Bandwidth aggregation for positioning enhancements

Abstract

A computer readable storage medium storing instructions for execution by one or more processors of a UE, and configuring the UE for positioning enhancements in a 5GNR and above network, and causing the UE to encode RRC signaling for transmission to a base station. The RRC signaling includes UE capability information indicating that the UE supports one or both of DL PRS bandwidth aggregation and UL SRS for positioning bandwidth aggregation. A higher layer configuration via RRC signaling is received from a base station, and a link between a set of DL PRS resources across two or more DL PFLs is configured via the higher layer configuration of RRC signaling, the set of DL PRS resources being mapped to two or more consecutive in-band DL component carriers for a DL PRS bandwidth aggregation operation. The UE performs measurements according to the link using a set of DL PRS resources across the configured in-band DL component carriers.

Description

[0001] Related applications

[0002] This application claims the benefit of priority of the following provisional application:

[0003] U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 482,687, filed February 1, 2023, and entitled “BANDWIDTH AGGREGATION FOR POSITIONING ENHANCEMENT”;

[0004] U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 486,923, filed on February 24, 2023, and entitled “BANDWIDTH AGGREGATION FOR POSITIONING ENHANCEMENT”; and

[0005] U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 494,712, filed on April 6, 2023, and entitled “BANDWIDTH AGGREGATION FOR POSITIONING ENHANCEMENT.”

[0006] Each of the provisional applications listed above is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Background Art

[0007] Mobile communications have evolved significantly from early voice systems to today's highly complex integrated communications platforms. With the increase in different types of devices communicating with various network devices, the use of 3GPP LTE systems has increased. The penetration of mobile devices (user equipment or UE) in modern society has been driving the demand for a variety of networked devices in many different environments. The fifth generation (5G) wireless system is about to arrive and is expected to achieve even greater speed, connectivity and availability. The next generation of 5G networks (or NR networks) and higher versions (e.g., 6G networks) are expected to increase throughput, coverage and robustness, and reduce latency as well as operating and capital expenses. 5GNR (and above) networks will continue to evolve based on 3GPP LTE-Advanced using additional potential new radio access technologies (RATs) to enrich people's lives with seamless wireless connectivity solutions, thereby delivering fast, rich content and services. Since current cellular network frequencies are saturated, higher frequencies (such as millimeter wave (mmWave) frequencies) may be beneficial due to their high bandwidth.

[0008] Potential LTE operations in unlicensed spectrum include (and are not limited to) LTE operation in unlicensed spectrum via dual connectivity (DC) or LAA based on DC, and standalone LTE systems in unlicensed spectrum, according to which LTE-based technologies operate only in unlicensed spectrum without the need for an "anchor" in licensed spectrum, referred to as MulteFire. Further enhanced operation of LTE and NR systems in licensed spectrum as well as unlicensed spectrum is expected in future releases and 5G and above systems. Such enhanced operation may include techniques for positioning enhanced bandwidth aggregation. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] In the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, like reference numerals may describe similar parts in different views. Like numerals with different letter suffixes may represent different instances of similar components. The accompanying drawings generally illustrate various aspects discussed in this document by way of example and not limitation.

[0010] Figure 1A An architecture of a network according to some aspects is shown.

[0011] Figure 1B and Figure 1C A non-roaming 5G system architecture is shown in accordance with some aspects.

[0012] Figure 2 、 Figure 3 and Figure 4 Various systems, devices, and components are shown in which aspects of the disclosed embodiments can be implemented.

[0013] Figure 5 Bandwidth aggregation for sounding reference signal (SRS) transmission across intra-band contiguous carriers is shown in accordance with some aspects.

[0014] Figure 6

[0014] A downlink providing for transmission of a reference signal (DL PRS) utilizing bandwidth aggregation is shown in accordance with some aspects.

[0015] Figure 7 Identical SRS resource configuration across intra-band contiguous carriers is shown in accordance with some aspects.

[0016] Figure 8

[0046] A MAC-CE is shown for activation and deactivation of semi-persistent SRS for positioning with bandwidth aggregation in accordance with some aspects.

[0017] Figure 9 Phase continuity and / or power consistency for simultaneous transmission of SRS according to some aspects is shown.

[0018] Figure 10A block diagram of a communication device, such as an evolved Node-B (eNB), a next-generation Node-B (gNB) (or another RAN node), an NCR, an access point (AP), a wireless station (STA), a mobile station (MS), or a user equipment (UE) according to some aspects is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0019] The following description and accompanying drawings sufficiently illustrate the aspects to enable those skilled in the art to practice them. Other aspects may incorporate structural, logical, electrical, process, and other changes. Portions and features of some aspects may be included in or substituted for portions and features of other aspects. Aspects outlined in the claims encompass all available equivalents of those claims.

[0020] Figures 1A-10 Various systems, devices, and components are shown that can implement aspects of the disclosed embodiments in different communication systems, such as 5G-NR (and above) networks. UEs, base stations (such as gNBs), and / or other nodes (e.g., satellites or other computing nodes) discussed herein can be configured to perform the disclosed techniques.

[0021] Figure 1A The architecture of a network according to some aspects is shown. Communication network 140A is shown as including user equipment (UE) 101 and UE 102. UE 101 and UE 102 are shown as smartphones (e.g., handheld touchscreen mobile computing devices that can connect to one or more cellular networks), but may also include any mobile or non-mobile computing devices, such as personal data assistants (PDAs), pagers, laptops, desktop computers, wireless handheld devices, drones, or any other computing device that includes a wired and / or wireless communication interface. UE 101 and UE 102 may be collectively referred to herein as UE 101, and UE 101 may be used to perform one or more techniques disclosed herein.

[0022] Any radio links described herein (eg, as used in communication network 140A or any other illustrated network) may operate according to any exemplary radio communication technology and / or standard.

[0023] LTE and LTE-Advanced are standards for wireless communication of high-speed data for UEs, such as mobile phones. In LTE-Advanced and various wireless systems, carrier aggregation is a technique whereby multiple carrier signals operating on different frequencies can be used to carry communications for a single UE, thereby increasing the bandwidth available to a single device. In some aspects, carrier aggregation can be used when one or more component carriers operate on unlicensed frequencies.

[0024] The aspects described herein may be used in the context of any spectrum management scheme, including, for example, dedicated licensed spectrum, unlicensed spectrum, (licensed) shared spectrum such as Licensed Shared Access (LSA) in 2.3-2.4 GHz, 3.4-3.6 GHz, 3.6-3.8 GHz, and other frequencies and Spectrum Access System (SAS) in 3.55 GHz-3.7 GHz and other frequencies.

[0025] The aspects described herein may also be applied to different single carrier or OFDM flavors (CP-OFDM, SC-FDMA, SC-OFDM, filter bank based multi-carrier (FBMC), OFDMA, etc.), and in particular 3GPP NR (New Radio), by assigning OFDM carrier data bit vectors to corresponding symbol resources.

[0026] In some aspects, either UE 101 or UE 102 may comprise an Internet of Things (IoT) UE or a cellular IoT (CIoT) UE, which may include a network access layer designed for low-power IoT applications utilizing short-term UE connections. In some aspects, either UE 101 or UE 102 may comprise a narrowband (NB) IoT UE (e.g., such as an enhanced NB-IoT (eNB-IoT) UE and a further enhanced (FeNB-IoT) UE). The IoT UE may utilize technologies such as machine-to-machine (M2M) or machine-type communication (MTC) for exchanging data with an MTC server or device via a public land mobile network (PLMN), proximity-based services (ProSe) or device-to-device (D2D) communication, a sensor network, or an IoT network. The M2M or MTC exchange of data may be machine-initiated data exchange. The IoT network includes interconnected IoT UEs, which may include uniquely identifiable embedded computing devices (within the Internet infrastructure) with short-term connections. The IoT UE may execute background applications (e.g., keep-alive messages, status updates, etc.) to facilitate connectivity to the IoT network.

[0027] In some aspects, either UE 101 and UE 102 may comprise an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE or a further enhanced MTC (FeMTC) UE.

[0028] UE 101 and UE 102 may be configured to connect (e.g., be communicatively coupled) to a radio access network (RAN) 110. RAN 110 may be, for example, a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN), a Next Generation RAN (NG RAN), or some other type of RAN. UE 101 and UE 102 utilize connection 103 and connection 104, respectively, each of which includes a physical communication interface or layer (discussed in further detail below); in this example, connection 103 and connection 104 are shown as air interfaces to achieve communicative coupling and may be consistent with a cellular communication protocol, such as a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) protocol, a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) network protocol, a Push-to-Talk (PTT) protocol, a PTT over Cellular (POC) protocol, a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) protocol, a 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) protocol, a Fifth Generation (5G) protocol, a New Radio (NR) protocol, or the like.

[0029] In one aspect, UE 101 and UE 102 may further exchange communication data directly via a ProSe interface 105. The ProSe interface 105 may alternatively be referred to as a sidelink interface, which includes one or more logical channels including, but not limited to, a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH), a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), a physical sidelink discovery channel (PSDCH), and a physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH).

[0030] UE 102 is shown as being configured to access access point (AP) 106 via connection 107. Connection 107 may comprise a local wireless connection, for example, a connection consistent with any IEEE 802.11 protocol, according to which AP 106 may comprise a Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) router. In this example, AP 106 is shown as being connected to the Internet and not to the core network of the wireless system (described in further detail below).

[0031] The RAN 110 may include one or more access nodes that enable connections 103 and 104. These access nodes (ANs) may be referred to as base stations (BSs), NodeBs, evolved NodeBs (eNBs), next-generation NodeBs (gNBs), RAN network nodes, etc., and may include ground stations (e.g., terrestrial access points) or satellite stations that provide coverage within a geographic area (e.g., a cell). In some aspects, communication nodes 111 and 112 may be transmit / receive points (TRPs). In the case where communication nodes 111 and 112 are NodeBs (e.g., eNBs or gNBs), one or more TRPs may function within the NodeB's communication cell. The RAN 110 may include one or more RAN nodes (e.g., macro RAN nodes) for providing macro cells and one or more RAN nodes (e.g., low power (LP) RAN nodes or secondary RAN nodes based on unlicensed spectrum) for providing femto cells or pico cells (e.g., cells with smaller coverage areas, smaller user capacity, or higher bandwidth than macro cells).

[0032] Any one of the communication nodes 111 and 112 may terminate the air interface protocol and may be the first point of contact for the UE 101 and the UE 102. In some aspects, any one of the communication nodes 111 and 112 may implement various logical functions for the RAN 110, including but not limited to radio network controller (RNC) functions such as radio bearer management, uplink and downlink dynamic radio resource management, and data packet scheduling and mobility management. In an example, any one of the communication nodes 111 and / or 112 may be a next-generation Node-B (gNB), an evolved Node-B (eNB), or another type of RAN node.

[0033] RAN 110 is shown as being communicatively coupled to a core network (CN) 120 via an S1 interface 113. In various aspects, CN 120 may be an evolved packet core (EPC) network, a next generation packet core (NPC) network, or some other type of CN (e.g., Figure 1B-1C In this regard, the S1 interface 113 is divided into two parts: an S1-U interface 114, which carries user traffic data between the communication nodes 111 and 112 and the serving gateway (S-GW) 122; and an S1 mobility management entity (MME) interface 115, which is a signaling interface between the communication nodes 111 and 112 and the MME 121.

[0034] In this regard, CN 120 includes an MME 121, an S-GW 122, a Packet Data Network (PDN) Gateway 123, and a Home Subscriber Server 124. MME 121 may be functionally similar to the control plane of a conventional Serving General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Support Node (SGSN). MME 121 may manage mobility aspects of access, such as gateway selection and tracking area list management. HSS 124 may include a database for network users, including subscription-related information, to support network entities in handling communication sessions. CN 120 may include one or more HSSs 124, depending on the number of mobile subscribers, the capacity of the devices, the organization of the network, etc. For example, HSS 124 may provide support for routing / roaming, authentication, authorization, naming / addressing resolution, location dependency, etc.

[0035] The S-GW 122 may terminate the S1 interface 113 to the RAN 110 and route data packets between the RAN 110 and the CN 120. Furthermore, the S-GW 122 may be the local mobility anchor point for handovers between RAN nodes and may also provide the anchor point for inter-3GPP mobility. Other responsibilities of the S-GW 122 may include lawful interception, charging, and some policy enforcement.

[0036] The P-GW 123 may terminate the SGi interface toward the PDN. The P-GW 123 may route data packets between the EPC network (e.g., CN 120) and external networks, such as a network including an application server 184 (alternatively referred to as an application function (AF)), via an Internet Protocol (IP) interface 125. The P-GW 123 may also transmit data to other external networks 131A, which may include the Internet, an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IPS) network, and other networks. Generally speaking, the application server 184 may be an element that provides applications that utilize IP bearer resources (e.g., a UMTS packet service (PS) domain, LTE PS data services, etc.) with the core network. In this regard, the P-GW 123 is shown as being communicatively coupled to the application server 184 via the IP interface 125. Application server 184 may also be configured to support one or more communication services (eg, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) sessions, PTT sessions, group communication sessions, social networking services, etc.) for UE 101 and UE 102 via CN 120 .

[0037] The P-GW 123 may further be a node for policy enforcement and charging data collection. The Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF) 126 is the policy and charging control element of the CN 120. In non-roaming scenarios, in some aspects, a single PCRF may exist in the Home Public Land Mobile Network (HPLMN) associated with the UE's Internet Protocol Connectivity Access Network (IP-CAN) session. In roaming scenarios with local bursts of traffic, there may be two PCRFs associated with the UE's IP-CAN session: a Home PCRF (H-PCRF) within the HPLMN and a Visited PCRF (V-PCRF) within the Visited Public Land Mobile Network (VPLMN). The PCRF 126 may be communicatively coupled to the application server 184 via the P-GW 123.

[0038] In some aspects, the communication network 140A can be an IoT network or a 5G network, including a 5G New Radio network that uses communications in licensed (5G NR) and unlicensed (5G NR-U) spectrum. One of the current enablers of IoT is narrowband IoT (NB-IoT).

[0039] The NG system architecture may include a RAN 110 and a 5G core network (e.g., CN 120). The RAN 110 in the NG system may be referred to as an NG RAN. The RAN 110 may include multiple nodes, such as gNBs and NG-eNBs. The CN 120 (also referred to as the 5G core network or 5GC) may include an access and mobility function (AMF) and / or a user plane function (UPF). The AMF and UPF may be communicatively coupled to the gNBs and NG-eNBs via an NG interface. More specifically, in some aspects, the gNBs and NG-eNBs may be connected to the AMF via an NG-C interface and to the UPF via an NG-U interface. The gNBs and NG-eNBs may be coupled to each other via an Xn interface.

[0040] In some aspects, the NG system architecture may utilize reference points between various nodes provided by 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 23.501 (e.g., V15.4.0, 2018-12). In some aspects, each of the gNB and NG-eNB may be implemented as a base station, a mobile edge server, a small cell, a home eNB, a RAN network node, etc. In some aspects, in the 5G architecture, the gNB may be a master node (MN) and the NG-eNB may be a secondary node (SN). In some aspects, the primary / master node may operate in a licensed band and the secondary node may operate in an unlicensed band.

[0041] Figure 1B A non-roaming 5G system architecture is shown according to some aspects. Figure 1B, a 5G system architecture 140B is shown with reference points. More specifically, UE 102 can communicate with RAN 110 and one or more other 5G core (5GC) network entities. 5G system architecture 140B includes multiple network functions (NFs), such as access and mobility management function (AMF) 132, location management function (LMF) 133, session management function (SMF) 136, policy control function (PCF) 148, application function (AF) 150, user plane function (UPF) 134, network slice selection function (NSSF) 142, authentication server function (AUSF) 144, and unified data management (UDM) / home subscriber server (HSS) 146. UPF 134 can provide connectivity to data network (DN) 152, which can include, for example, operator services, internet access, or third-party services. AMF 132 can be used to manage access control and mobility, and can also include network slice selection functionality. SMF 136 can be configured to establish and manage various sessions based on network policies. The UPF 134 can be deployed in one or more configurations depending on the desired service type. The PCF 148 can be configured to provide a policy framework using network slicing, mobility management, and roaming (similar to the PCRF in 4G communication systems). The UDM can be configured to store user profiles and data (similar to the HSS in 4G communication systems).

[0042] LMF 133 can be used in conjunction with 5G positioning functionality. In some aspects, LMF 133 receives measurement and assistance information from RAN 110 and a mobile device (e.g., UE 101) via AMF 132 over the NL interface to calculate the location of UE 101. In some aspects, NR Positioning Protocol A (NRPPa) can be used to carry positioning information between NG-RAN and LMF 133 over the next generation control plane interface (NG-C). In some aspects, LMF 133 configures the UE using the LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) via AMF 132. RAN 110 configures UE 101 using the Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol over the LTE-Uu and NR-Uu interfaces.

[0043] In some aspects, the 5G system architecture 140B configures different reference signals to enable positioning measurements. Example reference signals that can be used for positioning measurements include a positioning reference signal (NR PRS) in the downlink and a sounding reference signal (SRS) for positioning in the uplink. The downlink positioning reference signal (PRS) is a reference signal configured to support downlink-based positioning methods.

[0044] In some aspects, the 5G system architecture 140B includes an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) 168B and multiple IP multimedia core network subsystem entities, such as a call session control function (CSCF). More specifically, the IMS 168B includes a CSCF, which can act as a proxy CSCF (P-CSCF) 162BE, a serving CSCF (S-CSCF) 164B, an emergency CSCF (E-CSCF) ( Figure 1B In some aspects, the I-CSCF 166B may be connected to another IP multimedia network 170, for example, an IMS operated by a different network operator.

[0045] In some aspects, the UDM / HSS 146 may be coupled to an application server (AS) 160B, which may include a telephony application server (TAS) or another AS. The AS 160B may be coupled to the IMS 168B via an S-CSCF 164B or an I-CSCF 166B.

[0046] Reference point representation shows that interactions can exist between corresponding NF services. For example, Figure 1BThe following reference points are shown: N1 (between UE 102 and AMF 132), N2 (between RAN 110 and AMF 132), N3 (between RAN 110 and UPF 134), N4 (between SMF 136 and UPF 134), N5 (between PCF 148 and AF 150, not shown), N6 (between UPF 134 and DN 152), N7 (between SMF 136 and PCF 148, not shown), N8 (between UDM / HSS 146 and AMF 132, not shown), N9 (between two UPFs, not shown), N10 (between UDM / HSS 146 and SMF 136, not shown), N1 (between AMF 132 and SMF 136, not shown), N12 (between AUSF 144 and AMF 132, not shown), N13 (between AUSF 144 and AMF 132, not shown). 144 and UDM / HSS 146, not shown), N14 (between two AMFs, not shown), N15 (between PCF 148 and AMF 132 in the case of non-roaming scenario, or between PCF 148 and access network and AMF 132 in the case of roaming scenario, not shown), N16 (between two SMFs, not shown), and N22 (between AMF 132 and NSSF 142, not shown). Figure 1B Other reference points not shown are indicated.

[0047] Figure 1C 5G system architecture 140C and service-based representation are shown. Figure 1B In addition to the network entities shown, the 5G system architecture 140C may also include a network exposure function (NEF) 154 and a network storage function (NRF) 156. In some aspects, the 5G system architecture may be service-based, and the interactions between network functions may be represented by corresponding point-to-point reference points Ni or as service-based interfaces.

[0048] In some aspects, such as Figure 1CAs shown, a service-based representation can be used to represent network functions within the control plane that enable other authorized network functions to access their services. In this regard, the 5G system architecture 140C may include the following service-based interfaces: Namf 158H (service-based interface exposed by AMF 132), Nsmf 158I (service-based interface exposed by SMF 136), Nnef 158B (service-based interface exposed by NEF 154), Npcf 158D (service-based interface exposed by PCF 148), Nudm 158E (service-based interface exposed by UDM / HSS 146), Naf 158F (service-based interface exposed by AF 150), Nnrf 158C (service-based interface exposed by NRF 156), Nnssf 158A (service-based interface exposed by NSSF 142), Nausf 158G (service-based interface exposed by AUSF 144). Figure 1C Other service-based interfaces not shown (e.g., Nudr, N5g-eir, and Nudsf).

[0049] Figure 2 A network 200 is shown according to various embodiments. The network 200 may operate in a manner consistent with 3GPP technical specifications for LTE or 5G / NR systems. However, the example embodiments are not limited in this respect, and the described embodiments may be applied to other networks that benefit from the principles described herein, such as future 3GPP systems, etc.

[0050] The network 200 may include a UE 202, which may include any mobile or non-mobile computing device designed to communicate over an over-the-air connection with the RAN 204. The UE 202 may be, but is not limited to, a smartphone, a tablet computer, a wearable computing device, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, an in-vehicle infotainment device, an in-vehicle entertainment device, an instrument cluster, a head-up display device, an on-board diagnostic device, a dashboard mobile device, a mobile data terminal, an electronic engine management system, an electronic / engine control unit, an electronic / engine control module, an embedded system, a sensor, a microcontroller, a control module, an engine management system, a networked appliance, a machine type communication device, an M2M or D2D device, an IoT device, or the like.

[0051] In some embodiments, the network 200 may include multiple UEs directly coupled to each other via a sidelink interface. The UEs may be M2M / D2D devices that communicate using physical sidelink channels such as, but not limited to, PSBCH, PSDCH, PSSCH, PSCCH, PSFCH, etc.

[0052] In some embodiments, UE 202 may additionally communicate with AP 206 via an over-the-air connection. AP 206 may manage a WLAN connection, which may be used to offload some / all network traffic from RAN 204. The connection between UE 202 and AP 206 may be consistent with any IEEE 802.11 protocol, where AP 206 may be a Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) In some embodiments, UE 202, RAN 204, and AP 206 may utilize cellular WLAN aggregation (eg, LWA / LWIP). Cellular WLAN aggregation may involve UE 202 being configured by RAN 204 to utilize both cellular radio resources and WLAN resources.

[0053] RAN 204 may include one or more access nodes, such as access node (AN) 208. AN 208 may terminate air interface protocols for UE 202 by providing access layer protocols, including RRC, Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP), Radio Link Control (RLC), MAC, and L1 protocols. In this manner, AN 208 may facilitate data / voice connectivity between core network (CN) 220 and UE 202. In some embodiments, AN 208 may be implemented in a discrete device or as one or more software entities running on a server computer, for example, as part of a virtual network, which may be referred to as a CRAN or virtual baseband unit pool. AN 208 may be referred to as a BS, gNB, RAN node, eNB, ng-eNB, NodeB, RSU, TRxP, TRP, etc. AN 208 may be a macrocell base station or a low-power base station used to provide femtocells, picocells, or other similar cells with smaller coverage areas, lower user capacity, or higher bandwidth than macrocells.

[0054] In an embodiment where the RAN 204 includes multiple ANs, the multiple ANs may be coupled to each other via an X2 interface (if the RAN 204 is an LTE RAN) or an Xn interface (if the RAN 204 is a 5G RAN). The X2 / Xn interface, which may be divided into a control / user plane interface in some embodiments, may allow the ANs to transfer information related to handover, data / context transfer, mobility, load management, interference coordination, etc.

[0055] The ANs of the RAN 204 may each manage one or more cells, cell groups, component carriers, etc., to provide an air interface for network access to the UE 202. The UE 202 may be simultaneously connected to multiple cells provided by the same or different ANs of the RAN 204. For example, the UE 202 and the RAN 204 may use carrier aggregation to allow the UE 202 to connect to multiple component carriers, each corresponding to a PCell or Scell. In a dual connectivity scenario, the first AN may be a primary node providing an MCG, while the second AN may be a secondary node providing an SCG. The first and second ANs may be any combination of eNBs, gNBs, ng-eNBs, etc.

[0056] RAN 204 can provide an air interface over licensed or unlicensed spectrum. To operate in unlicensed spectrum, a node can use LAA, eLAA, and / or feLAA mechanisms based on CA technology with PCell / SCell. Before accessing unlicensed spectrum, a node can perform medium / carrier sensing operations based on, for example, a listen-before-talk (LBT) protocol.

[0057] In a V2X scenario, the UE 202 or AN 208 may be or act as a roadside unit (RSU), which can refer to any transportation infrastructure entity used for V2X communication. The RSU can be implemented in or by a suitable AN or fixed (or relatively fixed) UE. An RSU implemented in or by a UE may be referred to as a "UE-type RSU"; an eNB may be referred to as an "eNB-type RSU"; a gNB may be referred to as a "gNB-type RSU"; and so on. In one example, the RSU is a computing device coupled to a radio frequency circuit module located on the roadside, which provides connectivity support to passing vehicle UEs. The RSU may also include internal data storage circuit modules for storing intersection map geometry, traffic statistics, and media, as well as applications / software for sensing and controlling ongoing vehicle and pedestrian traffic. The RSU can provide very low-latency communications required for high-speed events (such as collision avoidance, traffic warnings, etc.). Additionally or alternatively, the RSU may provide other cellular / WLAN communication services. The components of the RSU may be housed in a weatherproof enclosure suitable for outdoor installation and may include a network interface controller to provide a wired connection (e.g., Ethernet) to a traffic signal controller or backhaul network.

[0058] In some embodiments, the RAN 204 may be an LTE RAN 210 with an eNB (e.g., eNB 212). The LTE RAN 210 may provide an LTE air interface with the following features: a subcarrier spacing (SCS) of 15 kHz; a CP-OFDM waveform for downlink (DL) and an SC-FDMA waveform for uplink (UL); turbo codes for data and TBCC for control; etc. The LTE air interface may rely on CSLRS for CSI acquisition and beam management;

[0059] and CRS for cell search and initial acquisition, channel quality measurement, and channel estimation for coherent demodulation / detection at the UE. The LTE air interface may operate on sub-6 GHz frequency bands.

[0060] In some embodiments, the RAN 204 may be an NG-RAN 214 having a gNB (e.g., gNB 216) or an ng-eNB (e.g., ng-eNB 218). The gNB 216 may connect to 5G-capable UEs using a 5G NR interface. The gNB 216 may connect to the 5G core via an NG interface, which may include an N2 interface or an N3 interface. The ng-eNB 218 may also connect to the 5G core via an NG interface, but may connect to the UE via an LTE air interface. The gNB 216 and the ng-eNB 218 may connect via an Xn interface.

[0061] In some embodiments, the NG interface can be divided into two parts: an NG user plane (NG-U) interface, which carries service data between the nodes of the NG-RAN 214 and the UPF 248 (e.g., the N3 interface); and an NG control plane (NG-C) interface, which is a signaling interface between the nodes of the NG-RAN 214 and the AMF 244 (e.g., the N2 interface).

[0062] The NG-RAN 214 may provide a 5G-NR air interface with the following features: variable SCS; CP-OFDM for DL, DFT-s-OFDM and CP-OFDM for UL; polarization, repetition, simplex, and Reed-Muller codes for control, and LDPC for data. The 5G-NR air interface may rely on CSI-RS and PDSCH / PDCCH DMRS, similar to the LTE air interface. Instead of using CRS, the 5G-NR air interface may use PBCH DMRS for PBCH demodulation, PTRS for phase tracking of PDSCH, and tracking reference signals for time tracking. The 5G-NR air interface may operate on FR1 bands including bands below 6 GHz or FR2 bands including bands from 24.25 GHz to 52.6 GHz. The 5G-NR air interface may include synchronization signals and physical broadcast channel (SS / PBCH) blocks (SSBs), which are areas of the downlink resource grid that include PSS / SSS / PBCH.

[0063] In some embodiments, the 5G-NR air interface may use BWPs (Bandwidth Portions) for various purposes. For example, BWPs may be used for dynamic adaptation of SCSs. For example, a UE 202 may be configured with multiple BWPs, each configured with a different SCS. When a BWP change is indicated to the UE 202, the transmitted SCS also changes. Another example use case for BWPs relates to power conservation. Specifically, multiple BWPs with different numbers of frequency resources (e.g., PRBs) may be configured for the UE 202 to support data transmission in different traffic load scenarios. A BWP containing a smaller number of PRBs may be used for data transmission with light traffic load, while allowing power savings at the UE 202 and, in some cases, at the gNB 216. A BWP containing a larger number of PRBs may be used in scenarios with higher traffic loads.

[0064] RAN 204 is communicatively coupled to CN 220, which includes network elements for providing various functions to support data and telecommunication services for customers / subscribers (e.g., users of UE 202). Components of CN 220 may be implemented in one physical node or in separate physical nodes. In some embodiments, NFV may be used to virtualize any or all functions provided by the network elements of CN 220 onto physical computing / storage resources in servers, switches, etc. A logical instance of CN 220 may be referred to as a network slice, and a logical instance of a portion of CN 220 may be referred to as a network sub-slice.

[0065] In some embodiments, CN 220 can be connected to the LTE radio network as part of an enhanced packet system (EPS) 222, which may also be referred to as an EPC (or enhanced packet core). EPC 222 may include an MME 224, SGW 226, SGSN 228, HSS 230, PGW 232, and PCRF 234 coupled to each other via interfaces (or "reference points"), as shown. The functions of the elements of EPC 222 can be briefly described as follows.

[0066] The MME 224 may implement mobility management functions for tracking the current location of the UE 202 to facilitate paging, bearer activation / deactivation, handover, gateway selection, authentication, and the like.

[0067] The SGW 226 may terminate the S1 interface towards the RAN and route data packets between the RAN and the EPC 222. The SGW 226 may be the local mobility anchor for handovers between RAN nodes and may also provide an anchor for inter-3GPP mobility. Other responsibilities may include lawful interception, charging, and some policy enforcement.

[0068] The SGSN 228 can track the location of the UE 202 and perform security functions and access control. In addition, the SGSN 228 can perform inter-EPC node signaling for mobility between different RAT networks, PDN and S-GW selection as specified by the MME 224, MME selection for handover, etc. The S3 reference point between the MME 224 and the SGSN 228 can implement user and bearer information exchange for inter-3GPP access network mobility in idle / active states.

[0069] HSS 230 may include a database for network users, including subscription-related information, to support network entities handling communication sessions. HSS 230 may provide support for routing / roaming, authentication, authorization, naming / addressing resolution, location dependency, etc. The S6a reference point between HSS 230 and MME 224 may facilitate the transmission of subscription and authentication data for authenticating / authorizing user access to the LTE CN (e.g., CN 220).

[0070] The PGW 232 may terminate the SGi interface toward a data network (DN) 236, which may include an application / content server 238. The PGW 232 may route data packets between the LTE CN and the data network 236. The PGW 232 may be coupled to the SGW 226 via an S5 reference point to facilitate user plane tunneling and tunnel management. The PGW 232 may also include a node (e.g., PCEF) for policy enforcement and charging data collection. Additionally, the SGi reference point between the PGW 232 and the data network 236 may be an external public or private PDN or an intra-operator packet data network, e.g., for providing IMS services. The PGW 232 may be coupled to the PCRF 234 via a Gx reference point.

[0071] PCRF 234 is the policy and charging control element of CN 220. PCRF 234 can be communicatively coupled to application / content server 238 to determine appropriate quality of service and charging parameters for service flows. PCRF 234 can provide the associated rules to PCEF (via the Gx reference point) with the appropriate TFT and QCI.

[0072] In some embodiments, CN 220 may be 5GC 240. As shown, 5GC 240 may include AUSF 242, AMF 244, SMF 246, UPF 248, NSSF 250, NEF 252, NRF 254, PCF 256, UDM 258, and AF 260 coupled to one another via interfaces (or "reference points"). The functions of the elements of 5GC 240 may be briefly described as follows.

[0073] The AUSF 242 may store data used for authentication of the UE 202 and handle authentication-related functionality. The AUSF 242 may facilitate a common authentication framework for various access types. In addition to communicating with other elements of the 5GC 240 via reference points, the AUSF 242 may present an interface based on the Nausf service, as shown.

[0074] The AMF 244 may allow other functions of the 5GC 240 to communicate with the UE 202 and the RAN 204 and subscribe to notifications about mobility events of the UE 202. The AMF 244 may be responsible for registration management (e.g., for registering the UE 202), connection management, reachability management, mobility management, lawful interception of AMF-related events, and access authentication and authorization. The AMF 244 may provide transport for SM messages between the UE 202 and the SMF 246 and act as a transparent proxy for routing SM messages. The AMF 244 may also provide transport for SMS messages between the UE 202 and the SMSF. The AMF 244 may interact with the AUSF 242 and the UE 202 to perform various security anchor and context management functions. In addition, the AMF 244 may be the termination point for the RAN CP interface, which may include or may be the N2 reference point between the RAN 204 and the AMF 244, and the AMF 244 may be the termination point for NAS (N1) signaling and perform NAS encryption and integrity protection. The AMF 244 may also support NAS signaling with the UE 202 over the N3 IWF interface.

[0075] The SMF 246 may be responsible for SM (e.g., session establishment, tunnel management between the UPF 248 and the AN 208); UE IP address allocation and management (including optional authorization); selection and control of UP functions; configuring traffic steering at the UPF 248 to route traffic to the appropriate destination; terminating interfaces for policy control functions; controlling policy enforcement, charging, and a portion of quality of service; lawful interception (for SM events and interfaces to the LI system); terminating the SM portion of NAS messages; downlink data notification; initiating AN-specific SM information, sent via the AMF 244 over N2 to the AN 208; and determining the SSC mode for the session. SM may refer to the management of a PDU session, and a PDU session or "session" may refer to a PDU connection service that provides or enables the exchange of PDUs between the UE 202 and the data network 236.

[0076] The UPF 248 may serve as an anchor point for intra-RAT and inter-RAT mobility, an external PDU session point for interconnection to the data network 236, and a branching point for supporting multi-homed PDU sessions. The UPF 248 may also perform packet routing and forwarding, perform packet inspection, enforce the user plane portion of policy rules, lawful interception of packets (UP collection), perform traffic usage reporting, perform user plane quality of service processing (e.g., packet filtering, gating, UL / DL rate enforcement), perform uplink traffic validation (e.g., SDF to QoS flow mapping), transport level packet marking in the uplink and downlink, and perform downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering. The UPF 248 may include an uplink classifier to support routing of traffic flows to the data network.

[0077] The NSSF 250 may select a set of network slice instances to serve the UE 202. If necessary, the NSSF 250 may also determine the allowed NSSAIs and the mapping to the subscribed S-NSSAIs. The NSSF 250 may also determine the set of AMFs or a list of candidate AMFs to be used to serve the UE 202 based on appropriate configuration and possibly by querying the NRF 254. The selection of a set of network slice instances for the UE 202 may be triggered by the AMF 244, with the UE 202 registering with the AMF 244 by interacting with the NSSF 250, which may result in a change of the AMF. The NSSF 250 may interact with the AMF 244 via the N22 reference point and may communicate with another NSSF in the visited network via the N31 reference point (not shown). In addition, the NSSF 250 may present an interface based on the Nnssf service.

[0078] NEF 252 can securely expose services and capabilities provided by 3GPP network functions to third parties, internal exposure / re-exposure, AF (e.g., AF 260), edge computing or fog computing systems, etc. In such an embodiment, NEF 252 can authenticate, authorize, or throttle the AF. NEF 252 can also convert information exchanged with AF 260 and information exchanged with internal network functions. For example, NEF 252 can convert between AF service identifiers and internal 5GC information. NEF 252 can also receive information from other NFs based on the exposed capabilities of other NFs. This information can be stored at NEF 252 as structured data or data storage NF using standardized interfaces. NEF 252 can then re-expose the stored information to other NFs and AFs, or use it for other purposes, such as analysis. In addition, NEF 252 can present an interface based on Nnef services.

[0079] NRF 254 can support service discovery functionality, receive NF discovery requests from NF instances, and provide information about discovered NF instances to NF instances. NRF 254 also maintains information about available NF instances and the services they support. As used herein, the terms "instantiate," "instantiate," and the like can refer to the creation of an instance, and "instance" can refer to the specific occurrence of an object, which can occur, for example, during the execution of program code. In addition, NRF 254 can present an interface based on Nnrf services.

[0080] The PCF 256 can provide policy rules to control plane functions to implement policy rules and can also support a unified policy framework to manage network behavior. The PCF 256 can also implement a front end to access subscription information related to policy decisions in the UDR of the UDM 258. In addition to communicating with functions through reference points, as shown in the figure, the PCF 256 also exposes an interface based on the NPCF service.

[0081] The UDM 258 can process subscription-related information to support network entities' handling of communication sessions and can store subscription data for the UE 202. For example, subscription data can be transferred via the N8 reference point between the UDM 258 and the AMF 244. The UDM 258 can include two components: an application frontend and a UDR. The UDR can store subscription data and policy data for the UDM 258 and PCF 256, and / or structured data for exposure and application data (including PFDs for application detection and application request information for multiple UEs) for the NEF 252. The UDR can expose a Nudr service-based interface to allow the UDM 258, PCF 256, and NEF 252 to access specific sets of stored data, as well as read, update (e.g., add, modify), delete, and subscribe to notifications of changes to relevant data in the UDR. The UDM can include a UDM-FE, which is responsible for handling credentials, location management, subscription management, etc. Several different frontends can serve the same user in different transactions. The UDM-FE accesses subscription information stored in the UDR and performs authentication credential processing, user identity processing, access authorization, registration / mobility management, and subscription management. In addition to communicating with other NFs through reference points, the UDM 258 can present an interface based on Nudm services as shown in the figure.

[0082] AF 260 may provide application influence on service routing, provide access to NEF, and interact with the policy framework for policy control.

[0083] In some embodiments, 5GC 240 can implement edge computing by selecting an operator / third-party service to be geographically close to the point where UE 202 is attached to the network. This can reduce latency and load on the network. To provide edge computing implementation, 5GC 240 can select a UPF 248 close to UE 202 and perform service steering from UPF 248 to data network 236 via the N6 interface. This can be based on UE subscription data, UE location and information provided by AF 260. In this way, AF 260 can influence UPF (re)selection and service routing. Based on operator deployment, when AF 260 is considered a trusted entity, the network operator can allow AF 260 to interact directly with relevant NFs. In addition, AF 260 can present an interface based on Naf services.

[0084] The data network 236 may represent various network operator services, Internet access, or third-party services that may be provided by one or more servers, including, for example, the application / content server 238 .

[0085] In some aspects, the network 200 is configured for NR positioning using a location management function (LMF) 245, which can be configured as a function in an LMF node or a different type of node. In some embodiments, the LMF 245 is configured to receive measurement and assistance information from the NG-RAN 214 and the UE 202 via the AMF 244 (e.g., using the NL interface) to calculate the UE's position. In some embodiments, the NR Positioning Protocol A (NRPPa) can be used to carry positioning information between the NG-RAN 214 and the LMF 245 over the Next Generation Control Plane Interface (NG-C). In some embodiments, the LMF 245 configures the UE 202 using the LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) (e.g., an LPP-based communication link) via the AMF 244. In some aspects, the NG-RAN 214 configures the UE 202 using, for example, radio resource control (RRC) protocol signaling over, for example, the LTE-Uu and NR-Uu interfaces. In some aspects, the UE 202 communicates with the ng-eNB 218 using an LTE-Uu interface and communicates with the gNB 216 using an NR-Uu interface. In some aspects, the ng-eNB 216 and the gNB 216 communicate with the AMF 244 using an NG-C interface.

[0086] In some embodiments, the following reference signals may be used to enable positioning measurements in NR communication networks: NR Positioning Reference Signal (NR PRS) in the downlink and Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) for positioning in the uplink. The downlink Positioning Reference Signal (PRS) may be used as a reference signal to support downlink-based positioning techniques. In some aspects, the entire NR bandwidth may be covered by transmitting the PRS over multiple symbols that may be aggregated to accumulate power.

[0087] Figure 3 Schematically illustrated is a wireless network 300 according to various embodiments. The wireless network 300 may include a UE 302 in wireless communication with an AN 304. The UE 302 and the AN 304 may be similar to, and substantially interchangeable with, similarly named components described elsewhere herein.

[0088] UE 302 may be communicatively coupled with AN 304 via connection 306. Connection 306 is shown as an air interface for enabling the communicative coupling and may be consistent with a cellular communication protocol such as an LTE protocol or a 5G NR protocol operating at mmWave or sub-6 GHz frequencies.

[0089] UE 302 may include a host platform 308 coupled to a modem platform 310. Host platform 308 may include an application processing circuit module 312, which may be coupled to a protocol processing circuit module 314 of modem platform 310. Application processing circuit module 312 may run various applications that source / sink application data for UE 302. Application processing circuit module 312 may also implement one or more layer operations to send / receive application data to / from a data network. These layer operations may include transport (e.g., UDP) and internet (e.g., IP) operations.

[0090] Protocol processing circuitry module 314 may implement one or more layer operations to facilitate sending or receiving data over connection 306. The layer operations implemented by protocol processing circuitry module 314 may include, for example, MAC, RLC, PDCP, RRC, and NAS operations.

[0091] The modem platform 310 may also include a digital baseband circuit module 316, which may implement one or more layer operations, which are "lower layer" operations in the network protocol stack performed by the protocol processing circuit module 314. These operations may include, for example, PHY operations, which include one or more of the following: HARQ-ACK functions, scrambling / descrambling, encoding / decoding, layer mapping / demapping, modulation symbol mapping, received symbol / bit metric determination, multi-antenna port precoding / decoding, which may include one or more of the following: space-time, space-frequency, or spatial coding, reference signal generation / detection, preamble sequence generation and / or decoding, synchronization sequence generation / detection, control channel signal blind decoding, and other related functions.

[0092] Modem platform 310 may also include transmit circuitry 318, receive circuitry 320, RF circuitry 322, and an RF front end (RFFE) 324, which may include or be connected to one or more antenna panels 326. Briefly, transmit circuitry 318 may include digital-to-analog converters, mixers, intermediate frequency (IF) components, etc.; receive circuitry 320 may include analog-to-digital converters, mixers, IF components, etc.; RF circuitry 322 may include low-noise amplifiers, power amplifiers, power tracking components, etc.; and RFFE 324 may include filters (e.g., surface / bulk acoustic wave filters), switches, antenna tuners, beamforming components (e.g., phased array antenna components), etc. The selection and arrangement of the transmit circuitry 318, receive circuitry 320, RF circuitry 322, RFFE 324, and one or more antenna panels 326 (collectively, the "transmit / receive components") may be specific to the details of a particular implementation, such as whether the communication is TDM or FDM, at mmWave or sub-6 GHz frequencies, etc. In some embodiments, the transmit / receive components may be arranged in multiple parallel transmit / receive chains, may be provided in the same or different chips / modules, etc.

[0093] In some embodiments, the protocol processing circuit module 314 may include one or more instances of a control circuit module (not shown) for providing control functions for the transmit / receive components.

[0094] UE reception may be established by and via one or more antenna panels 326, RFFE 324, RF circuit modules 322, receive circuit modules 320, digital baseband circuit modules 316, and protocol processing circuit modules 314. In some embodiments, one or more antenna panels 326 may receive transmissions from AN 304 via receive-beamformed signals received by multiple antennas / antenna elements of one or more antenna panels 326.

[0095] UE transmissions may be established by and via the protocol processing circuitry module 314, the digital baseband circuitry module 316, the transmit circuitry module 318, the RF circuitry module 322, the RFFE 324, and the one or more antenna panels 326. In some embodiments, the transmit component of the UE 302 may apply a spatial filter to the data to be transmitted to form transmit beams that are transmitted by the antenna elements of the one or more antenna panels 326.

[0096] Similar to UE 302, AN 304 may include a host platform 328 coupled to a modem platform 330. Host platform 328 may include an application processing circuit module 332 coupled to a protocol processing circuit module 334 of modem platform 330. The modem platform may also include a digital baseband circuit module 336, a transmit circuit module 338, a receive circuit module 340, an RF circuit module 342, an RFFE circuit module 344, and an antenna panel 346. The components of AN 304 may be similar to and substantially interchangeable with the similarly named components of UE 302. In addition to performing data transmission / reception as described above, the components of AN 304 may perform various logical functions, including, for example, RNC functions such as radio bearer management, uplink and downlink dynamic radio resource management, and data packet scheduling.

[0097] Figure 4 is a block diagram illustrating components capable of reading instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium) and executing any one or more of the methods discussed herein, according to some example embodiments. Figure 4A graphical representation of hardware resources 400 is shown, including one or more processors (or processor cores) 410, one or more memory / storage devices 420, and one or more communication resources 430, each of which can be communicatively coupled via a bus 440 or other interface circuitry. For embodiments utilizing node virtualization (e.g., NFV), a hypervisor 402 can be executed to provide an execution environment for one or more network slices / subslices to utilize hardware resources 400.

[0098] The one or more processors 410 may include, for example, a processor 412 and a processor 414. The one or more processors 410 may be, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), a reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processor, a complex instruction set computing (CISC) processor, a graphics processing unit (GPU), a DSP (such as a baseband processor), an ASIC, an FPGA, a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), another processor (including those discussed herein), or any suitable combination thereof.

[0099] The memory / storage device 420 may include main memory, disk storage, or any suitable combination thereof. The memory / storage device 420 may include, but is not limited to, any type of volatile, non-volatile, or semi-volatile memory, such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, solid-state storage, etc.

[0100] The one or more communication resources 430 may include interconnect or network interface controllers, components, or other suitable devices for communicating with one or more peripheral devices 404 or one or more databases 406 or other network elements via the network 408. For example, the one or more communication resources 430 may include a wired communication component (e.g., for coupling via USB, Ethernet, etc.), a cellular communication component, an NFC component, (or Low power) components, components and other communication components.

[0101] The instructions 450 may include software, a program, an application, an applet, an app, or other executable code for causing at least any one of the one or more processors 410 to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein. The instructions 450 may reside, in whole or in part, within at least one of the one or more processors 410 (e.g., within a cache memory of a processor), the memory / storage device 420, or any suitable combination thereof. Furthermore, any portion of the instructions 450 may be transferred to the hardware resources 400 from any combination of the one or more peripheral devices 404 or the one or more databases 406. Thus, the memory of the one or more processors 410, the memory / storage device 420, the one or more peripheral devices 404, and the one or more databases 406 are examples of computer-readable and machine-readable media.

[0102] For one or more embodiments, at least one component outlined in one or more of the aforementioned figures may be configured to perform one or more operations, techniques, processes, and / or methods as outlined in the Examples section below. For example, a baseband circuit module associated with one or more of the aforementioned figures may be configured to operate according to one or more examples described below. For another example, as described above in conjunction with one or more of the aforementioned figures, a circuit module associated with a UE, a base station, a satellite, a network element, etc. may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples described below in the Examples section.

[0103] The term "application" may refer to a complete, deployable package or environment for implementing specific functionality within an operating environment. The term "AI / ML application" or the like may refer to an application that includes some artificial intelligence (AI) / machine learning (ML) models and application-level descriptions. In some embodiments, the AI / ML application may be used to configure or implement one or more of the disclosed aspects.

[0104] The term "machine learning" or "ML" refers to the use of computer systems that implement algorithms and / or statistical models to perform specific tasks without explicit instructions, but instead relying on patterns and inferences. ML algorithms build or estimate mathematical models (called "ML models", etc.) based on sample data (called "training data", "model training information", etc.) to make predictions or decisions without being explicitly programmed to perform such tasks. Typically, an ML algorithm is a computer program that learns from experience with some tasks and some performance measurements, and an ML model can be any object or data structure created after training an ML algorithm with one or more training data sets. After training, the ML model can be used to make predictions on new data sets. Although the term "ML algorithm" refers to a different concept than the term "ML model", these terms can be used interchangeably in the present disclosure as discussed herein.

[0105] The terms "machine learning model," "ML model," etc., can also refer to the ML methods and concepts used by ML-assisted solutions. An "ML-assisted solution" is a solution that uses ML algorithms to solve specific use cases during operation. ML models include supervised learning (e.g., linear regression, k-nearest neighbors (KNN), decision tree algorithms, support machine vectors, Bayesian algorithms, ensemble algorithms, etc.), unsupervised learning (e.g., K-means clustering, principal component analysis (PCA), etc.), reinforcement learning (e.g., Q-learning, multi-armed bandit learning, deep RL, etc.), neural networks, etc. Depending on the implementation, a specific ML model can have many sub-models as components, and the ML model can train all sub-models together. Separately trained ML models can also be linked together in an ML pipeline during inference. An "ML pipeline" is a set of functions, features, or functional entities specific to an ML-assisted solution; an ML pipeline can include one or more data sources from the data pipeline, model training pipeline, model evaluation pipeline, and actors. An "actor" is the entity that hosts the ML-assisted solution using the output of ML model inference. The term "ML training host" refers to the entity, such as a network function, that hosts the training of a model. The term "ML inference host" refers to the entity, such as a network function, that hosts the model during inference mode (which includes model execution and any online learning, if applicable). The ML host notifies actors of the output of the ML algorithm, and the actors decide on actions (actors perform "actions" as a result of the output of the ML-assisted solution). The term "model inference information" refers to the information used as input to the ML model to determine inferences; the data used to train the ML model and the data used to determine inferences may overlap, however, "training data" and "inference data" refer to different concepts.

[0106] Mobile communications have evolved significantly from early voice systems to today's highly complex integrated communications platforms. The next generation of wireless communication systems, 5G (or NR), will provide access to information and data sharing by a variety of users and applications anywhere and at any time. NR is expected to be a unified network / system that aims to meet distinct and sometimes conflicting performance dimensions and services. These different multi-dimensional requirements are driven by different services and applications. Generally, NR will evolve based on 3GPP Advanced LTE with additional potential new radio access technologies (RATs) to enrich people's lives with better, more direct and seamless wireless connectivity solutions. NR will enable everything to connect wirelessly and deliver fast, rich content and services.

[0107] NR supports precise positioning in both vertical and horizontal dimensions, which relies on timing-based, angle-based, power-based, or hybrid techniques to estimate the user position in the network. Specifically, the following RAT-dependent positioning technologies are introduced, which can meet the positioning requirements of various use cases (e.g., indoor, outdoor, industrial Internet of Things (IoT), etc.):

[0108] (a) Downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA);

[0109] (b) Uplink time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA);

[0110] (c) Downlink angle of departure (DL-AoD);

[0111] (d) Uplink angle of arrival (UL AoA);

[0112] (e) multi-cell round trip time (multi-RTT); and

[0113] (f)NR enhanced cell ID (E-CID).

[0114] Leveraging the wide bandwidth and beamforming capabilities of positioning signals in the millimeter wave band, RAT-dependent positioning techniques can achieve higher positioning accuracy. In Rel-16, the Downlink Positioning Reference Signal (DLPRS) and Uplink Sounding Reference Signal (UL SRS) for positioning were introduced as a means to achieve the target performance characteristics.

[0115] To further improve positioning accuracy, bandwidth aggregation for the transmission of DL PRS and UL SRS across consecutive carriers within a single-link Tx / Rx architecture at both the UE and gNB can be considered. In this case, multiple channel observations obtained across different carriers can be processed at the receiver to form a wideband channel realization, which results in a reduced sampling duration and an expanded discrete Fourier transform size.

[0116] Figure 5 Diagram 500 illustrates bandwidth aggregation for sounding reference signal (SRS) transmission across intra-band contiguous carriers in accordance with some aspects. Figure 5 An example of bandwidth aggregation for SRS transmission across contiguous intra-band carriers is shown. In this example, SRS is transmitted simultaneously across two contiguous intra-band carriers to form a wideband for SRS transmission. In this case, a wideband channel is effectively achieved based on multiple channel observations to enhance the temporal resolution of DL-TDOA, UL-TDOA, and Multi-RTT positioning methods.

[0117] In NR, DL PRS and SRS for positioning are transmitted within a carrier. To allow simultaneous transmission of DL PRS and SRS for positioning across consecutive carriers within a frequency band, specific designs regarding the configuration and triggering mechanism for bandwidth aggregation may need to be considered.

[0118] The disclosed technology includes systems and methods for bandwidth aggregation for positioning enhancement. Specifically, the disclosed technology includes bandwidth aggregation for DL PRS and bandwidth aggregation for SRS for positioning.

[0119] Bandwidth aggregation for DL PRS

[0120] As mentioned above, to further improve positioning accuracy, bandwidth aggregation for the transmission of DL PRS and UL SRS across consecutive carriers within a single-link Tx / Rx architecture at both the UE and gNB can be considered. In this case, multiple channel observations obtained across different carriers can be processed at the receiver to form a wideband channel realization, which results in a reduced sampling duration and an expanded discrete Fourier transform size.

[0121] In NR, DL PRS and SRS for positioning are transmitted within a carrier. To allow simultaneous transmission of DL PRS and SRS for positioning across consecutive carriers within a frequency band, specific designs regarding the configuration and triggering mechanism for bandwidth aggregation may need to be considered.

[0122] An embodiment of bandwidth aggregation for DL PRS is provided as follows.

[0123] In some embodiments, a UE may be configured to receive a DL PRS with bandwidth aggregation, with the UE indicating support for DL carrier aggregation (CA) and bandwidth aggregation features for DL PRS. In another example, reception of a DL PRS with bandwidth aggregation may be configured on a (sub)set of contiguous intra-band DL component carriers (CCs) for which the UE has been configured for DL CA operation. Alternatively, reception of a DL PRS with bandwidth aggregation may be configured on a set of contiguous intra-band DL component carriers (CCs) that are not configured for DL CA operation. In this case, the configuration of DL serving cells other than the primary cell may be provided separately and limited to receiving DL PRS with bandwidth aggregation. Furthermore, for this case, reception of a DL PRS with bandwidth aggregation may be limited to measurement gaps in the primary serving cell. As another variant of this, CCs for receiving DL PRS with bandwidth aggregation may be provided to the UE independently of the configuration of DL CA, i.e., the UE may be configured with DL CA having a different set of carriers than the set of carriers provided by the location management function (LMF) entity for receiving DL PRS with bandwidth aggregation.

[0124] In some embodiments, for reception of a DL PRS with bandwidth aggregation in the RRC_INACTIVE or RRC_IDLE state, when the UE is in the RRC_CONNECTED state, a PRS configuration including a CC for receiving the DL PRS may be provided to the UE, and reception of the DL PRS with bandwidth aggregation may use a different subcarrier spacing (SCS) and may be outside the initial DL bandwidth part (BWP). In addition, in the event of a time domain conflict between reception of the DL PRS with bandwidth aggregation and reception of other DL channels / signals in the initial DL BWP in the RRC_INACTIVE state, reception of the other DL channels / signals in the initial DL BWP may be prioritized, and the UE may not be expected to receive the DL PRS with bandwidth aggregation in the affected timing of the DL PRS with bandwidth aggregation. Alternatively, in the event of a time domain conflict between reception of a DL PRS utilizing bandwidth aggregation and reception of other DL channels / signals in an initial DL BWP in the RRC_INACTIVE state, reception of other DL channels / signals in the initial DL BWP may be prioritized, and the UE may not be expected to receive the DL PRS in the affected timing of the DL PRS utilizing bandwidth aggregation in a CC that overlaps in frequency with the initial DL BWP. In addition, for an alternative option, if the SCS and cyclic prefix (CP) are the same between the initial DL BWP and other CCs with DL PRS for bandwidth aggregation, the UE may be expected to receive in other CCs.

[0125] In case of a time domain conflict between reception of the DL PRS with bandwidth aggregation and transmission of a UL channel / signal in the RRC_INACTIVE state, reception of the DL PRS with bandwidth aggregation may be canceled.

[0126] In case of time domain collision between reception of DL PRS with bandwidth aggregation and reception of other DL channels / signals in RRC_IDLE state, any priority between reception of DL PRS with bandwidth aggregation and reception of other DL channels / signals may depend on UE implementation.

[0127] In some aspects, for a UE in RRC_INACTIVE state, a switching time may be provided before and after an opportunity to utilize a DL PRS that utilizes bandwidth aggregation during which the UE is not expected to transmit or receive any physical channels / signals. The switching time may be defined in absolute time as a number of samples of the basic NR sampling time (Tc) or a number of symbols of the smaller SCS value of the initial DL BWP and the initial UL BWP.

[0128] In some aspects, for DL PRS, whether bandwidth aggregation across intra-band contiguous carriers is enabled or disabled may be configured as part of the NR-DL PRS-PositioningFrequencyLayer, NR-DL PRS-ResourceSet, or NR-DL PRS-ResourceSet, or as a separate higher layer parameter.

[0129] Additionally, for DL PRS with bandwidth aggregation, the UE may expect the same time domain resource configuration and QCL assumption for DL PRS transmission across intra-band contiguous carriers.

[0130] Figure 6 Diagram 600 illustrates downlink provisioning reference signal (DL PRS) transmission with bandwidth aggregation in accordance with some aspects. Figure 6 An example of DL PRS transmission with bandwidth aggregation is shown. In some aspects, two carriers are used for DL PRS transmission with bandwidth aggregation. In addition, a DL PRS resource set includes two DL PRS resources in a cell. For bandwidth aggregation, the same time domain resource configuration is configured for two DL PRS resource sets in two in-band contiguous carriers.

[0131] In some embodiments, for DL PRS with bandwidth aggregation, the UE may expect phase continuity and power consistency of DL PRS transmissions across consecutive carriers within the band.

[0132] In some aspects, for DL PRS with bandwidth aggregation, the UE may expect the same configuration of measurement gaps and / or PRS processing windows across intra-band contiguous carriers.

[0133] As a further extension, more than one measurement gap can be activated or deactivated simultaneously across consecutive intra-band carriers via a Medium Access Control-Control Element (MAC-CE), where each measurement gap can be activated or deactivated within a carrier. Specifically, a new extended logical channel ID (eLCID) can be defined for activation / deactivation of measurement gaps across consecutive intra-band carriers.

[0134] In some aspects, the association between the DL PRS frequency layer in the first carrier and the DL PRS frequency layer in the second carrier can be defined and configured by a higher layer via RRC signaling for DL PRS with bandwidth aggregation. In this case, when the DL PRS frequency layer in the first carrier is configured for DL PRS with bandwidth aggregation, the DL PRS frequency layer in the second carrier is also configured according to the association.

[0135] In some embodiments, the association between the DL PRS resource set in the first PRS frequency layer and the DL PRS resource set in the second PRS frequency layer may be defined and configured by a higher layer via RRC signaling for DL PRS with bandwidth aggregation. In this case, when the DL PRS resource set in the first carrier is configured for DL PRS with bandwidth aggregation, the DL PRS resource set in the second carrier is also configured according to the association.

[0136] In some aspects, the association between the DL PRS resources in the first carrier and the DL PRS resources in the second carrier can be defined and configured by higher layers via RRC signaling for DL PRS with bandwidth aggregation. In this case, when the DL PRS resources in the first carrier are configured for DL PRS with bandwidth aggregation, the DL PRS resources in the second carrier are also configured according to the association.

[0137] In some embodiments, for DL PRS bandwidth aggregation, the UE may assume that DL PRS resources in the same symbol in different carriers have the same QCL assumption as the reference signal from the reference carrier.

[0138] In some aspects, for DL PRS bandwidth aggregation, if the DL PRS resources in the same symbol in different carriers / cells are each QCL (quasi co-located) with the reference signal of the corresponding carrier / cell, the UE can assume that the reference signals from different carriers / cells have the same QCL assumption.

[0139] In some aspects, the reference carrier may be determined according to at least one or a combination of the following options:

[0140] (a) The reference carrier may be the cell of the lowest or largest serving cell aggregated for DL PRS bandwidth;

[0141] (b) The reference carrier may be configured by higher layers via RRC signaling;

[0142] (c) The reference carrier may be a cell configured for DL PRS positioning for bandwidth aggregation. In this case, the DL PRS resources and / or positioning frequency layers, and DL PRS resource sets in other carriers used for bandwidth aggregation may be associated with the DL PRS resources and / or positioning frequency layers, and DL PRS resource sets in the reference carrier.

[0143] (d) The reference carrier may be the primary cell.

[0144] Bandwidth aggregation of SRS for positioning

[0145] An embodiment of bandwidth aggregation of SRS for positioning (also referred to as UL SRS) is provided as follows.

[0146] In one embodiment, the transmission of SRS for positioning with bandwidth aggregation can be configured to the UE, indicating support for bandwidth aggregation and UL CA features for SRS for positioning. In another example, the transmission of SRS for positioning with bandwidth aggregation can be configured on a (sub)set of contiguous in-band UL component carriers (CCs) for which the UE has been configured for UL CA operation. In this case, the gNB (as an example of an NG-RAN node) can use NR Positioning Protocol A (NRPPa) to provide information about the configuration of UL CCs and SRS configuration to the LMF.

[0147] Alternatively, transmission of an SRS for positioning with bandwidth aggregation may be configured on a set of contiguous in-band UL component carriers (CCs) without a configuration for UL CA operation. In this case, the configuration of UL serving cells other than the primary cell may be provided separately and limited to transmission of an SRS for positioning with bandwidth aggregation. More generally, CCs for transmission of an SRS for positioning with bandwidth aggregation (SRSp) may be provided to a UE independently of the configuration of UL CA, i.e., a UE may be configured with UL CA having a different set of carriers than the set of carriers provided for transmission of SRSp with bandwidth aggregation.

[0148] In either case with a decoupled configuration between UL CA and SRSp with bandwidth aggregation, a switching time may be provided before and after the timing of the SRSp with bandwidth aggregation, during which the UE is not expected to transmit or receive any physical channels / signals. The switching time may be defined in absolute time as a number of samples of the basic NR sampling time (Tc) or a number of symbols of the smaller of the SCS values of the active DL BWP or the active UL BWP, or a number of symbols of the SCS value of the active UL BWP.

[0149] In some embodiments, for transmission of SRSp with bandwidth aggregation in RRC_INACTIVE state, the SRSp configuration including the CC for transmission of SRSp can be provided to the UE when the UE is in RRC_CONNECTED state or via broadcast system information block (SIB) signaling, and the transmission of SRSp with bandwidth aggregation can use different subcarrier spacing (SCS) and can be outside the initial UL BWP.

[0150] In some aspects, in the event of a time domain conflict between the transmission of an SRSp utilizing bandwidth aggregation and the transmission of an UL channel / signal in an initial UL BWP in an RRC_INACTIVE state, the transmission of the SRSp utilizing bandwidth aggregation may be canceled in all CCs provided for the transmission of the SRSp utilizing bandwidth aggregation. Alternatively, in the event of a time domain conflict between the reception of an SRSp utilizing bandwidth aggregation and the transmission of an UL channel / signal in an initial UL BWP in an RRC_INACTIVE state, the transmission of the UL channel / signal in the initial UL BWP may be prioritized, and the UE may not be expected to transmit the SRSp in the affected opportunities of the SRSp utilizing bandwidth aggregation in CCs that overlap in frequency with the initial UL BWP. Furthermore, for an alternative option, if the SCS and cyclic prefix (CP) are the same between the initial UL BWP and other CCs utilizing SRSp for bandwidth aggregation, the UE may be expected to transmit in the other CCs. However, depending on the deployment and use case, this alternative option may not be possible if the LMF and neighboring cells that may be receiving the SRSp utilizing bandwidth aggregation may not be aware of the cancellation of the SRSp transmission in the CC that overlaps with the UE's initial UL BWP.

[0151] In some aspects, for a UE in RRC_INACTIVE state, a switching time may be provided before and after an opportunity to utilize bandwidth aggregated SRSp, during which the UE is not expected to transmit or receive any physical channels / signals. The switching time may be defined in absolute time as a number of samples of the basic NR sampling time (Tc) or a number of symbols of the smaller SCS value of the initial DL BWP or the initial UL BWP.

[0152] In some aspects, for SRS for positioning, whether bandwidth aggregation across contiguous intra-band carriers is enabled or disabled can be configured as part of the SRS-PosResourceSet configuration or as a separate higher-layer parameter. For semi-persistent SRS transmission for positioning, when bandwidth aggregation is configured for an activated SRS resource set, SRS is transmitted across contiguous intra-band carriers. Similarly, for aperiodic SRS transmission for positioning, when bandwidth aggregation is configured for a triggered SRS resource set, SRS is transmitted across contiguous intra-band carriers.

[0153] In another embodiment, for SRS for positioning using bandwidth aggregation, the SRS resource set for positioning can be configured with a set of carrier and bandwidth part (BWP) indices. In addition, for periodic SRS transmission for positioning, the same SRS resource configuration in time in the configured cells and BWPs can be repeated across the set of configured carriers and BWPs in the configured SRS resource set. For semi-persistent SRS transmission for positioning, the same SRS resource configuration in time in the activated cells and BWPs can be repeated across the set of configured carriers and BWPs in the activated SRS resource set. For aperiodic SRS transmission for positioning, the same SRS resource configuration in time in the triggered cells and BWPs can be repeated across the set of configured carriers and BWPs in the triggered SRS resource set.

[0154] Figure 7 Diagram 700 illustrates identical SRS resource configuration across intra-band contiguous carriers in accordance with some aspects. Figure 7 The same SRS resource configuration across consecutive intra-band carriers for positioning is shown. In this example, two carriers are used for SRS transmission for positioning with bandwidth aggregation. In addition, an SRS resource set with two SRS resources in CC1 is triggered by the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH). Based on the above options, the same SRS resource configuration from CC1 is repeated in CC0 for SRS transmission for positioning.

[0155] In another option, the long SRS sequence may be generated based on bandwidth allocated across all configured, activated, or triggered serving cells for SRS transmission for positioning with bandwidth aggregation.The starting RE for SRS transmission may be determined based on the configuration in the first serving cell for SRS transmission.

[0156] In another embodiment of the present invention, for SRS used for positioning with bandwidth aggregation, the SRS resource set used for positioning can be configured with a set of carrier and BWP indices. Furthermore, for periodic SRS transmission for positioning, the SRS is transmitted based on the same SRS resource set ID across the configured carriers and BWPs in the configured SRS resource set. In this case, the UE determines the SRS resource set ID based on the configuration and uses the same SRS resource set ID from the configured carrier and BWP set for SRS transmission.

[0157] For semi-persistent SRS transmission for positioning, SRS is transmitted based on the same SRS resource set ID across the set of configured carriers and BWPs in the activated SRS resource set. In this case, the UE determines the SRS resource set ID based on activation and uses the same SRS resource set ID from the set of configured carriers and BWPs in the activated SRS resource set for SRS transmission.

[0158] For aperiodic SRS transmission for positioning, SRS is transmitted based on the same SRS resource set ID across the configured set of carriers and BWPs in the triggered SRS resource set. In this case, the UE determines the SRS resource set ID based on the SRS request field in the DCI and uses the same SRS resource set ID from the configured set of carriers and BWPs in the triggered SRS resource set for SRS transmission.

[0159] In some aspects, the UE may expect the same time domain resource allocation, including symbols and slot indices for SRS transmission across intra-band contiguous carriers. In addition, the UE may expect the same spatial relationship in the same symbols for SRS transmission across intra-band contiguous carriers.

[0160] In another embodiment, the association between the SRS resource set for positioning in the first carrier and the SRS resource set for positioning in the second carrier can be defined and configured by a higher layer via RRC signaling for SRS with bandwidth aggregation. For periodic SRS transmission for positioning, when the SRS resource set for positioning in the first carrier is configured for SRS transmission with bandwidth aggregation, the SRS resource set for positioning in the second carrier is also used for SRS for positioning according to the association.

[0161] For semi-persistent SRS transmission for positioning, when the SRS resource set for positioning in the first carrier is activated or deactivated for SRS transmission using bandwidth aggregation, the SRS resource set for positioning in the second carrier is also activated or deactivated for SRS for positioning according to the association.

[0162] For non-periodic SRS transmission for positioning, when the SRS resource set for positioning in the first carrier is triggered for SRS transmission using bandwidth aggregation, the SRS resource set for positioning in the second carrier is also triggered for SRS for positioning according to the association.

[0163] In another embodiment, the association between the SRS resources used for positioning in the first carrier and the SRS resources used for positioning in the second carrier may be defined and configured by higher layers via RRC signaling for SRS with bandwidth aggregation.

[0164] For periodic SRS transmission for positioning, when an SRS resource set for positioning including SRS resources in a first carrier is configured for SRS transmission with bandwidth aggregation, SRS resources for positioning in a second carrier are also used for SRS for positioning according to the association.

[0165] For semi-persistent SRS transmission for positioning, when the SRS resource set for positioning including the SRS resources in the first carrier is activated or deactivated for SRS transmission using bandwidth aggregation, the SRS resources for positioning in the second carrier are also activated or deactivated for the SRS for positioning according to the association.

[0166] For aperiodic SRS transmission for positioning, when an SRS resource set for positioning including SRS resources in a first carrier is triggered for SRS transmission using bandwidth aggregation, SRS resources for positioning in a second carrier are also triggered for SRS positioning according to the association.

[0167] In another embodiment, for SRS for positioning using bandwidth aggregation, an SRS resource set can be configured with more than one SRS resource, where each SRS resource is associated with a carrier and a BWP within the carrier. Furthermore, if the carrier and BWP index are not configured within the SRS resource, for periodic SRS transmission for positioning, the configured cell and BWP index associated with the configured SRS resource set are applied to the SRS resource. For semi-persistent SRS transmission for positioning, the activated cell and BWP index associated with the activated SRS resource set are applied to the SRS resource. For aperiodic SRS transmission for positioning, the triggered cell and BWP index associated with the triggered SRS resource set are applied to the SRS resource.

[0168] In some aspects, the UE may expect the same time domain resource allocation, including symbol and slot index for SRS transmission across intra-band contiguous carriers. In addition, the UE may expect the same spatial relationship in the same symbol for SRS transmission across intra-band contiguous carriers.

[0169] In another embodiment of the present invention, for SRS for positioning using bandwidth aggregation, an SRS resource set may include more than one SRS resource group, wherein each SRS resource group is associated with a carrier and a BWP in the carrier. In addition, each SRS resource group may include more than one SRS resource.

[0170] In some aspects, when no carrier and BWP index are configured for an SRS resource group within an SRS resource set, for periodic SRS transmissions for positioning, the configured cell and BWP index associated with the configured SRS resource set are applied to the SRS resource group. For semi-persistent SRS transmissions for positioning, the activated cell and BWP index associated with the activated SRS resource set are applied to the SRS resource group. For aperiodic SRS transmissions for positioning, the triggered cell and BWP index associated with the triggered SRS resource set are applied to the SRS resource group.

[0171] In another embodiment, for semi-persistent SRS for positioning with bandwidth aggregation, more than one SRS resource set across consecutive carriers within a band may be activated or deactivated via a medium access control-control element (MAC-CE). In addition, a new extended logical channel ID (eLCID) may be defined for semi-persistent SRS for positioning with bandwidth aggregation.

[0172] In one option, the carrier set and associated BWP may be included in the activation / deactivation MAC-CE. In addition, the activated or deactivated SRS resource set in each carrier and associated BWP may be included in the MAC-CE.

[0173] In another option, the starting carrier, number of carriers and associated BWP in each carrier may be included in the activation / deactivation MAC-CE. In addition, the activated or deactivated SRS resource set in each determined carrier and associated BWP may be included in the MAC-CE.

[0174] In some aspects, the UE may expect the same time domain resource allocation, including symbols and slot indices for SRS transmissions across intra-band contiguous carriers. Furthermore, the UE may expect the same spatial relationship in the same symbols for SRS transmissions across intra-band contiguous carriers.

[0175] Figure 8 Diagram 800 shows MAC-CE for activation and deactivation of semi-persistent SRS for positioning with bandwidth aggregation. Figure 8 An example MAC-CE for activation and deactivation of semi-persistent SRS for positioning with bandwidth aggregation is shown. In this example, a set of SRS resources in P serving cells may be activated for positioning with bandwidth aggregation. In some aspects, the spatial relationship for different SRS resources may also be included in the MAC-CE.

[0176] In another embodiment, for aperiodic SRS transmission for positioning with bandwidth aggregation, a joint SRS request field may be included in the DCI to trigger SRS transmission in multiple CCs simultaneously. Specifically, the joint SRS request field is used to indicate SRS request information for each co-scheduled carrier. In addition, the joint SRS request field may indicate the row of a table for SRS requests, which is configured by RRC signaling.

[0177] In some aspects, the DCI formats may include DCI formats 0_1, 0_2, 1_1, 1_2, and DCI formats for multi-cell scheduling.

[0178] In one option, more than one set of serving cells and / or associated BWPs within a serving cell can be configured by higher layers via RRC signaling. The codepoint of the SRS request field in the DCI can be used to indicate one of more than one set of serving cells and / or associated BWPs for SRS transmission for positioning. In addition, when bandwidth aggregation is enabled in the configuration of the SRS resource set for positioning, the SRS resource set for positioning can be triggered. A set of serving cells can be configured with intra-band contiguous carriers for positioning that utilize bandwidth aggregation.

[0179] In some aspects, if the BWP is not configured by higher layers, the same BWP ID as the currently active BWP or triggered BWP ID in the scheduled cell in the DCI may be used to determine the SRS resource set for positioning. Alternatively, if the BWP is not configured by higher layers, the same BWP ID as the currently active BWP for the scheduling cell and the BWP with the lowest index for the serving cell other than the scheduling cell may be used to determine the SRS resource set.

[0180] Table 1 shows an example of an aperiodic SRS resource set for positioning with bandwidth aggregation. More specifically, Table 1 shows triggering an aperiodic SRS resource set for positioning with bandwidth aggregation: Option 1. In this example, code points "01", "10", and "11" in the SRS request field are used to indicate an SRS resource set that is configured with a higher layer parameter SRS-PosResourceSet and "bandwidth aggregation" set to enabled, and resourceType in SRS-PosResourceSet is set to aperiodic for the first, second, and third sets of serving cells and / or associated BWPs configured by the higher layer, respectively.

[0181] In some aspects, the set of serving cells may be intra-band contiguous carriers.

[0182]

[0183] Table 1

[0184] In another option, for aperiodic SRS for positioning with bandwidth aggregation, the first serving cell is determined based on the cell index indicated in the DCI. Furthermore, the codepoint in the SRS request field can be used to indicate the number of contiguous carriers. In one example, cell #1 is indicated in the DCI for SRS transmission, and two cells are indicated in the SRS request field. In this case, cell #1 and cell #2 are used for bandwidth-aggregated SRS transmission for positioning.

[0185] Table 2 shows an example of an aperiodic SRS resource set for positioning that utilizes bandwidth aggregation. More specifically, Table 2 shows an aperiodic SRS resource set for positioning that triggers the utilization of bandwidth aggregation: Option 2. In this example, code points "01," "10," and "11" in the SRS request field are used to indicate that the SRS resource set is configured with the higher layer parameter SRS-PosResourceSet and "bandwidth aggregation" set to enabled, and resourceType in the SRS-PosResourceSet is set to aperiodic for the first, second, and third number of serving cells and / or associated BWPs, respectively.

[0186]

[0187] Table 2

[0188] As a further extension, in order to distinguish between SRS requests for positioning using bandwidth aggregation and SRS requests for other purposes, a bit field may be included in DCI formats 0_1, 0_2, 1_1, 1_2 and / or DCI formats for multi-cell scheduling. In one example, bit "1" may be used to indicate that the SRS request is for SRS for positioning using bandwidth aggregation, while bit "0" may be used to indicate that the SRS request is not for SRS for positioning using bandwidth aggregation.

[0189] In another option, in order to distinguish SRS requests for positioning with bandwidth aggregation from SRS requests for other purposes, some unused states or fields may be reused to indicate SRS requests for positioning with bandwidth aggregation.

[0190] In another option, in order to distinguish SRS requests for positioning with bandwidth aggregation from SRS requests for other purposes, a separate search space set may be configured to monitor DCI formats that include SRS requests for positioning with bandwidth aggregation.

[0191] In another option, in order to distinguish SRS requests for positioning with bandwidth aggregation from SRS requests for other purposes, a separate search space set may be configured to monitor DCI formats that include SRS requests for positioning with bandwidth aggregation.

[0192] In another embodiment, a group common DCI may be defined to trigger SRS transmission for positioning utilizing bandwidth aggregation.

[0193] In one option, the existing DCI format 23 can be extended to support triggering SRS transmission for positioning with bandwidth aggregation. In this case, a new configuration field, such as Type C, can be configured to indicate that DCI format 2_3 is used to trigger SRS transmission for positioning with bandwidth aggregation. In addition, the above-mentioned embodiment of using an SRS request to trigger SRS transmission via a UE-specific DCI format can also be applied to group-common DCI.

[0194] In another option, a new group-common DCI format can be defined to support triggering SRS transmission for positioning with bandwidth aggregation. In this case, a new radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) can be configured for the UE to monitor the new group-common DCI format. In addition, the above-mentioned embodiment of using SRS requests to trigger SRS transmission via UE-specific DCI formats can also be applied to group-common DCI.

[0195] In an embodiment of the present invention, cross-carrier scheduling or triggering of SRS for positioning using a single or multiple DCI formats or a single or multiple MAC CEs in a scheduling cell may be configured to the UE, indicating support for cross-carrier scheduling for carrier aggregation, i.e., via RAN1 Feature Group (FG) #6-10. Alternatively, cross-carrier scheduling or triggering of SRS for positioning using a single or multiple DCI formats or a single or multiple MAC CEs in a scheduling cell may be configured to the UE, indicating support for cross-carrier indication for transmission of SRS for positioning using bandwidth aggregation reported separately from FG #6-10.

[0196] In another embodiment, when configured by higher layers for transmission of SRS for positioning with bandwidth aggregation, the UE may receive activation and / or deactivation commands for SRS resource sets across contiguous intra-band carriers using a single MAC-CE. Furthermore, the UE may expect the same start time for transmission of SRS for positioning with bandwidth aggregation for semi-persistent SRS transmission. Furthermore, the UE may expect the same time domain resource allocation, including symbol and slot indices, for SRS transmission across contiguous intra-band carriers.

[0197] In another embodiment, when configured by higher layers for transmission of SRS for positioning with bandwidth aggregation, the UE may receive activation and / or deactivation commands for SRS resource sets across consecutive intra-band carriers from different PDCCHs. In addition, the UE may expect the same start time for SRS transmission for positioning with bandwidth aggregation for semi-persistent SRS transmission. In addition, the UE may expect the same time domain resource allocation, including symbol and slot indices for triggered SRS transmission across consecutive intra-band carriers. In addition, the UE may expect the same spatial relationship in the same symbol for SRS transmission across consecutive intra-band carriers.

[0198] In one option, if the UE misses at least one DCI for triggering SRS transmission for positioning with bandwidth aggregation, the UE may not transmit SRS for positioning across intra-band contiguous carriers.

[0199] In another option, if the UE misses at least one DCI for triggering SRS transmission for positioning with bandwidth aggregation, the UE may still transmit SRS for positioning across consecutive carriers within the band. In some aspects, the UE may assume the same time domain resource configuration for SRS transmission for positioning across consecutive carriers within the band.

[0200] In another embodiment, for SRS for positioning with bandwidth aggregation, the UE may receive activation and / or deactivation commands for SRS resource sets across consecutive carriers within the band from different PDCCHs (e.g., per CC). Furthermore, the UE may expect the same or different start times for SRS transmissions for positioning with bandwidth aggregation for semi-persistent SRS transmissions. Furthermore, when the UE is configured with bandwidth aggregation, the UE may assume the same triggering DCI content for SRS across CCs in intra-band CA.

[0201] In some aspects, for SRS for positioning with bandwidth aggregation, the UE may transmit the SRS in different carriers using the same power spectral density (PSD) on the allocated subcarriers.

[0202] In one option, the UE determines the transmit power for SRS transmission in the reference BWP and / or carrier based on the path loss measurement and the reference BWP and / or power control parameter set in the cell. In addition, the UE applies the PSD determined based on the reference BWP and / or carrier for SRS transmission to other carriers of SRS for positioning using bandwidth aggregation.

[0203] In another option, the UE measures the DL path loss for SRS transmission in a reference BWP and / or carrier and applies the path loss measured from the reference BWP and / or carrier to determine the transmit power of SRS transmission in other BWPs and / or carriers for SRS using bandwidth aggregation. In this case, the UE can assume the same set of parameters for SRS transmit power in different cells.

[0204] In another option, include P O_SRS,b,f,c (q s ) and α SRS,b,f,c (q s The same value of the power control parameter ) may be configured for the transmit power of SRS transmissions in active BWPs in different carriers of SRS for positioning with bandwidth aggregation, where q s This corresponds to an SRS resource set or a collection of SRS resources aggregated across different carriers. Furthermore, the same reference signal used for path loss calculation for each carrier can be configured for SRS transmission across consecutive carriers. In one example, the reference signal used for path loss calculation in a reference cell can be configured for SRS transmission in different carriers.

[0205] In some aspects, the reference BWP and / or carrier may be determined according to at least one or a combination of the following options:

[0206] (a) The reference BWP and / or carrier may be the cell with the lowest or largest serving cell for SRS utilizing bandwidth aggregation;

[0207] (b) The reference BWP and / or carrier may be configured by higher layers via RRC signaling;

[0208] (c) The reference BWP and / or carrier may be the BWP and / or carrier for SRS configuration, activation, or triggering for positioning for bandwidth aggregation. In this case, the SRS resource sets and / or SRS resources in other carriers used for bandwidth aggregation may be associated with the SRS resource sets and / or SRS resources in the reference carrier.

[0209] (d) The reference carrier may be a primary cell;

[0210] (e) The reference carrier may have an SSB transmission; and

[0211] (f) The reference carrier can be configured with p0-rl6 and alpha-rl6.

[0212] In another embodiment, for SRS used for positioning with bandwidth aggregation, the UE may assume that SRS resources in the same symbol in different carriers have the same spatial relationship with other reference signals from the reference carrier.

[0213] In some aspects, for SRS for positioning with bandwidth aggregation, if a UE is configured with SRS resources in the same symbol in different carriers, each SRS resource having a spatial relationship with the reference signal of the corresponding carrier, the UE may assume that the reference signals from different cells have the same QCL assumption.

[0214] In some aspects, the reference BWP and / or carrier may be determined according to at least one or a combination of the following options:

[0215] (a) The reference BWP and / or carrier may be the cell with the lowest or largest serving cell for SRS utilizing bandwidth aggregation;

[0216] (b) The reference BWP and / or carrier may be configured by higher layers via RRC signaling;

[0217] (c) The reference BWP and / or carrier may be the BWP and / or carrier configured, activated, or triggered for SRS positioning using bandwidth aggregation. In this case, the SRS resource sets and / or SRS resources in other carriers used for bandwidth aggregation may be associated with the SRS resource sets and / or SRS resources in the reference carrier.

[0218] (d) The reference carrier may be the primary cell.

[0219] In one embodiment, when the total transmit power used for SRS transmission and other physical uplink channels / signals (if any) exceeds the maximum transmit power configured for the UE, the UE may cancel SRS transmission in one or more carriers until the total transmit power does not exceed the maximum transmit power. In other words, SRS transmission in one or more carriers has a lower priority than other SRS transmissions and / or other physical uplink channels / signals (if any).

[0220] In one option, one or more carriers may be determined based on a carrier index of an SRS for positioning with bandwidth aggregation. In one example, SRS transmissions for one or more carriers with ascending or descending carrier indexes may be canceled until the total transmit power does not exceed the maximum transmit power.

[0221] In one example, assuming that the SRS for positioning using bandwidth aggregation is transmitted in carriers #0, #1, and #2 in the same symbol, and if the total transmit power exceeds the maximum transmit power, the SRS for positioning in carriers #1 and #2 can be canceled so that the total transmit power does not exceed the maximum transmit power.

[0222] In another embodiment, when the total transmit power used for SRS transmission and other physical uplink channels / signals (if any) exceeds the maximum transmit power configured for the UE, if SRS transmission in any carrier can be canceled, the UE may cancel SRS transmission in all carriers configured for SRS bandwidth aggregation to ensure that the total transmit power does not exceed the maximum transmit power. In another example, if one or more SRS transmissions in a carrier not configured for SRS bandwidth aggregation are canceled, the UE may not cancel SRS transmission in a carrier configured with SRS bandwidth aggregation.

[0223] In another embodiment of the present invention, when the total transmit power of SRS transmissions across consecutive carriers within a band exceeds the maximum transmit power configured for the UE, a scaling factor may be applied to the transmit power of the SRS transmissions in each carrier so that the total transmit power does not exceed the maximum transmit power.

[0224] In one example, when only simultaneous SRS across consecutive carriers within a band are transmitted in symbols in a slot, Among them, P SRS,b,f,c (i,q s ) is the transmit power in SRS transmission opportunity i on the active UL BWPb of carrier f of serving cell c; P CMAX,f,c (i) is the maximum output power of the UE configuration defined in [8, TS 38.101-1], [8-2, TS 38.101-2], and [TS 38.101-3] for carrier f of serving cell c in SRS transmission opportunity i; and α is a scaling factor.

[0225] In another option, one or more scaling factors may be configured for SRS for positioning with bandwidth aggregation. The UE may determine the scaling factor from the one or more scaling factors for SRS transmit power such that the scaling factor is the maximum value among the configured values that satisfies the following conditions:

[0226] As a further extension, if the determined scaling factor is less than the minimum value configured for SRS transmission for positioning with bandwidth aggregation, the UE may cancel SRS transmission in one or more carriers based on the aforementioned rules. In some aspects, these techniques may also be applied when bandwidth aggregation is utilized while SRS transmission is performed and other physical uplink channels / signals in the same symbol. Other uplink channels / signals may include, but are not limited to, PUSCH, PUCCH, PRACH, DMRS, and PT-RS.

[0227] In another embodiment, the same resource type is required to implement the SRS for positioning using bandwidth aggregation. Specifically, when periodic SRS transmission is configured in the first carrier, only periodic SRS transmission is configured in the second carrier in the same symbol as the SRS for positioning using bandwidth aggregation. When semi-persistent SRS transmission is activated or released in the first carrier, only semi-persistent SRS transmission is activated or released in the second carrier in the same symbol as the SRS for positioning using bandwidth aggregation. When aperiodic SRS transmission is triggered in the first carrier, only aperiodic SRS transmission is triggered in the second carrier in the same symbol as the SRS for positioning using bandwidth aggregation.

[0228] In another option, different resource types can be used to implement SRS for positioning with bandwidth aggregation. As a further extension, periodic and semi-persistent SRS transmissions can be configured or activated in the same symbol as SRS for positioning with bandwidth aggregation. Specifically, when periodic SRS transmission is configured in a first carrier, periodic or semi-persistent SRS transmission can be configured or activated in a second carrier in the same symbol as SRS for positioning with bandwidth aggregation.

[0229] In one embodiment, the UE may need to maintain phase continuity and / or power consistency for simultaneous transmission of SRS for positioning across consecutive carriers within a frequency band.

[0230] According to clause 11.1 in 3GPP TS 38.213 and clause 6.2.1 in TS 38.214, an event that results in not maintaining phase continuity and / or power consistency across SRS transmissions for positioning in consecutive carriers within a band may be defined as dropping or canceling SRS transmissions in a carrier.

[0231] In some aspects, while not dropping or canceling SRS transmissions in more than one in-band contiguous carrier, the UE may still need to maintain phase continuity and / or power consistency for simultaneous transmissions of SRS.

[0232] Figure 9 Graph 900 illustrates phase continuity and / or power consistency for simultaneous transmission of SRS according to some aspects. More specifically, Figure 9 An example of phase continuity and / or power consistency for simultaneous SRS transmission is shown. In this example, SRS transmission in cell #2 is canceled due to a conflict with a high-priority uplink transmission. For SRS used for positioning with bandwidth aggregation, the UE can still maintain phase continuity and / or power consistency across cell #0 and cell #1.

[0233] In some other aspects, when configured by higher layers for transmission of SRS for positioning with bandwidth aggregation, there may be guard PRBs that cause gaps in the frequency domain between two adjacent in-band contiguous component carriers, and as long as the number of guard PRBs is not greater than 'N', the UE may be expected to maintain phase continuity and / or power consistency. The value of 'N' may be defined as a function of the subcarrier spacing (SCS) or determined based on an absolute guard band size (e.g., in MHz). Additionally or alternatively, the value of N may be reported as a UE capability from a list of candidate values.

[0234] A system and method for wireless communication in 5G, NR, or higher systems includes: a base station (e.g., a gNodeB) configuring more than one sounding reference signal (SRS) resource set across consecutive intra-band carriers. A UE may transmit SRS across consecutive intra-band carriers based on the configured more than one SRS resource set.

[0235] In some aspects, reception of a downlink positioning reference signal (DL PRS) with bandwidth aggregation may be configured to a UE, indicating support for features of bandwidth aggregation for DL PRS and DL carrier aggregation (CA).

[0236] In some aspects, for DL PRS, whether bandwidth aggregation across intra-band contiguous carriers is enabled or disabled may be configured as part of the NR-DL PRS-PositioningFrequencyLayer, NR-DL PRS-ResourceSet, or NR-DL PRS-ResourceSet, or as a separate higher-layer parameter.

[0237] In some aspects, for DL PRS utilizing bandwidth aggregation, a UE may expect phase continuity and power consistency for DL PRS transmissions across contiguous carriers within a band.

[0238] In some aspects, for DL PRS with bandwidth aggregation, the UE may expect the same configuration of measurement gaps and / or PRS processing windows across intra-band contiguous carriers.

[0239] In some aspects, for DL PRS with bandwidth aggregation, the UE may expect the same time domain resource configuration and QCL assumption for DL PRS transmission across intra-band contiguous carriers.

[0240] In some aspects, an association between a DL PRS frequency layer in a first carrier and a DL PRS frequency layer in a second carrier may be defined and configured by higher layers via RRC signaling for use with bandwidth aggregated DL PRS. In some aspects, when the DL PRS frequency layer in the first carrier is configured for use with bandwidth aggregated DL PRS, the DL PRS frequency layer in the second carrier is also configured according to the association.

[0241] In some aspects, transmission of SRS for positioning with bandwidth aggregation may be configured to the UE, indicating support for bandwidth aggregation of SRS for positioning and UL CA features.

[0242] In some embodiments, for SRS used for positioning, whether bandwidth aggregation across intra-band contiguous carriers is enabled or disabled may be configured as part of the SRS-PosResourceSet configuration or as a separate higher layer parameter.

[0243] In some aspects, for SRS for positioning with bandwidth aggregation, a set of SRS resources for positioning may be configured with a set of carrier and bandwidth part (BWP) indices.

[0244] In some aspects, for SRS for positioning with bandwidth aggregation, an SRS resource set may be configured with more than one SRS resource, where each SRS resource is associated with a carrier and a BWP in the carrier.

[0245] In some aspects, the association between the set of SRS resources used for positioning in the first carrier and the set of SRS resources used for positioning in the second carrier may be defined and configured by higher layers via RRC signaling for utilizing bandwidth-aggregated SRS.

[0246] In some aspects, for SRS for positioning with bandwidth aggregation, an SRS resource set may include more than one SRS resource group, where each SRS resource group is associated with a carrier and a BWP in the carrier.

[0247] In some aspects, for semi-persistent SRS for positioning with bandwidth aggregation, more than one SRS resource set across intra-band contiguous carriers may be activated or deactivated via a medium access control-control element (MAC-CE).

[0248] In some aspects, for aperiodic SRS transmission for positioning with bandwidth aggregation, a joint SRS request field may be included in the DCI for triggering SRS transmission in multiple CCs simultaneously.

[0249] In some aspects, more than one set of serving cells and / or associated BWPs in a serving cell may be configured by higher layers via RRC signaling. In some aspects, the code point of the SRS request field in the DCI may be used to indicate one of more than one set of serving cells and / or associated BWPs for SRS transmission for positioning.

[0250] In some aspects, to distinguish SRS requests for positioning with bandwidth aggregation from SRS requests for other purposes, a bit field may be included in DCI formats 0_1, 0_2, 1_1, 1_2 and / or DCI formats for multi-cell scheduling.

[0251] In some aspects, a group common DCI may be defined to trigger SRS transmission for positioning that utilizes bandwidth aggregation.

[0252] In some aspects, s-carrier scheduling or triggering of SRS for positioning using single or multiple DCI formats or single or multiple MAC CEs in the scheduling cell may be configured to the UE, indicating support for cross-carrier scheduling for carrier aggregation.

[0253] In some aspects, when configured by higher layers for transmission of SRS for positioning with bandwidth aggregation, the UE may receive activation and / or deactivation commands for SRS resource sets across intra-band contiguous carriers from different PDCCHs.

[0254] In some aspects, for SRS for positioning with bandwidth aggregation, a UE may receive activation and / or deactivation commands for SRS resource sets spanning intra-band contiguous carriers from different PDCCHs (eg, per CC).

[0255] In some aspects, a UE may need to maintain phase continuity and / or power consistency for simultaneous transmission of SRS for positioning across consecutive carriers within a frequency band.

[0256] In some aspects, an event that results in not maintaining phase continuity and / or power consistency across SRS transmissions used for positioning in intra-band contiguous carriers may be defined as dropping or canceling SRS transmissions in a carrier in accordance with clause 11.1 in TS38.213 and clause 6.2.1 in TS38.214.

[0257] In some aspects, for DL PRS bandwidth aggregation, the UE may assume that DL PRS resources in the same symbol in different carriers have the same QCL assumption as the reference signal from the reference carrier.

[0258] In some aspects, for DL PRS bandwidth aggregation, if the DL PRS resources in the same symbol in different carriers / cells are each quasi co-located (QCL) with the reference signal of the corresponding carrier / cell, the UE may assume that the reference signals from different carriers / cells have the same QCL assumption.

[0259] In some aspects, the UE determines transmit power for SRS transmission in a reference BWP and / or carrier based on a path loss measurement and a set of power control parameters in the reference BWP and / or cell.

[0260] In some aspects, the UE measures the DL path loss for SRS transmissions in a reference BWP and / or carrier and applies the measured path loss from the reference BWP and / or carrier to determine the transmit power for SRS transmissions in other BWPs and / or carriers for SRS utilizing bandwidth aggregation.

[0261] In some aspects, for SRS used for positioning with bandwidth aggregation, the UE may assume that SRS resources in the same symbol in different carriers have the same spatial relationship with other reference signals from a reference carrier.

[0262] In some aspects, for SRS for positioning with bandwidth aggregation, if a UE is configured with SRS resources in the same symbol in different carriers, each SRS resource having a spatial relationship with a reference signal of the corresponding carrier, the UE may assume that the reference signals from different cells have the same QCL assumption.

[0263] In some aspects, the same reference signal used for path loss calculation for each carrier may be configured for SRS transmission across consecutive carriers.

[0264] In some aspects, when the total transmit power used for SRS transmission and other physical uplink channels / signals (if any) exceeds the maximum transmit power configured for the UE, the UE may cancel SRS transmission in one or more carriers until the total transmit power does not exceed the maximum transmit power.

[0265] In some aspects, one or more carriers may be determined based on a carrier index for SRS used for positioning with bandwidth aggregation.

[0266] In some aspects, when the total transmit power used for SRS transmission and other physical uplink channels / signals (if any) exceeds the maximum transmit power configured for the UE, the UE may cancel SRS transmission in all carriers configured for SRS bandwidth aggregation.

[0267] In some aspects, when the total transmit power for SRS transmissions across intra-band contiguous carriers exceeds the maximum transmit power configured for the UE, a scaling factor may be applied to the transmit power of the SRS transmissions in each carrier so that the total transmit power does not exceed the maximum transmit power.

[0268] In some aspects, the same resource type is required to implement SRS for positioning with bandwidth aggregation.

[0269] Figure 10 A block diagram of a communication device, such as an evolved Node-B (eNB), a next-generation Node-B (gNB) (or another RAN node such as a base station), a network controlled relay (NCR), an access point (AP), a wireless station (STA), a mobile station (MS), or a user equipment (UE), is shown according to some aspects and may perform one or more techniques disclosed herein. In alternative aspects, the communication device 1000 may operate as a standalone device or may be connected (e.g., networked) to other communication devices.

[0270] A circuit module (e.g., a processing circuit module) is a collection of circuits including hardware (e.g., simple circuits, gates, logic, etc.) implemented in the tangible entity of device 1000. Circuit module membership can be flexible over time. A circuit module includes members that can perform specified operations individually or in combination when in operation. In an example, the hardware of a circuit module can be immutably designed to perform a specific operation (e.g., hard-wired). In an example, the hardware of a circuit module system may include variably connected physical components (e.g., execution units, transistors, simple circuits, etc.) that include machine-readable media that are physically modified (e.g., magnetically, electrically, movably positioned immutable polymer particles, etc.) to encode instructions for a specific operation.

[0271] When physical components are connected, the underlying electrical characteristics of the hardware component are changed, for example, from an insulator to a conductor, or vice versa. The instructions enable embedded hardware (e.g., an execution unit or a loading mechanism) to create members of a circuit module in hardware via variable connections to perform portions of a specific operation when in operation. Thus, in an example, the machine-readable medium element is part of a circuit module, or is communicatively coupled to other components of the circuit module when the device is in operation. In an example, any physical component may be used in more than one component of more than one circuit module. For example, in operation, an execution unit may be used in a first circuit of a first circuit module at one point in time and reused at a different time by a second circuit in the first circuit module or by a third circuit in the second circuit module. Below are additional examples of these components of device 1000.

[0272] In some aspects, the device 1000 can operate as a standalone device or can be connected (e.g., networked) to other devices. In a networked deployment, the communication device 1000 can operate as a server communication device, a client communication device, or both in a server-client network environment. In an example, the communication device 1000 can act as a peer communication device in a peer-to-peer (P2P) (or other distributed) network environment. The communication device 1000 can be a UE, an eNB, a PC, a tablet PC, a STB, a PDA, a mobile phone, a smart phone, a network device, a network router, a switch or a bridge, or any communication device capable of executing instructions (sequential or otherwise) specifying the actions to be taken by the communication device. In addition, although only a single communication device is shown, the term "communication device" should also be considered to include any collection of communication devices that execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more methods discussed herein, such as cloud computing, software as a service (SaaS), and other computer cluster configurations.

[0273] As described herein, examples may include logic or several components, modules or mechanisms, or may operate thereon. A module is a tangible entity (e.g., hardware) that can perform a specified operation and may be configured or arranged in a particular manner. In an example, a circuit may be arranged as a module in a specified manner (e.g., internally or relative to an external entity such as other circuits). In an example, the whole or part of one or more computer systems (e.g., independent, client or server computer systems) or one or more hardware processors may be configured by firmware or software (e.g., instructions, application parts or applications) to operate to perform a module of a specified operation. In an example, the software may reside on a communication device readable medium. In an example, the software causes the hardware to perform a specified operation when executed by the underlying hardware of the module.

[0274] Thus, the term "module" is understood to encompass a tangible entity that is physically constructed, specifically configured (e.g., hardwired), or temporarily (e.g., temporarily) configured (e.g., programmed) to operate in a specified manner or to perform part or all of any of the operations described herein. Considering the example of temporarily configured modules, each module need not be instantiated at any one time. For example, where the modules include a general-purpose hardware processor configured using software, the general-purpose hardware processor can be configured as corresponding different modules at different times. The software can configure the hardware processor accordingly, for example, to constitute a particular module at one time and to constitute a different module at a different time.

[0275] The communication device (e.g., UE) 1000 may include a hardware processor 1002 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a hardware processor core, or any combination thereof), a main memory 1004, a static memory 1006, and a storage device 1016 (e.g., a hard drive, a tape drive, a flash memory, or other block or storage device), some or all of which may be in communication with each other via an interconnection link 1008 (e.g., a bus).

[0276] The communication device 1000 may also include a display device 1010, an input device 1012 (e.g., a keyboard), and a user interface (UI) navigation device 1014 (e.g., a mouse). In an example, the display device 1010, the input device 1012, and the UI navigation device 1014 may be a touch screen display. The communication device 1000 may additionally include a signal generating device 1018 (e.g., a speaker), a network interface device 1020, and one or more sensors 1021, such as a global positioning system (GPS) sensor, a compass, an accelerometer, or another sensor. The communication device 1000 may include an output controller 1028, such as a serial (e.g., universal serial bus (USB), parallel or other wired or wireless (e.g., infrared (IR), near field communication (NFC), etc.) connection to communicate or control one or more peripheral devices (e.g., a printer, a card reader, etc.).

[0277] The storage device 1016 may include a device-readable medium 1022 on which is stored one or more sets of data structures or instructions 1024 (e.g., software) that embody or are used by any one or more of the techniques or functionality described herein. In some aspects, the hardware processor 1002, main memory 1004, static memory 1006, and / or registers of the storage device 1016 may be or include (in whole or at least in part) the device-readable medium 1022 on which is stored one or more sets of data structures or instructions 1024 that embody or are used by any one or more of the techniques or functionality described herein. In an example, one or any combination of the hardware processor 1002, main memory 1004, static memory 1006, or storage device 1016 may constitute the device-readable medium 1022.

[0278] As used herein, the term "device-readable medium" is interchangeable with "computer-readable medium" or "machine-readable medium." Although the device-readable medium 1022 is illustrated as a single medium, the term "communication device-readable medium" may include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database and / or associated caches and servers) configured to store the instructions 1024. The term "communication device-readable medium" includes the terms "machine-readable medium" or "computer-readable medium" and may include any medium capable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructions (e.g., instructions 1024) executed by the communication device 1000 and causing the communication device 1000 to perform any one or more of the techniques of this disclosure, or any medium capable of storing, encoding, or carrying data structures used by or associated with such instructions. Non-limiting examples of communication device-readable media may include solid-state memory and optical and magnetic media. Specific examples of communication device-readable media may include non-volatile memory, such as semiconductor memory devices (e.g., electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM)) and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, such as internal hard disks and removable disks; magneto-optical disks; random access memory (RAM); and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks. In some examples, the communication device-readable media may include non-transitory communication device-readable media. In some examples, the communication device-readable media may include communication device-readable media that is not a transient propagating signal.

[0279] The instructions 1024 may also be sent or received over the communication network 1026 using a transmission medium via the network interface device 1020 using any of a number of transmission protocols. In an example, the network interface device 1020 may include one or more physical jacks (e.g., Ethernet, coaxial, or telephone jacks) or one or more antennas to connect to the communication network 1026. In an example, the network interface device 1020 may include multiple antennas to communicate wirelessly using at least one of single-input multiple-output (SIMO), MIMO, or multiple-input single-output (MISO) technology. In some examples, the network interface device 1020 may communicate wirelessly using multi-user MIMO technology.

[0280] The term "transmission medium" should be taken to include any intangible medium that is capable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructions for execution by the communication device 1000, and includes digital or analog communication signals or another intangible medium to facilitate communication of such software. In this regard, a transmission medium in the context of the present disclosure is a device-readable medium.

[0281] The terms "machine-readable medium," "computer-readable medium," and "device-readable medium" mean the same thing and may be used interchangeably in this disclosure. These terms are defined to include both machine storage media and transmission media. Thus, these terms include both storage devices / medium and carrier / modulated data signals.

[0282] Implementations of the described subject matter may include one or more features, alone or in combination, as shown below by way of example.

[0283] Example 1 is an apparatus for a user equipment (UE), the user equipment being configured to operate in a fifth generation new radio (5GNR) and above network, the apparatus comprising: a processing circuit module, wherein the UE is configured for positioning enhancement in the 5G NR and above network, the processing circuit module being configured to: encode radio resource control (RRC) signaling for transmission to a base station using a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), the RRC signaling including UE capability information, the UE capability information indicating that the UE supports DL positioning reference signal (PRS) bandwidth aggregation; decode a higher layer configuration via radio resource control (RRC) signaling received from the base station, the higher layer configuration configuring a link between DL PRS resource sets across two or more downlink (DL) positioning frequency layers (PFL), the DL PRS resource sets being mapped to two or more consecutive in-band DL component carriers for DL PRS bandwidth aggregation operation; performing measurement using the DL resource set spanning the two or more consecutive in-band DL component carriers according to the link received from the base station, indicating that the UE supports DL PRS bandwidth aggregation based on the UE capability information, and the DL PRS is bandwidth aggregated across the two or more consecutive in-band DL component carriers; and a memory coupled to the processing circuit module and configured to store the DL PRS.

[0284] In Example 2, the subject matter of Example 1 includes the following subject matter, wherein, for two DL PRS resource sets configured for bandwidth aggregation, a first DL PRS within a first DL PRS resource set mapped to a first DL PFL and a second DL PRS within a second DL PRS resource set mapped to a second DL PFL are provided with the same time domain resource configuration and quasi co-location (QCL) assumption.

[0285] In Example 3, the subject matter of Example 2 includes the following subject matter, wherein the same time-domain resource configuration includes the same values of the following higher-layer parameters: dl-PRS-Periodicity-and-ResourceSetSlotOffset, dl-PRS-NumSymbols, dl-PRS-ResourceTimeGap, dl-PRS-ResourceRepetitionF actor, dl-PRS-ResourceSymbolOffset, dl-prs-MutingBitRepetitionFactor and dl-PRS-CyclicPrefix.

[0286] In Example 4, the subject matter of Examples 1-3 includes subject matter wherein the first DL PRS and the second DL PRS are assumed to be transmitted with phase continuity across the aggregated DL PFL set.

[0287] In Example 5, the subject matter of Examples 1-4 includes: a transceiver circuit module coupled to the processing circuit module; and one or more antennas coupled to the transceiver circuit module.

[0288] Example 6 is a computer-readable storage medium storing instructions for execution by one or more processors of a base station, the instructions being used to configure the base station for communicating with a user equipment (UE) in a fifth generation new radio (5GNR) and above network, and causing the base station to perform operations including: decoding radio resource control (RRC) signaling received from the UE in a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), the RRC signaling including UE capability information indicating that the UE supports UL sounding reference signal (UL SRS) for positioning bandwidth aggregation; encoding configuration signaling for transmission to the UE, the configuration signaling being used to configure a link between two or more UL SRS resource sets for positioning across two or more (respectively) consecutive intra-band uplink (UL) component carriers for bandwidth aggregation operation; and performing positioning measurements on the uplink sounding reference signal (UL SRS) for positioning received from the UE based on the configured linking of the UL SRS for positioning across bandwidth aggregation of two or more consecutive intra-band UL component carriers.

[0289] In Example 7, the subject matter of Example 6 includes that the operation further includes: decoding radio resource control (RRC) signaling received from the UE in a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), the RRC signaling including UE capability information, the UE capability information indicating that the UE supports DL positioning reference signal (PRS) bandwidth aggregation; encoding a higher layer configuration via the radio resource control (RRC) signaling for transmission to the UE, the higher layer configuration configuring linkage between DL PRS resource sets across two or more downlink (DL) positioning frequency layers (PFL), the DL PRS resource sets being mapped to two or more consecutive intra-band downlink (DL) component carriers for DL PRS bandwidth aggregation operation; and encoding a DL PRS resource set across two or more consecutive intra-band DL component carriers for transmission to the UE according to the linkage, the DL PRS being bandwidth aggregated across two or more consecutive intra-band DL component carriers based on the UE capability information indicating that the UE supports DL PRS bandwidth aggregation.

[0290] In Example 8, the subject matter of Example 7 includes the following subject matter, wherein, for two DL PRS resource sets configured for bandwidth aggregation, a first DL PRS within a first DL PRS resource set mapped to a first DL PFL and a second DL PRS within a second DL PRS resource set mapped to a second DL PFL are provided with the same time domain resource configuration and quasi co-location (QCL) assumption.

[0291] In Example 9, the subject matter of Example 8 includes the following subject matter, wherein the same time-domain resource configuration includes the same values of the following higher-layer parameters: dl-PRS-Periodicity-and-ResourceSetSlotOffset, dl-PRS-NumSymbols, dl-PRS-ResourceTimeGap, dl-PRS-ResourceRepetitionF actor, dl-PRS-ResourceSymbolOffset, dl-prs-MutingBitRepetitionFactor and dl-PRS-CyclicPrefix.

[0292] In Example 10, the subject matter of Examples 7-9 includes the subject matter wherein the first DL PRS and the second DL PRS are transmitted assuming phase continuity across the aggregated DL PFL set.

[0293] Example 11 is a computer-readable storage medium storing instructions for execution by one or more processors of a user equipment (UE), the instructions being used to configure the UE for positioning enhancement in fifth generation new radio (5G NR) and above networks, and causing the UE to perform operations including: encoding radio resource control (RRC) signaling for transmission to a base station using a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), the RRC signaling including UE capability information indicating that the UE supports UL SRS for positioning bandwidth aggregation; decoding a higher layer configuration via radio resource control (RRC) signaling from the base station, the higher layer configuration configuring a link between UL SRS resource sets for positioning across two or more consecutive in-band uplink (UL) component carriers for UL SRS bandwidth aggregation operation; and sending a UL SRS resource set across two or more consecutive in-band UL component carriers based on the link received from the base station using a set of consecutive in-band UL component carriers.

[0294] In Example 12, the subject matter of Example 11 includes the following subject matter, wherein, for two UL SRSs of a positioning resource set configured for bandwidth aggregation, a first UL SRS for positioning within a first UL SRS resource set for positioning mapped to a first UL carrier and a second UL SRS for positioning within a second UL SRS resource set for positioning mapped to a second UL carrier are provided with the same time domain resource configuration and quasi co-location (QCL) assumption across a set of consecutive in-band UL component carriers.

[0295] In Example 13, the subject matter of Example 12 includes the following subject matter, wherein the same time domain resource configuration includes the same values of at least the following higher layer parameters: startPosition, nrofSymbols, periodicityAndOffset, slotOffset, and the same values of subcarrier spacing (SCS) and cyclic prefix (CP).

[0296] In Example 14, the subject matter of Examples 11-13 includes the subject matter wherein a first set of UL SRS resources for positioning and a second set of UL SRS resources for positioning linked for bandwidth aggregation are transmitted while maintaining phase continuity across a set of contiguous in-band UL component carriers.

[0297] In Example 15, the subject matter of Examples 11-14 includes the following subject matter, wherein a first UL SRS resource set for positioning and a second UL SRS resource set for positioning that are linked for bandwidth aggregation are configured with the same UL SRS resource type, which can be one of the following: periodic, semi-persistent or non-periodic.

[0298] In Example 16, the subject matter of Examples 11-15 includes the following subject matter, wherein, for semi-persistent UL SRS resource sets for positioning that are linked for bandwidth aggregation, a single activation and deactivation command from a medium access control-control element (MAC-CE) is applied to two or more UL SRS resource sets for positioning across two or more contiguous in-band UL component carriers.

[0299] In Example 17, the subject matter of Examples 11-16 includes the following subject matter, wherein, for a non-periodic UL SRS resource set for positioning that is linked for bandwidth aggregation, if the UE receives a downlink control information (DCI) format with an SRS request bit field that triggers the non-periodic SRS resource set for positioning that is linked for bandwidth aggregation in an UL carrier, the SRS request bit field indicates a joint trigger across the linked UL SRS resource set for positioning, and the UE sends the SRS of the linked SRS resource set across all consecutive in-band UL carriers.

[0300] In Example 18, the subject matter of Examples 11-17 includes the following subject matter, wherein the UE applies the same value of the fractional path loss compensation parameter alpha, the open-loop power control parameter P0, and the DL path loss reference for all SRSs transmitted for positioning across two or more consecutive in-band UL component carriers that are linked for SRSs for positioning bandwidth aggregation.

[0301] In Example 19, the subject matter of Examples 11-18 includes the following subject matter, wherein the UE transmits an SRS for positioning across two or more consecutive in-band UL component carriers, and the two or more consecutive in-band UL component carriers are linked for SRS for positioning bandwidth aggregation with the same per resource element (RE) transmit power of the SRS for positioning.

[0302] In Example 20, the subject matter of Examples 11-19 includes the following subject matter, wherein, for two DL PRS resource sets configured for bandwidth aggregation, a first DL PRS within a first DL PRS resource set mapped to a first DL positioning frequency layer (PFL) and a second DL PRS within a second DL PRS resource set mapped to a second DL PFL are provided with the same time domain resource configuration and quasi co-location (QCL) assumption.

[0303] Example 21 is at least one machine-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a processing circuit module, cause the processing circuit module to perform operations to implement any of Examples 1-20.

[0304] Example 22 is an apparatus comprising means for implementing any of Examples 1-20.

[0305] Example 23 is a system for implementing any of Examples 1-20.

[0306] Example 24 is a method for implementing any of Examples 1-20.

[0307] Although one aspect has been described with respect to specific exemplary aspects, it will be apparent that various modifications and changes may be made to these aspects without departing from the broader scope of the present disclosure. The specification and drawings are therefore to be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive. This detailed description is therefore not to be considered limiting, and the scope of the various aspects is to be limited only by the appended claims and the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.

Claims

1. An apparatus for a user equipment (UE) configured for operation in a fifth generation new radio (5G NR) and above network, the apparatus comprising: A processing circuit module, wherein the UE is configured for positioning enhancement in the 5G NR and above networks, and the processing circuit module is configured to: encoding radio resource control (RRC) signaling for transmission to a base station using a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), the RRC signaling including UE capability information, the UE capability information indicating that the UE supports DL positioning reference signal (PRS) bandwidth aggregation; decoding, via radio resource control (RRC) signaling received from the base station, a higher layer configuration configuring linking between downlink (DL) PRS resource sets across two or more DL positioning frequency layers (PFLs), the DL PRS resource sets being mapped to two or more contiguous in-band DL component carriers for DL PRS bandwidth aggregation operation; performing measurement using the DL resource set across the two or more contiguous in-band DL component carriers according to the link received from the base station, the DL PRSs being bandwidth aggregated across the two or more contiguous in-band DL component carriers based on an indication by the UE capability information that the UE supports DL PRS bandwidth aggregation; A memory is coupled to the processing circuit module and configured to store the DL PRS.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein For two DL PRS resource sets configured for bandwidth aggregation, a first DL PRS within a first DL PRS resource set mapped to a first DL PFL and a second DL PRS within a second DL PRS resource set mapped to a second DL PFL are provided with the same time domain resource configuration and quasi co-location (QCL) assumption.

3. The device according to claim 2, wherein The same time domain resource configuration includes the same values of the following higher layer parameters: dl-PRS-Periodicity-and-ResourceSetSlotOffset, dl-PRS-NumSymbols, dl-PRS-ResourceTimeGap, dl-PRS-ResourceRepetitionFactor, dl-PRS-ResourceSymbolOffset, dl-prs-MutingBitRepetitionFactor and dl-PRS-CyclicPrefix.

4. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: The first DL PRS and the second DL PRS are assumed to be transmitted with phase continuity across the set of aggregated DL PFLs.

5. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising: a transceiver circuit module coupled to the processing circuit module; and one or more antennas coupled to the transceiver circuit module.

6. A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions for execution by one or more processors of a base station, the instructions for configuring the base station for communicating with a user equipment (UE) in a fifth generation new radio (5G NR) and above network, and causing the base station to perform operations comprising: decoding radio resource control (RRC) signaling received from the UE in a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), the RRC signaling including UE capability information indicating that the UE supports a UL sounding reference signal (UL SRS) for positioning bandwidth aggregation; encoding configuration signaling for transmission to the UE, the configuration signaling being used to configure linking between two or more UL SRS resource sets for positioning across two or more (respectively) contiguous in-band uplink (UL) component carriers for bandwidth aggregation operation; as well as Positioning measurements are performed on an uplink sounding reference signal (UL SRS) for positioning received from a UE according to configured linking of the UL SRS for positioning with bandwidth aggregation across two or more contiguous in-band UL component carriers.

7. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 6, the operations further comprising: decoding radio resource control (RRC) signaling received from the UE in a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), the RRC signaling including UE capability information indicating that the UE supports DL positioning reference signal (PRS) bandwidth aggregation; encoding a higher layer configuration for transmission to the UE via radio resource control (RRC) signaling, the higher layer configuration configuring linkage between downlink (DL) positioning frequency layers (PFLs) of DL PRS resource sets that are mapped to two or more contiguous in-band downlink (DL) component carriers for DL PRS bandwidth aggregation operation; as well as A DL PRS resource set across the two or more contiguous in-band DL component carriers is encoded for transmission to the UE according to the linkage, the DL PRS being bandwidth aggregated across the two or more contiguous in-band DL component carriers based on the UE capability information indicating that the UE supports DL PRS bandwidth aggregation.

8. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 7, wherein: For two DL PRS resource sets configured for bandwidth aggregation, a first DL PRS within a first DL PRS resource set mapped to a first DL PFL and a second DL PRS within a second DL PRS resource set mapped to a second DL PFL are provided with the same time domain resource configuration and quasi co-location (QCL) assumption.

9. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 8, wherein: The same time domain resource configuration includes the same values of the following higher layer parameters: dl-PRS-Periodicity-and-ResourceSetSlotOffset, dl-PRS-NumSymbols, dl-PRS-ResourceTimeGap, dl-PRS-ResourceRepetitionFactor, dl-PRS-ResourceSymbolOffset, dl-prs-MutingBitRepetitionFactor and dl-PRS-CyclicPrefix.

10. The computer-readable storage medium according to any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein: The first DL PRS and the second DL PRS are transmitted assuming phase continuity across a set of aggregated DL PFLs.

11. A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions for execution by one or more processors of a user equipment (UE), the instructions for configuring the UE for positioning enhancement in fifth generation new radio (5G NR) and above networks, and causing the UE to perform operations comprising: encoding radio resource control (RRC) signaling for transmission to a base station using a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), the RRC signaling including UE capability information indicating that the UE supports UL SRS for positioning bandwidth aggregation; decoding, via radio resource control (RRC) signaling from the base station, a higher layer configuration that configures linking between UL SRS resource sets for positioning across two or more contiguous in-band uplink (UL) component carriers for UL SRS bandwidth aggregation operation; as well as The UL SRS resource set is transmitted across the two or more contiguous in-band UL component carriers according to a link received from the base station using a set of contiguous in-band UL component carriers.

12. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 11, wherein: For two UL SRSs configured for positioning resource sets for bandwidth aggregation, a first UL SRS for positioning within a first UL SRS resource set for positioning mapped to a first UL carrier and a second UL SRS for positioning within a second UL SRS resource set for positioning mapped to a second UL carrier are provided with the same time domain resource configuration and quasi co-location (QCL) assumption across a set of consecutive in-band UL component carriers.

13. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein: The same time domain resource configuration includes the same values of at least the following higher layer parameters: startPosition, nrofSymbols, periodicityAndOffset, slotOffset, and the same values of subcarrier spacing (SCS) and cyclic prefix (CP).

14. The computer-readable storage medium according to any one of claims 11 to 13, wherein: A first UL SRS resource set for positioning and a second UL SRS resource set for positioning that are linked for bandwidth aggregation are transmitted while maintaining phase continuity across a set of contiguous in-band UL component carriers.

15. The computer-readable storage medium according to any one of claims 11 to 14, wherein: The first UL SRS resource set for positioning and the second UL SRS resource set for positioning that are linked for bandwidth aggregation are configured with the same UL SRS resource type, which can be one of: periodic, semi-persistent, or aperiodic.

16. The computer-readable storage medium according to any one of claims 11 to 15, wherein: For semi-persistent UL SRS resource sets for positioning that are linked for bandwidth aggregation, a single activation and deactivation command from a medium access control-control element (MAC-CE) is applied to two or more UL SRS resource sets for positioning across two or more contiguous in-band UL component carriers.

17. The computer-readable storage medium according to any one of claims 11 to 16, wherein: For an aperiodic UL SRS resource set for positioning that is linked for bandwidth aggregation, if the UE receives a downlink control information (DCI) format with an SRS request bit field that triggers an aperiodic SRS resource set for positioning that is linked for bandwidth aggregation in an UL carrier, the SRS request bit field indicates a joint trigger across the linked UL SRS resource set for positioning, and the UE sends the SRS of the linked SRS resource set across all consecutive in-band UL carriers.

18. The computer-readable storage medium according to any one of claims 11 to 17, wherein: The UE applies the same values of fractional path loss compensation parameter alpha, open loop power control parameter P0, and DL path loss reference for all SRSs of positioning transmissions across two or more consecutive in-band UL component carriers linked for SRSs of positioning bandwidth aggregation.

19. The computer-readable storage medium according to any one of claims 11 to 18, wherein: The UE transmits an SRS for positioning across the two or more consecutive in-band UL component carriers, the two or more consecutive in-band UL component carriers being linked for the SRS for positioning bandwidth aggregation with the same per resource element (RE) transmit power of the SRS for positioning.

20. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein: For two DL PRS resource sets configured for bandwidth aggregation, the first DL PRS within the first DL PRS resource set mapped to the first DL positioning frequency layer (PFL) and the second DL PRS within the second DL PRS resource set mapped to the second DL PFL are provided with the same time domain resource configuration and quasi co-location (QCL) assumption.

Images