Method and apparatus for enhancing capabilities of reduced-capability user equipment with frequency hopping

Abstract

Techniques are provided for facilitating an uplink frequency hopping mode for reduced capability user equipment. In the context of a method performed by a user equipment, reception of information on an uplink sounding reference signal frequency hopping pattern for positioning is received. The method also includes determining a frequency domain allocation to implement an uplink sounding reference signal frequency hopping pattern. The method further comprises causing the sounding reference signal to be transmitted to the at least one base station according to the frequency domain allocation implementing the uplink sounding reference signal frequency hopping pattern. Corresponding methods, apparatuses, and computer readable storage media are also provided for a primary cell and a target cell.

Description

Related Applications

[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 501950, filed May 12, 2023, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] The example embodiments generally relate to wireless communication technologies, and more specifically, to technologies for configuring degraded user equipment, including, for example, configuring degraded user equipment with a frequency hopping mode. Background Technology

[0003] To improve the bandwidth capabilities of Reduced Capability User Equipment (RedCap UE), uplink (UL) frequency hopping (FH) modes have been developed to allow RedCap UEs to transmit on a relatively narrow radio frequency (RF) bandwidth (BW) in any single hop, but aggregate transmissions across multiple hops to achieve greater effective bandwidth. For example, a RedCap UE can transmit a sounding reference signal (SRS) in a staircase pattern across multiple different hops. This method allows the RedCap UE to transmit on multiple hops, where each adjacent hop fully occupies the next frequency block. However, the frequency domain reuse options for this mode are limited because only a single UE can be assigned to a specific frequency hopping mode for any given symbol. In another example, an uplink (UL) frequency hopping (FH) mode for two UEs can be assigned to a single UE. However, due to the limitations of the frequency domain reuse options, only two UEs can be assigned to the uplink (UL) frequency hopping (FH) mode without interference. Thus, although frequency hopping provides greater effective uplink bandwidth for UEs with reduced capabilities, the uplink frequency hopping mode limits the number of UEs that can communicate with the base station via uplink frequency hopping mode at any given time due to interference between uplink signals. Summary of the Invention

[0004] Various embodiments generally relate to techniques for facilitating uplink frequency hopping modes for user equipment. Thus, the methods, apparatus, and computer program products of the example embodiments can increase the effective bandwidth of user equipment with reduced capacity.

[0005] In an example embodiment, a method is provided that includes receiving information about an uplink sounding reference signal frequency hopping pattern for positioning. The method also includes determining a frequency domain allocation to implement the uplink sounding reference signal frequency hopping pattern. The method further includes causing a sounding reference signal to be transmitted. Transmission of the sounding reference signal to at least one base station can be based on the frequency domain allocation that implements the uplink sounding reference signal frequency hopping pattern.

[0006] The method in the example embodiment includes: information regarding the uplink sounding reference signal frequency hopping pattern, including the starting hop position and an indication of the relative offset of subsequent hops. In the example embodiment, the uplink sounding reference signal frequency hopping pattern includes one or more frequency hopping patterns, wherein each individual frequency hopping pattern is associated with an index. In this example embodiment, receiving information includes receiving an indication of an index associated with one or more frequency hopping patterns via radio resource control and / or downlink control information.

[0007] The method in the example embodiment includes information regarding the uplink probe reference signal frequency hopping pattern used for positioning, including an index or start hop associated with a predefined or preconfigured hopping pattern. In this example embodiment, the predefined or preconfigured hopping pattern includes a hopping pattern sequentially comprising hopping positions 1, 4, 2, 3, and 0. In the example embodiment, determining the frequency domain allocation includes determining the relative positions of one or more physical resource blocks of a hopping frequency that partially overlaps with another hopping frequency, and identifying one or more physical resource blocks of a hopping frequency located at the top or bottom of the frequency domain allocation of the hopping frequency. In this example embodiment, the method further includes configuring one or more uplink frequency hopping patterns based on the frequency domain allocation, the number of hopping frequencies, and / or the relative positions of one or more physical resource blocks. In this example embodiment, the method further includes receiving at least one of the number of hopping frequencies and / or the start hop of the hopping pattern.

[0008] In another example embodiment, an apparatus is provided, comprising at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to receive information regarding an uplink sounding reference signal frequency hopping mode for positioning. The apparatus is also caused to determine a frequency domain allocation to implement the uplink sounding reference signal frequency hopping mode. The apparatus is further caused to transmit a sounding reference signal to at least one base station based on the frequency domain allocation implementing the uplink sounding reference signal frequency hopping.

[0009] The apparatus of the example embodiment is further configured to: receive information regarding uplink probe reference signal frequency hopping patterns, including an indication of the starting hop position and the relative offset of subsequent hops. The apparatus of the example embodiment is configured to: receive uplink probe reference signal frequency hopping patterns comprising one or more frequency hopping patterns, wherein each individual frequency hopping pattern is associated with an index. In this example embodiment, the information received via radio resource control or downlink control includes an indication of an index associated with one or more frequency hopping patterns.

[0010] The apparatus of the example embodiment is configured to receive information regarding an uplink probe reference signal frequency hopping pattern used for positioning, the information including an index or start hop associated with a predefined or preconfigured hopping pattern. In this example embodiment, the predefined or preconfigured hopping pattern includes a hopping pattern sequentially comprising hopping positions 1, 4, 2, 3, and 0. The apparatus of the example embodiment is configured to determine a frequency domain allocation by determining the relative positions of one or more physical resource blocks of a hopping frequency that partially overlaps with another hopping frequency, and identifying one or more physical resource blocks of a hopping frequency located at the top or bottom of the frequency domain allocation of the hopping frequency. In this example embodiment, the apparatus is further configured to configure one or more uplink frequency hopping patterns based on the frequency domain allocation, the number of hopping frequencies, and / or the relative positions of one or more physical resource blocks. In this example embodiment, the apparatus is further configured to receive at least one of the number of hopping frequencies and / or the start hop of the hopping pattern.

[0011] In another example embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium is provided, including program instructions stored thereon for: receiving information regarding an uplink sounding reference signal frequency hopping mode for positioning. The program instructions are also configured to: determine a frequency domain allocation to implement the uplink sounding reference signal frequency hopping mode. The program instructions are further configured to: cause a sounding reference signal to be transmitted to at least one base station based on the frequency domain allocation implementing the uplink sounding reference signal frequency hopping mode.

[0012] Program instructions for receiving information about uplink sounding reference signal frequency hopping patterns include indications of the starting hop position and the relative offset of subsequent hops. The program instructions for receiving uplink sounding reference signal frequency hopping patterns include one or more frequency hopping patterns, each individual frequency hopping pattern being associated with an index. In this example embodiment, the information received via radio resource control and / or downlink control information includes indications of indices associated with one or more frequency hopping patterns. Program instructions for receiving information about uplink sounding reference signal frequency hopping patterns used for positioning include an index or starting hop associated with a predefined or preconfigured hopping pattern. In this example embodiment, the predefined or preconfigured hopping patterns include hopping patterns sequentially comprising hopping positions 1, 4, 2, 3, and 0.

[0013] The program instructions for determining frequency domain allocation include: determining the relative positions of one or more physical resource blocks of a frequency hopping frequency that partially overlaps with another frequency hopping frequency, and identifying one or more physical resource blocks of a frequency hopping frequency located at the top or bottom of the frequency domain allocation of the frequency hopping frequency. In this example embodiment, instructions are also included to configure one or more uplink frequency hopping modes based on the frequency domain allocation, the number of frequency hopping frequencies, and / or the relative positions of one or more physical resource blocks. In this example embodiment, instructions are also included to receive at least one of the number of frequency hopping frequencies in the frequency hopping mode and / or the start of a hop.

[0014] In another example embodiment, an apparatus is provided that includes components for receiving information regarding an uplink sounding reference signal frequency hopping pattern for positioning. The apparatus also includes components for determining a frequency domain allocation to implement the uplink sounding reference signal frequency hopping pattern. Furthermore, the apparatus includes components for causing the transmission of a sounding reference signal to at least one base station based on the frequency domain allocation implementing the uplink sounding reference signal frequency hopping pattern.

[0015] Components for receiving information about uplink probe reference signal frequency hopping patterns include indications of the starting hop position and the relative offset of subsequent hops. Components for receiving uplink probe reference signal frequency hopping patterns include one or more frequency hopping patterns, each individual frequency hopping pattern being associated with an index. In this example embodiment, information received via radio resource control and / or downlink control information includes indications of indexes associated with one or more frequency hopping patterns. In this example embodiment, information about the uplink probe reference signal frequency hopping pattern used for positioning includes an index or starting hop associated with a predefined or preconfigured hopping pattern. In this example embodiment, the predefined or preconfigured hopping patterns include hopping patterns sequentially comprising frequency hopping positions 1, 4, 2, 3, and 0.

[0016] The components for determining the frequency domain allocation include determining the relative positions of one or more physical resource blocks of a frequency hopping frequency that partially overlaps with another frequency hopping frequency, and identifying one or more physical resource blocks of a frequency hopping frequency located at the top or bottom of the frequency domain allocation of the frequency hopping frequency. In this example embodiment, the apparatus further includes components for configuring one or more uplink frequency hopping modes based on the frequency domain allocation, the number of frequency hopping frequencies, and / or the relative positions of one or more physical resource blocks. In this example embodiment, the apparatus further includes components for receiving at least one of the number of frequency hopping frequencies in the frequency hopping mode and / or the initiation hop.

[0017] In an example embodiment, a method is provided that includes receiving a request to configure at least one user equipment (UE) with an uplink probe reference signal (PRS) frequency hopping mode. The method further includes determining at least one uplink PRS frequency hopping mode for the at least one UE. The method also includes configuring the at least one UE with an uplink PRS frequency hopping mode for positioning. Configuring the at least one UE includes providing an indication of the relative position of one or more physical resource blocks with respect to a frequency hopping that partially overlaps with another frequency hopping mode.

[0018] The method in the example embodiment further includes determining the frequency hopping of the uplink probe reference signal frequency hopping pattern of a corresponding user equipment based on the uplink probe reference signal frequency hopping pattern of one or more other user equipments. In this example embodiment, the method further includes measuring at least one uplink probe reference signal provided by the corresponding user equipment according to the uplink probe reference signal frequency hopping pattern. In this example embodiment, the method further includes generating and sending a report of the uplink probe reference signal measurement to a location management function.

[0019] The method of the example embodiment identifies the relative position of one or more physical resource blocks of a frequency hopping frequency that partially overlaps with another frequency hopping frequency: one or more physical resource blocks of the frequency hopping frequency located at the top or bottom of the frequency domain allocation of the frequency hopping frequency. In this example embodiment, the indication of one or more physical resource blocks that partially overlap with another frequency hopping frequency is determined based on the top and / or bottom physical resource blocks of the carrier. In the example embodiment, the method also includes causing an uplink sounding reference signal frequency hopping mode to be transmitted to a location management function.

[0020] In another example embodiment, an apparatus is provided, including at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to receive at least one request to configure at least one user equipment with an uplink probe reference signal frequency hopping mode. The request may include an indication of the relative position of one or more physical resource blocks of a frequency hopping mode that partially overlaps with another frequency hopping mode. The instructions may also be configured to determine at least one uplink probe reference signal frequency hopping mode for the at least one user equipment. The determination of the uplink probe reference signal frequency hopping mode may be based at least in part on the indication of the relative position of one or more physical resource blocks of a frequency hopping mode that partially overlaps with another frequency hopping mode. The instructions are also configured to cause at least one user equipment to be configured with an uplink probe reference signal frequency hopping mode for positioning.

[0021] The instructions in the example embodiment are further configured to determine the frequency hopping of the uplink sounding reference signal frequency hopping mode of a corresponding user equipment based on the uplink sounding reference signal frequency hopping mode of one or more other user equipments. In the example embodiment, the instructions are also configured to measure at least one uplink sounding reference signal provided by the corresponding user equipment according to the uplink sounding reference signal frequency hopping mode. In the example embodiment, the instructions are also configured to cause a report of the uplink sounding reference signal measurement to be generated and sent to the location management function.

[0022] An example embodiment of the instruction identifies the relative position of one or more physical resource blocks of a frequency hopping frequency that partially overlaps with another frequency hopping frequency: one or more physical resource blocks of the frequency hopping frequency located at the top or bottom of the frequency domain allocation of the frequency hopping frequency. In the example embodiment, the indication of one or more physical resource blocks that partially overlap with another frequency hopping frequency is determined based on the top and / or bottom physical resource blocks of the carrier. In this example embodiment, the instruction is also configured to cause the device to transmit an uplink sounding reference signal frequency hopping mode to the location management function.

[0023] In another example embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium is provided, including program instructions stored thereon for: receiving a request to configure at least one user equipment with an uplink probe reference signal frequency hopping mode. The program instructions may also be configured to determine at least one uplink probe reference signal frequency hopping mode for the at least one user equipment. The program instructions are further configured to cause the at least one user equipment to be configured with an uplink probe reference signal frequency hopping mode for positioning. Configuring the at least one user equipment includes: providing an indication of the relative position of one or more physical resource blocks of a frequency hopping that partially overlaps with another frequency hopping mode.

[0024] The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of the example embodiment further includes instructions for determining the frequency hopping of the uplink reference signal frequency hopping mode of a corresponding user equipment based on the uplink probe reference signal frequency hopping mode of one or more other user equipments. In the example embodiment, the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium also includes instructions for measuring at least one uplink probe reference signal provided by the corresponding user equipment according to the uplink probe reference signal frequency hopping mode. In this example embodiment, the instructions are further configured to cause a report of the uplink probe reference signal measurement to be generated and sent to a location management function.

[0025] In an example embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium is configured to determine the relative position of one or more physical resource blocks of a frequency hopping frequency that partially overlaps with another frequency hopping frequency, wherein the relative position identifies one or more physical resource blocks of a frequency hopping frequency located at the top or bottom of the frequency domain allocation of the frequency hopping frequency. In this example embodiment, the instruction is further configured to cause the indication of one or more physical resource blocks that partially overlap with another frequency hopping frequency to be determined based on the top and / or bottom physical resource blocks of the carrier. In the example embodiment, the instruction is further configured to cause the uplink sounding reference signal frequency hopping mode to be transmitted to a location management function.

[0026] In yet another example embodiment, an apparatus is provided that includes components for receiving a request to configure at least one user equipment (UE) with an uplink probe reference signal (PRS) frequency hopping mode. The apparatus further includes components for determining at least one uplink PRS frequency hopping mode for the at least one UE. The apparatus also includes components for configuring the at least one UE with the uplink PRS frequency hopping mode for positioning. Configuring the at least one UE may further include providing an indication of the relative position of one or more physical resource blocks of a frequency hopping that partially overlaps with another frequency hopping mode.

[0027] The apparatus in the example embodiment further includes components for determining the frequency hopping of the uplink probe reference signal frequency hopping pattern of a corresponding user equipment based on the uplink probe reference signal frequency hopping pattern of one or more other user equipments. In this example embodiment, the apparatus further includes components for measuring at least one uplink probe reference signal provided by the corresponding user equipment according to the uplink probe reference signal frequency hopping pattern. In this example embodiment, the apparatus further includes components for generating and sending a report of the uplink probe reference signal measurement to a location management function.

[0028] The apparatus of the example embodiment includes components for determining the relative position of one or more physical resource blocks of a frequency hopping frequency that partially overlaps with another frequency hopping frequency, identifying one or more physical resource blocks of the frequency hopping frequency located at the top or bottom of the frequency domain allocation of the frequency hopping frequency. In this example embodiment, the apparatus is configured to determine an indication of one or more physical resource blocks partially overlapping with another frequency hopping frequency based on the top and / or bottom physical resource blocks of the carrier. In this example embodiment, the apparatus also includes components for causing an uplink sounding reference signal frequency hopping pattern to be transmitted to a location management function.

[0029] The above description of the invention is provided only for the purpose of summarizing some exemplary embodiments to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the invention. Therefore, it should be understood that the above embodiments are merely examples and should not be construed as limiting the scope or spirit of this disclosure in any way. It should be understood that the scope of this disclosure includes many potential embodiments in addition to those outlined herein, some of which will be further described below. Other features, aspects, and advantages of this subject matter will become apparent from the specification, drawings, and claims. Attached Figure Description

[0030] Some exemplary embodiments of this disclosure have been described in a general manner. Reference will be made below to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, and in the drawings:

[0031] Figure 1 An example of a communication system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0032] Figure 2 A block diagram of an apparatus that can be configured according to exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0033] Figure 3 An example block diagram of frequency hopping according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0034] Figure 4 An example block diagram of frequency hopping according to another example embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0035] Figure 5A A signaling diagram of uplink frequency hopping operation according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0036] Figure 5B A signaling diagram of uplink frequency hopping operation according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0037] Figure 6 An example workflow implemented by at least one user equipment is shown according to an example embodiment of this disclosure; and

[0038] Figure 7 An example workflow implemented by at least one base station according to an example embodiment of this disclosure is shown; Detailed Implementation

[0039] Some embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings, some of which, but not all, are shown. In fact, various embodiments of the present disclosure may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that the present disclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements. The same reference numerals throughout denote the same elements. As used herein, the terms “data,” “content,” “information,” and similar terms are used interchangeably to refer to data capable of being transmitted, received, and / or stored according to embodiments of the present invention. Therefore, the use of any such terms should not be construed as limiting the spirit and scope of the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0040] Additionally, as used herein, the term "circuit system" means: (a) a hardware circuit implementation (e.g., an implementation in an analog circuit system and / or a digital circuit system); (b) a combination of circuitry and (one or more) computer program products comprising software and / or firmware instructions stored on one or more computer-readable storage media, which together function to cause a device to perform one or more functions described herein; and (c) circuitry, such as, for example, (one or more) microprocessors or portions thereof, which requires software or firmware to operate, even if the software or firmware is not physically present. This definition of "circuit system" applies to all uses of the term herein, including in any claim. As another example, as used herein, the term "circuit system" also covers implementations comprising one or more processors and / or portions thereof, along with accompanying software and / or firmware. As yet another example, as used herein, the term "circuit system" also includes, for example, baseband integrated circuits or application processor integrated circuits for mobile phones, or similar integrated circuits in servers, cellular network devices, other network devices (such as core network devices), field-programmable gate arrays, and / or other computing devices.

[0041] The term “comprising” means including but not limited to, and should be interpreted in the manner it is typically used in the patent context. The use of broader terms (such as comprising, including, and having) should be understood to support narrower terms (such as consisting of, substantially consisting of, and primarily comprising). Furthermore, within the scope of the terms “includes” and “including” and their variations used in the detailed description or claims, these terms are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising.”

[0042] The phrases “in one embodiment,” “according to one embodiment,” “in some embodiments,” “in various embodiments,” etc., generally refer to the fact that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic following the phrase may be included in at least one embodiment of this disclosure, but not necessarily in all embodiments of this disclosure. Therefore, a particular feature, structure, or characteristic may be included in more than one embodiment of this disclosure, such that these phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment.

[0043] As used herein, the terms “example,” “exemplary,” etc., are used to mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any implementation, aspect, or design described herein as an “example” or “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or superior to other implementations, aspects, or designs. Rather, the use of the terms “example,” “exemplary,” etc., is intended to present concepts in a specific manner.

[0044] If the specification states that a component or feature is "may," "can," "could," "should," "would," "preferably," "possibly," "typically," "optionally," "for example," "often," or "may" (or other such language) included or has a characteristic, then that particular component or feature does not need to be included or have that characteristic. Such a component or feature may be optionally included in some embodiments, or may be excluded.

[0045] As used herein, the term "computer-readable medium" refers to non-transitory storage hardware, non-transitory storage device, or non-transitory computer system memory that can be accessed by a controller, microcontroller, computer system, or computer system module to encode computer-executable instructions or software programs thereon. A non-transitory "computer-readable medium" can be accessed by a computer system or computer system module to retrieve and / or execute computer-executable instructions or software programs encoded on the medium. Examples of non-transitory computer-readable media may include, but are not limited to, one or more types of hardware memory, non-transitory tangible media (e.g., one or more magnetic disks, one or more optical disks, one or more USB flash drives), computer system memory, or random access memory (such as DRAM, SRAM, EDO RAM), etc.

[0046] like Figure 1As shown, a communication system 100 is provided according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the communication system may include at least one user equipment (UE) 110, a plurality of base stations 120A and 120B (collectively referred to as "120"), and at least one location management function (LMF) 140 capable of communicating with each other and receiving uplink (UL) transmissions (such as from the UE). The UE 110 may be configured to operate in two or more frequency bands (such as three or four frequency bands in some embodiments). In some embodiments, frequency bands may be referred to as frequency blocks or frequency hopping. With respect to at least some, but not necessarily all, of the frequency bands, the UE 110 may be configured to establish an uplink (UL) probe reference signal (SRS) frequency hopping (FH) mode. Additionally, different base stations may be configured to operate in different frequency bands, such as the FR1 band, the FR2 band, etc. In some embodiments, different base stations may be operated by different carriers. The apparatus, method, and computer program product of the example embodiments described below are configured to implement an uplink (UL) frequency hopping (FH) configuration process as described herein, which is based on empty top and / or bottom physical resource blocks (PRBs) of UE 110 (corresponding hops of the top PRB with the highest frequency and the bottom PRB with the lowest frequency).

[0047] By way of example, communication system 100 can be deployed within a radio access architecture based on Advanced Long Term Evolution (LTE Advanced, LTE-A) and / or New Radio (NR, 5G). However, the system can be deployed in other network architectures, including other communication networks, such as other communication networks to be developed in the future (e.g., sixth-generation (6G) networks), and any of many existing networks, including Global System for Mobile Telecommunications (UMTS), Radio Access Networks (UTRAN or E-UTRAN), Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN or Wi-Fi), Global Microwave Access Interoperability (WiMAX), Bluetooth®, Personal Communication Services (PCS), ZigBee®, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), systems using Ultra Wideband (UWB) technology, sensor networks, Mobile Ad Hoc Networks (MANET), and Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), or any combination thereof.

[0048] UE 110 can be any type of user terminal, terminal equipment, etc., to which resources on the air interface are allocated and assigned. For example, a UE can be a portable computing device such as a wireless mobile communication device, including but not limited to the following types of devices: mobile station (mobile phone), smartphone, personal digital assistant (PDA), mobile phone, device using a wireless modem (alarm or measuring device, etc.), laptop and / or touchscreen computer, tablet computer, game console, notebook computer, and multimedia device. User equipment may also be referred to as subscriber unit, mobile station, remote terminal, access terminal, user terminal, or user equipment (UE), with only a few names or devices mentioned.

[0049] At least one base station 120 is a network element and can be implemented by any access point of various types, including, for example, a node B (e.g., a gNB, etc.). At least one location management function (LMF) 140 is also a network element and can be embodied by any network node or function of various types, including, for example, a server, a repository, a storage device, etc.

[0050] Now for reference Figure 2 An example apparatus 200 is provided. In some instances, apparatus 200 may be an embodiment of UE 110 and / or may be embodied by communicating with or otherwise associated with UE 110. Alternatively, apparatus 200 may be an embodiment of a network element or may be embodied by or otherwise associated with a network element, and may also be embodied by an access point, for example, at least one base station 120, at least one auxiliary base station 130, and / or at least one location management function 140.

[0051] Device 200 may include processor 202, memory 204, and network interface 206. Device 200 may be configured to perform the operations described herein. Although the performance of these components relative to various functions is described, it should be understood that a particular implementation must include the use of specific hardware. It should also be understood that some of these components may include similar or general-purpose hardware. For example, two sets of circuit systems may utilize the same processor, network interface, storage medium, etc., to perform their associated functions, so that each set of circuit systems does not require duplicate hardware.

[0052] In some embodiments, processor 202 (and / or coprocessor or any other auxiliary or otherwise associated processing circuitry) may communicate with memory 204 via a bus for transferring information between components of the device. Memory 204 is non-transitory and may include, for example, one or more volatile and / or non-volatile memories. In other words, memory 204 may be, for example, an electronic storage device (e.g., a computer-readable storage medium). Memory 204 may be configured to store information, data, content, applications, instructions, etc., for enabling the device to perform various functions according to the example embodiments described herein.

[0053] Processor 202 can be embodied in a variety of different ways and may include, for example, one or more processing devices configured to execute independently. In some non-limiting embodiments, processor 202 may include one or more processors configured to be cascaded via a bus so that instructions, pipelined operations and / or multithreading can be executed independently. The term “processor” can be understood to include single-core processors, multi-core processors, multiple processors within a device, and / or remote or “cloud” processors.

[0054] In some embodiments, processor 202 may be configured to execute instructions stored in memory 204 and / or circuitry accessible to processor 202. In some embodiments, processor 202 may be configured to perform hard-coded functions. Thus, whether configured by hardware or software methods, or by a combination thereof, when processor 202 is configured accordingly, it may represent an entity (e.g., physically embodied in a circuitry) capable of performing operations according to embodiments described herein. Alternatively, as another example, when processor 202 is embodied as an executor of software instructions, when the instructions are executed, the instructions may specifically configure processor 202 to perform the algorithms and / or operations described herein.

[0055] In some embodiments, device 200 may optionally include an input / output circuitry system that can communicate with processor 202 to provide output to a user and / or other entity, and in some embodiments, to receive input indications. The input / output circuitry system may include a user interface and may include a display, and may include a web user interface, mobile application, query-initiating computing device, kiosk, etc. In some embodiments, the input / output circuitry system may also include a keyboard, mouse, joystick, touchscreen, touch area, softkeys, microphone, speaker, or other input / output mechanism. The processor and / or user interface circuitry system includes a processor configured to control one or more functions of one or more user interface elements via computer program instructions (e.g., software and / or firmware) stored in processor-accessible memory (e.g., memory 204 and / or others).

[0056] Network interface 206 can be any component, such as a device or circuit system embodied in hardware or a combination of hardware and software, configured to receive data from and / or send data to a network, for example, one or more of base stations 120A, 120B and / or any other device, circuit system, or module communicating with device 200. In this regard, network interface 206 may include, for example, a network interface for enabling communication with wired or wireless communication networks. For example, network interface 206 may include one or more network interface cards, antennas, buses, switches, routers, modems, and any other hardware and / or software supporting or suitable for enabling communication via a network. Additionally, or alternatively, network interface 206 may include circuitry for interacting with antennas / multi-antennas to enable signal transmission via antennas / multi-antennas, or for processing the reception of signals received via antennas / multi-antennas.

[0057] Figure 3An example probe reference signal (SRS) frequency hopping (FH) mode for a user equipment (UE) according to an example embodiment of this disclosure is illustrated. In various embodiments, the UE may include an active uplink bandwidth portion (UL BWP) 302 at a given carrier frequency. In various embodiments, the UE may be configured to use a probe reference signal (SRS) frequency hopping (FH) configuration separate from the active UL BWP 302. The separate probe reference signal (SRS) frequency hopping (FH) configuration can keep the UE radio frequency (RF) limited to a single hop while allowing network entities (e.g., base stations, location management functions, etc.) to stitch or combine UL signals across multiple hops to provide a valid wide bandwidth to the RedCap UE to improve the accuracy of positioning estimation and / or timing estimation. In some embodiments, the UE may be configured with a predetermined uplink (UL) frequency hopping (FH) probe reference signal (SRS) configuration for positioning using a determined frequency hopping (FH) mode from at least one base station. Frequency hopping (FH) modes may include information regarding the allocation of top and / or bottom physical resource blocks (PRBs) for updating the uplink (UL) probe reference signal (SRS) frequency hopping (FH) mode. In some embodiments, the uplink (UL) probe reference signal (SRS) frequency hopping (FH) mode allows determining the frequency domain allocation for probe reference signal (SRS) frequency hopping (FH) based on information about the top and / or bottom physical resource blocks to be allocated and used. In some embodiments, the top and / or bottom PRBs may be the top and / or bottom PRBs within a carrier (e.g., the top 4 PRBs in a 100MHz carrier).

[0058] Further reference Figure 3In various embodiments, the base station can indicate a specific uplink (UL) probe reference signal (SRS) frequency hopping (FH) mode. The UL SRS FH mode can be indicated by an offset form, a predefined number of hop sequences, a starting hop, and / or one or more relative offsets of subsequent hops. In the described embodiments, the RedCap UE can be configured with an uplink (UL) frequency hopping (FH) probe reference signal (SRS) configuration indicated by predefined hop sequence numbers, such as hop sequence 1, hop sequence 2, ..., hop sequence n. The UE can be configured to transmit SRS during a first probe reference signal (SRS) hop 304, a second probe reference signal (SRS) hop 306, and / or a third probe reference signal (SRS) hop 308. The SRS hops are separated in the time domain. For example, the first SRS hop 304 and the second SRS hop 306 may be separated by a first predetermined time interval 310A, and the second SRS hop 306 and the third SRS hop 308 may be separated by a second predetermined time interval 310B, which may be equal to or different from the first predetermined time interval 310A. The UE may include unused top and / or bottom physical resource blocks (PRBs) spanning different hops 322 and 324.

[0059] Figure 4An example SRS FH pattern for multiple user equipments (UEs) utilizing a probe reference signal (SRS) frequency hopping (FH) pattern defined according to various embodiments of this disclosure is illustrated. In the described embodiment, the frequency domain comprises five separate hops 402, 404, 406, 408, and 410. Each hop extends over a predefined frequency bandwidth, such as 20 MHz in FR1. These hops can be ordered in descending order, with the first hop 402 shown vertically above the second hop 404 such that the center frequency of the first hop exceeds the center frequency of the second hop by a predetermined amount (such as 20 MHz), the second hop 404 shown above the third hop 406, and so on. In the described embodiment, the first UE 410 can be configured such that the top physical resource block (PRB) is filled (so that it can be used by the first UE for probe reference signal (SRS) transmission), while the bottom physical resource block (PRB) is left empty for configuration by one or more base stations. The second UE 420 can be configured such that the top and / or bottom physical resource blocks (PRBs) are configured in an offset manner by one or more base stations, at least in part, based on a configuration of other UEs (such as the first UE 410 and / or the third UE 430) communicating with the one or more base stations, in conjunction with SRS positioning. The third UE 430 can be configured such that the bottom physical resource block (PRB) is filled (so that it can be used by the third UE for the transmission of the sounding reference signal (SRS), and the top physical resource block (PRB) is left empty for configuration by the one or more base stations.

[0060] Further reference Figure 4 In various embodiments, the first UE can be configured by a base station to directly indicate the hopping mode to the first UE 410 in offset form. In the described embodiments, the hop can be 20 MHz of a carrier frequency of 3 GHz. Although time-separated, the hops can partially overlap in the frequency domain, such that the SRS transmitted by the UE has a larger, typically significantly larger, effective bandwidth than the signal hop. In this regard, the hops in the example embodiment have frequency overlap of one physical resource block (PRB) per hop. The UE is able to calculate the center frequency of each hop in the time domain based on information provided by the base station. The first UE 410 is configured with a first uplink (UL) frequency hopping (FH) probe reference signal (SRS) 412A deployed in the first hop 402. By way of example, the center frequency for the first hop can be calculated as follows: Fc = 3 GHz + 20 MHZ + 1 PRB PRB equals 12 Subcarrier spacing (12) SCS). The first UE 410 in this example can be configured with a second uplink (UL) frequency hopping (FH) probe reference signal (SRS) 412B deployed in the fourth hop 408. The center frequency for the fourth hop can be calculated as Fc = 3 GHz - 20 MHZ + 3 PRB The first UE 410 can also be configured with a third uplink (UL) frequency hopping (FH) probe reference signal (SRS) 412C deployed in the second hop 404. The center frequency for the second hop 404 can be calculated as follows: Fc = 3 GHz - 40 MHZ + 4 PRB Fc = 3 GHz + 2 PRB In this example, the first UE 410 can also be configured with a fourth uplink (UL) frequency hopping (FH) probe reference signal (SRS) 412D deployed in the third hop 406. The center frequency for the third hop 406 can be calculated as follows: Figure 4 The first UE 410 can even be configured with a fifth uplink (UL) frequency hopping (FH) sounding reference signal (SRS) 412E deployed in the additional hop.

[0061] Further reference Figure 4In various embodiments, the base station may configure the second UE 420, at least in part, based on the configuration of the first UE and / or the available top and / or bottom physical resource blocks (PRBs) of the second UE, using uplink (UL) frequency hopping (FH) sounding reference signals (SRS) to avoid interference with the first UE. In the described embodiments, the second UE 420 may indicate that the bottom PRBs for component carriers are filled and the top PRBs for component carriers are left empty for configuration by the base station. In various embodiments, the second UE is configured with a first uplink (UL) frequency hopping (FH) sounding reference signal (SRS) 422A deployed in the fifth hop 410. The second UE 420 is also configured with a second uplink (UL) frequency hopping (FH) sounding reference signal (SRS) 422B, at least in part deployed in the third hop 406, and utilizes the available bottom PRBs for SRS transmission in the fourth hop 408. The second UE 420 is also configured with a third uplink (UL) frequency hopping (FH) probe reference signal (SRS) 422C, at least partially deployed in the first hop 402, and utilizes available bottom PRBs for SRS transmission in the second hop 404. The second UE 420 is also configured with a fourth uplink (UL) frequency hopping (FH) probe reference signal (SRS) 422D, at least partially deployed in the second hop 404, and utilizes potentially available bottom PRBs for SRS transmission in the third hop 406 and / or utilizes potentially available top PRBs for SRS transmission in the first hop 402. The second UE 420 is even further configured with a second uplink (UL) frequency hopping (FH) probe reference signal (SRS) 422E, at least partially deployed in the fourth hop 408, and utilizes potentially available bottom PRBs for SRS transmission in the fifth hop 410 and / or utilizes potentially available top PRBs for SRS transmission in the third hop 406.

[0062] Further reference Figure 4In various embodiments, the base station may configure the third UE 430 using the UL FH SRS mode, at least partially based on the uplink (UL) frequency hopping (FH) probe reference signal (SRS) modes of the first UE and the second UE, and / or the available top and / or bottom physical resource blocks (PRBs) of the third UE, to avoid or reduce interference generated by the first UE and the second UE. In the described embodiments, the third UE 430 may be configured with a first uplink (UL) frequency hopping (FH) probe reference signal (SRS) 432A, at least partially deployed in the third hop 406, and utilize at least one available top PRB for SRS transmission in the second hop 404 and / or utilize at least one available bottom PRB for SRS transmission in the fourth hop 408. The third UE 430 may be configured with a second uplink (UL) frequency hopping (FH) probe reference signal (SRS) 432B, at least partially deployed in the first hop 402, and utilize at least one available bottom PRB for SRS transmission in the second hop 404. The third UE 430 may be configured with a third uplink (UL) frequency hopping (FH) probe reference signal (SRS) 432C, at least partially deployed in the fourth hop 408, and utilize at least one available bottom PRB for SRS transmission in the second hop 404. The third UE 430 may be configured with a fourth uplink (UL) frequency hopping (FH) probe reference signal (SRS) 432D, at least partially deployed in the fifth hop 410, and may include at least one available top PRB and / or at least one available bottom PRB for SRS transmission in the fifth hop 410. The third UE 430 may be configured with a fifth uplink (UL) frequency hopping (FH) probe reference signal (SRS) 432E, at least partially deployed in the second hop 404, and may include at least one available bottom PRB for SRS transmission in the third hop 406.

[0063] Further reference Figure 5A In various embodiments, the uplink (UL) frequency hopping (FH) mode of the first UE 410, the second UE 420, and / or the third UE 430 can utilize at least one top and / or bottom additional physical resource block of each UE for SRS transmission. Due to uplink (UL) frequency hopping (FH) overlap in the frequency domain, the additional top and / or bottom physical resource blocks of the UE may be left in the carrier frequency. In the described embodiments, the first UE 410, the second UE 420, and / or the third UE 430 can be multiplexed in the frequency domain, thereby allowing simultaneous transmission of SRS for positioning by the three UEs without interference between them.

[0064] Figure 5B andFigure 5A An example implementation of a signal flow according to an example embodiment is shown, wherein at least one user equipment 110 (UE) is configured to communicate with at least one base station 120, at least one auxiliary base station 130, and / or at least one location management function 140 (e.g., a server, etc.) to establish and utilize an uplink (UL) frequency hopping (FH) mode for the UE for positioning. The establishment of the uplink (UL) frequency hopping (FH) mode can be improved in various ways according to the example embodiment, such as determining at least one uplink (UL) sounding reference signal (SRS) frequency hopping (FH) mode based on one or more available physical resource blocks of the UE. The uplink (UL) sounding reference signal (SRS) frequency hopping (FH) mode can be based on available top and / or bottom physical resource block (PRB) carriers. Additionally, a network such as a base station can provide the uplink (UL) sounding reference signal (SRS) frequency hopping (FH) mode to the UE in any of a variety of ways.

[0065] As described below, in an instance where the network (e.g., a base station) sends an uplink (UL) sounding reference signal (SRS) frequency hopping (FH) mode to the UE, the UE can be configured to apply the frequency hopping (FH) mode indicated by the uplink (UL) sounding reference signal (SRS) frequency hopping (FH) mode to SRS transmissions over a larger frequency bandwidth than that provided by a single hop, for positioning purposes. A network entity such as a base station can determine available physical resource blocks (PRBs) to determine the frequency hopping (FH) mode for a given user equipment (UE). In this regard, a network entity such as a base station can determine available physical resource blocks (PRBs) and configure the UE at least in part based on physical resource block (PRB) allocation.

[0066] Return to Figure 5A At operation 1, the apparatus 200 associated with location management function 140 may include components such as processor 202, network interface 206, etc., configured to send a request to at least one base station 120 to configure a user equipment (such as a reduced-capacity user equipment (RedCap UE) 110) having an uplink (UL) frequency hopping (FH) mode. One or more base stations 120 may receive the request from location management function 140, wherein the request may also include a request for a sounding reference signal (SRS) to determine the location of the UE.

[0067] exist Figure 5AAt operation 2, the apparatus 200 associated with base station 120 includes components such as processor 202, memory 204, network interface 206, etc., for receiving requests from location management function 140 and determining at least one uplink (UL) probe reference signal (SRS) frequency hopping (FH) mode for a given RedCap UE 110. In some embodiments, base station 120 may also determine at least one uplink (UL) frequency hopping (FH) mode based at least in part on UL SRS FH modes already assigned to other UEs and / or physical resource blocks (PRBs) already assigned to RedCap UE 110. In some embodiments, base station 120 may determine one or more empty top and / or bottom physical resource blocks (PRBs) available for the frequency hopping (FH) mode. The top and / or bottom PRBs may be considered empty if other UEs configured with UL FH modes do not use their configuration.

[0068] exist Figure 4 At operation 3, the apparatus 200 associated with base station 120 includes components such as processor 202, memory 204, network interface 206, etc., for configuring RedCap UE 110 to determine the location of UE 110 using uplink (UL) sounding reference signal (SRS) frequency hopping (FH) mode. Additionally, in some embodiments, base station 120 may configure the UL SRS FH mode to include at least one physical resource block (PRB) of UE 110, which overlaps between hops to effectively merge multiple hops together, thereby extending the bandwidth of SRS by using one or more empty top and / or bottom PRBs that would otherwise be unutilized.

[0069] In some embodiments, base station 120 may directly configure UE 110 in the form of an offset from a predefined hop (e.g., a hop offset) using uplink (UL) frequency hopping (FH) mode, such as the highest hop with the maximum frequency of any hop. In an example embodiment, the sounding reference signal (SRS) frequency hopping (FH) mode provided by base station 120 to UE 110 may follow a pattern similar to... Figure 4 Similar modes to the first UE mode shown (e.g., 410A, 410B, 410C, 410D, 410E). See reference. Figure 4 Frequency hopping (FH) mode is an offset mode in which empty top and / or bottom physical resource blocks (PRBs) follow the pattern of hop 1, hop 4, hop 2, hop 3, hop 0, where the numbering is the offset from the top.

[0070] In other example embodiments, base station 120 may configure UE 110 directly in the form of a frequency hopping sequence using an uplink (UL) frequency hopping (FH) mode, wherein the frequency hopping sequence is predefined for a given UE 110. In various embodiments, base station 120 may determine the frequency hopping (FH) sequence at least partially based on empty top and / or bottom physical resource blocks (PRBs) of UE 110 to reduce interference from one or more additional UEs. In various embodiments, base station 120 may configure UE 110 using at least one frequency hopping (FH) mode identifier (ID). The frequency hopping (FH) mode identifier (ID) provides the UE with physical resource block allocation, and / or the FH mode ID may be defined with, for example, a physical resource block allocation. Figure 5A The hop offset sequence of the FH mode, hop 1, hop 4, hop 2, hop 3, and hop 0, is shown. In a further embodiment, base station 120 can directly configure UE 110 using uplink (UL) frequency hopping (FH) mode, which provides an initial hop for UE 110 and can determine subsequent hops within the frequency hopping mode based on hops of one or more potentially interfering UEs and / or by the UE's specifications.

[0071] return Figure 5B At operation 4, the apparatus 200 associated with base station 120 may include components such as processor 202, memory 204, network interface 206, etc., configured to transmit the determined UL SRS frequency hopping (FH) mode for UE 110 to at least one location management function 140. While the UL SRS FH mode can be transmitted in various ways, in one example embodiment, base station 120 may communicate with location management function 140 via a new radio positioning protocol (NRPPa). At operation 5, the apparatus 200 associated with location management function 140 may include components such as processor 202, memory 204, network interface 206, etc., for storing the determined UL SRS frequency hopping (FH) mode for UE 110 and transmitting the UL SRS frequency hopping (FH) mode for UE 110 to one or more additional base stations 130. The location management function 140 can also send requests for UL measurements for UE 110 to one or more additional base stations 130, such as based on SRS sent by UE 110.

[0072] exist Figure 5BAt operation 6, the apparatus 200 associated with user equipment 110 (UE) may include components such as processor 202, memory 204, etc., for determining the full uplink (UL) probe reference signal (SRS) frequency hopping (FH) mode based at least in part on the configuration received from base station 120. In various embodiments, UE 110 utilizes the uplink (UL) probe reference signal (SRS) frequency hopping (FH) mode received from the base station to determine the full frequency domain allocation of the probe reference signal (SRS) frequency hopping (FH) mode based on top and / or bottom physical resource blocks that have not yet been allocated in other ways (such as allocated to other UEs).

[0073] exist Figure 5B At operation point 7, the apparatus associated with user equipment 110 (UE) may include components such as processor 202, memory 204, network interface 206, etc., for transmitting a new uplink (UL) probe reference signal (SRS) frequency hopping (FH) mode to one or more additional base stations 130. The apparatus associated with user equipment 110 may then transmit UL SRS via the UL SRS FH mode.

[0074] exist Figure 6 Operations 8-11, the apparatus associated with one or more base stations 120 and / or one or more auxiliary base stations 130, may include components such as processor 202, memory 204, network interface 206, etc., for measuring one or more uplink (UL) sounding reference signals (SRS) transmitted by (one or more) UEs for locating at least one UE. Based on this measurement, base station 120 and / or one or more auxiliary base stations 130 may send an uplink (UL) sounding reference signal (SRS) measurement report to location management function 140. In some embodiments, operations 8 and 10 may be performed simultaneously (e.g., based on the same SRS FH transmission), and operations 9 and 11 may be performed simultaneously.

[0075] For reference Figure 7 and Figure 2 It provides a device (such as Figure 6 An example flowchart of the operation performed by the device, which is composed of... Figure 7 One or more user equipment (UE) and about Figure 6 Implemented by one or more base stations. Now refer to Figure 5A The diagram illustrates a method 600 that can be performed by device 200, implemented by one or more UEs, including components such as processor 202, memory 204, network interface 206, etc., for receiving information about uplink (UL) probe reference signal (SRS) frequency hopping (FH) modes used for positioning. See box 602. This information can be sent from a base station to the UE, such as...Figure 7 As shown. In some embodiments, the UL SRS FH mode may also include information regarding the allocation of at least one top and / or bottom physical resource block for at least one UE to be used by the UL SRS FH mode. At least one top and / or bottom physical resource block selected for the UL SRS FH mode is not allocated to other UEs to prevent or reduce the risk of interference. The UL SRS FH mode may be associated with or defined by an index. The index associated with the UL SRS FH mode can be used to identify one or more physical resource blocks overlapping with a hop, identify at least one of the number of hops in the FH mode, identify the starting hop of the FH mode, etc. In some embodiments, the FH mode may be predefined or preconfigured and then associated with an index. For example, an FH mode with offsets {3, 0, 2, 1, 4} may be associated with mode index 3. If a UE is configured with the predefined mode index 3, the UE will understand that it should use hops with offsets {3, 0, 2, 1, 4} for UL SRS hopping.

[0076] The apparatus also includes components, such as processor 202, for determining frequency domain allocation to implement uplink (UL) probe reference signal (SRS) frequency hopping (FH) mode 604. Determining the frequency domain allocation for at least one UE may include determining the relative positions of one or more physical resource blocks of a given frequency hopping that partially overlap with one or more additional frequency hopping blocks. In some embodiments, the apparatus also identifies one or more unallocated physical resource blocks of the frequency hopping, wherein the unallocated physical resource blocks may be located at the top and / or bottom of the frequency hopping. The apparatus may also determine the frequency associated with each individual frequency hopping, wherein the frequency is at least partially based on the relative positions of one or more physical resource blocks. The apparatus also includes components, such as processor 202, memory 204, network interface 206, etc., for enabling probe reference signal transmission to at least one base station and one or more additional base stations. See box 606. The transmission of updated probe reference signals can be based on the frequency domain allocation implementing the UL SRS FH mode. Based on the probe reference signals transmitted by the UE, the base station and one or more additional base stations can measure the probe reference signals and provide measurement reports to the network, such as providing measurement reports to location management functions. Based on SRS measurements provided by the base station using the probe reference signal sent by the UE, the location information associated with the UE can be determined.

[0077] For reference Figure 2 This shows things such as those made by Figure 7 The illustrated flowchart shows an example of the operations performed by the device, which is implemented as a base station. Now refer to... Figure 5AA method 700 that can be performed by an apparatus 200, implemented by one or more base stations, is shown. The apparatus includes components such as a processor 202, a memory 204, a network interface 206, etc., for receiving a request to configure at least one user equipment using uplink (UL) sounding reference signal (SRS) frequency hopping (FH) parameters. See box 702. The request can be sent from a location management function (LMF) to at least one base station, such as... ​ As shown.

[0078] The apparatus also includes components such as processor 202, memory 204, etc., for determining at least one uplink (UL) probe reference signal (SRS) frequency hopping (FH) parameter for at least one UE. See box 704. The apparatus can be configured to determine at least one UL SRS FH mode by determining the frequency hopping of the uplink probe reference signal frequency hopping mode for the corresponding UE based at least in part on the UL SRS FH mode of one or more other user equipment. The determination of at least one UL SRS FH mode may additionally or alternatively include measuring at least one ULSRS provided by the corresponding UE according to the UL SRS FH mode.

[0079] The apparatus also includes components such as processor 202, memory 204, network interface 206, etc., for configuring at least one UE with an uplink (UL) sounding reference signal (SRS) frequency hopping (FH) mode for positioning. See box 706. The apparatus can be configured to configure at least one UE by providing an indication of the relative position of one or more physical resource blocks of a frequency hopping that partially overlaps with another frequency hopping. The relative position of one or more physical resource blocks of a frequency hopping that partially overlaps with another frequency hopping can identify one or more physical resource blocks of the frequency hopping as being located at the top or bottom of the frequency hopping. Based on the sounding reference signal transmitted by the UE, a base station and one or more additional base stations can then measure the sounding reference signal provided by the UE according to the ULSRS FH mode and provide a measurement report to the network, such as to location management functions. Based on the SRS measurement provided by the base station using the sounding reference signal transmitted by the UE, positioning information associated with the UE can be determined.

[0080] It should be understood that the embodiments described herein are not limited to the systems given as examples, such as fifth-generation (5G) systems, and those skilled in the art can apply this solution to other communication systems, including sixth-generation (6G) or other communication systems under development or to be developed in the future. Furthermore, although some embodiments are described herein in the context of a base station, the method can be performed by other types of network entities according to other example embodiments. While the above description is in conjunction with a symmetrical UL SRS FH mode with different UEs having the same number of frequency hopping, in other embodiments, such as when different UEs have different accuracy requirements, different UEs can utilize UL SRS FH modes with different numbers of frequency hopping. Moreover, although described in the context of FR1 with five 20MHz hops, the method and apparatus can also be applied to other frequency bands with different numbers of hops, such as FR2.

[0081] As described above, the methods, apparatus, and computer program products of the example embodiments can be provided for improved multiplexing, for example, among three UEs, and consequently reduce interference between probe reference signals transmitted by the UEs as a result of the UL SRS FH mode defined herein. Location capacity is also significantly improved by allowing a larger number of UEs (e.g., three UEs) to be used for providing location services.

[0082] Furthermore, the various techniques described herein can be implemented in digital electronic circuit systems, or in computer hardware, firmware, software, or combinations thereof. This implementation can be implemented as a computer program product, for example, a computer program tangibly embodied in an information carrier (e.g., in a machine-readable storage device or a propagating signal) for execution or control of its operation by a data processing apparatus (e.g., a programmable processor, a computer, or multiple computers). The implementation can also be provided on a computer-readable medium or a computer-readable storage medium, which can be a non-transitory medium. Implementations of the various techniques can also include implementations provided via transient signals or media, and / or program and / or software implementations downloadable via the Internet or one or more other networks (wired and / or wireless networks).

[0083] Computer programs can be in the form of source code, object code, or some intermediate form, and can be stored on some carrier, distribution medium, or computer-readable medium, which can be any entity or device capable of carrying the program. Such carriers include, for example, recording media, computer memory, read-only memory, photoelectric and / or electrical carrier signals, telecommunication signals, and software distribution packages. Depending on the required processing power, a computer program can be executed in a single electronic digital computer, or it can be distributed across multiple computers.

[0084] Computer programs (such as one or more computer programs described herein) can be written in any programming language, including compiled or interpreted languages, and can be deployed in any form, including as standalone programs or as modules, components, subroutines, or other units or parts thereof suitable for use in a computing environment. Computer programs can be deployed to execute on one or more computers at a single site, or distributed across multiple sites and interconnected via a communication network.

[0085] The operation of this method can be performed by one or more programmable processors executing a computer program or a portion thereof to perform a function by manipulating input data and generating output. The operation of this method can also be performed by a dedicated logic circuit system, and the device can be implemented as a dedicated logic circuit system, such as an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) or an ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit).

[0086] It should be understood that each block of the flowchart(s) and combinations of blocks in the flowchart(s) can be implemented in various ways, such as hardware, firmware, processors, circuit systems, and / or other communication devices associated with the execution of software including one or more computer program instructions. For example, one or more processes described herein can be implemented by computer program instructions. In this regard, computer program instructions that implement the processes described herein can be stored, for example, by memory 204 of device 200 associated with user equipment 110 or other means employing embodiments of this disclosure, and executed by processor 202. It is understood that any such computer program instructions can be loaded onto a computer or other programmable means (e.g., hardware) to produce a machine, such that the resulting computer or other programmable means performs the functions specified in the blocks of the flowchart(s). These computer program instructions can also be stored in a computer-readable storage medium that can instruct the computer or other programmable means to operate in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable storage medium produce an article of writing whose execution performs the functions specified in the blocks of the flowchart(s). Computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable device to cause a series of operations to be performed on the computer or other programmable device, thereby producing a computer-implemented process, such that the instructions, which execute on the computer or other programmable device, provide operations for implementing the functions specified in the boxes of the flowchart.

[0087] Accordingly, the blocks of one or more flowcharts support combinations of components for performing a specified function, and combinations of operations for performing the specified function, to perform the specified function. It will also be understood that one or more blocks of one or more flowcharts, and combinations of blocks in one or more flowcharts, can be implemented by a computer system based on dedicated hardware that performs a specific function, or by a combination of dedicated hardware and computer instructions.

[0088] Many modifications and other embodiments will arise in those skilled in the art upon which this disclosure pertains, taking advantage of the teachings presented in the foregoing description and the accompanying drawings. Therefore, it should be understood that this disclosure is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed, and that modifications and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims. Although specific terminology is used herein, it is used only in a general and descriptive sense and not for limiting purposes.

Claims

1. A method comprising: Receive information about the frequency hopping mode of the uplink sounding reference signal used for positioning; Determining a frequency domain allocation to implement the uplink sounding reference signal frequency hopping mode, wherein determining the frequency domain allocation includes: determining the relative position of one or more physical resource blocks of a frequency hopping that partially overlaps with another frequency hopping, and identifying the one or more physical resource blocks of the frequency hopping located at the top or bottom of the frequency domain allocation of the frequency hopping. as well as According to the frequency domain allocation that implements the uplink probe reference signal frequency hopping mode, the probe reference signal is transmitted to at least one base station.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the information regarding the uplink sounding reference signal frequency hopping mode includes: Indication of the starting jump position and the relative offset of subsequent jumps.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the uplink probe reference signal frequency hopping mode comprises one or more frequency hopping modes, wherein each individual frequency hopping mode is associated with an index.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein receiving information includes: Receive an indication of the index associated with one or more frequency hopping modes via at least one of radio resource control or downlink control information.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the information regarding the uplink probe reference signal frequency hopping mode used for positioning includes: An index or starting jump associated with a predefined or preconfigured jump pattern.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the predefined or preconfigured skipping mode includes: The hopping modes sequentially include frequency hopping positions 1, 4, 2, 3, and 0.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising: Based on the frequency domain allocation, the number of frequency hopping, and / or the relative positions of one or more physical resource blocks, configure one or more uplink frequency hopping modes.

8. The method according to claim 7, further comprising: Receive at least one of the number of frequency hopping modes and / or the start hop.

9. An apparatus comprising: At least one processor; as well as At least one memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the device to perform at least the following: Receive information about the frequency hopping mode of the uplink sounding reference signal used for positioning; Determining a frequency domain allocation to implement the uplink sounding reference signal frequency hopping mode, wherein determining the frequency domain allocation includes: determining the relative position of one or more physical resource blocks of a frequency hopping that partially overlaps with another frequency hopping, and identifying the one or more physical resource blocks of the frequency hopping located at the top or bottom of the frequency domain allocation of the frequency hopping. as well as According to the frequency domain allocation that implements the uplink probe reference signal frequency hopping mode, the probe reference signal is transmitted to at least one base station.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the information regarding the uplink probe reference signal frequency hopping mode includes: Indication of the starting jump position and the relative offset of subsequent jumps.

11. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the uplink probe reference signal frequency hopping mode comprises one or more frequency hopping modes, wherein each individual frequency hopping mode is associated with an index.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the information received via at least one of radio resource control or downlink control information includes: An indication of the index associated with one or more frequency hopping modes.

13. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the information regarding the uplink probe reference signal frequency hopping mode used for positioning includes: An index or starting jump associated with a predefined or preconfigured jump pattern.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the predefined or preconfigured skipping mode includes: The hopping modes sequentially include frequency hopping positions 1, 4, 2, 3, and 0.

15. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to: configure one or more uplink frequency hopping modes based on the frequency domain allocation, the number of frequency hopping, and / or the relative positions of one or more physical resource blocks.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to: receive at least one of the number of frequency hopping modes and / or a start hop.

17. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising program instructions stored thereon, the program instructions being configured to perform at least the following: Receive information about the frequency hopping mode of the uplink sounding reference signal used for positioning; Determining the frequency domain allocation to implement the uplink sounding reference signal frequency hopping mode, wherein determining the frequency domain allocation includes: Determine the relative position of one or more physical resource blocks of a frequency hopping frequency that partially overlaps with another frequency hopping frequency, and identify the one or more physical resource blocks of the frequency hopping frequency located at the top or bottom of the frequency domain allocation of the frequency hopping frequency; as well as According to the frequency domain allocation that implements the uplink probe reference signal frequency hopping mode, the probe reference signal is transmitted to at least one base station.

18. An apparatus comprising: A component used to receive information about the frequency hopping mode of the uplink probe reference signal used for positioning; The component for determining a frequency domain allocation to implement the uplink probe reference signal frequency hopping mode includes determining the relative position of one or more physical resource blocks of a frequency hopping that partially overlaps with another frequency hopping, and identifying the one or more physical resource blocks of the frequency hopping located at the top or bottom of the frequency domain allocation of the frequency hopping. as well as A component for transmitting a probe reference signal to at least one base station based on the frequency domain allocation that implements the uplink probe reference signal frequency hopping mode.

19. A method comprising: Receive a request to configure at least one user equipment with an uplink sounding reference signal frequency hopping mode; Determine at least one uplink sounding reference signal frequency hopping mode for the at least one user equipment; as well as The at least one user equipment is configured with an uplink probe reference signal frequency hopping mode for positioning, wherein the at least one user equipment is configured to include: providing an indication of the relative position of one or more physical resource blocks of a frequency hopping that partially overlaps with another frequency hopping.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising: The frequency hopping of the uplink probe reference signal frequency hopping mode of the corresponding user equipment is determined based on the uplink probe reference signal frequency hopping mode of one or more other user equipments.

21. The method according to claim 19 or 20, further comprising: Based on the uplink probe reference signal frequency hopping mode, at least one uplink probe reference signal provided by the corresponding user equipment is measured.

22. The method of claim 21, further comprising: This results in a report being generated of the measurement of the uplink probe reference signal and sent to the location management function.

23. The method of any one of claims 19 to 22, wherein the relative position identifier of the one or more physical resource blocks of the frequency hopping that overlap with the portion of another frequency hopping is: the one or more physical resource blocks of the frequency hopping located at the top or bottom of the frequency domain allocation of the frequency hopping.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the indication of the one or more physical resource blocks overlapping with the portion of another frequency hopping is determined based on the top and / or bottom physical resource blocks of the carrier.

25. The method according to any one of claims 19 to 24, further comprising: This enables frequency hopping mode for transmitting uplink probe reference signals to the location management function.

26. An apparatus comprising: At least one processor; as well as At least one memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the device to perform at least the following: Receive a request to configure at least one user equipment with an uplink sounding reference signal frequency hopping mode; Determine at least one uplink sounding reference signal frequency hopping mode for the at least one user equipment; as well as The at least one user equipment is configured with an uplink probe reference signal frequency hopping mode for positioning, wherein the at least one user equipment is configured to include: providing an indication of the relative position of one or more physical resource blocks of a frequency hopping that partially overlaps with another frequency hopping.

27. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to: determine the frequency hopping of the uplink probe reference signal frequency hopping mode of a corresponding user equipment based on the uplink probe reference signal frequency hopping mode of one or more other user equipments.

28. The apparatus of claim 26 or 27, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to: measure at least one uplink probe reference signal provided by a corresponding user equipment according to the uplink probe reference signal frequency hopping mode.

29. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to: generate and send a report of the measurement of the uplink probe reference signal to the location management function.

30. The apparatus of any one of claims 26 to 29, wherein the relative position identifier of the one or more physical resource blocks of the frequency hopping that overlap with the portion of another frequency hopping is: the one or more physical resource blocks of the frequency hopping located at the top or bottom of the frequency domain allocation of the frequency hopping.

31. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein the indication of the one or more physical resource blocks overlapping with the portion of another frequency hopping is determined based on the top and / or bottom physical resource blocks of the carrier.

32. The apparatus according to any one of claims 26 to 31, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to: transmit an uplink probe reference signal frequency hopping mode to the location management function.

33. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising program instructions stored thereon, the program instructions being configured to perform at least the following: Receive a request to configure at least one user equipment with an uplink sounding reference signal frequency hopping mode; Determine at least one uplink sounding reference signal frequency hopping mode for the at least one user equipment; as well as The at least one user equipment is configured with an uplink probe reference signal frequency hopping mode for positioning, wherein the at least one user equipment is configured to include: providing an indication of the relative position of one or more physical resource blocks of a frequency hopping that partially overlaps with another frequency hopping.

34. An apparatus comprising: A component for receiving a request to configure at least one user equipment with an uplink probe reference signal frequency hopping mode; Components for determining at least one uplink probe reference signal frequency hopping mode for the at least one user equipment; as well as Components for configuring the at least one user equipment with the uplink probe reference signal frequency hopping mode for positioning, wherein configuring the at least one user equipment includes: providing an indication of the relative position of one or more physical resource blocks of a frequency hopping that partially overlaps with another frequency hopping.

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