Sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS) transmissions and physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) transmissions in a dedicated resource pool

Abstract

A technique for wireless communication is disclosed. In one aspect, the wireless communication device can participate in a sidelink localization process with a second wireless communication device. The wireless communication device can send or receive, to or from the second wireless communication device, a sidelink localization reference signal (SL-PRS) transmission on a first set of resource elements and a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) transmission on a second set of resource elements, wherein: the SL-PRS transmission is used for the sidelink localization process, the PSCCH transmission is associated with the SL-PRS transmission, and the first set and the second set of resource elements are arranged within the SL-PRS resources based on frequency division multiplexing (FDM).

Description

Background Technology 1. Technical Field

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

[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 speeds, more connections, better coverage, and other improvements. According to the Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance, the 5G standard is designed to provide higher data rates, more accurate positioning (e.g., based on positioning reference signals (RS-P), such as downlink, uplink, or sidelink positioning reference signals (PRS)), and other technological enhancements compared to previous standards.

[0006] Furthermore, leveraging 5G's increased data rates and reduced latency, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication technology is being implemented to support autonomous driving applications, such as wireless communication between vehicles, between vehicles and roadside infrastructure, and between vehicles and pedestrians. Summary of the Invention

[0007] 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.

[0008] In one aspect, a method of operating a wireless communication device includes: participating in a sidelink positioning process with a second wireless communication device; and sending or receiving, to or from the second wireless communication device, a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS) transmission on a first set of resource elements and a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) transmission on a second set of resource elements, wherein: the SL-PRS transmission is used for the sidelink positioning process, the PSCCH transmission is associated with the SL-PRS transmission, and the first set of resource elements and the second set of resource elements are arranged within the SL-PRS resources based on frequency division multiplexing (FDM).

[0009] In one aspect, a wireless communication device 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: participate in a sidelink localization process with a second wireless communication device; and transmit to or receive, via the one or more transceivers, a sidelink localization reference signal (SL-PRS) transmission on a first set of resource elements and a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) transmission on a second set of resource elements, wherein: the SL-PRS transmission is used for the sidelink localization process, the PSCCH transmission is associated with the SL-PRS transmission, and the first set of resource elements and the second set of resource elements are arranged within the SL-PRS resources based on frequency division multiplexing (FDM).

[0010] In one aspect, a wireless communication device includes: components for participating in a sidelink positioning process with a second wireless communication device; and components for sending or receiving, to or from the second wireless communication device, a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS) transmission on a first set of resource elements and a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) transmission on a second set of resource elements, wherein the SL-PRS transmission is used for the sidelink positioning process, the PSCCH transmission is associated with the SL-PRS transmission, and the first set of resource elements and the second set of resource elements are arranged within the SL-PRS resources based on frequency division multiplexing (FDM).

[0011] In one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium stores computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a wireless communication device, cause the wireless communication device to: participate in a sidelink positioning process with a second wireless communication device; and send to or receive, from the second wireless communication device, a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS) transmission on a first set of resource elements and a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) transmission on a second set of resource elements, wherein: the SL-PRS transmission is used for the sidelink positioning process, the PSCCH transmission is associated with the SL-PRS transmission, and the first set of resource elements and the second set of resource elements are arranged within the SL-PRS resources based on frequency division multiplexing (FDM).

[0012] 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

[0013] 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.

[0014] Figure 1 Example wireless communication systems according to various aspects of this disclosure are illustrated.

[0015] Figure 2A , Figure 2B and Figure 2C Example wireless network architectures based on various aspects of this disclosure are illustrated.

[0016] Figure 3 Example user equipment (UE) architectures according to various aspects of this disclosure are illustrated.

[0017] Figure 4A and Figure 4B Various scenarios of interest are illustrated according to aspects of this disclosure, including sidelink-only localization or combined Uu and sidelink localization.

[0018] Figure 5 This is a diagram illustrating an example frame structure according to various aspects of this disclosure.

[0019] Figure 6A and Figure 6B Various comb patterns supported for downlink positioning reference signals (PRS) within a resource block are illustrated.

[0020] Figures 7A to 7D This is a diagram illustrating an example of a resource pool for positioning according to various aspects of this disclosure.

[0021] Figure 8This is a timing diagram illustrating sidelink operations performed by a UE on sidelink shared or unlicensed spectrum (SL-U) according to various aspects of this disclosure.

[0022] Figure 9A and Figure 9B Examples are illustrated of allocating resource elements in the frequency domain for the Sidelink Positioning Reference Signal (SL-PRS) and the Physical Sidelink Control Channel (PSCCH) according to various aspects of this disclosure.

[0023] Figure 10 Examples are illustrated for sending and allocating resource elements for SL-PRS, PSCCH and corresponding automatic gain control (AGC) in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure.

[0024] Figure 11A and Figure 11B Examples are illustrated of how symbols within a time slot across the time domain maintain constant SL-PRS transmit power and PSCCH transmit power according to various aspects of this disclosure.

[0025] Figure 12 Examples of SL-PRS resources based on various aspects of this disclosure are illustrated.

[0026] Figure 13 This is a flowchart illustrating a method of operating a wireless communication device according to various aspects of this disclosure. Detailed Implementation

[0027] 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.

[0028] Various aspects typically involve arranging resource elements for the Side Link Positioning Reference Signal (SL-PRS) and Physical Side Link Control Channel (PSCCH) on the side link shared or unlicensed spectrum (SL-U). Some aspects more specifically involve arranging resource elements for SL-PRS and PSCCH within the SL-PRS resources on the SL-U based on frequency division multiplexing (FDM), such that SL-PRS transmission and PSCCH transmission can be performed in a consecutive number of symbols and can begin at any symbol location in the time slot.

[0029] Specific aspects of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented to achieve one or more of the following potential advantages. In some examples, by eliminating the transmission gap between SL-PRS transmissions associated with PSCCH transmission, the omission of SL-PRS transmissions associated with PSCCH transmission can be avoided, thereby eliminating the risk of not being able to detect an idle channel during the transmission gap. In some examples, where the PSCCH is no longer mapped only to the first symbol of the slot, multiple start symbols (within the slot) can now be used (i.e., when the Listen-After-Talk (LBT) procedure clears the channel, the UE does not need to wait until the start of the next slot, but can instead transmit on the next SL-PRS resource in the slot). In some aspects, the foregoing features can improve resource efficiency and reduce wasted PSCCH transmissions on SL-U.

[0030] 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.

[0031] Those skilled in the art will understand that any of the various techniques and skills available 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.

[0032] 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."

[0033] As used herein, the terms “user equipment” (UE), “vehicle UE” (V-UE), “pedestrian UE” (P-UE), and “base station” are not intended to be specific to or otherwise limited to any particular radio access technology (RAT) unless otherwise stated. In general, a UE can be any wireless communication device used by a user to communicate over a wireless communication network (e.g., vehicle onboard computer, vehicle navigation device, mobile phone, router, tablet computer, laptop computer, asset location 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 “mobile device,” “access terminal” or “AT,” “client device,” “wireless device,” “subscriber equipment,” “subscriber terminal,” “subscriber station,” “user terminal” or UT,” “mobile terminal,” “mobile station,” or variations thereof.

[0034] V-UE is a type of UE and can be any in-vehicle wireless communication device, such as a navigation system, alarm system, head-up display (HUD), onboard computer, in-vehicle infotainment system, automated driving system (ADS), advanced driver assistance system (ADAS), etc. Alternatively, V-UE can be a portable wireless communication device (e.g., cellular phone, tablet computer, etc.) carried by the driver or occupant of a vehicle. The term "V-UE" can refer to the in-vehicle wireless communication device or the vehicle itself, depending on the context. P-UE is a type of UE and can be a portable wireless communication device carried by a pedestrian (i.e., a user who is not driving or riding in a vehicle). Generally, the UE can communicate with the core network via the RAN, and through the core network, the UE can connect to external networks such as the Internet and other UEs. Of course, other mechanisms for connecting the UE to the core network and / or the Internet are also possible, such as through wired access networks, wireless local area network (WLAN) networks (e.g., based on IEEE 802.11, etc.).

[0035] A base station can communicate with a UE by operating under one of several RATs based on the network in which it is deployed, and may alternatively be referred to as an Access Point (AP), Network Node, Node B, Evolved Node B (eNB), Next Generation eNB (ng-eNB), New Radio (NR) Node B (also known as gNB or gNodeB), etc. The base station is primarily used to support the UE's radio access, including supporting the UE's data, voice, and / or signaling connections. 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 UL / reverse or DL / forward traffic channel.

[0036] 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.

[0037] In some specific implementations supporting UE positioning, the base station may not support the UE's radio access (e.g., it may not support the UE's data, voice, and / or signaling connections). Instead, it may send a reference RF signal to the UE for measurement by the UE, and / or receive and measure signals sent by the UE. Such a base station may be referred to as a positioning beacon (e.g., in the case of sending RF signals to the UE) and / or as a location measurement unit (e.g., in the case of receiving and measuring RF signals from the UE).

[0038] 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, an RF signal may also be referred to as a “wireless signal” or simply a “signal” where the context clearly indicates that the term “signal” refers to a wireless signal or an RF signal.

[0039] Figure 1 An 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, macro cell base station 102 may include eNB and / or ng-eNB (wherein wireless communication system 100 corresponds to an LTE network) or gNB (wherein wireless communication system 100 corresponds to an NR network) or a combination of both, and small cell base stations may include femtocells, picocells, microcells, etc.

[0040] 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 positioning (SUPL) positioning 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.

[0041] 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.

[0042] 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 one or both of the logical communication entity and the base station that supports it, depending on the context. In some cases, the term "cell" can also refer to the geographic 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 geographic coverage area 110.

[0043] 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 can 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).

[0044] 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).

[0045] 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.

[0046] 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. ® .

[0047] The wireless communication system 100 may also include an mmW base station 180, which can operate in millimeter-wave (mmW) frequencies 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.

[0048] 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.

[0049] 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.

[0050] 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.

[0051] 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.

[0052] 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.

[0053] 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.

[0054] 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 (7.125 GHz to 24.25 GHz). 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. Furthermore, higher frequency bands are currently being explored to extend 5G NR operation beyond 52.6 GHz. For example, three higher operating bands have been identified as the frequency range designations FR4a or FR4-1 (52.6 GHz to 71 GHz), FR4 (52.6 GHz to 114.25 GHz), and FR5 (114.25 GHz to 300 GHz). Each of these higher frequency bands falls within the EHF band.

[0055] 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.

[0056] 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) used 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.

[0057] For example, still refer to Figure 1One of the frequencies used by macro cell base station 102 can be an anchor carrier (or "PCell"), and the other frequencies used by macro cell base station 102 and / or mmW base station 180 can be secondary carriers ("SCell"). Simultaneous transmission and / or reception on multiple carriers allows UE 104 / 182 to significantly increase its data transmission and / or 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).

[0058] exist Figure 1 In the example, the UE shown (for simplicity, in) Figure 1 Any 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.

[0059] 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.

[0060] 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.

[0061] Leveraging the increased data rates and reduced latency of NR (Radio Frequency I / O), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication technology is being implemented to support Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) applications, such as wireless communication between vehicles (V2V), between vehicles and roadside infrastructure (V2I), and between vehicles and pedestrians (V2P). The goal is to enable vehicles to sense their surroundings and communicate that information to other vehicles, infrastructure, and personal mobile devices. This type of vehicle communication will achieve safety, mobility, and environmental improvements that current technologies cannot provide. Once fully realized, this technology is expected to reduce collisions involving undamaged vehicles by 80%.

[0062] Still referencing Figure 1The wireless communication system 100 may include multiple V-UEs 160, which can communicate with base station 102 on communication link 120 using a Uu interface (i.e., the air interface between the UE and the base station). V-UEs 160 can also communicate directly with each other on wireless sidelink 162, with roadside unit (RSU) 164 (roadside access point) on wireless sidelink 166, or with sidelink-capable UE 104 on wireless sidelink 168 using a PC5 interface (i.e., the air interface between UEs with sidelink capability). A wireless 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 requiring communication through a base station. Sidelink communication can be unicast or multicast and can be used for device-to-device (D2D) media sharing, V2V communication, V2X communication (e.g., cellular V2X (cV2X) communication, enhanced V2X (eV2X) communication, emergency rescue applications, etc. One or more V-UEs in a group of V-UEs 160 utilizing sidelink communication may be within the geographic coverage area 110 of base station 102. Other V-UEs 160 in such a group may be outside the geographic 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 V-UEs 160 communicating via sidelink communication may utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system, where each V-UE 160 transmits to every other V-UE 160 in the group. In some cases, base station 102 facilitates the scheduling of resources for sidelink communication. In other cases, sidelink communication is performed between V-UEs 160 without involving base station 102.

[0063] On one hand, sidelinks 162, 166, and 168 can operate via a wireless communication medium of interest, which can be shared with other vehicles and / or infrastructure access points and other wireless communications between other RATs. “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.

[0064] On one hand, sidelinks 162, 166, and 168 can be cV2X links. First-generation cV2X has been standardized in LTE, and the next generation is expected to be defined in NR. cV2X is a cellular technology that also enables device-to-device communication. In the United States and Europe, cV2X is expected to operate in licensed ITS bands below 6 GHz. Other bands may be allocated in other countries. Therefore, as a specific example, the medium of interest utilized by sidelinks 162, 166, and 168 may correspond to at least a portion of licensed ITS bands below 6 GHz. However, this disclosure is not limited to this band or cellular technology.

[0065] On one hand, sidelinks 162, 166, and 168 can be Dedicated Short-Range Communications (DSRC) links. DSRC is a one-way or two-way short-to-medium-range wireless communication protocol that uses the Vehicle Environment Wireless Access (WAVE) protocol (also known as IEEE 802.11p) for V2V, V2I, and V2P communications. IEEE 802.11p is an approved modification of the IEEE 802.11 standard and operates in the licensed ITS band of 5.9 GHz (5.85 GHz to 5.925 GHz) in the United States. In Europe, IEEE 802.11p operates in the ITS G5A band (5.875 GHz to 5.905 MHz). Other bands may be allocated in other countries. The V2V communications briefly described above occur on a secure channel, which in the United States is typically a 10 MHz channel dedicated to security purposes. The remainder of the DSRC band (total bandwidth of 75MHz) is intended for other services of interest to drivers, such as road rules, toll collection, parking automation, etc. Therefore, as a specific example, the media of interest utilized by side links 162, 166, and 168 may correspond to at least a portion of the licensed ITS band at 5.9GHz.

[0066] Alternatively, 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 operations to unlicensed National Information Infrastructure (U-NII) bands 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.

[0067] Communication between V-UEs 160 is referred to as V2V communication, communication between V-UE 160 and one or more RSUs 164 is referred to as V2I communication, and communication between V-UE 160 and one or more UEs 104 (where these UEs 104 are P-UEs) is referred to as V2P communication. V2V communication between V-UEs 160 may include information such as the location, speed, acceleration, heading, and other vehicle data of these V-UEs 160. V2I information received at a V-UE 160 from the one or more RSUs 164 may include, for example, road rules, parking automation information, etc. V2P communication between V-UE 160 and UE 104 may include information such as the location, speed, acceleration, and heading of V-UE 160, and the location, speed (e.g., in the case where UE 104 is carried by a cyclist), and heading of UE 104.

[0068] It should be noted that, although Figure 1 Only two UEs in the UE list are exemplified as V-UEs (V-UE 160), but any UE in the exemplified UEs (e.g., UE 104, 152, 182, 190) can be V-UEs. Furthermore, although only these V-UEs 160 and a single UE 104 have been exemplified as connected via a sidelink, Figure 1 Any of the illustrated UEs, whether V-UE, P-UE, etc., may be capable of sidelink communication. Furthermore, although only UE 182 is described as capable of beamforming, any of the illustrated UEs (including V-UE 160) may be capable of beamforming. When V-UE 160 is capable of beamforming, it can beamform towards each other (i.e., towards other V-UEs 160), towards RSU 164, towards other UEs (e.g., UEs 104, 152, 182, 190), etc. Therefore, in some cases, V-UE 160 may utilize beamforming on sidelinks 162, 166, and 168.

[0069] The wireless communication system 100 may also include one or more UEs (such as UE 190) indirectly connected to one or more communication networks via one or more device-to-device (D2D) peer-to-peer (P2P) links. Figure 1In one example, UE 190 has a D2D P2P link 192 with one of UEs 104 connected to one of the base stations 102 (e.g., UE 190 can indirectly obtain cellular connectivity through this D2D P2P link), and a D2D P2P link 194 with a WLANSTA 152 connected to a 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 it. As another example, D2D P2P link 192 and D2D P2P link 194 can be side links, as described above with reference to side links 162, 166 and 168.

[0070] 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).

[0071] Another optional aspect may include a location server 230, which 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, which may 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).

[0072] 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.

[0073] 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.

[0074] 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.

[0075] 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).

[0076] Another optional aspect may include a third-party server 274, which 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.

[0077] 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.

[0078] 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.

[0079] 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, 5GNB, 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.

[0080] 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).

[0081] 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.

[0082] 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.

[0083] Each unit in the cells (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 unit in the cells, 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.

[0084] In some aspects, the CU 280 can host one or more higher-level control functions. Such control functions may include RRC, PDCP, Service 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.

[0085] 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.

[0086] 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 cloud-based RAN architectures such as vRAN architectures.

[0087] 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 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.

[0088] 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 an interface, such as an E2 interface, through data collection and actions, connecting one or more CU 280s, one or more DU 285s, or both, and O-eNBs to the near-RT RIC 259.

[0089] 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 may 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 of performance and perform corrective actions using the AI / ML model via the SMO framework 255 (such as reconfiguration via O1) or by creating RAN management policies (such as A1 policies).

[0090] Figure 3 Several example components (represented by corresponding boxes) that can be incorporated into UE 300 (which may correspond to any of the UEs described herein) are illustrated. It will be appreciated that these components may be implemented in different types of devices (e.g., in application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), in system-on-chips (SoCs), etc.) in different implementations. The illustrated components can 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.

[0091] UE 300 includes one or more Wireless Wide Area Network (WWAN) transceivers 310, which provide components (e.g., components for transmitting, components for receiving, components for measurement, components for tuning, components for suppressing transmission, etc.) for communicating via one or more wireless communication networks (not shown) (such as NR networks, LTE networks, and / or GSM networks, etc.). The one or more WWAN transceivers 310 may each be connected to one or more antennas 316 to communicate 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., certain time / frequency resource sets in a specific spectrum). The one or more WWAN transceivers 310 may be configured in various ways to transmit and encode signals 318 (e.g., messages, indications, information, etc.) according to a designated RAT, and conversely, to receive and decode signals 318 (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, etc.). Specifically, one or more WWAN transceivers 310 include one or more transmitters 314 for transmitting and encoding signals 318 and one or more receivers 312 for receiving and decoding signals 318.

[0092] In at least some cases, the UE 300 also includes one or more short-range radio transceivers 320. The one or more short-range radio transceivers 320 may be connected to one or more antennas 326 and provide access over a wireless communication medium of interest via at least one designated RAT (e.g., Wi-Fi, LTE-D, Bluetooth). ® ZIGBEE ® Z-WAVE ® This includes components (e.g., components for transmitting, components for receiving, components for measuring, components for tuning, components for suppressing transmission, etc.) that communicate with other network nodes (such as other UEs, access points, base stations, etc.) such as PC5, Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC), Wireless Access for Vehicle Environments (WAVE), Near Field Communication (NFC), Ultra Wideband (UWB), etc.). One or more short-range wireless transceivers 320 can be configured in various ways to transmit and encode signals 328 (e.g., messages, indications, information, etc.) according to a specified RAT, and conversely, to receive and decode signals 328 (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, etc.). Specifically, one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320 include one or more transmitters 324 for transmitting and encoding signals 328 and one or more receivers 322 for receiving and decoding signals 328. As a specific example, one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320 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.

[0093] In at least some cases, the UE 300 also includes a satellite signal interface 330, which includes one or more satellite signal receivers 332 and may optionally include one or more satellite signal transmitters 334. The one or more satellite signal receivers 332 may be connected to one or more antennas 336 and may provide components for receiving and / or measuring satellite positioning / communication signals 338. Where one or more satellite signal receivers 332 include a satellite positioning system receiver, the satellite positioning / communication signal 338 may be a Global Positioning System (GPS) signal, a Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) signal, a Galileo signal, a BeiDou signal, a NAVIC Regional Navigation Satellite System, a Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), etc. Where one or more satellite signal receivers 332 include a non-terrestrial network (NTN) receiver, the satellite positioning / communication signal 338 may be a communication signal originating from a 5G network (e.g., carrying control data and / or user data). The one or more satellite signal receivers 332 may include any suitable hardware and / or software for receiving and processing the satellite positioning / communication signal 338. One or more satellite signal receivers 332 may request information and operations from other systems as appropriate, and in at least some cases, use measurements obtained by any suitable satellite positioning system algorithm to perform calculations to determine the location of the UE 300.

[0094] An optional satellite signal transmitter 334 (if present) may be connected to one or more antennas 336 and may provide components for transmitting satellite positioning / communication signals 338. If one or more satellite signal transmitters 334 include an NTN transmitter, the satellite positioning / communication signal 338 may be a communication signal originating from a 5G network (e.g., carrying control data and / or user data). One or more satellite signal transmitters 334 may include any suitable hardware and / or software for transmitting the satellite positioning / communication signal 338. One or more satellite signal transmitters 334 may request information and operation from other systems as appropriate.

[0095] The transceiver can be configured to communicate via a wired or wireless link. The transceiver (whether wired or wireless) includes transmitter circuitry (e.g., transmitters 314, 324) and receiver circuitry (e.g., receivers 312, 322). In some embodiments, the transceiver may be an integrated device (e.g., the transmitter and receiver circuitry are implemented 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 may be coupled to one or more wired network interface ports. The wireless transmitter circuitry (e.g., transmitters 314, 324) may include or be coupled to multiple antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326), such as an antenna array, which allows a corresponding device (e.g., UE 300) to perform transmit “beamforming” as described herein. Similarly, the wireless receiver circuitry (e.g., receivers 312, 322) may include or be coupled to multiple antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326), such as an antenna array, which allows the corresponding device (e.g., UE 300) 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), such that the corresponding device may perform only reception or only transmission at a given time, rather than both reception and transmission at the same time. The wireless transceivers (e.g., one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320) may also include network eavesdropping modules (NLMs) for performing various measurements, etc.

[0096] As used herein, various wireless transceivers (e.g., transceivers 310, 320) and wired transceivers can generally be characterized 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 being performed. For example, backhaul communication between network devices or servers will typically involve signaling transmission via a wired transceiver, while wireless communication between a UE (e.g., UE 300) and a base station will typically involve signaling transmission via a wireless transceiver.

[0097] UE 300 also includes other components that can be used in conjunction with the operations disclosed herein. UE 300 includes one or more processors 342 for providing functionality related to, for example, wireless communication, and for providing other processing functionality. Thus, the one or more processors 342 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, the one or more processors 342 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 circuitry, or various combinations thereof.

[0098] UE 300 includes memory circuitry implementing memory 340 (e.g., each including a memory device) for maintaining information such as reserved resources, thresholds, parameters, etc. Memory 340 may thus provide components for storage, retrieval, maintenance, etc. In some cases, UE 300 may include a sidelink positioning component 348. Sidelink positioning component 348 may be hardware circuitry that is part of or coupled to one or more processors 342, which, when executed, causes UE 300 to perform the functionality described herein. In other aspects, sidelink positioning component 348 may be external to processor 342 (e.g., part of a modem processing system, integrated with another processing system, etc.). Alternatively, sidelink positioning component 348 may be a memory module stored in memory 340 that, when executed by one or more processors 342 (or a modem processing system, another processing system, etc.), causes UE 300 to perform the functionality described herein. Figure 3 Possible locations of the sidelink location component 348 are illustrated. The sidelink location component 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.

[0099] UE 300 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 one or more 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. It should be noted that at least accelerometers and gyroscopes may be referred to as “inertial” sensors.

[0100] Various components of the UE 300 can be communicatively coupled to each other via the data bus 308. In one respect, the data bus 308 can form a communication interface of the UE 300 or be part of that communication interface.

[0101] In addition, UE 300 includes a user interface 346 that provides components for providing instructions to the 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.)).

[0102] For convenience, UE 300 in Figure 3 The text 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. Specifically, Figure 3 Various components are optional in alternative configurations, and various aspects include configurations that can vary due to design choices, cost, device usage, or other considerations. For example, a particular implementation of UE 300 may omit the WWAN transceiver 310 (e.g., wearable devices, tablets, PCs, or laptops may have Wi-Fi and / or Bluetooth). ® Alternatively, the short-range wireless transceiver 320 may be omitted (e.g., cellular only), or the satellite signal interface 330 may be omitted, or the sensor 344 may be omitted, and so on. 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.

[0103] Figure 3 The components can be implemented in various ways. In some specific implementations, Figure 3The components may be implemented in one or more circuits, such as, for example, one or more processors and / or one or more ASICs (which may include one or more processors)). 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 functionality represented by blocks 310 to 346 may be implemented by the processor and memory components of the UE 300 (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". However, as will be understood, such operations, actions, and / or functions may actually be performed by specific components or combinations of components of the UE 300 (such as one or more processors 342, one or more transceivers 310 and 320, memory 340, sidelink positioning component 348, etc.).

[0104] NR supports or enables various sidelink positioning technologies. Figure 4A Various scenarios of interest, including sidelink-only positioning or combined Uu and sidelink positioning, are illustrated according to various aspects of this disclosure. In scenario 410, at least one other 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 420, a low-end (e.g., reduced capacity or "RedCap") target UE can obtain 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 430, 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 440 illustrates joint positioning of multiple UEs. Specifically, in scenario 440, two UEs with unknown locations can perform joint localization under non-line-of-sight (NLOS) conditions by utilizing constraints from nearby UEs.

[0105] Figure 4BAdditional scenarios of interest are illustrated, including sidelink-only positioning or combined Uu and sidelink positioning, according to various aspects of this disclosure. In scenario 450, 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 450, a public safety UE may be outside network coverage and use sidelink positioning techniques to determine the location or relative distance and relative positioning between public safety UEs. Similarly, scenario 460 illustrates multiple UEs outside coverage and using sidelink positioning techniques such as SL-RTT to determine their location or relative distance and relative positioning.

[0106] Various frame structures can be used to support downlink and uplink transmission between network nodes (e.g., base stations and UEs). Figure 5 Figure 500 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.

[0107] 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.

[0108] 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.

[0109] exist Figure 5 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 5 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.

[0110] 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 5In 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.

[0111] Some REs in a RE can 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 5 An example location of a RE (labeled "R") carrying a reference signal is shown.

[0112] The set of resource elements (REs) used for PRS transmission is called a "PRS resource". The set 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.

[0113] 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 5 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.

[0114] 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 configured by a higher layer within a time slot. 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-2: {0, 1}; 4-symbol comb-2: {0, 1, 0, 1}; 6-symbol comb-2: {0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1}; 12-symbol comb-2: {0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1}; 4-symbol comb-4: {0, 2, 1, 3} (as in...). Figure 5 (In the examples); 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}.

[0115] 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.

[0116] 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.

[0117] 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.”

[0118] A “positioning 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 takes 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.

[0119] 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.

[0120] 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".

[0121] Figure 6A and Figure 6B This illustrates the various comb patterns supported by DL-PRS within resource blocks. Figure 6A and Figure 6B In the diagram, time is represented horizontally and frequency is represented vertically. Figure 6A and Figure 6B Each large block in the table represents a resource block, and each small block represents a resource element. As discussed above, a resource element consists of a symbol in the time domain and a subcarrier in the frequency domain. Figure 6A and Figure 6B In the example, each resource block comprises 14 symbols in the time domain and 12 subcarriers in the frequency domain. Shadow resource elements carry or are scheduled to carry DL-PRS. Therefore, a shadow resource element in each resource block corresponds to a PRS resource, or a portion of a PRS resource within a resource block (since PRS resources can span multiple resource blocks in the frequency domain).

[0122] The illustrated comb patterns correspond to the various DL-PRS comb patterns described above. Specifically, Figure 6A Examples include DL-PRS comb pattern 610 for comb teeth-2 with two symbols, DL-PRS comb pattern 620 for comb teeth-4 with four symbols, DL-PRS comb pattern 630 for comb teeth-6 with six symbols, and DL-PRS comb pattern 640 for comb teeth-12 with 12 symbols. Figure 6BExamples include DL-PRS comb pattern 650 for comb teeth-2 with 12 symbols, DL-PRS comb pattern 660 for comb teeth-4 with 12 symbols, DL-PRS comb pattern 670 for comb teeth-2 with six symbols, and DL-PRS comb pattern 680 for comb teeth-6 with 12 symbols.

[0123] It should be noted that, Figure 6A In the example comb-tooth mode, the resource elements transmitted on it for DL-PRS are interleaved in the frequency domain so that only one such resource element exists per subcarrier across the configured number of symbols. For example, for DL-PRS comb-tooth mode 620, only one resource element exists per subcarrier across four symbols. This is called "frequency domain interleaving".

[0124] In addition, there are some DL-PRS resource symbol offsets from the first symbol of the resource block to the first symbol of the DL-PRS resource (given by the parameter "DL-PRS-ResourceSymbolOffset"). In the example of DL-PRS comb mode 610, the offset is three symbols. In the example of DL-PRS comb mode 620, the offset is eight symbols. In the examples of DL-PRS comb modes 630 and 640, the offset is two symbols. In the examples of DL-PRS comb modes 650 to 680, the offset is two symbols.

[0125] As will be understood, compared to measuring DL-PRS comb pattern 620, the UE will need a higher capability to measure DL-PRS comb pattern 610 because for DL-PRS comb pattern 610, the UE will have to measure resource elements on twice as many subcarriers per symbol as for DL-PRS comb pattern 620. Furthermore, compared to measuring DL-PRS comb pattern 640, the UE will need a higher capability to measure DL-PRS comb pattern 630 because for DL-PRS comb pattern 630, the UE will have to measure resource elements on twice as many subcarriers per symbol as for DL-PRS comb pattern 640. Additionally, compared to measuring DL-PRS comb patterns 630 and 640, the UE will need a higher capability to measure DL-PRS comb patterns 610 and 620 because the resource elements in DL-PRS comb patterns 610 and 620 are more densely packed than those in DL-PRS comb patterns 630 and 640.

[0126] Figure 7A Figure 700 illustrates an example of a sidelink resource pool for communication (which is also configured to support sidelink positioning (i.e., a shared resource pool)) according to various aspects of this disclosure. Figure 7AIn the example, time is represented horizontally and frequency is represented vertically. In the time domain, the length of each block is one orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol, and 14 symbols constitute a time slot.

[0127] In some examples, an entire time slot (excluding the first and last symbols) can be a resource pool for sidelink communication. That is, any symbol other than the first and last can be allocated for sidelink communication. For example... Figure 7A In some of the examples shown, the resource pool (RP-P) used for positioning can be allocated in the last four pre-gap symbols of a time slot. Therefore, non-sidelink positioning data (such as user data (e.g., PSSCH), Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS), and control information) can only be transmitted in the first eight post-AGC symbols, and not in the last four pre-gap symbols, to prevent conflicts with the configured RP-P. Non-sidelink positioning data that would normally be transmitted in the last four pre-gap symbols can be punctured or silenced, or rate-matched non-sidelink data that typically spans more than eight post-AGC symbols can be used to accommodate these eight post-AGC symbols.

[0128] Sidelink Positioning Reference Signal (SL-PRS) has been defined to support the sidelink positioning process between UEs. Similar to the downlink PRS (DL-PRS), an SL-PRS resource comprises one or more resource elements (i.e., an OFDM symbol in the time domain and a subcarrier in the frequency domain). SL-PRS resources are designed with a comb-based pattern to enable Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) based processing at the receiver. SL-PRS resources include uninterleaved or only partially interleaved resource elements in the frequency domain to provide small time-of-arrival (TOA) uncertainties and reduced overhead for each SL-PRS resource. SL-PRS can also be associated with a specific RP-P (e.g., some SL-PRS can be allocated in some RP-Ps). SL-PRS has also been defined to have intra-slot repetition ( Figure 7A (not shown in the image) to allow for combined gain (if needed). RP-P inter-UE coordination may also exist to provide dynamic SL-PRS and data multiplexing while minimizing SL-PRS collisions.

[0129] Figure 7B and Figure 7C Figures 730 and 750 are additional examples illustrating resource pools configured for positioning within a sidelink resource pool used for communication, respectively. Similar to... Figure 7A , Figure 7B and Figure 7C The example illustrates a shared resource pool structure. About Figure 7B and Figure 7CIn some designs, the following parameters can be defined, such as: the Physical Side Link Control Channel (PSCCH) and SL-PRS are arranged only based on Time Division Multiplexing (TDM), the PSSCH and SL-PRS are arranged only based on TDM (e.g., the maximum comb size is 4), the PSSCH carries both Type 2 Side Link Control Information (SCI-2) and Side Link Shared Channel (SL-SCH) (e.g., a new SCI-2 format is introduced), the SL-PRS is mapped on consecutive symbols, the SL-PRS is not mapped on symbols with PSSCH demodulation reference signals (DMRS), and / or the SL-PRS transmit power is the same as the PSSCH transmit power (e.g., this implies that per resource element power boost will be applied to comb-2 and comb-4).

[0130] Figure 7D Figure 770 is another example illustrating a resource pool used for sidelink localization. Figure 7D The example depicts a dedicated resource pool structure. Regarding... Figure 7D In some designs, the following parameters can be defined, such as: SL-PRS immediately following the AGC symbol, SL-PRS immediately following the gap symbol (at least when the gap symbol is the last sidelink symbol in the time slot), PSCCH and SL-PRS can only be arranged based on TDM, different comb sizes (N) and SL-PRS durations (M) can be supported in the same resource pool (e.g., a set of SL-PRS resources can only have a single (M, N) combination), PSCCH is mapped to the first few sidelink symbols in the time slot, the number of PSCCH symbols is (pre)configured as 1, 2 or 3, the number of physical resource blocks is (pre)configured using sidelink communication values, and / or there is a one-to-one implicit mapping between PSCCH and SL-PRS.

[0131] In some designs, within a shared resource pool, the fields in SCI Format 2-D may include, for example, the following fields: SL-PRS resource information indication for the current time slot (ceiling(log2(number of (pre-)configured SL-PRS resources in the resource pool)) bit), SL-PRS request (0 or 1 bit), and / or embedded SCI format ([X] bit). If the "embedded SCI format" field is set to [0], an SCI 2-A field with necessary padding is included. If the "embedded SCI format" field is set to [1], an SCI 2-B field is included.

[0132] In some designs, for a shared resource pool, there may be an explicit (pre)configuration of SL-PRS resources in time slots, applicable to indicated frequency domain allocations, which includes, for example, SL-PRS resource IDs, (M, N) modes, and / or comb offsets. In some designs, for a given value "M", SL-PRS resources are mapped to the next "M" consecutive sidelink symbols in the time slot available for SL-PRS, taking into account multiplexing with PSSCH DMRS, Phase Tracking Reference Signal (PT-RS), CSI-RS, PSFCH, gap symbols, AGC symbols, and / or PSCCH in the time slot. In some designs, the maximum number of SL-PRS resources in the time slots of the shared resource pool can be (pre)configured.

[0133] In some designs, within a dedicated resource pool, regarding the process for determining the subset of resources to be reported to the higher layer, when the resource (re)selection process is triggered, the higher layer provides the following parameters to the candidate SL-PRS to send, such as: the resource pool from which it reports the SL-PRS resources, priority, delay budget, reservation period, list of resources for preemption and re-evaluation, and / or a set of SL-PRS resource identifiers that may include all (pre)configured SL-PRS resource identifiers.

[0134] In some aspects, such as Figure 7D In the dedicated resource pool shown for sidelink positioning, PSCCH symbols can be placed at the beginning of a time slot. In some respects, Figure 7D The slot format example shown allows multiple UEs to transmit PRS in the same slot, where the UE's PSCCH resources are arranged in the first part of the slot based on frequency division multiplexing (FDM), and the corresponding SL-PRS resources are arranged in the remaining part of the slot based on TDM and / or FDM.

[0135] In some aspects, PSCCH transmitted on a dedicated resource pool may follow a format with two or three (consecutive) symbol durations (where the number of symbol durations may be (pre-)configured per resource pool) and {10, 12, 15, 20, 25} (consecutive) resource blocks (where the number of resource blocks may be (pre-)configured per resource pool). In some aspects, SL-PRS transmitted on a dedicated resource pool may have the following characteristics: spanning the entire bandwidth of the resource pool, having a comb tooth pattern in frequency (e.g., with possible comb tooth sizes: 2, 4, 6), and / or having {1, 2, ..., 9} consecutive symbols. In some aspects, different offsets may be applied to the comb tooth pattern in each symbol. In some aspects, PSCCH and SL-PRS may each follow the corresponding AGC symbol.

[0136] Figure 8This is a timing diagram 800 illustrating sidelink operations performed by a UE on a sidelink shared or unlicensed spectrum (SL-U) according to various aspects of this disclosure. In some aspects, in order to perform sidelink operations on the SL-U, the UE may compete for the duration of the channel (also known as the channel occupancy time (COT)) based on a listen-before-tell (LBT) procedure and... Figure 8 The UE is marked as “COT” during this duration, during which the UE can perform sidelink transmission operations on the channel.

[0137] In some aspects, the UE can sense that the channel is idle within the COT at time T0 and perform a first sidelink transmission operation TX1 that ends at time T1. In some aspects, in order to perform a second sidelink transmission operation TX2 within the COT, the UE can perform the second sidelink transmission operation TX2 during the transmission time interval (in... Figure 8 During the period marked "TX GAP", the UE continues to monitor the channel to check if the channel is idle. In some aspects, if the UE detects that the channel is idle during the transmission time gap TX GAP (e.g., at time T2), the UE may perform a second sidelink transmission operation TX2 within the COT, wherein the second sidelink transmission operation TX2 may end at time T3.

[0138] In some aspects, SL-U can support multiple start symbols within a time slot. In some aspects, the UE can initiate transmission not only at the beginning of a time slot (e.g., at a time slot boundary) but also on later symbols within the time slot. In some aspects, possible additional start symbols within a time slot (in addition to the first symbol in the time slot) can be configured individually for each resource pool. In some aspects, the basic principle of adding start symbols is to provide easier channel access for the UE, so that once the UE finds the channel idle, it does not need to wait for the start of the next time slot, thereby reducing the risk that another device will acquire the channel while the UE is waiting for a start symbol. However, with or without additional start symbols within the time slot, the UE may still risk losing the opportunity to perform a second-sidelink transmission operation TX2.

[0139] In some respects, given the above discussion, two potential problems may arise when performing sidelink-based positioning operations on the SL-U using a dedicated resource pool. The first problem is the potential transmission time gap between SL-PRS transmission and the PSCCH transmission associated with it. In some respects, if the channel is not idle when scheduling SL-PRS transmission according to the PSCCH after performing a PSCCH transmission, the UE may be unable to perform the associated SL-PRS transmission. In some respects, it is likely that during the transmission time gap (e.g., the TX GAP illustrated above), there may be activity by other devices via other radio technologies (e.g., WiFi) or by other sidelink UEs deployed based on TDM in the same time slot by their SL-PRS transmission. Therefore, this could lead to the UE transmitting wasted PSCCHs (because the performance of the scheduled associated SL-PRS transmission may not be guaranteed on the SL-U). In some respects, this could also lead the receiving UE to mistakenly believe that it is measuring the SL-PRS transmission as indicated by the PSCCH transmission, when the SL-PRS transmission may indeed not have been scheduled.

[0140] Furthermore, a second issue is that some communication standards may restrict PSCCH transmission to the beginning of a time slot. In some respects, this restriction can lead to drawbacks regarding channel access efficiency.

[0141] In view of the above, a solution to the above problem may be to adopt a transmission format in a dedicated resource pool for side link positioning via SL-U that does not include transmission time slots (e.g., TXGAP as illustrated above), and / or the start of PSCCH / SL-PRS transmission is not limited to the first symbol of the time slot.

[0142] In some aspects, a wireless communication device (e.g., a UE with sidelink communication capability) may participate in a sidelink localization process with a second wireless communication device (e.g., a peer UE with sidelink communication capability), and may send or receive SL-PRS transmissions on a first set of resource elements and PSCCH transmissions on a second set of resource elements from the second wireless communication device. In some aspects, SL-PRS transmissions are used for the sidelink localization process, and PSCCH transmissions are associated with SL-PRS transmissions. In some aspects, the wireless communication device may also send or receive AGC transmissions on a third set of resource elements from the second wireless communication device.

[0143] In some aspects, a first set of resource elements (for SL-PRS transmission) and a second set of resource elements (for PSCCH transmission) can be arranged based on FDM within the SL-PRS resource, using a set of frequency resources in the frequency domain and a set of symbol durations in the time domain. In some aspects, a third set of resource elements (for AGC transmission) can be arranged within the SL-PRS resource. In some aspects, the SL-PRS resource can be arranged within a resource pool dedicated to sidelink positioning. In some aspects, the resource pool dedicated to sidelink positioning can be located on the SL-U.

[0144] In some respects, a third set of resource elements (for AGC transmission) may be arranged in one or more symbols. In some respects, one or more symbols for AGC transmission may be followed by a set of symbols for SL-PRS transmission and PSCCH transmission.

[0145] In some respects, a first set of resource elements (for SL-PRS transmission) may span a first bandwidth, and a second set of resource elements (for PSCCH transmission) may span a second bandwidth identical to the first bandwidth. In some respects, distributing PSCCH transmission across the same bandwidth as SL-PRS transmission may have the benefit of having a uniform power spectral density across the bandwidth.

[0146] Regarding the allocation of resource elements for SL-PRS and PSCCH based on FDM, according to various aspects of this disclosure, Figure 9A and Figure 9B Two non-restrictive examples, 900A and 900B, are illustrated below. Figure 9A and Figure 9B In the diagram, frequency is represented horizontally (on the X-axis), where frequency increases (or decreases) from left to right, while time is represented vertically (on the Y-axis), and only one symbol is depicted for illustrative purposes.

[0147] like Figure 9A and Figure 9B As shown, resource elements for SL-PRS can be allocated based on a comb pattern. In some aspects, the comb pattern can be defined for each resource block (e.g., comprising 12 resource elements) and then repeated block-by-block across the entire SL-PRS resource bandwidth. In other aspects, the comb pattern can be described based on the comb size (e.g., the comb size N described above) and an offset value (e.g., the offset between the first resource element of the comb pattern in the resource block and the beginning of the resource block). Figure 9A and Figure 9B In the example shown, SL-PRS can be assigned based on a comb-4 pattern (comb size of 4) with an offset value of 1 (shifting one resource element from the beginning of the resource block).

[0148] In some aspects, resource elements for the PSCCH can be arranged based on another comb pattern that does not overlap with the comb pattern of the SL-PRS. In some aspects, the comb pattern of the PSCCH and the comb pattern of the SL-PRS can have the same comb size. In some aspects, the comb pattern of the PSCCH can be based on adjusting the comb pattern of the SL-PRS by an offset. In some aspects, the offset value of the PSCCH comb pattern can be defined as an absolute value relative to the start of the resource block, or as a relative value relative to the offset of the comb pattern of the SL-PRS. Figure 9A In Example 900A shown, the PSCCH can be assigned based on a comb-4 pattern (comb size 4) with an absolute offset value of 3 or a relative offset value of 2. In some respects, the comb pattern of the PSCCH can have the same or different offset values ​​across different symbols.

[0149] In some respects, resource elements used for PSCCH can be arranged to utilize all or some of the resource elements not used by the SL-PRS comb mode (within the SL-PRS resource bandwidth). Figure 9B In Example 900B shown, PSCCH can be allocated to use all resource elements within the SL-PRS resource bandwidth that are not used by the SL-PRS comb mode.

[0150] Figure 10 Example 1000 illustrates the sending of resource allocation elements for SL-PRS, PSCCH, and corresponding AGC according to various aspects of this disclosure. Figure 10 In the diagram, time is represented horizontally (on the X-axis), where a time slot (e.g., including 14 symbols) is depicted for illustrative purposes, while frequency is represented vertically (on the Y-axis), where a resource block (e.g., including 12 resource elements) is depicted for illustrative purposes.

[0151] In this example 1000, four SL-PRS resources (labeled "SL-PRS Resource 1", "SL-PRS Resource 2", "SL-PRS Resource 3", and "SL-PRS Resource 4") are arranged in a time slot based on TDM, where SL-PRS Resource 1 uses the first three symbols, SL-PRS Resource 2 uses the next three symbols following SL-PRS Resource 1, SL-PRS Resource 3 uses the next five symbols following SL-PRS Resource 2, and SL-PRS Resource 4 uses the next two symbols following SL-PRS Resource 3. Figure 10 As shown, the first symbol of each SL-PRS resource is used for the corresponding AGC transmission (marked as "AGC"). Furthermore, as... Figure 10As shown, the resource elements following the AGC symbol in each SL-PRS resource are arranged based on FDM for SL-PRS and PSCCH (represented by different shades and labeled "SL-PRS" and "PSCCH" respectively).

[0152] like Figure 10 As shown, each SL-PRS resource may correspond to a single continuous transmission, which may or may not begin at the start of a time slot. In some aspects, each SL-PRS resource in Example 1000 may have an SL-PRS arranged according to an SL-PRS comb pattern and a PSCCH arranged according to a PSCCH comb pattern, where the PSCCH comb pattern may be a shifted version of the SL-PRS comb pattern. In Example 1000, the SL-PRS and PSCCH in SL-PRS Resources 1 and SL-PRS Resources 4 may use all resource elements except for the corresponding AGC symbols. In Example 1000, the SL-PRS and PSCCH in SL-PRS Resources 2 and SL-PRS Resources 3 may use a subset of the resource elements except for the corresponding AGC symbols. In some aspects, unused resource elements in SL-PRS Resources 2 and SL-PRS Resources 3 may be further arranged for additional SL-PRS based on FDM for multiple UEs.

[0153] In some respects, cyclic shift versions of the offset patterns based on SL-PRS (e.g., SL-PRS offsets across symbols could be {0, 2, 1, 3}, while PSCCH offsets across symbols could be {2, 1, 3, 0}) can be (pre)configured for each SL-PRS resource, or defined by the distance between PSCCH resource elements and SL-PRS resource elements (e.g., in terms of the number of resource elements).

[0154] Therefore, as Figure 9A , Figure 9B and Figure 10 As shown, the set of resource elements for SL-PRS can be arranged based on the SL-PRS comb pattern (in the time and / or frequency domains). In some aspects, such as Figure 9A , Figure 9B and Figure 10 As shown, the set of resource elements used for PSCCH can be based on the entirety or a subset of the complement of the set of resource elements used for SL-PRS within the corresponding SL-PRS resource. The set of resource elements used for PSCCH can be arranged based on the PSCCH comb pattern. In some aspects, the PSCCH comb pattern can be based on a relative offset of the SL-PRS comb pattern (in the time domain and / or frequency domain).

[0155] In some respects, various transmissions based on FDM arrangements are configured to have the same duration in the time domain (e.g., Figure 10 Example 1000 in the document simplifies transmit power requirements and AGC arrangements. In some aspects, if the independent PSCCH duration (e.g., in terms of the number of symbols) is less than the independent SL-PRS duration (e.g., in terms of the number of symbols) based on the initial resource element arrangement and decoding, the PSCCH duration can be extended to match the SL-PRS duration in the final resource element arrangement. In some aspects, the PSCCH duration can be extended based on replicating the PSCCH (entirely or partially as needed). In some aspects, the PSCCH duration can be extended based on configuring the PSCCH payload to rate match a desired number of symbols.

[0156] In some aspects, if the independent PSCCH duration (e.g., in terms of the number of symbols) is greater than the independent SL-PRS duration (e.g., in terms of the number of symbols) based on the initial resource element layout and decoding, the SL-PRS duration can be extended to match the PSCCH duration in the final resource element layout. In some aspects, the SL-PRS duration can be extended based on adjusting the configuration of the SL-PRS duration to match the PSCCH duration.

[0157] Figure 11A and Figure 11B Examples 1100A and 1100B illustrate how symbol durations within time slots across the time domain are kept constant for SL-PRS and PSCCH transmission power according to various aspects of this disclosure. Figure 11A and Figure 11B In the middle, time is represented vertically (on the Y-axis), where the four symbols of the time slot in the time domain represent the part of the SL-PRS resource other than the corresponding AGC symbol. Figure 11A and Figure 11B The left portion has frequencies represented horizontally (on the X-axis), where the frequencies increase (or decrease) from left to right. Furthermore, Figure 11A and Figure 11B The right side of the graph shows the total transmitted power (labeled "Total Power") horizontally (on the X-axis), with power increasing from left to right. Figure 11A In the diagram, the combination of regions 1112 and 1116 represents the total transmission power of the SL-PRS and PSCCH, where region 1112 represents the portion attributable to the SL-PRS transmission power, and region 1116 represents the portion attributable to the PSCCH transmission power. Figure 11BIn the diagram, the combination of regions 1122 and 1126 represents the total transmission power of SL-PRS and PSCCH, where region 1122 represents the portion of transmission power attributable to SL-PRS and region 1126 represents the portion of transmission power attributable to PSCCH.

[0158] In some respects, the transmit power per symbol duration can be kept constant throughout the entire symbol duration of the SL-PRS resource (including SL-PRS resource elements and PSCCH resource elements) in the time slot, to ensure that AGC measurements for the SL-PRS resource will be valid for all symbols of the SL-PRS resource.

[0159] like Figure 11A As shown, both the resource elements for SL-PRS and the resource elements for PSCCH can span all four symbols of the SL-PRS resource (except for the AGC symbol, which is in...). Figure 11A (Not depicted in the text). In some respects, if the PSCCH duration and SL-PRS duration are matched, the transmit power per symbol duration can remain constant for all symbols. For example... Figure 11A As shown, the portion of the total transmission power attributable to the SL-PRS transmission power (e.g., region 1112) is constant across four symbols, and the portion of the total transmission power attributable to the PSCCH transmission power (e.g., region 1116) is also constant across four symbols.

[0160] like Figure 11B As shown, resource elements used for SL-PRS can span all four symbol durations of the SL-PRS resource (except for the AGC symbol, which is in...). Figure 11B (Not depicted in the text), while resource elements used for PSCCH can span two symbol durations of the SL-PRS resource (symbols in time segment I, but not in time segment II) (except for AGC symbols). In some respects, if the PSCCH duration and SL-PRS duration do not match each other (such as in this example, the PSCCH duration being less than the SL-PRS duration), symbols with SL-PRS but not PSCCH can have their transmission power increased for the corresponding resource element so that the transmission power per symbol duration across the symbol remains constant. Figure 11B As shown, the transmission power of resource elements in time segment II can be increased so that the transmission power per symbol duration in time segment I (reflected in the total power based on region 1126 and a portion of region 1126 in time segment I) can remain the same as that per symbol duration in time segment II (reflected in the total power based on another portion of region 1126 in time segment II).

[0161] In some respects, for a symbol containing both SL-PRS and PSCCH, the ratio between the transmission power of the portion of SL-PRS transmitted within the symbol and the transmission power of the portion of PSCCH transmitted within the symbol may be based on: a pre-configured value based on the communication standard; a value signaled by RRC signaling, side-link RRC signaling, or side-link LTE positioning protocol (SLPP) signaling; or a stored value based on the specific implementation of the wireless communication device or the specific implementation of a second wireless communication device.

[0162] Figure 12 Example 1200 of SL-PRS resources according to various aspects of this disclosure is illustrated. Figure 12 In this diagram, time is represented horizontally (on the X-axis), with a time slot (e.g., comprising 14 symbols) depicted for illustrative purposes, while frequency is represented vertically (on the Y-axis), with a resource block (e.g., comprising 12 resource elements) depicted for illustrative purposes. Figure 12 In the example 1200 of SL-PRS resources, three symbols 1212, 1216, and 1218 are used. The resource element in symbol 1212 is used for AGC transmission (i.e., the AGC symbol), and the resource elements in symbols 1216 and 1218 are used for SL-PRS and PSCCH, as referenced. Figures 9A to 11B The subject of discussion.

[0163] In some aspects, the AGC symbol (e.g., at symbol 1212) preceding the FDM-based PSCCH and SL-PRS transmissions (e.g., at symbols 1216 and 1218) may be configured to have the same per-symbol-duration transmission power as the PSCCH and SL-PRS transmissions. In some aspects, the signal component in each resource element of the AGC symbol (e.g., in symbol 1212) may be a copy of the resource element in a subsequent symbol (e.g., in symbol 1216). For example, the signal of resource element AGC-I may be a copy of the signal of the resource element in symbol 1216 used for SL-PRS; and the signal of resource element AGC-II may be a copy of the signal of the resource element in symbol 1216 used for PSCCH. In some aspects, the term "copy" described in this paragraph may correspond to a repetition of a signal. In some aspects, the term "copy" described in this paragraph may correspond to signal generation based on the same sequence and / or modulation scheme (but not necessarily an exact copy).

[0164] In some respects, based on the resource element arrangement example exemplified above where SL-PRS and PSCCH are arranged based on FDM, it may be impractical to first locate the PSCCH and then identify the associated SL-PRS based on the PSCCH payload. In some respects, for resource pools where the PSCCH appears in the same symbol as the associated SL-PRS, the comb size and offset values ​​for SL-PRS and PSCCH can be (pre)configured on a per-slot and SL-PRS resource basis. In some respects, when the PSCCH uses all non-SL-PRS resource elements, it may only be necessary to (pre)configure the SL-PRS comb size and corresponding offset values.

[0165] In some aspects, the (pre)configuration of comb size and corresponding offset values ​​can be based on a pre-configured mapping that may depend on the SL-PRS resource identifier and / or the corresponding slot index. In a non-limiting example, K (positive integer) sets of comb size / offset value combinations can be (pre)configured, which in some examples may be prepared as part of a table. In this non-limiting example, each pair of slot index and SL-PRS resource identifier can be mapped to one of the K sets of comb size / offset value combinations. In this non-limiting example, assuming the resource elements are arranged to contain M (M=K / 2) SL-PRS resources, then the SL-PRS resource with SL-PRS identifier m (m=0, 1, ..., M-1) on slot n can be mapped to the k-th set of the K sets of comb size / offset value combinations, where k=mod(n, 2)×M+m.

[0166] In addition, as referenced Figure 9A and Figure 9B As illustrated, resource elements for a PSCCH can be arranged based on the PSCCH comb size and PSCCH offset value, which are based on the SL-PRS comb size and SL-PRS offset value. In some aspects, once the SL-PRS comb pattern is determined, the PSCCH comb pattern can be determined accordingly. In other aspects, once the SL-PRS resource is identified, the characteristics of the SL-PRS and PSCCH within the SL-PRS resource can be identified.

[0167] In some aspects, SL-PRS resources can be identifiable based on SL-PRS resource identifiers, SL-PRS resource slot indices, or combinations thereof. In some aspects, the characteristics of SL-PRS and PSCCH that can be determined based on SL-PRS resource identifiers, SL-PRS resource slot indices, or combinations thereof may include: SL-PRS comb patterns defined by SL-PRS comb values ​​and corresponding offset values ​​for SL-PRS; PSCCH comb patterns defined by PSCCH comb values ​​and corresponding offset values ​​for the resource element set for PSCCH; the starting symbol location for the resource element set for SL-PRS and the number of SL-PRS symbols in the time domain within the slot; the starting symbol location for the resource element set for PSCCH and the number of PSCCH symbols in the time domain within the slot; the frequency domain allocation for the resource element set for SL-PRS; the frequency domain allocation for the resource element set for PSCCH; or any combination thereof.

[0168] Figure 13 This is a flowchart illustrating a method 1300 for operating a wireless communication device according to various aspects of this disclosure. In some aspects, the wireless communication device in method 1300 may correspond to UE 300 or any UE described herein. In some aspects, method 1300 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 342, memory 340, and / or sidelink positioning components 348, any or all of which may be considered as components for performing one or more of the following operations of method 1300.

[0169] At operation 1310, the wireless communication device may participate in the sidelink localization process with the second wireless communication device. In some aspects, operation 1310 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 342, memory 340 and / or participants in the sidelink localization process with the sidelink localization component 348, any or all of which may be considered as components for performing operation 1310.

[0170] At operation 1320, the wireless communication device can send or receive, from the second wireless communication device, SL-PRS transmissions on a first set of resource elements and PSCCH transmissions on a second set of resource elements. In some aspects, SL-PRS transmissions can be used in a sidelink positioning procedure, and PSCCH transmissions can be associated with SL-PRS transmissions. In some aspects, the first set and second set of resource elements can be arranged within the SL-PRS resource based on FDM, such as based on... Figures 9A to 12 The examples depicted in the text illustrate this.

[0171] In some respects, SL-PRS resources can be located within a resource pool dedicated to sidelink positioning. In some respects, a first set of resource elements can span a first bandwidth, and a second set of resource elements can span a second bandwidth identical to the first bandwidth.

[0172] In some respects, operation 1320 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 342, memory 340 and / or sidelink positioning components 348, any one or all of which may be considered as components for performing operation 1320.

[0173] In some aspects, the wireless communication device may transmit or receive automatic gain control (AGC) transmissions on a third set of resource elements in the SL-PRS resource to or from the second wireless communication device. In some aspects, the third set of resource elements may be arranged in one or more symbols, which are immediately followed by a set of symbols for SL-PRS transmission and PSCCH transmission.

[0174] In some respects, one or more symbols used for AGC transmission may correspond to a single symbol. In some respects, such as references... Figure 12 As illustrated, the transmission power of AGC transmission during a single symbol used for AGC transmission can be set to be the same as the transmission power of a portion of SL-PRS transmission, a portion of PSCCH transmission, or both during the first symbol immediately following the single symbol used for AGC transmission.

[0175] In some respects, the first set of resource elements can be arranged based on the comb pattern. In other respects, such as referring to... Figure 9A and Figure 9B As illustrated, the second set of resource elements can be arranged within the frequency resource set in the frequency domain and the symbol duration set in the time domain within the time slot, based on the entirety or a subset of the complement of the first set of resource elements.

[0176] In some aspects, the following can be determined based on the SL-PRS resource identifier, the slot index of the SL-PRS resource, or a combination thereof: a first comb pattern defined by a first comb value and a first offset value for a first set of resource elements; a second comb pattern defined by a second comb value and a second offset value for a second set of resource elements; a first start symbol location and the number of SL-PRS symbols in the time domain for the first set of resource elements; a second start symbol location and the number of PSCCH symbols in the time domain for the second set of resource elements in the time slot; a frequency domain allocation for the first set of resource elements; a frequency domain allocation for the second set of resource elements; or any combination thereof. In some aspects, the second set of resource elements can be arranged based on the second comb pattern. In some aspects, the second comb pattern can be based on adjusting the first comb pattern by a relative offset.

[0177] In some respects, the first set and the second set of resource elements can be arranged to have the same number of symbols in the time domain. In some respects, such as references... Figure 11A and Figure 11B As illustrated, the combination of a first set of resource elements and a second set of resource elements can provide a constant per-symbol duration transmission power across all corresponding symbols of the SL-PRS resource in the time domain. In some aspects, the ratio between the transmission power of the portion of the SL-PRS transmission within a symbol and the transmission power of the portion of the PSCCH transmission within a symbol can be based on: a value pre-configured by the communication standard; a value signaled by RRC signaling, side-link RRC signaling, or SLPP signaling; or a stored value based on an implementation of a wireless communication device or a second wireless communication device.

[0178] As will be understood, the technical advantage of method 1300 is that it arranges the resource elements for SL-PRS and PSCCH on the SL-U within the SL-PRS resources based on FDM, allowing SL-PRS transmission and PSCCH transmission to be performed in a consecutive number of symbols and to begin at any symbol location within a time slot. Therefore, by eliminating the transmission gap between SL-PRS transmissions associated with PSCCH transmissions, the omission of SL-PRS transmissions associated with PSCCH transmissions is avoided, thereby eliminating the risk of not being able to detect an idle channel during the transmission gap. Furthermore, since the PSCCH is no longer mapped only to the first symbol of the time slot, multiple start symbols (within the time slot) can now be used (i.e., when the LBT procedure clears the channel, the UE does not need to wait until the start of the next time slot, but can instead transmit on the next SL-PRS resource within the time slot). In some respects, the aforementioned features improve resource efficiency and reduce wasted PSCCH transmissions on the SL-U.

[0179] 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 explicitly 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.

[0180] Specific implementation examples are described in the following numbered clauses:

[0181] Clause 1. A method of operating a wireless communication device, the method comprising: participating in a sidelink localization process with a second wireless communication device; and sending or receiving, to or from the second wireless communication device, a sidelink localization reference signal (SL-PRS) transmission on a first set of resource elements and a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) transmission on a second set of resource elements, wherein: the SL-PRS transmission is used for the sidelink localization process, the PSCCH transmission is associated with the SL-PRS transmission, and the first set of resource elements and the second set of resource elements are arranged within the SL-PRS resources based on frequency division multiplexing (FDM).

[0182] Clause 2. The method according to Clause 1, wherein: the SL-PRS resource is in a resource pool dedicated to sidelink positioning.

[0183] Clause 3. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 2, the method further comprising: transmitting to or receiving from the second wireless communication device an automatic gain control (AGC) transmission on a third set of resource elements in the SL-PRS resource, wherein the third set of resource elements is arranged in one or more symbols, the one or more symbols being immediately followed by a set of symbols for the SL-PRS transmission and the PSCCH transmission.

[0184] Clause 4. The method according to Clause 3, wherein: the one or more symbols used for the AGC transmission correspond to a single symbol, and the transmission power of the AGC transmission during the single symbol used for the AGC transmission is set to be the same as the transmission power during a portion of the SL-PRS transmission, a portion of the PSCCH transmission, or both during a first symbol immediately following the single symbol used for the AGC transmission.

[0185] Clause 5. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 4, wherein: the first set of resource elements spans a first bandwidth, and the second set of resource elements spans a second bandwidth identical to the first bandwidth.

[0186] Clause 6. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 5, wherein: the first set of resource elements is arranged based on a first comb pattern, and the second set of resource elements is arranged based on all or a subset of the complement of the first set of resource elements within the SL-PRS resource.

[0187] Clause 7. The method according to Clause 6, wherein: the following are determined based on the SL-PRS resource identifier of the SL-PRS resource, the slot index of the SL-PRS resource, or a combination thereof: the first comb pattern defined by the first comb value and the first offset value for the first set of resource elements, the second comb pattern defined by the second comb value and the second offset value for the second set of resource elements, the first start symbol location of the first set of resource elements and the number of SL-PRS symbols in the time domain within the slot, the second start symbol location of the second set of resource elements in the slot and the number of PSCCH symbols in the time domain, the frequency domain allocation of the first set of resource elements, the frequency domain allocation of the second set of resource elements, or any combination thereof.

[0188] Clause 8. The method described in Clause 6, wherein: the second set of resource elements is arranged based on a second comb pattern.

[0189] Clause 9. The method according to Clause 8, wherein: the second comb pattern is based on adjusting the first comb pattern by a relative offset.

[0190] Clause 10. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 9, wherein: the first set of resource elements and the second set of resource elements are arranged to have the same number of symbols in the time domain.

[0191] Clause 11. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 10, wherein the combination of the first set of resource elements and the second set of resource elements has a constant per-symbol duration transmission power across all corresponding symbols of the SL-PRS resource in the time domain.

[0192] Clause 12. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 11, wherein: the ratio between the transmission power of the SL-PRS transmission within a portion of the symbol and the transmission power of the PSCCH transmission within a portion of the symbol is based on: a pre-configured value based on a communication standard; a value signaled by a radio resource control (RRC) signaling, sidelink RRC signaling, or sidelink LTE positioning protocol (SLPP) signaling; or a stored value based on an implementation of the wireless communication device or an implementation of the second wireless communication device.

[0193] Clause 13. A wireless communication device 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: participate in a sidelink localization process with a second wireless communication device; and transmit to or receive, via the one or more transceivers, sidelink localization reference signal (SL-PRS) transmissions on a first set of resource elements and physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) transmissions on a second set of resource elements, wherein: the SL-PRS transmissions are used for the sidelink localization process, the PSCCH transmissions are associated with the SL-PRS transmissions, and the first set of resource elements and the second set of resource elements are arranged within SL-PRS resources based on frequency division multiplexing (FDM).

[0194] Clause 14. The wireless communication device according to Clause 13, wherein: the SL-PRS resource is in a resource pool dedicated to sidelink positioning.

[0195] Clause 15. A wireless communication device according to any one of Clauses 13 to 14, wherein the one or more processors are individually or in combination further configured to: transmit to or receive from the second wireless communication device via the one or more transceivers an automatic gain control (AGC) transmission on a third set of resource elements in the SL-PRS resource, wherein the third set of resource elements is arranged in one or more symbols, the one or more symbols being immediately followed by a set of symbols for the SL-PRS transmission and the PSCCH transmission.

[0196] Clause 16. The wireless communication device according to Clause 15, wherein: the one or more symbols for the AGC transmission correspond to a single symbol, and the transmission power of the AGC transmission during the single symbol for the AGC transmission is set to be the same as the transmission power of a portion of the SL-PRS transmission, a portion of the PSCCH transmission, or both during a first symbol immediately following the single symbol for the AGC transmission.

[0197] Clause 17. A wireless communication device according to any one of Clauses 13 to 16, wherein: the first set of resource elements spans a first bandwidth, and the second set of resource elements spans a second bandwidth identical to the first bandwidth.

[0198] Clause 18. A wireless communication device according to any one of Clauses 13 to 17, wherein: the first set of resource elements is arranged based on a first comb pattern, and the second set of resource elements is arranged based on all or a subset of the complement of the first set of resource elements within the SL-PRS resource.

[0199] Clause 19. The wireless communication device according to Clause 18, wherein: the following are determined based on the SL-PRS resource identifier of the SL-PRS resource, the slot index of the SL-PRS resource, or a combination thereof: the first comb pattern defined by the first comb value and the first offset value for the first set of resource elements, the second comb pattern defined by the second comb value and the second offset value for the second set of resource elements, the first start symbol location of the first set of resource elements and the number of SL-PRS symbols in the time domain within the slot, the second start symbol location of the second set of resource elements in the slot and the number of PSCCH symbols in the time domain, the frequency domain allocation of the first set of resource elements, the frequency domain allocation of the second set of resource elements, or any combination thereof.

[0200] Clause 20. The wireless communication device according to Clause 18, wherein: the second set of resource elements is arranged based on a second comb pattern.

[0201] Clause 21. The wireless communication device according to Clause 20, wherein: the second comb pattern is based on adjusting the first comb pattern by a relative offset.

[0202] Clause 22. A wireless communication device according to any one of Clauses 13 to 21, wherein: the first set of resource elements and the second set of resource elements are arranged to have the same number of symbols in the time domain.

[0203] Clause 23. A wireless communication device according to any one of Clauses 13 to 22, wherein: the combination of the first set of resource elements and the second set of resource elements has a constant per-symbol duration transmission power across all corresponding symbols of the SL-PRS resource in the time domain.

[0204] Clause 24. A wireless communication device according to any one of Clauses 13 to 23, wherein: the ratio between the transmit power of the SL-PRS transmitted in a portion of the symbol and the transmit power of the PSCCH transmitted in a portion of the symbol is based on: a pre-configured value based on a communication standard; a value signaled by a radio resource control (RRC) signaling, sidelink RRC signaling, or sidelink LTE positioning protocol (SLPP) signaling; or a stored value based on an implementation of the wireless communication device or an implementation of the second wireless communication device.

[0205] Clause 25. A wireless communication device comprising: components for participating in a sidelink localization process with a second wireless communication device; and components for transmitting to or receiving, from the second wireless communication device, sidelink localization reference signal (SL-PRS) transmission on a first set of resource elements and physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) transmission on a second set of resource elements, wherein: the SL-PRS transmission is used for the sidelink localization process, the PSCCH transmission is associated with the SL-PRS transmission, and the first set of resource elements and the second set of resource elements are arranged within SL-PRS resources based on frequency division multiplexing (FDM).

[0206] Clause 26. The wireless communication device according to Clause 25, wherein: the SL-PRS resource is in a resource pool dedicated to sidelink positioning.

[0207] Clause 27. The wireless communication device according to any one of Clauses 25 to 26, the wireless communication device further comprising: a component for transmitting to or receiving from the second wireless communication device an automatic gain control (AGC) transmission on a third set of resource elements in the SL-PRS resource, wherein the third set of resource elements is arranged in one or more symbols, the one or more symbols being immediately followed by a set of symbols for the SL-PRS transmission and the PSCCH transmission.

[0208] Clause 28. The wireless communication device according to Clause 27, wherein: the one or more symbols for the AGC transmission correspond to a single symbol, and the transmission power of the AGC transmission during the single symbol for the AGC transmission is set to be the same as the transmission power of a portion of the SL-PRS transmission, a portion of the PSCCH transmission, or both during a first symbol immediately following the single symbol for the AGC transmission.

[0209] Clause 29. A wireless communication device according to any one of Clauses 25 to 28, wherein: the first set of resource elements spans a first bandwidth, and the second set of resource elements spans a second bandwidth identical to the first bandwidth.

[0210] Clause 30. A wireless communication device according to any one of Clauses 25 to 29, wherein: the first set of resource elements is arranged based on a first comb pattern, and the second set of resource elements is arranged based on all or a subset of the complement of the first set of resource elements within the SL-PRS resource.

[0211] Clause 31. The wireless communication device according to Clause 30, wherein: the following are determined based on the SL-PRS resource identifier of the SL-PRS resource, the slot index of the SL-PRS resource, or a combination thereof: the first comb pattern defined by the first comb value and the first offset value for the first set of resource elements, the second comb pattern defined by the second comb value and the second offset value for the second set of resource elements, the first start symbol location of the first set of resource elements and the number of SL-PRS symbols in the time domain within the slot, the second start symbol location of the second set of resource elements in the slot and the number of PSCCH symbols in the time domain, the frequency domain allocation of the first set of resource elements, the frequency domain allocation of the second set of resource elements, or any combination thereof.

[0212] Clause 32. The wireless communication device according to Clause 30, wherein: the second set of resource elements is arranged based on a second comb pattern.

[0213] Clause 33. The wireless communication device according to Clause 32, wherein: the second comb pattern is based on adjusting the first comb pattern by a relative offset.

[0214] Clause 34. A wireless communication device according to any one of Clauses 25 to 33, wherein: the first set of resource elements and the second set of resource elements are arranged to have the same number of symbols in the time domain.

[0215] Clause 35. A wireless communication device according to any one of Clauses 25 to 34, wherein: the combination of the first set of resource elements and the second set of resource elements has a constant per-symbol duration transmission power across all corresponding symbols of the SL-PRS resource in the time domain.

[0216] Clause 36. A wireless communication device according to any one of Clauses 25 to 35, wherein: the ratio between the transmit power of the SL-PRS transmitted in a portion of the symbol and the transmit power of the PSCCH transmitted in a portion of the symbol is based on: a pre-configured value based on a communication standard; a value signaled by a radio resource control (RRC) signaling, sidelink RRC signaling, or sidelink LTE positioning protocol (SLPP) signaling; or a stored value based on an implementation of the wireless communication device or an implementation of the second wireless communication device.

[0217] Clause 37. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by a wireless communication device, cause the wireless communication device to: participate in a sidelink positioning process with a second wireless communication device; and send to or receive from the second wireless communication device a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS) transmission on a first set of resource elements and a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) transmission on a second set of resource elements, wherein: the SL-PRS transmission is used for the sidelink positioning process, the PSCCH transmission is associated with the SL-PRS transmission, and the first set of resource elements and the second set of resource elements are arranged within the SL-PRS resources based on frequency division multiplexing (FDM).

[0218] Clause 38. The non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in Clause 37, wherein: the SL-PRS resource is located in a resource pool dedicated to sidelink positioning.

[0219] Clause 39. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 37 to 38, the non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the wireless communication device, cause the wireless communication device to: transmit to or receive from the second wireless communication device an automatic gain control (AGC) transmission on a third set of resource elements in the SL-PRS resource, wherein the third set of resource elements is arranged in one or more symbols, the one or more symbols being immediately followed by a set of symbols for the SL-PRS transmission and the PSCCH transmission.

[0220] Clause 40. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to Clause 39, wherein: the one or more symbols used for the AGC transmission correspond to a single symbol, and the transmission power of the AGC transmission during the single symbol used for the AGC transmission is set to be the same as the transmission power of a portion of the SL-PRS transmission, a portion of the PSCCH transmission, or both during a first symbol immediately following the single symbol used for the AGC transmission.

[0221] Clause 41. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 37 to 40, wherein: the first set of resource elements spans a first bandwidth, and the second set of resource elements spans a second bandwidth equal to the first bandwidth.

[0222] Clause 42. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 37 to 41, wherein: the first set of resource elements is arranged based on a first comb pattern, and the second set of resource elements is arranged based on all or a subset of the complement of the first set of resource elements within the SL-PRS resource.

[0223] Clause 43. The non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in Clause 42, wherein: the following are determined based on the SL-PRS resource identifier of the SL-PRS resource, the slot index of the SL-PRS resource, or a combination thereof: a first comb pattern defined by a first comb value and a first offset value for the first set of resource elements, a second comb pattern defined by a second comb value and a second offset value for the second set of resource elements, a first start symbol location of the first set of resource elements and the number of SL-PRS symbols in the time domain within the slot, a second start symbol location of the second set of resource elements in the slot and the number of PSCCH symbols in the time domain, a frequency domain allocation of the first set of resource elements, a frequency domain allocation of the second set of resource elements, or any combination thereof.

[0224] Clause 44. The non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in Clause 42, wherein: the second set of resource elements is arranged based on a second comb pattern.

[0225] Clause 45. The non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in Clause 44, wherein: the second comb pattern is based on adjusting the first comb pattern by a relative offset.

[0226] Clause 46. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 37 to 45, wherein: the first set of resource elements and the second set of resource elements are arranged to have the same number of symbols in the time domain.

[0227] Clause 47. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 37 to 46, wherein: the combination of the first set of resource elements and the second set of resource elements has a constant per-symbol duration transmission power across all corresponding symbols of the SL-PRS resource in the time domain.

[0228] Clause 48. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 37 to 47, wherein: the ratio between the transmission power of the SL-PRS transmission within a portion of the symbol and the transmission power of the PSCCH transmission within a portion of the symbol is based on: a pre-configured value based on a communication standard; a value signaled by a radio resource control (RRC) signaling, sidelink RRC signaling, or sidelink LTE positioning protocol (SLPP) signaling; or a stored value based on a specific implementation of the wireless communication device or a specific implementation of the second wireless communication device.

[0229] 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.

[0230] 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 specific implementation decisions should not be construed as departing from the scope of this disclosure.

[0231] 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.

[0232] 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.

[0233] 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 devices, disk storage devices 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.

[0234] 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 stated 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 to be limited to the singular. Thus, as used herein, the articles “a,” “an,” “the,” and “described” are intended to include one or more of the stated 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 wireless communication device, the method comprising: Participate in the sidelink positioning process with the second wireless communication device; as well as Sending or receiving from the second wireless communication device the sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS) on the first set of resource elements and the physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) on the second set of resource elements. in: The SL-PRS is transmitted for the sidelink positioning process. The PSCCH transmission is associated with the SL-PRS transmission, and The first set of resource elements and the second set of resource elements are arranged within the SL-PRS resource based on frequency division multiplexing (FDM).

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The SL-PRS resources are located in a resource pool dedicated to sidelink positioning.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: Automatic gain control (AGC) transmission on a third set of resource elements in the SL-PRS resource is sent to or received from the second wireless communication device. The third set of resource elements is arranged in one or more symbols, which are followed by a set of symbols for the SL-PRS transmission and the PSCCH transmission.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein: The one or more symbols used for the AGC to send correspond to a single symbol, and The transmission power of the AGC transmission during the single symbol used for the AGC transmission is set to be the same as the transmission power of a portion of the SL-PRS transmission, a portion of the PSCCH transmission, or both during the first symbol immediately following the single symbol used for the AGC transmission.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The first set of resource elements spans the first bandwidth. The second set of resource elements spans the same second bandwidth as the first bandwidth.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The first set of resource elements is arranged based on the first comb pattern. The second set of resource elements is arranged based on all or a subset of the complement of the first set of resource elements within the SL-PRS resource.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein: The following are determined based on the SL-PRS resource identifier of the SL-PRS resource, the slot index of the SL-PRS resource, or a combination thereof: the first comb pattern defined by the first comb value and the first offset value for the first set of the resource element, the second comb pattern defined by the second comb value and the second offset value for the second set of the resource element, the first start symbol location of the first set of the resource element and the number of SL-PRS symbols in the time domain within the slot, the second start symbol location of the second set of the resource element in the slot and the number of PSCCH symbols in the time domain, the frequency domain allocation of the first set of the resource element, the frequency domain allocation of the second set of the resource element, or any combination thereof.

8. The method according to claim 6, wherein: The second set of resource elements is arranged based on the second comb pattern.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein: The second comb pattern is based on adjusting the first comb pattern through relative offset.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The first set of resource elements and the second set of resource elements are arranged to have the same number of symbols in the time domain.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The combination of the first set of resource elements and the second set of resource elements has a constant per-symbol duration transmission power across all corresponding symbols of the SL-PRS resource in the time domain.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The ratio between the transmission power of the SL-PRS transmission within a portion of the symbol and the transmission power of the PSCCH transmission within a portion of the symbol is based on: Pre-configured values ​​based on communication standards The value notified by the signal provided by Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, sidelink RRC signaling, or sidelink Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (SLPP) signaling, or The stored value is based on a specific implementation of the wireless communication device or a specific implementation of the second wireless communication device.

13. A wireless communication device, the wireless communication device 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: Participating in the sidelink positioning process with the second wireless communication device; and The system transmits or receives sidelink positioning reference signals (SL-PRS) on a first set of resource elements and physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) on a second set of resource elements via the one or more transceivers to or from the second wireless communication device. in: The SL-PRS is transmitted for the sidelink positioning process. The PSCCH transmission is associated with the SL-PRS transmission, and The first set of resource elements and the second set of resource elements are arranged within the SL-PRS resource based on frequency division multiplexing (FDM).

14. The wireless communication device of claim 13, wherein the one or more processors are further configured individually or in combination to: Automatic gain control (AGC) transmission on a third set of resource elements in the SL-PRS resource, transmitted to or received from the second wireless communication device via the one or more transceivers. The third set of resource elements is arranged in one or more symbols, which are followed by a set of symbols for the SL-PRS transmission and the PSCCH transmission.

15. The wireless communication device according to claim 14, wherein: The one or more symbols used for the AGC to send correspond to a single symbol, and The transmission power of the AGC transmission during the single symbol used for the AGC transmission is set to be the same as the transmission power of a portion of the SL-PRS transmission, a portion of the PSCCH transmission, or both during the first symbol immediately following the single symbol used for the AGC transmission.

16. The wireless communication device according to claim 13, wherein: The first set of resource elements is arranged based on the first comb pattern. The second set of resource elements is arranged based on all or a subset of the complement of the first set of resource elements within the SL-PRS resource.

17. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by a wireless communication device, cause the wireless communication device to: Participating in the sidelink positioning process with the second wireless communication device; and Sending or receiving from the second wireless communication device the sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS) on the first set of resource elements and the physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) on the second set of resource elements. in: The SL-PRS is transmitted for the sidelink positioning process. The PSCCH transmission is associated with the SL-PRS transmission, and The first set of resource elements and the second set of resource elements are arranged within the SL-PRS resource based on frequency division multiplexing (FDM).

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the wireless communication device, cause the wireless communication device to: Automatic gain control (AGC) transmission on a third set of resource elements in the SL-PRS resource is sent to or received from the second wireless communication device. The third set of resource elements is arranged in one or more symbols, which are followed by a set of symbols for the SL-PRS transmission and the PSCCH transmission.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 18, wherein: The one or more symbols used for the AGC to send correspond to a single symbol, and The transmission power of the AGC transmission during the single symbol used for the AGC transmission is set to be the same as the transmission power of a portion of the SL-PRS transmission, a portion of the PSCCH transmission, or both during the first symbol immediately following the single symbol used for the AGC transmission.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 17, wherein: The first set of resource elements is arranged based on the first comb pattern. The second set of resource elements is arranged based on all or a subset of the complement of the first set of resource elements within the SL-PRS resource.

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