Resource set processing prioritization decision based on resource index information

Abstract

A system, apparatus, method, and non-transitory medium are disclosed for enabling PRS prioritization by receiving beam index information associated with a positioning reference signal (PRS) beam set. In some aspects, an assigned beam may be determined based on the beam index information. At least one neighboring beam may be further determined based on the assigned beam associated with the beam index information. A location measurement may also be determined based on at least one of the assigned beam or the at least one neighboring beam.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] Aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to wireless positioning, etc. In some aspects, examples are described for improving downlink (DL) PRS prioritization by utilizing positioning reference signal (PRS) resource index information. [Background technology]

[0002] Wireless communication systems have evolved through various generations, including first generation analog wireless telephone service (1G), second generation (2G) digital wireless telephone service (including intermediate 2.5G networks), third generation (3G) high speed data, Internet-enabled wireless services, and fourth generation (4G) services (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE), WiMax). Currently, there are many different types of wireless communication systems in use, including cellular and personal communication service (PCS) systems. Examples of known cellular systems include 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 Communications (GSM), and the like.

[0003]

[0003] The fifth generation (5G) mobile standard requires, among other improvements, higher data rates, a larger number of connections, and better coverage. The 5G standard by the Next Generation Mobile Network Alliance (also called "New Radio" or "NR") is designed to provide data rates of tens of megabits per second to each of tens of thousands of users, and gigabit connection speeds to dozens of users in a common location, such as on an office floor. To support large 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 / LTE standards. Furthermore, signaling efficiency should be enhanced and latency should be significantly reduced compared to the current standards. Summary of the Invention

[0004]

[0004] The following provides a simplified summary related to one or more aspects disclosed herein. Therefore, 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 define the scope related to a particular aspect. Thus, the following summary has the sole purpose of presenting, in a simplified form, some concepts related to one or more aspects related to the mechanisms disclosed herein, prior to the detailed description presented below.

[0005]

[0005] A system, an apparatus, a method, and a computer-readable medium are disclosed for improving downlink (DL) PRS prioritization by utilizing positioning reference signal (PRS) resource index information. According to at least one example, an apparatus for enabling positioning reference signal (PRS) prioritization is provided, the apparatus including at least one receiver, at least one memory, and at least one processor coupled to the at least one receiver and the at least one memory, the at least one processor being configured to receive beam index information related to a PRS beam set via the at least one receiver, determine an assigned beam, at least one adjacent beam, or both based on the beam index information, and determine one or more location measurements based on the assigned beam, at least one adjacent beam, or both.

[0006] In another example, a computer-implemented method for enabling positioning reference signal (PRS) prioritization is provided. The computer-implemented method may include receiving, at a user equipment, beam index information associated with a PRS beam set, determining, by the user equipment, an assigned beam, at least one neighboring beam, or both based on the beam index information, and determining, by the user equipment, one or more location measurements based on the assigned beam, at least one neighboring beam, or both.

[0007] In another example, an apparatus is provided for enabling positioning reference signal (PRS) prioritization. The apparatus can include means for receiving beam index information associated with a PRS beam set, means for determining an assigned beam, at least one neighboring beam, or both based on the beam index information, and means for determining one or more location measurements based on at least one of the assigned beam, the at least one neighboring beam, or both.

[0008]

[0008] In another example, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is provided comprising at least one instruction to cause a computer or processor to receive beam index information associated with a positioning reference signal (PRS) beam set, determine an assigned beam, at least one adjacent beam, or both based on the beam index information, and determine one or more location measurements based on the assigned beam, at least one adjacent beam, or both.

[0009]

[0009] In some aspects, the apparatus is or is part of a mobile device (e.g., a mobile phone or so-called "smartphone" or other mobile device), a wearable device, an extended reality device (e.g., a virtual reality (VR) device, an augmented reality (AR) device, or a mixed reality (MR) device), a personal computer, a laptop computer, a vehicle, a server computer, or other device. In some aspects, the apparatus includes one or more cameras for capturing one or more images. In some aspects, the apparatus further includes a display for displaying one or more images, notifications, and / or other displayable data. In some aspects, the apparatus described above may include one or more sensors that may be used to determine the location of the apparatus, a state of the apparatus (e.g., temperature, humidity level, and / or other state), and / or for other purposes.

[0010]

[0010] This Summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used independently to determine the scope of the claimed subject matter, which subject matter should be understood by reference to the entire specification of this patent, any or all drawings, and appropriate portions of each claim.

[0011]

[0011] 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 of the invention.

[0012]

[0012] The accompanying drawings are presented to aid in the explanation of various aspects of the present disclosure and are provided merely to illustrate the aspects, not to limit the aspects. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1]

[0013] FIG. 1 illustrates an example wireless communication system in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 2A]

[0014] FIG. 1 illustrates an example wireless network structure in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 2B] FIG. 1 illustrates an example wireless network structure in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure. [Diagram 3]

[0015] FIG. 1 illustrates an example communication diagram between a next generation Node B ("gNB") and a user equipment (UE), in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 4]

[0016] 1 is an example diagram of a positioning reference signal (PRS) resource set that may be utilized by a mobile device (eg, a UE device) in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure. [Diagram 5]

[0017] 4 is another example diagram of a PRS resource set that may be utilized by a mobile device (eg, a UE device), in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 6]

[0018] 4 is yet another example diagram of a PRS resource set that may be utilized by a mobile device (eg, a UE device), in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 7]

[0019] 1 is an example diagram of a PRS resource set that may be utilized by a mobile device (eg, a UE device), in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 8]

[0020] 1 illustrates an example flow diagram of a process for determining adjacent beams associated with a PRS resource set, in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 9]

[0021] 1 is an example flow diagram of a process for determining beam adjacency based on a predetermined rule, in accordance with certain aspects of the disclosed technology. [Figure 10]

[0022] 1 is an example flow diagram of a process for determining beam adjacency based on assistance data (AD), in accordance with certain aspects of the disclosed technology. [Figure 11]

[0023] FIG. 2 illustrates an example block diagram of a computing system of a user equipment (UE) in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 12]

[0024] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary computing system in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014]

[0025] Some aspects and embodiments of the present disclosure are provided below for the purpose of explanation. Alternative aspects may be devised without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Moreover, well-known elements of the present disclosure are not described in detail or are omitted so as not to obscure the relevant details of the present disclosure. As will be apparent to those skilled in the art, some of the aspects and embodiments described herein may be applied independently, and some of them may be applied in combination. In the following description, for the purpose of explanation, specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments of the present application. However, it will be apparent that various embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. The figures and descriptions are not limiting.

[0015]

[0026] The following description merely provides exemplary embodiments and is not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the present disclosure. Instead, the following description of exemplary embodiments provides those skilled in the art with an enabling description for implementing the exemplary embodiments. It should be understood that various changes may be made in the function and arrangement of elements without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application, as set forth in the appended claims.

[0016]

[0027] The terms "exemplary" and / or "example" are used herein to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration." Any aspect described herein as "exemplary" and / or "example" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects. Similarly, 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.

[0017]

[0028] Aspects of the present disclosure relate to features for improving location estimation of mobile devices, e.g., user equipment (UE). A location estimate as used herein may be referred to by other names, such as position estimate, location, position, position fix, fix, etc. A location 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 description of the location. A location estimate may further be defined relative to some other known location or in absolute terms (e.g., using latitude, longitude, and / or altitude). A location estimate may include an expected error or uncertainty (e.g., by including an area or volume that the location is expected to contain with some specified or default confidence level).

[0018]

[0029] For example, described herein are systems, apparatuses, processes (also referred to as methods), and computer-readable media (collectively referred to herein as systems and techniques) for improved mobile device (e.g., UE or UE device) positioning between a UE and a location management function (LMF) achieved by utilizing adjacent beams associated with a positioning reference signal (PRS) resource set. As described in further detail below, the systems and techniques may include receiving a PRS beam set (including multiple beams including PRS resources that make up the PRS resource set) and processing a subset of PRS resources from the PRS beam set based on adjacent beams associated with the PRS beam set. In some examples, multiple beams associated with the PRS beam set may be consecutively ordered by adjacency in the angular domain (e.g., adjacent beams are the beams from the PRS beam set that have the closest downlink angle of departure (DL-AOD) angle).

[0019]

[0030] In some aspects, a UE device may be configured to determine neighboring beams associated with a PRS beam set. For example, the UE device may receive beam index information associated with a PRS beam set. In some aspects, the beam index information may be generated based on at least one of a transmission reception point (TRP) location, an antenna array panel location, an estimated location of the UE device, or a combination thereof (e.g., by a location server, a UE, a gNB, or other device). In some aspects, the beam index information may be received from a base station or a location server. In some implementations, a PRS resource set may be associated with a PRS beam set that includes multiple beams (e.g., a PRS resource of a PRS resource set may be transmitted using a beam of a multiple beams of a PRS beam set). The beam index information may identify an assigned beam from the multiple beams from which the UE may begin processing the PRS resource. The UE device may determine a neighbor relationship or ordering of the multiple beams (e.g., which beams are next to each other). In one example, multiple beams associated with a PRS resource set may be ordered according to angular proximity / adjacency. In another example, the adjacency between beams may be defined in assistance data (AD) (e.g., information elements (IEs)). Using the determined adjacency and priority order (e.g., defined by adjacency beam rules) of various beams associated with a PRS resource set, the UE device may determine which PRS resources to process (and in what order) after processing the assigned beam identified by the beam index information.For example, as described herein, the capabilities of a UE may be limited to processing a certain number of PRS resources (e.g., 5 PRS resources). In such an example, the UE may receive more PRS resources than it is capable of processing (e.g., 20 PRS resources, 64 PRS resources, etc.). The UE may select the number of PRS resources that the UE is capable of processing (e.g., 5 PRS resources) out of the total number of received PRS resources to process based on the determined neighbor relationship and neighbor beam rule that define a priority order.

[0020]

[0031] As described above, the UE device may determine or identify the assigned beam, at least one neighboring beam, or both based on the beam index information. The UE device may further determine or identify the at least one neighboring beam based on the assigned beam associated with the beam index information. In some aspects, the at least one neighboring beam may further be determined based on a predefined neighboring beam rule stored in the UE device. In some aspects, the at least one neighboring beam may be determined based on a neighboring beam rule received from a location server. In some implementations, the at least one neighboring beam may be determined based on a predefined neighboring beam rule received from a base station. In one example, the at least one neighboring beam may be neighboring the assigned beam in the angular domain (e.g., the neighboring beam is a beam from the PRS beam set having a closest DL-AOD angle).

[0021]

[0032] Moreover, the UE device may determine a position measurement based on at least one of the assigned beam, at least one neighboring beam, or a combination thereof. In some examples, the position measurement may include at least one of a downlink departure angle, a PRS-based reference signal received power (RSRP) measurement, or a combination thereof.

[0022]

[0033] Additional aspects of the disclosure are described in more detail below.

[0023]

[0034] 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, and / or a tracking device, etc.), a wearable (e.g., a smart watch, smart glasses, a wearable ring, and / or an extended reality (XR) device such as a virtual reality (VR) headset, an augmented reality (AR) headset or glasses, or a mixed reality (MR) headset), a vehicle (e.g., an automobile, a motorcycle, a bicycle, etc.), and / or 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 device", "mobile terminal", "mobile station", or variations thereof. In general, a UE may communicate with a core network via a 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 a 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 the IEEE 802.11 communications standard, etc.).

[0024]

[0035] A base station may operate according to one of several RATs in communication with UEs depending on the network in which it is deployed and may alternatively be referred to as an access point (AP), network node, Node B (NB), evolved Node B (eNB), next generation eNB (ng-eNB), new radio (NR) Node B (also referred to as gNB or gNode B), etc. A base station may be used primarily to support wireless access by UEs, including supporting data, voice, and / or signaling connections for supported UEs. In some systems, a base station may provide edge node signaling functionality, while in other systems it may provide additional control and / or network management functionality. A communication link through which a UE may send signals to a 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 may send signals to a UE is referred to as a downlink (DL) or forward link channel (e.g., a paging channel, a control channel, a broadcast channel, or a forward traffic channel, etc.). The term Traffic Channel (TCH) as used herein can refer to either an uplink, reverse or downlink, and / or forward traffic channel.

[0025]

[0036] 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, if the term "base station" refers to a single physical TRP, the physical TRP may be an antenna of the base station corresponding to a cell (or several cell sectors) of the base station. If 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). If 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 at which the UE is measuring its reference RF signal (or simply "reference signal"). 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.

[0026]

[0037] In some implementations that support positioning of UEs, a base station may not support wireless access by the UE (e.g., may not support data, voice, and / or signaling connections for the UE), but instead may transmit reference signals to the UE to be measured by the UE and / or may receive and measure signals transmitted by the UE. Such a base station may be referred to as a positioning beacon (e.g., when it transmits signals to the UE) and / or a location measurement unit (e.g., when it receives and measures signals from the UE).

[0027]

[0038] A radio frequency signal or "RF signal" comprises electromagnetic waves of a given frequency that transport information through space between a transmitter and a receiver. A transmitter as used herein 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 a multipath channel. The same transmitted RF signal on different paths between a transmitter and a receiver may be referred to as a "multipath" RF signal. An RF signal as used herein may also be referred to as a "wireless signal" or simply a "signal" when it is clear from the context that the term "signal" refers to a wireless signal or an RF signal.

[0028]

[0039] According to 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 and / or ng-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.

[0029]

[0040] The base stations 102 collectively form the RAN and may interface with a core network 170 (e.g., Evolved Packet Core (EPC) or 5G Core (5GC)) through backhaul links 122 and through the core network 170 to one or more location servers 172 (which may be part of the core network 170 or external to the core network 170). 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 / 5GC) via backhaul links 134, which may be wired and / or wireless.

[0030]

[0041] 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), cell global identifier (CGI)) 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. Additionally, the terms "cell" and "TRP" may be used interchangeably, since a TRP is generally a physical transmission point of a cell. In some cases, the term "cell" may also refer to the geographic coverage area (e.g., sector) of a base station, so long as the carrier frequency can be detected and used for communication within any portion of the geographic coverage area 110.

[0031]

[0042] 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).

[0032]

[0043] The communication link 120 between the base station 102 and the UE 104 may include uplink transmissions (also referred to as reverse link) from the UE 104 to the base station 102, and / or downlink transmissions (also referred to as forward link) 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 the downlink and uplink (e.g., more or fewer carriers may be allocated for the downlink than for the uplink).

[0033]

[0044] The wireless communication system 100 may further include a wireless local area network (WLAN) access point (AP) 150 communicating with a wireless local area network (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. In some examples, the wireless communication system 100 may include devices (e.g., UEs, etc.) that utilize an ultra-wideband (UWB) spectrum to communicate with one or more UEs 104, base stations 102, APs 150, etc. The UWB spectrum may range from 3.1 GHz to 10.5 GHz.

[0034]

[0045] The small cell base station 102' may operate in licensed and / or unlicensed frequency spectrum. When operating in the 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. The small cell base station 102' employing LTE and / or 5G in the unlicensed frequency spectrum may boost coverage to and / or increase capacity of the access network. NR in the unlicensed spectrum may be referred to as NR-U. LTE in the unlicensed spectrum may be referred to as LTE-U, Licensed Assisted Access (LAA), or MulteFire.

[0035]

[0046] 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 frequencies of 3 GHz with a wavelength of 100 millimeters. The super high frequency (SHF) band, also referred to as centimeter wave, extends between 3 GHz and 30 GHz. Communications using the mmW and / or 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.

[0036]

[0047] 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 (in terms of data rate) and stronger RF signal to the receiving device(s). 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 the 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.

[0037]

[0048] 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.

[0038]

[0049] 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 a direction, it means that the beam gain in that direction is high relative to the beam gains along other directions, or that the beam gain in that direction is highest compared to the beam gains of other 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.

[0039]

[0050] 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 one or more reference downlink reference signals (e.g., Positioning Reference Signal (PRS), Tracking Reference Signal (TRS), Phase Tracking Reference Signal (PTRS), Cell-Specific Reference Signal (CRS), Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS), Primary Synchronization Signal (PSS), Secondary Synchronization Signal (SSS), Synchronization Signal Block (SSB), etc.) from the base station. The UE may then form a transmit beam for sending one or more uplink reference signals (e.g., Uplink Positioning Reference Signal (UL-PRS), Sounding Reference Signal (SRS), Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS), PTRS, etc.) to that base station based on the parameters of the receive beam.

[0040]

[0051] 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.

[0041]

[0052] 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., signaling information and signals that are UE-specific may not be present in the secondary carrier, since both the primary uplink carrier and the primary downlink carrier are generally UE-specific. 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 a carrier frequency and / or component carrier over which some base station is communicating, terms such as "cell," "serving cell," "component carrier," and "carrier frequency" may be used interchangeably.

[0042]

[0053] 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 frequency utilized by the macrocell base station 102 and / or the mmW base station 180 may be a secondary carrier (“SCell”). In carrier aggregation, the base station 102 and / or the UE 104 may use a spectrum of bandwidth up to Y MHz (e.g., 5, 10, 15, 20, 100 MHz) per carrier for transmission in each direction up to a total of Yx MHz (x component carriers). The component carriers may or may not be adjacent to each other on the frequency spectrum. The allocation of carriers may be asymmetric with respect to the downlink and uplink (e.g., more or fewer carriers may be allocated for the downlink than for the uplink). The simultaneous transmission and / or reception of multiple carriers allows the UE 104 / 182 to significantly increase its data transmission and / or reception rate. 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.

[0043]

[0054] To operate on multiple carrier frequencies, the base station 102 and / or the UE 104 are equipped with multiple receivers and / or transmitters. For example, the UE 104 may have two receivers, "receiver 1" and "receiver 2", where "receiver 1" is a multi-band receiver that can be tuned to band (i.e., carrier frequency) "X" or band "Y", and "receiver 2" is a one-band receiver that can only tune to band "Z". In this example, if the UE 104 is served in band "X", band "X" would be referred to as the PCell or active carrier frequency, and "receiver 1" would need to tune from band "X" to band "Y" to measure band "Y" (SCell) (and vice versa). In contrast, because of the separate "receiver 2", the UE 104 can measure band "Z" without interrupting service on band "X" or band "Y", regardless of whether the UE 104 is served in band "X" or band "Y".

[0044]

[0055] 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.

[0045]

[0056] 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 (referred to as "sidelinks"). 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), Wi-Fi Direct® (Wi-Fi-D), Bluetooth®, etc.

[0046]

[0057] According to various aspects, FIG. 2A illustrates an example 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 function 214 (e.g., UE registration, authentication, network access, gateway selection, etc.) and a user 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 control plane function 214 and the user plane function 212. 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 new RAN 220 may have only one or more gNBs 222, while other configurations include one or more of both the ng-eNB 224 and the gNB 222. Either the gNB 222 or the ng-eNB 224 may communicate with the UE 204 (e.g., any of the UEs shown in FIG. 1).

[0047]

[0058] 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 with components of the core network or may alternatively be external to the core network. In some examples, the location server 230 may be operated by the carrier or provider of the 5GC 210, a third party, an original equipment manufacturer (OEM), or other party. In some cases, multiple location servers may be provided, such as a location server for a carrier, a location server for an OEM of a particular device, and / or other location servers. In such cases, location assistance data may be received from the carrier's location server and other assistance data may be received from the OEM's location server.

[0048]

[0059] According to various aspects, FIG. 2B illustrates another exemplary wireless network structure 250. For example, the 5GC 260 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., the 5GC 260). A user plane interface 263 and a control plane interface 265 connect the ng-eNB 224 to the 5GC 260, specifically to the UPF 262 and the AMF 264, respectively. In an additional configuration, the gNB 222 may also be connected to the 5GC 260 via a control plane interface 265 to the AMF 264 and a user plane interface 263 to the UPF 262. Additionally, the ng-eNB 224 may communicate directly with the gNB 222 via a backhaul connection 223, with or without gNB direct connectivity to the 5GC 260. In some configurations, the new RAN 220 may have only one or more gNBs 222, while other configurations include one or more of both the ng-eNB 224 and the gNB 222. Either the gNB 222 or the ng-eNB 224 may communicate with the UE 204 (e.g., any of the UEs shown in FIG. 1). The base stations of the new RAN 220 communicate with the AMF 264 via an N2 interface and with the UPF 262 via an N3 interface.

[0049]

[0060] The functions of the AMF 264 include registration management, connection management, reachability management, mobility management, lawful interception, transport for session management (SM) messages between the UE 204 and a session management function (SMF) 266, transparent proxy services 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 / or 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 functions of the AMF 264 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 a location management function (LMF) 270 (acting as the location server 230), transport for location service messages between the new RAN 220 and the LMF 270, Evolved Packet System (EPS) bearer identifier allocation for interworking with EPS, and UE 204 mobility event notification. Additionally, the AMF 264 also supports functions for non-3GPP access networks.

[0050]

[0061] The functions of the UPF 262 include acting as an anchor point for intra / inter-RAT mobility (when applicable), acting 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 and / or 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 over the user plane between the UE 204 and a location server, such as a Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) Location Platform (SLP) 272.

[0051]

[0062] 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.

[0052]

[0063] In some aspects, the location and positioning functions may be aided by a location management function (LMF) 270, configured for communication with the 5GC 260, for example, 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 connect to the LMF 270 via the core network 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 new RAN 220, and the UE 204 on the 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 (not shown in FIG. 2B ) on the user plane (e.g., using protocols intended to carry voice and / or data, such as Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and / or IP).

[0053]

[0064] In one aspect, the LMF 270 and / or the SLP 272 may be integrated with a base station, such as the gNB 222 and / or the ng-eNB 224. When integrated with the gNB 222 and / or the ng-eNB 224, the LMF 270 and / or the SLP 272 may be referred to as a "location management component," or "LMC." However, as used herein, references to the LMF 270 and the SLP 272 include both cases where the LMF 270 and the SLP 272 are components of a core network (e.g., the 5GC 260) and cases where the LMF 270 and the SLP 272 are components of a base station.

[0054]

[0065] As described herein, NR supports several cellular network-based positioning techniques, including downlink-based positioning methods, uplink-based positioning methods, and downlink- and uplink-based positioning methods. For example, the LMF 270 can enable positioning based on location measurements calculated for various positioning signal (PRS or SRS) resources. As used herein, a "PRS resource set" is a set of PRS resources used for transmission of PRS signals, where each PRS resource has a PRS resource identifier (ID). Furthermore, the PRS resources in a PRS resource set are associated with the same TRP. A PRS resource set is identified by a PRS resource set ID and is associated with a particular TRP (e.g., identified by a TRP ID). Furthermore, the PRS resources in a PRS resource set have the same periodicity across slots, a common muting pattern configuration, and the same repetition factor (e.g., PRS-ResourceRepetitionFactor). The periodicity is the time from the first repetition of the first PRS resource of the first PRS instance to the same first repetition of the same first PRS resource of the next PRS instance. μ · It may have a length selected from {4,5,8,10,16,20,32,40,64,80,160,320,640,1280,2560,5120,10240} slots, μ=0,1,2,3. The repetition factor may have a length selected from {1,2,4,6,8,16,32} slots.

[0055]

[0066] In some cases, a PRS resource ID in a PRS resource set is associated with a single beam (and / or beam ID) transmitted from a single TRP (where a TRP may transmit one or multiple beams). For example, each PRS resource in a PRS resource set may be transmitted on a different beam, and thus a "PRS resource" or simply a "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.

[0056]

[0067] A "PRS instance" or "PRS occasion" is one instance of a periodically repeating time window (e.g., a group of one or more contiguous slots) during which a PRS is expected to be transmitted. A PRS occasion may also be referred to as a "PRS positioning occasion", "PRS positioning instance", "positioning occasion", "positioning instance", "positioning repetition", or simply an "occasion", "instance", or "repetition".

[0057]

[0068] A "positioning frequency layer" (also simply called a "frequency layer" or "layer") is a collection of one or more PRS resource sets across one or more TRPs with the same values ​​for some parameters. In particular, the collection of PRS resource sets has the same subcarrier spacing (SCS) and cyclic prefix (CP) type (meaning that all numerologies supported for PDSCH are also supported for PRS), the same point A, the same value of downlink PRS bandwidth, the same starting PRB (and center frequency), and the same comb size. The point A parameter takes the value of the parameter ARFCN-ValueNR ("ARFCN" stands for "Absolute Radio Frequency Channel Number"), which is an identifier and / or code that specifies the pair of physical radio channels used for transmission and reception. The downlink PRS bandwidth may have a granularity of four PRBs, with a minimum of 24 PRBs and a maximum of 272 PRBs. Currently, up to four frequency layers are defined, and up to two PRS resource sets may be configured per TRP per frequency layer.

[0058]

[0069] The concept of frequency layers is somewhat like that of component carriers and bandwidth portions (BWPs), except that component carriers and BWPs are used by one base station (or macrocell base station and small cell base station) to transmit data channels, and frequency layers are used by several (usually three or more) base stations to transmit PRSs. When a UE sends its positioning capabilities to the network, such as during an LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) session, it may indicate the number of frequency layers it can support. For example, a UE may indicate whether it can support one or four positioning frequency layers.

[0059]

[0070] Downlink-based location measurements can include Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA) in LTE, Downlink Time Difference of Arrival (DL-TDOA) in NR, and Downlink Angle of Departure (DL-AoD) in NR. In an OTDOA or DL-TDOA positioning procedure, the UE measures the difference between the times of arrival (ToA) of reference signals (e.g., PRS, TRS, NRS, CSI-RS, SSB, etc.) received from a pair of base stations, called Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD) or Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA) measurements, and reports them to a positioning entity. More specifically, the UE receives identifiers of a reference base station (e.g., serving base station) and multiple non-reference base stations in the assistance data. The UE then measures the RSTD between the reference base station and each of the non-reference base stations. Based on the known locations of the involved base stations and the RSTD measurements, the positioning entity (e.g., LMF 270) can estimate the location of the UE. For DL-AoD positioning, the base station (gNB222) measures the angle and other channel properties (e.g., signal strength) of the downlink transmit beam used to communicate with the UE to estimate the UE's location.

[0060]

[0071] Uplink-based positioning methods include uplink time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA) and uplink angle of arrival (UL-AoA). UL-TDOA is similar to DL-TDOA, but is based on an uplink reference signal (e.g., SRS) transmitted by the UE. For UL-AoA positioning, the base station measures the angle and other channel properties (e.g., gain level) of the uplink receive beam used to communicate with the UE to estimate the UE's location.

[0061]

[0072] Downlink and uplink based positioning methods include Extended Cell ID (E-CID) positioning and Multi-Round Trip Time (RTT) positioning (also called "Multi-Cell RTT or Multi-RTT"). In the RTT procedure, an initiator (base station or UE) transmits an RTT measurement signal (e.g., PRS or SRS) to a responder (UE or base station), and the responder transmits an RTT response signal (e.g., SRS or PRS) back to the initiator. The RTT response signal includes the difference between the ToA of the RTT measurement signal and the transmission time of the RTT response signal, called a receive-transmit (Rx-Tx) measurement. The initiator calculates the difference between the transmission time of the RTT measurement signal and the ToA of the RTT response signal, called a "Tx-Rx" measurement. The propagation time (also called "time of flight") between the initiator and the responder can be calculated from the Tx-Rx and Rx-Tx measurements. Based on the propagation time and the known speed of light, the distance between the initiator and the responder may be determined. For multi-RTT positioning, the UE performs RTT procedures with multiple base stations to allow its location to be determined based on the known locations of the base stations (e.g., using multilateration). The RTT and multi-RTT methods may be combined with other positioning techniques, such as UL-AoA and DL-AoD, to improve location accuracy.

[0062]

[0073] To assist the positioning operation, a location server (e.g., location server 230, LMF 270, or other location server) may provide assistance data to the UE. For example, the assistance data may include an identifier of the base station (or the base station's cell and / or TRP) from which to measure the reference signal, reference signal configuration parameters (e.g., number of consecutive positioning subframes, periodicity of the positioning subframes, muting sequence, frequency hopping sequence, reference signal identifier (ID), reference signal bandwidth, etc.), and / or other parameters applicable to a particular positioning method. Alternatively, the assistance data may originate directly from the base station itself (e.g., in a periodically broadcasted overhead message, etc.). In some cases, the UE may be able to detect neighbor network nodes on its own without using the assistance data.

[0063]

[0074] For DL-AoD, the UE 204 may provide DL-PRS beam received signal received power (RSRP) measurements to the LMF 270, and the gNB 222 may provide beam azimuth and elevation angle information. When using the UL AoA positioning method, the position of the UE 204 is estimated based on UL SRS AoA measurements taken at different TRPs (not shown). For example, the TRPs may report AoA measurements directly to the LMF 270. Using the angle information (e.g., AoD or AoA) along with TRP co-coordinate information and beam configuration details, the LMF 270 may estimate the location of the UE 204.

[0064]

[0075] In the case of multi-RTT location measurements, the LMF 270 may initiate a procedure in which multiple TRPs (not shown) and the UE perform gNB Rx-Tx measurements and UE Rx-Tx measurements, respectively. For example, the gNB 222 and the UE 204 may transmit a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) and an uplink sounding reference signal (UL-SRS), respectively, whereby the gNB 222 configures the UL-SRS for the UE 204, e.g., using a radio resource control (RRC) protocol. The LMF 270 may then provide the DL-PRS configuration to the UE 204. The resulting location measurements are reported by the UE 204 and / or the gNB 222 to the LMF 270 to perform location estimation for the UE 204.

[0065]

[0076] To improve the accuracy of UE location estimation, NR can support a combination of different location measurement types. As shown in FIG. 3, the UE device 302 can determine its capabilities to process (e.g., measure location or position data) PRS resources 306 in the PRS system 300. The UE device 302 can then provide its capabilities to the base station 304 (shown as a gNB) or a location server (e.g., LMF, not shown) in a capability update, which can be used to determine which PRS resources should be utilized to perform location or position measurements (e.g., to determine the location of the UE device 302). The UE device 302 can then receive assistance data (AD) from the base station 304 or location server and perform PRS measurements based on the assistance data. However, in some cases, the amount of assistance data (e.g., the number of PRS resources indicated by the assistance data) can be significantly larger than the capabilities of the UE device 302.

[0066]

[0077] For example, the UE device 302 may be capable of processing only five PRS resources, but the PRS assistance data may provide the UE device 302 with twenty PRS resources. In this example, the UE device 302 may select a subset of PRS resources, such as five PRS resources, out of the twenty PRS resources on which to perform location or position measurements. In some cases, the UE may select PRS resources based on a default order that corresponds to the manner in which resources are provided by the assistance data. For example, the UE may operate in a manner that assumes that PRS resources are provided in descending order of measurement priority (e.g., in an AD). As an example, within a positioning frequency layer, DL PRS resources may be sorted in descending order of priority of measurements to be performed by the UE device 302 in an AD, with the reference indicated by nr-DL-PRS-ReferenceInfo being the highest priority for the measurements. The priority may include up to 64 dl-PRS-IDs of the positioning frequency layer sorted according to priority, or up to two DL PRS resource sets per dl-PRS-ID of the positioning frequency layer sorted according to priority. In such a case, when the initially selected PRS resource cannot be utilized for PRS measurement purposes, the UE device 302 proceeds to the next PRS resource in descending order of measurement priority. However, in some cases, the five selected PRS resources may not be optimal for performing PRS measurements.

[0067]

[0078] Aspects of the disclosed technology address the above limitations by providing a solution for improving the PRS resource selection process. In some aspects, the initial PRS resource selection may be based on beam index information received at the UE, e.g., from a base station (e.g., gNB) or a location server (e.g., LMF). In such an approach, the beam index information may specify an assigned beam associated with a PRS resource set for which one or more location or position measurements are to be determined. For example, the UE device may first process PRS resources associated with an assigned beam before processing other PRS resources associated with other beams. In some aspects, the selection of a subsequent beam by the UE after processing the PRS resources of an assigned beam for performing a location or position measurement may be based on an identified neighbor relationship between the beams, as well as a priority order, e.g., specified by a priority rule and / or signaled to the UE (e.g., from a base station and / or a location server). Depending on the desired implementation, the priority rules may be predetermined and stored in the UE, or the priority rules may be provided to the UE by another device (e.g., by a location server such as an LMF and / or by a base station such as a gNB). The priority rules may indicate to the UE how beam selection should be performed, such as by subsequent selection of one or more neighboring beams to the assigned beam. As described in further detail below, the beam neighbor relationship may be based on angular proximity / neighborhood relationship or based on ordering indicated by an information element (IE) (e.g., in an AD). For example, neighboring beams (or neighboring resources) may refer to beams (or resources) associated with the closest angle, such as those sharing the closest DL-AoD angle. Further description of various approaches to selecting optimal PRS resources according to neighbor relationships and priority ordering between beams is provided in connection with Figures 4-7.

[0068]

[0079] FIG. 4 illustrates an example diagram of a positioning reference signal (PRS) resource set 402 that may be utilized by a mobile device (e.g., a UE device) in a PRS system 400. As described herein, a positioning reference signal (PRS) may be defined for New Radio (NR) positioning to enable a UE device to detect and measure neighbor transmission reception points (TRPs) for location or positioning purposes. The PRS system 400 may include various positioning configurations to support and enable various deployments, such as indoor, outdoor, sub-6, and mmW. In some implementations, the PRS resource set 402 may be used (e.g., by a UE device) to determine an expected angle of arrival (AoA) and / or angle of departure (AoD) formulation based on a beam assignment specified by a beam index. For example, the PRS system 400 may generate assistance data (AD) including beam index information specifying a beam assignment, which may then be provided to a UE device to enable location or positioning measurements (e.g., to determine the location of the UE device). In one illustrative example, the beam assignment specified by the beam index information may include a PRS identifier (e.g., a dl-PRS-ID for a PRS resource on a given beam).

[0069]

[0080] In some implementations, the UE device may receive various DL-PRS resources and provide corresponding location measurement information to the LMF, e.g., via the LPP. Additionally, the gNB may provide beam azimuth and elevation angle information to the LMF, e.g., via the NR Positioning Protocol A (NRPPa). In some aspects, the TRP may also report AoA measurements directly to the LMF. Using the angle information (e.g., AoD or AoA) along with the TRP inter-coordination information and beam configuration details, the LMF may estimate the location of the UE device. The downlink-based location measurements may include Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA) in LTE, Downlink Time Difference of Arrival (DL-TDOA) in NR, and Downlink Departure Angle (DL-AoD) in NR. In some examples, the UE device may receive identifiers of a reference base station (e.g., a serving base station) and multiple non-reference base stations in the assistance data, as described herein. For DL-AoD positioning, a base station (e.g., a gNB) can measure the angle and other channel properties (e.g., signal strength) of a downlink transmit beam used to communicate with a UE device in order to estimate the location of the UE device.

[0070]

[0081] In one example, a location server (e.g., Location Management Function (LMF)) can provide assistance to enable UE-assisted and UE-based New Radio Downlink Departure Angle (NR DL-AoD) by determining and providing beam index information to the UE. There may be cases where each UE may have a different expected AoA and Zenith Arrival (ZoA) for the TRP. For example, the PRS system 400 may be UE-assisted (e.g., if the UE device performs location or positioning measurements) or UE-based (e.g., if the UE device performs location or positioning measurements and calculations).

[0071]

[0082] In the case of the UE-assisted mode, the UE device may not be aware of the TRP beam location, which may make it difficult for the UE device to calculate a priority rule (for selecting a PRS resource to process) based on the expected AoD. By utilizing the beam index, the UE device can determine which beam should be utilized first to measure location or positioning data. For example, the PRS system 400 can utilize the beam index rather than the expected AoD in the angular domain. In one example, the LMF can provide the UE device with an expected beam index to determine which beam should be utilized first to measure location or positioning data (using the PRS resource of that beam). The beam identified by the beam index may be referred to as an assigned beam.

[0072]

[0083] The beam index may include information such as an assigned PRS resource or assigned beam (e.g., having ID=X, where the ID may include dl-PRS-ID in one illustrative example). In some cases, a PRS resource ID (e.g., ID=X) in a PRS resource set (e.g., PRS resource set 402) may be associated with a single beam (and / or beam ID) transmitted from a single TRP (where a TRP may transmit one or more beams). For example, each PRS resource in the PRS resource set 402 may be transmitted on a different beam, and thus "PRS resources" or simply "resources" may also be referred to as "beams" herein.

[0073]

[0084] When the PRS resources of the assigned beams are processed by the UE device to determine location or positioning information, the UE device may use an adjacency order of the beams associated with the PRS resource set 402. One example of adjacency ordering may be based on a sequential order of the beams based on angular proximity. For example, FIG. 4 shows a direction of adjacency starting at beam 1 and ending at beam 6 as specified by the adjacency ordering 406. The adjacency ordering 406 in FIG. 4 indicates that the PRS resources (of beams 1-6) are ordered according to angular proximity / adjacency (e.g., with respect to DL-AoD), such as where the angle of beam 1 is less than the angle of beam 2, which is less than the angle of beam 3, and so on. In the example of FIG. 4, the UE device may make an implicit assumption that PRS resources with nearby indices (e.g., those associated with beam 1 and beam 2) also have nearby angles (proximal DL-AoD). Another example of neighbor ordering may include a predefined list of beams and their respective neighbor relationships with respect to each other. For example, the UE may not make implicit assumptions regarding neighbor relationships and may instead receive dedicated signaling (e.g., IEs in AD) indicating which resources are neighbors to other resources in the PRS resource set (e.g., by DL-AoD). One example of such neighbor ordering is shown in FIG. 5, which shows that PRS resource set 502 has the order beam 1, beam 4, beam 6, beam 3, beam 5, and beam 2, as specified by neighbor order 506. In some examples, the neighbor ordering (e.g., neighbor order 506) may be defined in an IE in AD. For example, using the example of FIG. 5 for illustrative purposes, the IEs in AD may indicate that beam 2 is neighbors to beam 1 and beam 3, and beam 4 is neighbors to beam 3 and beam 5.

[0074]

[0085] The UE device may select among various beams associated with the PRS resource set 402 based on the neighbor ordering and based on beam priority rules (also referred to as neighbor beam rules). An example of the neighbor beam rules may include X, X-1, X+1, X-2, X+2, X-3, X+4, etc., as shown in Figures 6 and 7, where X is the assigned beam indicated by the beam index information, and XI, X+I, etc. are neighbor beams selected according to the priority order rules. The UE device may determine which beam(s) are neighbors to the assigned beam X based on the neighbor ordering described above. In this example, once the PRS resource associated with the assigned beam X is processed (e.g., and / or is not suitable for location or position measurement), the UE device may select a PRS resource associated with the next beam in the priority order, which in the above example would be beam X-1 (e.g., to the left of the assigned beam X according to the neighbor ordering) determined based on the neighbor ordering.

[0075]

[0086] In some aspects, the location and positioning functions may be aided by an LMF configured for communication with a 5GC to provide location assistance to UE devices. The LMFs 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 LMFs may be configured to support one or more location services for UEs that may connect to the LMF via a core network 5GC and / or via the Internet (not shown).

[0076]

[0087] As described herein, the LMF (and / or in some cases, a base station, such as a gNB) can determine a beam index and provide the beam index to a UE device. The UE device can utilize the beam index to enable location or position data measurement. In some cases, the LMF can generate a beam index based on a TRP location, an antenna array panel location (e.g., when co-located on the same base station), and / or a coarse UE device location. In some cases, when the UE device is mobile (e.g., moving), the LMF can update the beam index at multiple time intervals, such as time 1 and time 2, and provide an updated beam index to the mobile UE device based on where the UE device is located. For example, the LMF can provide a beam index indicating a particular beam directed to the UE at time 1 and a different beam index indicating a different beam directed to the UE at time 2.

[0077]

[0088] To further assist location or positioning operations, the LMF (and / or in some cases, base stations, such as gNBs) may provide assistance data to the UE device. For example, the assistance data may include an identifier of the base station (or the base station's cell and / or TRP) from which to measure the reference signal, reference signal configuration parameters (e.g., number of consecutive positioning subframes, periodicity of the positioning subframes, muting sequence, frequency hopping sequence, reference signal identifier (ID), reference signal bandwidth, etc.), and / or other parameters applicable to a particular positioning method. In some cases, the assistance data may originate directly from the base station itself (e.g., in a periodically broadcasted overhead message, etc.). In some cases, the UE device may detect neighbor network nodes on its own without using the assistance data.

[0078]

[0089] 4, a UE device may receive assistance data for AoA / AoD from an LMF or a base station, including a beam index associated with a PRS resource set 402. The PRS resource set 402 may be associated with multiple beams 404 sequenced in a contiguous order 406. For example, the beam index may include an initial assigned beam to be utilized by the UE device. For example, if beam 1 is the assigned beam for the UE device, the UE device will attempt to begin a location or position measurement operation using beam 1. In some cases, the beam index may include information that provides the UE device with a beam order (e.g., beam 1, beam 2, beam 3, beam 4, beam 5, and beam 6).

[0079]

[0090] In some cases, the assistance data may further identify (e.g., using IEs) neighboring beams that the UE device may utilize and perform location measurements when the assigned beam is not ideal for location or position measurements. In some cases, beam neighboring relationships may be predefined, such as PRS resources (beams) being ordered according to angular proximity / neighboring relationships. For example, neighboring beams may include neighboring beams in a beam order, as shown in FIG. 4. In the example of FIG. 4, the UE device assumes that PRS resources with nearby indices (e.g., those associated with beam 1 and beam 2) also have nearby angles. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the UE device may assume that beam 1 is adjacent to beam 2, beam 2 is adjacent to beam 3, beam 3 is adjacent to beam 4, beam 4 is adjacent to beam 5, and beam 5 is adjacent to beam 6. In this example, and using beam 1 as the assigned beam identified by beam index, after the PRS resources of beam 1 are processed, the UE device may process the next neighboring beam, beam 2. In some cases, if beam 1 is not ideal for location or position measurements (e.g., too much interference or too low signal strength), the UE device may process PRS resources associated with the next adjacent beam, in this example beam 2. After processing beam 2, the UE device may process PRS resources associated with beam 3, and so on. In some cases, the priority order (e.g., adjacent beam rules) may also be known (e.g., predetermined) by the UE or signaled to the UE. As described herein, the priority order (e.g., adjacent beam rules) may provide information related to which PRS resources of which adjacent beams should be processed (for location or position measurements) after PRS resources associated with the assigned beam have been processed.

[0080]

[0091] 5 illustrates an example diagram of a positioning reference signal (PRS) resource set 502 that may be utilized by a mobile device (e.g., a UE device) in a PRS system 500. In some implementations, the UE device may receive assistance data from an LMF or base station that includes a beam index associated with the PRS resource set 502. The PRS resource set 502 may be associated with multiple beams 504 arranged in a predefined contiguous order. As mentioned above, the beam index may include information indicating an initial assigned beam that should be used by the UE device to calculate a location or position measurement.

[0081]

[0092] In some aspects, a neighbor beam rule (or priority rule) may be used to specify a subsequent beam selection to be made by the UE after processing the PRS resources of the assigned beam. Depending on the implementation, the beam selection prioritization may be based on the initially assigned beam as well as based on the determined neighbor ordering (e.g., neighbor order 406 of FIG. 4 or neighbor order 506 of FIG. 5). Using FIG. 5 as an illustrative example, the IE may indicate that the neighbor ordering of the PRS resource set 502 is beam 1, beam 4, beam 6, beam 3, beam 5, and beam 2. In this example, if beam 6 is the assigned beam identified by the beam index, the UE device may process the PRS resources associated with beam 6 first. The priority order may indicate that after processing the PRS resources associated with beam 6, the UE device should next process the PRS resources associated with the adjacent beam to the left of beam 6 (beam 4), then process the PRS resources associated with the adjacent beam to the right of beam 6 (beam 3), then process the PRS resources associated with the adjacent beam two beams to the left of beam 6 (beam 1), and finally process the PRS resources associated with the adjacent beam two beams to the right of beam 6 (beam 5).

[0082]

[0093] FIG. 6 illustrates an example diagram of a positioning reference signal (PRS) resource set 602 that may be utilized by a mobile device (e.g., a UE device) in a PRS system 600 similar to the PRS system 400 in FIG. 4. In this embodiment, the UE device may receive assistance data including a beam index from the LMF. The UE may receive the PRS resource set 602 associated with multiple beams 604, which may be utilized by the UE device to measure location or position data that may be used to determine the location or position of the UE. FIG. 6 illustrates a beam neighbor order of beam 1, beam 2, beam 3, beam 4, beam 5, and beam 6. As described above, the beam order may be known by the UE (e.g., predetermined and / or stored in a memory of the UE device) or may be signaled to the UE by the gNB or LMF (e.g., in an IE of the assistance data).

[0083]

[0094] The beam index may include an assigned beam that the UE device initially uses to perform location measurements. In this implementation, beam 2 is the assigned beam indicated in the beam index to be utilized by the UE device. Once the PRS resources of beam 2 are processed by the UE device to determine location or positioning data, the UE device may process the PRS resources of adjacent beams (e.g., beam 1 or beam 3) according to one or more priority rules (also referred to as adjacent beam rules) known by the UE device (e.g., predefined and / or stored in the memory of the UE device) or signaled to the UE device by the gNB or LMF. Once the PRS resources of beams 1 and 3 are processed by the UE device, the UE device may continue to process the PRS resources of the next adjacent beam, e.g., beam 4. In some cases, the adjacent beams may be indicated in the beam index to inform the UE device which beams are adjacent to the initial assigned beam and the subsequent beams.

[0084]

[0095] As mentioned above, the priority rule may be known by or signaled to the UE device. The priority rule may indicate which beam should be utilized after the assigned beam is processed to measure location or position data. For example, FIG. 6 shows a priority rule with an order starting with beam 2 (the assigned beam), followed by beam 3, followed by beam 1, followed by beam 4.

[0085]

[0096] FIG. 7 illustrates an example diagram of a positioning reference signal (PRS) resource set 702 that may be utilized by a mobile device (e.g., a UE device) in a PRS system 700, similar to the PRS system 500 in FIG. 5. In this embodiment, the UE device may receive assistance data from the LMF, including a beam index. The UE may receive a PRS resource set 602 associated with multiple beams 604, which may be utilized by the UE device to measure location or position data that may be used to determine the location of the UE. FIG. 7 illustrates a beam neighbor order of beam 1, beam 4, beam 6, beam 3, beam 5, and beam 2. As discussed above, the beam neighbor order may be known (e.g., predetermined and / or stored in a memory of the UE device) by the UE, such as that shown in FIG. 4, or may be signaled to the UE by the gNB or LMF (e.g., in an IE of the assistance data), such as that shown in FIG. 5.

[0086]

[0097] The beam index may include an assigned beam on which the UE device initially attempts to measure location or position data. In this implementation, beam 6 is the assigned beam indicated in the beam index to be utilized by the UE device. Once the PRS resources of beam 6 have been processed by the UE device to determine location or positioning data, the UE device may process the PRS resources of the neighboring beam (e.g., beam 4 or beam 3) according to one or more priority rules (e.g., neighboring beam rules) known by the UE device (e.g., predefined and / or stored in a memory of the UE device) or signaled to the UE device by the gNB or LMF. Once the PRS resources of beams 4 and 3 have been processed by the UE device, the UE device may continue to process the PRS resources of the next neighboring beam, e.g., beam 5, based on the priority rules (e.g., neighboring beam rules).

[0087]

[0098] As mentioned above, the priority rule may be known by or signaled to the UE device. The priority rule may indicate which beam should be utilized after the assigned beams are processed to measure location or position data. For example, FIG. 7 shows a priority rule with an order starting with beam 6 (the assigned beam), followed by beam 3, followed by beam 4, followed by beam 5.

[0088]

[0099] 8 illustrates a flow diagram of an example process 800 for enabling beam selection by a UE device. At block 802, the process 800 includes receiving (e.g., by a user equipment) beam index information associated with a PRS beam set. In some implementations, the PRS beam set may be associated with multiple beams, including an assigned beam and at least one neighboring beam. The multiple beams associated with the PRS beam set may also be sequentially ordered by neighbor relationship in the angular domain (e.g., according to DL-AoD). In some aspects, the beam index information may be a PRS resource index.

[0089]

[0100] In some aspects, the beam index information may be generated based on at least one of a transmit receiving point (TRP) location, an antenna array panel location, an estimated user equipment (UE) location, or a combination thereof. In other aspects, the beam index information may be received from a base station or a location server.

[0090]

[0101] At block 804, the process 800 includes determining (e.g., by the user equipment) an assigned beam, at least one neighboring beam, or both based on the beam index information indicated at block 802. In some aspects, the assigned beam may be based on at least one of an expected beam index, an expected PRS resource index, a reference PRS resource, or a combination thereof. In some aspects, the at least one neighboring beam may be further determined based on a neighboring beam rule stored in the user equipment. In other aspects, the at least one neighboring beam may be further determined based on a neighboring beam rule received from a location server.

[0091]

[0102]

[0103] In some implementations, the at least one adjacent beam may be further determined based on an adjacent beam rule received from the base station. In one example, the at least one adjacent beam may be physically adjacent to the assigned beam in at least one of an azimuth domain, an elevation domain, or a combination thereof.

[0092]

[0104] In some examples, determining the at least one adjacent beam can comprise determining a first adjacent beam based on the assigned beam and the beam index information, where the first adjacent beam is adjacent to the assigned beam, determining a second adjacent beam based on the assigned beam and the beam index information, where the second adjacent beam is adjacent to the assigned beam and where the first adjacent beam is different from the second adjacent beam. In another example, determining the at least one adjacent beam can comprise determining a third adjacent beam based on the assigned beam and the beam index information, where the third adjacent beam is adjacent to the first adjacent beam, determining a fourth adjacent beam based on the assigned beam and the beam index information, where the fourth adjacent beam is adjacent to the second adjacent beam and where the third adjacent beam is different from the fourth adjacent beam.

[0093]

[0105] At block 806, process 800 includes determining (e.g., by the user equipment) a location measurement based on at least one of the assigned beam or at least one neighboring beam indicated at block 804. In some examples, the location measurement may include at least one of a downlink departure angle, a PRS-based reference signal received power (RSRP) measurement, a time of arrival of an earliest path, phase information, amplitude information, location information, or a combination thereof.

[0094]

[0106] In some implementations, the process 800 may further include receiving updated beam index information associated with the updated PRS beam set.

[0095]

[0107] 9 illustrates an example flow diagram of a process 900 for determining beam neighbor relationships based on a predetermined rule (e.g., a predetermined neighboring beam rule) in accordance with some aspects of the disclosed technology. At block 902, the process 900 includes receiving (e.g., by a user equipment device) a PRS beam set. As described above, the PRS beam set may be associated with a plurality of beams including an assigned beam and at least one neighboring beam.

[0096]

[0108] At block 904, the process 900 includes determining a neighbor relationship of a plurality of beams associated with the PRS beam set received at block 902, e.g., based on a predefined neighbor beam rule. As described above, the predefined neighbor beam rule may be stored in a memory associated with the UE device. In some examples, the neighbor relationship of the beams may be predefined, such as the PRS resources (beams) being ordered according to angular proximity / neighbor relationship. For example, the neighbor beams may include neighboring beams in the beam order as described above and shown in FIG. 4.

[0097]

[0109] 10 illustrates an example flow diagram of a process 1000 for determining beam neighbor relationships based on assistance data (AD) in accordance with some aspects of the disclosed technology. At block 1002, the process 1000 includes receiving (e.g., by a user equipment device) a PRS beam set. As described above, the PRS beam set may be associated with a plurality of beams, including an assigned beam and at least one neighboring beam.

[0098]

[0110] At block 1004, the process 1000 includes receiving assistance data from another device, such as a location server (e.g., LMF) or a base station (e.g., gNB). As described above, the assistance data may include an identifier of the base station (or the base station's cell and / or TRP) from which to measure the reference signal, reference signal configuration parameters (e.g., number of consecutive positioning subframes, periodicity of the positioning subframes, muting sequence, frequency hopping sequence, reference signal identifier (ID), reference signal bandwidth, etc.), and / or other parameters applicable to a particular positioning method. Alternatively, the assistance data may originate directly from the base station itself (e.g., in a periodically broadcasted overhead message, etc.).

[0099]

[0111] At block 1006, the process 1000 includes determining, based on the assistance data, a neighbor relationship of the plurality of beams associated with the PRS beam set. For example, the assistance data may include a beam priority rule that indicates a neighbor order of the plurality of beams to the UE. As described above, the assistance data may also include that a beam index may provide information indicating an initial assigned beam that should be used by the UE device to calculate a location or position measurement.

[0100]

[0112] In some aspects, a neighbor beam rule (or priority rule) may be used to specify a subsequent beam selection to be made by the UE after processing the PRS resources of the assigned beam. Depending on the implementation, the beam selection prioritization may be based on the initially assigned beam as well as the determined neighbor ordering (e.g., neighbor ordering 406 of FIG. 4 or neighbor ordering 506 of FIG. 5).

[0101]

[0113] In some examples, the processes described herein (e.g., processes 800, 900, 1200, and / or other processes described herein) may be performed by a computing device or apparatus. In one example, processes 800, 900, and / or 1000 may be performed by a computing device or computing system 1200 shown in FIG.

[0102]

[0114] In some examples, the computing device may include any suitable UE device or system, such as a mobile device (e.g., a mobile phone), a desktop computing device, a tablet computing device, a wearable device (e.g., a VR headset, an AR headset, AR glasses, a network-connected watch or smartwatch, or other wearable device), a server computer, an autonomous vehicle or a computing device of an autonomous vehicle, a robotic device, a television, and / or any other computing device with resource capabilities to perform the processes described herein. For example, as described above, a UE device may be configured to perform process 800. In some examples, the computing device may include a base station, such as a gNB, and / or any other computing device with resource capabilities to perform the processes described herein. In some cases, a computing device or apparatus may include various components, such as one or more input devices, one or more output devices, one or more processors, one or more microprocessors, one or more microcomputers, one or more cameras, one or more sensors, and / or other component(s) configured to perform the operations or steps of the processes described herein. In some examples, a computing device may include a display, a network interface configured to communicate and / or receive data, any combination thereof, and / or other component(s). The network interface may be configured to communicate and / or receive Internet Protocol (IP)-based data or other types of data.

[0103]

[0115] Components of a computing device may be implemented in circuits. For example, components may include and / or be implemented using electronic circuitry or other electronic hardware that may include one or more programmable electronic circuits (e.g., a microprocessor, a graphics processing unit (GPU), a digital signal processor (DSP), a central processing unit (CPU), a visual processing unit (VPU), a network signal processor (NSP), a microcontroller (MCU), and / or other suitable electronic circuitry) and / or may include and / or be implemented using computer software, firmware, or any combination thereof, to perform various operations described herein.

[0104]

[0116] Process 800 illustrates a sequence of operations that may be implemented in hardware, computer instructions, or a combination thereof. In the context of computer instructions, operations represent computer-executable instructions stored on one or more computer-readable storage media that, when executed by one or more processors, perform the recited operations. Generally, computer-executable instructions include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular functions or implement particular data types. The order in which the operations are described is not intended to be construed as a limitation, and any number of the described operations may be combined in any order and / or in parallel to implement a process.

[0105]

[0117] Additionally, process 800 and / or other processes described herein may be performed under the control of one or more computer systems configured with executable instructions and implemented as code (e.g., executable instructions, one or more computer programs, or one or more applications) that collectively execute on one or more processors, by hardware, or a combination thereof. As mentioned above, the code may be stored in a computer-readable or machine-readable storage medium, for example in the form of a computer program comprising a plurality of instructions executable by one or more processors. The computer-readable or machine-readable storage medium may be non-transitory.

[0106]

[0118] FIG. 11 illustrates an example of a computing system 1170 of a user equipment (UE) 1107. In some examples, the UE 1107 may include a mobile phone, a router, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a tracking device, a wearable device (e.g., a smart watch, glasses, an XR device, etc.), an Internet of Things (IoT) device, and / or other devices used by a user to communicate over a wireless communication network. The computing system 1170 includes software and hardware components that may be electrically coupled (or in other communication, as appropriate) via a bus 1189. For example, the computing system 1170 includes one or more processors 1184. The one or more processors 1184 may include one or more CPUs, ASICs, FPGAs, APs, GPUs, VPUs, NSPs, microcontrollers, dedicated hardware, any combination thereof, and / or other processing devices or systems. The bus 1189 may be used by the one or more processors 1184 to communicate between the cores and / or with one or more memory devices 1186.

[0107]

[0119] The computing system 1170 may also include one or more memory devices 1186, one or more digital signal processors (DSPs) 1182, one or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs) 1174, one or more modems 1176, one or more wireless transceivers 1178, an antenna 1187, one or more input devices 1172 (e.g., a camera, a mouse, a keyboard, a touch-sensitive screen, a touchpad, a keypad, a microphone, etc.), and one or more output devices 1180 (e.g., a display, a speaker, a printer, etc.). As used herein, the one or more wireless transceivers 1178 may include one or more receiving devices (e.g., receivers) and / or one or more transmitting devices (e.g., transmitters).

[0108]

[0120] The one or more wireless transceivers 1178 may transmit and receive wireless signals (e.g., signals 1188) via antennas 1187 to and from one or more other devices, such as one or more other UEs, network devices (e.g., base stations such as eNBs and / or gNBs, WiFi routers, etc.), cloud networks, etc. The one or more wireless transceivers 1178 described herein may include a combined transmitter / receiver, separate transmitters, separate receivers, or any combination thereof. In some examples, the computing system 1170 may include multiple antennas. The wireless signals 1188 may be transmitted over a wireless network. The wireless network may be any wireless network, such as a cellular or telecommunications network (e.g., 3G, 4G, 5G, etc.), a wireless local area network (e.g., a WiFi network), a Bluetooth network, and / or other networks. In some examples, the one or more wireless transceivers 1178 may include a radio frequency (RF) front end including one or more components such as amplifiers, mixers (also called signal multipliers) for signal downconversion, frequency synthesizers (also called oscillators) that provide signals to the mixers, baseband filters, analog-to-digital converters (ADCs), one or more power amplifiers, etc. The RF front end may generally handle the selection of the wireless signals 1188 and the conversion of the wireless signals 1188 to baseband or intermediate frequencies, and may convert the RF signals to the digital domain.

[0109]

[0121] In some cases, the computing system 1170 may include a coding-decoding device (or codec) configured to encode and / or decode data transmitted and / or received using the one or more wireless transceivers 1178. In some cases, the computing system 1170 may include an encryption-decryption device or component configured to encrypt and / or decrypt (e.g., according to the AES and / or DES standards) data transmitted and / or received by the one or more wireless transceivers 1178.

[0110]

[0122] The one or more SIMs 1174 may each securely store an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) number and associated keys assigned to a user of the UE 1107. The IMSI and keys may be used to identify and authenticate a subscriber when accessing a network provided by a network service provider or operator associated with the one or more SIMs 1174. The one or more modems 1176 may modulate one or more signals to encode information for transmission using the one or more wireless transceivers 1178. The one or more modems 1176 may also demodulate signals received by the one or more wireless transceivers 1178 to decode the transmitted information. In some examples, the one or more modems 1176 may include a 4G (or LTE) modem, a 5G (or NR) modem, a Bluetooth modem, a modem configured for vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications, and / or other types of modems. In some examples, the one or more modems 1176 and the one or more wireless transceivers 1178 may be used to communicate data for the one or more SIMs 1174.

[0111]

[0123] The computing system 1170 may also include (and / or may be in communication with) one or more non-transitory machine-readable storage media or storage devices (e.g., one or more memory devices 1186), which may include, but are not limited to, local and / or accessible storage, disk drives, drive arrays, optical storage devices, solid-state storage devices such as RAM and / or ROM, which may be programmable, flash updatable, etc. Such storage devices may be configured to implement any suitable data storage, including, but not limited to, various file systems, database structures, etc.

[0112]

[0124] In various embodiments, functions may be stored as one or more computer program products (e.g., instructions or code) in memory device(s) 1186 and executed by one or more processors 1184 and / or one or more DSPs 1182. Computing system 1170 may also include software elements (e.g., located in one or more memory devices 1186) that may comprise computer programs that implement functions provided by various embodiments and / or include other code such as an operating system, device drivers, executable libraries, and / or one or more application programs that may be designed to implement methods described herein and / or configure a system.

[0113]

[0125] In some aspects, the UE 1107 may include means for performing the operations described herein, which may include one or more of the components of the computing system 1170. For example, the means for performing the operations described herein may include one or more of the input device(s) 1172, the SIM(s) 1174, the modem(s) 1176, the wireless transceiver(s) 1178, the output device(s) (1180), the DSP(s) 1182, the processor (1184), the memory device(s) 1186, and / or the antenna(s) 1187.

[0114]

[0126] In some aspects, the UE 1107 may include means for receiving resource configuration information, where the resource configuration information is based on a threshold associated with the apparatus, where the resource configuration information indicates a time gap for transmission of a sounding reference signal (SRS) resource. In some aspects, the UE 1107 may further include means for transmitting one or more SRS resources based on the time gap indicated by the resource configuration information.

[0115]

[0127] In some examples, the means for receiving may include one or more wireless transceivers 1178, one or more modems 1176, one or more SIMs 1174, one or more processors 1184, one or more DSPs 1182, one or more memory devices 1186, any combination thereof, or other component(s) of the client device. In some examples, the means for determining may include one or more processors 1184, one or more DSPs 1182, one or more memory devices 1186, any combination thereof, or other component(s) of the client device. In some examples, the means for transmitting may include one or more wireless transceivers 1178, one or more modems 1176, one or more SIMs 1174, one or more processors 1184, one or more DSPs 1182, one or more memory devices 1186, any combination thereof, or other component(s) of the client device.

[0116]

[0128] 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of a system for implementing some aspects of the present technology. In particular, FIG. 12 illustrates an example of a computing system 1200, which may be, for example, any computing device constituting an internal computing system, a remote computing system, a camera, or any component thereof, where the components of the system communicate with each other using a connection 1005. The connection 1005 may be a physical connection to a processor 1012 using a bus, or a direct connection to the processor 1012, such as in a chipset architecture. The connection 1005 may also be a virtual connection, a networked connection, or a logical connection.

[0117]

[0129] In some embodiments, computing system 1200 is a distributed system in which the functionality described in this disclosure may be distributed within a data center, multiple data centers, a peer network, etc. In some embodiments, one or more of the system components described represent many such components, each of which performs some or all of the functionality described for it. In some embodiments, the components may be physical or virtual devices.

[0118]

[0130] The exemplary system 1200 includes at least one processing unit (CPU or processor) 1012 and a connection 1005 that couples various system components, including system memory 1215, such as read only memory (ROM) 1220 and random access memory (RAM) 1225, to the processor 1012. The computing system 1200 may include a cache 1212 of high-speed memory directly connected to the processor 1012, in close proximity to the processor 1012, or integrated as part of the processor 1012.

[0119]

[0131] The processor 1012 may include any general purpose processor and hardware or software services, such as services 1232, 1234, and 1236 stored in storage device 1230, configured to control the processor 1012 as well as special purpose processors, where software instructions are incorporated into the actual processor design. The processor 1012 may essentially be a fully self-contained computing system, including multiple cores or processors, buses, memory controllers, caches, etc. Multi-core processors may be symmetric or asymmetric.

[0120]

[0132] To enable user interaction, computing system 1200 includes input device(s) 1245, which may represent any number of input mechanisms, such as a microphone for audio, a touch-sensitive screen for gesture or graphical input, a keyboard, a mouse, motion input, voice, etc. Computing system 1200 may also include output device(s) 1235, which may be one or more of several output mechanisms. In some instances, a multimodal system may allow a user to provide multiple types of input and output for communicating with computing system 1200. Computing system 1200 may include a communication interface 1240, which may generally govern and manage user input and system output.

[0121]

[0133] The communications interface may be an audio jack / plug, a microphone jack / plug, a universal serial bus (USB) port / plug, an Apple® Lightning® port / plug, an Ethernet® port / plug, a fiber optic port / plug, a proprietary wired port / plug, BLUETOOTH® wireless signal transmission, BLUETOOTH Low Energy (BLE) wireless signal transmission, IBEACON® wireless signal transmission, radio frequency identification (RFID) wireless signal transmission, near field communication (NFC) wireless signal transmission, dedicated short range communication (DSRC) wireless signal transmission, 802.11 Wi-Fi wireless signal transmission, a wireless local area network (WLAN) wireless signal transmission, The reception and / or transmission of wired or wireless communications may be performed or enabled using wired and / or wireless transceivers, including those that utilize wireless local area network (WLAN) signal transmission, visible light communication (VLC), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX®), infrared (IR) communication wireless signal transmission, public switched telephone network (PSTN) signal transmission, integrated services digital network (ISDN) signal transmission, 3G / 4G / 5G / LTE cellular data network wireless signal transmission, ad hoc network signal transmission, radio wave signal transmission, microwave signal transmission, infrared signal transmission, visible light signal transmission, ultraviolet light signal transmission, wireless signal transmission along the electromagnetic spectrum, or any combination thereof.

[0122]

[0134] The communication interface 1240 may also include one or more GNSS receivers or transceivers used to determine the location of the computing system 1200 based on receiving one or more signals from one or more satellites associated with one or more Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) systems. GNSS systems include, but are not limited to, the United States-based Global Positioning System (GPS), the Russian-based Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS), the Chinese-based BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS), and the European-based Galileo GNSS. There is no restriction to operating on any particular hardware configuration, and thus the basic features herein may be easily substituted with improved hardware or firmware configurations as they are developed.

[0123]

[0135] The storage device 1230 may be a non-volatile and / or non-transitory and / or computer readable memory device, such as a magnetic cassette, a flash memory card, a solid state memory device, a digital versatile disk, a cartridge, a floppy disk, a flexible disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape, a magnetic strip / stripe, any other magnetic storage medium, a flash memory, a memristor memory, any other solid state memory, a compact disk read only memory (CD-ROM) optical disk, a rewritable compact disk (CD) optical disk, a digital video disk (DVD) optical disk, a blu-ray disk (BDD) optical disk, a holographic optical disk, another optical medium, a secure digital (SD) card, a micro secure digital (microSD) card, a memory The memory may be a hard disk or other type of computer readable medium capable of storing data that is accessible by a computer, such as a Stick card, a smart card chip, an EMV chip, a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card, a mini / micro / nano / pico SIM card, another integrated circuit (IC) chip / card, a random access memory (RAM), a static RAM (SRAM), a dynamic RAM (DRAM), a read only memory (ROM), a programmable read only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), a flash EPROM (FLASHEPROM), a cache memory (L1 / L2 / L3 / L4 / L5 / L#), a resistive random access memory (RRAM / ReRAM), a phase change memory (PCM), a spin transfer torque RAM (STT-RAM), another memory chip or cartridge, and / or a combination thereof.

[0124]

[0136] Storage devices 1230 may include software services, servers, services, etc., which, when code defining such software is executed by processor 1012, cause the system to perform a function. In some embodiments, hardware services that perform a particular function may include software components stored in a computer-readable medium in relation to the necessary hardware components, such as processor 1012, connections 1005, output devices 1235, etc., to perform that function. The term "computer-readable medium" includes, but is not limited to, portable or non-portable storage devices, optical storage devices, and various other media capable of storing, containing, or carrying instruction(s) and / or data. Computer-readable media may include non-transitory media on which data may be stored, which does not include carrier waves and / or transitory electronic signals that propagate wirelessly or over wired connections.

[0125]

[0137] Examples of non-transitory media may include, but are not limited to, magnetic disks or tapes, optical storage media such as compact disks (CDs) or digital versatile disks (DVDs), flash memory, memories or memory devices. A computer-readable medium may have code and / or machine-executable instructions stored thereon, which may represent a procedure, a function, a subprogram, a program, a routine, a subroutine, a module, a software package, a class, or any combination of instructions, data structures, or program statements. A code segment may be coupled to another code segment or a hardware circuit by passing and / or receiving information, data, arguments, parameters, or memory contents. Information, arguments, parameters, data, etc. may be passed, forwarded, or transmitted via any suitable means, including memory sharing, message passing, token passing, network transmission, etc.

[0126]

[0138] Those skilled in the art will recognize that, although specific details have been provided in the above description to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments and examples provided herein, the present application is not limited thereto. Thus, although exemplary embodiments of the present application have been described in detail herein, it should be understood that the inventive concept may be embodied and employed in various ways, and the appended claims are to be construed to include such variations, except as limited by the prior art. Various features and aspects of the applications described above may be used individually or together. Moreover, the embodiments may be utilized in any number of environments and applications other than those described herein without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the present specification. Thus, the present specification and drawings should be considered illustrative and not limiting. For purposes of explanation, the methods have been described in a particular order. It should be appreciated that in alternative embodiments, the methods may be performed in an order different from that described.

[0127]

[0139] For clarity of explanation, in some cases, the technology may be presented as including individual functional blocks comprising devices, device components, steps or routines in a method implemented in software, or a combination of hardware and software. Additional components other than those shown in the figures and / or described herein may be used. For example, circuits, systems, networks, processes, and other components may be shown as components in block diagram form so as not to obscure the embodiments in unnecessary detail. In other cases, well-known circuits, processes, algorithms, structures, and techniques may be shown without unnecessary detail so as to avoid obscuring the embodiments.

[0128]

[0140] Moreover, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the various exemplary logic blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various exemplary components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends on the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Those skilled in the art may implement the described functionality in various ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0129]

[0141] Individual embodiments may be described above as a process or method that is depicted as a flowchart, a flow diagram, a data flow diagram, a structure diagram, or a block diagram. Although the flowcharts may describe operations as a sequential process, many of the operations may be performed in parallel or simultaneously. Moreover, the order of operations may be rearranged. A process is terminated when an operation of a process is completed, but may have additional steps not included in the diagram. A process may correspond to a method, a function, a procedure, a subroutine, a subprogram, etc. When a process corresponds to a function, its termination may correspond to a return of the function to the calling function or to a main function.

[0130]

[0142] The processes and methods according to the examples described above may be implemented using computer-executable instructions stored or otherwise available from a computer-readable medium. Such instructions may include, for example, instructions and data that cause or otherwise configure a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, or a processing device to perform a certain function or group of functions. Portions of the computer resources used may be accessible over a network. The computer-executable instructions may be, for example, binaries, intermediate format instructions such as assembly language, firmware, source code. Examples of computer-readable media that may be used to store instructions, information used, and / or information created during methods according to the described examples include magnetic or optical disks, flash memory, USB devices with non-volatile memory, networked storage devices, and the like.

[0131]

[0143] In some embodiments, computer-readable storage devices, media, and memories may include cable or wireless signals containing bit streams, etc. However, when stated, non-transitory computer-readable storage medium expressly excludes media such as energy, carrier signals, electromagnetic waves, and the signals themselves.

[0132]

[0144] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that information and signals 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 referred to throughout the above description may in some cases 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, in part on the desired design, in part on the corresponding technology, etc.

[0133]

[0145] The various example logic blocks, modules, and circuits described with respect to the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented or performed using hardware, software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description languages, or any combination thereof, and may take any of a variety of form factors. When implemented in software, firmware, middleware, or microcode, the program code or code segments (e.g., computer program product) for performing the necessary tasks may be stored in a computer-readable or machine-readable medium. A processor(s) may perform the necessary tasks. Examples of form factors include laptops, smartphones, mobile phones, tablet devices or other small form factor personal computers, personal digital assistants, rack-mounted devices, standalone devices, and the like. The functionality described herein may also be embodied in peripheral devices or add-in cards. Such functionality may also be implemented on a circuit board among different chips or different processes executing in a single device, as further examples.

[0134]

[0146] The instructions, media for carrying such instructions, computing resources for executing them, and other structures for supporting such computing resources are exemplary means for providing the functionality described in this disclosure.

[0135]

[0147] The techniques described herein may also be implemented in electronic hardware, computer software, firmware, or any combination thereof. Such techniques may be implemented in any of a variety of devices, such as a general purpose computer, a wireless communication device handset, or an integrated circuit device having multiple uses, including applications in wireless communication device handsets and other devices. Features described as modules or components may be implemented together in an integrated logic device, or separately as discrete but interoperable logic devices. If implemented in software, the techniques may be realized at least in part by a computer-readable data storage medium comprising program code including instructions that, when executed, perform one or more of the methods, algorithms, and / or operations described above. The computer-readable data storage medium may form part of a computer program product, which may include packaging materials. The computer-readable medium may comprise a memory or data storage medium, such as a random access memory (RAM), such as a synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), a read-only memory (ROM), a non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a flash memory, a magnetic or optical data storage medium, or the like. The techniques may additionally or alternatively be realized at least in part by a computer-readable communications medium, such as a propagated signal or radio wave, that carries or communicates program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed, read, and / or executed by a computer.

[0136]

[0148] The program code may be executed by a processor, which may include one or more processors, such as one or more digital signal processors (DSPs), general-purpose microprocessors, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable logic arrays (FPGAs), or other equivalent integrated or discrete logic circuitry. Such a processor may be configured to perform any of the techniques described in this disclosure. 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, e.g., 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. Thus, the term "processor" as used herein may refer to any of the above structures, any combination of the above structures, or any other structure or apparatus suitable for implementing the techniques described herein.

[0137]

[0149] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the less than ("<") and greater than (">") symbols or terminology used herein may be replaced with the less than or equal to ("≦") and greater than or equal to ("≧") symbols, respectively, without departing from the scope of the present specification.

[0138]

[0150] When a component is described as being "configured to" perform some operation, such configuration may be achieved, for example, by designing electronic circuitry or other hardware to perform the operation, by programming a programmable electronic circuit (e.g., a microprocessor or other suitable electronic circuitry) to perform the operation, or any combination thereof.

[0139]

[0151] The phrase "coupled to" refers to any component that is physically connected, either directly or indirectly, to another component, and / or that is in communication, either directly or indirectly, with another component (e.g., connected to the other component via a wired or wireless connection, and / or other suitable communications interface).

[0140]

[0152] Claim language or other language reciting "at least one of" a set and / or "one or more of" a set indicates that one member of the set or more than one member of the set (in any combination) satisfies the claim. For example, claim language reciting "at least one of A and B" or "at least one of A or B" means A, B, or A and B. In another example, claim language reciting "at least one of A, B, and C" or "at least one of A, B, or C" means A, B, C, or A and B, or A and C, or B and C, or A and B and C. The language "at least one of" a set and / or "one or more of" a set does not limit the set to the items listed in the set. For example, claim language reciting "at least one of A and B" or "at least one of A or B" can mean A, B, or A and B, and can further include items not listed in the set of A and B.

[0141]

[0153] Exemplary aspects of the present disclosure include the following.

[0142]

[0154] Aspect 1: An apparatus for enabling positioning reference signal (PRS) prioritization, the apparatus comprising: at least one transceiver; at least one memory; and at least one processor coupled to the at least one receiver and the at least one memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: receive, via the at least one receiver, beam index information associated with a PRS beam set; determine an assigned beam, at least one neighboring beam, or both based on the beam index information; and determine one or more location measurements based on at least one of the assigned beam, the at least one neighboring beam, or both.

[0143]

[0155] Aspect 2: The apparatus of aspect 1, wherein the at least one adjacent beam is further determined based on an adjacent beam rule stored in at least one memory.

[0144]

[0156] Aspect 3: An apparatus as described in any of aspects 1 to 2, wherein at least one adjacent beam is further determined based on an adjacent beam rule received from the location server.

[0145]

[0157] Aspect 4: The apparatus of any one of aspects 1 to 3, wherein the at least one adjacent beam is further determined based on an adjacent beam rule received from a base station.

[0146]

[0158] Aspect 5: An apparatus as described in any of aspects 1 to 4, wherein the PRS beam set is associated with a plurality of beams, the plurality of beams including an assigned beam and at least one adjacent beam.

[0147]

[0159] Example 6: An apparatus as described in any one of Examples 1 to 5, wherein the multiple beams associated with the PRS beam set are consecutively ordered by their adjacency in the angular domain.

[0148]

[0160] Aspect 7: The apparatus of any of aspects 1 to 6, wherein at least one adjacent beam is physically adjacent to the assigned beam in at least one of the azimuth domain, the elevation domain, or a combination thereof.

[0149]

[0161] Aspect 8: The apparatus of any of aspects 1 to 7, wherein the beam index information is generated based on at least one of a transmit receiving point (TRP) location, an antenna array panel location, an estimated user equipment (UE) location, or a combination thereof.

[0150]

[0162] Example 9: The apparatus of any one of examples 1 to 8, wherein the beam index information is received from a base station.

[0151]

[0163] Aspect 10: An apparatus as described in any of aspects 1 to 9, wherein the beam index information is received from a location server.

[0152]

[0164] Aspect 11: The apparatus of any of aspects 1 to 10, wherein the location measurements include at least one of a downlink departure angle, a PRS-based reference signal received power (RSRP) measurement, an earliest path time of arrival, phase information, amplitude information, location information, or a combination thereof.

[0153]

[0165] Aspect 12: The apparatus of any of aspects 1 to 11, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive, via the at least one receiver, updated beam index information associated with the updated PRS beam set.

[0154]

[0166] Example 13: An apparatus as described in any one of examples 1 to 12, wherein the beam index information is a PRS resource index.

[0155]

[0167] Aspect 14: An apparatus as described in any of aspects 1 to 13, wherein the assigned beam is based on at least one of an expected beam index, an expected PRS resource index, a reference PRS resource, or a combination thereof.

[0156]

[0168] Aspect 15: The apparatus of any of aspects 1 to 14, wherein, to determine at least one adjacent beam, the processor is further configured to: determine a first adjacent beam based on the assigned beam and the beam index information, where the first adjacent beam is adjacent to the assigned beam; determine a second adjacent beam based on the assigned beam and the beam index information, where the second adjacent beam is adjacent to the assigned beam, where the first adjacent beam is different from the second adjacent beam.

[0157]

[0169] Aspect 16: The apparatus of any of aspects 1 to 15, wherein, to determine at least one adjacent beam, the processor is further configured to: determine a third adjacent beam based on the assigned beam and the beam index information, where the third adjacent beam is adjacent to the first adjacent beam; and determine a fourth adjacent beam based on the assigned beam and the beam index information, where the fourth adjacent beam is adjacent to the second adjacent beam, where the third adjacent beam is different from the fourth adjacent beam.

[0158]

[0170] Aspect 17: A computer-implemented method for enabling positioning reference signal (PRS) prioritization, the method comprising: receiving, at a user equipment, beam index information associated with a PRS beam set; determining, by the user equipment, an assigned beam, at least one neighboring beam, or both based on the beam index information; and determining, by the user equipment, one or more location measurements based on at least one of the assigned beam, at least one neighboring beam, or both.

[0159]

[0171] Aspect 18: The computer-implemented method of aspect 17, wherein the at least one adjacent beam is further determined based on an adjacent beam rule stored in the user equipment.

[0160]

[0172] Aspect 19: The computer-implemented method of any of aspects 17 to 18, wherein the at least one adjacent beam is further determined based on an adjacent beam rule received from the location server.

[0161]

[0173] Aspect 20: The computer-implemented method of any of aspects 17 to 19, wherein the at least one adjacent beam is further determined based on an adjacent beam rule received from the base station.

[0162]

[0174] Aspect 21: The computer-implemented method of any of aspects 17 to 20, wherein the PRS beam set is associated with a plurality of beams, the plurality of beams including an assigned beam and at least one adjacent beam.

[0163]

[0175] Aspect 22: The computer-implemented method of any of aspects 17 to 21, wherein the multiple beams associated with the PRS beam set are consecutively ordered by their adjacency in the angular domain.

[0164]

[0176] Aspect 23: The computer-implemented method of any of aspects 17 to 22, wherein at least one adjacent beam is physically adjacent to the assigned beam in at least one of an azimuth domain, an elevation domain, or a combination thereof.

[0165]

[0177] Aspect 24: A computer-implemented method as described in any of aspects 17 to 23, wherein the beam index information is generated based on at least one of a transmit receiving point (TRP) location, an antenna array panel location, an estimated user equipment (UE) location, or a combination thereof.

[0166]

[0178] Aspect 25: The computer-implemented method of any of aspects 17 to 24, wherein the beam index information is received from a base station.

[0167]

[0179] Aspect 26: The computer-implemented method of any of aspects 17 to 25, wherein the beam index information is received from a location server.

[0168]

[0180] Aspect 27: The computer-implemented method of any of aspects 17 to 26, wherein the location measurement includes at least one of a downlink departure angle, a PRS-based reference signal received power (RSRP) measurement, an earliest path time of arrival, phase information, amplitude information, location information, or a combination thereof.

[0169]

[0181] Aspect 28: The computer-implemented method of any of aspects 17 to 27, further comprising receiving updated beam index information associated with an updated PRS beam set.

[0170]

[0182] Aspect 29: The computer-implemented method of any of aspects 17 to 28, wherein the beam index information is a PRS resource index.

[0171]

[0183] Aspect 30: The computer-implemented method of any of aspects 17 to 29, wherein the assigned beam is based on at least one of an expected beam index, an expected PRS resource index, a reference PRS resource, or a combination thereof.

[0172]

[0184] Aspect 31: The computer-implemented method of any of aspects 17 to 30, wherein determining at least one adjacent beam comprises determining a first adjacent beam based on the assigned beam and beam index information, where the first adjacent beam is adjacent to the assigned beam; determining a second adjacent beam based on the assigned beam and beam index information, where the second adjacent beam is adjacent to the assigned beam, where the first adjacent beam is different from the second adjacent beam.

[0173]

[0185] Aspect 32: The computer-implemented method of any of aspects 17 to 31, wherein determining at least one adjacent beam comprises determining a third adjacent beam based on the assigned beam and the beam index information, where the third adjacent beam is adjacent to the first adjacent beam; determining a fourth adjacent beam based on the assigned beam and the beam index information, where the fourth adjacent beam is adjacent to the second adjacent beam, where the third adjacent beam is different from the fourth adjacent beam.

[0174]

[0186] Aspect 33: An apparatus for enabling positioning reference signal (PRS) prioritization, the apparatus comprising: means for receiving beam index information associated with a PRS beam set; means for determining an assigned beam, at least one neighboring beam, or both based on the beam index information; and means for determining one or more location measurements based on at least one of the assigned beam, at least one neighboring beam, or both.

[0175]

[0187] Aspect 34: The apparatus of aspect 33, wherein at least one adjacent beam is further determined based on an adjacent beam rule stored in the apparatus.

[0176]

[0188] Aspect 35: The apparatus of any of aspects 33 to 34, wherein at least one adjacent beam is further determined based on an adjacent beam rule received from the location server.

[0177]

[0189] Aspect 36: The apparatus of any of aspects 33 to 35, wherein the at least one adjacent beam is further determined based on an adjacent beam rule received from a base station.

[0178]

[0190] Example 37: The apparatus of any of Examples 33 to 36, wherein the PRS beam set is associated with a plurality of beams, the plurality of beams including the assigned beam and at least one adjacent beam.

[0179]

[0191] Example 38: An apparatus as described in any of Examples 33 to 37, wherein the multiple beams associated with the PRS beam set are consecutively ordered by their adjacency in the angular domain.

[0180]

[0192] Aspect 39: The apparatus of any of aspects 33 to 38, wherein at least one adjacent beam is physically adjacent to the assigned beam in at least one of the azimuth domain, the elevation domain, or a combination thereof.

[0181]

[0193] Aspect 40: The apparatus of any of aspects 33 to 39, wherein the beam index information is generated based on at least one of a transmit receiving point (TRP) location, an antenna array panel location, an estimated user equipment (UE) location, or a combination thereof.

[0182]

[0194] Example 41: The apparatus of any of examples 33 to 40, wherein the beam index information is received from a base station.

[0183]

[0195] Aspect 42: An apparatus as described in any of aspects 33 to 41, wherein the beam index information is received from a location server.

[0184]

[0196] Aspect 43: The apparatus of any of aspects 33 to 42, wherein the location measurement includes at least one of a downlink departure angle, a PRS-based reference signal received power (RSRP) measurement, an earliest path time of arrival, phase information, amplitude information, location information, or a combination thereof.

[0185]

[0197] Aspect 44: The apparatus of any of aspects 33 to 43, further comprising means for receiving updated beam index information associated with an updated PRS beam set.

[0186]

[0198] Aspect 45: An apparatus as described in any of aspects 33 to 44, wherein the beam index information is a PRS resource index.

[0187]

[0199] Aspect 46: The apparatus of any of aspects 33 to 45, wherein the assigned beam is based on at least one of an expected beam index, an expected PRS resource index, a reference PRS resource, or a combination thereof.

[0188]

[0200] Aspect 47: The apparatus of any of aspects 33 to 46, wherein the means for determining at least one adjacent beam comprises: means for determining a first adjacent beam based on the assigned beam and beam index information, where the first adjacent beam is adjacent to the assigned beam; and means for determining a second adjacent beam based on the assigned beam and beam index information, where the second adjacent beam is adjacent to the assigned beam, where the first adjacent beam is different from the second adjacent beam.

[0189]

[0201] Aspect 48: The apparatus of any of aspects 33 to 47, wherein the means for determining at least one adjacent beam comprises: means for determining a third adjacent beam based on the assigned beam and the beam index information, where the third adjacent beam is adjacent to the first adjacent beam; and means for determining a fourth adjacent beam based on the assigned beam and the beam index information, where the fourth adjacent beam is adjacent to the second adjacent beam, where the third adjacent beam is different from the fourth adjacent beam.

[0190]

[0202] Aspect 49: A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium for enabling positioning reference signal (PRS) prioritization, comprising at least one instruction to cause a computer or processor to receive beam index information associated with a positioning reference signal (PRS) beam set; determine an assigned beam, at least one adjacent beam, or both based on the beam index information; and determine one or more location measurements based on at least one of the assigned beam, the at least one adjacent beam, or both.

[0191]

[0203] Aspect 50: A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as described in aspect 49, wherein at least one adjacent beam is further determined based on an adjacent beam rule stored in the storage medium.

[0192]

[0204] Aspect 51: A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to any of aspects 49 to 50, wherein at least one adjacent beam is further determined based on an adjacent beam rule received from the location server.

[0193]

[0205] Aspect 52: A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to any of aspects 49 to 51, wherein at least one adjacent beam is further determined based on an adjacent beam rule received from a base station.

[0194]

[0206] Aspect 53: A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to any of aspects 49 to 52, wherein the PRS beam set is associated with a plurality of beams, the plurality of beams including an assigned beam and at least one adjacent beam.

[0195]

[0207] Aspect 54: A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to any of aspects 49 to 53, wherein a plurality of beams associated with a PRS beam set are consecutively ordered by their adjacency relationship in the angular domain.

[0196]

[0208] Aspect 55: A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to any of aspects 49 to 54, wherein at least one adjacent beam is physically adjacent to the assigned beam in at least one of the azimuth domain, the elevation domain, or a combination thereof.

[0197]

[0209] Aspect 56: A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as described in any of aspects 49 to 55, wherein the beam index information is generated based on at least one of a transmit receiving point (TRP) location, an antenna array panel location, an estimated user equipment (UE) location, or a combination thereof.

[0198]

[0210] Aspect 57: The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of any of aspects 49 to 56, wherein the beam index information is received from a base station.

[0199]

[0211] Aspect 58: A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to any of aspects 49 to 57, wherein the beam index information is received from a location server.

[0200]

[0212] Aspect 59: A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as described in any of aspects 49 to 58, wherein the location measurement includes at least one of a downlink departure angle, a PRS-based reference signal received power (RSRP) measurement, an earliest path time of arrival, phase information, amplitude information, location information, or a combination thereof.

[0201]

[0213] Aspect 60: A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as described in any of aspects 49 to 59, wherein at least one instruction further causes the computer or processor to receive updated beam index information associated with the updated PRS beam set.

[0202]

[0214] Aspect 61: A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to any of aspects 49 to 60, wherein the beam index information is a PRS resource index.

[0203]

[0215] Aspect 62: A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to any of aspects 49 to 61, wherein the assigned beam is based on at least one of an expected beam index, an expected PRS resource index, a reference PRS resource, or a combination thereof.

[0204]

[0216] Aspect 63: A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of any of aspects 49 to 62, wherein to determine at least one adjacent beam, the at least one instruction further causes the computer or processor to: determine a first adjacent beam based on the assigned beam and the beam index information, where the first adjacent beam is adjacent to the assigned beam; determine a second adjacent beam based on the assigned beam and the beam index information, where the second adjacent beam is adjacent to the assigned beam, where the first adjacent beam is different from the second adjacent beam.

[0205]

[0217] Aspect 64: A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of any of aspects 49 to 63, wherein to determine at least one adjacent beam, the at least one instruction further causes the computer or processor to: determine a third adjacent beam based on the assigned beam and the beam index information, where the third adjacent beam is adjacent to the first adjacent beam; and determine a fourth adjacent beam based on the assigned beam and the beam index information, where the fourth adjacent beam is adjacent to the second adjacent beam, where the third adjacent beam is different from the fourth adjacent beam.

Claims

1. 1. An apparatus for enabling positioning reference signal (PRS) prioritization, the apparatus comprising: At least one receiver; At least one memory; at least one processor coupled to the at least one receiver and to the at least one memory; wherein the at least one processor: receiving, via the at least one receiver, beam index information associated with an assigned beam among a plurality of beams of a PRS beam set, the assigned beam being associated with a highest priority for location measurements; determining a priority order for location measurements of at least one other beam of the PRS beam set using a beam adjacency order of the assigned beam and the plurality of beams in the PRS set, wherein the location measurements of the assigned beam are followed in priority order by location measurements of at least one adjacent beam, the at least one adjacent beam being adjacent to the assigned beam in the PRS beam set based on angular proximity; determining one or more location measurements based on the assigned beam and the at least one neighboring beam according to the priority order; An apparatus configured to:

2. 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one adjacent beam is further determined based on an adjacent beam rule indicating a priority between a left adjacent beam and a right adjacent beam and / or between an upper adjacent beam and a lower adjacent beam, the adjacent beam rule being stored in the at least one memory, received from a location server, or received from a base station.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of beams associated with the PRS beam set are sequentially ordered by adjacency in an angular domain.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one adjacent beam is physically adjacent to the assigned beam in at least one of an azimuth domain, an elevation domain, or a combination thereof.

5. 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the beam index information is generated based on at least one of a transmit receiving point (TRP) location, an antenna array panel location, an estimated user equipment (UE) location, or a combination thereof.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the beam index information is received from a base station or a location server.

7. 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the location measurements include at least one of a downlink departure angle, a PRS-based reference signal received power (RSRP) measurement, an earliest path time of arrival, phase information, amplitude information, location information, or a combination thereof.

8. 10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive, via the at least one receiver, updated beam index information associated with an updated PRS beam set.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the beam index information is a PRS resource index.

10. 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the assigned beam is based on at least one of an expected beam index, an expected PRS resource index, a reference PRS resource, or a combination thereof.

11. To determine the at least one adjacent beam, the processor further comprises: determining a first neighboring beam using the assigned beam and the beam neighbor order; determining a second adjacent beam using the assigned beam and the beam adjacent order, where the first adjacent beam is different from the second adjacent beam; The apparatus of claim 1 , further configured to:

12. To determine the at least one adjacent beam, the processor further comprises: determining a third adjacent beam using the first adjacent beam and the beam adjacency order, wherein the third adjacent beam is adjacent to the first adjacent beam; determining a fourth adjacent beam using the second adjacent beam and the beam adjacent order, where the fourth adjacent beam is adjacent to the second adjacent beam and where the third adjacent beam is different from the fourth adjacent beam; The apparatus of claim 11 , further configured to:

13. 1. A computer-implemented method for enabling positioning reference signal (PRS) prioritization, the method comprising: receiving, at a user equipment, beam index information associated with an assigned beam of a plurality of beams of a PRS beam set, the assigned beam being associated with a highest priority for location measurements; determining, by the user equipment, a priority order for location measurements of at least one other beam of the PRS beam set using a beam adjacency order of the assigned beam and the plurality of beams in the PRS set, where the location measurements of the assigned beam are followed in priority order by location measurements of at least one adjacent beam, the at least one adjacent beam being adjacent to the assigned beam in the PRS beam set based on angular proximity; determining, by the user equipment, one or more location measurements based on the assigned beam and the at least one neighboring beam in accordance with the priority order; A computer-implemented method comprising:

14. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising at least one instruction for causing a computer or processor to perform the method of claim 13.

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