Designation of reference signal measurement set for double differential timing procedure and required positioning

Abstract

An aspect is directed to signaling a required reference signal for positioning (RS-P) measurement set and an optional RS-P measurement set to a target UE (e.g., for a positioning session related to a DDT procedure or a non-DDT procedure). In another aspect, a double differential timing (DDT) procedure is triggered based at least on a trajectory of a target user equipment (UE). Another aspect is directed to a joint DDT (J-DDT) procedure involving multiple reference wireless nodes.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This patent application claims priority to Greek Patent Application No. 20210100154, filed March 12, 2021, entitled "DOUBLE DIFFERENTIAL TIMING PROCEDURES AND INDICATION OF A REQUIRED REFERENCE SIGNAL FOR POSITIONING MEASUREMENT SET," which is assigned to the assignee of this application and is expressly incorporated by reference in its entirety into this specification. 1. Field of disclosure

[0002] Aspects of the present disclosure relate generally to wireless communications. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of Related Art

[0003] Wireless communication systems have developed through various generations, including first generation analog wireless telephone service (1G), second generation (2G) digital wireless telephone service (including ad-hoc 2.5G networks), third generation (3G) high speed data, Internet-enabled wireless services, and fourth generation (4G) services (e.g., LTE or WiMax). Currently, there are many different types of wireless communication systems in use, including cellular and personal communications services (PCS) systems. Examples of known cellular systems include the Cellular Analog Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS), and digital cellular systems based on Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Global System for Mobile Access (GSM) variants of TDMA, and the like.

[0003]

[0004] The fifth generation (5G) wireless standard, called New Radio (NR), will allow higher data rates, a larger number of connections, and better coverage, among other improvements. The 5G standard by the Next Generation Mobile Network Alliance is designed to give data rates of tens of megabits per second to each of tens of thousands of users, and data rates of one gigabit per second to a few dozen workers on an office floor. To support large wireless sensor deployments, hundreds of thousands of simultaneous connections should be supported. Thus, the spectral efficiency of 5G mobile communications should be significantly enhanced compared to the current 4G standard. Furthermore, signaling efficiency should be enhanced and latency should be significantly reduced compared to the current standard. Summary of the Invention

[0004]

[0005] The following presents a simplified summary related to one or more aspects disclosed herein. As such, the following summary should not be considered an extensive overview related to all contemplated aspects, nor should the following summary be considered to identify key or critical elements related to all contemplated aspects or to delineate the scope related to any particular aspect. As such, the following summary has the sole purpose of presenting some concepts related to one or more aspects related to the mechanisms disclosed herein in a simplified form prior to the detailed description presented below.

[0005]

[0006] In one aspect, a method of operating a position estimation entity includes determining to trigger a joint double differential timing (J-DDT) procedure, the J-DDT procedure comprising a first differential timing (DT) procedure based on timing measurements between a target user equipment (UE) and each wireless node of a first set of wireless nodes, a second DT procedure based on timing measurements between a first reference wireless node and each wireless node of a second set of wireless nodes, and a third DT procedure based on timing measurements between the second reference wireless node and each wireless node of a third set of wireless nodes.

[0006]

[0007] In one aspect, a method of operating a location estimation entity includes determining a required reference signal for positioning (RS-P) measurement set and an optional RS-P measurement set for a positioning session of a target user equipment (UE), sending an indication of the required RS-P measurement set and the optional RS-P measurement set to the target UE, and receiving a measurement report comprising measurement information from the target UE in response to the indication, the measurement information including at least measurement data related to the required RS-P measurement set.

[0007]

[0008] In one aspect, a method for operating a target user equipment (UE) includes receiving, from a position estimation entity, an indication of a required Reference Signal for Positioning (RS-P) measurement set for a positioning session and an optional RS-P measurement set for the positioning session, obtaining measurement data associated with at least the required RS-P measurement set, and transmitting a measurement report comprising measurement information based on the measurement data to the position estimation entity.

[0008]

[0009] In one aspect, a method of operating a location estimation entity includes obtaining first trajectory information related to a target user equipment (UE); determining to trigger a double differential timing (DDT) procedure based on the first trajectory information; and transmitting a request to at least the target UE and a reference wireless node to perform a DDT procedure based on the determination to trigger the DDT procedure, the DDT procedure comprising a first differential timing (DT) procedure based on timing measurements between the target UE and first and second wireless nodes and a second DT procedure based on timing measurements between a reference wireless node and the first and second wireless nodes.

[0009]

[0010] In one aspect, a location estimation entity comprises a memory, at least one transceiver, and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: determine to trigger a joint double differential timing (J-DDT) procedure; and transmit a request to at least the target user equipment (UE), the first reference wireless node, and the second reference wireless node via the at least one transceiver to perform a J-DDT procedure based on the decision to trigger the J-DDT procedure, the J-DDT procedure comprising a first differential timing (DT) procedure based on timing measurements between a target user equipment (UE) and each wireless node of a first set of wireless nodes, a second DT procedure based on timing measurements between the first reference wireless node and each wireless node of the second set of wireless nodes, and a third DT procedure based on timing measurements between the second reference wireless node and each wireless node of a third set of wireless nodes.

[0010]

[0011] In one aspect, a position estimation entity includes a memory, at least one transceiver, and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, wherein the at least one processor is configured to determine a required reference signal for positioning (RS-P) measurement set and an optional RS-P measurement set for a positioning session of a target user equipment (UE), send an indication of the required RS-P measurement set and the optional RS-P measurement set to the target UE via the at least one transceiver, and receive a measurement report comprising measurement information from the target UE in response to the indication via the at least one transceiver, wherein the measurement information includes at least measurement data related to the required RS-P measurement set.

[0011]

[0012] In one aspect, a target user equipment (UE) includes a memory, at least one transceiver, and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, wherein the at least one processor is configured to receive, via the at least one transceiver, from a position estimation entity an indication of a required Reference Signal for Positioning (RS-P) measurement set for a positioning session and an optional RS-P measurement set for the positioning session, obtain measurement data associated with at least the required RS-P measurement set, and transmit, via the at least one transceiver, a measurement report comprising measurement information based on the measurement data to the position estimation entity.

[0012]

[0013] In one aspect, the location estimation entity includes a memory, at least one transceiver, and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: acquire first trajectory information related to a target user equipment (UE); determine to trigger a double differential timing (DDT) procedure based on the first trajectory information; and transmit, via the at least one transceiver, a request to at least the target UE and the reference wireless node to perform a DDT procedure based on the decision to trigger the DDT procedure, the DDT procedure comprising a first differential timing (DT) procedure based on timing measurements between the target UE and first and second wireless nodes and a second DT procedure based on timing measurements between a reference wireless node and the first and second wireless nodes.

[0013]

[0014] In one aspect, the location estimation entity includes means for determining to trigger a joint double differential timing (J-DDT) procedure, the J-DDT procedure comprising a first differential timing (DT) procedure based on timing measurements between the target user equipment (UE) and each wireless node of a first set of wireless nodes, a second DT procedure based on timing measurements between the first reference wireless node and each wireless node of the second set of wireless nodes, and a third DT procedure based on timing measurements between the second reference wireless node and each wireless node of a third set of wireless nodes, and means for transmitting a request to at least the target UE, the first reference wireless node, and the second reference wireless node to perform a J-DDT procedure based on the determination to trigger the J-DDT procedure.

[0014]

[0015] In one aspect, the position estimation entity includes means for determining a required reference signal for positioning (RS-P) measurement set and an optional RS-P measurement set for a positioning session of a target user equipment (UE), means for sending an indication of the required RS-P measurement set and the optional RS-P measurement set to the target UE, and means for receiving a measurement report comprising measurement information from the target UE in response to the indication, the measurement information including at least measurement data related to the required RS-P measurement set.

[0015]

[0016] In one aspect, a target user equipment (UE) includes means for receiving an indication of a required Reference Signal for Positioning (RS-P) measurement set for a positioning session and an optional RS-P measurement set for the positioning session from a position estimation entity, means for acquiring measurement data associated with at least the required RS-P measurement set, and means for transmitting a measurement report comprising measurement information based on the measurement data to the position estimation entity.

[0016]

[0017] In one aspect, the location estimation entity includes means for acquiring first trajectory information related to a target user equipment (UE); means for determining to trigger a double differential timing (DDT) procedure based on the first trajectory information; and means for transmitting a request to at least the target UE and a reference wireless node to perform a DDT procedure based on the determination to trigger the DDT procedure, the DDT procedure comprising a first differential timing (DT) procedure based on timing measurements between the target UE and first and second wireless nodes and a second DT procedure based on timing measurements between a reference wireless node and the first and second wireless nodes.

[0017]

[0018] In one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a position estimation entity, cause the position estimation entity to determine to trigger a joint double differential timing (J-DDT) procedure, the J-DDT procedure comprising a first differential timing (DT) procedure based on timing measurements between a target user equipment (UE) and each wireless node of a first set of wireless nodes, a second DT procedure based on timing measurements between the first reference wireless node and each wireless node of a second set of wireless nodes, and a third DT procedure based on timing measurements between the second reference wireless node and each wireless node of a third set of wireless nodes, and to transmit a request to at least a target UE, a first reference wireless node, and a second reference wireless node to perform a J-DDT procedure based on the decision to trigger the J-DDT procedure.

[0018]

[0019] In one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a position estimation entity, cause the position estimation entity to: determine a required reference signal for positioning (RS-P) measurement set and an optional RS-P measurement set for a positioning session of a target user equipment (UE); send an indication of the required RS-P measurement set and the optional RS-P measurement set to the target UE; and receive a measurement report comprising measurement information from the target UE in response to the indication, the measurement information including at least measurement data related to the required RS-P measurement set.

[0019]

[0020] In one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a target user equipment (UE), cause the UE to receive from a position estimation entity an indication of a required Reference Signal for Positioning (RS-P) measurement set for a positioning session and an optional RS-P measurement set for the positioning session, obtain measurement data associated with at least the required RS-P measurement set, and transmit a measurement report to the position estimation entity comprising measurement information based on the measurement data.

[0020]

[0021] In one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a position estimation entity, cause the position estimation entity to obtain first trajectory information associated with a target user equipment (UE); determine to trigger a double differential timing (DDT) procedure based on the first trajectory information; and send a request to at least the target UE and a reference wireless node to perform a DDT procedure based on the decision to trigger the DDT procedure, the DDT procedure comprising a first differential timing (DT) procedure based on timing measurements between the target UE and first and second wireless nodes and a second DT procedure based on timing measurements between a reference wireless node and the first and second wireless nodes.

[0021]

[0022] Other objects and advantages associated with the embodiments disclosed herein will become apparent to those skilled in the art based on the accompanying drawings and detailed description.

[0022]

[0023] The accompanying drawings are presented to aid in the explanation of various aspects of the present disclosure and are provided merely to illustrate, not to limit, the aspects. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0023] [Figure 1]

[0024] 1 illustrates an example wireless communication system, in accordance with various aspects. [Figure 2A]

[0025] FIG. 1 illustrates an example wireless network structure, according to aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 2B] FIG. 1 illustrates an example wireless network structure, according to aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 2C] FIG. 1 illustrates an example wireless network structure, according to aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 3A]

[0026] 1 is a simplified block diagram of several sample aspects of components that may be employed in a wireless communication node and configured to support communications as taught herein; [Figure 3B] 1 is a simplified block diagram of several sample aspects of components that may be employed in a wireless communication node and configured to support communications as taught herein; [Figure 3C] 1 is a simplified block diagram of several sample aspects of components that may be employed in a wireless communication node and configured to support communications as taught herein; [Figure 4A]

[0027] 1 illustrates an example of a frame structure and channels within the frame structure, according to aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 4B] 1 illustrates an example of a frame structure and channels within the frame structure, according to aspects of the present disclosure. [Diagram 5]

[0028] 4 illustrates an example PRS configuration for a cell supported by a wireless node. [Figure 6]

[0029] FIG. 1 illustrates an example wireless communication system in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 7]

[0030] FIG. 1 illustrates an example wireless communication system in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 8A]

[0031] 11 is a graph illustrating an RF channel response at a receiver over time, in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 8B]

[0032] Diagram showing this separation of clusters in the AoD. [Figure 9]

[0033] 4 illustrates an example timing of RTT measurement signals exchanged between a base station and a UE, according to an aspect of the disclosure. [Figure 10]

[0034] 4 illustrates an example timing of RTT measurement signals exchanged between a base station and a UE in accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 11]

[0035] FIG. 1 illustrates an example wireless communication system according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 12]

[0036] A diagram illustrating example timing of RTT measurement signals exchanged between a base station (e.g., any of the base stations described herein) and a UE (e.g., any of the UEs described herein) in accordance with other aspects of the disclosure. [Figure 13]

[0037] FIG. 1 illustrates a satellite-based positioning method. [Figure 14]

[0038] FIG. 2 illustrates another satellite-based positioning scheme. [Figure 15]

[0039] FIG. 2 illustrates another satellite-based positioning scheme. [Figure 16]

[0040] FIG. 1 illustrates an example process for wireless communication according to aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 17]

[0041] 17 illustrates an example implementation of the process of FIG. 16 according to aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 18]

[0042] 17 illustrates an example implementation of the process of FIG. 16 according to aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 19]

[0043] 17 illustrates an example implementation of the process of FIG. 16 according to aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 20]

[0044] FIG. 1 illustrates a double-differential TDOA scheme, according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 21]

[0045] FIG. 1 illustrates an example process for wireless communication according to aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 22]

[0046] 22 illustrates an example implementation of the process of FIG. 21 according to aspects of the present disclosure. [Diagram 23]

[0047] 22 illustrates an example implementation of the process of FIG. 21 according to another aspect of the disclosure. [Figure 24]

[0048] FIG. 1 illustrates an example process for wireless communication according to aspects of the present disclosure. [Diagram 25]

[0049] 25 illustrates an example implementation of the process of FIG. 24 according to aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 26]

[0050] FIG. 1 illustrates an example process for wireless communication according to aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 27]

[0051] FIG. 1 illustrates an example process for wireless communication according to aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 28]

[0052] FIG. 1 illustrates the composition of an RS-P measurement set, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0024]

[0053] Aspects of the present disclosure are provided in the following description and associated drawings directed to various examples provided for illustration purposes. Alternative aspects may be devised without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Additionally, well-known elements of the present disclosure will not be described in detail or will be omitted so as not to obscure the relevant details of the present disclosure.

[0025]

[0054] The words "exemplary" and / or "example" are used herein to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration." Any aspect described herein as "exemplary" and / or "example" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects. Likewise, the term "aspects of the present disclosure" does not require that all aspects of the present disclosure include the described feature, advantage or mode of operation.

[0026]

[0055] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the information and signals described below may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, the data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the following description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof, depending in part on the particular application, desired design, corresponding technology, etc.

[0027]

[0056] Furthermore, many aspects are described in terms of sequences of actions to be performed, for example, by elements of a computing device. It will be appreciated that the various actions described herein may be performed by specific circuitry (e.g., an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC)), by program instructions executed by one or more processors, or by a combination of both. Furthermore, the sequences of actions described herein may be considered to be embodied in their entirety within any form of non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a corresponding set of computer instructions that, when executed, will cause or instruct the associated processors of the device to perform the functions described herein. Thus, various aspects of the present disclosure may be embodied in a number of different forms, all of which are contemplated to fall within the scope of the claimed subject matter. Furthermore, for each of the aspects described herein, the corresponding form of any such aspect may be described herein, for example, as "logic configured to" perform the described actions.

[0028]

[0057] The terms "user equipment" (UE) and "base station" as used herein are not intended to be specific or otherwise limited to any particular radio access technology (RAT) unless otherwise stated. In general, a UE may be any wireless communication device (e.g., a mobile phone, a router, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a consumer tracking device or a consumer asset tracking device, a wearable (e.g., a smart watch, glasses, an augmented reality (AR) / virtual reality (VR) headset, etc.), a vehicle (e.g., an automobile, a motorcycle, a bicycle, etc.), an Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc.) used by a user to communicate over a wireless communication network. A UE may be mobile or (e.g., at some times) stationary and may communicate with a radio access network (RAN). The term "UE" as used herein may be referred to interchangeably as an "access terminal" or "AT", "client device", "wireless device", "subscriber device", "subscriber terminal", "subscriber station", "user terminal" or UT, "mobile terminal", "mobile station", or variations thereof. In general, a UE may communicate with a core network via the RAN, through which the UE may be connected to external networks, such as the Internet, and other UEs. Of course, other mechanisms for connecting to the core network and / or the Internet are also possible for a UE, such as via a wired access network, a wireless local area network (WLAN) network (e.g., based on IEEE 802.11, etc.), etc.

[0029]

[0058] Depending on the network in which it is deployed, the base station may operate according to one of several RATs in communication with the UE and may alternatively be referred to as an access point (AP), network node, Node B, evolved Node B (eNB), new radio (NR) Node B (also referred to as gNB or gNode B), etc. Furthermore, in some systems, the base station may provide purely edge node signaling functionality, while in other systems it may provide additional control and / or network management functionality. In some systems, the base station may correspond to a customer premises equipment (CPE) or a roadside unit (RSU). In some designs, the base station may correspond to a high-power UE (e.g., a vehicular UE or VUE) that may provide functionality for some limited infrastructure. The communication link through which the UE may send signals to the base station is referred to as an uplink (UL) channel (e.g., a reverse traffic channel, a reverse control channel, an access channel, etc.). A communication link through which a base station can send signals to a UE is called a downlink (DL) or forward link channel (e.g., a paging channel, a control channel, a broadcast channel, a forward traffic channel, etc.). As used herein, the term Traffic Channel (TCH) can refer to either a UL / reverse traffic channel or a DL / forward traffic channel.

[0030]

[0059] The term "base station" may refer to a single physical transmit reception point (TRP) or multiple physical TRPs that may or may not be collocated. For example, when the term "base station" refers to a single physical TRP, the physical TRP may be an antenna of the base station corresponding to the cell of the base station. When the term "base station" refers to multiple collocated physical TRPs, the physical TRP may be an array of antennas of the base station (e.g., as in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system or in cases where the base station employs beamforming). When the term "base station" refers to multiple non-collocated physical TRPs, the physical TRP may be a distributed antenna system (DAS) (a network of spatially separated antennas connected to a common source via a transport medium) or a remote radio head (RRH) (a remote base station connected to a serving base station). Alternatively, the non-collocated physical TRP may be a serving base station that receives a measurement report from a UE and a neighbor base station whose reference RF signal the UE is measuring. A TRP is a point from which a base station transmits and receives wireless signals, and therefore, as used herein, references to transmission from or reception at a base station should be understood as referring to the particular TRP of the base station.

[0031]

[0060] An "RF signal" comprises electromagnetic waves of a given frequency that transport information through space between a transmitter and a receiver. As used herein, a transmitter may transmit a single "RF signal" or multiple "RF signals" to a receiver. However, a receiver may receive multiple "RF signals" corresponding to each transmitted RF signal due to the propagation characteristics of RF signals through multipath channels. The same transmitted RF signal on different paths between a transmitter and a receiver may be referred to as a "multipath" RF signal.

[0032]

[0061] In accordance with various aspects, FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary wireless communication system 100. The wireless communication system 100 (sometimes referred to as a wireless wide area network (WWAN)) may include various base stations 102 and various UEs 104. The base stations 102 may include macrocell base stations (high-power cellular base stations) and / or small cell base stations (low-power cellular base stations). In an aspect, the macrocell base stations may include eNBs where the wireless communication system 100 corresponds to an LTE network, or gNBs where the wireless communication system 100 corresponds to an NR network, or a combination of both, and the small cell base stations may include femtocells, picocells, microcells, etc.

[0033]

[0062] The base stations 102 collectively form a RAN and may interface with a core network 170 (e.g., Evolved Packet Core (EPC) or Next Generation Core (NGC)) through backhaul links 122, through which they may interface to one or more location servers 172. In addition to other functions, the base stations 102 may perform functions related to one or more of forwarding user data, radio channel encryption and decryption, integrity protection, header compression, mobility control functions (e.g., handover, dual connectivity), inter-cell interference coordination, connection setup and release, load balancing, distribution for non-access stratum (NAS) messages, NAS node selection, synchronization, RAN sharing, Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Services (MBMS), subscriber and equipment tracing, RAN Information Management (RIM), paging, positioning, and delivery of alert messages. The base stations 102 may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., through EPC / NGC) via backhaul links 134, which may be wired or wireless.

[0034]

[0063] The base stations 102 may wirelessly communicate with the UEs 104. Each of the base stations 102 may provide communication coverage to a respective geographic coverage area 110. In an aspect, one or more cells may be supported by the base station 102 in each coverage area 110. A "cell" is a logical communication entity used for communication with a base station (e.g., over some frequency resource, called a carrier frequency, component carrier, carrier, band, etc.) and may be associated with an identifier (e.g., physical cell identifier (PCI), virtual cell identifier (VCI)) to distinguish cells operating over the same or different carrier frequencies. In some cases, different cells may be configured according to different protocol types (e.g., machine type communication (MTC), narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), or others) that may provide access to different types of UEs. Because a cell is supported by a particular base station, the term "cell" may refer to either or both of the logical communication entity and the base station that supports it, depending on the context. In some cases, the term “cell” may also refer to a geographic coverage area (e.g., a sector) of a base station, so long as the carrier frequency can be detected and used for communication within a portion of the geographic coverage area 110.

[0035]

[0064] The geographic coverage areas 110 of neighboring macrocell base stations 102 may overlap partially (e.g., in handover regions), but some of the geographic coverage areas 110 may be significantly overlapped by larger geographic coverage areas 110. For example, a small cell base station 102' may have a coverage area 110' that significantly overlaps with the coverage area 110 of one or more macrocell base stations 102. A network that includes both small cell base stations and macrocell base stations may be known as a heterogeneous network. A heterogeneous network may also include Home eNBs (HeNBs) that may serve restricted groups known as Closed Subscriber Groups (CSGs).

[0036]

[0065] The communication link 120 between the base station 102 and the UE 104 may include UL (also called reverse link) transmissions from the UE 104 to the base station 102, and / or downlink (DL) (also called forward link) transmissions from the base station 102 to the UE 104. The communication link 120 may use MIMO antenna techniques, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and / or transmit diversity. The communication link 120 may be through one or more carrier frequencies. The allocation of carriers may be asymmetric with respect to DL and UL (e.g., more or fewer carriers may be allocated for DL ​​than for UL).

[0037]

[0066] The wireless communication system 100 may further include a wireless local area network (WLAN) access point (AP) 150 communicating with a WLAN station (STA) 152 via a communication link 154 in an unlicensed frequency spectrum (e.g., 5 GHz). When communicating in the unlicensed frequency spectrum, the WLAN STA 152 and / or the WLAN AP 150 may perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) procedure or a listen-before-talk (LBT) procedure before communicating to determine if a channel is available.

[0038]

[0067] The small cell base station 102' may operate in licensed and / or unlicensed frequency spectrums. When operating in an unlicensed frequency spectrum, the small cell base station 102' may employ LTE or NR technology and use the same 5 GHz unlicensed frequency spectrum used by the WLAN AP 150. A small cell base station 102' employing LTE / 5G in an unlicensed frequency spectrum may boost coverage to and / or increase capacity of an access network. NR in an unlicensed spectrum may be referred to as NR-U. LTE in an unlicensed spectrum may be referred to as LTE-U, Licensed Assisted Access (LAA), or MulteFire.

[0039]

[0068] The wireless communication system 100 may further include a mmW base station 180 that may operate in millimeter wave (mmW) and / or near-mmW frequencies in communication with the UE 182. Extremely high frequency (EHF) is a portion of RF in the electromagnetic spectrum. EHF has a range of 30 GHz to 300 GHz and a wavelength between 1 millimeter and 10 millimeters. Radio waves in this band may be referred to as millimeter waves. Near-mmW may extend down to a frequency of 3 GHz with a wavelength of 100 millimeters. The very high frequency (SHF) band extends between 3 GHz and 30 GHz, also called centimeter waves. Communications using the mmW / near-mmW radio frequency bands have high path loss and relatively short range. The mmW base station 180 and the UE 182 may utilize beamforming (transmit and / or receive) over the mmW communication link 184 to compensate for the extremely high path loss and short range. Moreover, it will be appreciated that in alternative configurations, one or more base stations 102 may also transmit using mmW or near mmW and beamforming. Thus, it will be appreciated that the above description is by way of example only and should not be construed as limiting various aspects disclosed herein.

[0040]

[0069] Transmit beamforming is a technique for focusing an RF signal in a particular direction. Traditionally, when a network node (e.g., a base station) broadcasts an RF signal, it broadcasts the signal in all directions (omnidirectionally). In transmit beamforming, the network node determines where a given target device (e.g., UE) is located (relative to the transmitting network node) and projects a stronger downlink RF signal in that particular direction, thereby providing a faster and stronger RF signal (in terms of data rate) to the receiving device. To change the directionality of the RF signal when transmitting, the network node can control the phase and relative amplitude of the RF signal at each of one or more transmitters broadcasting the RF signal. For example, the network node may use an array of antennas (called a "phased array" or "antenna array") that creates beams of RF waves that can be "steered" to point in different directions without actually moving the antennas. In particular, RF current from the transmitter is fed to the individual antennas with the proper phase relationship so that the waves from the separate antennas add together to increase radiation in the desired direction while canceling and suppressing radiation in undesired directions.

[0041]

[0070] A transmit beam may be quasi-colocated, meaning that the transmit beam appears to a receiver (e.g., a UE) to have the same parameters, regardless of whether the network node's transmit antennas themselves are physically colocated. In NR, there are four types of quasi-colocated (QCL) relationships. In particular, a QCL relationship of a given type means that some parameters for a second reference RF signal on a second beam may be derived from information about a source reference RF signal on a source beam. Thus, if the source reference RF signal is QCL type A, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, and delay spread of the second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL type B, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and Doppler spread of the second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL type C, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and Doppler spread of the second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL Type D, the receiver may use the source reference RF signal to estimate spatial receive parameters of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel.

[0042]

[0071] In receive beamforming, a receiver uses receive beams to amplify RF signals detected on a given channel. For example, the receiver can increase the gain setting and / or adjust the phase setting of an array of antennas in a particular direction to amplify (e.g., increase its gain level) an RF signal received from that direction. Thus, when a receiver is said to beamform in some direction, it means that the beam gain in that direction is higher relative to the beam gains along other directions, or that the beam gain in that direction is the highest compared to the beam gains in that direction of all other receive beams available to the receiver. This results in a stronger received signal strength (e.g., Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), Signal-to-Interference-Plus-Noise Ratio (SINR), etc.) of the RF signal received from that direction.

[0043]

[0072] The receive beams may be spatially related. The spatial relationship means that the parameters for the transmit beam for the second reference signal may be derived from information about the receive beam for the first reference signal. For example, the UE may use a particular receive beam to receive a reference downlink reference signal (e.g., a synchronization signal block (SSB)) from a base station. The UE may then form a transmit beam for sending an uplink reference signal (e.g., a sounding reference signal (SRS)) to that base station based on the parameters of the receive beam.

[0044]

[0073] Note that a "downlink" beam can be either a transmit beam or a receive beam, depending on the entity forming it. For example, if the base station forms a downlink beam to transmit a reference signal to the UE, the downlink beam is a transmit beam. However, if the UE forms a downlink beam, it is a receive beam to receive the downlink reference signal. Similarly, an "uplink" beam can be either a transmit beam or a receive beam, depending on the entity forming it. For example, if the base station forms an uplink beam, it is an uplink receive beam, and if the UE forms an uplink beam, it is an uplink transmit beam.

[0045]

[0074] In 5G, the frequency spectrum in which wireless nodes (e.g., base station 102 / 180, UE 104 / 182) operate is divided into multiple frequency ranges: FR1 (450 to 6000 MHz), FR2 (24250 to 52600 MHz), FR3 (above 52600 MHz), and FR4 (between FR1 and FR2). In a multi-carrier system, such as 5G, one of the carrier frequencies is called the "primary carrier" or "anchor carrier" or "primary serving cell" or "PCell," and the remaining carrier frequencies are called the "secondary carrier" or "secondary serving cell" or "SCell." In carrier aggregation, the anchor carrier is the carrier operating on the primary frequency (e.g., FR1) utilized by the UE 104 / 182 and the cell in which the UE 104 / 182 either performs an initial radio resource control (RRC) connection establishment procedure or initiates an RRC connection re-establishment procedure. The primary carrier carries all common and UE-specific control channels and may be a carrier in licensed frequencies (although this is not always the case). The secondary carrier is a carrier operating on a second frequency (e.g., FR2) that may be configured once an RRC connection is established between the UE 104 and the anchor carrier and may be used to provide additional radio resources. In some cases, the secondary carrier may be a carrier in unlicensed frequencies. The secondary carrier may contain only the necessary signaling information and signals, e.g., since both the primary uplink carrier and the primary downlink carrier are typically UE-specific, signaling information and signals that are UE-specific may not be present in the secondary carrier. This means that different UEs 104 / 182 in a cell may have different downlink primary carriers. The same is true for the uplink primary carrier. The network can change the primary carrier of any UE 104 / 182 at any time. This is done, for example, to distribute the load on different carriers.Since a "serving cell" (whether a PCell or an SCell) corresponds to the carrier frequency / component carrier on which some base station is communicating, terms such as "cell", "serving cell", "component carrier", "carrier frequency", etc. may be used interchangeably.

[0046]

[0075] For example, still referring to FIG. 1, one of the frequencies utilized by the macrocell base station 102 may be an anchor carrier (or “PCell”), and the other frequencies utilized by the macrocell base station 102 and / or the mmW base station 180 may be secondary carriers (“SCells”). Simultaneous transmission and / or reception of multiple carriers allows the UE 104 / 182 to significantly increase its data transmission and / or reception rates. For example, two 20 MHz aggregated carriers in a multi-carrier system would theoretically lead to a doubling of the data rate (i.e., 40 MHz) compared to that achieved by a single 20 MHz carrier.

[0047]

[0076] The wireless communication system 100 may further include one or more UEs, such as UE 190, that indirectly connect to one or more communication networks via one or more device-to-device (D2D) peer-to-peer (P2P) links. In the example of FIG. 1, the UE 190 has a D2D P2P link 192 with one of the UEs 104 connected to one of the base stations 102 (e.g., through which the UE 190 may indirectly obtain cellular connectivity) and a D2D P2P link 194 with a WLAN STA 152 connected to a WLAN AP 150 (through which the UE 190 may indirectly obtain WLAN-based Internet connectivity). In one example, the D2D P2P links 192 and 194 may be supported with any well-known D2D RAT, such as LTE Direct (LTE-D), WiFi Direct® (WiFi®-D), Bluetooth®, etc.

[0048]

[0077] The wireless communications system 100 may further include a UE 164, which may communicate with the macrocell base station 102 via communications link 120 and / or with the mmW base station 180 via an mmW communications link 184. For example, the macrocell base station 102 may support a PCell and one or more SCells for the UE 164, and the mmW base station 180 may support one or more SCells for the UE 164.

[0049]

[0078] 2A illustrates an exemplary wireless network structure 200. For example, a 5GC 210 (also referred to as Next Generation Core (NGC)) may be considered functionally as a control plane (C-plane) function 214 (e.g., UE registration, authentication, network access, gateway selection, etc.) and a user plane (U-plane) function 212 (e.g., UE gateway function, access to data network, IP routing, etc.) that operate cooperatively to form a core network. A user plane interface (NG-U) 213 and a control plane interface (NG-C) 215 connect a gNB 222 to the 5GC 210, specifically to the user plane function 212 and the control plane function 214, respectively. In an additional configuration, a ng-eNB 224 may also be connected to the 5GC 210 via the NG-C 215 to the control plane function 214 and the NG-U 213 to the user plane function 212. Additionally, the ng-eNB 224 may communicate directly with the gNB 222 via a backhaul connection 223. In some configurations, the next generation RAN (NG-RAN) 220 may have one or more gNBs 222, while other configurations include one or more of both an ng-eNB 224 and a gNB 222. Either the gNB 222 or the ng-eNB 224 (or both) may communicate with one or more UEs 204 (e.g., any of the UEs described herein).

[0050]

[0079] Another optional aspect may include a location server 230, which may be in communication with the 5GC 210 to provide location assistance to the UE 204. The location servers 230 may be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules spread across multiple physical servers, etc.) or, alternatively, each may correspond to a single server. The location servers 230 may be configured to support one or more location services for the UE 204 that may connect to the location server 230 via the core network 5GC 210 and / or via the Internet (not shown). Furthermore, the location server 230 may be integrated into a component of the core network or, alternatively, may be external to the core network (e.g., a third-party server, such as an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) server or a service server).

[0051]

[0080] 2B illustrates another exemplary wireless network structure 240. A 5GC 260 (which may correspond to 5GC 210 in FIG. 2A) may be considered functionally as a control plane function provided by an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 264 and a user plane function provided by a User Plane Function (UPF) 262, which operate cooperatively to form a core network (i.e., 5GC 260). The functions of the AMF 264 include registration management, connection management, reachability management, mobility management, lawful interception, transport for session management (SM) messages between one or more UEs 204 (e.g., any of the UEs described herein) and a Session Management Function (SMF) 266, a transparent proxy service for routing SM messages, access authentication and access authorization, transport for short message service (SMS) messages between the UE 204 and a Short Message Service Function (SMSF) (not shown), and a Security Anchor Function (SEAF). The AMF 264 also interacts with an Authentication Server Function (AUSF) (not shown) and the UE 204 to receive intermediate keys established as a result of the UE 204 authentication process. In case of UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) Subscriber Identity Module (USIM) based authentication, the AMF 264 retrieves security material from the AUSF. The AMF 264 functions also include Security Context Management (SCM). The SCM receives keys from the SEAF that it uses to derive access network specific keys. The AMF 264 functions also include location service management for barred services, transport for location service messages between the UE 204 and the Location Management Function (LMF) 270 (acting as the location server 230), transport for location service messages between the NG-RAN 220 and the LMF 270, EPS bearer identifier allocation for interworking with the Evolved Packet System (EPS), and UE 204 mobility event notification.In addition, AMF264 also supports functionality for non-3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) access networks.

[0052]

[0081] The functions of the UPF 262 include serving as an anchor point for intra / inter-RAT mobility (when applicable), serving as an external protocol data unit (PDU) session point for interconnection to a data network (not shown), providing packet routing and forwarding, packet inspection, user plane policy rule enforcement (e.g., gating, redirection, traffic steering), lawful interception (user plane collection), traffic usage reporting, Quality of Service (QoS) handling for the user plane (e.g., uplink / downlink rate enforcement, reflective QoS marking in the downlink), uplink traffic validation (Service Data Flow (SDF) to QoS flow mapping), transport level packet marking in the uplink and downlink, downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering, and sending and forwarding one or more "termination markers" to the source RAN node. The UPF 262 may also support the transfer of location service messages on the user plane between the UE 204 and a location server, such as the SLP 272.

[0053]

[0082] The functions of the SMF 266 include session management, UE Internet Protocol (IP) address allocation and management, selection and control of user plane functions, configuration of traffic steering in the UPF 262 to route traffic to the appropriate destination, control of policy enforcement and parts of QoS, and downlink data notification. The interface through which the SMF 266 communicates with the AMF 264 is called the N11 interface.

[0054]

[0083] Another optional aspect may include an LMF 270, which may be in communication with the 5GC 260 to provide location assistance to the UE 204. The LMF 270 may be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules spread across multiple physical servers, etc.) or, alternatively, each may correspond to a single server. The LMF 270 may be configured to support one or more location services for the UE 204 that may be connected to the LMF 270 via a core network, the 5GC 260, and / or via the Internet (not shown). The SLP 272 may support similar functions as the LMF 270, except that the LMF 270 may communicate with the AMF 264, the NG-RAN 220, and the UE 204 via a control plane (e.g., using interfaces and protocols intended to carry signaling messages rather than voice or data), and the SLP 272 may communicate with the UE 204 and external clients (e.g., third-party servers 274) via a user plane (e.g., using protocols intended to carry voice and / or data such as Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and / or IP).

[0055]

[0084] Yet another optional aspect may include a third party server 274, which may be in communication with the LMF 270, the SLP 272, the 5GC 260 (e.g., via the AMF 264 and / or the UPF 262), the NG-RAN 220, and / or the UE 204 to obtain location information (e.g., a location estimate) for the UE 204. Thus, in some cases, the third party server 274 may be referred to as a location services (LCS) client or an external client. The third party servers 274 may be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules spread across multiple physical servers, etc.) or, alternatively, each may correspond to a single server.

[0056]

[0085] The user plane interface 263 and the control plane interface 265 connect the 5GC 260, in particular the UPF 262 and the AMF 264, respectively, to one or more gNBs 222 and / or ng-eNBs 224 in the NG-RAN 220. The interface between the gNBs 222 and / or ng-eNBs 224 and the AMF 264 is referred to as the "N2" interface, and the interface between the gNBs 222 and / or ng-eNBs 224 and the UPF 262 is referred to as the "N3" interface. The gNBs 222 and / or ng-eNBs 224 of the NG-RAN 220 may communicate directly with each other via a backhaul connection 223 referred to as the "Xn-C" interface. One or more of the gNBs 222 and / or ng-eNBs 224 may communicate with one or more UEs 204 via a wireless interface referred to as the "Uu" interface.

[0057]

[0086] The functions of the gNB 222 may be divided between a gNB Central Unit (gNB-CU) 226, one or more gNB Distributed Units (gNB-DU) 228, and one or more gNB Radio Units (gNB-RU) 229. The gNB-CU 226 is a logical node that includes base station functions such as forwarding user data, mobility control, radio access network sharing, positioning, session management, etc., except for functions exclusively allocated to the gNB-DU 228. More specifically, the gNB-CU 226 generally hosts the Radio Resource Control (RRC), Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP), and Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) protocols of the gNB 222. The gNB-DU 228 is a logical node that generally hosts the Radio Link Control (RLC) layer and Medium Access Control (MAC) layer of the gNB 222. Its operation is controlled by the gNB-CU 226. One gNB-DU 228 can support one or more cells, and one cell is supported by only one gNB-DU 228. The interface 232 between the gNB-CU 226 and one or more gNB-DUs 228 is referred to as an "F1" interface. The physical (PHY) layer functions of the gNB 222 are generally hosted by one or more standalone gNB-RUs 229, which perform functions such as power amplification and signal transmission / reception. The interface between the gNB-DU 228 and the gNB-RU 229 is referred to as an "Fx" interface. Thus, the UE 204 communicates with the gNB-CU 226 via the RRC layer, the SDAP layer, and the PDCP layer, with the gNB-DU 228 via the RLC layer and the MAC layer, and with the gNB-RU 229 via the PHY layer.

[0058]

[0087] The deployment of a communication system such as a 5G NR system may be configured in multiple ways with various components or parts. In a 5G NR system or network, network equipment such as a network node, network entity, mobility element of the network, RAN node, core network node, network element, or base station, or one or more units (or one or more components) performing base station functions may be implemented in an aggregated or disaggregated architecture. For example, a base station (such as a Node B (NB), evolved NB (eNB), NR base station, 5G NB, access point (AP), transmit reception point (TRP), or cell) may be implemented as an aggregated or disaggregated base station (also known as a standalone base station or a monolithic base station).

[0059]

[0088] An aggregated base station may be configured to utilize a radio protocol stack that is physically or logically integrated within a single RAN node. A disaggregated base station may be configured to utilize a protocol stack that is physically or logically distributed among two or more units (such as one or more central or concentrated units (CU), one or more distributed units (DU), or one or more radio units (RU)). In some aspects, a CU may be implemented within a RAN node, and one or more DUs may be co-located with the CU or, alternatively, geographically or virtually distributed across one or more other RAN nodes. A DU may be implemented to communicate with one or more RUs. Each of the CU, DU, and RU may also be implemented as a virtual unit, i.e., a virtual central unit (VCU), a virtual distributed unit (VDU), or a virtual radio unit (VRU).

[0060]

[0089] The operation or network design of a base station type may take into account the aggregation characteristics of the base station's functions. For example, a disaggregated base station may be utilized in an integrated access backhaul (IAB) network, an open radio access network (O-RAN (such as the network configuration sponsored by the O-RAN Alliance)), or a virtualized radio access network (also known as Cloud Radio Access Network (CRAN), vRAN). Disaggregation may include distributing functions virtually for at least one unit in addition to distributing functions across two or more units in various physical locations, which may allow flexibility in network design. Various units of a disaggregated base station or a disaggregated RAN architecture may be configured for wired or wireless communication with at least one other unit.

[0061]

[0090] 2C is a diagram 250 illustrating an example disaggregated base station architecture according to an aspect of the disclosure. The disaggregated base station 250 architecture may include one or more central units (CUs) 280 (e.g., gNB-CU 226) that may communicate directly with a core network 267 (e.g., 5GC 210, 5GC 260) via a backhaul link or indirectly with the core network 267 through one or more disaggregated base station units (such as a Near-RT RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) 259 via an E2 link, or a Non-RT RIC 257 associated with a Service Management and Orchestration (SMO) Framework 255, or both). The CUs 280 may communicate with one or more distributed units (DUs) 285 (e.g., gNB-DU 228) via respective midhaul links, such as an F1 interface. The DU 285 may communicate with one or more Radio Units (RUs) 287 (e.g., gNB-RUs 229) via respective fronthaul links. The RUs 287 may communicate with respective UEs 204 via one or more Radio Frequency (RF) access links. In some implementations, a UE 204 may be served by multiple RUs 287 simultaneously.

[0062]

[0091] Each of the units, i.e., CU280, DU285, RU287, and Near-RT RIC259, Non-RT RIC257, and SMO framework255, may include or be coupled to one or more interfaces configured to receive or transmit signals, data, or information (collectively, signals) over a wired or wireless transmission medium. Each of the units, or an associated processor or controller that provides instructions to the communication interfaces of the units, may be configured to communicate with one or more of the other units over a transmission medium. For example, a unit may include a wired interface configured to receive or transmit signals over a wired transmission medium to one or more of the other units. Additionally, a unit may include a wireless interface, which may include a receiver, transmitter, or transceiver (such as a radio frequency (RF) transceiver) configured to receive or transmit signals over a wireless transmission medium to one or more of the other units, or both.

[0063]

[0092] In some aspects, the CU 280 may host one or more higher layer control functions. Such control functions may include Radio Resource Control (RRC), Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP), Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP), and the like. Each control function may be implemented with an interface configured to communicate signals with other control functions hosted by the CU 280. The CU 280 may be configured to handle user plane functions (i.e., Central Unit-User Plane (CU-UP)), control plane functions (i.e., Central Unit-Control Plane (CU-CP)), or a combination thereof. In some implementations, the CU 280 may be logically divided into one or more CU-UP units and one or more CU-CP units. The CU-UP units, when implemented in an O-RAN configuration, may communicate bidirectionally with the CU-CP units via an interface, such as an E1 interface. The CU 280 may be implemented to communicate with the DU 285 as needed for network control and signaling.

[0064]

[0093] The DU 285 may correspond to a logical unit including one or more base station functions to control the operation of one or more RUs 287. In some aspects, the DU 285 may host one or more of a radio link control (RLC) layer, a medium access control (MAC) layer, and one or more higher physical (PHY) layers (such as modules for forward error correction (FEC) encoding and decoding, scrambling, modulation and demodulation, etc.) at least in part according to a division of functions such as that defined by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). In some aspects, the DU 285 may further host one or more lower PHY layers. Each layer (or module) may be implemented with an interface configured to communicate signals with other layers (and modules) hosted by the DU 285 or with control functions hosted by the CU 280.

[0065]

[0094] The lower layer functions may be implemented by one or more RUs 287. In some deployments, the RUs 287 controlled by the DUs 285 may correspond to logical nodes hosting RF processing functions, or lower PHY layer functions (such as performing fast Fourier transforms (FFTs), inverse FFTs (iFFTs), digital beamforming, physical random access channel (PRACH) extraction and filtering, etc.), or both, based at least in part on a division of functions, such as a division of lower layer functions. In such architectures, the RUs 287 may be implemented to handle over-the-air (OTA) communications with one or more UEs 204. In some implementations, real-time and non-real-time aspects of control and user plane communications with the RUs 287 may be controlled by a corresponding DU 285. In some scenarios, this configuration may enable the DUs 285 and CUs 280 to be implemented in a cloud-based RAN architecture, such as a vRAN architecture.

[0066]

[0095] The SMO framework 255 may be configured to support RAN deployment and provisioning of non-virtualized and virtualized network elements. For non-virtualized network elements, the SMO framework 255 may be configured to support deployment of dedicated physical resources for RAN coverage requirements that may be managed via an operation and maintenance interface (such as an O1 interface). For virtualized network elements, the SMO framework 255 may be configured to interact with a cloud computing platform (such as an open cloud (O-Cloud) 269) to perform life cycle management of the network element (such as to instantiate a virtualized network element) via a cloud computing platform interface (such as an O2 interface). Such virtualized network elements may include, but are not limited to, the CU 280, the DU 285, the RU 287, and the Near-RT RIC 259. In some implementations, the SMO framework 255 may communicate with hardware aspects of a 4G RAN, such as the open eNB (O-eNB) 261, via an O1 interface. Additionally, in some implementations, the SMO framework 255 can communicate directly with one or more RUs 287 via the O1 interface. The SMO framework 255 can also include a Non-RT RIC 257 configured to support the functionality of the SMO framework 255.

[0067]

[0096] The Non-RT RIC 257 may be configured to include logic functions that enable non-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources, artificial intelligence / machine learning (AI / ML) workflows including model training and updates, or policy-based guidance of applications / features in the Near-RT RIC 259. The Non-RT RIC 257 may be coupled to or in communication with the Near-RT RIC 259 (such as via an A1 interface). The Near-RT RIC 259 may be configured to include logic functions that enable near real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources through collection and action of data across interfaces (such as via an E2 interface) connecting the Near-RT RIC 259 and one or more CUs 280, one or more DUs 285, or both, and the O-eNB.

[0068]

[0097] In some implementations, the Non-RT RIC 257 may receive parameters or external enrichment information from an external server to generate the AI / ML models to be deployed in the Near-RT RIC 259. Such information may be utilized by the Near-RT RIC 259 and may be received at the SMO framework 255 or the Non-RT RIC 257 from non-network data sources or from network functions. In some examples, the Non-RT RIC 257 or the Near-RT RIC 259 may be configured to tune RAN behavior or performance. For example, the Non-RT RIC 257 may employ the AI / ML models to monitor long-term trends and patterns in performance and implement corrective actions through the SMO framework 255 (such as reconfiguration via O1) or through the creation of RAN management policies (such as A1 policies).

[0069]

[0098] 3A, 3B, and 3C illustrate several example components (represented by corresponding blocks) that may be incorporated in a UE 302 (which may correspond to any of the UEs described herein), a base station 304 (which may correspond to any of the base stations described herein), and a network entity 306 (which may correspond to or embody any of the network functions described herein, including the location server 230 and the LMF 270) to support file transmission operations as taught herein. It will be appreciated that these components may be implemented in different types of devices (e.g., in an ASIC, in a system on a chip (SoC), etc.) in different implementations. The illustrated components may also be incorporated in other devices in a communication system. For example, other devices in the system may include similar components as those described to provide similar functionality. Also, a given device may include one or more of the components. For example, a device may include multiple transceiver components that enable the device to operate on multiple carriers and / or communicate via different technologies.

[0070]

[0099] The UE 302 and the base station 304 each include a wireless wide area network (WWAN) transceiver 310 and 350, respectively, configured to communicate over one or more wireless communications networks (not shown), such as an NR network, an LTE network, a GSM network, etc. The WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 may be connected to one or more antennas 316 and 356, respectively, to communicate with other network nodes, such as other UEs, access points, base stations (e.g., eNBs, gNBs), etc., over at least one designated RAT (e.g., NR, LTE, GSM, etc.) over a wireless communications medium of interest (e.g., some set of time / frequency resources in a particular frequency spectrum). The WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 may be variously configured to transmit and encode signals 318 and 358, respectively (e.g., messages, instructions, information, etc.), and conversely, to receive and decode signals 318 and 358, respectively (e.g., messages, instructions, information, pilots, etc.), in accordance with the designated RAT. In particular, the transceivers 310 and 350 each include one or more transmitters 314 and 354, respectively, for transmitting and encoding signals 318 and 358, and each include one or more receivers 312 and 352, respectively, for receiving and decoding the signals 318 and 358, respectively.

[0071]

[0100] The UE 302 and base station 304 also, at least in some cases, include wireless local area network (WLAN) transceivers 320 and 360, respectively. The WLAN transceivers 320 and 360 may be connected to one or more antennas 326 and 366, respectively, for communicating with other network nodes, such as other UEs, access points, base stations, etc., via at least one designated RAT (e.g., WiFi, LTE-D, Bluetooth, etc.) over a wireless communication medium of interest. The WLAN transceivers 320 and 360 may be variously configured to transmit and encode signals 328 and 368, respectively (e.g., messages, instructions, information, etc.), and conversely, to receive and decode signals 328 and 368, respectively (e.g., messages, instructions, information, pilots, etc.), in accordance with the designated RAT. In particular, the transceivers 320 and 360 each include one or more transmitters 324 and 364, respectively, for transmitting and encoding signals 328 and 368, and each include one or more receivers 322 and 362, respectively, for receiving and decoding the signals 328 and 368, respectively.

[0072]

[0101] A transceiver circuit including a transmitter and a receiver may in some implementations comprise an integrated device (e.g., embodied as transmitter and receiver circuits in a single communication device), in some implementations comprise separate transmitter and receiver devices, or in other implementations may be embodied in other ways. In one aspect, the transmitter may include or be coupled to multiple antennas, such as an antenna array (e.g., antennas 316, 336, and 376), that enable each device to perform transmit "beamforming" as described herein. Similarly, the receiver may include or be coupled to multiple antennas, such as an antenna array (e.g., antennas 316, 336, and 376), that enable each device to perform receive beamforming as described herein. In one aspect, the transmitter and receiver may share the same multiple antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 336, and 376), that enable each device to only receive or transmit at a given time, rather than both receive and transmit at the same time. The wireless communication devices of apparatus 302 and / or 304 (e.g., one or both of transceivers 310 and 320 and / or 350 and 360) may also include a network listen module (NLM) or the like for performing various measurements.

[0073]

[0102] The devices 302 and 304 also, in at least some cases, include satellite positioning system (SPS) receivers 330 and 370. The SPS receivers 330 and 370 may be connected to one or more antennas 336 and 376, respectively, for receiving SPS signals 338 and 378, respectively, such as Global Positioning System (GPS) signals, Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) signals, Galileo signals, BeiDou signals, Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (NAVIC), Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), etc. The SPS receivers 330 and 370 may comprise any suitable hardware and / or software for receiving and processing the SPS signals 338 and 378, respectively. The SPS receivers 330 and 370 appropriately request information and actions from other systems and perform the calculations necessary to determine the position of the devices 302 and 304 using the measurements obtained by any suitable SPS algorithms.

[0074]

[0103] The base station 304 and the network entity 306 each include at least one network interface 380 and 390 for communicating with other network entities. For example, the network interfaces 380 and 390 (e.g., one or more network access ports) may be configured to communicate with one or more network entities via a wire-based or wireless backhaul connection. In some aspects, the network interfaces 380 and 390 may be implemented as transceivers configured to support wire-based or wireless signal communication. This communication may involve, for example, sending and receiving messages, parameters, or other types of information.

[0075]

[0104] The devices 302, 304, and 306 also include other components that may be used with the operations disclosed herein. The UE 302 includes a processor circuit that implements a processing system 332, for example, for providing functionality related to false base station (FBS) detection as disclosed herein and for providing other processing functions. The base station 304 includes a processing system 384, for example, for providing functionality related to FBS detection as disclosed herein and for providing other processing functions. The network entity 306 includes a processing system 394, for example, for providing functionality related to FBS detection as disclosed herein and for providing other processing functions. In an aspect, the processing systems 332, 384, and 394 may include, for example, one or more general purpose processors, multi-core processors, ASICs, digital signal processors (DSPs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or other programmable logic devices or processing circuits.

[0076]

[0105] The devices 302, 304, and 306 include memory circuitry implementing memory components 340, 386, and 396, respectively (e.g., each including a memory device) for maintaining information (e.g., information indicative of reserved resources, thresholds, parameters, etc.). In some cases, the devices 302, 304, and 306 may include positioning modules 342, 388, and 389, respectively. The positioning modules 342, 388, and 389 may be hardware circuits that are part of or coupled to the processing systems 332, 384, and 394, respectively, that, when executed, cause the devices 302, 304, and 306 to perform the functions described herein. Alternatively, the positioning modules 342, 388, and 389 may be memory modules stored in memory components 340, 386, and 396, respectively (shown in Figures 3A-3C), which when executed by the processing systems 332, 384, and 394 cause the devices 302, 304, and 306 to perform the functions described herein.

[0077]

[0106] The UE 302 may include one or more sensors 344 coupled to the processing system 332 to provide movement and / or orientation information that is independent of movement data derived from signals received by the WWAN transceiver 310, the WLAN transceiver 320, and / or the GPS receiver 330. By way of example, the sensors 344 may include an accelerometer (e.g., a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) device), a gyroscope, a geomagnetic sensor (e.g., a compass), an altimeter (e.g., a barometric altimeter), and / or any other type of movement detection sensor. Moreover, the sensors 344 may include multiple different types of devices and combine their outputs to provide movement information. For example, the sensors 344 may use a combination of a multi-axis accelerometer and an orientation sensor to provide the ability to calculate a position in a 2D and / or 3D coordinate system.

[0078]

[0107] Additionally, the UE 302 includes a user interface 346 for providing instructions (e.g., audible and / or visual instructions) to a user and / or for receiving user input (e.g., upon user actuation of a sensing device, such as a keypad, touch screen, microphone, etc.). Although not shown, the devices 304 and 306 may also include user interfaces.

[0079]

[0108] Referring more particularly to the processing system 384, in the downlink, IP packets from the network entity 306 may be provided to the processing system 384. The processing system 384 may implement functionality for an RRC layer, a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, a Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, and a Medium Access Control (MAC) layer. The processing system 384 may provide RRC layer functions related to broadcasting of system information (e.g., Master Information Block (MIB), System Information Block (SIB)), RRC connection control (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connection modification, and RRC connection release), inter-RAT mobility, and measurement configuration for UE measurement reporting; PDCP layer functions related to header compression / decompression, security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification), and handover support functions; RLC layer functions related to transfer of upper layer packet data units (PDUs), error correction via ARQ, concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC service data units (SDUs), re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functions related to mapping between logical channels and transport channels, scheduling information reporting, error correction, priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0080]

[0109] The transmitter 354 and receiver 352 may implement Layer 1 functions related to various signal processing functions. Layer 1, including the physical (PHY) layer, may include error detection on the transport channel, forward error correction (FEC) coding / decoding of the transport channel, interleaving, rate matching, mapping onto the physical channel, modulation / demodulation of the physical channel, and MIMO antenna processing. The transmitter 354 handles mapping to signal constellations based on various modulation schemes (e.g., binary phase shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), M-phase shift keying (M-PSK), multi-level quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM)). The coded and modulated symbols may then be split into parallel streams. Each stream may then be mapped to a time-domain orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) subcarrier, multiplexed with a reference signal (e.g., pilot) in the time and / or frequency domain, and then combined with each other using an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) to generate a physical channel carrying a time-domain OFDM symbol stream. The OFDM streams are spatially precoded to generate multiple spatial streams. Channel estimates from a channel estimator may be used to determine the coding and modulation scheme, as well as for spatial processing. The channel estimates may be derived from a reference signal and / or channel condition feedback transmitted by the UE 302. Each spatial stream may then be provided to one or more different antennas 356. The transmitter 354 may modulate an RF carrier with the respective spatial stream for transmission.

[0081]

[0110] At the UE 302, the receiver 312 receives the signal through its respective antenna 316. The receiver 312 recovers the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provides the information to the processing system 332. The transmitter 314 and the receiver 312 implement layer 1 functions associated with various signal processing functions. The receiver 312 may perform spatial processing on the information to recover any spatial streams destined for the UE 302. If multiple spatial streams are destined for the UE 302, they may be combined by the receiver 312 into a single OFDM symbol stream. The receiver 312 then converts the OFDM symbol stream from the time domain to the frequency domain using a fast Fourier transform (FFT). The frequency domain signal comprises a separate OFDM symbol stream for each subcarrier of the OFDM signal. The symbols on each subcarrier and the reference signal are recovered and demodulated by determining the most likely signal constellation point transmitted by the base station 304. These soft decisions may be based on channel estimates calculated by a channel estimator. The soft decisions are then decoded and deinterleaved to recover the data and control signaling originally transmitted by the base station 304 on the physical channel. The data and control signaling are then provided to a processing system 332 that implements Layer 3 and Layer 2 functions.

[0082]

[0111] In the UL, the processing system 332 provides demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packet reassembly, decryption, header recovery, and control signal processing to recover IP packets from the core network. The processing system 332 is also responsible for error detection.

[0083]

[0112] Similar to the functionality described with respect to DL transmission by the base station 304, the processing system 332 provides RRC layer functionality related to system information (e.g., MIB, SIB) acquisition, RRC connection, and measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality related to header compression / decompression and security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification); RLC layer functionality related to transfer of higher layer PDUs, error correction via ARQ, concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC SDUs, re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality related to mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing of MAC SDUs onto and demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from transport blocks (TBs), scheduling information reporting, error correction via HARQ, priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0084]

[0113] Channel estimates derived by the channel estimator from a reference signal or feedback transmitted by the base station 304 may be used by the transmitter 314 to select an appropriate coding and modulation scheme and to facilitate spatial processing. The spatial streams generated by the transmitter 314 may be provided to different antennas 316. The transmitter 314 may modulate an RF carrier with each spatial stream for transmission.

[0085]

[0114] The UL transmissions are processed at the base station 304 in a manner similar to that described with respect to the receiver function at the UE 302. The receiver 352 receives the signals through its respective antenna 356. The receiver 352 recovers the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provides the information to a processing system 384.

[0086]

[0115] In the UL, the processing system 384 provides demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packet reassembly, decryption, header recovery, and control signal processing to recover IP packets from the UE 302. The IP packets from the processing system 384 may be provided to the core network. The processing system 384 is also responsible for error detection.

[0087]

[0116] For convenience, devices 302, 304, and / or 306 are illustrated in Figures 3A-3C as including various components that may be configured in accordance with various examples described herein, however, it will be appreciated that the illustrated blocks may have different functions in different designs.

[0088]

[0117] The various components of the devices 302, 304, and 306 may communicate with each other via data buses 334, 382, ​​and 392, respectively. The components of FIGS. 3A-3C may be implemented in various ways. In some implementations, the components of FIGS. 3A-3C may be implemented in one or more circuits, such as, for example, one or more processors and / or one or more ASICs (which may include one or more processors), where each circuit may use and / or incorporate at least one memory component for storing information or executable code used by the circuit to provide this functionality. For example, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 310-346 may be implemented by the processor and memory components of the UE 302 (e.g., by execution of appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor components). Similarly, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 350-388 may be implemented by the processor and memory components of the base station 304 (e.g., by execution of appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor components). Also, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 390-396 may be implemented by the processor and memory components of the network entity 306 (e.g., by execution of appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor components). For simplicity, various operations, acts, and / or functions are described herein as being performed by "the UE," "by the base station," "by the positioning entity," etc. However, it will be appreciated that such operations, acts, and / or functions may actually be performed by a particular component or combination of components, such as the UE, base station, positioning entity, etc., such as the processing systems 332, 384, 394, the transceivers 310, 320, 350, and 360, the memory components 340, 386, and 396, the positioning modules 342, 388, and 389, etc.

[0089]

[0118] 3A-3C, the various wireless transceivers (e.g., transceivers 310, 320, 350, 360, etc.) and wired transceivers (e.g., network interfaces 380, 390, etc.) may be generally characterized as at least one transceiver or, alternatively, as at least one communication interface. Thus, whether a particular transceiver or communication interface pertains to a wired or wireless transceiver or communication interface may be inferred from the type of communication being implemented (e.g., backhaul communications between network devices or servers will generally pertain to signaling via wired transceivers, etc.).

[0090]

[0119] 3A-3C, the various processing systems (eg, processing systems 332, 384, 394, etc.) may include at least one processor, such as an ASIC, FPGA, DSP, application processor, general-purpose processor, special purpose function hardware or circuitry, etc.

[0091]

[0120] 4A is a diagram 400 illustrating an example of a DL frame structure according to an embodiment of the disclosure. FIG. 4B is a diagram 430 illustrating an example of channels within a DL frame structure according to an embodiment of the disclosure. Other wireless communication technologies may have different frame structures and / or different channels.

[0092]

[0121] LTE, and possibly NR, utilizes OFDM on the downlink and single-carrier frequency division multiplexing (SC-FDM) on the uplink. However, unlike LTE, NR has the option to use OFDM on the uplink as well. OFDM and SC-FDM partition the system bandwidth into multiple (K) orthogonal subcarriers, also commonly referred to as tones, bins, etc. Each subcarrier may be modulated with data. In general, modulation symbols are sent in the frequency domain with OFDM and in the time domain with SC-FDM. The spacing between adjacent subcarriers may be fixed, and the total number of subcarriers (K) may be dependent on the system bandwidth. For example, the subcarrier spacing may be 15 kHz, and the minimum resource allocation (resource block) may be 12 subcarriers (or 180 kHz). Thus, the nominal FFT size may be equal to 128, 256, 512, 1024, or 2048 for a system bandwidth of 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10, or 20 megahertz (MHz), respectively. The system bandwidth may also be partitioned into subbands. For example, a subband may cover 1.08 MHz (i.e., 6 resource blocks), and there may be 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 subbands for a system bandwidth of 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10, or 20 MHz, respectively.

[0093]

[0122] LTE supports a single numerology (subcarrier spacing, symbol length, etc.). In contrast, NR may support multiple numerologies, e.g., subcarrier spacings of 15 kHz, 30 kHz, 60 kHz, 120 kHz, and 204 kHz or greater may be available. Table 1 provided below lists some various parameters for different NR numerologies.

[0094] [Table 1]

[0095]

[0123] In the example of Figures 4A and 4B, a numerology of 15 kHz is used. Thus, in the time domain, a frame (e.g., 10 ms) is divided into 10 equally sized subframes of 1 ms each, with each subframe containing one time slot. In Figures 4A and 4B, time is represented horizontally (e.g., on the X-axis), with time increasing from left to right, and frequency is represented vertically (e.g., on the Y-axis), with frequency increasing (or decreasing) from bottom to top.

[0096]

[0124] A resource grid may be used to represent a time slot, with each time slot including one or more (also called physical RB (PRB)) time-parallel resource blocks (RBs) in the frequency domain. The resource grid is further divided into multiple resource elements (REs). An RE may correspond to one symbol length in the time domain and one subcarrier in the frequency domain. In the numerology of FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B, in the case of a normal cyclic prefix, an RB may include 12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain and 7 consecutive symbols (OFDM symbols for DL, SC-FDMA symbols for UL) in the time domain for a total of 84 REs. In the case of an extended cyclic prefix, an RB may include 12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain and 6 consecutive symbols in the time domain for a total of 72 REs. The number of bits carried by each RE depends on the modulation scheme.

[0097]

[0125] As shown in Figure 4A, some of the REs carry DL reference (pilot) signals (DL-RS) for channel estimation at the UE. The DL-RS may include demodulation reference signals (DMRS) and channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS), example locations of which are labeled "R" in Figure 4A.

[0098]

[0126] FIG. 4B shows an example of various channels in a DL subframe of a frame. A physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) carries DL control information (DCI) in one or more control channel elements (CCEs), each CCE containing 9 RE groups (REGs), each REG containing 4 consecutive REs in an OFDM symbol. The DCI carries information about UL resource allocation (persistent and non-persistent) and a description about the DL data to be transmitted to the UE. Multiple (e.g., up to 8) DCIs may be configured in the PDCCH, and these DCIs may have one of multiple formats. For example, there are different DCI formats for UL scheduling, for non-MIMO DL scheduling, for MIMO DL scheduling, and for UL power control.

[0099]

[0127] A primary synchronization signal (PSS) is used by the UE to determine subframe / symbol timing and physical layer identity. A secondary synchronization signal (SSS) is used by the UE to determine physical layer cell identity group number and radio frame timing. Based on the physical layer identity and physical layer cell identity group number, the UE can determine the PCI. Based on the PCI, the UE can determine the location of the DL-RS mentioned above. A physical broadcast channel (PBCH) carrying the MIB can be logically grouped with the PSS and SSS to form an SSB (also called SS / PBCH). The MIB provides the number of RBs in the DL system bandwidth and the system frame number (SFN). A physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) carries user data and broadcast system information not transmitted over the PBCH, such as system information blocks (SIBs), and paging messages.

[0100]

[0128] In some cases, the DL RS shown in FIG. 4A may be a positioning reference signal (PRS). FIG. 5 shows an example PRS configuration 500 for a cell supported by a wireless node (such as base station 102). FIG. 5 illustrates that the PRS positioning occasion is configured with a system frame number (SFN), a cell-specific subframe offset (Δ PRS )552, and PRS periodicity (T PRS ) 520. In general, the cell-specific PRS subframe configuration is determined by the “PRS configuration index” I PRS The PRS periodicity (T PRS ) 520 and cell-specific subframe offset (Δ PRS ) is the PRS composition index I PRS It is defined based on:

[0101] [Table 2]

[0102]

[0129] The PRS configuration is defined with reference to the SFN of the cell that transmits the PRS. A PRS instance is the Nth PRS instance that comprises the first PRS positioning occasion. PRS For a first subframe of the downlink subframes,

[0103]

number

[0104] where n f , 0≦n f SFN ≦ 1023, n s , 0≦n s n ≦ 19 f is the slot number in the radio frame defined by T PRS is the PRS period 520, and Δ PRS is the cell-specific subframe offset 552.

[0105]

[0130] As shown in FIG. 5, the cell-specific subframe offset Δ PRS 552 may be defined in terms of the number of subframes transmitted starting from system frame number 0 (slot "number 0", marked as slot 550) until the start of the first (subsequent) PRS positioning occasion. In the example in FIG. 5, the number of consecutive positioning subframes (N PRS ) is equal to 4, that is, each shaded block representing PRS positioning occasions 518a, 518b, and 518c represents four subframes.

[0106]

[0131] In some aspects, the UE may include a PRS configuration index I in the OTDOA assistance data for a particular cell. PRS When receiving the PRS, the UE uses Table 2 to determine the PRS periodicity T PRS 520 and PRS Subframe Offset Δ PRS The UE may then determine (e.g., using equation (1)) the radio frame, subframe, and slot when the PRS is scheduled in the cell. The OTDOA assistance data may be determined, for example, by a location server (e.g., location server 230, LMF 270) and includes assistance data for the reference cell and several neighbor cells supported by various base stations.

[0107]

[0132] In general, PRS occasions from all cells in a network using the same frequency may be aligned in time and have a fixed, known time offset (e.g., cell-specific subframe offset 552) relative to other cells in networks using different frequencies. In an SFN synchronous network, all wireless nodes (e.g., base stations 102) may be aligned with respect to both frame boundaries and system frame numbers. Thus, in an SFN synchronous network, all cells supported by various wireless nodes may use the same PRS configuration index for any particular frequency of PRS transmission. On the other hand, in an SFN asynchronous network, various wireless nodes may be aligned with respect to frame boundaries but not with system frame numbers. Thus, in an SFN asynchronous network, the PRS configuration index for each cell may be configured separately by the network such that the PRS occasions are aligned in time.

[0108]

[0133] If the UE can acquire the cell timing (e.g., SFN) of at least one of the cells, e.g., the reference cell or the serving cell, the UE may determine the timing of the PRS occasions of the reference and neighbor cells for OTDOA positioning. The timing of other cells may then be derived by the UE, e.g., based on the assumption that PRS occasions from different cells overlap.

[0109]

[0134] A set of resource elements used for transmission of a PRS is called a "PRS resource." A set of resource elements can span multiple PRBs in the frequency domain and N (e.g., one or more) consecutive symbols in a slot in the time domain. In a given OFDM symbol, a PRS resource occupies consecutive PRBs. A PRS resource is described by at least the following parameters: a PRS resource identifier (ID), a sequence ID, a comb size N, a resource element offset in the frequency domain, a starting slot and a starting symbol, a number of symbols per PRS resource (i.e., a duration of the PRS resource), and QCL information (e.g., a QCL with respect to other DL reference signals). In some designs, one antenna port is supported. The comb size indicates the number of subcarriers in each symbol carrying a PRS. For example, a comb size of comb 4 means that every fourth subcarrier in a given symbol carries a PRS.

[0110]

[0135] A "PRS resource set" is a set of PRS resources used for transmission of a PRS signal, where each PRS resource has a PRS resource ID. Furthermore, the PRS resources in a PRS resource set are associated with the same transmit reception point (TRP). A PRS resource ID in a PRS resource set is associated with a single beam transmitted from a single TRP (where a TRP may transmit one or more beams). That is, each PRS resource in a PRS resource set may be transmitted on a different beam, and thus a "PRS resource" may also be referred to as a "beam." Note that this does not have any implication as to whether the TRP and the beam on which the PRS is transmitted are known to the UE. A "PRS occasion" is one instance of a periodically repeating time window (e.g., a group of one or more consecutive slots) in which a PRS is expected to be transmitted. A PRS occasion may also be referred to as a "PRS positioning occasion," a "positioning occasion," or simply an "occasion."

[0111]

[0136] It should be noted that the terms "positioning reference signal" and "PRS" may sometimes refer to a specific reference signal used for positioning in an LTE or NR system. However, unless otherwise indicated, the terms "positioning reference signal" and "PRS" as used herein refer to any type of reference signal that may be used for positioning, such as, but not limited to, a PRS signal in LTE or NR, a navigation reference signal (NRS) in 5G, a transmitter reference signal (TRS), a cell-specific reference signal (CRS), a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), a primary synchronization signal (PSS), a secondary synchronization signal (SSS), an SSB, etc.

[0112]

[0137] SRS is an uplink-only signal that UEs transmit to help the base station obtain channel state information (CSI) for each user. The channel state information describes how the RF signal propagates from the UE to the base station and represents the combined effects of scattering, fading, and power attenuation over distance. Systems use SRS for resource scheduling, link adaptation, massive MIMO, beam management, etc.

[0113]

[0138] Several extensions over the previous definition of SRS have been proposed for SRS for positioning (SRS-P), such as new staggered patterns in SRS resources, new comb types for SRS, new sequences for SRS, higher number of SRS resource sets per component carrier, and higher number of SRS resources per component carrier. Furthermore, the parameters "SpatialRelationInfo" and "PathLossReference" should be configured based on DL RS from neighboring TRPs. Furthermore, one SRS resource may be transmitted outside the active bandwidth portion (BWP) and one SRS resource may span across multiple component carriers. Finally, the UE may transmit from multiple SRS resources for UL-AoA through the same transmission beam. All of these are features added to the current SRS framework, which are configured through RRC higher layer signaling (and potentially triggered or activated through MAC Control Element (CE) or Downlink Control Information (DCI)).

[0114]

[0139] As mentioned above, SRS in NR is a UE-specific configured reference signal transmitted by the UE used for the purpose of sounding the uplink radio channel. Similar to CSI-RS, such sounding provides various levels of knowledge of radio channel characteristics. At one extreme, SRS may be used in the gNB to simply obtain signal strength measurements, e.g., for the purpose of UL beam management. At the other extreme, SRS may be used in the gNB to obtain detailed amplitude and phase estimates as a function of frequency, time, and space. In NR, channel sounding with SRS supports a more diverse set of use cases compared to LTE (e.g., downlink CSI acquisition for reciprocity-based gNB transmit beamforming (downlink MIMO), uplink CSI acquisition for link adaptation and codebook / non-codebook based precoding for uplink MIMO, uplink beam management, etc.).

[0115]

[0140] The SRS can be configured using various options. The time / frequency mapping of the SRS resource is defined by the following characteristics:

[0116] Duration N symb SRS - The duration of an SRS resource can be one, two, or four consecutive OFDM symbols within a slot, in contrast to LTE, which only allows a single OFDM symbol per slot.

[0117] Starting symbol location l0 - The starting symbol of an SRS resource may be located anywhere within the last six OFDM symbols of the slot, provided that the resource does not cross a slot end boundary.

[0118] Repetition factor R - For SRS resources configured with frequency hopping, repetition allows the same set of subcarriers to be sounded in R consecutive OFDM symbols before the next hop is made ("hop" as used herein specifically refers to a frequency hop). For example, values ​​of R are 1, 2, 4, where R≦N symb SRS It is.

[0119] Transmission comb interval K TC and com offset k TC - SRS resources may occupy resource elements (REs) of a frequency-domain comb structure, where the comb spacing is either 2 REs or 4 REs, as in LTE. Such a structure allows frequency-domain multiplexing of different SRS resources of the same or different users on different combs, where the different combs are offset from each other by an integer number of REs. Comb offsets are defined with respect to PRB boundaries and are in the range 0, 1, ..., K TC -1 RE. Therefore, the comb spacing K TC For = 2, there are two different combs available for multiplexing if desired, with comb spacing K TCIf =4, then there are 4 different combs available.

[0120] Periodicity and slot offset in case of periodic / semi-persistent SRS.

[0121] Sounding bandwidth within the bandwidth portion.

[0122]

[0141] For low latency positioning, the gNB may trigger a UL SRS-P via DCI (e.g., the transmitted SRS-P may include repetition or beam sweeping to enable several gNBs to receive the SRS-P). Alternatively, the gNB may send information about aperiodic PRS transmissions to the UE (e.g., this configuration may include information about PRS from multiple gNBs to enable the UE to perform timing calculations for positioning (UE-based) or reporting (UE-assisted)). Although various embodiments of the present disclosure relate to DL PRS-based positioning procedures, some or all of such embodiments may also be applied to UL SRS-P-based positioning procedures.

[0123]

[0142] It should be noted that the terms "sounding reference signal," "SRS," and "SRS-P" may sometimes refer to specific reference signals used for positioning in LTE or NR systems. However, unless otherwise indicated, the terms "sounding reference signal," "SRS," and "SRS-P" as used herein refer to any type of reference signal that may be used for positioning, such as, but not limited to, an SRS signal in LTE or NR, a navigation reference signal (NRS) in 5G, a transmitter reference signal (TRS), a random access channel (RACH) signal for positioning (e.g., a RACH preamble, such as Msg-1 in a four-step RACH procedure or Msg-A in a two-step RACH procedure).

[0124]

[0143] 3GPP Rel.16 introduced various NR positioning aspects aimed at increasing the location accuracy of positioning schemes involving measurement(s) associated with one or more UL or DL ​​PRS (e.g., higher bandwidth (BW), FR2 beam sweeping, angle-based measurements such as angle of arrival (AoA) and angle of departure (AoD) measurements, multi-cell round trip time (RTT) measurements, etc.). When latency reduction is a priority, UE-based positioning techniques (e.g., DL-only techniques without UL location measurement reporting) are typically used. However, when latency is less of an issue, UE-assisted positioning techniques may be used whereby UE-measured data is reported to a network entity (e.g., location server 230, LMF 270, etc.). The latency-related UE-assisted positioning techniques may be somewhat reduced by implementing an LMF in the RAN.

[0125]

[0144] Layer 3 (L3) signaling (e.g., RRC or Location Positioning Protocol (LPP)) is generally used to transport reports comprising location-based data in connection with UE-assisted positioning techniques. L3 signaling is associated with a relatively high latency (e.g., greater than 100 ms) compared to Layer 1 (L1 or PHY layer) signaling or Layer 2 (L2 or MAC layer) signaling. In some cases, lower latency (e.g., less than 100 ms, less than 10 ms, etc.) between the UE and the RAN for location-based reporting may be desired. In such cases, L3 signaling may not be able to reach these lower latency levels. L3 signaling for positioning measurements may comprise any combination of the following:

[0126] One or more TOA, TDOA, RSRP or Rx-Tx measurements; · One or more AoA / AoD measurements (e.g. currently only DL AoA and UL AoD are agreed for gNB->LMF reporting), One or more multipath reporting measurements, e.g., per-path ToA, RSRP, AoA / AoD (e.g., currently only per-path ToA is enabled in LTE); One or more motion states (e.g., walking, driving, etc.) and trajectories (e.g., currently for the UE); and / or One or more reported quality indications.

[0127]

[0145] More recently, L1 and L2 signaling has been contemplated for use in connection with PRS-based reporting. For example, L1 and L2 signaling is currently used in some systems to transport CSI reports (e.g., reports of channel quality indication (CQI), precoding matrix indicator (PMI), layer indicator (Li), L1-RSRP, etc.). A CSI report may comprise a set of fields in a predefined order (e.g., defined by an associated standard). A single UL transmission (e.g., on a PUSCH or PUCCH) may include multiple reports, referred to herein as “sub-reports,” that are configured according to a predefined priority (e.g., defined by an associated standard). In some designs, the predefined order may be based on the associated sub-report periodicity (e.g., aperiodic / semi-persistent / periodic (A / SP / P) over PUSCH / PUCCH), measurement type (e.g., L1-RSRP or not), serving cell index (e.g., in case of carrier aggregation (CA)), and reportconfigID. In two-part CSI reporting, part 1 of all reports is grouped together and part 2 is grouped separately, and each group is coded separately (e.g., part 1 payload size is fixed based on configuration parameters, while part 2 size is variable and depends on the configuration parameters and on the associated part 1 content). The number of coded bits / symbols to be output after encoding and rate matching is calculated based on the number of input bits and a beta factor per the associated standard. A linkage (e.g., time offset) is defined between the instance of the RS being measured and the corresponding report. In some designs, CSI-like reporting of PRS-based measurement data using L1 and L2 signaling may be implemented.

[0128]

[0146] FIG. 6 illustrates an example wireless communication system 600 according to various aspects of the disclosure. In the example of FIG. 6, a UE 604, which may correspond to any of the UEs described above with respect to FIG. 1 (e.g., UE 104, UE 182, UE 190, etc.), is attempting to calculate an estimate of its location or assist another entity (e.g., a base station or core network component, another UE, a location server, a third party application, etc.) in calculating an estimate of its location. The UE 604 may wirelessly communicate with multiple base stations 602a-d (collectively base stations 602), which may correspond to any combination of base stations 102 or 180 and / or WLAN AP 150 of FIG. 1 using RF signals and standardized protocols for modulation of the RF signals and exchange of information packets. By extracting different types of information from the exchanged RF signals and utilizing the layout of the wireless communication system 600 (i.e., base station locations, geometry, etc.), the UE 604 may determine or assist in determining its location in a predefined reference frame. In one aspect, the UE 604 may specify its location using a two-dimensional coordinate system, although the aspects disclosed herein are not so limited and may also be applicable to determining location using a three-dimensional coordinate system if additional dimensions are desired. Additionally, while FIG. 6 shows one UE 604 and four base stations 602, it will be appreciated that there may be more UEs 604 and more or fewer base stations 602.

[0129]

[0147] To support position estimation, the base stations 602 may be configured to broadcast reference RF signals (e.g., positioning reference signal (PRS), cell-specific reference signal (CRS), channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), synchronization signals, etc.) to the UE 604 in their coverage areas to enable the UE 604 to measure reference RF signal timing differences (e.g., OTDOA or reference signal time difference (RSTD)) between pairs of network nodes and / or identify the beam that best excites LOS or the shortest radio path between the UE 604 and the transmitting base station 602. Identifying the LOS / shortest path beam(s) is interesting because not only can these beams then be used for OTDOA measurements between pairs of base stations 602, but also because identifying these beams can directly provide some positioning information based on the beam direction. Furthermore, these beams can then be used for other position estimation methods that require accurate ToA, such as round trip time estimation based methods.

[0130]

[0148] A "network node" as used herein may be a base station 602, a cell of a base station 602, a remote radio head, an antenna of a base station 602, where the location of the antenna of a base station 602 is separate from the location of the base station 602 itself or any other network entity capable of transmitting a reference signal. Furthermore, a "node" as used herein may refer to either a network node or a UE.

[0131]

[0149] A location server (e.g., location server 230) may send assistance data to the UE 604, including identification information of one or more neighbor cells of the base station 602 and configuration information for the reference RF signal transmitted by each neighbor cell. Alternatively, the assistance data may originate directly from the base station 602 itself (e.g., in a periodically broadcast overhead message, etc.). Alternatively, the UE 604 may detect neighbor cells of the base station 602 on its own without using assistance data. The UE 604 may measure and (optionally) report (e.g., based in part on assistance data, if provided) the OTDOA from individual network nodes and / or the RSTD between reference RF signals received from pairs of network nodes. Using these measurements and the known location of the measured network node (i.e., the base station 602 or antenna that transmitted the reference RF signal that the UE 604 measured), the UE 604 or a location server may determine the distance between the UE 604 and the measured network node, thereby calculating the location of the UE 604.

[0132]

[0150] The term "location estimate" is used herein to refer to an estimate of a location for a UE 604, which may be a geographic estimate (which may comprise, for example, latitude, longitude, and possibly altitude) or an urban estimate (which may comprise, for example, a street address, a building designation, or a precise point or area within or near a building or street address, such as a particular entrance to a building, a particular room or suite in a building, or a landmark such as a town square). A location estimate may also be referred to as a "location," "position," "fix," "position fix," "location fix," "location estimate," "fix estimate," or some other terminology. A means of obtaining a location estimate may be commonly referred to as "positioning," "location determination," or "position determination." A particular solution for obtaining a location estimate may be referred to as a "position solution." A particular method for obtaining a position estimate as part of a position solution may be referred to as a "position method" or "positioning method."

[0133]

[0151] The term "base station" may refer to a single physical transmission point or multiple physical transmission points that may or may not be collocated. For example, when the term "base station" refers to a single physical transmission point, the physical transmission point may be an antenna of the base station corresponding to the cell of the base station (e.g., base station 602). When the term "base station" refers to multiple collocated physical transmission points, the physical transmission point may be an array of antennas of the base station (e.g., as in a MIMO system or in cases where the base station employs beamforming). When the term "base station" refers to multiple non-collocated physical transmission points, the physical transmission point may be a distributed antenna system (DAS) (a network of spatially separated antennas connected to a common source via a transport medium) or a remote radio head (RRH) (a remote base station connected to a serving base station). Alternatively, the non-collocated physical transmission points may be a serving base station that receives measurement reports from a UE (e.g., UE 604) and a neighbor base station whose reference RF signal the UE is measuring. 6 thus illustrates an aspect in which base stations 602a and 602b form a DAS / RRH 620. For example, base station 602a may be a serving base station for UE 604, and base station 602b may be a neighbor base station for UE 604. Thus, base station 602b may be an RRH for base station 602a. Base stations 602a and 602b may communicate with each other via wired or wireless links 622.

[0134]

[0152] To accurately determine the location of the UE 604 using OTDOA and / or RSTD between RF signals received from a pair of network nodes, the UE 604 needs to measure a reference RF signal received over the LOS path (or the shortest NLOS path if no LOS path is available) between the UE 604 and the network node (e.g., base station 602, antenna). However, the RF signal not only travels by the LOS / shortest path between the transmitter and receiver, but also travels via several other paths as the RF signal spreads from the transmitter and reflects off other objects such as hills, buildings, water, etc. on its way to the receiver. Thus, FIG. 6 shows several LOS paths 610 and several NLOS paths 612 between the base station 602 and the UE 604. In particular, FIG. 6 illustrates a base station 602a transmitting via an LOS path 610a and an NLOS path 612a, a base station 602b transmitting via an LOS path 610b and two NLOS paths 612b, a base station 602c transmitting via an LOS path 610c and an NLOS path 612c, and a base station 602d transmitting via two NLOS paths 612d. As illustrated in FIG. 6, each NLOS path 612 reflects off some object 630 (e.g., a building). As will be appreciated, each LOS path 610 and NLOS path 612 transmitted by the base station 602 may be transmitted by a different antenna of the base station 602 (e.g., as in a MIMO system) or may be transmitted by the same antenna of the base station 602 (thereby illustrating the propagation of an RF signal). Furthermore, the term "LOS path" as used herein refers to the shortest path between the transmitter and the receiver, which may not be the actual LOS path, but rather the shortest NLOS path.

[0135]

[0153] In an aspect, one or more of the base stations 602 may be configured to use beamforming to transmit RF signals. In that case, some of the available beams may focus the transmitted RF signals along the LOS path 610 (e.g., the beams that generate the highest antenna gain along the LOS path), while other available beams may focus the transmitted RF signals along the NLOS path 612. A beam that has high gain along one path and thus focuses the RF signals along that path may still have some RF signals propagating along other paths, the strength of which of course depends on the beam gain along those other paths. An "RF signal" comprises an electromagnetic wave that transports information through space between a transmitter and a receiver. As used herein, a transmitter may transmit a single "RF signal" or multiple "RF signals" to a receiver. However, as further described below, a receiver may receive multiple "RF signals" corresponding to each transmitted RF signal due to the propagation characteristics of RF signals through a multipath channel.

[0136]

[0154] If the base station 602 uses beamforming to transmit RF signals, the relevant beam for data communication between the base station 602 and the UE 604 will be the beam carrying the RF signal that arrives at the UE 604 with the highest signal strength (e.g., as indicated by received signal received power (RSRP) or SINR in the presence of directional interference signals), while the relevant beam for position estimation will be the beam carrying the RF signal that excites the shortest path or LOS path (e.g., LOS path 610). In some frequency bands and for commonly used antenna systems, there will be the same beam. However, in other frequency bands such as mmW, where a large number of antenna elements may be used to create a narrow transmit beam, they may not be the same beam. As will be described below with reference to FIG. 7, in some cases, the signal strength of the RF signal on the LOS path 610 may be weaker than the signal strength of the RF signal on the NLOS path 612, where the RF signal arrives later due to propagation delays (e.g., due to obstacles).

[0137]

[0155] FIG. 7 illustrates an example wireless communication system 700 according to various aspects of the disclosure. In the example of FIG. 7, a UE 704, which may correspond to UE 604 of FIG. 6, is attempting to compute an estimate of its location or to assist another entity (e.g., a base station or core network component, another UE, a location server, a third party application, etc.) in computing an estimate of its location. The UE 704 may communicate wirelessly with a base station 702, which may correspond to one of the base stations 602 in FIG. 6, using RF signals and a standardized protocol for modulation of the RF signals and exchange of information packets.

[0138]

[0156] As shown in Figure 7, the base station 702 utilizes beamforming to transmit multiple beams 711-715 of RF signals. Each beam 711-715 may be formed and transmitted by an array of antennas at the base station 702. Although Figure 7 shows the base station 702 transmitting five beams 711-715, it will be appreciated that there may be more or less than five beams, the beam shapes, such as peak gain, width, and sidelobe gain, may vary among the transmitted beams, and some of the beams may be transmitted by different base stations.

[0139]

[0157] A beam index may be assigned to each of the multiple beams 711-715 in order to distinguish an RF signal associated with one beam from an RF signal associated with another beam. Moreover, an RF signal associated with a particular beam of the multiple beams 711-715 may carry a beam index indicator. The beam index may also be derived from the time of transmission of the RF signal, e.g., frame, slot and / or OFDM symbol number. The beam index indicator may be, for example, a 3-bit field to uniquely distinguish up to eight beams. If two different RF signals with different beam indexes are received, this would indicate that the RF signals were transmitted using different beams. If two different RF signals share a common beam index, this would indicate that the different RF signals are transmitted using the same beam. Another way to describe two RF signals being transmitted using the same beam is to state that the antenna port used for transmission of the first RF signal is spatially quasi-colocated with the antenna port used for transmission of the second RF signal.

[0140]

[0158] In the example of FIG. 7, UE 704 receives NLOS data stream 723 of RF signals transmitted on beam 713 and LOS data stream 724 of RF signals transmitted on beam 714. Although FIG. 7 illustrates NLOS data stream 723 and LOS data stream 724 as single lines (dashed and solid lines, respectively), it will be appreciated that NLOS data stream 723 and LOS data stream 724 may each comprise multiple rays (i.e., "clusters") by the time they reach UE 704 due to, for example, the propagation characteristics of RF signals through a multipath channel. For example, when an electromagnetic wave is reflected off multiple surfaces of an object, a cluster of RF signals is formed, with the reflections arriving at a receiver (e.g., UE 704) from approximately the same angle, each traveling a few wavelengths (e.g., centimeters) more or less than the others. A "cluster" of received RF signals generally corresponds to a single transmitted RF signal.

[0141]

[0159] In the example of FIG. 7, the NLOS data stream 723 is not initially directed to the UE 704, but as can be appreciated, it may be directed to the UE 704, as is the RF signal on the NLOS path 612 of FIG. 6. However, it may be reflected off a reflector 740 (e.g., a building) and reach the UE 704 unimpeded, and thus still be a relatively strong RF signal. In contrast, the LOS data stream 724 is directed to the UE 704, but passes through obstructions 730 (e.g., vegetation, buildings, hills, confusing environments such as clouds or smoke, etc.) that may significantly degrade the RF signal. As can be appreciated, the LOS data stream 724 is weaker than the NLOS data stream 723, but because the LOS data stream 724 follows a shorter path from the base station 702 to the UE 704, it arrives at the UE 704 before the NLOS data stream 723.

[0142]

[0160] As mentioned above, the beam of interest for data communication between a base station (e.g., base station 702) and a UE (e.g., UE 704) is the beam carrying an RF signal that arrives at the UE with the highest signal strength (e.g., highest RSRP or SINR), and the beam of interest for position estimation is the beam carrying an RF signal that excites the LOS path and has the highest gain along the LOS path among all other beams (e.g., beam 714). That is, even if beam 713 (an NLOS beam) weakly excites the LOS path (not focused along the LOS path, but due to the propagation characteristics of the RF signal), the weak signal, if any, of the LOS path of beam 713 may not be as reliably detectable (compared to that from beam 714), thus leading to a larger error in performing positioning measurements.

[0143]

[0161] The beam of interest for data communication and the beam of interest for position estimation may be the same beam in some frequency bands, and may not be the same beam in other frequency bands, such as mmW. Thus, referring to FIG. 7, if a UE 704 is engaged in a data communication session with a base station 702 (e.g., the base station 702 is the serving base station for the UE 704) and is simply not attempting to measure a reference RF signal transmitted by the base station 702, the beam of interest for the data communication session may be beam 713 since beam 713 carries an unobstructed NLOS data stream 723. However, the beam of interest for position estimation will be beam 714 since beam 714 carries the strongest LOS data stream 724, despite being obstructed.

[0144]

[0162] FIG. 8A is a graph 800A illustrating an RF channel response at a receiver (e.g., UE 704) over time, according to an embodiment of the disclosure. Under the channel shown in FIG. 8A, the receiver receives a first cluster of two RF signals on a channel tap at time T1, a second cluster of five RF signals on a channel tap at time T2, a third cluster of five RF signals on a channel tap at time T3, and a fourth cluster of four RF signals on a channel tap at time T4. In the example of FIG. 8A, the first cluster of RF signals at time T1 arrives first and is therefore presumed to be a LOS data stream (i.e., a data stream arriving via a LOS or shortest path) and may correspond to LOS data stream 724. The third cluster at time T3 is composed of the strongest RF signals and may correspond to NLOS data stream 723. From the perspective of the transmitter, each cluster of received RF signals may comprise a portion of the RF signal transmitted at a different angle, and thus each cluster may be said to have a different angle of departure (AoD) from the transmitter. FIG. 8B is a diagram 800B illustrating this separation of clusters in the AoD. The RF signal transmitted in the AoD range 802a may correspond to one cluster (e.g., "Cluster 1") of FIG. 8A, and the RF signal transmitted in the AoD range 802b may correspond to a different cluster (e.g., "Cluster 3") of FIG. 8A. Note that while the AoD ranges of the two clusters shown in FIG. 8B are spaced apart in space, the AoD ranges of some clusters may also overlap partially, although the clusters are separated in time. For example, this may occur when two separate buildings at the same AoD reflect a signal from a transmitter toward a receiver. Note that while FIG. 8A illustrates clusters of two to five channel taps (or "peaks"), as will be appreciated, the clusters may have more or less channel taps than illustrated.

[0145]

[0163] RAN1 NR may define UE measurements on DL reference signals (e.g., for the serving cell, reference cell, and / or neighbor cell) applicable to NR positioning, including DL reference signal time difference (RSTD) measurements for NR positioning, DL RSRP measurements for NR positioning, and UE Rx-Tx (e.g., hardware group delay from signal reception at the UE receiver to transmission of a response signal at the UE transmitter, for time difference measurements for NR positioning such as RTT).

[0146]

[0164] RAN1 NR may define gNB measurements based on UL reference signals applicable to NR positioning, such as relative UL time of arrival (RTOA) for NR positioning, UL AoA measurements (e.g., including azimuth angle and zenith angle) for NR positioning, UL RSRP measurements for NR positioning, gNB Rx-Tx (e.g., hardware group delay from signal reception at a gNB receiver to response signal transmission at a gNB transmitter, for time difference measurements for NR positioning, such as RTT).

[0147]

[0165] 9 is a diagram 900 illustrating example timing of RTT measurement signals exchanged between a base station 902 (e.g., any of the base stations described herein) and a UE 904 (e.g., any of the UEs described herein) in accordance with an aspect of the disclosure. In the example of FIG. 9, the base station 902 sends an RTT measurement signal 910 (e.g., PRS, NRS, CRS, CSI-RS, etc.) to the UE 904 at time t1. The RTT measurement signal 910 incurs some propagation delay T Prop At time t2 (the ToA of the RTT measurement signal 910 at the UE 904), the UE 904 receives / measures the RTT measurement signal 910. After some UE processing time, the UE 904 transmits an RTT response signal 920 at time t3. The propagation delay T Prop Later, the base station 902 receives / measures the RTT response signal 920 from the UE 904 at time t4 (the ToA of the RTT response signal 920 at the base station 902).

[0148]

[0166] To identify the ToA (e.g., t2) of a reference signal (e.g., RTT measurement signal 910) transmitted by a given network node (e.g., base station 902), the receiver (e.g., UE 904) first processes all resource elements (REs) on the channel on which the transmitter is transmitting the reference signal together and performs an inverse Fourier transform to convert the received reference signal to the time domain. The conversion of the received reference signal to the time domain is called the estimation of the channel energy response (CER). The CER indicates the peaks on the channel over time, and the earliest "significant" peak should therefore correspond to the ToA of the reference signal. In general, the receiver uses a noise-related quality threshold to remove false local peaks, thereby presumably correctly identifying the significant peaks on the channel. For example, the receiver may choose a ToA estimate that is the earliest local maximum of CER that is at least X dB higher than the median CER and a maximum value that is Y dB lower than the main peak on the channel. The receiver determines the CER for each reference signal from each transmitter in order to determine the ToA for each reference signal from a different transmitter.

[0149]

[0167] In some designs, the RTT response signal 920 may include the difference between time t3 and time t2 (i.e., T Rx→Tx 912) may be explicitly included. Tx→Rx 922), the base station 902 (or other positioning entity, such as location server 230, LMF 270, etc.) can calculate the distance to the UE 904 as follows:

[0150]

number

[0151] where c is the speed of light. Although not explicitly shown in Figure 9, an additional source of delay or error may be due to the UE and gNB hardware group delay for position location.

[0152]

[0168] Various parameters related to positioning can affect power consumption at the UE. Knowledge of such parameters can be used to estimate (or model) the power consumption of the UE. By accurately modeling the power consumption of the UE, various power saving and / or performance enhancing features can be utilized in a predictive manner to improve the user experience.

[0153]

[0169] An additional source of delay or error is due to UE and gNB hardware group delays for position location. FIG. 10 is a diagram 1000 illustrating example timing of RTT measurement signals exchanged between a base station (gNB) (e.g., any of the base stations described herein) and a UE (e.g., any of the UEs described herein) according to aspects of the disclosure. FIG. 10 is similar to FIG. 9 in some respects. However, in FIG. 10, the hardware group delays of the UE and gNB (mainly due to internal hardware delays between the baseband (BB) components and the antenna (ANT) at the UE and gNB) are shown with respect to 1002-1008. As will be appreciated, both Tx-side path or beam-specific delays and Rx-side path or beam-specific delays affect the RTT measurement. The hardware group delays such as 1002-1008 can contribute to timing and / or calibration errors that can affect RTT as well as other measurements such as TDOA, RSTD, etc., which in turn can affect positioning performance. For example, in some designs, an error of 10 nanoseconds will result in an error of 3 meters in the final correction.

[0154]

[0170] FIG. 11 illustrates an example wireless communication system 1100 according to an aspect of the disclosure. In the example of FIG. 11, a UE 1104 (which may correspond to any of the UEs described herein) is attempting to calculate an estimate of its location or assist another entity (e.g., a base station or core network component, another UE, a location server, a third party application, etc.) in calculating an estimate of its location via a multi-RTT positioning scheme. The UE 1104 may wirelessly communicate with multiple base stations 1102-1, 1102-2, and 1102-3 (which may collectively correspond to base station 1102 and any of the base stations described herein) using RF signals and standardized protocols for modulation of RF signals and exchange of information packets. By extracting different types of information from the exchanged RF signals and utilizing the layout of the wireless communication system 1100 (i.e., base station locations, geometry, etc.), the UE 1104 may determine or assist in determining its location in a predefined reference coordinate system. In one aspect, the UE 1104 may specify its location using a two-dimensional coordinate system, although the aspects disclosed herein are not so limited and may also be applicable to determining location using a three-dimensional coordinate system if additional dimensions are desired. Additionally, while FIG. 11 shows one UE 1104 and three base stations 1102, it will be appreciated that there may be more UEs 1104 and more base stations 1102.

[0155]

[0171] To support position estimation, base stations 1102 may be configured to broadcast reference RF signals (e.g., PRS, NRS, CRS, TRS, CSI-RS, PSS, SSS, etc.) to UEs 1104 in their coverage areas to allow the UEs 1104 to measure characteristics of such reference RF signals. For example, the UE 1104 may measure the ToAs of particular reference RF signals (e.g., PRS, NRS, CRS, CSI-RS, etc.) transmitted by at least three different base stations 1102 and may use an RTT positioning method to report these ToAs (and additional information) back to the serving base station 1102 or another positioning entity (e.g., location server 230, LMF 270).

[0156]

[0172] In one aspect, the UE 1104 is described as measuring a reference RF signal from the base station 1102, but the UE 1104 may measure a reference RF signal from one of multiple cells supported by the base station 1102. If the UE 1104 measures a reference RF signal transmitted by a cell supported by the base station 1102, at least two other reference RF signals measured by the UE 1104 to perform the RTT procedure may be from cells supported by a base station 1102 different from the first base station 1102 and may have good or poor signal strength at the UE 1104.

[0157]

[0173] To determine the position (x,y) of the UE 1104, an entity that determines the position of the UE 1104 may calculate the position (x,y) of the UE 1104. k ,y k), where k=1, 2, 3 in the example of FIG. 11. When one of the base stations 1102 (e.g., the serving base station) or the UE 1104 determines the location of the UE 1104, the location of the involved base station 1102 may be provided to the serving base station 1102 or UE 1104 by a location server (e.g., location server 230, LMF 270) with knowledge of the network geometry. Alternatively, the location server may determine the location of the UE 1104 using the known network geometry.

[0158]

[0174] Either the UE 1104 or the respective base station 1102 determines the distance (d k , where k=1, 2, 3). In one aspect, determining the RTT 1110 of signals exchanged between the UE 1104 and any base station 1102 is performed, and the distance (d k ) As described further below, RTT techniques can measure the time between sending a signaling message (e.g., a reference RF signal) and receiving a response. These methods can utilize calibration to remove any processing delay. In some environments, it may be assumed that the processing delay for the UE 1104 and the processing delay for the base station 1102 are the same. However, such an assumption may not be true in practice.

[0159]

[0175] each distance d k Once , is determined, the UE 1104, the base station 1102, or a location server (e.g., location server 230, LMF 270) can determine the position (x,y) of the UE 1104 by using various known geometric techniques, such as, for example, trilateration. From FIG. 11, it can be seen that the position of the UE 1104 is ideally at the common intersection of three semicircles, each of which has a radius d k and center (x k ,y k) where it can be seen that k=1, 2, 3.

[0160]

[0176] In some instances, additional information may be obtained in the form of linear directions (which may be, for example, in the horizontal plane or in three dimensions) or possibly angles of arrival (AoA) or departure (AoD) that define a range of directions (e.g., for the UE 1104 from the location of the base station 1102). The intersection of the two directions at or near a point (x,y) may provide another estimate of the location for the UE 1104.

[0161]

[0177] A position estimate (e.g., for a UE 1104) may be called by other names, such as a location estimate, location, position, position fix, fix, etc. A position estimate may be geodetic and comprise coordinates (e.g., latitude, longitude, and possibly altitude) or may be civic and comprise a street address, postal address, or some other verbal description of the location. A position estimate may further be defined relative to some other known location or in absolute terms (e.g., using latitude, longitude, and possibly altitude). A position estimate may include an expected error or uncertainty (e.g., by including an area or volume that the location is expected to cover with some specified or default confidence level).

[0162]

[0178] 12 is a diagram 1200 illustrating example timing of RTT measurement signals exchanged between a base station (e.g., any of the base stations described herein) and a UE (e.g., any of the UEs described herein) in accordance with another aspect of the disclosure. In particular, 1202-1204 in FIG. 12 illustrate portions of frame delay associated with Rx-Tx difference measured at the gNB and the UE, respectively.

[0163]

[0179] As can be appreciated from the above disclosure, NR native positioning techniques supported in 5G NR include DL-only positioning schemes (e.g., DL-TDOA, DL-AoD, etc.), UL-only positioning schemes (e.g., UL-TDOA, UL-AoA), and DL+UL positioning schemes (e.g., RTT with one or more neighboring base stations, or multi-RTT). Additionally, Extended Cell ID (E-CID) based on Radio Resource Management (RRM) measurements is supported in 5G NR Release 16.

[0164]

[0180] Differential RTT is another positioning scheme whereby the difference between two RTT measurements (or measured distances) is used to generate a positioning estimate for the UE. As an example, RTTs may be estimated between the UE and two gNBs. The positioning estimate for the UE may then be narrowed down to the intersection of a geographic range that maps (e.g., hyperbolically) to these two RTTs. RTTs to additional gNBs (or to specific TRPs of such gNBs) can further narrow (or refine) the positioning estimate for the UE.

[0165]

[0181] In some designs, a positioning engine (e.g., at the UE, base station, or server / LMF) may select between whether the RTT measurements should be used to calculate a positioning estimate using a typical RTT or a differential RTT. For example, if the positioning engine receives an RTT that is known to already account for the hardware group delay, then a typical RTT positioning is performed (e.g., as shown in FIGS. 6-7). Otherwise, in some designs, a differential RTT is performed so that the hardware group delay can be erased. In some designs, if the positioning engine is implemented on the network side (e.g., gNB / LMU / eSMLC / LMF), the group hardware delay at the UE is not known (and vice versa).

[0166]

[0182] FIG. 13 shows a diagram 1300 illustrating a satellite-based positioning scheme. In FIG. 13, a GPS satellite 1302, a GPS receiver 1306, and a GPS receiver 1308 are shown. The GPS satellite 1302 transmits a phase P a q (t1) to transmit a GPS signal on each path 1310 and provide a GPS receiver 1308 with a phase P a r (t1) to transmit a GPS signal on each path 1312, thereby

[0167]

number

[0168] whereby dt denotes the satellite clock error, dρ denotes the satellite orbit error, and d ion indicates the ionospheric effect, and d trop indicates the tropospheric effect.

[0169]

[0183] 13, GPS receiver 1306 may correspond to a base station and GPS receiver 1308 may correspond to a rover station, where the base station measurements remove the satellite clock error dt, reduce the satellite orbit error dρ as a function of baseline length, and reduce the ionospheric and tropospheric effects d as a function of baseline length. ion and d trop is subtracted from the rover measurements for the same satellite 1302 to reduce

[0170]

[0184] FIG. 14 shows a diagram 1400 illustrating another satellite-based positioning scheme. In FIG. 14, a GPS satellite 1402, a GPS satellite 1404, and a GPS receiver 1406 are shown. The GPS satellite 1402 transmits a phase P a q (t1), the GPS satellites 1404 transmit GPS signals on their respective paths 1410 and transmit phase P b q (t1) to transmit a GPS signal on each path 1414, thereby

[0171]

number

[0172] It is.

[0173]

[0185] In FIG. 14, the satellite measurements can be subtracted from the base satellite measurements for the same GPS receiver to remove the satellite clock error dT and reduce common hardware biases in the GPS receiver 1406.

[0174]

[0186] FIG. 15 shows a diagram 1500 illustrating another satellite-based positioning scheme. In FIG. 15, a GPS satellite 1502, a GPS satellite 1504, a GPS receiver 1506, and a GPS receiver 1508 are shown. The GPS satellite 1502 transmits a phase P a q (t1) on the first path 1510 and transmits a GPS signal to the GPS receiver 1508 with a phase P a r (t1) on the second path 1512. The GPS satellite 1504 transmits a GPS signal to the GPS receiver 1506 with a phase P b q (t1) on the first path 1514 and transmits a GPS signal to the GPS receiver 1508 with a phase P b r (t1) is used to transmit a GPS signal on the second path 1516.

[0175]

number

[0176]

[0187] In FIG. 15 , the base station measurements (e.g., GPS receiver 1506) may be subtracted from the rover station measurements (e.g., GPS receiver 1508) for the same satellite, and the difference between these measurements may then be taken from the measurements at the base satellite (e.g., GPS satellite 1502) and the other satellite (e.g., GPS satellite 1508), which removes the satellite clock error dt and the receiver clock error dT, and removes the satellite orbit error dρ, ionospheric effects and tropospheric effects d ion and d trop where ∇ΔN denotes the double-difference integer ambiguity. For a baseline of 20-30 km, the residual error can typically be less than ½ cycle.

[0177]

[0188] The delay of the UE hardware group is eliminated by differential RTT, but the delay of the remaining gNB group (for gNB1 and 2, GD diff,gNB_2_1 where gNB1 may correspond to a reference gNB) may remain, which limits the accuracy of the RTT-based positioning, e.g.,

[0178]

number

[0179] Therefore, GD gNB_2 is the residual group delay in gNB2, and GD gNB_1 is the delay of the residual group in the reference gNB (or gNB1). GD gNB_1 is common to all differential RTTs.

[0180]

[0189] Aspects of the present disclosure are directed to a double differential timing (e.g., RTT or TDOA) scheme, whereby two (or more) differential timing (e.g., RTT or TDOA) measurements are obtained for positioning of a target UE. For example, one of the differential timing (e.g., RTT or TDOA) measurements may be used to eliminate (or at least reduce) a hardware group delay of the UE, while another one of the differential timing (e.g., RTT or TDOA) measurements between the UE and a wireless node (e.g., gNB, or anchor UE, or combination thereof) may be used to eliminate (or at least reduce) a residual hardware group delay on the side of the wireless node (e.g., gNB, or anchor UE, or combination thereof). Such aspects may provide various technical advantages, such as more accurate UE position estimation. Furthermore, as used herein, "hardware group delay" includes a timing group delay at least partially due to hardware (which may vary based on environmental conditions, such as temperature, humidity, etc.), but may optionally include other timing delays due to factors such as software, firmware, etc. The double differential (DD) RTT (DD-RTT) scheme is described below with reference to FIGS.

[0181]

[0190] 16 illustrates an example process 1600 for wireless communication according to an aspect of the disclosure. In one aspect, the process 1600 may be performed by a position estimation entity, which may correspond to a UE, such as the UE 302 (e.g., in the case of UE-based positioning), a BS, such as the BS 304 or a gNB (e.g., in the case of an LMF integrated in the RAN), or a network entity 306 (e.g., a core network component such as an LMF).

[0182]

[0191] At 1610, a position estimation entity (e.g., receiver 312 or 322 or 352 or 362, data bus 382, ​​network interface 380 or 390, etc.) obtains a first differential RTT measurement based on a first RTT measurement between the UE and a first wireless node and a second RTT measurement between the UE and a second wireless node, where the UE corresponds to a target UE for which a positioning estimate is desired, and the first and second wireless nodes have known locations. In some designs, the first and / or second wireless node corresponds to a gNB, and in other designs, the first and / or second wireless node corresponds to a UE (e.g., an anchor UE or a reference UE that is static or semi-static and / or for which an accurate positioning estimate has recently been obtained).

[0183]

[0192] At 1620, a position estimation entity (e.g., receiver 312 or 322 or 352 or 362, data bus 382, ​​network interface 380 or 390, etc.) obtains a second differential RTT measurement based on the third RTT measurement between the third wireless node and the first wireless node and the fourth RTT measurement between the third wireless node and the second wireless node. In some designs, the third wireless node need not be in wireless communication range with the UE. In some designs, the third wireless node may correspond to a gNB, and in other designs, the third wireless node may correspond to a UE (e.g., an anchor UE or a reference UE that is static or semi-static and / or for which an accurate positioning estimate has recently been obtained).

[0184]

[0193] At 1630, a position estimation entity (e.g., a positioning module 342 or 388 or 389, a processing system 332 or 384 or 394, etc.) determines a position estimate for the UE based at least in part on the first and second differential RTT measurements. Example algorithms for the determination of 1630 are described in more detail below.

[0185]

[0194] FIG. 17 illustrates an example implementation 1700 of the process 1600 of FIG. 16 according to one aspect of the disclosure. In FIG. 17, a first wireless node 1702, a second wireless node 1704, a UE 1706, and a third wireless node 1708 are illustrated. The first wireless node 1702, the second wireless node 1704, and the third wireless node 1708 may alternatively be illustrated as wireless nodes 1, 2, and 3, respectively, and correspond to the first, second, and third wireless nodes as referenced with respect to the process 1600 of FIG. 16. In FIG. 17, a first RTT measurement 1710 between the first wireless node 1702 and the UE 1706 is performed to obtain an RTT 1_UE , and a second RTT measurement 1712 between the second wireless node 1704 and the UE 1706 is shown as RTT 2_UE and a third RTT measurement 1714 between the third wireless node 1708 and the first wireless node 1702 is shown as RTT 1_3 and a fourth RTT measurement 1716 between the third wireless node 1708 and the second wireless node 1704 is denoted as RTT 2_3 The first through fourth RTT measurements 1710-1716 correspond to the example first through fourth RTT measurements described above with respect to process 16 of FIG.

[0186]

[0195]

[0013] Figure 18 illustrates an example implementation 1800 of the process 1600 of Figure 16 according to another aspect of the disclosure. 1802-1816 of Figure 18 are similar to 1702-1716 of Figure 17, respectively, except that the first wireless node 1702, the second wireless node 1704, and the third wireless node 1708 are shown in more detail as gNBs 1802, 1804, and 1808, respectively, in Figure 18. Figures 17 and 18 are otherwise the same, and thus Figure 18 will not be described further for brevity.

[0187]

[0196] Figure 19 illustrates an example implementation 1900 of the process 1600 of Figure 16 according to another aspect of the disclosure. 1902-1916 of Figure 19 are similar to 1702-1716 of Figure 17, except that the first wireless node 1702 and the second wireless node 1704 are shown in more detail as gNB 1802 and 1804, respectively, in Figure 18, and the third wireless node 1708 is shown in more detail as UE 1908 in Figure 19. Figures 17 and 19 are otherwise the same, and thus Figure 19 will not be described further for brevity.

[0188]

[0197] An example implementation of the calculations that may be performed as part of the determination of 1630 of FIG. 16 will now be described in more detail. In the example algorithms described below, the location estimates are described with respect to a two-dimensional (2D) coordinate system including x and y coordinates for ease of explanation, other aspects may instead map to a three-dimensional (3D) coordinate system that further includes a z coordinate in other aspects. The differential hardware group delay between the first and second wireless nodes may be derived as follows:

[0189]

number

[0190] Thereby, GD2 indicates the delay of the hardware group of the second wireless node, GD1 indicates the delay of the hardware group of the first wireless node (e.g., a reference wireless node such as a reference gNB), and T 2_UE indicates a difference between the double propagation time between the second wireless node and the UE and the double propagation time between the first wireless node and the UE, for example:

[0191]

number

[0192] whereby c corresponds to the speed of light, x2 denotes the x location coordinate of the second wireless node, and x UEdenotes the x location coordinate of the UE, y2 denotes the y location coordinate of the second wireless node, and y UE denotes the y location coordinate of the UE, x1 denotes the x location coordinate of the first wireless node, and y1 denotes the y location coordinate of the first wireless node.

[0193]

[0198] GD diff,2_1 can be further expressed as follows:

[0194]

number

[0195] This resulted in T 2_3 indicates a difference between the double propagation time between the second wireless node and the third wireless node and the double propagation time between the first wireless node and the third wireless node, e.g.,

[0196]

number

[0197] whereby x3 denotes the x location coordinate of the third wireless node and y3 denotes the y location coordinate of the third wireless node.

[0198]

[0199] The delay of the hardware group of the first and second wireless nodes may then be eliminated as follows.

[0199]

number

[0200] 16, in some designs, the first differential RTT measurement may be triggered by the location estimation entity separately from the second differential RTT measurement. 1_3 and RTT 2_3 is RTT 1_UE and RTT 2_UEIn other designs, the RTT 1_3 and RTT 2_3 is RTT 1_UE and RTT 2_UE For example, if the third wireless node is static or semi-static, the RTT measurement may be performed in conjunction with (or simultaneously with) the third wireless node since the measurements were taken, since the third wireless node is unlikely to have moved significantly (if at all) since the measurements were taken. 1_3 and RTT 2_3 Old values ​​for may be leveraged for the UE's position estimation. Thus, in some designs, the first differential RTT measurement may be triggered at a first frequency or based on a first triggering event, and the second differential RTT measurement may be triggered at a second frequency or based on a second triggering event. In some designs, the first differential RTT measurement may be triggered in response to a decision to perform a positioning estimation for the UE, and the second differential RTT measurement may be triggered in response to a decision to calibrate the delay of the hardware group of the first wireless node, the second wireless node, or both. In other designs, the second differential RTT measurement may be triggered by the decision to perform a positioning estimation for the UE (or, in other words, the second differential RTT measurement may be triggered by the first differential RTT measurement). As noted above, the delay of the hardware group of the first and / or second wireless node does not necessarily need to be calibrated for each UE's position estimation (e.g., especially when the third wireless node is static or semi-static).

[0201] 16, in some designs, the first, second and third wireless nodes are associated with respective known locations prior to the determination of the position estimate. In some designs, the first, second and third wireless nodes comprise one or more base stations, one or more anchor UEs, or a combination thereof. In some designs, the first, second and third wireless nodes each correspond to a respective base station (e.g., as shown in FIG. 18). In an example where the first, second and third wireless nodes are fixed nodes such as base stations, the third RTT measurement may be based on one or more PRSs exchanged between the first and third wireless nodes on one or more fixed (or default) beams, and the fourth RTT measurement may be based on at least one PRS exchanged between the second and third wireless nodes on at least one fixed (or default) beam, or a combination thereof. In other designs, the first, second and third wireless nodes may each correspond to a respective UE. In other designs, the first and second wireless nodes correspond to base stations, and the third wireless node corresponds to an anchor UE associated with a known location (e.g., as shown in FIG. 19). In some designs, positioning resources allocated for determining the location of the anchor UE are larger than positioning resources used for determining a position estimate of the UE (e.g., to ensure that the anchor UE has a very accurate position estimate since this position estimate is then leveraged for positioning of other UEs).

[0202] 16, in some designs, the third RTT measurement may be based on a first PRS from the third wireless node to the first wireless node and a second PRS from the first wireless node to the third wireless node. In some designs, the first and second PRS are associated with the same PRS type. In some designs, the first and second PRS comprise at least one single symbol PRS, at least one multi-symbol PRS (e.g., legacy PRS, etc.), or a combination thereof. In some designs, the fourth RTT measurement is based on a third PRS from the third wireless node to the second wireless node and a fourth PRS from the second wireless node to the third wireless node. The first PRS may be the same or different from the third PRS (e.g., in other words, in some cases, the same PRS may be measured by both the first and second wireless nodes), while the first and second PRS are different. In some designs, the position estimation entity may send messages to the first and third wireless nodes indicating whether the first PRS follows the second PRS or whether the second PRS follows the first PRS. In some designs, the position estimation entity may send messages to the first and third wireless nodes indicating a PRS resource to be used for the first PRS of the third RTT measurement (e.g., since each PRS may be associated with a particular Tx gNB and one or more Rx gNBs). In some designs, one class of defined PRS may be used in bidirectional transmissions rather than the same type of PRS, e.g., PRS and SRS as in the case of the Uu interface.

[0203]

[0203] Referring to FIG. 16, in some designs, each PRS (e.g., PRS ID) may be associated with a pair of gNBs (TRP IDs), e.g., each PRS is associated with a particular Tx / Rx gNB. In a further example, each PRS may be composed of a particular frequency layer associated with certain common parameters (e.g., center frequency, starting PRB, BW, SCS, CP type and comb size). Each PRS may be associated with one Tx gNB and one or more Rx gNBs. In some designs, there may be an association between multiple PRS resources for RTT measurement. In some designs, at least one PRS is for transmission from gNB1 to gNB2, and another PRS is for transmission between gNB2 and gNB1. These pairs of PRS resources may be associated with one or more RTT measurements / reports. In some designs, a PRS is associated with one Tx gNB and one Rx gNB. In some designs, the PRS may be associated with a fixed narrow beam (e.g., because the gNB may be fixed). In some designs, if the Rx gNB knows the relative direction between the two gNBs, it may derive the Rx beam based on that information, and thus beam management related searches may be reduced or eliminated.

[0204] 16 , in some designs, the first, second, third, and fourth RTT measurements and / or the first and second differential RTT measurements are received at the location estimation entity via one or more measurement reports. In some designs, the one or more measurement reports may indicate, for each measurement, a transmission / reception point (TRP) identifier, a PRS source identifier, a PRS resource set ID, a frequency layer ID (e.g., indicating a respective BW and frequency at which the respective PRS measurement was made), a timestamp, or a combination thereof.

[0205] 16 , in some designs, the first differential RTT measurement may be based on at least one additional RTT measurement between the UE and the at least one additional wireless node, the second differential RTT measurement may be based on one or more additional RTT measurements between a third wireless node and the one or more additional wireless nodes, or a combination thereof. 4_UE , RTT 5_UE The additional RTTs, such as 4_3 , RTT 5_3 The additional RTTs, such as, may be used to derive a differential RTT measurement for the third wireless node.

[0206] 16 , in some designs, the position estimation entity may obtain a third differential RTT measurement based on a fifth RTT measurement between the fourth wireless node and the first wireless node and a sixth RTT measurement between the fourth wireless node and the second wireless node, and the positioning estimate is further determined based at least in part on the third differential RTT measurement. In this case, the positioning estimate may be based on yet another double differential RTT measurement involving two other differential RTT measurements for a different pair of wireless nodes (e.g., a different pair of gNBs).

[0207]

[0207] Referring to FIG. 16, in some designs, the position estimation entity may receive an indication of a first hardware group delay calibration capability from a first wireless node, a second wireless node, or both, and the second differential RTT measurement is performed in response to the first hardware group delay calibration capability. For example, the first hardware group delay calibration capability may be a dynamic indication or a static or semi-static indication. In some designs, another positioning estimate for another UE may be determined based on a single differential RTT measurement based on a wireless node involved in another geodesic estimate associated with a second hardware group delay calibration capability that is more accurate than the first hardware group delay calibration capability. In other words, in some designs, multiple differential RTT measurements may be used specifically for scenarios in which some degree of hardware group delay calibration is desired between the first wireless node and the second wireless node, and may be skipped in other scenarios (e.g., recent hardware group delay calibration is already known, etc.).

[0208]

[0208] Referring to FIG. 16, the hardware group delay calibration capability may be indicated via a one-time capability report. For example, each wireless node (e.g., gNB) may report a high-precision group delay calibration capability, which may prompt the location estimation entity to skip differential RTT measurements for hardware group delay calibration involving that respective wireless node. In another example, the hardware group delay calibration capability may be indicated dynamically. For example, the hardware group delay calibration error may vary over several factors, e.g., time, frequency, BW, temperature, etc. Thus, each wireless node (e.g., gNB) may dynamically indicate a respective accuracy level of the hardware group delay calibration. In some designs, multiple levels of hardware group delay calibration accuracy may be defined, and each wireless node (e.g., gNB) may dynamically report a hardware group calibration accuracy level. For example, if the respective hardware group delay calibration error is large (e.g., above a threshold), each wireless node may indicate that the LMF should include this respective wireless node in the double differential RTT procedure. In another example, each wireless node (e.g., gNB) may dynamically indicate whether double differential RTT is required without reporting its respective hardware group delay calibration accuracy level. In some designs, a position estimation entity (e.g., LMF) may categorize two groups of wireless nodes (e.g., gNBs) based on their hardware group delay calibration capabilities. For example, wireless nodes (e.g., gNBs) using high-precision hardware group delay calibration may perform normal RTT or differential RTT based UE positioning, and wireless nodes (e.g., gNBs) using low-precision hardware group delay calibration may perform double differential RTT based UE positioning.

[0209]

[0209] Referring to FIG. 16, in some designs, the position estimation entity may receive a request from a first wireless node, a second wireless node, or both to trigger a second differential RTT measurement for hardware group delay calibration.

[0210]

[0210] Referring to FIG. 16, in some designs, the location estimation entity may select a third wireless node for hardware group delay calibration of the first and second wireless nodes via the second RTT difference measurement based on one or more parameters. In some designs, the one or more parameters may include channel conditions between the third wireless node and the first and second wireless nodes. In some designs, the selection of the third wireless node is predetermined when each of the first, second, and third wireless nodes is a fixed node. In other designs, the selection of the third wireless node is dynamic when one or more of the first, second, and third wireless nodes is a mobile node. However, such parameters may be used for wireless node selection even in the case of a fixed gNB in ​​addition to a more mobile anchor UE in some designs. For example, in a scenario where the first, second, and third wireless nodes correspond to fixed gNBs in a high-density deployment (e.g., urban environment), there may be interference among the gNBs, especially in FR2.

[0211]

[0211] As mentioned above, the third wireless node (which may be considered a "reference" wireless node that may be used to calibrate the hardware group delay of two other wireless nodes) may correspond to any wireless node type (e.g., gNB or UE) with a known location. In the case of a UE implementation for the third wireless node, this "reference UE" may be mobile and generally remain less fixed in location as other wireless node types such as gNBs. Thus, compared to using a gNB as the third wireless node, the reference UE used for the third wireless node may be associated with more residual positioning error (e.g., due to time-varying channel conditions).

[0212]

[0212] Although Figures 16-19 are generally related to the DD-RTT scheme, in other designs, the DD-TDOA scheme may also be implemented. In DD-TDOA, two single differences (SD) (or RSTD if the single differences are taken at the receiver side) may be used to potentially eliminate or mitigate all timing errors (synchronization errors, group delay). DD-TDOA requires measurements from a reference node and prior knowledge of the location of the reference node.

[0213] FIG. 20 illustrates an example network configuration 2000 for a DD-TDOA scheme according to an aspect of the present disclosure. In FIG. 20, a first wireless node 2002, a second wireless node 2004, a UE 2006, and a third wireless node 2008 are illustrated. The first wireless node 2002, the second wireless node 2004, and the third wireless node 2008 may alternatively be illustrated as wireless nodes 1, 2, and 3, respectively. In FIG. 20, a PRS 2010 is transmitted from wireless node 1 (2002) to the UE 2006, a PRS 2012 is transmitted from wireless node 2 (2004) to the UE 2006, a PRS 2014 is transmitted from wireless node 1 (2002) to wireless node 3 (2008), and a PRS 2016 is transmitted from wireless node 2 (2004) to wireless node 3 (2008).

[0214] 20, in some designs, SD may be measured with respect to the transmitter. For example, a first SD may be taken between the TOAs of PRS2010 and 2014, and a second SD may be taken between the TOAs of PRS2012 and 2016. SD may then be taken between the first and second SD to derive an offset of DD-TDOA. The SD related to the transmitter side may be used to remove or mitigate TRP synchronization errors, chip implementation inconsistencies (e.g., manufacturer, standard, algorithm), BB to RF group delay (unknown), etc.

[0215] 20, in another design, SD may be measured with respect to the receiver. For example, a first SD may be taken between the TOAs of PRS2010 and 2012, and a second SD may be taken between the TOAs of PRS2014 and 2016. SD may then be taken between the first and second SD to derive an offset of DD-TDOA. The SD related to the receiver side may be used to remove or mitigate UE clock offset, chip implementation inconsistencies (e.g., manufacturer, standard, algorithm), BB to RF group delay (unknown), etc.

[0216]

[0216] In one example,

[0217]

number

[0218] where:

[0219]

number

[0220] shows the RSTD between PRS 2010 and 2012 measured in UE 2006,

[0221]

number

[0222] shows the RSTD measured at wireless node 3 (2008) during PRS 2014-2016.

[0223]

number

[0224] denotes RSTD based on prior knowledge of the locations of wireless nodes 1, 2 and 3, and TC 1,2 denotes the timing correction offset,

[0225]

number

[0226] denotes the corrected UE measurement, and n denotes the measurement noise (eg, TOA estimation noise without timing error).

[0227]

[0217] Although FIG. 20 shows a DL-TDOA DD-TDOA procedure, in other designs, a sidelink TDOA (SL-TDOA) or UL-TDOA procedure may be implemented depending on the device type of wireless nodes 1, 2 and / or 3 (e.g., when implemented as a UE, the RS-P may be characterized as a SL RS-P or SL-PRS or SRS-P).

[0228] In some scenarios, the target UE may be moving or may be both the target UE and the reference wireless node (e.g., the reference wireless node may be fixed or mobile). To reduce timing error differences and maximize timing corrections, the channel or environment should be similar between the target UE and the reference wireless node.

[0229] Aspects of the present disclosure are thereby directed to selective triggering of a double differential timing (DDT) procedure based at least in part on first trajectory information associated with a target UE. The selective triggering of the DDT procedure may optionally be further based on second trajectory information associated with a reference wireless node (e.g., in the case of a mobile reference wireless node). Such aspects may provide various technical advantages, such as improved timing correction of the wireless node, which in turn improves the accuracy of position estimation of UEs associated with such wireless node.

[0230] 21 illustrates an example process 2100 for wireless communication according to aspects of the disclosure. In one aspect, the process 2100 may be performed by a position estimation entity, which may correspond to a UE, such as the UE 302 (e.g., in the case of UE-based positioning), a BS, such as the BS 304 or a gNB (e.g., in the case of an LMF integrated in the RAN), or a network entity 306 (e.g., a core network component such as an LMF or a location server).

[0231] 21, at 2110, a position estimation entity (e.g., receiver 312 or 322 or 352 or 362, processing system 332 or positioning module 342, network interface 280 or 290, processing system 332 or 384 or 394, sensor 344, etc.) obtains first trajectory information related to a target UE. The first trajectory information may be obtained in various ways (e.g., through a measurement report from the target UE, via LPP signaling, based on a previous positioning fix of the target UE by the position estimation entity, etc.). Thus, the first trajectory information may be determined or derived by the position estimation entity itself, or alternatively, may be received from an external entity.

[0232]

[0222] Referring to FIG. 21, at 2120, the position estimation entity (e.g., receiver 312 or 322 or 352 or 362, processing system 332 or positioning module 342, network interface 280 or 290, processing system 332 or 384 or 394, sensor 344, etc.) optionally acquires second trajectory information related to the reference wireless node. In one example, the second trajectory information is optional (e.g., if the reference wireless node is fixed, such as a fixed gNB, the fixed reference wireless node does not have a trajectory). The optional second trajectory information may be acquired in various ways (e.g., through a measurement report from the reference wireless node, via LPP or NRPPa signaling, based on a previous positioning fix of the target UE by the position estimation entity, etc.). Thus, the first trajectory information may be determined or derived by the position estimation entity itself, or alternatively, may be received from an external entity.

[0233]

[0223] Referring to FIG. 21, at 2130, a position estimation entity (e.g., processing system 332 or 384 or 394, positioning module 342 or 388 or 398, etc.) determines to trigger a DDT procedure based on the first trajectory information, the DDT procedure comprising a first DT procedure based on timing measurements between the target UE and the first and second wireless nodes, and a second DT procedure based on timing measurements between a reference wireless node and the first and second wireless nodes.

[0234] 21 , at 2140, the location estimation entity (e.g., transmitter 314 or 324 or 354 or 364, network interface 380 or 390, data bus 334 or 382, ​​etc.) transmits a request to at least the target UE and the reference wireless node to perform a DDT procedure based on the determination. In some designs (e.g., in the case of DD-RRT or DD-TDOA where the first and second wireless nodes are not yet configured to transmit RS-P), the request to perform the DDT procedure may be further sent to the first and second wireless nodes (e.g., to prompt the first and second wireless nodes to measure RS-P from the target UE and the reference wireless node for RTT measurement in DD-RTT, or to transmit RS-P for TDOA measurement in the case of DD-TDOA, or to measure RS-P for TDOA measurement in the case of UL-TDOA). However, in other designs, the first and second wireless nodes may already be configured to transmit RS-Ps (e.g., periodic RS-Ps, SPS RS-Ps, etc.) suitable for DL-TDOA measurements by the target UE and the reference wireless node. In this case, the request at 2140 need not be sent to the first and second wireless nodes because the first and second wireless nodes are already scheduled to transmit RS-Ps. In some designs, the location estimation entity may correspond to one of the target UE, the reference wireless node, or the first and second wireless nodes. In this case, the transmission at 2140 to this particular component may correspond to an internal transmission of data between the logical components over respective data buses or the like, rather than an external wireless or backhaul transmission.

[0235] FIG. 22 illustrates an example implementation 2200 of the process 2100 of FIG. 21 according to one aspect of the disclosure. In FIG. 22, a target UE moves (or is predicted to move) along a trajectory 2202 to a fixed reference wireless node. In some designs, the trajectory 2202 may be plotted based on a series of position fixes of the target UE, such as position 2204. In one example, a DDT procedure may be triggered at 2130 based on the trajectory 2202 indicating that the target UE is predicted to enter a vicinity 2206 of the fixed reference wireless node (e.g., within a threshold distance from each other).

[0236] FIG. 23 illustrates an example implementation 2300 of the process 2100 of FIG. 21 according to another aspect of the disclosure. In FIG. 22, a target UE moves (or is predicted to move) along a trajectory 2302 toward a region 2310, and a mobile reference wireless node moves (or is predicted to move) along a trajectory 2306 toward the region 2310. In some designs, the trajectories 2302 and / or 2306 may be plotted based on a series of position fixes of the target UE and the mobile reference wireless node, such as positions 2304 and 2308, respectively. In one example, a DDT procedure may be triggered at 2130 based on the trajectories 2302 and 2306 indicating that the target UE is predicted to converge in the region 2310 (e.g., within a threshold distance from each other).

[0237] 21, in some designs (e.g., as in FIG. 20), the DDT procedure corresponds to a DD time difference of arrival (DD-TDOA) procedure, the first and second DT procedures correspond to first and second differential TDOA procedures, respectively, and each timing measurement associated with the first and second differential TDOA procedures corresponds to a TDOA measurement. In other designs (e.g., as in FIG. 16-FIG. 19), the DDT procedure corresponds to a DD round trip time (DD-RTT) procedure, the first and second DT procedures correspond to first and second differential RTT procedures, respectively, and each timing measurement associated with the first and second differential RTT procedures corresponds to an RTT measurement.

[0238]

[0228] With reference to FIG. 21, in some designs, the first trajectory information may be received from the target UE via Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) signaling.

[0239]

[0229] Referring to FIG. 21, in some designs, the first trajectory information may include an algorithmic description (e.g., a mathematical function, etc.) of the target UE's trajectory, a series of locations and associated timestamps of the target UE, a speed or velocity of the target UE, a heading of the target UE, an orientation of the target UE, an acceleration of the target UE, or a combination thereof.

[0240] 21 , in some designs, the optional second trajectory information is received from the reference wireless node via Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) signaling or New Radio Positioning Protocol A (NRPPa) signaling or a sidelink. Similar to the first trajectory information, in some designs, the second trajectory information may comprise an algorithmic description of a trajectory of the reference wireless node, a series of locations and associated timestamps of the reference wireless node, a speed or velocity of the reference wireless node, a heading direction of the reference wireless node, an orientation of the reference wireless node, an acceleration of the reference wireless node, or a combination thereof.

[0241] 21 , in some designs, the reference wireless node corresponds to a fixed device, as described above. In some designs, the first wireless node, the second wireless node, and / or the reference wireless node correspond to a base station or a reference UE associated with a known location.

[0242] 21 , in some designs, the location estimation entity may receive measurement information related to the DDT procedure. Using the measurement information, the location estimation entity may perform a positioning estimate of the target UE based on the measurement information, or may perform a timing error correction related to the first and second wireless nodes based on the measurement information, or a combination thereof.

[0243] In some aspects, the DDT procedure may be used to generally compensate for timing errors, but may not be sufficient to compensate for estimation noise such as NLOS bias (e.g., which may be unique per link). Thus, a more general measurement between the reference wireless node and the target UE may provide better LOS conditions and therefore better accuracy.

[0244] Aspects of the present disclosure are thereby directed to a Joint Double Differential Timing (J-DDT) procedure involving multiple reference wireless nodes rather than a single reference wireless node as illustrated in Figures 16-20. Such aspects may provide various technical advantages such as leveraging more LOS links across different reference wireless nodes, which in turn improves the accuracy of position estimation for UEs involved with such wireless nodes.

[0245] 24 illustrates an example process 2400 of wireless communication according to aspects of the disclosure. In one aspect, the process 2400 may be performed by a position estimation entity, which may correspond to a UE, such as the UE 302 (e.g., in the case of UE-based positioning), a BS, such as the BS 304 or a gNB (e.g., in the case of an LMF integrated in the RAN), or a network entity 306 (e.g., a core network component such as an LMF or a location server).

[0246] 24, at 2410, a location estimation entity (e.g., processing system 332 or 384 or 394, positioning module 342 or 388 or 398, etc.) determines to trigger a J-DDT procedure, the J-DDT procedure comprising a first DT procedure based on timing measurements between the target UE and each wireless node of the first set of wireless nodes, a second DT procedure based on timing measurements between the first reference wireless node and each wireless node of the second set of wireless nodes, and a third DT procedure based on timing measurements between the second reference wireless node and each wireless node of the third set of wireless nodes. In some designs, the determination at 2410 may be triggered in response to a number of common LOS links between the target UE and any particular reference wireless node falling below some threshold. In this case, a “regular” DDT procedure rather than a J-DDT procedure may be triggered in other scenarios where a reference wireless node with a sufficient number of common LOS links is available. Although described in 2410 with respect to two reference wireless nodes, it will be appreciated that the J-DDT procedure may involve any number of reference wireless nodes (eg, two, three, four, etc.).

[0247] 24 , at 2420, the location estimation entity (e.g., transmitter 314 or 324 or 354 or 364, network interface 380 or 390, data bus 334 or 382, ​​etc.) may transmit a request to at least the target UE and the first and second reference wireless nodes to perform a J-DDT procedure based on the determination. In some designs, (e.g., in the case of DD-RRT or DD-TDOA where the wireless nodes in the first, second and third sets of wireless nodes are not yet configured to transmit RS-P), the request to perform the DDT procedure may be further sent to each wireless node in the first, second and third sets of wireless nodes (e.g., to prompt each wireless node in the first, second and third sets of wireless nodes to measure RS-P from the target UE and / or the reference wireless node for RTT measurement in DD-RTT, or to transmit RS-P for TDOA measurement in the case of DD-TDOA, or to measure RS-P for TDOA measurement in the case of UL-TDOA). However, in other designs, one or more wireless nodes in the first, second, and third sets of wireless nodes may already be configured to transmit RS-Ps suitable for DL-TDOA measurements by the target UE and the reference wireless node (e.g., periodic RS-Ps, SPS RS-Ps, etc.). In this case, the request at 2420 need not be sent to such wireless nodes because these respective wireless nodes are already scheduled to transmit RS-Ps. In other designs, the request at 2420 may be sent to some but not all of the wireless nodes in the first, second, and third sets of wireless nodes (e.g., some of the wireless nodes are already properly configured, while others require configuration). In some designs, the location estimation entity may correspond to one of the target UE, the reference wireless node, or the first and second wireless nodes.In this case, the transmission at 2420 to this particular component may correspond to an internal transmission of data between logical components over a respective data bus or the like, rather than an external wireless or backhaul transmission.

[0248] 24, in some designs, the J-DDT procedure corresponds to a joint double differential time difference of arrival (J-DD-TDOA) procedure, the first, second and third DT procedures correspond to first, second and third differential TDOA procedures, respectively (e.g., as in FIG. 20), and each timing measurement associated with the first, second and third differential TDOA procedures corresponds to a TDOA measurement. In other designs, the J-DDT procedure corresponds to a joint double differential round trip time (J-DD-RTT) procedure, the first, second and third DT procedures correspond to first, second and third differential RTT procedures, respectively (e.g., as in FIG. 16-FIG. 19), and each timing measurement associated with the first and second differential RTT procedures corresponds to an RTT measurement.

[0249] 24 , in some designs, the first, second and third sets of wireless nodes comprise at least one common wireless node. In some designs, the second set of wireless nodes includes some of the wireless nodes from the first set of wireless nodes, and the third set of wireless nodes comprises some of the wireless nodes from the first set of wireless nodes. In other words, there may be diversity with respect to association of wireless nodes among the reference wireless nodes.

[0250]

[0240] Referring to FIG. 24, in some designs, the first DT procedure is based on timing measurements over a line of sight (LOS) link between the target UE and each wireless node in the first set of wireless nodes, or the second DT procedure is based on timing measurements over LOS links between the first reference wireless node and each wireless node in the second set of wireless nodes, or the third DT procedure is based on timing measurements between the second reference wireless node and each wireless node in the third set of wireless nodes, or a combination thereof.

[0251]

[0241] Referring to FIG. 24, in some designs, the position estimation entity may further receive measurement information related to the DDT procedure. The position estimation entity may use the measurement information to determine a positioning estimate of the target UE based on the measurement information, to perform timing error correction related to the first and second wireless nodes based on the measurement information, or a combination thereof. In an example, as described in more detail below with respect to FIG. 25, the position estimation entity may further determine to transition to a different reference signal time difference (RSTD) reference node based on the measurement information, and the positioning estimate is determined based on the transition of the RSTD reference node without triggering another measurement procedure. For example, RSTD is defined as the relative timing difference between two cells (a reference cell and a measured cell) and is calculated as the smallest time from two different cells.

[0252]

[0242] Figure 25 illustrates an example implementation 2500 of the process 2400 of Figure 24 according to one aspect of the disclosure. In particular, while Figure 25 illustrates a J-DD-TDOA implementation involving three reference wireless nodes and four wireless nodes, it will be appreciated that Figure 25 can be easily modified to map to J-DD-RTT and / or J-DDT procedures involving a different number of reference wireless nodes and / or wireless nodes.

[0253] 25, a target UE is denoted as UE 2502, a group of wireless nodes 2504 includes wireless nodes denoted as i, j, k and l, and a group of reference wireless nodes 2506 includes reference wireless nodes denoted as 1, 2 and 3. In FIG. 25, arrows from wireless nodes i, j, k and l to target UE 2502 and reference wireless nodes 1, 2 and 3 correspond to RS-Ps transmitted over respective LOS links. In one example, the LOS condition of a link may be identified in a positioning estimation entity (e.g., LMF) with an outlier removal algorithm or, alternatively, via a LOS identification algorithm of the reference wireless node or UE. Thus, wireless node i transmits RS-P via an LOS link to reference wireless node 1, wireless node j transmits RS-P via an LOS link to target UE 2502 and reference wireless nodes 2-3, wireless node k transmits RS-P via an LOS link to target UE 2502 and reference wireless nodes 1-2, and wireless node l transmits RS-P via an LOS link to target UE 2502 and reference wireless node 1.

[0254] 25, in one example, assume that wireless node k is selected as the RSTD reference cell (e.g., to ensure that one single RSTD reference cell is available). For RSTD_jk, reference wireless node 2 may be used to correct the timing error. For RSTD_lk, reference wireless node 1 may be used to correct the timing error. In one example, both the target UE 2502 and the reference wireless node 102 may be needed to measure RS-P from wireless node k.

[0255] 25, in some designs, the RSTD reference cell may be changed, as described above. In some designs, this change (or swap) may be made in the location estimation entity based on the measurement information without requiring a new measurement procedure or a new measurement report. For example, the first RSTD reference cell (RS-P_1) is associated with RSTD_21, RSTD_31, and RSTD_41. To swap the RSTD reference cell from RS-P_1 to RS-P_2, RSTD_32=RSTD_31-RSTD_21, and so on. In one example, if the target UE reports RSTD to the RSTD reference cell as wireless node j (e.g., gNBj), the location estimation entity (e.g., LMF) may swap the RSTD reference cell to wireless node k (e.g., gNBk) and then use measurements of both reference wireless nodes 1 and 2 to correct the timing error. However, in some designs, if measurements of wireless node k (e.g., gNBk) are not included in the report, the location estimation entity may not be able to swap the RSTD reference cell to wireless node k (e.g., gNBk), and thus the location estimation entity may not be able to utilize both reference wireless nodes 1 and 2 to correct the timing of the target UE.

[0256]

[0246] In a further example, reporting overhead may be reduced by dynamically swapping RSTD reference cells in this manner. For example, if the RSTD reference cells cannot be dynamically swapped, for each selection of the RSTD reference cell, the target UE or the reference wireless node may need to report one vector of measurements for the RSTD reference cell. If the selection of the RSTD reference cell is insufficient (e.g., fails to have a sufficient number of LOS links), the target UE or the reference wireless node may need to report again to a new RSTD reference cell. If dynamic swapping of the RSTD reference cell is enabled, the target UE or the reference wireless node needs to report only once, and the location estimation entity (e.g., LMF) can automatically swap. Thus, as long as several candidate RSTD reference cells are included in the report, the location estimation entity (e.g., LMF) can swap to any one of them. In this case, several candidate RSTD reference cells may be intersection cells between reference wireless nodes with higher priorities. As long as such candidate RSTD reference cells are associated with the measurement information included in the measurement report, the location estimation entity (e.g., LMF) can swap to any one of them and then correct the timing error.

[0257] In some legacy systems, in the context of using DL-PRS measurements by the target UE, the LMF recommends a set of specific RSTD reference cells and DL-PRSs to measure. These recommendations are not implemented as requests because the target UE may be in a better position and not select the best PRS for measurement. For example, some recommended DL-PRSs may be too weak (e.g., RSRP below a threshold) or may be associated with NLOS links (e.g., not useful for positioning). For this reason, such legacy systems generally recommend multiple DL-PRS candidates, and the target UE makes the final decision of which of the DL-PRS candidates will be measured and reported.

[0258]

[0248] However, in some cases, a PRS may have a higher priority than other PRSs, but the target UE may not be aware of such priority. In this case, by leaving the PRS selection to the target UE, there is a risk that the target UE will choose not to select a higher priority PRS for measurement and / or reporting. For example, in the context of using a J-DDT procedure as in Figure 24, a common RS-P across different reference wireless nodes and target UEs may be considered a higher priority than a RS-P specific to a particular reference wireless (or common to a smaller number of reference wireless nodes).

[0259] Aspects of the present disclosure are thereby directed to a tiered RS-P measurement set configuration that includes both optional RS-P measurement sets (e.g., as in some legacy systems) as well as required RS-P measurement sets (e.g., associated with RS-Ps having LOS links to one or more reference wireless nodes for DDT or J-DDT procedures). The required RS-P measurement sets may be specified and signaled to a target UE, and the target UE may measure and at least report on the required RS-P measurement sets. In the case of an exemplary J-DDT, the required RS-P measurement sets may include RS-Ps in the intersections of the measurements of the reference wireless nodes (e.g., in FIG. 25, node k for reference wireless nodes 1 and 2, or node j for reference wireless nodes 2 and 3, which may be used for RTT calibration or for RSTD correction if more LOS links become available). In the case of DDT, the required RS-P measurement sets may include measurements of LOS links in some designs. Such aspects may provide various technical advantages, such as improving timing correction of a wireless node, which in turn improves the accuracy of position estimation for a UE associated with such wireless node.

[0260] 26 illustrates an example process 2600 for wireless communication according to aspects of the disclosure. In one aspect, the process 2600 may be performed by a position estimation entity, which may correspond to a UE, such as the UE 302 (e.g., in the case of UE-based positioning), a BS, such as the BS 304 or a gNB (e.g., in the case of an LMF integrated in the RAN), or a network entity 306 (e.g., a core network component such as an LMF or a location server).

[0261]

[0251] Referring to FIG. 26, at 2610, a position estimation entity (e.g., processing system 332 or 384 or 394, positioning module 342 or 388 or 398, etc.) determines a required RS-P measurement set and an optional RS-P measurement set for a positioning session of the target UE.

[0262] 26, at 2620, a location estimation entity (e.g., transmitter 314 or 324 or 354 or 364, network interface 380 or 390, data bus 334 or 382, ​​etc.) transmits an indication of required and optional RS-P measurement sets to the target UE. In some designs, the location estimation entity may correspond to the target UE. In this case, the transmission at 2620 may correspond to an internal transmission of data between logical components over respective data buses, etc., rather than an external wireless or backhaul transmission.

[0263] 26, at 2630, a location estimation entity (e.g., receiver 312 or 322 or 352 or 362, network interface 380 or 390, data bus 334 or 382, ​​etc.) receives a measurement report comprising measurement information from a target UE in response to the instruction, the measurement information including at least measurement data related to a required RS-P measurement set. In some designs, the location estimation entity may correspond to the target UE. In this case, the receiving at 2630 may correspond to an internal transmission of data between logical components over respective data buses or the like, rather than an external wireless or backhaul transmission.

[0264] 27 illustrates an example process 2700 of wireless communication according to an aspect of the present disclosure. In one aspect, the process 2700 may be performed by a target UE, such as the UE 302.

[0265] 27, at 2710, the target UE (e.g., receiver 312 or 322, data bus 334, processing system 332, etc.) receives an indication of required and optional RS-P measurement sets for the positioning session from a position estimation entity. In one example, the position estimation entity may correspond to the target UE itself (e.g., for UE-based positioning), a BS such as BS 304 or a gNB (e.g., for an LMF integrated in the RAN), etc. In one example where the position estimation entity may correspond to the target UE itself, the reception at 2710 may correspond to an internal transmission of data between logical components over respective data buses or the like, rather than an external wireless or backhaul transmission.

[0266] 27, at 2720, the target UE (e.g., receiver 312 or 322, processor 332, positioning module 342, etc.) obtains measurement data related to at least a required RS-P measurement set. In some designs, the measurement data may be associated with only a portion of the required RS-P measurement set (e.g., a particular RS-P resource or resource set or TRP or cell or site, or some subset of the RS-P resource or resource set or TRP or cell or site). For example, in general, the required and / or optional RS-P measurement set may include a list of TRPs, resource sets, resources and / or sites that may correspond to some or all of the TRPs, resource sets, resources and / or sites associated with the participating wireless node. In other designs, the measurement data may be associated with all of the required RS-P measurement sets. In some designs, in scenarios where a portion of the required RS-P measurement set is measured and / or reported, the target UE may locally determine which portion of the required RS-P measurement set is skipped or bypassed (e.g., in case of NLOS links or insufficient RSRP, etc.). In some designs, even if the measurement data itself is skipped or bypassed, the target UE may still need to report on the skipped or bypassed measurements related to the required RS-P measurement set. For example, the skipped or bypassed measurements may be reported with an empty field or with a warning / error indicator for the condition. Another method is to report some default value for the skipped or bypassed measurements that indicates an error / warning (e.g., using +1 to indicate insufficient RSRP when normal path loss is a negative value, etc.).

[0267] 27, the target UE (e.g., transmitter 314 or 324, data bus 334, etc.) transmits a measurement report comprising measurement information based on the measurement data to a location estimation entity at 2730. In one example where the location estimation entity may correspond to the target UE itself, the transmission at 2730 may correspond to an internal transmission of data between logical components over respective data buses or the like, rather than an external wireless or backhaul transmission.

[0268]

[0258] Referring to Figures 26-27, in some designs, an indication of the required RS-P measurement set and the optional RS-P measurement set may be sent via a measurement request or via location assistance data.

[0269]

[0259] Referring to Figures 26-27, in some designs, the required and optional RS-P measurement sets may include one or more RS-P resources, one or more RS-P resource sets, one or more TRPs, one or more cells, one or more sites, or a combination thereof.

[0270] 26-27, in some designs, the optional RS-P measurement set includes the required RS-P measurement set. In another example, the optional RS-P measurement set may not include the required RS-P measurement set. For example, if the required RS-P measurement set is explicitly indicated to the target UE by the position estimation entity, the inclusion of the required RS-P measurement set in the optional RS-P measurement set may be redundant, and thus the required RS-P measurement set may be omitted from the optional RS-P measurement set.

[0271] 26-27, in some designs, the measurement information may further include measurement data related to optional RS-P measurement sets. In other words, the target UE is not limited to measuring the required RS-P measurement sets (e.g., if a good LOS link or RSRP is available on some of the optional RS-P measurement sets, the target UE may also measure / report those measurements).

[0272]

[0262] With reference to FIGS. 26-27, in some designs, the measurement information may include reference signal time difference (RSTD) measurement data associated with multiple RSTD reference cells.

[0273] 26-27, in some designs, the positioning session may include a DDT procedure (e.g., RTT-based or TDOA-based, “normal” DDT or J-DDT, etc.) comprising a first DT procedure based on timing measurements between a target UE and the first and second wireless nodes and a second DT procedure based on timing measurements between a reference wireless node and the first and second wireless nodes. For example, the DDT procedure may correspond to a DD-TDOA procedure, the first and second DT procedures correspond to first and second differential TDOA procedures, respectively, and each timing measurement associated with the first and second differential TDOA procedures corresponds to a TDOA measurement, or alternatively, the DDT procedure may correspond to a DD-RTT procedure, the first and second DT procedures correspond to first and second differential RTT procedures, respectively, and each timing measurement associated with the first and second differential RTT procedures corresponds to an RTT measurement. However, these DDT procedure aspects are described merely as examples, and the processes of Figures 26-27 are not limited to implementations related to DDT procedures.

[0274]

[0264] Figure 28 illustrates an RS-P measurement set configuration 2800 according to an aspect of the present disclosure. In Figure 28, the RS-P measurement set configuration 2800 includes an optional (or recommended) RS-P measurement set 2802 and a required RS-P measurement set 2804. As shown in Figure 28, the required RS-P measurement set 2804 is shown as a subset of the optional (or recommended) RS-P measurement set 2802. However, as noted above, the required RS-P measurement set 2804 may alternatively be shown separately.

[0275] 26-27, in a particular example, it is assumed that the location estimation entity corresponds to an LMF that performs initialization and maintenance of the selection of reference wireless nodes for the J-DDT procedure. In this case, the LMF selects multiple reference wireless nodes, collects PRS measurements from the reports of the reference wireless nodes, and finds overlaps between the reports of the reference wireless nodes (e.g., some PRS resources or resource sets or TRPs or cells or sites that are common between two or more, and possibly all, of the selected reference wireless nodes). The LMF may identify the overlaps as a subset X that corresponds to the required RS-P measurement set.

[0276]

[0266] In one example, the LMF (e.g., in the measurement request or in the location assistance data) may then specify two RS-P (in this case PRS) measurement sets. Set A is the required PRS measurement set and is selected based on the subset X. The target UE is instructed to measure at least one, some, or all of the required PRS measurement set (e.g., PRS resources or resource sets or TRPs or cells or sites, etc.) and transmit a measurement report. Set B is an optional (or recommended) PRS measurement set. As above, set B can include or exclude set A. The PRSs in set B are recommended but not required in the measurement report (e.g., as in some legacy systems). In an alternative example, instead of one RSTD reference cell, the LMF may request the UE to report RSTD to multiple reference cells in set C (selected based on X). For example, instead of one RSTD reference cell 1: RSTD 2_1, RSTD 3_1..., the target UE may report [[RSTD 2_1, RSTD 3_1...], [RSTD 2_4, RSTD 3_4...]] instead.

[0277]

[0267] In the above detailed description, it can be seen that different features are grouped together in examples. This mode of disclosure should not be understood as an intention that the exemplary clauses have more features than those explicitly stated in each clause. Rather, various aspects of the present disclosure may include fewer than all features of each disclosed exemplary clause. Thus, the following clauses should be considered to be incorporated herein, and each clause can exist as a separate example by itself. Although each dependent clause may refer to a specific combination with one of the other clauses in the clause, the aspects of that dependent clause are not limited to the specific combination. It will be appreciated that other exemplary clauses may also include combinations of the dependent clause aspects with any other dependent clause or the subject matter of the independent clause, or combinations of any features with other dependent and independent clauses. Various aspects disclosed herein expressly include these combinations unless it is expressly expressed or can be easily inferred that a particular combination is not intended (e.g., inconsistent aspects such as defining an element as both an insulator and a conductor). Moreover, it is also contemplated that aspects of a clause may be included in any other independent clause, even if that clause is not directly dependent on that independent clause.

[0278]

[0268] Implementation examples are described in the following numbered clauses.

[0279]

[0269] Clause 1. A method for operating a position estimation entity, comprising: determining to trigger a joint double differential timing (J-DDT) procedure; the J-DDT procedure comprising a first differential timing (DT) procedure based on timing measurements between a target user equipment (UE) and each wireless node of a first set of wireless nodes, a second DT procedure based on timing measurements between the first reference wireless node and each wireless node of a second set of wireless nodes, and a third DT procedure based on timing measurements between the second reference wireless node and each wireless node of a third set of wireless nodes; and sending a request to at least a target UE, a first reference wireless node, and a second reference wireless node to perform a J-DDT procedure based on the decision to trigger the J-DDT procedure.

[0280]

[0270] Clause 2. The method of clause 1, wherein the J-DDT procedure corresponds to a joint double differential time difference of arrival (J-DD-TDOA) procedure, the first, second and third DT procedures correspond to first, second and third differential TDOA procedures, respectively, and each timing measurement associated with the first, second and third differential TDOA procedures corresponds to a TDOA measurement, or the J-DDT procedure corresponds to a joint double differential round trip time (J-DD-RTT) procedure, the first, second and third DT procedures correspond to first, second and third differential RTT procedures, respectively, and each timing measurement associated with the first and second differential RTT procedures corresponds to an RTT measurement.

[0281]

[0271] Clause 3. The method of clause 1 or 2, wherein the first, second and third sets of wireless nodes comprise at least one common wireless node.

[0282]

[0272] Clause 4. A method according to any of clauses 1 to 3, wherein the first DT procedure is based on timing measurements over a line-of-sight (LOS) link between the target UE and each wireless node of the first set of wireless nodes, or the second DT procedure is based on timing measurements over a LOS link between the first reference wireless node and each wireless node of the second set of wireless nodes, or the third DT procedure is based on timing measurements between the second reference wireless node and each wireless node of the third set of wireless nodes, or a combination thereof.

[0283]

[0273] Clause 5. A method as described in any of aspects 1 to 4, further comprising receiving measurement information related to a J-DDT procedure, and determining a positioning estimate of the target UE based on the measurement information related to the J-DDT procedure, performing timing error correction related to the first and second wireless nodes based on the measurement information related to the J-DDT procedure, or a combination thereof.

[0284]

[0274] Clause 6. The method of clause 5, further comprising determining to transition to a different Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD) reference node based on measurement information related to a J-DDT procedure, wherein the positioning estimate is determined based on the transition to the different RSTD reference node using measurement information related to the J-DDT procedure without triggering another measurement procedure.

[0285]

[0275] Clause 7. A method for operating a position estimation entity, comprising: determining a required reference signal for positioning (RS-P) measurement set and an optional RS-P measurement set for a positioning session of a target user equipment (UE); sending an indication of the required RS-P measurement set and the optional RS-P measurement set to the target UE; and receiving a measurement report comprising measurement information from the target UE in response to the indication, the measurement information including at least measurement data relating to the required RS-P measurement set.

[0286]

[0276] Clause 8. A method as described in clause 7, wherein the instruction is sent via a measurement request or via location assistance data.

[0287]

[0277] Clause 9. A method as described in clause 7 or 8, wherein the required and optional RS-P measurement sets include one or more RS-P resources, one or more RS-P resource sets, one or more TRPs, one or more cells, one or more sites, or a combination thereof.

[0288]

[0278] Clause 10. A method according to any of clauses 7 to 9, wherein the measurement information further includes measurement data relating to an optional RS-P measurement set.

[0289]

[0279] Clause 11. A method according to any one of clauses 7 to 10, wherein the measurement information comprises reference signal time difference (RSTD) measurement data associated with a plurality of RSTD reference nodes.

[0290]

[0280] Clause 12. A method according to any of clauses 7 to 11, wherein the positioning session comprises a double differential timing (DDT) procedure comprising a first differential timing (DT) procedure based on timing measurements between the target UE and the first and second wireless nodes, and a second DT procedure based on timing measurements between a reference wireless node and the first and second wireless nodes.

[0291]

[0281] Clause 13. The method of clause 12, wherein the DDT procedure corresponds to a DD time difference of arrival (DD-TDOA) procedure, the first and second DT procedures correspond to first and second differential TDOA procedures, respectively, and each timing measurement associated with the first and second differential TDOA procedures corresponds to a TDOA measurement, or the DDT procedure corresponds to a DD round trip time (DD-RTT) procedure, the first and second DT procedures correspond to first and second differential RTT procedures, respectively, and each timing measurement associated with the first and second differential RTT procedures corresponds to an RTT measurement.

[0292]

[0282] Clause 14. A method for operating a target user equipment (UE), comprising: receiving an indication of a required reference signal for positioning (RS-P) measurement set for a positioning session and an optional RS-P measurement set for the positioning session from a position estimation entity, obtaining measurement data relating to at least the required RS-P measurement set, and sending a measurement report to the position estimation entity comprising measurement information based on the measurement data.

[0293]

[0283] Clause 15. The method of clause 14, further comprising evaluating an optional RS-P measurement set to determine whether any measurement data associated with the optional RS-P measurement set should be included in the measurement report.

[0294]

[0284] Clause 16. A method as described in clause 14 or 15, wherein the instruction is received via a measurement request or via location assistance data.

[0295]

[0285] Clause 17. A method according to any of clauses 14 to 16, wherein the required and optional RS-P measurement sets include one or more RS-P resources, one or more RS-P resource sets, one or more TRPs, one or more cells, one or more sites, or a combination thereof.

[0296]

[0286] Clause 18. The method of any of clauses 14 to 17, wherein the measurement information comprises reference signal time difference (RSTD) measurement data associated with a plurality of RSTD reference nodes.

[0297]

[0287] Clause 19. A method according to any of clauses 14 to 18, wherein the positioning session comprises a double differential timing (DDT) procedure comprising a first differential timing (DT) procedure based on timing measurements between the target UE and the first and second wireless nodes, and a second DT procedure based on timing measurements between a reference wireless node and the first and second wireless nodes.

[0298]

[0288] Clause 20. The method of clause 19, wherein the DDT procedure corresponds to a DD time difference of arrival (DD-TDOA) procedure, the first and second DT procedures correspond to first and second differential TDOA procedures, respectively, and each timing measurement associated with the first and second differential TDOA procedures corresponds to a TDOA measurement, or the DDT procedure corresponds to a DD round trip time (DD-RTT) procedure, the first and second DT procedures correspond to first and second differential RTT procedures, respectively, and each timing measurement associated with the first and second differential RTT procedures corresponds to an RTT measurement.

[0299]

[0289] Clause 21. A method for operating a location estimation entity, comprising: obtaining first trajectory information related to a target user equipment (UE); determining to trigger a double differential timing (DDT) procedure based on the first trajectory information; and the DDT procedure comprising a first differential timing (DT) procedure based on timing measurements between the target UE and first and second wireless nodes, and a second DT procedure based on timing measurements between a reference wireless node and the first and second wireless nodes, and sending a request to at least the target UE and the reference wireless node to perform the DDT procedure based on the decision to trigger the DDT procedure.

[0300]

[0290] Clause 22. The method of clause 21, wherein the DDT procedure corresponds to a DD time difference of arrival (DD-TDOA) procedure, the first and second DT procedures correspond to first and second differential TDOA procedures, respectively, and each timing measurement associated with the first and second differential TDOA procedures corresponds to a TDOA measurement, or the DDT procedure corresponds to a DD round trip time (DD-RTT) procedure, the first and second DT procedures correspond to first and second differential RTT procedures, respectively, and each timing measurement associated with the first and second differential RTT procedures corresponds to an RTT measurement.

[0301]

[0291] Clause 23. The method of clause 21 or 22, wherein the first trajectory information is received from the target UE via Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) signaling.

[0302]

[0292] Clause 24. A method as described in any of clauses 21 to 23, wherein the first trajectory information comprises an algorithmic description of the trajectory of the target UE, a series of locations and associated timestamps of the target UE, a speed or velocity of the target UE, a heading direction of the target UE, an orientation of the target UE, an acceleration of the target UE, or a combination thereof.

[0303]

[0293] Clause 25. The method of any of clauses 21 to 24, further comprising obtaining second trajectory information related to the reference wireless node, wherein the decision to trigger the DDT procedure is further based on the second trajectory information.

[0304]

[0294] Clause 26. The method of clause 25, wherein the second trajectory information is received from a reference wireless node via Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) signaling or New Radio Positioning Protocol A (NRPPa) signaling or a sidelink.

[0305]

[0295] Clause 27. The method of clause 25 or 26, wherein the second trajectory information comprises an algorithmic description of a trajectory of the reference wireless node, a series of locations and associated timestamps of the reference wireless node, a speed or velocity of the reference wireless node, a heading direction of the reference wireless node, an orientation of the reference wireless node, an acceleration of the reference wireless node, or a combination thereof.

[0306]

[0296] Clause 28. The method of any of clauses 21 to 27, wherein the reference wireless node corresponds to a fixed device.

[0307]

[0297] Clause 29. A method according to any of clauses 21 to 28, wherein one or more of the first wireless node, the second wireless node and the reference wireless node correspond to a base station or a reference UE associated with a known location.

[0308]

[0298] Clause 30. A method as described in any of aspects 21 to 29, further comprising receiving measurement information related to a DDT procedure, and determining a positioning estimate of the target UE based on the measurement information related to the DDT procedure, performing timing error correction related to the first and second wireless nodes based on the measurement information related to the DDT procedure, or a combination thereof.

[0309]

[0299] Clause 31. A location estimation entity comprising: a memory, at least one transceiver, and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: determine to trigger a joint double differential timing (J-DDT) procedure; and transmit a request to at least the target user equipment (UE), the first reference wireless node, and the second reference wireless node via the at least one transceiver to perform a J-DDT procedure based on the decision to trigger the J-DDT procedure, the J-DDT procedure comprising a first differential timing (DT) procedure based on timing measurements between a target user equipment (UE) and each wireless node of a first set of wireless nodes, a second DT procedure based on timing measurements between the first reference wireless node and each wireless node of the second set of wireless nodes, and a third DT procedure based on timing measurements between the second reference wireless node and each wireless node of a third set of wireless nodes.

[0310]

[0300] Clause 32. A location estimation entity as described in Clause 31, wherein the J-DDT procedure corresponds to a joint double differential time difference of arrival (J-DD-TDOA) procedure, the first, second and third DT procedures corresponding to first, second and third differential TDOA procedures, respectively, and each timing measurement associated with the first, second and third differential TDOA procedures corresponds to a TDOA measurement, or the J-DDT procedure corresponds to a joint double differential round trip time (J-DD-RTT) procedure, the first, second and third DT procedures corresponding to first, second and third differential RTT procedures, respectively, and each timing measurement associated with the first and second differential RTT procedures corresponds to an RTT measurement.

[0311]

[0301] Clause 33. A location estimation entity as described in clause 31 or 32, wherein the first, second and third sets of wireless nodes comprise at least one common wireless node.

[0312]

[0302] Clause 34. A location estimation entity as described in any of Clauses 31 to 33, wherein the first DT procedure is based on timing measurements over a line-of-sight (LOS) link between the target UE and each wireless node of the first set of wireless nodes, or the second DT procedure is based on timing measurements over a LOS link between the first reference wireless node and each wireless node of the second set of wireless nodes, or the third DT procedure is based on timing measurements between the second reference wireless node and each wireless node of the third set of wireless nodes, or a combination thereof.

[0313]

[0303] Clause 35. A position estimation entity as described in any of clauses 31 to 34, wherein at least one processor is further configured to receive, via at least one transceiver, measurement information related to a J-DDT procedure, and determine a position estimate of the target UE based on the measurement information related to the J-DDT procedure, or perform timing error correction related to the first and second wireless nodes based on the measurement information related to the J-DDT procedure, or a combination thereof.

[0314]

[0304] Clause 36. The position estimation entity described in Clause 35, wherein at least one processor is further configured to determine to transition to a different Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD) reference node based on measurement information related to a J-DDT procedure, wherein a positioning estimate is determined based on the transition to the different RSTD reference node using measurement information related to the J-DDT procedure without triggering another measurement procedure.

[0315]

[0305] Clause 37. A position estimation entity comprising: a memory, at least one transceiver, and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: determine a required reference signal for positioning (RS-P) measurement set and an optional RS-P measurement set for a positioning session of a target user equipment (UE); send an indication of the required RS-P measurement set and the optional RS-P measurement set to the target UE via the at least one transceiver; and receive a measurement report comprising measurement information from the target UE in response to the indication via the at least one transceiver, wherein the measurement information includes at least measurement data related to the required RS-P measurement set.

[0316]

[0306] Clause 38. A position estimation entity as described in clause 37, wherein the instruction is sent via a measurement request or via location assistance data.

[0317]

[0307] Clause 39. A location estimation entity as described in clause 37 or 38, wherein the required and optional RS-P measurement sets include one or more RS-P resources, one or more RS-P resource sets, one or more TRPs, one or more cells, one or more sites, or a combination thereof.

[0318]

[0308] Clause 40. A position estimation entity as described in any of clauses 37 to 39, wherein the measurement information further includes measurement data relating to an optional RS-P measurement set.

[0319]

[0309] Clause 41. A position estimation entity as described in any of clauses 37 to 40, wherein the measurement information comprises Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD) measurement data associated with a plurality of RSTD reference nodes.

[0320]

[0310] Clause 42. A location estimation entity as described in any of clauses 37 to 41, wherein the positioning session comprises a double differential timing (DDT) procedure comprising a first differential timing (DT) procedure based on timing measurements between the target UE and the first and second wireless nodes, and a second DT procedure based on timing measurements between a reference wireless node and the first and second wireless nodes.

[0321]

[0311] Clause 43. A location estimation entity as described in Clause 42, wherein the DDT procedure corresponds to a DD time difference of arrival (DD-TDOA) procedure, the first and second DT procedures corresponding to first and second differential TDOA procedures, respectively, and each timing measurement associated with the first and second differential TDOA procedures corresponds to a TDOA measurement, or the DDT procedure corresponds to a DD round trip time (DD-RTT) procedure, the first and second DT procedures corresponding to first and second differential RTT procedures, respectively, and each timing measurement associated with the first and second differential RTT procedures corresponds to an RTT measurement.

[0322]

[0312] Clause 44. A target user equipment (UE), comprising: a memory, at least one transceiver, and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, wherein the at least one processor is configured to receive, via the at least one transceiver, an indication of a required reference signal for positioning (RS-P) measurement set for a positioning session and an optional RS-P measurement set for the positioning session from a position estimation entity, obtain measurement data associated with at least the required RS-P measurement set, and send, via the at least one transceiver, a measurement report comprising measurement information based on the measurement data to the position estimation entity.

[0323]

[0313] Clause 45. A target UE as described in clause 44, wherein at least one processor is further configured to evaluate an optional RS-P measurement set to determine whether any measurement data associated with the optional RS-P measurement set should be included in the measurement report.

[0324]

[0314] Clause 46. A target UE as described in clause 44 or 45, wherein the instruction is received via a measurement request or via location assistance data.

[0325]

[0315] Clause 47. A target UE as described in any of clauses 44 to 46, wherein the required and optional RS-P measurement sets include one or more RS-P resources, one or more RS-P resource sets, one or more TRPs, one or more cells, one or more sites, or a combination thereof.

[0326]

[0316] Clause 48. A target UE as described in any of clauses 44 to 47, wherein the measurement information comprises Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD) measurement data associated with a plurality of RSTD reference nodes.

[0327]

[0317] Clause 49. A target UE as described in any of clauses 44 to 48, wherein the positioning session comprises a double differential timing (DDT) procedure comprising a first differential timing (DT) procedure based on timing measurements between the target UE and the first and second wireless nodes, and a second DT procedure based on timing measurements between a reference wireless node and the first and second wireless nodes.

[0328]

[0318] Clause 50. A target UE as described in Clause 49, wherein the DDT procedure corresponds to a DD Time Difference of Arrival (DD-TDOA) procedure, the first and second DT procedures corresponding to first and second differential TDOA procedures, respectively, and each timing measurement associated with the first and second differential TDOA procedures corresponds to a TDOA measurement, or the DDT procedure corresponds to a DD Round Trip Time (DD-RTT) procedure, the first and second DT procedures corresponding to first and second differential RTT procedures, respectively, and each timing measurement associated with the first and second differential RTT procedures corresponds to an RTT measurement.

[0329]

[0319] Clause 51. A location estimation entity comprising a memory, at least one transceiver, and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: acquire first trajectory information related to a target user equipment (UE); decide to trigger a double differential timing (DDT) procedure based on the first trajectory information; and send a request to at least the target UE and the reference wireless node via the at least one transceiver to perform a DDT procedure based on the decision to trigger the DDT procedure, the DDT procedure comprising a first differential timing (DT) procedure based on timing measurements between the target UE and first and second wireless nodes, and a second DT procedure based on timing measurements between a reference wireless node and the first and second wireless nodes.

[0330]

[0320] Clause 52. A location estimation entity as described in Clause 51, wherein the DDT procedure corresponds to a DD time difference of arrival (DD-TDOA) procedure, the first and second DT procedures corresponding to first and second differential TDOA procedures, respectively, and each timing measurement associated with the first and second differential TDOA procedures corresponding to a TDOA measurement, or the DDT procedure corresponds to a DD round trip time (DD-RTT) procedure, the first and second DT procedures corresponding to first and second differential RTT procedures, respectively, and each timing measurement associated with the first and second differential RTT procedures corresponding to an RTT measurement.

[0331]

[0321] Clause 53. The position estimation entity of clause 51 or 52, wherein the first trajectory information is received from the target UE via Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) signaling.

[0332]

[0322] Clause 54. A position estimation entity as described in any of clauses 51 to 53, wherein the first trajectory information comprises an algorithmic description of the trajectory of the target UE, a series of locations and associated timestamps of the target UE, a speed or velocity of the target UE, a heading direction of the target UE, an orientation of the target UE, an acceleration of the target UE, or a combination thereof.

[0333]

[0323] Clause 55. A location estimation entity as described in any of clauses 51 to 54, wherein at least one processor is further configured to obtain second trajectory information related to the reference wireless node, wherein the decision to trigger the DDT procedure is further based on the second trajectory information.

[0334]

[0324] Clause 56. The position estimation entity of clause 55, wherein the second trajectory information is received from a reference wireless node via Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) signaling or New Radio Positioning Protocol A (NRPPa) signaling or a sidelink.

[0335]

[0325] Clause 57. A location estimation entity as described in Clause 55 or 56, wherein the second trajectory information comprises an algorithmic description of a trajectory of the reference wireless node, a series of locations and associated timestamps of the reference wireless node, a speed or velocity of the reference wireless node, a heading direction of the reference wireless node, an orientation of the reference wireless node, an acceleration of the reference wireless node, or a combination thereof.

[0336]

[0326] Clause 58. A location estimation entity according to any of clauses 51 to 57, wherein the reference wireless node corresponds to a fixed device.

[0337]

[0327] Clause 59. A location estimation entity described in any of clauses 51 to 58, wherein one or more of the first wireless node, the second wireless node and the reference wireless node correspond to a base station or a reference UE associated with a known location.

[0338]

[0328] Clause 60. A position estimation entity as described in any of clauses 51 to 59, wherein at least one processor is further configured to receive, via at least one transceiver, measurement information related to a DDT procedure, and determine a position estimate of the target UE based on the measurement information related to the DDT procedure, or perform timing error correction related to the first and second wireless nodes based on the measurement information related to the DDT procedure, or a combination thereof.

[0339]

[0329] Clause 61. A location estimation entity comprising: means for deciding to trigger a joint double differential timing (J-DDT) procedure, the J-DDT procedure comprising a first differential timing (DT) procedure based on timing measurements between a target user equipment (UE) and each wireless node of a first set of wireless nodes, a second DT procedure based on timing measurements between the first reference wireless node and each wireless node of a second set of wireless nodes, and a third DT procedure based on timing measurements between the second reference wireless node and each wireless node of a third set of wireless nodes, and means for sending a request to at least a target UE, a first reference wireless node, and a second reference wireless node to perform a J-DDT procedure based on the decision to trigger the J-DDT procedure.

[0340]

[0330] Clause 62. A location estimation entity as described in Clause 61, wherein the J-DDT procedure corresponds to a joint double differential time difference of arrival (J-DD-TDOA) procedure, the first, second and third DT procedures corresponding to first, second and third differential TDOA procedures, respectively, and each timing measurement associated with the first, second and third differential TDOA procedures corresponds to a TDOA measurement, or the J-DDT procedure corresponds to a joint double differential round trip time (J-DD-RTT) procedure, the first, second and third DT procedures corresponding to first, second and third differential RTT procedures, respectively, and each timing measurement associated with the first and second differential RTT procedures corresponds to an RTT measurement.

[0341]

[0331] Clause 63. A location estimation entity as described in clause 61 or 62, wherein the first, second and third sets of wireless nodes comprise at least one common wireless node.

[0342]

[0332] Clause 64. A location estimation entity as described in any of Clauses 61 to 63, wherein the first DT procedure is based on timing measurements over a line-of-sight (LOS) link between the target UE and each wireless node of the first set of wireless nodes, or the second DT procedure is based on timing measurements over a LOS link between the first reference wireless node and each wireless node of the second set of wireless nodes, or the third DT procedure is based on timing measurements between the second reference wireless node and each wireless node of the third set of wireless nodes, or a combination thereof.

[0343]

[0333] Clause 65. A position estimation entity as described in any of aspects 61 to 64, further comprising means for receiving measurement information related to a J-DDT procedure, and means for determining a position estimate of a target UE based on the measurement information related to the J-DDT procedure, or performing timing error correction related to the first and second wireless nodes based on the measurement information related to the J-DDT procedure, or a combination thereof.

[0344]

[0334] Clause 66. The position estimation entity described in Clause 65, further comprising means for determining to transition to a different Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD) reference node based on measurement information related to a J-DDT procedure, wherein the positioning estimate is determined based on the transition to the different RSTD reference node using measurement information related to the J-DDT procedure without triggering another measurement procedure.

[0345]

[0335] Clause 67. A position estimation entity comprising: means for determining a required reference signal for positioning (RS-P) measurement set and an optional RS-P measurement set for a positioning session of a target user equipment (UE); means for sending an indication of the required RS-P measurement set and the optional RS-P measurement set to the target UE; and means for receiving a measurement report comprising measurement information from the target UE in response to the indication, the measurement information including at least measurement data related to the required RS-P measurement set.

[0346]

[0336] Clause 68. A position estimation entity as described in clause 67, wherein the instruction is sent via a measurement request or via location assistance data.

[0347]

[0337] Clause 69. A location estimation entity as described in clause 67 or 68, wherein the required and optional RS-P measurement sets include one or more RS-P resources, one or more RS-P resource sets, one or more TRPs, one or more cells, one or more sites, or a combination thereof.

[0348]

[0338] Clause 70. A position estimation entity as described in any of clauses 67 to 69, wherein the measurement information further includes measurement data relating to an optional RS-P measurement set.

[0349]

[0339] Clause 71. A position estimation entity as described in any of clauses 67 to 70, wherein the measurement information comprises Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD) measurement data associated with a plurality of RSTD reference nodes.

[0350]

[0340] Clause 72. A location estimation entity as described in any of clauses 67 to 71, wherein the positioning session comprises a double differential timing (DDT) procedure comprising a first differential timing (DT) procedure based on timing measurements between the target UE and the first and second wireless nodes, and a second DT procedure based on timing measurements between a reference wireless node and the first and second wireless nodes.

[0351]

[0341] Clause 73. A location estimation entity as described in Clause 72, wherein the DDT procedure corresponds to a DD time difference of arrival (DD-TDOA) procedure, the first and second DT procedures corresponding to first and second differential TDOA procedures, respectively, and each timing measurement associated with the first and second differential TDOA procedures corresponds to a TDOA measurement, or the DDT procedure corresponds to a DD round trip time (DD-RTT) procedure, the first and second DT procedures corresponding to first and second differential RTT procedures, respectively, and each timing measurement associated with the first and second differential RTT procedures corresponds to an RTT measurement.

[0352]

[0342] Clause 74. A target user equipment (UE), comprising: means for receiving an indication of a required reference signal for positioning (RS-P) measurement set for a positioning session and an optional RS-P measurement set for the positioning session from a position estimation entity; means for acquiring measurement data relating to at least the required RS-P measurement set; and means for sending a measurement report comprising measurement information based on the measurement data to the position estimation entity.

[0353]

[0343] Clause 75. The target UE as described in clause 74, further comprising means for evaluating an optional RS-P measurement set to determine whether any measurement data associated with the optional RS-P measurement set should be included in the measurement report.

[0354]

[0344] Clause 76. A target UE as described in clause 74 or 75, wherein the instruction is received via a measurement request or via location assistance data.

[0355]

[0345] Clause 77. A target UE as described in any of clauses 74 to 76, wherein the required and optional RS-P measurement sets include one or more RS-P resources, one or more RS-P resource sets, one or more TRPs, one or more cells, one or more sites, or a combination thereof.

[0356]

[0346] Clause 78. A target UE as described in any of clauses 74 to 77, wherein the measurement information comprises Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD) measurement data associated with a plurality of RSTD reference nodes.

[0357]

[0347] Clause 79. A target UE as described in any of clauses 74 to 78, wherein the positioning session comprises a double differential timing (DDT) procedure comprising a first differential timing (DT) procedure based on timing measurements between the target UE and the first and second wireless nodes, and a second DT procedure based on timing measurements between a reference wireless node and the first and second wireless nodes.

[0358]

[0348] Clause 80. A target UE as described in Clause 79, wherein the DDT procedure corresponds to a DD Time Difference of Arrival (DD-TDOA) procedure, the first and second DT procedures corresponding to first and second differential TDOA procedures, respectively, and each timing measurement associated with the first and second differential TDOA procedures corresponds to a TDOA measurement, or the DDT procedure corresponds to a DD Round Trip Time (DD-RTT) procedure, the first and second DT procedures corresponding to first and second differential RTT procedures, respectively, and each timing measurement associated with the first and second differential RTT procedures corresponds to an RTT measurement.

[0359]

[0349] Clause 81. A location estimation entity comprising: means for acquiring first trajectory information related to a target user equipment (UE); means for deciding to trigger a double differential timing (DDT) procedure based on the first trajectory information; and means for sending a request to at least the target UE and a reference wireless node to perform a DDT procedure based on the decision to trigger the DDT procedure, the DDT procedure comprising a first differential timing (DT) procedure based on timing measurements between the target UE and a first and second wireless node, and a second DT procedure based on timing measurements between a reference wireless node and the first and second wireless nodes.

[0360]

[0350] Clause 82. A location estimation entity as described in Clause 81, wherein the DDT procedure corresponds to a DD time difference of arrival (DD-TDOA) procedure, the first and second DT procedures corresponding to first and second differential TDOA procedures, respectively, and each timing measurement associated with the first and second differential TDOA procedures corresponds to a TDOA measurement, or the DDT procedure corresponds to a DD round trip time (DD-RTT) procedure, the first and second DT procedures corresponding to first and second differential RTT procedures, respectively, and each timing measurement associated with the first and second differential RTT procedures corresponds to an RTT measurement.

[0361]

[0351] Clause 83. The position estimation entity of clause 81 or 82, wherein the first trajectory information is received from the target UE via Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) signaling.

[0362]

[0352] Clause 84. A position estimation entity as described in any of clauses 81 to 83, wherein the first trajectory information comprises an algorithmic description of the trajectory of the target UE, a series of locations and associated timestamps of the target UE, a speed or velocity of the target UE, a heading direction of the target UE, an orientation of the target UE, an acceleration of the target UE, or a combination thereof.

[0363]

[0353] Clause 85. A location estimation entity as described in any of clauses 81 to 84, further comprising means for obtaining second trajectory information related to a reference wireless node, wherein the decision to trigger a DDT procedure is further based on the second trajectory information.

[0364]

[0354] Clause 86. The position estimation entity of clause 85, wherein the second trajectory information is received from a reference wireless node via Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) signaling or New Radio Positioning Protocol A (NRPPa) signaling or a sidelink.

[0365]

[0355] Clause 87. A location estimation entity as described in Clause 85 or 86, wherein the second trajectory information comprises an algorithmic description of a trajectory of the reference wireless node, a series of locations and associated timestamps of the reference wireless node, a speed or velocity of the reference wireless node, a heading direction of the reference wireless node, an orientation of the reference wireless node, an acceleration of the reference wireless node, or a combination thereof.

[0366]

[0356] Clause 88. A location estimation entity as described in any of clauses 81 to 87, wherein the reference wireless node corresponds to a fixed device.

[0367]

[0357] Clause 89. A location estimation entity described in any of clauses 81 to 88, wherein one or more of the first wireless node, the second wireless node and the reference wireless node correspond to a base station or a reference UE associated with a known location.

[0368]

[0358] Clause 90. A position estimation entity as described in any of aspects 81 to 89, further comprising means for receiving measurement information related to a DDT procedure, and means for determining a position estimate of a target UE based on the measurement information related to the DDT procedure, or performing timing error correction related to the first and second wireless nodes based on the measurement information related to the DDT procedure, or a combination thereof.

[0369]

[0359] Clause 91. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a position estimation entity, cause the position estimation entity to decide to trigger a joint double differential timing (J-DDT) procedure, and to send a request to at least a target user equipment (UE), a first reference wireless node, and a second reference wireless node to perform a J-DDT procedure based on the decision to trigger the J-DDT procedure, the J-DDT procedure comprising a first differential timing (DT) procedure based on timing measurements between a target user equipment (UE) and each wireless node of a first set of wireless nodes, a second DT procedure based on timing measurements between the first reference wireless node and each wireless node of a second set of wireless nodes, and a third DT procedure based on timing measurements between the second reference wireless node and each wireless node of a third set of wireless nodes.

[0370]

[0360] Clause 92. A non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in Clause 91, wherein the J-DDT procedure corresponds to a joint double differential time difference of arrival (J-DD-TDOA) procedure, the first, second and third DT procedures corresponding to first, second and third differential TDOA procedures, respectively, and each timing measurement associated with the first, second and third differential TDOA procedures corresponds to a TDOA measurement, or the J-DDT procedure corresponds to a joint double differential round trip time (J-DD-RTT) procedure, the first, second and third DT procedures corresponding to first, second and third differential RTT procedures, respectively, and each timing measurement associated with the first and second differential RTT procedures corresponds to an RTT measurement.

[0371]

[0361] Clause 93. A non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in clause 91 or 92, wherein the first, second and third sets of wireless nodes comprise at least one common wireless node.

[0372]

[0362] Clause 94. A non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in any of Clauses 91 to 93, wherein the first DT procedure is based on timing measurements over a line-of-sight (LOS) link between the target UE and each wireless node of the first set of wireless nodes, or the second DT procedure is based on timing measurements over a LOS link between the first reference wireless node and each wireless node of the second set of wireless nodes, or the third DT procedure is based on timing measurements between the second reference wireless node and each wireless node of the third set of wireless nodes, or a combination thereof.

[0373]

[0363] Clause 95. A non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in any of clauses 91 to 94, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the position estimation entity, cause the position estimation entity to receive measurement information related to a J-DDT procedure and determine a position estimate of the target UE based on the measurement information related to the J-DDT procedure, or perform timing error correction related to the first and second wireless nodes based on the measurement information related to the J-DDT procedure, or a combination thereof.

[0374]

[0364] Clause 96. A non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in Clause 95, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the position estimation entity, cause the position estimation entity to determine to transition to a different Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD) reference node based on measurement information associated with a J-DDT procedure, wherein a positioning estimate is determined based on the transition to the different RSTD reference node using measurement information associated with the J-DDT procedure without triggering another measurement procedure.

[0375]

[0365] Clause 97. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a position estimation entity, cause the position estimation entity to determine a required reference signal for positioning (RS-P) measurement set and an optional RS-P measurement set for a positioning session of a target user equipment (UE), send an indication of the required RS-P measurement set and the optional RS-P measurement set to the target UE, and receive a measurement report comprising measurement information from the target UE in response to the indication, the measurement information including at least measurement data related to the required RS-P measurement set.

[0376]

[0366] Clause 98. A non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in clause 97, wherein the instructions are transmitted via a measurement request or via location assistance data.

[0377]

[0367] Clause 99. A non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in clause 97 or 98, wherein the required and optional RS-P measurement sets include one or more RS-P resources, one or more RS-P resource sets, one or more TRPs, one or more cells, one or more sites, or combinations thereof.

[0378]

[0368] Clause 100. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any of clauses 97 to 99, wherein the measurement information further includes measurement data relating to an optional RS-P measurement set.

[0379]

[0369] Clause 101. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any of clauses 97 to 100, wherein the measurement information comprises reference signal time difference (RSTD) measurement data associated with a plurality of RSTD reference nodes.

[0380]

[0370] Clause 102. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any of clauses 97 to 101, wherein the positioning session comprises a double differential timing (DDT) procedure comprising a first differential timing (DT) procedure based on timing measurements between the target UE and the first and second wireless nodes, and a second DT procedure based on timing measurements between a reference wireless node and the first and second wireless nodes.

[0381]

[0371] Clause 103. A non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in clause 102, wherein the DDT procedure corresponds to a DD time difference of arrival (DD-TDOA) procedure, the first and second DT procedures correspond to first and second differential TDOA procedures, respectively, and each timing measurement associated with the first and second differential TDOA procedures corresponds to a TDOA measurement, or the DDT procedure corresponds to a DD round trip time (DD-RTT) procedure, the first and second DT procedures correspond to first and second differential RTT procedures, respectively, and each timing measurement associated with the first and second differential RTT procedures corresponds to an RTT measurement.

[0382]

[0372] Clause 104. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a target user equipment (UE), cause the UE to receive from a position estimation entity an indication of a required reference signal for positioning (RS-P) measurement set for a positioning session and an optional RS-P measurement set for the positioning session, obtain measurement data associated with at least the required RS-P measurement set, and send to the position estimation entity a measurement report comprising measurement information based on the measurement data.

[0383]

[0373] Clause 105. A non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in clause 104, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the UE, cause the UE to evaluate an optional RS-P measurement set to determine whether any measurement data associated with the optional RS-P measurement set should be included in a measurement report.

[0384]

[0374] Clause 106. A non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in clause 104 or 105, wherein the instructions are received via a measurement request or via location assistance data.

[0385]

[0375] Clause 107. A non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in any of clauses 104 to 106, wherein the required and optional RS-P measurement sets include one or more RS-P resources, one or more RS-P resource sets, one or more TRPs, one or more cells, one or more sites, or a combination thereof.

[0386]

[0376] Clause 108. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any of clauses 104 to 107, wherein the measurement information comprises reference signal time difference (RSTD) measurement data associated with a plurality of RSTD reference nodes.

[0387]

[0377] Clause 109. A non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in any of clauses 104 to 108, wherein the positioning session comprises a double differential timing (DDT) procedure comprising a first differential timing (DT) procedure based on timing measurements between the target UE and the first and second wireless nodes, and a second DT procedure based on timing measurements between a reference wireless node and the first and second wireless nodes.

[0388]

[0378] Clause 110. A non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in Clause 109, wherein the DDT procedure corresponds to a DD time difference of arrival (DD-TDOA) procedure, the first and second DT procedures correspond to first and second differential TDOA procedures, respectively, and each timing measurement associated with the first and second differential TDOA procedures corresponds to a TDOA measurement, or the DDT procedure corresponds to a DD round trip time (DD-RTT) procedure, the first and second DT procedures correspond to first and second differential RTT procedures, respectively, and each timing measurement associated with the first and second differential RTT procedures corresponds to an RTT measurement.

[0389]

[0379] Clause 111. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a position estimation entity, cause the position estimation entity to obtain first trajectory information related to a target user equipment (UE); decide to trigger a double differential timing (DDT) procedure based on the first trajectory information; and send a request to at least the target UE and a reference wireless node to perform a DDT procedure based on the decision to trigger the DDT procedure, the DDT procedure comprising a first differential timing (DT) procedure based on timing measurements between the target UE and first and second wireless nodes, and a second DT procedure based on timing measurements between a reference wireless node and the first and second wireless nodes.

[0390]

[0380] Clause 112. A non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in clause 111, wherein the DDT procedure corresponds to a DD time difference of arrival (DD-TDOA) procedure, the first and second DT procedures correspond to first and second differential TDOA procedures, respectively, and each timing measurement associated with the first and second differential TDOA procedures corresponds to a TDOA measurement, or the DDT procedure corresponds to a DD round trip time (DD-RTT) procedure, the first and second DT procedures correspond to first and second differential RTT procedures, respectively, and each timing measurement associated with the first and second differential RTT procedures corresponds to an RTT measurement.

[0391]

[0381] Clause 113. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 111 or 112, wherein the first trajectory information is received from the target UE via Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) signaling.

[0392]

[0382] Clause 114. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any of clauses 111 to 113, wherein the first trajectory information comprises an algorithmic description of the trajectory of the target UE, a series of locations and associated timestamps of the target UE, a speed or velocity of the target UE, a heading direction of the target UE, an orientation of the target UE, an acceleration of the target UE, or a combination thereof.

[0393]

[0383] Clause 115. A non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in any of clauses 111 to 114, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the position estimation entity, cause the position estimation entity to obtain second trajectory information related to the reference wireless node, wherein the decision to trigger the DDT procedure is further based on the second trajectory information.

[0394]

[0384] Clause 116. A non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in Clause 115, wherein the second trajectory information is received from a reference wireless node via Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) signaling or New Radio Positioning Protocol A (NRPPa) signaling or a sidelink.

[0395]

[0385] Clause 117. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 115 or 116, wherein the second trajectory information comprises an algorithmic description of a trajectory of the reference wireless node, a series of locations and associated timestamps of the reference wireless node, a speed or velocity of the reference wireless node, a heading direction of the reference wireless node, an orientation of the reference wireless node, an acceleration of the reference wireless node, or a combination thereof.

[0396]

[0386] Clause 118. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any of clauses 111 to 117, wherein the reference wireless node corresponds to a fixed device.

[0397]

[0387] Clause 119. A non-transitory computer-readable medium described in any of clauses 111 to 118, wherein one or more of the first wireless node, the second wireless node, and the reference wireless node correspond to a base station or a reference UE associated with a known location.

[0398]

[0388] Clause 120. A non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in any of clauses 111 to 119, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the position estimation entity, cause the position estimation entity to receive measurement information related to a DDT procedure and determine a position estimate of the target UE based on the measurement information related to the DDT procedure, or perform timing error correction related to the first and second wireless nodes based on the measurement information related to the DDT procedure, or a combination thereof.

[0399]

[0389] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that information and signals can be represented using any of a wide variety of technologies and techniques. For example, the data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referred to throughout the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

[0400]

[0390] Furthermore, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the various exemplary logic blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described with respect to the aspects disclosed herein can be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination of both. To clearly illustrate this compatibility between hardware and software, various exemplary components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally with respect to their functions. Whether such functions are implemented as hardware or software depends on the specific application and the design constraints imposed on the overall system. Those skilled in the art may implement the described functions in various ways for each specific application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0401]

[0391] The various exemplary logic blocks, modules, and circuits described with respect to the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented or performed using a general purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, an FPGA, or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but alternatively, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, for example, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0402]

[0392] The methods, sequences and / or algorithms described in relation to the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented directly in hardware, or in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. The software module may reside in a random access memory (RAM), a flash memory, a read only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), a register, a hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor such that the processor can read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium. Alternatively, the storage medium may be integrated into the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in a user terminal (e.g., UE). Alternatively, the processor and the storage medium may reside as discrete components in a user terminal.

[0403]

[0393] In one or more exemplary aspects, the functions described may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or transmitted via a computer-readable medium as one or more instructions or code. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media, including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. Storage media may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media may comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of the medium. As used herein, disk and disc include compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk, and Blu-ray disc, where disks typically reproduce data magnetically and discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0404]

[0394] Although the above disclosure illustrates exemplary aspects of the present disclosure, it should be noted that various changes and modifications may be made herein without departing from the scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims. The functions, steps and / or actions of the method claims according to the aspects of the present disclosure described herein need not be performed in any particular order. Furthermore, although elements of the present disclosure may be described or claimed in the singular, the plural is contemplated unless limitation to the singular is explicitly stated.

Claims

1. 1. A method of operating a position estimation entity, comprising: determining to trigger a joint double differential timing (J-DDT) procedure, the J-DDT procedure comprising: a first differential timing (DT) procedure based on timing measurements between a target user equipment (UE) and each wireless node of a first set of wireless nodes, a second DT procedure based on timing measurements between a first reference wireless node and each wireless node of a second set of wireless nodes, and a third DT procedure based on timing measurements between the second reference wireless node and each wireless node of a third set of wireless nodes. sending a request to at least the target UE, the first reference wireless node, and the second reference wireless node to perform the J-DDT procedure based on the determination to trigger the J-DDT procedure; wherein the first, second and third sets of wireless nodes comprise at least one common wireless node. A method comprising:

2. the J-DDT procedure corresponds to a Joint Double Differential Time Difference of Arrival (J-DD-TDOA) procedure, the first, second and third DT procedures correspond to first, second and third differential TDOA procedures, respectively, and the respective timing measurements associated with the first, second and third differential TDOA procedures correspond to TDOA measurements; or the J-DDT procedure corresponds to a Joint Double Differential Round Trip Time (J-DD-RTT) procedure, the first, second and third DT procedures correspond to first, second and third differential RTT procedures, respectively, and the respective timing measurements associated with the first and second differential RTT procedures correspond to RTT measurements; The method of claim 1.

3. the first DT procedure is based on timing measurements over a line-of-sight (LOS) link between the target UE and each wireless node in the first set of wireless nodes; or the second DT procedure is based on timing measurements over a LOS link between the first reference wireless node and each wireless node in the second set of wireless nodes; or the third DT procedure is based on timing measurements between the second reference wireless node and each wireless node in the third set of wireless nodes; or It is a combination of these, The method according to claim 1 or 2.

4. receiving measurement information related to said J-DDT procedure; determining a position estimate for the target UE based on the measurement information related to the J-DDT procedure, or performing timing error correction related to the first and second wireless nodes based on the measurement information related to the J-DDT procedure, or a combination thereof; The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

5. determining to transition to a different Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD) reference node based on the measurement information related to the J-DDT procedure; wherein the positioning estimate is determined based on the transition to the different RSTD reference node using the measurement information associated with the J-DDT procedure without triggering another measurement procedure. The method of claim 4 further comprising:

6. 1. A location estimation entity, comprising: means for determining to trigger a Joint Double Differential Timing (J-DDT) procedure, the J-DDT procedure comprising: a first Differential Timing (DT) procedure based on timing measurements between a target user equipment (UE) and each wireless node of a first set of wireless nodes, a second DT procedure based on timing measurements between a first reference wireless node and each wireless node of a second set of wireless nodes, and a third DT procedure based on timing measurements between the second reference wireless node and each wireless node of a third set of wireless nodes. means for transmitting, to at least the target UE, the first reference wireless node, and the second reference wireless node, a request to perform the J-DDT procedure based on the decision to trigger the J-DDT procedure; wherein the first, second and third sets of wireless nodes comprise at least one common wireless node. A location estimation entity comprising:

7. the J-DDT procedure corresponds to a Joint Double Differential Time Difference of Arrival (J-DD-TDOA) procedure, the first, second and third DT procedures correspond to first, second and third differential TDOA procedures, respectively, and the respective timing measurements associated with the first, second and third differential TDOA procedures correspond to TDOA measurements; or the J-DDT procedure corresponds to a Joint Double Differential Round Trip Time (J-DD-RTT) procedure, the first, second and third DT procedures correspond to first, second and third differential RTT procedures, respectively, and the respective timing measurements associated with the first and second differential RTT procedures correspond to RTT measurements; The location estimation entity of claim 6 .

8. the first DT procedure is based on timing measurements over a line-of-sight (LOS) link between the target UE and each wireless node in the first set of wireless nodes; or the second DT procedure is based on timing measurements over a LOS link between the first reference wireless node and each wireless node in the second set of wireless nodes; or the third DT procedure is based on timing measurements between the second reference wireless node and each wireless node in the third set of wireless nodes; or It is a combination of these, A location estimation entity according to claim 6 or 7.

9. means for receiving measurement information related to said J-DDT procedure; means for determining a position estimate for the target UE based on the measurement information related to the J-DDT procedure, or for performing timing error correction related to the first and second wireless nodes based on the measurement information related to the J-DDT procedure, or a combination thereof; A location estimation entity according to claim 6 , further comprising:

10. Means for determining to transition to a different Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD) reference node based on the measurement information related to the J-DDT procedure. wherein the positioning estimate is determined based on the transition to the different RSTD reference node using the measurement information associated with the J-DDT procedure without triggering another measurement procedure. The location estimation entity of claim 9 further comprising:

11. When executed by a location estimation entity, the location estimation entity is caused to: determining to trigger a joint double differential timing (J-DDT) procedure, the J-DDT procedure comprising: a first differential timing (DT) procedure based on timing measurements between a target user equipment (UE) and each wireless node of a first set of wireless nodes, a second DT procedure based on timing measurements between a first reference wireless node and each wireless node of a second set of wireless nodes, and a third DT procedure based on timing measurements between the second reference wireless node and each wireless node of a third set of wireless nodes. sending a request to at least the target UE, the first reference wireless node, and the second reference wireless node to perform the J-DDT procedure based on the determination to trigger the J-DDT procedure; wherein the first, second and third sets of wireless nodes comprise at least one common wireless node. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions for causing a 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the J-DDT procedure corresponds to a joint double differential time difference of arrival (J-DD-TDOA) procedure, the first, second and third DT procedures correspond to first, second and third differential TDOA procedures, respectively, and the respective timing measurements associated with the first, second and third differential TDOA procedures correspond to TDOA measurements; or the J-DDT procedure corresponds to a Joint Double Differential Round Trip Time (J-DD-RTT) procedure, the first, second and third DT procedures correspond to first, second and third differential RTT procedures, respectively, and the respective timing measurements associated with the first and second differential RTT procedures correspond to RTT measurements; The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the first DT procedure is based on timing measurements over a line-of-sight (LOS) link between the target UE and each wireless node in the first set of wireless nodes; or the second DT procedure is based on timing measurements over a LOS link between the first reference wireless node and each wireless node in the second set of wireless nodes; or the third DT procedure is based on timing measurements between the second reference wireless node and each wireless node in the third set of wireless nodes; or It is a combination of these, 13. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11 or 12.

14. When executed by the location estimation entity, the location estimation entity is caused to receiving measurement information related to said J-DDT procedure; determining a position estimate for the target UE based on the measurement information related to the J-DDT procedure, or performing timing error correction related to the first and second wireless nodes based on the measurement information related to the J-DDT procedure, or a combination thereof; 14. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11, further comprising computer executable instructions to cause:

15. When executed by the location estimation entity, the location estimation entity is caused to determining to transition to a different Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD) reference node based on the measurement information related to the J-DDT procedure; wherein the positioning estimate is determined based on the transition to the different RSTD reference node using the measurement information associated with the J-DDT procedure without triggering another measurement procedure.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14, further comprising computer-executable instructions to cause:

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