparisons under non-multipath conditions (e.g., if any of the inequalities (7)-(9) is true). As another example, the multipath detection unit 570 may be configured to infer the existence of a multipath condition if two or more of such comparisons exceed the respective thresholds (e.g., if two or more of the inequalities (7)-(9) are true). As another example, the multipath detection unit 570 may be configured to infer the existence of a multipath condition if all such comparisons exceed the respective thresholds (e.g., if all of the inequalities (7)-(9) are true). The thresholds TH 1 、TH2 , TH 3 can be empirically determined, for example, based on learning results on the device (on UE 700), such as based on machine learning.

[0096] Although the discussion focuses on the UE 700 determining the signal quality value, the expected signal quality value, and the threshold for determining whether a multipath condition exists, one or more of these may also or alternatively be determined by another entity, such as the server 400. For example, the server 400 can collect appropriate information (e.g., measurements) to determine one or more measurements, can determine one or more expected signal quality values, can determine one or more signal quality residuals, and / or can perform one or more comparisons of signal quality values corresponding to signals of different frequencies. The server 400 can be configured to determine whether the UE 700 is in a multipath condition relative to the signal source 705, for example, by performing one or more of the techniques discussed above.

[0097] The multipath detection unit 570 can be configured to detect a multipath condition based on a combination of the techniques discussed, such as based on the standard deviation of the signal quality value exceeding a threshold and the signal quality values corresponding to signals of different frequencies differing by more than a corresponding threshold. For example, the multipath detection unit 570 can be configured to infer the existence of a multipath condition based on the standard deviation of the signal quality values corresponding to two or more signals exceeding the threshold of the standard deviation of the signal quality values (while the signal source and the signal receiver are not in a multipath condition), and one or more comparisons of the signal quality measures corresponding to signals of different frequencies exceeding one or more corresponding thresholds (e.g., based on such comparisons under non-multipath conditions).

[0098] The multipath mitigation unit 580 may be configured to take one or more actions to mitigate the effects of signal measurements under multipath conditions. For example, based on the multipath detection unit 570 determining that there is a multipath condition between the UE 700 and the signal source 705, the multipath mitigation unit 580 may cause the positioning engine of the UE 700 to ignore or de-weight one or more measurements of one or more signals received by the UE 700 from the signal source 705. For example, the multipath mitigation unit 580 may cause the positioning engine to ignore or de-weight one or more measurements based on one or more signals of the same frequency that led to the determination of the multipath condition. As another example, the multipath mitigation unit 580 may cause the positioning engine to ignore or de-weight any measurements from the signal source 705, e.g., regardless of the frequency of the measured signal and the frequency of the signal measurements that led to the conclusion of the multipath condition. The multipath mitigation unit 580 may convey an indication of the conclusion of the multipath condition to another entity (e.g., to the server 400). The indication may include the location of the UE 700 (if known), e.g., based on other non-ignored, non-de-weighted measurements, and / or based on one or more other techniques (e.g., E-CID). Multiple indications of multipath conditions may be crowdsourced, e.g., to identify regions of multipath conditions for a particular signal source. An indication of the identified region and the corresponding signal source may be provided to a mobile device such that when the mobile device is in the identified region, the mobile device may ignore or de-weight one or more measurements based on one or more signals received from the signal source. An indication of which signals to ignore and / or which signal measurements (e.g., corresponding to which signals) to ignore or de-weight may be provided to the mobile device.

[0099] It has been found that using one or more of the techniques discussed herein has a high reliability ratio for multipath condition identification and can improve positioning estimation accuracy. Experimental results have shown that large double-difference pseudorange residuals are closely related to the identification of multipath conditions by the techniques discussed herein. Additionally, experimental results have shown that positioning estimation accuracy (e.g., reducing horizontal error) can be improved by ignoring or de-weighting one or more signals or one or more measurements of one or more signals corresponding to a signal source under multipath conditions relative to a signal receiver. Such improvements in positioning estimation accuracy can assist the operation of various devices, such as smart phones, wearable devices, vehicles (e.g., for autonomous driving, collision avoidance, navigation, etc.), connected intelligent systems (e.g., IoT devices), unmanned aerial vehicles, non-terrestrial network devices, other RF-based PNT systems, etc.

[0100] Reference Figure 8 and further reference Figures 1 to 7, the multipath condition detection method 800 includes the stages shown. However, method 800 is an example and not a limitation. Method 800 can be changed, for example, by adding, removing, rearranging, combining, concurrently executing one or more stages, and / or splitting one or more individual stages into multiple stages.

[0101] At stage 810, method 800 includes determining a first signal quality value corresponding to a first wireless signal of a first frequency received by a receiver of a mobile device and from a signal source. For example, the signal quality value unit 560 can determine a measure of the signal quality corresponding to a wireless RF signal (e.g., signal 701). The signal quality value unit 560 can, for example, determine a signal strength value, an SNR value, and / or a CN0 value. Additionally or alternatively, the server 400 can, for example, determine a measure of the signal quality based on information provided by the UE 700. The processor 510 (possibly in combination with the memory 530, possibly in combination with the interface 520) can include components for determining the first signal quality value. The processor 410 (possibly in combination with the memory 411, in combination with the wired transceiver 454 and / or the wireless receiver 444 and the antenna 442) can include components for determining the first signal quality value.

[0102] At stage 820, method 800 includes determining a second signal quality value corresponding to a second wireless signal of a second frequency different from the first frequency received by the receiver. For example, the signal quality value unit 560 can determine a measure of the signal quality corresponding to another wireless RF signal of a different frequency (e.g., signal 702). The signal quality value unit 560 can, for example, determine a signal strength value, an SNR value, and / or a CN0 value. Additionally or alternatively, the server 400 can, for example, determine a measure of the signal quality based on information provided by the UE 700. The processor 510 (possibly in combination with the memory 530, possibly in combination with the interface 520) can include components for determining the second signal quality value. The processor 410 (possibly in combination with the memory 411, in combination with the wired transceiver 454 and / or the wireless receiver 444 and the antenna 442) can include components for determining the second signal quality value.

[0103] At stage 830, method 800 includes determining whether at least one difference corresponding to a first signal quality value and a second signal quality value indicates that the mobile device is in a multipath condition relative to the signal source. For example, the multipath detection unit 570 may determine whether the UE 700 is in a multipath condition relative to the signal source 705 by evaluating one or more of the residual consistency check (6) and / or inequalities (7)-(9) and / or one or more inequalities of another signal quality value (e.g., SNR, signal strength, etc.). If one or more of the inequalities are true (e.g., any one of the inequalities or a combination of two or more of the inequalities), the multipath detection unit 570 may conclude that a multipath condition exists. The processor 510 (possibly in combination with the memory 530) may include components for determining whether at least one difference indicates that the mobile device is in a multipath condition relative to the signal source. The processor 410 (possibly in combination with the memory 411) may include components for determining whether at least one difference indicates that the mobile device is in a multipath condition relative to the signal source.

[0104] The specific implementation of method 800 may include one or more of the following features. In an example implementation, the first signal quality value is a first carrier-to-noise density ratio and the second signal quality value is a second carrier-to-noise density, and determining whether at least one difference indicates that the mobile device is in a multipath condition relative to the signal source includes: for the line-of-sight condition between the mobile device and the signal source, determining a first carrier-to-noise density residual value as a first difference between the first signal quality value and a first expected signal quality value corresponding to the first wireless signal; for the line-of-sight condition between the mobile device and the signal source, determining a second carrier-to-noise density residual value as a second difference between the second signal quality value and a second expected signal quality value corresponding to the second wireless signal; and determining whether the relationship between the first carrier-to-noise density residual value and the second carrier-to-noise density residual value indicates that the mobile device is in a multipath condition relative to the signal source. For example, the multipath detection unit 570 may use two or more of equations (3)-(5) for multiple signals of different frequencies to evaluate the signal quality, and for an example of the CN0 value of the signals at each of three different frequencies, determine whether the standard deviation of the signal quality values exceeds a threshold, as shown, for example, in the residual consistency check (6). The processor 510 (possibly in combination with the memory 530) and / or the processor 410 (possibly in combination with the memory 411) may include components for determining the first carrier-to-noise density residual value, components for determining the second carrier-to-noise density residual value, and components for determining whether the relationship between the first carrier-to-noise density residual value and the second carrier-to-noise density residual value indicates that the mobile device is in a multipath condition relative to the signal source. In another example implementation, determining whether the relationship between the first carrier-to-noise density residual value and the second carrier-to-noise density residual value indicates that the mobile device is in a multipath condition relative to the signal source includes determining whether the standard deviation of the first carrier-to-noise density residual value and the second carrier-to-noise density residual value exceeds a threshold. For example, the multipath detection unit 570 may use two or more of equations (3)-(5) for multiple signals of different frequencies to evaluate the signal quality, and for an example of the CN0 value of the signals at each of three different frequencies, determine whether the standard deviation of the signal quality values exceeds a threshold, as shown, for example, in the residual consistency check (6). The processor 510 (possibly in combination with the memory 530) and / or the processor 410 (possibly in combination with the memory 411) may include components for determining whether the standard deviation of the first carrier-to-noise density residual value and the second carrier-to-noise density residual value exceeds a threshold.

[0105] Additionally or alternatively, embodiments of method 800 may include one or more of the following features. In an exemplary embodiment, the first signal quality value is a first signal-to-noise ratio and the second signal quality value is a second signal-to-noise ratio, and determining whether at least one difference indicates a multipath condition of the mobile device relative to the signal source includes: for a line-of-sight condition between the mobile device and the signal source, determining a first signal-to-noise ratio residual value as a first difference between the first signal quality value and a first expected signal quality value corresponding to the first wireless signal; for a line-of-sight condition between the mobile device and the signal source, determining a second signal-to-noise ratio residual value as a second difference between the second signal quality value and a second expected signal quality value corresponding to the second wireless signal; and determining whether the relationship between the first signal-to-noise ratio residual value and the second signal-to-noise ratio residual value indicates a multipath condition of the mobile device relative to the signal source. For example, the multipath detection unit 570 may use two or more of equations (3)-(5) modified for SNR instead of CN0 for multiple signals of different frequencies to evaluate signal quality, and determine whether the standard deviation of the signal quality values for signals at each of three different frequencies exceeds a threshold, such as shown in residual consistency check (6), where SNR replaces CN0. The processor 510 (possibly in combination with the memory 530) and / or the processor 410 (possibly in combination with the memory 411) may include components for determining the first SNR residual value, for determining the SNR residual value, and for determining whether the relationship between the first SNR residual value and the second SNR residual value indicates that the mobile device is in a multipath condition relative to the signal source. In another exemplary embodiment, determining whether the relationship between the first signal-to-noise ratio residual value and the second signal-to-noise ratio residual value indicates a multipath condition of the mobile device relative to the signal source includes determining whether the standard deviation of the first signal-to-noise ratio residual value and the second signal-to-noise ratio residual value exceeds a threshold. For example, the multipath detection unit 570 may use two or more of equations (3)-(5) in which SNR replaces CN0 for multiple signals of different frequencies to evaluate signal quality, and determine whether the standard deviation of the signal quality values exceeds a threshold, such as shown in residual consistency check (6), where SNR replaces CN0. The processor 510 (possibly in combination with the memory 530) and / or the processor 410 (possibly in combination with the memory 411) may include components for determining whether the standard deviation of the first SNR residual value and the second SNR residual value exceeds a threshold.

[0106] Additionally or alternatively, embodiments of method 800 may include one or more of the following features. In an example embodiment, determining whether at least one difference indicates a multipath condition of the mobile device relative to the signal source includes determining whether the difference between a first signal quality value and a second signal quality value exceeds a threshold. For example, the multipath detection unit 570 and / or the processor 410 may determine whether one or more of inequalities (7)-(9) (or one or more inequalities of signal quality values other than CN0) are true. The processor 510 (possibly in combination with the memory 530) and / or the processor 410 (possibly in combination with the memory 411) may include components for determining whether the difference between the first signal quality value and the second signal quality value exceeds the threshold. In another example embodiment, the method includes determining a third signal quality value corresponding to a third wireless signal received by the receiver and having a third frequency different from the first frequency and the second frequency, and: the difference between the first signal quality value and the second signal quality value is a first difference; the threshold is a first threshold; and determining whether at least one difference indicates a multipath condition of the mobile device relative to the signal source includes: determining a second difference including the difference between the first signal quality value and the second signal quality value or the difference between the second signal quality value and the third signal quality value; and determining whether the first difference exceeds the first threshold and whether the second difference exceeds the second threshold. For example, the signal quality value unit 560 may determine the signal quality value of the third signal at the third frequency, and the multipath detection unit 570 may determine whether two or more of inequalities (7)-(9) (or two or more similar inequalities of signal quality values other than CN0) are true. The processor 510 (possibly in combination with the memory 530, possibly in combination with the interface 520) may include components for determining the third signal quality value. The processor 410 (possibly in combination with the memory 411, in combination with the wired transceiver 454 and / or the wireless receiver 444 and the antenna 442) may include components for determining the third signal quality value. The processor 510 (possibly in combination with the memory 530) and / or the processor 410 (possibly in combination with the memory 411) may include components for determining the second difference and for determining whether the first difference exceeds the first threshold and whether the second difference exceeds the second threshold.

[0107] Additionally or alternatively, embodiments of method 800 may include one or more of the following features. In an example embodiment, the first signal quality value is a carrier-to-noise density ratio. In another example embodiment, the first signal quality value is a signal-to-noise ratio. In another example embodiment, method 800 includes de-weighting or ignoring a positioning measurement corresponding to a positioning signal corresponding to a signal source based on at least one difference indicating multipath conditions of the mobile device relative to the signal source. For example, the multipath mitigation unit 580 may ignore or de-weight one or more measurements corresponding to one or more signals from the signal source 705 based on the signal source 705 being in multipath conditions relative to the UE 700. The measurements may be ignored or de-weighted when determining a positioning estimate of the UE 700 and / or when reporting the measurements to, for example, the server 400. The processor 510 (possibly in combination with the memory 530 (and possibly in combination with the interface 520, such as the wireless transmitter 242 and the antenna 246)) and / or the processor 410 (possibly in combination with the memory 411) may include components for determining a second difference and for de-weighting or ignoring the positioning measurement. In additional example embodiments, the method includes determining a positioning estimate of the mobile device while de-weighting or ignoring a positioning measurement corresponding to a positioning signal corresponding to a signal source. For example, the UE 700 and / or the server 400 may determine a positioning estimate of the UE 700 based on the UE 700 and the signal source 705 being in multipath conditions while ignoring or de-weighting measurements of the positioning signal from the signal source 705. The processor 510 (possibly in combination with the memory 530) and / or the processor 410 (possibly in combination with the memory 411) may include components for determining the positioning estimate. In additional example embodiments, the positioning measurement is a first positioning measurement and the positioning signal is a first positioning signal, and wherein determining a positioning estimate of the mobile device includes determining a positioning estimate of the mobile device without de-weighting or ignoring a second positioning measurement corresponding to a second positioning signal having a different frequency than the first positioning signal corresponding to the signal source. For example, the UE 700 and / or the server 400 may determine a positioning estimate of the UE 700 by de-weighting or ignoring one measurement of a signal (e.g., signal 741) from the signal source 750 while using (without de-weighting) another signal (e.g., signal 742) from the signal source 705.

[0108] Additionally or alternatively, embodiments of method 800 may include one or more of the following features. In an example embodiment, method 800 includes: receiving a first wireless signal using a first receive chain of a mobile device and converting the first wireless signal into a first wired signal; and receiving a second wireless signal using a second receive chain of the mobile device different from the first receive chain of the mobile device and converting the second wireless signal into a second wired signal. For example, UE 700 may use receive chain 770 to receive signal 741 and use receive chain 760 to receive signal 742, converting signals 741, 742 from wireless signals into wired signals.

[0109] Specific Implementation Examples

[0110] Example embodiments are provided in the numbered clauses below.

[0111] Clause 1. An apparatus, the apparatus comprising:

[0112] a memory; and

[0113] a processor communicatively coupled to the memory and configured to:

[0114] determine a first signal quality value corresponding to a first wireless signal of a first frequency received by a receiver of a mobile device and from a signal source;

[0115] determine a second signal quality value corresponding to a second wireless signal of a second frequency different from the first frequency received by the receiver; and

[0116] determine whether at least one difference corresponding to the first signal quality value and the second signal quality value indicates that the mobile device is in a multipath condition relative to the signal source.

[0117] Clause 2. The apparatus according to clause 1, wherein the first signal quality value is a first carrier-to-noise density ratio and the second signal quality value is a second carrier-to-noise density, and wherein, to determine whether the at least one difference indicates that the mobile device is in the multipath condition relative to the signal source, the processor is configured to:

[0118] for a line-of-sight condition between the mobile device and the signal source, determine a first carrier-to-noise density residual value as a first difference between the first signal quality value and a first expected signal quality value corresponding to the first wireless signal;

[0119] for the line-of-sight condition between the mobile device and the signal source, determine a second carrier-to-noise density residual value as a second difference between the second signal quality value and a second expected signal quality value corresponding to the second wireless signal; and

[0120] Determine whether the relationship between the first carrier-noise density residual value and the second carrier-noise density residual value indicates that the mobile device is in the multipath condition relative to the signal source.

[0121] Clause 3. The apparatus according to clause 2, wherein in order to determine whether the relationship between the first carrier-noise density residual value and the second carrier-noise density residual value indicates that the mobile device is in the multipath condition relative to the signal source, the processor is configured to determine whether the standard deviation of the first carrier-noise density residual value and the second carrier-noise density residual value exceeds a threshold.

[0122] Clause 4. The apparatus according to clause 1, wherein the first signal quality value is a first signal-to-noise ratio, and the second signal quality value is a second signal-to-noise ratio, and wherein in order to determine whether the at least one difference indicates that the mobile device is in the multipath condition relative to the signal source, the processor is configured to:

[0123] For a line-of-sight condition between the mobile device and the signal source, determine a first signal-to-noise ratio residual value as a first difference between the first signal quality value and a first expected signal quality value corresponding to the first wireless signal;

[0124] For the line-of-sight condition between the mobile device and the signal source, determine a second signal-to-noise ratio residual value as a second difference between the second signal quality value and a second expected signal quality value corresponding to the second wireless signal; and

[0125] Determine whether the relationship between the first signal-to-noise ratio residual value and the second signal-to-noise ratio residual value indicates that the mobile device is in the multipath condition relative to the signal source.

[0126] Clause 5. The apparatus according to clause 4, wherein in order to determine whether the relationship between the first signal-to-noise ratio residual value and the second signal-to-noise ratio residual value indicates that the mobile device is in the multipath condition relative to the signal source, the processor is configured to determine whether the standard deviation of the first signal-to-noise ratio residual value and the second signal-to-noise ratio residual value exceeds a threshold.

[0127] Clause 6. The apparatus according to clause 1, wherein in order to determine whether the at least one difference indicates that the mobile device is in the multipath condition relative to the signal source, the processor is configured to determine whether the difference between the first signal quality value and the second signal quality value exceeds a threshold.

[0128] Clause 7. The apparatus according to clause 6, wherein the processor is further configured to determine a third signal quality value corresponding to a third wireless signal received by the receiver at a third frequency different from the first frequency and the second frequency, and wherein:

[0129] The difference between the first signal quality value and the second signal quality value is a first difference;

[0130] The threshold is a first threshold; and

[0131] To determine whether the at least one difference indicates the multipath condition of the mobile device relative to the signal source, the processor is configured to:

[0132] Determine a second difference including the difference between the first signal quality value and the second signal quality value or the difference between the second signal quality value and the third signal quality value; and

[0133] Determine whether the first difference exceeds the first threshold and whether the second difference exceeds a second threshold.

[0134] Clause 8. The apparatus according to clause 1, wherein the first signal quality value is a carrier-to-noise density ratio.

[0135] Clause 9. The apparatus according to clause 1, wherein the first signal quality value is a signal-to-noise ratio.

[0136] Clause 10. The apparatus according to clause 1, wherein the processor is further configured to de-weight or ignore a positioning measurement corresponding to a positioning signal corresponding to the signal source based on the at least one difference indicating the multipath condition of the mobile device relative to the signal source.

[0137] Clause 11. The apparatus according to clause 10, wherein the processor is further configured to determine a positioning estimate of the mobile device while de-weighting or ignoring the positioning measurement corresponding to the positioning signal corresponding to the signal source.

[0138] Clause 12. The apparatus according to clause 11, wherein the positioning measurement is a first positioning measurement and the positioning signal is a first positioning signal, and wherein the processor is further configured to determine the positioning estimate of the mobile device without de-weighting or ignoring a second positioning measurement corresponding to a second positioning signal of a different frequency from the first positioning signal corresponding to the signal source.

[0139] Clause 13. The apparatus according to clause 1, wherein the apparatus is the mobile device and the mobile device includes:

[0140] A first receiving chain configured to receive the first wireless signal, convert the first wireless signal into a first wired signal, and provide the first wired signal to the processor; and

[0141] A second receiving chain different from the first receiving chain, the second receiving chain being configured to receive the second wireless signal, convert the second wireless signal into a second wired signal, and provide the second wired signal to the processor.

[0142] Clause 14. A multipath condition detection method, the multipath condition detection method comprising:

[0143] Determining a first signal quality value corresponding to a first wireless signal of a first frequency received by a receiver of a mobile device and from a signal source;

[0144] Determining a second signal quality value corresponding to a second wireless signal of a second frequency different from the first frequency received by the receiver; and

[0145] Determining whether at least one difference corresponding to the first signal quality value and the second signal quality value indicates that the mobile device is in a multipath condition relative to the signal source.

[0146] Clause 15. The multipath condition detection method according to clause 14, wherein the first signal quality value is a first carrier-to-noise density ratio and the second signal quality value is a second carrier-to-noise density, and wherein determining whether the at least one difference indicates that the mobile device is in the multipath condition relative to the signal source comprises:

[0147] For a line-of-sight condition between the mobile device and the signal source, determining a first carrier-to-noise density residual value as a first difference between the first signal quality value and a first expected signal quality value corresponding to the first wireless signal;

[0148] For the line-of-sight condition between the mobile device and the signal source, determining a second carrier-to-noise density residual value as a second difference between the second signal quality value and a second expected signal quality value corresponding to the second wireless signal; and

[0149] Determining whether the relationship between the first carrier-to-noise density residual value and the second carrier-to-noise density residual value indicates that the mobile device is in the multipath condition relative to the signal source.

[0150] Clause 16. The multipath condition detection method according to Clause 15, wherein determining whether the relationship between the first carrier-noise density residual value and the second carrier-noise density residual value indicates that the mobile device is in the multipath condition relative to the signal source includes determining whether the standard deviation of the first carrier-noise density residual value and the second carrier-noise density residual value exceeds a threshold.

[0151] Clause 17. The multipath condition detection method according to Clause 14, wherein the first signal quality value is a first signal-to-noise ratio, and the second signal quality value is a second signal-to-noise ratio, and wherein determining whether the at least one difference indicates the multipath condition of the mobile device relative to the signal source includes:

[0152] For the line-of-sight condition between the mobile device and the signal source, determining a first signal-to-noise ratio residual value as a first difference between the first signal quality value and a first expected signal quality value corresponding to the first wireless signal;

[0153] For the line-of-sight condition between the mobile device and the signal source, determining a second signal-to-noise ratio residual value as a second difference between the second signal quality value and a second expected signal quality value corresponding to the second wireless signal; and

[0154] Determining whether the relationship between the first signal-to-noise ratio residual value and the second signal-to-noise ratio residual value indicates the multipath condition of the mobile device relative to the signal source.

[0155] Clause 18. The multipath condition detection method according to Clause 17, wherein determining whether the relationship between the first signal-to-noise ratio residual value and the second signal-to-noise ratio residual value indicates the multipath condition of the mobile device relative to the signal source includes determining whether the standard deviation of the first signal-to-noise ratio residual value and the second signal-to-noise ratio residual value exceeds a threshold.

[0156] Clause 19. The multipath condition detection method according to Clause 14, wherein determining whether the at least one difference indicates the multipath condition of the mobile device relative to the signal source includes determining whether the difference between the first signal quality value and the second signal quality value exceeds a threshold.

[0157] Clause 20. The multipath condition detection method according to Clause 19, the multipath condition detection method further includes determining a third signal quality value corresponding to a third wireless signal of a third frequency different from the first frequency and the second frequency received by the receiver, and wherein:

[0158] The difference between the first signal quality value and the second signal quality value is a first difference;

[0159] The threshold is a first threshold; and

[0160] Determine whether the at least one difference indicates the movement of the device relative to the signal source

[0161] The multipath conditions include:

[0162] Determine a second difference including a difference between the first signal quality value and the second signal quality value or a difference between the second signal quality value and the third signal quality value; and determine whether the first difference exceeds the first threshold and whether the second difference exceeds a second threshold.

[0163] Clause 21. The multipath condition detection method according to Clause 14, wherein the first signal quality value is a carrier-to-noise density ratio.

[0164] Clause 22. The multipath condition detection method according to Clause 14, wherein the first signal quality value is a signal-to-noise ratio.

[0165] Clause 23. The multipath condition detection method according to Clause 14, the multipath condition detection method further comprising de-weighting or ignoring a positioning measurement corresponding to a positioning signal corresponding to the signal source based on the at least one difference indicating the multipath condition of the mobile device relative to the signal source.

[0166] Clause 24. The multipath condition detection method according to Clause 23, the multipath condition detection method further comprising determining a positioning estimate of the mobile device while de-weighting or ignoring the positioning measurement corresponding to the positioning signal corresponding to the signal source.

[0167] Clause 25. The multipath condition detection method according to Clause 24, wherein the positioning measurement is a first positioning measurement and the positioning signal is a first positioning signal, and wherein determining the positioning estimate of the mobile device includes determining the positioning estimate of the mobile device without de-weighting or ignoring a second positioning measurement corresponding to a second positioning signal having a different frequency from the first positioning signal corresponding to the signal source.

[0168] Clause 26. The multipath condition detection method according to Clause 14, the multipath condition detection method further comprising:

[0169] Using a first receiving chain of the mobile device to receive the first wireless signal and convert the first wireless signal into a first wired signal; and

[0170] Using a second receiving chain of the mobile device different from the first receiving chain of the mobile device to receive the second wireless signal and convert the second wireless signal into a second wired signal.

[0171] Clause 27. An apparatus, the apparatus comprising:

[0172] means for determining a first signal quality value corresponding to a first wireless signal of a first frequency received by a receiver of a mobile device and from a signal source;

[0173] means for determining a second signal quality value corresponding to a second wireless signal of a second frequency different from the first frequency received by the receiver; and

[0174] means for determining whether at least one difference corresponding to the first signal quality value and the second signal quality value indicates that the mobile device is in a multipath condition relative to the signal source.

[0175] Clause 28. The apparatus according to clause 27, wherein the first signal quality value is a first carrier-to-noise density ratio, and the second signal quality value is a second carrier-to-noise density, and wherein the means for determining whether the at least one difference indicates that the mobile device is in the multipath condition relative to the signal source comprises:

[0176] means for determining, for a line-of-sight condition between the mobile device and the signal source, a first carrier-to-noise density residual value as a first difference between the first signal quality value and a first expected signal quality value corresponding to the first wireless signal;

[0177] means for determining, for the line-of-sight condition between the mobile device and the signal source, a second carrier-to-noise density residual value as a second difference between the second signal quality value and a second expected signal quality value corresponding to the second wireless signal; and

[0178] means for determining whether a relationship between the first carrier-to-noise density residual value and the second carrier-to-noise density residual value indicates that the mobile device is in the multipath condition relative to the signal source.

[0179] Clause 29. The apparatus according to clause 28, wherein the means for determining whether the relationship between the first carrier-to-noise density residual value and the second carrier-to-noise density residual value indicates that the mobile device is in the multipath condition relative to the signal source comprises means for determining whether a standard deviation of the first carrier-to-noise density residual value and the second carrier-to-noise density residual value exceeds a threshold.

[0180] Clause 30. The apparatus according to clause 27, wherein the first signal quality value is a first signal-to-noise ratio, and the second signal quality value is a second signal-to-noise ratio, and wherein the component for determining whether the at least one difference indicates the multipath condition of the mobile device relative to the signal source comprises:

[0181] a component for determining, for a line-of-sight condition between the mobile device and the signal source, a first signal-to-noise ratio residual value as a first difference between the first signal quality value and a first expected signal quality value corresponding to the first radio signal;

[0182] a component for determining, for the line-of-sight condition between the mobile device and the signal source, a second signal-to-noise ratio residual value as a second difference between the second signal quality value and a second expected signal quality value corresponding to the second radio signal; and

[0183] a component for determining whether the relationship between the first signal-to-noise ratio residual value and the second signal-to-noise ratio residual value indicates the multipath condition of the mobile device relative to the signal source.

[0184] Clause 31. The apparatus according to clause 30, wherein the component for determining whether the relationship between the first signal-to-noise ratio residual value and the second signal-to-noise ratio residual value indicates the multipath condition of the mobile device relative to the signal source comprises a component for determining whether a standard deviation of the first signal-to-noise ratio residual value and the second signal-to-noise ratio residual value exceeds a threshold.

[0185] Clause 32. The apparatus according to clause 27, wherein the component for determining whether the at least one difference indicates the multipath condition of the mobile device relative to the signal source comprises a component for determining whether a difference between the first signal quality value and the second signal quality value exceeds a threshold.

[0186] Clause 33. The apparatus according to clause 32, the apparatus further comprising a component for determining a third signal quality value corresponding to a third radio signal of a third frequency different from the first frequency and the second frequency received by the receiver, and wherein:

[0187] the difference between the first signal quality value and the second signal quality value is a first difference;

[0188] the threshold is a first threshold; and

[0189] the component for determining whether the at least one difference indicates the multipath condition of the mobile device relative to the signal source comprises:

[0190] A component for determining a second difference including a difference between the first signal quality value and the second signal quality value or a difference between the second signal quality value and the third signal quality value; and

[0191] A component for determining whether the first difference exceeds the first threshold and whether the second difference exceeds the second threshold.

[0192] Clause 34. The apparatus according to clause 27, wherein the first signal quality value is a carrier-to-noise density ratio.

[0193] Clause 35. The apparatus according to clause 27, wherein the first signal quality value is a signal-to-noise ratio.

[0194] Clause 36. The apparatus according to clause 27, the apparatus further comprising a component for deweighting or ignoring a positioning measurement corresponding to a positioning signal corresponding to the signal source based on the at least one difference indicating the multipath condition of the mobile device relative to the signal source.

[0195] Clause 37. The apparatus according to clause 36, the apparatus further comprising a component for determining a positioning estimate of the mobile device while deweighting or ignoring the positioning measurement corresponding to the positioning signal corresponding to the signal source.

[0196] Clause 38. The apparatus according to clause 37, wherein the positioning measurement is a first positioning measurement and the positioning signal is a first positioning signal, and wherein the component for determining the positioning estimate of the mobile device comprises a component for determining the positioning estimate of the mobile device without deweighting or ignoring a second positioning measurement corresponding to a second positioning signal having a different frequency from the first positioning signal corresponding to the signal source.

[0197] Clause 39. The apparatus according to clause 27, the apparatus further comprising:

[0198] A component for receiving the first wireless signal and converting the first wireless signal into a first wired signal; and

[0199] A component different from the component for receiving the first wireless signal for receiving the second wireless signal and converting the second wireless signal into a second wired signal.

[0200] Clause 40. A non-transitory processor-readable storage medium, the non-transitory processor-readable storage medium comprising processor-readable instructions for causing a processor of a device to perform the following operations:

[0201] Determine a first signal quality value corresponding to a first wireless signal of a first frequency received by a receiver of a mobile device and from a signal source;

[0202] Determine a second signal quality value corresponding to a second wireless signal of a second frequency different from the first frequency received by the receiver; and

[0203] Determine whether at least one difference corresponding to the first signal quality value and the second signal quality value indicates that the mobile device is in a multipath condition relative to the signal source.

[0204] Clause 41. The non-transitory processor-readable storage medium according to Clause 40, wherein the first signal quality value is a first carrier-to-noise density ratio, and the second signal quality value is a second carrier-to-noise density, and wherein the processor-readable instructions that cause the processor to determine whether the at least one difference indicates that the mobile device is in the multipath condition relative to the signal source include processor-readable instructions that cause the processor to perform the following operations:

[0205] For a line-of-sight condition between the mobile device and the signal source, determine a first carrier-to-noise density residual value as a first difference between the first signal quality value and a first expected signal quality value corresponding to the first wireless signal;

[0206] For the line-of-sight condition between the mobile device and the signal source, determine a second carrier-to-noise density residual value as a second difference between the second signal quality value and a second expected signal quality value corresponding to the second wireless signal; and

[0207] Determine whether the relationship between the first carrier-to-noise density residual value and the second carrier-to-noise density residual value indicates that the mobile device is in the multipath condition relative to the signal source.

[0208] Clause 42. The non-transitory processor-readable storage medium according to Clause 41, wherein the processor-readable instructions that cause the processor to determine whether the relationship between the first carrier-to-noise density residual value and the second carrier-to-noise density residual value indicates that the mobile device is in the multipath condition relative to the signal source include processor-readable instructions that cause the processor to determine whether a standard deviation of the first carrier-to-noise density residual value and the second carrier-to-noise density residual value exceeds a threshold.

[0209] Clause 43. The non-transitory processor-readable storage medium according to Clause 40, wherein the first signal quality value is a first signal-to-noise ratio, and the second signal quality value is a second signal-to-noise ratio, and the processor-readable instructions that cause the processor to determine whether the at least one difference indicates the multipath condition of the mobile device relative to the signal source include processor-readable instructions that cause the processor to perform the following operations:

[0210] For a line-of-sight condition between the mobile device and the signal source, determine a first signal-to-noise ratio residual value as a first difference between the first signal quality value and a first expected signal quality value corresponding to the first wireless signal;

[0211] For the line-of-sight condition between the mobile device and the signal source, determine a second signal-to-noise ratio residual value as a second difference between the second signal quality value and a second expected signal quality value corresponding to the second wireless signal; and

[0212] Determine whether the relationship between the first signal-to-noise ratio residual value and the second signal-to-noise ratio residual value indicates the multipath condition of the mobile device relative to the signal source.

[0213] Clause 44. The non-transitory processor-readable storage medium according to Clause 43, wherein the processor-readable instructions that cause the processor to determine whether the relationship between the first signal-to-noise ratio residual value and the second signal-to-noise ratio residual value indicates the multipath condition of the mobile device relative to the signal source include processor-readable instructions that cause the processor to determine whether a standard deviation of the first signal-to-noise ratio residual value and the second signal-to-noise ratio residual value exceeds a threshold.

[0214] Clause 45. The non-transitory processor-readable storage medium according to Clause 40, wherein the processor-readable instructions that cause the processor to determine whether the at least one difference indicates the multipath condition of the mobile device relative to the signal source include processor-readable instructions that cause the processor to determine whether a difference between the first signal quality value and the second signal quality value exceeds a threshold.

[0215] Clause 46. The non-transitory processor-readable storage medium according to Clause 45, the non-transitory processor-readable storage medium further includes processor-readable instructions that cause the processor to determine a third signal quality value corresponding to a third wireless signal received by the receiver and having a third frequency different from the first frequency and the second frequency, and wherein:

[0216] The difference between the first signal quality value and the second signal quality value is a first difference;

[0217] The threshold is a first threshold; and

[0218] The processor-readable instructions that cause the processor to determine whether the at least one difference indicates the multipath condition of the mobile device relative to the signal source include processor-readable instructions that cause the processor to perform the following operations:

[0219] as follows:

[0220] Determine a second difference that includes a difference between the first signal quality value and the second signal quality value or a difference between the second signal quality value and the third signal quality value; and determine whether the first difference exceeds the first threshold and whether the second difference exceeds the second threshold.

[0221] Clause 47. The non-transitory processor-readable storage medium according to Clause 40, wherein the first signal quality value is a carrier-to-noise density ratio.

[0222] Clause 48. The non-transitory processor-readable storage medium according to Clause 40, wherein the first signal quality value is a signal-to-noise ratio.

[0223] Clause 49. The non-transitory processor-readable storage medium according to Clause 40, the non-transitory processor-readable storage medium further comprising processor-readable instructions that cause the processor to de-weight or ignore a positioning measurement corresponding to a positioning signal corresponding to the signal source based on the at least one difference indicating the multipath condition of the mobile device relative to the signal source.

[0224] Clause 50. The non-transitory processor-readable storage medium according to Clause 49, the non-transitory processor-readable storage medium further comprising processor-readable instructions that cause the processor to determine a positioning estimate of the mobile device while de-weighting or ignoring the positioning measurement corresponding to the positioning signal corresponding to the signal source.

[0225] Clause 51. The non-transitory processor-readable storage medium according to Clause 50, wherein the positioning measurement is a first positioning measurement and the positioning signal is a first positioning signal, and wherein the processor-readable instructions that cause the processor to determine the positioning estimate of the mobile device include processor-readable instructions that cause the processor to determine the positioning estimate of the mobile device without de-weighting or ignoring a second positioning measurement corresponding to a second positioning signal having a different frequency from the first positioning signal corresponding to the signal source.

[0226] Other Considerations

[0227] Other examples and specific implementations are within the scope of the present disclosure and the appended claims. For example, due to the nature of software and computers, the above functions can be implemented using software, hardware, firmware, hardwiring, or any combination thereof executed by a processor. The features implementing the functions can also be physically located at different positions, including being distributed such that various portions of the functions are implemented at different physical positions.

[0228] As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an", and "the" also include the plural forms unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. As used herein, the term "comprising" specifies the presence of the recited features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof.

[0229] Similarly, as used herein, the term "or" as used in a list of items (which may be followed by "at least one of" or by "one or more of") indicates a disjunctive list such that, for example, a listing of "at least one of A, B, or C", or a listing of "one or more of A, B, or C", or a listing of "A or B or C" means A or B or C or AB (A and B) or AC (A and C) or BC (B and C) or ABC (i.e., A and B and C) or combinations having more than one of the features (e.g., AA, AAB, ABBC, etc.). Thus, a recitation that an item (e.g., a processor) is configured to perform a function with respect to at least one of A or B, or a recitation that an item is configured to perform function A or function B, means that the item may be configured to perform the function with respect to A, or may be configured to perform the function with respect to B, or may be configured to perform the function with respect to A and B. For example, the phrase "a processor configured to measure at least one of A or B" or "a processor configured to measure A or measure B" means that the processor may be configured to measure A (and may or may not be configured to measure B), or may be configured to measure B (and may or may not be configured to measure A), or may be configured to measure A and measure B (and may be configured to select which one of A and B to measure or to measure both). Similarly, a recitation of a component configured to measure at least one of A or B includes: a component configured to measure A (which may or may not measure B), or a component configured to measure B (and may or may not be configured to measure A), or a component configured to measure A and B (which may be able to select which one of A and B to measure or to measure both). As another example, a recitation that an item (e.g., a processor) is configured to perform at least one of function X or perform function Y means that the item may be configured to perform function X, or may be configured to perform function Y, or may be configured to perform function X and perform function Y. For example, the phrase "a processor configured to measure at least one of X or Y" means that the processor may be configured to measure X (and may or may not be configured to measure Y), or may be configured to measure Y (and may or may not be configured to measure X), or may be configured to measure X and measure Y (and may be configured to select which one of X and Y to measure or to measure both).

[0230] As used herein, unless otherwise stated, a recitation that a function or operation is "based on" an item or condition means that the function or operation is based on the recited item or condition and may be based on one or more additional items and / or conditions in addition to the recited item or condition.

[0231] Substantial variations may be made in accordance with specific requirements. For example, customized hardware may also be used, and / or specific elements may be implemented in hardware, in software executed by a processor (including portable software such as applets, etc.), or in both. Additionally, connections to other computing devices such as network input / output devices may be employed. Unless otherwise stated, components (functional or otherwise) shown in the figures and / or discussed herein as being connected or communicating with each other are communicatively coupled. That is, these components may be directly or indirectly connected to enable communication between them.

[0232] The systems and devices discussed above are examples. Various configurations may appropriately omit, substitute, or add various procedures or components. For example, features described with respect to certain configurations may be combined in various other configurations. Different aspects and elements of the configurations may be combined in a similar manner. Additionally, technology is constantly evolving, and thus many elements are examples and do not limit the scope of the present disclosure or the claims.

[0233] A wireless communication system is a system in which communications are conveyed wirelessly between wireless communication devices, i.e., propagated through the atmosphere by electromagnetic waves and / or acoustic waves rather than through wires or other physical connections. A wireless communication system (also referred to as a wireless communication system or wireless communication network) may not have all communications sent wirelessly, but is configured to have at least some communications sent wirelessly. Additionally, the term "wireless communication device" or similar terms do not require that the functionality of the device be exclusively or even primarily for communication, do not require that the communications using the wireless communication device be exclusively or even primarily wireless, and do not require that the device be a mobile device, but rather indicates that the device includes wireless communication capabilities (one-way or two-way), e.g., including at least one radio component (each radio component being part of a transmitter, receiver, or transceiver) for wireless communication.

[0234] Specific details are given in the description herein to provide a thorough understanding of example configurations, including specific implementations. However, the configurations may be practiced without these specific details. For example, well-known circuits, processes, algorithms, structures, and techniques have been shown without unnecessary detail to avoid obscuring these configurations. The description herein provides example configurations without limiting the scope, applicability, or configurations of the claims. Instead, the previous description of the configurations provides a description for implementing the described techniques. Various changes may be made to the functions and arrangements of the elements.

[0235] As used herein, the terms "processor-readable medium", "machine-readable medium", and "computer-readable medium" refer to any medium that participates in providing data that causes a machine to operate in a particular fashion. Using a computing platform, various processor-readable media may be involved in providing instructions / code for execution to a processor, and / or may be used to store and / or carry such instructions / code (e.g., as a signal). In many implementations, the processor-readable medium is a physical and / or tangible storage medium. Such media may take many forms, including but not limited to non-volatile media and volatile media. Non-volatile media includes, for example, optical disks and / or magnetic disks. Volatile media includes but is not limited to dynamic memory.

[0236] After describing several example configurations, various modifications, alternative constructions, and equivalents may be used. For example, the above elements may be components of a larger system, where other rules may take precedence over or otherwise modify the application of this disclosure. Additionally, several operations may be taken before, during, or after considering the above elements. Accordingly, the above description does not limit the scope of the claims.

[0237] Unless otherwise indicated, as used herein when referring to measurable values (such as amounts, time durations, etc.), "about" and / or "approximately" cover variations of ±20%, ±10%, ±5%, or +0.1% from the specified value, as appropriate in the context of the systems, devices, circuits, methods, and other implementations described herein. Unless otherwise indicated, as used herein when referring to measurable values (such as amounts, time durations, physical properties (such as frequencies), etc.), "substantially" also covers variations of ±20%, ±10%, ±5%, or +0.1% from the specified value, as appropriate in the context of the systems, devices, circuits, methods, and other implementations described herein.

[0238] A statement that a value exceeds (or is greater than or higher than) a first threshold is equivalent to a statement that the value meets or exceeds a second threshold that is slightly greater than the first threshold, e.g., in the resolution of a computing system the second threshold is higher than the first threshold by one value. A statement that a value is less than a first threshold (or within or below the first threshold) is equivalent to a statement that the value is less than or equal to a second threshold that is slightly lower than the first threshold, e.g., in the resolution of a computing system the second threshold is lower than the first threshold by one value.

Claims

1. An apparatus, the apparatus comprising: a memory; and a processor communicatively coupled to the memory and configured to: determine a first signal quality value corresponding to a first wireless signal of a first frequency received by a receiver of a mobile device and from a signal source; determine a second signal quality value corresponding to a second wireless signal of a second frequency different from the first frequency received by the receiver; and determine whether at least one difference corresponding to the first signal quality value and the second signal quality value indicates that the mobile device is in a multipath condition relative to the signal source.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first signal quality value is a first carrier-to-noise density ratio and the second signal quality value is a second carrier-to-noise density, and wherein, to determine whether the at least one difference indicates that the mobile device is in the multipath condition relative to the signal source, the processor is configured to: for a line-of-sight condition between the mobile device and the signal source, determine a first carrier-to-noise density residual value as a first difference between the first signal quality value and a first expected signal quality value corresponding to the first wireless signal; for the line-of-sight condition between the mobile device and the signal source, determine a second carrier-to-noise density residual value as a second difference between the second signal quality value and a second expected signal quality value corresponding to the second wireless signal; and determine whether the relationship between the first carrier-to-noise density residual value and the second carrier-to-noise density residual value indicates that the mobile device is in the multipath condition relative to the signal source.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein, to determine whether the relationship between the first carrier-to-noise density residual value and the second carrier-to-noise density residual value indicates that the mobile device is in the multipath condition relative to the signal source, the processor is configured to determine whether a standard deviation of the first carrier-to-noise density residual value and the second carrier-to-noise density residual value exceeds a threshold.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first signal quality value is a first signal-to-noise ratio and the second signal quality value is a second signal-to-noise ratio, and wherein, to determine whether the at least one difference indicates the multipath condition of the mobile device relative to the signal source, the processor is configured to: for a line-of-sight condition between the mobile device and the signal source, determine a first signal-to-noise ratio residual value as a first difference between the first signal quality value and a first expected signal quality value corresponding to the first wireless signal; for the line-of-sight condition between the mobile device and the signal source, determine a second signal-to-noise ratio residual value as a second difference between the second signal quality value and a second expected signal quality value corresponding to the second wireless signal; and determine whether the relationship between the first signal-to-noise ratio residual value and the second signal-to-noise ratio residual value indicates the multipath condition of the mobile device relative to the signal source.

5. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein, to determine whether the relationship between the first SNR residual value and the second SNR residual value indicates the multipath condition of the mobile device relative to the signal source, the processor is configured to determine whether the standard deviation of the first SNR residual value and the second SNR residual value exceeds a threshold.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, to determine whether the at least one difference indicates the multipath condition of the mobile device relative to the signal source, the processor is configured to determine whether the difference between the first signal quality value and the second signal quality value exceeds a threshold.

7. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the processor is further configured to determine a third signal quality value corresponding to a third wireless signal of a third frequency different from the first frequency and the second frequency received by the receiver, and wherein: the difference between the first signal quality value and the second signal quality value is a first difference; the threshold is a first threshold; and to determine whether the at least one difference indicates the multipath condition of the mobile device relative to the signal source, the processor is configured to: determine a second difference including the difference between the first signal quality value and the second signal quality value or the difference between the second signal quality value and the third signal quality value; and determine whether the first difference exceeds the first threshold and whether the second difference exceeds a second threshold.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first signal quality value is a carrier-to-noise density ratio.

9. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first signal quality value is a signal-to-noise ratio.

10. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to de-weight or ignore a positioning measurement corresponding to a positioning signal corresponding to the signal source based on the at least one difference indicating the multipath condition of the mobile device relative to the signal source.

11. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the processor is further configured to determine a positioning estimate of the mobile device while de-weighting or ignoring the positioning measurement corresponding to the positioning signal corresponding to the signal source.

12. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the positioning measurement is a first positioning measurement and the positioning signal is a first positioning signal, and wherein the processor is further configured to determine the positioning estimate of the mobile device without de-weighting or ignoring a second positioning measurement corresponding to a second positioning signal of a different frequency from the first positioning signal corresponding to the signal source.

13. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus is the mobile device and the mobile device comprises: a first receiving chain configured to receive the first wireless signal, convert the first wireless signal into a first wired signal, and provide the first wired signal to the processor; and A second receiving chain, different from the first receiving chain, is configured to receive the second wireless signal, convert the second wireless signal into a second wired signal, and provide the second wired signal to the processor.

14. A multipath condition detection method, the multipath condition detection method comprises: determining a first signal quality value corresponding to a first wireless signal of a first frequency and from a signal source received by a receiver of a mobile device; determining a second signal quality value corresponding to a second wireless signal of a second frequency different from the first frequency received by the receiver; and determining whether at least one difference corresponding to the first signal quality value and the second signal quality value indicates that the mobile device is in a multipath condition relative to the signal source.

15. The multipath condition detection method according to claim 14, wherein the first signal quality value is a first carrier-to-noise density ratio and the second signal quality value is a second carrier-to-noise density, and wherein determining whether the at least one difference indicates that the mobile device is in the multipath condition relative to the signal source comprises: for a line-of-sight condition between the mobile device and the signal source, determining a first carrier-to-noise density residual value as a first difference between the first signal quality value and a first expected signal quality value corresponding to the first wireless signal; for the line-of-sight condition between the mobile device and the signal source, determining a second carrier-to-noise density residual value as a second difference between the second signal quality value and a second expected signal quality value corresponding to the second wireless signal; and determining whether the relationship between the first carrier-to-noise density residual value and the second carrier-to-noise density residual value indicates that the mobile device is in the multipath condition relative to the signal source.

16. The multipath condition detection method according to claim 15, wherein determining whether the relationship between the first carrier-to-noise density residual value and the second carrier-to-noise density residual value indicates that the mobile device is in the multipath condition relative to the signal source comprises determining whether a standard deviation of the first carrier-to-noise density residual value and the second carrier-to-noise density residual value exceeds a threshold.

17. The multipath condition detection method according to claim 14, wherein the first signal quality value is a first signal-to-noise ratio and the second signal quality value is a second signal-to-noise ratio, and wherein determining whether the at least one difference indicates the multipath condition of the mobile device relative to the signal source comprises: for a line-of-sight condition between the mobile device and the signal source, determining a first signal-to-noise ratio residual value as a first difference between the first signal quality value and a first expected signal quality value corresponding to the first wireless signal; for the line-of-sight condition between the mobile device and the signal source, determining a second signal-to-noise ratio residual value as a second difference between the second signal quality value and a second expected signal quality value corresponding to the second wireless signal; and Determine whether the relationship between the first SNR residual value and the second SNR residual value indicates the multipath condition of the mobile device relative to the signal source.

18. The multipath condition detection method according to claim 17, wherein determining whether the relationship between the first SNR residual value and the second SNR residual value indicates the multipath condition of the mobile device relative to the signal source includes determining whether the standard deviation of the first SNR residual value and the second SNR residual value exceeds a threshold.

19. The multipath condition detection method according to claim 14, wherein determining whether the at least one difference indicates the multipath condition of the mobile device relative to the signal source includes determining whether the difference between the first signal quality value and the second signal quality value exceeds a threshold.

20. The multipath condition detection method according to claim 19, the multipath condition detection method further includes determining a third signal quality value corresponding to a third radio signal of a third frequency different from the first frequency and the second frequency received by the receiver, and wherein: the difference between the first signal quality value and the second signal quality value is a first difference; the threshold is a first threshold; and determining whether the at least one difference indicates the multipath condition of the mobile device relative to the signal source includes: determining a second difference including the difference between the first signal quality value and the second signal quality value or the difference between the second signal quality value and the third signal quality value; and determining whether the first difference exceeds the first threshold and whether the second difference exceeds a second threshold.

21. The multipath condition detection method according to claim 14, wherein the first signal quality value is a carrier-to-noise density ratio.

22. The multipath condition detection method according to claim 14, wherein the first signal quality value is a signal-to-noise ratio.

23. The multipath condition detection method according to claim 14, the multipath condition detection method further includes deweighting or ignoring a positioning measurement corresponding to a positioning signal corresponding to the signal source based on the at least one difference indicating the multipath condition of the mobile device relative to the signal source.

24. The multipath condition detection method according to claim 23, the multipath condition detection method further includes determining a positioning estimate of the mobile device while deweighting or ignoring the positioning measurement corresponding to the positioning signal corresponding to the signal source.

25. The multipath condition detection method according to claim 24, wherein the positioning measurement is a first positioning measurement and the positioning signal is a first positioning signal, and wherein determining the positioning estimate of the mobile device includes determining the positioning estimate of the mobile device without deweighting or ignoring a second positioning measurement corresponding to a second positioning signal of a frequency different from the first positioning signal corresponding to the signal source.

26. The multipath condition detection method according to claim 14, the multipath condition detection method further includes: Receive the first wireless signal using a first receiving chain of the mobile device and convert the first wireless signal into a first wired signal; And Receive the second wireless signal using a second receiving chain of the mobile device different from the first receiving chain of the mobile device and convert the second wireless signal into a second wired signal.

27. An apparatus, the apparatus Comprises: A component for determining a first signal quality value corresponding to a first wireless signal of a first frequency received by a receiver of a mobile device and from a signal source; A component for determining a second signal quality value corresponding to a second wireless signal of a second frequency different from the first frequency received by the receiver; And A component for determining whether at least one difference corresponding to the first signal quality value and the second signal quality value indicates that the mobile device is in a multipath condition relative to the signal source.

28. The apparatus according to claim 27, wherein the first signal quality value is a first carrier-to-noise density ratio, and the second signal quality value is a second carrier-to-noise density, and wherein the component for determining whether the at least one difference indicates that the mobile device is in the multipath condition relative to the signal source Comprises: A component for determining a first carrier-to-noise density residual value as a first difference between the first signal quality value and a first expected signal quality value corresponding to the first wireless signal for a line-of-sight condition between the mobile device and the signal source; A component for determining a second carrier-to-noise density residual value as a second difference between the second signal quality value and a second expected signal quality value corresponding to the second wireless signal for the line-of-sight condition between the mobile device and the signal source; And A component for determining whether the relationship between the first carrier-to-noise density residual value and the second carrier-to-noise density residual value indicates that the mobile device is in the multipath condition relative to the signal source.

29. The apparatus according to claim 28, wherein the component for determining whether the relationship between the first carrier-to-noise density residual value and the second carrier-to-noise density residual value indicates that the mobile device is in the multipath condition relative to the signal source comprises a component for determining whether a standard deviation of the first carrier-to-noise density residual value and the second carrier-to-noise density residual value exceeds a threshold.

30. The apparatus according to claim 27, wherein the first signal quality value is a first signal-to-noise ratio, and the second signal quality value is a second signal-to-noise ratio, and wherein the component for determining whether the at least one difference indicates the multipath condition of the mobile device relative to the signal source Comprises: A component for determining a first signal-to-noise ratio residual value as a first difference between the first signal quality value and a first expected signal quality value corresponding to the first wireless signal for a line-of-sight condition between the mobile device and the signal source; A component for determining a second signal-to-noise ratio residual value as a second difference between the second signal quality value and a second expected signal quality value corresponding to the second wireless signal for the line-of-sight condition between the mobile device and the signal source; and A component for determining whether the relationship between the first signal-to-noise ratio residual value and the second signal-to-noise ratio residual value indicates the multipath condition of the mobile device relative to the signal source.

31. The apparatus according to claim 30, wherein the component for determining whether the relationship between the first signal-to-noise ratio residual value and the second signal-to-noise ratio residual value indicates the multipath condition of the mobile device relative to the signal source includes a component for determining whether the standard deviation of the first signal-to-noise ratio residual value and the second signal-to-noise ratio residual value exceeds a threshold.

32. The apparatus according to claim 27, wherein the component for determining whether the at least one difference indicates the multipath condition of the mobile device relative to the signal source includes a component for determining whether the difference between the first signal quality value and the second signal quality value exceeds a threshold.

33. The apparatus according to claim 32, the apparatus further includes a component for determining a third signal quality value corresponding to a third wireless signal received by the receiver and different from the first frequency and the second frequency, and wherein: the difference between the first signal quality value and the second signal quality value is a first difference; the threshold is a first threshold; and the component for determining whether the at least one difference indicates the multipath condition of the mobile device relative to the signal source includes: a component for determining a second difference including the difference between the first signal quality value and the second signal quality value or the difference between the second signal quality value and the third signal quality value; and a component for determining whether the first difference exceeds the first threshold and whether the second difference exceeds a second threshold.

34. The apparatus according to claim 27, wherein the first signal quality value is a carrier-to-noise density ratio.

35. The apparatus according to claim 27, wherein the first signal quality value is a signal-to-noise ratio.

36. The apparatus according to claim 27, the apparatus further includes a component for de-weighting or ignoring a positioning measurement corresponding to a positioning signal corresponding to the signal source based on the at least one difference indicating the multipath condition of the mobile device relative to the signal source.

37. The apparatus according to claim 36, the apparatus further includes a component for determining a positioning estimate of the mobile device while de-weighting or ignoring the positioning measurement corresponding to the positioning signal corresponding to the signal source.

38. The apparatus according to claim 37, wherein the positioning measurement is a first positioning measurement and the positioning signal is a first positioning signal, and wherein the component for determining the positioning estimate of the mobile device comprises a component for determining the positioning estimate of the mobile device without de-weighting or ignoring a second positioning measurement corresponding to a second positioning signal having a different frequency from the first positioning signal corresponding to the signal source.

39. The apparatus according to claim 27, the apparatus further comprises: a component for receiving the first wireless signal and converting the first wireless signal into a first wired signal; and a component different from the component for receiving the first wireless signal for receiving the second wireless signal and converting the second wireless signal into a second wired signal.

40. A non-transitory processor-readable storage medium comprising processor-readable instructions for causing a processor of a device to perform the following operations: determine a first signal quality value corresponding to a first wireless signal of a first frequency received by a receiver of a mobile device and from a signal source; determine a second signal quality value corresponding to a second wireless signal of a second frequency different from the first frequency received by the receiver; and determine whether at least one difference corresponding to the first signal quality value and the second signal quality value indicates that the mobile device is in a multipath condition relative to the signal source.

41. The non-transitory processor-readable storage medium according to claim 40, wherein the first signal quality value is a first carrier-to-noise density ratio and the second signal quality value is a second carrier-to-noise density, and wherein the processor-readable instructions for causing the processor to determine whether the at least one difference indicates that the mobile device is in the multipath condition relative to the signal source comprise processor-readable instructions for causing the processor to perform the following operations: for a line-of-sight condition between the mobile device and the signal source, determine a first carrier-to-noise density residual value as a first difference between the first signal quality value and a first expected signal quality value corresponding to the first wireless signal; for the line-of-sight condition between the mobile device and the signal source, determine a second carrier-to-noise density residual value as a second difference between the second signal quality value and a second expected signal quality value corresponding to the second wireless signal; and determine whether the relationship between the first carrier-to-noise density residual value and the second carrier-to-noise density residual value indicates that the mobile device is in the multipath condition relative to the signal source.

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