Dynamic resource allocation for sidelink positioning reference signals (SL-PRS) and associated control

Abstract

Techniques for wireless communication are disclosed. In an aspect, a wireless communication device participates in a sidelink positioning session with at least one other wireless communication device, and during the sidelink positioning session, one or more sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS) resources are transmitted on a subset of resources of a shared sidelink resource pool, wherein the subset of resources is allocated for the sidelink positioning session within the shared sidelink resource pool based on one or more criteria.

Description

Technical Field

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

[0002] Related technical description

[0003] Wireless communication systems have evolved over many generations, including first-generation analog wireless telephone service (1G), second-generation (2G) digital wireless telephone service (including transitional 2.5G and 2.75G networks), third-generation (3G) high-speed data, internet-enabled wireless services, and fourth-generation (4G) services (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE) or WiMax). Currently, many different types of wireless communication systems are in use, including cellular systems and Personal Communications Service (PCS) systems. Examples of known cellular systems include the cellular analog Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS), and digital cellular systems based on code division multiple access (CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), and the like.

[0004] The fifth-generation (5G) wireless standard, known as New Radio (NR), enables higher data speeds, a greater number of connections, and better coverage, among other improvements. According to the Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance, the 5G standard is designed to provide higher data rates, more accurate positioning (e.g., based on reference signals for positioning (RS-P), such as downlink, uplink, or sidelink Positioning Reference Signals (PRS)), and other technical enhancements compared to previous standards.

[0005] In addition, leveraging the increased data rates and reduced latency of 5G, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication technologies are being implemented to support autonomous driving applications, such as wireless communications between vehicles, between vehicles and roadside infrastructure, between vehicles and pedestrians, and so on. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The following presents a simplified summary of one or more aspects disclosed herein. Therefore, the following summary should neither be considered an exhaustive overview of all contemplated aspects nor be considered to identify key or critical elements related to all contemplated aspects or to delineate the scope associated with any particular aspect. Therefore, the sole purpose of the following summary is to present certain concepts related to one or more aspects of the mechanisms disclosed herein in a simplified form prior to the detailed description presented below.

[0007] In one aspect, a method of wireless communication performed by a wireless communication device includes: participating in a sidelink positioning session with at least one other wireless communication device; and transmitting one or more sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS) resources on a subset of resources of a shared sidelink resource pool during the sidelink positioning session, wherein the subset of resources is allocated within the shared sidelink resource pool for the sidelink positioning session based on one or more criteria.

[0008] In one aspect, a wireless communication device includes: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor configured to: participate in a sidelink positioning session with at least one other wireless communication device; and during the sidelink positioning session, transmit, via the at least one transceiver, one or more sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS) resources on a subset of resources of a shared sidelink resource pool, wherein the subset of resources is allocated within the shared sidelink resource pool for the sidelink positioning session based on one or more criteria.

[0009] In one aspect, a wireless communication device includes: means for participating in a sidelink positioning session with at least one other wireless communication device; and means for transmitting one or more sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS) resources on a subset of resources of a shared sidelink resource pool during the sidelink positioning session, wherein the subset of resources is allocated within the shared sidelink resource pool for the sidelink positioning session based on one or more criteria.

[0010] In one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium stores computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a wireless communication device, cause the wireless communication device to: participate in a sidelink positioning session with at least one other wireless communication device; and transmit, during the sidelink positioning session, one or more sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS) resources on a subset of resources of a shared sidelink resource pool, wherein the subset of resources is allocated for the sidelink positioning session within the shared sidelink resource pool based on one or more criteria.

[0011] Other objects and advantages associated with the aspects disclosed herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art based on the drawings and detailed description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] The accompanying drawings are presented to aid in describing various aspects of the present disclosure and are provided solely for illustration and not limitation of the aspects.

[0013] Figure 1 An example wireless communication system according to aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0014] Figure 2A and Figure 2B Example wireless network structures according to aspects of the present disclosure are illustrated.

[0015] Figure 3A 、 Figure 3B and Figure 3C is a simplified block diagram of several sample aspects of components that may be employed in a user equipment (UE), a base station, and a network entity, respectively, and configured to support communications as taught herein.

[0016] Figure 4A and Figure 4B Various interesting scenarios for sidelink-only positioning or joint Uu and sidelink positioning according to aspects of the present disclosure are illustrated.

[0017] Figure 5 is a diagram illustrating an example sidelink ranging and positioning process according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0018] Figure 6 is a diagram illustrating an example frame structure according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0019] Figure 7A and Figure 7B is a diagram of example sidelink slot structures with and without feedback resources in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0020] Figure 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a resource pool for positioning configured within a side link resource pool for communication according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0021] Figure 9 Example methods of wireless communications according to aspects of the present disclosure are illustrated. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] Various aspects of the present disclosure are provided below in the description and related drawings of various examples provided for illustrative purposes. Alternative aspects may be designed without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Additionally, well-known elements of the present disclosure will not be described in detail or will be omitted to avoid obscuring the relevant details of the present disclosure.

[0023] Various aspects generally relate to sidelink positioning. Some aspects more specifically relate to allocating resources reserved for SL-PRS in a shared resource pool. In some examples, during a sidelink positioning session, a wireless communication device (e.g., a user equipment (UE)) determines a resource subset of a shared sidelink resource pool for transmitting one or more sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS) resources. The resource subset may be allocated within the shared sidelink resource pool based on one or more criteria. The one or more criteria may include an amount of congestion detected by lower layers of the wireless communication device, higher layer signaling, information from a location server, information from a base station, and / or a priority for the SL-PRS transmission.

[0024] Certain aspects of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented to achieve one or more of the following potential advantages. In some examples, the described techniques can be used to dynamically allocate resources for SL-PRS and associated control in a shared sidelink resource pool by determining a resource subset during a sidelink positioning session.

[0025] The words "exemplary" and / or "example" are used herein to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration." Any aspect described herein as "exemplary" and / or "example" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects. Likewise, the term "aspects of the disclosure" does not require that all aspects of the disclosure include the discussed feature, advantage, or mode of operation.

[0026] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that any of a variety of different techniques and methods may be used to represent the information and signals described below. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be mentioned throughout the following description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, light fields or optical particles, or any combination thereof, depending in part on the specific application, in part on the desired design, in part on the corresponding technology, etc.

[0027] Furthermore, many aspects are described in terms of sequences of actions to be performed by, for example, elements of a computing device. It will be appreciated that the various actions described herein may be performed by specific circuitry (e.g., an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC)), by program instructions executed by one or more processors, or by a combination of both. Additionally, the sequences of actions described herein may be viewed as being fully embodied within any form of non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein a corresponding set of computer instructions that, when executed, will cause or command an associated processor of a device to perform the functionality described herein. Accordingly, various aspects of the present disclosure may be embodied in a variety of different forms, all of which are contemplated to be within the scope of the claimed subject matter. Furthermore, for each of the various aspects described herein, the corresponding form of any such aspect may be described herein as, for example, "logic configured to perform the described actions."

[0028] As used herein, the terms "user equipment" (UE), "vehicle UE" (V-UE), "pedestrian UE" (P-UE), and "base station" are not intended to be specific to or otherwise limited to any particular radio access technology (RAT), unless otherwise specified. Generally speaking, a UE can be any wireless communication device (e.g., a vehicle onboard computer, a vehicle navigation device, a mobile phone, a router, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, an asset location device, a wearable device (e.g., a smartwatch, glasses, augmented reality (AR) / virtual reality (VR) headset, etc.), a vehicle (e.g., a car, motorcycle, bicycle, etc.), an Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc.) used by a user to communicate over a wireless communication network. A UE can be mobile or can be stationary (e.g., at certain times) and can communicate with a radio access network (RAN). As used herein, the term "UE" can be interchangeably referred to as a "mobile device," "access terminal" or "AT," "client device," "wireless device," "subscriber device," "subscriber terminal," "subscriber station," "user terminal" or UT, "mobile terminal," "mobile station," or variations thereof.

[0029] A V-UE is a type of UE and can be any in-vehicle wireless communication device, such as a navigation system, alarm system, head-up display (HUD), onboard computer, in-vehicle infotainment system, automated driving system (ADS), advanced driver assistance system (ADAS), etc. Alternatively, a V-UE can be a portable wireless communication device (e.g., a cell phone, tablet computer, etc.) carried by the driver or an occupant of a vehicle. The term "V-UE" can refer to either the in-vehicle wireless communication device or the vehicle itself, depending on the context. A P-UE is a type of UE and can be a portable wireless communication device carried by a pedestrian (i.e., a user not driving or riding in the vehicle). Generally speaking, a UE can communicate with a core network via a RAN, and through the core network, the UE can connect to external networks such as the Internet and other UEs. Of course, other mechanisms for a UE to connect to the core network and / or the Internet are also possible, such as through a wired access network, a wireless local area network (WLAN) network (e.g., based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11, etc.), etc.

[0030] A base station may operate according to one of several RATs to communicate with UEs, depending on the network in which it is deployed, and may alternatively be referred to as an access point (AP), network node, Node B, evolved Node B (eNB), next-generation eNB (ng-eNB), new radio (NR) Node B (also known as gNB or gNodeB), etc. A base station may primarily support wireless access for UEs, including supporting data, voice, and / or signaling connections for the supported UEs. In some systems, a base station may only provide edge node signaling functions, while in other systems, a base station may provide additional control and / or network management functions. The communication link through which a UE can transmit signals to a base station is called an uplink (UL) channel (e.g., reverse traffic channel, reverse control channel, access channel, etc.). The communication link through which a base station can transmit signals to a UE is called a downlink (DL) or forward link channel (e.g., paging channel, control channel, broadcast channel, forward traffic channel, etc.). As used herein, the term traffic channel (TCH) may refer to either a UL / reverse or a DL / forward traffic channel.

[0031] The term "base station" may refer to a single physical transmit-receive point (TRP) or to multiple physical TRPs that may or may not be co-located. For example, where the term "base station" refers to a single physical TRP, the physical TRP may be an antenna of the base station corresponding to the cell (or several cell sectors) of the base station. Where the term "base station" refers to multiple co-located physical TRPs, the physical TRP may be an antenna array of the base station (e.g., as in a multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) system or where the base station employs beamforming). Where the term "base station" refers to multiple non-co-located physical TRPs, the physical TRP may be a distributed antenna system (DAS) (a network of spatially separated antennas connected to a common source via a transmission medium) or a remote radio head (RRH) (a remote base station connected to a serving base station). Alternatively, the non-co-located physical TRPs may be a serving base station that receives measurement reports from a UE and a neighboring base station whose reference radio frequency (RF) signal the UE is measuring. Because, as used herein, a TRP is the point through which a base station transmits and receives wireless signals, references to transmitting from or receiving at a base station should be understood to refer to a specific TRP of a base station.

[0032] In some implementations that support UE positioning, a base station may not support wireless access for the UE (e.g., may not support data, voice, and / or signaling connections for the UE). Instead, the base station may transmit a reference RF signal to the UE for measurement by the UE and / or may receive and measure signals transmitted by the UE. Such a base station may be referred to as a positioning beacon (e.g., when transmitting RF signals to the UE) and / or as a positioning measurement unit (e.g., when receiving and measuring RF signals from the UE).

[0033] An "RF signal" comprises an electromagnetic wave of a given frequency that transmits information through the space between a transmitter and a receiver. As used herein, a transmitter may transmit a single "RF signal" or multiple "RF signals" to a receiver. However, due to the propagation characteristics of RF signals through multipath channels, a receiver may receive multiple "RF signals" corresponding to each transmitted RF signal. The same transmitted RF signal on different paths between a transmitter and a receiver may be referred to as a "multipath" RF signal. As used herein, an RF signal may also be referred to as a "wireless signal" or simply as a "signal" when the context clearly indicates that the term "signal" refers to either a wireless signal or an RF signal.

[0034] Figure 1An example wireless communication system 100 according to various aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. The wireless communication system 100, which may also be referred to as a wireless wide area network (WWAN), may include various base stations 102 (labeled "BS") and various UEs 104. The base stations 102 may include macrocell base stations (high-power cellular base stations) and / or small cell base stations (low-power cellular base stations). In one aspect, the macrocell base stations 102 may include eNBs and / or ng-eNBs (where the wireless communication system 100 corresponds to an LTE network) or gNBs (where the wireless communication system 100 corresponds to an NR network), or a combination of both, and the small cell base stations may include femtocells, picocells, microcells, etc.

[0035] The base stations 102 may collectively form a RAN and interface with a core network 170 (e.g., an evolved packet core (EPC) or a 5G core (5GC)) via backhaul links 122. The base stations 102 may also interface with one or more location servers 172 (e.g., a location management function (LMF) or a secure user plane location (SUPL) location platform (SLP)) via the core network 170. The location servers 172 may be part of the core network 170 or external to the core network 170. The location servers 172 may be integrated with the base stations 102. The UEs 104 may communicate with the location servers 172 directly or indirectly. For example, the UE 104 may communicate with the location servers 172 via the base station 102 currently serving the UE 104. The UE 104 may also communicate with the location servers 172 via another path, such as via an application server (not shown), via another network, such as a wireless local area network (WLAN) access point (AP) (e.g., AP 150 described below), etc. For signaling purposes, communication between UE 104 and location server 172 may be represented as an indirect connection (e.g., through core network 170, etc.) or a direct connection (e.g., as shown via direct connection 128), with intermediate nodes (if any) omitted from the signaling diagram for clarity.

[0036] Among other functions, the base stations 102 may perform functions related to one or more of the following: delivering user data, radio channel encryption and decryption, integrity protection, header compression, mobility control functions (e.g., handover, dual connectivity), inter-cell interference coordination, connection establishment and release, load balancing, distribution of non-access stratum (NAS) messages, NAS node selection, synchronization, RAN sharing, multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS), subscriber and equipment tracking, RAN information management (RIM), paging, positioning, and delivery of warning messages. The base stations 102 may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., through the EPC / 5GC) over a backhaul link 134, which may be wired or wireless.

[0037] Base stations 102 can communicate wirelessly with UEs 104. Each of base stations 102 can provide communication coverage for a corresponding geographic coverage area 110. In one aspect, one or more cells can be supported by base stations 102 in each geographic coverage area 110. A "cell" is a logical communication entity used for communicating with a base station (e.g., via a frequency resource, such as a carrier frequency, component carrier, carrier, or frequency band) and can be associated with an identifier (e.g., a physical cell identifier (PCI), an enhanced cell identifier (ECI), a virtual cell identifier (VCI), a cell global identifier (CGI), etc.) that distinguishes cells operating on the same or different carrier frequencies. In some cases, different cells can be configured according to different protocol types (e.g., machine type communication (MTC), narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), or other protocol types) that can provide access to different types of UEs. Because a cell is supported by a specific base station, the term "cell" can refer to either or both the logical communication entity and the base station supporting it, depending on the context. In some cases, the term “cell” may also refer to a geographic coverage area (eg, a sector) of a base station, so long as a carrier frequency can be detected and used for communications within some portion of the geographic coverage area 110 .

[0038] While the geographic coverage areas 110 of adjacent macrocell base stations 102 may partially overlap (e.g., in a handover area), some areas of the geographic coverage areas 110 may substantially overlap with the larger geographic coverage area 110. For example, a small cell base station 102' (labeled "SC" for "small cell") may have a geographic coverage area 110' that substantially overlaps with the geographic coverage areas 110 of one or more macrocell base stations 102. A network that includes both small cell base stations and macrocell base stations may be referred to as a heterogeneous network. A heterogeneous network may also include a Home eNB (HeNB), which may provide service to a restricted group known as a Closed Subscriber Group (CSG).

[0039] The communication link 120 between the base station 102 and the UE 104 may include uplink (also known as reverse link) transmissions from the UE 104 to the base station 102 and / or downlink (DL) (also known as forward link) transmissions from the base station 102 to the UE 104. The communication link 120 may utilize MIMO antenna technology, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and / or transmit diversity. The communication link 120 may be over one or more carrier frequencies. The allocation of carriers may be asymmetric for the downlink and uplink (e.g., more or fewer carriers may be allocated to the downlink than to the uplink).

[0040] The wireless communication system 100 may further include a wireless local area network (WLAN) access point (AP) 150 that communicates with a wireless local area network (WLAN) station (STA) 152 in an unlicensed spectrum (e.g., 5 GHz) via a communication link 154. When communicating in the unlicensed spectrum, the WLAN STA 152 and / or the WLAN AP 150 may perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) or listen-before-talk (LBT) procedure prior to communicating to determine whether a channel is available.

[0041] Small cell base station 102' can operate in licensed and / or unlicensed spectrum. When operating in unlicensed spectrum, small cell base station 102' can employ LTE or NR technology and use the same 5 GHz unlicensed spectrum used by WLAN AP 150. Small cell base station 102' employing LTE / 5G in unlicensed spectrum can improve access network coverage and / or increase access network capacity. NR in unlicensed spectrum may be referred to as NR-U. LTE in unlicensed spectrum may be referred to as LTE-U, Licensed Assisted Access (LAA), or MulteFire.

[0042] The wireless communication system 100 may also include a mmW base station 180 that can operate in millimeter wave (mmW) and / or near-mmW frequencies to communicate with UEs 182. Extremely high frequencies (EHF) are part of the RF portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. EHF has a range of 30 GHz to 300 GHz, with wavelengths between 1 and 10 mm. Radio waves in this frequency band are referred to as millimeter waves. Near-mmW frequencies extend down to frequencies of 3 GHz, with wavelengths of 100 mm. Super high frequency (SHF) frequency bands extend between 3 GHz and 30 GHz and are also referred to as centimeter waves. Communications using mmW / near-mmW radio frequency bands have high path loss and relatively short range. The mmW base station 180 and the UE 182 can utilize beamforming (transmit and / or receive) on the mmW communication link 184 to compensate for the extremely high path loss and short range. Furthermore, it should be understood that, in alternative configurations, one or more base stations 102 may also transmit using mmW or near-mmW frequencies and beamforming. Therefore, it should be understood that the foregoing illustrations are merely examples and should not be construed as limiting the various aspects disclosed herein.

[0043] Transmit beamforming is a technique used to focus an RF signal in a specific direction. Traditionally, when a network node (e.g., a base station) broadcasts an RF signal, it broadcasts it in all directions (omnidirectionally). With transmit beamforming, the network node determines where a given target device (e.g., a UE) is located relative to the transmitting network node and projects a stronger downlink RF signal in that specific direction, thereby providing the receiving device with a faster and stronger RF signal (in terms of data rate). To alter the directionality of an RF signal during transmission, the network node controls the phase and relative amplitude of the RF signal at each of the one or more transmitters broadcasting the RF signal. For example, the network node may use an array of antennas (referred to as a "phased array" or "antenna array") that form RF beams that can be "steered" to point in different directions without actually moving the antennas. Specifically, the RF currents from the transmitters are fed to the individual antennas with the correct phase relationship, so that the radio waves from the individual antennas add together in the desired direction to increase radiation, while canceling out in undesired directions to suppress radiation.

[0044] Transmit beams can be quasi-co-located, meaning they appear to have the same parameters to a receiver (e.g., a UE), regardless of whether the network node's own transmit antenna is physically co-located. In NR, four types of quasi-co-located (QCL) relationships exist. Specifically, a given type of QCL relationship means that certain parameters about a second reference RF signal on a second beam can be derived from information about the source reference RF signal on the source beam. Thus, if the source reference RF signal is QCL type A, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, and delay spread of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL type B, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and Doppler spread of the second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL type C, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and average delay of the second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL type D, the receiver may use the source reference RF signal to estimate spatial reception parameters of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel.

[0045] In receive beamforming, a receiver uses receive beams to amplify RF signals detected on a given channel. For example, the receiver may increase the gain setting of the antenna array in a particular direction and / or adjust the phase setting of the antenna array in a particular direction to amplify (e.g., increase the gain level of) the RF signal received from that direction. Therefore, when a receiver is said to be beamforming in a certain direction, it means that the beam gain in that direction is high relative to the beam gain along other directions, or that the beam gain in that direction is the highest compared to the beam gain in that direction of all other receive beams available to the receiver. This results in a stronger received signal strength (e.g., reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR), etc.) for the RF signal received from that direction.

[0046] The transmit beam and receive beam can be spatially correlated. This spatial correlation means that parameters for a second beam (e.g., a transmit beam or a receive beam) used for a second reference signal can be derived based on information about the first beam (e.g., a receive beam or a transmit beam) for a first reference signal. For example, a UE may use a specific receive beam to receive a reference downlink reference signal (e.g., a synchronization signal block (SSB)) from a base station. The UE can then form a transmit beam for transmitting an uplink reference signal (e.g., a sounding reference signal (SRS)) to the base station based on the receive beam parameters.

[0047] Note that depending on the entity forming the "downlink" beam, the beam can be either a transmit beam or a receive beam. For example, if the base station is forming a downlink beam to transmit a reference signal to the UE, the downlink beam is a transmit beam. However, if the UE is forming a downlink beam, the downlink beam is a receive beam for receiving downlink reference signals. Similarly, depending on the entity forming the "uplink" beam, the beam can be either a transmit beam or a receive beam. For example, if the base station is forming an uplink beam, the uplink beam is an uplink receive beam, while if the UE is forming an uplink beam, the uplink beam is an uplink transmit beam.

[0048] The electromagnetic spectrum is typically subdivided into various categories, bands, channels, etc., based on frequency / wavelength. In 5G NR, two initial operating bands have been identified as frequency ranges designated FR1 (410 MHz-7.125 GHz) and FR2 (24.25 GHz-52.6 GHz). It should be understood that, despite a portion of FR1 being greater than 6 GHz, FR1 is often (interchangeably) referred to as the "sub-6 GHz" band in various documents and articles. A similar naming issue sometimes occurs with FR2, which is often (interchangeably) referred to as the "millimeter wave" band in documents and articles, despite being distinct from the extremely high frequency (EHF) band (30 GHz–300 GHz), which is identified as a "millimeter wave" band by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

[0049] Frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are often referred to as mid-band frequencies. Recent 5G NR research has identified the operating band for these mid-band frequencies as frequency range designation FR3 (7.125 GHz–24.25 GHz). Frequency bands falling within FR3 may inherit FR1 characteristics and / or FR2 characteristics, effectively extending the features of FR1 and / or FR2 to mid-band frequencies. Furthermore, higher frequency bands are currently being explored to extend 5G NR operation beyond 52.6 GHz. For example, three higher operating bands have been identified as frequency range designations FR4a or FR4-1 (52.6 GHz–71 GHz), FR4 (52.6 GHz–114.25 GHz), and FR5 (114.25 GHz–300 GHz). Each of these higher frequency bands falls within the EHF band.

[0050] In view of the above aspects, unless otherwise specifically stated, it should be understood that if used herein, the term "sub-6 GHz" or the like may broadly refer to frequencies that may be less than 6 GHz, may be within FR1, or may include mid-band frequencies. Furthermore, unless otherwise specifically stated, it should be understood that if used herein, the term "millimeter wave" or the like may broadly refer to frequencies that may include mid-band frequencies, may be within FR2, FR4, FR4-a or FR4-1 and / or FR5, or may be within the EHF band.

[0051] In multi-carrier systems such as 5G, one of the carrier frequencies is referred to as the "primary carrier," or "anchor carrier," or "primary serving cell," or "PCell," and the remaining carrier frequencies are referred to as "secondary carriers," or "secondary serving cells," or "SCells." In carrier aggregation, the anchor carrier is the carrier operating on the primary frequency (e.g., FR1) utilized by the UE 104 / 182 and the cell in which the UE 104 / 182 performs an initial radio resource control (RRC) connection establishment procedure or initiates an RRC connection re-establishment procedure. The primary carrier carries all common and UE-specific control channels and can be a carrier in a licensed frequency (however, this is not always the case). The secondary carrier is a carrier operating on a second frequency (e.g., FR2) that can be configured and used to provide additional radio resources once an RRC connection is established between the UE 104 and the anchor carrier. In some cases, the secondary carrier can be a carrier in an unlicensed frequency. A secondary carrier may contain only necessary signaling information and signals. For example, since the primary uplink carrier and primary downlink carrier are typically UE-specific, UE-specific signaling information and signals may not be present in the secondary carrier. This means that different UEs 104 / 182 in a cell can have different downlink primary carriers. The same is true for the uplink primary carrier. The network can change the primary carrier for any UE 104 / 182 at any time. This is done, for example, to balance the load on different carriers. Since a "serving cell" (whether a PCell or SCell) corresponds to the carrier frequency / component carrier through which a base station communicates, the terms "cell," "serving cell," "component carrier," and "carrier frequency" may be used interchangeably.

[0052] For example, still referring to Figure 1 One of the frequencies utilized by macrocell base station 102 may be an anchor carrier (or "PCell"), and the other frequencies utilized by macrocell base station 102 and / or mmW base station 180 may be secondary carriers ("SCells"). Simultaneous transmission and / or reception of multiple carriers enables UE 104 / 182 to significantly increase its data transmission rate and / or data reception rate. For example, two 20 MHz aggregated carriers in a multi-carrier system would theoretically result in a doubled data rate (i.e., 40 MHz) compared to the data rate achieved with a single 20 MHz carrier.

[0053] exist Figure 1 In the example of FIG, the UE illustrated (for simplicity, Figure 1Any UE (shown as a single UE 104 in FIG. 1 ) may receive signals 124 from one or more Earth-orbiting space vehicles (SVs) 112 (e.g., satellites). In one aspect, SVs 112 may be part of a satellite positioning system that UEs 104 may use as an independent source of location information. A satellite positioning system typically includes a system of transmitters (e.g., SVs 112) positioned to enable a receiver (e.g., UE 104) to determine its location on or above the Earth based, at least in part, on positioning signals (e.g., signals 124) received from the transmitters. Such transmitters typically transmit a signal with a repeating pseudorandom noise (PN) code marked with a set number of chips. While typically located in SVs 112, transmitters may also be located in ground-based control stations, base stations 102, and / or other UEs 104. UEs 104 may include one or more specialized receivers specifically designed to receive signals 124 in order to derive geographic location information from SVs 112.

[0054] In a satellite positioning system, the use of signal 124 may be enhanced by various satellite-based augmentation systems (SBAS) that may be associated with or otherwise enabled for use with one or more global and / or regional navigation satellite systems. For example, SBAS may include augmentation systems that provide integrity information, differential corrections, and the like, such as the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), the Multifunctional Satellite Augmentation System (MSAS), and / or Global Positioning System (GPS)-Assisted Geographic Augmented Navigation or GPS and Geographic Augmented Navigation System (GAGAN). Thus, as used herein, a satellite positioning system may include any combination of one or more global and / or regional navigation satellites associated with such one or more satellite positioning systems.

[0055] In one aspect, SV 112 may additionally or alternatively be part of one or more non-terrestrial networks (NTNs). In an NTN, SV 112 connects to an earth station (also known as a ground station, NTN gateway, or gateway), which in turn connects to elements in the 5G network, such as a modified base station 102 (without a terrestrial antenna) or a network node in a 5GC. This element, in turn, provides access to other elements in the 5G network and ultimately to entities external to the 5G network, such as internet web servers and other user devices. Thus, UE 104 may receive communication signals (e.g., signal 124) from SV 112 instead of or in addition to communication signals from terrestrial base station 102.

[0056] Vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication technology is being implemented, particularly leveraging the increased data rates and reduced latency of NR, to support intelligent transportation system (ITS) applications. This includes wireless communication between vehicles (vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V)), between vehicles and roadside infrastructure (vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I)), and between vehicles and pedestrians (vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P)). The goal is to enable vehicles to sense their surroundings and communicate this information to other vehicles, infrastructure, and personal mobile devices. This type of vehicle communication will enable safety, mobility, and environmental improvements not currently available. Once fully implemented, this technology is expected to reduce non-damaged vehicle collisions by 80%.

[0057] Still refer to Figure 1 The wireless communication system 100 may include multiple V-UEs 160 that can communicate with a base station 102 over a communication link 120 using a Uu interface (i.e., the air interface between a UE and a base station). V-UEs 160 may also communicate directly with each other over a wireless sidelink 162, with a roadside unit (RSU) 164 (roadside access point) over a wireless sidelink 166, or with a sidelink-capable UE 104 over a wireless sidelink 168 using a PC5 interface (i.e., the air interface between sidelink-capable UEs). A wireless sidelink (or simply "sidelink") is an adaptation of a core cellular network standard (e.g., LTE, NR) that allows direct communication between two or more UEs without going through a base station. Sidelink communications can be unicast or multicast and can be used for device-to-device (D2D) media sharing, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications (e.g., cellular V2X (cV2X) communications, enhanced V2X (eV2X) communications, etc.), emergency rescue applications, and the like. One or more V-UEs in a group of V-UEs 160 utilizing sidelink communication may be within the geographic coverage area 110 of the base station 102. Other V-UEs 160 in such a group may be outside the geographic coverage area 110 of the base station 102 or otherwise unable to receive transmissions from the base station 102. In some cases, groups of V-UEs 160 communicating via sidelink communication may utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system, where each V-UE 160 transmits to every other V-UE 160 in the group. In some cases, the base station 102 facilitates the scheduling of resources for sidelink communication. In other cases, sidelink communication is performed between the V-UEs 160 without involving the base station 102.

[0058] In one aspect, the sidelinks 162, 166, 168 can operate over a wireless communication medium of interest, which can be shared with other vehicles and / or infrastructure access points, as well as with other wireless communications between other RATs. A "medium" may include one or more time, frequency, and / or spatial communication resources (e.g., encompassing one or more channels across one or more carriers) associated with wireless communications between one or more transmitter / receiver pairs.

[0059] In one aspect, sidelinks 162, 166, 168 may be cV2X links. The first generation of cV2X has been standardized in LTE, and the next generation is expected to be defined in NR. cV2X is a cellular technology that also enables device-to-device communications. In the United States and Europe, cV2X is expected to operate in the licensed ITS band below 6 GHz. Other frequency bands may be allocated in other countries. Thus, as a specific example, the medium of interest utilized by sidelinks 162, 166, 168 may correspond to at least a portion of the licensed ITS band below 6 GHz. However, the present disclosure is not limited to this frequency band or cellular technology.

[0060] In one aspect, sidelinks 162, 166, and 168 may be dedicated short-range communication (DSRC) links. DSRC is a unidirectional or bidirectional short- to medium-range wireless communication protocol that uses the Wireless Access for Vehicular Environments (WAVE) protocol (also known as IEEE 802.11p) for V2V, V2I, and V2P communications. IEEE 802.11p is an approved amendment to the IEEE 802.11 standard and operates in the licensed ITS band at 5.9 GHz (5.85-5.925 GHz) in the United States. In Europe, IEEE 802.11p operates in the ITS G5A band (5.875-5.905 MHz). Other frequency bands may be allocated in other countries. The V2V communications briefly described above occur over a safety channel, which in the United States is typically a 10 MHz channel dedicated for safety purposes. The remainder of the DSRC band (75 MHz total bandwidth) is intended for other services of interest to drivers, such as road regulations, toll collection, parking automation, etc. Thus, as a specific example, the medium of interest utilized by the sidelinks 162 , 166 , 168 may correspond to at least a portion of the licensed ITS band at 5.9 GHz.

[0061] Alternatively, the medium of interest may correspond to at least a portion of an unlicensed frequency band shared among various RATs. Although different licensed frequency bands have been reserved for certain communication systems (e.g., by government entities such as the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC)), these systems (particularly those employing small cell access points) have recently expanded operations into unlicensed frequency bands such as the Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure (U-NII) band used by wireless local area network (WLAN) technologies (most notably the IEEE 802.11x WLAN technology commonly referred to as "Wi-Fi"). Example systems of this type include different variants of CDMA systems, TDMA systems, FDMA systems, orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA) systems, single-carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) systems, and the like.

[0062] Communication between V-UEs 160 is referred to as V2V communication, communication between a V-UE 160 and one or more RSUs 164 is referred to as V2I communication, and communication between a V-UE 160 and one or more UEs 104 (where these UEs 104 are P-UEs) is referred to as V2P communication. V2V communication between V-UEs 160 may include, for example, information regarding the position, speed, acceleration, heading, and other vehicle data of these V-UEs 160. V2I information received at a V-UE 160 from one or more RSUs 164 may include, for example, road regulations, parking automation information, and the like. V2P communication between a V-UE 160 and a UE 104 may include, for example, information regarding the position, speed, acceleration, and heading of the V-UE 160, as well as the position, speed (e.g., if the UE 104 is carried by a user on a bicycle), and heading of the UE 104.

[0063] Note that although Figure 1 Only two of the UEs are illustrated as V-UEs (V-UE 160), but any of the illustrated UEs (e.g., UE 104, 152, 182, 190) may be V-UEs. In addition, although only these V-UEs 160 and the single UE 104 have been illustrated as being connected via a side link, Figure 1Any of the illustrated UEs, whether V-UEs, P-UEs, etc., may be capable of sidelink communications. Furthermore, while only UE 182 is depicted as capable of beamforming, any of the illustrated UEs (including V-UE 160) may be capable of beamforming. Where V-UEs 160 are capable of beamforming, they may beamform toward each other (i.e., toward other V-UEs 160), toward RSUs 164, toward other UEs (e.g., UEs 104, 152, 182, 190), and so forth. Thus, in some cases, V-UE 160 may utilize beamforming on sidelinks 162, 166, and 168.

[0064] The wireless communication system 100 may also include one or more UEs (such as UE 190) that are indirectly connected to one or more communication networks via one or more device-to-device (D2D) peer-to-peer (P2P) links. Figure 1 In the example, UE 190 has a D2D P2P link 192 with one of UEs 104 connected to one of base stations 102 (e.g., UE 190 can indirectly obtain cellular connectivity via the D2D P2P link), and has a D2D P2P link 194 with WLAN STA 152 connected to WLAN AP 150 (UE 190 can indirectly obtain WLAN-based Internet connectivity via the D2D P2P link). In one example, D2D P2P links 192 and 194 can be supported by any well-known D2D RAT, such as LTE Direct (LTE-D), WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth ® Etc. As another example, D2D P2P links 192 and 194 may be side links, as described above with reference to side links 162 , 166 , and 168 .

[0065] Figure 2AAn example wireless network architecture 200 is illustrated. For example, 5GC 210 (also known as the Next Generation Core (NGC)) can be functionally considered to include control plane (C-plane) functions 214 (e.g., UE registration, authentication, network access, gateway selection, etc.) and user plane (U-plane) functions 212 (e.g., UE gateway functions, access to data networks, IP routing, etc.), which operate in conjunction to form the core network. A user plane interface (NG-U) 213 and a control plane interface (NG-C) 215 connect gNBs 222 to 5GC 210, specifically to user plane functions 212 and control plane functions 214, respectively. In additional configurations, ng-eNBs 224 can also connect to 5GC 210 via NG-C 215 to control plane functions 214 and NG-U 213 to user plane functions 212. Furthermore, ng-eNBs 224 can communicate directly with gNBs 222 via backhaul connections 223. In some configurations, the next generation RAN (NG-RAN) 220 may have one or more gNBs 222, while other configurations include one or more of ng-eNBs 224 and gNBs 222. Either gNB 222 or ng-eNB 224 (or both) may communicate with one or more UEs 204 (e.g., any of the UEs described herein).

[0066] Another optional aspect may include a location server 230 that can communicate with the 5GC 210 to provide location assistance to the UE 204. The location server 230 can be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules distributed across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively, each can correspond to a single server. The location server 230 can be configured to support one or more location services for the UE 204 that can connect to the location server 230 via the core network, the 5GC 210, and / or via the Internet (not shown). In addition, the location server 230 can be integrated into a component of the core network, or alternatively can be external to the core network (e.g., a third-party server, such as an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) server or a service server).

[0067] Figure 2B Another example wireless network structure 240 is illustrated. 5GC 260 (which may correspond to Figure 2AThe 5GC 210 in the 5GC 210 can be functionally considered to include control plane functions provided by the access and mobility management function (AMF) 264 and user plane functions provided by the user plane function (UPF) 262, which operate in conjunction to form the core network (i.e., 5GC 260). The functions of the AMF 264 include registration management, connection management, reachability management, mobility management, lawful interception, transmission of session management (SM) messages between one or more UEs 204 (e.g., any of the UEs described herein) and a session management function (SMF) 266, a transparent proxy service for routing SM messages, access authentication and access authorization, transmission of short message service (SMS) messages between the UE 204 and a short message service function (SMSF) (not shown), and security anchor functionality (SEAF). The AMF 264 also interacts with an authentication server function (AUSF) (not shown) and the UE 204, and receives intermediate keys established as a result of the UE 204 authentication process. In the case of UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) Subscriber Identity Module (USIM)-based authentication, the AMF 264 retrieves security material from the AUSF. The functionality of the AMF 264 also includes Security Context Management (SCM). The SCM receives keys from the SEAF, which it uses to derive access network-specific keys. The functionality of the AMF 264 also includes location service management for regulated services, transmission of location service messages between the UE 204 and the Location Management Function (LMF) 270 (which acts as the location server 230), transmission of location service messages between the NG-RAN 220 and the LMF 270, allocation of Evolved Packet System (EPS) bearer identifiers for interoperability with EPS, and notification of UE 204 mobility events. Furthermore, the AMF 264 supports functionality for non-3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) access networks.

[0068] The functions of the UPF 262 include serving as an anchor point for intra-RAT / inter-RAT mobility (when applicable), serving as an external protocol data unit (PDU) session point for interconnection to a data network (not shown), providing packet routing and forwarding, packet inspection, user plane policy rule enforcement (e.g., gating, redirection, traffic steering), lawful interception (user plane collection), traffic usage reporting, user plane quality of service (QoS) handling (e.g., uplink / downlink rate enforcement, reflective QoS marking in the downlink), uplink traffic verification (service data flow (SDF) to QoS flow mapping), transport level packet marking in the uplink and downlink, downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering, and transmitting and forwarding one or more "end markers" to the source RAN node. The UPF 262 may also support the delivery of location service messages between the UE 204 and a location server (such as the SLP 272) on the user plane.

[0069] The functions of the SMF 266 include session management, UE Internet Protocol (IP) address allocation and management, selection and control of user plane functions, traffic steering configuration at the UPF 262 for routing traffic to the correct destination, partial control of policy enforcement and QoS, and downlink data notification. The interface through which the SMF 266 communicates with the AMF 264 is called the N11 interface.

[0070] Another optional aspect may include an LMF 270 that can communicate with the 5GC 260 to provide location assistance for the UE 204. The LMF 270 can be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules distributed across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively, each can correspond to a single server. The LMF 270 can be configured to support one or more location services for the UE 204, which can connect to the LMF 270 via the core network, the 5GC 260, and / or via the Internet (not shown). The SLP 272 may support similar functionality as the LMF 270, but whereas the LMF 270 may communicate with the AMF 264, the NG-RAN 220, and the UE 204 on a control plane (e.g., using interfaces and protocols designed to carry signaling messages rather than voice or data), the SLP 272 may communicate with the UE 204 and external clients (e.g., third-party servers 274) on a user plane (e.g., using protocols designed to carry voice and / or data, such as the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and / or IP).

[0071] Yet another optional aspect may include a third-party server 274 that can communicate with the LMF 270, SLP 272, 5GC 260 (e.g., via the AMF 264 and / or UPF 262), NG-RAN 220, and / or UE 204 to obtain location information (e.g., a location estimate) of the UE 204. Thus, in some cases, the third-party server 274 may be referred to as a location service (LCS) client or external client. The third-party servers 274 may be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules distributed across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively, each may correspond to a single server.

[0072] The user plane interface 263 and the control plane interface 265 connect the 5GC 260, and specifically the UPF 262 and AMF 264, respectively, to one or more gNBs 222 and / or ng-eNBs 224 in the NG-RAN 220. The interface between the gNB 222 and / or ng-eNB 224 and the AMF 264 is referred to as the "N2" interface, while the interface between the gNB 222 and / or ng-eNB 224 and the UPF 262 is referred to as the "N3" interface. The gNBs 222 and / or ng-eNBs 224 of the NG-RAN 220 can communicate directly with each other via a backhaul connection 223, referred to as an "Xn-C" interface. One or more of the gNBs 222 and / or ng-eNBs 224 can communicate with one or more UEs 204 via a wireless interface, referred to as a "Uu" interface.

[0073] The functionality of a gNB 222 is divided between a gNB Central Unit (gNB-CU) 226, one or more gNB Distributed Units (gNB-DUs) 228, and one or more gNB Radio Units (gNB-RUs) 229. The gNB-CU 226 is a logical node that includes base station functions, including delivery of user data, mobility control, radio access network sharing, positioning, session management, and more, in addition to those functions specifically assigned to the gNB-DU 228. More specifically, the gNB-CU 226 typically hosts the Radio Resource Control (RRC), Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP), and Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) protocols for the gNB 222. The gNB-DU 228 is a logical node that typically hosts the Radio Link Control (RLC) and Medium Access Control (MAC) layers for the gNB 222. Its operation is controlled by the gNB-CU 226. One gNB-DU 228 can support one or more cells, and a cell is supported by only one gNB-DU 228. The interface 232 between the gNB-CU 226 and one or more gNB-DUs 228 is referred to as the "F1" interface. The physical (PHY) layer functionality of the gNB 222 is typically hosted by one or more independent gNB-RUs 229, which perform functions such as power amplification and signal transmission / reception. The interface between the gNB-DU 228 and the gNB-RU 229 is referred to as the "Fx" interface. Thus, the UE 204 communicates with the gNB-CU 226 via the RRC, SDAP, and PDCP layers, with the gNB-DU 228 via the RLC and MAC layers, and with the gNB-RU 229 via the PHY layer.

[0074] Figure 3A 、 Figure 3B and Figure 3C Several example components (represented by corresponding blocks) are illustrated that may be incorporated into a UE 302 (which may correspond to any of the UEs described herein), a base station 304 (which may correspond to any of the base stations described herein), and a network entity 306 (which may correspond to or embody any of the network functions described herein, including the location server 230 and the LMF 270, or alternatively may be independent thereof). Figure 2A and Figure 2BThe depicted NG-RAN 220 and / or 5GC 210 / 260 infrastructure (such as a dedicated network) is implemented to support the operations described herein. It should be understood that these components may be implemented in different types of devices with different specific implementations (e.g., in an ASIC, in a system-on-chip (SoC), etc.). The illustrated components may also be incorporated into other devices in a communication system. For example, other devices in the system may include components similar to those described as providing similar functionality. Furthermore, a given device may include one or more of these components. For example, a device may include multiple transceiver components that enable the device to operate on multiple carriers and / or communicate via different technologies.

[0075] UE 302 and base station 304 each include one or more wireless wide area network (WWAN) transceivers 310 and 350, respectively, which provide means (e.g., means for transmitting, means for receiving, means for measuring, means for tuning, and / or means for preventing transmission, etc.) for communicating via one or more wireless communication networks (not shown), such as NR networks, LTE networks, GSM networks, etc. The WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 can each be connected to one or more antennas 316 and 356, respectively, for communicating with other network nodes (such as other UEs, access points, base stations (e.g., eNBs, gNBs), etc.) via at least one designated RAT (e.g., NR, LTE, GSM, etc.) over a wireless communication medium of interest (e.g., a certain set of time / frequency resources in a particular spectrum). The WWAN transceiver 310 and the WWAN transceiver 350 can be configured in different ways to transmit and encode signals 318 and 358 (e.g., messages, indicators, information, etc.) according to a designated RAT, and conversely, receive and decode the signals 318 and 358 (e.g., messages, indicators, information, pilots, etc.), respectively. Specifically, the WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 include one or more transmitters 314 and 354 for transmitting and encoding the signals 318 and 358, respectively, and one or more receivers 312 and 352 for receiving and decoding the signals 318 and 358, respectively.

[0076] At least in some cases, the UE 302 and the base station 304 each further include one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360, respectively. The short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 can be connected to one or more antennas 326 and 366, respectively, and provide for communicating over a wireless communication medium of interest via at least one designated RAT (e.g., WiFi, LTE-D, Bluetooth ® 、Zigbee ® 、Z-Wave ®, PC5, dedicated short-range communication (DSRC), wireless access for vehicular environments (WAVE), near-field communication (NFC), ultra-wideband (UWB), etc.) and other network nodes (such as other UEs, access points, base stations, etc.). Short-range wireless transceiver 320 and short-range wireless transceiver 360 can be configured in different ways to transmit and encode signals 328 and 368 (e.g., messages, indications, information, etc.) according to a specified RAT, and conversely, receive and decode signals 328 and 368 (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, etc.). Specifically, short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 include one or more transmitters 324 and 364, respectively, for transmitting and encoding signals 328 and 368, and one or more receivers 322 and 362, respectively, for receiving and decoding signals 328 and 368. As a specific example, the short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 may be WiFi transceivers, Bluetooth ® Transceiver, Zigbee ® and / or Z-Wave ® transceiver, NFC transceiver, UWB transceiver or vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and / or vehicle-to-everything (V2X) transceiver.

[0077] At least in some cases, UE 302 and base station 304 also include a satellite signal receiver 330 and a satellite signal receiver 370. Satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 may be connected to one or more antennas 336 and 376, respectively, and may provide components for receiving and / or measuring satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378, respectively. If satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 are satellite positioning system receivers, satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378 may be Global Positioning System (GPS) signals, Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) signals, Galileo signals, BeiDou signals, Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (NAVIC), Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), and the like. If satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 are non-terrestrial network (NTN) receivers, satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378 may be communication signals originating from a 5G network (e.g., carrying control and / or user data). Satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 may include any suitable hardware and / or software for receiving and processing satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378, respectively. Satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 may request information and operations from other systems as appropriate and, at least in some cases, perform calculations using measurements obtained by any suitable satellite positioning system algorithm to determine the positions of UE 302 and base station 304, respectively.

[0078] Base station 304 and network entity 306 each include one or more network transceivers 380 and 390, respectively, which provide means (e.g., means for transmitting, means for receiving, etc.) for communicating with other network entities (e.g., other base stations 304, other network entities 306). For example, base station 304 may employ one or more network transceivers 380 to communicate with other base stations 304 or network entities 306 via one or more wired or wireless backhaul links. As another example, network entity 306 may employ one or more network transceivers 390 to communicate with one or more base stations 304 via one or more wired or wireless backhaul links, or with other network entities 306 via one or more wired or wireless core network interfaces.

[0079] A transceiver can be configured to communicate over a wired or wireless link. A transceiver (whether a wired or wireless transceiver) includes transmitter circuitry (e.g., transmitter 314, transmitter 324, transmitter 354, transmitter 364) and receiver circuitry (e.g., receiver 312, receiver 322, receiver 352, receiver 362). In some implementations, a transceiver can be an integrated device (e.g., implementing transmitter circuitry and receiver circuitry in a single device), in some implementations, the transceiver can include separate transmitter circuitry and separate receiver circuitry, or in other implementations, the transceiver can be implemented in other ways. The transmitter circuitry and receiver circuitry of a wired transceiver (e.g., in some implementations, network transceivers 380 and 390) can be coupled to one or more wired network interface ports. Wireless transmitter circuitry (e.g., transmitters 314, 324, 354, 364) may include or be coupled to multiple antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such as antenna arrays, which permit a corresponding device (e.g., UE 302, base station 304) to perform transmit "beamforming," as described herein. Similarly, wireless receiver circuitry (e.g., receivers 312, 322, 352, 362) may include or be coupled to multiple antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such as antenna arrays, which permit a corresponding device (e.g., UE 302, base station 304) to perform receive beamforming, as described herein. In one aspect, the transmitter circuitry and the receiver circuitry may share the same multiple antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), so that a corresponding device can only receive or only transmit at a given time, rather than both receive and transmit at the same time. The wireless transceivers (eg, WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 , short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 ) may also include a network listening module (NLM) or the like for performing various measurements.

[0080] As used herein, various wireless transceivers (e.g., in some implementations, transceivers 310, 320, 350, and 360, and network transceivers 380 and 390) and wired transceivers (e.g., in some implementations, network transceivers 380 and 390) may be generally referred to as a "transceiver," "at least one transceiver," or "one or more transceivers." Thus, whether a particular transceiver is a wired or wireless transceiver can be inferred based on the type of communication being performed. For example, backhaul communications between network devices or servers typically involve signaling via a wired transceiver, while wireless communications between a UE (e.g., UE 302) and a base station (e.g., base station 304) typically involve signaling via a wireless transceiver.

[0081] UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 also include other components that may be used in conjunction with the operations disclosed herein. UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 each include one or more processors 332, 384, and 394 for providing functionality related to, for example, wireless communication, as well as for providing other processing functionality. Thus, processors 332, 384, and 394 may provide means for processing, such as means for determining, means for computing, means for receiving, means for transmitting, means for indicating, and the like. In one aspect, processors 332, 384, and 394 may include, for example, one or more general-purpose processors, multi-core processors, central processing units (CPUs), ASICs, digital signal processors (DSPs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), other programmable logic devices or processing circuits, or various combinations thereof.

[0082] UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306, respectively, include memory circuitry implementing memory 340, 386, and 396 (e.g., each including a memory device) for maintaining information (e.g., information indicating reserved resources, thresholds, parameters, etc.). Thus, memories 340, 386, and 396 may provide means for storing, means for retrieving, means for maintaining, etc. In some cases, UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 may include positioning components 342, 388, and 398, respectively. Positioning components 342, 388, and 398 may be hardware circuitry that is part of or coupled to processors 332, 384, and 394, respectively, and that, when executed, causes UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 to perform the functionality described herein. In other aspects, positioning components 342, 388, and 398 may be external to processors 332, 384, and 394 (e.g., part of a modem processing system, integrated with another processing system, etc.). Alternatively, the positioning components 342, 388, and 398 can be memory modules stored in memories 340, 386, and 396, respectively, which, when executed by the processors 332, 384, and 394 (or a modem processing system, another processing system, etc.), cause the UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 to perform the functionality described herein. Figure 3A Possible locations are illustrated for a location component 342, which can be, for example, part of one or more WWAN transceivers 310, memory 340, one or more processors 332, or any combination thereof, or can be a standalone component. Figure 3B Possible locations are illustrated for a location component 388, which can be, for example, part of one or more WWAN transceivers 350, memory 386, one or more processors 384, or any combination thereof, or can be a standalone component. Figure 3C Possible locations are illustrated for a location component 398, which can be, for example, part of one or more network transceivers 390, memory 396, one or more processors 394, or any combination thereof, or can be a standalone component.

[0083] The UE 302 may include one or more sensors 344 coupled to the one or more processors 332 to provide means for sensing or detecting movement and / or orientation information independent of motion data derived from signals received by the one or more WWAN transceivers 310, the one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320, and / or the satellite signal receiver 330. By way of example, the sensors 344 may include an accelerometer (e.g., a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) device), a gyroscope, a geomagnetic sensor (e.g., a compass), an altimeter (e.g., a barometric altimeter), and / or any other type of motion detection sensor. Furthermore, the sensors 344 may include multiple different types of devices and combine their outputs to provide motion information. For example, the sensors 344 may use a combination of a multi-axis accelerometer and an orientation sensor to provide the ability to calculate a position in a two-dimensional (2D) and / or three-dimensional (3D) coordinate system.

[0084] In addition, the UE 302 includes a user interface 346 that provides means for providing indications to the user (e.g., audible and / or visual indications) and / or for receiving user input (e.g., when the user actuates a sensing device such as a keypad, touch screen, microphone, etc.). Although not shown, the base station 304 and the network entity 306 may also include a user interface.

[0085] Referring in more detail to the one or more processors 384, in a downlink, IP packets from the network entity 306 may be provided to the processor 384. The one or more processors 384 may implement functionality for the RRC layer, the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, the Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, and the Medium Access Control (MAC) layer. One or more processors 384 may provide: RRC layer functionality associated with broadcasting of system information (e.g., Master Information Block (MIB), System Information Block (SIB)), RRC connection control (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connection modification, and RRC connection release), inter-RAT mobility, and measurement configuration for UE measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression / decompression, security (ciphering, deciphering, integrity protection, integrity verification), and handover support functions; RLC layer functionality associated with delivery of upper layer PDUs, error correction through automatic repeat request (ARQ), concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC service data units (SDUs), resegmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, scheduling information reporting, error correction, priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0086] Transmitter 354 and receiver 352 implement Layer 1 (L1) functionality associated with various signal processing functions. Layer 1, including the physical (PHY) layer, may include error detection on the transport channel, forward error correction (FEC) coding / decoding of the transport channel, interleaving, rate matching, mapping to the physical channel, modulation / demodulation of the physical channel, and MIMO antenna processing. Transmitter 354 handles the mapping to the signal constellation based on various modulation schemes (e.g., binary phase-shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK), M-phase-shift keying (M-PSK), and M-quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM)). The coded and modulated symbols are then separated into parallel streams. Each stream is then mapped to orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) subcarriers, multiplexed with reference signals (e.g., pilots) in the time and / or frequency domains, and then combined using an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) to produce a physical channel carrying a time-domain OFDM symbol stream. The OFDM symbol stream is spatially pre-decoded to generate multiple spatial streams. Channel estimates from a channel estimator may be used to determine the coding and modulation schemes and for spatial processing. The channel estimates may be derived based on a reference signal and / or channel condition feedback transmitted by the UE 302. Each spatial stream may then be provided to one or more different antennas 356. The transmitter 354 may modulate an RF carrier with the corresponding spatial stream for transmission.

[0087] At UE 302, receiver 312 receives the signal via its corresponding antenna 316. Receiver 312 recovers the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provides this information to one or more processors 332. Transmitter 314 and receiver 312 implement Layer 1 functionality associated with various signal processing functions. Receiver 312 may perform spatial processing on this information to recover any spatial streams destined for UE 302. If there are multiple spatial streams destined for UE 302, they may be combined by receiver 312 into a single OFDM symbol stream. Receiver 312 then converts the OFDM symbol stream from the time domain to the frequency domain using a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT). The frequency-domain signal includes a separate OFDM symbol stream for each subcarrier of the OFDM signal. The symbols on each subcarrier, along with the reference signal, are recovered and demodulated by determining the most likely signal constellation point transmitted by base station 304. These soft decisions may be based on channel estimates calculated by a channel estimator. The soft decisions are then decoded and deinterleaved to recover the data and control signals originally transmitted by base station 304 on the physical channel. The data and control signals are then provided to one or more processors 332, which implement layer 3 (L3) and layer 2 (L2) functionality.

[0088] In the downlink, one or more processors 332 provide demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packet reassembly, decryption, header decompression, and control signal processing to recover IP packets from the core network. One or more processors 332 are also responsible for error detection.

[0089] Similar to the functionality described in conjunction with downlink transmissions by the base station 304, the one or more processors 332 provide: RRC layer functionality associated with system information (e.g., MIB, SIB) acquisition, RRC connection, and measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression / decompression and security (ciphering, deciphering, integrity protection, integrity verification); RLC layer functionality associated with delivery of upper layer PDUs, error correction through ARQ, concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC SDUs, resegmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing of MAC SDUs onto transport blocks (TBs), demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction through hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ), priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0090] Channel estimates derived by a channel estimator from a reference signal or feedback sent by base station 304 may be used by transmitter 314 to select appropriate coding and modulation schemes and to facilitate spatial processing. The spatial streams generated by transmitter 314 may be provided to different antennas 316. Transmitter 314 may modulate an RF carrier with the corresponding spatial stream for transmission.

[0091] Uplink transmissions are processed at the base station 304 in a manner similar to that described in conjunction with the receiver functionality at the UE 302. The receiver 352 receives the signal through its respective antenna 356. The receiver 352 recovers the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provides the information to one or more processors 384.

[0092] In the uplink, one or more processors 384 provide demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packet reassembly, decryption, header decompression, and control signal processing to recover IP packets from UE 302. The IP packets from one or more processors 384 may be provided to the core network. The one or more processors 384 are also responsible for error detection.

[0093] For convenience, UE 302, base station 304 and / or network entity 306 Figure 3A 、 Figure 3B and Figure 3C1 is shown as including various components that can be configured according to the various examples described herein. However, it should be understood that the illustrated components may have different functionality in different designs. In particular, Figures 3A to 3C Various components in are optional in alternative configurations, and various aspects include configurations that may vary due to design choice, cost, use of the device, or other considerations. For example, in Figure 3A In the case of , a specific implementation of UE 302 may omit WWAN transceiver 310 (e.g., a wearable device or tablet or PC or laptop may have Wi-Fi and / or Bluetooth capabilities but no cellular capabilities), or may omit short-range wireless transceiver 320 (e.g., only cellular, etc.), or may omit satellite signal receiver 330, or may omit sensor 344, etc. In another example, in Figure 3B In certain cases, specific implementations of the base station 304 may omit the WWAN transceiver 350 (e.g., a Wi-Fi "hotspot" access point without cellular capabilities), or may omit the short-range wireless transceiver 360 (e.g., cellular only, etc.), or may omit the satellite signal receiver 370, etc. For the sake of brevity, illustrations of various alternative configurations are not provided herein, but will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art.

[0094] Various components of the UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 may be communicatively coupled to one another via data bus 334, data bus 382, ​​and data bus 392, respectively. In one aspect, data buses 334, 382, ​​and 392 may form or be part of communication interfaces for the UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306, respectively. For example, data buses 334, 382, ​​and 392 may provide for communication between different logical entities where the different logical entities are embodied in the same device (e.g., gNB and location server functionality incorporated into the same base station 304).

[0095] Figure 3A 、 Figure 3B and Figure 3C The components of can be implemented in various ways. In some specific implementations, Figure 3A 、 Figure 3B and Figure 3CThe components of the present invention may be implemented in one or more circuits, such as, for example, one or more processors and / or one or more ASICs (which may include one or more processors). Each circuit may utilize and / or incorporate at least one memory component to store information or executable code used by the circuit to provide the functionality. For example, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 310 through 346 may be implemented by the processor and memory components of UE 302 (e.g., by executing appropriate code and / or by appropriately configuring the processor components). Similarly, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 350 through 388 may be implemented by the processor and memory components of base station 304 (e.g., by executing appropriate code and / or by appropriately configuring the processor components). Furthermore, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 390 through 398 may be implemented by the processor and memory components of network entity 306 (e.g., by executing appropriate code and / or by appropriately configuring the processor components). For simplicity, various operations, actions, and / or functions may be described herein as being performed "by a UE," "by a base station," "by a network entity," and the like. However, as will be appreciated, such operations, actions and / or functions may actually be performed by a specific component or combination of components of the UE 302, base station 304, network entity 306, etc. (such as processors 332, 384, 394, transceivers 310, 320, 350 and 360, memories 340, 386 and 396, positioning components 342, 388 and 398, etc.).

[0096] In some designs, the network entity 306 may be implemented as a core network component. In other designs, the network entity 306 may operate independently of a network operator or cellular network infrastructure (e.g., NG RAN 220 and / or 5GC 210 / 260). For example, the network entity 306 may be a component of a dedicated network that may be configured to communicate with the UE 302 via the base station 304 or independently of the base station 304 (e.g., via a non-cellular communication link such as WiFi).

[0097] NR supports or implements various sidelink positioning technologies. Figure 4AVarious scenarios of interest for sidelink-only positioning or joint Uu and sidelink positioning according to aspects of the present disclosure are illustrated. In scenario 410, at least one peer UE with a known location can improve the Uu-based positioning (e.g., multi-cell RTT, downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA), etc.) of a target UE by providing an additional anchor point (e.g., using sidelink round-trip time (RTT) (SL-RTT)). In scenario 420, a low-end (e.g., reduced-capability or "RedCap") target UE can obtain assistance from an advanced UE to determine its position using, for example, sidelink positioning and ranging procedures with the advanced UE. Compared to the low-end UE, the advanced UE may have more capabilities, such as more sensors, faster processors, more memory, more antenna elements, higher transmit power capability, access to additional frequency bands, or any combination thereof. In scenario 430, a relay UE (e.g., with a known location) participates in the remote UE's position estimation without performing uplink positioning reference signal (PRS) transmission over the Uu interface. Scenario 440 illustrates joint positioning of multiple UEs. Specifically, in scenario 440 , two UEs with unknown locations can be jointly located under non-line-of-sight (NLOS) conditions by utilizing constraints from nearby UEs.

[0098] Figure 4B Additional interesting scenarios for sidelink-only positioning or combined Uu and sidelink positioning according to various aspects of the present disclosure are illustrated. In scenario 450, UEs used for public safety (e.g., used by police, firefighters, etc.) can perform peer-to-peer (P2P) positioning and ranging for public safety and other purposes. For example, in scenario 450, the public safety UEs can be out of coverage of the network and use sidelink positioning techniques to determine the position or relative distance and relative positioning between the public safety UEs. Similarly, scenario 460 shows multiple UEs out of coverage and using sidelink positioning techniques (such as SL-RTT) to determine the position or relative distance and relative positioning.

[0099] NR is capable of supporting various sidelink ranging and positioning techniques. Sidelink-based ranging enables the determination of the relative distance between UEs and, optionally, their absolute position, where the absolute position of at least one of the involved UEs is known. This technique is valuable in situations where Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) positioning is degraded or unavailable (e.g., tunnels, urban canyons, etc.), and can also enhance ranging and positioning accuracy when GNSS is available. Sidelink-based ranging can be implemented using a three-way handshake for session establishment, followed by the exchange of Positioning Reference Signals (PRS), and finally, messaging based on the transmission and reception of PRS from peer UEs to exchange measurements.

[0100] Sidelink ranging is based on calculating inter-UE round-trip time (RTT) measurements, as determined from the transmission and reception times of the PRS (a wideband positioning signal defined in LTE and NR). Each UE reports the RTT measurement, along with its location (if known), to all other participating UEs. For UEs whose locations are completely unknown or inaccurately known, the RTT process yields an inter-UE distance between the involved UEs. For UEs whose locations are accurately known, this distance yields an absolute location. UE participation, PRS transmission, and subsequent RTT calculations are coordinated by an initial three-way messaging handshake (PRS Request, PRS Response, and PRS Acknowledgement), as well as a post-PRS message exchange (post-PRS message) to share measurements after receiving the peer UE's PRS.

[0101] Figure 5 An example sidelink ranging and positioning process 500 according to aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. The sidelink ranging and positioning process 500 may also be referred to as a sidelink RTT positioning process. Sidelink ranging is based on calculating inter-UE RTT measurements, as determined from the transmission and reception times of the PRS (a wideband reference signal defined in LTE and NR for positioning). Each UE reports the RTT measurement, along with its location (if known), to all other participating UEs. For UEs whose locations are completely unknown or inaccurately known, the RTT process yields inter-UE distances between the involved UEs. For UEs whose locations are accurately known, the ranging yields an absolute location. UE participation, PRS transmission, and subsequent RTT calculations are coordinated by an initial three-way messaging handshake (PRS Request, PRS Response, and PRS Acknowledgement), as well as a message exchange (post-PRS message) following the PRS transmission to share the measurement after receiving the PRS from the peer UE.

[0102] The sidelink ranging and positioning process 500 (or session) begins at stage 505 with the broadcast of capability information by the peer UEs involved. Figure 5As shown, one of the peer UEs, UE 204-1 (e.g., any of the sidelink-capable UEs described herein), is capable of serving as an anchor UE for the sidelink ranging and positioning procedure 500, meaning its location is known. Therefore, anchor UE 204-1 includes an indication in its capabilities message that it is capable of serving as an anchor UE for the sidelink ranging and positioning procedure 500. The capabilities message may also include the location of anchor UE 204-1, or this location may be provided later. Another UE, UE 204-2 (e.g., any of the sidelink-capable UEs described herein), is a target UE, meaning its location is unknown or inaccurate and it is attempting to be located. Based on the capabilities information received from anchor UE 204-1 indicating that anchor UE 204-1 is an anchor UE, target UE 204-2 knows that it will be able to determine its location based on performing the sidelink ranging and positioning procedure 500 with anchor UE 204-1.

[0103] After the initial capability exchange, the involved UEs 204 perform a three-way messaging handshake. At stage 510, the anchor UE 204-1 sends a PRS request (labeled "PRSrequest") to the target UE 204-2. At stage 515, the target UE 204-2 sends a PRS response (labeled "PRSresponse") to the anchor UE 204-1. At stage 520, the anchor UE 204-1 sends a PRS acknowledgement to the target UE 204-2. At this point, the three-way messaging handshake is complete. Note that although Figure 5 It is illustrated that the anchor UE 204-1 initiates the three-way message handshake, but it may be initiated by the target UE 204-2 instead.

[0104] At stages 525 and 530, the involved peer UEs 204 transmit PRS to each other. The resources on which the PRS are transmitted may be configured / allocated by the network (e.g., a serving base station of one of the UEs 204) or negotiated by the UEs 204 during a three-way messaging handshake. The anchor UE 204-1 measures the transmit-to-receive (Tx-Rx) time difference between the transmit time of the PRS at stage 525 and the receive time of the PRS at stage 530. The target UE 204-2 measures the receive-to-receive (Rx-Tx) time difference between the receive time of the PRS at stage 525 and the transmit time of the PRS at stage 530. Note that, although Figure 5 It is illustrated that the anchor UE 204-1 transmits the PRS first, but the target UE 204-2 may transmit the PRS first instead.

[0105] At stages 535 and 540, the peer UEs 204 exchange their respective time difference measurements in a post-PRS message (labeled "postPRS"). If anchor UE 204-1 has not yet provided its location to target UE 204-2, it does so at this point. Each UE 204 is then able to determine the RTT between each UE 204 based on the Tx-Rx and Rx-Tx time difference measurements (specifically, the difference between the Tx-Rx and Rx-Tx time difference measurements). Based on the RTT measurements and the speed of light, each UE 204 can then estimate the distance (or range) between the two UEs 204 (specifically, the RTT measurement multiplied by half the speed of light). Since target UE 204-2 also has the absolute location (e.g., geographic coordinates) of anchor UE 204-1, target UE 204-2 can use this location and the distance to anchor UE 204-1 to determine its own absolute location.

[0106] Note that although Figure 5 Two UEs 204 are illustrated, but a UE may perform or attempt to perform the sidelink ranging and positioning procedure 500 with multiple UEs.

[0107] Various frame structures may be used to support downlink and uplink transmissions between network nodes (eg, base stations and UEs). Figure 6 FIG6 is a diagram illustrating an example frame structure according to aspects of the present disclosure. The frame structure may be a downlink or uplink frame structure. Other wireless communication technologies may have different frame structures and / or different channels.

[0108] LTE (and in some cases NR) utilizes orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) on the downlink and single-carrier frequency division multiplexing (SC-FDM) on the uplink. However, unlike LTE, NR also has the option of using OFDM on the uplink. OFDM and SC-FDM divide the system bandwidth into multiple (K) orthogonal subcarriers, often referred to as tones, bins, etc. Each subcarrier can be modulated with data. Generally speaking, modulation symbols are transmitted in the frequency domain with OFDM and in the time domain with SC-FDM. The spacing between adjacent subcarriers can be fixed, and the total number of subcarriers (K) can depend on the system bandwidth. For example, the subcarrier spacing can be 15 kilohertz (kHz), while the minimum resource allocation (resource block) can be 12 subcarriers (or 180 kHz). Therefore, for a system bandwidth of 1.25 megahertz (MHz), 2.5 MHz, 5 MHz, 10 MHz, or 20 MHz, the nominal fast Fourier transform (FFT) size may be equal to 128, 256, 512, 1024, or 2048, respectively. The system bandwidth may also be divided into subbands. For example, a subband may cover 1.08 MHz (i.e., 6 resource blocks), and there may be 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 subbands for a system bandwidth of 1.25 MHz, 2.5 MHz, 5 MHz, 10 MHz, or 20 MHz, respectively.

[0109] LTE supports a single parameter set (subcarrier spacing (SCS), symbol length, etc.). In contrast, NR supports multiple parameter sets (µ). For example, subcarrier spacings of 15 kHz (µ=0), 30 kHz (µ=1), 60 kHz (µ=2), 120 kHz (µ=3), and 240 kHz (µ=4) or larger may be available. In each subcarrier spacing, there are 14 symbols per slot. For a 15 kHz SCS (µ=0), there is one slot per subframe, 10 slots per frame, a slot duration of 1 millisecond (ms), a symbol duration of 66.7 microseconds (µs), and a maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) of 50 with a 4K FFT size. For a 30 kHz SCS (µ=1), there are two slots per subframe, 20 slots per frame, a slot duration of 0.5 ms, a symbol duration of 33.3 µs, and a maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) of 100 with a 4K FFT size. For 60kHz SCS (µ=2), there are four slots per subframe, 40 slots per frame, the slot duration is 0.25ms, the symbol duration is 16.7µs, and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with a 4K FFT size is 200. For 120kHz SCS (µ=3), there are eight slots per subframe, 80 slots per frame, the slot duration is 0.125ms, the symbol duration is 8.33µs, and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with a 4K FFT size is 400. For 240kHz SCS (µ=4), there are 16 slots per subframe, 160 slots per frame, the slot duration is 0.0625ms, the symbol duration is 4.17µs, and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with a 4K FFT size is 800.

[0110] exist Figure 6 In the example, a 15 kHz parameter set is used. Therefore, in the time domain, a 10 ms frame is divided into 10 equally sized subframes, each 1 ms, and each subframe includes one time slot. Figure 6 , time is represented horizontally (on the X-axis), where time increases from left to right, while frequency is represented vertically (on the Y-axis), where frequency increases (or decreases) from bottom to top.

[0111] A resource grid can be used to represent a time slot, each of which includes one or more time-concurrent resource blocks (RBs) (also called physical RBs (PRBs)) in the frequency domain. The resource grid is further divided into multiple resource elements (REs). An RE may correspond to one symbol length in the time domain and one subcarrier in the frequency domain. Figure 6In the parameter set for cyclic prefixes, for a normal cyclic prefix, an RB may contain 12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain and seven consecutive symbols in the time domain, for a total of 84 REs. For an extended cyclic prefix, an RB may contain 12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain and six consecutive symbols in the time domain, for a total of 72 REs. The number of bits carried by each RE depends on the modulation scheme.

[0112] Some REs may carry reference (pilot) signals (RS). These reference signals may include positioning reference signals (PRS), tracking reference signals (TRS), phase tracking reference signals (PTRS), cell-specific reference signals (CRS), channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS), demodulation reference signals (DMRS), primary synchronization signals (PSS), secondary synchronization signals (SSS), synchronization signal blocks (SSBs), and sounding reference signals (SRS), depending on whether the illustrated frame structure is used for uplink or downlink communication. Figure 6 Example locations of REs carrying reference signals (labeled “R”) are illustrated.

[0113] The set of resource elements (REs) used for transmitting PRSs is called a "PRS resource." A set of resource elements may span multiple PRBs in the frequency domain and N (e.g., one or more) consecutive symbols within a slot in the time domain. In a given OFDM symbol in the time domain, a PRS resource occupies consecutive PRBs in the frequency domain.

[0114] The PRS resource within a given PRB is transmitted with a specific comb size (also referred to as "comb density"). The comb size 'N' represents the subcarrier spacing (or frequency / tone spacing) within each symbol of the PRS resource configuration. Specifically, for comb size 'N', the PRS is transmitted in every Nth subcarrier of one symbol of the PRB. For example, for comb size 4, for each symbol of the PRS resource configuration, the REs corresponding to every fourth subcarrier (such as subcarriers 0, 4, and 8) are used to transmit the PRS of the PRS resource. Currently, for DL-PRS, comb sizes of comb size 2, comb size 4, comb size 6, and comb size 12 are supported. Figure 6 An example PRS resource configuration for comb-4 (which spans four symbols) is illustrated. That is, the positions of the shaded REs (labeled "R") indicate a comb-4 PRS resource configuration.

[0115] Currently, DL-PRS resources can span 2, 4, 6, or 12 consecutive symbols within a slot using a full frequency domain staggered pattern. DL-PRS resources can be configured in any downlink or flexible (FL) symbol in a slot that is configured by higher layers. There may be a constant energy per resource element (EPRE) for all REs of a given DL-PRS resource. The following are the symbol-by-symbol frequency offsets for comb sizes of 2, 4, 6, and 12 over 2, 4, 6, and 12 symbols. 2-symbol Comb-2: {0, 1}; 4-symbol Comb-2: {0, 1, 0, 1}; 6-symbol Comb-2: {0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1}; 12-symbol Comb-2: {0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1,0, 1, 0, 1}; 4-symbol Comb-4: {0, 2, 1, 3} (as in Figure 6 ); 12-symbol comb-4: {0, 2, 1, 3, 0, 2, 1, 3, 0, 2, 1, 3}; 6-symbol comb-6: {0, 3, 1, 4, 2, 5}; 12-symbol comb-6: {0, 3, 1, 4, 2, 5, 0, 3, 1, 4, 2, 5}; and 12-symbol comb-12: {0, 6, 3, 9, 1, 7, 4,10, 2, 8, 5, 11}.

[0116] A "PRS resource set" is a set of PRS resources used to transmit a PRS signal, where each PRS resource has a PRS resource ID. Furthermore, the PRS resources in a PRS resource set are associated with the same TRP. A PRS resource set is identified by a PRS resource set ID and is associated with a specific TRP (identified by the TRP ID). Furthermore, the PRS resources in a PRS resource set have the same periodicity, common muting pattern configuration, and the same repetition factor (such as "PRS-ResourceRepetitionFactor") across all time slots. The periodicity is the time from the first repetition of a first PRS resource of a first PRS instance to the same first repetition of the same first PRS resource of the next PRS instance. The periodicity may have a length selected from: 2^µ*{4, 5, 8, 10, 16, 20, 32, 40, 64, 80, 160, 320, 640, 1280, 2560, 5120, 10240} slots, where µ = 0, 1, 2, 3. The repetition factor may have a length selected from {1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 16, 32} slots.

[0117] The PRS resource ID in a PRS resource set is associated with a single beam (or beam ID) transmitted from a single TRP (one TRP can transmit one or more beams). That is, each PRS resource in a PRS resource set can be transmitted on a different beam, and therefore, a "PRS resource" (or simply "resource") may also be referred to as a "beam." Note that this does not imply whether the UE knows the TRP and beam on which the PRS is transmitted.

[0118] A "PRS instance" or "PRS opportunity" is an instance of a periodically repeating time window (such as a group of one or more consecutive time slots) in which a PRS is expected to be transmitted. A PRS opportunity may also be referred to as a "PRS positioning opportunity," "PRS positioning instance," "positioning opportunity," "positioning instance," "positioning repetition," or simply "opportunity," "instance," or "repetition."

[0119] A "positioning frequency layer" (also referred to simply as a "frequency layer") is a collection of one or more PRS resource sets with identical values ​​for certain parameters across one or more transmission timeframes (TRPs). Specifically, the set of PRS resource sets has the same subcarrier spacing and cyclic prefix (CP) type (implying that all parameter sets supported for the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) are also supported for PRS), the same point A, the same value for the downlink PRS bandwidth, the same starting PRB (and center frequency), and the same comb size. The point A parameter takes the value of the parameter "ARFCN-ValueNR" (where "ARFCN" stands for "Absolute Radio Frequency Channel Number") and is an identifier / code that specifies a pair of physical radio channels for transmission and reception. The downlink PRS bandwidth can have a granularity of four PRBs, with a minimum of 24 PRBs and a maximum of 272 PRBs. Currently, up to four frequency layers have been defined, and up to two PRS resource sets can be configured per frequency layer per TRP.

[0120] The concept of frequency layers is somewhat similar to that of component carriers and bandwidth parts (BWPs), but differs in that component carriers and BWPs are used by a single base station (or a macrocell base station and a small cell base station) to transmit data channels, whereas frequency layers are used by several (typically three or more) base stations to transmit PRSs. A UE can indicate the number of frequency layers it supports when communicating its positioning capabilities to the network (such as during an LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) session). For example, a UE can indicate whether it supports one or four positioning frequency layers.

[0121] It should be noted that the terms "positioning reference signal" and "PRS" generally refer to specific reference signals used for positioning in NR and LTE systems. However, as used herein, the terms "positioning reference signal" and "PRS" may also refer to any type of reference signal that can be used for positioning, such as, but not limited to, PRS, TRS, PTRS, CRS, CSI-RS, DMRS, PSS, SSS, SSB, SRS, UL-PRS, and the like, as defined in LTE and NR. Furthermore, the terms "positioning reference signal" and "PRS" may refer to downlink positioning reference signals, uplink positioning reference signals, or sidelink positioning reference signals, unless the context indicates otherwise. If further distinction is needed between the types of PRSs, downlink positioning reference signals may be referred to as "DL-PRS," uplink positioning reference signals (e.g., SRS for positioning, i.e., PTRS) may be referred to as "UL-PRS," and sidelink positioning reference signals may be referred to as "SL-PRS." In addition, for signals that can be sent in the downlink, uplink, and / or sidelink (e.g., DMRS), these signals may be prefixed with "DL," "UL," or "SL" to distinguish the direction. For example, "UL-DMRS" may be different from "DL-DMRS."

[0122] Sidelink communication occurs within a transmit or receive resource pool. In the frequency domain, the smallest unit of resource allocation is a subchannel (e.g., a set of contiguous PRBs in the frequency domain). In the time domain, resource allocation occurs within a time slot. However, some time slots are unavailable for sidelink use, and some time slots contain feedback resources. Furthermore, sidelink resources can be (pre-)configured to occupy fewer than 14 symbols in a time slot.

[0123] The sidelink resources are configured at the Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer. The RRC configuration can be pre-configured (e.g., preloaded on the UE) or configured (e.g., from the serving base station).

[0124] The NR sidelink supports hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) retransmission. Figure 7A is a diagram 700 of an example time slot structure without feedback resources according to aspects of the present disclosure. Figure 7A In the example, time is represented horizontally and frequency is represented vertically. In the time domain, each block is one Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbol long, and 14 symbols constitute a slot. In the frequency domain, each block is one subchannel high. Currently, the (pre-)configured subchannel size can be selected from the set of {10, 15, 20, 25, 50, 75, 100} PRBs.

[0125] For the sidelink slot, the first symbol is a repetition of the previous symbol and is used for the automatic gain control (AGC) setting. Figure 7AThis is illustrated by vertical and horizontal hashing. Figure 7A As shown, for the sidelink, the physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) and the physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) are transmitted in the same time slot. Similar to the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), the PSCCH carries control information about the sidelink resource allocation and a description of the sidelink data sent to the UE. Similarly, similar to the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), the PSSCH carries the user data of the UE. Figure 7A In the example of , PSCCH occupies half of the bandwidth of the subchannel and occupies only three symbols. Finally, the gap symbol appears after the PSSCH.

[0126] Figure 7B is a diagram 750 of an example time slot structure with feedback resources according to aspects of the present disclosure. Figure 7B In the example of , time is represented horizontally and frequency is represented vertically. In the time domain, the length of each block is one OFDM symbol, and 14 symbols constitute a time slot. In the frequency domain, the height of each block is one subchannel.

[0127] Figure 7B The illustrated time slot structure is similar to Figure 7A The time slot structure shown is similar except that Figure 7B The illustrated slot structure includes feedback resources. Specifically, the two symbols at the end of the slot are dedicated to the Physical Sidelink Feedback Channel (PSFCH). The first PSFCH symbol is a repetition of the second PSFCH symbol used for AGC setup. In addition to the gap symbol following the PSSCH, there is also a gap symbol after two PSFCH symbols. Currently, the resources used for the PSFCH can be configured with a periodicity selected from the set of {0, 1, 2, 4} slots.

[0128] The first 13 symbols of a time slot in the time domain and the allocated subchannels in the frequency domain form a sidelink resource pool. The sidelink resource pool can include resources for sidelink communication (transmission and / or reception), sidelink positioning (referred to as a resource pool for positioning (RP-P)), or both communication and positioning. A resource pool configured for both communication and positioning is referred to as a "shared" resource pool. In a shared resource pool, resources used for SL-PRS are confined to a subset of resources (RP-P) within the shared resource pool, which is dictated by an offset, periodicity, number of consecutive symbols within a time slot (e.g., as few as one symbol), and / or bandwidth within a component carrier (or across multiple component carriers).

[0129] A base station (or a UE, depending on the resource allocation mode) may assign one or more resource configurations from the RP-P to another UE. Additionally or alternatively, a UE (e.g., a relay or remote UE) may request one or more RP-P configurations, and the UE may include one or more of the following in the request: (1) the UE's location information (or zone identifier); (2) periodicity; (3) bandwidth; (4) offset; (5) number of symbols; and (6) whether a configuration with "low interference" is desired (this may be determined by the assigned quality of service (QoS) or priority).

[0130] The base station or UE can configure / assign rate matching resources or RP-P for rate matching / muting to the sidelink UE so that when there is a conflict between the assigned resources and another resource pool containing data (PSSCH) and / or control (PSCCH), the sidelink UE is expected to rate match / mute / puncture the data, DMRS and / or CSI-RS within the conflicting resources. This will achieve orthogonalization between positioning and data transmission to increase the coverage of the PRS signal.

[0131] Figure 8 FIG8 is a diagram 800 illustrating an example of a resource pool for positioning configured within a sidelink resource pool (ie, a shared resource pool) for communication according to aspects of the present disclosure. Figure 8 In the example of , time is represented horizontally and frequency is represented vertically. In the time domain, the length of each block is one Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbol, and 14 symbols constitute a time slot. In the frequency domain, the height of each block is one subchannel.

[0132] exist Figure 8 In the example of , the entire time slot (except the first and last symbols) can be a resource pool for sidelink communication. That is, any symbol except the first and last symbols can be allocated for sidelink communication. However, RP-P is allocated in the last four pre-slot symbols of the time slot. Therefore, non-sidelink positioning data (such as user data (PSSCH), CSI-RS and control information) can only be sent in the first eight post-AGC symbols, and not in the last four pre-slot symbols to prevent conflict with the configured RP-P. Non-sidelink positioning data that could have been sent in the last four pre-slot symbols can be punctured or muted, or non-sidelink data that would normally span more than eight post-AGC symbols can be rate matched to fit into the eight post-AGC symbols.

[0133] The Sidelink Positioning Reference Signal (SL-PRS) has been defined to enable the sidelink positioning process between UEs, as described above. Figure 4A and Figure 4BAs described. Similar to the downlink PRS (DL-PRS), the SL-PRS resource consists of one or more resource elements (i.e., one OFDM symbol in the time domain and one subcarrier in the frequency domain). The SL-PRS resource has been designed to have a comb-based pattern to enable Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) based processing at the receiver. The SL-PRS resource consists of non-interleaved or only partially interleaved resource elements in the frequency domain to provide small time of arrival (TOA) uncertainty for each SL-PRS resource and reduced overhead. The SL-PRS can also be associated with a specific RP-P (e.g., certain SL-PRS can be allocated in certain RP-Ps). The SL-PRS is also defined to have intra-slot repetition ( Figure 8 (not shown) to allow combining gain (if needed). There may also be inter-UE coordination of RP-P to provide dynamic SL-PRS and data multiplexing while minimizing SL-PRS collisions.

[0134] Note that although Figure 8 A three-symbol PSCCH, a four-symbol RP-P, and an eight-symbol PSSCH are illustrated, but as will be appreciated, these are merely examples. In some cases, the PSCCH and PSSCH may span the same number of symbols, and the RP-P may span the remaining symbols of the slot. Furthermore, PSSCH symbols are always present in the shared resource pool, but SL-PRS resources may or may not be allocated. For example, SL-PRS resources may be allocated in the shared resource pool every N slots (where N is greater than one).

[0135] When SL-PRS resources are allocated semi-statically, resources for SL-PRS may be over-allocated and resources for data (PSSCH) may be under-allocated, or vice versa. For example, if most UEs in a certain geographic area do not support positioning, the resources allocated for positioning (SL-PRS) may be wasted. It would be preferable to have a more flexible approach where resources are dynamically allocated so that both positioning UEs and data UEs can receive a proportional share of resources. However, current allocation techniques do not allow for such dynamic allocation.

[0136] Therefore, the present disclosure provides a technique for dynamically allocating resources for SL-PRS and associated control (PSCCH) in a shared resource pool. Dynamic allocation can occur at the start of a sidelink positioning session, such as Figure 5 The sidelink ranging and positioning process 500 is illustrated in FIG.

[0137] As described above, SL-PRS transmission is restricted to a subset of resources (RP-P) within a shared resource pool. The resource subset used for SL-PRS within the shared resource pool can be determined in various ways. As a first alternative, the resources allocated for SL-PRS within the shared resource pool can be based on the congestion level detected at the PHY and / or MAC layer (e.g., via CCA or LBT procedures). In this case, different SL-PRS configurations can be defined for resources of different sizes (e.g., different numbers of symbols within the shared resource pool). Based on the congestion level detected by the transmitting UE, a specific PRS configuration can be selected and signaled via the first level sidelink control information (SCI-1) on the PSCCH. The SL-PRS configuration can be configured to the UE in one or more SIBs via RRC signaling, for example. Alternatively, the transmitting UE can select a variable number of resources not indicated by the existing PRS configuration and signal the selected number of resources via SCI-1.

[0138] As a second alternative, the resources allocated for SL-PRS in the shared resource pool may be based on higher layer signaling. Specifically, higher layer signaling (eg, RRC) may indicate to the UE which resource subset of different resource subsets for SL-PRS to use for SL-PRS transmission.

[0139] As a third alternative, the resources allocated for SL-PRS within the shared resource pool can be based on information from a location server (e.g., LMF). The location server assists the UE in positioning by, for example, configuring the positioning method used by the UE and transmitting location service-related data. Thus, the location server can instruct the UE to scale SL-PRS resources or reject positioning requests based on the congestion level. In other words, the location server can indicate the desired number of resources (e.g., symbols and / or subcarriers) within the shared resource pool for the positioning session.

[0140] As a fourth alternative, the resources allocated for SL-PRS within the shared resource pool can be based on information from the network (e.g., the gNB). In this case, the gNB can allocate more or fewer resources for SL-PRS based on user traffic and positioning requirements. These resources can be within each slot of the shared resource pool (e.g., more or fewer symbols / subcarriers per slot), or they can be more or fewer SL-PRS opportunities per a given number of slots in the shared resource pool. For example, in every ten slots (N=10), the gNB can increase the number of SL-PRS opportunities from one to four (i.e., transmit SL-PRS in four of the ten slots) without changing the number of SL-PRS symbols per slot.

[0141] As a fifth alternative, the resources allocated to SL-PRS within the shared resource pool may be based on the priority of the SL-PRS transmission. In this case, different resource subsets may be allocated based on different priorities. That is, there may be multiple different priority levels, each associated with a different resource subset for SL-PRS. The subset associated with a (relatively) high-priority SL-PRS may be larger than the subset associated with a (relatively) low-priority SL-PRS.

[0142] As will be appreciated, more than one of the aforementioned alternatives may be used to determine the resource subset allocated for the SL-PRS within the shared resource pool. For example, the UE may select an SL-PRS configuration based on both channel congestion (the first alternative) and the priority of the SL-PRS transmission (the fifth alternative). For example, the UE may select an SL-PRS configuration with more resources than would otherwise be selected based on the channel congestion level based on SL-PRS transmissions having a high priority.

[0143] Once the transmitting UE has selected or been allocated SL-PRS resources in the shared resource pool, the transmitting UE may report these resources to the receiving UE. Figure 5 Since both UEs will be transmitting UEs at some point in time, these UEs may indicate the selected / allocated resources in the PRS request (stage 510) and PRS response (stage 515). Alternatively, one UE (e.g., anchor UE 204-1) may indicate to another UE (e.g., target UE 204-2) within a shared resource pool the resources to be used for SL-PRS transmission.

[0144] As another technique described herein, periodic resources for SL-PRS can be reserved within a shared resource pool. For example, the shared resource pool can be a set of subcarriers in the frequency domain and a set of time slots in the time domain. The set of time slots can be continuous or periodic in the time domain. A subset of resources for SL-PRS can be reserved within each time slot of a periodic set of time slots within the shared resource pool. For example, a resource subset (e.g., one or more symbols) can be reserved in time slot N, time slot 2*N, time slot 3*N, and so on. The reserved resource subset is referred to as a repetition or occasion of the resource subset.

[0145] Periodic resources for SL-PRS can be reserved by a set of UEs (e.g., one or more anchor UEs) or by one or more infrastructure nodes (such as an RSU, base station, or location server) reported by a sidelink UE. UEs participating in a sidelink positioning session can then select one or more opportunities using these periodic SL-PRS resources to transmit SL-PRS. Having periodic SL-PRS resources prevents data-transmitting UEs (using the PSSCH) from using positioning resources (SL-PRS resources).

[0146] Figure 9 An example method 900 of wireless communication in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. In an aspect, the method 900 may be performed by a wireless communication device (eg, any of the sidelink-capable UEs described herein).

[0147] At 910, the wireless communication device participates in a sidelink positioning session with at least one other wireless communication device, such as Figure 5 In one aspect, operation 910 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 320, one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or positioning component 342, any or all of which may be considered means for performing such operation.

[0148] At 920, the wireless communication device transmits one or more SL-PRS resources on a subset of resources of a shared sidelink resource pool during the sidelink positioning session, such as in Figure 5 At stage 525 or stage 530 of the embodiment, the resource subset is allocated for the sidelink positioning session within the shared sidelink resource pool based on one or more criteria. In one aspect, operation 920 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 320, one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or positioning component 342, any or all of which may be considered means for performing such operation.

[0149] As will be appreciated, a technical advantage of method 900 is the ability to dynamically allocate resources for SL-PRS and associated control in a shared sidelink resource pool.

[0150] In the detailed description above, it can be seen that different features are grouped together in each example. This disclosure should not be interpreted as an intention that the example clauses have more features than those explicitly mentioned in each clause. On the contrary, various aspects of the present disclosure may include fewer than all the features of the individual example clauses disclosed. Therefore, the following clauses should be considered to be incorporated into the description accordingly, with each clause itself serving as a separate example. Although each dependent clause may refer to a specific combination with one of the other clauses in the clause, the aspects of the dependent clause are not limited to specific combinations. It should be understood that other example clauses may also include combinations of aspects of the dependent clause with the subject matter of any other dependent clause or independent clause, or combinations of any features with other dependent clauses and independent clauses. The various aspects disclosed herein explicitly include these combinations unless it is explicitly expressed or can be easily inferred that a specific combination is not intended (for example, contradictory aspects, such as defining an element as both an electrical insulator and an electrical conductor). In addition, it is also expected that aspects of a clause may be included in any other independent clause, even if the clause is not directly dependent on the independent clause.

[0151] Specific implementation examples are described in the following numbered clauses:

[0152] Clause 1. A method of wireless communication performed by a wireless communication device, the method comprising: participating in a sidelink positioning session with at least one other wireless communication device; and transmitting one or more sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS) resources on a subset of resources of a shared sidelink resource pool during the sidelink positioning session, wherein the subset of resources is allocated for the sidelink positioning session within the shared sidelink resource pool based on one or more criteria.

[0153] Clause 2. The method of clause 1, wherein the one or more criteria include a congestion level detected at a physical layer or a medium access control layer of the wireless communication device.

[0154] Clause 3. A method according to clause 2, wherein: the wireless communication device is configured with multiple SL-PRS configurations for the shared side link resource pool, each SL-PRS configuration in the SL-PRS configuration is for a different congestion level, and the resource subset is one SL-PRS configuration in the multiple SL-PRS configurations.

[0155] Clause 4. The method of any of clauses 1 to 3, wherein the one or more criteria comprise higher layer signaling indicating the resource subset.

[0156] Clause 5. The method of clause 4, wherein the higher layer signaling comprises radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

[0157] Clause 6. The method of any one of clauses 1 to 5, wherein the one or more criteria include information from a location server.

[0158] Clause 7. The method of clause 6, wherein the information from the location server indicates a preferred quantity of resources for the subset of resources for the sidelink positioning session.

[0159] Clause 8. The method of any one of clauses 1 to 7, wherein the one or more criteria comprise allocation of the subset of resources from a base station based on current user traffic and positioning requirements of the shared sidelink resource pool.

[0160] Clause 9. The method of any one of clauses 1 to 8, wherein the one or more criteria comprises a priority of the one or more SL-PRS resources.

[0161] Clause 10. A method according to clause 9, wherein: the wireless communication device is configured with multiple SL-PRS configurations for the shared side link resource pool, each SL-PRS configuration in the SL-PRS configuration is used for SL-PRS resources of different priority, and the resource subset is one SL-PRS configuration in the multiple SL-PRS configurations.

[0162] Clause 11. The method of any of clauses 1 to 10, further comprising sending an indication of the subset of resources to the at least one other wireless communication device.

[0163] Clause 12. The method of clause 11, wherein the indication is sent via first level sidelink control information (SCI-1).

[0164] Clause 13. A method according to any one of clauses 1 to 12, wherein the resource subset includes: one or more symbols of one or more time slots of the shared side link resource pool, one or more subcarriers of the one or more time slots of the shared side link resource pool, or any combination thereof.

[0165] Clause 14. The method of any one of clauses 1 to 13, wherein the subset of resources comprises at least one occasion of a plurality of periodic repetitions of the subset of resources within the sidelink shared resource pool.

[0166] Clause 15. The method of clause 14, wherein the plurality of periodic repetitions of the subset of resources are reserved by one or more wireless communication devices (eg, one or more sidelink UEs, sidelink infrastructure nodes, base stations, or location servers, etc.).

[0167] Clause 16. A wireless communication device, the wireless communication device comprising: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor, the at least one processor being communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: participate in a sidelink positioning session with at least one other wireless communication device; and during the sidelink positioning session, transmit, via the at least one transceiver, one or more sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS) resources on a subset of resources of a shared sidelink resource pool, wherein the subset of resources is allocated for the sidelink positioning session within the shared sidelink resource pool based on one or more criteria.

[0168] Clause 17. The wireless communication device of Clause 16, wherein the one or more criteria comprise a congestion level detected at a physical layer or a medium access control layer of the wireless communication device.

[0169] Clause 18. A wireless communication device according to clause 17, wherein: the wireless communication device is configured with multiple SL-PRS configurations for the shared side link resource pool, each SL-PRS configuration in the SL-PRS configuration is for a different congestion level, and the resource subset is one SL-PRS configuration in the multiple SL-PRS configurations.

[0170] Clause 19. The wireless communications apparatus of any of clauses 16 to 18, wherein the one or more criteria comprise higher layer signaling indicating the resource subset.

[0171] Clause 20. The wireless communications apparatus of clause 19, wherein the higher layer signaling comprises radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

[0172] Clause 21. The wireless communication device of any of clauses 16 to 20, wherein the one or more criteria comprise information from a location server.

[0173] Clause 22. The wireless communications device of clause 21, wherein the information from the location server indicates a preferred quantity of resources of the subset of resources for the sidelink positioning session.

[0174] Clause 23. The wireless communications device of any of clauses 16 to 22, wherein the one or more criteria comprise allocation of the subset of resources from a base station based on current user traffic and positioning requirements of the shared sidelink resource pool.

[0175] Clause 24. The wireless communications device of any of clauses 16 to 23, wherein the one or more criteria comprise a priority of the one or more SL-PRS resources.

[0176] Clause 25. A wireless communication device according to clause 24, wherein: the wireless communication device is configured with multiple SL-PRS configurations for the shared side link resource pool, each SL-PRS configuration in the SL-PRS configuration is used for SL-PRS resources of different priority, and the resource subset is one SL-PRS configuration in the multiple SL-PRS configurations.

[0177] Clause 26. The wireless communication device of any of clauses 16 to 25, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: send an indication of the subset of resources to the at least one other wireless communication device via the at least one transceiver.

[0178] Clause 27. The wireless communications apparatus of clause 26, wherein the indication is sent via first level sidelink control information (SCI-1).

[0179] Clause 28. A wireless communication device according to any one of clauses 16 to 27, wherein the resource subset includes: one or more symbols of one or more time slots of the shared side link resource pool, one or more subcarriers of the one or more time slots of the shared side link resource pool, or any combination thereof.

[0180] Clause 29. The wireless communications apparatus of any of clauses 16 to 28, wherein the subset of resources comprises at least one occasion of a plurality of periodic repetitions of the subset of resources within the sidelink shared resource pool.

[0181] Clause 30. The wireless communication device of clause 29, wherein the plurality of periodic repetitions of the subset of resources are reserved by one or more wireless communication devices (eg, one or more sidelink UEs, sidelink infrastructure nodes, base stations, or location servers, etc.).

[0182] Clause 31. A wireless communication device comprising: a component for participating in a sidelink positioning session with at least one other wireless communication device; and a component for transmitting one or more sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS) resources on a subset of resources of a shared sidelink resource pool during the sidelink positioning session, wherein the subset of resources is allocated for the sidelink positioning session within the shared sidelink resource pool based on one or more criteria.

[0183] Clause 32. The wireless communication device of clause 31, wherein the one or more criteria include a congestion level detected at a physical layer or a medium access control layer of the wireless communication device.

[0184] Clause 33. A wireless communication device according to clause 32, wherein: the wireless communication device is configured with multiple SL-PRS configurations for the shared side link resource pool, each SL-PRS configuration in the SL-PRS configuration is for a different congestion level, and the resource subset is one SL-PRS configuration in the multiple SL-PRS configurations.

[0185] Clause 34. The wireless communications apparatus of any of clauses 31 to 33, wherein the one or more criteria comprise higher layer signaling indicative of the resource subset.

[0186] Clause 35. The wireless communications apparatus of clause 34, wherein the higher layer signaling comprises radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

[0187] Clause 36. The wireless communication device of any of clauses 31 to 35, wherein the one or more criteria comprise information from a location server.

[0188] Clause 37. The wireless communications device of clause 36, wherein the information from the location server indicates a preferred quantity of resources for the subset of resources for the sidelink positioning session.

[0189] Clause 38. The wireless communications device of any of clauses 31 to 37, wherein the one or more criteria comprise allocation of the subset of resources from a base station based on current user traffic and positioning requirements of the shared sidelink resource pool.

[0190] Clause 39. The wireless communications device of any of clauses 31 to 38, wherein the one or more criteria comprise a priority of the one or more SL-PRS resources.

[0191] Clause 40. A wireless communication device according to clause 39, wherein: the wireless communication device is configured with multiple SL-PRS configurations for the shared side link resource pool, each SL-PRS configuration in the SL-PRS configuration is used for SL-PRS resources of different priority, and the resource subset is one SL-PRS configuration in the multiple SL-PRS configurations.

[0192] Clause 41. The wireless communication device of any of clauses 31 to 40, further comprising means for sending an indication of the subset of resources to the at least one other wireless communication device.

[0193] Clause 42. The wireless communications apparatus of clause 41, wherein the indication is sent via first level sidelink control information (SCI-1).

[0194] Clause 43. A wireless communication device according to any one of clauses 31 to 42, wherein the resource subset includes: one or more symbols of one or more time slots of the shared side link resource pool, one or more subcarriers of the one or more time slots of the shared side link resource pool, or any combination thereof.

[0195] Clause 44. The wireless communications apparatus of any of clauses 31 to 43, wherein the subset of resources comprises at least one occasion of a plurality of periodic repetitions of the subset of resources within the sidelink shared resource pool.

[0196] Clause 45. The wireless communication device of clause 44, wherein the plurality of periodic repetitions of the subset of resources are reserved by one or more wireless communication devices (eg, one or more sidelink UEs, sidelink infrastructure nodes, base stations, or location servers, etc.).

[0197] Clause 46. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a wireless communication device, cause the wireless communication device to: participate in a sidelink positioning session with at least one other wireless communication device; and transmit, during the sidelink positioning session, one or more sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS) resources on a subset of resources of a shared sidelink resource pool, wherein the subset of resources is allocated for the sidelink positioning session within the shared sidelink resource pool based on one or more criteria.

[0198] Clause 47. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of Clause 46, wherein the one or more criteria include a congestion level detected at a physical layer or a medium access control layer of the wireless communication device.

[0199] Clause 48. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to clause 47, wherein: the wireless communication device is configured with multiple SL-PRS configurations for the shared side link resource pool, each SL-PRS configuration in the SL-PRS configuration is for a different congestion level, and the resource subset is one SL-PRS configuration in the multiple SL-PRS configurations.

[0200] Clause 49. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any one of clauses 46 to 48, wherein the one or more criteria comprise higher layer signaling indicating the subset of resources.

[0201] Clause 50. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 49, wherein the higher layer signaling comprises radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

[0202] Clause 51. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any one of clauses 46 to 50, wherein the one or more criteria include information from a location server.

[0203] Clause 52. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 51, wherein the information from the location server indicates a preferred quantity of resources for the subset of resources for the sidelink positioning session.

[0204] Clause 53. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any one of clauses 46 to 52, wherein the one or more criteria comprise allocation of the subset of resources from a base station based on current user traffic and positioning requirements of the shared sidelink resource pool.

[0205] Clause 54. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any one of clauses 46 to 53, wherein the one or more criteria include a priority of the one or more SL-PRS resources.

[0206] Clause 55. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to clause 54, wherein: the wireless communication device is configured with multiple SL-PRS configurations for the shared side link resource pool, each SL-PRS configuration in the SL-PRS configuration is used for SL-PRS resources of a different priority, and the resource subset is one SL-PRS configuration in the multiple SL-PRS configurations.

[0207] Clause 56. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of clauses 46 to 55, wherein the non-transitory computer-readable medium further comprises computer-executable instructions which, when executed by the wireless communication device, cause the wireless communication device to: send an indication of the resource subset to the at least one other wireless communication device.

[0208] Clause 57. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 56, wherein the indication is sent via first level sidelink control information (SCI-1).

[0209] Clause 58. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of clauses 46 to 57, wherein the resource subset comprises: one or more symbols of one or more time slots of the shared side link resource pool, one or more subcarriers of the one or more time slots of the shared side link resource pool, or any combination thereof.

[0210] Clause 59. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any one of clauses 46 to 58, wherein the subset of resources comprises at least one occasion of a plurality of periodic repetitions of the subset of resources within the sidelink shared resource pool.

[0211] Clause 60. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 59, wherein the plurality of periodic repetitions of the subset of resources are reserved by one or more wireless communication devices (e.g., one or more sidelink UEs, sidelink infrastructure nodes, base stations, or location servers, etc.).

[0212] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that information and signals may be represented using any of a variety of different techniques and methods. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referred to throughout the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, light fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

[0213] In addition, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the various illustrative logic blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithmic steps described in conjunction with the various aspects disclosed herein can be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination of the two. In order to clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been generally described above in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends on the specific application and the design constraints imposed on the entire system. Those skilled in the art may implement the described functionality in different ways for each specific application, but such specific implementation decisions should not be interpreted as resulting in a departure from the scope of this disclosure.

[0214] The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in conjunction with the various aspects disclosed herein may be implemented or executed using a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an ASIC, a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic components, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, such as a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, a combination of one or more microprocessors and a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0215] The methods, sequences, and / or algorithms described in conjunction with the various aspects disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. The software module may reside in random access memory (RAM), flash memory, read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), registers, a hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An example storage medium is coupled to the processor such that the processor can read information from and write information to the storage medium. In an alternative embodiment, the storage medium may be integral to the processor. The processor and storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in a user terminal (e.g., a UE). In an alternative embodiment, the processor and storage medium may reside in the user terminal as discrete components.

[0216] In one or more exemplary aspects, the described functions may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or transmitted via a computer-readable medium as one or more instructions or code. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media, including any medium that facilitates the transfer of a computer program from one location to another. A storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage devices, magnetic disk storage devices or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store the desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. Furthermore, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwaves, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwaves are included within the definition of medium. Disk and disc, as used herein, include compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk, and Blu-ray disc. Disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0217] Although the foregoing disclosure illustrates exemplary aspects of the present disclosure, it should be noted that various changes and modifications may be made herein without departing from the scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims. In addition, the functions, steps, and / or actions of the method claims according to the various aspects of the present disclosure described herein do not need to be performed in any particular order. Furthermore, although elements of the present disclosure may be described or claimed in the singular, plural forms are also contemplated unless explicitly stated to be limited to the singular.

Claims

1. A method of wireless communication performed by a wireless communication device, the method comprising: engaging in a sidelink positioning session with at least one other wireless communication device; as well as During the sidelink positioning session, one or more sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS) resources are transmitted on a subset of resources of a shared sidelink resource pool, wherein the subset of resources is allocated for the sidelink positioning session within the shared sidelink resource pool based on one or more criteria. 2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more criteria include a congestion level detected at a physical layer or a medium access control layer of the wireless communication device.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein: The wireless communication device is configured with a plurality of SL-PRS configurations for the shared side link resource pool, Each of the SL-PRS configurations is for a different congestion level, and The resource subset is one SL-PRS configuration among the plurality of SL-PRS configurations. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more criteria include higher layer signaling indicating the resource subset. The method of claim 4 , wherein the higher layer signaling comprises radio resource control (RRC) signaling. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more criteria include information from a location server.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the information from the location server indicates a preferred number of resources of the subset of resources to be used for the sidelink positioning session.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more criteria include allocation of the resource subset from a base station based on current user traffic and positioning requirements of the shared sidelink resource pool.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more criteria include a priority of the one or more SL-PRS resources.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein: The wireless communication device is configured with a plurality of SL-PRS configurations for the shared side link resource pool, Each of the SL-PRS configurations is for SL-PRS resources of a different priority, and The resource subset is one SL-PRS configuration among the plurality of SL-PRS configurations.

11. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising: An indication of the subset of resources is sent to the at least one other wireless communication device.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the indication is sent via first level sidelink control information (SCI-1).

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the subset of resources comprises: one or more symbols of one or more time slots of the shared sidelink resource pool, one or more subcarriers of the one or more time slots of the shared sidelink resource pool, or Any combination of them.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the resource subset comprises at least one occasion in a plurality of periodic repetitions of the resource subset within the sidelink shared resource pool.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the plurality of periodic repetitions of the subset of resources are reserved by one or more wireless communication devices.

16. A wireless communication device, comprising: Memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor configured to: engaging in a sidelink positioning session with at least one other wireless communication device; as well as During the sidelink positioning session, one or more sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS) resources are transmitted via the at least one transceiver on a subset of resources of a shared sidelink resource pool, wherein the subset of resources is allocated for the sidelink positioning session within the shared sidelink resource pool based on one or more criteria.

17. The wireless communication device of claim 16, wherein the one or more criteria include a congestion level detected at a physical layer or a medium access control layer of the wireless communication device.

18. The wireless communication device of claim 17, wherein: The wireless communication device is configured with a plurality of SL-PRS configurations for the shared side link resource pool, Each of the SL-PRS configurations is for a different congestion level, and The resource subset is one SL-PRS configuration among the plurality of SL-PRS configurations.

19. The wireless communication apparatus of claim 16, wherein the one or more criteria comprise higher layer signaling indicating the subset of resources.

20. The wireless communication apparatus of claim 19, wherein the higher layer signaling comprises radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

21. The wireless communication device of claim 16, wherein the one or more criteria include information from a location server.

22. The wireless communication device of claim 21, wherein the information from the location server indicates a preferred quantity of resources of the subset of resources for the sidelink positioning session.

23. The wireless communication device of claim 16, wherein the one or more criteria include allocation of the subset of resources from a base station based on current user traffic and positioning requirements of the shared sidelink resource pool.

24. The wireless communication device of claim 16, wherein the one or more criteria comprise a priority of the one or more SL-PRS resources.

25. The wireless communication device of claim 24, wherein: The wireless communication device is configured with a plurality of SL-PRS configurations for the shared side link resource pool, Each of the SL-PRS configurations is for SL-PRS resources of a different priority, and The resource subset is one SL-PRS configuration among the plurality of SL-PRS configurations.

26. The wireless communication device of claim 16, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: An indication of the subset of resources is sent to the at least one other wireless communication device via the at least one transceiver.

27. The wireless communication device of claim 16, wherein the subset of resources comprises: one or more symbols of one or more time slots of the shared sidelink resource pool, one or more subcarriers of the one or more time slots of the shared sidelink resource pool, or Any combination of them.

28. The wireless communication apparatus of claim 16, wherein the subset of resources comprises at least one occasion in a plurality of periodic repetitions of the subset of resources within the sidelink shared resource pool.

29. A wireless communication device, comprising: means for engaging in a sidelink positioning session with at least one other wireless communication device; and Means for transmitting one or more sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS) resources on a subset of resources of a shared sidelink resource pool during the sidelink positioning session, wherein the subset of resources is allocated within the shared sidelink resource pool for the sidelink positioning session based on one or more criteria.

30. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a wireless communication device, cause the wireless communication device to: engaging in a sidelink positioning session with at least one other wireless communication device; and During the sidelink positioning session, one or more sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS) resources are transmitted on a subset of resources of a shared sidelink resource pool, wherein the subset of resources is allocated for the sidelink positioning session within the shared sidelink resource pool based on one or more criteria.

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