Method and apparatus relating to power delay spectrum

Abstract

The present specification describes a terminal device comprising: means for receiving, from a network node, information indicating a power granularity at which a power measurement of a power delay spectrum should be reported; means for determining a power delay spectrum (PDP) based on the measurement of the reference signal; means for determining, for a plurality of time delay intervals associated with the determined PDP, indices of quantized power measurements indicative of the respective time delay intervals, where the indices are determined based on: (i) power measurements determined for the respective time delay intervals based on the determined PDP, (ii) information indicative of power granularity, and (iii) a predefined rule for determining the index; and means for sending the index determined for the plurality of time delay intervals to the network node.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present specification relates to power delay profiles in mobile communication systems. BACKGROUND

[0002] The use of reference signals in mobile communication systems is known. A terminal device can detect such signals and determine a power delay profile, which gives the strength or power (e.g. in dBm) of a signal received over a multipath channel as a function of the propagation delay. These power delay profiles can have many uses, not only for determining the delay spread of a channel. They can also be used for terminal device positioning. SUMMARY

[0003] In a first aspect, the present specification describes a terminal device comprising: means for receiving, from a network node, information indicating a power granularity at which power measurements of a power delay profile should be reported; means for determining a power delay profile, PDP, based on measurements of a reference signal; means for determining, for a plurality of time delay intervals associated with the determined PDP, an index indicating a quantized power measurement for the respective time delay interval, wherein the index is determined based on: (i) a power measurement determined for the respective time delay interval based on the determined PDP, (ii) the information indicating the power granularity, and (iii) a predefined rule for determining the index; and means for transmitting, to the network node, the indices determined for the plurality of time delay intervals. The information indicating the power granularity can indicate at least one of: a number M of possible quantization levels to which the power measurements determined for the time delay intervals can be quantized; and a quantization parameter B based on which the power measurements determined for the time delay intervals are quantized.

[0004] The predefined rule can cause the respective index to indicate a magnitude of the respective power measurement determined for the time delay interval relative to a reference power. The predefined rule can indicate that for each time delay interval for which the determined power measurement is above a sensitivity threshold Pn, its index should be determined based on the information indicating the power granularity and a ratio involving the power measurement determined for the time delay interval and the reference power. The terminal device can further comprise means for receiving, from the network node, the sensitivity threshold Pn. The predefined rule can indicate that when the power measurement determined for one of the time delay intervals is less than the sensitivity threshold Pn, the index for that time delay interval is set to a default value or is not reported. The reference power can for example be one of: the lowest of the power measurements determined for the time delay intervals that exceed the sensitivity threshold Pn; and the highest of the power measurements determined for the time delay intervals.

[0005] The terminal device can further comprise means for receiving, from the network node, an indication of a predefined rule for determining the indices.

[0006] The terminal device can further comprise means for receiving, from the network node, information indicating a time granularity at which power measurements of the power delay profile should be reported. The information indicating the time granularity can indicate at least one of: a sampling resolution Ts; and a number of time delay bins for which the respective indices should be determined.

[0007] In a second aspect, the present specification describes a network node comprising: means for providing, to a terminal device, information indicating a power granularity at which the terminal device should report power measurements of a power delay profile; means for receiving a quantized power delay profile PDP, the PDP being determined by the terminal device using the information indicating the power granularity and based on measurements of a reference signal, the quantized PDP comprising respective indices for a plurality of time delay bins, the respective indices indicating quantized power measurements for the time delay bins; and means for determining a position of the terminal device based on the quantized PDP. The information indicating the power granularity can indicate at least one of: a number M of possible quantization levels to which a power measurement determined for a time delay bin can be quantized; and a quantization parameter B based on which a power measurement determined for a time delay bin is quantized.

[0008] The network node can comprise means for determining the information indicating the power granularity based on at least one of: an application for which the determined position of the terminal device is used; a coarse position of the terminal device; and an estimated or previously measured channel path loss.

[0009] The network node can comprise means for providing a predefined rule for equipping the terminal device with, the predefined rule indicating how the terminal device should determine the quantized PDP.

[0010] The network node can comprise means for providing a sensitivity threshold Pn for equipping the terminal device with, the sensitivity threshold Pn for the terminal device to use when determining the quantized PDP.

[0011] The network node can comprise means for providing information indicating a time granularity at which power measurements of the power delay profile should be reported, to the terminal device. The information indicating the time granularity can indicate at least one of: a sampling resolution Ts; and a number of time delay bins for which the respective indices should be determined.

[0012] The network node can comprise means for determining the information indicating the time granularity, the time granularity being determined based on at least one of: an environment of the terminal device; a bandwidth of the reference signal; an oversampling capability of the terminal device; and a delay spread or a maximum delay spread expected or previously measured.

[0013] The network node can be a Radio Access Network, RAN, node or a network node hosting a Location and Management Function, LMF.

[0014] In a third aspect, the present specification describes a method comprising: receiving, at a terminal device and from a network node, information indicating a power granularity at which power measurements of a power delay profile, PDP, should be reported; determining, by the terminal device, the PDP based on measurements of a reference signal; determining, by the terminal device, for a plurality of time delay intervals associated with the determined PDP, indices indicating quantized power measurements for respective time delay intervals, wherein the indices are determined based on: (i) power measurements determined for respective time delay intervals based on the determined PDP, (ii) the information indicating the power granularity, and (iii) a predefined rule for determining the indices; and transmitting, by the terminal device and to the network node, the indices determined for the plurality of time delay intervals. The information indicating the power granularity can indicate at least one of: a number M of possible quantization levels to which the power measurements determined for the time delay intervals can be quantized; and a quantization parameter B based on which the power measurements determined for the time delay intervals are quantized.

[0015] The predefined rule can cause the respective index to indicate a magnitude of the respective power measurement determined for the time delay interval relative to a reference power. The predefined rule can indicate that for each time delay interval for which the determined power measurement is above a sensitivity threshold Pn, the index thereof should be determined based on the information indicating the power granularity and a ratio involving the power measurement determined for the time delay interval and the reference power. The method can further comprise receiving, by the terminal device and from the network node, the sensitivity threshold Pn. The predefined rule can indicate that when the power measurement determined for one of the time delay intervals is less than the sensitivity threshold Pn, the index of that time delay interval is set to a default value or is not reported. The reference power can be, for example, one of: a lowest power measurement of the power measurements determined for the time delay intervals that exceeds the sensitivity threshold Pn; and a highest power measurement of the power measurements determined for the time delay intervals.

[0016] The method can further comprise receiving, by the terminal device and from the network node, an indication of the predefined rule for determining the indices.

[0017] The method may further include: receiving information indicating the time granularity from the terminal device and from the network node, at which the power measurement of the power delay spectrum should be reported. The information indicating the time granularity may indicate at least one of the following: the sampling resolution Ts; and the number of time delay intervals for which the corresponding index should be defined.

[0018] In a fourth aspect, this specification describes a method comprising: providing information for equipping a terminal device with an indication of power granularity, the terminal device reporting power measurements of a power delay spectrum at the power granularity; receiving, by the network node, a quantized power delay spectrum (PDP) determined by the terminal device using the information indicating the power granularity and based on measurements of a reference signal, the quantized PDP including corresponding indices of a plurality of time delay intervals, the corresponding indices indicating quantized power measurements of the time delay intervals; and determining the location of the terminal device by the network node based on the quantized PDP. The information indicating the power granularity may indicate at least one of the following: a number M of possible quantization levels, to which the power measurements determined for the time delay intervals can be quantized; and a quantization parameter B, based on which the power measurements determined for the time delay intervals are quantized.

[0019] The method may also include a network node determining information indicating power granularity based on at least one of the following: the application in which the determined terminal device is used; the approximate location of the terminal device; and the estimated or previously measured channel path loss.

[0020] The method may also include predefined rules provided by network nodes for provisioning terminal devices, which instruct the terminal devices how to determine the quantized PDP.

[0021] The method may also include a sensitivity threshold Pn provided by a network node for use by the terminal device when determining the quantized PDP.

[0022] The method may also include information provided by the network node indicating the time granularity for provision to the terminal device, at which power measurements of the power delay spectrum should be reported. The information indicating the time granularity may indicate at least one of the following: the sampling resolution Ts; and the corresponding index should be for the number of time delay intervals in which it is determined.

[0023] The method may also include information indicating the time granularity determined by the network node based on at least one of the following: the environment of the terminal device; the bandwidth of the reference signal; the oversampling capability of the terminal device; and the expected or previously measured delay spread or maximum delay spread.

[0024] Network nodes can be radio access network (RAN) nodes or network nodes managed by location and management functions (LMF).

[0025] In a fifth aspect, this specification describes an apparatus (e.g., a terminal device or a component of a terminal device) comprising at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least: receive information indicating a power granularity from a network node, at which power measurements of a power delay spectrum should be reported; determine a power delay spectrum (PDP) based on measurements of a reference signal; determine an index indicating a quantized power measurement for a given time delay interval for a plurality of time delay intervals associated with the determined PDP, wherein the index is determined based on: (i) the power measurement determined for the given time delay interval based on the determined PDP, (ii) the information indicating the power granularity, and (iii) a predefined rule for determining the index; and transmit the index determined for the plurality of time delay intervals to the network node. The information indicating the power granularity may indicate at least one of the following: a number M of possible quantization levels to which the power measurement determined for the time delay interval can be quantized; and a quantization parameter B to which the power measurement determined for the time delay interval is quantized.

[0026] Predefined rules allow a corresponding index to indicate the magnitude of a corresponding power measurement determined for a time delay interval relative to a reference power. The predefined rules may instruct that for each time delay interval where the determined power measurement is above a sensitivity threshold Pn, the index should be determined based on information indicating the power granularity and the ratio of the power measurement determined for the time delay interval to the reference power. When executed by at least one processor, the instruction may cause the device to receive the sensitivity threshold Pn from the network node. The predefined rules may instruct that when the power measurement determined for one of the time delay intervals is less than the sensitivity threshold Pn, the index of that time delay interval is set to a default value or not reported. The reference power may be, for example, one of the following: the lowest power measurement among the power measurements determined for the time delay interval that exceeds the sensitivity threshold Pn; and the highest power measurement among the power measurements determined for the time delay interval.

[0027] The instructions, when executed by at least one processor, enable the device to receive information indicating the time granularity from a network node, at which power measurements of the power delay spectrum should be reported. The information indicating the time granularity may indicate at least one of the following: the sampling resolution Ts; and the corresponding index should be for the number of time delay intervals in which it is determined.

[0028] The instruction can, when executed by at least one processor, cause the device to receive instructions from a network node for determining predefined rules for indexing.

[0029] In a sixth aspect, this specification describes an apparatus (e.g., a network node or a component of a network node, wherein the network node may be a Radio Access Network (RAN) node or a Network Node Hosted Location and Management Function (LMF) node) comprising at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least: provide information for equipping a terminal device with an indication of power granularity, at which the terminal device shall report power measurements of a power delay spectrum; receive a quantized power delay spectrum (PDP) determined by the terminal device using the information indicating the power granularity and based on measurements of a reference signal, the quantized PDP including corresponding indices of a plurality of time delay intervals indicating quantized power measurements of the time delay intervals; and determine the location of the terminal device based on the quantized PDP. The information indicating the power granularity may indicate at least one of the following: a number M of possible quantization levels to which the power measurements determined for the time delay intervals can be quantized; and a quantization parameter B to which the power measurements determined for the time delay intervals are quantized.

[0030] When executed by at least one processor, the instructions can cause the device to determine information indicating power granularity based on at least one of the following: the determined location of the terminal device used by the application; the approximate location of the terminal device; and the estimated or previously measured channel path loss.

[0031] The instructions, when executed by at least one processor, enable the device to provide predefined rules for provisioning to the terminal device, which instruct the terminal device how to determine the quantized PDP.

[0032] The instruction, when executed by at least one processor, enables the device to provide a sensitivity threshold Pn for use by the terminal device when determining the quantized PDP.

[0033] The instructions, when executed by at least one processor, can cause the device to provide information indicating the time granularity for provision to the terminal device, at which power measurements of the power delay spectrum should be reported. The information indicating the time granularity can indicate at least one of the following: the sampling resolution Ts; and the number of time delay intervals for which the corresponding index should be defined.

[0034] When executed by at least one processor, the instructions can cause the device to determine information indicating the time granularity based on at least one of the following: the environment of the terminal device; the bandwidth of the reference signal; the oversampling capability of the terminal device; and the expected or previously measured delay spread or maximum delay spread.

[0035] In a seventh aspect, this specification describes a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising program instructions stored thereon, the program instructions being configured to cause any operation described in any of the first to sixth aspects to be performed. Attached Figure Description

[0036] To better understand this application, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings by way of example, wherein: Figure 1A An exemplary context is shown in which the described power delay spectrum-related techniques can be performed; Figure 1B This is an example of the power delay spectrum measured against a received reference signal; Figure 1C Here is an example of a quantized power delay spectrum that can be generated using the techniques described in this paper; Figure 2 This is a message flow diagram illustrating the various operations that can be performed according to the techniques described herein; Figure 3 This is a flowchart illustrating various operations that can be performed by a terminal device according to the examples described herein; Figure 4 This is a flowchart illustrating various operations that can be performed by network nodes according to the examples described herein; Figure 5 It can be configured to execute reference figures 1 to 12. Figure 3 A schematic diagram illustrating exemplary configurations of terminal devices for various operations described; Figure 6 It can be configured to execute reference figures 1 to 12. Figure 4 A schematic diagram illustrating exemplary configurations of network nodes for the various operations described; and Figure 7 It is a diagram of a computer-readable medium on which computer-readable code can be stored. Detailed Implementation

[0037] The scope of protection sought by the various embodiments of the present invention is set forth in the independent claims. Embodiments and features described in the specification that do not fall within the scope of the independent claims, if any, should be interpreted as examples that aid in understanding the various embodiments of the invention.

[0038] In the specification and drawings, the same reference numerals always refer to the same elements.

[0039] Figure 1A The figure is a block diagram of an exemplary system in which the techniques described herein may be performed, the exemplary system being generally indicated by reference numeral 1.

[0040] System 1 includes network node 10, terminal device 11, and location management function (LMF) 12. LMF 12 may be part of the core network or optionally part of the radio access network as a location management component (LMC), and may reside at a network node such as a base station. Network node 10 forms part of the mobile communication system and may be, for example, a base station (such as a gNB) or some other transmit receiving point (TRP). Terminal (or user) device 11 (and other terminal devices described herein) may be user equipment (UE), a smartphone, or some similar device.

[0041] Location Management Function (LMF) 12 seeks to determine the location of terminal device 11 (and other terminal devices) based on data received, for example, from terminal device 11 and / or from network nodes (such as network node 10). This information may include various data such as one or more of the following: downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA); uplink time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA); downlink angle of departure (DL-AoD); uplink angle of arrival (UL-AoA); and multi-cell round-trip time (Multi-RTT). LMF 12 may, for example, receive multiple LOS parameters including LOS probabilities and use triangulation to estimate the location of the user equipment based on the most probable LOS signal.

[0042] In traditional mobile communication system positioning methods, one source of positioning error is the presence of non-line-of-sight (NLOS) and multipath components. This is because, in this traditional method, only the line-of-sight (LOS) path is measured and utilized to triangulate the UE's position. However, when propagation occurs through multiple paths, LOS path identification is no longer a simple task, and often, due to factors such as limited sampling resolution, noise in the system, and / or attenuators / obstacles that reduce LOS path power, another NLOS reflection may be incorrectly identified as LOS.

[0043] Figure 1B It shows that it may be caused by Figure 1A The illustrated scenario produces an example of a multipath power delay spectrum. The power delay spectrum can be determined by the terminal device 11 based on measurements of a reference signal, such as a Position Reference Signal (PRS) transmitted by network node 10. Figure 1A As shown, the reference signal transmitted by network node 10 is received at terminal device 11 via two paths 13 and 14. The first path 13 is the LOS path from the main lobe 15 of the beam, through which the reference signal is transmitted. The second path 14 is the NLOS path from the sidelobe 16, which is received at terminal device 11 via a reflector 17 in the environment.

[0044] Figure 1BThe first peak 18 on the power delay spectrum corresponds to the first LOS path arriving at the terminal device with the shortest delay and highest power, because it corresponds to the main lobe. The second peak 19, with a longer delay, corresponds to the second path via the reflector. The maximum power of the second peak is significantly lower than the maximum power of the first peak. This is at least in part because the second peak corresponds to the sidelobe. It should be understood that... Figure 1B The delay spectrum shown is particularly simple, and in other scenarios, such as when the reference signal propagates across multiple beams and / or when absorbers and / or additional reflectors are present in the environment, the power delay spectrum may have more peaks, and some of these peaks may have similar amplitude / power. In those scenarios, it may be more difficult to identify which peak is the LOS path.

[0045] Within 3GPP, there is a general consensus (see, for example, 3GPP Working Item RP-213599) that, for instance, in AI / ML positioning or AI / ML-assisted positioning, it is beneficial to measure and utilize all significant paths to locate the target terminal device. However, this approach incurs additional signaling overhead and latency costs. For example, reporting the complex gain, delay, and phase of each detected path for each TRP results in large LPP messages and may require significant physical layer frequency resources and time-staggered transmissions.

[0046] One proposed method to reduce signaling overhead is to report the binary delay spectrum (DP) instead of the complete multipath information. That is, for each time delay interval, a "1" is reported if a path is detected in the corresponding time delay interval, and a "0" is reported otherwise. However, while this does reduce signaling overhead, it also removes potentially important information about each path and makes it difficult to identify: a) which paths are LOS and which are reflections, and b) which paths are dominant and which are negligible or even spurious (e.g., due to reception artifacts, limited bandwidth, etc.).

[0047] The techniques described in this specification enable the reporting of quantized power delay spectra to LMF 12, allowing the utilization of all critical paths when locating target end devices while limiting signaling overhead. Furthermore, unlike the binary delay spectra discussed above, the techniques described herein do so in a way that it is easier to identify: a) which paths are LOS and which are reflections, and b) which paths are dominant and which are negligible or spurious. Additionally, the techniques described herein enable the network to indicate the power granularity of the reported power measurements (e.g., the number of quantization levels and / or the size of the quantization interval / step).

[0048] Specifically, the technology described in this specification can be a terminal device that generates a quantized PDP based on a determined power delay spectrum PDP, the quantized PDP including corresponding indices for multiple time delay intervals associated with the determined PDP. The indices in the quantized PDP indicate quantized power measurements for the corresponding time delay intervals. The indices are determined based on: (i) a power measurement Pc determined based on the determined PDP for the corresponding time delay interval; (ii) information received from a network node (e.g., network node 10 or LMF 12) instructing the terminal device to specify the power granularity of the power measurements it should report for its PDP; and (iii) predefined rules for determining the indices.

[0049] As will be understood from the following discussion, information indicating power granularity can indicate at least one of the following: the number M of possible quantization levels to which a power measurement Pc determined for a time delay interval can be quantized; and the quantization parameter B to which the power measurement determined for the time delay interval is quantized. The values ​​of B and / or M can be selected or tuned by the network (e.g., LMF) based on a tradeoff between signaling overhead and accuracy / performance. For example, a first value of B or M can be determined for applications requiring high accuracy, resulting in a larger number of quantization levels and, for example, a narrower quantization interval. Conversely, a second value of B or M can be determined, for example, when network conditions indicate lower signaling overhead and / or for applications where accuracy is less critical, resulting in a smaller number of quantization levels and, for example, a wider quantization interval. Also explained in more detail below, predefined rules allow a corresponding index to indicate the magnitude of the corresponding power measurement determined for a time delay interval relative to a reference power measurement. Therefore, the index can convey information about the dominant path in a signaling-overhead-efficient manner.

[0050] In other words, according to some of the techniques described herein, the terminal device not only reports the time delay interval in which the reference signal is detected, but also reports an index (which may also be referred to as a power index) for each time delay interval, which can indicate the magnitude of the power measurement for the time delay interval relative to the reference power measurement. The index can take one of a set of M possible values, where the number of possible values ​​depends at least in part on the information provided to the terminal device by the network. In other words, the terminal device according to the techniques described herein can encode the PDP power measurement as one of M quantization levels, where M is tunable by the network.

[0051] based on Figure 1B An example of a quantized PDP defined in a PDP is shown in Figure 1C As shown in the diagram. In the quantization PDP, multiple time delay intervals are considered (each time delay interval corresponds to...). Figure 1CThe power measurement approximated (the corresponding delay index in the delay index marked on the x-axis) is encoded as an index with one of six distinct values ​​{0, 1, 2, 3, 4} and -1. The precise method for generating this particular quantized PDP is described in more detail below. However, it can be seen that the quantized PDP retains most of the information of the original PDP, but by encoding the power measurement in this way, the signaling overhead associated with the reported PDP can be significantly reduced compared to reporting the original PDP. As will be understood, the value 1 in the quantized PDP may not represent the quantized power level in this way, but may instead be the default value used when the power measurement determined for a specific time delay interval is below a minimum threshold (referred to herein as the sensitivity threshold Pn). Therefore, it should be understood that although in Figure 1C The example shown has six possible index values, but there are M = 5 possible quantization power levels {0, 1, 2, 3, 4}.

[0052] A quantized Power Dependency Point (PDP) can be presented as a vector, where indices provide delay information and the value at each index represents power. In other examples, a quantized PDP can be reported as a pair of values, where one value corresponds to delay and the other to power. In such examples, a quantized PDP can be reported as twice a 1×X vector, X times a 1×2 vector, or a 2×X matrix (or an X×2 matrix), where X is the number of time delay intervals for which the corresponding power index is being reported. In examples where indices for determined power values ​​below a sensitivity threshold are not reported, X can be less than the number of time delay intervals.

[0053] Figure 2 This is a message flow diagram illustrating the techniques described herein according to various examples. The system shown illustrates three distinct entities: LMF 12, network node 10, and terminal device 11 (for simplicity, in...). Figure 2 (Referring to UE 11 in this context). However, as will be understood, the functions described with reference to LMF 12 (which itself may be referred to as a network node) can actually be performed at network node 12, which may be, for example, a base station. In other words, in some examples, the operations described with reference to LMF 12 can be performed by network node 10 (such as a base station (e.g., gNB) or the like (e.g., TRP)).

[0054] In operation 2.1, LMF 12 can estimate the approximate location of terminal device 11. This can be done in any suitable manner, for example, using one or more of the following: serving cell ID, serving beam ID, previously determined terminal device location, handover history, and / or RSRP measurements of the serving cell and neighboring cells.

[0055] In operation 2.2, based on the estimated location, LMF 12 can determine information indicating the power measurement of the power delay spectrum should be performed at the time granularity of its reporting. This information indicating the time granularity (which may also be referred to as time granularity information (or even time delay interval information)) may, for example, include information on the sampling resolution (or binning resolution) Ts and the total number of time delay intervals. For example, this information indicating the total number of time delay intervals may directly indicate the number of intervals L to be reported, or it may indicate the PDP spanning its measurement and the number of intervals L from the measurement period it determines.

[0056] For example, based on this location, delay spread information can be determined. This delay spread information can be, for example, a measure of the multipath richness of the communication channel. Typically, it can be interpreted as the difference between the arrival time of the earliest significant multipath component (usually a line-of-sight component) and the arrival time of the last multipath component. The delay spread information can be the expected delay spread expected to be observed when the terminal device receives the reference signal at this location, the previously measured delay spread at or near this location, or the maximum delay spread. Temporal granularity information can then be determined based on the delay spread information. For example, for a larger delay spread, a larger number of intervals can be determined, or the sampling resolution can be reduced so that fewer intervals cover a longer duration.

[0057] As an example only, the LMF 12 can typically set the sampling resolution Ts to be equal to Tc, where Tc is a 5N New Radio (NR) time unit. However, for terminal devices that have already reported oversampling capabilities, the LMF can set a finer sampling resolution, where Ts is equal to, for example, Tc / m, where m is the oversampling factor reported by terminal device 11. In some examples, the sampling resolution Ts may be limited by the bandwidth of the reference signal, for example, making it at least twice the bandwidth. In other examples, a coarser sampling resolution can be set, for example, where Ts is greater than Tc, such as n×Tc, where n is a factor that can be determined by the LMF.

[0058] The number of intervals L corresponding to the measurement period can be determined, for example, based on whether the terminal device 11 is estimated to be indoors. For instance, an outdoor terminal device 11 may experience fewer reflections than an indoor terminal device. Therefore, for a terminal device estimated to be indoors (in which case more reflections are expected (and thus the path will be received with a greater delay)), the number of intervals can be set to a higher value compared to a terminal device estimated to be outdoors. Similarly, considering the increased path loss associated with communication in the millimeter-wave band, devices operating in the millimeter-wave band (which can be determined, for example, based on the serving cell ID) can be assigned a smaller number of intervals L. Conversely, devices operating in the C-band or lower frequency bands can be assigned a larger number of intervals L. However, the value of L can be defined by the cyclic prefix (CP). That is, in such an example, the maximum time delay associated with L can not exceed the duration of the CP. For example, in one example (e.g., when the terminal device has not yet reported oversampling capability), the number of intervals L can be set to be equal to [Tcp / Ts], where Tcp is the NR standard cyclic prefix (CP) duration.

[0059] In some examples, the time granularity information may not be determined by the LMF, and the terminal device may instead use default values ​​for Ts and L that can be pre-stored at the terminal device. For example, the sampling resolution may be set to Tc, and L may be set to Tcp / Tc. However, as mentioned above, it may be beneficial to adapt Ts and L based on expected conditions at the location of terminal device 11. For example, signaling overhead can be reduced by decreasing the number of intervals L, for example by using a lower sampling resolution / higher Ts value, or by reducing the measurement cycle. In other examples where the measurement cycle is fixed and known to the terminal device, the LMF may only determine and provide the sampling resolution Ts, without determining and providing L. Alternatively, the sampling resolution may be fixed and known to the terminal device, in which case information indicating only the number of intervals L can be determined and provided by the LMF.

[0060] In operation 2.3, information indicating the power measurement of the PDP will be provided by the terminal device with the power granularity it is reported to. In some examples, the LMF may determine the quantization parameter B. In other examples, the LMF may determine the value of the number of quantization levels M. In further examples, the LMF may determine both the value of B and the value of the number of quantization levels M.

[0061] It should be understood that higher power granularity (e.g., narrower quantization intervals) may be associated with higher signaling overhead and may also be associated with higher location accuracy. Conversely, lower power granularity (e.g., wider quantization intervals) may be associated with lower signaling overhead but may also be associated with lower location accuracy. Therefore, information indicating power granularity can be determined based on the currently available signaling overhead and / or the UE's location currently being used for its application and associated positioning accuracy requirements.

[0062] Information indicating power granularity can be selected based on the estimated location of the end device. For example, in environments where more reflections are expected and therefore the end device may traverse more paths, a higher power granularity can be used, making it easier to determine their relative power. Conversely, a lower power granularity can be used when fewer paths are expected (e.g., outdoors or when operating in the millimeter-wave band) and / or when large power differences are expected along the paths.

[0063] Furthermore, based on the estimated location, channel path loss information that is expected / estimated to be observed by the terminal device when receiving the reference signal can be determined. This channel path loss information may, for example, include the expected channel attenuation expected to be observed at the terminal device for the Loss-of-Stake (LoS) component, and to some extent, indicate the maximum received power that can be expected for the channel tap. Based on the estimated channel path loss, information indicating the power granularity can be determined. For example, if the channel path loss is high, a higher power granularity can be used to capture the power of the weakest tap.

[0064] As explained above, the information indicating the power granularity can be the quantization parameter B. As will be understood from the discussion below, the number of quantization levels to which the power measurement can be quantized by the terminal device 11 can depend at least in part on the value of the quantization parameter B. The value of the quantization parameter B can also define the size of the quantization interval (uniform or non-uniform size).

[0065] In some examples, the number M of possible quantization levels can be determined by the terminal device 11 based on the value of the quantization parameter B indicated by the LMF 12. For example, the number M of possible quantization levels can be determined based on B and power measurements for the time delay interval with the highest power measurement. However, in other examples, such as when the highest power measurement is known (or can be estimated) by the LMF 12 (e.g., from previous iterations or from a determined coarse position), the LMF 12 can determine the number M of quantization levels, which is also indicated to the terminal device 11 in addition to or in lieu of the quantization parameter B. For example, the LMF can indicate a value N that is equal to the highest possible power index that the terminal device can utilize. As will become clear from the discussion below, the relationship between the highest possible index N and the number M of possible quantization levels can depend on predefined rules used to determine the power index.

[0066] In some examples, the LMF can additionally determine predefined rules that the terminal device 11 will use to determine the quantization PDP. For example, the LMF 12 can select from several different predefined rules, which can allow the terminal device to determine the power index in slightly different ways. The selected predefined rule can then be signaled to the terminal device. In other examples, only one predefined rule may exist (e.g., one of the two specific examples described herein). In such examples, the predefined rule can be pre-stored at the terminal device.

[0067] For example, predefined rules can fall into two categories: those defining a logarithmic relationship between index j and power measurement Pc, and those defining a linear relationship between j and Pc. Regardless of whether the relationship is linear or logarithmic, the predefined rule can determine the power index based on the ratio involving the reference power and the corresponding power measurement determined for the time delay interval. When the LMF selects a predefined rule, this selection can be based, for example, on the expected channel conditions given for the estimated location of the UE. For example, a logarithmic rule might be more appropriate when a large number of paths with different power levels are expected.

[0068] The rule falling into the first category could, for example, instruct that for each time delay interval where the determined power measurement is above the sensitivity threshold, its power index should be set to a minimum integer value that is higher than (i.e., using a floor function) logB (i.e., the logarithm to the base B) relating to the ratio of the power measurement and the reference power Pref determined for the time delay interval. Thus, in this example, the quantization parameter B can determine the quantization interval (although these quantization intervals are not uniform due to the logarithmic relationship).

[0069] However, a predefined rule falling into the second category can instruct that for each time delay interval where the determined power measurement is above a sensitivity threshold, the power index should be set to a minimum integer value that is higher than (i.e., using a round-up function) the linear ratio of the power measurement to the power measurement Pref determined for the time delay interval. In such an example, the reference power could be the quantization parameter B, which could also represent the quantization interval.

[0070] Predefined rules can further instruct that when a power measurement defined for one of the time delay intervals is less than the sensitivity threshold Pn, the index for that time delay interval should be set to the default value. However, as explained above, in some other examples, the power index for delay intervals where the power measurement is below the sensitivity threshold may not be reported.

[0071] In some examples, the sensitivity threshold Pn can be determined by the LMF and signaled to the terminal device 11. For example, the sensitivity threshold Pn can be determined based on several different factors, such as, but not limited to, the terminal device's reference sensitivity level, expected SINR, etc. In other examples, the sensitivity threshold can be pre-stored or otherwise determined by the terminal device 11.

[0072] In some examples, the reference power can be the lowest power measurement, Pmin, that exceeds the sensitivity threshold Pn among the power measurements determined for a time delay interval. In other examples, the reference power can be the same as the sensitivity threshold Pn. That is, an index of power with a value less than the reference power for any delay interval can be set to a default value or can be not reported. In further examples, the reference power can be the highest power measurement, Pmax, among the power measurements determined for a time delay interval. In examples where a power measurement above the sensitivity threshold is greater than the reference power (e.g., when the reference power is Pmin or Pn), the ratio used in the predefined rules can be Pc, which is the power measurement for the time delay interval divided by Pref. Conversely, when a power measurement is less than the reference power (e.g., when Pmax is the reference power), the ratio can be Pref divided by Pc.

[0073] An example of a predefined rule belonging to the first category (referred to as the first exemplary predefined rule) is as follows: (1) Where j is the power index determined for a given time delay interval, Pn is the sensitivity threshold, B is the quantization parameter, Pc is the power measurement determined for the time delay interval, and Pref is the reference power. As discussed, Pref can be, for example, the power measurement for the time delay interval having the lowest power measurement Pmin above the sensitivity threshold Pn, or the value of the sensitivity threshold Pn itself.

[0074] The index j generated using the first exemplary predefined rule can come from the set {-1, 0, 1, …, N}. In the example where LMF only indicates B (rather than explicit information indicating M), the highest possible index N can be derived by the terminal device as follows:

[0075] In other words, N can take a value higher than (i.e., using the floor function) the lowest integer value of logB (i.e., the logarithm to the base B) of the ratio of Pmax to the reference power. Alternatively, in an example where LMF indicates the highest index value N (which indicates the number of quantization levels M), the terminal device can determine the value of the quantization parameter according to the following formula:

[0076] In some implementations of the LMF indication value N, the terminal device can limit any power index j exceeding N to N according to predefined rules. It can be beneficial for the network (e.g., LMF) to indicate the number of quantization levels. This is especially true because the terminal device typically reports the quantized PDP for reference signals detected from multiple different TRPs. By limiting the UE to reporting precisely N levels (or N+1 levels), the quantized PDP for all TRPs can be of the same magnitude.

[0077] As will be understood, the first exemplary predefined rule causes the power measurement for the k-th time delay interval Pc(k) that has been assigned index j to be approximated (or quantized) as follows: Pc(k) ~ B j x Pref .

[0078] An example of a predefined rule belonging to the second category (referred to as the second exemplary predefined rule) is as follows: (2) As mentioned above, in such a rule, Pref can be the quantization parameter B (and therefore Pref can be replaced by the quantization parameter B). Alternatively, it can be the minimum power Pmin above the sensitivity threshold (and B can be used to determine the quantization interval).

[0079] The index j generated using the second exemplary predefined rule can come from the set {0, 1, …, N}. In the example where LMF indicates B (=Pref) rather than the number of quantization levels, the highest possible index N can be derived by the terminal device as follows:

[0080] In the example where the LMF specifies information indicating the number of quantization levels (e.g., N) rather than the quantization parameters, the value of B (=Pref) can be derived as:

[0081] It should be understood that the second exemplary predefined rule makes the power measurement for the k-th time delay interval Pc(k) that has been assigned index j approximately (or quantized) as Pc(k) ≈ j × B = j × Pref.

[0082] Although the predefined rules discussed above are based on the use of the floor function, it should be understood that they can be alternatively based on the floor function, or even the quantization level can be set to the midpoint of the corresponding quantization interval.

[0083] The value of Pc used to determine the power index j can have any associated unit. For example, they can be linear or logarithmic (e.g., dB). If the unit is linear, the LMF can indicate a higher B value or a lower N value in order to reduce the number of possible quantization levels.

[0084] In operation 2.4, LMF 12 provides information for the power measurement of the power delay spectrum provided to terminal device 11, indicating the power granularity at which it will be reported. As discussed above, LMF can provide a value for the quantization parameter B and / or a value indicating the number of quantization levels M. The value of M indicating the number of quantization levels can be N, which represents the highest power index. The value of N, together with predefined rules, can indicate the number of quantization levels. For example, in a first category of rules (such as a first exemplary predefined rule), M can be equal to N+1. In a second category of rules (such as a second exemplary predefined rule), M can be equal to N.

[0085] The LMF can additionally provide time granularity information (e.g., Ts and L) to the terminal device. This may occur, for example, when the terminal device is not pre-configured to use default values ​​for, for example, Ts and L. Similarly, in some examples, the sensitivity threshold Pn and / or predefined rules for determining the power index can also be provided to the terminal device 11 by the LMF. In some examples, and as described above, the terminal device 11 can be configured to use the value of Pn as the reference power Pref when applying the predefined rules. In such examples, and when, for example, a second exemplary predefined rule is used, the value of B can be used as both Pn and Pref.

[0086] The information provided in Operation 2.4. (such as the values ​​of B and / or N, and all or any combination of missing Ts, L, Pn, and predefined rules used to determine the power index) may be provided via one or more information elements (IEs) included within one or more signaling messages or data streams. In some examples, they may all be included within a single signaling message's signaling information element.

[0087] In the example where LMF 12 is part of the core network, the information provided in Operation 2.4 can be sent to the base station or other TRP (e.g., network node 10). For example, this information can reach network node 10 from the access and mobility functions. Then, in Operation 2.5, network node 10 can forward this information to terminal device 11. Alternatively, if the functionality of LMF 12 is performed at network node 10, the information provided in Operation 2.4 can be sent directly to terminal device 11. In either case, this information can then be stored at terminal device 11 for use when determining the quantized PDP.

[0088] Next, in operation 2.6, network node 10 may transmit a reference signal, such as a positioning reference signal (PRS).

[0089] In operation 2.7, terminal device 11 measures the reference signal and detects the multipath components, including at least their delays and power. Therefore, the terminal device may have already (in operation 2.8) determined the power delay spectrum for the reference signal, for example, as... Figure 1B As shown.

[0090] Next, in operation 2.9, terminal device 12 can determine an approximate power measurement Pc for each of a plurality of time delay intervals, for example, defined by time granularity information. For example, terminal device 11 can determine the corresponding average power over the duration corresponding to each time delay interval based on the power measurement. Additionally, determining the approximate power measurement may further include approximating the measured delay value to fit the delay interval defined by the time granularity information. For example, if the measured channel impulse response (with a specific measured power) is detected with a delay of 0.35 ns, but the sampling resolution is 0.2 ns, the delay can be approximated by the index of the nearest delay interval, for example, representing a delay of 0.4 ns.

[0091] In operation 2.10, terminal device 11, for each delay interval, uses Pc, information indicating power granularity (e.g., B and / or N), and predefined rules (which may have been indicated by LMF, for example) to determine a power index indicating a quantized power measurement for the delay interval. The predefined rules applied by the terminal device when determining the power index may be as discussed above with respect to operation 2.4.

[0092] As part of operation 2.10, in some examples, terminal device 11 can determine Pmin and / or Pmax. As described above, the value N, as the highest possible index value, can be determined based on B and Pmax according to the specific predefined rule being used. Pmin or Pmax can be used as a reference power, against which Pc is compared when generating the index. Alternatively, Pn can be used as a reference power. In other examples, such as when using a rule belonging to the second category, the quantization parameter B can define the reference power.

[0093] The determined indices together can be referred to as a quantized PDP. A quantized PDP can be represented in any suitable manner as examples have been described herein. For example, a quantized PDP can be represented as a grid G ​​with L elements, each element corresponding to a corresponding time delay interval. The value of each element is a power index j determined for the corresponding time interval. In the specific example described herein, and depending on the specific rules used and whether the power index is reported for delay intervals with power below a sensitivity threshold, j can take values ​​from the set {-1, 0, …, N}, the set {0, 1, …, N}, or the set {1, …, N}. For example, Figure 1C The quantization PDP shown (which uses Figure 1B The PDP, the first exemplary predefined rule discussed above, the quantization parameter value B=2, the sampling resolution Ts=32.5ns, the value of Pn=0.5, and the value of Pref=0.51 (generated by these parameters) can be expressed as: [0, 3, 4, 2, -1, 0, -1, 0, -1, 2, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, -1, 0, 0, 0, 0, -1, -1, -1, -1, 0, 0, -1, -1, -0, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, 0, 0, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, 0, -1, -1, 1, 0] In operation 2.11, terminal device 11 reports the quantized PDP determined in operation 2.10 to the network. For example, the quantized PDP can be sent to network node 10, which can forward the quantized PDP to LMF in operation 2.12.

[0094] Subsequently, in operation 2.13, LMF 12 or some other network entity can use the quantized PDP to determine the location of terminal device 11. As part of this, the quantized PDP can be decoded. This decoding can be performed using the values ​​of Ts and B, which are known to the network and, in some examples, are also pref. For example, as described above, when using the first predefined rule, the decoding power for each time delay interval can be determined as Pc(k) ≈ B. j ×Pref. In some examples, the LMF may already know Pref (e.g., when it is Pn). In other examples, the value of Pref can be indicated to the LMF by the terminal device (e.g., when Pref = Pmin). When using the second predefined rule, the decoding power for each time delay interval can be determined as Pc(k) ≈ j×B.

[0095] In some examples, terminal device 11 can be additionally configured to report indices corresponding to estimates of quantized angle information (e.g., departure angle AoD or arrival angle AoA). For example, departure angle estimates can be obtained during channel estimation. The terminal device can report relative angle information for each time delay interval. For example, the terminal device can approximate all AoDs as an angle grid with a resolution R = x degrees. An angle associated with the time delay interval having the highest power index can be selected as a reference angle. The angle offset relative to the reference tap for other time delay intervals can then be calculated. This angle offset can then be reported along with the power index. For example, if the resolution is 45 degrees, there may be 8 distinct angle intervals in the angle grid. Each time delay interval can be assigned an angle index from 0 to 7, where 0 indicates the same angle as the reference angle, and 7 indicates an angle offset of approximately 315 degrees.

[0096] Figure 3 This is a flowchart illustrating operations that can be performed by a terminal device according to the technology described herein. It should be understood that... Figure 3 Shown and referenced Figure 3 The described operations can be compared with the reference. Figure 2 The operations described are the same or at least similar.

[0097] In operation 3.1, the terminal device receives from the network node information indicating the power delay spectrum, which should be based on the power granularity reported. The information indicating the power granularity may indicate at least one of the following: the number M of possible quantization levels to which the power measurement determined for the time delay interval can be quantized; and the quantization parameter B to which the power measurement determined for the time delay interval is based.

[0098] The information received in operation 3.1 can be similar to that about Figure 2The information discussed in section 2.4. Thus, although... Figure 3 Not shown, but the terminal device may additionally receive any combination of the following from the network node: 1) an indication of a predefined rule for determining the power index; 2) information indicating the time granularity (e.g., Ts and L) for which the corresponding power index should be determined; and 3) information indicating the sensitivity threshold Pn.

[0099] In operation 3.2, the terminal device determines the power delay spectrum (PDP) based on measurements of the reference signal. This can be done as described with reference to operations 2.7 and 2.8.

[0100] In operation 3.3, the terminal device determines an index (also called a power index) indicating the quantized power measurement for the corresponding time delay interval for multiple time delay intervals associated with the determined PDP. The index is determined based on: (i) the power measurement determined for the corresponding time delay interval based on the determined PDP, (ii) the received information indicating the power granularity, and (iii) predefined rules used to determine the index. Operation 3.3 can be referenced as follows. Figure 2 As described in operation 2.10.

[0101] Power measurements can be determined for the corresponding time delay interval based on the determined PDP, as described in reference operation 2.9.

[0102] Predefined rules can be as described with reference to Operation 2.4. For example, a predefined rule could cause the corresponding index to indicate the magnitude of the corresponding power measurement determined for a time delay interval relative to the reference power. In some examples, a predefined rule could indicate that for each time delay interval where the determined power measurement is above a sensitivity threshold Pn, the index should be determined based on information indicating the power granularity and the ratio of the power measurement and the reference power determined for the time delay interval. In some examples, a predefined rule could indicate that when the power measurement determined for one of the time delay intervals is less than the sensitivity threshold Pn, the index for that time delay interval is set to a default value. Alternatively, when the power for a particular time delay interval is below the sensitivity threshold, the index for such interval may not be reported. In some examples, the reference power measurement could be the lowest power measurement among the power measurements determined for the time delay interval that exceeds the sensitivity threshold Pn. In other examples, the reference power measurement is the highest power measurement among the power measurements determined for the time delay interval. In other examples, the reference power can be defined by the quantization parameter B. In other examples, the reference power can be the sensitivity threshold.

[0103] In operation 3.4, terminal device 10 sends an index determined for multiple time delay intervals to the network node. Generally, the index may be referred to as the quantized PDP. In some examples, the quantized PDP may be represented as a vector of values ​​from the set {-1, 0, 1 …, N}, where N depends on B and Pmax. Operation 3.4 may correspond to operation 2.11 (and in some examples, also to operation 2.12).

[0104] Figure 4 This is a flowchart illustrating operations that can be performed by a network node (e.g., a Radio Access Network (RAN) node or a Network Provider Location and Management Function (LMF) node) according to the techniques described herein. It should be understood that... Figure 3 Shown and referenced Figure 3 The described operations can be compared with the reference. Figure 2 The operations described are the same or at least similar.

[0105] In operation 4.1, the network node provides information for equipping the terminal device with power granularity indicative of the power measurement that the terminal device should use to report its power delay spectrum. The information indicating power granularity may indicate at least one of the following: the number M of possible quantization levels to which the power measurement determined for a time delay interval can be quantized; and the quantization parameter B to which the power measurement determined for the time delay interval is quantized. As described above, the network node may determine the information indicating power granularity based on at least one of the following: the application to which the determined location of the terminal device is used, the coarse location of the terminal device, and the estimated or previously measured channel path loss. The determination of the information indicating power granularity may be as described in reference... Figure 2 As described in operation 2.3.

[0106] In addition to information indicating power granularity, network nodes may also provide at least one of the following for provision to terminal devices: (1) predefined rules indicating how the terminal device should determine the quantized PDP; (2) a sensitivity threshold Pn for the terminal device to use when determining the quantized PDP; and (3) information indicating that the corresponding index should be used for the time granularity at which it is determined.

[0107] Information indicating the time granularity may include the sampling resolution Ts and information indicating the number of time delay intervals for which the corresponding index should be defined. In an example where this information is provided to the terminal device, the network node may also determine the approximate location of the terminal device (e.g., as referenced). Figure 2As described in Operation 2.1, the network node can determine the information indicating the time granularity based on the approximate location of the terminal device. Furthermore, the network node can determine the information indicating the time granularity based on the bandwidth of the reference signal, and / or the estimated / measured / maximum delay spread, and / or the oversampling capability of the terminal device, and / or the environment of the terminal device (indoor vs. outdoor). The determination of the time granularity information can be as described in Operation 2.2.

[0108] In operation 4.2, the network node receives a quantized power delay spectrum (PDP) determined by the terminal device using information indicating power granularity and based on measurements of a reference signal. The quantized PDP includes corresponding indices for multiple time delay intervals, each indicative of a quantized power measurement for that interval. This can be done as described in reference... Figure 2 As described, rather than at least operations 2.11 and 2.12.

[0109] In operation 4.3, network nodes determine the location of terminal devices based on the quantized PDP. This can correspond to Figure 2 Operation 2.13.

[0110] Exemplary configuration of the device Figure 5 It can be configured to execute reference figures 1 to 12. Figure 3 A schematic diagram of an exemplary configuration of the terminal device 11 for the various operations described.

[0111] Terminal device 11 can communicate with a base station, for example, via a suitable radio interface arrangement 805. Interface arrangement 805 can be provided, for example, via radio component 805-2 (e.g., a transceiver) and an associated antenna arrangement 805-1. Antenna arrangement 805-1 can be arranged inside or outside terminal device 11. To enable beamforming, antenna arrangement 805-1 includes multiple antennas. For example, some UEs may include twelve antenna elements, such as four panels, each panel having four cross-polarized antenna elements.

[0112] Terminal device 11 includes a controller / control (or processing) device 80, which is operable to control other components of the terminal device UE in addition to performing any suitable combination of operations described herein with reference to the foregoing figures. The control device 80 may include a processing device 801 and a memory 802. Computer-readable code 802-2A may be stored in the memory 802, which, when executed by the processing device 801, causes the control device 80 to perform any of the operations described herein with respect to terminal device 11.

[0113] An exemplary configuration of the memory 802 and the processing device 801 will be discussed in more detail below.

[0114] Terminal device 11 may be, for example, a device that does not require human-computer interaction, such as the entity involved in machine-type communication (MTC). Alternatively, terminal device 11 may be a device designed for tasks involving human interaction, such as making and receiving telephone calls between users and streaming multimedia or providing other digital content to users. Non-limiting examples of terminal device 11 include smartphones, laptops, smartwatches, tablets, e-readers, vehicle-based terminal devices (such as terminal devices installed in cars, buses, drones (UAVs), airplanes, trains, or ships), or any type of terminal device that can be carried or worn by a user.

[0115] In cases where the terminal device UE is designed for human interaction, the user can control the operation of the terminal device 11 using a suitable user input interface UII 804 (such as a keypad, voice commands, a touchscreen or touchpad, or a combination thereof). A display 803, a speaker, and a microphone may also be provided. Furthermore, the terminal device 11 may include connections to other devices and / or appropriate connectors (wired or wireless) for connecting external accessories (e.g., hands-free devices). The terminal device 11 may also be associated with one or more motion sensors 806 for sensing the movement of the mobile device (e.g., including one or more such motion sensors 806 or communicating short-range wired or wirelessly with one or more such motion sensors 806). The terminal device may also include other sensors such as a GNSS unit.

[0116] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of an exemplary configuration of network node 12. As described above, the network node can be a radio access node or a node hosting location management functionality. In the example where network node 12 is a radio access node, the node can be configured to communicate with terminal device 11 via a wireless interface. In such an example, as... Figure 6 As shown, a network node may include a radio frequency antenna array 901 configured to receive and transmit radio frequency signals. Although network node 12 is shown as an array 901 with four antennas, this is merely illustrative. The number of antennas can vary from two to hundreds. Network node 12 also includes a radio frequency interface circuit 903 configured to interface between antenna 901 and control device 90. The radio frequency interface circuit 903 may also be referred to as a transceiver.

[0117] The network node also includes one or more interfaces 909 through which it can communicate with base stations and other network entities (such as those in the core network) (e.g., via X2 messages). In the example where the network node is within the core network, the node may not communicate directly with the terminal equipment, and therefore the RF components can be omitted. However, the network node may utilize the interfaces (multiple interfaces) 909 to communicate with other core network entities (such as the AMF).

[0118] The network node control device 90 can be configured to exchange information with other network elements via interface 909. Furthermore, in an example where the network node is a RAN node, the network node control device 90 can be configured to process signals from the radio frequency interface circuit 903, control the radio frequency interface circuit 903 to generate appropriate RF signals to transmit information to the terminal device via a wireless communication link, and can also be configured to transmit information to the terminal device via a wireless communication link.

[0119] The network node control device 90 may include a processing device 902 and a memory 904. Computer-readable code 904-2A may be stored in the memory 904, which, when executed by the processing device 902, causes the control device 90 to perform any operation assigned to the aforementioned base station TRP1.

[0120] It should be understood, of course, that the above Figure 5 and Figure 6 Each of the entities 11, 12 shown in the document may include other elements that are not directly related to the processes and operations of concern in this application.

[0121] The components and features of the aforementioned apparatus / entity / device, as well as some further details regarding their alternatives, will now be described.

[0122] Control devices 80 and 90 may include processing devices 801 and 902 communicatively connected to memories 802 and 904. Memories 802 and 904 have computer-readable instructions 802-2A and 904-2A stored thereon, which, when executed by processing devices 801 and 902, cause control devices 80 and 90 to perform various operations described herein. In some cases, control devices 80 and 90 may be collectively referred to as “devices”.

[0123] Processing devices 801 and 902 can have any suitable composition and can include one or more processors 801A and 902A of any suitable type or suitable combination of types. For example, processing devices 801 and 902 can be programmable processors that interpret computer program instructions 802-2A and 904-2A and process data. Processing devices 801 and 902 can include multiple programmable processors. Alternatively, processing devices 801 and 902 can be programmable hardware, for example, with embedded firmware. Processing devices 801 and 902 can be referred to as processing units. Processing devices 801 and 902 can optionally or additionally include one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs). In some examples, processing devices 801 and 902 can be referred to as computing devices.

[0124] Processing devices 801 and 902 are coupled to and operable to read / write data from / to memory 802 and 904 (which may be referred to as one or more storage devices). Memory 802 and 904 may include a single memory cell or multiple memory cells on which computer-readable instructions (or code) 802-2A and 904-2A are stored. For example, memory 802 and 904 may include both volatile memory 802-1 and non-volatile memory 802-2. For example, computer-readable instructions / program code 802-2A and 904-2A may be stored in non-volatile memory 802-2 and 904-2 and may be executed by processing devices 801 and 902, in which volatile memory 802-1 and 904-1 are used to temporarily store data or data and instructions. In some examples, the transmission buffer 802-1B of terminal device 11 may be constituted by the volatile memory 802-1 of UE control device 80. Examples of volatile memory include RAM, DRAM, and SDRAM. Examples of non-volatile memory include ROM, PROM, EEPROM, flash memory, optical storage, and magnetic storage. Memory is often referred to as a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium.

[0125] The term "memory" can refer not only to memory that includes both non-volatile and volatile memory, but also to memory that includes only one or more volatile memories, only one or more non-volatile memories, or one or more volatile memories and one or more non-volatile memories.

[0126] Computer-readable instructions / program codes 802-2A and 904-2A can be pre-programmed into control devices 80 and 90. Alternatively, computer-readable instructions 802-2A and 904-2A can reach control devices 80 and 90 via electromagnetic carrier signals, or can be copied from a physical entity 1000 such as a computer program product, a memory device, or a recording medium such as a CD-ROM or DVD, examples of which are shown in […]. Figure 6 As shown in the diagram. Computer-readable instructions 802-2A and 904-2A can provide logic and routines that enable a physical device / apparatus to perform the functions described above. A combination of computer-readable instructions stored on memory (of any type described above) can be referred to as a computer program product.

[0127] Embodiments of the technologies described herein can be implemented as software, hardware, application logic, or a combination of software, hardware, and application logic. The software, application logic, and / or hardware can reside on memory or any computer medium. In exemplary embodiments, the application logic, software, or instruction set is maintained on any of a variety of conventional computer-readable media. In the context of this document, "memory" or "computer-readable medium" can be any medium or apparatus that can contain, store, transmit, propagate, or transfer instructions for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device, such as a computer.

[0128] In relevant contexts, references to “computer-readable storage medium,” “computer program product,” “tangibly implemented computer program,” or “processor” or “processing device” should be understood to encompass not only computers with different architectures such as single / multiprocessor architectures and sequencer / parallel architectures, but also special-purpose circuitry such as field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), signal processing devices, and other devices. References to computer programs, instructions, code, etc., should be understood to express software (such as programmable content of hardware devices) used for programmable processor firmware as instructions for a processor or as configured settings or configuration settings for fixed-function devices, gate arrays, programmable logic devices, etc.

[0129] If necessary, the different functions discussed herein may be executed in different orders and / or simultaneously with each other. Furthermore, one or more of the aforementioned functions may be optional or may be combined, if required. Similarly, it should be understood that the flowcharts described herein are merely examples, and the various operations depicted therein may be omitted, reordered, and / or combined.

[0130] Although these methods and devices have been described in conjunction with New Radio (NR) networks, it will be understood that they are not limited to such networks and are applicable to a wide variety of wireless network types.

[0131] Although various aspects of the methods and apparatus described herein are set forth in the independent claims, other aspects may include other combinations of features from the described embodiments and / or dependent claims with features of the independent claims, and not just those expressly set forth in the claims.

[0132] It should also be noted in this document that while various examples have been described above, these descriptions should not be considered limiting. Rather, several changes and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A terminal device, comprising: The component is used to receive information indicating power granularity from network nodes, and the power measurement of the power delay spectrum should be reported at said power granularity; Components used to determine the power delay spectrum (PDP) based on measurements of a reference signal; Components for determining an index indicating a quantized power measurement for a corresponding time delay interval for a plurality of time delay intervals associated with the determined PDP, wherein the index is determined based on: (i) a power measurement determined for a corresponding time delay interval based on the determined PDP, (ii) information indicating the power granularity, and (iii) predefined rules for determining the index; and A component for sending the index determined for the plurality of time delay intervals to the network nodes.

2. The terminal device of claim 1, wherein the information indicating the power granularity indicates at least one of the following: - The number M of possible quantization levels, to which the power measurement determined for the time delay interval can be quantized; and -Quantization parameter B, the power measurement determined for the time delay interval is quantized based on the quantization parameter B.

3. The terminal device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the predefined rule causes the corresponding index to indicate the magnitude of the corresponding power measurement relative to a reference power determined for the time delay interval.

4. The terminal device of claim 3, wherein the predefined rule instructs that for each time delay interval in which the determined power measurement is above the sensitivity threshold Pn, the index shall be determined based on the information indicating the power granularity and relating to the ratio of the power measurement to the reference power determined for the time delay interval.

5. The terminal device according to claim 4, comprising a component for receiving a sensitivity threshold Pn from the network node.

6. The terminal device of claim 5, wherein the predefined rule indicates that when the power measurement determined for one time delay interval is less than the sensitivity threshold Pn, the index for the one time delay interval is set to a default value or is not reported.

7. The terminal device according to any one of claims 4 to 6, wherein the reference power is one of the following: - The lowest power measurement among the power measurements determined for the time delay interval that exceeds the sensitivity threshold Pn; and - The highest power measurement among the power measurements determined for the time delay interval.

8. The terminal device according to any one of the preceding claims further includes: A component for receiving from the network node an indication of the predefined rule for determining the index.

9. The terminal device according to any one of the preceding claims further includes: The component for receiving information indicating the time granularity from the network node shall report power measurements of the power delay spectrum at the time granularity.

10. The terminal device of claim 9, wherein the information indicating the time granularity indicates at least one of the following: -Sampling resolution Ts; and - The corresponding index should be for the number of time delay intervals that it is determined to be.

11. A network node, comprising: A component for providing information for equipping a terminal device with an indication of power granularity, wherein the terminal device shall report power measurements of the power delay spectrum at the power granularity; Components for receiving a quantized power delay spectrum (PDP), the quantized PDP being determined by the terminal device using information indicating the power granularity and based on measurements of a reference signal, the quantized PDP including corresponding indices for a plurality of time delay intervals, the corresponding indices indicating quantized power measurements for the time delay intervals; and A component used to determine the location of the terminal device based on the quantized PDP.

12. The network node of claim 11, wherein the information indicating the power granularity indicates at least one of the following: - The number M of possible quantization levels, to which the power measurement determined for the time delay interval can be quantized; and -Quantization parameter B, the power measurement determined for the time delay interval is quantized based on the quantization parameter B.

13. The network node of claim 11 or claim 12, comprising a component for determining the information indicating the power granularity based on at least one of the following: - The location of the determined terminal device is used for the application; - The approximate location of the terminal device; and - Estimated or previously measured channel path loss.

14. The network node according to any one of claims 11 to 13, comprising a component for providing predefined rules for equipping the terminal device, the predefined rules instructing the terminal device how it should determine the quantized PDP.

15. A network node according to any one of claims 11 to 14, comprising a component for providing a sensitivity threshold Pn for the terminal device to use when determining the quantized PDP.

16. A network node according to any one of claims 11 to 15, comprising a component for providing information indicating time granularity for provision to the terminal device, wherein power measurements of the power delay spectrum shall be reported at said time granularity.

17. The network node of claim 16, wherein the information indicating the time granularity indicates at least one of the following: -Sampling resolution Ts; and - The corresponding index should be for the number of time delay intervals that it is determined to be.

18. A network node according to any one of claims 16 to 17, comprising a component for determining the information indicating the time granularity based on at least one of the following: -The environment of the terminal device; - The bandwidth of the reference signal; - The oversampling capability of the terminal device; and - Expected or previously measured delay spread or maximum delay spread.

19. The network node according to any one of claims 16 to 18, wherein the network node is a Radio Access Network (RAN) node or a network node with managed location and management functions (LMF).

20. A method comprising: At the terminal device, information indicating the power granularity is received from the network node, and the power measurement of the power delay spectrum should be reported at the power granularity. The power delay spectrum (PDP) is determined by the terminal device based on measurements of the reference signal; The terminal device determines an index for a plurality of time delay intervals associated with the determined PDP, indicating a quantized power measurement for the corresponding time delay interval, wherein the index is determined based on: (i) a power measurement determined for the corresponding time delay interval based on the determined PDP, (ii) the information indicating the power granularity, and (iii) a predefined rule for determining the index. as well as A component for sending the index determined for the plurality of time delay intervals from the terminal device to the network node.

21. A method comprising: The network node provides information for equipping a terminal device with an indication of power granularity, and the terminal device shall report power measurements of the power delay spectrum at the power granularity. The network node receives a quantized power delay spectrum (PDP), which is determined by the terminal device using information indicating the power granularity and based on measurements of a reference signal. The quantized PDP includes corresponding indices for multiple time delay intervals, each indice indicating a quantized power measurement for that time delay interval. The location of the terminal device is determined by the network node based on the quantized PDP.

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