Method and device for configuring sounding reference signal for serving cell measurement and neighbor cell measurement

Abstract

The present invention describes a method and an apparatus for configuring a downlink (DL) reference signal (RS) to an electronic device (ED), and a method and an apparatus for configuring a downlink (DL) reference signal (RS) to an electronic device (ED). The method includes receiving configuration information associated with the DLRS in a first communication through an LTE positioning protocol (LTE positioning protocol, LPP) from a location management function (LMF), and transmitting the configuration information associated with the DLRS in the first communication through the LTE positioning protocol (LTE positioning protocol, LPP) from the LMF, and transmitting the configuration information associated with the DLRS in the first communication through the LTE positioning protocol (LTE positioning protocol, LPP). The method comprises the following steps: receiving an identifier (ID) of a DLRS and a cell ID of a cell which transmits the DLRS in communication through radio resource control (RRC) from a serving cell, in which the configuration information received in the first communication further comprises the ID of the DL RS and the cell ID; and transmitting a sounding reference signal (SRS) to the cell identified by the cell ID on the basis of path loss (PL) information or space domain transmission filter (TF) information associated with the DL RS, and transmitting the SRS to the cell identified by the cell ID on the basis of the path loss (PL) information associated with the DL RS or the space domain transmission filter (TF) information associated with the DL RS.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application. The application number of the original application is 202080057524.8, and the original application date is August 12, 2020. The entire content of the original application is incorporated into this application by reference. Technical Field

[0002] The present invention relates generally to wireless communications. In various examples, the present invention relates to methods and apparatus for configuring sounding reference signal power. Background Art

[0003] In a traditional cellular network, each cell is associated with a coverage area and includes one or more base stations (BS) (also called transmit-receive points (TRP)), each of which has a radio frequency (RF) transceiver for sending and receiving wireless signals. Each cell is assigned a physical cell identifier (PCID), which can be shared by all BSs in the cell. The PCID facilitates control channel and data channel communication between the cell and an electronic device (ED) (such as user equipment (UE)) to a certain extent. The cell currently serving the ED is called the service cell corresponding to the ED. Before triggering the handover, the network can maintain the association between the service cell and the ED through the assigned PCID.

[0004] The network may implement a location management function (LMF), which provides location services, for example, determining the location of an ED (also referred to as "positioning" of the ED) based on measurement results received from cells (including serving cells and non-serving cells) and / or other entities in the network, such as EDs. The LMF may be implemented in a cell (for example, the LMF service may be provided by a BS in the cell), in the core network, or the like.

[0005] EDs transmit sounding reference signals (SRSs), which network devices can use to determine channel characteristics between the ED and the network device. In Release 15 (Rel.15) New Radio (NR), SRSs are used in conjunction with network devices currently serving the ED. That is, SRSs are currently only received and measured by the serving cell.

[0006] It is desirable to provide technical solutions that enable ED to send SRS intended to be received by cells other than the serving cell. These technical solutions can enable SRS to be used for positioning purposes such as on the LMF side or for inter-cell or intra-cell mobility purposes. Summary of the Invention

[0007] In various examples disclosed herein, a technical solution for configuring SRS power is provided so that SRS can be transmitted from an ED to a non-serving cell (eg, a neighboring cell).

[0008] This disclosure describes an example for configuring a path loss (PL) reference signal (RS), which can be sent by a serving cell or LMF to an ED. The PL RS can be a PL positioning reference signal (PRS), a PL synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel block (SSB), or a PL channel state information-reference signal (CSI-RS), among others.

[0009] The present invention also describes an example for configuring a transmission filter (TF) RS, which can be sent by a serving cell or LMF to an ED. The TF RS can be a TF PRS, a TF SSB, or a TF CSI-RS, etc.

[0010] In various examples, this disclosure describes possible fallback procedures that may be used if an ED does not receive or detect an expected PL CSI-RS, TF CSI-RS, PL PRS, or TF PRS.

[0011] In various examples, the present disclosure describes possible processes for enabling an ED to receive the configuration of a PL RS or TF RS from an LMF and for enabling the LMF to obtain the PL RS or TF RS configuration details.

[0012] The present invention also describes an example of enabling a serving cell to obtain PL RS or TF RS configuration details from a non-serving cell, from an LMF, or from a non-serving cell through an LMF or the like.

[0013] The various examples described herein may help enable an ED to correctly receive DL RS from a cell (including a serving cell or a non-serving cell), and help determine PL and / or TF to send SRS to a cell (including a serving cell or a non-serving cell). These examples may enable SRS to be used for mobility purposes, positioning purposes, or any other application that may require an ED to send SRS to a cell (including a serving cell or a non-serving cell).

[0014] In some exemplary aspects, the present disclosure describes a method performed at a network entity implementing a location management function (LMF). The method includes receiving a configuration message from a radio access network (RAN) node, wherein the configuration message includes configuration information associated with a downlink (DL) reference signal (RS); and transmitting the configuration information to at least one of: an electronic device (ED), wherein the configuration information enables the ED to use the DL RS to obtain path loss (PL) information or spatial transmission filter (TF) information for transmitting a sounding reference signal (SRS); or a serving RAN node serving the ED.

[0015] In either example, the method may include sending a request for the configuration information to the RAN node.

[0016] In any example, the request may be sent to the RAN node via New Radio Positioning Protocol A (NRPPa).

[0017] In either example, the DL RS may be a DL synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel block (SSB) or a DL positioning reference signal (PRS).

[0018] In either example, the configuration message may be received from a non-serving RAN node via New Radio Positioning Protocol A (NRPPa), and the configuration message may be sent to the serving RAN node via NRPPa.

[0019] In any example, the configuration information may be sent to the ED via an LTE positioning protocol (LPP).

[0020] In any example, the configuration information may include a quasi colocation type D (QCL-D) field for providing information about another configured reference signal that has a QCL-D relationship with the DL RS. The ED can detect the DL RS based on the configuration of the another configured reference signal.

[0021] In some exemplary aspects, the present invention describes a method performed on an electronic device (ED). The method includes: receiving configuration information associated with a downlink (DL) reference signal (RS) in a first communication from a location management function (LMF) via an LTE positioning protocol (LPP); receiving an identifier (ID) of the DL RS and a cell ID of a cell transmitting the DL RS in a second communication from a serving cell corresponding to the ED via a radio resource control (RRC), wherein the configuration information received in the first communication also includes the ID of the DL RS and the cell ID; and transmitting a sounding reference signal (SRS) to the cell identified by the cell ID based on path loss (PL) information or spatial transmission filter (TF) information associated with the DL RS.

[0022] In any example, the DL RS can be a DL positioning reference signal (PRS), and the configuration information associated with the DL RS may include one or more of the following: a resource ID of the DL PRS; a cell ID of the cell that sends the DL PRS; a quasi colocation-Type-D (QCL-D) field, used to provide information about another configuration reference signal that has a QCL-D relationship with the DL PRS; a New Radio Absolute Radio-Frequency Channel Number (NRARFCN), used to determine the frequency domain position of the DL PRS; the bandwidth of the DL PRS; the time slot offset of the DL PRS; the frame offset of the DL PRS; the symbol offset of the DL PRS; the signal suppression configuration of the DL PRS; the period and offset of the DL PRS; and the scrambling ID of the DL PRS.

[0023] In any example, the DL RS can be a DL synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel block (SSB), and the configuration information associated with the DL RS can include one or more of the following: an SSB index of the DL SSB; a cell ID of the cell that sends the DL SSB; and one or more parameters for determining the position of the DL SSB in the time-frequency domain.

[0024] In either example, the configuration information associated with the DL RS may enable the ED to use the DL RS to obtain information other than the PL information and the spatial TF information, and the second communication may enable the ED to use the DL RS to obtain the PL information or the spatial TF information.

[0025] In either example, the configuration information associated with the DL RS may enable the ED to use the DL RS to obtain the PL information or the spatial TF information.

[0026] In any example, the DL RS can be a DL positioning reference signal (PRS), and the configuration information associated with the DL RS may include one or more of the following: a resource ID of the DL PRS; a cell ID of the cell that sends the DL PRS; a quasi colocation-Type-D (QCL-D) field, used to provide information about another configuration reference signal that has a QCL-D relationship with the DL PRS; a New Radio Absolute Radio-Frequency Channel Number (NRARFCN), used to determine the frequency domain position of the DL PRS; the bandwidth of the DL PRS; the time slot offset of the DL PRS; the frame offset of the DL PRS; the symbol offset of the DL PRS; the signal suppression configuration of the DL PRS; the period and offset of the DL PRS; and the scrambling ID of the DL PRS.

[0027] In any example, the DL RS can be a DL synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel block (SSB), and the configuration information can include one or more of the following: an SSB index of the DL SSB; a cell ID of the cell that sends the DL SSB; and one or more parameters for determining the position of the DL SSB in the time-frequency domain.

[0028] In some exemplary aspects, the present disclosure describes a method performed at an electronic device (ED), comprising: after not receiving a first downlink (DL) reference signal (RS) within an expected time or time frame, or in the absence of configuration information for receiving the first DL RS, obtaining, by the ED, path loss (PL) information based on a second DL RS; and transmitting a sounding reference signal (SRS), wherein the SRS is transmitted based on the PL information.

[0029] In either example, the second DL RS may be a synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel block (SSB) used by the ED to obtain Master Information Block (MIB) parameters, and may subsequently be used by the ED to obtain the PL information.

[0030] In some exemplary aspects, the present invention describes a device comprising a processing unit configured to execute instructions to cause the device to perform any of the above methods.

[0031] In some exemplary aspects, the present invention describes a computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processing unit in a device, causes the device to perform any of the above methods. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0032] Reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying drawings which show exemplary embodiments of the present application, in which:

[0033] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary communication system suitable for implementing the examples described herein;

[0034] Figure 2A and Figure 2B block diagrams of an exemplary base station (BS) and an exemplary electronic device (ED), respectively, suitable for implementing the examples described herein;

[0035] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of two neighboring cells in an exemplary communication system suitable for implementing the examples described herein;

[0036] Figure 4 An exemplary data stream for one example of a sounding reference signal (SRS) measurement according to examples described herein;

[0037] Figure 5 A flowchart of an exemplary method for configuring a downlink (DL) reference signal (RS) and transmitting an SRS to a non-serving cell;

[0038] Figure 6 is a flowchart of another exemplary method for configuring a DL RS and transmitting an SRS to a non-serving cell;

[0039] Figure 7is a flow chart of an exemplary method for a fallback process when an expected DL RS is not received;

[0040] Figure 8A A flowchart of an exemplary method for a location management function (LMF) to provide configuration information to an ED;

[0041] Figure 8B A signaling diagram illustrating exemplary signaling for LMF to provide configuration information to ED;

[0042] Figure 9 A flowchart of an exemplary method for a base station (BS) in a serving cell to provide configuration information to an ED;

[0043] Figures 10A to 10E Signaling diagram for exemplary signaling for a serving cell to provide configuration information to an ED.

[0044] Similar reference numerals may be used in different drawings to identify similar components. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0045] In Release 15 (Rel. 15) of the New Radio (NR), the procedures incorporated into the NR standard do not specify that non-serving cells measure the sounding reference signal (SRS). The examples described herein can help implement SRS measurements for non-serving cells (e.g., neighboring cells) and serving cells. The technical solutions described herein can help use SRS to locate electronic devices (EDs) (e.g., user equipment (UE)) or implement uplink (UL)-based inter-cell or intra-cell mobility, etc.

[0046] In various examples, the present invention describes methods and mechanisms that are derived by modifying known methods to make them easier to implement using existing methods and / or easier to apply across industries.

[0047] In order to implement SRS measurement in a non-serving cell, several problems may need to be solved for traditional SRS measurement that only relies on the serving cell.

[0048] One issue involves enabling the ED to send SRS to transceivers that are not associated with the serving cell. In other words, the ED should be able to send SRS to non-serving cells. In order to be able to use beamforming to send SRS to non-serving cells, the ED should be configured with SRS configuration parameters, which include a set of transmission variables that define or control the transmitted SRS signal. These transmission variables include variables related to spatial transmission filters, path loss, transmission power, SRS periodicity, and resource mapping, etc. Specifically, the SRS spatial transmission filter (TF) defines the directionality of the signal (e.g., beamforming parameters) and enables the ED to send SRS in a direction that can be received by the non-serving cell.

[0049] In the prior art, an ED can determine the SRS spatial TF of a BS in a serving cell based on a first reference signal (RS) sent by the serving cell. The first RS can inform the ED about transmission variables related to the spatial TF and / or path loss (PL).

[0050] In the prior art, the ED is able to use a receive beam to listen to the first RS sent by the BS in the serving cell. Based on the configuration information provided to the ED about the location where the serving cell sends the first RS in the time-frequency resources, the ED can determine the location where the signal is strongest and associate that direction with the BS in the serving cell. For example, such configuration may involve using the "SRS-SpatialRelationInfo" field in the "SRS-Resource" field of the "SRS-Config" message. The RS can be one of the following: (1) synchronization signal (SS) / physical broadcast channel (PBCH) block (SSB) resources, (2) channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) resources, (3) sounding reference signal (SRS) resources.

[0051] In the case of using "SRS-spatialRelationInfo" in the current 3GPP standard, the content of this field is dedicated to the SRS resource and includes servingCellId and one of the following three reference signal indicators: (1) SSB index, (2) CSI-RS resource index, or (3) SRS resource index, and the corresponding uplink bandwidth part (UL BWP).

[0052] According to current standards, if the configured RS sent by the serving cell is an SSB resource or a CSI-RS resource, the ED should use the same spatial transmission filter originally used to receive the SSB or CSI-RS to send the target SRS resource. If the RS is another SRS resource, the ED can use the same spatial transmission filter used to send the indicated SRS to send the target SRS resource.

[0053] According to Rel.15 of the NR 3GPP standard, the RS that determines the spatial transmission filter for the SRS is configured by the serving cell and is transmitted from one or more BSs in the serving cell. Regarding SRS measurements performed on non-serving cells, one issue is that when the SRS needs to be received by a BS in a non-serving cell, configuring the SRS transmission based on the RS transmitted by the serving cell may not be sufficient.

[0054] In the examples described herein, a transmission filter RS ​​(TF RS) is used to determine the spatial transmission filter. TF RS resources are used to determine the spatial transmission filter of a target SRS resource. There are four applicable TF RS resources: SSB resources used as TF RS (referred to herein as TF SSB for brevity), CSI-RS resources used as TF RS (referred to herein as TF CSI-RS for brevity), downlink (DL) positioning reference signal (PRS) (referred to herein as TF PRS for brevity), and SRS resources (referred to herein as TF SRS for brevity). This disclosure describes some configurations of DL TF RS (i.e., TF SSB, TF CSI-RS, and TF PRS).

[0055] One problem with existing SRS configuration methods involves determining the transmission power that the ED should use to send the SRS signal. In Rel. 15 of the 3GPP standard, the SRS transmission power is determined by the following formula:

[0056]

[0057] in,

[0058] P SRS,b,f,c (i,q s , l) is the SRS resource set q on all ports of the UL bandwidth part (BWP) b of the carrier f of the serving cell c in the power control (PC) adjustment state with index l at the SRS transmission opportunity i s The total SRS transmit power in dBm for one SRS symbol in . The transmit power in this representation is divided equally among all configured ports.

[0059] P CMAX,f,c (i) is the maximum output power of the ED, which is defined in the specification (RAN4 (TS 38.101-1 / 38.101-2)).

[0060] P o_SRS,b,f,c (q s ) is each SRS resource set q s The corresponding high-level configuration baseline power value.

[0061] M SRS,b,f,c (i) is the SRS bandwidth (BW) corresponding to each SRS resource, in resource blocks (RBs).

[0062] α SRS,b,f,c (q s ) is each SRS resource set q s The corresponding high-level configuration scaling factor, the default value is 1.

[0063] PL b,f,c (q d ) is the DL PL estimation value in dB, which is determined by ED based on RS resource index q d Calculated. In Rel.15, RS resource index q d By SRS resource set q s The associated high-level parameter pathloss reference RS (pathlossReferenceRS) is provided. The RS used to determine the DL PL can be called PL RS. In Rel.15, there are two applicable PL RS resources: PL SSB resources and PL CSI-RS resources. In the current 3GPP standard, if the ED is not configured with PL RS resources (for example, the high-level parameter pathlossReferenceRS in 3GPP TS38.331), or the ED has not been configured with dedicated high-level parameters, the ED uses the RS resources obtained from the SS / PBCH block to calculate the PL b,f,c (q d), ED uses the SS / PBCH block to obtain the higher-layer parameter Master Information Block (MIB). It can be observed that in the prior art, the PL RS is used to calculate the PL of the serving cell, and the PL is used to determine the SRS transmission power, so that the serving cell can receive the SRS signal with sufficient power and the SRS can be measured correctly.

[0064] h b,f,c (i, l) is the PC adjustment state of index l in SRS transmission opportunity i.

[0065] According to the power control mechanism in the prior art, SRS power control is performed based on SRS resource sets. All SRS resource sets are configured for the serving cell (and are expected to be measured on the serving cell side). In order to enable SRS measurements in non-serving cells, a technical solution is required that can configure different SRS resource sets, each of which is expected to be measured by either the serving cell or the non-serving cell.

[0066] According to Rel. 15 of the 3GPP standard, PL RS resources are configured and transmitted from the serving cell. Since PL RS cannot be used to calculate the PL of SRS resources in non-serving cells, emitting PL RS exclusively from the serving cell can create issues with SRS measurements in non-serving cells. Specifically, non-serving cells are typically farther from the ED than the serving cell and therefore have a greater PL. If a UE uses the configured PL RS transmitted from the serving cell to calculate the transmit power of the SRS intended for non-serving cells, the SRS transmit power may be insufficient for the non-serving cell to accurately detect and measure the SRS.

[0067] In order to enable SRS to be received by non-serving cells (e.g., for positioning or mobility purposes), the DL RS emitted by the non-serving cell should be configured to be used as DL PL RS to implement SRS power control. As mentioned above, the DL PL RS can be CSI-RS, SSB or DL ​​positioning reference signal (PRS), etc. If the ED cannot obtain the PL RS, a fallback process is still desirable.

[0068] To achieve UL beam management / alignment for non-serving cells, it is necessary to configure the spatial relationship between the target SRS and the reference DL RS emitted by the non-serving cell. The reference DL RS can be SSB, CSI-RS, or DL-PRS, etc.

[0069] It should be noted that these configurations for implementing the transmission of SRS to non-serving cells may be a supplement to the existing Rel. 15 specification. In other words, these configurations do not necessarily exclude the possibility of the ED transmitting the SRS to be received by the serving cell.

[0070] In the present invention, for the sake of brevity, the reference DL RS used for the spatial relationship between the non-serving cell (or serving cell) and the SRS may be referred to as a TF RS. Furthermore, TF SSB is used to refer to an SSB used as a TF RS; TF CSI-RS is used to refer to a CSI-RS used as a TF RS; and TF PRS is used to refer to a PRS used as a TF RS.

[0071] In the present invention, for the sake of brevity, the PL reference RS (Pathloss Reference RS) may be referred to as the PL RS. Furthermore, the term PL SSB refers to the SSB used as the PL RS; the term PL CSI-RS refers to the CSI-RS used as the PL RS; and the term PL PRS refers to the PRS used as the PL RS.

[0072] The present invention provides examples that solve one or more of the above problems. It should be understood that the examples described with reference to the configuration of PL RS can also be applied to the configuration of TF RS (and vice versa).

[0073] In an embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to support the use of CSI-RS resources emitted by the serving cell and / or neighboring cells as spatialRelationInfoRS for positioning SRS. The CSI-RS transmit beam is dedicated to the UE and is generally narrower than the SSB transmit beam. Therefore, it is usually a good candidate for spatialRelationInfoRS. For mobility purposes, the UE can be configured in MeasObjectNR to measure multiple groups of CSI-RS resources. Each group of CSI-RS resources is emitted from the serving cell or the neighboring cell. If some of these neighboring cells are also target cells in UL-based positioning, their CSI-RS resources configured in MeasObjectNR are known on the UE side and can be directly indicated to the UE as spatialRelationInfo RS for positioning SRS.

[0074] In this embodiment of the present invention, the DL PRS transmitted by the serving cell and / or neighboring cells can be indicated as the spatialRelationInfo RS for positioning SRS. If the UE is used to measure the DL PRS transmitted by the serving cell and / or neighboring cells for DL-based positioning or multi-RTT positioning, the configured DL PRS can also be indicated to the UE for any other purpose, as long as the configuration is valid. Other purposes include using the configured DL PRS as the spatialRelationInfo RS for positioning SRS. In a multi-RTT positioning scenario, RTT is measured between a UE-gNB pair: the gNB that transmits the DL PRS for "UE Rx-Tx time difference measurement" is the recipient of the SRS for "gNB Rx-Tx time difference measurement" from the same UE. Therefore, it is logical that there is a spatial relationship between the DL PRS for "UE Rx-Tx time difference measurement" and the corresponding SRS for "gNB Rx-Tx time difference measurement". This can be achieved by indicating the DL PRS as the spatialRelationInfo RS for positioning the corresponding SRS.

[0075] In embodiments of the present invention, the CSI-RS and / or DL ​​PRS transmitted by the serving cell and / or neighboring cells may be configured as spatialRelationInfo RS for positioning SRS. For positioning purposes, in addition to SSB, the CSI-RS and DL PRS transmitted by the serving cell and neighboring cells may be configured as spatialRelationInfo RS.

[0076] In an embodiment of the present invention, some parameters are required to uniquely identify spatialRelationInfo RS. In general, taking into account the fact that spatialRelationInfo RS can be emitted from a neighboring cell, the spatialRelationInfoRS configuration can indicate all parameters required to detect DL RS. Depending on the DL RS type (SSB, CSI-RS or DL ​​PRS), these parameters include reference time and frequency points, time domain and frequency domain resource mapping parameters, period and offset, PCID, resource ID, scrambling ID and possible QCL-D attributes. spatialRelationInfo RS can be configured based on a DLRS set that has been detected by the UE and / or configured to the UE for other possible purposes. Other possible purposes include detecting SSBs emitted by the serving cell or neighboring cell in the initial access process, configuring CSI-RS resources emitted by the serving cell, configuring SSB resources or CSI-RS resources emitted by the serving cell or neighboring cell in MeasObjectNR, or configuring DL PRS resources for RSTD or UE Rx-Tx time difference measurement. In this case, in order to uniquely identify spatialRelationInfo RS, it is necessary to indicate to the UE the DL RS resource ID and PCID of the corresponding serving cell or neighboring cell. It should be noted that, for example, in the case of CSI-RS, (non-zero power) CSI-RS resources are configured in two different locations in Rel.15: CSI-RS resources emitted by the serving cell and neighboring cells for mobility purposes are configured in CSI-RS-ResourceConfigMobility and indexed by CSI-RS-Index; CSI-RS resources emitted by the serving cell only for various intra-cell measurement purposes are configured in NZP-CSI-RS-Resource and indexed by NZP-CSI-RS-ResourceId. If the spatialRelationInfo CSI-RS is indicated based on the DL RS set known to the UE (configured to the UE), then the CSI-RS resource ID should refer to the CSI-RS-Index used in CSI-RS-ResourceConfigMobility, at least when the target cell is a neighboring cell.

[0077] In one embodiment, parameters can be added to the spatialRelationInfo field to be able to additionally indicate the SSB or CSI-RS issued by the neighboring cell or the DL PRS issued by the serving cell or the neighboring cell. The LMF can send the configuration of the DL PRS resources of the serving cell and the neighboring cell to the UE through LPP, and the serving cell does not know or detect the DL PRS configuration of the neighboring cell. If the DL PRS used as the spatialRelationInfo RS has been configured to the UE by the LMF for RSTD measurement or UE Rx-Tx time difference measurement, etc., the serving cell only needs to indicate the DL PRS resource ID and PCID of the corresponding cell to configure the DL PRS as the spatialRelationInfo RS in the SRS-Config IE in the RRC. The DL PRS resource ID and PCID of the neighboring cell can be provided to the serving cell by the LMF through NRPPa. The spatialRelationInfo RS is configured in the RRC, and the configuration of the spatialRelationInfo RS includes at least the DL reference signal (SSB, CSI-RS or DL ​​PRS) resource ID and cell ID of the sending serving cell / neighboring cell.

[0078] In some embodiments of the present invention, taking into account the fact that spatialRelationInfo RS can be sent from neighboring cells, some UE fallback behaviors are supported in the case where spatialRelationInfo RS is configured but not detected. If a cell sends spatialRelationInfo RS but the UE does not detect it, a reasonable approach is to use the detected DL RS sent by the same cell as the fallback spatialRelationInfo RS. If the cell is the serving cell, the fallback spatialRelationInfo RS can be the SSB used to obtain the MIB; if the cell is a neighboring cell, the fallback spatialRelationInfo RS can be the detected SSB sent by the cell with the highest RSRP. Therefore, if spatialRelationInfo RS is configured but not detected, the UE uses the following as the alternative spatialRelationInfo RS: if the cell sending spatialRelationInfo RS is the serving cell, the alternative spatialRelationInfo RS is the SSB used to obtain the MIB; if the cell sending spatialRelationInfo RS is the neighboring cell, the alternative spatialRelationInfo RS is the detected SSB sent by the cell with the highest RSRP.

[0079] If spatialRelationInfo RS is not configured, how to form the SRS transmit beam depends on the UE. For example, if no SRS resources in the SRS resource set are configured with spatialRelationInfo RS, the UE can scan and send SRS resources using all transmit beams.

[0080] In an embodiment of the present invention, the SSB and / or CSI-RS emitted by the serving cell and / or the neighboring cell can be configured as pathlossReferenceRS. The UE can be configured in MeasObjectNR to measure the SSB emitted by the serving cell and / or the neighboring cell and / or measure the CSI-RS resources emitted by the serving cell and the neighboring cell within the periodic SMTC window. The measurements performed include SS-RSRP and CSI-RSRP (RSRP measurement on CSI-RS). In one example, once the RSRP is calculated, it is simple to obtain the path loss because the path loss is obtained by subtracting the RSRP from the transmit power. For positioning purposes, it supports configuring the SSB and CSI-RS emitted by the serving cell and the neighboring cell as pathlossReferenceRS.

[0081] The above-mentioned indication of spatialRelationInfo RS is also applicable to indicating pathlossReferenceRS to the UE: the pathlossReferenceRS issued by the serving cell or neighboring cell can be indicated in the RRC signaling or message, and at least the reference signal resource ID and cell ID of the sending party's serving cell or neighboring cell are required to enable the UE to uniquely identify the pathlossReferenceRS. The pathlossReferenceRS is configured in RRC, and the configuration of the pathlossReferenceRS includes at least the DL reference signal (SSB or CSI-RS) resource ID and cell ID of the sending party's serving cell / neighboring cell.

[0082] During positioning, the SRS target cell may be a neighboring cell. In this case, different fallback behaviors may be defined when pathlossReferenceRS is not configured or configured but not detected. If pathlossReferenceRS is not configured or configured but not detected, the UE may use the following detected SSBs emitted by the target cell as pathlossReferenceRS: if the target cell is a serving cell, the alternative pathlossReferenceRS is the SSB used to obtain the MIB; or if the target cell is a neighboring cell, the alternative pathlossReferenceRS is the SSB with the highest RSRP. Optionally, if pathlossReferenceRS is configured but not detected, or if pathlossReferenceRS is configured but not detected and the SSB emitted by the corresponding target cell is also not detected, the UE sends SRS at maximum power.

[0083] To help understand the present invention, first describe Figures 1 to 3 . Figures 1 to 3 Examples are provided of networks, systems, and devices that can be used to implement the described examples of the present invention.

[0084] Figure 1 An exemplary wireless communication system 100 (also referred to as wireless system 100) in which embodiments of the present invention may be implemented is shown. In general, wireless system 100 enables multiple wireless elements or multiple wired elements to transmit data and other content. Wireless system 100 can enable content (e.g., voice, data, video, text, etc.) to be transmitted between entities in system 100 (e.g., via broadcast, narrowcast, user device to user device, etc.). Wireless system 100 can operate by sharing resources such as bandwidth. Wireless system 100 can be suitable for wireless communication using 5G technology and / or next-generation wireless technology. In some examples, wireless system 100 can also be compatible with some traditional wireless technologies (e.g., 3G or 4G wireless technologies).

[0085] In the example shown, wireless system 100 includes ED 110, radio access network (RAN) 120, core network 130, public switched telephone network (PSTN) 140, Internet 150, and other networks 160. In some examples, one or more of these networks may be omitted or replaced with a different type of network. Other networks may be included in wireless system 100. Although Figure 1 A certain number of these components or elements are shown, but any suitable number of these components or elements may be included in wireless system 100 .

[0086] The ED 110 is used to operate and / or communicate in the wireless system 100. For example, the ED 110 can be used to send and / or receive through a wireless communication channel or a wired communication channel. Each ED 110 represents any terminal user device suitable for wireless operation, and may include (or may be referred to as): user equipment (UE), wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU), mobile station, fixed or mobile user unit, cellular phone, station (STA), machine type communication (MTC) device, personal digital assistant (PDA), smartphone, laptop, computer, tablet, wireless sensor, Internet of Things (IoT) device or consumer electronic device, etc. The next generation of ED 110 may be referred to using other terms.

[0087] Figure 1 The RAN 120 in the RAN includes the BS 170. Although Figure 1Each RAN 120 is shown as including a corresponding BS 170, but it should be understood that any given RAN 120 may include more than one BS 170. Any given RAN 120 may also include one or more base station controllers (BSCs), one or more radio network controllers (RNCs), relay nodes, elements, and / or devices. Each BS 170 is configured to wirelessly connect to one or more EDs 110 to enable access to any other BS 170, the core network 130, the PSTN 140, the Internet 150, and / or other networks 160. For example, BS 170 may also be referred to as (or include) a base transceiver station (BTS), a wireless base station, a Node-B (NodeB), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB), a Home eNodeB, a gNodeB (gNB) (sometimes referred to as a next-generation NodeB), a transmission point (TP), a transmission / reception point (TRP), a site controller, an access point (AP), or a wireless router, among others. In some examples, RAN 120 may be a Next Generation (NG) RAN, and BS 170 may be referred to as an NG-RAN node. In this case, BS 170 may be a gNB or an NG-eNB (an NG-eNB is an eNB connected to an NG core network via an NG interface). Other terms may be used to refer to the next-generation BS 170. Any ED 110 may alternatively or additionally be configured to connect, access, or communicate with any other BS 170, the Internet 150, the core network 130, the PSTN 140, other networks 160, or any combination thereof. In some examples, a BS 170 may access the core network 130 via the Internet 150.

[0088] ED 110 and BS 170 are examples of communication devices that can be used to implement some or all of the functionality and / or embodiments described herein. Any BS 170 can be a single element as shown, or multiple elements distributed across a corresponding RAN 120, etc. Each BS 170 transmits and / or receives wireless signals within a specific geographic region (sometimes referred to as a "cell" or "coverage area"). A cell can be further divided into cell sectors, and a BS 170 can use multiple transceivers to provide service to multiple sectors, etc. In some embodiments, there may be established picocells or femtocells supported by a radio access technology. A macrocell can include one or more smaller cells. In some embodiments, multiple transceivers can be used for each cell using multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) technology, etc. The number of RANs 120 shown is merely exemplary. Any number of RANs 120 can be considered when designing the wireless system 100.

[0089] BS 170 communicates with one or more EDs 110 via one or more Uu wireless interfaces 190 (e.g., via radio frequency (RF), microwave, infrared (IR), etc.). Uu interface 190 may also be referred to as a Uu link, a Uu connection, an ED-BS link / connection / interface, or an ED-network link / connection / interface, etc. EDs 110 may also communicate directly with each other (i.e., without involving BS 170) via one or more sidelink (SL) wireless interfaces 195. SL interfaces may also be referred to as SL connections, ED-ED links / connections / interfaces, device-to-device (D2D) links / connections / interfaces, or simply SLs, etc. Wireless interfaces 190 and 195 may utilize any suitable wireless access technology. For example, the wireless system 100 may implement one or more channel access methods, such as code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), or single-carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA), for wireless communication.

[0090] The RAN 120 communicates with the core network 130 to provide various services, such as voice, data, and other services, to the ED 110. The RAN 120 and / or the core network 130 may communicate directly or indirectly with one or more other RANs (not shown), which may or may not be directly served by the core network 130 and may or may not use the same radio access technology. The core network 130 may also serve as a gateway access between (i) RANs 120 and / or EDs 110 and (ii) other networks (e.g., PSTN 140, Internet 150, and other networks 160). The core network 130 may also provide services. For example, in Figure 1 In the example of FIG1 , LMF 135 is implemented in core network 130 (e.g., on the backend server side or on the dedicated location management unit side). In other examples, LMF 135 may be implemented outside core network 130 (e.g., on the BS 170 side). In the present invention, reference may be made to LMF 135 as a shorthand for the network entity in which LMF 135 is implemented. For example, the present invention may describe messages traveling to and from LMF 135; in this case, it should be understood that this means that messages travel to and from the network entity in which LMF 135 is implemented (e.g., in core network 130 or BS 170).

[0091] In addition, some or all of ED 110 may include functionality for communicating with different wireless networks over different wireless links using different wireless technologies and / or protocols. ED 110 may communicate with a service provider or switch (not shown) and with the Internet 150 over a wired communication channel, rather than wirelessly (or in addition to wirelessly). PSTN 140 may include a circuit-switched telephone network for providing plain old telephone service (POTS). Internet 150 may include computer networks and / or subnets (intranets) and include protocols such as Internet Protocol (IP), Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), and User Datagram Protocol (UDP). ED 110 may be a multimode device capable of operating according to multiple wireless access technologies and include multiple transceivers required to support these technologies.

[0092] Figure 2A and Figure 2B Exemplary apparatuses are shown that can implement the various methods and teachings provided herein. Figure 2A An exemplary BS 170 is shown, Figure 2BAn exemplary ED 110 is shown. These components may be used in wireless system 100 or any other suitable system.

[0093] like Figure 2A As shown, BS 170 includes at least one processing unit 201. Processing unit 201 implements various processing operations of BS 170. For example, processing unit 201 can perform signal encoding, data processing, power control, input / output processing, or any other function of BS 170. Processing unit 201 can also be used to implement some or all of the functions and / or embodiments detailed herein. Each processing unit 201 includes any suitable processing device or computing device for performing one or more operations. Each processing unit 201 can include a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a digital signal processor, a field programmable gate array, or an application-specific integrated circuit, etc.

[0094] BS 170 also includes at least one communication interface 202 for wired and / or wireless communications. Each communication interface 202 includes any suitable structure for generating signals for wireless or wired transmission and / or for processing signals received wirelessly or wired. In this example, BS 170 includes at least one antenna 204 (in other examples, antenna 204 may be omitted). Each antenna 204 includes any suitable structure for transmitting and / or receiving wireless or wired signals. One or more communication interfaces 202 may be used in BS 170. One or more antennas 204 may be used in BS 170. In some examples, one or more antennas 204 may be antenna arrays 204, which may be used to perform beamforming and beamsteering operations. Although BS 170 is shown as a single functional unit, BS 170 may also be implemented using at least one transmitter interface and at least one separate receiver interface.

[0095] BS 170 also includes one or more input / output devices 206 or input / output interfaces (e.g., a wired interface connected to the Internet 150). One or more input / output devices 206 can interact with users or other devices in the network. Each input / output device 206 includes any suitable structure for providing information to or receiving information from a user, such as a speaker, microphone, keypad, keyboard, display, or touch screen, including network interface communications.

[0096] In addition, BS 170 includes at least one memory 208. Memory 208 stores instructions and data used, generated, or collected by BS 170. For example, memory 208 may store software instructions or modules for implementing some or all of the functionality and / or embodiments described herein and executed by one or more processing units 201. Each memory 208 includes any suitable one or more volatile and / or non-volatile storage and retrieval devices. Any suitable type of memory may be used, such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), a hard disk, an optical disk, a subscriber identity module (SIM) card, a memory stick, a secure digital (SD) memory card, and the like.

[0097] like Figure 2B As shown, ED 110 includes at least one processing unit 250, at least one transmitter 252, at least one receiver 254, one or more antennas 256, at least one memory 258, and one or more input / output devices or interfaces 266. Processing unit 250 implements various processing operations of ED 110, such as signal encoding, data processing, power control, input / output processing, or any other functions. Processing unit 250 may also be used to implement some or all of the functions and / or embodiments described herein. Each processing unit 250 comprises any suitable processing device or computing device for performing one or more operations. Each processing unit 250 may include a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a digital signal processor, a field programmable gate array, an application-specific integrated circuit, or the like.

[0098] Each transmitter 252 includes any suitable structure for generating a signal for wireless or wired transmission. Each receiver 254 includes any suitable structure for processing a signal received wirelessly or wired. Although at least one transmitter 252 and at least one receiver 254 are shown as separate components, they can be combined into a transceiver. Each antenna 256 includes any suitable structure for sending and / or receiving wireless or wired signals. Although a shared antenna 256 is shown coupled to both the transmitter 252 and the receiver 254, one or more antennas 256 can be coupled to one or more transmitters 252, and one or more separate antennas 256 can be coupled to one or more receivers 254. In some examples, one or more antennas 256 can be an antenna array that can be used for beamforming and beam steering operations. Each memory 258 includes any suitable one or more volatile and / or non-volatile storage and retrieval devices, such as those described above in conjunction with Figure 2AThe memory 258 stores instructions and data used, generated, or collected by the ED 110. For example, the memory 258 may store software instructions or modules for implementing some or all of the functionality and / or embodiments described herein and executed by one or more processing units 250.

[0099] Each input / output device / interface 266 can interact with users or other devices in the network. Each input / output device / interface 266 includes any suitable structure for providing information to a user or receiving / providing information from a user, including network interface communications.

[0100] It is conceivable that Figure 1 The communication system 100 shown can support New Radio (NR) cells, which can also be called hyper cells. Each NR cell includes one or more BSs 170 using the same NR cell ID. The NR cell ID is a logical assignment for all physical BSs 170 in the NR cell and can be carried in the broadcast synchronization signal. The NR cell can be dynamically configured. The boundaries of the NR cell can be flexible, and the system dynamically adds or removes BSs 170 from the NR cell. Any number of NR cells can be implemented in the communication system 100.

[0101] For example, Figure 3 Two adjacent NR cells in an exemplary communication system in which the examples described herein may be implemented are shown. It should be noted that, although referred to as NR cells (or simply cells), in some examples, a cell may be understood as an NG-RAN node (e.g., a gNB or eNB connected to an NG network). Therefore, any reference to a cell in the present invention should also be understood to include a reference to an NG-RAN node. Figure 3Two adjacent NR cells 382 and 384 are shown, but it should be understood that more than two NR cells may exist, and that there may be NR cells that are not directly adjacent to each other. In the illustrated example, each NR cell 382 and 384 includes multiple BSs 170. For example, the first NR cell 382 includes BSs 170a to 170f, all of which are assigned the same first NR cell ID that identifies the first NR cell 382. Similarly, the second NR cell 384 includes BSs 170g to 170l, all of which are assigned the same second NR cell ID that identifies the second NR cell 384. In this example, the first NR cell 382 is a serving cell for ED 110. Specifically, two BSs 170a and 170b are shown communicating with ED 110. It should be understood that other BSs 170 in the first NR cell 382 can communicate with ED 110. In this example, the second NR cell 384 is a non-serving cell (or neighboring cell) corresponding to ED 110.

[0102] Two NR cells 382 and 384 can share a single base station (BS) 170m. For example, BS 170m is assigned to one of the two NR cells 382 and 384 at different times, frequencies, or spatial orientations. The system (e.g., on the core network side) can assign BS 170m to one of the two NR cells 382 and 384 by switching the NR cell ID assigned to BS 170m between the NR cell IDs associated with the respective NR cells 382 and 384. In some examples, the shared BS 170m can help reduce interference to any ED located at the boundary between the two NR cells 382 and 384. Because the shared BS 170m is associated with either NR cell 382 or 384 at different times, frequencies, or spatial locations, EDs located near the boundary between the two NR cells 382 and 384 do not frequently switch. Furthermore, when an ED moves between NR cells 382 and 384, the transition is smoother for the user. For example, the network may change the NR cell ID assigned to the shared BS 170m to switch the ED moving between the NR cells 382 and 384. Any number (including 0) of shared BSs may be included in the system.

[0103] The NR cell topology can be updated by the system (e.g., on the core network side), for example, to adapt to changes in network topology, load distribution, and / or ED distribution. For example, if the density of EDs increases in an area, the system can dynamically expand the NR cell to include more BSs near the EDs. For example, if the density of EDs located at the edge of the NR cell increases above a certain threshold, the system can expand the NR cell to include other BSs. For another example, the system can expand the NR cell to include more EDs located between two NR cells. In some examples, if the traffic load increases significantly in an area, the system can also expand the NR cell associated with the area to include BSs with increased traffic load. For example, if the traffic load of a part of the network exceeds a predetermined threshold, the system can change the NR cell ID assigned to one or more BSs transmitting to the affected part of the network.

[0104] In some examples, the system can periodically (e.g., every 1 millisecond) change the association relationship between the BS and different NR cells. This flexible NR cell formation mechanism can enable ED to be better served by the BS and can help reduce or remove cell-edge ED.

[0105] The system can use BS selection technology to minimize NR intra-cell interference and NR inter-cell interference. In one example, the BS sends a downlink CSI-RS. Some pilot (also known as reference signal) ports can be defined so that the ED can measure channel state information and report it back to the network. A CSI-RS port is a pilot port, defined as a set of known symbols in a sequence sent on a known resource unit (e.g., an OFDM resource unit) so that the ED can measure the channel state. The ED assigned to measure a specific CSI-RS port can measure the transmitted CSI-RS sequence, measure the associated channel state and report it back to the network. The network (e.g., a controller) can select one or more best BSs for all serving EDs based on the downlink measurement results. In another example, the BS detects the uplink SRS sequence sent by the ED in the configured time-frequency resources. For example, a Constant Amplitude Zero Auto Correlation (CAZAC) sequence (e.g., a Zadoff-Chu (ZC) sequence) can be used as the base sequence of the SRS. The BS reports the measurement results of the detected uplink SRS sequence to the network (e.g., a controller). The network controller then selects one or more optimal BSs for all served EDs based on the measurement results.

[0106] Figure 4 An example signal flow diagram of an example SRS measurement provided for the examples described herein.

[0107] Figure 4The signaling is shown as being performed by ED 110, a BS in a serving cell 382 (only one serving cell is shown, but it should be understood that multiple serving cells may be involved in the process), BSs in M ​​non-serving cells (only non-serving cell 1 384a and non-serving cell M 384m are shown, generally referred to as non-serving cells 384), and LMF 135. For simplicity, the present invention relates to signals traveling to and from a serving cell or a non-serving cell; however, it should be understood that signaling to and from a cell is handled by one or more BSs in that cell.

[0108] In step 410, serving cell 382 may configure one TF RS per SRS resource and / or one PL RS per SRS resource set. It should be noted that each SRS resource set includes at least one SRS resource. Furthermore, at least one of the M non-serving cells 384 may configure one TF RS per SRS resource and / or one PL RS per SRS resource set, either independently or in coordination with the serving cell. In some examples, non-serving cell 384 may transmit the SRS resource set configuration, including the configuration of the TF RS and / or PL RS, to serving cell 382, ​​which is in communication with ED 110, using a backhaul channel between serving cell 382 and non-serving cell 384.

[0109] In step 420, the serving cell 382 sends the configuration of the SRS resource set of the serving cell 382 and any configuration of the SRS resource set received from the non-serving cell 384 to the ED 110. It should be noted that in some examples, the configuration of the PL RS and / or TFRS can optionally be sent from the LMF 135 to the ED 110. This process is not described in detail in the following sections. Figure 4 Some examples of configurations in which the LMF 135 sends the PL RS and / or TF RS to the ED 110 are discussed later in this disclosure.

[0110] In step 430, the serving cell 382 and the non-serving cell 384 transmit configured TF RSs and / or PL RSs to the ED 110. The BSs in the serving cell 382 and / or the non-serving cell 384 may transmit TF RSs in multiple beam directions. Since the ED 110 has previously received the configuration of the TF RS or PL RS (in step 420), the ED 110 is able to detect at least one of the one or more DL PL RS beams and DL TF RS beams transmitted by the serving cell 382 and / or the non-serving cell 384. To detect each DL TF RS and / or DL ​​PL RS, the ED 110 typically uses spatial receive beam scanning and determines the best spatial receive beam to receive the DL TF RS from the serving cell 382 or the non-serving cell 384. The ED 110 then uses the same "best" spatial receive beam as the one used to transmit the SRS, which is intended to be received on the corresponding serving cell 402 or non-serving cell 384 side. ED 110 may use UL / DL channel reciprocity when determining the spatial transmission filter.

[0111] In step 440, ED 110 uses the received TF RS to obtain the spatial transmission filter of the corresponding SRS resource set and / or obtains the PL RS to determine the transmission power of the corresponding SRS resource set, and sends the SRS resource set using the obtained transmission filter and transmission power.

[0112] In step 450, the BSs in the serving cell 382 and the non-serving cell 384 may send the measurement results obtained from the received SRS back to the LMF 135 for processing. For example, the LMF 135 may use the received information to determine the location of the ED 110.

[0113] Each corresponding step may occur within a corresponding time frame, which is a time period allocated within the communication network during which the indicated signals may be sent and received. The signals described for the corresponding steps (which may occur within the corresponding time frames) may be sent to the serving cell and various non-serving cells simultaneously or sequentially.

[0114] In one example, the present invention describes some exemplary configuration details of PL PRS or TF PRS. In these examples, the configuration information of PL PRS or TF PRS is sent by the serving cell or LMF to the ED.

[0115] In the examples described herein, a PRS can be configured to serve as a TFRS or PL RS sent to an ED by a non-serving cell or a serving cell. The configuration of the PL PRS or TF PRS provides information to the ED so that it can correctly receive the PL PRS or TF PRS from the non-serving cell or the serving cell. Prior art has not yet used PRS to determine PL and / or TF.

[0116] The configuration of PL PRS or TF PRS can be sent to ED by the serving cell (for example, through RRC signaling) or LMF (for example, through LTE positioning protocol (LPP)). For example, the serving cell or LMF can receive configuration information from the non-serving cell (for example, the non-serving cell can send configuration information to the serving cell through Xn Application Protocol (XnAP) or F1 Application Protocol (F1AP); or, the non-serving cell can send configuration information to the LMF through New Radio Positioning Protocol A (NRPPa); or, the non-serving cell can send configuration information to the LMF through NRPPa, and then the LMF can send configuration information to the serving cell through NRPPa). Generally, it should be understood that when the LMF and the cell (serving or non-serving cell) communicate through NRPPa, the term "cell" can be more specifically understood as an NG-RAN node (for example, gNB or NG-eNB). Example 5 below further describes some details of how the non-serving cell sends configuration information.

[0117] The configuration of a transmitted PL PRS or TF PRS includes at least a PRS ID (or a PRS configuration index). The PRS ID can be used to identify a PRS sent from a non-serving cell or a serving cell for determining PL or TF. For example, ED can be used to identify PRS ID #7 as a PL PRS. It should be noted that the prior art does not use RRC signaling to send PRS IDs. In addition, NR Rel.15 does not support PL PRS and TF PRS.

[0118] In some examples, the configuration information of the PL PRS or TF PRS also includes one or more of the following fields. The configuration information may include a field indicating the physical cell ID (PCID) of the cell (e.g., a non-serving cell) to which the PL PRS or TF PRS is to be transmitted. The configuration information may include a field indicating the configuration of an SSB, CSI-RS, or PRS that has a quasi colocation-Type D (QCL-D) relationship (discussed further below) with the PL PRS or TF PRS. Two signals that have a QCL-D relationship (defined according to the 3GPP standard) indicate that the two signals share common spatial receiver parameters. The configuration information may include a field indicating a New Radio Absolute Radio-Frequency Channel Number (NR ARFCN) value to determine the location of the PL PRS or TF PRS in the frequency domain. The configuration information may include one or more fields indicating the bandwidth, slot offset, frame offset, and / or symbol offset of the PL PRS or TF PRS. The configuration information may include a field indicating the number of antenna ports for the PL PRS or TF PRS. The configuration information may include a field indicating the number of DL frames in which the PL PRS or TF PRS is to be transmitted. The configuration information may include one or more fields indicating the PL PRS or TF PRS signal suppression configuration and / or frequency hopping configuration. The configuration information may include a field indicating the number of available narrowbands for the PL PRS or TF PRS. The configuration information may also include one or more fields indicating the period and offset of the PL PRS or TF PRS. The configuration information may also include one or more fields indicating the scrambling ID and offset of the PL PRS or TF PRS.

[0119] As described above, the configuration information of the PL PRS or TF PRS may include a field indicating the configuration of the SSB, CSI-RS, or PRS that has a QCL-D relationship with the PL PRS or TF PRS. It is necessary to inform the ED that the PL PRS or TF PRS is transmitted using a specific transmit beamformer so that the ED can correctly detect the PL PRS or TF PRS. The SSB, CSI-RS, or PRS that has a QCL-D relationship with the PL PRS or TF PRS (already configured to the ED) can be used as an alternative resource for locating the PL PRS or TF PRS. The ED can detect the PL PRS or TF PRS using the same receive beamformer configuration known to the SSB, CSI-RS, or PRS. In other words, the configuration of the SSB, CSI-RS, or PRS that has a QCL-D relationship with the PL PRS or TF PRS can be indicated to the ED so that the ED can use the configuration to detect the PL PRS or TF PRS.

[0120] The configuration of an SSB, CSI-RS, or PRS that has a QCL-D relationship with a PL PRS or a TF PRS may be indicated using at least an SSB index, a CSI-RS index, or a PRS index, respectively. The configuration of an SSB, CSI-RS, or PRS may include one or more of the following fields. For example, the configuration may include a field indicating the PCID of the cell associated with the SSB, CSI-RS, or PRS of the QCL-D; a field indicating an NR ARFCN value to determine the position of the SSB, CSI-RS, or PRS of the QCL-D in the frequency domain; and / or a field indicating one or more time domain references to determine the position of the SSB, CSI-RS, or PRS of the QCL-D in the time domain.

[0121] The above examples provide configuration details that enable the ED to detect the PRS transmitted by the non-serving cell in order to determine the PL and / or TF so that the SRS can be transmitted to the non-serving cell.

[0122] Figure 5 FIG. 5 is a flow chart of an exemplary method 500 that may be performed according to the above examples. The method 500 may be implemented in an ED (eg, using a processing unit in the ED to execute instructions stored in a memory of the ED).

[0123] In 505, the ED receives configuration information of the PL PRS or TF PRS from the serving cell or LMF. The configuration information may include the above fields, etc.

[0124] In 510, using the configuration information, the ED can receive a PL PRS or a TF PRS from a serving cell or a non-serving cell. In an example where the configuration information includes information about another configured reference signal (e.g., another configured SSB, CSI-RS, or PRS) having a QCL-D relationship with the PRS, the ED can receive the PL PRS or the TF PRS according to the configuration of the configured reference signal.

[0125] In 515, the ED transmits an SRS to the serving cell or the non-serving cell according to the PL and / or TF determined from the received PL PRS or TF PRS.

[0126] In another example, the present invention describes some exemplary configuration details of PL SSB, TF SSB, PL CSI-RS, or TF CSI-RS. In these examples, the configuration of PL SSB, TF SSB, PL CSI-RS, or TF CSI-RS is sent to the ED by the serving cell or LMF.

[0127] In the examples described herein, SSBs or CSI-RSs can be configured to serve as TF RSs or PL RSs sent by non-serving cells to EDs. The configuration of PL SSBs, TF SSBs, PL CSI-RSs, or TF CSI-RSs provides information to EDs to enable them to correctly receive PL SSBs, TF SSBs, PL CSI-RSs, or TF CSI-RSs from non-serving cells. EDs can then use the received PL SSBs, TF SSBs, PL CSI-RSs, or TF CSI-RSs to determine the PL and / or TF for transmitting SRSs to non-serving cells.

[0128] The configuration information can be sent to the ED by the serving cell or LMF using any suitable method (for example, RRC signaling issued by the serving cell or LPP issued by the LMF). For example, the serving cell or LMF can receive configuration information from a non-serving cell (for example, the non-serving cell can send configuration information to the serving cell through the Xn Application Protocol (XnAP) or F1AP; or, the non-serving cell can send configuration information to the LMF through the New Radio Positioning Protocol A (NRPPa); or, the non-serving cell can send configuration information to the LMF through NRPPa, and then the LMF can send configuration information to the serving cell through NRPPa). As described above, it should be understood that when the LMF and the cell (serving or non-serving cell) communicate through NRPPa, the term "cell" can be more specifically understood as an NG-RAN node (for example, a gNB or NG-eNB). The examples below further describe some details of how the non-serving cell sends configuration information.

[0129] First, configuration information of PL SSB or TF SSB is described.

[0130] In some examples, the configuration of the PL SSB or TF SSB may include the SSB ID and PCID of the cell (e.g., non-serving cell) that transmits the PL SSB or TF SSB. In some examples, the configuration of the PL SSB or TF SSB may also include the configuration of the PRS, SSB, or CSI-RS that has a QCL-D relationship with the PLSSB or TF SSB. As described above, the PRS, SSB, or CSI-RS that has a QCL-D relationship with the PL SSB or TF SSB may be used as an alternative resource for positioning the PL SSB or TF SSB. The configuration of the RS (e.g., PRS, SSB, or CSI-RS) that has a QCL-D relationship with the PL SSB or TFSSB may include at least the index of the RS of the QCL-D. In some examples, the configuration of the RS of the QCL-D may also include one or more of the following fields. The configuration of the QCL-D RS may include a field indicating the PCID of the cell associated with the QCL-D RS, a field indicating the NR ARFCN value to determine the position of the QCL-D RS in the frequency domain, and / or a field indicating one or more time domain references to determine the position of the QCL-D RS in the time domain.

[0131] For example, spatial relation information (spatialRelationInfo) RS can be configured based on a set of DL RSs that have been detected by the ED and / or configured to the ED for other possible purposes. Other possible purposes include detecting SSBs emitted by the serving cell or neighboring cell in the initial access process, configuring CSI-RS resources emitted by the serving cell, configuring SSB resources or CSI-RS resources emitted by the serving cell or neighboring cell in the measurement object NR (MeasObjectNR), or configuring DL PRS resources for reference signal time difference (RSTD) measurement or ED "receiver-transmitter" time difference measurement. In general, taking into account that spatialRelationInfo RS can be received by the ED from a non-serving cell, the configuration of spatialRelationInfo RS can indicate all parameters that enable the ED to detect DL RS. Depending on the DL RS type (e.g., SSB, CSI-RS, or DL ​​PRS), the information may include reference time and frequency points, time domain and frequency domain resource mapping parameters, period and offset, PCID, resource ID, scrambling ID, and possible QCL-D attributes.

[0132] In order to uniquely identify spatialRelationInfo RS, it is only necessary to indicate the DL RS resource ID and PCID of the corresponding serving cell or neighboring cell to the ED. For example, when spatialRelationInfo SSB (used as TF SSB) or pathlossReference SSB (used as PL SSB) has been configured for other purposes, the SSB can be indicated in RRC using the SSB index and the PCID of the serving cell or non-serving cell that sends the SSB. spatialRelationInfo RS can be configured in RRC, and the configuration of spatialRelationInfo RS can include the DL RS (e.g., SSB, CSI-RS, or DL-PRS) resource ID and cell ID of the sending party's serving cell or non-serving cell.

[0133] In some examples, the LMF may send the configuration of the DL PRS resources of the serving cell and / or non-serving cell to the ED via LPP. The serving cell may not know nor detect the configuration of the DL PRS of the non-serving cell. If the DL PRS used as spatialRelationInfo RS has been configured to the ED by the LMF (for example, to perform RSTD measurement or ED "receiver-transmitter" time difference measurement), the serving cell may need to indicate the DL PRS resource ID and PCID of the corresponding cell to configure the DL PRS as spatialRelationInfoRS in the SRS-Config information element (IE) in the RRC. The DL PRS resource ID and PCID of the non-serving cell may be provided to the serving cell by the LMF via NRPPa (especially when the serving cell is an NG-RAN node) or the like.

[0134] The following describes configuration information of the PL CSI-RS or TF CSI-RS.

[0135] In some examples, the configuration of the PL CSI-RS or TF CSI-RS may include only the CSI-RS ID and PCID of the cell (e.g., non-serving cell) that transmits the PL CSI-RS or TF CSI-RS. In some examples, the configuration of the PL CSI-RS or TF CSI-RS may also include the configuration of the PRS, SSB, or CSI-RS that has a QCL-D relationship with the PL CSI-RS or TF CSI-RS. As described above, the PRS, SSB, or CSI-RS that has a QCL-D relationship with the PL SSB or TF SSB can be used as an alternative resource for locating the PL CSI-RS or TF CSI-RS. The configuration of the RS (e.g., PRS, SSB, or CSI-RS) that has a QCL-D relationship with the PL CSI-RS or TF CSI-RS may include at least the index of the RS of the QCL-D. In some examples, the configuration of the RS of the QCL-D may also include one or more of the following fields. The configuration of the QCL-D RS may include a field indicating the PCID of the cell associated with the QCL-D RS, a field indicating the NR ARFCN value to determine the position of the QCL-D RS in the frequency domain, and / or a field indicating one or more time domain references to determine the position of the QCL-D RS in the time domain.

[0136] Similar to the discussion above in the context of spatialRelationInfo RS, pathlossReferenceRS can be configured based on a set of DL RSs that have been detected by the ED and / or configured to the ED for other possible purposes. The pathlossReferenceRS sent from the serving cell or non-serving cell can be indicated to the ED as pathlossReferenceRS in the RRC. The indication in the RRC can include the DL RS (SSB or CSI-RS) resource ID and PCID of the sending serving cell or non-serving cell to enable the ED to uniquely identify the pathlossReferenceRS.

[0137] As described above, in some examples, the ED can be configured to detect DL PL RS or DL ​​TF RS, where the complete configuration information of the DL RS has been previously provided to the ED for other purposes. For example, in the case where the DL RS is a PRS, the previously provided complete configuration information may include the resource ID of the PRS, the cell ID of the transmitting serving cell or non-serving cell, a field indicating the configuration of another reference signal (e.g., SSB or PRS) that has a QCL-D relationship with the PRS, a field indicating the NR ARFCN value to determine the location of the PRS in the frequency domain, and a field indicating the bandwidth, slot offset, frame offset, symbol offset, signal suppression configuration, period and offset, and scrambling ID. In the example where the DL RS is an SSB, the complete configuration information may be a set of parameters that provide information sufficient to determine the location of the SSB in the time-frequency domain, the SSB index, and the associated cell ID of the transmitting serving cell or non-serving cell.

[0138] In the context of the current method, the above example may be relatively easy to implement. For example, if a DL RS (e.g., SSB or CSI-RS) has already been configured to the ED for other purposes and / or has already been detected by the ED, only a few fields (e.g., only two fields for indicating the ID of the SSB or CSI-RS and for indicating the PCID of the transmitting cell) need to be indicated to the ED so that the ED can identify which of the configured or detected DL RS should be used as the PL SSB, TF SSB, PL CSI-RS, or TF CSI-RS.

[0139] Figure 6 FIG. 6 is a flow chart of an exemplary method 600 that may be performed according to the above examples. The method 600 may be implemented in an ED (eg, using a processing unit in the ED to execute instructions stored in a memory of the ED).

[0140] In 605, the ED receives configuration information of PL SSB, TF SSB, PL CSI-RS, or TF CSI-RS from the serving cell or LMF. The configuration information may include the above fields (e.g., SSB ID or CSI-RS ID and PCID), etc.

[0141] In 610, the ED can receive a PL SSB, a TF SSB, a PL CSI-RS, or a TF CSI-RS from a non-serving cell using the configuration information. In an example where the configuration information includes information about another configured reference signal (e.g., another configured SSB, CSI-RS, or PRS) having a QCL-D relationship with the PL SSB, TF SSB, PL CSI-RS, or TF CSI-RS, the ED can receive the PL SSB, TF SSB, PL CSI-RS, or TF CSI-RS according to the configuration of the configured reference signal.

[0142] In 615 , the ED transmits an SRS to the non-serving cell according to the PL and / or TF determined from the received PL SSB, TF SSB, PL CSI-RS, or TF CSI-RS.

[0143] In another example, the present invention describes an exemplary fallback process that an ED may use when a PL CSI-RS, TF CSI-RS, PL PRS, or TF PRS is not acquired / detected by the ED or the PL CSI-RS, TF CSI-RS, PL PRS, or TF PRS is not configured for the ED. After the ED has received configuration information for the PL CSI-RS, TF CSI-RS, PL PRS, or TF PRS (e.g., as described above), the ED may expect to receive the corresponding PL CSI-RS, TF CSI-RS, PL PRS, or TF PRS to determine the PL or TF of the SRS to be sent to the non-serving cell or the serving cell. However, the ED may not be able to acquire or detect the expected PL CSI-RS, TF CSI-RS, PL PRS, or TF PRS (e.g., due to changes in channel conditions, ED receiver circuit failure, unexpected interference, or other reasons). In this case, and when PL CSI-RS, TF CSI-RS, PL PRS or TF PRS is not configured for the ED, it is desirable to provide a fallback procedure that enables the ED to continue sending SRS to non-serving cells even when PL CSI-RS, TF CSI-RS, PL PRS or TF PRS is not detected or when PL CSI-RS, TF CSI-RS, PL PRS or TF PRS is not configured.

[0144] In some examples, the ED may determine that a fallback procedure should be used after an expected PL CSI-RS, TF CSI-RS, PL PRS, or TF PRS has not been received at the configured time and frequency location or the PL CSI-RS, TF CSI-RS, PL PRS, or TF PRS is not configured for the ED.

[0145] In some examples, if a PL PRS or TF PRS has been configured but a fallback procedure has been triggered (e.g., the ED has not detected the PL PRS or TF PRS within the expected time or time frame), or the PL PRS or TF PRS is not configured for the ED, the ED may use the detected SSB or detected CSI-RS as an alternative to the PL RS or TF RS.

[0146] In some examples, the ED may use a detected SSB configured for an expected PL PRS or TF PRS (e.g., indicated by a PCID included in the configuration information, as described above) emitted by a cell (e.g., a non-serving cell) as a substitute PL RS or TF RS. In the event that the ED detects multiple SSBs emitted by the configured cell, the ED may select one of the multiple SSBs as the substitute PL RS or TF RS based on any suitable criteria. For example, the ED may select an SSB with the highest reference signal received power (RSRP) as the substitute PL RS or TF RS. In some examples, in the event that the ED detects multiple SSBs emitted by the configured cell, the ED may use any suitable technique to calculate the PL based on the received power of the detected SSB emitted by the configured cell, or the ED may use any suitable selection criteria to determine which detected SSB should be used as the substitute TF RS.

[0147] In some examples, when the SRS is configured to be received on the non-serving cell side (e.g., the PCID included in the configuration information is the PCID of the non-serving cell), the ED may use any of the above methods; when the SRS is configured to be received on the serving cell side (e.g., the PCID included in the configuration information is the PCID of the serving cell), the ED may use the SSB originally used to obtain system information (e.g., MIB and / or System Information Block Type 1 (SIB1)) as an alternative to PL RS or TF RS.

[0148] In some examples, the ED may use a detected CSI-RS emitted by a cell (e.g., a non-serving cell) that is originally configured for an expected PLPRS or TF PRS (e.g., indicated by a PCID included in the configuration information, as described above) as a substitute PL RS or TF RS. In the event that the ED detects multiple CSI-RS emitted by the configured cell, the ED may select one of the multiple CSI-RSs as the substitute PL RS or TF RS based on any suitable criteria. For example, the ED may select the CSI-RS with the highest RSRP as the substitute PL RS or TF RS. In some examples, in the event that the ED detects multiple CSI-RS emitted by the configured cell, the ED may use any suitable technique to calculate the PL based on the received power of the detected CSI-RS emitted by the configured cell, or the ED may use any suitable selection criteria to determine which detected CSI-RS should be used as the substitute TF RS.

[0149] In some examples, if the PL CSI-RS or TF CSI-RS has been configured but the fallback procedure has been triggered (e.g., the ED has not detected the PL CSI-RS or TF CSI-RS within the expected time or time frame), or the PL CSI-RS or TF CSI-RS has not been configured, the ED may use the detected SSB or detected PRS as a substitute for the PL RS or TF RS.

[0150] In some examples, the ED may use a detected SSB transmitted by a cell (e.g., a non-serving cell) that is originally configured for the expected PL CSI-RS or TF CSI-RS (e.g., indicated by the PCID included in the configuration information, as described above) as a substitute PL RS or TF RS. In the event that the ED detects multiple SSBs transmitted by the configured cell, the ED may select one of the multiple SSBs as the substitute PL RS or TF RS based on any suitable criteria. For example, the ED may select the SSB with the highest reference signal received power (RSRP) as the substitute PL RS or TF RS. In some examples, in the event that the ED detects multiple SSBs transmitted by the configured cell, the ED may use any suitable technique to calculate the PL based on the received power of the detected SSB transmitted by the configured cell, or the ED may use any suitable selection criteria to determine which detected SSB should be used as the substitute TF RS.

[0151] In some examples, when the SRS is configured to be received on the non-serving cell side (e.g., the PCID included in the configuration information is the PCID of the non-serving cell), the ED may use any of the above methods; when the SRS is configured to be received on the serving cell side (e.g., the PCID included in the configuration information is the PCID of the serving cell), the ED may use the SSB originally used to obtain system information (e.g., MIB and / or System Information Block Type 1 (SIB1)) as an alternative to PL RS or TF RS.

[0152] In some examples, the ED may use a detected PRS of a cell (e.g., a non-serving cell) that is originally configured for the expected PL CSI-RS or TF CSI-RS (e.g., indicated by a PCID included in the configuration information, as described above) as a replacement PL RS or TF RS. In the event that the ED detects multiple PRSs transmitted by the configured cell, the ED may select one of the multiple PRSs as the replacement PL RS or TF RS based on any suitable criteria. For example, the ED may select the PRS with the highest RSRP as the replacement PL RS or TF RS. In some examples, in the event that the ED detects multiple PRSs transmitted by the configured cell, the ED may use any suitable technique to calculate the PL based on the received power of the detected PRSs transmitted by the configured cell, or the ED may use any suitable selection criteria to determine which detected PRS should be used as the replacement TF RS.

[0153] In some examples, if the ED does not detect the expected PL PRS, TF PRS, PL CSI-RS, or TF CSI-RS, or the PL PRS, TF PRS, PL CSI-RS, or TF CSI-RS is not configured for the ED, the ED may use the SSB originally used to obtain system information (e.g., MIB and / or System Information Block Type 1 (SIB1)) as a substitute PL RS or TF RS. In other examples, the ED may use the PLSSB in the SRS resource set configured for the serving cell (e.g., the PL SSB in the SRS resource set configured to include the PCID of the serving cell t) as a substitute resource for the PL RS in the SRS resource set for transmitting SRS to non-serving cells.

[0154] In some examples, if the ED does not detect the expected PL PRS, TF PRS, PL CSI-RS, or TF CSI-RS, or if the PL PRS, TF PRS, PL CSI-RS, or TF CSI-RS is not configured for the ED, the ED may use any suitable technique to calculate the PL. In some examples, if the ED does not detect the expected PL PRS, TF PRS, PL CSI-RS, or TF CSI-RS, the ED may also use any suitable technique to perform beamforming to transmit an SRS to a non-serving cell. For example, the ED may simply assume that the PL or TF is the same as that of the current serving cell.

[0155] In some examples, if the ED does not detect the expected PL PRS, TF PRS, PL CSI-RS or TF CSI-RS, or the PL PRS, TF PRS, PL CSI-RS or TF CSI-RS is not configured for the ED, the ED may not send the corresponding SRS resource (set).

[0156] The above examples address situations where the ED does not acquire or detect the originally configured PL CSI-RS, TF CSI-RS, PL PRS, or TF PRS, or where the PL PRS, TF PRS, PL CSI-RS, or TF CSI-RS is not configured for the ED. This example provides various fallback procedures that the ED can use as alternatives to calculating DL path loss and / or SRS spatial filters.

[0157] Figure 7 FIG. 7 is a flow chart of an exemplary method 700 that may be performed according to the above examples. The method 700 may be implemented in an ED (eg, using a processing unit in the ED to execute instructions stored in a memory of the ED).

[0158] Optionally, in 705, the ED receives configuration information of the expected PL PRS, TF PRS, PL CSI-RS or TFCSI-RS from the serving cell or LMF. The configuration information may include the above fields (eg, refer to the above examples), etc.

[0159] In 710, when the expected PL PRS, TF PRS, PL CSI-RS, or TF CSI-RS has not been detected (e.g., the expected PL PRS, TF PRS, PL CSI-RS, or TF CSI-RS has not been detected within the configured time or time frame), or if the PL PRS, TF PRS, PL CSI-RS, or TF CSI-RS has not been configured for the ED, the ED uses another detected RS (e.g., as described above) as a substitute PL RS or TF RS. The ED determines the PL and / or TF using the substitute PL RS or TF RS.

[0160] In 715, the ED transmits an SRS to the non-serving cell according to the PL and / or TF determined using the substitute PL RS or TF RS.

[0161] In another example, the present disclosure describes an example of enabling an ED to receive configuration information for a PL RS or TF RS from an LMF. This example also includes an example of enabling an LMF to obtain configuration details for a PL RS or TF RS from one or more serving cells and / or non-serving cells. These examples enable an ED to receive configuration information sent by a cell via the LMF.

[0162] In some examples, the ED may receive PL RS (e.g., PL SSB, PL CSI-RS, or PLPRS) and / or TF RS (e.g., TF SSB, TF CSI-RS, or TF PRS) from the LMF via LPP, etc.

[0163] In some examples, the LMF may request configuration information of the PL RS and / or TF RS from each cell (e.g., each cell that transmits the PL RS and / or TF RS) through NRPPa (e.g., each cell is an NG-RAN node) or the like. The request sent by the LMF may include one or more recommended values ​​of one or more configuration fields of the PL RS and / or TF RS (e.g., may include QCL-D information or a recommended value of bandwidth). The one or more cells to which the LMF sends the request may include one or more serving cells and / or non-serving cells of the ED. The one or more recommended values ​​included in the request sent by the LMF may or may not be overwritten by the corresponding cell.

[0164] In some examples, the corresponding one or more cells can send the requested PL RS and / or TF RS configuration information to the LMF through NRPPa (e.g., each cell is an NG-RAN node) in response to the LMF's request.

[0165] In some examples, a cell (e.g., a serving cell or a non-serving cell) may send configuration information for PL RS and / or TF RS to the LMF as part of the cell startup process without an explicit request from the LMF.

[0166] This example provides various mechanisms for transmitting PL RS and / or TF RS configuration information between a cell and LMF. The ED can then receive the configuration information sent by the cell through the LMF.

[0167] Figure 8A 8 is a flow chart of an exemplary method 800 that can be performed according to the above examples. The method 800 can be implemented in the LMF (eg, at a network entity implementing the LMF in the core network or elsewhere in the system).

[0168] Figure 8B FIG. 5 is an exemplary signal flow diagram of signaling between network entities, which may be used to implement the above examples. Figure 8B Instructions are shown executed by ED 110, a first BS 170a in a serving cell (also referred to as serving cell BS 170a), a second BS 170b in a non-serving cell (also referred to as non-serving cell BS 170b), and LMF 135. For simplicity, the present invention may refer to signals traveling to and from a serving cell or a non-serving cell; however, it should be understood that signaling to and from a cell is handled by the respective BS in that cell. For simplicity, only one serving cell and one non-serving cell are shown. However, it should be understood that multiple serving cells and / or multiple non-serving cells may exist.

[0169] For ease of understanding, Figure 8A and Figure 8B Discuss together.

[0170] In 805, the LMF optionally sends a request 855 to one or more cells (e.g., serving cell BS 170a and / or one or more non-serving cell BSs 170b) requesting configuration information for PL RS and / or TF RS (also commonly referred to as DL RS). Request 855 may be sent via NRPPa (e.g., each cell is an NG-RAN node). In some examples, one or more cells may send configuration information without a request from the LMF (e.g., at cell startup). The request may include a suggested value for the configuration field.

[0171] In 810, the LMF receives a message 860 from BSs 170a and 170b in each cell, wherein the message includes configuration information for PLRS and / or TF RS to enable the ED to detect the DL RS emitted by the corresponding cell. Message 860 may be sent using NRPPa (e.g., each cell is an NG-RAN node).

[0172] In 815, the LMF sends configuration information 865 to the ED. For example, the configuration information 865 may be sent to the ED 110 using LPP.

[0173] In one example, the present invention describes an example in which configuration details of PL RS and / or TF RS can be sent from a non-serving cell to a serving cell. Then, the ED can receive the configuration information sent by the non-serving cell through the serving cell.

[0174] In some examples, the serving cell may receive configuration information for the PL RS and / or TF RS of the non-serving cell from the LMF (e.g., via NRPPa, where the serving cell is an NG-RAN node). In some examples, the serving cell may receive the configuration information directly from the non-serving cell (e.g., using XnAP or F1 AP). The configuration information may be received in response to a request from the serving cell to the non-serving cell (e.g., sent via the LMF via NRPPa if the serving cell is an NG-RAN node, or sent directly from the serving cell to the non-serving cell via XnAP).

[0175] Then, the ED may receive configuration information of the PL RS and / or TF RS from the serving cell (eg, via RRC signaling). It should be noted that the configuration information may be received by the ED from the serving cell, while the PL RS and / or TF RS may be received by the ED from non-serving cells.

[0176] This example provides various mechanisms for transmitting configuration information of PL RS and / or TF RS between one or more non-serving cells and a serving cell. In some examples, the LMF can serve as an intermediate node for transmitting the configuration information between one or more non-serving cells and a serving cell.

[0177] Figure 9 9 is a flow chart of an exemplary method 900 that may be performed according to the above examples. The method 900 may be implemented in a BS of a serving cell (eg, using a processing unit in the BS to execute instructions stored in a memory of the BS).

[0178] Figures 10A to 10E FIG. 5 is an exemplary signal flow diagram of signaling between network entities, which may be used to implement the above examples. Figures 10A to 10EInstructions are shown executed by ED 110, a first BS 170a in a serving cell (also referred to as serving cell BS 170a), a second BS 170b in a non-serving cell (also referred to as non-serving cell BS 170b), and LMF 135. For simplicity, the present invention may refer to signals traveling to and from a serving cell or a non-serving cell; however, it should be understood that signaling to and from a cell is handled by the respective BS in that cell. For simplicity, only one serving cell and one non-serving cell are shown. However, it should be understood that multiple serving cells and / or non-serving cells may exist.

[0179] For ease of understanding, Figure 9 and Figures 10A to 10E Discuss together.

[0180] In 905, optionally, the BS sends a request for configuration information of PL RS and / or TF RS (generally referred to as DL RS) to the non-serving cell. The request can be sent directly to the non-serving cell ( Figure 10A 、 Figure 10B and Figure 10E 1005 in ), or the request can be sent to the LMF ( Figure 10C and Figure 10D 1040 in ), and then forwarded to the non-serving cell.

[0181] exist Figure 10A In the example of , in 1015, the non-serving cell sends DL RS configuration information 1010 to the LMF 135, which then forwards the configuration information to the serving cell.

[0182] exist Figure 10B In the example of FIG. 1 , the non-serving cell requests authorization to send configuration information to the serving cell or requests configuration information from LMF 135 at 1025. LMF 135 provides the requested authorization or configuration information 1030. The non-serving cell then sends the configuration information 1035 to the serving cell.

[0183] exist Figure 10C In the example of , LMF 135 sends a request for configuration information 1045 to the non-serving cell. The non-serving cell sends the configuration information 1050 to LMF 135, which then forwards the configuration information to the serving cell in 1060.

[0184] exist Figure 10D In the example of FIG, LMF 135 sends a request for configuration information 1065 to the non-serving cell. The non-serving cell then sends configuration information 1070 directly to the serving cell.

[0185] exist Figure 10EIn the example of FIG, the non-serving cell sends configuration information 1075 to the serving cell. The LMF 135 may not be involved in this process.

[0186] In 910, the BS receives data from a non-serving cell ( Figure 10B 1035 of Figure 10D 1070 or Figure 10E 1075) or LMF( Figure 10A 1015 or Figure 10C 1060 in step 1061) receives a message including configuration information that enables the ED to receive DL RS from the non-serving cell. In some examples, if the request (in step 905) is sent directly to the non-serving cell, the configuration information can be received directly from the non-serving cell. If the request (in step 905) is sent via the LMF, the configuration information can be received via the LMF. In other examples, regardless of how the request is sent (or if no request is sent), the configuration information can be received directly from the non-serving cell or via the LMF.

[0187] In 915, the BS sends configuration information to the ED ( Figures 10A to 10E 1020 in).

[0188] The various examples described herein may help enable an ED to correctly receive DL RS from a cell (including a serving cell or a non-serving cell), and help determine PL and / or TF to send SRS to a cell (including a serving cell or a non-serving cell). These examples may enable SRS to be used for mobility purposes, positioning purposes, or any other application that may require an ED to send SRS to a cell (including a serving cell or a non-serving cell).

[0189] In some examples, the present invention describes a method performed on an electronic device (ED). The method includes: receiving configuration information from a location management function (LMF) or a network entity in a serving cell, wherein the configuration information includes one or more information associated with a positioning reference signal (PRS); detecting a PRS received from the serving cell or a non-serving cell according to the configuration information; and sending a sounding reference signal (SRS) to the serving cell or the non-serving cell according to at least one of path loss (PL) information and spatial transmission filter (TF) information, wherein at least one of the PL information and the spatial TF information is associated with the PRS.

[0190] In some examples, the configuration information may be received via a radio resource control (RRC) signal sent by the serving cell or via an LTE positioning protocol (LPP) message sent by the LMF.

[0191] In some examples, the configuration information may include a PRS identifier (ID) field, which includes a PRS identifier for identifying the PRS sent by the serving cell or the non-serving cell.

[0192] In some examples, the configuration information may include an identifier (ID) field indicating a physical cell ID (PCID) of the serving cell or the non-serving cell or an ID of a network entity sending the PRS.

[0193] In some examples, the configuration information may include a quasi colocation Type-D (QCL-D) field for providing information about another configured reference signal that has a QCL-D relationship with the PRS; the ED is capable of receiving the PRS according to the configuration of the configured reference signal.

[0194] In some examples, the QCL-D field may include an index of the other configuration reference signal.

[0195] In some examples, the configuration information may include information indicating at least one of the following: a New Radio Absolute Radio-Frequency Channel Number (NR ARFCN), used to determine the frequency domain position of the PRS; the bandwidth of the PRS; the time slot offset of the PRS; the frame offset of the PRS; the symbol offset of the PRS; the number of antenna ports for the PRS; the frame number for sending the PRS; the signal suppression configuration of the PRS; the frequency hopping configuration of the PRS; or the number of available narrowbands for the PRS.

[0196] In some examples, the present invention describes a method performed on an electronic device (ED). The method includes: receiving configuration information from a location management function (LMF) or a network entity in a serving cell, wherein the configuration information includes one or more information associated with a synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel block (SSB) or a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), the configuration information including at least an identifier (ID) field containing an identifier of the SSB or the CSI-RS and a cell ID field containing a physical cell ID (PCID) of a non-serving cell; detecting the SSB or CSI-RS received from the non-serving cell; and sending a sounding reference signal (SRS) to the non-serving cell based on at least one of path loss (PL) information and spatial transmission filter (TF) information, wherein at least one of the PL information and the spatial TF information is associated with the SSB or the CSI-RS.

[0197] In some examples, the configuration information may include only the ID field and the cell ID field.

[0198] In some examples, the configuration information may include a quasi colocation Type D (QCL-D) field for providing information about another configured reference signal that has a QCL-D relationship with the SSB or the CSI-RS, and the ED is capable of receiving the SSB or the CSI-RS according to the configuration of the configured reference signal.

[0199] In some examples, the QCL-D field may include an index of the other configuration reference signal.

[0200] In some examples, the configuration information may include at least one of the following: a PCID of a cell associated with the other configuration reference signal; a New Radio Absolute Radio-Frequency Channel Number (NR ARFCN), used to determine the frequency domain position of the other configuration reference signal; or a time domain reference, used to determine the time domain position of the other configuration reference signal.

[0201] In some examples, the configuration information may be sent from the non-serving cell.

[0202] In some examples, the present invention describes a method performed at an electronic device (ED), including: after not receiving a first downlink (DL) reference signal (RS) within an expected time or time frame, or in the absence of configuration information for receiving the first DL RS, the ED acquiring path loss (PL) information or spatial transmission filter (TF) information based on a second DL RS; and transmitting a sounding reference signal (SRS), wherein the SRS is transmitted based on the PL information or the TF information.

[0203] In some examples, the first DL RS may be a positioning reference signal (PRS) or a channel state information-reference signal (CSI-RS).

[0204] In some examples, the first DL RS may be a PRS, and the second DL RS may be one of a detected synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel block (SSB) or a detected CSI-RS.

[0205] In some examples, the first DL RS may be a CSI-RS, and the second DL RS may be one of a detected synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel block (SSB) or a detected PRS.

[0206] In some examples, the second DL RS can be detected from a non-serving cell indicated in the configuration information of the first DL RL.

[0207] In some examples, one of the multiple detected RSs can be selected as the second DL RS based on the highest reference signal received power (RSRP).

[0208] In some examples, the second DL RS may be a detected SSB used to acquire system information.

[0209] In some examples, the second DL RS may be a detected SSB configured for a serving cell.

[0210] In some examples, the method may include: receiving configuration information from a location management function (LMF) or a network entity in a serving cell, wherein the configuration information includes one or more information associated with the DLRS.

[0211] In some examples, the present disclosure describes a method performed at a location management function (LMF), including receiving a configuration message from a network entity in a cell, wherein the configuration message includes one or more information associated with a positioning reference signal (PRS), or the configuration message includes one or more information associated with a downlink (DL) reference signal (RS), and transmitting the information to an electronic device (ED).

[0212] In some examples, the configuration message may be received from the cell without a request from the LMF.

[0213] In some examples, the method may include sending a request to the cell to request the information.

[0214] In some examples, the request may include suggested values ​​for configuration fields.

[0215] In some examples, the communication between the LMF and the cell may be performed via New Radio Positioning Protocol A (NRPPa).

[0216] In some examples, the information may be sent to the ED via the LTE positioning protocol.

[0217] In some examples, the present invention describes a method performed at a base station (BS) in a serving cell, the method comprising: receiving a configuration message from a non-serving cell or a location management function (LMF), wherein the configuration message includes one or more information associated with a positioning reference signal (PRS), or the configuration message includes one or more information associated with a downlink (DL) reference signal (RS); and transmitting the information to an electronic device (ED).

[0218] In some examples, the method may include sending a request for the information.

[0219] In some examples, the request may be sent to the LMF.

[0220] In some examples, the request may be sent directly to the non-serving cell.

[0221] In some examples, communication between the serving cell and the non-serving cell may be performed via Xn Application Protocol (XnAP) or F1 Application Protocol (F1 AP).

[0222] In some examples, the communication between the serving cell and the LMF may be performed via New Radio Positioning Protocol A (NRPPa).

[0223] In some examples, the present invention describes a device, which includes a processing unit configured to execute instructions to cause the device to perform any method described herein.

[0224] In some examples, the present invention describes a network entity, including a processing unit configured to execute instructions to implement a location management function (LMF) to perform any of the methods described herein.

[0225] In some examples, the present invention describes a base station, which includes a processing unit configured to execute instructions to cause the base station to perform any method described herein.

[0226] Although the present invention uses steps in a certain order to describe methods and processes, one or more steps of the methods and processes may be omitted or modified as appropriate. One or more steps may be performed in an order other than the order described.

[0227] Although the present invention has been described at least in part in terms of methods, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention also relates to various components for performing at least some aspects and features of the described methods, whether hardware components, software, or any combination of the two. Therefore, the technical solution of the present invention can be embodied in the form of a software product. Suitable software products can be stored in a pre-recorded storage device or other similar non-volatile or non-transient computer-readable medium, including DVDs, CD-ROMs, USB flash drives, mobile hard drives or other storage media. The software product includes instructions tangibly stored thereon, which enable a processing device (e.g., a personal computer, a server, or a network device) to perform the method examples disclosed herein. Machine executable instructions can be in the form of code sequences, configuration information, or other data, which, when executed, enable a machine (e.g., a processor or other processing device) to perform the steps in the method provided by the examples of the present invention.

[0228] The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the subject matter of the claims. The described exemplary embodiments are to be considered in all respects as illustrative only and not restrictive. Selected features from one or more of the above-described embodiments may be combined to create alternative embodiments not explicitly described, and features suitable for such combinations are understood to fall within the scope of the present invention.

[0229] All values ​​and subranges within the disclosed ranges are also disclosed. In addition, although the systems, devices, and processes disclosed and illustrated herein may include a specific number of elements / assemblies, these systems, devices, and assemblies may be modified to include more or fewer such elements / assemblies. For example, although any disclosed element / assembly may be a single quantity, the embodiments disclosed herein may be modified to include multiple such elements / assemblies. The subject matter described herein is intended to encompass and include all suitable modifications in the technology.

Claims

1. A method executed on an electronic device (ED), characterized in that: The method comprises: receiving, in a first communication from a Location Management Function LMF via the LTE Positioning Protocol LPP, configuration information associated with a downlink reference signal RS; receiving, in a second communication from a serving cell corresponding to the ED through a radio resource control (RRC), an identifier ID of the DL RS and a cell ID of a cell transmitting the DL RS, wherein the configuration information received in the first communication further includes the ID of the DL RS and the cell ID; A sounding reference signal (SRS) is transmitted to the cell identified by the cell ID according to path loss PL information or spatial transmission filter TF information associated with the DL RS.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The DL RS is a DL positioning reference signal PRS, and the configuration information associated with the DL RS includes one or more of the following items: the resource ID of the DL PRS; the cell ID of the cell that sends the DL PRS; a quasi-co-location type D (QCL-D) field, used to provide information about another configuration reference signal that has a QCL-D relationship with the DL PRS; a new radio absolute radio frequency channel number NR ARFCN, used to determine the frequency domain position of the DLPRS; the bandwidth of the DL PRS; the time slot offset of the DL PRS; the frame offset of the DL PRS; the symbol offset of the DLPRS; the signal suppression configuration of the DL PRS; the period and offset of the DL PRS; and the scrambling ID of the DL PRS.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The DL RS is a DL synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel block SSB, and the configuration information associated with the DL RS includes one or more of the following items: the SSB index of the DL SSB; the cell ID of the cell that sends the DL SSB; and one or more parameters for determining the position of the DL SSB in the time-frequency domain.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that The configuration information associated with the DL RS enables the ED to use the DL RS to obtain information other than the PL information and the spatial TF information, and the second communication enables the ED to use the DL RS to obtain the PL information or the spatial TF information.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that The configuration information associated with the DL RS is received to enable the ED to use the DL RS to obtain the PL information or the spatial TF information.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The DL RS is a DL positioning reference signal PRS, and the configuration information associated with the DL RS includes one or more of the following items: the resource ID of the DL PRS; the cell ID of the cell that sends the DL PRS; a quasi-co-location type D (QCL-D) field, used to provide information about another configuration reference signal that has a QCL-D relationship with the DL PRS; a new radio absolute radio frequency channel number NR ARFCN, used to determine the frequency domain position of the DLPRS; the bandwidth of the DL PRS; the time slot offset of the DL PRS; the frame offset of the DL PRS; the symbol offset of the DLPRS; the signal suppression configuration of the DL PRS; the period and offset of the DL PRS; and the scrambling ID of the DL PRS.

7. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The DL RS is a DL synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel block SSB, and the configuration information includes one or more of the following items: an SSB index of the DL SSB; a cell ID of the cell that sends the DL SSB; and one or more parameters for determining the position of the DL SSB in the time-frequency domain.

8. A method executed on a network entity side implementing a location management function LMF, characterized in that: The method comprises: Receiving a configuration message from a radio access network RAN ​​node, wherein the configuration message includes configuration information associated with a downlink reference signal (RS); Send the configuration information to at least one of the following: An electronic device ED, wherein the configuration information enables the ED to use the DL RS to obtain path loss PL information or spatial transmission filter TF information, wherein the PL information or the spatial transmission filter information is used to send a sounding reference signal SRS; or A serving RAN node serving the ED.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that The method further comprises: A request for the configuration information is sent to the RAN node.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that The request is sent to the RAN node via New Radio Positioning Protocol A (NRPPa).

11. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 10, characterized in that The DL RS is a DL synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel block SSB or a DL positioning reference signal PRS.

12. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 11, characterized in that The configuration message is received from the non-serving RAN node via NRPPa, and the configuration message is sent to the serving RAN node via NRPPa.

13. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 11, characterized in that The configuration information is sent to the ED via the LTE Positioning Protocol LPP.

14. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 13, characterized in that The configuration information includes a Quasi Co-location Type D (QCL-D) field for providing information about another configured reference signal that has a QCL-D relationship with the DL RS; the ED can detect the DL RS according to the configuration of the another configured reference signal.

15. A method executed on an electronic device (ED), characterized in that: The method comprises: After not receiving the first downlink DL reference signal RS within the expected time or time frame, or in the absence of configuration information for receiving the first DL RS, the ED acquires path loss PL information according to the second DL RS; A sounding reference signal (SRS) is sent, wherein the SRS is sent according to the PL information.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that The second DL RS is a synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel block (SSB) used by the ED to acquire master information block (MIB) parameters, and is then used by the ED to acquire the PL information.

17. A device, characterized in that The device comprises: a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a program including instructions; A processor, configured to execute the instructions so that the apparatus performs the method according to any one of claims 1 to 16.

18. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions, characterized in that: When the instructions are executed by a processor, the processor is caused to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 16.

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