Positioning reference signal configuration for backscatter-based positioning process

Abstract

Techniques for wireless communication are disclosed. In an aspect, a radio frequency identification (RFID) device can receive a positioning reference signal transmitted over a set of radio resources of a wireless communication network, the positioning reference signal including a first temporal portion for energy harvesting and a second temporal portion for backscatter. The RFID device can transmit a backscatter signal based on at least a portion of the second temporal portion of the positioning reference signal.

Description

BACKGROUND 1. TECHNICAL FIELD

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

[0002] 2. Description of Related Technologies

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

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

[0005] A simplified summary related to one or more aspects disclosed herein is presented below. Accordingly, the following summary should not be considered an exhaustive overview of all contemplated aspects, nor should it be considered to identify key or critical elements of all contemplated aspects or to delineate the scope associated with any particular aspect. Thus, the sole purpose of the following summary is to present in a concise form certain concepts related to one or more aspects involving the mechanisms disclosed herein prior to the detailed description presented below.

[0006] In one aspect, a method of operating a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) device includes: receiving a positioning reference signal transmitted through a radio resource set of a wireless communication network, the positioning reference signal including a first time portion for energy harvesting and a second time portion for backscattering; and transmitting a backscattering signal based on at least a portion of the second time portion of the positioning reference signal.

[0007] In one aspect, a method of operating a location server includes: sending a first configuration message to one or more sender radio frequency identification (RFID) stations, the first configuration message indicating at least a first configuration of a radio resource set of a wireless communication network for a positioning reference signal, the positioning reference signal including a first time portion for energy harvesting and a second time portion for backscattering; and sending a second configuration message to one or more receiver RFID stations, the second configuration message indicating at least a second configuration of a monitoring window for observing a backscattering signal from an RFID device based on the second time portion of the positioning reference signal.

[0008] In one aspect, a method of operating a radio frequency identification (RFID) station includes: receiving a first configuration message from a location server, the first configuration message indicating at least a first configuration of a radio resource set of a wireless communication network for a positioning reference signal, the positioning reference signal including a first time portion for energy harvesting and a second time portion for backscattering; and sending the first time portion, the second time portion, or both of the positioning reference signal.

[0009] In one aspect, a method of operating a radio frequency identification (RFID) station includes: receiving a first configuration message from a location server, the first configuration message indicating at least a first configuration of a monitoring window for observing a backscattering signal from an RFID device based on a positioning reference signal, the positioning reference signal being sent through a radio resource set of a wireless communication network and the positioning reference signal including a first time portion for energy harvesting and a second time portion for backscattering; receiving the backscattering signal based on the monitoring window; and sending a measurement report of the backscattering signal to the location server.

[0010] In one aspect, an RFID device includes: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor configured to: receive, via the at least one transceiver, a positioning reference signal sent through a radio resource set of a wireless communication network, the positioning reference signal including a first time portion for energy harvesting and a second time portion for backscattering; and send, via the at least one transceiver, a backscattering signal based on at least a portion of the second time portion of the positioning reference signal.

[0011] In one aspect, a location server includes: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: send, via the at least one transceiver, a first configuration message to one or more sender radio frequency identification (RFID) stations, the first configuration message indicating at least a first configuration of a radio resource set of a wireless communication network for a positioning reference signal, the positioning reference signal including a first time portion for energy harvesting and a second time portion for backscattering; and send, via the at least one transceiver, a second configuration message to one or more receiver RFID stations, the second configuration message indicating at least a second configuration of a monitoring window for observing a backscattering signal from an RFID device based on the second time portion of the positioning reference signal.

[0012] In one aspect, an RFID station includes: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: receive, via the at least one transceiver, a first configuration message from a location server, the first configuration message indicating at least a first configuration of a radio resource set of a wireless communication network for a positioning reference signal, the positioning reference signal including a first time portion for energy harvesting and a second time portion for backscattering; and send, via the at least one transceiver, the first time portion, the second time portion, or both of the positioning reference signal.

[0013] In one aspect, an RFID station includes: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: receive, via the at least one transceiver, a first configuration message from a location server, the first configuration message indicating at least a first configuration of a monitoring window for observing a backscattering signal from an RFID device based on a positioning reference signal, the positioning reference signal being sent through a radio resource set of a wireless communication network and the positioning reference signal including a first time portion for energy harvesting and a second time portion for backscattering; receive, via the at least one transceiver, the backscattering signal based on the monitoring window; and send, via the at least one transceiver, a measurement report of the backscattering signal to the location server.

[0014] In one aspect, an RFID device includes: means for receiving a positioning reference signal sent through a radio resource set of a wireless communication network, the positioning reference signal including a first time portion for energy harvesting and a second time portion for backscattering; and means for sending a backscattering signal based on at least a portion of the second time portion of the positioning reference signal.

[0015] In one aspect, a location server includes: means for sending a first configuration message to one or more sender radio frequency identification (RFID) stations, the first configuration message indicating at least a first configuration of a radio resource set of a wireless communication network for a positioning reference signal, the positioning reference signal including a first time portion for energy harvesting and a second time portion for backscattering; and means for sending a second configuration message to one or more receiver RFID stations, the second configuration message indicating at least a second configuration of a monitoring window for observing a backscattering signal from an RFID device based on the second time portion of the positioning reference signal.

[0016] In one aspect, an RFID station includes: means for receiving a first configuration message from a location server, the first configuration message indicating at least a first configuration of a radio resource set of a wireless communication network for a positioning reference signal, the positioning reference signal including a first time portion for energy harvesting and a second time portion for backscattering; and means for sending the first time portion, the second time portion, or both of the positioning reference signal.

[0017] In one aspect, an RFID station includes: means for receiving a first configuration message from a location server, the first configuration message indicating at least a first configuration of a monitoring window for observing a backscattering signal from an RFID device based on a positioning reference signal, the positioning reference signal being sent through a radio resource set of a wireless communication network and the positioning reference signal including a first time portion for energy harvesting and a second time portion for backscattering; means for receiving the backscattering signal based on the monitoring window; and means for sending a measurement report of the backscattering signal to the location server.

[0018] In one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium stores computer-executable instructions that, when executed by an RFID device, cause the RFID device to: receive a positioning reference signal sent through a radio resource set of a wireless communication network, the positioning reference signal including a first time portion for energy harvesting and a second time portion for backscattering; and send a backscattering signal based on at least a portion of the second time portion of the positioning reference signal.

[0019] In one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium stores computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a location server, cause the location server to: send a first configuration message to one or more sender radio frequency identification (RFID) stations, the first configuration message indicating at least a first configuration of a radio resource set of a wireless communication network for a positioning reference signal, the positioning reference signal including a first time portion for energy harvesting and a second time portion for backscattering; and send a second configuration message to one or more receiver RFID stations, the second configuration message indicating at least a second configuration of a monitoring window for observing backscattered signals from RFID devices based on the second time portion of the positioning reference signal.

[0020] In one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium stores computer-executable instructions that, when executed by an RFID station, cause the RFID station to: receive a first configuration message from a location server, the first configuration message indicating at least a first configuration of a radio resource set of a wireless communication network for a positioning reference signal, the positioning reference signal including a first time portion for energy harvesting and a second time portion for backscattering; and transmit the first time portion, the second time portion, or both of the positioning reference signal.

[0021] In one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium stores computer-executable instructions that, when executed by an RFID station, cause the RFID station to: receive a first configuration message from a location server, the first configuration message indicating at least a first configuration of a monitoring window for observing backscattered signals from RFID devices based on a positioning reference signal, the positioning reference signal being transmitted through a radio resource set of a wireless communication network and including a first time portion for energy harvesting and a second time portion for backscattering; receive the backscattered signals based on the monitoring window; and send a measurement report of the backscattered signals to the location server.

[0022] Based on the drawings and the detailed description, other objects and advantages associated with the aspects disclosed herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] The drawings are presented to assist in describing aspects of the present disclosure, and the drawings are provided for illustration only and not to limit the aspects.

[0024] Figure 1 An example wireless communication system in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0025] Figure 2A 、 Figure 2B and Figure 2CIllustrates an example wireless network structure in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0026] Figure 3 Illustrates an example radio frequency identification (RFID) system in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0027] Figure 4A 、 Figure 4B and Figure 4C are simplified block diagrams of several example aspects of components that may be employed in a user equipment (UE), a base station, and a network entity, respectively, and are configured to support communication as taught herein.

[0028] Figure 5 Illustrates a simplified block diagram of an RFID station and an RFID device in an RFID system in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0029] Figure 6 Is a diagram illustrating an example frame structure in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0030] Figure 7 Illustrates an example RFID system for a backscatter-based positioning process in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0031] Figure 8A 、 Figure 8B and Figure 8C Illustrates an example radio resource design of a positioning reference signal used in a backscatter-based positioning process in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0032] Figure 9 Is a signaling and event diagram illustrating various actions during a backscatter-based positioning process in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0033] Figure 10 Illustrates an example method of operating an RFID device in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0034] Figure 11 Illustrates an example method of operating a location server in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0035] Figure 12 Illustrates an example method of operating an RFID station in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0036] Figure 13 Illustrates an example method of operating an RFID station in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. Detailed Description

[0037] Aspects of the present disclosure are provided in the following description of various examples provided for illustrative purposes and the associated drawings. Alternative aspects may be devised without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Additionally, well-known elements of the present disclosure will not be described in detail or will be omitted so as not to obscure the relevant details of the present disclosure.

[0038] The terms "exemplary" and / or "example" are used herein to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration". Any aspect described herein as "exemplary" and / or "example" is not necessarily to be construed as superior or better than other aspects. Similarly, the term "aspects of the present disclosure" does not require that all aspects of the present disclosure include the discussed feature, advantage, or mode of operation.

[0039] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that any of a variety of different techniques and methods may be used to represent the information and signals described below. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referred to throughout the following description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, optical fields or optical particles, or any combination thereof, in part depending on the particular application, in part depending on the desired design, in part depending on the corresponding technology, and so on.

[0040] In addition, many aspects are described in terms of a sequence of actions to be performed by, for example, elements of a computing device. It will be recognized that the various actions described herein may be performed by specific circuitry (e.g., an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC)), by program instructions executed by one or more processors, or by a combination of both. Additionally, the sequence of actions described herein may be considered to be fully embodied in any form of non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein a corresponding set of computer instructions that, when executed, will cause or direct a relevant processor of the device to perform the functionality described herein. Accordingly, the various aspects of the present disclosure may be embodied in many different forms, all of which have been contemplated to be within the scope of the claimed subject matter. Additionally, for each of the aspects described herein, a corresponding form of any such aspect may be described herein as, for example, "logic configured to perform the described action".

[0041] As used herein, unless otherwise specified, the terms “user equipment” (UE) and “base station” are not intended to be specific or otherwise limited to any particular radio access technology (RAT). Generally speaking, a UE can be any wireless communication device used by a user to communicate via a wireless communication network (e.g., a mobile phone, a router, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a consumer asset location device, a wearable device (e.g., a smart watch, glasses, an augmented reality (AR) / virtual reality (VR) headset, etc.), a vehicle (e.g., a car, a motorcycle, a bicycle, etc.), an Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc.). 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 equipment”, “subscriber terminal”, “subscriber station”, “user terminal” or “UT”, “mobile device”, “mobile terminal”, “mobile station” or variants thereof. Generally speaking, a UE can communicate with a core network via the 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 the UE to connect to the core network and / or the Internet are also possible, such as via a wired access network, a wireless local area network (WLAN) network (e.g., based on Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 specifications, etc.).

[0042] The base station can operate according to one of several RATs to communicate with the UE depending on the network in which the base station is deployed, and can alternatively be referred to as an access point (AP), a network node, Node B, evolved Node B (eNB), next generation eNB (ng-eNB), new radio (NR) Node B (also referred to as gNB or gNodeB), etc. The base station can be mainly used to support the wireless access of the UE, including supporting data, voice, and / or signaling connections for the supported UEs. In some systems, the base station can only provide edge node signaling functions, while in other systems, the base station can provide additional control and / or network management functions. The communication link by which the UE can transmit signals to the base station is referred to as an uplink (UL) channel (e.g., reverse traffic channel, reverse control channel, access channel, etc.). The communication link by which the base station can transmit signals to the UE is referred to as a downlink (DL) 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.

[0043] The term "base station" can refer to a single physical transmit-receive point (TRP) or multiple physical TRPs that may or may not be co-located. For example, in the case where the term "base station" refers to a single physical TRP, the physical TRP can be the antenna of the base station corresponding to the cell (or several cell sectors) of the base station. In the case where the term "base station" refers to multiple co-located physical TRPs, the physical TRPs can be an antenna array of the base station (e.g., as in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system or in the case where the base station employs beamforming). In the case where the term "base station" refers to multiple non-co-located physical TRPs, the physical TRPs can be a distributed antenna system (DAS) (a network of spatially separated antennas connected to a common source via a transmission medium) or a remote radio head (RRH) (a remote base station connected to a serving base station). Alternatively, the non-co-located physical TRPs can be the serving base station that receives measurement reports from the UE and an adjacent base station whose reference radio frequency (RF) signal the UE is measuring. Since, as used herein, a TRP is the point by which a base station transmits and receives wireless signals, a reference to transmission from or reception at a base station should be understood to refer to a particular TRP of the base station.

[0044] In some specific implementations that support UE positioning, the base station may not support wireless access for the UE (e.g., may not support data, voice, and / or signaling connections for the UE), but instead may send reference signals to be measured by the UE and / or may receive and measure signals sent by the UE. Such a base station can be referred to as a positioning beacon (e.g., in the case of sending signals to the UE) and / or as a position measurement unit (e.g., in the case of receiving and measuring signals from the UE).

[0045] An "RF signal" includes an electromagnetic wave of a given frequency that transmits information through the space between a transmitter and a receiver. As used herein, a transmitter can send a single "RF signal" or multiple "RF signals" to a receiver. However, due to the propagation characteristics of RF signals through a multipath channel, a receiver can receive multiple "RF signals" corresponding to each transmitted RF signal. The same transmitted RF signal on different paths between the transmitter and the receiver can be referred to as a "multipath" RF signal. As used herein, where the context clearly indicates that the term "signal" refers to a wireless signal or an RF signal, the RF signal can also be referred to as a "wireless signal" or simply as a "signal".

[0046] Figure 1An example wireless communication system 100 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. The wireless communication system 100 (which may also be referred to as a wireless wide area network (WWAN)) may include various base stations 102 (labeled "BS") and various UEs 104. The base stations 102 may include macro cell base stations (high-power cellular base stations) and / or small cell base stations (low-power cellular base stations). In one aspect, the macro cell base stations may include eNBs and / or ng-eNBs (where the wireless communication system 100 corresponds to an LTE network), or gNBs (where the wireless communication system 100 corresponds to an NR network), or a combination of both, and the small cell base stations may include femto cells, pico cells, micro cells, etc.

[0047] The base stations 102 may collectively form a RAN and interface with a core network 170 (e.g., an evolved packet core (EPC) or a 5G core (5GC)) via a backhaul link 122 and with one or more location servers 172 (e.g., a location management function (LMF) or a secure user plane location (SUPL) location platform (SLP)) via the core network 170. The location server 172 may be part of the core network 170 or may be external to the core network 170. The location server 172 may be integrated with the base stations 102. The UE 104 may communicate with the location server 172 directly or indirectly. For example, the UE 104 may communicate with the location server 172 via the base station 102 currently serving the UE 104. The UE 104 may also communicate with the location server 172 via another path, such as via an application server (not shown), via another network, such as via a wireless local area network (WLAN) access point (AP) (e.g., the AP 150 described below), etc. For signaling purposes, the communication between the UE 104 and the location server 172 may be represented as an indirect connection (e.g., via the core network 170, etc.) or a direct connection (e.g., as shown via a direct connection 128), where intermediate nodes (if any) are omitted from the signaling diagram for clarity.

[0048] In addition to other functions, the base stations 102 may perform functions related to one or more of the following: passing user data, radio channel encryption and decryption, integrity protection, header compression, mobility control functions (e.g., handover, dual connectivity), inter-cell interference coordination, connection establishment and release, load balancing, distribution of non-access stratum (NAS) messages, NAS node selection, synchronization, RAN sharing, multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS), subscriber and equipment tracking, radio access network information management (RIM), paging, positioning, and delivery of warning messages. The base stations 102 may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., via the EPC / 5GC) on a backhaul link 134, which may be wired or wireless.

[0049] Base station 102 can communicate wirelessly with UE 104. Each base station in base station 102 can provide communication coverage for a corresponding geographic coverage area 110. In one aspect, one or more cells can be supported by the base stations 102 in each geographic coverage area 110. A "cell" is a logical communication entity for communicating with a base station (e.g., via a certain frequency resource, which is referred to as a carrier frequency, component carrier, carrier, frequency band, etc.), and can be associated with an identifier for distinguishing cells operating via the same or different carrier frequencies (e.g., physical cell identifier (PCI), enhanced cell identifier (ECI), virtual cell identifier (VCI), cell global identifier (CGI), etc.). In some cases, different cells can be configured according to different protocol types that can provide access for different types of UEs (e.g., machine type communication (MTC), narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), or other protocol types). Since a cell is supported by a specific base station, the term "cell" can, depending on the context, refer to either or both of the logical communication entity and the base station that supports the logical communication entity. In addition, since the TRP is typically the physical transmission point of a cell, the terms "cell" and "TRP" can be used interchangeably. In some cases, the term "cell" can also refer to the geographic coverage area (e.g., sector) of a base station, as long as the carrier frequency can be detected and used for communication within a certain part of the geographic coverage area 110.

[0050] Although the geographic coverage areas 110 of adjacent macro cell base stations 102 can partially overlap (e.g., in a handover area), some areas in the geographic coverage area 110 can substantially overlap with a larger geographic coverage area 110. For example, a small cell base station 102' (labeled "SC" for "small cell") can have a geographic coverage area 110' that substantially overlaps with the geographic coverage area 110 of one or more macro cell base stations 102. A network including both small cell base stations and macro cell base stations can be referred to as a heterogeneous network. The heterogeneous network can also include a home eNB (HeNB), which can provide services to a restricted group called a closed subscriber group (CSG).

[0051] The communication link 120 between base station 102 and UE 104 can include an uplink (also referred to as a reverse link) transmission from UE 104 to base station 102 and / or a downlink (DL) (also referred to as a forward link) transmission from base station 102 to UE 104. The communication link 120 can use MIMO antenna technology, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and / or transmit diversity. The communication link 120 can pass through one or more carrier frequencies. The allocation of carriers can be asymmetric for the downlink and uplink (e.g., more or fewer carriers can be allocated to the downlink compared to the uplink).

[0052] The wireless communication system 100 may also include a WLAN access point (AP) 150 that communicates with a wireless local area network (WLAN) station (STA) 152 via a communication link 154 in an unlicensed spectrum (e.g., 5 GHz). When communicating in an unlicensed spectrum, the WLAN STA 152 and / or the WLAN AP 150 may perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) or listen-before-talk (LBT) procedure before communication to determine whether the channel is available.

[0053] The small cell base station 102' may operate in licensed and / or unlicensed spectrum. When operating in an unlicensed spectrum, the small cell base station 102' may employ LTE or NR technologies and use the same 5 GHz unlicensed spectrum as that used by the WLAN AP 150. The small cell base station 102' that employs LTE / 5G in an unlicensed spectrum may enhance the coverage of the access network and / or increase the capacity of the access network. NR in an unlicensed spectrum may be referred to as NR-U. LTE in an unlicensed spectrum may be referred to as LTE-U, licensed-assisted access (LAA), or MulteFire.

[0054] The wireless communication system 100 may also include a millimeter wave (mmW) base station 180 that may operate at mmW frequencies and / or near mmW frequencies to communicate with a UE 182. The extremely high frequency (EHF) is a part of the RF in the electromagnetic spectrum. The EHF has a range of 30 GHz to 300 GHz and a wavelength between 1 millimeter and 10 millimeters. The radio waves in this band may be referred to as millimeter waves. Near mmW may extend down to a frequency of 3 GHz with a wavelength of 100 millimeters. The super high frequency (SHF) band extends between 3 GHz and 30 GHz, which is also referred to as centimeter waves. Communication using the mmW / near mmW radio band has high path loss and a relatively short distance. The mmW base station 180 and the UE 182 may utilize beamforming (transmission and / or reception) on the mmW communication link 184 to compensate for the extremely high path loss and short distance. In addition, it should be understood that in an alternative configuration, one or more base stations 102 may also use mmW or near mmW and beamforming for transmission. Therefore, it should be understood that the foregoing illustrations are merely examples and should not be construed as limiting the various aspects disclosed herein.

[0055] Transmit beamforming is a technique for focusing RF signals in a specific direction. Traditionally, when a network node (e.g., a base station) broadcasts an RF signal, it broadcasts the signal omnidirectionally, i.e., in all directions. With transmit beamforming, the network node determines where a given target device (e.g., a UE) is located (relative to the transmitting network node) and projects a stronger downlink RF signal in that specific direction, thereby providing a faster and stronger RF signal (in terms of data rate) to the receiving device. To change the directivity of the RF signal during transmission, the network node can control the phase and relative amplitude of the RF signal at each of one or more transmitters that broadcast the RF signal. For example, the network node can use an array of antennas (referred to as a "phased array" or "antenna array") that forms an RF beam that can be "steered" to point in different directions without actually moving the antennas. Specifically, RF currents from the transmitters are fed to individual antennas with the correct phase relationships such that radio waves from the individual antennas add together in the desired direction to increase radiation while canceling in the undesired directions to suppress radiation.

[0056] Transmit beams can be quasi-co-located, which means that they appear to have the same parameters to a receiver (e.g., a UE), regardless of whether the transmitting antennas of the network node are physically co-located. In NR, there are four types of quasi-co-location (QCL) relationships. Specifically, a given type of QCL relationship means that certain parameters of a second reference RF signal on a second beam can be derived based on information about a source reference RF signal on a source beam. Thus, if the source reference RF signal is of QCL type A, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, and delay spread of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is of QCL type B, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and Doppler spread of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is of QCL type C, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and average delay of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is of QCL type D, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the spatial reception parameters of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel.

[0057] In receive beamforming, the receiver uses receive beams to amplify RF signals detected on a given channel. For example, the receiver can increase the gain setting of the antenna array in a specific direction and / or adjust the phase setting of the antenna array in a specific direction to amplify the RF signal received from that direction (e.g., increase its gain level). Thus, when the receiver is said to perform beamforming in a certain direction, this means that the beam gain in that direction is high relative to the beam gains in other directions, or that the beam gain in that direction is the highest compared to the beam gains of all other receive beams available to the receiver in that direction. This results in a stronger received signal strength for the RF signal received from that direction (e.g., reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR), etc.).

[0058] Transmit beams and receive beams can be spatially related. Spatial relationship means that the parameters of a second beam (e.g., transmit beam or receive beam) for a second reference signal can be derived based on the information about a first beam (e.g., receive beam or transmit beam) for a first reference signal. For example, a UE can use a specific receive beam to receive a reference downlink reference signal (e.g., synchronization signal block (SSB)) from a base station. Then, the UE can form a transmit beam for transmitting an uplink reference signal (e.g., sounding reference signal (SRS)) to that base station based on the parameters of the receive beam.

[0059] Note that depending on the entity forming the "downlink" beam, the beam can be a transmit beam or a receive beam. For example, if the base station is forming a downlink beam to send a reference signal to a UE, the downlink beam is a transmit beam. However, if the UE is forming a downlink beam, the downlink beam is a receive beam for receiving the downlink reference signal. Similarly, depending on the entity forming the "uplink" beam, the beam can be a transmit beam or a receive beam. For example, if the base station is forming an uplink beam, the uplink beam is an uplink receive beam, and if the UE is forming an uplink beam, the uplink beam is an uplink transmit beam.

[0060] The electromagnetic spectrum is typically subdivided into various categories, bands, channels, etc. based on frequency / wavelength. In 5G NR, two initial operating bands have been identified as frequency range designations FR1 (410 MHz – 7.125 GHz) and FR2 (24.25 GHz – 52.6 GHz). It should be understood that although parts of FR1 are above 6 GHz, in various documents and articles, FR1 is often (interchangeably) referred to as the “sub-6 GHz” band. With reference to FR2, a similar naming issue sometimes occurs, which is often (interchangeably) referred to as the “millimeter wave” band in documents and articles, although it is different from the extremely high frequency (EHF) band (30 GHz - 300 GHz) identified as the “millimeter wave” band by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

[0061] The frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are generally referred to as mid-band frequencies. Recent 5G NR research has identified operating bands for these mid-band frequencies as frequency range designations FR3 (7.125 GHz - 24.25 GHz). The bands falling within FR3 can inherit FR1 characteristics and / or FR2 characteristics, and thus can effectively extend the features of FR1 and / or FR2 to mid-band frequencies. In addition, higher frequency bands are currently being explored to extend 5G NR operations beyond 52.6 GHz. For example, three higher operating bands have been identified as frequency range designations FR4a or FR4-1 (52.6 GHz – 71 GHz), FR4 (52.6 GHz – 114.25 GHz), and FR5 (114.25 GHz – 300 GHz). Each of these higher bands falls within the EHF band.

[0062] Taking the above aspects into account, unless otherwise specifically stated, it should be understood that if used in this document, terms such as “sub-6 GHz” can generally represent frequencies that can be less than 6 GHz, can be within FR1, or can include mid-band frequencies. In addition, unless otherwise specifically stated, it should be understood that if terms such as “millimeter wave” are used in this document, they can generally represent frequencies that can include mid-band frequencies, can be within FR2, FR4, FR4-a or FR4-1, and / or FR5, or can be within the EHF band.

[0063] In a multi-carrier system such as 5G, one of the carrier frequencies is referred to as the "primary carrier" or "anchor carrier" or "primary serving cell" or "PCell", and the remaining carrier frequencies are referred to as "secondary carriers" or "secondary serving cells" or "SCells". In carrier aggregation, the anchor carrier is a carrier operating on the primary frequency (e.g., FR1) used by the UE 104 / 182 and the cell, where the UE 104 / 182 performs the initial radio resource control (RRC) connection establishment process or initiates the RRC connection reestablishment process in the cell. The primary carrier carries all common and UE-specific control channels and can be a carrier in a licensed frequency (however, this is not always the case). The secondary carrier is a carrier operating on a second frequency (e.g., FR2) that can be configured and used to provide additional radio resources once an RRC connection is established between the UE 104 and the anchor carrier. In some cases, the secondary carrier can be a carrier in an unlicensed frequency. The secondary carrier can contain only necessary signaling information and signals. For example, since the primary uplink carrier and the primary downlink carrier are typically UE-specific, those UE-specific signaling information and signals may not be present in the secondary carrier. This means that different UEs 104 / 182 in the cell can have different downlink primary carriers. The same holds true for the primary uplink carrier. The network can change the primary carrier of any UE 104 / 182 at any time. This is done, for example, to balance the load on different carriers. Since a "serving cell" (whether PCell or SCell) corresponds to the carrier frequency / component carrier through which a certain base station communicates, terms such as "cell", "serving cell", "component carrier", "carrier frequency", etc. may be used interchangeably.

[0064] For example, still referring to Figure 1 , one of the frequencies used by the macro cell base station 102 can be the anchor carrier (or "PCell"), and the other frequencies used by the macro cell base station 102 and / or the mmW base station 180 can be secondary carriers ("SCells"). The simultaneous transmission and / or reception of multiple carriers enables the UE 104 / 182 to significantly increase its data transmission and / or reception rate. For example, compared to the data rate obtained with a single 20 MHz carrier, two 20 MHz aggregated carriers in a multi-carrier system would theoretically result in a doubling of the data rate (i.e., 40 MHz).

[0065] The wireless communication system 100 may further include a UE 164, which may communicate with the macro cell base station 102 via a communication link 120 and / or communicate with the mmW base station 180 via an mmW communication link 184. For example, the macro cell base station 102 may support a PCell and one or more SCell for the UE 164, and the mmW base station 180 may support one or more SCell for the UE 164.

[0066] In some cases, the UE 164 and the UE 182 are capable of sidelink communication. A UE with sidelink capabilities (SL-UE) may communicate with the base station 102 via the Uu interface (i.e., the air interface between the UE and the base station) through the communication link 120. The SL-UE (e.g., UE 164, UE 182) may also directly communicate with each other via the PC5 interface (i.e., the air interface between UEs with sidelink capabilities) through the wireless sidelink 160. The wireless sidelink (or simply referred to as "sidelink") is an adaptation of the core cellular network (e.g., LTE, NR) standard, which allows direct communication between two or more UEs without communicating through the base station. Sidelink communication can be unicast or multicast and can be used for device-to-device (D2D) media sharing, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication (e.g., cellular V2X (cV2X) communication, enhanced V2X (eV2X) communication, etc.), emergency rescue applications, etc. One or more SL-UEs in a group of SL-UEs utilizing sidelink communication may be located within the geographical coverage area 110 of the base station 102. Other SL-UEs in such a group may be outside the geographical coverage area 110 of the base station 102 or, for other reasons, unable to receive transmissions from the base station 102. In some cases, each group of SL-UEs communicating via sidelink communication may utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system, where each SL-UE transmits to each other SL-UE in the group. In some cases, the base station 102 facilitates the scheduling of resources for sidelink communication. In other cases, sidelink communication is performed between the SL-UEs without involving the base station 102.

[0067] In one aspect, the sidelink 160 may operate on a wireless communication medium of interest, which may be shared with other vehicles and / or infrastructure access points and other wireless communications between other RATs. The "medium" may include one or more time, frequency, and / or spatial communication resources associated with wireless communication between one or more transmitter / receiver pairs (e.g., covering one or more channels across one or more carriers). In one aspect, the medium of interest may correspond to at least a portion of an unlicensed band shared among various RATs. Although different licensed bands have been reserved for certain communication systems (e.g., by government entities such as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the United States), these systems (especially those employing small cell access points) have recently extended their operations into unlicensed bands such as the unlicensed national information infrastructure (U-NII) bands used by wireless local area network (WLAN) technologies (most notably the IEEE 802.11x WLAN technologies commonly referred to as "Wi-Fi"). Example systems of this type include different variants of CDMA systems, TDMA systems, FDMA systems, orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA) systems, single-carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) systems, etc.

[0068] It should be noted that although Figure 1 only two of these UEs are illustrated as SL-UEs (i.e., UE 164 and UE 182), any of the illustrated UEs can be an SL-UE. In addition, although only UE 182 is described as being capable of beamforming, any of the illustrated UEs (including UE 164) is capable of beamforming. In cases where the SL-UEs are capable of beamforming, they may beamform towards each other (i.e., towards other SL-UEs), towards other UEs (e.g., UE 104), towards base stations (e.g., base station 102, base station 180, small cell 102', access point 150), etc. Thus, in some cases, UE 164 and UE 182 may utilize beamforming over the sidelink 160.

[0069] In Figure 1 the example of, the illustrated UEs (for simplicity, in Figure 1Any UE shown as a single UE 104 in the figure can receive signals 124 from one or more space vehicles (SVs) 112 in Earth orbit (e.g., satellites). In one aspect, the SV 112 can be part of a satellite positioning system where the UE 104 can use it as an independent source of position information. A satellite positioning system generally includes a system of transmitters (e.g., SV 112) that are positioned such that a receiver (e.g., UE 104) can determine its position on or above the Earth at least in part based on positioning signals received from the transmitters (e.g., signal 124). Such transmitters typically send signals marked with a repeating pseudo-random noise (PN) code with a set number of chips. Although typically located in the SV 112, the transmitter can sometimes be located on a ground-based control station, base station 102, and / or other UE 104. The UE 104 can include one or more dedicated receivers that are specifically designed to receive the signal 124 in order to derive geographic location information from the SV 112.

[0070] In a satellite positioning system, the use of the signal 124 can be enhanced by various satellite-based augmentation systems (SBAS) that can be associated with or otherwise enable the use with one or more global and / or regional navigation satellite systems. For example, SBAS can include augmentation systems that provide integrity information, differential corrections, etc., such as the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), the Multi-functional Satellite Augmentation System (MSAS), the Global Positioning System (GPS)-aided Geo Augmented Navigation or GPS and Geo Augmented Navigation System (GAGAN), etc. Thus, as used herein, a satellite positioning system can include any combination of one or more global and / or regional navigation satellites associated with such one or more satellite positioning systems.

[0071] In one aspect, the SV 112 can additionally or alternatively be part of one or more non-terrestrial networks (NTN). In an NTN, the SV 112 is connected to an earth station (also referred to as a ground station, NTN gateway, or gateway) which in turn is connected to elements in the 5G network, such as a modified base station 102 (without a ground antenna) or a network node in the 5GC. This element then provides access to other elements in the 5G network and ultimately provides access to entities external to the 5G network, such as Internet web servers and other user devices. In this way, instead of or in addition to communication signals from the ground base station 102, the UE 104 can receive communication signals (e.g., signal 124) from the SV 112.

[0072] The wireless communication system 100 may also include one or more UEs, such as UE 190, which is indirectly connected to one or more communication networks via one or more device-to-device (D2D) peer-to-peer (P2P) links (referred to as "sidelinks"). In Figure 1 the example of, UE 190 has a D2D P2P link 192 with one of the UEs in UE 104 connected to one of the base stations in base station 102 (e.g., UE 190 can indirectly obtain a cellular connection through this D2D P2P link), and has a D2D P2P link 194 with WLAN STA 152 connected to WLAN AP150 (UE 190 can indirectly obtain a WLAN-based Internet connection through this D2D P2P link). In one example, D2D P2P link 192 and D2D P2P link 194 can be supported by any well-known D2D RAT, such as Long-Term Evolution Direct (LTE-D), Wi-Fi Direct (Wi-Fi-D), etc.

[0073] Figure 2A Illustrates an example wireless network structure 200. For example, 5GC 210 (also referred to as Next Generation Core (NGC)) can be functionally regarded as a control plane (C-plane) function 214 (e.g., UE registration, authentication, network access, gateway selection, etc.) and a user plane (U-plane) function 212 (e.g., UE gateway function, access to data networks, IP routing, etc.), which cooperate to form the core network. User plane interface (NG-U) 213 and control plane interface (NG-C) 215 connect gNB 222 to 5GC 210, and specifically connect to the user plane function 212 and the control plane function 214 respectively. In an additional configuration, ng-eNB 224 can also be connected to 5GC 210 via NG-C 215 to the control plane function 214 and NG-U 213 to the user plane function 212. In addition, ng-eNB 224 can communicate directly with gNB 222 via a backhaul connection 223. In some configurations, the Next Generation Radio Access Network (NG-RAN) 220 can have one or more gNB 222s, while other configurations include one or more of both ng-eNB 224 and gNB 222. Either (or both) of gNB 222 or ng-eNB 224 can communicate with one or more UEs 204 (e.g., any of the UEs described herein).

[0074] Another optional aspect may include a location server 230 that may communicate with the 5GC 210 to provide location assistance for the UE 204. The location server 230 may be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules distributed across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively may each correspond to a single server. The location server 230 may be configured to support one or more location services for the UE 204 that may be connected to the location server 230 via the core network, the 5GC 210, and / or via the Internet (not illustrated). Additionally, the location server 230 may be integrated into a component of the core network, or alternatively may be external to the core network (e.g., a third-party server such as an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) server or a service server).

[0075] Figure 2B Another example wireless network structure 240 is illustrated. The 5GC 260 (which may correspond to Figure 2AThe 5GC 210) can be functionally regarded as the control plane function provided by the Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 264 and the user plane function provided by the User Plane Function (UPF) 262, which cooperate to form the core network (i.e., 5GC 260). The functions of the AMF 264 include: registration management, connection management, reachability management, mobility management, lawful interception, transmission of session management (SM) messages between one or more UEs 204 (e.g., any of the UEs described herein) and the Session Management Function (SMF) 266, transparent proxy service for routing SM messages, access authentication and access authorization, transmission of Short Message Service (SMS) messages between the UE 204 and the Short Message Service Function (SMSF) (not shown), and Security Anchor Functionality (SEAF). The AMF 264 also interacts with the Authentication Server Function (AUSF) (not shown) and the UE 204 and receives the intermediate key established as a result of the UE 204 authentication process. In the case of authentication based on a UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) Subscriber Identity Module (USIM), the AMF 264 retrieves the security material from the AUSF. The functions of the AMF 264 also include Security Context Management (SCM). The SCM receives the key from the SEAF and uses the key to derive the access network-specific key. The functionality of the AMF 264 also includes location service management for regulatory services, transmission of location service messages between the UE 204 and the Location Management Function (LMF) 270 (which acts as the location server 230), transmission of location service messages between the NG-RAN 220 and the LMF 270, allocation of evolved packet system (EPS) bearer identifiers for EPS interoperability, and UE 204 mobility event notification. In addition, the AMF 264 also supports functionality for non-3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project) access networks.

[0076] The functions of the UPF 262 include: acting as an anchor point for in-RAT / inter-RAT mobility (when applicable), acting as an external protocol data unit (PDU) session point for the interconnection to a data network (not shown), providing packet routing and forwarding, packet inspection, user plane policy rule enforcement (e.g., gating, redirection, traffic steering), lawful interception (user plane collection), traffic usage reporting, quality of service (QoS) handling for the user plane (e.g., uplink / downlink rate enforcement, reflected QoS marking in the downlink), uplink traffic verification (service data flow (SDF) to QoS flow mapping), transport-level packet marking in the uplink and downlink, downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering, and transmitting and forwarding one or more "end markers" to the source RAN node. The UPF 262 may also support the transfer of location service messages between the UE 204 and a location server (such as the SLP 272) on the user plane.

[0077] The functions of the SMF 266 include session management, UE Internet Protocol (IP) address allocation and management, selection and control of user plane functions, traffic steering configuration for routing traffic to the correct destination at the UPF 262, partial control of policy enforcement and QoS, and downlink data notification. The interface through which the SMF 266 communicates with the AMF 264 is referred to as the N11 interface.

[0078] Another optional aspect may include the LMF 270, which may communicate with the 5GC 260 to provide location assistance for the UE 204. The LMF 270 may be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules distributed across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively may each correspond to a single server. The LMF 270 may be configured to support one or more location services for the UE 204, which may be connected to the LMF 270 via the core network, the 5GC 260, and / or via the Internet (not illustrated). The SLP 272 may support similar functions to the LMF 270, but the LMF 270 may communicate with the AMF 264, the NG-RAN 220, and the UE 204 on the control plane (e.g., using interfaces and protocols designed to carry signaling messages rather than voice or data), and the SLP 272 may communicate with the UE 204 and an external client (e.g., a third-party server 274) on the user plane (e.g., using protocols designed to carry voice and / or data, such as the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and / or IP).

[0079] Another optional aspect may include a third-party server 274, which may communicate with the LMF 270, SLP 272, 5GC 260 (e.g., via the AMF 264 and / or UPF 262), NG-RAN 220, and / or UE 204 to obtain location information (e.g., location estimate) of the UE 204. Thus, in some cases, the third-party server 274 may be referred to as a location service (LCS) client or an external client. The third-party server 274 may be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules distributed across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively may each correspond to a single server.

[0080] The user plane interface 263 and the control plane interface 265 connect the 5GC 260, and specifically the UPF 262 and the AMF 264, to one or more gNBs 222 and / or ng-eNBs 224 in the NG-RAN 220, respectively. The interface between the gNB 222 and / or ng-eNB 224 and the AMF 264 is referred to as the "N2" interface, while the interface between the gNB 222 and / or ng-eNB 224 and the UPF 262 is referred to as the "N3" interface. The gNBs 222 and / or ng-eNBs 224 of the NG-RAN 220 may communicate directly with each other via a backhaul connection 223 referred to as the "Xn-C" interface. One or more of the gNB 222 and / or ng-eNB 224 may communicate with one or more UEs 204 via a radio interface referred to as the "Uu" interface.

[0081] The functionality of gNB 222 is divided between a gNB Central Unit (gNB-CU) 226, one or more gNB Distributed Units (gNB-DU) 228, and one or more gNB Radio Units (gNB-RU) 229. The gNB-CU 226 is a logical node that includes base station functions other than those specifically allocated to the gNB-DU 228, including passing user data, mobility control, radio access network sharing, positioning, session management, etc. More specifically, the gNB-CU 226 typically hosts the Radio Resource Control (RRC), Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP), and Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) protocols of the gNB 222. The gNB-DU 228 is a logical node that typically hosts the Radio Link Control (RLC) and Medium Access Control (MAC) layers of the gNB 222. Its operation is controlled by the gNB-CU 226. One gNB-DU 228 can support one or more cells, and one cell is supported by only one gNB-DU 228. The interface 232 between the gNB-CU 226 and one or more gNB-DU 228 is referred to as the "F1" interface. The physical (PHY) layer functionality of the gNB 222 is typically hosted by one or more independent gNB-RU 229, which perform functions such as power amplification and signal transmission / reception. The interface between the gNB-DU 228 and the gNB-RU 229 is referred to as the "Fx" interface. Thus, the UE 204 communicates with the gNB-CU 226 via the RRC layer, SDAP layer, and PDCP layer, communicates with the gNB-DU 228 via the RLC layer and MAC layer, and communicates with the gNB-RU 229 via the PHY layer.

[0082] The deployment of a communication system such as a 5G NR system can be arranged in various ways with various components or constituent parts. In a 5G NR system or network, network nodes, network entities, mobility elements of the network, RAN nodes, core network nodes, network elements, or network equipment (such as base stations or one or more units (or one or more components) that perform base station functionality) can be implemented in an aggregated or disaggregated architecture. For example, a base station (such as a Node B (NB), evolved NB (eNB), NR base station, 5G NB, access point (AP), transmit receive point (TRP), or cell, etc.) can be implemented as an aggregated base station (also referred to as a self-standing base station or a monolithic base station) or a disaggregated base station.

[0083] A centralized base station may be configured to utilize a radio protocol stack that is physically or logically integrated within a single RAN node. A split base station may be configured to utilize a protocol stack that is physically or logically distributed between two or more units, such as one or more central or centralized units (CUs), one or more distributed units (DUs), or one or more radio units (RUs). In some aspects, a CU may be implemented within a RAN node, and one or more DUs may be co-located with the CU, or alternatively, may be geographically or virtually distributed among one or more other RAN nodes. A DU may be implemented to communicate with one or more RUs. Each of the CU, DU, and RU may also be implemented as a virtual unit, i.e., a virtual central unit (VCU), a virtual distributed unit (VDU), or a virtual radio unit (VRU).

[0084] Base station type operations or network designs may consider the aggregation characteristics of base station functionality. For example, a split base station may be used in an integrated access backhaul (IAB) network, an open radio access network (O-RAN, such as a network configuration advocated by the O-RAN Alliance), or a virtualized radio access network (vRAN, also known as a cloud radio access network (C-RAN)). Splitting may include distributing functionality across two or more units at various physical locations and virtually distributing the functionality of at least one unit, which may enable flexibility in network design. The various units of a split base station or a split RAN architecture may be configured for wired or wireless communication with at least one other unit.

[0085] Figure 2C An example split base station architecture 250 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. The split base station architecture 250 may include one or more central units (CUs) 280 (e.g., gNB-CU 226), which may communicate directly with a core network 267 (e.g., 5GC 210, 5GC 260) via a backhaul link, or indirectly with the core network 267 through one or more split base station units, such as a near real-time (near RT) RAN intelligent controller (RIC) 259 via an E2 link or a non-real-time (non RT) RIC 257 associated with a service management and orchestration (SMO) framework 255 or both. The CU 280 may communicate with one or more distributed units (DUs) 285 (e.g., gNB-DU 228) via a respective midhaul link, such as an F1 interface. The DU 285 may communicate with one or more radio units (RUs) 287 (e.g., gNB-RU 229) via a respective fronthaul link. The RU 287 may communicate with a respective UE 204 via one or more radio frequency (RF) access links. In some embodiments, the UE 204 may be served simultaneously by multiple RUs 287.

[0086] Each of the units (i.e., CU 280, DU 285, RU 287, and the near RT RIC 259, non-RT RIC 257, and SMO framework 255) may include one or more interfaces or be coupled to one or more interfaces that are configured to receive or transmit signals, data, or information (collectively referred to as signals) via a wired or wireless transmission medium. Each of the units or the associated processor or controller that provides instructions to the communication interfaces of these units may be configured to communicate with one or more of the other units via the transmission medium. For example, the units may include a wired interface that is configured to receive or transmit signals to one or more of the other units via a wired transmission medium. Additionally, the units may include a wireless interface that may include a receiver, transmitter, or transceiver (such as a radio frequency (RF) transceiver) that is configured to receive or transmit signals to one or more of the other units on a wireless transmission medium, or both.

[0087] In some aspects, the CU 280 may host one or more higher layer control functions. Such control functions may include radio resource control (RRC), packet data convergence protocol (PDCP), service data adaptation protocol (SDAP), etc. Each control function may utilize an interface that is configured to convey signals with other control functions hosted by the CU 280. The CU 280 may be configured to handle user plane functionality (i.e., Central Unit - User Plane (CU-UP)), control plane functionality (i.e., Central Unit - Control Plane (CU-CP)), or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the CU 280 may be logically split into one or more CU-UP units and one or more CU-CP units. When implemented in an O-RAN configuration, the CU-UP units may communicate bidirectionally with the CU-CP units via an interface (such as an E1 interface). As needed, the CU 280 may be implemented to communicate with the DU 285 for network control and signaling.

[0088] The DU 285 may correspond to a logical unit that includes one or more base station functions for controlling the operation of one or more RUs 287. In some aspects, the DU 285 may host one or more of the radio link control (RLC) layer, the media access control (MAC) layer, and one or more high physical (PHY) layers (such as modules for forward error correction (FEC) encoding and decoding, scrambling, modulation and demodulation, etc.) at least partially depending on a functional split (such as the functional split defined by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP)). In some aspects, the DU 285 may also host one or more low PHY layers. Each layer (or module) may be implemented using an interface that is configured to communicate signals with other layers (and modules) hosted by the DU 285 or with control functions hosted by the CU 280.

[0089] The lower layer functionality may be implemented by one or more RUs 287. In some deployments, the RUs 287 controlled by the DU 285 may correspond to logical nodes that host RF processing functions or low PHY layer functions (such as performing fast Fourier transform (FFT), inverse FFT (iFFT), digital beamforming, physical random access channel (PRACH) extraction and filtering, etc.) or both at least partially based on a functional split (such as a lower layer functional split). In such an architecture, the RUs 287 may be implemented to handle over-the-air (OTA) communication with one or more UEs 204. In some embodiments, the real-time and non-real-time aspects of the control and user plane communication with the RUs 287 may be controlled by the corresponding DU 285. In some scenarios, this configuration may enable the implementation of the DU 285 and the CU 280 in a cloud-based RAN architecture (such as a vRAN architecture).

[0090] The SMO framework 255 can be configured to support the RAN deployment and orchestration of non-virtualized network elements and virtualized network elements. For non-virtualized network elements, the SMO framework 255 can be configured to support the deployment of dedicated physical resources for RAN coverage requirements, and these dedicated physical resources can be managed via an operation and maintenance interface (such as the O1 interface). For virtualized network elements, the SMO framework 255 can be configured to interact with a cloud computing platform (such as the Open Cloud (O-Cloud) 269) to perform network element lifecycle management (such as to instantiate virtualized network elements) via a cloud computing platform interface (such as the O2 interface). Such virtualized network elements can include, but are not limited to, the CU 280, DU 285, RU 287, and the near RT RIC 259. In some specific implementations, the SMO framework 255 can communicate with the hardware aspects of the 4G RAN (such as the Open eNB (O-eNB) 261) via the O1 interface. Additionally, in some specific implementations, the SMO framework 255 can communicate directly with one or more RUs 287 via the O1 interface. The SMO framework 255 can also include a non-RT RIC 257 configured to support the functionality of the SMO framework 255.

[0091] The non-RT RIC 257 can be configured to include logical functions that can enable non-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources, artificial intelligence / machine learning (AI / ML) workflows including model training and update, or policy-based guidance of applications / features in the near RT RIC 259. The non-RT RIC 257 can be coupled to or communicate with the near RT RIC 259 (such as via the A1 interface). The near RT RIC 259 can be configured to include logical functions that can enable near-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources through an interface (such as via the E2 interface) via data collection and actions, and this interface connects one or more CUs 280, one or more DUs 285, or both, and the O-eNB to the near RT RIC 259.

[0092] In some specific implementations, to generate the AI / ML models to be deployed in the near-RT RIC 259, the non-RT RIC 257 may receive parameters or external enrichment information from an external server. Such information can be utilized by the near-RT RIC 259 and can be received from non-network data sources or from network functions at the SMO framework 255 or the non-RT RIC 257. In some examples, the non-RT RIC 257 or the near-RT RIC 259 may be configured to tune the RAN behavior or performance. For example, the non-RT RIC 257 may monitor the long-term trends and patterns of performance and employ an AI / ML model to perform corrective actions via the SMO framework 255 (such as reconfiguration via O1) or via creating RAN management policies (such as A1 policies).

[0093] Furthermore, in some aspects, further research on passive IoT in 3GPP may include: use cases of interest not captured elsewhere in 3GPP, such as identification, tracking, and monitoring; scenarios of interest, which include public or private networks, indoor or outdoor environments, and macro cells, micro cells, or picocells; existing solutions to address the use cases of interest (e.g., radio frequency identification RFID); determination of the feasibility of the use cases and scenarios; design objectives, which include link budget, data rate, power consumption, cost, supported energy or energy harvesting technologies; and coexistence with UEs and infrastructure in the frequency bands of current 3GPP technologies.

[0094] In some aspects, the RFID system may be implemented integrally or in parallel with the above-described communication system 100 (e.g., based on the same device, such as a TRP or a UE; or based on the same radio resources). In some aspects, a typical RFID system may include an RFID station and RFID devices. In some aspects, the RFID station may be configured to send an RFID interrogation signal to the RFID devices. In some examples, the RFID station may be configured to receive an RFID response signal from the RFID tags in response to the RFID interrogation signal. In some aspects, the RFID station configured to send the interrogation signal and receive the response signal may be referred to as an RF reader; and the RFID device that sends the response signal may be referred to as an RFID tag.

[0095] In some aspects, the RFID system can be used in many ways to locate and identify the object to which the corresponding RFID device (or tag) is attached and to read information from and / or write information to the RFID device. In some examples, the RFID system can be used in various applications in product-related industries and service-related industries to track the objects being processed, inventoried, or disposed of. In such cases, the RFID devices are typically attached to individual items or packages.

[0096] In some aspects, in operation, an RFID station or RFID reader may send an interrogation signal to interrogate one or more RFID devices. The interrogation signal may be encoded with one or more commands that direct the RFID device to perform one or more actions.

[0097] In some aspects, an RFID device that senses the interrogation signal may respond by sending back a response signal. In many applications, the RFID device may adjust the impedance of its antenna and send the response signal by reflecting a portion of the interrogation signal in a process known as backscatter. In some specific implementations, the RFID device may actively generate and send the response signal.

[0098] In some aspects, the response signal from the RFID device may include a message encoded with data stored in the RFID device, such as a serial number, price, date, time, destination, encrypted message, electronic signature, other attributes, any combination of attributes, etc. The response signal is then received by the RFID station, where the message is demodulated and decoded by the RFID station.

[0099] In some aspects, RFID devices may be classified into three types of devices based on their capabilities, including passive RFID devices, semi-passive RFID devices, and active RFID devices.

[0100] In some aspects, a passive RFID device may not have a power source and may send a response signal by backscatter. In some aspects, a passive RFID device may collect electrical energy from ambient signals to power up. In some aspects, a passive RFID device may have limited computing capabilities and may not have the ability for advanced signal processing or operations (e.g., analog-to-digital conversion or digital-to-analog conversion). In some aspects, a semi-passive RFID device may have its own power source and may still send a response signal by backscatter. In some aspects, a semi-passive RFID device may have a limited on-board power source that can be used to power the microchip on it.

[0101] In some aspects, an active RFID device may have an on-board power source and may generate and send a response signal by active transmission powered by the on-board power source. In some aspects, an active RFID device may send a response signal to the RFID station regardless of whether the RFID device is within the coverage range of the RFID station.

[0102] Figure 3Illustrates an example RFID system 300 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In some aspects, the RFID system 300 includes an RFID station 310 configured as an RFID reader and RFID devices (e.g., tags) 324 and RFID devices (e.g., tags) 326. In this example, the RFID station 310 is used to control access to door 330.

[0103] As Figure 3 shown, a person 344 (e.g., an employee) carrying an asset 346 (e.g., a suitcase) may want to access door 330. The person 344 may carry an RFID device 324 (e.g., embedded in an RFID-enabled access card), and the asset 346 may have an RFID device 326 (e.g., an RFID asset tag) attached thereto. To identify the person 344 or the asset 346 to grant or deny access to door 330, the RFID station 310 may send an interrogation signal 362. In response to the interrogation signal 362, the RFID device 324 may send a backscatter response signal 364, and the RFID device 326 may send a backscatter response signal 366. The backscatter response signal 364 may be modulated with data stored in the RFID device 324 in response to a command encoded in the interrogation signal 362. Additionally, the backscatter response signal 366 may be modulated with data stored in the RFID device 326 in response to a command encoded in the interrogation signal 362. The RFID station 310 may receive the backscatter response signal 364 and the backscatter response signal 366 and decode them to obtain the responses provided by the RFID device 324 and the RFID device 326.

[0104] Figure 3 Shows possible applications of the RFID system. In some aspects, applications of RFID technology may include self-checkout, monitoring of medication intake of the elderly, vehicle ignition keys, employee attendance systems, locating or tracking objects. In some aspects, the RFID device may be attached to, embedded in, or integrally formed with a target or object, which includes a wireless communication device, a container, a commodity, an identification card, a payment card, a vehicle, or a pet.

[0105] In some aspects, RFID station 310 may be configured to communicate with RFID device 324 and RFID device 326 over an air interface based on one or more RFID standards or wireless communication standards, such as those set by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) International, the DASH7 Alliance, the Global Electronic Product Code (EPCglobal), and / or the 3GPP standard for passive IoT. In some examples, based on the frequency band of the air interface, RFID technology may be referred to as low frequency (LF) RFID (e.g., from 30 kHz to 300 kHz), high frequency (HF) RFID (e.g., from 3 MHz to 30 MHz), or ultra high frequency (UHF) RFID (e.g., from 300 MHz to 3 GHz).

[0106] In some aspects, the RFID system may be implemented integrally or in parallel with a wireless communication system (e.g., LTE or 5G NR as described above), and the RFID interrogation signal may be sent over the radio resources of the wireless communication system.

[0107] Figure 4A , Figure 4B and Figure 4C 402 (which may correspond to any UE described herein), base station 404 (which may correspond to any base station described herein), and network entity 406 (which may correspond to or embody any network function described herein, including location server 230 and LMF 270, or alternatively may be independent of Figure 2A and Figure 2B Several example components (represented by corresponding boxes) in the NG-RAN 220 and / or 5GC 210 / 260 infrastructure depicted in the present invention (such as a dedicated network) are shown to support operations as described herein. It should be understood that these components can be implemented in different types of devices with different specific implementations (e.g., in an ASIC, in a system on a chip (SoC), etc.). The illustrated components can also be incorporated into other devices in the communication system. For example, other devices in the system may include components similar to those described as providing similar functionality. In addition, a given device may include one or more of these components. For example, a device may include multiple transceiver components that enable the device to operate on multiple carriers and / or communicate via different technologies.

[0108] UE 402 and base station 404 each include one or more wireless wide area network (WWAN) transceivers 410 and wireless wide area network (WWAN) transceivers 450, respectively. These wireless wide area network (WWAN) transceivers provide components (e.g., components for transmission, components for reception, components for measurement, components for tuning, components for blocking transmission, etc.) for communication via one or more wireless communication networks (not shown) such as NR networks, LTE networks, GSM networks, etc. WWAN transceiver 410 and WWAN transceiver 450 can each be connected to one or more antennas 416 and antennas 456, respectively, for communicating with other network nodes (such as other UEs, access points, base stations (e.g., eNBs, gNBs), etc.) via at least one specified RAT (e.g., NR, LTE, GSM, etc.) through an interested wireless communication medium (e.g., a set of time / frequency resources in a specific spectrum). WWAN transceiver 410 and WWAN transceiver 450 can be configured in different ways to transmit and encode signals 418 and signals 458 (e.g., messages, indications, information, etc.) respectively according to the specified RAT, and conversely to receive and decode signals 418 and signals 458 (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, etc.) respectively. Specifically, WWAN transceiver 410 and WWAN transceiver 450 each include one or more transmitters 414 and transmitters 454 for transmitting and encoding signals 418 and signals 458 respectively, and one or more receivers 412 and receivers 452 for receiving and decoding signals 418 and signals 458 respectively.

[0109] At least in some cases, UE 402 and base station 404 each also include one or more short-range wireless transceivers 420 and transceivers 460, respectively. Short-range wireless transceiver 420 and short-range wireless transceiver 460 can be connected to one or more antennas 426 and antennas 466 respectively, and provide for communication on an interested wireless communication medium via at least one specified RAT (e.g., WiFi, LTE-D, Components (e.g., components for transmission, reception, measurement, tuning, transmission blocking, etc.) that communicate with other network nodes (such as other UEs, access points, base stations, etc.) using technologies like PC5, dedicated short-range communication (DSRC), wireless access for vehicle environments (WAVE), near-field communication (NFC), ultra-wideband (UWB), etc. The short-range wireless transceivers 420 and 460 can be configured in different ways to transmit and encode signals 428 and 468 (e.g., messages, indications, information, etc.) according to the specified RAT, and conversely, to receive and decode signals 428 and 468 (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, etc.). Specifically, the short-range wireless transceivers 420 and 460 respectively include one or more transmitters 424 and transmitters 464 for transmitting and encoding signals 428 and 468 respectively, and one or more receivers 422 and receivers 462 for receiving and decoding signals 428 and 468 respectively. As a specific example, the short-range wireless transceivers 420 and 460 can be WiFi transceivers, transceivers, and / or transceivers, NFC transceivers, UWB transceivers, or vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and / or vehicle-to-everything (V2X) transceivers.

[0110] In at least some cases, UE 402 and base station 404 also include satellite signal receivers 430 and 470. Satellite signal receivers 430 and 470 can be respectively connected to one or more antennas 436 and 476, and can provide components for receiving and / or measuring satellite positioning / communication signals 438 and 478 respectively. In the case where satellite signal receivers 430 and 470 are satellite positioning system receivers, satellite positioning / communication signals 438 and 478 can be Global Positioning System (GPS) signals, Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) signals, Galileo signals, Beidou signals, Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (NAVIC), Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), etc. In the case where satellite signal receivers 430 and 470 are non-terrestrial network (NTN) receivers, satellite positioning / communication signals 438 and 478 can be communication signals originating from a 5G network (e.g., carrying control and / or user data). Satellite signal receivers 430 and 470 can include any suitable hardware and / or software for receiving and processing satellite positioning / communication signals 438 and 478 respectively. Satellite signal receivers 430 and 470 can request information and operations from other systems as appropriate, and at least in some cases, perform calculations using measurements obtained by any suitable satellite positioning system algorithm to respectively determine the positions of UE 402 and base station 404.

[0111] Base station 404 and network entity 406 each respectively include one or more network transceivers 480 and 490, and the one or more network transceivers provide components (e.g., components for transmission, components for reception, etc.) for communicating with other network entities (e.g., other base stations 404, other network entities 406). For example, base station 404 can employ one or more network transceivers 480 to communicate with other base stations 404 or network entities 406 through one or more wired or wireless backhaul links. Also, for example, network entity 406 can employ one or more network transceivers 490 to communicate with one or more base stations 404 through one or more wired or wireless backhaul links, or communicate with other network entities 406 through one or more wired or wireless core network interfaces.

[0112] The transceiver can be configured to communicate via a wired or wireless link. The transceiver (whether a wired transceiver or a wireless transceiver) includes a transmitter circuit (e.g., transmitter 414, transmitter 424, transmitter 454, transmitter 464) and a receiver circuit (e.g., receiver 412, receiver 422, receiver 452, receiver 462). In some specific implementations, the transceiver can be an integrated device (e.g., implementing the transmitter circuit and the receiver circuit in a single device), in some specific implementations can include a separate transmitter circuit and a separate receiver circuit, or can be implemented in other ways in other specific implementations. The transmitter circuit and the receiver circuit of a wired transceiver (e.g., in some specific implementations, network transceiver 480 and network transceiver 490) can be coupled to one or more wired network interface ports. The wireless transmitter circuit (e.g., transmitter 414, transmitter 424, transmitter 454, transmitter 464) can include or be coupled to a plurality of antennas (e.g., antenna 416, antenna 426, antenna 456, antenna 466), such as an antenna array, which allows the corresponding device (e.g., UE 402, base station 404) to perform transmission "beamforming" as described herein. Similarly, the wireless receiver circuit (e.g., receiver 412, receiver 422, receiver 452, receiver 462) can include or be coupled to a plurality of antennas (e.g., antenna 416, antenna 426, antenna 456, antenna 466), such as an antenna array, which allows the corresponding device (e.g., UE 402, base station 404) to perform receive beamforming as described herein. In one aspect, the transmitter circuit and the receiver circuit can share the same plurality of antennas (e.g., antenna 416, antenna 426, antenna 456, antenna 466), such that the corresponding device can only receive or only transmit at a given time, rather than receive and transmit both at the same time. The wireless transceiver (e.g., WWAN transceiver 410 and WWAN transceiver 450, short-range wireless transceiver 420 and short-range wireless transceiver 460) can also include a network listening module (NLM) and the like for performing various measurements.

[0113] As used herein, various wireless transceivers (e.g., in some specific embodiments, transceiver 410, transceiver 420, transceiver 450, and transceiver 460, as well as network transceivers 480 and 490) and wired transceivers (e.g., network transceivers 480 and 490 in some specific embodiments) can generally be referred to as "transceiver", "at least one transceiver", or "one or more transceivers". Thus, it can be inferred whether a particular transceiver is a wired transceiver or a wireless transceiver based on the type of communication being performed. For example, backhaul communication between network devices or servers typically involves signaling via a wired transceiver, while wireless communication between a UE (e.g., UE 402) and a base station (e.g., base station 404) will typically involve signaling via a wireless transceiver.

[0114] UE 402, base station 404, and network entity 406 also include other components that can be used in conjunction with the operations disclosed herein. UE 402, base station 404, and network entity 406 each include one or more processors 432, processor 484, and processor 494, respectively, which are used to provide functionality related to, for example, wireless communication and to provide other processing functionality. Thus, processors 432, 484, and 494 can provide components for processing, such as components for determining, for calculating, for receiving, for sending, for indicating, etc. In one aspect, processors 432, 484, and 494 can include, for example, one or more general-purpose processors, multi-core processors, central processing units (CPUs), ASICs, digital signal processors (DSPs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), other programmable logic devices or processing circuits, or various combinations thereof.

[0115] UE 402, base station 404, and network entity 406 each include a memory circuit that implements memories 440, 486, and 496 (e.g., each including a memory device), and the memory circuit is used to maintain information (e.g., information indicating reserved resources, thresholds, parameters, etc.). Thus, memories 440, 486, and 496 can provide components for storage, components for retrieval, components for maintenance, etc. In some cases, UE 402, base station 404, and network entity 406 may each include RFID components 442, 488, and 498 respectively. RFID components 442, 488, and 498 can be hardware circuits that are part of processors 432, 484, and 494 respectively or coupled to these processors, and these hardware circuits, when executed, cause UE 402, base station 404, and network entity 406 to perform the functionality described herein. In other aspects, RFID components 442, 488, and 498 can be external to processors 432, 484, and 494 (e.g., part of a modem processing system, integrated with another processing system, etc.). Alternatively, RFID components 442, 488, and 498 can be memory modules stored in memories 440, 486, and 496 respectively, and these memory modules, when executed by processors 432, 484, and 494 (or a modem processing system, another processing system, etc.), cause UE 402, base station 404, and network entity 406 to perform the functionality described herein. Figure 4A Illustrates the possible location of RFID component 442, which can be part of, for example, one or more WWAN transceivers 410, memory 440, one or more processors 432, or any combination thereof, or can be an independent component. Figure 4B Illustrates the possible location of RFID component 488, which can be part of, for example, one or more WWAN transceivers 450, memory 486, one or more processors 484, or any combination thereof, or can be an independent component. Figure 4C Illustrates the possible location of RFID component 498, which can be part of, for example, one or more network transceivers 490, memory 496, one or more processors 494, or any combination thereof, or can be an independent component.

[0116] UE 402 may include one or more sensors 444 coupled to one or more processors 432 to provide components for sensing or detecting movement and / or orientation information unrelated to movement data derived from signals received by one or more WWAN transceivers 410, one or more short-range wireless transceivers 420, and / or satellite signal receivers 430. By way of example, sensors 444 may include accelerometers (e.g., microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices), gyroscopes, geomagnetic sensors (e.g., compasses), altimeters (e.g., barometric altimeters), and / or any other type of movement detection sensor. Additionally, sensors 444 may include multiple different types of devices and combine their outputs to provide movement information. For example, sensors 444 may use a combination of multi-axis accelerometers and orientation sensors to provide the ability to calculate positioning in two-dimensional (2D) and / or three-dimensional (3D) coordinate systems.

[0117] Additionally, UE 402 includes a user interface 446 that provides components for providing indications to a user (e.g., audible and / or visual indications) and / or for receiving user input (e.g., when the user actuates a sensing device such as a keypad, touch screen, microphone, etc.). Although not shown, base station 404 and network entity 406 may also include a user interface.

[0118] Referring in more detail to one or more processors 484, in the downlink, IP packets from network entity 406 may be provided to processor 484. One or more processors 484 may implement functionality for the RRC layer, packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, radio link control (RLC) layer, and media access control (MAC) layer. One or more processors 484 may provide: RRC layer functionality associated with the broadcast of system information (e.g., master information block (MIB), system information block (SIB)), RRC connection control (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connection modification, and RRC connection release), inter-RAT mobility, and measurement configuration for UE measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression / decompression, security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification), and handover support functions; RLC layer functionality associated with the transfer of upper layer PDUs, error correction via automatic repeat request (ARQ), concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC service data units (SDUs), re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with the mapping between logical channels and transport channels, scheduling information reporting, error correction, priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0119] Transmitter 454 and receiver 452 can implement layer 1 (L1) functionality associated with various signal processing functions. Layer 1, which includes the physical (PHY) layer, can include: error detection on the transport channel, forward error correction (FEC) encoding / decoding of the transport channel, interleaving, rate matching, mapping to the physical channel, modulation / demodulation of the physical channel, and MIMO antenna processing. Transmitter 454 disposes of the mapping to the signal constellation based on various modulation schemes (e.g., binary phase shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), M-phase shift keying (M-PSK), M-quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM)). The encoded and modulated symbols can then be split into parallel streams. Each stream can then be mapped to orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) subcarriers, multiplexed with reference signals (e.g., pilots) in the time domain and / or frequency domain, and then combined together using the inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) to produce a physical channel carrying a time-domain OFDM symbol stream. The OFDM symbol stream is spatially precoded to produce multiple spatial streams. Channel estimates from the channel estimator can be used to determine the encoding and modulation schemes and for spatial processing. The channel estimates can be derived from reference signals transmitted by UE 402 and / or channel state feedback. Each spatial stream can then be provided to one or more different antennas 456. Transmitter 454 can modulate an RF carrier with the respective spatial stream for transmission.

[0120] At UE 402, receiver 412 receives signals via its respective antennas 416. Receiver 412 recovers the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provides the information to one or more processors 432. Transmitter 414 and receiver 412 implement layer 1 functionality associated with various signal processing functions. Receiver 412 can perform spatial processing on the information to recover any spatial streams destined for UE 402. If there are multiple spatial streams destined for UE 402, they can be combined by receiver 412 into a single OFDM symbol stream. Receiver 412 then uses the fast Fourier transform (FFT) to convert the OFDM symbol stream from the time domain to the frequency domain. The frequency-domain signal includes a separate OFDM symbol stream for each subcarrier of the OFDM signal. The symbols and reference signals on each subcarrier are recovered and demodulated by determining the most likely signal constellation points transmitted by base station 404. These soft decisions can be based on channel estimates calculated by the channel estimator. The soft decisions are then decoded and deinterleaved to recover the data and control signals originally transmitted by base station 404 on the physical channel. The data and control signals are then provided to one or more processors 432, which implement layer 3 (L3) and layer 2 (L2) functionality.

[0121] In the downlink, one or more processors 432 provide demultiplexing between transport channels and logical channels, packet reassembly, decryption, header decompression, and control signal processing to recover IP packets from the core network. One or more processors 432 are also responsible for error detection.

[0122] Similar to the functionality described in connection with downlink transmission by base station 404, one or more processors 432 provide: RRC layer functionality associated with system information (e.g., MIB, SIB) acquisition, RRC connection, and measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression / decompression and security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification); RLC layer functionality associated with the transfer of upper layer PDUs, error correction via ARQ, concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC SDUs, re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing of MAC SDUs onto transport blocks (TBs), demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction via hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ), priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0123] Channel estimates derived by a channel estimator from reference signals or feedback transmitted by base station 404 can be used by transmitter 414 to select appropriate decoding and modulation schemes and assist in spatial processing. The spatial streams generated by transmitter 414 can be provided to different antennas 416. Transmitter 414 can modulate RF carriers with the respective spatial streams for transmission.

[0124] Uplink transmission is processed at base station 404 in a manner similar to that described in connection with the receiver functionality at UE 402. Receiver 452 receives signals via its respective antennas 456. Receiver 452 recovers the information modulated onto the RF carriers and provides the information to one or more processors 484.

[0125] In the uplink, one or more processors 484 provide demultiplexing between transport channels and logical channels, packet reassembly, decryption, header decompression, control signal processing to recover IP packets from UE 402. The IP packets from one or more processors 484 can be provided to the core network. One or more processors 484 are also responsible for error detection.

[0126] For convenience, UE 402, base station 404, and / or network entity 406 are in Figure 4A 、 Figure 4B and Figure 4Cis shown as including various components that may be configured according to the various examples described herein. However, it should be understood that the illustrated components may have different functionality in different designs. In particular, Figures 4A to 4C the various components in are optional in alternative configurations, and each aspect includes configurations that may vary due to design choices, cost, use of the device, or other considerations. For example, in Figure 4A the case of, a particular implementation of UE 402 may omit the WWAN transceiver 410 (e.g., a wearable device or a tablet computer or a PC or a laptop may have Wi-Fi and / or Bluetooth capabilities without cellular capabilities), or may omit the short-range wireless transceiver 420 (e.g., only cellular, etc.), or may omit the satellite signal receiver 430, or may omit the sensor 444, etc. In another example, in Figure 4B the case of, a particular implementation of the base station 404 may omit the WWAN transceiver 450 (e.g., a Wi-Fi "hotspot" access point without cellular capabilities), or may omit the short-range wireless transceiver 460 (e.g., only cellular, etc.), or may omit the satellite signal receiver 470, etc. For the sake of brevity, illustrations of various alternative configurations are not provided herein, but will be readily understood by those skilled in the art.

[0127] The various components of UE 402, base station 404, and network entity 406 may be communicatively coupled to each other via data buses 434, 482, and 492, respectively. In one aspect, data buses 434, 482, and 492 may respectively form or be part of the communication interfaces of UE 402, base station 404, and network entity 406. For example, in the case where different logical entities are embodied in the same device (e.g., gNB and location server functionality incorporated into the same base station 404), data buses 434, 482, and 492 may provide communication between different logical entities.

[0128] Figure 4A , Figure 4B and Figure 4C the components of may be implemented in various ways. In some implementations, Figure 4A , Figure 4B and Figure 4CThe components can be implemented in one or more circuits, such as one or more processors and / or one or more ASICs (which may include one or more processors). Here, each circuit can use and / or incorporate at least one memory component for storing information or executable code used by the circuit to provide such functionality. For example, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 410 to 446 can be implemented by the processor and memory components of UE 402 (e.g., by executing appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor components). Similarly, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 450 to 488 can be implemented by the processor and memory components of base station 404 (e.g., by executing appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor components). Moreover, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 490 to 498 can be implemented by the processor and memory components of network entity 406 (e.g., by executing appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor components). For simplicity, various operations, actions, and / or functions are described herein as being "performed by the UE", "performed by the base station", "performed by the network entity", etc. However, as will be understood, such operations, actions, and / or functions can actually be performed by specific components or combinations of components of UE 402, base station 404, network entity 406, etc., such as processor 432, processor 484, processor 494, transceiver 410, transceiver 420, transceiver 450, and transceiver 460, memory 440, memory 486, and memory 496, RFID component 442, RFID component 488, and RFID component 498, etc.

[0129] In some designs, network entity 406 can be implemented as a core network component. In other designs, network entity 406 can operate differently from a network operator or a cellular network infrastructure (e.g., NG RAN 220 and / or 5GC 210 / 260). For example, network entity 406 can be a component of a private network that can be configured to communicate with UE 402 via base station 404 or independently of base station 404 (e.g., via a non-cellular communication link such as WiFi).

[0130] Figure 5 Illustrated is a simplified block diagram of an RFID station 510 and an RFID device 530 in an RFID system 500 according to aspects of the present disclosure. In some aspects, RFID station 510 can be an RFID reader and corresponds to Figure 3 the RFID station 310 in Figure 3 In some aspects, RFID device 550 can correspond to

[0131] As Figure 5As shown, the RFID station 510 includes an antenna 512 and a transmitter 514 and a receiver 516 that are electrically coupled to the antenna 512. Additionally, the RFID device 530 includes an antenna 532, an antenna impedance adjustment circuit 534 (abbreviated as "Im Ckt" in Figure 5 ), a controller 536 (abbreviated as "CTRL" in Figure 5 ) configured to control the antenna impedance adjustment circuit 534, and a power circuit 538 (abbreviated as "Pwr Ckt" in Figure 5 ) configured to supply power to the controller 536 and the antenna impedance adjustment circuit 534.

[0132] In some aspects, the TRP in a wireless communication system can be configured to function as or include the RFID station 510. In such a scenario, the RFID station 510 can correspond to the base station 404, the transmitter 514 can correspond to the transmitter 454 in the WWAN transceiver 450 and / or the RFID component 488 or the transmitter 464 in the short - range wireless transceiver 460; the receiver 516 can correspond to the receiver 452 in the WWAN transceiver 450 and / or the RFID component 488 or the receiver 462 in the short - range wireless transceiver 460; and the antenna 512 can correspond to the antenna 456 or the antenna 466. In some aspects, the UE in a wireless communication system can be configured to function as or include the RFID station 510. In such a scenario, the RFID station 510 can correspond to the UE 402, the transmitter 514 can correspond to the transmitter 414 in the WWAN transceiver 420 and / or the RFID component 442 or the transmitter 424 in the short - range wireless transceiver 420; the receiver 516 can correspond to the receiver 414 in the WWAN transceiver 420 and / or the RFID component 442 or the receiver 422 in the short - range wireless transceiver 420; and the antenna 512 can correspond to the antenna 416 or the antenna 426.

[0133] In some aspects, the UE in a wireless communication system can be configured to function as or include the RFID device 530. In such a scenario, the RFID device 530 can correspond to the UE 402, the antenna impedance adjustment circuit 534, the controller 536, and the power circuit 538 can correspond to the RFID component 442, and the antenna 532 can correspond to the antenna 416 or the antenna 426.

[0134] In some aspects, during operation, the transmitter 514 of the RFID station 510 may send an interrogation signal 552 to the RFID device 530 via the antenna 512. In some aspects, the interrogation signal 552 may be embedded with a command from the RFID station 510. The command may provide a time frame for the RFID device 530 to respond to the interrogation signal 552, indicate that the RFID device 530 provide its identification code or other information related to the identity or capabilities of the RFID device 530, or both. When powered on and after receiving the interrogation signal 552, the RFID device 530 may cause the controller 536 to prepare a response based on the embedded command, and control the antenna impedance adjustment circuit 534 to adjust the impedance of the antenna 532 based on the prepared response. The antenna 532 may reflect the interrogation signal 552, and the reflected signal may also be referred to as the backscatter signal 556. As the impedance of the antenna 532 changes, the amplitude and phase of the backscatter signal 556 may change. Thus, the controller 536 may modulate the backscatter signal 556 by adjusting the impedance of the antenna 532 to carry the response.

[0135] In some aspects, the RFID tag 530 may be a passive RFID tag. In such a scenario, the power circuit 538 may collect power from the interrogation signal 552 to power the controller 536 and the antenna impedance adjustment circuit 534. In some aspects, the RFID tag 530 may be a semi-passive RFID tag. In such a scenario, the power circuit 538 may power the controller 536 and the antenna impedance adjustment circuit 534 based on power collected from the interrogation signal 552 or an on-board battery (not shown) of the RFID device 530. Additionally, in some examples, the power circuit 538 may perform energy harvesting functionality to detect the presence or absence of the interrogation signal 552.

[0136] Furthermore, the receiver 516 of the RFID station 510 may receive the backscatter signal 556 from the RFID device 530 via the antenna 512. The RFID station 510 may decode the backscatter signal 556 to obtain the response provided by the RFID device 530. In some aspects, the RFID system 500 may be used to measure the distance of the RFID device 530 or estimate the location of the RFID device 530. In such an application, the RFID station 510 may also measure the time of arrival (ToA) of the backscatter signal 556 as observed at the RFID station 510.

[0137] In some aspects, since the RFID system 500 can be implemented integrally or in parallel with a wireless communication system (e.g., LTE or 5G NR as described above), the RFID interrogation signal 552 can be transmitted through the radio resources of the wireless communication system. In some aspects, the RFID system 500 can be used to perform a positioning process of the RFID device 530 (also referred to as a backscatter-based positioning process) based on the backscatter signal from the RFID device 530, where the RFID system 500 can transmit a positioning reference signal as the interrogation signal, or transmit the interrogation signal through the radio resources of the positioning reference signal of the wireless communication system. In some examples, the positioning reference signal can be a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS), a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS), or a sounding reference signal (SRS).

[0138] Various frame structures can be used to support downlink and uplink transmissions between network nodes (e.g., base stations and UEs). Figure 6 FIG. 600 is a diagram illustrating an example frame structure according to aspects of the present disclosure. The frame structure can be a downlink or uplink frame structure. Other wireless communication technologies can have different frame structures and / or different channels.

[0139] LTE (and in some cases NR) utilizes orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) on the downlink and single carrier frequency division multiplexing (SC-FDM) on the uplink. However, different from LTE, NR also has the option of using OFDM on the uplink. OFDM and SC-FDM divide the system bandwidth into multiple (K) orthogonal subcarriers, which are also often referred to as tones, frequency slots, etc. Each subcarrier can be modulated with data. Generally speaking, modulation symbols are transmitted using OFDM in the frequency domain and using SC-FDM in the time domain. The interval between adjacent subcarriers can be fixed, and the total number (K) of subcarriers can depend on the system bandwidth. For example, the interval of subcarriers can be 15 kilohertz (kHz), and the minimum resource allocation (resource block) can be 12 subcarriers (or 180 kHz). Therefore, for system bandwidths of 1.25 megahertz (MHz), 2.5 MHz, 5 MHz, 10 MHz, or 20 MHz, the nominal fast Fourier transform (FFT) size can be equal to 128, 256, 512, 1024, or 2048 respectively. The system bandwidth can also be divided into subbands. For example, a subband can cover 1.08 MHz (i.e., 6 resource blocks), and for system bandwidths of 1.25 MHz, 2.5 MHz, 5 MHz, 10 MHz, or 20 MHz, there can be 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 subbands respectively.

[0140] LTE supports a single parameter set (subcarrier spacing (SCS), symbol length, etc.). In contrast, NR can support multiple parameter sets (μ), e.g., 15 kHz (μ = 0), 30 kHz (μ = 1), 60 kHz (μ = 2), 120 kHz (μ = 3), and 240 kHz (μ = 4) or larger subcarrier spacings may be available. In each subcarrier spacing, there are 14 symbols per time slot. For 15 kHz SCS (μ = 0), there is one time slot per subframe, 10 time slots per frame, the time slot duration is 1 millisecond (ms), the symbol duration is 66.7 microseconds (μs), and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with a 4K FFT size is 50. For 30 kHz SCS (μ = 1), there are two time slots per subframe, 20 time slots per frame, the time slot duration is 0.5 ms, the symbol duration is 33.3 μs, and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with a 4K FFT size is 100. For 60 kHz SCS (μ = 2), there are four time slots per subframe, 40 time slots per frame, the time slot duration is 0.25 ms, the symbol duration is 16.7 μs, and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with a 4K FFT size is 200. For 120 kHz SCS (μ = 3), there are eight time slots per subframe, 80 time slots per frame, the time slot duration is 0.125 ms, the symbol duration is 8.33 μs, and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with a 4K FFT size is 400. For 240 kHz SCS (μ = 4), there are 16 time slots per subframe, 160 time slots per frame, the time slot duration is 0.0625 ms, the symbol duration is 4.17 μs, and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with a 4K FFT size is 800.

[0141] In Figure 6 's example, the parameter set of 15 kHz is used. Thus, in the time domain, a 10 ms frame is divided into 10 equal-sized subframes, each subframe being 1 ms, and each subframe includes one time slot. In Figure 6 , time is represented horizontally (on the X-axis), where time increases from left to right, while frequency is represented vertically (on the Y-axis), where frequency increases (or decreases) from bottom to top.

[0142] A resource grid can be used to represent a time slot, and each time slot includes one or more time-concurrent resource blocks (RBs) (also known as physical RBs (PRBs)) in the frequency domain. The resource grid is further divided into multiple resource elements (REs). An RE can correspond to one symbol length in the time domain and one subcarrier in the frequency domain. In Figure 6In the parameter set, for the normal cyclic prefix, an RB can contain 12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain and seven consecutive symbols in the time domain, for a total of 84 REs. For the extended cyclic prefix, an RB can contain 12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain and six consecutive symbols in the time domain, for a total of 72 REs. The number of bits carried by each RE depends on the modulation scheme.

[0143] Some REs can carry reference (pilot) signals (RS). These reference signals can include positioning reference signals (PRS), tracking reference signals (TRS), phase tracking reference signals (PTRS), cell-specific reference signals (CRS), channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS), demodulation reference signals (DMRS), primary synchronization signals (PSS), secondary synchronization signals (SSS), synchronization signal blocks (SSB), SRS, etc., depending on whether the illustrated frame structure is used for uplink communication or downlink communication. Figure 6 Examples of the example positions (marked as "R") of the REs carrying reference signals are illustrated.

[0144] The set of resource elements (REs) used for the transmission of PRS is referred to as "PRS resource". The set of resource elements can span multiple PRBs in the frequency domain and 'N' (such as one or more) consecutive symbols within a time slot in the time domain. In a given OFDM symbol in the time domain, the PRS resource occupies consecutive PRBs in the frequency domain.

[0145] The transmission of the PRS resource within a given PRB has a specific comb size (also referred to as "comb density"). The comb size 'N' represents the subcarrier spacing (or frequency / tone spacing) within each symbol of the PRS resource configuration. Specifically, for the comb size 'N', the PRS is transmitted in every Nth subcarrier of a symbol of the PRB. For example, for comb-4, for each symbol of the PRS resource configuration, the REs corresponding to every fourth subcarrier (such as subcarriers 0, 4, 8) are used to transmit the PRS of the PRS resource. Currently, for DL-PRS, comb sizes of comb-2, comb-4, comb-6, and comb-12 are supported. Figure 6 An example PRS resource configuration for comb-4 (which spans four symbols) is illustrated. That is, the positions of the shaded REs (marked as "R") indicate the comb-4 PRS resource configuration.

[0146] Currently, DL-PRS resources using the full-frequency domain interleaving pattern can span 2, 4, 6, or 12 consecutive symbols within a time slot. The DL-PRS resources can be configured in any downlink or flexible (FL) symbol configured by the higher layer in the time slot. For all REs of a given DL-PRS resource, there may be a constant energy per resource element (EPRE). The following are the per-symbol frequency offsets for comb sizes 2, 4, 6, and 12 on 2, 4, 6, and 12 symbols. 2-symbol comb - 2: {0,1}; 4-symbol comb - 2: {0,1,0,1}; 6-symbol comb - 2: {0,1,0,1,0,1}; 12-symbol comb - 2: {0,1,0,1,0,1,0,1,0,1,0,1}; 4-symbol comb - 4: {0,2,1,3} (as in the example of Figure 6 ); 12-symbol comb - 4: {0,2,1,3,0,2,1,3,0,2,1,3}; 6-symbol comb - 6: {0,3,1,4,2,5}; 12-symbol comb - 6: {0,3,1,4,2,5,0,3,1,4,2,5}; and 12-symbol comb - 12:

[0147] {0,6,3,9,1,7,4,10,2,8,5,11}.

[0148] A "PRS resource set" is a set of PRS resources for transmitting PRS signals, where each PRS resource has a PRS resource ID. In addition, the PRS resources in a PRS resource set are associated with the same TRP. The PRS resource set is identified by a PRS resource set ID and is associated with a specific TRP (identified by the TRP ID). In addition, the PRS resources in a PRS resource set have the same periodicity, common silent mode configuration, and the same repetition factor (such as "PRS-ResourceRepetitionFactor") across time slots. The periodicity is the time from the first repetition of the first PRS resource of the first PRS instance to the same first repetition of the same first PRS resource of the next PRS instance. The periodicity can have a length selected from: 2^μ*{4,5,8,10,16,20,32,40,64,80,160,320,640,1280,2560,5120,10240} time slots, where μ = 0,1,2,3. The repetition factor can have a length selected from {1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 16, 32} time slots.

[0149] The PRS resource ID in the PRS resource pool is associated with a single beam (or beam ID) transmitted from a single TRP (where one TRP can transmit one or more beams). That is, each PRS resource in the PRS resource pool can be transmitted on different beams, and thus, a "PRS resource" (or simply "resource") can also be referred to as a "beam". It should be noted that this does not imply anything about whether the UE knows the TRP and beam on which the PRS is transmitted.

[0150] A "PRS instance" or "PRS occasion" is an instance of a periodically repeating time window (such as a group of one or more consecutive time slots) in which it is expected that the PRS is transmitted. A PRS occasion can also be referred to as a "PRS positioning occasion", "PRS positioning instance", "positioning occasion", "positioning instance", "positioning repetition", or simply "occasion", "instance", or "repetition".

[0151] A "positioning frequency layer" (also simply referred to as a "frequency layer") is a set of one or more PRS resource pools with the same values for certain parameters across one or more TRPs. Specifically, the set of PRS resource pools has the same subcarrier spacing and cyclic prefix (CP) type (meaning that all parameter sets supported for the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) are also supported for the PRS), the same point A, the same value for the downlink PRS bandwidth, the same starting PRB (and center frequency), and the same comb size. The point A parameter takes the value of the parameter "ARFCN-ValueNR" (where "ARFCN" stands for "absolute radio frequency channel number") and is an identifier / code for a pair of physical radio channels specified for transmission and reception. The downlink PRS bandwidth can have a granularity of four PRBs, and the minimum value is 24 PRBs while the maximum value is 272 PRBs. Currently, up to four frequency layers have been defined, and up to two PRS resource pools can be configured per TRP per frequency layer.

[0152] The concept of a frequency layer is somewhat similar to the concepts of a component carrier and a bandwidth part (BWP), but the difference is that a component carrier and a BWP are used by a base station (or a macro cell base station and a small cell base station) to transmit data channels, while a frequency layer is used by several (usually three or more) base stations to transmit the PRS. The UE can indicate the number of frequency layers that the UE can support when the UE transmits its positioning capabilities to the network (such as during an LTE positioning protocol (LPP) session). For example, the UE can indicate whether it can support one or four positioning frequency layers.

[0153] Note that the terms "positioning reference signal" and "PRS" generally refer to specific reference signals for positioning in NR and LTE systems. However, as used herein, the terms "positioning reference signal" and "PRS" may also refer to any type of reference signal that can be used for positioning, such as but not limited to: PRS, TRS, PTRS, CRS, CSI-RS, DMRS, PSS, SSS, SSB, SRS, UL-PRS, etc. as defined in LTE and NR. In addition, the terms "positioning reference signal" and "PRS" can refer to a downlink positioning reference signal, an uplink positioning reference signal, or a sidelink positioning reference signal, unless otherwise indicated by the context. If further distinction of the type of PRS is needed, the downlink positioning reference signal can be referred to as "DL-PRS", the uplink positioning reference signal (e.g., SRS for positioning, i.e., PTRS) can be referred to as "UL-PRS", and the sidelink positioning reference signal can be referred to as "SL-PRS". In addition, for signals that can be transmitted in the downlink, uplink, and / or sidelink (e.g., DMRS), these signals can be prefixed with "DL", "UL", or "SL" to distinguish the direction. For example, "UL-DMRS" can be different from "DL-DMRS".

[0154] Figure 7 An example RFID system 700 for a backscatter-based positioning process in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. The RFID system 700 includes an RFID device 710, and its position will be determined according to a backscatter-based positioning process. The RFID system 700 includes one or more receiving RFID stations 722, 724, 726, and 728. The RFID system 700 also includes a transmitting RFID station 730. In some examples, the RFID station 730 can also be configured as a receiving RFID station. In some aspects, the RFID system 700 can include one or more transmitting RFID stations.

[0155] In some aspects, the RFID device 710 can be an RFID tag, can include an RFID tag, or can be configured to act as an RFID tag. In some aspects, the RFID device 710 can correspond to Figure 3 or Figure 5 the RFID device described in Figure 3 or Figure 5 In some aspects, the RFID stations 722, 724, 726, 728, and 730 can correspond to

[0156] In some aspects, to perform a backscatter-based positioning process, the RFID station 730 may send an interrogation signal 742 to the RFID device 710. In some aspects, the interrogation signal 742 may be a positioning reference signal of a wireless communication network, such as DL-PRS, SL-PRS, or SRS. In response to the interrogation signal 742, the RFID device 710 may send a backscatter signal by reflecting (also referred to as backscattering in this disclosure) the interrogation signal 742. The backscatter signal may be observed at the RFID stations 722, 724, 726, 728, and 730 and is labeled as the corresponding received backscatter signals 752, 754, 756, 758, and 762 in Figure 7 .

[0157] In some aspects, the RFID stations 722, 724, 726, 728, and 730 may record the time points at which the received backscatter signals 752, 754, 756, 758, and 762 arrive. Based on the measured reception time point and transmission time of the interrogation signal 742 at the RFID station 730, the combined propagation times of the interrogation signal 742 and the received backscatter signals 752, 754, 756, 758, and 762 (denoted as τ1, τ2, τ3, τ4, and τ0) may satisfy the following expressions:

[0158] τ1 = τ tx-TAG + τ TAG-rx1 ,

[0159] τ2 = τ tx-T + τ TAG-rx2 ,

[0160] τ3 = τ tx-T + τ TAG-rx3 ,

[0161] τ4 = τ tx-TAG + τ TAG-rx4 ,

[0162] τ0 = τ tx-TAG + τ TAG-r , and

[0163] τ tx-TAG = τ TAG-rx0 .

[0164] τ tx-TAG represents the propagation time from the transmitting RFID station 730 to the RFID device 710. τ TAG-rx0 represents the propagation time from the RFID device 710 to the transmitting RFID station 730. τ TAG-rx1 represents the propagation time from the RFID device 710 to the receiving RFID station 722. τ TAG-rx2Represents the propagation time from the RFID device 710 to the receiving RFID station 724. τ TAG-rx3 Represents the propagation time from the RFID device 710 to the receiving RFID station 726. τ TAG-rx4 Represents the propagation time from the RFID device 710 to the receiving RFID station 728.

[0165] In some aspects, based on τ1, τ2, τ3, τ4, and τ0, the estimated location of the RFID device 710 can be determined based on the Time of Arrival (ToA) positioning method. In some examples, the Time of Arrival values can correspond to the propagation time values from the RFID device 710 to the respective RFID stations 722, 724, 726, 728, and 730, and can have the following relationships: The estimated distances between the RFID device 710 and the respective RFID stations 722, 724, 726, 728, and 730 can be calculated by multiplying the Time of Arrival values by the speed of the RF wave (e.g., the speed of light). Additionally, based on the estimated distances and location information of the RFID stations 722, 724, 726, 728, and 730, the estimated location of the RFID device can be derived.

[0166] In some aspects, based on τ1, τ2, τ3, τ4, and τ0, the estimated location of the RFID device 710 can be determined based on the Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA) positioning method. In some examples, the propagation time differences between any two of the RFID stations 722, 724, 726, 728, and 730 can have the following expressions: where i and j represent the corresponding two of the RFID stations 722, 724, 726, 728, and 730. The estimated curve passing through the RFID device 710 can be determined based on the product of the propagation time difference and the speed of the RF wave (e.g., the speed of light), and the estimated location of the RFID device 710 can be derived based on the cross-section of the estimated curve.

[0167] In some aspects, based on τ0, the estimated distance between the RFID device 710 and the RFID station 730 can also be determined based on the Round-Trip Time (RTT) positioning method.

[0168] Figure 7 Illustrates a non-limiting example of a backscatter-based positioning process with a transmitting RFID station that also serves as a receiving RFID station and four other receiving RFID stations. In some examples for performing a specific backscatter-based positioning process, the transmitting RFID station can be configured not to serve as a receiving RFID station. Additionally, in some examples for performing a specific backscatter-based positioning process, the number of transmitting or receiving RFID stations can be different from Figure 7 the example shown.

[0169] Figure 8A , Figure 8B and Figure 8C illustrate example radio resource designs for positioning reference signals (e.g., DL-PRS) used in backscatter-based positioning processes in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In some aspects, the DL-PRS structure can be extended or expanded to support energy harvesting for passive RFID devices. In some aspects, the positioning reference signal used in a backscatter-based positioning process can include a first time portion for energy harvesting and a second time portion for backscattering. In some aspects, the RFID device can harvest electrical energy from at least a portion of the positioning reference signal and can transmit a backscatter signal based on at least a portion of the second time portion of the positioning reference signal.

[0170] Figure 8A shows a first example of a radio resource set of a wireless communication network for DL-PRS to be used in a backscatter-based positioning process. According to the first example, the radio resource set can include a time slot 810 of N symbols, and the time slot can include a first one or more symbols 812 (e.g., N1 symbols) and a second one or more symbols 816 (e.g., N2 symbols). In some aspects, the first time portion for energy harvesting can correspond to the first one or more symbols 812, and the second time portion for backscattering can correspond to the second one or more symbols 816. In Figure 8A the non-limiting example shown, the time slot has 14 symbols (N = 14), where the first 8 symbols (N1 = 8) are for energy harvesting, and the last 6 symbols (N2 = 6) are for backscattering.

[0171] Figure 8B shows a second example of a radio resource set of a wireless communication network for DL-PRS to be used in a backscatter-based positioning process. According to the second example, the radio resource set can include a plurality of consecutive time slots 822, 823, 824, 825, and 826. In some aspects, the first time portion for energy harvesting can correspond to the first one or more time slots 822, 824, and 826, and the second time portion for backscattering can correspond to the second one or more time slots 823 and 825. In Figure 8B the non-limiting example shown, the first one or more time slots 822, 824, and 826 and the second one or more time slots 823 and 825 can be arranged in an alternating manner.

[0172] Figure 8CShows a third example of a radio resource set of a wireless communication network for DL-PRS to be used in a backscatter-based positioning process. According to the third example, the radio resource set may include a first one or more resource elements (depicted as a shaded area 832 with a first comb pattern) and a second one or more resource elements (depicted as a shaded area 836 with a second comb pattern) in resource blocks 830 arranged in the time domain and the frequency domain. In some aspects, a first time portion for energy harvesting may correspond to the first one or more resource elements 832 (e.g., based on the first comb pattern), and a second time portion for backscattering may correspond to the second one or more resource elements 836 (e.g., based on the second comb pattern).

[0173] In some aspects, the first time portion and the second time portion of the positioning reference signal may optionally be assigned different bandwidths. For example, the positioning reference signal may be transmitted via narrowband for energy harvesting and may be transmitted via broadband for backscattering. In some aspects, for the first example and the second example illustrated as in Figure 8A and Figure 8B the first time portion of the positioning reference signal may have a first bandwidth, the second time portion of the positioning reference signal may have a second bandwidth, and the second bandwidth may be greater than the first bandwidth.

[0174] Figure 9 Is a signaling and event diagram illustrating various actions during a backscatter-based positioning process according to aspects of the present disclosure. Figure 9 Illustrates an example interaction between an RFID device 902, a location server 904, one or more sender RFID stations 905 for transmitting a first time portion of a positioning reference signal for energy harvesting (also referred to as "energy Tx" in the present disclosure), a sender RFID station 906 for transmitting a second time portion of the positioning reference signal for backscattering (also referred to as "backscatter Tx" in the present disclosure), and one or more receiver RFID stations 908 for receiving a backscattered signal from the RFID device 902. In some aspects, the location server 904 may correspond to the location server 172 or the LMF 270 described in the present disclosure.

[0175] In some aspects, the RFID device 902 may correspond to the RFID device 710 and may have a configuration corresponding to the RFID device 530 in Figure 5 In some aspects, the RFID device 902 may be attached to a UE in a communication system (such as any UE described in the present disclosure) or may be formed integrally with the UE.

[0176] In some aspects, one or more sender RFID stations 905 and sender RFID station 906 may correspond to RFID station 730 and may have a configuration corresponding to the RFID station 510 in Figure 5 In some aspects, the sender RFID station 906 for backscatter Tx may be configured to perform operations corresponding to one or more sender RFID stations 905 for energy Tx.

[0177] In some aspects, one or more receiver RFID stations 908 may correspond to RFID stations 722, 724, 726, and 728 and may have a configuration corresponding to the RFID station 510 in Figure 5 In some aspects, the sender RFID station 906 for backscatter Tx may be configured to perform operations corresponding to one or more receiver RFID stations 908 (e.g., RFID station 730).

[0178] In some aspects, before action 912, the location server 904 may identify that a backscatter-based positioning process will be performed to determine the estimated location of the RFID device 902.

[0179] At action 912, the location server 904 sends a capabilities query to the RFID device 902. The capabilities query requests capabilities information of the RFID device 902. At action 914, the RFID device 902 sends a capabilities response to the location server 904 in response to the capabilities query. The capabilities response indicates the capabilities information of the RFID device 902. In some aspects, the capabilities information includes whether the RFID device 902 supports energy harvesting functionality, the energy type of the RFID device 902 (e.g., passive, semi-passive, or active), whether to request that an energy harvesting enabled portion be included in the positioning reference signal for the backscatter-based positioning process, or a combination thereof.

[0180] In some aspects, the RFID device 902 may be a UE in a wireless communication network and be capable of communicating with the location server 904 via the wireless communication network. In such a scenario, the location server 904 may send a capabilities query to the RFID device 902, and the RFID device 902 may send a capabilities response to the location server 904 via the wireless communication network.

[0181] In some aspects, the RFID device 902 may send a capability response indirectly to the location server 904 via the RFID station. For example, the location server 904 may send a capability query to the RFID station, and the RFID station may forward the capability query to the RFID device 902 in the form of an RFID interrogation signal or via short-range wireless communication. The RFID device 902 may respond to the RFID interrogation signal by sending an RFID response signal to the RFID station by backscattering or by active transmission. The RFID response signal may explicitly provide the capability information of the RFID device 902 or may provide a code based on which the RFID station may look up the capability information. The RFID station may then send the capability information of the RFID device 902 back to the location server 904.

[0182] At action 920, the location server 904 configures various parameters for the backscatter-based positioning process based on the capability information of the RFID device 902. In some aspects, the location server 904 identifies one or more sender RFID stations 905 for energy Tx, a sender RFID station 906 for backscatter Tx, and one or more receiver RFID stations 908.

[0183] In some aspects, the positioning reference signal used for the backscatter-based positioning process may correspond to a DL-PRS, SL-PRS, or SRS of the wireless communication network. In some aspects, the location server 904 may determine the configuration of the positioning reference signal and the monitoring window for observing the backscatter signal from the RFID device 902. In some aspects, the positioning reference signal may be a DL-PRS and have a Figure 8A , Figure 8B and Figure 8C The example shown corresponds to a configuration of one example.

[0184] In some aspects, the sender RFID station for backscatter Tx 906 may be configured as one of the one or more sender RFID stations for energy Tx 905. In some aspects, one of the one or more sender RFID stations for energy Tx 905 and the sender RFID station for backscatter Tx 906 corresponds to only a single sender RFID station.

[0185] In some aspects, when there are multiple transmitting RFID stations 905 for energy Tx, the multiple transmitting RFID stations 905 for energy Tx can be instructed to transmit the first time portion of the positioning reference signal simultaneously or individually (where the corresponding radio resources are split among the transmitting RFID stations 905). In some aspects, the transmitting RFID station 905 for energy Tx does not use the radio resources dedicated to the backscattering portion of the positioning reference signal to transmit the energy collection portion of the positioning reference signal.

[0186] In some aspects, the RFID device 902 can be a UE of a wireless communication network, and one or more sender RFID stations 905 for energy Tx, a sender RFID station 906 for backscatter Tx, and one or more receiver RFID stations 908 can be TRPs of the wireless communication network.

[0187] In some aspects, one or more TRPs of the wireless communication network can be configured as a subset of one or more sender RFID stations 905 for energy Tx and a sender RFID station 906 for backscatter Tx or a subset of one or more receiver RFID stations 908. In some aspects, a TRP or a UE (different from the RFID device 902) of the wireless communication network can be configured as one of one or more sender RFID stations 905 for energy Tx, a sender RFID station 906 for backscatter Tx, and one or more receiver RFID stations 908. In some examples, at least one of the sender RFID stations 905 for energy Tx can be a TRP or a UE of the wireless communication network.

[0188] At action 922, the location server 904 sends a configuration message to the RFID device 902. In some aspects, the RFID device 902 can receive the configuration message from the location server 904 via a wireless communication system or indirectly via an RFID station in the form of an RFID interrogation signal or short-range wireless communication as a transmission of a capability query at action 912. In some aspects, the configuration message can at least indicate a configuration of a radio resource set for a positioning reference signal, which includes an indication of a first time portion for energy harvesting of the positioning reference signal and a second time portion for backscatter of the positioning reference signal.

[0189] At action 924, the location server 904 sends a configuration message to one or more sender RFID stations 905 for energy Tx. In some aspects, the configuration message can at least indicate a configuration of a radio resource set for a positioning reference signal, which at least includes an indication of a first time portion for energy harvesting of the positioning reference signal. In some aspects, the configuration of the radio resource set for the positioning reference signal indicated by the configuration message can further include an indication of a second time portion for backscatter of the positioning reference signal. In some aspects, the configuration can include an indication that the RFID station 905 is arranged as a sender RFID station for energy Tx in a backscatter-based positioning process.

[0190] At action 926, location server 904 sends a configuration message to sender RFID station 906 for backscatter Tx. In some aspects, the configuration message may at least indicate a configuration of a radio resource set for a positioning reference signal, which at least includes an indication of a second time portion of the positioning reference signal for backscatter. In some aspects, the configuration of the radio resource set for the positioning reference signal indicated by the configuration message may further at least include an indication of a first time portion of the positioning reference signal for energy harvesting. In some aspects, the configuration may include an indication that RFID station 906 is arranged as a sender RFID station for backscatter Tx in a backscatter-based positioning process.

[0191] In some aspects, RFID station 906 may be configured for both energy Tx and backscatter Tx. In such a scenario, actions 924 and 926 of RFID station 906 may be combined, and only one configuration message may be sent from location server 904 to RFID station 906.

[0192] At action 928, location server 904 sends a configuration message to one or more receiver RFID stations 908. In some aspects, the configuration message may at least indicate a configuration of a monitoring window for observing backscatter signals from RFID device 902 based on a second time portion of a positioning reference signal. In some aspects, the configuration may include an indication that one or more receiver RFID stations 908 are arranged as receiver RFID stations in a backscatter-based positioning process. In some aspects, RFID station 906 may be configured as one of the one or more receiver RFID stations 908.

[0193] At action 932, one or more sender RFID stations 905 for energy Tx send at least a first time portion of a positioning reference signal within radio resources dedicated to energy Tx. At action 940, RFID device 902 may harvest electrical energy from at least a portion of the first time portion of the positioning reference signal from one or more sender RFID stations 905 for energy Tx. In some aspects, RFID device 902 may be a semi-passive RFID device or an active RFID device, and action 940 may be omitted. In some aspects, action 940 may include or be replaced by a detection operation for detecting the presence of the positioning reference signal based on detecting the first time portion of the positioning reference signal.

[0194] At action 936, the sender RFID station 906 for backscatter Tx transmits at least a second time portion of the positioning reference signal. In some aspects, the second time portion of the positioning reference signal can be encoded with a command specifying the type of response to be provided by the RFID device 902. At action 950, the RFID device 902 transmits a backscatter signal based on at least a portion of the second time portion of the positioning reference signal. At action 950, one or more receiver RFID stations 908 receive the backscatter signal based on the specified monitoring window.

[0195] At action 960, one or more receiver RFID stations 908 send one or more corresponding measurement reports to the location server 904. Each measurement report can include, for example, the signal strength, signal quality, time of arrival, round-trip time, angle of arrival of the backscatter signal as observed at the reporting receiver RFID station, or a combination thereof.

[0196] Thereafter, the location server can determine an estimated location of the RFID device 902 based on the one or more measurement reports. In some aspects, the estimated location of the RFID device 902 can be determined based on a ToA positioning method, a TDOA positioning method, an AoA positioning method, an RTT positioning method, or a combination thereof associated with the backscatter signal.

[0197] As Figure 9 shown, the operations of the sender RFID station 905 and the sender RFID station 906 can be performed by two separate RFID stations. In some aspects, given Figure 7 the example shown, the operations of the sender RFID station 905 and the sender RFID station 906 can be performed by a single separate RFID station.

[0198] Figure 10 Illustrates an example method 1000 of operating an RFID device in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In one aspect, the method 1000 can be performed by an RFID device, which can correspond to any of the RFID devices described in the present disclosure. In some aspects, the RFID device can be embedded in a UE (such as any UE described in the present disclosure) or formed integrally with the UE.

[0199] At operation 1010, the RFID device receives a positioning reference signal transmitted through a radio resource set of a wireless communication network, the positioning reference signal including a first time portion for energy harvesting and a second time portion for backscatter. In some aspects, the positioning reference signal can be a DL-PRS, an SL-PRS, or an SRS. In some aspects, the positioning reference signal can be a DL-PRS and has a relationship with Figure 8A 、 Figure 8B and Figure 8CA configuration corresponding to one example in the illustrated example. In one aspect, operation 1010 may be performed by the RFID device 530. In one aspect, operation 1010 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 410, one or more short-range wireless transceivers 420, one or more processors 432, the memory 440, and / or the RFID component 442, and any one or all of these components may be regarded as components for performing this operation.

[0200] At operation 1020, the RFID device transmits a backscatter signal based on at least a portion of a second time portion of the positioning reference signal. In one aspect, operation 1010 may be performed by the RFID device 530. In one aspect, operation 1010 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 410, one or more short-range wireless transceivers 420, one or more processors 432, the memory 440, and / or the RFID component 442, and any one or all of these components may be regarded as components for performing this operation.

[0201] As will be appreciated, a technical advantage of method 1000 is to modify the positioning reference signal of the wireless communication system to support not only backscattering but also energy harvesting functionality in passive IoT-like applications for a positioning process based on backscattering. Thus, the estimated location of the RFID device (e.g., UE) can be determined based on the newly configured positioning reference signal.

[0202] Figure 11 An example method 1100 of operating a location server in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. In one aspect, method 1100 may be performed by a location server, which may correspond to the location server 1004, the location server 172, or the LMF 270 described in the present disclosure.

[0203] At operation 1110, the location server sends a first configuration message to one or more sender RFID stations, the first configuration message at least indicating a first configuration of a radio resource set of a wireless communication network for a positioning reference signal, the positioning reference signal including a first time portion for energy harvesting and a second time portion for backscattering. In some aspects, the positioning reference signal may be a DL-PRS, an SL-PRS, or an SRS. In some aspects, the positioning reference signal may be a DL-PRS and has a configuration corresponding to one example in the example shown in Figure 8A 、 Figure 8B and Figure 8C A configuration corresponding to one example in the illustrated example. In one aspect, operation 1110 may be performed by one or more network transceivers 490, one or more processors 494, the memory 496, and / or the RFID component 498, and any one or all of these components may be regarded as components for performing this operation.

[0204] At operation 1120, the location server sends a second configuration message to one or more receiving RFID stations, the second configuration message indicating at least a second configuration of a monitoring window for observing backscatter signals from RFID devices based on a second time portion of a positioning reference signal. In one aspect, operation 1110 may be performed by one or more network transceivers 490, one or more processors 494, a memory 496, and / or an RFID component 498, any or all of which may be considered components for performing the operation.

[0205] In some aspects, after operation 1120, the location server may receive a measurement report from one or more receiving RFID stations, the measurement report being based on backscatter signals from RFID devices. In some aspects, the location server may also determine an estimated location of the RFID device based on the measurement report. In some aspects, determining the estimated location of the RFID device may be based on ToA, TDOA, AoA, RTT, or a combination thereof associated with the backscatter signals.

[0206] As will be appreciated, a technical advantage of method 1100 is to modify the positioning reference signal of a wireless communication system to support not only backscatter but also energy harvesting functionality in passive IoT-like applications for a backscatter-based positioning process. Thus, the location server may orchestrate a backscatter-based positioning process to determine an estimated location of the RFID device based on the newly configured positioning reference signal.

[0207] Figure 12 An example method 1200 for operating an RFID station in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. In one aspect, method 1200 may be performed by an RFID station, which may correspond to any RFID station described in the present disclosure. In some aspects, the RFID station may be a TRP or a UE, such as any TRP or UE described in the present disclosure.

[0208] At operation 1210, the RFID station receives a first configuration message from the location server, the first configuration message indicating at least a first configuration of a radio resource set of a wireless communication network for a positioning reference signal, the positioning reference signal including a first time portion for energy harvesting and a second time portion for backscatter. In some aspects, the positioning reference signal may be a DL-PRS, an SL-PRS, or an SRS. In some aspects, the positioning reference signal may be a DL-PRS and have a configuration corresponding to one example in the example shown in Figure 8A 、 Figure 8B and Figure 8C shown.

[0209] In one aspect, operation 1210 may be performed by RFID station 510. In one aspect, operation 1210 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 450, one or more short-range wireless transceivers 460, one or more processors 484, memory 486, and / or RFID component 488, any one or all of which may be considered a component for performing the operation. In one aspect, operation 1210 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 410, one or more short-range wireless transceivers 420, one or more processors 432, memory 440, and / or RFID component 442, any one or all of which may be considered a component for performing the operation.

[0210] At operation 1220, the RFID station transmits a first time portion, a second time portion, or both of the positioning reference signal. In one aspect, operation 1220 may be performed by RFID station 510. In one aspect, operation 1220 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 450, one or more short-range wireless transceivers 460, one or more processors 484, memory 486, and / or RFID component 488, any one or all of which may be considered a component for performing the operation. In one aspect, operation 1220 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 410, one or more short-range wireless transceivers 420, one or more processors 432, memory 440, and / or RFID component 442, any one or all of which may be considered a component for performing the operation.

[0211] As will be appreciated, a technical advantage of method 1200 is to modify the positioning reference signal of a wireless communication system to support not only backscattering but also energy harvesting functionality in passive IoT-like applications for a backscattering-based positioning process. Thus, an RFID station (e.g., a TRP) may be used to transmit an energy harvesting portion, a backscattering portion, or both of a newly configured positioning reference signal for a backscattering-based positioning process.

[0212] Figure 13 An example method 1300 of operating an RFID station in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. In one aspect, method 1300 may be performed by an RFID station, which may correspond to any RFID station described in the present disclosure. In some aspects, the RFID station may be a TRP or a UE, such as any TRP or UE described in the present disclosure.

[0213] At operation 1310, an RFID station receives a first configuration message from a location server, the first configuration message indicating at least a first configuration of a monitoring window for observing a backscatter signal from an RFID device based on a positioning reference signal, the positioning reference signal being sent via a radio resource set of a wireless communication network, and the positioning reference signal including a first time portion for energy collection and a second time portion for backscatter. In some aspects, the positioning reference signal may be a DL-PRS, a SL-PRS, or an SRS. In some aspects, the positioning reference signal may be a DL-PRS and have a first time portion for backscattering. Figure 8A , Figure 8B and Figure 8C The configuration corresponds to one of the examples shown.

[0214] In one aspect, operation 1310 may be performed by RFID station 510. In one aspect, operation 1310 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 450, one or more short-range wireless transceivers 460, one or more processors 484, memory 486, and / or RFID component 488, any or all of which may be considered as means for performing the operation. In one aspect, operation 1310 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 410, one or more short-range wireless transceivers 420, one or more processors 432, memory 440, and / or RFID component 442, any or all of which may be considered as means for performing the operation.

[0215] At operation 1320, the RFID station receives a backscatter signal based on the monitoring window. In one aspect, operation 1320 may be performed by RFID station 510. In one aspect, operation 1320 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 450, one or more short-range wireless transceivers 460, one or more processors 484, memory 486, and / or RFID component 488, any or all of which may be considered as means for performing the operation. In one aspect, operation 1320 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 410, one or more short-range wireless transceivers 420, one or more processors 432, memory 440, and / or RFID component 442, any or all of which may be considered as means for performing the operation.

[0216] At operation 1330, the RFID station sends a measurement report of the backscatter signal to the location server. In one aspect, operation 1330 may be performed by the RFID station 510. In one aspect, operation 1330 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 450, one or more short-range wireless transceivers 460, one or more processors 484, memory 486, and / or RFID component 488, any or all of which may be considered components for performing this operation. In one aspect, operation 1330 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 410, one or more short-range wireless transceivers 420, one or more processors 432, memory 440, and / or RFID component 442, any or all of which may be considered components for performing this operation.

[0217] As will be appreciated, a technical advantage of method 1300 is to modify the positioning reference signal of the wireless communication system to support not only backscatter but also energy harvesting functionality in passive IoT-like applications for backscatter-based positioning processes. Thus, an RFID station (e.g., a TRP or a UE) can be used to receive a backscatter signal from an RFID device for a backscatter-based positioning process, where the backscatter signal is based on the newly configured positioning reference signal.

[0218] In the above detailed description, it can be seen that different features are grouped together in each example. This disclosure should not be construed as intending that the example clauses have more features than those explicitly mentioned in each clause. On the contrary, various aspects of the present disclosure may include fewer features than all of the individual example clauses disclosed. Accordingly, the following clauses are hereby incorporated into the description, where each clause itself may serve as a separate example. Although each dependent clause may refer in the clause to a particular combination with one of the other clauses, the aspects of that dependent clause are not limited to the particular combination. It should be understood that other example clauses may also include combinations of aspects of the dependent clause with the subject matter of any other dependent clause or independent clause or any feature with other dependent clauses and independent clauses. The various aspects disclosed herein expressly include these combinations unless explicitly stated or readily inferred not to be intended to use a particular combination (e.g., conflicting aspects, such as defining an element as both an electrical insulator and an electrical conductor). Additionally, it is also contemplated that aspects of the clauses may be included in any other independent clause, even if the clause does not directly depend on the independent clause.

[0219] Specific implementation examples are described in the following numbered clauses:

[0220] Clause 1. A method of operating a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) device, the method comprising: receiving a positioning reference signal transmitted through a radio resource set of a wireless communication network, the positioning reference signal including a first time portion for energy harvesting and a second time portion for backscattering; and transmitting a backscattering signal based on at least a portion of the second time portion of the positioning reference signal.

[0221] Clause 2. The method according to Clause 1, wherein: the positioning reference signal corresponds to a Downlink Positioning Reference Signal (DL-PRS), a Sidelink Positioning Reference Signal (SL-PRS), or a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS), and the second time portion of the positioning reference signal is from a Transmission / Reception Point (TRP) or a User Equipment (UE) of the wireless communication network.

[0222] Clause 3. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 2, the method further comprising: harvesting electrical energy from at least a portion of the first time portion of the positioning reference signal.

[0223] Clause 4. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 3, wherein: the radio resource set of the wireless communication network includes time slots, the first time portion corresponds to the first one or more symbols of the time slot, and the second time portion corresponds to the second one or more symbols of the time slot after the first one or more symbols.

[0224] Clause 5. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 3, wherein: the radio resource set of the wireless communication network includes a plurality of consecutive time slots, the first time portion corresponds to the first one or more time slots of the plurality of consecutive time slots, and the second time portion corresponds to the second one or more time slots of the plurality of consecutive time slots.

[0225] Clause 6. The method according to Clause 5, wherein: the first one or more time slots and the second one or more time slots are arranged in an alternating manner.

[0226] Clause 7. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 3, wherein: the radio resource set of the wireless communication network includes a first one or more resource elements arranged based on a first comb pattern and a second one or more resource elements arranged based on a second comb pattern, the first time portion corresponds to the first one or more resource elements, and the second time portion corresponds to the second one or more resource elements.

[0227] Clause 8. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 7, wherein: the first time portion of the positioning reference signal has a first bandwidth, the second time portion of the positioning reference signal has a second bandwidth, and the second bandwidth is greater than the first bandwidth.

[0228] Clause 9. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 8, the method further comprising: receiving a capability query from a location server or an RFID station; and sending a capability response to the location server or the RFID station in response to the capability query, the capability response indicating whether the RFID device supports energy harvesting functionality, the energy type of the RFID device, whether to request an energy harvesting enabled portion to be included in the positioning reference signal, or a combination thereof.

[0229] Clause 10. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 9, the method further comprising: receiving a configuration message from a location server or an RFID station, the configuration message at least indicating a configuration of the radio resource set for the positioning reference signal.

[0230] Clause 11. A method of operating a location server, the method comprising: sending a first configuration message to one or more sender radio frequency identification (RFID) stations, the first configuration message at least indicating a first configuration of a radio resource set of a wireless communication network for a positioning reference signal, the positioning reference signal including a first time portion for energy harvesting and a second time portion for backscattering; and sending a second configuration message to one or more receiver RFID stations, the second configuration message at least indicating a second configuration of a monitoring window for observing backscattered signals from RFID devices based on the second time portion of the positioning reference signal.

[0231] Clause 12. The method according to Clause 11, wherein: the positioning reference signal corresponds to a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS), a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS), or a sounding reference signal (SRS), and a transmit / receive point (TRP) or a user equipment (UE) of the wireless communication network is configured as a sender RFID station among the one or more sender RFID stations or a receiver RFID station among the one or more receiver RFID stations.

[0232] Clause 13. The method according to any one of Clauses 11 to 12, wherein: the radio resource set of the wireless communication network includes time slots, the first time portion corresponds to a first one or more symbols of the time slot, and the second time portion corresponds to a second one or more symbols of the time slot after the first one or more symbols.

[0233] Clause 14. The method according to any one of Clauses 11 to 12, wherein: the radio resource set of the wireless communication network includes a plurality of consecutive time slots, the first time portion corresponds to the first one or more time slots among the plurality of consecutive time slots, and the second time portion corresponds to the second one or more time slots among the plurality of consecutive time slots.

[0234] Clause 15. The method according to Clause 14, wherein: the first one or more time slots and the second one or more time slots are arranged in an alternating manner.

[0235] Clause 16. The method according to any one of Clauses 11 to 12, wherein: the radio resource set of the wireless communication network includes a first one or more resource elements arranged based on a first comb pattern and a second one or more resource elements arranged based on a second comb pattern, the first time portion corresponds to the first one or more resource elements, and the second time portion corresponds to the second one or more resource elements.

[0236] Clause 17. The method according to any one of Clauses 11 to 16, wherein: the first time portion of the positioning reference signal has a first bandwidth, the second time portion of the positioning reference signal has a second bandwidth, and the second bandwidth is greater than the first bandwidth.

[0237] Clause 18. The method according to any one of Clauses 11 to 17, wherein the one or more sender RFID stations include: a first sender RFID station and a second sender RFID station, the first sender RFID station is configured to send the first time portion of the positioning reference signal, and the second sender RFID station is configured to send the second time portion of the positioning reference signal.

[0238] Clause 19. The method according to any one of Clauses 11 to 18, wherein: one or more transmit / receive points (TRPs) of the wireless communication network are configured as a subset of the one or more sender RFID stations and a subset of the one or more receiver RFID stations.

[0239] Clause 20. The method according to any one of Clauses 11 to 19, the method further includes: sending a capability query to the RFID device; and receiving a capability response from the RFID device in response to the capability query, the capability response indicating whether the RFID device supports energy harvesting functionality, the energy type of the RFID device, whether to request an energy harvesting enabled portion in the positioning reference signal, or a combination thereof.

[0240] Clause 21. The method according to any one of Clauses 11 to 20, the method further comprising: sending a third configuration message to the RFID device, the third configuration message at least indicating the first configuration of the radio resource set of the wireless communication network for the positioning reference signal.

[0241] Clause 22. The method according to any one of Clauses 11 to 21, the method further comprising: receiving a measurement report from the one or more receiving RFID stations, the measurement report being based on the backscattered signal from the RFID device; and determining an estimated location of the RFID device based on the measurement report.

[0242] Clause 23. The method according to Clause 22, wherein determining the estimated location of the RFID device is based on time of arrival (ToA), time difference of arrival (TDOA), angle of arrival (AoA), round-trip time (RTT) associated with the backscattered signal, or a combination thereof.

[0243] Clause 24. A method of operating a radio frequency identification (RFID) station, the method comprising: receiving a first configuration message from a location server, the first configuration message at least indicating a first configuration of a radio resource set of a wireless communication network for a positioning reference signal, the positioning reference signal including a first time portion for energy harvesting and a second time portion for backscattering; and transmitting the first time portion, the second time portion, or both of the positioning reference signal.

[0244] Clause 25. The method according to Clause 24, wherein: the positioning reference signal corresponds to a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS), a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS), or a sounding reference signal (SRS), and the RFID station is a transmit / receive point (TRP) of the wireless communication network.

[0245] Clause 26. The method according to any one of Clauses 24 to 25, wherein: the RFID station is identified by the location server as an energy harvesting transmitter, and the transmitting comprises: transmitting the first time portion of the positioning reference signal without including the second time portion of the positioning reference signal.

[0246] Clause 27. The method according to any one of Clauses 24 to 26, wherein: the first time portion of the positioning reference signal has a first bandwidth, the second time portion of the positioning reference signal has a second bandwidth, and the second bandwidth is greater than the first bandwidth.

[0247] Clause 28. The method according to Clause 24, the method further comprising: receiving, from the location server, a second configuration message, the second configuration message at least indicating a second configuration of a monitoring window for observing backscattered signals from an RFID device based on the second time portion of the positioning reference signal; receiving the backscattered signals based on the monitoring window; and sending a measurement report of the backscattered signals to the location server.

[0248] Clause 29. A method of operating a radio frequency identification (RFID) station, the method comprising: receiving, from a location server, a first configuration message, the first configuration message at least indicating a first configuration of a monitoring window for observing backscattered signals from an RFID device based on a positioning reference signal, the positioning reference signal being sent through a radio resource set of a wireless communication network, and the positioning reference signal including a first time portion for energy harvesting and a second time portion for backscattering; receiving the backscattered signals based on the monitoring window; and sending a measurement report of the backscattered signals to the location server.

[0249] Clause 30. The method according to Clause 29, wherein: the positioning reference signal corresponds to a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS), a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS), or a sounding reference signal (SRS), and the RFID station is a transmit / receive point (TRP) of the wireless communication network.

[0250] Clause 31. An RFID device, the RFID device comprising: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor, the at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor configured to: receive, via the at least one transceiver, a positioning reference signal sent through a radio resource set of a wireless communication network, the positioning reference signal including a first time portion for energy harvesting and a second time portion for backscattering; and send, via the at least one transceiver, a backscattered signal based on at least a portion of the second time portion of the positioning reference signal.

[0251] Clause 32. The RFID device according to Clause 31, wherein: the positioning reference signal corresponds to a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS), a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS), or a sounding reference signal (SRS), and the second time portion of the positioning reference signal comes from a transmit / receive point (TRP) or a user equipment (UE) of the wireless communication network.

[0252] Clause 33. The RFID device according to any one of Clauses 31 to 32, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: collect electrical energy from at least a part of the first time portion of the positioning reference signal.

[0253] Clause 34. The RFID device according to any one of Clauses 31 to 33, wherein: the radio resource set of the wireless communication network includes time slots, the first time portion corresponds to the first one or more symbols of the time slot, and the second time portion corresponds to the second one or more symbols of the time slot after the first one or more symbols.

[0254] Clause 35. The RFID device according to any one of Clauses 31 to 33, wherein: the radio resource set of the wireless communication network includes a plurality of consecutive time slots, the first time portion corresponds to the first one or more time slots of the plurality of consecutive time slots, and the second time portion corresponds to the second one or more time slots of the plurality of consecutive time slots.

[0255] Clause 36. The RFID device according to Clause 35, wherein: the first one or more time slots and the second one or more time slots are arranged in an alternating manner.

[0256] Clause 37. The RFID device according to any one of Clauses 31 to 33, wherein: the radio resource set of the wireless communication network includes a first one or more resource elements arranged based on a first comb pattern and a second one or more resource elements arranged based on a second comb pattern, the first time portion corresponds to the first one or more resource elements, and the second time portion corresponds to the second one or more resource elements.

[0257] Clause 38. The RFID device according to any one of Clauses 31 to 37, wherein: the first time portion of the positioning reference signal has a first bandwidth, the second time portion of the positioning reference signal has a second bandwidth, and the second bandwidth is greater than the first bandwidth.

[0258] Clause 39. The RFID device according to any one of Clauses 31 to 38, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: receive a capability query from a location server or an RFID station via the at least one transceiver; and send a capability response via the at least one transceiver to the location server or the RFID station in response to the capability query, the capability response indicating whether the RFID device supports energy harvesting functionality, the energy type of the RFID device, whether to request an energy harvesting enabling portion to be included in the positioning reference signal, or a combination thereof.

[0259] Clause 40. The RFID device according to any one of Clauses 31 to 39, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: receive a configuration message from a location server or an RFID station via the at least one transceiver, the configuration message at least indicating a configuration of the radio resource set for the positioning reference signal.

[0260] Clause 41. A location server, the location server comprising: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor, the at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: send a first configuration message to one or more sender radio frequency identification (RFID) stations via the at least one transceiver, the first configuration message at least indicating a first configuration of a radio resource set of a wireless communication network for a positioning reference signal, the positioning reference signal including a first time portion for energy harvesting and a second time portion for backscattering; and send a second configuration message to one or more receiver RFID stations via the at least one transceiver, the second configuration message at least indicating a second configuration of a monitoring window for observing backscattered signals from an RFID device based on the second time portion of the positioning reference signal.

[0261] Clause 42. The location server according to Clause 41, wherein: the positioning reference signal corresponds to a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS), a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS), or a sounding reference signal (SRS), and a transmit / receive point (TRP) or a user equipment (UE) of the wireless communication network is configured as a sender RFID station among the one or more sender RFID stations or a receiver RFID station among the one or more receiver RFID stations.

[0262] Clause 43. The location server according to any one of Clauses 41 to 42, wherein: the radio resource set of the wireless communication network includes time slots, the first time portion corresponds to a first one or more symbols of the time slot, and the second time portion corresponds to a second one or more symbols of the time slot after the first one or more symbols.

[0263] Clause 44. The location server according to any one of Clauses 41 to 42, wherein: the radio resource set of the wireless communication network includes a plurality of consecutive time slots, the first time portion corresponds to a first one or more time slots among the plurality of consecutive time slots, and the second time portion corresponds to a second one or more time slots among the plurality of consecutive time slots.

[0264] Clause 45. The location server according to Clause 44, wherein: the first one or more time slots and the second one or more time slots are arranged in an alternating manner.

[0265] Clause 46. The location server according to any one of Clauses 41 to 42, wherein: the radio resource set of the wireless communication network includes a first one or more resource elements arranged based on a first comb pattern and a second one or more resource elements arranged based on a second comb pattern, the first time portion corresponds to the first one or more resource elements, and the second time portion corresponds to the second one or more resource elements.

[0266] Clause 47. The location server according to any one of Clauses 41 to 46, wherein: the first time portion of the positioning reference signal has a first bandwidth, the second time portion of the positioning reference signal has a second bandwidth, and the second bandwidth is greater than the first bandwidth.

[0267] Clause 48. The location server according to any one of Clauses 41 to 47, wherein the one or more sender RFID stations include: a first sender RFID station and a second sender RFID station, the first sender RFID station is configured to send the first time portion of the positioning reference signal, and the second sender RFID station is configured to send the second time portion of the positioning reference signal.

[0268] Clause 49. The location server according to any one of Clauses 41 to 48, wherein: one or more transmit / receive points (TRPs) of the wireless communication network are configured as a subset of the one or more sender RFID stations and a subset of the one or more receiver RFID stations.

[0269] Clause 50. The location server according to any one of Clauses 41 to 49, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: send a capability query to the RFID device via the at least one transceiver; and receive a capability response from the RFID device via the at least one transceiver in response to the capability query, the capability response indicating whether the RFID device supports energy harvesting functionality, the energy type of the RFID device, whether to request an energy harvesting enabled portion to be included in the positioning reference signal, or a combination thereof.

[0270] Clause 51. The location server according to any one of Clauses 41 to 50, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: send a third configuration message to the RFID device via the at least one transceiver, the third configuration message at least indicating the first configuration of the radio resource set of the wireless communication network for the positioning reference signal.

[0271] Clause 52. The location server according to any one of Clauses 41 to 51, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: receive a measurement report from the one or more receiving RFID stations via the at least one transceiver, the measurement report being based on the backscattered signal from the RFID device; and determine an estimated location of the RFID device based on the measurement report.

[0272] Clause 53. The location server according to Clause 52, wherein the estimated location of the RFID device is determined based on the time of arrival (ToA), time difference of arrival (TDOA), angle of arrival (AoA), round-trip time (RTT) associated with the backscattered signal, or a combination thereof.

[0273] Clause 54. An RFID station, the RFID station comprising: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor, the at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: receive a first configuration message from a location server via the at least one transceiver, the first configuration message at least indicating a first configuration of a radio resource set of a wireless communication network for a positioning reference signal, the positioning reference signal comprising a first time portion for energy harvesting and a second time portion for backscattering; and transmit the first time portion, the second time portion, or both of the positioning reference signal via the at least one transceiver.

[0274] Clause 55. The RFID station according to Clause 54, wherein: the positioning reference signal corresponds to a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS), a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS), or a sounding reference signal (SRS), and the RFID station is a transmit / receive point (TRP) of the wireless communication network.

[0275] Clause 56. The RFID station according to any one of Clauses 54 to 55, wherein: the RFID station is identified by the location server as an energy harvesting transmitter, and the at least one processor configured to transmit comprises the at least one processor configured to transmit the first time portion of the positioning reference signal without including the second time portion of the positioning reference signal.

[0276] Clause 57. The RFID station according to any one of Clauses 54 to 56, wherein: the first time portion of the positioning reference signal has a first bandwidth, the second time portion of the positioning reference signal has a second bandwidth, and the second bandwidth is greater than the first bandwidth.

[0277] Clause 58. The RFID station according to Clause 54, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: receive, via the at least one transceiver, a second configuration message from the location server, the second configuration message at least indicating a second configuration of a monitoring window for observing backscattered signals from the RFID device based on the second time portion of the positioning reference signal; receive the backscattered signals based on the monitoring window via the at least one transceiver; and send a measurement report of the backscattered signals to the location server via the at least one transceiver.

[0278] Clause 59. An RFID station, the RFID station comprising: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor, the at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: receive, via the at least one transceiver, a first configuration message from a location server, the first configuration message at least indicating a first configuration of a monitoring window for observing backscattered signals from an RFID device based on a positioning reference signal, the positioning reference signal being sent through a radio resource set of a wireless communication network, and the positioning reference signal including a first time portion for energy harvesting and a second time portion for backscattering; receive the backscattered signals based on the monitoring window via the at least one transceiver; and send a measurement report of the backscattered signals to the location server via the at least one transceiver.

[0279] Clause 60. The RFID station according to Clause 59, wherein: the positioning reference signal corresponds to a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS), a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS), or a sounding reference signal (SRS), and the RFID station is a transmit / receive point (TRP) of the wireless communication network.

[0280] Clause 61. An RFID device, the RFID device comprising: means for receiving a positioning reference signal sent through a radio resource set of a wireless communication network, the positioning reference signal including a first time portion for energy harvesting and a second time portion for backscattering; and means for sending a backscattered signal based on at least a portion of the second time portion of the positioning reference signal.

[0281] Clause 62. The RFID device according to Clause 61, wherein: the positioning reference signal corresponds to a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS), a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS), or a sounding reference signal (SRS), and the second time portion of the positioning reference signal is from a transmit / receive point (TRP) or a user equipment (UE) of the wireless communication network.

[0282] Clause 63. The RFID device according to any one of Clauses 61 to 62, the RFID device further comprising: a component for collecting electrical energy from at least a part of the first time portion of the positioning reference signal.

[0283] Clause 64. The RFID device according to any one of Clauses 61 to 63, wherein: the radio resource set of the wireless communication network includes time slots, the first time portion corresponds to the first one or more symbols of the time slot, and the second time portion corresponds to the second one or more symbols of the time slot after the first one or more symbols.

[0284] Clause 65. The RFID device according to any one of Clauses 61 to 63, wherein: the radio resource set of the wireless communication network includes a plurality of consecutive time slots, the first time portion corresponds to the first one or more time slots of the plurality of consecutive time slots, and the second time portion corresponds to the second one or more time slots of the plurality of consecutive time slots.

[0285] Clause 66. The RFID device according to Clause 65, wherein: the first one or more time slots and the second one or more time slots are arranged in an alternating manner.

[0286] Clause 67. The RFID device according to any one of Clauses 61 to 63, wherein: the radio resource set of the wireless communication network includes a first one or more resource elements arranged based on a first comb pattern and a second one or more resource elements arranged based on a second comb pattern, the first time portion corresponds to the first one or more resource elements, and the second time portion corresponds to the second one or more resource elements.

[0287] Clause 68. The RFID device according to any one of Clauses 61 to 67, wherein: the first time portion of the positioning reference signal has a first bandwidth, the second time portion of the positioning reference signal has a second bandwidth, and the second bandwidth is greater than the first bandwidth.

[0288] Clause 69. The RFID device according to any one of Clauses 61 to 68, the RFID device further comprising: a component for receiving a capability query from a location server or an RFID station; and a component for sending a capability response to the location server or the RFID station in response to the capability query, the capability response indicating whether the RFID device supports energy harvesting functionality, the energy type of the RFID device, whether to request an energy harvesting enabling portion to be included in the positioning reference signal, or a combination thereof.

[0289] Clause 70. The RFID device according to any one of Clauses 61 to 69, the RFID device further comprising: means for receiving a configuration message from a location server or an RFID station, the configuration message at least indicating a configuration of the radio resource set for the positioning reference signal.

[0290] Clause 71. A location server, the location server comprising: means for sending a first configuration message to one or more sender radio frequency identification (RFID) stations, the first configuration message at least indicating a first configuration of a radio resource set of a wireless communication network for a positioning reference signal, the positioning reference signal comprising a first time portion for energy harvesting and a second time portion for backscattering; and means for sending a second configuration message to one or more receiver RFID stations, the second configuration message at least indicating a second configuration of a monitoring window for observing backscattered signals from an RFID device based on the second time portion of the positioning reference signal.

[0291] Clause 72. The location server according to Clause 71, wherein: the positioning reference signal corresponds to a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS), a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS), or a sounding reference signal (SRS), and a transmit / receive point (TRP) or a user equipment (UE) of the wireless communication network is configured as one of the one or more sender RFID stations or one of the one or more receiver RFID stations.

[0292] Clause 73. The location server according to any one of Clauses 71 to 72, wherein: the radio resource set of the wireless communication network comprises time slots, the first time portion corresponds to the first one or more symbols of the time slot, and the second time portion corresponds to the second one or more symbols of the time slot after the first one or more symbols.

[0293] Clause 74. The location server according to any one of Clauses 71 to 72, wherein: the radio resource set of the wireless communication network comprises a plurality of consecutive time slots, the first time portion corresponds to the first one or more time slots of the plurality of consecutive time slots, and the second time portion corresponds to the second one or more time slots of the plurality of consecutive time slots.

[0294] Clause 75. The location server according to Clause 74, wherein: the first one or more time slots and the second one or more time slots are arranged in an alternating manner.

[0295] Clause 76. The location server according to any one of Clauses 71 to 72, wherein: the radio resource set of the wireless communication network includes a first one or more resource elements arranged based on a first comb pattern and a second one or more resource elements arranged based on a second comb pattern, the first time portion corresponds to the first one or more resource elements, and the second time portion corresponds to the second one or more resource elements.

[0296] Clause 77. The location server according to any one of Clauses 71 to 76, wherein: the first time portion of the positioning reference signal has a first bandwidth, the second time portion of the positioning reference signal has a second bandwidth, and the second bandwidth is greater than the first bandwidth.

[0297] Clause 78. The location server according to any one of Clauses 71 to 77, wherein the one or more sender RFID stations include: a first sender RFID station and a second sender RFID station, the first sender RFID station is configured to send the first time portion of the positioning reference signal, and the second sender RFID station is configured to send the second time portion of the positioning reference signal.

[0298] Clause 79. The location server according to any one of Clauses 71 to 78, wherein: one or more transmit / receive points (TRPs) of the wireless communication network are configured as a subset of the one or more sender RFID stations and a subset of the one or more receiver RFID stations.

[0299] Clause 80. The location server according to any one of Clauses 71 to 79, the location server further includes: a component for sending a capability query to the RFID device; and a component for receiving a capability response from the RFID device in response to the capability query, the capability response indicating whether the RFID device supports energy harvesting functionality, the energy type of the RFID device, whether to request an energy harvesting enabled portion in the positioning reference signal, or a combination thereof.

[0300] Clause 81. The location server according to any one of Clauses 71 to 80, the location server further includes: a component for sending a third configuration message to the RFID device, the third configuration message at least indicating the first configuration of the radio resource set of the wireless communication network for the positioning reference signal.

[0301] Clause 82. The location server according to any one of Clauses 71 to 81, the location server further comprising: means for receiving a measurement report from the one or more recipient RFID stations, the measurement report being based on the backscattered signal from the RFID device; and means for determining an estimated location of the RFID device based on the measurement report.

[0302] Clause 83. The location server according to Clause 82, wherein the estimated location of the RFID device is determined based on the time of arrival (ToA), time difference of arrival (TDOA), angle of arrival (AoA), round-trip time (RTT) associated with the backscattered signal, or a combination thereof.

[0303] Clause 84. An RFID station, the RFID station comprising: means for receiving a first configuration message from a location server, the first configuration message at least indicating a first configuration of a radio resource set of a wireless communication network for a positioning reference signal, the positioning reference signal comprising a first time portion for energy harvesting and a second time portion for backscattering; and means for transmitting the first time portion, the second time portion, or both of the positioning reference signal.

[0304] Clause 85. The RFID station according to Clause 84, wherein: the positioning reference signal corresponds to a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS), a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS), or a sounding reference signal (SRS), and the RFID station is a transmit / receive point (TRP) of the wireless communication network.

[0305] Clause 86. The RFID station according to any one of Clauses 84 to 85, wherein: the RFID station is identified by the location server as an energy harvesting transmitter, and the means for transmitting comprises: means for transmitting the first time portion of the positioning reference signal without including the second time portion of the positioning reference signal.

[0306] Clause 87. The RFID station according to any one of Clauses 84 to 86, wherein: the first time portion of the positioning reference signal has a first bandwidth, the second time portion of the positioning reference signal has a second bandwidth, and the second bandwidth is greater than the first bandwidth.

[0307] Clause 88. The RFID station according to Clause 84, the RFID station further comprising: means for receiving a second configuration message from the location server, the second configuration message at least indicating a second configuration of a monitoring window for observing backscattered signals from the RFID device based on the second time portion of the positioning reference signal; means for receiving the backscattered signals based on the monitoring window; and means for sending a measurement report of the backscattered signals to the location server.

[0308] Clause 89. An RFID station, the RFID station comprising: means for receiving a first configuration message from a location server, the first configuration message at least indicating a first configuration of a monitoring window for observing backscattered signals from an RFID device based on a positioning reference signal, the positioning reference signal being transmitted through a radio resource set of a wireless communication network, and the positioning reference signal including a first time portion for energy harvesting and a second time portion for backscattering; means for receiving the backscattered signals based on the monitoring window; and means for sending a measurement report of the backscattered signals to the location server.

[0309] Clause 90. The RFID station according to Clause 89, wherein: the positioning reference signal corresponds to a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS), a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS), or a sounding reference signal (SRS), and the RFID station is a transmit / receive point (TRP) of the wireless communication network.

[0310] Clause 91. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions, the computer-executable instructions, when executed by an RFID device, cause the RFID device to: receive a positioning reference signal transmitted through a radio resource set of a wireless communication network, the positioning reference signal including a first time portion for energy harvesting and a second time portion for backscattering; and transmit a backscattered signal based on at least a portion of the second time portion of the positioning reference signal.

[0311] Clause 92. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to Clause 91, wherein: the positioning reference signal corresponds to a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS), a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS), or a sounding reference signal (SRS), and the second time portion of the positioning reference signal is from a transmit / receive point (TRP) or a user equipment (UE) of the wireless communication network.

[0312] Clause 93. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 91 to 92, the non-transitory computer-readable medium further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the RFID device, cause the RFID device to: collect electrical energy from at least a portion of the first time portion of the positioning reference signal.

[0313] Clause 94. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 91 to 93, wherein: the radio resource set of the wireless communication network includes time slots, the first time portion corresponds to the first one or more symbols of the time slot, and the second time portion corresponds to the second one or more symbols of the time slot after the first one or more symbols.

[0314] Clause 95. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 91 to 93, wherein: the radio resource set of the wireless communication network includes a plurality of consecutive time slots, the first time portion corresponds to the first one or more time slots of the plurality of consecutive time slots, and the second time portion corresponds to the second one or more time slots of the plurality of consecutive time slots.

[0315] Clause 96. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to Clause 95, wherein: the first one or more time slots and the second one or more time slots are arranged in an alternating manner.

[0316] Clause 97. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 91 to 93, wherein: the radio resource set of the wireless communication network includes a first one or more resource elements arranged based on a first comb pattern and a second one or more resource elements arranged based on a second comb pattern, the first time portion corresponds to the first one or more resource elements, and the second time portion corresponds to the second one or more resource elements.

[0317] Clause 98. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 91 to 97, wherein: the first time portion of the positioning reference signal has a first bandwidth, the second time portion of the positioning reference signal has a second bandwidth, and the second bandwidth is greater than the first bandwidth.

[0318] Clause 99. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 91 to 98, the non-transitory computer-readable medium further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the RFID device, cause the RFID device to: receive a capabilities query from a location server or an RFID station; and in response to the capabilities query, send a capabilities response to the location server or the RFID station, the capabilities response indicating whether the RFID device supports energy harvesting functionality, the energy type of the RFID device, whether to request an energy harvesting enabling portion to be included in the positioning reference signal, or a combination thereof.

[0319] Clause 100. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 91 to 99, the non-transitory computer-readable medium further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the RFID device, cause the RFID device to: receive a configuration message from a location server or an RFID station, the configuration message at least indicating a configuration of the radio resource set for the positioning reference signal.

[0320] Clause 101. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a location server, cause the location server to: send a first configuration message to one or more sender radio frequency identification (RFID) stations, the first configuration message at least indicating a first configuration of a radio resource set of a wireless communication network for a positioning reference signal, the positioning reference signal including a first time portion for energy harvesting and a second time portion for backscattering; and send a second configuration message to one or more receiver RFID stations, the second configuration message at least indicating a second configuration of a monitoring window for observing backscattered signals from RFID devices based on the second time portion of the positioning reference signal.

[0321] Clause 102. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to Clause 101, wherein: the positioning reference signal corresponds to a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS), a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS), or a sounding reference signal (SRS), and a transmit / receive point (TRP) or a user equipment (UE) of the wireless communication network is configured as one of the one or more sender RFID stations or one of the one or more receiver RFID stations.

[0322] Clause 103. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 101 to 102, wherein: the radio resource set of the wireless communication network includes time slots, the first time portion corresponds to the first one or more symbols of the time slot, and the second time portion corresponds to the second one or more symbols of the time slot after the first one or more symbols.

[0323] Clause 104. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 101 to 102, wherein: the radio resource set of the wireless communication network includes a plurality of consecutive time slots, the first time portion corresponds to the first one or more time slots of the plurality of consecutive time slots, and the second time portion corresponds to the second one or more time slots of the plurality of consecutive time slots.

[0324] Clause 105. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to Clause 104, wherein: the first one or more time slots and the second one or more time slots are arranged in an alternating manner.

[0325] Clause 106. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 101 to 102, wherein: the radio resource set of the wireless communication network includes a first one or more resource elements arranged based on a first comb pattern and a second one or more resource elements arranged based on a second comb pattern, the first time portion corresponds to the first one or more resource elements, and the second time portion corresponds to the second one or more resource elements.

[0326] Clause 107. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 101 to 106, wherein: the first time portion of the positioning reference signal has a first bandwidth, the second time portion of the positioning reference signal has a second bandwidth, and the second bandwidth is greater than the first bandwidth.

[0327] Clause 108. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 101 to 107, wherein the one or more sender RFID stations include: a first sender RFID station and a second sender RFID station, the first sender RFID station is configured to send the first time portion of the positioning reference signal, and the second sender RFID station is configured to send the second time portion of the positioning reference signal.

[0328] Clause 109. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 101 to 108, wherein: one or more transmit / receive points (TRPs) of the wireless communication network are configured as a subset of the one or more sender RFID stations and a subset of the one or more receiver RFID stations.

[0329] Clause 110. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 101 to 109, the non-transitory computer-readable medium further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the location server, cause the location server to: send a capabilities query to the RFID device; and receive a capabilities response from the RFID device in response to the capabilities query, the capabilities response indicating whether the RFID device supports energy harvesting functionality, the energy type of the RFID device, whether to request an energy harvesting enablement portion to be included in the positioning reference signal, or a combination thereof.

[0330] Clause 111. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 101 to 110, the non-transitory computer-readable medium further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the location server, cause the location server to: send a third configuration message to the RFID device, the third configuration message at least indicating the first configuration of the radio resource set of the wireless communication network for the positioning reference signal.

[0331] Clause 112. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 101 to 111, the non-transitory computer-readable medium further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the location server, cause the location server to: receive a measurement report from the one or more receiving RFID stations, the measurement report being based on the backscatter signal from the RFID device; and determine an estimated location of the RFID device based on the measurement report.

[0332] Clause 113. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to Clause 112, wherein the estimated location of the RFID device is determined based on the time of arrival (ToA), time difference of arrival (TDOA), angle of arrival (AoA), round-trip time (RTT), or a combination thereof associated with the backscatter signal.

[0333] Clause 114. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by an RFID station, cause the RFID station to: receive a first configuration message from a location server, the first configuration message at least indicating a first configuration of a radio resource set of a wireless communication network for a positioning reference signal, the positioning reference signal including a first time portion for energy harvesting and a second time portion for backscattering; and transmit the first time portion, the second time portion, or both of the positioning reference signal.

[0334] Clause 115. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to Clause 114, wherein: the positioning reference signal corresponds to a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS), a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS), or a sounding reference signal (SRS), and the RFID station is a transmit / receive point (TRP) of the wireless communication network.

[0335] Clause 116. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 114 to 115, wherein: the RFID station is identified by the location server as an energy harvesting transmitter, and the instruction sent by the RFID station includes an instruction to cause the RFID station to send the first time portion of the positioning reference signal without including the second time portion of sending the positioning reference signal.

[0336] Clause 117. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 114 to 116, wherein: the first time portion of the positioning reference signal has a first bandwidth, the second time portion of the positioning reference signal has a second bandwidth, and the second bandwidth is greater than the first bandwidth.

[0337] Clause 118. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to Clause 114, the non-transitory computer-readable medium further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the RFID station, cause the RFID station to: receive a second configuration message from the location server, the second configuration message at least indicating a second configuration of a monitoring window for observing backscattered signals from RFID devices based on the second time portion of the positioning reference signal; receive the backscattered signals based on the monitoring window; and send a measurement report of the backscattered signals to the location server.

[0338] Clause 119. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by an RFID station, cause the RFID station to: receive a first configuration message from a location server, the first configuration message at least indicating a first configuration of a monitoring window for observing backscattered signals from RFID devices based on a positioning reference signal, the positioning reference signal being sent through a radio resource set of a wireless communication network, and the positioning reference signal including a first time portion for energy harvesting and a second time portion for backscattering; receive the backscattered signals based on the monitoring window; and send a measurement report of the backscattered signals to the location server.

[0339] Clause 120. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to Clause 119, wherein: the positioning reference signal corresponds to a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS), a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS), or a sounding reference signal (SRS), and the RFID station is a transmit / receive point (TRP) of the wireless communication network.

[0340] Those skilled in the art will understand that information and signals can be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and methods. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referred to throughout the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, optical fields or optical particles, or any combination thereof.

[0341] In addition, those skilled in the art will understand that the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein can be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, the various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends on the particular application and the design constraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in different ways for each particular application, but such specific implementation decisions should not be construed as causing a departure from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0342] The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein can be implemented or executed with a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an ASIC, a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, such as a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0343] The methods, sequences, and / or algorithms described in connection with the various aspects disclosed herein can be embodied directly in hardware, in software modules executed by a processor, or in a combination of both. The software modules can reside in random access memory (RAM), flash memory, read only memory (ROM), erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), registers, a hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An example storage medium is coupled to the processor such that the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. In an alternative, the storage medium can be integral to the processor. The processor and the storage medium can reside in an ASIC. The ASIC can reside in a user terminal (e.g., a UE). In an alternative, the processor and the storage medium can reside in the user terminal as discrete components.

[0344] In one or more example aspects, the functions can be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions can be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. The computer-readable medium includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. Additionally, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of medium. As used herein, disk and disc include compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk, and Blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically using lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0345] While the foregoing discloses exemplary aspects of the present disclosure, it should be noted that various changes and modifications may be made herein without departing from the scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims. Additionally, the functions, steps, and / or acts of the method claims according to the aspects of the present disclosure described herein need not be performed in any particular order. Further, although the elements of the present disclosure may be described or claimed in the singular, the plural is also contemplated unless explicitly stated to be limited to the singular form.

Claims

1. A method of operating a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) device, the method comprising: Receiving a positioning reference signal transmitted through a radio resource set of a wireless communication network, the positioning reference signal including a first time portion for energy harvesting and a second time portion for backscattering; And Transmitting a backscattering signal based on at least a portion of the second time portion of the positioning reference signal.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The positioning reference signal corresponds to a Downlink Positioning Reference Signal (DL-PRS), a Sidelink Positioning Reference Signal (SL-PRS), or a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS), and the second time portion of the positioning reference signal comes from a Transmission / Reception Point (TRP) or a User Equipment (UE) of the wireless communication network.

3. The method according to claim 1, the method further comprising: Harvesting electrical energy from at least a portion of the first time portion of the positioning reference signal.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The radio resource set of the wireless communication network includes time slots, The first time portion corresponds to the first one or more symbols of the time slot, and The second time portion corresponds to the second one or more symbols of the time slot after the first one or more symbols.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The radio resource set of the wireless communication network includes a plurality of consecutive time slots, The first time portion corresponds to the first one or more time slots of the plurality of consecutive time slots, and The second time portion corresponds to the second one or more time slots of the plurality of consecutive time slots.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein: The first one or more time slots and the second one or more time slots are arranged in an alternating manner.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The radio resource set of the wireless communication network includes a first one or more resource elements arranged based on a first comb pattern and a second one or more resource elements arranged based on a second comb pattern, The first time portion corresponds to the first one or more resource elements, and the second time portion corresponds to the second one or more resource elements.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The first time portion of the positioning reference signal has a first bandwidth, The second time portion of the positioning reference signal has a second bandwidth, and the second bandwidth is greater than the first bandwidth.

9. The method according to claim 1, the method further comprising: Receiving a capability query from a location server or an RFID station; And Sending a capability response to the location server or the RFID station in response to the capability query, the capability response indicating whether the RFID device supports energy harvesting functionality, the energy type of the RFID device, whether to request an energy harvesting enabling portion to be included in the positioning reference signal, or a combination thereof.

10. The method according to claim 1, the method further comprising: Receive a configuration message from a location server or an RFID station, the configuration message indicating at least a configuration of the radio resource set for the positioning reference signal.

11. A method of operating a location server, the method comprising: Sending a first configuration message to one or more sender radio frequency identification (RFID) stations, the first configuration message indicating at least a first configuration of a radio resource set of a wireless communication network for a positioning reference signal, the positioning reference signal including a first time portion for energy harvesting and a second time portion for backscattering; And Sending a second configuration message to one or more receiver RFID stations, the second configuration message indicating at least a second configuration of a monitoring window for observing backscattered signals from RFID devices based on the second time portion of the positioning reference signal.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein: The positioning reference signal corresponds to a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS), a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS), or a sounding reference signal (SRS), and a transmit / receive point (TRP) or a user equipment (UE) of the wireless communication network is configured as a sender RFID station among the one or more sender RFID stations or a receiver RFID station among the one or more receiver RFID stations.

13. The method according to claim 11, wherein: The radio resource set of the wireless communication network includes time slots, The first time portion corresponds to the first one or more symbols of the time slot, and The second time portion corresponds to the second one or more symbols of the time slot after the first one or more symbols.

14. The method according to claim 11, wherein: The radio resource set of the wireless communication network includes a plurality of consecutive time slots, The first time portion corresponds to the first one or more time slots among the plurality of consecutive time slots, and The second time portion corresponds to the second one or more time slots among the plurality of consecutive time slots.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein: The first one or more time slots and the second one or more time slots are arranged in an alternating manner.

16. The method according to claim 11, wherein: The radio resource set of the wireless communication network includes a first one or more resource elements arranged based on a first comb pattern and a second one or more resource elements arranged based on a second comb pattern, The first time portion corresponds to the first one or more resource elements, and the second time portion corresponds to the second one or more resource elements.

17. The method according to claim 11, wherein: The first time portion of the positioning reference signal has a first bandwidth, The second time portion of the positioning reference signal has a second bandwidth, and the second bandwidth is greater than the first bandwidth.

18. The method according to claim 11, wherein the one or more sender RFID stations include: A first transmitting RFID station configured to transmit the first time portion of the positioning reference signal, and A second transmitting RFID station configured to transmit the second time portion of the positioning reference signal.

19. The method according to claim 11, wherein: One or more transmit / receive points (TRPs) of the wireless communication network are configured as a subset of the one or more transmitting RFID stations and a subset of the one or more receiving RFID stations.

20. The method according to claim 11, the method further comprising: Sending a capability query to the RFID device; And Receiving a capability response from the RFID device in response to the capability query, the capability response indicating whether the RFID device supports energy harvesting functionality, the energy type of the RFID device, whether to request an energy harvesting enabling portion to be included in the positioning reference signal, or a combination thereof.

21. The method according to claim 11, the method further comprising: Sending a third configuration message to the RFID device, the third configuration message at least indicating the first configuration of the radio resource set of the wireless communication network for the positioning reference signal.

22. The method according to claim 11, the method further comprising: Receiving a measurement report from the one or more receiving RFID stations, the measurement report being based on the backscattered signal from the RFID device; And Determining an estimated location of the RFID device based on the measurement report.

23. The method according to claim 22, wherein determining the estimated location of the RFID device is based on time of arrival (ToA), time difference of arrival (TDOA), angle of arrival (AoA), round-trip time (RTT), or a combination thereof associated with the backscattered signal.

24. A method of operating a radio frequency identification (RFID) station, the method comprising: Receiving a first configuration message from a location server, the first configuration message at least indicating a first configuration of a radio resource set of a wireless communication network for a positioning reference signal, the positioning reference signal including a first time portion for energy harvesting and a second time portion for backscattering; And Transmitting the first time portion, the second time portion, or both of the positioning reference signal.

25. The method according to claim 24, wherein: The positioning reference signal corresponds to a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS), a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS), or a sounding reference signal (SRS), and the RFID station is a transmit / receive point (TRP) of the wireless communication network.

26. The method according to claim 24, wherein: The RFID station is identified by the location server as an energy harvesting transmitter, and the transmitting includes transmitting the first time portion of the positioning reference signal without including the second time portion of the positioning reference signal.

27. The method according to claim 24, wherein: the first time portion of the positioning reference signal has a first bandwidth, the second time portion of the positioning reference signal has a second bandwidth, and the second bandwidth is greater than the first bandwidth.

28. The method according to claim 24, the method further comprising: receiving a second configuration message from the location server, the second configuration message at least indicating a second configuration of a monitoring window for observing backscattered signals from the RFID device based on the second time portion of the positioning reference signal; receiving the backscattered signals based on the monitoring window; and sending a measurement report of the backscattered signals to the location server.

29. A method of operating a radio frequency identification (RFID) station, the method comprising: receiving a first configuration message from a location server, the first configuration message at least indicating a first configuration of a monitoring window for observing backscattered signals from an RFID device based on a positioning reference signal, the positioning reference signal being transmitted through a radio resource set of a wireless communication network, and the positioning reference signal including a first time portion for energy harvesting and a second time portion for backscattering; receiving the backscattered signals based on the monitoring window; and sending a measurement report of the backscattered signals to the location server.

30. The method according to claim 29, wherein: the positioning reference signal corresponds to a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS), a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS), or a sounding reference signal (SRS), and the RFID station is a transmit / receive point (TRP) of the wireless communication network.

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