Method of determining positioning measurements and wireless communication device

Abstract

A method and wireless communication device for determining location measurements are described. The method includes, performed by a UE: receiving timing information associated with a serving cell or a reference cell, the timing information indicating symbol boundaries; aligning a first Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) window with a first Location Reference Signal (PRS) timing using an Rx chain associated with a first set of antenna elements and processing an Rx signal or a combination of Rx signals corresponding to the first PRS, the Rx signal or combination of Rx signals being generated during the first PRS timing; aligning a second FFT window with a second PRS using an Rx chain associated with a second set of antenna elements, the second set of antenna elements being separate from the first set of antenna elements; performing a first FFT using a first FFT window in parallel with performing a second FFT using the second FFT window; and determining location measurements using: (i) the result of processing the Rx signal or combination of Rx signals corresponding to the first PRS and (ii) the result of processing the Rx signal or combination of Rx signals corresponding to the second PRS.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of the invention patent application filed on March 8, 2022, with application number 202280028791.1 and invention title "Distributed receiving chain for parallel processing of reference signals from multiple sources". Technical Field

[0002] This invention generally relates to the field of wireless communication, and more specifically, to a method and a wireless communication device for determining location measurements using multiple receiver (Rx) chains of a user equipment (UE). Background Technology

[0003] Sometimes, determining the location of a UE is very useful. For example, software applications running on the UE can use the UE's location (e.g., latitude and longitude pairs) to calculate routes from the UE's location to another location. The UE's location can be determined using different positioning methods. Some positioning methods involve communication between the UE and one or more satellites (e.g., satellites of a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)) and / or one or more ground entities (e.g., TRPs or base stations). For example, a Positioning Reference Signal (PRS) is sometimes broadcast by different TRPs and processed by the UE receiving the PRS signal in order to estimate the UE's location based on measurements performed by the UE (e.g., the difference in arrival times between PRS signals from different TRPs).

[0004] When the UE receives a PRS, it decodes the PRS to extract information that helps the UE perform measurements. Each PRS is typically decoded using a pair of receive (Rx) chains associated with a first Rx antenna and a second Rx antenna. Depending on the UE's environment, the UE may sometimes be unable to successfully decode the PRS using one or both Rx chains. For example, deep fading of the PRS received by the first Rx antenna can occur when the PRS is attenuated due to multipath propagation caused by weather conditions, physical obstacles, or lack of direct line of sight. When the PRS cannot be decoded, this can adversely affect the accuracy of the resulting location determination, as the UE may have fewer measurements to rely on.

[0005] Furthermore, the timing of PRS decoding is sometimes determined by the serving cell or reference cell with which the UE is communicating. If the PRS is transmitted from a source located far from the serving / reference cell (e.g., a TRP associated with a neighboring cell), there may be a delay between when the UE expects to receive the PRS and when it actually receives it. If the UE attempts to decode the PRS according to the timing of the serving / reference cell, this may reduce the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the PRS, potentially to the point that decoding the PRS may fail. Alternatively, the UE can align the search window with each PRS to decode the PRS signals in a higher SNR order, but this will increase processing time. Summary of the Invention

[0006] This disclosure relates to techniques for processing reference signals received by a user equipment (UE) from multiple sources, such as positioning reference signals (PRS) from multiple transmit-receive points (TRPs). Techniques for determining the number of receive (Rx) chains for the UE to perform one or more positioning measurements, such as one or more time of arrival (TOA) measurements and / or one or more reference signal time difference (RSTD) measurements.

[0007] In some aspects, the UE is configured to report the number of Rx chains used to perform one or more positioning measurements via communications from the UE to an entity that uses the positioning measurements to calculate the UE's location or to perform downstream processing based on the UE's location determined by the positioning measurements. For example, the UE may report the number of Rx chains used to determine dilution of precision (DOP) or other metrics indicating the degree of uncertainty in the UE's location to a base station, location server, or other network entity. In some cases, the network entity reported by the UE is another UE.

[0008] In some respects, the UE is configured to determine the DOP or other metrics that indicate the degree of uncertainty in the UE's location. When using the UE's location, such as when updating a display to show the UE's current location, the UE may consider the DOP or other metrics. The UE can also reconfigure itself based on the value of the DOP or other metrics to receive additional reference signals or perform other actions.

[0009] In some aspects, the UE is configured to process PRS signals transmitted from different sources. PRS signals can be received during PRS timings that overlap at least partially in time, allowing for simultaneous reception. Therefore, the UE can perform parallel processing of PRS signals while maintaining a positioning session with the location server, LMF, or other network entities with which the UE communicates. During the positioning session, the UE can receive and process other signals not used for positioning. Such other signals may include, for example, voice or data signals transmitted to the UE via the serving cell. Typically, processing of such other signals is based on timing parameters associated with the serving or reference cell (e.g., symbol boundaries). However, PRS signal processing can be performed based on other timing parameters. For example, the UE can define a search window for decoding PRS from a TRP or other PRS source, where the search window is not aligned with any symbol boundaries of the serving / reference cell. Specifically, a separate search window can be defined for each TRP or PRS source, such that the search window is aligned with the actual reception time of the PRS from the TRP / source, thereby maximizing the signal-to-noise ratio of the PRS. Furthermore, processing PRS signals may involve assigning a separate set of Rx chains to each PRS signal. For example, a UE may include four Rx chains, using two Rx chains to decode PRS signals from a first TRP and the other two Rx chains to decode PRS signals from a second TRP. Simultaneous reception and processing of PRS signals can significantly reduce the amount of time spent calculating the UE's location (sometimes referred to as establishing azimuth determination). Attached Figure Description

[0010] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a positioning system according to an embodiment.

[0011] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of a fifth-generation (5G) new radio (NR) positioning system, illustrating a positioning system implemented within a 5G NR communication system (e.g., Figure 1 An example of a positioning system.

[0012] Figure 3 It can be reflected Figure 1 or Figure 2 A simplified block diagram of the positioning system.

[0013] Figure 4 This is a diagram showing an example of the frame structure of NR and related terminology.

[0014] Figure 5 This is a diagram showing an example of a sequence of radio frames with a Positioning Reference Signal (PRS) for positioning.

[0015] Figure 6 This is a simplified block diagram illustrating the receiving component of a UE according to an embodiment.

[0016] Figure 7 An example of a resource block style for the transmission of PRS signals is shown.

[0017] Figure 8 The polling method for PRS processing is shown.

[0018] Figure 9 A method for processing PRS signals according to an embodiment is shown.

[0019] Figure 10 This is a flowchart of a method for reporting positioning measurements according to an embodiment.

[0020] Figure 11 This is a flowchart of a method for performing positioning measurements using multiple Rx chains according to an embodiment.

[0021] Figure 12 This is a flowchart of a method for allocating an Rx chain according to an embodiment.

[0022] Figure 13 An embodiment of the UE that can be utilized in the embodiments described herein is shown.

[0023] According to certain example implementations, similar reference symbols in the various figures denote similar elements. Furthermore, multiple instances of an element can be indicated by appending a letter or hyphen after the first number of the element, followed by a second number. For example, multiple instances of element 110 can be indicated as 110-1, 110-2, 110-3, etc., or 110a, 110b, 110c, etc. When only the first number is used to refer to an element, it should be understood as any instance of the element (e.g., element 110 in the previous example would refer to elements 110-1, 110-2, and 110-3, or elements 110a, 110b, and 110c). Detailed Implementation

[0024] Several exemplary embodiments will now be described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which form part of this document. While one or more aspects of this disclosure are implemented in some embodiments as described below, other embodiments and various modifications may be used without departing from the scope of this disclosure.

[0025] As used herein, an "RF (radio frequency) signal" includes electromagnetic waves that transmit information through space between a transmitter (or transmitting device) and a receiver (or receiving device). 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 can be referred to as a "multipath" RF signal.

[0026] The RF signal received by the UE can be a reference signal that can be used to determine the UE's location, for example, a positioning measurement derived using a reference signal plus additional reference signals from multiple sources relative to different locations of the UE. Such a reference signal is also referred to herein as a "location signal". An embodiment in which the reference signal is a PRS signal (or simply "PRS") is described. However, the embodiments described herein can be applied to other types of reference signals that can be used to determine location, such as synchronization signal blocks (SSBs), tracking reference signals (TRSs), channel state information reference signals (CSI-RSs), and / or demodulation reference signals (DMRSs).

[0027] In some embodiments, multiple antenna elements may be used to receive a reference signal, each antenna element associated with a receive (Rx) chain. The UE may be equipped with multiple antenna elements and multiple Rx chains. Each Rx chain may include hardware and / or software components (e.g., processing pipelines including digital and / or analog circuitry) configured to perform signal processing on an Rx signal corresponding to a PRS or other reference signal received by a single antenna element. Alternatively, in some cases, an Rx chain may be configured to process a combined Rx signal corresponding to a PRS / reference signal received by a set of antenna elements. For example, two or more antenna elements may form a receive panel configured to receive a PRS from a specific source. Each antenna element in the plane may generate a separate Rx signal, which is combined with the Rx signals of other antenna elements in the plane to generate a combined Rx signal, which is then processed using an Rx chain associated with the plane. Thus, a UE that can be used to implement one or more embodiments described herein may include an Rx chain associated with a single antenna element, an Rx chain associated with a set of antenna elements, or both.

[0028] The embodiments described herein can be implemented using any positioning system, wherein the UE is communicatively coupled to one or more reference signal sources. Figure 1 Examples of positioning systems suitable for implementing one or more embodiments are shown. Figure 1 The positioning system described herein is provided as an example only and is used to illustrate how different entities interact with the UE when determining its location. In practice, positioning systems implemented according to the embodiments described herein may include more advanced technologies than [previous examples]. Figure 1 More or fewer components are shown.

[0029] Figure 1This is a simplified illustration of a positioning system 100 according to an embodiment, wherein a UE 105, a location server (LS) 160, and / or other components of the positioning system 100 can use the techniques provided herein to determine the estimated location of the UE 105. The techniques described herein can be implemented by one or more components of the positioning system 100. The positioning system 100 may include a UE 105, one or more satellites 110 (also referred to as spacecraft (SV)) for a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) (e.g., Global Positioning System (GPS)), a base station 120, an access point (AP) 130, an LS 160, a network 170, and an external client 180. Typically, the positioning system 100 can estimate the location of the UE 105 based on RF signals received by and / or transmitted from the UE 105 and the known locations of other components transmitting and / or receiving RF signals (e.g., GNSS satellite 110, base station 120, AP 130). The following is in conjunction with... Figure 2 Additional details regarding location estimation techniques are discussed.

[0030] It should be noted that, Figure 1 Only a general description of the various components is provided, wherein any or all of the components may be utilized as appropriate, and each component may be replicated as needed. Specifically, although only one UE105 is shown, it will be understood that many UEs (e.g., hundreds, thousands, millions, etc.) may utilize positioning system 100. Similarly, positioning system 100 may include more than Figure 1 The illustration shows a greater or lesser number of base stations 120 and / or APs 130. The illustrated connections of the various components in the positioning system 100 include data and signaling connections, which may include additional (intermediate) components, direct or indirect physical and / or wireless connections and / or additional networks. Furthermore, components may be rearranged, combined, separated, replaced, and / or omitted depending on desired functionality. In some embodiments, for example, an external client 180 may connect directly to the LS 160. Those skilled in the art will recognize numerous modifications to the illustrated components.

[0031] Depending on the required functionality, network 170 may include any of a variety of wireless and / or wired networks. For example, network 170 may include any combination of public and / or private networks, local area networks (LANs) and / or wide area networks (WANs), etc. Furthermore, network 170 may utilize one or more wired and / or wireless communication technologies. In some embodiments, network 170 may include, for example, cellular or other mobile networks, wireless local area networks (WLANs), wireless wide area networks (WWANs), and / or the Internet. Examples of network 170 include Long Term Evolution (LTE) wireless networks, fifth-generation (5G) wireless networks (also known as New Radio (NR) wireless networks or 5G NR wireless networks), Wi-Fi WLANs, and the Internet. LTE, 5G, and NR are wireless technologies defined or being defined by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). Network 170 may also include more than one network and / or more than one network type.

[0032] Base station 120 and access point (AP) 130 are communicatively coupled to network 170. In some embodiments, base station 120 may be owned, maintained, and / or operated by a cellular network provider and may employ any of a variety of wireless technologies, as described below. Depending on the technology of network 170, base station 120 may include a Node B, an evolved Node B (eNodeB or eNB), a Base Transceiver Station (BTS), a Radio Base Station (RBS), an NR Node B (gNB), a Next Generation eNB (ng-eNB), etc. Base station 120, as a gNB or ng-eNB, may be part of a Next Generation Radio Access Network (NG-RAN), which may connect to a 5G core network (5GC) if network 170 is a 5G network. For example, AP 130 may include a Wi-Fi AP or a Bluetooth® AP. Therefore, UE 105 can send and receive information with network-connected devices (e.g., LS 160) by accessing network 170 via base station 120 using a first communication link 133. Alternatively, since AP 130 can also be communicatively coupled to network 170, UE 105 can use the second communication link 135 to communicate with devices connected to the Internet, including LS 160.

[0033] As used herein, the term "base station" generally refers to a single physical transmission point or multiple physical transmission points located at the same location, which may be at base station 120. A physical transmission point may include the antenna array of the base station (e.g., in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system and / or where the base station employs beamforming). The term "base station" may also refer to multiple non-co-located physical transmission points, which may 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 head (RRH) (a remote base station connected to the serving base station). Alternatively, non-co-located physical transmission points may be the serving base station receiving measurement reports from UE 105 and neighboring base stations where UE 105 is measuring its reference RF signal.

[0034] As used herein, the term "cell" generally refers to a logical communication entity used to communicate with base station 120 and may be associated with an identifier (e.g., Physical Cell Identifier (PCID), Virtual Cell Identifier (VCID)) used to distinguish adjacent cells operating via the same or different carriers. In some examples, a carrier may support multiple cells and may be configured with different protocol types (e.g., Machine-Type Communication (MTC), Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), or others) that can provide access for different types of devices. In some cases, the term "cell" may refer to a portion of a geographic coverage area (e.g., a sector) on which a logical entity operates.

[0035] LS 160 may include a server and / or other computing devices configured to determine the estimated location of UE 105 and / or provide data (e.g., “auxiliary data”) to UE 105 to facilitate location determination. According to some embodiments, LS 160 may include a Home Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) location platform (H-SLP) that can support SUPL User Plane (UP) location solutions defined by the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) and can support location services for UE 105 based on subscription information of UE 105 stored in LS 160. In some embodiments, LS 160 may include a Discovered SLP (D-SLP) or an Emergency SLP (E-SLP). LS 160 may also include an Enhanced Serving Mobility Location Center (E-SMLC) that uses a Control Plane (CP) location solution for LTE radio access of UE 105 to support the location of UE 105. LS 160 may also include a Location Management Function (LMF) that supports the location of UE 105 using a Control Plane (CP) location solution for NR radio access for UE 105. In the CP location solution, signaling for controlling and managing the location of UE 105 can be exchanged between elements of network 170 and can be exchanged with UE 105 using existing network interfaces and protocols, and can be presented as signaling from the perspective of network 170. In the UP location solution, from the perspective of network 170, signaling for controlling and managing the location of UE 105 can be exchanged between LS 160 and UE 105 as data (e.g., data transmitted using Internet Protocol (IP) and / or Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)).

[0036] As previously described (and discussed in more detail below), the estimated location of UE 105 may be based on measurements of RF signals transmitted from and / or received by UE 105. Specifically, these measurements may provide information about the relative distance and / or angle between UE 105 and one or more components in positioning system 100 (e.g., GNSS satellite 110, AP 130, base station 120). The estimated location of UE 105 may be estimated geometrically (e.g., using multiple angles and / or multiple sides) based on distance and / or angle measurements and the known locations of one or more components.

[0037] While ground components such as AP 130 and base station 120 can be fixed, the embodiments are not limited to this. Mobile components can be used. Furthermore, in some embodiments, at least in part, the UE 105 is based on one or more other UEs (…). Figure 1The location of UE 105 is estimated by measuring the RF signals communicated between UEs (not shown in the diagram), which may be mobile. Direct communication between UEs in this manner may include sidelinks and / or similar device-to-device (D2D) communication technologies. Sidelinks are defined by 3GPP and are a form of D2D communication based on cellular LTE and NR standards.

[0038] The estimated location of UE 105 can be used in various applications—for example, to assist the user of UE 105 with direction finding or navigation, or to assist another user (e.g., a user associated with external client 180) in locating UE 105. "Location" is also referred to herein as "location estimate," "estimated location," "position," "location," "location estimation," "location orientation determination," "estimated location," "location orientation determination," or "orientation determination." The location of UE 105 can include the absolute location of UE 105 (e.g., latitude and longitude and possible altitude) or the relative location of UE 105 (e.g., a location expressed as a distance to north or south, east or west, and may be above or below some other known fixed location or some other location, such as the location of UE 105 at some known previous time). Location can also be specified as a geodetic location (latitude and longitude) or a city location (e.g., a street address or using other location-related names and labels). Location may also include indications of uncertainty or error, such as the horizontal and vertical distances where the location is expected to be in error, or an indication of the area or volume (e.g., a circle or ellipse) in which the UE 105 is expected to be located with a certain degree of confidence (e.g., 95% confidence).

[0039] External client 180 may be a web server or remote application that is associated with UE 105 in some way (e.g., accessible to users of UE 105), or it may be a server, application, or computer system that provides location services to one or more other users, which may include obtaining and providing the location of UE 105 (e.g., enabling services such as a friend or relative finder, asset tracking, or child or pet location). Alternatively or alternatively, external client 180 may obtain the location of UE 105 and provide it to emergency service providers, government agencies, etc.

[0040] As previously mentioned, the exemplary positioning system 100 can be implemented using a wireless communication network, such as an LTE or 5G NR-based network. Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a 5G NR positioning system 200 is shown, illustrating an embodiment of a positioning system (e.g., positioning system 100) implementing 5G NR. The 5G NR positioning system 200 can be configured to use access nodes 210, 214, 216 (which may correspond to...) Figure 1The 5G NR positioning system 200 includes a base station 120 and an access point 130, and (optionally) an LMF 220 (which may correspond to LS 160) to implement one or more positioning methods to determine the location of the UE 105. Here, the 5G NR positioning system 200 includes the UE 105, a 5G NR network including a next-generation (NG) radio access network (RAN) (NG-RAN) 235, and a 5G core network (5G CN) 240. The 5G network may also be referred to as an NR network; the NG-RAN 235 may be referred to as a 5G RAN or NR RAN; and the 5G CN 240 may be referred to as an NG core network. Standardization of NG-RAN and 5G CN is underway in 3GPP. Therefore, NG-RAN 235 and 5G CN 240 may conform to current or future standards supported by 3GPP 5G. The 5G NR positioning system 200 may further utilize information from GNSS satellites 110 of a GNSS system such as Global Positioning System (GPS) or similar systems. Additional components of the 5G NR positioning system 200 are described below. The 5G NR positioning system 200 may include additional or alternative components.

[0041] It should be noted that, Figure 2 Only a general description of the various components is provided, and any one or all of these components may be utilized as appropriate, and each component may be copied or omitted as needed. Specifically, although only one UE 105 is shown, it is understood that many UEs (e.g., hundreds, thousands, millions, etc.) may utilize the 5G NR positioning system 200. Similarly, the 5G NR positioning system 200 may include more (or fewer) numbers of GNSS satellites 110, gNB 210, ng-eNB 214, wireless local area network (WLAN) 216, access and mobility function (AMF) 215, external clients 230, and / or other components. The illustrated connections connecting the various components in the 5G NR positioning system 200 include data and signaling connections, which may include additional (intermediate) components, direct or indirect physical and / or wireless connections, and / or additional networks. Furthermore, components may be rearranged, combined, separated, replaced, and / or omitted depending on the desired functionality.

[0042] UE 105 may include and / or be referred to as a device, mobile device, wireless device, mobile terminal, terminal, mobile station (MS), Secure User Plane Location Enabled (SUPL) terminal (SET), or other names. Furthermore, UE 105 may correspond to a cellular phone, smartphone, laptop, tablet, personal data assistant (PDA), Internet of Things (IoT) device, or some other portable or mobile device. Typically, although not always, UE 105 may support wireless communication using one or more Radio Access Technologies (RATs), such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), Long Term Evolution (LTE), High Speed ​​Packet Data (HRPD), IEEE 802.11 Wi-Fi®, Bluetooth, Global Microwave Access Interoperability (WiMAX)™, 5G NR (e.g., using NG-RAN 235 and 5G CN 240), etc. UE 105 may also support wireless communication using WLAN 216, which is similar to one or more RATs and as previously discussed... Figure 1 The RAT (as described) can connect to other networks, such as the Internet. The use of one or more of these RATs allows the UE 105 to communicate with an external client 230 (e.g., via...). Figure 2 The 5G CN 240, not shown in the diagram, may be connected via a Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) 225, and / or allow an external client 230 to receive location information about the UE 105 (e.g., via GMLC 225).

[0043] UE 105 may include a single entity or multiple entities, such as in a personal area network, where the user may use audio, video, and / or data I / O devices and / or body sensors, as well as separate wired or wireless modems. The location estimate of UE 105 may be referred to as location, location estimate, location orientation determination, orientation determination, positioning, location estimation, or location orientation determination, and may be geodetic, providing location coordinates (e.g., latitude and longitude) for UE 105, which may or may not include an altitude component (e.g., altitude above sea level, altitude above ground level, or depth below ground level, floor plan, or basement plan). Alternatively, the location of UE 105 may be represented as a city location (e.g., a postal address or a designation of a point or small area within a building, such as a specific room or floor). The location of UE 105 may also be represented as an area or volume (defined geodeticly or in urban form), where UE 105 is expected to be located with some probability or confidence level (e.g., 67%, 95%, etc.). The location of UE 105 can also be a relative location, which includes, for example, distance and direction defined relative to an origin at a known location, or relative X, Y (and Z) coordinates, defined by geodetic surveying, urban terminology or reference maps, floor plans or building plans indicating points, areas or volumes. In the description contained herein, unless otherwise stated, the use of the term location can include any of these variations. When calculating the location of the UE, it is typically necessary to solve for local X, Y, and possibly Z coordinates, and then, if necessary, convert the local coordinates to absolute coordinates (e.g., for latitude, longitude, and altitude above or below mean sea level).

[0044] Figure 2 The base station shown in NG-RAN 235 can correspond to Figure 1 The base station 120 in the NG-RAN 235 includes a transmit / receive point (TRP) and may include NR node Bs (gNBs) 210-1 and 210-2 (collectively referred to herein as gNB 210) and / or the antennas of the gNBs. Pairs of gNBs 210 in the NG-RAN 235 may be connected to each other (e.g., as shown in the image). Figure 2 (As shown, a direct connection or an indirect connection via another gNB 210). Access to the 5G network is provided to UE 105 via wireless communication between UE 105 and one or more gNBs 210, which can use 5G NR to provide wireless communication access to the 5G CN 240 on behalf of UE 105. 5G NR radio access may also be referred to as NR radio access, or simply 5G radio access. Figure 2In this context, the serving gNB for UE 105 is assumed to be gNB 210-1, although if UE 105 moves to another location, other gNBs (such as gNB 210-2) may act as serving gNBs or as auxiliary gNBs to provide additional throughput and bandwidth to UE 105.

[0045] Figure 2 The base stations in the NG-RAN 235 shown may also, or alternatively, include Next Generation Evolved Node Bs, also known as ng-eNBs, 214. Ng-eNB 214 may connect to one or more gNBs 210 in the Ng-RAN 235 – for example, directly or indirectly via other gNBs 210 and / or other ng-eNBs. ng-eNB 214 may provide LTE radio access and / or evolved LTE (eLTE) radio access to UE 105. Figure 2 Some gNB 210s (e.g., gNB 210-2) and / or ng-eNB 214s can be configured to act as positioning-only beacons, which can transmit signals (e.g., positioning reference signals (PRS)) and / or broadcast auxiliary data to assist the positioning of UE 105, but may not receive signals from UE 105 or other UEs. Note that although Figure 2 Only one ng-eNB 214 is shown, but some embodiments may include multiple ng-eNB 214s.

[0046] The 5G NR positioning system 200 may also include one or more WLANs 216, which can connect to a non-3GPP InterWorking (N3IWF) 250 in the 5G CN 240 (e.g., in the case of an untrusted WLAN 216). For example, the WLAN 216 may support IEEE 802.11 Wi-Fi access for UE 105 and may include one or more Wi-Fi APs (e.g., Figure 1(AP 130). Here, N3IWF 250 can connect to other components in 5G CN 240, such as AMF215. In some embodiments, WLAN 216 can support another RAT, such as Bluetooth. N3IWF 250 can support secure access by UE 105 to other components in 5G CN 240, and / or can support the interaction of one or more protocols used by WLAN 216 and UE 105 with one or more protocols used by other components in 5G CN 240 (e.g., AMF 215). For example, N3IWF 250 can support establishing an IPSec tunnel with UE 105, terminating the IKEv2 / IPSec protocol with UE 105, terminating the N2 and N3 interfaces of 5G CN 240 with the control plane and user plane respectively, and relaying uplink and downlink control plane non-access stratum (NAS) signaling between UE 105 and AMF 215 through the N1 interface. In some other embodiments, WLAN 216 can be directly connected to components in 5G CN 240 (e.g., such as...). Figure 2 The AMF 215 shown is used instead of connecting via the N3IWF 250—for example, if WLAN 216 is a trusted WLAN of 5G CN 240. Note that, although Figure 2 Only one WLAN 216 is shown, but some embodiments may include multiple WLANs 216.

[0047] The access node may include any of a variety of network entities capable of communicating between UE 105 and AMF 215. This may include gNB 210, ng-eNB 214, WLAN 216, and / or other types of cellular base stations. However, the access node providing the functionality described herein may additionally or alternatively include entities capable of communicating with... Figure 2 The entity communicating with any of the various RATs not shown may include non-cellular technologies. Therefore, the term "access node" as used in the embodiments described below may include, but is not limited to, gNB 210, ng-eNB 214, or WLAN 216.

[0048] In some embodiments, an access node such as gNB 210, ng-eNB 214, or WLAN 216 (alone or in combination with other components of the 5G NR positioning system 200) may be configured to, in response to a request for location information of a plurality of RATs received from LMF 220, perform measurements on one of the plurality of RATs (e.g., measurements on UE 105) and / or obtain measurements from UE 105, these measurements being transmitted to the access node using one or more of the plurality of RATs. As described above, although Figure 2Access nodes 210, 214, and 216 are depicted, respectively configured to communicate according to 5G NR, LTE, and Wi-Fi communication protocols. However, access nodes configured to communicate according to other communication protocols can be used, such as a node B using the WCDMA protocol for the Universal Mobile Telecommunications Service (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN), an eNB using the LTE protocol for the Evolved UTRAN (E-UTRAN), or a Bluetooth® beacon using the Bluetooth protocol for WLAN. For example, in a 4G Evolved Packet System (EPS) providing LTE radio access to UE 105, the RAN may include an E-UTRAN, which may include base stations including eNBs supporting LTE radio access. The core network for the EPS may include an Evolved Packet Core (EPC). The EPS may then include the E-UTRAN plus the EPC, where the E-UTRAN corresponds to... Figure 2 In NG-RAN 235, EPC corresponds to Figure 2 The 5G CN 240 described herein. The methods and techniques for UE 105 positioning using public or general positioning procedures are applicable to other networks of this type.

[0049] The gNB 210 and ng-eNB 214 can communicate with the AMF 215, which is used for positioning functions, and communicate with the LMF 220. The AMF 215 supports the mobility of UE 105, including cell changes and handovers from access nodes 210, 214, or 216 of the first RAT to access nodes 210, 214, or 216 of the second RAT. The AMF 215 can also participate in supporting signaling connections to UE 105 and may support data and voice bearers for UE 105. When UE 105 accesses NG-RAN 235 or WLAN 216, LMF 220 can support UE 105's positioning and can support positioning procedures and methods, including UE-assisted / UE-based and / or network-based procedures / methods, such as Assisted GNSS (A-GNSS), Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA), Real-Time Kinematics (RTK), Precise Point Positioning (PPP), Differential Global Navigation Satellite System (DGNSS), ECID, Angle of Arrival (AOA), Angle of Deviation (AOD), WLAN positioning, and / or other positioning procedures and methods. LMF 220 can also process location service requests for UE 105 received, for example, from AMF 215 or GMLC 225. LMF 220 can connect to AMF 215 and / or GMLC 225. LMF 220 may be referred to by other names, such as Location Manager (LM), Location Function (LF), Commercial LMF (CLMF), or Value-Added LMF (VLMF). In some embodiments, nodes / systems implementing LMF 220 may additionally or alternatively implement other types of location support modules, such as evolved Serving Mobility Location Center (E-SMLC) or Serving Location Protocol (SLP). Note that in some embodiments, at least some of the positioning functions (including determining the location of the UE) may be performed at UE 105 (e.g., by processing downlink PRS (DL-PRS) signals transmitted by radio nodes such as gNB 210, ng-eNB 214 and / or WLAN 216, and / or using auxiliary data provided to UE 105, for example, by LMF 220).

[0050] Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) 225 can support location requests for UE 105 received from external client 230 and can forward such location requests to AMF 215, which in turn forwards them to LMF 220, or can forward the location requests directly to LMF 220. Location responses from LMF 220 (e.g., containing location estimates for UE 105) can similarly be returned to GMLC 225, either directly or via AMF 215, and then GMLC 225 can return the location response (e.g., containing location estimates) to external client 230. Figure 2 The image shows the GMLC 225 connected to the AMF 215 and LMF220, although in some implementations the 5G CN 240 may only support one of the connections.

[0051] like Figure 2 As further shown, the LMF 220 can communicate with the gNB 210 and / or the ng-eNB 214 using the LPPa protocol (also known as NRPPa or NPPa). The LPPa protocol in NR can be the same as, similar to, or extended from the LPPa protocol in LTE (related to the LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP)), where LPPa messages are transmitted via the AMF 215 between the gNB 210 and the LMF 220 and / or between the ng-eNB 214 and the LMF 220. Figure 2 As further shown, LMF 220 and UE 105 can communicate using the LPP protocol. LMF 220 and UE 105 can also, or alternatively, communicate using the LPP protocol (which in NR may also be referred to as NRPP or NPP). Here, LPP messages can be transmitted between UE 105 and LMF 220 via AMF 215 and the serving gNB 210-1 or serving ng-eNB 214 for UE 105. For example, LPP and / or LPP messages can be transmitted between LMF 220 and AMF 215 using messages for service-based operations (e.g., based on Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)), and can be transmitted between AMF 215 and UE 105 using the 5G NAS protocol. LPP and / or LPP protocols can be used to support the location of UE 105 using UE-assisted and / or UE-based positioning methods (e.g., A-GNSS, RTK, OTDOA, and / or Enhanced Cell ID (ECID)). The LPPa protocol can be used to support the positioning of UE 105 using network-based positioning methods such as ECID (e.g., when used with measurements obtained from gNB 210 or ng-eNB 214), and / or can be used by LMF 220 to obtain location-related information from gNB 210 and / or ng-eNB 214, for example, defining parameters of DL-PRS transmissions from gNB 210 and / or ng-eNB 214.

[0052] When UE 105 accesses WLAN 216, LMF 220 can use LPPa and / or LPP to obtain the location of UE 105, similar to the method described above for UE 105 accessing gNB 210 or ng-eNB 214. Therefore, LPPa messages can be transmitted between WLAN 216 and LMF 220 via AMF 215 and N3IWF 250 to support network-based positioning of UE 105 and / or transmission of other location information from WLAN 216 to LMF 220. Alternatively, LPPa messages can be transmitted between N3IWF 250 and LMF 220 via AMF 215 to support network-based positioning of UE 105 based on location-related information and / or location measurements known or accessible to N3IWF 250, and transmitted from N3IWF 250 to LMF 220 using LPPa. Similarly, LPP and / or LPP messages can be transmitted between UE 105 and LMF 220 via AMF 215 and N3IWF 250, and WLAN 216 can be used for UE 105 to support UE-assisted or UE-based positioning of UE 105 by LMF 220.

[0053] Using a UE-assisted positioning method, UE 105 can obtain positioning measurements and send them to a location server (e.g., LMF 220) to calculate a location estimate for UE 105. For example, positioning measurements may include one or more Received Signal Strength Indications (RSSI), Round-Trip Time (RTT), Reference Received Power (RSRP), Reference Received Quality (RSRQ), Time of Arrival (TOA), Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD), AOA, Differential AOA (DAOA), AOD, or Timing Advance (TA) for one or more access points such as gNB 210, ng-eNB 214, and / or WLAN 216. Positioning measurements may also, or alternatively, include measurements from positioning methods independent of RAT, such as GNSS (e.g., GNSS pseudorange, GNSS code phase, and / or GNSS carrier phase of GNSS satellite 110), WLAN, etc.

[0054] Using a UE-based positioning method, UE 105 can obtain positioning measurements (e.g., which may be the same as or similar to positioning measurements from a UE-assisted positioning method) and can further calculate the location of UE 105 (e.g., using auxiliary data received from a location server such as LMF 220 or auxiliary data broadcast by gNB 210, ng-eNB 214, or WLAN 216). Furthermore, in some cases, the UE-based positioning method may involve sidelink communication with another UE.

[0055] Using a network-based positioning method, one or more base stations (e.g., gNB 210 and / or ng-eNB 214), one or more APs (e.g., in WLAN 216), or N3IWF 250 can obtain positioning measurements (e.g., RSSI, RTT, RSRP, RSRQ, AOA, or TOA) of signals transmitted by UE 105, and / or can receive measurements obtained by UE 105 or by APs in WLAN 216 in the case of N3IWF 250, and can send the measurements to a location server (e.g., LMF 220) to calculate the location estimate of UE 105.

[0056] In the 5G NR positioning system 200, some positioning measurements (e.g., AOA, AOD, TOA) performed by UE 105 can use RF reference signals received from base stations 210 and 214. These signals may include PRS signals, which can be used, for example, to perform positioning based on OTDOA, AOD, and RTT for UE 105. Other reference signals that can be used for positioning may include cell-specific reference signals (CRS), channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS), synchronization signals, etc. In addition, signals may be transmitted in the transmit (Tx) beam (e.g., using beamforming techniques), which can affect angle measurements, such as AOD.

[0057] Figure 3 This is a simplified block diagram of the positioning system 300, which can demonstrate... Figure 1 Positioning system 100 or Figure 2 The positioning system 200. For example... Figure 3 As shown, UE 305 can access wireless network 370 via communication link 335 that couples UE 305 to base station 320-1. Wireless network 370 may correspond to, for example... Figure 1 Network 170 or Figure 2 WLAN 216 in. Figure 3In the example, base station 320-1 is associated with the serving cell, and communication link 335 represents a connection to the serving cell. UE 305 can establish different types of sessions with any number of entities. For example, UE 305 can establish a session with the serving cell to access cellular voice and / or data services. The session between UE 305 and the serving cell can be initiated by the serving cell or UE 305, and in some cases, may have already been transferred as a result of a handover process from a previous serving cell. UE 305 can also establish sessions with entities related to location services, such as location sessions. For example, UE 305 can periodically establish LTE Location Protocol (LPP) sessions with location server 360. During an LPP session, UE 305 can transmit PRS-based measurements to location server 360 so that location server 360 can use these measurements to calculate the location of UE 305. Location server 360 can then transmit the calculated location to UE 305 and / or perform actions based on the calculated location.

[0058] like Figure 3 As shown, UE 305 can also wirelessly communicate with other base stations 320 (e.g., base stations 320-2 and 320-3). These additional base stations 320 can be associated with neighboring cells covering different geographical areas. Therefore, base stations 320-2 and 320-3 can be located away from the serving cell associated with base station 320-1. In some cases, multiple base stations that are not in the same location can be associated with the same cell. However, for the sake of illustration, it can be assumed that... Figure 3 Each base station 320 is located in a different location and is associated with a different cell.

[0059] UE 305 can receive one or more wireless positioning signals 350 from each base station 320. For example, the wireless positioning signal 350 may include a DL-PRS signal broadcast by base station 320 or transmitted by base station 320 at the request of UE 305. Base stations 320-1, 320-2, and 320-3 may each transmit their own wireless positioning signals 350-1, 350-2, and 350-3, respectively. In some embodiments, for example... Figure 2 In some embodiments, each of base stations 320-1, 320-2, and 320-3 may correspond to a separate TRP. Base station 320 may use specific time or frequency resources to transmit its radio positioning signal so as not to interfere with radio positioning signals from other base stations 320. In some embodiments, the radio positioning signal 350 is time- and / or frequency-multiplexed. Although in Figure 3 Not shown, but the wireless positioning signal may optionally include uplink signals transmitted from UE 305 to one or more base stations 320.

[0060] UE 305 can be configured to perform positioning measurements using radio positioning signals 350 to support the location determination process. For example, UE 305 can use a local clock to capture the TOA of each radio positioning signal 350, measure the RSTD of the radio positioning signal 350, and / or perform other types of positioning measurements according to the positioning method used in the location determination process. The following is a non-exhaustive list of positioning measurements based on downlink or uplink reference signals and the corresponding positioning methods supported by these measurements:

[0061] -DL-RSTD: Supports DL-TDOA;

[0062] -DL-PRS RSRP (Reference Signal Received Power): Supports DL-TDOA, DL-AoD (Offset Angle), and multiple RTT (Multiple Round Trip Time).

[0063] -UE Rx Tx time difference: Supports multiple RTTs; and

[0064] -SS-RSRP (Synchronization Signal RSRP), SS-RSRQ (Synchronization Signal Reference Receive Quality), CSI-RSRP (Channel State Information RSRP), and CSI-RSRQ: Each supports E-CID (Enhanced Cell ID).

[0065] As previously mentioned, UE-based positioning and / or network-based positioning can be supported. Therefore, UE 305 can process positioning measurements obtained by UE 305 to locally calculate the UE's location. Alternatively, the positioning measurements can be transmitted to another device configured to calculate the UE's location based on the positioning measurements. For example, in some implementations, location server 360 calculates the UE's location based on positioning measurements obtained by UE 305 from wireless positioning signal 350. In a 5G implementation, location server 360 may correspond to, for example... Figure 2 The LMF 220 is used in the LMF. In addition, the location server 360 can be integrated into the base station (e.g., gNB 210-1, gNB 210-2, ng-eNB 214) or a standalone server.

[0066] In addition to receiving the wireless positioning signal 350, the UE 305 can also send and / or receive other types of signals, such as synchronization signals or signals carrying voice or data. For example, the UE 305 can use the communication link 335 to make a telephone call or download a webpage while performing positioning measurements based on the wireless positioning signal 350. Generally, radio frames (e.g., such as...) can be used. Figure 4 The radio frame (as shown) is used to transmit the wireless positioning signal 350 and other signals transmitted between the UE 305 and the base station 320.

[0067] Figure 4 This is a diagram illustrating an example of the NR frame structure 400 and associated terminology, which can serve as a communication method between the UE and the base station (e.g., Figure 3 This forms the basis for physical layer communication between UE 305 and base station 320. The transmission timeline for each of the downlink and uplink communications can be divided into units of radio frames. Each radio frame can have a predetermined duration (e.g., 10 ms) and can be divided into 10 subframes, each 1 ms long, indexed from 0 to 9. Each subframe can include a variable number of time slots depending on the subcarrier spacing. Each time slot can include a variable number of symbol periods (e.g., 7 or 14 symbols) depending on the subcarrier spacing. The symbol periods within each time slot can be assigned an index. Mini-time slots can include sub-time slot structures (e.g., 2, 3, or 4 symbols). Figure 4 The diagram also shows the complete orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) of a subframe, illustrating how a subframe is divided into multiple resource blocks (RBs) in both time and frequency. A single RB can comprise a grid of resource elements (REs) spanning 14 symbols and 12 subcarriers.

[0068] Each symbol in a time slot can indicate link direction (e.g., downlink (DL), uplink (UL), or flexible) or data transmission, and the link direction can be dynamically switched for each subframe. The link direction may be based on the time slot format. Each time slot can include DL / UL data and DL / UL control information. In NR, synchronization signal (SS) blocks are transmitted. SS blocks include the primary SS (PSS), secondary SS (SSS), and a two-symbol physical broadcast channel (PBCH). SS blocks can be transmitted in fixed time slot locations, such as... Figure 4 The symbols shown are 0-3. PSS and SSS can be used by the UE for cell search and acquisition. PSS can provide half-frame timing, and SS can provide cyclic prefix (CP) length and frame timing. PSS and SSS can provide cell identification. PBCH carries some basic system information, such as downlink system bandwidth, timing information within radio frames, SS burst set period, system frame number, etc.

[0069] Figure 5This is a diagram illustrating an example of a radio frame sequence 500 with a PRS positioning timing. A “PRS instance” or “PRS timing” is an instance of a periodically repeating time window (e.g., a set of one or more consecutive time slots) in which a PRS is expected to be transmitted. 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.” The subframe sequence 500 can be used to broadcast PRS signals (DL-PRS signals) from base station 120 in positioning system 100 or base station 320 in positioning system 300. The radio frame sequence 500 can be used in 5G NR (e.g., in 5G NR positioning system 200) and / or LTE. Figure 4 Similarly, time is Figure 5 Time is represented horizontally (e.g., on the X-axis), increasing from left to right. Frequency is represented vertically (e.g., on the Y-axis), increasing (or decreasing) from bottom to top.

[0070] Figure 5 This demonstrates how PRS timings 510-1, 510-2, and 510-3 (collectively referred to as positioning timing 510 in this document) are determined by the system frame number (SFN), cell-specific subframe offset (ΔF), and so on. PRS )515 and PRS periodicity (T PRS )520 is determined. Cell-specific PRS subframe configurations can be determined by the "PRS Configuration Index" (I PRS The "PRS Configuration Index" is defined and included in auxiliary data (e.g., OTDOA auxiliary data), which may be defined by the 3GPP management standards. Cell-specific subframe offset (Δ) PRS )515 can be defined based on the number of subframes sent from system frame number (SFN) 0 to the start of the first (subsequent) PRS positioning timing.

[0071] After proper configuration (e.g., via an operation and maintenance (O&M) server), the PRS can be transmitted by a wireless node (e.g., base station 120). The PRS can be transmitted in specific positioning subframes or time slots grouped into positioning timing 510. For example, PRS positioning timing 510-1 may include a number N of consecutive positioning subframes. PRS The quantity N PRS The value can be between 1 and 160 (e.g., it can include values ​​1, 2, 4, and 6, as well as other values). PRS timing 510 can be grouped into one or more PRS timing groups. As described above, PRS timing 510 can be spaced in a number T, which is a number of milliseconds (or subframes). PRS The intervals represented occur periodically, where T PRSIt can be equal to 5, 10, 20, 40, 80, 160, 320, 640, or 1280 (or any other suitable value). In some respects, T can be measured based on the number of subframes between the start of consecutive positioning moments. PRS .

[0072] In some aspects, when the UE receives PRS configuration index I in the auxiliary data of a specific cell (e.g., base station) PRS At that time, the UE can use the stored index data to determine the PRS periodicity T. PRS 520 and cell-specific subframe offset (Δ) PRS 515. Then, when scheduling PRS in the cell, the UE can determine the radio frame, subframe, and time slot. Auxiliary data can be provided by, for example, a location server (e.g., Figure 1 LS 160 and / or Figure 2 The LMF 220 in the data is determined and includes auxiliary data for the reference cell and multiple neighboring cells supported by various radio nodes.

[0073] Typically, PRS timings from all cells in a network using the same frequency are time-aligned, and can have a fixed, known time offset relative to other cells in a network using different frequencies (e.g., cell-specific subframe offset (Δ)). PRS (515). In an SFN synchronous network, all radio nodes (e.g., base station 120) can be aligned on frame boundaries and system frame numbers. Therefore, in an SFN synchronous network, all cells supported by various radio nodes can use the same PRS configuration index for PRS transmissions at any specific frequency. On the other hand, in an SFN asynchronous network, various radio nodes can be aligned on frame boundaries but not on system frame numbers. Therefore, in an SFN asynchronous network, the PRS configuration index for each cell can be configured individually by the network so that PRS timings are time-aligned. If UE 105 can obtain the cell timing (e.g., SFN or frame number) of at least one cell (e.g., reference cell or serving cell), UE 105 can determine the timing of the PRS timings 510 of the reference cell and neighboring cells for OTDOA positioning. The timings of other cells can then be derived by UE 105 based on, for example, the assumption of overlapping PRS timings from different cells.

[0074] exist Figure 2In the illustrated 5G NR positioning system 200, the TRP (e.g., gNB 210, ng-eNB 214, WLAN 216) can transmit frames or other physical layer signaling sequences to support PRS signals (i.e., DL-PRS) configured according to the frames described above. These frames or physical signaling sequences can be measured and used for location determination of UE 105. As mentioned above, other types of wireless network nodes, including other UEs, can also be configured to transmit PRS signals configured in a similar (or identical) manner as described above. Because the transmission of PRS by a wireless network node can be directed to all UEs within radio range, the wireless network node can be considered to be transmitting (or broadcasting) PRS.

[0075] In some aspects, OTDOA auxiliary data is provided to the UE by a location server (e.g., LS 160) for a “reference cell” (also referred to as a “reference resource”), and one or more “neighboring cells” or “nearby cells” (also referred to as “target cells” or “target resources”) relative to the reference cell. For example, the auxiliary data may provide the center channel frequency of each cell, various PRS configuration parameters (e.g., N... PRS T PRS The PRS includes silence sequence, frequency hopping sequence, PRS ID, PRS bandwidth, cell global ID, PRS signal characteristics associated with directional PRS, and / or other cell-related parameters applicable to OTDOA or certain other positioning methods. UE 105 can facilitate PRS-based positioning by indicating the serving cell of UE 105 in the OTDOA auxiliary data (e.g., indicating the reference cell as the serving cell).

[0076] In some aspects, OTDOA auxiliary data may also include an "Expected Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD)" parameter and the uncertainty of the expected RSTD parameter. The RSTD parameter provides the UE with information about the RSTD value that the UE is expected to measure at its current location between the reference cell and each neighboring cell. The expected RSTD and the associated uncertainty define a search window for the UE within which the UE is expected to measure RSTD values. OTDOA auxiliary information may also include PRS configuration information parameters, which allow the UE to determine the PRS positioning timing relative to the reference cell, when the PRS positioning timing occurs based on signals received from various neighboring cells, and the PRS sequences transmitted from various cells in order to measure the signal ToA or RSTD.

[0077] The UE location can be calculated (e.g., by UE 105 or LS 160) using RSTD measurements, known absolute or relative transmission timing for each cell, and the known locations of the physical transmit antennas(s) of the radio nodes in the reference cell and neighboring cells. More specifically, the RSTD of the neighboring cell "k" relative to the reference cell "Ref" can be given as (ToA) k –ToA Ref The ToA value can be measured in modulo a subframe duration (1 ms) to eliminate the influence of measuring different subframes at different times. The ToA measurements for different cells can then be converted to RSTD measurements and sent by UE 105 to location server 101. Using (i) RSTD measurements, (ii) the known absolute or relative transmission timing of each cell, (iii) the known locations of the physical transmission antennas of the reference cell and neighboring cells, and / or (iv) directional PRS characteristics such as transmission direction, the UE location can be determined.

[0078] Figure 6 This is a simplified block diagram illustrating the receiving components of a UE 600 according to an embodiment. The UE 600 includes multiple Rx chains 610-1, 610-2, and 610-3. Although only three Rx chains are shown, the UE can have more or fewer Rx chains, for example, four, eight, or more. When multiple Rx chains are available, they can be used for MIMO communication. Another use of multiple Rx chains is to increase signal diversity by receiving and processing the same signal through different Rx chains, thereby achieving signal gain through diversity (e.g., spatial diversity, temporal diversity, or other forms of diversity). Spatial diversity can be achieved when signals are transmitted and received along different propagation paths, such as in multipath propagation scenarios. When signals propagate along different paths, spaced-out antennas can be used to receive and decode signals. The results of decoding signals using multiple antennas can be combined to improve signal reception. Time diversity may involve multiple instances of transmitting the same signal at different times, which helps mitigate time-varying signal fading due to changes in environmental conditions, such as when the UE moves relative to the signal source, when there are obstacles, or when there is intermittent interference. As described below, multiple Rx chains can also be used to reduce processing time and improve the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) when determining the UE's location based on DL-PRS or other types of reference signals.

[0079] Typically, an Rx chain includes processing components configured to perform signal processing on Rx signals (e.g., Rx signal 614) from one or more antennas. Figure 6In the example, processing components are arranged within a processing pipeline. For example, each Rx chain 610 may include an antenna 612 and a processing pipeline 620 associated with the antenna 612. The antennas 612 may together form an antenna array and, in some cases, may also be used for transmission purposes. The processing pipeline 620 may include hardware and / or software components configured to perform signal processing on an Rx signal corresponding to a reference signal (e.g., PRS) received by the antenna associated with the Rx chain. For example, each processing pipeline 620 may include an analog-to-digital converter configured to convert an analog Rx signal (e.g., Rx signal 614) into a digital signal and demodulation circuitry configured to recover the baseband signal by demodulating the Rx signal using a reference carrier signal. Typically, processing within a processing pipeline involves a series of operations performed sequentially or in stages (e.g., analog-to-digital conversion followed by demodulation, as described above). In some cases, processing within an Rx chain may involve operations performed in parallel, e.g., some stages may overlap.

[0080] exist Figure 6 In the example, each Rx chain is associated with a separate antenna. Therefore, the antenna associated with an Rx chain can be considered as part of the Rx chain itself, such as... Figure 6 As shown. However, this is not always the case. For example, in some embodiments, the UE may include two or more planes, each including two or more receive antennas, whose respective Rx signals are combined (e.g., using a summation operation in the analog domain) into a combined Rx signal for processing via an Rx chain associated with the plane. The combined Rx signal may be generated to be input to the Rx chain or generated as part of signal processing performed by the Rx chain. For example, the Rx chain may include analog summation circuitry and other signal processing components such as analog-to-digital converters, components for converting the Rx signal or the combined Rx signal into a baseband signal, etc.

[0081] Furthermore, each processing pipeline 620 may include one or more processing units (e.g., a general-purpose processor or a digital signal processor (DSP)) configured to decode received signals (e.g., a single Rx signal or a combination of Rx signals) or signals derived therefrom (e.g., a baseband signal) by applying a search window. As discussed above in the context of RSTD measurement, the search window can be defined as the window in which the UE is expected to measure RSTD values, based on the expected RSTD parameters and the uncertainty of the expected RSTD parameters. More generally, the search window can be any window in which the UE is expected to perform measurements using received reference signals. Therefore, it can be understood that the search window is not limited to RSTD, but may alternatively correspond to the time period in which one or more Rx chains are expected to be used to process PRS or other reference signals.

[0082] In some embodiments, the search window is a time period during which one or more processing units in the Rx chain apply a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) to samples of the reference signal being decoded. Therefore, depending on some aspects, the search window can be an FFT window. For example, if the reference signal is transmitted using OFDM, after the reference signal has been down-converted from its RF carrier frequency to the baseband frequency, it can be time-sampled and then converted to the frequency domain by applying an FFT. The result of the FFT can be used to identify the center frequencies of the individual subcarriers and to recover the original data stream corresponding to the reference signal.

[0083] Measurement engine 630 is configured to generate one or more measurements 650 based on the output of processing pipeline 620. For example, measurement engine 630 may include one or more processors configured to calculate TOA or RSTD values ​​based on the reception time (e.g., according to the UE's local clock). For example, to measure TOA, measurement engine 630 may reconstruct a PRS signal sequence based on an FFT result obtained for a PRS timing, where the PRS timing includes multiple subframes, multiple time slots per subframe, and multiple symbols per time slot. After reconstructing the PRS signal sequence, measurement engine 630 may perform a correlation operation by multiplying the reconstructed PRS signal sequence by the complex conjugate of a reference PRS signal sequence associated with the cell ID from which the PRS signal was transmitted, thereby generating a series of correlation values. TOA may be determined based on the timing of the peak in the correlation values. RSTD may be calculated as the difference between the TOA of the PRS signal from the reference cell / base station and the TOA of the PRS signal from a neighboring cell / base station. Measurement engine 630 may perform similar measurements for other types of reference signals. The (multiple) measurements 650 may include measurements from multiple reference signals of the same type (e.g., a set of measurements 650 derived from two or more PRS signals). Furthermore, in some embodiments, the measurement engine 630 may be configured to generate a set of measurements 650 from multiple types of reference signals (e.g., PRS in a combination of TRS or DMRS) to determine the location of the UE 600. In some embodiments, one or more measurements (e.g., positioning measurements involving only one reference signal) may be performed locally within the Rx chain 610 and sent from the Rx chain to the measurement engine 630.

[0084] The measurement engine 630 and / or Rx chain 610 can also perform other types of positioning measurements, such as those combined with the above. Figure 3The described signal power and / or signal quality measurements. In some embodiments, measurement engine 630 and / or Rx chain 610 may be configured to perform any combination (e.g., two or more) of the following: TOA measurement, RSTD measurement, RSRP measurement, quality metrics (e.g., signal-to-interference-and-noise ratio (SINR) or RSSI), receive-to-transmit (Rx-Tx) measurements (e.g., time difference between transmitted PRS and received PRS), angle measurements (e.g., AOA or AOD), velocity measurements, Doppler measurements, etc. When performing UE-based positioning, measurements 650 generated by measurement engine 630 may be input to a UE-local positioning engine (not depicted). The positioning engine may include hardware and / or software configured to calculate the UE's position based on one or more positioning methods (e.g., DL-TDOA, DL-AoD, multiple RTT, etc.). The positioning engine may be implemented using one or more processors, which in some implementations may be shared with components of measurement engine 630 and / or the UE. When performing network-based positioning, the UE can send the measurement 650 generated by the measurement engine 630 to the location server, for example... Figure 3 Location server in 360 or Figure 2 The LMF 220 in the model. Therefore, the positioning engine can be local to the location server rather than local to the UE.

[0085] Depending on environmental factors, such as the movement of the UE 600, the movement of the base station (in the case of a mobile base station), weather, physical obstacles, etc., there may be situations where the UE 600 is unable to perform measurements based on received reference signals using all of its Rx chains 610. Return to Figure 3 For example, assuming Figure 6 Each antenna 612 on the UE 600 receives a separate PRS corresponding to one of the radio positioning signals 350-1, 350-2, or 350-3. At time T1, the UE may be located closest to the base station 320-1 in a relatively unobstructed outdoor environment, thus receiving each radio positioning signal 350 with almost no attenuation. At time T2, the UE may have moved indoors, causing radio positioning signals 350-2 or 350-3 to degrade to deep fading points, while radio positioning signal 350-1 only attenuates slightly. In this case, at time T2, the UE may not be able to successfully decode using the Rx chain that receives the deeply attenuated signal. Therefore, the measurement engine 630 may generate fewer measurements than at time T1, reducing the accuracy of position determination at time T2 relative to time T1. Thus, the Rx chain available for performing measurements may differ depending on the timing of the PRS.

[0086] In LTE, UEs are typically configured to use two Rx chains to perform measurements. However, compared to 5G NR, LTE has lower accuracy requirements for UE location (5G accuracy is a few meters, while LTE accuracy is hundreds of meters). The increased accuracy requirements of 5G mean that in some cases, two Rx chains may not be sufficient to obtain a sufficiently accurate estimate of the UE's location. This may be true even if the signals from both Rx chains do not have deep fading. Therefore, for UEs or other devices calculating their location, knowing how many Rx chains have been used to determine the positioning measurements for any given location can be useful, as the number of Rx chains used indicates the accuracy of the obtained location positioning.

[0087] The UE's hardware capabilities are sometimes reported to location servers and / or other entities, such as base stations. This reporting may include the total number of Rx antennas available to the UE. For example, 3GPP TS (Technical Standard) 37.355 specifies an optional information element "NumberOfRxanternas-r14", which can be used to report the total number of Rx antennas, such as... Figure 6 In the example where there is a one-to-one association between the antenna and the Rx chain, it is the same as the total number of Rx chains. In use, this optional information element is sent at the start of the positioning session to notify the entity receiving reports about the UE's capabilities. The reported capabilities may include, for example, a list of positioning methods supported by the UE. However, traditionally, the number of Rx chains used to perform positioning measurements is not reported. Thus, in a conventional implementation, the UE may initially report that it has four Rx antennas (meaning a total of four Rx chains), but the UE may be configured to use only two of the four Rx chains to obtain positioning measurements, and in some cases, the PRS signal received using one of the two Rx chains may be in deep fading, thus requiring measurements to be obtained only from one of the two Rx chains.

[0088] Therefore, in some aspects, the UE can be configured to determine that a reference signal processed through an Rx chain is in deep fading, and based on this determination, prevent the reference signal from being used for positioning measurements, or exclude positioning measurements derived from the reference signal from being used to calculate positioning. For example, the UE can decide not to forward measurements derived from the reference signal to the location server. Determining that the reference signal is in deep fading may involve determining that the SNR or other indicators of the reference signal's quality are below a threshold. Furthermore, the UE can be configured to report the number of Rx chains that have been used to determine one or more positioning measurements (e.g., the number of Rx chains used to obtain TOA and RSTD measurements). This reporting... Figure 6This is depicted as an additional output 660 from the measurement engine 630. The UE may (e.g., using a wireless transmitter) send this report to a location server (e.g., LMF), a base station (e.g., gnB), or some other entity with which the UE is communicating. In some embodiments, the report may be executed for each PRS or positioning time to indicate the number of Rx chains that were used to determine positioning measurements during the PRS / positioning time.

[0089] The total number of Rx chains used can be reported on a per-measurement basis and / or for a group of measurements (which may include one or more positioning measurements). For example, the report may include information such as the total number of Rx chains used for a given measurement or across multiple measurements, the average number of Rx chains used across multiple measurements, the minimum number of Rx chains used for any single measurement among the multiple measurements, etc. For example, the UE may report a single number (total, minimum, average, etc.) associated with twenty RSTD or Rx-Tx measurements. Alternatively or additionally, the UE may report a separate number for each of the twenty measurements. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the report may include a qualitative indication of how many Rx chains were used. For example, instead of a single numerical value, the UE may indicate that the number of Rx chains used is within a specific range (e.g., 0 to 4 Rx chains, 5 to 10 Rx chains, etc.). As another example, the UE may indicate whether the number of Rx chains used across different measurements is the same. Therefore, any information related to the number of Rx chains that were used to determine one or more positioning measurements can be reported.

[0090] Knowledge of the number of Rx chains used to determine the positioning measurements can be applied in several ways. As mentioned above, the number of Rx chains used indicates the accuracy of the final positioning orientation determination (assuming sufficient positioning measurements were obtained to obtain the positioning orientation determination). Therefore, in some aspects, a location server or other entity that calculates the location of the UE (in some cases, the UE itself) can be configured to calculate, based on the number of Rx chains that were used to determine the positioning measurements, a precision dilution (DOP) value or other metric indicating the accuracy of the final positioning orientation determination or the uncertainty of the measurement error. The DOP value or other metric can be transmitted to the UE along with the obtained positioning orientation determination so that the UE can respond accordingly. For example, the UE can determine that the positioning orientation determination is sufficiently accurate based on the DOP value. Alternatively, the UE can determine that the positioning orientation determination is not accurate enough based on the DOP value, in which case the UE can switch to a different positioning method (e.g., a positioning method involving a different type of reference signal). The UE and / or the entity receiving the report on the number of Rx chains used can take other actions. For example, the UE can request the TRP, base station, or other reference signal source to increase the number of reference signals transmitted to compensate for reference signals in deep fading.

[0091] Figure 7 An example of a resource block (RB) pattern 700 for the transmission of PRS signals is shown. RB pattern 700 can correspond to the above reference. Figure 4 The subframes under discussion. Figure 7 Resource elements not shown are those used for other types of signals. However, it should be understood that... Figure 7 The RBs in the reference may include resource elements (REs) that do not correspond to the PRS signal. (See reference) Figure 4 In the frame structure of OFDM, the set of REs used for the transmission of PRS signals is called "PRS resources". The set of resource elements can span multiple RBs in the frequency domain and one or more consecutive symbols in the time domain, where pseudo-random quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) sequences are transmitted from the antenna port of the TRP or base station. In a given OFDM symbol in the time domain, PRS resources can occupy consecutive RBs in the frequency domain.

[0092] The transmission of PRS resources within a given RB 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, where every Nth subcarrier of a specific symbol of the RB is configured to use. For example, for comb-4, the RE corresponding to every fourth subcarrier (e.g., subcarriers 0, 4, 8) is used to transmit the PRS of the PRS resource. Additionally, the transmission of PRS resources within a given RB has a specific symbol length corresponding to the number of symbols that the PRS resource spans. Figure 7 As shown, two PRS signals are transmitted during symbol period 2 and symbol period 3 using the comb2-symbol2 option. These two PRS signals are labeled PRS ID 1 and PRS ID 2, and are referred to below by their respective PRS IDs.

[0093] Figure 7 The timing of the two PRS signals relative to the serving cell boundary 710 is also shown. The serving cell boundary 710 may correspond to the frame boundary and / or subframe boundary associated with the signal transmitted from the serving cell. For example, as Figure 7 As shown, the serving cell boundary 710 may include a symbolic boundary. (See reference above.) Figure 5 As discussed, the UE can determine the reference cell based on, for example, the assumption of overlapping PRS timings from different cells (in... Figure 7 In the example, the timing of PRS for OTDOA positioning is set for the serving cell and neighboring cells. As discussed further above, the UE can receive auxiliary data including PRS configuration parameters, which can be configured for each cell, including the PRS ID, cell global ID, and cell-specific subframe offset (Δ). PRS 515.

[0094] In practice, a UE may not receive PRS signals from different cells simultaneously, even if the PRS signals can be transmitted substantially simultaneously. This could be due to the different distances between the cells and the UE (hence the offset of 515). For example, going back... Figure 3 UE 305 can receive PRS signals from base station 320-1 earlier than receiving PRS signals from base station 320-2 (e.g., PRS ID 2). Figure 7 The PRS ID 1 in the data is used because base station 320-1 is associated with the serving cell, and therefore may be closer to the UE (with an offset of zero or close to zero) than base stations associated with neighboring cells. Figure 7 As shown, PRS ID 1 is time-aligned with the serving cell boundary 710, such that the start and end of the symbols of PRS ID 1 are aligned with symbol 0 of the serving cell boundary 710. Conversely, PRS ID 2 is not aligned with any symbol of the serving cell boundary 710 and is delayed by 720 relative to symbol 0.

[0095] The UE receiving PRS ID 1 and PRS ID 2 can be configured to process signals (voice, data, PRS, etc.) according to the serving cell boundary 710. These signals can be provided to the UE via auxiliary data from a location server, or in some cases, directly from the serving cell. The timing of the signals processed (e.g., decoded) by the UE can be indicated by the serving cell boundary 710, and in this sense, the UE can be considered to be timing synchronized with the serving cell. Therefore, the UE can expect the symbols of PRS ID 1 and PRS ID 2 to be aligned with the same symbols (e.g., symbol 0) of the serving cell boundary 710. However, as mentioned above, not all PRS signals can be aligned with the serving cell or reference cell boundary.

[0096] If the UE attempts to process PRS ID 1 and PRS ID 2 using the timing of the serving cell, the SNR of PRS ID 2 will decrease proportionally to the amount of time during which PRS ID 2 is not aligned with the serving cell boundary. As a result, the UE may not be able to fully decode PRS ID 2. In turn, the reduced SNR will degrade measurement reporting performance, thereby reducing the accuracy of the final location orientation determination. Conversely, since PRS ID 1 is aligned with symbol 0, its SNR is maximized, so measurements obtained using PRS ID 1 are less likely to lead to inaccurate location orientation determination. Therefore, it may be beneficial for the UE to process at least some PRS signals according to timings different from those of its serving cell or reference cell.

[0097] According to one aspect, the UE can support one or more methods for configuring the timing of UE processing PRS signals so as not to limit the timing based on the timing of the serving cell or reference cell. This method can be used as an alternative to the aforementioned serving cell-based PRS processing. As described below... Figure 9 As discussed, in some embodiments, the UE can process multiple PRS signals using different sets of Rx chains, where the PRS signals are received simultaneously (e.g., during at least partially overlapping PRS timings). Before discussing this processing method, in conjunction with... Figure 8 Alternative methods for processing PRS signals are described. Furthermore, as described below, Figure 8 The method shown has the ability to make Figure 9 The approach is more suitable for the shortcomings of certain situations.

[0098] Figure 8 The polling method for PRS processing is shown. Figure 8 The method processes PRS signals sequentially, one at a time, and uses the same Rx chain each time (e.g., a set of Rx chains associated with two or more antennas). In two PRS signals (e.g., as... Figure 7 In the simple case of PRS ID 1 and PRS ID 2, the PRS signals are processed alternately. For example, as Figure 8 As shown, during PRS timing 1, the UE can decode PRS ID 1 by aligning the search window (e.g., FFT window) 810 with PRS ID 1. This alignment aims to maximize the energy of the received PRS signal. The UE can align the search window based on the expected delay of PRS ID 1 (in this example, the delay is zero) and / or the expected RSTD of PRS ID 1. The expected delay and / or expected RSTD of the PRS signal can be provided to the UE using PRS configuration information, for example, provided by a location server or other entity that knows these expected values. Similarly, in PRS timing 2, the UE can decode PRS ID 2 by aligning the search window 820 with PRS ID 2, thereby maximizing the energy of PRS ID 2. Decoding in PRS timing 1 can be performed using the same Rx chain as decoding in PRS timing 2. This process can be repeated in subsequent timings to decode the two PRS signals in a cyclical manner.

[0099] Figure 8The method tends to maximize the SNR of the received PRS signal at all PRS times, especially the SNR measured after performing a correlation procedure on the reference PRS signal. However, due to the cyclic processing of the PRS signal, the total time spent obtaining measurements from all PRS signals (e.g., PRS ID 1 and PRS ID 2) is significantly increased compared to processing based on the serving cell boundary. Therefore, Figure 8 This method may introduce significant delays into the measurement report, depending on factors such as the total number of PRS signals to be measured. Therefore, the time required to obtain a location orientation determination may increase. In extreme cases, the measurement report may be delayed until the measurement becomes outdated (e.g., because the UE has moved to a different location), and the resulting location orientation determination will not represent the UE's current location.

[0100] Figure 9 A method for processing PRS signals according to an embodiment is shown. Figure 9 The method involves distributing Rx chains into different sets, where each set of Rx chains is used to process an individual PRS signal from among multiple PRS signals received during PRS timings that at least partially overlap in time. In this way, multiple PRS signals can be processed simultaneously to reduce processing time. Furthermore, each PRS can be processed within a corresponding search window to achieve the maximum SNR of the PRS. For example, with... Figure 8 The processing is similar; search window 910 can be applied to PRS ID1, and a separate search window 920 can be applied to PRS ID2. Search window 910 can be aligned with PRS ID1 to decode it at its appropriate time. Similarly, search window 920 can be aligned at its appropriate time to decode PRS ID2. (As mentioned above...) Figure 8 Alignment can be performed based on the expected delay (e.g., based on the expected RSTD).

[0101] and Figure 8 The robin-robin method (which uses the same set of Rx chains to process one PRS signal at a time at different PRS times) differs from this method. Figure 9 The method assigns different groups of Rx chains to each PRS signal to be processed. The total number of PRS signals that can be processed simultaneously depends on the number of Rx chains available on the UE. As mentioned earlier, a UE is sometimes equipped with more UEs than is required for PRS processing according to conventional methods (e.g., a UE may have four or more Rx chains). Therefore, as Figure 9As shown, a first set of Rx chains (Rx chain group 1) including receive chains Rx 1 and Rx 2 can be used to process PRS ID1, while a second set of Rx chains (Rx chain group 2) including receive chains Rx 3 and Rx 4 can be used to process PRS ID2. For example, Rx 1 and Rx 2 can each be configured to process the corresponding Rx signal corresponding to PRS ID1 received by the corresponding antenna element. Similarly, Rx 3 and Rx 4 can each be configured to process the corresponding Rx signal corresponding to PRS ID2 received by the corresponding antenna element. In one embodiment, each set of Rx chains includes at least two Rx chains. However, in some cases, such as when transmitting PRS signals using a narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) protocol, a set of single Rx chains can be used for PRS processing. Furthermore, as described above, Rx chains can be configured to process combined Rx signals corresponding to PRS received by a set of antenna elements. Therefore, Rx chain group 1 can include Rx chains associated with antennas forming the first plane. Similarly, Rx chain group 2 may include Rx chains associated with antennas forming a second plane separate from the first plane. Furthermore, the total number of Rx chains in a set need not be the same in all sets; that is, some sets may have more Rx chains than others.

[0102] The way Rx chains are assigned to different sets may vary depending on the implementation. In some embodiments, Rx chains are pre-assigned. For example, a UE configured to process three PRS signals simultaneously may be configured to use a first pair of Rx chains to process the first PRS, a second pair of Rx chains to process the second PRS, and a third pair of Rx chains to process the third PRS, where the members of each pair of Rx chains are fixed. In another embodiment, each set of Rx chains is dynamically formed by selecting from a pool of available Rx chains. Rx chains can be assigned based on the spatial location of their Rx antennas, for example, to minimize interference from PRS signals received by neighboring Rx antennas from other Rx chains. Figure 9 In the example, the Rx chains are numbered according to the relative positions of their corresponding antennas in the antenna array. For example, the antenna of Rx 1 is adjacent to the antenna of Rx 2, the antenna of Rx 2 is adjacent to the antenna of Rx 3, and so on. Therefore, as Figure 9 As shown, each Rx chain can be associated with a set of consecutive antennas. However, this is not always the case. Furthermore, when the PRS to be processed using the ensemble is weak, for example, as shown by the measured SNR being below a threshold, a larger number of Rx chains can be assigned to the ensemble. Other methods for assigning Rx chains to different ensembles are also possible.

[0103] The same set of Rx chains can be used to process every moment of the same PRS, at least until sufficient measurements are obtained to perform position estimation or other PRS-based calculations. For example, Rx chain set 1 can be configured to process the Rx signal corresponding to each moment of PRS ID1. Similarly, Rx chain set 2 can be configured to process the Rx signal corresponding to each moment of PRS ID2. Therefore, each set of Rx chains can be dedicated to processing a unique PRS. This ensures that different moments of the same PRS are processed in a consistent manner, as different Rx chains may have different processing delays or other characteristics that could affect the resulting measurements. This also facilitates measurements at multiple moments of the same PRS.

[0104] Furthermore, another advantage of using the same set of Rx chains to process every moment of the same PRS is that each PRS can be tracked independently using the corresponding set of Rx chains by maintaining a separate search window (e.g., an FFT window) for each PRS. For example, by assigning a first set of Rx chains to a first PRS and a second set of Rx chains to a second PRS with a similar center channel frequency to the first PRS (e.g., frequencies less than or equal to 50 MHz apart), the first and second PRSs can be tracked more accurately compared to using the same Rx chains for both. Although each set of Rx chains can maintain its own search window, in some cases, different sets of Rx chains can be tuned to the same center channel frequency. Rx chains can be tuned to the same center frequency to configure Rx chains to process Rx signals corresponding to the same PRS. Rx chains can be tuned to different center frequencies to configure different Rx chains to process Rx signals corresponding to different PRSs. Tuning to the same center frequency can also be used when multiple TRPs or PRS sources are configured to provide PRS resources that collectively constitute a Positioning Frequency Layer (PFL). A TRP or PRS source can provide PRS resources for multiple PFLs, so different center frequencies can be used for transmission. However, PRS resources within the same PFL are usually transmitted using the same center frequency.

[0105] To ensure that the same set of Rx chains processes the same PRS signal at different times, each set of Rx chains can be assigned to a different PRS based on the line-of-sight of the PRS source (e.g., TRP or base station). For example, the actual delay Δ can be measured for each time period. PRS And the same set of Rx chains can be used to process signals whose measured delays are within a specific range of each other and / or within a specific range of the expected delay specified for a particular PRS (e.g., expected RSTD).

[0106] It should be noted that, Figure 9In this method, the processing of other types of signals that may rely on synchronization with the serving cell or reference cell boundary can still proceed normally, assuming there are enough Rx chains available for such additional processing. Therefore, PRS signals can be processed conveniently while maximizing the SNR of each PRS signal without adversely affecting the throughput of decoding non-PRS signals.

[0107] Figure 10 This is a flowchart of a method 1000 for reporting positioning measurements according to an embodiment. (For execution) Figure 10 The components illustrating the functions can be executed by the UE's hardware and / or software components (e.g., one or more processors, including a processor for at least one Rx chain in the UE, a processor implementing the measurement engine, or both). In addition to the UE, Figure 10 Other functions shown can be performed by network entities remote from the UE (e.g., a location server or LMF, or another UE) and one or more reference signal transmitters (e.g., a TRP associated with the serving cell and one or more neighboring cells). Figure 13 The example components of the UE are shown below, which will be described in more detail below. Figure 13 .

[0108] In 1002, the UE establishes a positioning session with a network entity; that is, a session to estimate the UE's location / position based on positioning measurements derived using reference signals. The positioning session can be initiated by either the UE or the network entity. For example, as part of establishing a positioning session in 1002, the UE may send a message indicating that it wants to begin a positioning session (e.g., an LPP session). Typically, communication during a communication session such as a positioning session may involve one or more transactions, each including a message sent from a first endpoint (e.g., the UE) to a second endpoint (e.g., the network entity), and an acknowledgment sent from the second endpoint back to the first endpoint after the second endpoint successfully decodes the message from the first endpoint. If the second endpoint cannot decode the message, it may not send an acknowledgment, which may in turn cause the first endpoint to retransmit the message. For simplicity, in Figure 10 Confirmation and retransmission are omitted.

[0109] In step 1004, a network entity can send a capability request message to the UE. A capability request message asks the UE to list its functionalities. These functionalities may include hardware resources, software resources, supported positioning methods, etc.

[0110] In step 1006, the UE provides its capabilities to the network entity. For example, the UE may send a capability provision message (e.g., an OTDOA capability provision message) that includes one or more information elements listing the UE's capabilities, such as the total number of available Rx antennas / chains the UE has. However, as mentioned above, the total number of available Rx chains may differ from the actual number of Rx chains used to perform positioning measurements, for example, because the UE is configured to use fewer than the total number of available Rx chains, and / or because Rx chains allocated for processing a particular reference signal cannot be used due to deep fading of the reference signal.

[0111] In step 1008, the network entity requests location information. The requested location information may include positioning measurements that the UE can provide, as listed in the capability provision message in step 1006.

[0112] At position 1010, reference signals (e.g., PRS signals) used to determine positioning measurements are transmitted from multiple sources, from which the UE's location can be calculated according to one or more positioning methods. For example, such reference signals can be transmitted from the TRP associated with the serving cell and the TRP associated with neighboring cells, such as... Figure 3 As shown. The reference signal can be broadcast simultaneously, and the amount of time it takes for the UE to receive the reference signal after it has been transmitted indicates the distance between the UE and the transmitter of the reference signal. The reference signal transmitted in 1010 can be transmitted periodically, for example, each reference signal can be repeated at fixed intervals.

[0113] At 1012, the UE receives at least one of the reference signals transmitted in 1010 during the positioning session. The UE then processes the at least one reference signal using one or more Rx chains to determine one or more positioning measurements. For example, the one or more positioning measurements may include TOA measurements, RSTD measurements, RSRP measurements, quality metrics (e.g., SINR or RSSI), Rx-Tx measurements, angle measurements, velocity measurements, Doppler measurements, or any combination thereof. Typically, positioning measurements derived from multiple reference signals are used together to calculate positioning (e.g., by trilateration). Therefore, whether positioning can be calculated depends on how many positioning measurements are determined. As mentioned above, a separate set of Rx chains can be used to process Rx signals corresponding to a specific reference signal or combined Rx signals. Therefore, if multiple reference signals are received in 1012, a different set of Rx chains can be used to process each reference signal. In some cases, the processing of at least one reference signal in 1012 may involve the use of auxiliary data. Therefore, at some point in the positioning session prior to 1012, the UE may send a request for auxiliary data message to a network entity, which can respond with a message providing auxiliary data. The content of the auxiliary data message may include, for example, one or more expected RSTD values.

[0114] In step 1014, the UE provides location information to the network entity. The location information provided by the UE may be in the form of a location information message containing a report of one or more positioning measurements determined in step 1012. This report may also include information related to the number of Rx chains that were used to determine the one or more positioning measurements. This information can be used to determine the confidence level of the correctness of the positioning(s). The more Rx chains used, the higher the confidence level, and therefore the higher the accuracy of the positioning calculated using the positioning(s). Examples of information that may be included in the report include, but are not limited to, the total number of Rx chains used to determine the multiple positioning measurements, the total number of Rx chains used to determine a single positioning measurement among the multiple positioning measurements, the average number of Rx chains used across the multiple positioning measurements, and / or the minimum number of Rx chains used to determine any single positioning measurement among the multiple positioning measurements. Furthermore, in some cases, the report may identify which specific Rx chains and / or associated antenna elements were used. Therefore, the report may, in addition to the information of the types described above, include information identifying which Rx chains in the UE's Rx chains are used to determine the positioning measurement of the first PRS (each Rx chain may be assigned a number or other unique identifier), which antenna elements provide processed Rx signals or combined Rx signals to determine the positioning measurement of the first PRS, and / or other information indicating the actual use of the Rx chains and their associated components in relation to determining the positioning measurement(s).

[0115] In 1016, the network entity calculates the UE's location using the location information provided in 1014, assuming that a sufficient number of location measurements are provided as part of the location information. The network entity's calculation may take into account information related to how many Rx chains were used, as reported in 1014. For example, the network entity may determine a geometrical dilution of precision (GDOP) metric or other metrics indicating the uncertainty in calculating the location. Alternatively, in some cases, the location and / or uncertainty metrics may be calculated by the UE itself.

[0116] After calculating the UE's location in step 1016, the network entity can transmit the calculated location back to the UE, possibly along with GDOP or other metrics indicating the uncertainty of the calculated location. Furthermore, the UE and / or the network entity can take action based on the calculated location, GDOP / other metrics, and / or information related to the number of Rx chains used. For example, the UE might switch to a different positioning method in response to a GDOP falling below a threshold, reconfigure itself to process additional reference signals (e.g., by allocating additional Rx chains to determine one or more positioning measurements associated with another instance receiving at least one reference signal), or request additional reference signals from a reference signal transmitter.

[0117] Figure 11 This is a flowchart of a method 1100 for performing positioning measurements using multiple Rx chains according to an embodiment. (For performing...) Figure 11 The components illustrating the function can be executed by the UE's hardware and / or software components (e.g., processors of at least two Rx chains in the UE, a processor implementing the measurement engine, or both). Although a description is given regarding the PRS signal, Figure 11 This method can be used to generate positioning measurements from other types of reference signals that overlap in time.

[0118] At 1102, during the first PRS timing, the UE receives the first PRS from the first transmitter device using the first set of antenna elements. The first set of antenna elements typically includes at least two Rx antennas, but in some cases may include as few as one Rx antenna. The first transmitter device can be any PRS source (e.g., a base station or TRP) within the range of the first set of antenna elements. For example, the first PRS can be a signal periodically broadcast by a TRP associated with the UE's current serving cell.

[0119] At 1104, during the second PRS timing, the UE receives the second PRS from the second transmitter device using the second set of antenna elements. The first set of antenna elements is separate from the second set of antenna elements. Each antenna element in the first and second sets of antenna elements is associated with an Rx chain. The Rx chain associated with any particular antenna element is configured to process the Rx signal corresponding to the PRS received by the single antenna element (e.g., such as...). Figure 6 (as shown in the example), or configured to process a combined Rx signal corresponding to a PRS received by a set of antenna elements (e.g., when the first set of antenna elements or the second set of antenna elements form a receiving panel).

[0120] The sources of the first PRS in 1102 and the second PRS in 1104 can be two transmitter devices located at different locations. For example, if the source of the first PRS is a TRP associated with the serving cell, the source of the second TRP can be a TRP associated with a neighboring cell. The two PRS sources can be configured to transmit their respective PRS approximately simultaneously (i.e., substantially simultaneously). Because the PRS sources are located at different locations, the first PRS and the second PRS may arrive at the UE at different times. However, since the timing of the first PRS overlaps with the timing of the second PRS at least partially, the first PRS and the second PRS can be received simultaneously.

[0121] At 1106, the UE can use one or more Rx chains associated with the first set of antenna elements to process the first PRS. Specifically, one or more Rx chains associated with the first set of antenna elements (e.g., Figure 9In the example, Rx1 and Rx2) are used to process the Rx signal or combined Rx signal corresponding to the first PRS. Similarly, in 1106, the UE can use one or more Rx chains (e.g., Rx3 and Rx4) associated with the second set of antenna elements to process the Rx signal or combined Rx signal corresponding to the second PRS. The processing in 1106 may involve aligning a separate search window with each PRS. As mentioned above, the alignment can be based on the expected delay of each PRS (e.g., expected RSTD). In some embodiments, the search window is an FFT window that determines which time samples of the PRS signal undergo a Fourier transform. When the first PRS and the second PRS are received simultaneously and processed using different sets of Rx chains, the processing of the first PRS and the processing of the second PRS can occur in parallel. However, the Rx chain(s) processing the first PRS(s) may output results at different times than the Rx chain(s) processing the second PRS(s).

[0122] At 1108, the location measurement is determined using: (i) the result of processing the Rx signal or combined Rx signal corresponding to the first PRS and (ii) the result of processing the Rx signal or combined Rx signal corresponding to the second PRS. The location measurement determined at 1108 may include any of the above-described types of location measurements, such as TOA measurement, RSTD measurement, RSRP measurement, quality metrics (e.g., SINR or RSSI), Rx-Tx measurement, angle measurement, velocity measurement, Doppler measurement, or any combination thereof. For example, the location measurement determined at 1108 may include TOA and RSTD measurements for each of the first and second PRS. Once the location measurement is determined, it can be reported to a network entity (e.g., a location server) for the network entity to calculate the UE's location. Alternatively, the location measurement can be processed locally by one or more processing units of the UE to calculate the UE's location. Therefore, Figure 11 The method is applicable to both UE-based positioning methods and UE-assisted positioning methods.

[0123] Figure 12 This is a flowchart of a method 1200 for allocating an Rx chain according to an embodiment. It is used for execution... Figure 12 The apparatus for the illustrated function can be executed by the UE's hardware and / or software components (e.g., processors of at least two Rx chains in the UE, a processor implementing the measurement engine, or both). Although a description is provided regarding PRS, Figure 12 This method can be used to generate positioning measurements from other types of temporally overlapping reference signals. It can be executed... Figure 12 The method is used to allocate Rx chains for performing any Rx chain-related operations described in this article, including those referenced above. Figure 10 and 11 The described operation.

[0124] In section 1202, the UE's Rx chains are allocated for processing Rx signals or combined Rx signals corresponding to PRS transmitted from one or more sources (e.g., a first PRS and a second PRS). In typical use, at least two Rx chains are initially allocated. However, depending on the UE's configuration, only one Rx chain may be initially allocated. For example, some UEs may be configured to use a single Rx chain to perform processing to save power or reduce computational resources during specific operating conditions (e.g., low power or sleep mode). Furthermore, the number of Rx chains allocated in section 1202 can depend on the use case, and this number can vary between different types of UEs. For example, IoT devices may be configured to use fewer Rx chains than smartphones or car navigation systems.

[0125] Each Rx chain allocated in 1202 can be configured to process Rx signals corresponding to a PRS or to combine Rx signals. As described above, antennas can be arranged to form a receiving panel so that Rx signals from multiple antennas in the plane are combined for processing via Rx chains. Alternatively, Rx chains can be configured to process Rx signals from a single antenna. Thus, each allocated Rx chain is associated with one or more antennas. As part of allocation 1202, individual Rx chains can be assigned to each PRS. For example, if there are two Rx-to-Rx signals in the first PRS and the second PRS, then two Rx-to-Rx chains can be used to process the signals in the second PRS and the second PRS. In some cases, the UE can be configured to allocate the same set of Rx chains for processing different PRSs so that there is partial or complete overlap between the Rx chains allocated for processing Rx signals in the first PRS and the Rx chains allocated for processing Rx signals in the second PRS.

[0126] At 1204, the Rx signal is processed using the Rx chain allocated in 1202 to determine one or more positioning measurements for each PRS. The processing can involve any of the various operations described above, including baseband conversion, analog-to-digital conversion, applying Fourier transforms, etc. Typically, the same type of measurement is determined for each PRS (e.g., an RSTD or RSRP measurement for the first PRS and another RSTD or RSTP measurement for the second PRS). However, in some cases, the UE can determine different types of measurements for different PRSs.

[0127] At 1206, the UE can selectively generate a report indicating multiple Rx chains used to determine one or more positioning measurements in 1204. For example, it can be based on... Figure 10 The method execution report is shown.

[0128] In step 1208, based on meeting one or more conditions, it is determined how many Rx chains should be adjusted (increased or decreased) allocated to one or more PRSs. These conditions can be specified in the UE's configuration, for example, programmed into the UE's memory or hardwired to, for example,... Figure 6 The conditions are provided to the UE via a processing component such as the measurement engine 630. In some cases, these conditions can be provided wirelessly to the UE, for example, from a network entity that receives a report in 1206, or from another entity configured to estimate the UE's location using the measurements determined in 1204. Therefore, the conditions can be fixed or reconfigurable. These conditions can include performance-related conditions, such as the accuracy of the location estimate obtained using the measurements determined in 1204. The UE can also be associated with its current operating state. For example, the UE can be configured to reduce the total number of allocated Rx chains when the UE's battery level is below a certain value. As another example, the UE can be configured to increase the total number of allocated Rx chains when higher positioning accuracy is required. For example, since the center channel frequency of the first PRS is close to or similar to (e.g., within a threshold frequency range) the center channel frequency of the second PRS, the UE can determine to improve positioning accuracy by using the Rx chains of the first PRS, which are separate from the Rx chains used for the second PRS.

[0129] The determination in 1208 leads to a decision to reallocate the Rx chains equipped by the UE. For example, if the same set of Rx chains was initially assigned to the first PRS and the second PRS in 1202, one possible outcome of the determination in 1208 is that a separate set of Rx chains (e.g., two currently unused Rx chains) should be assigned to the second PRS so that this separate set of Rx chains can be used to process Rx signals corresponding to subsequent timings of the second PRS, while the initial set of Rx chains is used to process Rx signals corresponding to subsequent timings of the first PRS. Therefore, the UE can switch between using separate sets of Rx chains for different PRSs and using the same set of Rx chains. Alternatively, the UE can be configured to always use separate sets of Rx chains for different PRSs, but the number of Rx chains assigned to a given PRS can vary during UE operation. For example, the determination in 1208 could lead to a decision to assign more Rx chains to the first PRS while keeping the number of Rx chains the same for the second PRS.

[0130] In step 1210, the UE's Rx chain is reallocated based on the determination result in step 1208. The reallocation in step 1210 may involve changing the Rx chain assigned to at least one PRS. As part of the Rx chain reallocation, the UE may configure or reconfigure the Rx chain used for a specific PRS. For example, the search window used by the newly assigned Rx chain to the first PRS may be updated to correspond to a window aligned with the next timing of the first PRS. As another example, the UE may update the center channel frequency used by the Rx chain to match the center channel frequency of the PRS to which the Rx chain has been assigned.

[0131] At 1212, the reassigned Rx chains are used to process the Rx signals corresponding to subsequent timings of the PRS. Therefore, the Rx chains(s) now assigned to the first PRS can process one or more Rx signals or a combination of Rx signals corresponding to subsequent timings of the first PRS. Similarly, the Rx chains(s) now assigned to the second PRS can process one or more Rx signals or a combination of Rx signals corresponding to subsequent timings of the second PRS, wherein the subsequent timings of the second PRS at least partially overlap with the subsequent timings of the first PRS (e.g., Figure 7 (The scenario described in the text). The resulting positioning measurements can then be used by the UE to estimate its own location, or sent to another entity that estimates the UE's location based on the positioning measurements.

[0132] Figure 13 An embodiment of UE 1302 is shown, which can be utilized as described above. For example, UE 1302 can perform... Figure 10 or Figure 11 The method shown has one or more functions. UE 1302 can also implement one or more of the above-described UEs (e.g., Figure 1 UE 105 in Figure 3 UE 305 and / or Figure 6 (UE 600 in the text). It should be noted that... Figure 13 This is intended only to provide a general description of the various components, any or all of which may be used as appropriate. It should be noted that in some cases, Figure 13 The components shown may be local to a single physical device and / or distributed across various networked devices. Furthermore, as previously mentioned, the functionality of the UE discussed in the previously described embodiments can be provided by… Figure 13 The one or more hardware and / or software components shown perform this action.

[0133] The illustrated UE 1302 includes hardware elements that can be electrically coupled (or otherwise communicated as needed) via bus 1305. These hardware elements may include processing units 1310, which may include, but are not limited to, one or more general-purpose processors, one or more special-purpose processors (e.g., digital signal processor (DSP) chips, graphics accelerator processors, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc.), and / or other processing structures or components. Figure 13 As shown, some embodiments may have a separate DSP 1320, depending on the required functionality. Wireless communication-based location determination and / or other determinations may be provided in the processing unit(s) 1310 and / or the wireless communication interface 1330 (discussed below). The UE 1302 may also include one or more input devices 1370, which may include, but are not limited to, one or more keyboards, touchscreens, touchpads, microphones, buttons, dial pads, switches, etc.; and one or more output devices 1315, which may include, but are not limited to, one or more displays (e.g., touchscreens), light-emitting diodes (LEDs), speakers, etc.

[0134] UE 1302 may also include a wireless communication interface 1330, which may include, but is not limited to, a modem, network interface card, infrared communication device, wireless communication device, and / or chipset (e.g., Bluetooth® device, IEEE 802.11 device, IEEE 802.15.4 device, Wi-Fi device, WiMAX device, WAN device, and / or various cellular devices), and / or a chipset that enables UE 1302 to communicate with other devices described in the above embodiments. The wireless communication interface 1330 may allow, for example, TRP communication (e.g., sending and receiving) of data and signaling with the network via eNB, gNB, ng-eNB, access point, various base stations and / or other access node types and / or other network components, computer system, and / or any other electronic device coupled to TRP communication, as described herein. Communication may be performed via one or more wireless communication antennas 1332 that transmit and / or receive wireless signals 1334. According to some embodiments, the wireless communication antennas 1332 may include multiple discrete antennas, antenna arrays, or any combination thereof.

[0135] Depending on the required functionality, the wireless communication interface 1330 may include separate receivers and transmitters, or any combination of transceivers, transmitters, and / or receivers, to communicate with base stations (e.g., ng-eNBs and gNBs) and other terrestrial transceivers (e.g., wireless devices and access points). The UE 1302 can communicate with various data networks, including a wide range of network types. For example, a wireless wide area network (WWAN) may be a CDMA network, a Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) network, a Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) network, an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) network, a Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) network, a WiMAX (IEEE 802.16) network, and so on. A CDMA network may implement one or more RATs, such as CDMA2000, WCDMA, etc. CDMA2000 includes IS-95, IS-2000, and / or IS-856 standards. A TDMA network may implement GSM, Digital Advanced Mobile Phone Systems (D-AMPS), or other RATs. An OFDMA network may employ LTE, LTE Advanced, 5G NR, etc. 5G NR, LTE, LTE Advanced, GSM, and WCDMA are described in documents from 3GPP. Cdma2000 is described in a document from a consortium called “3rd Generation Partnership Project 4” (3GPP2). 3GPP and 3GPP2 documents are publicly available. Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs) can also be IEEE 802.11x networks, and Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPANs) can be Bluetooth networks, IEEE 802.15x networks, or some other type of network. The technologies described herein can also be used in any combination of WWAN, WLAN, and / or WPAN.

[0136] UE 1302 may also include sensors(s)1340. Sensors(s)1340 may include, but are not limited to, one or more inertial sensors and / or other sensors (e.g., multiple accelerometers, multiple gyroscopes, multiple cameras, multiple magnetometers, multiple altimeters, multiple microphones, multiple proximity sensors, multiple light sensors, multiple barometers, etc.), some of which may be used to acquire positioning-related measurements and / or other information.

[0137] Embodiments of UE 1302 may also include a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver 1380, which is capable of receiving signals 1384 from one or more GNSS satellites using antenna 1382 (which may be the same as antenna 1332). Positioning based on GNSS signal measurements can be utilized to supplement and / or incorporate the techniques described herein. GNSS receiver 1380 can use conventional techniques to extract the positioning of UE 1302 from GNSS satellites of GNSS systems such as Global Positioning System (GPS), Galileo, GLONASS, Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS) over Japan, Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) over India, BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) over China, etc. In addition, the GNSS receiver 1380 can be used with various augmentation systems, such as satellite-based augmentation systems (SBAS), which can be associated with or otherwise enabled to be used with one or more global and / or regional navigation satellite systems, such as the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), the European Geostationary Navigation Coverage Service (EGNOS), the Multifunctional Satellite Augmentation System (MSAS), and the Geostationary Navigation Augmentation System (GAGAN).

[0138] It can be noted that although the GNSS receiver 1380 is in Figure 13 The components are illustrated, but embodiments are not limited thereto. As used herein, the term "GNSS receiver" may include hardware and / or software components configured to acquire GNSS measurements (measurements from GNSS satellites). Thus, in some embodiments, a GNSS receiver may include a measurement engine (as software) executed by one or more processing units, such as processing unit 1310, DSP 1320, and / or a processing unit within a wireless communication interface 1330 (e.g., in a modem). The GNSS receiver may also optionally include a positioning engine that can determine the GNSS receiver's location using GNSS measurements from the measurement engine, employing extended Kalman filters (EKF), weighted least squares (WLS), shadow filters, particle filters, etc. The positioning engine may also be executed by one or more processing units, such as processing unit 1310 or DSP 1320.

[0139] UE 1302 may also include and / or communicate with memory 1360. Memory 1360 may include, but is not limited to, local and / or network-accessible memory, disk drives, drive arrays, optical storage devices, solid-state storage devices such as random access memory (RAM) and / or read-only memory (ROM), which may be programmable, flash-updatable, and / or the like. Such storage devices can be configured to implement any suitable data storage, including but not limited to various file systems, database structures, etc.

[0140] The memory 1360 of UE 1302 may also include software elements ( Figure 13 (Not shown in the document) includes an operating system, device drivers, executable libraries, and / or other code, such as one or more applications, which may include computer programs provided by various embodiments, and / or may be designed to implement methods, and / or configure systems provided by other embodiments, as described herein. By way of example only, one or more processes described with respect to the above methods can be implemented as code and / or instructions in memory 1360 executable by UE 1302 (and / or processing unit 1310 or DSP 1320 within UE 1302). In one aspect, such code and / or instructions can be used to configure and / or adjust a general-purpose computer (or other device) to perform one or more operations according to the methods.

[0141] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that substantial modifications can be made to suit specific requirements. For example, custom hardware and / or specific elements can be implemented in hardware, software (including portable software such as applets), or both. Furthermore, connectivity to other computing devices, such as network input / output devices, can be employed.

[0142] Referring to the accompanying drawings, components that may include memory may include non-transitory machine-readable media. As used herein, the terms "machine-readable media" and "computer-readable media" refer to any storage medium that participates in providing data that causes a machine to operate in a particular manner. In the embodiments provided above, various machine-readable media may relate to providing instructions / code to a processing unit and / or other devices for execution. Alternatively or additionally, machine-readable media may be used to store and / or carry such instructions / code. In many implementations, computer-readable media are physical and / or tangible storage media. Such media can take many forms, including but not limited to non-volatile media, volatile media, and transmission media. Common forms of computer-readable media include, for example, magnetic and / or optical media, any other physical media with a hole pattern, RAM, programmable ROM (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM), FLASH-EPROM, any other memory chip or cassette, carrier wave, as described below, or any other medium from which a computer can read instructions and / or code.

[0143] The methods, systems, and devices discussed herein are examples. Various processes or components may be omitted, substituted, or added as appropriate in various embodiments. For example, features described with respect to certain embodiments may be combined in various other embodiments. Different aspects and elements of embodiments may be combined in a similar manner. The various components of the figures provided herein may be implemented in hardware and / or software. Furthermore, technology is constantly evolving, so many elements are examples and the scope of this disclosure is not limited to these specific examples.

[0144] It has been proven that signals such as bit, information, value, element, symbol, character, variable, term, number, and digit can be conveniently referred to, primarily for reasons of common usage. However, it should be understood that all these or similar terms are associated with appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels. Unless otherwise explicitly stated, it is evident from the foregoing discussion that throughout this specification, the use of terms such as “processing,” “calculating with a computer,” “calculating,” “determining,” “identifying,” “ascertaining,” “identifying,” “associating,” “measuring,” and “performing” refers to the action or process of a specific device, such as a dedicated computer or similar dedicated electronic computing device. Therefore, in the context of this specification, a dedicated computer or similar dedicated electronic computing device is capable of manipulating or converting signals, typically referred to as physical electronic, electrical, or magnetic quantities in memory, registers, or other information storage devices, transmission devices, or display devices of a dedicated computer or similar dedicated electronic computing device.

[0145] The terms “and” and “or” as used herein may have a variety of meanings, at least in part, depending on the context in which they are used. Generally, “or” when used to relate a list, such as A, B, or C, means A, B, and C in an inclusive sense, and A, B, or C in an exclusive sense. Furthermore, the term “one or more” as used herein may be used to describe any property, structure, or feature in the singular, or to describe some combination of properties, structures, or features. However, it should be noted that this is merely an illustrative example, and the subject matter asserted is not limited to this example. Additionally, the term “at least one of” when used to relate a list, such as A, B, or C, can be interpreted as referring to any combination of A, B, and / or C, such as A, AB, AA, AAB, AABBCCC, etc.

[0146] Following the description of several embodiments, various modifications, alternative constructions, and equivalents may be used without departing from the spirit of this disclosure. For example, the foregoing elements may simply be components of a larger system, where other rules may take precedence over or modify the application of the various components. Furthermore, steps may be taken before, during, or after considering the foregoing elements. Therefore, the foregoing description does not limit the scope of this disclosure.

[0147] In view of this description, embodiments may include different combinations of features. Examples of implementations are described in the following numbered clauses:

[0148] Clause 1. A method for reporting resources for determining location measurements, the method comprising a user equipment (UE) performing the following operations: determining one or more location measurements of reference signals using one or more receive (Rx) chains, wherein each Rx chain processes an Rx signal corresponding to a reference signal received by a single antenna element or a combination of Rx signals corresponding to a set of antenna elements; and reporting the one or more location measurements and information indicating the number of Rx chains used to determine the one or more location measurements to a network entity.

[0149] Clause 2. The method described in Clause 1, wherein the one or more positioning measurements include Time of Arrival (TOA) measurement, Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD) measurement, Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) measurement, Signal Interference and Noise Ratio (SINR) measurement, Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI) measurement, quality metric, Receive-to-Transmit (Rx-Tx) measurement, angle measurement, velocity measurement, Doppler measurement, or a combination thereof.

[0150] Clause 3. The method according to Clause 1 or 2, wherein the information indicating the number of Rx chains for determining the one or more positioning measurements includes an indication of at least one of the following: for determining the total number of Rx chains for the plurality of positioning measurements, for determining the total number of Rx chains for a single positioning measurement among the plurality of positioning measurements, the average number of Rx chains used across the plurality of positioning measurements, or for determining the minimum number of Rx chains for any single positioning measurement among the plurality of positioning measurements.

[0151] Clause 4. The method of any one of Clauses 1-3, wherein the information identifier indicating which Rx chains or which antenna elements provide at least one of processed Rx signals or combined Rx signals for determining the one or more positioning measurements is used to determine the one or more positioning measurements.

[0152] Clause 5. The method according to any one of Clauses 1-4 further comprises: determining the accuracy of the one or more positioning measurements based on the information indicating the number of Rx chains used to determine the one or more positioning measurements.

[0153] Clause 6. The method described in Clause 5 further includes: requesting the transmission of an additional reference signal based on the accuracy being below a threshold.

[0154] The method of Clause 7. Clause 5 or 6 further includes: calculating the positioning of the UE by means of a first positioning method and by combining the one or more positioning measurements with positioning measurements of an additional reference signal; and switching to a second positioning method based on the accuracy being below a threshold.

[0155] Clause 8. The method according to any one of Clauses 1-7 further comprises: allocating a first Rx chain for processing an Rx signal or a combination of Rx signals corresponding to the reference signal; and allocating a second Rx chain for processing an Rx signal or a combination of Rx signals corresponding to the second reference signal, wherein the second Rx chain is separate from the first Rx chain.

[0156] Clause 9. The method according to Clause 8, wherein the first Rx chain and the second Rx chain are allocated based on determining that the reference signal and the second reference signal have similar center channel frequencies.

[0157] Clause 10. The method according to Clause 8 or 9 further comprises: processing the Rx signal or combined Rx signal corresponding to the second reference signal using the second Rx chain; and using the output of the second Rx chain to determine one or more positioning measurements of the second reference signal.

[0158] Clause 11. The method according to any one of Clauses 1-10 further comprises: reporting the total number of Rx chains available to the UE before receiving the reference signal, wherein the total number of Rx chains for determining the one or more locations is less than the total number of Rx chains available to the UE.

[0159] Clause 12. The method according to Clause 11, wherein reporting the total number of Rx chains available to the UE includes sending a Capabilities message to the network entity, and wherein reporting information measurements indicating the number of Rx chains for determining the one or more locations includes sending a Location Information message to the network entity.

[0160] Clause 13. The method according to any one of Clauses 1-12, wherein determining the one or more positioning measurements comprises: converting an Rx signal corresponding to the reference signal received by the first antenna element into a baseband signal; performing digital signal processing on the baseband signal using an Rx chain associated with the first antenna element, wherein the digital signal processing comprises a fast Fourier transform.

[0161] Clause 14. The method according to any one of Clauses 1-12, wherein determining the one or more positioning measurements comprises: converting a combined Rx signal corresponding to the reference signal received by the first set of antenna elements into a baseband signal; and performing digital signal processing on the baseband signal using an Rx chain associated with the first set of antenna elements, wherein the digital signal processing comprises a fast Fourier transform.

[0162] Clause 15. An apparatus comprising: a plurality of antenna elements; a plurality of receive (Rx) chains, including one or more Rx chains, each Rx chain configured to process an Rx signal corresponding to a reference signal received by a single antenna element of the plurality of antenna elements or a combined Rx signal corresponding to a reference signal received by a group of antenna elements of the plurality of antenna elements; one or more processors configured to use outputs from the one or more Rx chains to determine one or more location measurements of the reference signal; and a wireless transmitter configured to report the one or more location measurements and information indicating the number of Rx chains used to determine the one or more location measurements to a network entity.

[0163] Clause 16. The device as described in Clause 15, wherein the one or more positioning measurements include Time of Arrival (TOA) measurement, Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD) measurement, Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) measurement, Signal-to-Interference-Noise Ratio (SINR) measurement, Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI) measurement, quality metric, Receive-to-Transmit (Rx-Tx) measurement, angle measurement, velocity measurement, Doppler measurement, or a combination thereof.

[0164] Clause 17. The device according to Clause 15 or 16, wherein the information indicating the number of Rx chains for determining the one or more positioning measurements includes an indication of at least one of the following: for determining the total number of Rx chains for the plurality of positioning measurements, for determining the total number of Rx chains for a single positioning measurement among the plurality of positioning measurements, the average number of Rx chains used across the plurality of positioning measurements, or for determining the minimum number of Rx chains for any single positioning measurement among the plurality of positioning measurements.

[0165] Clause 18. The device according to any one of Clauses 15-17, wherein the information indicating the number of Rx chains used to determine the one or more positioning measurements identifies which Rx chains or which antenna elements provide at least one of processed Rx signals or combined Rx signals to determine the one or more positioning measurements.

[0166] Clause 19. The device according to any one of Clauses 15-18, wherein the one or more processors are configured to determine the accuracy of the one or more positioning measurements based on the information indicating the number of Rx chains used to determine the one or more positioning.

[0167] Clause 20. The device as described in Clause 19, wherein the device is configured to request the transmission of an additional reference signal based on the accuracy being below a threshold.

[0168] Clause 21. The device according to Clause 19 or 20, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: calculate the positioning of the device according to a first positioning method and by combining the one or more positioning measurements with positioning measurements of an additional reference signal; and switch to a second positioning method if the accuracy is below a threshold.

[0169] Clause 22. The device according to any one of Clauses 15-21, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: allocate a first Rx chain for processing an Rx signal or a combination of Rx signals corresponding to the reference signal; allocate a second Rx chain for processing an Rx signal or a combination of Rx signals corresponding to a second reference signal, wherein the second Rx chain is separate from the first Rx chain.

[0170] Clause 23. The apparatus of Clause 22, wherein the one or more processors are configured to allocate the first Rx chain and the second Rx chain based on determining that the reference signal and the second reference signal have similar center channel frequencies.

[0171] Clause 24. The device according to Clause 22 or 23, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: process the Rx signal or combined Rx signal corresponding to the second reference signal using the second Rx chain; and determine one or more positioning measurements of the second reference signal using the output of the second Rx chain.

[0172] Clause 25. The device according to any one of Clauses 15-24, wherein the wireless transmitter is configured to report the total number of Rx chains available to the device before receiving the reference signal, and wherein it is determined that the total number of Rx chains for the one or more positioning measurements is less than the total number of Rx chains available to the device.

[0173] Clause 26. The device according to Clause 25, wherein, in order to report the total number of Rx chains available to the device, the wireless transmitter is configured to send a capability message to the network entity, and wherein, in order to report information indicating the number of Rx chains used to determine the one or more positioning measurements, the wireless transmitter is configured to send a location information message to the network entity.

[0174] Clause 27. The device according to any one of Clauses 15-26, wherein the plurality of Rx chains includes a first Rx chain, the first Rx chain being configured to: convert an Rx signal corresponding to the reference signal received by the first antenna element into a baseband signal; and perform digital signal processing on the baseband signal, wherein the digital signal processing includes a fast Fourier transform.

[0175] Clause 28. The device according to any one of Clauses 15-26, wherein the plurality of Rx chains includes a first Rx chain, the first Rx chain being configured to: convert a combined Rx signal corresponding to the reference signal received by a first set of antenna elements into a baseband signal; and perform digital signal processing on the baseband signal, wherein the digital signal processing includes a fast Fourier transform.

[0176] Clause 29. A non-transitory computer-readable medium containing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to: use one or more receive (Rx) chains to determine one or more positioning measurements of a reference signal, wherein each Rx chain is configured to process an Rx signal corresponding to the reference signal received by a single antenna element or a combined Rx signal corresponding to the reference signal received by a group of antenna elements; report the one or more positioning measurements to a network entity and information indicating the number of Rx chains used to determine the one or more positioning measurements.

[0177] Clause 30. An apparatus comprising: a plurality of antenna elements; a plurality of receive (Rx) chains, including one or more Rx chains, each Rx chain being configured to process an Rx signal corresponding to a reference signal received by a single antenna element of the plurality of antenna elements or a combined Rx signal corresponding to the reference signal received by a group of antenna elements of the plurality of antenna elements; means for determining one or more positioning measurements of the reference signal using outputs from the one or more Rx chains; and means for reporting the one or more positioning measurements to a network entity and indicating information for determining the number of Rx chains for the one or more positioning measurements.

[0178] Clause 31. A method for determining a location measurement using multiple receive (Rx) chains of a user equipment (UE), the method comprising the UE performing the following operations: processing an Rx signal or a combination of Rx signals corresponding to a first location reference signal (PRS) using an Rx chain associated with a first set of antenna elements; processing an Rx signal or a combination of Rx signals corresponding to a second PRS using an Rx chain associated with a second set of antenna elements separate from the first set of antenna elements, wherein the Rx signal or the combination of Rx signals corresponding to the first PRS is generated during a first PRS timing, and wherein the Rx signal or the combination of Rx signals corresponding to the second PRS is generated during a second PRS timing that at least partially overlaps with the first PRS timing; and determining the location measurement using: (i) the result of the processing of the Rx signal or the combination of Rx signals corresponding to the first PRS and (ii) the result of the processing of the Rx signal or the combination of Rx signals corresponding to the second PRS.

[0179] Clause 32. The method according to Clause 31 further comprises: receiving timing information associated with a serving cell or a reference cell, the timing information indicating a symbol boundary; aligning a first Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) window with a first PRS timing using the Rx chain associated with the first set of antenna elements; aligning a second FFT window with a second PRS timing using the Rx chain associated with the second set of antenna elements, wherein the first FFT window and the second FFT window are aligned regardless of the symbol boundary; and performing a first FFT using the first FFT window in parallel with performing a second FFT using the second FFT window.

[0180] Clause 33. The method according to Clause 31 or 32, wherein the first PRS timing is aligned with the boundary of the first symbol, and wherein the second PRS timing partially overlaps with the first PRS timing in time and is not aligned with any symbol boundary.

[0181] Clause 34. The method according to Clause 32 or 33, wherein aligning the first FFT window with the first PRS timing comprises: receiving auxiliary data indicating an expected time delay of the first PRS timing relative to a symbol boundary; and determining the start of the first FFT window based on the expected time delay indicated by the auxiliary data.

[0182] Article 35: The method according to Article 34, wherein the auxiliary data is received from a gNodeB base station or a location management function (LMF).

[0183] Clause 36. The method according to Clause 34 or 35, wherein the expected time delay is received as the expected reference signal time difference (RSTD) associated with the transmitter device that transmitted the first PRS.

[0184] Clause 37. The method according to any one of Clauses 31-36 further comprises: configuring the Rx chain such that the Rx signal or combination of Rx signals corresponding to a subsequent timing of the first PRS is processed by the Rx chain associated with the first set of antenna elements, rather than by the Rx chain associated with the second set of antenna elements.

[0185] Clause 38. The method according to any one of Clauses 31-37, wherein the first PRS and the second PRS originate from transmit / receive points (TRPs) located at different distances from the UE.

[0186] Clause 39. The method according to any one of Clauses 31-38, wherein the first PRS comes from the serving cell, and wherein the second PRS comes from a neighboring cell.

[0187] Clause 40. The method according to any one of Clauses 31-39 further comprises: using an additional Rx chain associated with the first set of antenna elements to process individual Rx signals or combined Rx signals corresponding to the first PRS; and using an additional Rx chain associated with the second set of antenna elements to process individual Rx signals or combined Rx signals corresponding to the second PRS.

[0188] Clause 41. The method according to any one of Clauses 31-40 further comprises: determining that the first PRS and the second PRS have similar center channel frequencies; and in response to determining that the first PRS and the second PRS have similar center channel frequencies, assigning separate Rx chains to the first PRS and the second PRS.

[0189] Clause 42. An apparatus comprising: a first set of antenna elements configured to generate an Rx signal or a combination of Rx signals corresponding to a first positioning reference signal (PRS) during a first PRS timing; a second set of antenna elements configured to generate an Rx signal or a combination of Rx signals corresponding to a second PRS during a second PRS timing that at least partially overlaps with the first PRS timing; a plurality of receiver (Rx) chains, including: an Rx chain associated with the first set of antenna elements and configured to process the Rx signal or the combination of Rx signals corresponding to the first PRS; and an Rx chain associated with the second set of antenna elements and configured to process the Rx signal or the combination of Rx signals corresponding to the second PRS; and one or more processors configured to determine positioning measurements using: (i) a result generated by the Rx chain associated with the first set of antenna elements based on processing the Rx signal or the combination of Rx signals corresponding to the first PRS; and (ii) a result generated by the Rx chain associated with the second set of antenna elements based on processing the Rx signal or the combination of Rx signals corresponding to the second PRS.

[0190] Clause 43. The apparatus according to Clause 42, wherein: the apparatus is configured to receive timing information associated with a serving cell or a reference cell, the timing information indicating a symbol boundary; the Rx chain associated with the first set of antenna elements is configured to align a first Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) window with the first PRS timing and disregard the symbol boundary, and is further configured to perform a first FFT using the first FFT window; and the Rx chain associated with the second set of antenna elements is configured to align a second FFT window with the second PRS timing and disregard the symbol boundary, and is further configured to perform a second FFT using the second FFT window and in parallel with the first FFT performed by the Rx chain associated with the first set of antenna elements.

[0191] Clause 44. The device according to Clause 42 or 43, wherein the first PRS timing is aligned with the boundary of the first symbol, and wherein the second PRS timing partially overlaps with the first PRS timing in time and is not aligned with any symbol boundary.

[0192] Clause 45. The apparatus according to Clause 43 or 44, wherein the apparatus is configured to receive auxiliary data indicating an expected time delay of the first PRS timing relative to a symbol boundary, and wherein the first FFT window is aligned with the first PRS timing, the apparatus being configured to determine the start of the first FFT window based on the expected time delay indicated by the auxiliary data.

[0193] Clause 46. The device according to Clause 45, wherein the auxiliary data is received from a gNodeB base station or a location management function (LMF).

[0194] Clause 47. The device according to Clause 45 or 46, wherein the device is configured to receive the expected time delay as the expected reference signal time difference (RSTD) associated with the transmitter device that transmitted the first PRS.

[0195] Clause 48. The device according to any one of Clauses 42-47, wherein the one or more processors are configured to cause the Rx signal or combined Rx signal corresponding to a subsequent timing of the first PRS to be processed by the Rx chain associated with the first set of antenna elements, rather than by the Rx chain associated with the second set of antenna elements.

[0196] Clause 49. The device according to any one of Clauses 42-48, wherein the transmitter device is a transmit / receive point (TRP) located at a different distance from the device.

[0197] Clause 50. The device according to any one of Clauses 42-49, wherein the first PRS is received from the serving cell, and wherein the second PRS is received from a neighboring cell.

[0198] Clause 51. The device according to any one of Clauses 42-50, wherein a plurality of Rx chains are associated with the first set of antenna elements and each is configured to process an individual Rx signal or a combination of Rx signals corresponding to the first PRS, and wherein a plurality of Rx chains are associated with the second set of antenna elements and each is configured to process an individual Rx signal or a combination of Rx signals corresponding to the second PRS.

[0199] Clause 52. The device as described in any one of Clauses 42-51, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: determine that the first PRS and the second PRS have similar center channel frequencies; and in response to determining that the first PRS and the second PRS have similar center channel frequencies, allocate separate Rx chains for the first PRS and the second PRS.

[0200] Clause 53. An apparatus comprising: a first set of antenna elements configured to generate an Rx signal or a combination of Rx signals corresponding to a first positioning reference signal (PRS) during a first PRS timing; a second set of antenna elements configured to generate an Rx signal or a combination of Rx signals corresponding to a second PRS during a second PRS timing that at least partially overlaps with the first PRS timing; a plurality of receive (Rx) chains, including an Rx chain associated with the first set of antenna elements and an Rx chain associated with the second set of antenna elements; and a configuration for configuring the Rx chains associated with the first set of antenna elements to process signals corresponding to the first PRS. The components include: a component for configuring the Rx signal or combined Rx signal associated with the second set of antenna elements to process the Rx signal or combined Rx signal corresponding to the second PRS; and a component for determining the positioning measurement using: (i) the result generated by the Rx chain associated with the first set of antenna elements based on processing the Rx signal or combined Rx signal corresponding to the first PRS; and (ii) the result generated by the Rx chain associated with the second set of antenna elements based on processing the Rx signal or combined Rx signal corresponding to the second PRS.

[0201] Clause 54. A non-transitory computer-readable medium containing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to: process an Rx signal or a combination of Rx signals corresponding to a first positioning reference signal (PRS) using an Rx chain associated with a first set of antenna elements; process an Rx signal or a combination of Rx signals corresponding to a second PRS using an Rx chain associated with a second set of antenna elements separate from the first set of antenna elements, wherein the Rx signal or the combination of Rx signals corresponding to the first PRS is generated during a first PRS timing, and wherein the Rx signal or the combination of Rx signals corresponding to the second PRS is generated during a second PRS timing that at least partially overlaps with the first PRS timing; and determine positioning measurements using: (i) the result of the processing of the Rx signal or the combination of Rx signals corresponding to the first PRS and (ii) the result of the processing of the Rx signal or the combination of Rx signals corresponding to the second PRS.

Claims

1. A method for determining location measurements using multiple Rx chains of a user equipment (UE), the method comprising the UE performing the following operations: Receive timing information associated with the serving cell or reference cell, the timing information indicating symbol boundaries; Using the Rx chain associated with the first set of antenna elements, the first Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) window is aligned with the timing of the first Positioning Reference Signal (PRS) and the Rx signal or combined Rx signal corresponding to the first PRS is processed, the Rx signal or combined Rx signal being generated during the first PRS timing. Using the Rx chain associated with the second set of antenna elements, the second FFT window is aligned with the second PRS, wherein the second set of antenna elements is separated from the first set of antenna elements. The second PRS timing overlaps at least partially with the first PRS timing, and the first FFT window and the second FFT window are aligned without regard to the symbol boundaries, and the Rx signal or combined Rx signal corresponding to the second PRS is processed, the Rx signal or combined Rx signal being generated during the second PRS timing; The first FFT is executed using the first FFT window in parallel with the execution of the second FFT using the second FFT window; and The positioning measurement is determined using (i) the result of processing the Rx signal or combined Rx signal corresponding to the first PRS and (ii) the result of processing the Rx signal or combined Rx signal corresponding to the second PRS.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first PRS timing is aligned with the boundary of the first symbol, wherein the second PRS timing partially overlaps with the first PRS timing in time and is not aligned with any symbol boundary.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein aligning the first FFT window with the first PRS timing includes: Receive auxiliary data indicating the expected time delay of the first PRS timing relative to the symbol boundary; as well as The start of the first FFT window is determined based on the expected time delay indicated by the auxiliary data.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the auxiliary data is received from a gNodeB base station or a location management function (LMF).

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the expected time delay is received as the expected reference signal time difference (RSTD) associated with the transmitter device that transmitted the first PRS.

6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: The Rx chain is configured such that the Rx signal or combined Rx signal corresponding to a subsequent timing of the first PRS is processed by the Rx chain associated with the first set of antenna elements, rather than by the Rx chain associated with the second set of antenna elements.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first PRS and the second PRS originate from a transmit / receive point (TRP) located at a different distance from the UE.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the first PRS comes from the serving cell and the second PRS comes from a neighboring cell.

9. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: Use an additional Rx chain associated with the first set of antenna elements to process individual or combined Rx signals corresponding to the first PRS. as well as An additional Rx chain associated with the second set of antenna elements is used to process individual or combined Rx signals corresponding to the second PRS.

10. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: It was determined that the first PRS and the second PRS had similar center channel frequencies; as well as In response to determining that the first PRS and the second PRS have similar center channel frequencies, separate Rx chains are assigned to the first PRS and the second PRS.

11. A wireless communication device, comprising: The first set of antenna elements is configured to generate an Rx signal or a combination of Rx signals corresponding to the first positioning reference signal PRS during the first PRS timing. The second set of antenna elements is configured to generate an Rx signal or a combination of Rx signals corresponding to the second PRS during a second PRS timing that at least partially overlaps with the first PRS timing. Multiple Rx chains, including: An Rx chain associated with the first set of antenna elements, and the Rx chain is configured to process the Rx signal or combined Rx signal corresponding to the first PRS; and An Rx chain associated with the second set of antenna elements, and said Rx chain being configured to process the Rx signal or combined Rx signal corresponding to the second PRS; and One or more processors are configured as follows: Receive timing information associated with the serving cell or reference cell, the timing information indicating symbol boundaries; Align the first Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) window with the first PRS timing; Align the second FFT window with the second PRS timing, wherein the first FFT window and the second FFT window are aligned without regard to the symbol boundaries; The execution of the first FFT is performed using the first FFT window, and the execution of the first FFT is performed in parallel with the execution of the second FFT using the second FFT window; and Use the following to determine positioning measurements: (i) The result generated by the Rx chain associated with the first group of antenna elements based on processing the Rx signal or combined Rx signal corresponding to the first PRS, and (ii) The result generated by the Rx chain associated with the second set of antenna elements based on processing the Rx signal or combined Rx signal corresponding to the second PRS.

12. The wireless communication device of claim 11, wherein the first PRS timing is aligned with the boundary of the first symbol, and wherein the second PRS timing partially overlaps with the first PRS timing in time and is not aligned with any symbol boundary.

13. The wireless communication device of claim 11, wherein the device is configured to receive auxiliary data indicating an expected time delay of the first PRS timing relative to a symbol boundary, and wherein the first FFT window is aligned with the first PRS timing, the device being configured to determine the start of the first FFT window based on the expected time delay indicated by the auxiliary data.

14. The wireless communication device of claim 13, wherein the auxiliary data is received from a gNodeB base station or a location management function (LMF).

15. The wireless communication device of claim 13, wherein the device is configured to receive the expected time delay as an expected reference signal time difference (RSTD) associated with the transmitter device that transmitted the first PRS.

16. The wireless communication device according to claim 11, wherein, The one or more processors are configured to cause the Rx signal or combined Rx signal corresponding to a subsequent timing of the first PRS to be processed by the Rx chain associated with the first set of antenna elements, rather than by the Rx chain associated with the second set of antenna elements.

17. The wireless communication device of claim 11, wherein the first PRS and the second PRS are from a transmitter device, the transmitter device being a transmit / receive point (TRP) located at a different distance from the device.

18. The wireless communication device of claim 11, wherein the first PRS is received from the serving cell, and wherein the second PRS is received from a neighboring cell.

19. The wireless communication device of claim 11, wherein a plurality of Rx chains are associated with the first group of antenna elements, and each Rx chain is configured to process a single Rx signal or a combination of Rx signals corresponding to the first PRS, and wherein, Multiple Rx chains are associated with the second set of antenna elements, and each Rx chain is configured to process individual Rx signals or combined Rx signals corresponding to the second PRS.

20. The wireless communication device of claim 11, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: It is determined that the first PRS and the second PRS have similar center channel frequencies; and In response to determining that the first PRS and the second PRS have similar center channel frequencies, separate Rx chains are assigned to the first PRS and the second PRS.

21. A wireless communication device, comprising: The first set of antenna elements is configured to generate an Rx signal or a combination of Rx signals corresponding to the first positioning reference signal PRS during the first PRS timing. The second set of antenna elements is configured to generate an Rx signal or a combination of Rx signals corresponding to the second PRS during a second PRS timing that at least partially overlaps with the first PRS timing. Multiple Rx chains, including an Rx chain associated with the first group of antenna elements and an Rx chain associated with the second group of antenna elements; Components for configuring the Rx chain associated with the first set of antenna elements to process the Rx signal or combined Rx signal corresponding to the first PRS; Components for configuring the Rx chain associated with the second set of antenna elements to process the Rx signal or combined Rx signal corresponding to the second PRS; A component for receiving timing information associated with a serving cell or a reference cell, the timing information indicating symbol boundaries; A component for aligning the first Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) window with the first PRS timing; A component for aligning a second FFT window with the second PRS timing, wherein the first FFT window and the second FFT window are aligned regardless of the symbol boundaries; A component for performing a first FFT using the first FFT window, wherein the execution of the first FFT is performed in parallel with the execution of a second FFT using the second FFT window; and Components used to determine positioning measurements using the following: (i) The result generated by the Rx chain associated with the first group of antenna elements based on processing the Rx signal or combined Rx signal corresponding to the first PRS, and (ii) The result generated by the Rx chain associated with the second set of antenna elements based on processing the Rx signal or combined Rx signal corresponding to the second PRS.

22. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10.

Images