Wireless communication method and device, and non-transitory computer readable medium

Abstract

The invention relates to a wireless communication method and device, and a non-transitory computer readable medium. The method comprises: transmitting, by a wireless communication device, a plurality of reference signals (RS) to a wireless communication node; wherein the wireless communication node determines timing information and power information measured using at least one RS of the plurality of RSs.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of the Chinese patent application with application number "202080102762.6", application date "October 13, 2020", and title "Method and device for reducing the impact of ALOS and NLOS on positioning". Technical Field

[0002] The present disclosure relates generally to wireless communications, including but not limited to systems and methods for reducing the impact of attenuated line-of-sight (ALOS) and non-line-of-sight (NLOS) events on positioning. Background Art

[0003] The Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), a standards organization, is currently standardizing a new radio interface called 5G New Radio (5G NR) and the Next Generation Packet Core Network (NG-CN or NGC). 5G NR will have three main components: the 5G Access Network (5G-AN), the 5G Core Network (5GC), and the User Equipment (UE). To facilitate the implementation of different data services and requirements, the elements of the 5GC (also known as network functions) have been simplified, with some of them being software-based and some being hardware-based so that they can be adjusted as needed. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The example embodiments disclosed herein are intended to solve problems related to one or more problems raised in the prior art and to provide additional features, which will become apparent by reference to the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. According to various embodiments, example systems, methods, devices, and computer program products are disclosed herein. However, it should be understood that these embodiments are presented by way of example and not limitation, and it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art reading this disclosure that various modifications may be made to the disclosed embodiments while remaining within the scope of this disclosure.

[0005] At least one aspect relates to a system, method, apparatus, or computer-readable medium. A wireless communication device may receive multiple reference signals (RSs) from a wireless communication node for measurement, each RS transmitted along a respective transmission link. The wireless communication device may send at least one of the following to the wireless communication node: assistance information or a report of reference signal received power (RSRP) for a subset of the multiple RSs to assist in determining a line-of-sight (LOS) transmission link among the respective transmission links.

[0006] In some embodiments, the wireless communication device may determine the transmission time of each of the corresponding transmission links and send auxiliary information to the wireless communication node, the auxiliary information including timing information about the transmission time of the subset of the corresponding transmission links. In some embodiments, the timing information may include the first transmission time of the first link in the subset of the corresponding transmission link, and the difference between the transmission time of the second link in the subset of the corresponding transmission link and the first transmission time. In some embodiments, the timing information may correspond to the order of the RSRPs of the subsets of multiple RSs in the report. The order may be determined based on the transmission time of the transmission links corresponding to the subsets of multiple RSs. In some embodiments, the timing information may include an index linked to a subset of multiple RSs or the RSRPs of a subset of multiple RSs. The index may be linked based on the transmission time of the transmission link corresponding to the subset of multiple RSs.

[0007] In some embodiments, the wireless communication device may determine a first RSRP among the RSRPs as a reference by determining the first RSRP as: an RSRP having a maximum absolute value among the RSRPs, an RSRP that is first in the order of the RSRPs, or an RSRP associated with an RS having a minimum transmission time among the RSRPs. The wireless communication device may transmit a report to the wireless communication node, the report including a difference between the value of the first RSRP and the value of each of the remaining RSRPs and the value of the first RSRP.

[0008] In some embodiments, a wireless communication device may determine at least one of path timing information, path power, or strength information of at least one transmission link measured using at least one of a plurality of RSs. The wireless communication device may send auxiliary information to a wireless communication node, the auxiliary information including at least one of path timing information, path power, or strength information of at least one transmission link measured using at least one of the plurality of RSs. In some embodiments, the path timing information may include at least one of an arrival time of a path relative to an arrival time of a first detected path of the at least one transmission link. In addition, the path power or strength information may include at least one of power or signal strength of the path relative to a power or signal strength of a first detected path of the at least one transmission link. The arrival time of the path may be close to the arrival time of the first detected path.

[0009] In some embodiments, a wireless communication device may determine coherent bandwidth information of at least one transmission link measured using at least one of a plurality of RSs, and transmit auxiliary information including the coherent bandwidth information to a wireless communication node. In some embodiments, the coherent bandwidth information may include at least one of the coherent bandwidth of the at least one transmission link or the measured quality of the coherent bandwidth. In some embodiments, the coherent bandwidth information may be represented by a numerical value as a multiple of a unit. The unit may include one of a subcarrier spacing (SCS) or a function of the SCS.

[0010] At least one aspect relates to a system, method, apparatus, or computer-readable medium. A wireless communication node may transmit multiple reference signals (RSs) to a wireless communication device, each RS transmitted along a corresponding transmission link, for measurement. The wireless communication node may receive from the wireless communication device at least one of assistance information or a report of reference signal received power (RSRP) for a subset of the multiple RSs to assist in determining a line-of-sight (LOS) transmission link among the respective transmission links.

[0011] In some embodiments, the transmission time of each of the corresponding transmission links can be determined by the wireless communication device. The wireless communication node can receive auxiliary information from the wireless communication device, which auxiliary information includes timing information about the transmission time of the subset of the corresponding transmission links. In some embodiments, the timing information may include the first transmission time of the first link in the subset of the corresponding transmission link, and the difference between the transmission time of the second link in the subset of the corresponding transmission link and the first transmission time. In some embodiments, the timing information may correspond to the order of RSRPs in the subset of multiple RSs in the report. The order can be determined based on the transmission time of the transmission link corresponding to the subset of multiple RSs. In some embodiments, the timing information may include an index linked to a subset of multiple RSs or an index of RSRPs of a subset of multiple RSs. The index can be linked based on the transmission time of the transmission link corresponding to the subset of multiple RSs.

[0012] In some embodiments, the wireless communication device may determine the first RSRP among the RSRPs as a reference by determining the first RSRP as the RSRP having the largest absolute value among the RSRPs, the RSRP that is ranked first in the order of the RSRPs, or the RSRP associated with the RS having the smallest transmission time among the RSRPs. The wireless communication node may receive a report from the wireless communication device, the report including the first RSRP and a difference between the value of each of the remaining RSRPs and the value of the first RSRP.

[0013] In some embodiments, a wireless communication device may determine at least one of path timing information, path power, or strength information of at least one transmission link measured using at least one of a plurality of RSs. A wireless communication node may receive auxiliary information from the wireless communication device, the auxiliary information including at least one of path timing information, path power, or strength information of at least one transmission link measured using at least one of a plurality of RSs. In some embodiments, the path timing information may include at least one of an arrival time of a path relative to an arrival time of a first detected path of one of the at least one transmission links. In addition, the path power or strength information may include at least one of a power or signal strength of the path relative to a power or signal strength of a first detected path of the at least one transmission link. The arrival time of the path may be close to the arrival time of the first detected path.

[0014] In some embodiments, coherent bandwidth information of at least one transmission link measured using at least one of a plurality of RSs may be determined by a wireless communication device. The wireless communication node may receive auxiliary information including the coherent bandwidth information from the wireless communication device. In some embodiments, the coherent bandwidth information may include at least one of the coherent bandwidth of the at least one transmission link or the measured quality of the coherent bandwidth. In some embodiments, the coherent bandwidth information may include a numerical value representing a multiple of a unit. The unit may include a subcarrier spacing (SCS) or a function of the SCS.

[0015] Some embodiments described herein provide solutions for mitigating the impact of ALOS on the localization or positioning accuracy of wireless communication devices. Specifically, these embodiments allow for distinguishing between LOS and ALOS based on measurements obtained using RS. In addition to RSRP, the solution also includes reporting timing information. The wireless communication device may report timing information explicitly or implicitly. For example, the wireless communication device may report the transmission time and RSRP. Alternatively, the wireless communication device may sort the RSRP information according to the value of the corresponding timing information and report the sorted RSRP without reporting the transmission time or timing information. In some embodiments, the wireless communication device may attach a corresponding timing indicator to each RSRP. The time indicator may be obtained or defined based on the corresponding transmission time. The wireless communication device may report a differential RSRP relative to a reference RSRP. The reference RSRP may be the maximum absolute RSRP, the first absolute RSRP, or the absolute RSRP of the RS with the minimum transmission time.

[0016] Some other embodiments described herein provide solutions for NLOS identification based on measurement results obtained using RS, thereby improving the accuracy of positioning of wireless communication devices. The wireless communication device can report surrounding path information to the wireless communication node to help distinguish between LOS and NLOS. The surrounding path information can include path timing information around the first detection path, or amplitude / power information around the first detection path. The wireless communication device can report coherence bandwidth information to the wireless communication node to help distinguish between LOS and NLOS. The coherence bandwidth information can include a bandwidth associated with an autocorrelation of the channel frequency response greater than or equal to 0.5, a bandwidth associated with an autocorrelation of the channel frequency response greater than or equal to 0.9, or the quality of the coherence bandwidth. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] Various example embodiments of the present solution are now described in detail with reference to the following figures or accompanying drawings. The figures are provided for illustrative purposes only and depict only example embodiments of the present solution to facilitate the reader's understanding of the present solution. Therefore, the figures should not be considered limiting of the breadth, scope, or applicability of the present solution. It should be noted that for clarity and ease of illustration, the figures are not necessarily drawn to scale.

[0018] Figure 1 An example cellular communication network according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown, in which the techniques disclosed herein may be implemented;

[0019] Figure 2 A block diagram illustrating an example base station and user equipment according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0020] Figure 3A An exemplary scenario is shown in accordance with some disclosed embodiments, in which measurements of reference signals (RS) associated with non-line-of-sight (NLOS) communication links may be used for positioning of wireless communication devices;

[0021] Figure 3B Another example wireless communication scenario according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown, in which measurement results of LOS and NLOS paths of a reference signal (RS) can be used for positioning of a wireless communication device; and

[0022] Figure 4 is a flow chart illustrating a method of facilitating or assisting in determining a line-of-sight (LOS) transmission link according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] Various example embodiments of the present solution are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the present solution. As will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art, after reading this disclosure, various changes or modifications may be made to the examples described herein without departing from the scope of the present solution. Therefore, the present solution is not limited to the example embodiments and applications described and illustrated herein. In addition, the specific order or hierarchy of steps in the methods disclosed herein are merely example methods. Based on design preferences, the specific order or hierarchy of steps of the disclosed methods or processes may be rearranged while remaining within the scope of the present solution. Therefore, one of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the methods and techniques disclosed herein present various steps or actions in an example order, and that the present solution is not limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented, unless expressly stated otherwise.

[0024] 1. Mobile Communication Technology and Environment

[0025] Figure 1An example wireless communication network and / or system 100 is shown in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure, in which the techniques disclosed herein may be implemented. In the following discussion, the wireless communication network 100 may be any wireless network, such as a cellular network or a narrowband Internet of things (NB-IoT) network, and is referred to herein as "network 100." Such an example network 100 includes a base station 102 (hereinafter referred to as "BS 102"; also referred to as a wireless communication node) and a user equipment 104 (hereinafter referred to as "UE 104"; also referred to as a wireless communication device), which may communicate with each other via a communication link 110 (e.g., a wireless communication channel), and a cluster of cells 126, 130, 132, 134, 136, 138, and 140 covering a geographic area 101. In Figure 1 1 , BS 102 and UE 104 are contained within the respective geographic boundaries of cell 126. Each of the other cells 130, 132, 134, 136, 138, and 140 may include at least one base station operating on its allocated bandwidth to provide adequate wireless coverage to its intended users.

[0026] For example, BS 102 can operate on the allocated channel transmission bandwidth to provide sufficient coverage to UE 104. BS 102 and UE 104 can communicate via downlink radio frames 118 and uplink radio frames 124, respectively. Each radio frame 118 / 124 can be further divided into subframes 120 / 127, which can include data symbols 122 / 128. In the present disclosure, BS 102 and UE 104 are described herein as non-limiting examples of "communication nodes," which can generally practice the methods disclosed herein. According to various embodiments of the present solution, such communication nodes can perform wireless and / or wired communications.

[0027] Figure 2 A block diagram of an example wireless communication system 200 for transmitting and receiving wireless communication signals (e.g., OFDM / OFDMA signals) according to some embodiments of the present solution is shown. The system 200 may include components and elements configured to support known or conventional operating features that need not be described in detail herein. In one illustrative embodiment, the system 200 may be used in applications such as Figure 1 Data symbols are communicated (eg, sent and received) in the wireless communication environment 100 of the wireless communication environment, as described above.

[0028] System 200 generally includes a base station 202 (hereinafter referred to as "BS 202") and a user equipment 204 (hereinafter referred to as "UE 204"). BS 202 includes a BS (base station) transceiver module 210, a BS antenna 212, a BS processor module 214, a BS memory module 216, and a network communication module 218, each of which is coupled to and interconnected with each other via a data communication bus 220 as needed. UE 204 includes a UE (user equipment) transceiver module 230, a UE antenna 232, a UE memory module 234, and a UE processor module 236, each of which is coupled to and interconnected with each other via a data communication bus 240 as needed. BS 202 communicates with UE 204 via a communication channel 250, which can be any wireless channel or other medium suitable for data transmission as described herein.

[0029] As will be understood by those skilled in the art, the system 200 may also include Figure 2 . It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the various illustrative blocks, modules, circuits, and processing logic described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as hardware, computer-readable software, firmware, or any actual combination thereof. In order to clearly illustrate this interchangeability and compatibility of hardware, firmware, and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps are typically described according to their functions. Whether this function is implemented as hardware, firmware, or software may depend on specific applications and the design constraints imposed on the entire system. Personnel familiar with the concepts described herein may implement this function in a suitable manner for each specific application, but this implementation decision should not be interpreted as limiting the scope of this disclosure.

[0030] According to some embodiments, the UE transceiver 230 may be referred to herein as an "uplink" transceiver 230 and includes a radio frequency (RF) transmitter and an RF receiver, each including circuitry coupled to an antenna 232. A duplex switch (not shown) may alternately couple the uplink transmitter or receiver to the uplink antenna in a time-duplexed manner. Similarly, according to some embodiments, the BS transceiver 210 may be referred to herein as a "downlink" transceiver 210 and includes an RF transmitter and an RF receiver, each including circuitry coupled to an antenna 212. The downlink duplex switch may alternately couple the downlink transmitter or receiver to the downlink antenna 212 in a time-duplexed manner. The operation of the two transceiver modules 210 and 230 may be coordinated in time such that while the downlink transmitter is coupled to the downlink antenna 212, the uplink receiver circuitry is coupled to the uplink antenna 232 for receiving transmissions on the wireless transmission link 250. Conversely, the operation of the two transceivers 210 and 230 can be coordinated in time such that while the uplink transmitter is coupled to the uplink antenna 232, the downlink receiver is coupled to the downlink antenna 212 for receiving transmissions on the wireless transmission link 250. In some embodiments, there is tight time synchronization with minimal guard times between changes in duplex direction.

[0031] The UE transceiver 230 and the base station transceiver 210 are configured to communicate via a wireless data communication link 250 and, in conjunction with an appropriately configured RF antenna arrangement 212 / 232, are capable of supporting specific wireless communication protocols and modulation schemes. In some illustrative embodiments, the UE transceiver 210 and the base station transceiver 210 are configured to support industry standards such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) and emerging 5G standards. However, it should be understood that the present disclosure is not necessarily limited to application to specific standards and related protocols. Instead, the UE transceiver 230 and the base station transceiver 210 can be configured to support alternative or additional wireless data communication protocols, including future standards or variants thereof.

[0032] According to various embodiments, for example, BS 202 may be an evolved node B (eNB), a serving eNB, a target eNB, a femto station, or a pico station. In some embodiments, UE 204 may be embodied as various types of user equipment, such as a mobile phone, a smartphone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a tablet, a laptop, a wearable computing device, or the like. Processor modules 214 and 236 may be implemented or realized using a general-purpose processor, content-addressable memory, a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array, any suitable programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof, designed to perform the functions described herein. In this manner, the processor may be implemented as a microprocessor, a controller, a microcontroller, a state machine, or the like. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, such as a combination of a digital signal processor and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors combined with a digital signal processor core, or any other such configuration.

[0033] Furthermore, the steps of the methods or algorithms described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein may be directly embodied as hardware, firmware, or software modules executed by processor modules 214 and 236, respectively, or any practical combination thereof. Memory modules 216 and 234 may be implemented as RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, a hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. In this regard, memory modules 216 and 234 may be coupled to processor modules 210 and 230, respectively, such that processor modules 210 and 230 can read information from and write information to memory modules 216 and 234, respectively. Memory modules 216 and 234 may also be integrated into their respective processor modules 210 and 230. In some embodiments, memory modules 216 and 234 may each include a cache memory for storing temporary variables or other intermediate information during the execution of instructions to be executed by processor modules 210 and 230, respectively. Memory modules 216 and 234 may also each include non-volatile memory for storing instructions to be executed by processor modules 210 and 230, respectively.

[0034] The network communication module 218 generally represents the hardware, software, firmware, processing logic, and / or other components of the base station 202 that enable bidirectional communication between the base station transceiver 210 and other network components and communication nodes configured to communicate with the base station 202. For example, the network communication module 218 can be configured to support Internet or WiMAX traffic. In a typical deployment, but not limited to, the network communication module 218 provides an 802.3 Ethernet interface so that the base station transceiver 210 can communicate with a conventional Ethernet-based computer network. In this manner, the network communication module 218 can include a physical interface for connecting to a computer network (e.g., a Mobile Switching Center (MSC)). As used herein with respect to a specified operation or function, the terms "configured for," "configured to," and variations thereof refer to a device, component, circuit, structure, machine, signal, etc. that is physically constructed, programmed, formatted, and / or arranged to perform the specified operation or function.

[0035] The Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model (referred to herein as the "OSI model") is a conceptual and logical arrangement that defines network communications used by systems (e.g., wireless communication devices, wireless communication nodes) that are open to interconnection and communication with other systems. The model is divided into seven subcomponents or layers, each of which represents a conceptual set of services provided to the layers above and below it. The OSI model also defines logical networks and effectively describes computer data packet delivery through the use of different layer protocols. The OSI model may also be referred to as the seven-layer OSI model or seven-layer model. In some embodiments, layer 1 may be the physical layer. In some embodiments, layer 2 may be the media access control (MAC) layer. In some embodiments, layer 3 may be the radio link control (RLC) layer. In some embodiments, layer 4 may be the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer. In some embodiments, layer 5 may be the radio resource control (RRC) layer. In some embodiments, layer 6 may be the non-access stratum (NAS) layer or the Internet Protocol (IP) layer, and layer 7 may be other layers.

[0036] 2. System and method for improving positioning accuracy

[0037] The ability to locate wireless communication devices (e.g., user equipment (UE)) is a core feature of wireless communication networks. The availability and accuracy of positioning of wireless communication devices is crucial for a variety of reasons. First, security legislation in many countries requires the positioning of wireless communication devices initiating emergency calls. Furthermore, location-based services supported by wireless communication devices rely on the positioning of wireless communication devices, even when Global Positioning System (GPS) signals may be unavailable. Furthermore, positioning information allows network operators to efficiently allocate and manage their communication resources and improve the quality of their communication services.

[0038] In positioning systems, positioning techniques based on angle and timing (or distance) measurements typically assume a Loss of Sight (LOS) communication link, meaning that the transmission link has a Loss of Sight (LOS) path. However, wireless communications are characterized by multipath signal propagation. Wireless signals often reflect from various obstacles / reflectors without a LOS path, resulting in non-line-of-sight (NLOS) communication links. Furthermore, other obstacles along the signal propagation path may attenuate wireless signal power without changing the direction of the signal propagation path, thereby resulting in an Attenuated Line-of-Sight (ALOS) communication link. Due to these phenomena, wireless positioning systems may use signal measurements associated with NLOS communication links to locate wireless communication devices, which may significantly or severely affect or degrade the accuracy of wireless communication device positioning. Specifically, signal measurements associated with NLOS communication links do not correspond to actual distances and / or actual angles. This technical problem requires a reliable solution or technique to identify or distinguish between ALOS and NLOS communication links. Reliably identifying or distinguishing between ALOS and NLOS communication links allows mitigation or elimination of accuracy degradation in the employed techniques.

[0039] A wireless communication network adopts and / or configures many reference signals (RS) for measurement purposes. Different RSs typically correspond to different transmission beams or signals. Specifically, a wireless communication node (e.g., a base station, an evolved node B (eNB), or a next generation node B (gNB)) may send or broadcast a reference wireless signal. A wireless communication device, such as a UE, may receive the RS and measure corresponding signal parameters, such as reference signal received power (RSRP). The wireless communication device may then send / report the measured signal parameters or RSRP to the wireless communication network, and the wireless communication network may utilize the measured values ​​or measured RS parameters to locate the wireless communication device. With respect to using RSRP for positioning of wireless communication devices, the wireless communication network may typically interpret or assume the communication link associated with (or corresponding to) the maximum RSRP as a LOS communication link. However, there are some situations / scenarios where the maximum RSRP may be measured from or correspond to a NLOS communication link.

[0040] refer to Figure 3A , illustrates an example wireless communication scenario according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, in which measurement results of reference signals (RSs) associated with line-of-sight (LOS) and non-line-of-sight (NLOS) communication links can be used for positioning of a wireless communication device. A base station or wireless communication node 302 can transmit / broadcast multiple RSs, such as RS1, RS2, and RS3. A wireless communication device, such as a UE 304, can receive the RSs and measure one or more corresponding signal parameters, such as RSRP, for each received RS. The wireless communication device 304 can then report / transmit / feedback the measured RS signal parameters to the wireless communication node 302 for use by the wireless communication network in determining / calculating / calculating the location / position of the wireless communication device 304. Reference signal RS1 corresponds to or propagates along a LOS transmission / communication link 306, while reference signal RS2 corresponds to or propagates along a NLOS transmission / communication link 308. Furthermore, reference signal RS3 corresponds to or propagates along a NLOS transmission / communication link 310. Specifically, reference signals RS2 and RS3 reflect / bounce off reflective objects / obstacles / medium 312 and change direction before reaching wireless communication device 304. However, reference signal RS1 propagates along a straight / direct path between wireless communication node 302 and wireless communication device 304.

[0041] Wireless communication device 304 can measure / determine RSRP values ​​RSRP1, RSRP2, and RSRP3 for reference signals RS1, RS2, and RS3. As reference signal RS1 propagates along a straight path between wireless communication node 302 and wireless communication device 304, it propagates through (or across) obstructing obstacles / mediums / objects 314 along its path. Due to the difference in electromagnetic properties between obstacle / medium / object 314 and air, obstacle / medium / object 314 attenuates the power or amplitude of reference signal RS1. Therefore, transmission / communication link 306 can be characterized / defined as ALOS. Depending on the electromagnetic properties of obstructing obstacle / medium / object 314, the received power of reference signal RS1 may be significantly attenuated, such that even if reference signal RS1 corresponds to LOS transmission / communication link 306 and reference signal RS2 corresponds to NLOS transmission / communication link 308, the RSRP1 value may be less than the RSRP2 value. In this case, the wireless communication network may use RSRP2 (or a signal parameter measured using the reference signal RS2) to determine the location / position of the wireless communication device 304, resulting in reduced positioning performance or accuracy.

[0042] Using signal parameters associated with or corresponding to an NLOS communication link, such as the NLOS communication link 308, may result in incorrect / inaccurate positioning of the wireless communication device 304. For example, the measured signal travel time / transmission time does not indicate the spatial distance between the wireless communication node 302 and the wireless communication device 304, but is proportional to the length of the NLOS communication link 308. Therefore, using the signal measurements or signal parameters measured by the RS associated with or corresponding to the NLOS communication link may result in incorrect / erroneous / inaccurate positioning of the wireless communication device 304. When determining, calculating, or computing the location / position of the wireless communication device 304, Figure 3A This phenomenon / scenario shown in requires some mechanism, technology or solution to remove the NLOS communication link or distinguish the ALOS communication link from the NLOS communication link.

[0043] refer to Figure 3B, illustrates another example wireless communication scenario according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, in which measurements of LOS and NLOS paths of a reference signal (RS) can be used for positioning of a wireless communication device. Wireless communication node 302 can transmit / broadcast a single RS at a given moment. The communication environment may include a first reflector 316 (also referred to herein as reflector 0) and a second reflector 318 (also referred to herein as reflector 1). The RS can propagate along multiple paths between wireless communication node 302 and wireless communication device 304. For example, the RS can propagate along three different paths 320, 322, and 323 between wireless communication node 302 and wireless communication device 304. Path 320 can be an NLOS path, in which the RS reflects / bounces off reflector 316 (reflector 0) before reaching wireless communication device 304. Path 322 can be an LOS path, in which the RS propagates along a straight path between wireless communication node 302 and wireless communication device 304. Path 324 can be an NLOS path, in which the RS reflects / bounces off reflector 318 (reflector 1) before reaching wireless communication device 304.

[0044] The wireless communication device 304 may receive three different versions of the RS corresponding to wireless paths 320, 322, and 324, respectively. The three received RS versions may have different powers or amplitudes, different time delays, different distortions, or a combination thereof. The wireless communication device 304 may measure / determine a corresponding RSRP value for each of the wireless paths 320, 322, and 324 or the corresponding received version of the RS. The received signal version of the RS corresponding to the LOS path 322 may suffer some attenuation, for example, due to a similar Figure 3A The RS1 in the LOS path 322 is blocked by the RS1 in the LOS path 314, thereby causing the corresponding RSRP value to be less than the RSRP value of the NLOS path 320 or the NLOS path 324. The received signal version of the RS corresponding to the LOS path 322 may not exist, so the first detected path of the communication link may not be the LOS path, but similar to Figure 3A The wireless communication device 304 may measure / determine / calculate other parameters / metrics of the received versions of the RSs associated with the wireless paths 320, 322, and 324, for example, as described below with respect to Figure 4 Further discussed in detail. Hereinafter, various embodiments are discussed, which include / involve sending / reporting / feedback of additional / supplementary signal measurement results (e.g., assistance information) by a wireless communication device based on channel characteristics to help identify LOS or NLOS communication links. Although Figure 3A and 3BThree different communication links / paths are shown, but in general, one or more RSs may propagate along any number of communication links / paths.Furthermore, the communication environment may include any number of reflectors and / or any number of obstructions.

[0045] Now refer to Figure 4 , describes a flow chart illustrating a method 400 for facilitating or assisting in identifying LOS transmission / communication links according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Briefly, the method 400 may include receiving / sending a plurality of reference signals (RSs), each of which is transmitted along a corresponding transmission / communication link for use in making measurements (step 402). The method 400 may include sending / receiving at least one of assistance information or a report of RSRP for a subset of the plurality of RSs based on the measurement results to assist in determining the LOS transmission / communication link in the corresponding transmission / communication link (step 404). The method 400 reflects a process or steps performed by the wireless communication node 302 and the wireless communication device 304.

[0046] refer to Figure 3A 、 Figure 3B and Figure 4 , the method 400 may include the wireless communication node 302 sending / broadcasting a plurality of RSs, and the wireless communication device 304 receiving the plurality of RSs for use in making measurements (step 402). Each RS may be transmitted or propagated along a corresponding transmission / communication link. For example, and as Figure 3A As shown, reference signal RS1 may propagate along LOS transmission / communication link 306, while reference signal RS2 may propagate along NLOS transmission / communication link 308. Figure 3B As discussed in , the wireless communication node 302 may transmit a single RS at a given moment that propagates along a transmission / communication link having multiple paths, and the wireless communication device 304 may receive multiple versions of the RS, each version of the RS being associated with a corresponding path. The wireless communication node 302 may transmit / broadcast the RS periodically or periodically.

[0047] RS can be sent / broadcast for use by the wireless communication device 304 to measure signal parameters / measurements / characteristics. In some embodiments, the wireless communication device 304 can measure the corresponding RSRP for each received RS or each received version of a single RS (associated with the corresponding communication link / path). For example, the wireless communication device 304 can measure or determine the received powers RSRP1, RSRP2, and RSRP3 of the reference signals RS1, RS2, and RS3, respectively. Assuming that all RSs have the same transmission power when sent / broadcasted by the wireless communication node 302, the change in RSRP can indicate / reflect the characteristics of the corresponding transmission / communication link. For example, a relatively low RSRP can indicate / reflect a longer transmission / communication link (or propagation path) and / or attenuation due to an obstructing obstacle / medium / object 314.

[0048] In some embodiments, in addition to or as an alternative to RSRP, the wireless communication device 304 may measure or determine one or more other signal parameters or measurements of the received RS (or received version of a single RS). The one or more other signal parameters or measurements may include timing parameters / information, surrounding path parameters / information, coherence bandwidth parameters / information, or a combination thereof. As discussed in further detail below, the wireless communication device 304 may measure or determine one or more other signal parameters or measurements to identify an RS (or received version of a single RS) corresponding to a LOS transmission / communication link among multiple RSs received by the wireless communication device 304.

[0049] Method 400 may include the wireless communication device 304 transmitting at least one of assistance information or a report regarding RSRP for a subset of multiple RSs (or multiple received versions of a single RS) based on the measurement values, and the wireless communication node 302 receiving at least one of the assistance information or the report regarding RSRP for a subset of the multiple RSs (or multiple received versions of a single RS) based on the measurement values ​​to assist in determining a Loss of Service (LOS) transmission / communication link in a corresponding transmission / communication link (step 404). The assistance information and the report may be transmitted in one or more messages. For example, the assistance information may be transmitted in one or more messages, and the report may be transmitted in one or more other messages (e.g., simultaneously or according to a sequence (or configuration of the wireless communication device 304)). When determining or measuring signal parameters of various RSs, the wireless communication device 304 may generate the assistance information and / or the report regarding RSRP using the measured / determined signal parameters. For example, the report regarding RSRP may include measured / determined RSRP values ​​for a subset (e.g., one or more or all) of the received RSs. The wireless communication device 304 may select the subset of RSs based on or using the RSRP values. For example, the wireless communication device 304 may select a subset of RSs having the N largest RSRP values, where N is an integer. In some embodiments, the wireless communication device 304 may select the subset of RSs as the N first received RSs. The wireless communication device 304 may select the subset of RSs using or based on other measured signal parameters. In some embodiments, the subset of RSs may include all received RSs.

[0050] The assistance information may include measured or determined timing parameters / information, surrounding path parameters / information, coherence bandwidth parameters / information, other measured signal parameters to assist in identifying the LOS transmission / communication link, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the assistance information may include information derived from some measured signal parameters. For example, instead of timing information, the assistance information may include index or ranking information reflecting the order of RSs defined based on the timing information.

[0051] In some embodiments, the wireless communication device 304 may measure / determine, for each received RS (or each received version of a single RS), a corresponding transmission time (or travel time, such as a signal propagation time along a transmission path), which represents the duration it takes for the RS to travel / propagate from the wireless communication node 302 to the wireless communication device 304. The wireless communication device 304 may detect the arrival time (or signal reception time) of each RS (or each received version of a single RS) and determine or calculate the corresponding transmission time (or travel time) as the difference between the arrival time and the time at which the wireless communication node 302 transmits the RS. The wireless communication node 302 may communicate the time at which the RS was transmitted to the wireless communication device 304. In some embodiments, the wireless communication node 302 may transmit / broadcast the RS in a predefined time slot or at a predefined time known to the wireless communication device 304.

[0052] consider Figure 3A and Figure 3B In the example scenario shown, the wireless communication device 304 can measure / determine three signal transmission / travel times t1, t2, and t3 for reference signals RS1, RS2, and RS3, respectively. The wireless communication device can measure / determine received power values ​​RSRP1, RSRP2, and RSRP3 for reference signals RS1, RS2, and RS3 (or RS versions associated with communication links / paths 320, 322, and 324) and signal transmission / travel times t1, t2, and t3. The wireless communication device 304 can send / broadcast assistance information, and the wireless communication node 302 can receive the assistance information, which includes timing information about the transmission times of a subset of RSs (or a subset of transmissions / communication links). The wireless communication device 304 can also send / broadcast reports about RSRP, and the wireless communication node 302 can receive reports about RSRP, which include information about the measured RSRP values ​​for the subset of RSs (or a subset of transmissions / communication links).

[0053] In some embodiments, the timing information reported in the assistance information may include a first transmission / travel time of a first transmission / communication link of a subset of RSs (or a corresponding subset of transmission / communication links), and one or more differences between the transmission / travel time of other transmission / communication links of the subset of RSs (or a corresponding subset of transmission / communication links) and the first transmission / travel time. For example, the wireless communication device 304 may report / send time values ​​t1, t2, t3, t4, t5, t6, t7, t8, t9, t10, t11, t12, t13, t14, t15, t16, t17, t18, t19, t20, t21 21 =t2-t1 and t 31 =t3-t1, and the wireless communication node 302 may receive the time values ​​t1, t 21 =t2-t1 and t 31 = t3 - t1. The wireless communication device 304 may report / send the time values ​​t1, t21 and t 31 and corresponding RSRP values (such as RSRP1, RSRP2, and RSRP3), and the wireless communication node 302 can receive time values t1, t 21 and t 31 and corresponding RSRP values (such as RSRP1, RSRP2, and RSRP3). In some embodiments, the wireless communication device 304 can report / send transmission / travel time values t1, t2, and t3 and corresponding RSRP values (such as RSRP1, RSRP2, and RSRP3), and the wireless communication node 302 can receive the transmission / travel time values t1, t2, and t3 and corresponding RSRP values (such as RSRP1, RSRP2, and RSRP3).

[0054] In some embodiments, the timing information reported / sent by the wireless communication device 304 can be implicit timing information. For example, the timing information can correspond to or can be reflected in the order of the RSRP of the received RS subset arranged (e.g., presented / identified / sorted / indexed) in the report. The wireless communication device 304 can determine the order based on the transmission time / travel time of the transmission / communication link corresponding to the subset of the received RS. In other words, instead of explicitly reporting / sending timing parameters / information, the wireless communication device 304 can arrange the RSRP in the report according to the order defined based on the transmission time / travel time of the transmission / communication link corresponding to the subset of the received RS. In some embodiments, the first RSRP value in the report can correspond to the RS (or the corresponding transmission / communication link) with the minimum transmission time / travel time, the second RSRP value in the report can correspond to the RS (or the corresponding transmission / communication link) with the second smallest transmission time / travel time, and so on. For example, if t1 < t2 < t3, the wireless communication device 304 can report RSRP1 as the RSRP value with the highest priority or the first RSRP in the order / sequence of RSRP in the report. The received power value RSRP2 can be reported as having the second highest priority or as the second value in the order / sequence of RSRP in the report. The wireless communication device 304 can report the RSRP3 value as having the third highest priority or as the third value in the order / sequence of RSRP in the report.

[0055] In some embodiments, the time information reported by the wireless communication device 304, e.g., in the assistance information, may include / contain an index linked to a subset of the received RSs, the RSRP of the subset of the received RSs, or the corresponding transmission / communication link. The wireless communication device 304 may link / attach / assign an index according to the transmission time / travel time of the transmission / communication link corresponding to a subset of multiple RSs. For example, the wireless communication device 304 may link / attach / assign an index to the RSRP (or the corresponding RS) in ascending order, or otherwise represent the order of the corresponding transmission / travel time. For example, if t1 < t2 < t3, the wireless communication device 304 may link / attach / assign the indices 0, 1, and 2 to the RSRP1, RSRP2, and RSRP3 (or RS1, RS2, and RS3), respectively.

[0056] In some embodiments, the wireless communication device 304 may determine the first RSRP in the RSRP as a reference (for performing differential reporting of RSRP values). The wireless communication device 304 may determine the first RSRP as the RSRP having the largest absolute value among the measured RSRPs, the RSRP being the first in the order of the measured RSRPs, or the RSRP associated with the RS having the smallest transmission time / travel time among the measured RSs. The wireless communication device 304 may generate a report on the RSRP to include the difference (e.g., the differential value / relative value / difference of the RSRP) of each value of the first RSRP and the remaining RSRPs relative to the value of the first RSRP. That is, the report may include the values RSRP1, RSRP1 - RSRP2, and RSRP1 - RSRP3. The wireless communication device 304 may send / report the report, and the wireless communication node 302 may receive the report, which includes the first RSRP and the remaining RSRP differences. The differential reporting of the RSRP, e.g., reporting the RSRP difference instead of the actual RSRP value, may reduce the amount of data that the wireless communication device 304 has to report / send to the wireless communication node 302.

[0057] In some embodiments, the wireless communication device 304 can measure, determine, or calculate surrounding path information to help identify an LOS transmission / communication link (or path). In most cases / scenarios, the magnitude / amplitude of the LOS path is greater than the magnitude / amplitude of the remaining paths of the LOS transmission / communication link (e.g., originating from the same RS) because a shorter propagation distance generally results in less path loss. Furthermore, the first detected path of an NLOS transmission / communication link often appears alongside surrounding paths with smaller magnitudes / amplitudes in the power delay profile. Surrounding paths are caused by or generated by diffusely scattered signals preceding and following the first detected path. Surrounding paths (e.g., from the same RS) are relatively close to or proximate to the first detected path. Therefore, the absolute magnitude gradient around the detected path of the LOS transmission / communication link is typically greater than the absolute magnitude gradient around the first detected path of the NLOS transmission / communication link. The wireless communication device 304 can determine / calculate the absolute magnitude gradient as the absolute value of the magnitude difference between the detected path (e.g., the detected path of the LOS link or the first detected path of the NLOS link) and the next (or closest) detected path.

[0058] The wireless communication device 304 may determine at least one of path timing information or path power / amplitude / strength information for at least one transmission / communication link measured using at least one of the plurality of RSs. For example, the wireless communication device 304 may determine / calculate path timing information around a first detected path and / or amplitude / power information around the first detected path. In some embodiments, the wireless communication device 304 may determine / calculate the path timing information as the relative / differential arrival / travel time of the closest path or paths proximate to the first detected path (e.g., the arrival / travel time difference relative to the arrival / travel time of the first detected path). For example, if the first detected path has a transmission / travel time of t1 and the next closest path has a transmission / travel time of t2, the wireless communication device 304 may determine / calculate the path timing information as |t1–t2|. The wireless communication device 304 may determine / calculate the path amplitude / power information as the relative amplitude / power of the closest path or paths proximate to the first detected path (e.g., the amplitude / power difference relative to the amplitude / power of the first detected path). For example, if the first detected path has a received power of RSRP1 and the next closest path has a received power of RSRP2, the wireless communication device 304 may determine / calculate the path power information as |RSRP1−RSRP2|. If relative amplitudes are used, the wireless communication device 304 may determine / calculate the path amplitude information as the absolute value of the amplitude difference, rather than the RSRP difference.

[0059] In some embodiments, the wireless communication device 304 may use some other metric / measurement of relative signal strength (e.g., in addition to relative power or relative amplitude). For example, a first detected path may have a transmission / travel time equal to τ0 and a corresponding channel coefficient h(τ0), and the next closest path (or a path close to the first detected path) may have a transmission / travel time equal to τ1 and a corresponding channel coefficient h(τ1). The wireless communication device 304 may determine / calculate the path signal strength information as a normalized amplitude difference or determined / calculated as the normalized power difference

[0060] The wireless communication device 304 may transmit assistance information, and the wireless communication node 302 may receive the assistance information, the assistance information including at least one of path timing information or path power / amplitude / signal strength information of at least one transmission / communication link measured using at least one of the plurality of RSs. For example, the assistance information may include arrival / travel time difference |τ0-τ1|, received power difference |RSRP1-RSRP2|, amplitude difference |h(τ0)-h(τ1)|, normalized amplitude difference Normalized power difference or a combination thereof.

[0061] Upon receiving path timing information or path power / amplitude / signal strength information, the wireless communication node 302 or some other network element may use a corresponding threshold to determine whether the transmission / communication link is an LOS link or an NLOS link. For example, if the path timing information or path power / amplitude / signal strength information (e.g., a change or difference in amplitude / power) is greater than (or meets / satisfies, or is greater than or equal to) a threshold, the wireless communication node 302 may determine that the corresponding link is an LOS link with a high probability / likelihood. However, if the path timing information or path power / amplitude / signal strength information (e.g., a change or difference in amplitude / power) is less than (or is less than or equal to, or does not meet / do not meet) a threshold, the wireless communication node 302 may determine that the corresponding link is an NLOS link.

[0062] In some embodiments, the wireless communication device 304 may determine coherence bandwidth information of at least one transmission link measured using at least one of a plurality of RSs. Coherence bandwidth is a statistical measure of the frequency range over which a communication link or channel can be considered flat, and is a metric used to define the impact of frequency selective fading. A small coherence bandwidth results in strong frequency selective fading. In some embodiments, the coherence bandwidth may be defined as the bandwidth over which the corresponding autocorrelation of the channel frequency response is greater than or equal to 0.5 or 0.9. Generally, the coherence bandwidth may be defined as the bandwidth over which the corresponding autocorrelation of the channel frequency response is greater than or equal to a predefined number or value. The coherence bandwidth is inversely proportional to the delay spread, which represents / reflects the difference between the arrival time of the first / earliest signal path and the arrival time of the last signal path. Since the delay spread of a LOS link is generally smaller than that of an NLOS link, the coherence bandwidth of a LOS link is generally larger than that of an NLOS link.

[0063] The coherence bandwidth information may include the coherence bandwidth of at least one transmission / communication link, the measured quality of the coherence bandwidth, or a combination of the two. The wireless communication device 304 may determine / calculate multiple measurements of the coherence bandwidth. Thus, the wireless communication device 304 may determine / calculate the measured quality of the coherence bandwidth as an average, standard deviation, variance, or confidence level of multiple measurements of the coherence bandwidth.

[0064] The wireless communication device 304 may report / send assistance information including coherent bandwidth information, and the wireless communication node 302 may receive the assistance information including coherent bandwidth information. The wireless communication node 302 may use the coherent bandwidth information to identify LOS or NLOS links and distinguish LOS links from NLOS links. For example, since the coherent bandwidth of a LOS link is generally greater than the coherent bandwidth of an NLOS link, the wireless communication node 302 may use a threshold to determine whether the corresponding transmission / communication link is a LOS link or an NLOS link. If it is determined that the received coherent bandwidth is greater than (or meets / satisfies, or is greater than or equal to) the threshold, the wireless communication node 302 may determine that the transmission / communication link is a LOS link; otherwise, it may determine that the transmission / communication link is a NLOS link. In some embodiments, the wireless communication device 304 may use the measured quality of the coherent bandwidth to adjust the coherent bandwidth or further verify the coherent bandwidth.

[0065] In some embodiments, the wireless communication device 304 may append / include coherent bandwidth information in each measurement report to assist in LOS / NLOS identification, or may send the coherent bandwidth information separately from one or more measurement reports. In some embodiments, the wireless communication device 304 may quantize the coherent bandwidth as an integer, resulting in a granularity of the coherent bandwidth being an integer multiple of a particular unit. In other words, the coherent bandwidth may include or may be a numerical value representing a multiple of a unit. The unit (or granularity) may include or be equal to a subcarrier spacing (SCS) representing the subcarrier spacing of the received signal, a function of the SCS, or both. In some embodiments, a function of the SCS may be defined as 2 k ×SCS, where k is an integer.

[0066] In some embodiments, the wireless communication device 304 may also report at least one threshold value, which is used by the wireless communication device 304 to calculate the coherence bandwidth. For example, the threshold value means that the coherence bandwidth is determined by assuming that the autocorrelation of the channel frequency response is greater than or equal to the threshold value. In some embodiments, the wireless communication device 304 may report or be required to report multiple coherence bandwidths for a transmission / communication link. For example, different coherence bandwidths may be determined based on different threshold values, where the threshold value means that the coherence bandwidth is determined by assuming that the autocorrelation of the channel frequency response is greater than or equal to the threshold value.

[0067] Although the above description describes an embodiment in which the wireless communication node 302 transmits one or more RSs and the wireless communication device 304 performs signal measurements, the present disclosure also contemplates embodiments in which the wireless communication device 304 may transmit one or more RSs and the wireless communication node 302 may determine signal measurements. Figure 3A 、 Figure 3B and Figure 4 Any of the embodiments discussed herein may determine signal measurements. The wireless communication node 302 may use the signal measurements to determine / identify a LOS (or NLOS) link / path. The wireless communication node 302 may report the signal measurements to another wireless communication node.

[0068] Although various embodiments of the present solution have been described above, it should be understood that they are presented by way of example only and not by way of limitation. Similarly, various figures may depict example architectures or configurations, which are provided to enable those of ordinary skill in the art to understand the example features and functions of the present solution. However, such persons will understand that the present solution is not limited to the example architectures or configurations shown, but may be implemented using various alternative architectures and configurations. In addition, as will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art, one or more features of an embodiment may be combined with one or more features of another embodiment described herein. Therefore, the breadth and scope of the present disclosure should not be limited by any of the above-described illustrative embodiments.

[0069] It should also be understood that any reference to an element herein using designations such as "first," "second," etc., does not generally limit the number or order of those elements. Rather, these designations may be used herein as a convenient means of distinguishing between two or more elements or instances of an element. Thus, a reference to a first element and a second element does not mean that only two elements may be employed, or that the first element must precede the second element in some manner.

[0070] In addition, those skilled in the art will understand that any of a variety of different technologies and techniques may be used to represent information and signals. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, and symbols referenced in the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

[0071] Those of ordinary skill in the art will further understand that any of the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, processors, devices, circuits, methods, and functions described in conjunction with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented by electronic hardware (e.g., digital implementation, analog implementation, or a combination of the two), firmware, various forms of programs or design code containing instructions (which, for convenience, may be referred to herein as "software" or "software modules"), or any combination of these technologies. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware, firmware, and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware, firmware, software, or a combination of these technologies depends on the specific application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Those skilled in the art may implement the described functionality in various ways for each specific application, but such implementation decisions will not result in a departure from the scope of this disclosure.

[0072] In addition, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the various illustrative logic blocks, modules, devices, components, and circuits described herein may be implemented or performed within an integrated circuit (IC), which may include a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic device, or any combination thereof. The logic blocks, modules, and circuits may also include an antenna and / or a transceiver to communicate with various components within a network or within a device. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in an alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, for example, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in combination with a DSP core, or any other suitable configuration to perform the functions described herein.

[0073] If implemented in software, the functions may be stored as one or more instructions or codes on a computer-readable medium. Thus, the steps of the methods or algorithms disclosed herein may be implemented as software stored on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media include computer storage media and communication media, which include any media that can enable a computer program or code to be transferred from one place to another. The 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, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer.

[0074] In this document, the term "module" as used herein refers to software, firmware, hardware, and any combination of these elements for performing the relevant functions described herein. In addition, for the purpose of discussion, various modules are described as discrete modules; however, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that two or more modules can be combined to form a single module that performs the associated functions according to embodiments of the present solution.

[0075] In addition, memory or other storage and communication components may be used in embodiments of the present solution. It will be understood that, for purposes of clarity, the above description has described embodiments of the present solution with reference to different functional units and processors. However, it will be apparent that any suitable distribution of functionality between different functional units, processing logic elements, or domains may be used without departing from the present solution. For example, functions shown as being performed by separate processing logic elements or controllers may be performed by the same processing logic element or controller. Therefore, reference to a particular functional unit is merely a reference to a suitable means for providing the described functionality, rather than an indication of a strict logical or physical structure or organization.

[0076] Various modifications to the embodiments described in this disclosure will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from the scope of this disclosure. Therefore, the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the novel features and principles disclosed herein, as set forth in the following claims.

Claims

1. A wireless communication method, comprising: The wireless communication device sends a plurality of reference signals RS to the wireless communication node; The wireless communication node determines timing information and power information measured using at least one RS among the multiple RSs.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein The wireless communication node determines a transmission time of each of the plurality of RSs and timing information regarding the transmission time of a subset of the plurality of RSs.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein: The timing information includes: a first transmission reference time of a first RS in the subset of the multiple RSs, and a difference between a transmission time of a second RS in the subset of the multiple RSs and the first transmission reference time.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein: The timing information corresponds to an order of reference signal received powers (RSRPs) of the subsets of the plurality of RSs, and the order is determined according to transmission times of the subsets of the plurality of RSs.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein The order is determined according to a time instance of a wireless communication node receiving the subset of the plurality of RSs.

6. The method according to claim 2, wherein: The timing information includes an index linked to a subset of the plurality of RSs or a reference signal received power RSRP of the subset of the plurality of RSs, the index being linked according to a transmission time of the subset of the plurality of RSs.

7. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 6, wherein The wireless communication device selects a subset of the plurality of RSs based on a subset of the plurality of RSs having a highest reference signal received power (RSRP) among the plurality of RSs.

8. A wireless communication method, comprising: Receiving, by a wireless communication node, a plurality of reference signals RS from a wireless communication device; and Timing information and power information measured using at least one RS among the plurality of RSs are determined by the wireless communication node.

9. The method according to claim 8, further comprising: determining, by the wireless communication node, a transmission time of each RS in the plurality of RSs; and Timing information regarding transmission times of a subset of the plurality of RSs is determined by the wireless communication node.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein: The timing information includes: a first transmission reference time of a first RS in the subset of the multiple RSs, and a difference between a transmission time of a second RS in the subset of the multiple RSs and the first transmission reference time.

11. The method according to claim 9, wherein The timing information corresponds to an order of reference signal received powers (RSRPs) of the subsets of the plurality of RSs, and the order is determined according to transmission times of the subsets of the plurality of RSs.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein The order is determined according to a time instance of a wireless communication node receiving the subset of the plurality of RSs.

13. The method according to claim 9, wherein: The timing information includes an index linked to a subset of the plurality of RSs or an RSRP of the subset of the plurality of RSs, the index being linked according to a transmission time of the subset of the plurality of RSs.

14. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 13, wherein: The wireless communication device selects a subset of the plurality of RSs based on a subset of the plurality of RSs having a highest reference signal received power (RSRP) among the plurality of RSs.

15. A wireless communication device comprising a memory and at least one processor, wherein the at least one processor is configured to read instructions from the memory to implement the following operations: Sending a plurality of reference signals RS to the wireless communication node via the transceiver; in, The wireless communication node determines timing information and power information measured using at least one RS among the plurality of RSs.

16. The wireless communication device according to claim 15, wherein: The wireless communication node determines a transmission time of each of the plurality of RSs and timing information regarding the transmission time of a subset of the plurality of RSs.

17. The wireless communication device according to claim 16, wherein: The timing information includes: a first transmission reference time of a first RS in the subset of the multiple RSs, and a difference between a transmission time of a second RS in the subset of the multiple RSs and the first transmission reference time.

18. A wireless communication node comprising a memory and at least one processor, wherein the at least one processor is configured to read instructions from the memory to implement the following operations: receiving a plurality of reference signals, RS, from a wireless communication device via a transceiver; and Timing information and power information measured using at least one RS among the plurality of RSs are determined.

19. The wireless communication node of claim 18, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: determining a transmission time for each of the plurality of RSs; and Timing information regarding transmission times of a subset of the plurality of RSs is determined.

20. The wireless communication node according to claim 19, wherein: The timing information includes: a first transmission reference time of a first RS in the subset of the multiple RSs, and a difference between a transmission time of a second RS in the subset of the multiple RSs and the first transmission reference time.

21. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform the method according to any one of claims 1-14.

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