Positioning estimation of user equipment based on beam ridge information

Abstract

A technique for wireless communication is disclosed. In one aspect, a first wireless node transmits beam ridge information to a positioning estimation entity. The beam ridge information is associated with at least one reference signal (RS-P) for positioning and includes: transmitting (Tx) beam ridge information based on an azimuth angle associated with the highest beam gain of the first RS-P when it is transmitted to a second wireless node at each of a plurality of line-of-sight elevation angles via a set of Tx beams; or receiving (Rx) beam ridge information based on a line-of-sight elevation angle associated with the highest beam gain of the second RS-P when it is received from the second wireless node at each of a plurality of azimuth angles via a set of Rx beams. The positioning estimation entity determines a positioning estimate of a user equipment (UE) based on the beam ridge information.

Description

Background Technology 1. Technical Field

[0002] All aspects of this disclosure relate to wireless technology.

[0003] 2. Relevant Technical Descriptions

[0004] Wireless communication systems have evolved through many generations, including first-generation analog radiotelephone service (1G), second-generation (2G) digital radiotelephone service (including transitional 2.5G and 2.75G networks), third-generation (3G) high-speed data, wireless services with internet capabilities, and fourth-generation (4G) services (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE) or WiMax). Currently, many different types of wireless communication systems are in use, including cellular systems and Personal Communication Services (PCS) systems. Known examples of cellular systems include cellular analog Advanced Mobile Phone Systems (AMPS), as well as digital cellular systems based on Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), and others.

[0005] The fifth-generation (5G) wireless standard, known as New Radio (NR), delivers higher data transfer speeds, more connections, better coverage, and other improvements. According to the Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance (NGC), the 5G standard is designed to provide higher data rates, more accurate positioning (e.g., based on Positioning Reference Signals (RS-P), such as downlink, uplink, or sidelink Positioning Reference Signals (PRS)), and other technological enhancements compared to previous standards. These enhancements, along with the use of higher frequency bands, advancements in the PRS process and technology, and the high-density deployment of 5G, enable high-accuracy positioning based on 5G. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The following is a simplified summary of the invention relating to one or more aspects disclosed herein. Therefore, this summary should not be considered an exhaustive overview relating to all conceived aspects, nor should it be considered to identify key or decisive elements relating to all conceived aspects or to depict the scope associated with any particular aspect. Thus, the sole purpose of this summary is to present, in a simplified form, certain concepts relating to one or more aspects involving the mechanisms disclosed herein, prior to the detailed description presented below.

[0007] In one aspect, a method of operating a first wireless node includes: determining beam ridge information associated with at least one reference signal (RS-P) for positioning, the beam ridge information including: transmitting (Tx) beam ridge information based on an azimuth angle associated with the highest beam gain of the first RS-P when it is transmitted to a second wireless node at each of a plurality of line-of-sight elevation angles via a set of Tx beams; or receiving (Rx) beam ridge information based on a line-of-sight elevation angle associated with the highest beam gain of the second RS-P when it is received from the second wireless node at each of a plurality of azimuth angles via a set of Rx beams; and transmitting the beam ridge information to a positioning estimation entity.

[0008] In one aspect, a method of operating a positioning estimation entity includes: receiving beam ridge information associated with at least one reference signal (RS-P) for positioning from a first radio node, the beam ridge information including: transmit (Tx) beam ridge information based on an azimuth angle associated with the highest beam gain of the first RS-P when it is transmitted to a second radio node at each of a plurality of line-of-sight elevation angles via a set of Tx beams; or receive (Rx) beam ridge information based on a line-of-sight elevation angle associated with the highest beam gain of the second RS-P when it is received from the second radio node at each of a plurality of azimuth angles via a set of Rx beams; and determining a positioning estimate of a user equipment (UE) based on the beam ridge information according to a positioning estimation scheme.

[0009] In one aspect, a first wireless node includes: one or more memories; one or more transceivers; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more memories and the one or more transceivers, the one or more processors being individually or in combination configured to: determine beam ridge information associated with at least one reference signal (RS-P) for positioning, the beam ridge information including: transmit (Tx) beam ridge information based on an azimuth angle associated with the highest beam gain of the first RS-P when it is transmitted to a second wireless node at each of a plurality of line-of-sight elevation angles via a set of Tx beams; or receive (Rx) beam ridge information based on a line-of-sight elevation angle associated with the highest beam gain of the second RS-P when it is received from the second wireless node at each of a plurality of azimuth angles via a set of Rx beams; and transmit the beam ridge information to a positioning estimation entity via the one or more transceivers.

[0010] In one aspect, a positioning estimation entity includes: one or more memories; one or more transceivers; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more memories and the one or more transceivers, the one or more processors being individually or in combination configured to: receive, via the one or more transceivers, beam ridge information associated with at least one reference signal (RS-P) for positioning from a first wireless node, the beam ridge information including: transmit (Tx) beam ridge information based on the first RS-P at multiple line-of-sight elevation angles. The azimuth (elevation) angle (azimuth) of each line of sight elevation angle (azimuth) is the azimuth (elevation) angle associated with the highest beam gain of the first RS-P when it is transmitted to the second radio node via a set of Tx beams; or receiving (Rx) beam ridge information based on the line of sight elevation angle (azimuth) angle (azimuth) of the second RS-P when it is received from the second radio node via a set of Rx beams at each of a plurality of azimuth (elevation) angles (azimuth ...

[0011] In one aspect, the first wireless node includes: components for determining beam ridge information associated with at least one reference signal (RS-P) for positioning, the beam ridge information including: components for transmitting (Tx) beam ridge information based on an azimuth angle associated with the highest beam gain of the first RS-P when it is transmitted to the second wireless node at each of a plurality of line-of-sight elevation angles via a set of Tx beams; or components for receiving (Rx) beam ridge information based on a line-of-sight elevation angle associated with the highest beam gain of the second RS-P when it is received from the second wireless node at each of a plurality of azimuth angles via a set of Rx beams; and components for transmitting the beam ridge information to a positioning estimation entity.

[0012] In one aspect, a positioning estimation entity includes: components for receiving beam ridge information associated with at least one reference signal (RS-P) for positioning from a first radio node, the beam ridge information including: components for transmitting (Tx) beam ridge information based on an azimuth angle associated with the highest beam gain of the first RS-P when it is transmitted to a second radio node at each of a plurality of line-of-sight elevation angles via a set of Tx beams; or components for receiving (Rx) beam ridge information based on a line-of-sight elevation angle associated with the highest beam gain of the second RS-P when it is received from the second radio node at each of a plurality of azimuth angles via a set of Rx beams; and components for determining a positioning estimate of a user equipment (UE) based on the beam ridge information according to a positioning estimation scheme.

[0013] In one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by a first wireless node, cause the first wireless node to: determine beam ridge information associated with at least one reference signal (RS-P) for positioning, the beam ridge information comprising: transmitting (Tx) beam ridge information based on an azimuth angle associated with the highest beam gain of the first RS-P when it is transmitted to a second wireless node at each of a plurality of line-of-sight elevation angles via a set of Tx beams; or receiving (Rx) beam ridge information based on a line-of-sight elevation angle associated with the highest beam gain of the second RS-P when it is received from the second wireless node at each of a plurality of azimuth angles via a set of Rx beams; and transmitting the beam ridge information to a positioning estimation entity.

[0014] In one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by a positioning estimation entity, cause the positioning estimation entity to: receive beam ridge information associated with at least one reference signal (RS-P) for positioning from a first radio node, the beam ridge information comprising: transmitting (Tx) beam ridge information based on an azimuth angle associated with the highest beam gain of the first RS-P when it is transmitted to a second radio node at each of a plurality of line-of-sight elevation angles via a set of Tx beams; or receiving (Rx) beam ridge information based on a line-of-sight elevation angle associated with the highest beam gain of the second RS-P when it is received from the second radio node at each of a plurality of azimuth angles via a set of Rx beams; and determining a positioning estimate of a user equipment (UE) based on the beam ridge information according to a positioning estimation scheme.

[0015] Based on the accompanying drawings and detailed description, other objects and advantages associated with the aspects disclosed herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Attached Figure Description

[0016] The accompanying drawings are provided to help describe various aspects of this disclosure, and are provided for illustrative purposes only and not to limit the aspects.

[0017] Figure 1 Example wireless communication systems according to various aspects of this disclosure are illustrated.

[0018] Figure 2A , Figure 2B and Figure 2C Example wireless network architectures based on various aspects of this disclosure are illustrated.

[0019] Figure 3A , Figure 3B and Figure 3C It is a simplified block diagram of several examples of components that can be used in user equipment (UE), base stations and network entities and configured to support communications as taught herein.

[0020] Figure 4 This is a diagram illustrating an example frame structure according to various aspects of this disclosure.

[0021] Figure 5A and Figure 5B This is a diagram illustrating example sidelink time slot structures with and without feedback resources according to various aspects of this disclosure.

[0022] Figure 6 Examples of various positioning methods supported in new radios (NR) according to various aspects of this disclosure are illustrated.

[0023] Figure 7A and Figure 7B Various scenarios of interest are illustrated according to aspects of this disclosure, including sidelink-only localization or combined Uu and sidelink localization.

[0024] Figure 8 This is a diagram illustrating communication between an example base station and an example UE according to various aspects of this disclosure.

[0025] Figure 9 An example is shown in the interpolation graphs depicting four (4) PRS beams according to various aspects of this disclosure.

[0026] Figure 10 A graph depicting an azimuth ridge according to various aspects of this disclosure is shown.

[0027] Figure 11 An exemplary process of communication according to one aspect of this disclosure is illustrated.

[0028] Figure 12 An exemplary process of communication according to one aspect of this disclosure is illustrated.

[0029] Figure 13 Examples of various aspects according to this disclosure are shown respectively. Figures 11 to 12 The specific implementation of the process is illustrated in the example.

[0030] Figure 14 Examples of various aspects according to this disclosure are shown respectively. Figures 11 to 12 The specific implementation of the process is illustrated in the example. Detailed Implementation

[0031] Various aspects of this disclosure are provided in the following description and accompanying drawings of various examples provided for illustrative purposes. Alternative aspects may be devised without departing from the scope of this disclosure. Additionally, well-known elements of this disclosure will not be described in detail or will be omitted so as not to obscure the relevant details of this disclosure.

[0032] Various aspects are involved in the positioning estimation of user equipment (UE) based on beam ridge information. In some designs, interpolation is a technique used for estimating enhanced departure angle (AoD) and / or departure zenith angle (ZoD) and / or arrival angle (AoA) and / or arrival zenith angle (ZoA). Taking downlink (DL) AoD as an example (a similar process applies to other combinations, DL ZoD / AoA / ZoA and UL AoA / ZoA / AoD / AoA), the interpolation technique finds a mapping from the AoD line-of-sight angle to the reference received power (RSRP) and / or reference received path power (RSRPP) measurements. The RSRP / RSRPP corresponding to multiple PRS resources for different Tx beams can be measured by the measurement entity (e.g., UE). For a set of beams with the same line-of-sight elevation angle, the line-of-sight azimuth angle of each Tx beam is considered as the reference AoD angle. Based on the RSRP / RSRPP of the Tx beam and their corresponding reference angles, an interpolation function can be applied to "smooth" the RSRP / RSRPP curves at different AoD angles. Then, the angle corresponding to the maximum value of the interpolated RSRP / RSRPP curve is considered the estimated AoD angle. In the above interpolation scheme, there is an implicit assumption that the true elevation angle is the line-of-sight elevation angle of the Tx beam. Therefore, the maximum azimuth angle at the line-of-sight elevation angle in the interpolation can be used as the reference angle. However, the true elevation angle may not be the line-of-sight elevation angle, so the maximum azimuth angle at the true elevation angle may differ from the line-of-sight azimuth angle. This introduces an angle estimation error.

[0033] Specific aspects of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented to achieve one or more of the following potential advantages. Aspects of this disclosure relate to conveying beam ridge information to a positioning estimation entity. Such aspects can provide various technical advantages, such as enhanced interpolation, which, knowing the beam ridge information (which is the azimuth (elevation) angle with maximum beam gain for each elevation (azimuth) angle), allows for more accurate angle estimation via interpolation performed along both the azimuth and elevation angles. Furthermore, beam ridge information can be shared without disclosing sensitive (i.e., confidential) beam shape information that the operator network operator would typically not prefer to provide to the positioning estimation entity.

[0034] The terms “exemplary” and / or “example” are used herein to mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any aspect described herein as “exemplary” and / or “example” is not necessarily to be construed as superior to or better than other aspects. Similarly, the term “aspects of this disclosure” does not require that all aspects of this disclosure include the features, advantages, or modes of operation discussed.

[0035] Those skilled in the art will understand that any of a variety of different techniques and methods can be used to represent the information and signals described below. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be mentioned throughout the following description can be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, light fields or optical particles, or any combination thereof, depending in part on the specific application, in part on the desired design, in part on the corresponding technology, and so on.

[0036] Furthermore, many aspects are described according to a sequence of actions to be performed by elements of, for example, a computing device. It will be appreciated that the various actions described herein can be performed by specific circuitry (e.g., an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC)), by program instructions executed by one or more processors, or by a combination of both. Additionally, the sequence of actions described herein can be considered to be entirely embodied in any form of non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a corresponding set of computer instructions that, when executed, will cause or command the associated processor of the device to perform the functionality described herein. Therefore, various aspects of this disclosure can be embodied in a variety of different forms, all of which are contemplated within the scope of the claimed subject matter. Furthermore, for each aspect described herein, any corresponding form of any such aspect may be described herein as, for example, "logic configured to perform the described actions."

[0037] As used herein, unless otherwise specified, the terms “User Equipment” (UE) and “Base Station” are not intended to be specific or otherwise limited to any particular Radio Access Technology (RAT). In general, a UE can be any wireless communication device used by a user to communicate over a wireless communication network (e.g., mobile phone, router, tablet computer, laptop computer, consumer asset positioning device, wearable device (e.g., smartwatch, glasses, augmented reality (AR) / virtual reality (VR) headset, etc.), vehicle (e.g., car, motorcycle, bicycle, etc.), Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc.). A UE can be mobile or can (e.g., at certain times) be stationary and can communicate with a Radio Access Network (RAN). As used herein, the term “UE” can be interchangeably referred to as “Access Terminal” or “AT,” “Client Equipment,” “Wireless Equipment,” “Subscriber Equipment,” “Subscriber Terminal,” “Subscriber Station,” “User Terminal” or “UT,” “Mobile Equipment,” “Mobile Terminal,” “Mobile Station,” or variations thereof. In general, a UE can communicate with a core network via the RAN, and through the core network, a UE can connect to external networks such as the Internet and to other UEs. Of course, other mechanisms for connecting to the core network and / or the Internet are also possible for the UE, such as through wired access networks, wireless local area network (WLAN) networks (e.g., based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard, etc.).

[0038] A base station may operate according to one of several RATs to communicate with the UE, depending on the network in which it is deployed, and may alternatively be referred to as an Access Point (AP), Network Node, Node B, Evolved Node B (eNB), Next Generation eNB (ng-eNB), New Radio (NR) Node B (also referred to as gNB or gNodeB), etc. The base station may primarily be used to support the UE's radio access, including supporting data, voice, and / or signaling connections for the supported UE. In some systems, the base station may only provide edge node signaling functions, while in others, it may provide additional control and / or network management functions. The communication link through which the UE can transmit signals to the base station is called an uplink (UL) channel (e.g., reverse traffic channel, reverse control channel, access channel, etc.). The communication link through which the base station can transmit signals to the UE is called a downlink (DL) or forward link channel (e.g., paging channel, control channel, broadcast channel, forward traffic channel, etc.). As used herein, the term “Traffic Channel (TCH)” may refer to either the uplink / reverse traffic channel or the downlink / forward traffic channel.

[0039] The term "base station" can refer to a single physical transmit / receive point (TRP) or multiple physical TRPs that may or may not be co-located. For example, when the term "base station" refers to a single physical TRP, the physical TRP can be the antenna of a base station corresponding to a cell (or several cell sectors) of the base station. When the term "base station" refers to multiple co-located physical TRPs, the physical TRP can be the antenna array of the base station (e.g., as in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system or where the base station employs beamforming). When the term "base station" refers to multiple non-co-located physical TRPs, the physical TRP can be a distributed antenna system (DAS) (a network of spatially separated antennas connected via a transmission medium to a common source) or a remote radio headend (RRH) (a remote base station connected to a serving base station). Alternatively, a non-co-located physical TRP can be the serving base station from which the UE receives measurement reports and a neighboring base station where the UE is measuring its reference radio frequency (RF) signal. Because, as used herein, a TRP is the point by which a base station transmits and receives radio signals, references to transmitting from or receiving at a base station should be understood to refer to a specific TRP of the base station.

[0040] In some specific implementations supporting UE positioning, the base station may not support the UE's radio access (e.g., it may not support data, voice, and / or signaling connections for the UE), but may instead transmit reference signals to the UE for measurement and / or receive and measure signals transmitted by the UE. Such a base station may be referred to as a positioning beacon (e.g., in the case of transmitting signals to the UE) and / or as a location measurement unit (e.g., in the case of receiving and measuring signals from the UE).

[0041] An “RF signal” refers to an electromagnetic wave of a given frequency that transmits information across the space between a transmitter and a receiver. As used herein, a transmitter may send a single “RF signal” or multiple “RF signals” to a receiver. However, due to the propagation characteristics of RF signals through multipath channels, a receiver may receive multiple “RF signals” corresponding to each transmitted RF signal. The same transmitted RF signal on different paths between the transmitter and receiver may be referred to as a “multipath” RF signal. As used herein, where the context clearly indicates that the term “signal” refers to a wireless signal or RF signal, an RF signal may also be referred to as a “wireless signal” or simply a “signal.”

[0042] Figure 1An example wireless communication system 100 according to various aspects of this disclosure is illustrated. The wireless communication system 100 (which may also be referred to as a wireless wide area network (WWAN)) may include various base stations 102 (labeled "BS") and various UEs 104. Base station 102 may include macro cell base stations (high-power cellular base stations) and / or small cell base stations (low-power cellular base stations). In one aspect, the macro cell base station may include an eNB and / or an ng-eNB (wherein the wireless communication system 100 corresponds to an LTE network), or a gNB (wherein the wireless communication system 100 corresponds to an NR network), or a combination of both, and the small cell base station may include femtocells, picocells, microcells, etc.

[0043] Base station 102 can collectively form a RAN and interface with core network 170 (e.g., evolved packet core (EPC) or 5G core (5GC)) via backhaul link 122, and interface with one or more location servers 172 (e.g., location management function (LMF) or secure user plane location (SUPL) location platform (SLP)) via core network 170. Location server 172 can be part of core network 170 or can be external to core network 170. Location server 172 can be integrated with base station 102. UE 104 can communicate with location server 172 directly or indirectly. For example, UE 104 can communicate with location server 172 via base station 102 currently serving UE 104. UE 104 can also communicate with location server 172 via another path, such as via application server (not shown), via another network, such as via wireless local area network (WLAN) access point (AP) (e.g., AP 150 described below), etc. For signaling purposes, communication between UE 104 and location server 172 can be represented as an indirect connection (e.g., via core network 170, etc.) or a direct connection (e.g., as shown via direct connection 128), wherein intermediate nodes (if present) are omitted from the signaling diagram for clarity.

[0044] In addition to other functions, base station 102 may perform functions associated with one or more of the following: transmitting user data, radio channel encryption and decryption, integrity protection, header compression, mobility control functions (e.g., handover, dual connectivity), inter-cell interference coordination, connection establishment and release, load balancing, distribution of non-access stratum (NAS) messages, NAS node selection, synchronization, RAN sharing, multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS), subscriber and equipment tracking, RAN information management (RIM), paging, location, and delivery of warning messages. Base stations 102 may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., via EPC / 5GC) on backhaul link 134, which may be wired or wireless.

[0045] Base station 102 can wirelessly communicate with UE 104. Each base station in base station 102 can provide communication coverage for a corresponding geographic coverage area 110. In one aspect, one or more cells can be supported by base station 102 in each geographic coverage area 110. A “cell” is a logical communication entity used to communicate with a base station (e.g., via a frequency resource, which is referred to as a carrier frequency, component carrier, carrier, frequency band, etc.) and can be associated with an identifier (e.g., Physical Cell Identifier (PCI), Enhanced Cell Identifier (ECI), Virtual Cell Identifier (VCI), Cell Global Identifier (CGI), etc.) used to distinguish cells operating via the same or different carrier frequencies. In some cases, different cells can be configured according to different protocol types that can provide access for different types of UEs (e.g., Machine Type Communication (MTC), Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), or other protocol types). Because a cell is supported by a specific base station, the term “cell” can refer to either or both of the logical communication entity and the base station supporting the logical communication entity, depending on the context. Furthermore, since the TRP is typically the physical transmission point of a cell, the terms "cell" and "TRP" can be used interchangeably. In some cases, the term "cell" can also refer to the geographical coverage area of ​​a base station (e.g., a sector), as long as the carrier frequency can be detected and used for communication within a portion of the geographical coverage area 110.

[0046] While the geographic coverage areas 110 of adjacent macro cell base stations 102 may partially overlap (e.g., in handover areas), some areas within geographic coverage areas 110 may substantially overlap with larger geographic coverage areas 110. For example, a small cell base station 102' (labeled "SC" for "small cell") may have a geographic coverage area 110' that substantially overlaps with the geographic coverage areas 110 of one or more macro cell base stations 102. A network that includes both small cell base stations and macro cell base stations may be referred to as a heterogeneous network. A heterogeneous network may also include a home eNB (HeNB) that can provide service to a restricted group referred to as a Closed Subscriber Group (CSG).

[0047] The communication link 120 between base station 102 and UE 104 may include uplink (also known as reverse link) transmission from UE 104 to base station 102 and / or downlink (DL) (also known as forward link) transmission from base station 102 to UE 104. The communication link 120 may use MIMO antenna techniques, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and / or transmit diversity. The communication link 120 may use one or more carrier frequencies. Carrier allocation may be asymmetric for the downlink and uplink (e.g., more or fewer carriers may be allocated to the downlink compared to the uplink).

[0048] The wireless communication system 100 may also include a WLAN access point (AP) 150 that communicates with a wireless local area network (WLAN) station (STA) 152 via a communication link 154 in unlicensed spectrum (e.g., 5 GHz). When communicating in unlicensed spectrum, the WLAN STA 152 and / or WLAN AP 150 may perform a free channel assessment (CCA) or listen-before-talk (LBT) process before communication to determine whether the channel is available.

[0049] Small cell base station 102' can operate in licensed and / or unlicensed spectrum. When operating in unlicensed spectrum, small cell base station 102' can employ LTE or NR technology and use the same 5GHz unlicensed spectrum as WLAN AP 150. Small cell base station 102' employing LTE / 5G in unlicensed spectrum can improve the coverage and / or increase the capacity of the access network. NR in unlicensed spectrum may be referred to as NR-U. LTE in unlicensed spectrum may be referred to as LTE-U, Licensed Assisted Access (LAA), or MULTEFIRE. ® .

[0050] The wireless communication system 100 may also include a millimeter-wave (mmW) base station 180, which can operate at mmW and / or near-mmW frequencies to communicate with the UE 182. Extremely high frequency (EHF) is a portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that contains radio frequency (RF). EHF has a range of 30 GHz to 300 GHz, with wavelengths between 1 mm and 10 mm. Radio waves in this band are referred to as millimeter waves. Near-mmW extends down to frequencies of 3 GHz with wavelengths of 100 mm. Ultra-high frequency (SHF) bands extend between 3 GHz and 30 GHz, and are also referred to as centimeter waves. Communication using mmW / near-mmW radio bands has high path loss and relatively short range. The mmW base station 180 and the UE 182 can utilize beamforming (transmit and / or receive) on the mmW communication link 184 to compensate for the extremely high path loss and short range. Furthermore, it should be understood that, in alternative configurations, one or more base stations 102 may also use mmW or near-mmW and beamforming for transmission. Therefore, it should be understood that the foregoing examples are merely illustrative and should not be construed as limiting the various aspects disclosed herein.

[0051] Transmit beamforming is a technique used to focus RF signals in a specific direction. Traditionally, when a network node (e.g., a base station) broadcasts an RF signal, it broadcasts the signal in all directions (omnidirectionally). Using transmit beamforming, the network node determines where a given target device (e.g., a UE) is located (relative to the transmitting network node) and projects a stronger downlink RF signal in that specific direction, thus providing the receiving device with a faster and stronger RF signal (in terms of data rate). To change the directivity of the RF signal during transmission, the network node can control the phase and relative amplitude of the RF signal at each of one or more transmitters broadcasting the RF signal. For example, the network node can use an array of antennas (called a "phased array" or "antenna array") that forms an RF beam that can be "manipulated" to be pointed in different directions without actually moving the antennas. Specifically, RF currents from the transmitters are fed to individual antennas with the correct phase relationship, such that radio waves from the individual antennas add up in the desired direction to increase radiation, while canceling out in the undesired direction to suppress radiation.

[0052] Transmit beams can be quasi-co-located, meaning they appear to the receiver (e.g., the UE) as having the same parameters regardless of whether the network node's own transmit antennas are physically co-located. In NR, there are four types of quasi-co-located (QCL) relationships. Specifically, a given type of QCL relationship means that certain parameters of a second reference RF signal on a second beam can be derived based on information about the source reference RF signal on the source beam. Therefore, if the source reference RF signal is QCL type A, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, and delay spread of the second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL type B, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and Doppler spread of the second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL type C, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and average delay of the second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is of type QCL D, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the spatial reception parameters of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel.

[0053] In receive beamforming, a receiver uses a receive beam to amplify an RF signal detected on a given channel. For example, the receiver may increase the gain setting of an antenna array in a particular direction and / or adjust the phase setting of the antenna array in a particular direction to amplify the RF signal received from that direction (e.g., increase its gain level). Therefore, when a receiver is described as performing beamforming in a certain direction, it means that the beam gain in that direction is high relative to the beam gain along other directions, or that the beam gain in that direction is the highest compared to the beam gain of all other receive beams available to the receiver in that direction. This results in a stronger received signal strength (e.g., reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR), etc.) of the RF signal received from that direction.

[0054] The transmit and receive beams can be spatially correlated. Spatial correlation means that parameters for a second beam (e.g., transmit or receive beam) for a second reference signal can be derived based on information about a first beam (e.g., receive or transmit beam) for a first reference signal. For example, a UE can use a specific receive beam to receive a reference downlink reference signal (e.g., a synchronization signal block (SSB)) from a base station. The UE can then form a transmit beam for transmitting an uplink reference signal (e.g., a sounding reference signal (SRS)) to that base station based on the parameters of the receive beam.

[0055] It is important to note that, depending on the entity forming the "downlink" beam, the beam can be either a transmit beam or a receive beam. For example, if the base station is forming a downlink beam to transmit a reference signal to the UE, the downlink beam is a transmit beam. However, if the UE is forming a downlink beam, the downlink beam is a receive beam for receiving the downlink reference signal. Similarly, depending on the entity forming the "uplink" beam, the beam can be either a transmit beam or a receive beam. For example, if the base station is forming an uplink beam, the uplink beam is an uplink receive beam, while if the UE is forming an uplink beam, the uplink beam is an uplink transmit beam.

[0056] The electromagnetic spectrum is typically subdivided into various categories, bands, channels, etc., based on frequency / wavelength. In 5G NR, two initial operating bands have been designated as frequency ranges FR1 (410MHz to 7.125GHz) and FR2 (24.25GHz to 52.6GHz). It should be understood that although a portion of FR1 is greater than 6GHz, in various documents and articles, FR1 is often (interchangeably) referred to as the "sub-6GHz" band. A similar naming issue sometimes occurs with FR2, which is often (interchangeably) referred to as the "millimeter wave" band in documents and articles, although this differs from the designation used by the International Telecommunication Union.® Extremely high frequency (EHF) bands (30 GHz to 300 GHz) are designated as “millimeter wave” bands.

[0057] The frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are generally referred to as mid-band frequencies. Recent 5G NR studies have identified the operating bands used for these mid-band frequencies as the frequency range designation FR3 (7.125GHz-24.25GHz). Bands falling within FR3 can inherit FR1 and / or FR2 characteristics, thus effectively extending the features of FR1 and / or FR2 to mid-band frequencies. Additionally, higher frequency bands are currently being explored to extend 5G NR operation beyond 52.6GHz. For example, three higher operating bands have been identified as the frequency range designations FR4a or FR4-1 (52.6GHz to 71GHz), FR4 (52.6GHz to 114.25GHz), and FR5 (114.25GHz to 300GHz). Each of these higher frequency bands falls within the EHF band.

[0058] In light of the foregoing, unless otherwise specifically stated, it should be understood that, as used herein, the term "below 6 GHz" and the like can broadly refer to frequencies less than 6 GHz, within FR1, or including intermediate frequency band frequencies. Furthermore, unless otherwise specifically stated, it should be understood that, as used herein, the term "millimeter wave" and the like can broadly refer to frequencies that can include intermediate frequency band frequencies, within FR2, FR4, FR4-a or FR4-1 and / or FR5, or within the EHF band.

[0059] In multi-carrier systems such as 5G, one of the carrier frequencies is referred to as the "primary carrier," "anchor carrier," "primary serving cell," or "PCell," and the remaining carrier frequencies are referred to as "secondary carriers," "secondary serving cells," or "SCell." In carrier aggregation, the anchor carrier is the carrier operating on the primary frequency (e.g., FR1) utilized by UE 104 / 182 and the cell, where UE 104 / 182 performs an initial Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection establishment procedure or initiates an RRC connection re-establishment procedure. The primary carrier carries all common and UE-specific control channels and can be a carrier on a licensed frequency (however, this is not always the case). The secondary carrier is a carrier operating on a second frequency (e.g., FR2) that can be configured and used to provide additional radio resources once an RRC connection is established between UE 104 and the anchor carrier. In some cases, the secondary carrier can be a carrier on an unlicensed frequency. Secondary carriers may contain only the necessary signaling information and signals. For example, since the primary uplink and primary downlink carriers are typically UE-specific, the UE-specific signaling information and signals may not be present in the secondary carrier. This means that different UEs 104 / 182 within a cell can have different downlink primary carriers. The same applies to the uplink primary carrier. The network can change the primary carrier of any UE 104 / 182 at any time. This is done, for example, to balance the load on different carriers. Since a "serving cell" (whether PCell or SCell) corresponds to the carrier frequency / component carrier through which a base station communicates, the terms "cell," "serving cell," "component carrier," and "carrier frequency" can be used interchangeably.

[0060] For example, still refer to Figure 1 One of the frequencies used by the macro cell base station 102 can be an anchor carrier (or "PCell"), and the other frequencies used by the macro cell base station 102 and / or the mmW base station 180 can be secondary carriers ("SCell"). Simultaneous transmission and / or reception on multiple carriers allows the UE 104 / 182 to significantly increase its data transmission and / or data reception rates. For example, compared to the data rate obtained by a single 20MHz carrier, two aggregated 20MHz carriers in a multi-carrier system would theoretically result in a doubling of the data rate (i.e., 40MHz).

[0061] The wireless communication system 100 may also include a UE 164, which can communicate with the macro cell base station 102 via communication link 120 and / or with the mmW base station 180 via mmW communication link 184. For example, the macro cell base station 102 may support PCells and one or more SCells for the UE 164, and the mmW base station 180 may support one or more SCells for the UE 164.

[0062] In some cases, UE 164 and UE 182 may be able to communicate via sidelink. A sidelink-capable UE (SL-UE) can communicate with base station 102 via communication link 120 using the Uu interface (i.e., the air interface between the UE and the base station). SL-UEs (e.g., UE 164, UE 182) can also communicate directly with each other via radio sidelink 160 using the PC5 interface (i.e., the air interface between sidelink-capable UEs). Radio sidelink (or simply "sidelink") is an adaptation of core cellular network (e.g., LTE, NR) standards that allows direct communication between two or more UEs without the need for communication through a base station. Sidelink communication can be unicast or multicast and can be used for device-to-device (D2D) media sharing, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication (e.g., cellular V2X (cV2X) communication, enhanced V2X (eV2X) communication, emergency rescue applications, etc. One or more SL-UEs in a group of SL-UEs utilizing sidelink communication may be located within the geographical coverage area 110 of base station 102. Other SL-UEs in this group may be outside the geographical coverage area 110 of base station 102, or may be unable to receive transmissions from base station 102 for other reasons. In some cases, the groups of SL-UEs communicating via sidelink communication may utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system, where each SL-UE transmits to every other SL-UE in the group. In some cases, base station 102 facilitates the scheduling of resources used for sidelink communication. In other cases, sidelink communication is performed between the individual SL-UEs without involving base station 102.

[0063] On one hand, the sidelink 160 can operate via a wireless communication medium of interest that can be shared with other vehicles and / or infrastructure access points and other RATs for wireless communication. "Medium" can include one or more time, frequency, and / or space communication resources (e.g., covering one or more channels across one or more carriers) associated with wireless communication between one or more transmitter / receiver pairs. On another hand, the medium of interest may correspond to at least a portion of unlicensed frequency bands shared among various RATs. While different licensed frequency bands have been reserved for certain communication systems (e.g., by government entities such as the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC), these systems (particularly those employing small cell access points) have recently expanded their operation to unlicensed frequency bands such as those used by wireless local area network (WLAN) technologies (most notably the IEEE 802.11x WLAN technology commonly referred to as "Wi-Fi"). Example systems of this type include various variants of CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), single-carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA), and so on.

[0064] It should be noted that, although Figure 1 Only two of these UEs are exemplified as SL-UEs (i.e., UE 164 and UE 182), but any UE exemplified can be an SL-UE. Furthermore, although only UE 182 is described as capable of beamforming, any UE exemplified (including UE 164) can be capable of beamforming. When SL-UEs are capable of beamforming, they can beamform towards each other (i.e., towards other SL-UEs), towards other UEs (e.g., UE 104), towards base stations (e.g., base station 102, base station 180, small cell 102', access point 150), etc. Therefore, in some cases, UE 164 and UE 182 can utilize beamforming via sidelink 160.

[0065] exist Figure 1 In the example, the UE shown (for simplicity, in) Figure 1Any UE (shown as a single UE 104) can receive signal 124 from one or more Earth-orbiting spacecraft (SV) 112 (e.g., satellites). In one aspect, SV 112 may be part of a satellite positioning system that allows UE 104 to use as an independent source of location information. Satellite positioning systems typically include a system of transmitters (e.g., SV 112) positioned such that a receiver (e.g., UE 104) can determine its location on or above the Earth based at least in part on positioning signals (e.g., signal 124) received from the transmitters. Such transmitters typically transmit signals marked with a set number of repeating pseudo-random noise (PN) codes. While typically located in SV 112, transmitters may sometimes be located at ground-based control stations, base stations 102, and / or other UEs 104. UE 104 may include one or more dedicated receivers specifically designed to receive signal 124 in order to derive geographic location information from SV 112.

[0066] In a satellite positioning system, the use of signal 124 can be enhanced by various satellite-based augmentation systems (SBAS), which may be associated with or otherwise made capable of being used with one or more global and / or regional navigation satellite systems. For example, SBAS may include augmentation systems that provide integrity information, differential correction, etc., such as Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), European Geostationary Navigation Overlap Service (EGNOS), Multifunctional Satellite Augmentation System (MSAS), GPS-assisted geographic augmentation navigation, or GPS and geographic augmentation navigation system (GAGAN). Therefore, as used herein, a satellite positioning system may include any combination of one or more global and / or regional navigation satellites associated with such one or more satellite positioning systems.

[0067] On one hand, SV 112 may additionally or alternatively be part of one or more non-terrestrial networks (NTNs). In an NTN, SV 112 connects to an earth station (also referred to as a ground station, NTN gateway, or gateway), which in turn connects to elements in the 5G network, such as the modified base station 102 (without a ground antenna) or network nodes in a 5GC. This element, in turn, provides access to other elements in the 5G network and ultimately to entities outside the 5G network, such as internet web servers and other user equipment. Thus, as a replacement or supplement to communication signals from the ground base station 102, UE 104 can receive communication signals (e.g., signal 124) from SV 112.

[0068] The wireless communication system 100 may also include one or more UEs, such as UE 190, which are indirectly connected to one or more communication networks via one or more device-to-device (D2D) peer-to-peer (P2P) links (referred to as "side links"). Figure 1 In one example, UE 190 has a D2D P2P link 192 with one of UEs 104 connected to one of the base stations in base station 102 (e.g., UE 190 can indirectly obtain cellular connectivity through this D2D P2P link), and has a D2D P2P link 194 with a WLAN STA 152 connected to WLAN AP 150 (UE 190 can indirectly obtain WLAN-based Internet connectivity through this D2D P2P link). In one example, D2D P2P links 192 and 194 can utilize any known D2D RAT (such as LTE Direct (LTE-D), Wi-Fi Direct). ® ,Bluetooth ® (etc.) to support.

[0069] Figure 2A An example wireless network architecture 200 is illustrated. For instance, the 5GC 210 (also referred to as the Next Generation Core (NGC)) can be functionally viewed as control plane (C-plane) functions 214 (e.g., UE registration, authentication, network access, gateway selection, etc.) and user plane (U-plane) functions 212 (e.g., UE gateway functions, access to data networks, IP routing, etc.), which work together to form the core network. The user plane interface (NG-U) 213 and the control plane interface (NG-C) 215 connect the gNB 222 to the 5GC 210, specifically to user plane functions 212 and control plane functions 214, respectively. In an additional configuration, the ng-eNB 224 can also connect to the 5GC 210 via the NG-C 215 to the control plane function 214 and the NG-U 213 to the user plane function 212. Furthermore, the ng-eNB 224 can communicate directly with the gNB 222 via a backhaul connection 223. In some configurations, the next-generation RAN (NG-RAN) 220 may have one or more gNBs 222, while other configurations include one or more of both ng-eNBs 224 and gNBs 222. Either or both of the gNBs 222 or ng-eNBs 224 can communicate with one or more UEs 204 (e.g., any of the UEs described herein).

[0070] Another optional aspect may include a location server 230 that can communicate with the 5GC 210 to provide location assistance to the UE 204. The location server 230 may be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules distributed across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively, each may correspond to a single server. The location server 230 may be configured to support one or more location services for the UE 204 that can be connected to the location server 230 via the core network, the 5GC 210, and / or via the Internet (not illustrated). Furthermore, the location server 230 may be integrated into a component of the core network, or alternatively, may be located outside the core network (e.g., a third-party server, such as an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) server or a service server).

[0071] Figure 2B Another example wireless network architecture 240.5GC 260 is illustrated (which can be used with...). Figure 2AThe 5GC 210 (corresponding to 5GC 210) can be functionally considered as a control plane function provided by the Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 264 and a user plane function provided by the User Plane Function (UPF) 262, which work together to form the core network (i.e., 5GC 260). The functions of AMF 264 include: registration management, connection management, reachability management, mobility management, lawful interception, transmission of session management (SM) messages between one or more UEs 204 (e.g., any of the UEs described herein) and the Session Management Function (SMF) 266, a transparent proxy service for routing SM messages, access authentication and access authorization, transmission of short message service (SMS) messages between UE 204 and the Short Message Service Function (SMSF) (not shown), and Secure Anchoring Functionality (SEAF). AMF 264 also interacts with the Authentication Server Function (AUSF) (not shown) and UE 204 and receives an intermediate key established as a result of the UE 204's authentication process. In the case of UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) Subscriber Identity Module (USIM) authentication, AMF 264 retrieves security material from the AMF. AMF 264 also includes Security Context Management (SCM). The SCM receives a key from the SEAF and uses this key to derive an access network-specific key. AMF 264 functionality also includes location service management for regulatory services, transmission of location service messages between UE 204 and Location Management Function (LMF) 270 (which acts as location server 230), transmission of location service messages between NG-RAN 220 and LMF 270, Evolved Packet System (EPS) bearer identifier allocation for EPS interoperability, and UE 204 mobility event notification. Furthermore, AMF 264 also supports non-3GPP... ® (Third Generation Partner Program) Access network functionality.

[0072] The functions of UPF 262 include: acting as an anchor point for intra-RAT / inter-RAT mobility (where applicable), acting as an external Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session point interconnecting to a data network (not shown), providing packet routing and forwarding, packet inspection, user plane policy rule enforcement (e.g., strobing, redirection, traffic steering), lawful eavesdropping (user plane collection), traffic usage reporting, quality of service (QoS) processing for the user plane (e.g., uplink / downlink rate enforcement, reflective QoS marking in the downlink), uplink traffic verification (Service Data Flow (SDF) to QoS flow mapping), transport-level packet marking in the uplink and downlink, downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering, and delivering and forwarding one or more "end markers" to the source RAN node. UPF 262 can also support the delivery of location service messages between UE 204 and location servers (such as SLP 272) on the user plane.

[0073] The functions of SMF 266 include session management, UE Internet Protocol (IP) address allocation and management, selection and control of user plane functions, service orientation configuration at UPF 262 for routing services to the correct destination, partial control of policy enforcement and QoS, and downlink data notification. The interface through which SMF 266 communicates with AMF 264 is called the N11 interface.

[0074] Another optional aspect may include an LMF 270, which can communicate with the 5GC 260 to provide location assistance to the UE 204. The LMF 270 can be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules distributed across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively, each can correspond to a single server. The LMF 270 can be configured to support one or more location services for the UE 204, which can connect to the LMF 270 via the core network, the 5GC 260, and / or via the Internet (not illustrated). SLP 272 can support similar functions to LMF 270, but while LMF 270 can communicate with AMF 264, NG-RAN 220, and UE 204 on the control plane (e.g., using interfaces and protocols designed to transmit signaling messages rather than voice or data), SLP 272 can communicate with UE 204 and external clients (e.g., third-party server 274) on the user plane (e.g., using protocols designed to carry voice and / or data, such as Transmit Control Protocol (TCP) and / or IP).

[0075] Another optional aspect may include a third-party server 274 that can communicate with LMF 270, SLP 272, 5GC 260 (e.g., via AMF 264 and / or UPF 262), NG-RAN 220, and / or UE 204 to obtain location information (e.g., location estimation) of UE 204. Therefore, in some cases, the third-party server 274 may be referred to as a Location Services (LCS) client or an external client. The third-party server 274 may be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules distributed across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively, each may correspond to a single server.

[0076] User plane interface 263 and control plane interface 265 connect 5GC 260, and specifically connect UPF 262 and AMF 264 to one or more gNB 222 and / or ng-eNB 224 in NG-RAN 220. The interface between gNB 222 and / or ng-eNB 224 and AMF 264 is referred to as the "N2" interface, while the interface between gNB 222 and / or ng-eNB 224 and UPF 262 is referred to as the "N3" interface. The gNB 222 and / or ng-eNB 224 of NG-RAN 220 can communicate directly with each other via backhaul connection 223, referred to as the "Xn-C" interface. One or more of gNB 222 and / or ng-eNB 224 can communicate with one or more UEs 204 via a radio interface referred to as the "Uu" interface.

[0077] The functionality of the gNB 222 is divided among the gNB Central Unit (gNB-CU) 226, one or more gNB Distributed Units (gNB-DU) 228, and one or more gNB Radio Units (gNB-RU) 229. The gNB-CU 226 is a logical node that includes base station functions other than those specifically allocated to the gNB-DU 228, including user data delivery, mobility control, radio access network sharing, location, session management, etc. More specifically, the gNB-CU 226 typically hosts the Radio Resource Control (RRC), Serving Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP), and Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) protocols of the gNB 222. The gNB-DU 228 is a logical node that typically hosts the Radio Link Control (RLC) and Media Access Control (MAC) layers of the gNB 222. Its operation is controlled by the gNB-CU 226. One gNB-DU 228 can support one or more cells, and a cell is supported by only one gNB-DU 228. The interface 232 between gNB-CU 226 and one or more gNB-DU 228 is referred to as the "F1" interface. The physical (PHY) layer functionality of gNB 222 is typically managed by one or more independent gNB-RU 229s, which perform functions such as power amplification and signal transmission / reception. The interface between gNB-DU 228 and gNB-RU 229 is referred to as the "Fx" interface. Therefore, UE 204 communicates with gNB-CU 226 via the RRC, SDAP, and PDCP layers, with gNB-DU 228 via the RLC and MAC layers, and with gNB-RU 229 via the PHY layer.

[0078] The deployment of communication systems such as 5G NR systems can be arranged in a variety of ways using various components or parts. In a 5G NR system or network, network nodes, network entities, network mobility elements, RAN nodes, core network nodes, network elements, or network equipment (such as base stations or one or more units (or components) performing base station functions) can be implemented in aggregated or decomposed architectures. For example, base stations (such as Node B (NB), evolved NB (eNB), NR base stations, 5G NB, AP, TRP, cells, etc.) can be implemented as aggregated base stations (also known as standalone base stations or monolithic base stations) or decomposed base stations.

[0079] Aggregated base stations can be configured to utilize a radio protocol stack that is physically or logically integrated within a single RAN node. Decentralized base stations can be configured to utilize a protocol stack that is physically or logically distributed across two or more units, such as one or more central or centralized units (CUs), one or more distributed units (DUs), or one or more radio units (RUs). In some respects, the CU may be implemented within a RAN node, and one or more DUs may co-located with the CU, or alternatively, may be geographically or virtually distributed across one or more other RAN nodes. DUs may be implemented to communicate with one or more RUs. Each of the CUs, DUs, and RUs may also be implemented as a virtual unit, namely a virtual central unit (VCU), a virtual distributed unit (VDU), or a virtual radio unit (VRU).

[0080] Base station type operation or network design can consider the aggregation characteristics of base station functionality. For example, decomposed base stations can be used in Integrated Access Backhaul (IAB) networks, Open Radio Access Networks (O-RAN) (such as those developed by the O-RAN Alliance), and other similar networks. ® This can be used in proposed network configurations or virtualized radio access networks (vRAN, also known as cloud radio access networks (C-RAN)). Decomposition can include distributing functionality across two or more units in various physical locations, as well as virtually distributing the functionality of at least one unit, which allows for flexibility in network design. Various units in a decomposed base station or decomposed RAN architecture can be configured to communicate wirelessly with at least one other unit.

[0081] Figure 2C An example disaggregated base station architecture 250 according to various aspects of this disclosure is illustrated. The disaggregated base station architecture 250 may include one or more central units (CUs) 280 (e.g., gNB-CU 226) that can communicate directly with the core network 267 (e.g., 5GC 210, 5GC 260) via a backhaul link, or indirectly with the core network 267 via one or more disaggregated base station units (such as a near real-time (near-RT) RAN intelligent controller (RIC) 259 via an E2 link or a non-real-time (non-RT) RIC 257 associated with a Service Management and Orchestration (SMO) framework 255, or both). CUs 280 may communicate with one or more duplex units (DUs) 285 (e.g., gNB-DU 228) via a corresponding midhaul link (e.g., an F1 interface). DUs 285 may communicate with one or more radio units (RUs) 287 (e.g., gNB-RU 229) via a corresponding fronthaul link. RU 287 can communicate with the corresponding UE 204 via one or more radio frequency (RF) access links. In some implementations, UE 204 can be served by multiple RU 287s simultaneously.

[0082] Each of the units (i.e., CU 280, DU 285, RU 287, and near-RT RIC 259, non-RT RIC 257, and SMO frame 255) may include or be coupled to one or more interfaces configured to receive or transmit signals, data, or information (collectively, signals) via wired or wireless transmission media. Each of the units, or an associated processor or controller providing instructions to the communication interfaces of these units, may be configured to communicate with one or more other units via transmission media. For example, these units may include wired interfaces configured to receive signals or transmit signals to one or more other units via wired transmission media. Additionally, these units may include wireless interfaces that may include receivers, transmitters, or transceivers (such as RF transceivers) configured to receive signals or transmit signals to one or more other units, or both, via wireless transmission media.

[0083] In some aspects, the CU 280 can host one or more higher-level control functions. Such control functions may include RRC, PDCP, Serving Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP), etc. Each control function can be implemented using an interface configured to communicate signaling with other control functions hosted by the CU 280. The CU 280 can be configured to handle user plane functionality (i.e., Central Unit-User Plane (CU-UP)), control plane functionality (i.e., Central Unit-Control Plane (CU-CP)), or a combination thereof. In some implementations, the CU 280 can be logically split into one or more CU-UP units and one or more CU-CP units. When implemented in an O-RAN configuration, the CU-UP units can communicate bidirectionally with the CU-CP units via an interface such as an E1 interface. The CU 280 can be implemented to communicate with the DU 285 for network control and signaling, as needed.

[0084] DU 285 may correspond to a logic unit that includes one or more base station functions for controlling the operation of one or more RU 287s. In some aspects, DU 285 may be at least partially based on functional partitioning (such as that provided by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP)). ® The DU285 is functionally partitioned to host one or more of the RLC layer, MAC layer, and one or more high-PHY layers (such as modules for forward error correction (FEC) encoding and decoding, scrambling, modulation, and demodulation). In some respects, the DU285 may further host one or more low-PHY layers. Each layer (or module) may be implemented using an interface configured to communicate signals with other layers (and modules) hosted by the DU285 or with control functions hosted by the CU280.

[0085] Lower-layer functionality can be implemented by one or more RU 287s. In some deployments, the RU 287 controlled by the DU 285 may correspond to a logical node that hosts RF processing functions or low-PHY layer functions (such as performing Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), Inverse FFT (iFFT), digital beamforming, Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) extraction and filtering, or both, based at least in part on functional decomposition (such as lower-layer functional decomposition). In such architectures, the RU 287 may be implemented to handle over-the-air (OTA) communications with one or more UE 204s. In some specific implementations, the real-time and non-real-time aspects of control plane and user plane communications with the RU 287 may be controlled by the corresponding DU 285. In some scenarios, this configuration allows the DU 285 and CU 280 to be implemented in a cloud-based RAN architecture (such as vRAN architecture).

[0086] SMO framework 255 can be configured to support RAN deployment and provisioning of both non-virtualized and virtualized network elements. For non-virtualized network elements, SMO framework 255 can be configured to support the deployment of dedicated physical resources for RAN coverage requirements, which can be managed via operation and maintenance interfaces such as the O1 interface. For virtualized network elements, SMO framework 255 can be configured to interact with cloud computing platforms such as Open Cloud (O-Cloud) 269 to perform network element lifecycle management (such as instantiating virtualized network elements) via cloud computing platform interfaces such as the O2 interface. Such virtualized network elements may include, but are not limited to, CU 280, DU 285, RU 287, and near-RT RIC 259. In some implementations, SMO framework 255 can communicate with the hardware aspects of the 4G RAN (such as Open eNB (O-eNB) 261) via the O1 interface. Additionally, in some implementations, SMO framework 255 can communicate directly with one or more RU 287s via the O1 interface. SMO framework 255 may also include a non-RT RIC 257 configured to support the functionality of SMO framework 255.

[0087] The non-RT RIC 257 can be configured to include logical functions enabling non-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources, including artificial intelligence / machine learning (AI / ML) workflows for model training and updates, or policy-based guidance for applications / features in the near-RT RIC 259. The non-RT RIC 257 can be coupled to or communicate with the near-RT RIC 259, such as via an A1 interface. The near-RT RIC 259 can be configured to include logical functions enabling near real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources via data collection and actions through an interface such as an E2 interface, connecting one or more CU 280s, one or more DU 285s, or both, and O-eNBs to the near-RT RIC 259.

[0088] In some implementations, to generate AI / ML models to be deployed in the near-RT RIC 259, the non-RT RIC 257 may receive parameters or external enrichment information from an external server. This information can be utilized by the near-RT RIC 259 and can be received from non-network data sources or network functions at the SMO framework 255 or the non-RT RIC 257. In some examples, the non-RT RIC 257 or the near-RT RIC 259 may be configured to tune RAN behavior or performance. For example, the non-RT RIC 257 may monitor long-term trends and patterns in performance and employ AI / ML models to perform corrective actions via the SMO framework 255 (such as reconfiguration via O1) or by creating RAN management policies (such as A1 policies).

[0089] Figure 3A , Figure 3B and Figure 3C Examples are shown that can be incorporated into UE 302 (which may correspond to any UE described herein), base station 304 (which may correspond to any base station described herein), and network entity 306 (which may correspond to or embody any network function described herein, including location server 230 and LMF 270, or alternatively may be independent of...). Figure 2A and Figure 2BSeveral example components (represented by corresponding boxes) in the NG-RAN 220 and / or 5GC 210 / 260 infrastructure (such as private networks) depicted herein support the operation as described herein. It should be understood that these components may be implemented in different specific implementations in different types of devices (e.g., in ASICs, in System-on-Chip (SoCs), etc.). The illustrated components may also be incorporated into other devices in a communication system. For example, other devices in the system may include components similar to those described as providing similar functionality. Furthermore, a given device may contain one or more of these components. For example, a device may include multiple transceiver components that enable the device to operate on multiple carriers and / or communicate via different technologies.

[0090] UE 302 and base station 304 each include one or more Wireless Wide Area Network (WWAN) transceivers 310 and 350, which provide components (e.g., components for transmitting, components for receiving, components for measuring, components for tuning, components for blocking transmission, etc.) for communication via one or more wireless communication networks (not shown), such as NR networks, LTE networks, GSM networks, etc. WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 may each be connected to one or more antennas 316 and 356 for communication with other network nodes (such as other UEs, access points, base stations (e.g., eNB, gNB), etc.) via at least one designated RAT (e.g., NR, LTE, GSM, etc.) through a wireless communication medium of interest (e.g., a time / frequency resource set in a specific spectrum). WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 can be configured in different ways to transmit and encode signals 318 and 358 (e.g., messages, indications, information, etc.) according to a specified RAT, and conversely, to receive and decode signals 318 and 358 (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, etc.). Specifically, WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 each include: one or more transmitters 314 and 354 for transmitting and encoding signals 318 and 358, respectively; and one or more receivers 312 and 352 for receiving and decoding signals 318 and 358, respectively.

[0091] In at least some cases, UE 302 and base station 304 each further include one or more short-range radio transceivers 320 and 360, respectively. The short-range radio transceivers 320 and 360 can be connected to one or more antennas 326 and 366, respectively, and provide the capability to communicate over a wireless communication medium of interest via at least one designated RAT (e.g., Wi-Fi, LTE Direct, Bluetooth). ® ZIGBEE ®Z-WAVE ® Components (e.g., components for transmitting, components for receiving, components for measuring, components for tuning, components for blocking transmission, etc.) that enable communication between PC5, Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC), Wireless Access for Vehicle Environments (WAVE), Near Field Communication (NFC), Ultra Wideband (UWB), etc., and other network nodes (such as other UEs, access points, base stations, etc.). Short-range transceivers 320 and 360 can be configured in different ways to transmit and encode signals 328 and 368 (e.g., messages, indications, information, etc.) respectively according to a specified RAT, and conversely, to receive and decode signals 328 and 368 (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, etc.) respectively. Specifically, short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 each include: one or more transmitters 324 and 364 for transmitting and encoding signals 328 and 368, respectively; and one or more receivers 322 and 362 for receiving and decoding signals 328 and 368, respectively. As a specific example, short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 may be Wi-Fi transceivers, Bluetooth transceivers, etc. ® Transceiver, Zigbee ® and / or Z-WAVE ® Transceivers, NFC transceivers, UWB transceivers, or vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and / or vehicle-to-everything (V2X) transceivers.

[0092] In at least some cases, UE 302 and base station 304 also include satellite signal interfaces 330 and 370, each including one or more satellite signal receivers 332 and 372, and optionally including one or more satellite signal transmitters 334 and 374, respectively. In some cases, base station 304 may be a terrestrial base station that can communicate with a spacecraft (e.g., spacecraft 112) via satellite signal interface 370. In other cases, base station 304 may be a spacecraft (or other non-terrestrial entity) that uses satellite signal interface 370 to communicate with terrestrial networks and / or other spacecraft.

[0093] Satellite signal receivers 332 and 372 can be connected to one or more antennas 336 and 376, respectively, and can provide components for receiving and / or measuring satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378, respectively. When satellite signal receivers 332 and 372 are satellite positioning system receivers, satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378 can be Global Positioning System (GPS) signals, Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) signals, Galileo signals, BeiDou signals, Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (NAVIC), Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS) signals, etc. When satellite signal receivers 332 and 372 are non-terrestrial network (NTN) receivers, satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378 can be communication signals originating from a 5G network (e.g., carrying control and / or user data). Satellite signal receivers 332 and 372 can include any suitable hardware and / or software for receiving and processing satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378, respectively. Satellite signal receivers 332 and 372 may request appropriate information and operations from other systems, and in at least some cases, use measurements obtained by any suitable satellite positioning system algorithm to perform calculations to determine the locations of UE 302 and base station 304, respectively.

[0094] Optional satellite signal transmitters 334 and 374 (when present) can be connected to one or more antennas 336 and 376, respectively, and can be provided with components for transmitting satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378, respectively. When satellite signal transmitter 374 is a satellite positioning system transmitter, the satellite positioning / communication signal 378 can be a GPS signal, GLONASS signal, etc. ® Signals include Galileo signals, BeiDou signals, NAVIC signals, and QZSS signals. When satellite signal transmitters 334 and 374 are NTN transmitters, satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378 can be communication signals originating from a 5G network (e.g., carrying control and / or user data). Satellite signal transmitters 334 and 374 can include any suitable hardware and / or software for transmitting satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378, respectively. Satellite signal transmitters 334 and 374 can request appropriate information and operations from other systems.

[0095] Base station 304 and network entity 306 each include one or more network transceivers 380 and 390, which provide components (e.g., transmitting components, receiving components, etc.) for communicating with other network entities (e.g., other base stations 304, other network entities 306). For example, base station 304 may use one or more network transceivers 380 to communicate with other base stations 304 or network entities 306 via one or more wired or wireless backhaul links. Similarly, network entity 306 may use one or more network transceivers 390 to communicate with one or more base stations 304 via one or more wired or wireless backhaul links, or to communicate with other network entities 306 via one or more wired or wireless core network interfaces.

[0096] Transceivers can be configured to communicate via wired or wireless links. A transceiver (whether wired or wireless) includes transmitter circuitry (e.g., transmitters 314, 324, 354, 364) and receiver circuitry (e.g., receivers 312, 322, 352, 362). In some embodiments, the transceiver may be an integrated device (e.g., implementing transmitter and receiver circuitry in a single device), in some embodiments it may include separate transmitter and receiver circuitry, or in other embodiments it may be implemented in a different manner. The transmitter and receiver circuitry of a wired transceiver (e.g., network transceivers 380 and 390 in some embodiments) may be coupled to one or more wired network interface ports. Wireless transmitter circuitry (e.g., transmitters 314, 324, 354, 364) may include or be coupled to multiple antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such as an antenna array, which allows the corresponding device (e.g., UE 302, base station 304) to perform transmit beamforming, as described herein. Similarly, wireless receiver circuitry (e.g., receivers 312, 322, 352, 362) may include or be coupled to multiple antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such as an antenna array, which allows the corresponding device (e.g., UE 302, base station 304) to perform receive beamforming, as described herein. In one aspect, the transmitter and receiver circuitry may share the same multiple antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such that the corresponding device may perform only receive or only transmit at a given time, rather than both receive and transmit simultaneously. Wireless transceivers (e.g., WWAN transceivers 310 and 350, short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360) may also include network listening modules (NLMs) for performing various measurements.

[0097] As used herein, various wireless transceivers (e.g., transceivers 310, 320, 350, and 360 in some specific embodiments, and network transceivers 380 and 390) and wired transceivers (e.g., network transceivers 380 and 390 in some specific embodiments) are generally referred to as "transceiver," "at least one transceiver," or "one or more transceivers." Therefore, whether a particular transceiver is a wired or wireless transceiver can be inferred from the type of communication performed. For example, backhaul communication between network devices or servers typically involves signaling via a wired transceiver, while wireless communication between a UE (e.g., UE 302) and a base station (e.g., base station 304) will typically involve signaling via a wireless transceiver.

[0098] UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 also include other components that can be used in conjunction with the operation disclosed herein. UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 each include one or more processors 342, 384, and 394 for providing functionality related to, for example, wireless communication, and for providing other processing functionality. Thus, processors 342, 384, and 394 may provide components for processing, such as components for determining, components for calculating, components for receiving, components for transmitting, components for indicating, etc. In one aspect, processors 342, 384, and 394 may include, for example, one or more general-purpose processors, multi-core processors, central processing units (CPUs), ASICs, digital signal processors (DSPs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), other programmable logic devices or processing circuits, or various combinations thereof.

[0099] UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 each include memory circuitry implementing memories 340, 386, and 396 (e.g., each including a memory device) for maintaining information (e.g., information indicating reserved resources, thresholds, parameters, etc.). Therefore, memories 340, 386, and 396 can provide components for storage, retrieval, maintenance, etc. In some cases, UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 may each include beamridge assemblies 348, 388, and 398. Beamridge assemblies 348, 388, and 398 may be hardware circuitry that is part of or coupled to processors 342, 384, and 394, respectively, which, when executed, enable UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 to perform the functionality described herein. In other respects, beam ridge assemblies 348, 388, and 398 may be located external to processors 342, 384, and 394 (e.g., as part of a modem processing system, integrated with another processing system, etc.). Alternatively, beam ridge assemblies 348, 388, and 398 may be memory modules stored in memories 340, 386, and 396, respectively, which, when executed by processors 342, 384, and 394 (or modem processing system, another processing system, etc.), enable UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 to perform the functionality described herein. Figure 3A Possible locations of the beam ridge assembly 348 are illustrated. The beam ridge assembly may be part of, for example, one or more WWAN transceivers 310, memory 340, one or more processors 342, or any combination thereof, or may be a standalone component. Figure 3B Possible locations of the beam ridge assembly 388 are illustrated. The beam ridge assembly may be part of, for example, one or more WWAN transceivers 350, memory 386, one or more processors 384, or any combination thereof, or may be a standalone component. Figure 3C Possible locations of the beam ridge assembly 398 are illustrated. The beam ridge assembly may be part of, for example, one or more network transceivers 390, memory 396, one or more processors 394, or any combination thereof, or may be a standalone component.

[0100] UE 302 may include one or more sensors 344 coupled to one or more processors 342 to provide components for sensing or detecting motion and / or orientation information independent of motion data derived from signals received by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320, and / or satellite signal interfaces 330. By way of example, sensor 344 may include accelerometers (e.g., microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices), gyroscopes, geomagnetic sensors (e.g., compasses), altimeters (e.g., barometric altimeters), and / or any other type of motion detection sensor. Furthermore, sensor 344 may include multiple different types of devices and combine their outputs to provide motion information. For example, sensor 344 may use a combination of multi-axis accelerometers and orientation sensors to provide the ability to calculate positioning in two-dimensional (2D) and / or three-dimensional (3D) coordinate systems.

[0101] In addition, UE 302 includes a user interface 346 that provides components for providing instructions to a user (e.g., audible and / or visual instructions) and / or for receiving user input (e.g., when the user actuates a sensing device such as a keypad, touchscreen, microphone, etc.). Although not shown, base station 304 and network entity 306 may also include user interfaces.

[0102] Referring more specifically to one or more processors 384, in the downlink, IP packets from network entity 306 can be provided to processor 384. One or more processors 384 can implement functionality for the RRC layer, Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, and Media Access Control (MAC) layer. One or more processors 384 may provide: RRC layer functionality associated with broadcasting system information (e.g., Master Information Block (MIB), System Information Block (SIB)), RRC connection control (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connection modification, and RRC connection release), inter-RAT mobility, and measurement configuration for UE measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression / decompression, security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification), and handover support functions; RLC layer functionality associated with the delivery of upper-layer PDUs, error correction via Automatic Repeat Request (ARQ), concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC Service Data Units (SDUs), resegmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, scheduling information reporting, error correction, priority handling, and logical channel priority ordering.

[0103] Transmitter 354 and receiver 352 implement Layer 1 (L1) functionality associated with various signal processing functions. Layer 1, including the physical (PHY) layer, may include: error detection on the transport channel, forward error correction (FEC) decoding / decoding of the transport channel, interleaving, rate matching, mapping to the physical channel, modulation / demodulation of the physical channel, and MIMO antenna processing. Transmitter 354 processes the mapping to the signal constellation based on various modulation schemes (e.g., binary phase shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), M-phase shift keying (M-PSK), M-quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM)). The decoded and modulated symbols can then be split into parallel streams. Each stream can then be mapped to orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) subcarriers, multiplexed with a reference signal (e.g., pilot) in the time and / or frequency domains, and then combined using inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) to produce a physical channel carrying a stream of time-domain OFDM symbols. The OFDM symbol stream is spatially pre-decoded to generate multiple spatial streams. Channel estimates from the channel estimator can be used to determine the decoding and modulation schemes, as well as for spatial processing. The channel estimates can be derived from reference signals and / or channel condition feedback transmitted by UE 302. Each spatial stream can then be provided to one or more different antennas 356. The transmitter 354 can utilize the corresponding spatial stream to modulate an RF carrier for transmission.

[0104] At UE 302, receiver 312 receives signals via its corresponding antenna 316. Receiver 312 recovers the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provides this information to one or more processors 342. Transmitter 314 and receiver 312 implement Layer 1 functionality associated with various signal processing functions. Receiver 312 can perform spatial processing on the information to recover any spatial streams destined for UE 302. If multiple spatial streams are destined for UE 302, they can be combined by receiver 312 into a single OFDM symbol stream. Receiver 312 then uses a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) to transform the OFDM symbol stream from the time domain to the frequency domain. The frequency domain signal comprises a separate OFDM symbol stream for each subcarrier of the OFDM signal. Symbols on each subcarrier, along with a reference signal, are recovered and demodulated by determining the most probable signal constellation point transmitted by base station 304. These soft decisions can be based on channel estimates calculated by a channel estimator. The soft decisions are then decoded and deinterleaved to recover the data and control signals originally transmitted by base station 304 on the physical channel. Then, data and control signals are provided to one or more processors 342, which implement layer 3 (L3) and layer 2 (L2) functionality.

[0105] In the downlink, one or more processors 342 provide demultiplexing, packet reassembly, decryption, header decompression, and control signal processing between the transport and logical channels to recover IP packets from the core network. One or more processors 342 are also responsible for error detection.

[0106] Similar to the functionality described in conjunction with downlink transmissions performed by base station 304, one or more processors 342 provide: RRC layer functionality associated with system information (e.g., MIB, SIB) acquisition, RRC connectivity, and measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression / decompression and security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification); RLC layer functionality associated with the delivery of upper-layer PDUs, error correction via ARQ, concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC SDUs, resegmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing of MAC SDUs onto transport blocks (TBs), demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction via Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ), priority handling, and logical channel priority ordering.

[0107] The channel estimate derived by the channel estimator from the reference signal or feedback transmitted by the base station 304 can be used by the transmitter 314 to select an appropriate decoding and modulation scheme and facilitate spatial processing. The spatial stream generated by the transmitter 314 can be provided to different antennas 316. The transmitter 314 can use the corresponding spatial stream to modulate the RF carrier for transmission.

[0108] Uplink transmissions are processed at base station 304 in a manner similar to that described in conjunction with the receiver function at UE 302. Receiver 352 receives signals via its corresponding antenna 356. Receiver 352 recovers the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provides this information to one or more processors 384.

[0109] In the uplink, one or more processors 384 provide demultiplexing, packet reassembly, decryption, header decompression, and control signal processing between the transport channel and the logical channel to recover IP packets from UE 302. IP packets from one or more processors 384 can be provided to the core network. One or more processors 384 are also responsible for error detection.

[0110] For convenience, UE 302, base station 304 and / or network entity 306 are in Figure 3A , Figure 3B and Figure 3CThe document is shown as including various components that can be configured according to the various examples described herein. However, it should be understood that the illustrated components may have different functionalities in different designs. In particular, Figures 3A to 3C Various components are optional in alternative configurations, and various aspects include configurations that can vary due to design choices, cost, equipment usage, or other considerations. For example, in Figure 3A In certain cases, specific implementations of UE 302 may omit WWAN transceiver 310 (e.g., wearable devices, tablets, personal computers (PCs), or laptops may have Wi-Fi and / or Bluetooth). ® (e.g., cellular only, but without cellular capability), or the short-range wireless transceiver 320 can be omitted (e.g., cellular only), or the satellite signal interface 330 can be omitted, or the sensor 344 can be omitted, etc. For example, in Figure 3B In certain cases, specific implementations of base station 304 may omit WWAN transceiver 350 (e.g., a Wi-Fi "hotspot" access point without cellular capabilities), or short-range wireless transceiver 360 (e.g., cellular only), or satellite signal interface 370, etc. For the sake of brevity, examples of various alternative configurations are not provided herein, but will be readily understood by those skilled in the art.

[0111] Various components of UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 can be communicatively coupled to each other via data buses 308, 382, ​​and 392, respectively. In one aspect, data buses 308, 382, ​​and 392 can form or be part of the communication interfaces of UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306, respectively. For example, in cases where different logical entities are embodied in the same device (e.g., gNB and location server functionality integrated into the same base station 304), data buses 308, 382, ​​and 392 can provide communication between these different logical entities.

[0112] Figure 3A , Figure 3B and Figure 3C The components can be implemented in various ways. In some specific implementations, Figure 3A , Figure 3B and Figure 3CThe components can be implemented in one or more circuits, such as, for example, one or more processors and / or one or more ASICs (which may include one or more processors). Here, each circuit may use and / or combine at least one memory component for storing information or executable code used by the circuit to provide that functionality. For example, some or all of the functionalities represented by blocks 310 to 346 may be implemented by the processor and memory components of UE 302 (e.g., by executing appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor components). Similarly, some or all of the functionalities represented by blocks 350 to 388 may be implemented by the processor and memory components of base station 304 (e.g., by executing appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor components). Moreover, some or all of the functionalities represented by blocks 390 to 398 may be implemented by the processor and memory components of network entity 306 (e.g., by executing appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor components). For simplicity, various operations, actions, and / or functions are described herein as being performed "by the UE," "by the base station," "by the network entity," etc. However, it should be understood that such operations, actions and / or functions may actually be performed by specific components or combinations of components of the UE 302, base station 304, network entity 306, etc., such as processors 342, 384, 394, transceivers 310, 320, 350 and 360, memory 340, 386 and 396, beam ridge assembly 348, 388 and 398, etc.

[0113] In some designs, network entity 306 may be implemented as a core network component. In other designs, network entity 306 may operate differently from the network operator or cellular network infrastructure (e.g., NG RAN 220 and / or 5GC 210 / 260). For example, network entity 306 may be a component of a private network that can be configured to communicate with UE 302 via base station 304 or independently of base station 304 (e.g., via a non-cellular communication link such as Wi-Fi).

[0114] Various frame structures can be used to support downlink and uplink transmission between network nodes (e.g., base stations and UEs). Figure 4 Figure 400 illustrates an example frame structure according to various aspects of this disclosure. The frame structure may be a downlink or uplink frame structure. Other wireless communication technologies may have different frame structures and / or different channels.

[0115] LTE (and in some cases NR) uses Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) on the downlink and Single-Carrier Frequency Division Multiplexing (SC-FDM) on the uplink. However, unlike LTE, NR also has the option to use OFDM on the uplink. OFDM and SC-FDM divide the system bandwidth into multiple (K) orthogonal subcarriers, which are often referred to as tones, frequency slots, etc. Each subcarrier can be modulated using data. Generally, modulation symbols are transmitted using OFDM in the frequency domain and SC-FDM in the time domain. The spacing between adjacent subcarriers can be fixed, and the total number of subcarriers (K) can depend on the system bandwidth. For example, the subcarrier spacing can be 15 kHz, and the minimum resource allocation (resource block) can be 12 subcarriers (or 180 kHz). Therefore, for system bandwidths of 1.25 MHz, 2.5 MHz, 5 MHz, 10 MHz, or 20 MHz, the nominal Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) size can be equal to 128, 256, 512, 1024, or 2048, respectively. The system bandwidth can also be divided into subbands. For example, a subband can cover 1.08 MHz (i.e., 6 resource blocks), and for system bandwidths of 1.25 MHz, 2.5 MHz, 5 MHz, 10 MHz, or 20 MHz, there can be 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 subbands, respectively.

[0116] LTE supports a single set of parameters (subcarrier spacing (SCS), symbol length, etc.). In contrast, NR can support multiple sets of parameters (µ), for example, subcarrier spacings of 15kHz (µ=0), 30kHz (µ=1), 60kHz (µ=2), 120kHz (µ=3), and 240kHz (µ=4) or larger can be available. Within each subcarrier spacing, there are 14 symbols per time slot. For a 15kHz SCS (µ=0), there is one time slot per subframe, 10 time slots per frame, a time slot duration of 1 millisecond (ms), a symbol duration of 66.7 microseconds (µs), and a maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) of 4K FFT size. For a 30kHz SCS (µ=1), there are two time slots per subframe, 20 time slots per frame, a time slot duration of 0.5ms, a symbol duration of 33.3µs, and a maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) of 4K FFT size. For a 60kHz SCS (µ=2), there are four time slots per subframe, 40 time slots per frame, a time slot duration of 0.25ms, a symbol duration of 16.7µs, and a maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) of 4K FFT size. For a 120kHz SCS (µ=3), there are eight time slots per subframe, 80 time slots per frame, a time slot duration of 0.125ms, a symbol duration of 8.33µs, and a maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) of 4K FFT size. For a 240kHz SCS (µ=4), there are 16 time slots per subframe, 160 time slots per frame, a time slot duration of 0.0625ms, a symbol duration of 4.17µs, and a maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) of 4K FFT size.

[0117] exist Figure 4 In the example, a parameter set of 15kHz is used. Therefore, in the time domain, a 10ms frame is divided into 10 equal-sized subframes, each 1ms long, and each subframe includes one time slot. Figure 4 In the diagram, time is represented horizontally (on the X-axis), with time increasing from left to right, while frequency is represented vertically (on the Y-axis), with frequency increasing (or decreasing) from bottom to top.

[0118] A resource grid can be used to represent time slots, each of which includes one or more time-concurrent resource blocks (RBs) (also known as physical RBs (PRBs)) in the frequency domain. The resource grid is further divided into multiple resource elements (REs). An RE corresponds to a symbol length in the time domain and a subcarrier in the frequency domain. Figure 4In the parameter set, for a normal cyclic prefix, the RB can contain 12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain and seven consecutive symbols in the time domain, for a total of 84 REs. For an extended cyclic prefix, the RB can contain 12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain and six consecutive symbols in the time domain, for a total of 72 REs. The number of bits carried by each RE depends on the modulation scheme.

[0119] Some REs may carry reference (pilot) signals (RS). These reference signals may include positioning reference signals (PRS), tracking reference signals (TRS), phase tracking reference signals (PTRS), cell-specific reference signals (CRS), channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS), demodulation reference signals (DMRS), primary synchronization signals (PSS), secondary synchronization signals (SSS), synchronization signal blocks (SSB), sounding reference signals (SRS), etc., depending on whether the illustrated frame structure is used for uplink or downlink communication. Figure 4 An example location (labeled "R") of an RE carrying a reference signal is shown.

[0120] The collection of resource elements (REs) used for PRS transmission is called a "PRS resource". The collection of resource elements can span multiple PRBs in the frequency domain and span "N" (such as one or more) consecutive symbols within a time slot in the time domain. In a given OFDM symbol in the time domain, the PRS resource occupies a consecutive PRB in the frequency domain.

[0121] The transmission of PRS resources within a given PRB has a specific comb size (also known as "comb density"). The comb size "N" represents the subcarrier spacing (or frequency / tone spacing) within each symbol of the PRS resource configuration. Specifically, for a comb size "N", the PRS is transmitted in every Nth subcarrier of a symbol within the PRB. For example, for comb size-4, for each symbol of the PRS resource configuration, the RE corresponding to every fourth subcarrier (such as subcarrier 0, 4, 8) is used to transmit the PRS resource. Currently, for DL-PRS, comb sizes-2, comb size-4, comb size-6, and comb size-12 are supported. Figure 4 An example PRS resource configuration for Comb-4 (which spans four symbols) is shown. That is, the location of the shaded RE (marked as "R") indicates the Comb-4 PRS resource configuration.

[0122] Currently, DL-PRS resources can span 2, 4, 6, or 12 consecutive symbols within a time slot using a full-frequency-domain interleaved mode. DL-PRS resources can be configured in any downlink or flexible (FL) symbol within a time slot, configured by higher layers. For all REs of a given DL-PRS resource, there may be a constant energy per resource element (EPRE). The following are the symbol-by-symbol frequency offsets for comb sizes 2, 4, 6, and 12 on 2, 4, 6, and 12 symbols. 2-symbol comb teeth-2: {0, 1}; 4-symbol comb teeth-2: {0, 1, 0, 1}; 6-symbol comb teeth-2: {0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1}; 12-symbol comb teeth-2: {0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1}; 4-symbol comb teeth-4: {0, 2, 1, 3} (e.g., in...) Figure 4 (in the example); 12-symbol comb-4: {0, 2, 1, 3, 0, 2, 1, 3, 0, 2, 1, 3}; 6-symbol comb-6: {0, 3, 1, 4, 2, 5}; 12-symbol comb-6: {0, 3, 1, 4, 2, 5, 0, 3, 1, 4, 2, 5}; and 12-symbol comb-12: {0, 6, 3, 9, 1, 7, 4, 10, 2, 8, 5, 11}.

[0123] A “PRS resource set” is a collection of PRS resources used to transmit PRS signals, where each PRS resource has a PRS resource ID. Furthermore, PRS resources in a PRS resource set are associated with the same TRP. A PRS resource set is identified by a PRS resource set ID and associated with a specific TRP (identified by the TRP ID). Additionally, PRS resources in a PRS resource set have the same periodicity, common silence mode configuration, and the same repetition factor (such as “PRS-ResourceRepetitionFactor”) across time slots. Periodicity is the time from the first repetition of the first PRS resource in the first PRS instance to the same first repetition of the same first PRS resource in the next PRS instance. Periodicity can have a length selected from: 2^µ The time slots are {4, 5, 8, 10, 16, 20, 32, 40, 64, 80, 160, 320, 640, 1280, 2560, 5120, 10240}, where µ = 0, 1, 2, 3. The repetition factor can have a length selected from {1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 16, 32} time slots.

[0124] In a PRS resource set, a PRS resource ID is associated with a single beam (or beam ID) transmitted from a single TRP (where one TRP can transmit one or more beams). That is, each PRS resource in a PRS resource set can be transmitted on a different beam, and therefore, a "PRS resource" (or simply "resource") can also be referred to as a "beam." It should be noted that this does not imply whether the UE knows the TRP and beam on which it transmits the PRS.

[0125] A “PRS instance” or “PRS timing” is an instance of a periodically repeating time window (such as a group of one or more consecutive time slots) in which a PRS is expected to be sent. A PRS timing may also be referred to as a “PRS positioning timing,” “PRS positioning instance,” “positioning timing,” “positioning instance,” “positioning repetition,” or simply “timing,” “instance,” or “repetition.”

[0126] A “Frequency Layer” (also simply “Frequency Layer”) is a collection of one or more PRS resource sets with identical values ​​for certain parameters across one or more TRPs. Specifically, the collection of PRS resource sets has the same subcarrier spacing and cyclic prefix (CP) type (meaning that all parameter sets supported for the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) are also supported by the PRS), the same Point A, the same downlink PRS bandwidth, the same starting PRB (and center frequency), and the same comb size. The Point A parameter uses the value of the parameter “ARFCN-ValueNR” (where “ARFCN” stands for “Absolute Radio Channel Number”) and is an identifier / code specifying a pair of physical radio channels used for transmission and reception. The downlink PRS bandwidth can have a granularity of four PRBs, with a minimum of 24 PRBs and a maximum of 272 PRBs. Currently, up to four Frequency Layers have been defined, and up to two PRS resource sets can be configured per Frequency Layer per TRP.

[0127] The concept of a frequency layer is somewhat similar to that of component carriers and bandwidth portions (BWPs), but the difference is that component carriers and BWPs are used by a single base station (or macrocell base station and small cell base station) to transmit data channels, while a frequency layer is used by several (usually three or more) base stations to transmit PRS. A UE can indicate the number of frequency layers it can support when transmitting its positioning capabilities to the network (such as during an LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) session). For example, a UE can indicate whether it can support one or four positioning frequency layers.

[0128] It should be noted that the terms "location reference signal" and "PRS" generally refer to specific reference signals used for positioning in NR and LTE systems. However, as used herein, the terms "location reference signal" and "PRS" can also refer to any type of reference signal that can be used for positioning, such as, but not limited to, PRS, TRS, PTRS, CRS, CSI-RS, DMRS, PSS, SSS, SSB, SRS, UL-PRS, etc., as defined in LTE and NR. Furthermore, the terms "location reference signal" and "PRS" can refer to downlink positioning reference signals, uplink positioning reference signals, or sidelink positioning reference signals, unless otherwise indicated by the context. If further distinction is required regarding the type of PRS, downlink positioning reference signals can be referred to as "DL-PRS," uplink positioning reference signals (e.g., positioning SRS, i.e., PTRS) as "UL-PRS," and sidelink positioning reference signals as "SL-PRS." Furthermore, for signals that can be transmitted in the downlink, uplink, and / or sidelink (e.g., DMRS), these signals may be preceded by "DL", "UL", or "SL" to distinguish the direction. For example, "UL-DMRS" may be different from "DL-DMRS".

[0129] On the one hand, Figure 4 The reference signal carried on the RE marked "R" can be the SRS. The SRS transmitted by the UE can be used by the base station to obtain the Channel State Information (CSI) used to transmit the UE. The CSI describes how the RF signal propagates from the UE to the base station and represents the combined effects of scattering, attenuation, and power decay with distance. The system uses the SRS for resource scheduling, link adaptation, massive MIMO, beam management, etc.

[0130] The collection of REs used for SRS transmission is called an "SRS resource" and can be identified by the parameter "SRS-ResourceId". The collection of resource elements can span multiple PRBs in the frequency domain and span "N" (e.g., one or more) consecutive symbols within a time slot in the time domain. In a given OFDM symbol, SRS resources occupy one or more consecutive PRBs. An "SRS resource set" is a group of SRS resources used for SRS signal transmission and is identified by the SRS resource set ID ("SRS-ResourceSetId").

[0131] The transmission of SRS resources within a given PRB has a specific comb size (also known as "comb density"). The comb size "N" represents the subcarrier spacing (or frequency / tone spacing) within each symbol of the SRS resource configuration. Specifically, for a comb size "N", SRS is transmitted in every Nth subcarrier of a symbol within the PRB. For example, for comb size -4, for each symbol of the SRS resource configuration, the RE corresponding to every fourth subcarrier (such as subcarriers 0, 4, 8) is used to transmit the SRS of the SRS resource. Figure 4 In the example, the illustrated SRS is comb tooth-4 spanning four symbols. That is, the position of the shaded SRS RE indicates the SRS resource configuration of comb tooth-4.

[0132] Currently, SRS resources with comb tooth sizes of 2, 4, or 8 can span 1, 2, 4, 8, or 12 consecutive symbols within a time slot. The following are the symbol-by-symbol frequency offsets for the currently supported SRS comb tooth patterns. 1-symbol comb tooth-2: {0}; 2-symbol comb tooth-2: {0, 1}; 2-symbol comb tooth-4: {0, 2}; 4-symbol comb tooth-2: {0, 1, 0,1}; 4-symbol comb tooth-4: {0, 2, 1, 3} (as in...). Figure 4 (in the examples); 8-symbol comb-4: {0, 2, 1, 3, 0, 2, 1, 3}; 12-symbol comb-4: {0, 2, 1, 3, 0, 2, 1, 3, 0, 2, 1, 3}; 4-symbol comb-8: {0, 4, 2, 6}; 8-symbol comb-8: {0, 4, 2, 6, 1, 5, 3, 7}; and 12-symbol comb-8: {0, 4, 2, 6, 1, 5, 3, 7, 0, 4, 2, 6}.

[0133] Generally, as mentioned above, the UE transmits an SRS so that the receiving base station (serving base station or neighboring base station) can measure the channel quality (i.e., CSI) between the UE and the base station. However, the SRS can also be specifically configured as an uplink positioning reference signal for uplink-based positioning procedures, such as uplink time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA), round-trip time (RTT), uplink angle of arrival (UL-AoA), etc. As used herein, the term "SRS" can refer to an SRS configured for channel quality measurement or an SRS configured for positioning purposes. When it is necessary to distinguish between the two types of SRS, the former may be referred to herein as "SRS for communication" and / or the latter as "SRS for positioning" or "positioning SRS".

[0134] Several enhancements to the previously defined SRS may be available for “SRS for Positioning” (also known as “UL-PRS”), such as new interleaving patterns within SRS resources (other than single symbol / comb-2), new comb types for SRS, new sequences of SRS, a larger set of SRS resources per component carrier, and a larger number of SRS resources per component carrier. Furthermore, the parameters “SpatialRelationInfo” and “PathLossReference” are configured based on downlink reference signals or SSBs from adjacent TRPs. Further, an SRS resource can be transmitted outside the active BWP, and an SRS resource can span multiple component carriers. Moreover, SRS can be configured in RRC connected state and transmitted only within the active BWP. Additionally, there may be no frequency hopping, no repetition factor, a single antenna port, and new SRS lengths (e.g., 8 and 12 symbols). Open-loop power control may also exist, but closed-loop power control is not possible, and comb-8 (i.e., SRS transmitted every eighth subcarrier in the same symbol) can be used. Finally, the UE can transmit from multiple SRS resources using the same transmit beam for UL-AoA. These features can be configured via higher-layer RRC signaling (and potentially triggered or activated via MAC control elements (MAC-CE) or downlink control information (DCI)).

[0135] Sidelink communication occurs within transmit or receive resource pools. In the frequency domain, the smallest unit of resource allocation is a subchannel (e.g., the collection of consecutive PRBs in the frequency domain). In the time domain, resource allocation is performed within a time slot interval. However, some time slots are unavailable for sidelinks, and some time slots contain feedback resources. Furthermore, sidelink resources can be (pre-)configured to occupy fewer than 14 symbols in a time slot.

[0136] Configure sidelink resources at the Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer. RRC configuration can be pre-configured (e.g., pre-loaded on the UE) or configured (e.g., from the serving base station).

[0137] The NR side link supports Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) retransmission. Figure 5A This is a diagram 500 illustrating an example time slot structure without feedback resources based on various aspects of this disclosure. Figure 5A In the example, time is represented horizontally and frequency vertically. In the time domain, the length of each block is one Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbol, and 14 symbols constitute a time slot. In the frequency domain, the height of each block is a subchannel. Currently, the (pre-)configured subchannel size can be selected from a set of {10, 15, 20, 25, 50, 75, 100} Physical Resource Blocks (PRBs).

[0138] For side-link time slots, the first symbol is a repetition of the previous symbol and is used for automatic gain control (AGC) settings. This is in Figure 5A This is illustrated using vertical and horizontal hashing. For example... Figure 5A As shown, for sidelinks, the Physical Sidelink Control Channel (PSCCH) and the Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH) are transmitted in the same time slot. Similar to the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH), the PSCCH carries control information about sidelink resource allocation and a description of the sidelink data sent to the UE. Likewise, similar to the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH), the PSSCH carries the UE's user data. Figure 5A In the example, the PSCCH occupies half the bandwidth of the sub-channel and only takes up three symbols. Finally, the gap symbol appears after the PSSCH.

[0139] Figure 5B This is a diagram 550 illustrating an example time-slot structure with feedback resources based on various aspects of this disclosure. Figure 5B In the example, time is represented horizontally and frequency is represented vertically. In the time domain, the length of each block is one OFDM symbol, and 14 symbols constitute a time slot. In the frequency domain, the height of each block is a subchannel.

[0140] Figure 5B The illustrated time slot structure and Figure 5A The illustrated time slot structures are similar, but the difference is... Figure 5B The illustrated time slot structure includes feedback resources. Specifically, the last two symbols of the time slot are dedicated to the Physical Side Link Feedback Channel (PSFCH). The first PSFCH symbol is a repetition of the second PSFCH symbol used for AGC setup. In addition to the gap symbol following the PSFCH, there is a gap symbol after the two PSFCH symbols. Currently, the resources used for the PSFCH can be configured using a periodicity selected from a set of {0, 1, 2, 4} time slots.

[0141] NR supports various cellular network-based positioning technologies, including downlink-based positioning methods, uplink-based positioning methods, and positioning methods based on both downlink and uplink. Downlink-based positioning methods include: Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA) in LTE, Downlink Time Difference of Arrival (DL-TDOA) in NR, and Downlink Angle of Departure (DL-AoD) in NR. Figure 6Examples of various positioning methods according to aspects of this disclosure are illustrated. In the OTDOA or DL-TDOA positioning process illustrated in scenario 610, the UE measures the difference between the times of arrival (ToA) of reference signals (e.g., positioning reference signals (PRS)) received from paired base stations (referred to as reference signal time difference (RSTD) or time difference of arrival (TDOA) measurement) and reports these differences to the positioning entity. More specifically, the UE receives identifiers (IDs) of a reference base station (e.g., a serving base station) and multiple non-reference base stations in auxiliary data. The UE then measures the RSTD between the reference base station and each non-reference base station. Based on the known locations of the base stations involved and the RSTD measurement, the positioning entity (e.g., a UE for UE-based positioning or a location server for UE-assisted positioning) can estimate the UE's location.

[0142] For the DL-AoD positioning illustrated in Scenario 620, the positioning entity uses measurement reports from the UE regarding the received signal strength of multiple downlink transmitted beams to determine the angle between the UE and the transmitting base station. The positioning entity can then estimate the UE's position based on the determined angle and the known location of the transmitting base station.

[0143] Uplink-based positioning methods include uplink time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA) and uplink angle of arrival (UL-AoA). UL-TDOA is similar to DL-TDOA, but is based on uplink reference signals (e.g., sounding reference signals (SRS)) transmitted by the UE to multiple base stations. Specifically, the UE transmits one or more uplink reference signals, which are measured by a reference base station and multiple non-reference base stations. Each base station then reports the reception time of the reference signal (referred to as relative time of arrival (RTOA)) to a positioning entity (e.g., a location server) that knows the location and relative timing of the base stations involved. Based on the received-receive (Rx-Rx) time difference between the reported RTOA of the reference base station and the reported RTOA of each non-reference base station, the known location of the base stations, and their known timing offsets, the positioning entity can use the TDOA to estimate the UE's location.

[0144] For UL-AoA positioning, one or more base stations measure the received signal strength of one or more uplink reference signals (e.g., SRS) received from the UE on one or more uplink receive beams. The positioning entity uses the signal strength measurement and the angle of the receive beam to determine the angle between the UE and the base station. Based on the determined angle and the known location of the base station, the positioning entity can then estimate the location of the UE.

[0145] Downlink and uplink-based positioning methods include Enhanced Cell ID (E-CID) positioning and Multiple Round-Trip Time (RTT) positioning (also known as "Multi-Cell RTT" and "Multi-RTT"). During RTT, a first entity (e.g., a base station or a UE) sends a first RTT-related signal (e.g., PRS or SRS) to a second entity (e.g., a UE or a base station), which then sends a second RTT-related signal (e.g., SRS or PRS) back to the first entity. Each entity measures the time difference between the time of arrival (ToA) of the received RTT-related signal and the time of transmission of the transmitted RTT-related signal. This time difference is called the receive-to-transmit (Rx-Tx) time difference. The Rx-Tx time difference measurement can be performed or adjusted to include only the time difference between the nearest time slot boundary of the received signal and the transmitted signal. The two entities can then transmit their Rx-Tx time difference measurements to a location server (e.g., LMF 270), which calculates the round-trip time (RTT) between the two entities based on these two Rx-Tx time difference measurements (e.g., calculated as the sum of the two Rx-Tx time difference measurements). Alternatively, one entity can transmit its Rx-Tx time difference measurement to another entity, which then calculates the RTT. The distance between the two entities can be determined based on the RTT and a known signal speed (e.g., the speed of light). For the multi-RTT positioning illustrated in scenario 630, a first entity (e.g., a UE or base station) performs an RTT positioning process with multiple second entities (e.g., multiple base stations or UEs) to enable the location of the first entity to be determined based on the distance to the second entities and the known location of the second entities (e.g., using polygonal measurements). RTT and multi-RTT methods can be combined with other positioning techniques (such as UL-AoA and DL-AoD) to improve location accuracy, as illustrated in scenario 640.

[0146] The E-CID positioning method is based on Radio Resource Management (RRM) measurements. In E-CID, the UE reports the serving cell ID, timing advance (TA), identifiers of detected neighboring base stations, estimated timing, and signal strength. The UE's location is then estimated based on this information and the known locations of the base stations.

[0147] To assist in positioning operations, a location server (e.g., location server 230, LMF 270, SLP 272) may provide auxiliary data to the UE. For example, auxiliary data may include: the identifier of the base station (or the cell / TRP of the base station) from which the reference signal is measured, reference signal configuration parameters (e.g., including the number of consecutive time slots of the PRS, the periodicity of consecutive time slots of the PRS, silence sequences, frequency hopping sequences, reference signal identifier, reference signal bandwidth, etc.), and / or other parameters applicable to a particular positioning method. Alternatively, auxiliary data may be derived directly from the base station itself (e.g., in periodically broadcast overhead messages, etc.). In some cases, the UE may be able to detect neighboring network nodes without using auxiliary data.

[0148] In the case of OTDOA or DL-TDOA positioning procedures, auxiliary data may also include the expected RSTD value and the associated uncertainty or search window around the expected RSTD. In some cases, the expected RSTD value may range from + / - 500 microseconds (µs). In some cases, when any of the resources used for positioning measurements is in FR1, the uncertainty of the expected RSTD may range from + / - 32 µs. In other cases, when all resources used for positioning measurements are in FR2, the uncertainty of the expected RSTD may range from + / - 8 µs.

[0149] Location estimates can be referred to by other names, such as location estimation, location, positioning, fixed location, etc. Location estimates can be geodesic and include coordinates (e.g., latitude, longitude, and possible elevation), or they can be municipal and include street addresses, postal addresses, or some other verbal description of the location. Location estimates can be further defined relative to some other known location or in absolute terms (e.g., using latitude, longitude, and possible elevation). Location estimates can include expected errors or uncertainties (e.g., by including the area or volume that the location is expected to include with a specified or default confidence level).

[0150] NR supports or enables various sidelink positioning technologies. Figure 7AVarious scenarios of interest, including sidelink-only positioning or joint Uu and sidelink positioning, are illustrated according to various aspects of this disclosure. In scenario 710, at least one peer UE with a known location can improve the Uu-based positioning of a target UE by providing additional anchors (e.g., using sidelink round-trip time (RTT) (SL-RTT)). In scenario 720, a low-end (e.g., a reduced-capability or “RedCap”) target UE can receive assistance from a high-end UE to determine its location using, for example, a sidelink positioning and ranging process with the high-end UE. Compared to the low-end UE, the high-end UE may have more capabilities, such as more sensors, a faster processor, more memory, more antenna elements, higher transmit power capabilities, access to additional frequency bands, or any combination thereof. In scenario 730, a relay UE (e.g., with a known location) participates in the positioning estimation of a remote UE without performing uplink positioning reference signal (PRS) transmission via the Uu interface. Scenario 740 illustrates joint positioning of multiple UEs. Specifically, in scenario 740, two UEs with unknown locations can co-locate under non-line-of-sight (NLOS) conditions by utilizing constraints from nearby UEs.

[0151] Figure 7B Additional scenarios of interest are illustrated for sidelink-only or combined Uu and sidelink positioning according to various aspects of this disclosure. In scenario 750, a UE used for public safety (e.g., by police, firefighters, etc.) may perform peer-to-peer (P2P) positioning and ranging for public safety and other purposes. For example, in scenario 750, a public safety UE may be outside network coverage and use sidelink positioning technology to determine the location or relative distance and relative positioning between public safety UEs. Similarly, scenario 760 illustrates multiple UEs outside coverage and using sidelink positioning technology such as SL-RTT to determine the location or relative distance and relative positioning.

[0152] Figure 8 Figure 800 illustrates communication between a base station (BS) 802 (which may correspond to any of the base stations described herein) and a UE 804 (which may correspond to any of the UEs described herein). Reference Figure 8Base station 802 may transmit beamforming signals to UE 804 on one or more transmit beams 812a, 812b, 812c, 812d, 812e, 812f, 812g, 812h (collectively referred to as beams 812), each of which has a beam identifier that can be used by UE 804 to identify the corresponding beam. When base station 802 performs beamforming toward UE 804 using a single antenna array (e.g., a single TRP / cell), base station 802 may perform a “beam scan” by transmitting the first beam 812a, then beam 812b, and so on, until finally transmitting beam 812h. Alternatively, base station 802 may transmit beams 812 in a pattern, such as beam 812a, then beam 812h, then beam 812b, then beam 812g, and so on. In the case where base station 802 uses multiple antenna arrays (e.g., multiple TRPs / cells) to perform beamforming toward UE 804, each antenna array may perform beam scanning of a subset of beams 812. Alternatively, each beam in beams 812 may correspond to a single antenna or antenna array.

[0153] Figure 8 Further examples illustrate the paths 822c, 822d, 822e, 822f, and 822g followed by beamforming signals transmitted on beams 812c, 812d, 812e, 812f, and 812g, respectively. Each path 822c, 822d, 822e, 822f, and 822g may correspond to a single "multipath," or may consist of multiple "multipaths" ("multipath" clusters) due to the propagation characteristics of radio frequency (RF) signals through the environment. It should be noted that although only paths 822c-822g for beams 812c-812g are shown for simplicity, signals transmitted on each beam in beam 812 will follow a specific path. In the example shown, paths 822c, 822d, 822e, and 822f are straight lines, while path 822g reflects from an obstacle 820 (e.g., a building, vehicle, terrain feature, etc.).

[0154] UE 804 can receive beamforming signals from base station 802 on one or more receive beams 814a, 814b, 814c, 814d (collectively referred to as beams 814). Note that, for simplicity... Figure 8 The illustrated beams represent either transmit or receive beams, depending on which of the base station 802 and UE 804 is transmitting and which is receiving. Therefore, UE 804 may also transmit beamforming signals to base station 802 on one or more of the beams 814, and base station 802 may receive beamforming signals from UE 804 on one or more of the beams 812.

[0155] On one hand, base station 802 and UE 804 can perform beam training to align their transmit and receive beams. For example, depending on environmental conditions and other factors, base station 802 and UE 804 can determine optimal transmit and receive beams as 812d and 814b, or as 812e and 814c, respectively. The direction of the optimal transmit beam of base station 802 may be the same as or different from the direction of the optimal receive beam, and similarly, the direction of the optimal receive beam of UE 804 may be the same as or different from the direction of the optimal transmit beam. However, it should be noted that aligning the transmit and receive beams is not necessary for performing downlink angle of arrival (DL-AoD) or uplink angle of arrival (UL-AoA) positioning procedures.

[0156] To perform the DL-AoD positioning process, base station 802 may transmit reference signals (e.g., PRS, CRS, TRS, CSI-RS, PSS, SSS, etc.) to UE 804 on one or more beams in beams 812, where each beam has a different transmission angle. The different transmission angles of the beams will result in different received signal strengths (e.g., RSRP, RSRQ, SINR, etc.) at UE 804. Specifically, the received signal strength will be lower for transmission beams 812 that are farther from the line-of-sight (LOS) path 810 between base station 802 and UE 804 than for transmission beams 812 that are closer to the LOS path 810.

[0157] exist Figure 8 In the example, if base station 802 transmits reference signals to UE 804 on beams 812c, 812d, 812e, 812f, and 812g, then transmit beam 812e is optimally aligned with LOS path 810, while transmit beams 812c, 812d, 812f, and 812g are not optimally aligned with that LOS path. Therefore, beam 812e is likely to have a higher received signal strength at UE 804 than beams 812c, 812d, 812f, and 812g. It should be noted that reference signals transmitted on some beams (e.g., beams 812c and / or 812f) may not reach UE 804, or the energy reaching UE 804 from these beams may be too low to be detected or at least negligible.

[0158] UE 804 may report to base station 802 the received signal strength of each measured transmit beam 812c-812g, and optionally, the associated measurement quality, or alternatively, the identifier of the transmit beam with the highest received signal strength (in Figure 8In the example, beam 812e is used. Alternatively or additionally, if UE 804 also participates in round-trip time (RTT) or time difference of arrival (TDOA) positioning sessions with at least one base station 802 or multiple base stations 802, UE 804 may report received transmit (Rx-Tx) time difference or reference signal time difference (RSTD) measurements (and optionally associated measurement quality) to the serving base station 802 or other positioning entity. In any case, the positioning entity (e.g., base station 802, location server, third-party client, UE 804, etc.) may estimate the angle from base station 802 to UE 804 as the AoD of the transmit beam (here, transmit beam 812e) with the highest received signal strength at UE 804.

[0159] In one aspect of DL-AoD-based positioning, when only one involved base station 802 exists, base station 802 and UE 804 can perform a round-trip time (RTT) procedure to determine the distance between base station 802 and UE 804. Therefore, the positioning entity can determine both the direction to UE 804 (using DL-AoD positioning) and the distance to UE 804 (using RTT positioning) to estimate the location of UE 804. It should be noted that the AoD of the transmit beam with the highest received signal strength is not necessarily along the LOS path 810, such as... Figure 8 As shown. However, for the purposes of DL-AoD-based positioning, this is assumed.

[0160] In another aspect of DL-AoD-based positioning, in the presence of multiple involved base stations 802, each involved base station 802 can report the determined AoD or RSRP measurement from the corresponding base station 802 to the serving base station 802. The serving base station 802 can then report the AoD or RSRP measurements from the other involved base stations 812 to the positioning entity (e.g., the UE 804 for UE-based positioning or a location server for UE-assisted positioning). Using this information, along with knowledge of the geographic locations of the base stations 802, the positioning entity can estimate the location of the UE 804 as the intersection of the determined AoDs. For a two-dimensional (2D) positioning solution, at least two involved base stations 802 should be present; however, it should be understood that the more base stations 802 involved in the positioning process, the more accurate the estimated location of the UE 804 will be.

[0161] To perform the UL-AoA positioning procedure, UE 804 transmits uplink reference signals (e.g., UL-PRS, SRS, DMRS, etc.) to base station 802 on one or more uplink transmit beams 814. Base station 802 receives the uplink reference signals on one or more uplink receive beams 812. Base station 802 determines the angle of the optimal receive beam 812 for receiving one or more reference signals from UE 804 as the AoA from UE 804 to itself. Specifically, each receive beam 812 will result in a different received signal strength (e.g., RSRP, RSRQ, SINR, etc.) for one or more reference signals at base station 802. Furthermore, the channel impulse response of one or more reference signals will be smaller for receive beams 812 that are further away from the actual LOS path 810 between base station 802 and UE 804 than for receive beams 812 that are closer to the LOS path 810. Similarly, for the receive beam 812 further away from the LOS path 810, the received signal strength will be lower than that of the receive beam 812 closer to the LOS path 810. Therefore, base station 802 identifies the receive beam 812 that results in the highest received signal strength and optionally the strongest channel impulse response, and estimates the AoA of that receive beam 812 from its own angle to UE 804. It should be noted that, as with DL-AoD-based positioning, the AoA of the receive beam 812 that results in the highest received signal strength (and, in the case of measurement, the strongest channel impulse response) is not necessarily along the LOS path 810. However, in FR2, this can be assumed for UL-AoA-based positioning purposes.

[0162] It should be noted that although UE 804 is illustrated as capable of beamforming, this is not necessary for DL-AoD and UL-AoA positioning procedures. Instead, UE 804 can perform both reception and transmission on an omnidirectional antenna.

[0163] When UE 804 is estimating its location (i.e., the UE is the location entity), it needs to obtain the geographic location of base station 802. UE 804 can obtain its location from, for example, base station 802 itself or a location server (e.g., location server 230, LMF 270, SLP272). By knowing the distance to base station 802 (based on RTT or timing advance), the angle between base station 802 and UE 804 (based on the UL-AoA of the optimal receive beam 812), and the known geographic location of base station 802, UE 804 can estimate its location.

[0164] Alternatively, when a positioning entity such as base station 802 or a location server is estimating the location of UE 804, base station 802 reports the AoA of the receive beam 812 that results in the highest received signal strength (and optionally the strongest channel impulse response) of the reference signal received from UE 804, or all received signal strengths and channel impulse responses for all receive beams 812 (this allows the positioning entity to determine the optimal receive beam 812). Base station 802 may additionally report the Rx-Tx time difference to UE 804. The positioning entity can then estimate the location of UE 804 based on the distance from UE 804 to base station 802, the AoA of the identified receive beam 812, and the known geographic location of base station 802.

[0165] For angle-based positioning, which is either UE-assisted or UE-based, certain beamform information can be transmitted to the positioning entity as auxiliary data. In some designs, various levels of beamform information may be shared with the positioning entity.

[0166] In many cases, detailed information about beamform is kept confidential and retained as a trade secret by the network operator. However, from the perspective of the location estimation entity, more detailed information about the beam is desirable because such beamform information can lead to higher accuracy in direction-of-arrival / direction-of-departure estimation. While some 3GPP standards support communicating beamform information, the network operator controlling the TRP (Transportation Resource Planning) that implements the beamform may be reluctant to share detailed beamform information with the location estimation entity (i.e., due to the confidentiality of the beamform).

[0167] Furthermore, even if network operators are willing to share detailed beamform information, transmitting the complete beamform can incur high overhead. For example, aside from security considerations, it is generally desirable to limit the amount of auxiliary beamform information to reduce overhead. Additionally, the Tx node (gNB or UE) may need to provide sufficient information to the positioning estimation entity to make reliable AoD / ZoD (AoA / ZoA) estimation feasible.

[0168] In some designs, interpolation is a technique used for enhanced AoD / ZoD (AoA / ZoA) estimation. Taking DL AoD as an example (a similar process applies to other combinations, DL ZoD / AoA / ZoA and UL AoA / ZoA / AoD / AoA), the interpolation technique finds a mapping from the AoD line-of-sight angle to RSRP and / or Reference Signal Received Path Power (RSRPP) measurements. RSRP / RSRPP for multiple PRS resources corresponding to different Tx beams can be measured by a measurement entity (e.g., UE). For a set of beams with the same line-of-sight elevation angle, the line-of-sight azimuth angle of each Tx beam is considered the reference AoD angle. Based on the RSRP / RSRPP of the Tx beams and their corresponding reference angles, an interpolation function can be applied to "smooth" the RSRP / RSRPP curves at different AoD angles. The angle corresponding to the maximum value of the interpolated RSRP / RSRPP curve is then considered the estimated AoD angle.

[0169] Figure 9 An example is illustrated in graph 900, which depicts the interpolation of four (4) PRS beams according to various aspects of this disclosure. Figure 9 In the diagram, the x-axis corresponds to the line-of-sight angle, and the y-axis corresponds to the RSRP / RSRPP. Reference angles for the four PRS beams are measured, and then interpolation is performed to derive the estimated AoD angle.

[0170] In the above interpolation scheme, there is an implicit assumption that the true elevation angle is the line-of-sight elevation angle of the Tx beam. Therefore, the maximum azimuth angle at the interpolated line-of-sight elevation angle can be used as a reference angle. However, the true elevation angle may not be the line-of-sight elevation angle, so the maximum azimuth angle at the true elevation angle may differ from the line-of-sight azimuth angle. This introduces estimation error.

[0171] Figure 10 A graph 1000 illustrating an azimuth ridge 1010 according to various aspects of this disclosure is shown. Figure 10 In this diagram, the x-axis corresponds to the azimuth angle (degrees), and the y-axis corresponds to the elevation angle (degrees). For example... Figure 10 As shown, the maximum azimuth angle (or azimuth ridge 1010) varies at different elevation angles. For each azimuth angle (elevation angle), the beam ridge information refers to the elevation angle (azimuth angle) with the maximum beam gain.

[0172] Various aspects of this disclosure relate to conveying beam ridge information to a positioning estimation entity. Such aspects offer various technical advantages, such as enhanced interpolation, which, knowing the beam ridge information (which is the azimuth (elevation) angle with maximum beam gain for each elevation (azimuth) angle), allows for more accurate angle estimation via interpolation performed along both the azimuth and elevation angles. Furthermore, beam ridge information can be shared without disclosing sensitive (i.e., confidential) beamform information that network operators typically do not prefer to provide to a positioning estimation entity.

[0173] Figure 11 An exemplary process 1100 of communication according to one aspect of this disclosure is illustrated. Figure 11 The process 1100 is performed by a first wireless node (such as a UE (e.g., UE 302)) or a wireless network component (such as gNB / BS 304) or an O-RAN component (such as a RU). It should be noted that in some designs, the location estimation entity is deployed separately from the wireless node (e.g., at another UE or at a network component such as an LMF integrated in gNB / BS 304 or an O-RAN component, or a remote location server such as network entity 306). In scenarios where the location estimation entity is integrated with the wireless node itself, any reference to any Rx / Tx operation between the location estimation entity and the wireless node in which the location estimation entity is integrated can correspond to information transfer between different logical components of the wireless node via a data bus, etc. In another aspect, Figure 11 The process 1100 can be combined with Figure 12 The process of 1200 is executed collaboratively, which is described in more detail below.

[0174] refer to Figure 11 At 1110, the first wireless node (e.g., processor 342 or 384, beam ridge assembly 348 or 388, etc.) determines beam ridge information associated with at least one reference signal (RS-P) used for positioning. In one aspect, the beam ridge information includes: transmit (Tx) beam ridge information based on an azimuth angle associated with the highest beam gain of the first RS-P when it is transmitted to the second wireless node at each of a plurality of line-of-sight elevation angles via a set of Tx beams; or receive (Rx) beam ridge information based on a line-of-sight elevation angle associated with the highest beam gain of the second RS-P when it is received from the second wireless node at each of a plurality of azimuth angles via a set of Rx beams.

[0175] refer to Figure 11 At 1120, the first wireless node (e.g., transmitter 314, 324, 354, or 364, etc.) sends beam ridge information to the positioning estimation entity.

[0176] Figure 12 An exemplary process 1200 of communication according to one aspect of this disclosure is illustrated. Figure 12 The process 1200 is performed by a location estimation entity. In some designs, this location estimation entity may correspond to a network component (e.g., an LMF integrated in a gNB / BS304 or O-RAN component, or a remote location server such as network entity 306). In other designs, the location estimation entity may correspond to another UE (e.g., a sidelink anchor UE or a sidelink server UE) or to the target UE itself. In scenarios where the location estimation entity is integrated with another device (e.g., a UE, gNB, location server, etc.), any reference to any Rx / Tx operation between the location estimation entity and the device in which the location estimation entity is integrated may correspond to information transfer between different logical components of the device via a data bus, etc. In another aspect, Figure 11 The process 1100 can be combined with Figure 12 The process involves 1200 collaborative executions.

[0177] refer to Figure 12 At 1210, a positioning estimation entity (e.g., receiver 312 or 322 or 352 or 362, network transceiver 380 or 390, data bus 308 or 382, ​​etc.) receives beam ridge information associated with at least one reference signal (RS-P) for positioning from a first wireless node. In one aspect, the beam ridge information includes: transmit (Tx) beam ridge information based on an azimuth angle associated with the highest beam gain of the first RS-P when it is transmitted to a second wireless node at each of a plurality of line-of-sight elevation angles via a set of Tx beams; or receive (Rx) beam ridge information based on a line-of-sight elevation angle associated with the highest beam gain of the second RS-P when it is received from the second wireless node at each of a plurality of azimuth angles via a set of Rx beams.

[0178] refer to Figure 12 At 1220, the positioning estimation entity (e.g., processor 342 or 384 or 394, beam ridge assembly 348 or 388 or 398, etc.) determines the positioning estimate of the user equipment (UE) based on the beam ridge information according to the positioning estimation scheme.

[0179] refer to Figures 11 to 12In some designs, beam ridge information includes Tx beam ridge information. In one aspect, the first radio node corresponds to a user equipment (UE) and the second radio node corresponds to a radio network component, and the first RS-P corresponds to an uplink positioning reference signal (UL-PRS); or the first radio node corresponds to a UE and the second radio node corresponds to another UE, and the first RS-P corresponds to a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS); or the first radio node corresponds to a radio network component and the second radio node corresponds to a UE, and the first RS-P corresponds to a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS). In another aspect, the line-of-sight elevation angle for each highest beam gain is defined in degrees or radians, or the highest beam gain is defined in decibels or other linear scales over multiple azimuth angles, or the resolution associated with the Tx beam ridge information is defined as a first number of integer degrees or decimal places or azimuth step sizes or intervals, or the Tx beam ridge information is associated with non-uniformly spaced azimuth angles, or, for at least one line-of-sight elevation angle, the corresponding azimuth angle is reported differentially relative to another azimuth angle associated with the same or different Tx beams, or any combination thereof. In another aspect, the first wireless node further transmits (and the positioning estimation entity further receives) an indication that the beam ridge information corresponds to the Tx beam ridge information.

[0180] refer to Figures 11 to 12 In some designs, beam ridge information includes Rx beam ridge information. In one aspect, the first radio node corresponds to a user equipment (UE) and the second radio node corresponds to a radio network component, and the second RS-P corresponds to a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS); or the first radio node corresponds to a UE and the second radio node corresponds to another UE, and the second RS-P corresponds to a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS); or the first radio node corresponds to a radio network component and the second radio node corresponds to a UE, and the second RS-P corresponds to an uplink positioning reference signal (UL-PRS). In another aspect, the azimuth angle of each highest beam gain is defined in degrees or radians, or the highest beam gain is defined in decibels or other linear scales over multiple line-of-sight elevation angles, or the resolution associated with the Rx beam ridge information is defined as a first number of integer degrees or decimal places or line-of-sight elevation angle steps or intervals, or the Rx beam ridge information is associated with non-uniformly spaced line-of-sight elevation angles, or, for at least one azimuth angle, the corresponding line-of-sight elevation angle is reported differentially relative to another line-of-sight elevation angle associated with the same or different Rx beams, or any combination thereof. In another aspect, the first wireless node further transmits (and the positioning estimation entity further receives) an indication that the beam ridge information corresponds to the Rx beam ridge information.

[0181] refer to Figures 11 to 12In scenarios where the beam ridge information from the first wireless node includes Tx beam ridge information, the positioning estimation may further receive receive (Rx) beam ridge information from the second wireless node. This receive (Rx) beam ridge information is based on the line-of-sight elevation angle associated with the highest beam gain of the first RS-P when it is received from the first wireless node at each of a plurality of azimuth angles via a set of Rx beams. In this case, the determination at 1220 is further based on the Rx beam ridge information from the second wireless node. Alternatively, the receive (Rx) beam ridge information associated with the first RS-P is not received by the positioning estimation entity.

[0182] refer to Figures 11 to 12 In scenarios where the beam ridge information from the first wireless node includes Rx beam ridge information, the positioning estimation may further receive transmit (Tx) beam ridge information from the second wireless node, which is based on the azimuth angle associated with the highest beam gain of the second RS-P when it is transmitted to the first wireless node via a set of Tx beams at each of a plurality of line-of-sight elevation angles. In this case, the determination at 1220 is further based on the Tx beam ridge information from the second wireless node. Alternatively, the transmit (Tx) beam ridge information associated with the second RS-P is not received by the positioning estimation entity.

[0183] refer to Figures 11 to 12 In some designs, determining the beam ridge information at 1110 involves measuring the reference signal received power (RSRP) or reference signal received path power (RSRPP) to determine the highest beam gain associated with the Rx beam ridge information or Rx beam ridge information.

[0184] refer to Figures 11 to 12 In some designs, the positioning estimation scheme includes the azimuth of arrival (AoA) positioning estimation scheme, or the azimuth of departure (AoD) positioning estimation scheme, or the zenith of arrival (ZoA) positioning estimation scheme, or the zenith of departure (ZoD) positioning estimation scheme.

[0185] refer to Figures 11 to 12 In certain examples, the performance of the interpolation technique used to determine AoD / ZoD (AoA / ZoA) may depend on the accuracy of the underlying line-of-sight reference angle. Beam ridge information allows for more accurate reference angles to be obtained when locating an entity. In one aspect, for each elevation (azimuth) angle, the beam ridge information may include the azimuth (elevation) angle corresponding to the maximum value of the beam gain.

[0186] refer to Figures 11 to 12 In certain examples, beam ridge information can be defined in degrees or radians.

[0187] refer to Figures 11 to 12In specific examples, beam gain in dB / linear scale at different elevation / azimuth angles can also be added to beam ridge information (e.g., auxiliary data) at a certain resolution.

[0188] refer to Figures 11 to 12 In specific examples, beam ridge information can be defined at different resolutions. For instance, beam ridge information can be defined as an integer in degrees or x decimal places. In another example, the maximum azimuth angle is reported every y elevation angles. In one aspect, x and y in the above examples can be predefined by the relevant 3GPP standards or configured / acknowledged via capability transfer.

[0189] refer to Figures 11 to 12 In certain examples, beam ridge information can be reported for angles that are non-linearly spaced along the azimuth or elevation angles. For example, in this case, the beam ridge information includes pairs of (azimuth, elevation) where neither the azimuth nor the elevation angles are uniformly spaced.

[0190] refer to Figures 11 to 12 In specific examples, beam ridge information can be provided in different formats (e.g., differential format). For angle sequences, only the first element in the sequence represents the actual angle. The following elements indicate the differences between the values, such as... , ...This allows for fewer bits in subsequent angles of the sequence.

[0191] refer to Figures 11 to 12 In certain examples, beam ridge information can be differential between beams. For instance, two beams can have similar beam ridge information, and differential reporting can be equally beneficial in limiting the number of bits required to represent the ridge of a subsequent beam.

[0192] Figure 13 Examples of various aspects according to this disclosure are shown respectively. Figures 11 to 12 The process from 1100 to 1200 is illustrated in the example implementation 1300. Figure 13 The image depicts beam ridges along the azimuth direction. Specifically, it depicts the first beam ridge of the beam with an azimuth line of sight of 11.25° and the second beam ridge of the beam with an azimuth line of sight of 33.75°.

[0193] refer to Figures 11 to 12 In a specific example, for AoD / ZoD positioning, the Tx node can send beam ridge information to the positioning estimation entity (e.g., the AoD / ZoD estimation entity).

[0194] refer to Figures 11 to 12In a specific example, for AoA / ZoA positioning, the Rx node can send beam ridge information to the positioning estimation entity (e.g., the AoA / ZoA estimation entity).

[0195] refer to Figures 11 to 12 In a specific example, beam ridge information for any or both of these ridges can be sent to the positioning estimation entity. On one hand, if only one ridge is reported, it would be beneficial for the positioning estimation entity to know whether the reported beam ridge is Rx or Tx. In the first option, the beam ridge information type (i.e., Rx or Tx) can be predefined by the relevant 3GPP standard (e.g., such that the beam ridge information type is implicitly indicated to the positioning estimation entity) or agreed upon through capability transfer. In the second option, a field indicating the beam ridge information type can be added to the auxiliary data sent to the positioning estimation entity. Similarly, if two ridges are reported, an indicator can be added to characterize the corresponding beam ridge information type (i.e., Rx or Tx), or the beam ridge information can be sent via a method predefined by the relevant 3GPP standard (e.g., such that the beam ridge information type is implicitly indicated to the positioning estimation entity).

[0196] refer to Figures 11 to 12 In a specific example, to begin the interpolation process along the azimuth (elevation) angle, an initial set of line-of-sight azimuth (elevation) references can be obtained, for example:

[0197] · Scene 1 : Obtain a beam ridge, plus the line-of-sight angle. In this case, information on the azimuth (elevation) ridge and the elevation (azimuth) line-of-sight angle of the beam can be obtained. Here, the elevation (azimuth) line-of-sight angle will be selected as the initial reference angle.

[0198] · Scene 2 : Obtain a beam ridge and add beam gain. In this case, information about the azimuth (elevation) ridge and its corresponding beam gain at different azimuth (elevation) angles is available. The elevation (azimuth) line of sight can be obtained as the angle with maximum gain and used as the initial reference angle.

[0199] Figure 14 Examples of various aspects according to this disclosure are shown respectively. Figures 11 to 12 Example implementation of process 1100 to 1200 1400.

[0200] In the first aspect, without loss of generality, assuming only azimuth ridges are available, process 1400 can be performed using a single beam ridge information type (e.g., Rx or Tx). In this case, at 1410, interpolation is performed along the elevation angle using an initial reference elevation angle, and a first estimate of the ZoD is obtained. At 1420, given this ZoD, the azimuth angle where the beam gain is maximum will be provided by the beam ridge information. The beam ridge information is then used in the interpolation to produce a first estimate of the AoD. At 1430, the elevation angle corresponding to the estimated AoD is found from the azimuth ridge of each beam as a new reference elevation angle (this is suboptimal because this angle does not necessarily correspond to the maximum value of the beam), and a second iteration of elevation interpolation is performed. At 1440, based on the new ZoD, operation 1420 is repeated as the second iteration of azimuth interpolation, and so on.

[0201] In the second aspect, it is assumed that both azimuth and elevation ridges are given, and the initial azimuth and elevation reference angles for each beam are determined as the intersection points between the azimuth and elevation ridges. In this case, starting from the elevation angle, without loss of generality, process 1400 can be performed using two types of beam ridge information (e.g., Rx and Tx). In this case, at 1410, using the initial reference elevation angle, interpolation is performed along the elevation angle to obtain a first estimate of the ZoD. At 1420, given this ZoD, the azimuth angle corresponding to the maximum value of the beam will be provided by the azimuth beam ridge information. The beam ridge information is used in the interpolation to generate a first estimate of the AoD. At 1430, based on this estimated AoD, the corresponding elevation angle where the beam is largest is obtained from the elevation ridge. Based on these, a second iteration for elevation interpolation is performed. At 1440, based on the new ZoD, the second iteration of azimuth interpolation as in 1420 is repeated, and so on. On the one hand, the process 1400 described above can be used to iteratively improve the interpolation estimation performance.

[0202] refer to Figures 11 to 12 In specific examples related to LPP and NR Positioning Protocol A (NRPPa), only the azimuth and elevation angles in the line-of-sight direction can be included in the DL-PRS-BeamInfoElement-r16 field of the IE NR-DL-PRS-BeamInfo and IE NR-PRS Beam Information. This is for downlink scenarios; similar changes apply to uplink and / or sidelinks.

[0203] refer to Figures 11 to 12 In certain examples, beam ridge information may include new data fields in IE DL-PRS-BeamInfoElement-r16 and IE NR-PRS Beam Information (for the case of uniform ridge information), for example:

[0204]

[0205] On one hand, AZIMUTH-RIDGE-RESOLUTION indicates the angular precision of the beam ridge information from 1 degree to 5 degrees. When it is set to 0, it means that no beam ridge information is available along that direction. On another hand, dl-PRS-Azimuth-Ridge: This field specifies the ridge line angle along the azimuth direction of the DL-PRS resource associated with the DL-PRS resource ID in the DL-PRS resource set. On yet another hand, dl-PRS-Elevation-Ridge-fine: This field provides a finer granularity for dl-PRS-Azimuth-Ridge. The total ridge azimuth angle in the line-of-sight direction is given by dl-PRS-Azimuth-Ridge + dl-PRS-Azimuth-Ridge-fine.

[0206] As can be seen in the detailed description above, different features are grouped together in the examples. This manner of disclosure should not be construed as an intention to have more features than those explicitly mentioned in each clause. Rather, the various aspects of this disclosure may include fewer features than those in the individual example clauses disclosed. Therefore, the following clauses should be regarded accordingly as incorporated into the description, where each clause may serve as a separate example. Although each dependent clause may refer in the clause to a specific combination with one of the other clauses, the aspect of that dependent clause is not limited to that specific combination. It should be understood that other example clauses may also include combinations of aspects of a dependent clause with the subject matter of any other dependent or independent clause, or combinations of any feature with other dependent and independent clauses. The various aspects disclosed herein expressly include these combinations unless explicitly stated or readily inferred that a particular combination is not intended for use (e.g., contradictory aspects, such as defining an element as both an electrical insulator and an electrical conductor). Furthermore, it is contemplated that aspects of a clause may be included in any other independent clause, even if that clause does not directly depend on the independent clause.

[0207] Specific implementation examples are described in the following numbered clauses:

[0208] Clause 1. A method of operating a first wireless node, the method comprising: determining beam ridge information associated with at least one reference signal (RS-P) for positioning, the beam ridge information comprising: transmitting (Tx) beam ridge information based on an azimuth angle associated with the highest beam gain of the first RS-P when it is transmitted to a second wireless node at each of a plurality of line-of-sight elevation angles via a set of Tx beams; or receiving (Rx) beam ridge information based on a line-of-sight elevation angle associated with the highest beam gain of the second RS-P when it is received from the second wireless node at each of a plurality of azimuth angles via a set of Rx beams; and transmitting the beam ridge information to a positioning estimation entity.

[0209] Clause 2. The method according to Clause 1, wherein the beam ridge information includes the Tx beam ridge information.

[0210] Clause 3. The method according to Clause 2, wherein the first radio node corresponds to a user equipment (UE) and the second radio node corresponds to a radio network component, and the first RS-P corresponds to an uplink positioning reference signal (UL-PRS); or wherein the first radio node corresponds to the UE and the second radio node corresponds to another UE, and the first RS-P corresponds to a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS); or wherein the first radio node corresponds to the radio network component and the second radio node corresponds to the UE, and the first RS-P corresponds to a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS).

[0211] Clause 4. The method according to any one of Clauses 2 to 3, wherein the line-of-sight elevation angle of each highest beam gain is defined in degrees or radians, or wherein the highest beam gain is defined in decibels or other linear scales over the plurality of azimuth angles, or wherein the resolution associated with the Tx beam ridge information is defined as a first number of integer degrees or decimal places or azimuth step size or interval, or wherein the Tx beam ridge information is associated with non-uniformly spaced azimuth angles, or wherein, for at least one line-of-sight elevation angle, the corresponding azimuth angle is reported differentially relative to another azimuth angle associated with the same Tx beam or a different Tx beam, or any combination thereof.

[0212] Clause 5. The method according to any one of Clauses 2 to 4, the method further comprising: sending an indication to the positioning estimation entity regarding the beam ridge information corresponding to the Tx beam ridge information.

[0213] Clause 6. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 5, wherein the beam ridge information includes the Rx beam ridge information.

[0214] Clause 7. The method according to Clause 6, wherein the first radio node corresponds to a user equipment (UE) and the second radio node corresponds to a radio network component, and the second RS-P corresponds to a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS), or wherein the first radio node corresponds to the UE and the second radio node corresponds to another UE, and the second RS-P corresponds to a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS), or wherein the first radio node corresponds to the radio network component and the second radio node corresponds to the UE, and the second RS-P corresponds to an uplink positioning reference signal (UL-PRS).

[0215] Clause 8. The method according to any one of Clauses 6 to 7, wherein the azimuth angle of each highest beam gain is defined in degrees or radians, or wherein the highest beam gain is defined in decibels or other linear scales over the plurality of line-of-sight elevation angles, or wherein the resolution associated with the Rx beam ridge information is defined as a first number of integer degrees or decimal places or line-of-sight elevation angle steps or intervals, or wherein the Rx beam ridge information is associated with non-uniformly spaced line-of-sight elevation angles, or wherein, for at least one azimuth angle, the corresponding line-of-sight elevation angle is reported differentially relative to another line-of-sight elevation angle associated with the same or different Rx beams, or any combination thereof.

[0216] Clause 9. The method according to any one of Clauses 6 to 8, the method further comprising: sending an indication to the positioning estimation entity regarding the beam ridge information corresponding to the Rx beam ridge information.

[0217] Clause 10. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 9, wherein the determination of the beam ridge information comprises measuring the reference signal received power (RSRP) or the reference signal received path power (RSRPP) to determine the highest beam gain associated with the Rx beam ridge information or the Rx beam ridge information.

[0218] Clause 11. A method of operating a positioning estimation entity, the method comprising: receiving beam ridge information associated with at least one reference signal (RS-P) for positioning from a first radio node, the beam ridge information comprising: transmit (Tx) beam ridge information based on an azimuth angle associated with the highest beam gain of the first RS-P when it is transmitted to a second radio node at each of a plurality of line-of-sight elevation angles via a set of Tx beams; or receive (Rx) beam ridge information based on a line-of-sight elevation angle associated with the highest beam gain of the second RS-P when it is received from the second radio node at each of a plurality of azimuth angles via a set of Rx beams; and determining a positioning estimate of a user equipment (UE) based on the beam ridge information according to a positioning estimation scheme.

[0219] Clause 12. The method according to Clause 11, wherein the beam ridge information includes the Tx beam ridge information.

[0220] Clause 13. The method according to Clause 12, the method further comprising: receiving receive (Rx) beam ridge information from the second wireless node, the receive (Rx) beam ridge information being based on a line-of-sight elevation angle associated with the highest beam gain of the first RS-P when it is received from the first wireless node at each of a plurality of azimuth angles via a set of Rx beams, wherein the determination is further based on the Rx beam ridge information.

[0221] Clause 14. The method according to any one of Clauses 12 to 13, wherein the received (Rx) beam ridge information associated with the first RS-P is not received by the positioning estimation entity.

[0222] Clause 15. The method according to any one of Clauses 11 to 14, wherein the beam ridge information includes the Rx beam ridge information.

[0223] Clause 16. The method according to Clause 15, the method further comprising: receiving transmit (Tx) beam ridge information from the second wireless node, the transmit (Tx) beam ridge information being based on an azimuth angle associated with the highest beam gain of the second RS-P when the second RS-P is transmitted to the first wireless node via a set of Tx beams at each of a plurality of line-of-sight elevation angles, wherein the determination is further based on the Tx beam ridge information.

[0224] Clause 17. The method according to any one of Clauses 15 to 16, wherein the transmit (Tx) beam ridge information associated with the second RS-P is not received by the positioning estimation entity.

[0225] Clause 18. The method according to any one of Clauses 11 to 17, wherein the positioning estimation scheme comprises: an azimuth-of-arrival (AoA) positioning estimation scheme, or an azimuth-of-departure (AoD) positioning estimation scheme, or an zenith-of-arrival (ZoA) positioning estimation scheme, or an zenith-of-departure (ZoD) positioning estimation scheme.

[0226] Clause 19. A first wireless node, the first wireless node comprising: one or more memories; one or more transceivers; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more memories and the one or more transceivers, the one or more processors individually or in combination configured to: determine beam ridge information associated with at least one reference signal (RS-P) for positioning, the beam ridge information comprising: transmit (Tx) beam ridge information based on an azimuth angle associated with the highest beam gain of the first RS-P when it is transmitted to a second wireless node at each of a plurality of line-of-sight elevation angles via a set of Tx beams; or receive (Rx) beam ridge information based on a line-of-sight elevation angle associated with the highest beam gain of the second RS-P when it is received from the second wireless node at each of a plurality of azimuth angles via a set of Rx beams; and transmit the beam ridge information to a positioning estimation entity via the one or more transceivers.

[0227] Clause 20. The first wireless node as described in Clause 19, wherein the beam ridge information includes the Tx beam ridge information.

[0228] Clause 21. The first radio node as described in Clause 20, wherein the first radio node corresponds to a user equipment (UE) and the second radio node corresponds to a radio network component, and the first RS-P corresponds to an uplink positioning reference signal (UL-PRS), or wherein the first radio node corresponds to the UE and the second radio node corresponds to another UE, and the first RS-P corresponds to a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS), or wherein the first radio node corresponds to the radio network component and the second radio node corresponds to the UE, and the first RS-P corresponds to a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS).

[0229] Clause 22. The first wireless node according to any one of Clauses 20 to 21, wherein the line-of-sight elevation angle of each highest beam gain is defined in degrees or radians, or wherein the highest beam gain is defined in decibels or other linear scales over the plurality of azimuth angles, or wherein the resolution associated with the Tx beam ridge information is defined as a first number of integer degrees or decimal places or azimuth step size or interval, or wherein the Tx beam ridge information is associated with non-uniformly spaced azimuth angles, or wherein, for at least one line-of-sight elevation angle, the corresponding azimuth angle is reported differentially relative to another azimuth angle associated with the same Tx beam or a different Tx beam, or any combination thereof.

[0230] Clause 23. The first wireless node according to any one of Clauses 20 to 22, wherein the one or more processors are further configured individually or in combination to: transmit via the one or more transceivers an indication to the positioning estimation entity regarding the beam ridge information corresponding to the Tx beam ridge information.

[0231] Clause 24. The first wireless node according to any one of Clauses 19 to 23, wherein the beam ridge information includes the Rx beam ridge information.

[0232] Clause 25. The first radio node as described in Clause 24, wherein the first radio node corresponds to a user equipment (UE) and the second radio node corresponds to a radio network component, and the second RS-P corresponds to a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS), or wherein the first radio node corresponds to the UE and the second radio node corresponds to another UE, and the second RS-P corresponds to a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS), or wherein the first radio node corresponds to the radio network component and the second radio node corresponds to the UE, and the second RS-P corresponds to an uplink positioning reference signal (UL-PRS).

[0233] Clause 26. The first wireless node according to any one of Clauses 24 to 25, wherein the azimuth angle of each highest beam gain is defined in degrees or radians, or wherein the highest beam gain is defined in decibels or other linear scales over the plurality of line-of-sight elevation angles, or wherein the resolution associated with the Rx beam ridge information is defined as a first number of integer degrees or decimal places or line-of-sight elevation angle steps or intervals, or wherein the Rx beam ridge information is associated with non-uniformly spaced line-of-sight elevation angles, or wherein, for at least one azimuth angle, the corresponding line-of-sight elevation angle is reported differentially relative to another line-of-sight elevation angle associated with the same or different Rx beams, or any combination thereof.

[0234] Clause 27. The first wireless node according to any one of Clauses 24 to 26, wherein the one or more processors are further configured individually or in combination to: transmit, via the one or more transceivers, an indication to the positioning estimation entity regarding the beam ridge information corresponding to the Rx beam ridge information.

[0235] Clause 28. The first wireless node according to any one of Clauses 19 to 27, wherein the determination of the beam ridge information includes measuring the reference signal received power (RSRP) or the reference signal received path power (RSRPP) to determine the highest beam gain associated with the Rx beam ridge information or the Rx beam ridge information.

[0236] Clause 29. A positioning estimation entity comprising: one or more memories; one or more transceivers; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more memories and the one or more transceivers, the one or more processors being individually or in combination configured to: receive, via the one or more transceivers, beam ridge information associated with at least one reference signal (RS-P) for positioning from a first radio node, the beam ridge information comprising: transmit (Tx) beam ridge information based on an azimuth angle associated with the highest beam gain of the first RS-P when it is transmitted to a second radio node at each of a plurality of line-of-sight elevation angles via a set of Tx beams; or receive (Rx) beam ridge information based on a line-of-sight elevation angle associated with the highest beam gain of the second RS-P when it is received from the second radio node at each of a plurality of azimuth angles via a set of Rx beams; and determine a positioning estimate of a user equipment (UE) based on the beam ridge information according to a positioning estimation scheme.

[0237] Clause 30. The positioning estimation entity as described in Clause 29, wherein the beam ridge information includes the Tx beam ridge information.

[0238] Clause 31. The positioning estimation entity according to Clause 30, wherein the one or more processors are further configured individually or in combination to: receive receive (Rx) beam ridge information from the second wireless node via the one or more transceivers, the receive (Rx) beam ridge information being based on a line-of-sight elevation angle associated with the highest beam gain of the first RS-P when it is received from the first wireless node at each of a plurality of azimuth angles via a set of Rx beams, wherein the determination is further based on the Rx beam ridge information.

[0239] Clause 32. A positioning estimation entity according to any one of Clauses 30 to 31, wherein the received (Rx) beam ridge information associated with the first RS-P is not received by the positioning estimation entity.

[0240] Clause 33. The positioning estimation entity according to any one of Clauses 29 to 32, wherein the beam ridge information includes the Rx beam ridge information.

[0241] Clause 34. The positioning entity as described in Clause 33, wherein the one or more processors are further configured individually or in combination to: receive transmit (Tx) beam ridge information from the second wireless node via the one or more transceivers, the transmit (Tx) beam ridge information being based on an azimuth angle associated with the highest beam gain of the second RS-P when it is transmitted to the first wireless node via a set of Tx beams at each of a plurality of line-of-sight elevation angles, wherein the determination is further based on the Tx beam ridge information.

[0242] Clause 35. A positioning estimation entity according to any one of Clauses 33 to 34, wherein the transmit (Tx) beam ridge information associated with the second RS-P is not received by the positioning estimation entity.

[0243] Clause 36. A positioning estimation entity according to any one of Clauses 29 to 35, wherein the positioning estimation scheme comprises: an azimuth-of-arrival (AoA) positioning estimation scheme, or an azimuth-of-departure (AoD) positioning estimation scheme, or an zenith-of-arrival (ZoA) positioning estimation scheme, or an zenith-of-departure (ZoD) positioning estimation scheme.

[0244] Clause 37. A first wireless node, the first wireless node comprising: means for determining beam ridge information associated with at least one reference signal (RS-P) for positioning, the beam ridge information comprising: means for transmitting (Tx) beam ridge information based on an azimuth angle associated with the highest beam gain of the first RS-P when it is transmitted to the second wireless node at each of a plurality of line-of-sight elevation angles via a set of Tx beams; or means for receiving (Rx) beam ridge information based on a line-of-sight elevation angle associated with the highest beam gain of the second RS-P when it is received from the second wireless node at each of a plurality of azimuth angles via a set of Rx beams; and means for transmitting the beam ridge information to a positioning estimation entity.

[0245] Clause 38. The first wireless node as described in Clause 37, wherein the beam ridge information includes the Tx beam ridge information.

[0246] Clause 39. The first radio node as described in Clause 38, wherein the first radio node corresponds to a user equipment (UE) and the second radio node corresponds to a radio network component, and the first RS-P corresponds to an uplink positioning reference signal (UL-PRS), or wherein the first radio node corresponds to the UE and the second radio node corresponds to another UE, and the first RS-P corresponds to a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS), or wherein the first radio node corresponds to the radio network component and the second radio node corresponds to the UE, and the first RS-P corresponds to a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS).

[0247] Clause 40. The first wireless node according to any one of Clauses 38 to 39, wherein the line-of-sight elevation angle of each highest beam gain is defined in degrees or radians, or wherein the highest beam gain is defined in decibels or other linear scales over the plurality of azimuth angles, or wherein the resolution associated with the Tx beam ridge information is defined as a first number of integer degrees or decimal places or azimuth step size or interval, or wherein the Tx beam ridge information is associated with non-uniformly spaced azimuth angles, or wherein, for at least one line-of-sight elevation angle, the corresponding azimuth angle is reported differentially relative to another azimuth angle associated with the same Tx beam or a different Tx beam, or any combination thereof.

[0248] Clause 41. The first wireless node according to any one of Clauses 38 to 40, the first wireless node further comprising: a component for transmitting to the positioning estimation entity an indication that the beam ridge information corresponds to the Tx beam ridge information.

[0249] Clause 42. The first wireless node according to any one of Clauses 37 to 41, wherein the beam ridge information includes the Rx beam ridge information.

[0250] Clause 43. The first radio node as described in Clause 42, wherein the first radio node corresponds to a user equipment (UE) and the second radio node corresponds to a radio network component, and the second RS-P corresponds to a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS), or wherein the first radio node corresponds to the UE and the second radio node corresponds to another UE, and the second RS-P corresponds to a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS), or wherein the first radio node corresponds to the radio network component and the second radio node corresponds to the UE, and the second RS-P corresponds to an uplink positioning reference signal (UL-PRS).

[0251] Clause 44. The first wireless node according to any one of Clauses 42 to 43, wherein the azimuth angle of each highest beam gain is defined in degrees or radians, or wherein the highest beam gain is defined in decibels or other linear scales over the plurality of line-of-sight elevation angles, or wherein the resolution associated with the Rx beam ridge information is defined as a first number of integer degrees or decimal places or line-of-sight elevation angle steps or intervals, or wherein the Rx beam ridge information is associated with non-uniformly spaced line-of-sight elevation angles, or wherein, for at least one azimuth angle, the corresponding line-of-sight elevation angle is reported differentially relative to another line-of-sight elevation angle associated with the same or different Rx beams, or any combination thereof.

[0252] Clause 45. The first wireless node according to any one of Clauses 42 to 44, the first wireless node further comprising: a component for transmitting to the positioning estimation entity an indication that the beam ridge information corresponds to the Rx beam ridge information.

[0253] Clause 46. The first wireless node according to any one of Clauses 37 to 45, wherein the determination of the beam ridge information includes measuring the reference signal received power (RSRP) or the reference signal received path power (RSRPP) to determine the highest beam gain associated with the Rx beam ridge information or the Rx beam ridge information.

[0254] Clause 47. A positioning estimation entity, the positioning estimation entity comprising: means for receiving beam ridge information associated with at least one reference signal (RS-P) for positioning from a first radio node, the beam ridge information comprising: means for transmitting (Tx) beam ridge information based on an azimuth angle associated with the highest beam gain of the first RS-P when the first RS-P is transmitted to a second radio node at each of a plurality of line-of-sight elevation angles via a set of Tx beams; or means for receiving (Rx) beam ridge information based on a line-of-sight elevation angle associated with the highest beam gain of the second RS-P when the second RS-P is received from the second radio node at each of a plurality of azimuth angles via a set of Rx beams; and means for determining a positioning estimate of a user equipment (UE) based on the beam ridge information according to a positioning estimation scheme.

[0255] Clause 48. The positioning estimation entity as described in Clause 47, wherein the beam ridge information includes the Tx beam ridge information.

[0256] Clause 49. The positioning estimation entity as described in Clause 48, the positioning estimation entity further comprising: means for receiving receive (Rx) beam ridge information from the second wireless node, the receive (Rx) beam ridge information being based on a line-of-sight elevation angle associated with the highest beam gain of the first RS-P when it is received from the first wireless node at each of a plurality of azimuth angles via a set of Rx beams, wherein the determination is further based on the Rx beam ridge information.

[0257] Clause 50. A positioning estimation entity according to any one of Clauses 48 to 49, wherein the received (Rx) beam ridge information associated with the first RS-P is not received by the positioning estimation entity.

[0258] Clause 51. The positioning estimation entity according to any one of Clauses 47 to 50, wherein the beam ridge information includes the Rx beam ridge information.

[0259] Clause 52. The positioning estimation entity as described in Clause 51, the positioning estimation entity further comprising: means for receiving transmit (Tx) beam ridge information from the second radio node, the transmit (Tx) beam ridge information being based on an azimuth angle associated with the highest beam gain of the second RS-P when the second RS-P is transmitted to the first radio node via a set of Tx beams at each of a plurality of line-of-sight elevation angles, wherein the determination is further based on the Tx beam ridge information.

[0260] Clause 53. A positioning estimation entity according to any one of Clauses 51 to 52, wherein the transmit (Tx) beam ridge information associated with the second RS-P is not received by the positioning estimation entity.

[0261] Clause 54. A positioning estimation entity according to any one of Clauses 47 to 53, wherein the positioning estimation scheme comprises: an azimuth-of-arrival (AoA) positioning estimation scheme, or an azimuth-of-departure (AoD) positioning estimation scheme, or an zenith-of-arrival (ZoA) positioning estimation scheme, or an zenith-of-departure (ZoD) positioning estimation scheme.

[0262] Clause 55. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by a first wireless node, cause the first wireless node to: determine beam ridge information associated with at least one reference signal (RS-P) for positioning, the beam ridge information comprising: transmitting (Tx) beam ridge information based on an azimuth angle associated with the highest beam gain of the first RS-P when it is transmitted to a second wireless node at each of a plurality of line-of-sight elevation angles via a set of Tx beams; or receiving (Rx) beam ridge information based on a line-of-sight elevation angle associated with the highest beam gain of the second RS-P when it is received from the second wireless node at each of a plurality of azimuth angles via a set of Rx beams; and transmitting the beam ridge information to a positioning estimation entity.

[0263] Clause 56. The non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in Clause 55, wherein the beam ridge information includes the Tx beam ridge information.

[0264] Clause 57. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to Clause 56, wherein the first radio node corresponds to a user equipment (UE) and the second radio node corresponds to a radio network component, and the first RS-P corresponds to an uplink positioning reference signal (UL-PRS); or wherein the first radio node corresponds to the UE and the second radio node corresponds to another UE, and the first RS-P corresponds to a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS); or wherein the first radio node corresponds to the radio network component and the second radio node corresponds to the UE, and the first RS-P corresponds to a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS).

[0265] Clause 58. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 56 to 57, wherein the line-of-sight elevation angle for each highest beam gain is defined in degrees or radians, or wherein the highest beam gain is defined in decibels or other linear scales over the plurality of azimuth angles, or wherein the resolution associated with the Tx beam ridge information is defined as a first number of integer degrees or decimal places or azimuth step size or interval, or wherein the Tx beam ridge information is associated with non-uniformly spaced azimuth angles, or wherein, for at least one line-of-sight elevation angle, the corresponding azimuth angle is reported differentially relative to another azimuth angle associated with the same Tx beam or a different Tx beam, or any combination thereof.

[0266] Clause 59. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 56 to 58, the non-transitory computer-readable medium further comprising computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by the first wireless node, cause the first wireless node to: send an indication to the positioning estimation entity regarding the beam ridge information corresponding to the Tx beam ridge information.

[0267] Clause 60. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 55 to 59, wherein the beam ridge information includes the Rx beam ridge information.

[0268] Clause 61. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to Clause 60, wherein the first radio node corresponds to a user equipment (UE) and the second radio node corresponds to a radio network component, and the second RS-P corresponds to a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS), or wherein the first radio node corresponds to the UE and the second radio node corresponds to another UE, and the second RS-P corresponds to a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS), or wherein the first radio node corresponds to the radio network component and the second radio node corresponds to the UE, and the second RS-P corresponds to an uplink positioning reference signal (UL-PRS).

[0269] Clause 62. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 60 to 61, wherein the azimuth angle of each highest beam gain is defined in degrees or radians, or wherein the highest beam gain is defined in decibels or other linear scales over the plurality of line-of-sight elevation angles, or wherein the resolution associated with the Rx beam ridge information is defined as a first number of integer degrees or decimal places or line-of-sight elevation angle steps or intervals, or wherein the Rx beam ridge information is associated with non-uniformly spaced line-of-sight elevation angles, or wherein, for at least one azimuth angle, the corresponding line-of-sight elevation angle is reported differentially relative to another line-of-sight elevation angle associated with the same or different Rx beams, or any combination thereof.

[0270] Clause 63. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 60 to 62, the non-transitory computer-readable medium further comprising computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by the first wireless node, cause the first wireless node to: send an indication to the positioning estimation entity regarding the beam ridge information corresponding to the Rx beam ridge information.

[0271] Clause 64. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 55 to 63, wherein the determination of the beam ridge information comprises measuring the reference signal received power (RSRP) or the reference signal received path power (RSRPP) to determine the highest beam gain associated with the Rx beam ridge information or the Rx beam ridge information.

[0272] Clause 65. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by a positioning estimation entity, cause the positioning estimation entity to: receive beam ridge information associated with at least one reference signal (RS-P) for positioning from a first radio node, the beam ridge information comprising: transmit (Tx) beam ridge information based on an azimuth angle associated with the highest beam gain of the first RS-P when it is transmitted to a second radio node at each of a plurality of line-of-sight elevation angles via a set of Tx beams; or receive (Rx) beam ridge information based on a line-of-sight elevation angle associated with the highest beam gain of the second RS-P when it is received from the second radio node at each of a plurality of azimuth angles via a set of Rx beams; and determine a positioning estimate of a user equipment (UE) based on the beam ridge information according to a positioning estimation scheme.

[0273] Clause 66. The non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in Clause 65, wherein the beam ridge information includes the Tx beam ridge information.

[0274] Clause 67. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to Clause 66 further includes computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the positioning estimation entity, cause the positioning estimation entity to: receive receive (Rx) beam ridge information from the second wireless node, the receive (Rx) beam ridge information being based on a line-of-sight elevation angle associated with the highest beam gain of the first RS-P when received from the first wireless node at each of a plurality of azimuth angles via a set of Rx beams, wherein the determination is further based on the Rx beam ridge information.

[0275] Clause 68. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 66 to 67, wherein the received (Rx) beam ridge information associated with the first RS-P is not received by the positioning estimation entity.

[0276] Clause 69. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 65 to 68, wherein the beam ridge information includes the Rx beam ridge information.

[0277] Clause 70. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to Clause 69, further comprising computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by the positioning estimation entity, cause the positioning estimation entity to: receive transmit (Tx) beam ridge information from the second radio node, the transmit (Tx) beam ridge information being based on an azimuth angle associated with the highest beam gain of the second RS-P when it is transmitted to the first radio node via a set of Tx beams at each of a plurality of line-of-sight elevation angles, wherein the determination is further based on the Tx beam ridge information.

[0278] Clause 71. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 69 to 70, wherein the transmit (Tx) beam ridge information associated with the second RS-P is not received by the positioning estimation entity.

[0279] Clause 72. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 65 to 71, wherein the positioning estimation scheme comprises: an azimuth of arrival (AoA) positioning estimation scheme, or an azimuth of departure (AoD) positioning estimation scheme, or an zenith of arrival (ZoA) positioning estimation scheme, or an zenith of departure (ZoD) positioning estimation scheme.

[0280] Those skilled in the art will understand that information and signals can be represented using any of a variety of different techniques and arts. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be mentioned throughout the above description can be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, light fields or optical particles, or any combination thereof.

[0281] Furthermore, those skilled in the art will understand that the various exemplary logic blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein can be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability between hardware and software, various exemplary components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above in general terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends on the specific application and the design constraints imposed on the overall system. Those skilled in the art may implement the described functionality in different ways for each specific application, but such implementation decisions should not be construed as departing from the scope of this disclosure.

[0282] The various exemplary logic blocks, modules, and circuits described in conjunction with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented or performed using a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an ASIC, a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic components, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in alternative embodiments, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, such as a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors combined with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0283] The methods, sequences, and / or algorithms described in conjunction with the aspects disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or a combination of both. The software module may reside in random access memory (RAM), flash memory, read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), registers, hard disks, removable disks, CD-ROMs, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. Example storage media are coupled to a processor such that the processor can read information from and write information to the storage medium. Alternatively, the storage medium may be integral with the processor. The processor and storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in a user terminal (e.g., a UE). Alternatively, the processor and storage medium may reside as discrete components in the user terminal.

[0284] In one or more examples, the described functionality may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functionality may be stored as one or more instructions or code on or transmitted via a computer-readable medium. A computer-readable medium includes both computer storage media and communication media, which includes any medium that facilitates the transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A storage medium may be any available medium accessible to a computer. By way of example and not limitation, such computer-readable media may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disc storage, disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store the desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and is accessible to a computer. Furthermore, any connection is appropriately referred to as a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included within the definition of a medium. As used herein, disks and optical discs include: compact optical discs (CDs), laser discs, optical discs, digital versatile discs (DVDs), floppy disks, and Blu-ray discs. Disks typically reproduce data magnetically, while optical discs reproduce data optically using lasers. Combinations of these should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0285] While the foregoing disclosure illustrates exemplary aspects of this disclosure, it should be noted that various changes and modifications may be made herein without departing from the scope of this disclosure as defined by the appended claims. For example, the functions, steps, and / or actions of the method claims according to aspects of this disclosure described herein need not be performed in any particular order. Furthermore, no component, function, action, or instruction described or claimed herein should be construed as critical or essential unless explicitly stated otherwise. Additionally, as used herein, the terms “set,” “group,” etc., are intended to include one or more of the described elements. Furthermore, as used herein, the terms “having,” “comprising,” “including,” etc., do not exclude the presence of one or more additional elements (e.g., element “having” A may also have B). Furthermore, the phrase “based on” is intended to mean “at least partially based on” unless otherwise explicitly stated. Furthermore, as used herein, the term “or” is intended to be open-ended when used in a series and is interchangeable with “and / or” unless otherwise explicitly stated (e.g., if used in conjunction with “any” or “only one”), or these alternatives are mutually exclusive (e.g., “one or more” should not be interpreted as “one and more”). Additionally, although components, functions, actions, and instructions may be described or claimed in the singular, plural forms may also be considered unless explicitly stated as singular. Thus, as used herein, the articles “a,” “an,” “the,” and “described” are intended to include one or more of the described elements. Additionally, as used herein, the terms “at least one” and “one or more” include “one” component, function, action, or instruction that performs or is capable of performing the described or claimed functionality, and also include “two or more” components, functions, actions, or instructions that perform or are capable of performing the described or claimed functionality in combination.

Claims

1. A method for operating a first wireless node, the method comprising: Determine beam ridge information associated with at least one reference signal (RS-P) used for positioning, the beam ridge information including: Transmit (Tx) beam ridge information, the transmit (Tx) beam ridge information being based on an azimuth angle associated with the highest beam gain of the first RS-P when it is transmitted to the second wireless node via a set of Tx beams at each of a plurality of line-of-sight elevation angles; or Receive (Rx) beam ridge information, said receive (Rx) beam ridge information being based on the line-of-sight elevation angle associated with the highest beam gain of the second RS-P when received from the second wireless node at each of a plurality of azimuth angles via a set of Rx beams; and The beam ridge information is sent to the positioning estimation entity.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the beam ridge information includes the Tx beam ridge information.

3. The method according to claim 2, Wherein the first radio node corresponds to a user equipment (UE) and the second radio node corresponds to a radio network component, and the first RS-P corresponds to an uplink positioning reference signal (UL-PRS), or Wherein the first radio node corresponds to the UE and the second radio node corresponds to another UE, and the first RS-P corresponds to the Side Link Positioning Reference Signal (SL-PRS), or The first wireless node corresponds to the wireless network component and the second wireless node corresponds to the UE, and the first RS-P corresponds to the downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS).

4. The method according to claim 2, The line-of-sight elevation angle for each highest beam gain is defined in degrees or radians, or The highest beam gain is defined in decibels or other linear scales at the plurality of azimuth angles, or The resolution associated with the Tx beam ridge information is defined as the first number of integer degrees or decimal places, or the azimuth step size or interval, or The Tx beam ridge information is associated with non-uniformly spaced azimuth angles, or in, For at least one line-of-sight elevation angle, the corresponding azimuth angle is reported differentially relative to another azimuth angle associated with the same or different Tx beams, or Any combination of them.

5. The method according to claim 2, further comprising: Send an indication to the positioning estimation entity regarding the beam ridge information corresponding to the Tx beam ridge information.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the beam ridge information includes the Rx beam ridge information.

7. The method according to claim 6, Wherein the first radio node corresponds to a user equipment (UE) and the second radio node corresponds to a radio network component, and the second RS-P corresponds to a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS), or Wherein the first radio node corresponds to the UE and the second radio node corresponds to another UE, and the second RS-P corresponds to the Side Link Positioning Reference Signal (SL-PRS), or The first wireless node corresponds to the wireless network component and the second wireless node corresponds to the UE, and the second RS-P corresponds to the uplink positioning reference signal (UL-PRS).

8. The method according to claim 6, The azimuth angle for each highest beam gain is defined in degrees or radians, or The highest beam gain is defined in decibels or other linear scales at the elevation angles of the plurality of line-of-sight axes, or The resolution associated with the Rx beam ridge information is defined as the first number of integer degrees or decimal places, or the line-of-sight elevation step or interval, or The Rx beam ridge information is associated with non-uniformly spaced line-of-sight elevation angles, or in, For at least one azimuth angle, the corresponding line-of-sight elevation angle is reported differentially relative to another line-of-sight elevation angle associated with the same or different Rx beams, or Any combination of them.

9. The method according to claim 6, further comprising: Send an indication to the positioning estimation entity regarding the beam ridge information corresponding to the Rx beam ridge information.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the beam ridge information comprises measuring the reference signal received power (RSRP) or the reference signal received path power (RSRPP) to determine the highest beam gain associated with the Rx beam ridge information or the Rx beam ridge information.

11. A method for locating and estimating an entity, the method comprising: Receive beam ridge information associated with at least one reference signal (RS-P) for positioning from a first wireless node, the beam ridge information including: Transmit (Tx) beam ridge information, the transmit (Tx) beam ridge information being based on an azimuth angle associated with the highest beam gain of the first RS-P when it is transmitted to the second wireless node via a set of Tx beams at each of a plurality of line-of-sight elevation angles; or Receive (Rx) beam ridge information, said receive (Rx) beam ridge information being based on the line-of-sight elevation angle associated with the highest beam gain of the second RS-P when received from the second wireless node at each of a plurality of azimuth angles via a set of Rx beams; and The location estimation of the user equipment (UE) is determined based on the beam ridge information according to the location estimation scheme.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the beam ridge information includes the Tx beam ridge information.

13. The method according to claim 12, further comprising: Receive (Rx) beam ridge information from the second wireless node, the receive (Rx) beam ridge information being based on the line-of-sight elevation angle associated with the highest beam gain of the first RS-P when received from the first wireless node at each of a plurality of azimuth angles via a set of Rx beams. The determination is further based on the Rx beam ridge information.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the received (Rx) beam ridge information associated with the first RS-P is not received by the positioning estimation entity.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the beam ridge information includes the Rx beam ridge information.

16. The method according to claim 15, further comprising: Transmit (Tx) beam ridge information is received from the second wireless node, the transmit (Tx) beam ridge information being based on the azimuth angle associated with the highest beam gain of the second RS-P when it is transmitted to the first wireless node via a set of Tx beams at each of a plurality of line-of-sight elevation angles. The determination is further based on the Tx beam ridge information.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the transmit (Tx) beam ridge information associated with the second RS-P is not received by the positioning estimation entity.

18. The method of claim 11, wherein the positioning estimation scheme comprises: Azimuth of Arrival (AoA) positioning estimation scheme, or Departure azimuth (AoD) positioning estimation scheme, or A location estimation scheme for the zenith angle of arrival (ZoA), or A location estimation scheme based on the zenith angle (ZoD).

19. A first wireless node, the first wireless node comprising: One or more memory units; One or more transceivers; and One or more processors, communicatively coupled to one or more memories and one or more transceivers, wherein the one or more processors are configured individually or in combination to: Determine beam ridge information associated with at least one reference signal (RS-P) used for positioning, the beam ridge information including: Transmit (Tx) beam ridge information, the transmit (Tx) beam ridge information being based on an azimuth angle associated with the highest beam gain of the first RS-P when it is transmitted to the second wireless node via a set of Tx beams at each of a plurality of line-of-sight elevation angles; or Receive (Rx) beam ridge information, said receive (Rx) beam ridge information being based on the line-of-sight elevation angle associated with the highest beam gain of the second RS-P when received from the second wireless node at each of a plurality of azimuth angles via a set of Rx beams; and The beam ridge information is transmitted to the positioning estimation entity via the one or more transceivers.

20. The first wireless node according to claim 19, wherein the beam ridge information includes the Tx beam ridge information.

21. The first wireless node according to claim 20, Wherein the first radio node corresponds to a user equipment (UE) and the second radio node corresponds to a radio network component, and the first RS-P corresponds to an uplink positioning reference signal (UL-PRS), or Wherein the first radio node corresponds to the UE and the second radio node corresponds to another UE, and the first RS-P corresponds to the Side Link Positioning Reference Signal (SL-PRS), or The first wireless node corresponds to the wireless network component and the second wireless node corresponds to the UE, and the first RS-P corresponds to the downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS).

22. The first wireless node according to claim 20, The line-of-sight elevation angle for each highest beam gain is defined in degrees or radians, or The highest beam gain is defined in decibels or other linear scales at the plurality of azimuth angles, or The resolution associated with the Tx beam ridge information is defined as the first number of integer degrees or decimal places, or the azimuth step size or interval, or The Tx beam ridge information is associated with non-uniformly spaced azimuth angles, or in, For at least one line-of-sight elevation angle, the corresponding azimuth angle is reported differentially relative to another azimuth angle associated with the same or different Tx beams, or Any combination of them.

23. The first wireless node of claim 20, wherein the one or more processors are further configured individually or in combination to: The location estimation entity is sent an indication via the one or more transceivers regarding the correspondence between the beam ridge information and the Tx beam ridge information.

24. The first wireless node according to claim 19, wherein the beam ridge information includes the Rx beam ridge information.

25. The first wireless node according to claim 24, Wherein the first radio node corresponds to a user equipment (UE) and the second radio node corresponds to a radio network component, and the second RS-P corresponds to a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS), or Wherein the first radio node corresponds to the UE and the second radio node corresponds to another UE, and the second RS-P corresponds to the Side Link Positioning Reference Signal (SL-PRS), or The first wireless node corresponds to the wireless network component and the second wireless node corresponds to the UE, and the second RS-P corresponds to the uplink positioning reference signal (UL-PRS).

26. The first wireless node according to claim 24, The azimuth angle for each highest beam gain is defined in degrees or radians, or The highest beam gain is defined in decibels or other linear scales at the elevation angles of the plurality of line-of-sight axes, or The resolution associated with the Rx beam ridge information is defined as the first number of integer degrees or decimal places, or the line-of-sight elevation step or interval, or The Rx beam ridge information is associated with non-uniformly spaced line-of-sight elevation angles, or in, For at least one azimuth angle, the corresponding line-of-sight elevation angle is reported differentially relative to another line-of-sight elevation angle associated with the same or different Rx beams, or Any combination of them.

27. The first wireless node of claim 24, wherein the one or more processors are further configured individually or in combination to: The location estimation entity is sent an indication via the one or more transceivers regarding the beam ridge information corresponding to the Rx beam ridge information.

28. The first wireless node of claim 19, wherein the determination of the beam ridge information comprises measuring the reference signal received power (RSRP) or the reference signal received path power (RSRPP) to determine the highest beam gain associated with the Rx beam ridge information or the Rx beam ridge information.

29. A location estimation entity, the location estimation entity comprising: One or more memory units; One or more transceivers; and One or more processors, communicatively coupled to one or more memories and one or more transceivers, wherein the one or more processors are configured individually or in combination to: Receive beam ridge information associated with at least one reference signal (RS-P) for positioning from a first wireless node via the one or more transceivers, the beam ridge information including: Transmit (Tx) beam ridge information, the transmit (Tx) beam ridge information being based on an azimuth angle associated with the highest beam gain of the first RS-P when it is transmitted to the second wireless node via a set of Tx beams at each of a plurality of line-of-sight elevation angles; or Receive (Rx) beam ridge information, said receive (Rx) beam ridge information being based on the line-of-sight elevation angle associated with the highest beam gain of the second RS-P when received from the second wireless node at each of a plurality of azimuth angles via a set of Rx beams; and The location estimation of the user equipment (UE) is determined based on the beam ridge information according to the location estimation scheme.

30. The positioning estimation entity according to claim 29, wherein the positioning estimation scheme comprises: Azimuth of Arrival (AoA) positioning estimation scheme, or Departure azimuth (AoD) positioning estimation scheme, or A location estimation scheme for the zenith angle of arrival (ZoA), or A location estimation scheme based on the zenith angle (ZoD).

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