Dedicated resources for control signaling of sidelink positioning reference signals (SL-PRS)

Abstract

Techniques for wireless communication are disclosed. In an aspect, a wireless communication device may receive or transmit sidelink positioning control information on one or more dedicated resources dedicated to control signaling for sidelink positioning reference signals (SL-PRS), the sidelink positioning control information including configuration information for one or more SL-PRS transmissions. The wireless communication device may participate in a sidelink positioning session based on at least one of the one or more SL-PRS transmissions and the configuration information.

Description

Background Art 1. Technical Field

[0002] Aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to wireless communications.

[0003] 2. Description of Related Technologies

[0004] 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.

[0005] 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.

[0006] 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

[0007] 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.

[0008] In one aspect, a method of operating a wireless communication device includes: receiving or transmitting sidelink positioning control information on one or more dedicated resources dedicated to control signaling of a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS), the sidelink positioning control information including configuration information for one or more SL-PRS transmissions; and participating in a sidelink positioning session based on at least one of the one or more SL-PRS transmissions and the configuration information.

[0009] In one aspect, a wireless communication device includes: 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: receive or transmit sidelink positioning control information, including configuration information for one or more SL-PRS transmissions, via the at least one transceiver on one or more dedicated resources dedicated to control signaling of a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS); and participate in a sidelink positioning session based on at least one of the one or more SL-PRS transmissions and the configuration information.

[0010] In one aspect, a wireless communication device includes: means for receiving or transmitting sidelink positioning control information on one or more dedicated resources dedicated to control signaling of a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS), the sidelink positioning control information including configuration information for one or more SL-PRS transmissions; and means for participating in a sidelink positioning session based on at least one of the one or more SL-PRS transmissions and the configuration information.

[0011] 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: receive or transmit sidelink positioning control information on one or more dedicated resources dedicated to control signaling of a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS), the sidelink positioning control information including configuration information for one or more SL-PRS transmissions; and participate in a sidelink positioning session based on at least one of the one or more SL-PRS transmissions and the configuration information.

[0012] Other objects and advantages associated with the aspects disclosed herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art based on the accompanying drawings and detailed description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] The accompanying drawings are presented to aid in describing the various aspects of the present disclosure and are provided solely for illustration and not limitation of the various aspects.

[0014] Figure 1 An example wireless communication system according to aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0015] Figure 2A and Figure 2B Example wireless network structures according to aspects of the present disclosure are illustrated.

[0016] 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.

[0017] 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.

[0018] Figure 5A and Figure 5B is a diagram of example sidelink slot structures with and without feedback resources in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0019] Figure 6 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.

[0020] 7A to 7C Different examples of arranging a resource pool for sidelink communication and a resource pool for SL-PRS according to aspects of the present disclosure are illustrated.

[0021] Figure 8 is an illustration of example sidelink resource reservations for transmission or retransmission of sidelink communications in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0022] Figures 9A to 9E Different examples of arranging one or more dedicated resources for control signaling of SL-PRS according to aspects of the present disclosure are illustrated.

[0023] Figure 10 Example methods of operating a wireless communication device according to aspects of the present disclosure are illustrated. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] 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 making the relevant details of the present disclosure difficult to understand.

[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, and so on.

[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 circuits (e.g., application specific integrated circuits (ASICs)), by program instructions executed by one or more processors, or by a combination of both. Additionally, the sequences of actions described herein may be considered to be 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, warning 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 mobile phone, tablet computer, etc.) carried by the driver or passenger 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 1 An 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 also 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 a 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 may utilize beamforming (transmit and / or receive) on the mmW communication link 184 to compensate for the extremely high path loss and short range. It should also be understood that, in alternative configurations, one or more base stations 102 may also utilize mmW or near-mmW frequencies and beamforming for transmission. Therefore, it should be understood that the foregoing illustrations are merely examples and should not be construed as limiting the various aspects disclosed herein.

[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 the RF signal during transmission, the network node can control 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 can use an array of antennas (referred to as a "phased array" or "antenna array"), which forms an RF beam 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-location (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 based on 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 signals 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 in 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 signals 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 an 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 a multi-carrier system such as 5G, one of the carrier frequencies is referred to as the "primary carrier" or "anchor carrier" or "primary serving cell" or "PCell," and the remaining carrier frequencies are referred to as "secondary carriers" or "secondary serving cells" or "SCells." In carrier aggregation, the anchor carrier is a carrier operating on the primary frequency (e.g., FR1) used by the UE 104 / 182 and the cell 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). A 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 both the primary uplink carrier and the 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 1In the example, one of the frequencies used by macrocell base station 102 may be an anchor carrier (or "PCell"), and the other frequencies used 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 and / or reception rate. For example, two 20 MHz aggregated carriers in a multi-carrier system would theoretically double the 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 1 Any 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), the Global Positioning System (GPS)-Assisted Geo-Augmented Navigation, or the GPS and Geo-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 1The 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 wireless sidelinks 162, with a roadside unit (RSU) 164 (roadside access point) over wireless sidelinks 166, or with sidelink-capable UEs 104 over wireless sidelinks 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 1 Any 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 1In 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 2A An 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 2. The diagram illustrates a method that may be incorporated into a UE 302 (which may correspond to any UE described herein), a base station 304 (which may correspond to any base station described herein), and a network entity 306 (which may correspond to or embody any network function described herein, including location server 230 and LMF 270), or alternatively may be independent thereof. Figure 2A and Figure 2BSeveral example components (represented by corresponding blocks) within the NG-RAN 220 and / or 5GC 210 / 260 infrastructure (such as a dedicated network) depicted in the present disclosure are illustrated 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 sidelink positioning components 342, 388, and 398, respectively. Sidelink positioning components 342, 388, and 398 may be hardware circuits that are part of or coupled to processors 332, 384, and 394, respectively, that, when executed, cause UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 to perform the functionality described herein. In other aspects, the sidelink positioning components 342, 388, and 398 can be external to the processors 332, 384, and 394 (e.g., as part of a modem processing system, integrated with another processing system, etc.). Alternatively, the sidelink positioning components 342, 388, and 398 can be memory modules stored in the 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 for a sidelink positioning component 342 are illustrated, 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 3BPossible locations for a sidelink positioning component 388 are illustrated, 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 for a side link locating component 398 are illustrated, which may be, for example, part of one or more network transceivers 390, memory 396, one or more processors 394, or any combination thereof, or may 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 from 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 3C 1 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 3C The 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 specific components or combinations 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, sidelink 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 4A Various 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 a target UE's Uu-based positioning (e.g., multi-cell RTT, downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA), etc.) by providing an additional anchor (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 a low-end UE, an advanced UE may have more capabilities, such as more sensors, a faster processor, 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 leveraging constraints from nearby UEs.

[0098] Figure 4B Additional interesting scenarios for sidelink-only or combined Uu and sidelink positioning according to aspects of the present disclosure are illustrated. In scenario 450, UEs used for public safety (e.g., 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] Sidelink communication occurs within a transmit or receive resource pool. In the frequency domain, the smallest unit of resource allocation may be a subchannel (e.g., a set of contiguous physical resource blocks (PRBs) in the frequency domain). In the time domain, resource allocation may occur within a time slot. In some aspects, within a resource pool used for sidelink communication, some time slots are unavailable for sidelink communication, and some time slots contain feedback resources. Furthermore, sidelink resources may be (pre-)configured to occupy fewer than 14 symbols in a time slot.

[0100] 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).

[0101] The NR sidelink supports hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) retransmission. Figure 5A is a diagram 500 of an example time slot structure without feedback resources according to aspects of the present disclosure. Figure 5A 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.

[0102] 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 5A In some aspects, the duration of the last symbol in a slot may be used as the gap duration (e.g., Figure 5A and Figure 5B , or also referred to as a gap symbol in this disclosure). Figure 5A As shown in the figure, 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 5A 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.

[0103] Figure 5B is a diagram 550 of an example time slot structure with feedback resources according to aspects of the present disclosure. Figure 5BIn 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.

[0104] Figure 5B The illustrated time slot structure is similar to Figure 5A The time slot structure shown is similar except that Figure 5B 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.

[0105] In some aspects, the first 13 symbols of a time slot in the time domain and the allocated subchannels in the frequency domain can form a sidelink resource pool. The sidelink resource pool can include resources for sidelink communication (transmit and / or receive), 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, the RP-P is indicated by an offset, a periodicity, a number of consecutive symbols within a time slot (e.g., as little as one symbol), and / or a bandwidth within a component carrier (or across multiple component carriers). Furthermore, the RP-P can be associated with a zone or a distance from a reference location.

[0106] 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).

[0107] 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.

[0108] Figure 6 FIG6 is a diagram 600 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 6 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.

[0109] exist Figure 6 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 would otherwise be 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.

[0110] A Sidelink Positioning Reference Signal (SL-PRS) has been defined to support sidelink positioning procedures between UEs. 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 with 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 may also be associated with a specific RP-P (e.g., certain SL-PRS may be allocated in certain RP-Ps). The SL-PRS is also defined to have intra-slot repetition ( Figure 6 (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.

[0111] Furthermore, separate resource pools may be configured for sidelink communications and SL-PRS, respectively. In some aspects, SL-PRS transmission may be performed only in the resource pool used for SL-PRS. 7A to 7CDifferent examples of arranging resource pools for sidelink communication and resource pools for SL-PRS according to various aspects of the present disclosure are illustrated. 7A to 7C In the example shown, time is represented horizontally, and frequency is represented vertically.

[0112] according to Figure 7A In the illustrated first arrangement 700A, the resource pool 712 for sidelink communications and the resource pool 716 for SL-PRS may be time-division multiplexed within a time segment and thus correspond to different sets of time slots in the time domain. In some aspects, the resource pool 712 for sidelink communications and the resource pool 716 for SL-PRS may correspond to the same set of subchannels.

[0113] according to Figure 7B In the second arrangement 700B shown, the resource pool 732 for sidelink communications and the resource pool 736 for SL-PRS may be frequency-division multiplexed within a frequency segment and thus correspond to different sets of subchannels in the frequency domain. In some aspects, the resource pool 732 for sidelink communications and the resource pool 736 for SL-PRS may correspond to the same set of time slots.

[0114] according to Figure 7C In the third arrangement 700C shown, the resource pool 752 for sidelink communications and the resource pool 756 for SL-PRS may correspond to different sets of subchannels in the frequency domain with a frequency gap 762 therebetween in the frequency domain. In some aspects, the resource pool 752 for sidelink communications and the resource pool 756 for SL-PRS may still correspond to the same set of time slots. In some aspects, the resource pool 752 for sidelink communications and the resource pool 756 for SL-PRS may correspond to different sets of time slots.

[0115] In some aspects, for sidelink communications, the PSCCH may be used to carry one or more first-level sidelink control information (SCI-1) messages. In some aspects, the SCI-1 message may include resource allocation information and other information fields for accessing the PSSCH. In some aspects, resource allocation for the sidelink is a reservation-based allocation. In some aspects, the UE may select and reserve one or more resources for transmission and / or retransmission of one or more transmission sessions (e.g., for one or more transport blocks) for the transmission session.

[0116] Figure 8 is a diagram of example sidelink resource reservations for transmission or retransmission of sidelink communications in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. Figure 8 In the example shown, time is represented horizontally and frequency is represented vertically. Figure 8In [1], each block corresponds to a time slot in the time domain and a subchannel in the frequency domain. In some aspects, each reserved resource can be in units of one or more subchannels in the frequency domain and is limited to one time slot in the time domain. Figure 8 As shown, according to a non-limiting example, a UE may obtain information about resources that have been reserved or not reserved within a selection window, and may obtain information about the number of subchannels allocated to the UE. The UE may reserve one or more resources from the not-yet-reserved resources within the selection window based on the number of subchannels allocated to the UE.

[0117] For example, a first UE may use first resources 812 to receive a first SCI-1 message and, based on the restrictions and conditions provided in the first SCI-1 message, select and reserve resources 814 and 816 for transmission and / or retransmission. Each of resources 812, 814, and 816 may occupy one time slot in the time domain and one subchannel in the frequency domain. Furthermore, in this non-limiting example, a second UE may use second resources 822 to receive a second SCI-1 message and, based on the restrictions and conditions provided in the second SCI-1 message, select and reserve resources 824 and 826 for transmission and / or retransmission. Each of resources 822, 824, and 826 may occupy one time slot in the time domain and two subchannels in the frequency domain.

[0118] In addition, in a scenario where separate resource pools are configured for sidelink communication and SL-PRS, the following further illustrates how and where to send sidelink positioning control information (e.g., including control and reservation information) for one or more SL-PRS transmissions in a dedicated SL-PRS resource pool.

[0119] In some aspects, the sidelink positioning control information may be sent on one or more dedicated resources dedicated for control signaling of the SL-PRS. In some aspects, the control signaling of the SL-PRS may be limited to the one or more dedicated resources, but some symbols within the one or more dedicated resources may still be configured for one or more purposes other than control signaling of the SL-PRS.

[0120] In some aspects, the sidelink positioning control information may include configuration information for one or more SL-PRS transmissions. In some aspects, the UE may receive or transmit the sidelink positioning control information on the one or more dedicated resources and may participate in a sidelink positioning session based on at least one of the one or more SL-PRS transmissions and the configuration information.

[0121] In some aspects, the sidelink positioning control information may be included in an SCI-1 message, a second-level sidelink control information (SCI-2) message, a medium access control layer control element (MAC-CE) message, a PC5 radio resource control (PC5-RRC) message, a protocol layer message, an application layer message, or any combination thereof. In some aspects, the protocol layer message may correspond to a message at a protocol layer above the physical layer in a protocol stack. In some aspects, the protocol layer above the physical layer in the protocol stack may also be referred to as a higher layer in this disclosure.

[0122] In some aspects, the configuration information may specify resources for one or more SL-PRS transmissions and / or parameters used by the one or more SL-PRS transmissions. In some aspects, the configuration information may specify, for the one or more SL-PRS transmissions: one or more radio resources, a comb configuration, repetitions, a number of symbols, a scrambling code configuration, a power configuration, or any combination thereof.

[0123] In some aspects, the one or more dedicated resources may be specified based on one or more parameters, the one or more parameters including: one or more time domain locations of the one or more dedicated resources in a resource allocation pattern, one or more frequency domain locations of the one or more dedicated resources in the resource allocation pattern, a periodicity of the resource allocation pattern, or any combination thereof. In some examples, a subset of time slots in the SL-PRS resource pool may be configured to be dedicated to SL-PRS control signaling. In some examples, the subset of time slots may occur periodically, such as at the beginning of each resource pool period or every X milliseconds, where X is a configured, preconfigured, or assigned value.

[0124] In some aspects, at least one of the one or more parameters may be capable of being determined based on: a configuration setting provided by a network entity, a pre-configured setting stored in a storage device of the UE, an assigned setting indicated in a protocol layer message (e.g., a message at a higher layer as explained above) or an application layer message, or any combination thereof.

[0125] In some aspects, the one or more dedicated resources may be within an SL-PRS resource pool (e.g., a subset thereof) that has one or more resources allocated therein for the one or more SL-PRS transmissions. In some aspects, the one or more dedicated resources may be outside an SL-PRS resource pool that has one or more resources allocated therein for the one or more SL-PRS transmissions. That is, the one or more dedicated resources may be in their own resource pool that is separate from the corresponding SL-PRS resource pool.

[0126] Figures 9A to 9EDifferent examples of arranging one or more dedicated resources for control signaling of SL-PRS according to aspects of the present disclosure are illustrated. Figures 9A to 9E Different non-limiting examples are illustrated showing only a portion of system resources spanning two frequency domain units in the frequency domain (labeled as two "one frequency domain units") and one time slot in the time domain. In some aspects, Figures 9A to 9E Each of the examples depicted in may be employed alone or in any combination to configure the one or more dedicated radio resources.

[0127] In some aspects, a frequency domain unit may correspond to a subset of subcarriers (e.g., a plurality of PRBs) or a subchannel. Figures 9A to 9E The blank area in corresponds to the gap duration arranged for one or more UEs to perform receive-transmit switching (if necessary).

[0128] In some aspects, the one or more dedicated resources may be arranged on a one dedicated resource per frequency domain unit per time slot. Figure 9A As shown, the first dedicated resource 912 dedicated to the control signaling of SL-PRS may be arranged in one frequency domain unit in one time slot, and the second dedicated resource 914 dedicated to the control signaling of SL-PRS may be arranged in another frequency domain unit in the same time slot.

[0129] In some aspects, at least one of the one or more dedicated resources and the one or more SL-PRS resources may be arranged in one time slot. Figure 9B As shown, a first dedicated resource 922 dedicated to SL-PRS control signaling may be arranged in one frequency domain unit in the front portion of a time slot, and a second dedicated resource 924 dedicated to SL-PRS control signaling may be arranged in another frequency domain unit in the front portion of the same time slot. In addition, an SL-PRS resource 926 may be allocated in the rear portion of the same time slot and span two frequency domain units corresponding to the frequency domain units of the first dedicated resource 922 and the second dedicated resource 924.

[0130] In some aspects, the one or more dedicated resources may be arranged in a time division multiplexing manner on a per time slot per subchannel (or per frequency domain unit). Figure 9C In the frequency domain, each of the units may correspond to a subchannel. Figure 9CAs shown, the first dedicated resource 932 dedicated to the control signaling of SL-PRS and the second dedicated resource 934 dedicated to the control signaling of SL-PRS can be time-division multiplexed in one frequency domain unit (e.g., subchannel) in one time slot, and the third dedicated resource 936 dedicated to the control signaling of SL-PRS and the fourth dedicated resource 938 dedicated to the control signaling of SL-PRS can be time-division multiplexed in another frequency domain unit (e.g., another subchannel) in the time slot.

[0131] In some aspects, the one or more dedicated resources may be arranged on a per-time slot per-subchannel (or per-frequency domain unit) basis using frequency division multiplexing. Figure 9D In the frequency domain, each of the units may correspond to a subchannel. Figure 9D As shown, the first dedicated resource 942 dedicated to the control signaling of SL-PRS and the second dedicated resource 944 dedicated to the control signaling of SL-PRS can be frequency-division multiplexed in one frequency domain unit (e.g., subchannel) and one time slot, and the third dedicated resource 946 dedicated to the control signaling of SL-PRS and the fourth dedicated resource 948 dedicated to the control signaling of SL-PRS can be frequency-division multiplexed in another frequency domain unit (e.g., another subchannel) and the same time slot.

[0132] In some aspects, the one or more dedicated resources may be arranged based on a combination of time division multiplexing and frequency division multiplexing per time slot per subchannel (or per frequency domain unit). Figure 9E In the frequency domain, each of the frequency domain units may correspond to a subchannel.

[0133] like Figure 9E As shown, the first dedicated resource 952 dedicated to the control signaling of the SL-PRS and the second dedicated resource 954 dedicated to the control signaling of the SL-PRS may be frequency-division multiplexed in one frequency-domain unit (e.g., subchannel), and the third dedicated resource 956 dedicated to the control signaling of the SL-PRS and the fourth dedicated resource 958 dedicated to the control signaling of the SL-PRS may be frequency-division multiplexed in the same frequency-domain unit. In addition, the first dedicated resource 952 dedicated to the control signaling of the SL-PRS and the third dedicated resource 956 dedicated to the control signaling of the SL-PRS may be time-division multiplexed in one time slot, and the second dedicated resource 954 dedicated to the control signaling of the SL-PRS and the fourth dedicated resource 958 dedicated to the control signaling of the SL-PRS may be time-division multiplexed in the same time slot.

[0134] like Figure 9EAs shown, the fifth dedicated resource 962 dedicated to SL-PRS control signaling and the sixth dedicated resource 964 dedicated to SL-PRS control signaling may be frequency-division multiplexed in another frequency domain unit (e.g., another subchannel), and the seventh dedicated resource 966 dedicated to SL-PRS control signaling and the eighth dedicated resource 968 dedicated to SL-PRS control signaling may be frequency-division multiplexed in the same frequency domain unit. In addition, the fifth dedicated resource 962 dedicated to SL-PRS control signaling and the seventh dedicated resource 966 dedicated to SL-PRS control signaling may be time-division multiplexed in one time slot, and the sixth dedicated resource 964 dedicated to SL-PRS control signaling and the eighth dedicated resource 968 dedicated to SL-PRS control signaling may be time-division multiplexed in the same time slot.

[0135] Figure 10 An example method 1000 for operating a wireless communication device in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. In some aspects, the wireless communication device in method 1000 may be a UE (e.g., any UE described herein). In one aspect, method 1000 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or sidelink positioning component 342, any or all of which may be considered means for performing one or more of the following operations of method 1000.

[0136] At operation 1010, the wireless communication device may receive or transmit sidelink positioning control information on one or more dedicated resources dedicated to control signaling of the SL-PRS. In some aspects, the sidelink positioning control information includes configuration information for one or more SL-PRS transmissions. In some aspects, operation 1010 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or sidelink positioning component 342, any or all of which may be considered means for performing operation 1010.

[0137] In some aspects, the sidelink positioning control information may be included in an SCI-1 message, an SCI-2 message, a MAC-CE message, a PC5-RRC message, a protocol layer message, an application layer message, or any combination thereof. In some aspects, the configuration information may specify, for the one or more SL-PRS transmissions, one or more radio resources, a comb configuration, a repetition, a number of symbols, a scrambling code configuration, a power configuration, or any combination thereof.

[0138] In some aspects, the one or more dedicated resources may be arranged based on one dedicated resource per frequency domain unit per time slot. In some aspects, at least one of the one or more dedicated resources and one or more SL-PRS resources are arranged in one time slot. In some aspects, the one or more dedicated resources may be arranged based on time division multiplexing per subchannel per time slot, frequency division multiplexing per subchannel per time slot, or a combination thereof.

[0139] At operation 1020, the wireless communication device may participate in a sidelink positioning session based on at least one of the one or more SL-PRS transmissions and the configuration information. In some aspects, operation 1020 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or sidelink positioning component 342, any or all of which may be considered means for performing operation 1020.

[0140] As will be appreciated, a technical advantage of method 1000 is that sidelink positioning control information is received or sent on one or more dedicated resources dedicated to SL-PRS control signaling. Thus, a wireless communication device (such as a UE) participating in a sidelink positioning session can receive or send corresponding sidelink positioning control information in a direct and efficient manner.

[0141] In the detailed description above, it can be seen that different features are grouped together in the examples. 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, the 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 expressly expressed or can be easily inferred that a specific combination is not intended to be used (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 various aspects of a clause may be included in any other independent clause, even if the clause is not directly dependent on the independent clause.

[0142] Specific implementation examples are described in the following numbered clauses:

[0143] Clause 1. A method of operating a wireless communication device, the method comprising: receiving or transmitting sidelink positioning control information on one or more dedicated resources dedicated to control signaling of a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS), the sidelink positioning control information including configuration information for one or more SL-PRS transmissions; and participating in a sidelink positioning session based on at least one of the one or more SL-PRS transmissions and the configuration information.

[0144] Clause 2. The method of clause 1, wherein the sidelink positioning control information is included in: a first level sidelink control information (SCI-1) message, a second level sidelink control information (SCI-2) message, a medium access control layer control element (MAC-CE) message, a PC5 radio resource control (PC5-RRC) message, a protocol layer message, an application layer message, or any combination thereof.

[0145] Clause 3. A method according to any one of clauses 1 to 2, wherein the configuration information specifies for the one or more SL-PRS transmissions: one or more radio resources, comb configurations, repetitions, number of symbols, scrambling configurations, power configurations, or any combination thereof.

[0146] Clause 4. A method according to any one of clauses 1 to 3, wherein the one or more dedicated resources are within a SL-PRS resource pool, in which one or more resources for the one or more SL-PRS transmissions are allocated.

[0147] Clause 5. A method according to any one of clauses 1 to 3, wherein the one or more dedicated resources are outside a SL-PRS resource pool in which one or more resources for the one or more SL-PRS transmissions are allocated.

[0148] Clause 6. A method according to any one of clauses 1 to 3, wherein the one or more dedicated resources are specified based on one or more parameters, and the one or more parameters include: one or more time domain positions of the one or more dedicated resources in the resource allocation pattern, one or more frequency domain positions of the one or more dedicated resources in the resource allocation pattern, the periodicity of the resource allocation pattern, or any combination thereof.

[0149] Clause 7. A method according to clause 6, wherein at least one of the one or more parameters is capable of being determined based on: a configuration setting provided by a network entity, a pre-configured setting stored in a storage device of the wireless communication device, an assigned setting indicated in a protocol layer message or an application layer message, or any combination thereof.

[0150] Clause 8. The method of any of clauses 1 to 7, wherein the one or more dedicated resources are arranged on a one dedicated resource per frequency domain unit per time slot.

[0151] Clause 9. The method of clause 8, wherein the frequency domain unit corresponds to a subset of subcarriers or a subchannel.

[0152] Clause 10. The method of clause 8, wherein at least one of the one or more dedicated resources and the one or more SL-PRS resources are arranged in one time slot.

[0153] Clause 11. The method of any one of clauses 1 to 7, wherein the one or more dedicated resources are arranged based on time division multiplexing per subchannel per time slot, frequency division multiplexing per subchannel per time slot, or a combination thereof.

[0154] Clause 12. A 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: receive or transmit sidelink positioning control information on one or more dedicated resources dedicated to control signaling of a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS) via the at least one transceiver, the sidelink positioning control information comprising configuration information for one or more SL-PRS transmissions; and participate in a sidelink positioning session based on at least one of the one or more SL-PRS transmissions and the configuration information.

[0155] Clause 13. The wireless communication device of clause 12, wherein the sidelink positioning control information is included in: a first level sidelink control information (SCI-1) message, a second level sidelink control information (SCI-2) message, a medium access control layer control element (MAC-CE) message, a PC5 radio resource control (PC5-RRC) message, a protocol layer message, an application layer message, or any combination thereof.

[0156] Clause 14. A wireless communication device according to any of clauses 12 to 13, wherein the configuration information specifies, for the one or more SL-PRS transmissions: one or more radio resources, comb configurations, repetitions, number of symbols, scrambling configurations, power configurations, or any combination thereof.

[0157] Clause 15. A wireless communications device as described in any of clauses 12 to 14, wherein the one or more dedicated resources are within a SL-PRS resource pool, wherein the SL-PRS resource pool has one or more resources allocated therein for the one or more SL-PRS transmissions.

[0158] Clause 16. A wireless communications device as described in any of clauses 12 to 14, wherein the one or more dedicated resources are outside of an SL-PRS resource pool in which one or more resources for the one or more SL-PRS transmissions are allocated.

[0159] Clause 17. A wireless communication device according to any one of clauses 12 to 14, wherein the one or more dedicated resources are specified based on one or more parameters, and the one or more parameters include: one or more time domain positions of the one or more dedicated resources in the resource allocation pattern, one or more frequency domain positions of the one or more dedicated resources in the resource allocation pattern, the periodicity of the resource allocation pattern, or any combination thereof.

[0160] Clause 18. A wireless communication device according to clause 17, wherein at least one of the one or more parameters is capable of being determined based on: a configuration setting provided by a network entity, a pre-configured setting stored in a storage device of the wireless communication device, an assigned setting indicated in a protocol layer message or an application layer message, or any combination thereof.

[0161] Clause 19. The wireless communication device of any of clauses 12 to 18, wherein the one or more dedicated resources are arranged on a one dedicated resource per frequency domain unit per time slot.

[0162] Clause 20. The wireless communication device of clause 19, wherein the frequency domain unit corresponds to a subset of subcarriers or a subchannel.

[0163] Clause 21. The wireless communication device of clause 19, wherein at least one of the one or more dedicated resources and the one or more SL-PRS resources are arranged in a time slot.

[0164] Clause 22. The wireless communication device of any of clauses 12 to 18, wherein the one or more dedicated resources are arranged based on time division multiplexing per subchannel per time slot, frequency division multiplexing per subchannel per time slot, or a combination thereof.

[0165] Clause 23. A wireless communication device, the wireless communication device comprising: a component for receiving or transmitting sidelink positioning control information on one or more dedicated resources dedicated to control signaling of a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS), the sidelink positioning control information including configuration information for one or more SL-PRS transmissions; and a component for participating in a sidelink positioning session based on at least one of the one or more SL-PRS transmissions and the configuration information.

[0166] Clause 24. The wireless communication device of clause 23, wherein the sidelink positioning control information is included in: a first level sidelink control information (SCI-1) message, a second level sidelink control information (SCI-2) message, a medium access control layer control element (MAC-CE) message, a PC5 radio resource control (PC5-RRC) message, a protocol layer message, an application layer message, or any combination thereof.

[0167] Clause 25. A wireless communication device according to any of clauses 23 to 24, wherein the configuration information specifies, for the one or more SL-PRS transmissions: one or more radio resources, comb configurations, repetitions, number of symbols, scrambling configurations, power configurations, or any combination thereof.

[0168] Clause 26. A wireless communications device as described in any of clauses 23 to 25, wherein the one or more dedicated resources are within a SL-PRS resource pool, wherein the SL-PRS resource pool has one or more resources allocated therein for the one or more SL-PRS transmissions.

[0169] Clause 27. A wireless communications device as described in any of clauses 23 to 25, wherein the one or more dedicated resources are outside a SL-PRS resource pool in which one or more resources for the one or more SL-PRS transmissions are allocated.

[0170] Clause 28. A wireless communication device according to any one of clauses 23 to 25, wherein the one or more dedicated resources are specified based on one or more parameters, and the one or more parameters include: one or more time domain positions of the one or more dedicated resources in the resource allocation pattern, one or more frequency domain positions of the one or more dedicated resources in the resource allocation pattern, the periodicity of the resource allocation pattern, or any combination thereof.

[0171] Clause 29. A wireless communication device according to clause 28, wherein at least one of the one or more parameters is capable of being determined based on: a configuration setting provided by a network entity, a pre-configured setting stored in a storage device of the wireless communication device, an assigned setting indicated in a protocol layer message or an application layer message, or any combination thereof.

[0172] Clause 30. The wireless communication device of any of clauses 23 to 29, wherein the one or more dedicated resources are arranged on a one dedicated resource per frequency domain unit per time slot.

[0173] Clause 31. The wireless communication device of clause 30, wherein the frequency domain unit corresponds to a subset of subcarriers or a subchannel.

[0174] Clause 32. The wireless communication device of clause 30, wherein at least one of the one or more dedicated resources and the one or more SL-PRS resources are arranged in a time slot.

[0175] Clause 33. A wireless communication device as recited in any one of clauses 23 to 29, wherein the one or more dedicated resources are arranged based on time division multiplexing per subchannel per time slot, frequency division multiplexing per subchannel per time slot, or a combination thereof.

[0176] Clause 34. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a wireless communication device, cause the wireless communication device to: receive or transmit sidelink positioning control information on one or more dedicated resources dedicated to control signaling of a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS), the sidelink positioning control information comprising configuration information for one or more SL-PRS transmissions; and participate in a sidelink positioning session based on at least one of the one or more SL-PRS transmissions and the configuration information.

[0177] Clause 35. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to clause 34, wherein the sidelink positioning control information is included in: a first level sidelink control information (SCI-1) message, a second level sidelink control information (SCI-2) message, a medium access control layer control element (MAC-CE) message, a PC5 radio resource control (PC5-RRC) message, a protocol layer message, an application layer message, or any combination thereof.

[0178] Clause 36. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of clauses 34 to 35, wherein the configuration information specifies, for the one or more SL-PRS transmissions: one or more radio resources, comb configurations, repetitions, number of symbols, scrambling configurations, power configurations, or any combination thereof.

[0179] Clause 37. A non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in any of clauses 34 to 36, wherein the one or more dedicated resources are within an SL-PRS resource pool, in which one or more resources for the one or more SL-PRS transmissions are allocated.

[0180] Clause 38. A non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in any of clauses 34 to 36, wherein the one or more dedicated resources are outside a SL-PRS resource pool in which one or more resources for the one or more SL-PRS transmissions are allocated.

[0181] Clause 39. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of clauses 34 to 36, wherein the one or more dedicated resources are specified based on one or more parameters, and the one or more parameters include: one or more time domain positions of the one or more dedicated resources in the resource allocation pattern, one or more frequency domain positions of the one or more dedicated resources in the resource allocation pattern, the periodicity of the resource allocation pattern, or any combination thereof.

[0182] Clause 40. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to clause 39, wherein at least one of the one or more parameters is capable of being determined based on: a configuration setting provided by a network entity, a pre-configured setting stored in a storage device of the wireless communication device, an assigned setting indicated in a protocol layer message or an application layer message, or any combination thereof.

[0183] Clause 41. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any one of clauses 34 to 40, wherein the one or more dedicated resources are arranged on a one dedicated resource per frequency domain unit per time slot.

[0184] Clause 42. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 41, wherein the frequency domain unit corresponds to a subset of subcarriers or a subchannel.

[0185] Clause 43. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of Clause 41, wherein at least one of the one or more dedicated resources and the one or more SL-PRS resources are arranged in a time slot.

[0186] Clause 44. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any one of clauses 34 to 40, wherein the one or more dedicated resources are arranged based on time division multiplexing per subchannel per time slot, frequency division multiplexing per subchannel per time slot, or a combination thereof.

[0187] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that information and signals can 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 mentioned throughout the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, light fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

[0188] 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.

[0189] 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.

[0190] 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.

[0191] 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, magnetic disk storage 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 in 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.

[0192] 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. Furthermore, 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 expressly stated to be limited to the singular.

Claims

1. A method of operating a wireless communication device, the method comprising: receiving or transmitting sidelink positioning control information on one or more dedicated resources dedicated to control signaling of a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS), the sidelink positioning control information including configuration information for one or more SL-PRS transmissions; and A sidelink positioning session is engaged based on at least one of the one or more SL-PRS transmissions and the configuration information.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the sidelink positioning control information is included in: First level sidelink control information (SCI-1) message, Second level sidelink control information (SCI-2) message, Medium Access Control Layer Control Element (MAC-CE) messages, PC5 Radio Resource Control (PC5-RRC) messages, Protocol layer messages, Application layer messages or Any combination of them.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the configuration information specifies, for the one or more SL-PRS transmissions: one or more radio resources, Comb configuration, repeat, Number of symbols, Scrambling code configuration, Power configuration or Any combination of them.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more dedicated resources are within a SL-PRS resource pool, wherein the SL-PRS resource pool is allocated one or more resources for the one or more SL-PRS transmissions.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more dedicated resources are outside a SL-PRS resource pool, wherein the SL-PRS resource pool is allocated one or more resources for the one or more SL-PRS transmissions.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more dedicated resources are specified based on one or more parameters, the one or more parameters comprising: one or more time domain positions of the one or more dedicated resources in the resource allocation pattern, one or more frequency domain locations of the one or more dedicated resources in the resource allocation pattern, The periodicity of the resource allocation pattern or Any combination of them.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein at least one of the one or more parameters is determinable based on: Configuration settings provided by network entities, pre-configured settings stored in a storage device of the wireless communication device, Assignment indicated in a protocol layer message or application layer message Set or Any combination of them.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more dedicated resources are arranged based on one dedicated resource per frequency domain unit per time slot.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the frequency domain unit corresponds to a subset of subcarriers or a subchannel.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein at least one of the one or more dedicated resources and the one or more SL-PRS resources are arranged in one time slot.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more dedicated resources are arranged based on: Each time slot and each sub-channel are time-division multiplexed, Frequency division multiplexing per time slot and per sub-channel or A combination of them.

12. 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: receiving or transmitting, via the at least one transceiver, sidelink positioning control information on one or more dedicated resources dedicated to control signaling of a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS), the sidelink positioning control information including configuration information for one or more SL-PRS transmissions; and A sidelink positioning session is engaged based on at least one of the one or more SL-PRS transmissions and the configuration information.

13. The wireless communication device of claim 12 , wherein the sidelink positioning control information is included in: First level sidelink control information (SCI-1) message, Second level sidelink control information (SCI-2) message, Medium Access Control Layer Control Element (MAC-CE) messages, PC5 Radio Resource Control (PC5-RRC) messages, Protocol layer messages, Application layer messages or Any combination of them.

14. The wireless communication device of claim 12 , wherein the configuration information specifies, for the one or more SL-PRS transmissions: one or more radio resources, Comb configuration, repeat, Number of symbols, Scrambling code configuration, Power configuration or Any combination of them.

15. The wireless communication device of claim 12, wherein the one or more dedicated resources are within a SL-PRS resource pool, wherein the SL-PRS resource pool is allocated one or more resources for the one or more SL-PRS transmissions.

16. The wireless communication device of claim 12, wherein the one or more dedicated resources are outside of a SL-PRS resource pool in which one or more resources for the one or more SL-PRS transmissions are allocated.

17. The wireless communication device of claim 12, wherein the one or more dedicated resources are designated based on one or more parameters, the one or more parameters comprising: one or more time domain positions of the one or more dedicated resources in the resource allocation pattern, one or more frequency domain locations of the one or more dedicated resources in the resource allocation pattern, The periodicity of the resource allocation pattern or Any combination of them.

18. The wireless communication device of claim 12, wherein: The one or more dedicated resources are arranged on a one dedicated resource per time slot per frequency domain unit basis, or The one or more dedicated resources are arranged based on: Each time slot and each sub-channel are time-division multiplexed, Frequency division multiplexing per time slot and per sub-channel or A combination of them.

19. A wireless communication device, comprising: means for receiving or transmitting sidelink positioning control information on one or more dedicated resources dedicated to control signaling of a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS), the sidelink positioning control information including configuration information for one or more SL-PRS transmissions; and Means for engaging in a sidelink positioning session based on at least one of the one or more SL-PRS transmissions and the configuration information.

20. The wireless communication device of claim 19, wherein the sidelink positioning control information is included in: First level sidelink control information (SCI-1) message, Second level sidelink control information (SCI-2) message, Medium Access Control Layer Control Element (MAC-CE) messages, PC5 Radio Resource Control (PC5-RRC) messages, Protocol layer messages, Application layer messages or Any combination of them.

21. The wireless communication device of claim 19, wherein the configuration information specifies, for the one or more SL-PRS transmissions: one or more radio resources, Comb configuration, repeat, Number of symbols, Scrambling code configuration, Power configuration or Any combination of them.

22. The wireless communication device of claim 19, wherein the one or more dedicated resources are within a SL-PRS resource pool in which one or more resources for the one or more SL-PRS transmissions are allocated.

23. The wireless communication device of claim 19, wherein the one or more dedicated resources are outside of a SL-PRS resource pool in which one or more resources for the one or more SL-PRS transmissions are allocated.

24. The wireless communication device of claim 19, wherein the one or more dedicated resources are designated based on one or more parameters comprising: one or more time domain positions of the one or more dedicated resources in the resource allocation pattern, one or more frequency domain locations of the one or more dedicated resources in the resource allocation pattern, The periodicity of the resource allocation pattern or Any combination of them.

25. The wireless communication device of claim 19, wherein: The one or more dedicated resources are arranged on a one dedicated resource per time slot per frequency domain unit basis, or The one or more dedicated resources are arranged based on: Each time slot and each sub-channel are time-division multiplexed, Frequency division multiplexing per time slot and per sub-channel or A combination of them.

26. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a wireless communication device, cause the wireless communication device to: receiving or transmitting sidelink positioning control information on one or more dedicated resources dedicated to control signaling of a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS), the sidelink positioning control information including configuration information for one or more SL-PRS transmissions; and A sidelink positioning session is engaged based on at least one of the one or more SL-PRS transmissions and the configuration information.

27. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 26, wherein the sidelink positioning control information is included in: First level sidelink control information (SCI-1) message, Second level sidelink control information (SCI-2) message, Medium Access Control Layer Control Element (MAC-CE) messages, PC5 Radio Resource Control (PC5-RRC) messages, Protocol layer messages, Application layer messages or Any combination of them.

28. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 26, wherein the configuration information specifies, for the one or more SL-PRS transmissions: one or more radio resources, Comb configuration, repeat, Number of symbols, Scrambling code configuration, Power configuration or Any combination of them.

29. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 26, wherein the one or more dedicated resources are specified based on one or more parameters, the one or more parameters comprising: one or more time domain positions of the one or more dedicated resources in the resource allocation pattern, one or more frequency domain locations of the one or more dedicated resources in the resource allocation pattern, The periodicity of the resource allocation pattern or Any combination of them.

30. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 26, wherein: The one or more dedicated resources are arranged on a one dedicated resource per time slot per frequency domain unit basis, or The one or more dedicated resources are arranged based on: Each time slot and each sub-channel are time-division multiplexed, Frequency division multiplexing per time slot and per sub-channel or A combination of them.

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