Transmission configuration for sidelink positioning reference signals

Abstract

In one aspect, the first sidelink device may receive a sidelink transmission having a configured sidelink slot format, where the configured sidelink slot format includes an allocated sidelink slot bandwidth across a set of one or more consecutive subchannels, a first set of symbols allocated to at least a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH), and a second set of symbols allocated to a first set of one or more positioning reference signals (PRSs), and the first set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth that is at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth. The first sidelink device may transmit or measure one or more of the first set of one or more PRSs.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Cross - reference to Related Applications

[0001] This patent application claims priority to Greek Patent Application No. 20220100353, filed on April 29, 2022, entitled "TRANSMISSION STRUCTURE FOR SIDELINK POSITIONING REFERENCE SIGNALS", which has been assigned to the assignee of this application and is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

[0002]

[0002] Aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to wireless communication.

Background Art

[0003]

[0003] Wireless communication systems have evolved through various generations, including first-generation (1G) analog wireless telephone services, second-generation (2G) digital wireless telephone services (including interim 2.5G and 2.75G networks), third-generation (3G) high-speed data, Internet-capable wireless services, and fourth-generation (4G) services (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE) or WiMax). Currently, many different types of wireless communication systems are in use, including cellular systems and personal communications service (PCS) systems. Examples of well-known cellular systems include the cellular analog advanced mobile phone system (AMPS), and digital cellular systems based on code division multiple access (CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), etc.

[0004]

[0004] The fifth-generation (5G) wireless standard, called New Radio (NR), enables, among other improvements, higher data transfer speeds, a larger number of connections, and better coverage. The 5G standard is designed to provide, according to the Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance, a higher data rate, more accurate positioning (e.g., based on reference signals for positioning (RS-P) such as downlink, uplink, or sidelink positioning reference signals (PRS)), and other technical enhancements compared to previous standards.

[0005]

[0005] In particular, in order to support autonomous driving application examples such as wireless communication between vehicles, between a vehicle and roadside infrastructure, and between a vehicle and a pedestrian by leveraging the increased data rate and reduced latency of 5G, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication technology is being implemented.

Summary of the Invention

[0006]

[0006] The following presents a simplified summary of one or more aspects disclosed in this specification. Therefore, the following summary should not be regarded as an extensive overview of all contemplated aspects, nor should the following summary be regarded as identifying the main or important elements of all contemplated aspects or as defining the scope of any particular aspect. Thus, the sole purpose of the following summary is to present, in a simplified form, certain concepts related to one or more aspects of the mechanisms disclosed in this specification prior to the detailed description presented below.

[0007]

[0007] In one aspect, a method of wireless communication performed by a first sidelink device includes receiving a sidelink transmission having a configured sidelink slot format including an allocated sidelink slot bandwidth over a set of one or more consecutive subchannels, a first set of symbols allocated to at least a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH), and a second set of symbols allocated to a first set of one or more positioning reference signals (PRSs), wherein the first set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth, and transmitting or measuring one or more of the one or more PRSs of the first set of one or more PRSs.

[0008]

[0008] In one aspect, a method of wireless communication performed by a first sidelink device includes an allocated sidelink slot bandwidth over a set of one or more consecutive subchannels, a first set of symbols allocated to a first set of one or more positioning reference signals (PRSs), and a second set of symbols allocated to a second set of one or more PRSs, in a configured sidelink slot format, wherein at least one of the first set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth, or at least one of the second set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth, or a combination thereof, and receiving a sidelink transmission having the configured sidelink slot format, transmitting or measuring one or more of the PRSs in the first set of one or more PRSs, and transmitting or measuring one or more of the PRSs in the second set of one or more PRSs.

[0009]

[0009] In one aspect, a first sidelink device includes a memory, at least one transceiver, and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, wherein the at least one processor is configured to receive, via the at least one transceiver, a sidelink transmission having a configured sidelink slot format including an allocated sidelink slot bandwidth over a set of one or more consecutive subchannels, a first set of symbols allocated to at least a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH), and a second set of symbols allocated to a first set of one or more positioning reference signals (PRSs), wherein the first set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth, and transmit or measure one or more of the PRSs in the first set of one or more PRSs via the at least one transceiver.

[0010]

[0010] In one aspect, the first sidelink device includes a memory, at least one transceiver, and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, and the at least one processor is configured to receive a configured sidelink slot format including an allocated sidelink slot bandwidth across a plurality of consecutive subchannels, a first set of symbols allocated to at least a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH), a second set of symbols allocated to a first set of one or more positioning reference signals (PRS) by the first sidelink device, where the first set of one or more PRS is frequency division multiplexed with the first set of symbols allocated to the PSCCH, a third set of symbols allocated to a second set of one or more PRS from a second sidelink device, where the second set of one or more PRS is allocated a bandwidth at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth, via at least one transceiver, transmit or measure one or more PRS of the first set of one or more PRS via at least one transceiver, and transmit or measure one or more PRS of the second set of one or more PRS via at least one transceiver.

[0011]

[0011] In one aspect, a first sidelink device includes a memory, at least one transceiver, and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to receive, via the at least one transceiver, a sidelink transmission having a configured sidelink slot format including an allocated sidelink slot bandwidth across a set of one or more consecutive subchannels, a first set of symbols allocated to a first set of one or more positioning reference signals (PRSs), and a second set of symbols allocated to a second set of one or more PRSs, wherein either the first set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth, or the second set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth, or a combination thereof, and to transmit or measure, via the at least one transceiver, one or more PRSs of the first set of one or more PRSs and transmit or measure, via the at least one transceiver, one or more PRSs of the second set of one or more PRSs.

[0012]

[0012] In one aspect, a first sidelink device includes means for receiving a sidelink transmission having a configured sidelink slot format including an allocated sidelink slot bandwidth across a set of one or more consecutive subchannels, a first set of symbols allocated to at least a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH), and a second set of symbols allocated to a first set of one or more positioning reference signals (PRSs), wherein the first set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth, and means for transmitting or measuring one or more PRSs of the first set of one or more PRSs.

[0013]

[0013] In one aspect, the first sidelink device includes an allocated sidelink slot bandwidth over a plurality of consecutive subchannels, a first set of symbols allocated to at least a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH), and a second set of symbols allocated to a first set of one or more positioning reference signals (PRSs) by the first sidelink device, wherein the first set of one or more PRSs is frequency division multiplexed with the first set of symbols allocated to the PSCCH; a third set of symbols allocated to a second set of one or more PRSs from the second sidelink device, wherein the second set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth that is at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth; means for receiving a sidelink transmission having a configured sidelink slot format including the first, second, and third sets of symbols; means for transmitting or measuring one or more of the first set of one or more PRSs; and means for transmitting or measuring one or more of the second set of one or more PRSs.

[0014]

[0014] In one aspect, a first sidelink device has a configured sidelink slot format including an allocated sidelink slot bandwidth over a set of one or more consecutive subchannels, a first set of symbols allocated to a first set of one or more positioning reference signals (PRSs), and a second set of symbols allocated to a second set of one or more PRSs, wherein the first set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth, or the second set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth, or a combination thereof, and means for receiving a sidelink transmission having the configured sidelink slot format, means for transmitting or measuring one or more of the one or more PRSs in the first set of one or more PRSs, and means for transmitting or measuring one or more of the one or more PRSs in the second set of one or more PRSs.

[0015]

[0015] In one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium stores computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a first sidelink device, cause the first sidelink device to receive a sidelink transmission having a configured sidelink slot format including an allocated sidelink slot bandwidth over a set of one or more consecutive subchannels, a first set of symbols allocated to at least a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH), and a second set of symbols allocated to a first set of one or more positioning reference signals (PRSs), wherein the first set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth, and to transmit or measure one or more of the one or more PRSs in the first set of one or more PRSs.

[0016] In one aspect, the non-transitory computer-readable medium stores computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a first sidelink device, cause the first sidelink device to receive a sidelink transmission having a configured sidelink slot format including an allocated sidelink slot bandwidth over a plurality of consecutive subchannels, a first set of symbols allocated to at least a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH), a second set of symbols allocated to a first set of one or more positioning reference signals (PRS) by the first sidelink device, wherein the first set of one or more PRS is frequency division multiplexed with the first set of symbols allocated to the PSCCH, and a third set of symbols allocated to a second set of one or more PRS from a second sidelink device, wherein the second set of one or more PRS is allocated a bandwidth at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth, and to transmit or measure one or more PRS of the first set of one or more PRS and transmit or measure one or more PRS of the second set of one or more PRS.

[0017]

[0017] In one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium stores computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a first sidelink device, cause the first sidelink device to: receive a sidelink transmission having a configured sidelink slot format including an allocated sidelink slot bandwidth across a set of one or more consecutive subchannels, a first set of symbols allocated to a first set of one or more positioning reference signals (PRSs), and a second set of symbols allocated to a second set of one or more PRSs, wherein at least one of the first set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth, at least one of the second set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth, or a combination thereof; transmit or measure one or more PRSs of the first set of one or more PRSs; and transmit or measure one or more PRSs of the second set of one or more PRSs.

[0018]

[0018] Other objects and advantages related to the aspects disclosed herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art based on the accompanying drawings and detailed description.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0019]

[0019] The accompanying drawings are presented to assist in the description of various aspects of the present disclosure and are provided only for purposes of illustration of the aspects and not as a limitation thereof.

Figure 1

[0020] An exemplary wireless communication system according to an aspect of the present disclosure is shown.

Figure 2A

[0021] An exemplary wireless network configuration according to an aspect of the present disclosure is shown.

Figure 2B

Figure 2C

Figure 3A

[0022] It is a simplified block diagram of some exemplary aspects of components that can be respectively employed in a user equipment (UE), a base station, and a network entity and configured to support the communications taught herein.

Figure 3B

Figure 3C

Figure 4

[0023] Shows a basic transmission scenario according to some aspects of the present disclosure.

Figure 5

[0024] Shows an exemplary sidelink deployment scenario according to some aspects of the present disclosure.

Figure 6

[0025] It is a diagram showing an exemplary frame configuration according to an aspect of the present disclosure.

Figure 7

[0026] Shows an exemplary resource pool according to some aspects of the present disclosure.

Figure 8A

[0027] It is a diagram of an exemplary sidelink slot configuration with and without feedback resources according to an aspect of the present disclosure.

Figure 8B

Figure 9

[0028] It is a diagram showing how a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) is established on a sidelink between two or more UEs according to an aspect of the present disclosure.

Figure 10

[0029] An exemplary Long Term Evolution (LTE) positioning protocol (LPP) call flow between a UE and a location server for performing a positioning operation is shown.

Figure 11

[0030] A sidelink slot format including symbols carrying channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) according to an aspect of the present disclosure is shown.

Figure 12

[0031] An exemplary procedure flow for a positioning operation between two sidelink UEs according to an aspect of the present disclosure is shown.

Figure 13

[0032] An exemplary procedure flow for a positioning operation among four sidelink UEs according to an aspect of the present disclosure is shown.

Figure 14

[0033] An exemplary sidelink slot according to an aspect of the present disclosure is shown.

Figure 15

[0034] An exemplary sidelink slot according to an aspect of the present disclosure is shown.

Figure 16

[0035] An exemplary sidelink slot according to an aspect of the present disclosure is shown.

Figure 17

[0036] An exemplary sidelink slot according to an aspect of the present disclosure is shown.

Figure 18

[0037] An exemplary method of wireless communication performed by a first sidelink device according to an aspect of the present disclosure is shown.

Figure 19

[0038] An exemplary method of wireless communication performed by a first sidelink device according to an aspect of the present disclosure is shown.

Figure 20

[0039] An exemplary method of wireless communication performed by a first sidelink device according to an aspect of the present disclosure is shown.

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0020]

[0040] Aspects of the present disclosure are provided in the following description and the related drawings directed to various examples provided for illustrative purposes. Alternative aspects may be devised without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In addition, 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.

[0021]

[0041] As used herein, the terms “exemplary” and / or “example” are used to mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any aspect described herein as “exemplary” and / or “example” should not necessarily be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects. Similarly, the term “aspect of the present disclosure” does not necessarily require that all aspects of the present disclosure include the discussed feature, advantage, or mode of operation.

[0022]

[0042] Those skilled in the art will understand that the information and signals described below may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referred to throughout the following description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, optical fields or optical particles, or any combination thereof, depending in part on the particular application, desired design, corresponding technology, and the like.

[0023]

[0043] Furthermore, many aspects will be described from the perspective of a sequence of actions that will be performed, for example, by elements of a computing device. It will be recognized that the various actions described herein can be implemented by a particular circuit (e.g., application specific integrated circuits (ASICs)), by program instructions executed by one or more processors, or by a combination of both. Additionally, the sequence(s) of actions described herein can be regarded as being fully embodied within any form of non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores a corresponding set of computer instructions that, when executed, cause the relevant processor(s) of the device to perform or cause to be performed the functionality described herein. Thus, the various aspects of the present disclosure can be embodied in several different forms, all of which are intended to fall within the scope of the claimed subject matter. Additionally, for each of the aspects described herein, a corresponding form of any such aspect can be described herein, for example, as "logic configured to" perform the described action.

[0024]

[0044] As used herein, the terms "user equipment" (UE), "vehicle UE" (V-UE), "pedestrian UE" (P-UE), and "base station" are not intended to be specific to or otherwise limited to any particular radio access technology (RAT) unless otherwise specified. In general, a UE may be any wireless communication device (e.g., a computer mounted in a vehicle, a vehicle navigation device, a mobile phone, a router, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, an asset positioning device, a wearable (e.g., a smartwatch, smart glasses, an augmented reality (AR) / virtual reality (VR) headset, etc.), a vehicle (e.g., a car, a motorcycle, a bicycle, etc.), an Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc.) used by a user to communicate via a wireless communication network. The UE may be movable or (e.g., at a particular time) stationary and may communicate with a radio access network (RAN). As used herein, the term "UE" may be referred to interchangeably as "mobile device", "access terminal" or "AT", "client device", "wireless device", "subscriber device", "subscriber terminal", "subscriber station", "user terminal" or UT, "mobile terminal", "mobile station", or variations thereof.

[0025]

[0045] V-UE is a type of UE and can be any in-vehicle wireless communication device, such as a navigation system, a warning system, a heads-up display (HUD), an on-board computer, an in-vehicle infotainment system, an automated driving system (ADS), an advanced driver assistance system (ADAS), etc. Alternatively, V-UE can be a portable wireless communication device (e.g., a mobile phone, a tablet computer, etc.) carried by a vehicle driver or a passenger in the vehicle. The term "V-UE" may refer to an in-vehicle wireless communication device or the vehicle itself, depending on the context. P-UE is a type of UE and may be a portable wireless communication device carried by a pedestrian (i.e., a user who is not driving a vehicle or riding in a vehicle). Generally, a UE can communicate with a core network via a RAN, and through the core network, the UE can be connected to an external network such as the Internet and other UEs. Of course, other mechanisms for connecting to the core network and / or the Internet, such as via a wired access network, a wireless local area network (WLAN) network (e.g., based on Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11, etc.), are also possible for the UE.

[0026]

[0046] The base station may operate according to one of several RATs communicating with the UE, depending on the network in which the base station is deployed. Alternatively, it may be called an access point (AP), network node, Node B, evolved Node B (eNB), next generation eNB (ng-eNB), new radio (NR) Node B (also referred to as gNB or g-node B), etc. The base station may be mainly used to support wireless access by the UE, including supporting data, voice, and / or signaling connections for the supported UEs. In some systems, the base station may provide only the edge node signaling function, while in other systems, the base station may provide additional control and / or network management functions. The communication link through which the UE can send signals to the base station is called the uplink (UL) channel (e.g., reverse traffic channel, reverse control channel, access channel, etc.). The communication link through which the base station can transmit signals to the UE is called the downlink (DL) channel or forward link channel (e.g., paging channel, control channel, broadcast channel, forward traffic channel, etc.). The term traffic channel (TCH) as used herein can refer to either the UL / reverse traffic channel or the DL / forward traffic channel.

[0027]

[0047] The term "base station" may refer to a single physical transmission-reception point (TRP) or multiple physical TRPs that may or may not be collocated. For example, when the term "base station" refers to a single physical TRP, that physical TRP may be an antenna of the base station corresponding to a cell (or some cell sectors) of the base station. When the term "base station" refers to multiple collocated physical TRPs, the physical TRPs may be an array of antennas of the base station (such as in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system or when the base station employs beamforming). When the term "base station" refers to multiple non-collocated physical TRPs, the physical TRPs 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 TRPs may be the serving base station that receives a measurement report from the UE and a neighboring base station whose reference radio frequency (RF) signal the UE is measuring. Since a TRP is the point from which the base station transmits and receives wireless signals, references to transmission from or reception at the base station as used herein should be understood to refer to a specific TRP of the base station.

[0028]

[0048] In some implementations that support UE positioning, the 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 send to the UE the reference RF signals to be measured by the UE and / or may receive and measure the signals transmitted by the UE. Such base stations may be referred to as positioning beacons (e.g., when transmitting RF signals to the UE) and / or location measurement units (e.g., when receiving and measuring RF signals from the UE).

[0029]

[0049] "RF signal" includes electromagnetic waves of a given frequency that propagate information through the 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, due to the propagation characteristics of the RF signal through the multipath channel, the receiver may receive multiple "RF signals" corresponding to each transmitted RF signal. The same RF signal transmitted over different paths between the transmitter and the 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 the context makes it clear that the term "signal" refers to a wireless signal or an RF signal.

[0030]

[0050] FIG. 1 shows an exemplary wireless communication system 100 according to an aspect of the present disclosure. The wireless communication system 100 (which may also be referred to as a wireless wide area network (WWAN)) may include various base stations 102 (labeled as "BS") 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 one aspect, the macrocell base stations 102 may include eNBs and / or ng-eNBs corresponding to an LTE network of the wireless communication system 100, or gNBs corresponding to an NR network of the wireless communication system 100, or a combination of both, and the small cell base stations may include femtocells, picocells, microcells, and the like.

[0031]

[0051] The base station 102 collectively forms the RAN and interfaces with the core network 170 (e.g., evolved packet core (EPC) or 5G core (5GC)) via the backhaul link 122, and one or more location servers 172 (e.g., location management function (LMF) or secure user plane location (SUPL) location platform (SLP)) via the core network 170. The location server(s) 172 may be part of the core network 170 or may be external to the core network 170. The location server 172 may be integrated with the base station 102. The UE 104 may communicate with the location server 172 directly or indirectly. For example, the UE 104 may communicate with the location server 172 via the base station 102 currently serving the UE 104. The UE 104 may also communicate with the location server 172 via another network, such as via a wireless local area network (WLAN) access point (AP) (e.g., AP 150 described below), via an application server (not shown), or via another path. For signaling purposes, the communication between the UE 104 and the location server 172 may be represented as an indirect connection (e.g., through the core network 170, etc.) or a direct connection (e.g., as shown via the direct connection 128), and intervening nodes (if any) are omitted from the signaling diagram for clarity.

[0032]

[0052] In addition to other functions, base station 102 may perform one or more functions related to transferring user data, wireless 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 distribution, non-access stratum (NAS) message delivery, NAS node selection, synchronization, RAN sharing, multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS), subscriber and device tracing, RAN information management (RIM), paging, positioning, and warning message delivery. Base stations 102 may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., through the EPC / 5GC) via a backhaul link 134, which may be wired or wireless.

[0033]

[0053] The base station 102 can communicate wirelessly with the UE 104. Each of the base stations 102 may provide communication coverage regarding its respective geographical coverage area 110. In one aspect, one or more cells may be supported by the base stations 102 within each geographical coverage area 110. A "cell" is a logical communication entity used for communication with a base station (e.g., via several frequency resources such as those referred to as carrier frequency, component carrier, carrier, band, etc.), and may be associated with an identifier (e.g., physical cell identifier (PCI), enhanced cell identifier (ECI), virtual cell identifier (VCI), cell global identifier (CGI), etc.) for distinguishing cells operating via 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. Since a cell is supported by a specific base station, the term "cell" may, depending on the context, refer to either or both the logical communication entity that supports the cell and the base station. In some cases, the term "cell" may also refer to the geographical coverage area (e.g., sector) of the base station as long as a carrier frequency is detected and can be used for communication within a portion of the geographical coverage area 110.

[0034]

[0054] The geographical coverage area 110 of the neighboring macro cell base station 102 may partially overlap (e.g., in a handover area), and some of the geographical coverage areas 110 may be significantly overlapped by a larger geographical coverage area 110. For example, the small cell base station 102’ (labeled as “SC” instead of “small cell”) may have a geographical coverage area 110’ that significantly overlaps with the geographical coverage area 110 of one or more macro cell base stations 102. A network including both small cell base stations and macro cell base stations may be known as a heterogeneous network. The heterogeneous network may also include home eNBs (HeNBs) that may provide services to a limited group known as a closed subscriber group (CSG).

[0035]

[0055] The communication link 120 between the base station 102 and the UE 104 may include uplink (also called reverse link) transmission from the UE 104 to the base station 102 and / or downlink (DL) (also called forward link) transmission from the base station 102 to the UE 104. The communication link 120 may use MIMO antenna technology including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and / or transmit diversity. The communication link 120 may be through one or more carrier frequencies. The carrier allocation 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).

[0036]

[0056] Wireless communication system 100 may further include a WLAN access point (AP) 150 that communicates with WLAN stations (STAs) 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) or a listen before talk (LBT) procedure before communicating to determine whether the channel is available.

[0037]

[0057] Small cell base station 102’ may operate in a licensed frequency spectrum and / or an unlicensed frequency spectrum. When operating in the unlicensed frequency spectrum, the small cell base station 102’ may utilize LTE technology or NR technology and employ the same 5 GHz unlicensed frequency spectrum used by the WLAN AP 150. The small cell base station 102’ that employs LTE / 5G in the unlicensed frequency spectrum may expand the coverage to the access network and / or increase the capacity of the access network. NR in the unlicensed spectrum may be referred to as NR-U. LTE in the unlicensed spectrum may sometimes be referred to as LTE-U, licensed assisted access (LAA), or MulteFire.

[0038]

[0058] Wireless communication system 100 may further include an mmW base station 180 that can operate at millimeter wave (mmW) frequencies and / or near mmW frequencies while communicating with UE 182. Extremely high frequency (EHF) is a part of RF in the electromagnetic spectrum. EHF has a range of 30 GHz to 300 GHz and a wavelength of 1 millimeter to 10 millimeters. Radio waves within this band may be called millimeter waves. Near mmW can drop down to a frequency of 3 GHz with a wavelength of 100 millimeters. The super high frequency (SHF) band ranges from 3 GHz to 30 GHz and is also called centimeter waves. Communication using the mmW / near mmW radio frequency band has high path loss and a relatively short range. The mmW base station 180 and UE 182 may utilize beamforming (transmission and / or reception) via an mmW communication link 184 to compensate for the extremely high path loss and short range. Further, in an alternative configuration, it will be understood that one or more base stations 102 may also perform transmission using mmW or near mmW and beamforming. Accordingly, it will be understood that the above examples are merely examples and should not be construed as limiting the various aspects disclosed herein.

[0039]

[0059] Transmission beamforming is a technique for concentrating RF signals in a specific direction. Conventionally, when a network node (e.g., a base station) broadcasts an RF signal, it broadcasts the signal in all directions (omnidirectionally). Using transmission beamforming, the network node determines where a given target device (e.g., a UE) is located (with respect to the transmitting network node) and emits a stronger downlink RF signal in that specific direction, thereby providing a faster and more powerful RF signal to the receiving device(s) (from the perspective of data rate). To vary the directivity of the RF signal when transmitting, the network node can control the phase and relative amplitude of the RF signal at each of one or more transmitters that are broadcasting the RF signal. For example, the network node can use an array of antennas (also called a "phased array" or "antenna array") that can create a beam of RF waves that can be "steered" to point in different directions without actually moving the antennas. Specifically, the RF currents from the transmitters are supplied to the individual antennas in an appropriate phase relationship such that the radio waves from the separate antennas are combined to cancel out and suppress radiation in unwanted directions while increasing radiation in the desired direction.

[0040]

[0060] The transmitted beam may be quasi-collocated, which means that, regardless of whether the transmitting antennas of the network node itself are physically collocated, the receiver (e.g., UE) sees the transmitted beam as having the same parameters. In NR, there are four types of quasi-co-location (QCL) relationships. Specifically, a given type of QCL relationship means that some parameters for a second reference RF signal on a second beam can be derived from information about a source reference RF signal on a source beam. Thus, if the source reference RF signal is of 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 a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is of QCL type B, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and Doppler spread of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is of QCL type C, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and average delay of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is of QCL type D, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the spatial reception parameters of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel.

[0041]

[0061] In receive beamforming, a receiver uses a receive beam to amplify RF signals detected on a given channel. For example, the receiver can increase the gain setting of an array of antennas in that direction and / or adjust the phase setting to amplify (e.g., increase its gain level) an RF signal received from a particular direction. Thus, when a receiver is said to beamform in a certain direction, it means that the beam gain in that direction is higher than the beam gain along other directions, or that the beam gain in that direction is the highest compared to the beam gains in that direction of all other receive beams available to the receiver. This results in a stronger received signal strength (e.g., reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR), etc.) of the RF signal received from that direction.

[0042]

[0062] Transmit and receive beams may be spatially related. Spatial relationship means that parameters for a second beam (e.g., transmit beam or receive beam) for a second reference signal can be derived from information about a first beam (e.g., receive beam or transmit beam) for a first reference signal. For example, a UE may receive a reference downlink reference signal (e.g., synchronization signal block (SSB)) from a base station using a particular receive beam. The UE can then form a transmit beam for sending an uplink reference signal (e.g., sounding reference signal (SRS)) to that base station based on the parameters of the receive beam.

[0043]

[0063] Note that the "downlink" beam can be either a transmission beam or a reception beam, depending on the entity that forms it. For example, when the base station forms a downlink beam to transmit a reference signal to the UE, the downlink beam is a transmission beam. However, when the UE forms a downlink beam, it is a reception beam for receiving the downlink reference signal. Similarly, the "uplink" beam can be either a transmission beam or a reception beam, depending on the entity that forms it. For example, when the base station forms an uplink beam, it is an uplink reception beam, and when the UE forms an uplink beam, it is an uplink transmission beam.

[0044]

[0064] The electromagnetic spectrum is often subdivided into various classes, bands, channels, etc. based on frequency / wavelength. In 5G NR, two initial operating bands are identified as frequency range designations FR1 (410 MHz to 7.125 GHz) and FR2 (24.25 GHz to 52.6 GHz). Although a portion of FR1 is higher than 6 GHz, it should be understood that FR1 is often (interchangeably) referred to as the "sub-6 GHz" band in various documents and papers. Similar nomenclature issues can arise with respect to FR2, which, despite being different from the extremely high frequency (EHF) band (30 GHz to 300 GHz) identified by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) as the "millimeter wave" band, is often (interchangeably) referred to as the "millimeter wave" band in documents and papers.

[0045]

[0065] The frequency between FR1 and FR2 is often referred to as the intermediate band frequency. In recent 5G NR research, the operating band for these intermediate band frequencies is identified as frequency range designation FR3 (7.125 GHz to 24.25 GHz). The frequency bands included within FR3 may inherit FR1 characteristics and / or FR2 characteristics, and thus, in effect, the features of FR1 and / or FR2 can be extended to the intermediate band frequencies. Additionally, higher frequency bands are currently being explored to extend 5G NR operation beyond 52.6 GHz. For example, three higher operating bands are identified as frequency range designations FR4a or FR4-1 (52.6 GHz to 71 GHz), FR4 (52.6 GHz to 114.25 GHz), and FR5 (114.25 GHz to 300 GHz). Each of these higher frequency bands is included within the EHF band.

[0046]

[0066] With the above aspects in mind, unless specifically described otherwise, terms such as "sub-6 GHz" as used in this specification may broadly represent frequencies that can be less than 6 GHz, can be within FR1, or can include intermediate band frequencies. Furthermore, unless otherwise specified, terms such as "millimeter wave" as used in this specification may, in some cases, broadly represent frequencies that can include intermediate band frequencies, frequencies that can be within the ranges of FR2, FR4, FR4-a or FR4-1, and / or FR5, or frequencies that can be within the EHF band.

[0047]

[0067] 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 that operates on the primary frequency (e.g., FR1) used by the UE104 / 182 and the cell where the UE104 / 182 performs the initial radio resource control (RRC) connection establishment procedure or starts the RRC connection re-establishment procedure. The primary carrier carries all common control channels and UE-specific control channels and can be a carrier within the licensed frequency (however, it is not always the case). The secondary carrier can be configured when an RRC connection is established between the UE104 and the anchor carrier and is a carrier that operates on a second frequency (e.g., FR2) that can be used to provide additional radio resources. In some cases, the secondary carrier can be a carrier within the unlicensed frequency. Since both the primary uplink carrier and the primary downlink carrier are usually UE-specific, the secondary carrier is assumed to contain only the necessary signaling information and signals. For example, signaling information and signals that are UE-specific should not exist within the secondary carrier. This means that different UE104 / 182 within a cell can have different downlink primary carriers. The same applies to the uplink primary carrier. The network can change the primary carrier of any UE104 / 182 at any time. This is done, for example, to balance the load on different carriers. Terms such as "cell", "serving cell", "component carrier", "carrier frequency", etc. can be used interchangeably since the "serving cell" (regardless of PCell or SCell) corresponds to the carrier frequency / component carrier through which several base stations communicate.

[0048]

[0068] For example, still referring to FIG. 1, one of the frequencies utilized by macrocell base station 102 can be an anchor carrier (or "PCell"), and the other frequencies utilized by macrocell base station 102 and / or mmW base station 180 can be secondary carriers ("SCells"). By simultaneously transmitting and / or receiving on multiple carriers, UE 104 / 182 can significantly increase its data transmission and / or reception rate. For example, two 20 MHz carriers aggregated within a multi-carrier system would, in theory, result in a doubling of the data rate (i.e., 40 MHz) compared to the data rate achieved by a single 20 MHz carrier.

[0049]

[0069] In the example of FIG. 1, any of the illustrated UEs (shown in FIG. 1 as a single UE 104 for simplicity) can receive signals 124 from one or more earth-orbiting space vehicles (SVs) 112 (e.g., satellites). In one aspect, SV 112 can be part of a satellite positioning system that UE 104 can use as an independent source of location information. A satellite positioning system is typically arranged to enable a receiver (e.g., UE 104) to determine its location on or above the earth, at least in part based on positioning signals received from a transmitter (e.g., signal 124), and includes a system of transmitters (e.g., SV 112). Such transmitters typically send signals marked with a set number of repetitions of a pseudo-random noise (PN) code. Although typically located within SV 112, transmitters can sometimes be located on a ground-based control station, base station 102, and / or another UE 104. UE 104 may include one or more dedicated receivers specifically designed to receive signals 124 for deriving geolocation information from SV 112.

[0050]

[0070] In a satellite positioning system, the use of signal 124 may be associated with use involving one or more global and / or regional navigation satellite systems, or may be enabled in another way for such use, and may be enhanced by various satellite-based augmentation systems (SBAS). For example, SBAS may include augmentation systems that provide integrity information, error correction, etc., such as the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), the Multi-functional Satellite Augmentation System (MSAS), the Global Positioning System (GPS) assisted Geo Augmented Navigation, or the GPS and Geo Augmented Navigation system (GAGAN). Accordingly, the satellite positioning system as used herein may include any combination of one or more global and / or regional navigation satellites associated with such one or more satellite positioning systems.

[0051]

[0071] In one aspect, SV112 can be part of one or more non-terrestrial networks (NTNs) in addition to or as an alternative. In an NTN, SV112 is connected to an earth station (also referred to as a ground station, NTN gateway, or gateway), which is then connected to an element in the 5G network, such as a modified base station 102 (without a terrestrial antenna) or a network node in the 5GC. This element then provides access to other elements in the 5G network and ultimately to entities external to the 5G network, such as Internet web servers and other user devices. In this way, UE104 can receive communication signals (e.g., signal 124) from SV112 instead of or in addition to communication signals from terrestrial base station 102.

[0052]

[0072] In particular, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication technologies are being implemented to support intelligent transportation systems (ITS) applications such as wireless communication between vehicles (vehicle-to-vehicle, V2V), between vehicles and roadside infrastructure (vehicle-to-infrastructure, V2I), and between vehicles and pedestrians (vehicle-to-pedestrian, V2P), by leveraging the increased data rates and reduced latency of NR. The goal is for vehicles to be able to sense the environment around them and communicate that information to other vehicles, infrastructure, and personal mobile devices. Such vehicle communication enables improvements in safety, mobility, and the environment that current technologies cannot provide. When fully implemented, this technology is expected to reduce collisions between non-impaired vehicles by 80%.

[0053]

[0073] Still referring to FIG. 1, the wireless communication system 100 may include a plurality of V-UEs 160 that can communicate with the base station 102 via a communication link 120 using a Uu interface (i.e., an air interface between the UE and the base station). The V-UEs 160 can also communicate directly with each other via a wireless sidelink 162, communicate with a roadside unit (RSU) 164 (roadside access point) via a wireless sidelink 166, or communicate with a sidelink-capable UE 104 via a wireless sidelink 168 using a PC5 interface (i.e., an air interface between sidelink-capable UEs). A wireless sidelink (or simply "sidelink") is compliant with core cellular (e.g., LTE, NR) standards that enable direct communication between two or more UEs without the need for communication to pass through a base station. Sidelink communication can be unicast or multicast and can be used for device-to-device (D2D) media sharing, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication (e.g., cellular V2X (cV2X) communication, enhanced V2X (eV2X) communication, etc.), emergency rescue applications, and the like. One or more of the groups of V-UEs 160 that utilize sidelink communication may be within the geographical coverage area 110 of the base station 102. Other V-UEs 160 within such a group may be outside the geographical coverage area 110 of the base station 102 or may otherwise be unable to receive transmissions from the base station 102. In some cases, a group of V-UEs 160 that communicate via sidelink communication may utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system in which each V-UE 160 transmits to all other V-UEs 160 within the group. In some cases, the base station 102 facilitates the scheduling of resources for sidelink communication. In other cases, sidelink communication is performed between V-UEs 160 without the involvement of the base station 102.

[0054]

[0074] In one aspect, the sidelinks 162, 166, 168 may operate on a target wireless communication medium, and such a wireless communication medium may be shared with other wireless communications between other vehicles and / or infrastructure access points, and other RATs. A "medium" may be composed of one or more time, frequency, and / or spatial communication resources associated with wireless communication between one or more transmitter / receiver pairs (e.g., including one or more channels over one or more carriers).

[0055]

[0075] In one aspect, the sidelinks 162, 166, 168 may be cV2X links. The first generation of cV2X is standardized in LTE, and the next generation is expected to be defined in NR. cV2X is a cellular technology that also enables device-to-device communication. In the United States and Europe, cV2X is expected to operate in the licensed ITS band at sub-6 GHz. Other bands may be allocated in other countries. Thus, as a specific example, the target medium utilized by the sidelinks 162, 166, 168 may correspond to at least a portion of the sub-6 GHz licensed ITS frequency band. However, the present disclosure is not limited to this frequency band or cellular technology.

[0056]

[0076] In one aspect, the sidelinks 162, 166, 168 may be dedicated short-range communications (DSRC) links. DSRC is a one-way or two-way, short- to medium-range wireless communication protocol that uses the wireless access for vehicular environments (WAVE) protocol, also known as IEEE 802.11p, for V2V, V2I, and V2P communications. IEEE 802.11p is an approved amendment to the IEEE 802.11 standard and operates in the licensed ITS band of 5.9 GHz (5.85 - 5.925 GHz) in the United States. In Europe, IEEE 802.11p operates in the ITS G5A band (5.875 - 5.905 MHz). In other countries, other bands may be allocated. The V2V communication briefly described above is generally performed in the United States on a safety channel, which is a dedicated 10 MHz channel for safety purposes. The rest of the DSRC band (the total bandwidth is 75 MHz) is targeted at other services for drivers, such as road regulations, toll collection, and parking automation. Thus, as a specific example, the subject medium utilized by the sidelinks 162, 166, 168 may correspond to at least a portion of the 5.9 GHz licensed ITS frequency band.

[0057]

[0077] Alternatively, the target medium may correspond to at least a portion of an unlicensed frequency band shared among various RATs. Different licensed frequency bands are reserved for some communication systems (e.g., by a government agency such as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the United States), but these systems, especially those employing small cell access points, have recently extended their operation to unlicensed frequency bands such as the Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure (U-NII) band used by wireless local area network (WLAN) technologies, most notably the IEEE 802.11x WLAN technology commonly referred to as "Wi-Fi". Exemplary systems of this type include various variants such as CDMA systems, TDMA systems, FDMA systems, orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA) systems, single-carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) systems, and the like.

[0058]

[0078] Communication between V-UEs 160 is referred to as V2V communication, communication between a V-UE 160 and one or more RSU 164 is referred to as V2I communication, and communication between a V-UE 160 and one or more UEs 104 (where UE 104 is a P-UE) is referred to as V2P communication. V2V communication between V-UEs 160 may include, for example, information about the position, speed, acceleration, direction of travel, and other vehicle data of the V-UE 160. V2I information received at a V-UE 160 from one or more RSU 164 may include, for example, traffic regulations, parking automation information, and the like. V2P communication between a V-UE 160 and a UE 104 may include, for example, information about the position, speed, acceleration, and direction of travel of the V-UE 160, and the position, speed (e.g., if UE 104 is carried by a user on a bicycle), and direction of travel of the UE 104.

[0059]

[0079] Although only two of the UEs are illustrated as V-UEs (V-UE 160) in FIG. 1, it should be noted that any of the illustrated UEs (e.g., UE 104, 152, 182, 190) may be V-UEs. In addition, although only V-UE 160 and a single UE 104 are illustrated as being connected via sidelink, any of the UEs shown in FIG. 1 may be capable of sidelink communication, regardless of whether they are V-UEs, P-UEs, etc. Further, although only UE 182 was described as being capable of beamforming, any of the illustrated UEs including V-UE 160 may be capable of beamforming. If V-UEs 160 are able to perform beamforming, they may beamform towards each other (i.e., towards other V-UEs 160), towards RSU 164, towards other UEs (e.g., UE 104, 152, 182, 190), etc. Thus, in some cases, V-UE 160 may utilize beamforming on sidelinks 162, 166, and 168.

[0060]

[0080] The wireless communication system 100 may further include one or more UEs, such as UE 190, that are indirectly connected to one or more communication networks via one or more device-to-device (D2D) peer-to-peer (P2P) links. In the example of FIG. 1, UE 190 has a D2D P2P link 192 with one of UE 104 that is connected to one of base stations 102 (e.g., UE 190 may indirectly obtain a cellular connection through it), and a D2D P2P link 194 with WLAN STA 152 that is connected to WLAN AP 150 (UE 190 may indirectly obtain a WLAN-based Internet connection through it). In one example, D2D P2P links 192 and 194 may be supported using any well-known D2D RAT, such as LTE Direct (LTE-D), WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth®. As another example, D2D P2P links 192 and 194 may be sidelinks as described above with respect to sidelinks 162, 166, and 168.

[0061]

[0081] FIG. 2A shows an exemplary wireless network configuration 200. For example, 5GC 210 (also referred to as Next Generation Core (NGC)) can be functionally regarded as control plane (C plane) functions 214 (e.g., UE registration, authentication, network access, gateway selection, etc.) and user plane (U plane) functions 212 (e.g., UE gateway function, access to data network, IP routing, etc.) that operate collaboratively to form a core network. User plane interface (NG-U) 213 and control plane interface (NG-C) 215 connect gNB 222 to 5GC 210, specifically to user plane function 212 and control plane function 214, respectively. In an additional configuration, ng-eNB 224 may also be connected to 5GC 210 via NG-C 215 to the control plane function 214 and NG-U 213 to the user plane function 212. Further, ng-eNB 224 may communicate directly with gNB 222 via a backhaul connection 223. In some configurations, Next Generation RAN (NG-RAN) 220 may have one or more gNB 222, while other configurations include one or more of either ng-eNB 224 and gNB 222. Either gNB 222 or ng-eNB 224 (or both) may communicate with one or more UEs 204 (e.g., any of the UEs described herein).

[0062]

[0082] Another optional aspect may include a location server 230 that may communicate with the 5GC 210 to provide location assistance to the UE(s) 204. The location server 230 may be implemented as a plurality of distinct servers (e.g., physically distinct servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively, each may correspond to a single server. The location server 230 may be configured to support one or more location services for the UE 204 that can connect to the location server 230 via the core network, via the 5GC 210, and / or via the Internet (not shown). Further, the location server 230 may be integrated within the components of the core network or, alternatively, may be external to the core network (e.g., a third-party server such as an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) server or a service server).

[0063]

[0083] Figure 2B shows another exemplary wireless network configuration 240. 5GC 260 (which may correspond to 5GC 210 in Figure 2A) can be regarded as functionally including a control plane function provided by an access and mobility management function (AMF) 264 that operates cooperatively to form a core network (i.e., 5GC 260), and a user plane function provided by a user plane function (UPF) 262. The functions of AMF 264 include registration management, connection management, reachability management, mobility management, lawful interception, transport for session management (SM) messages between one or more UEs 204 (e.g., any of the UEs described herein) and a session management function (SMF) 266, a transparent proxy service for routing SM messages, access authentication and authorization, transport for short message service (SMS) messages between UE 204 and a short message service function (SMSF) (not shown), and security anchor functionality (SEAF). AMF 264 also interacts with an authentication server function (AUSF) (not shown) and UE 204 and receives an intermediate key established as a result of the UE 204 authentication process. In the case of authentication based on a universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) subscriber identity module (USIM), AMF 264 retrieves security material from the AUSF. The functions of AMF 264 also include security context management (SCM). SCM receives from SEAF a key that SCM uses to derive an access network specific key.The functionality of the AMF 264 also includes location service management for regulatory services, transport of location service messages between the UE 204 and the Location Management Function (LMF) 270 (acting as the location server 230), transport of location service messages between the NG-RAN 220 and the LMF 270, EPS bearer identifier allocation for interacting with the Evolved Packet System (EPS), and UE 204 mobility event notification. In addition, the AMF 264 also supports functions for non-3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project) access networks.

[0064]

[0084] The functions of the UPF 262 include acting as an anchor point for RAT-in / RAT-out mobility (when applicable), acting as an external protocol data unit (PDU) session point of interconnection to a data network (not shown), performing packet routing and forwarding, packet inspection, user plane policy rule enforcement (e.g., gating, redirection, traffic steering), lawful interception (user plane collection), traffic usage reporting, quality of service (QoS) handling for the user plane (e.g., uplink / downlink rate enforcement, reflective QoS marking in the downlink), uplink traffic verification (mapping from service data flow (SDF) to QoS flow), transport level packet marking in the uplink and downlink, downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering, and sending and forwarding one or more "end markers" to the source RAN node. The UPF 262 may also support the transfer of location service messages on the user plane between the UE 204 and a location server such as the SLP 272.

[0065]

[0085] The functions of the SMF266 include session management, UE Internet protocol (IP) address allocation and management, selection and control of user plane functions, configuration of traffic steering in the UPF262 for routing traffic to appropriate destinations, some controls for policy enforcement and QoS, and downlink data notification. The interface through which the SMF266 communicates with the AMF264 is called the N11 interface.

[0066]

[0086] Another optional aspect may include an LMF270 that may communicate with the 5GC260 to provide location assistance to the UE204. The LMF270 may be implemented as a plurality of distinct servers (e.g., physically distinct servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively, each may correspond to a single server. The LMF270 may be configured to support one or more location services for the UE204 that can connect to the LMF270 via the core network, the 5GC260, and / or the Internet (not shown). The SLP272 may support similar functions as the LMF270, but the LMF270 may communicate with the AMF264, the NG-RAN220, and the UE204 via the control plane (e.g., using interfaces and protocols intended to carry signaling messages rather than voice or data), and the SLP272 may communicate with the UE204 and an external client (e.g., a third-party server 274) via the user plane (e.g., using protocols intended to carry voice and / or data such as the transmission control protocol (TCP) and / or IP).

[0067]

[0087] Another optional aspect may include communicating with the LMF 270, the SLP 272, the 5GC 260 (e.g., via the AMF 264 and / or the UPF 262), the NG-RAN 220, and / or a third-party server 274 that may be communicating with the UE 204 to obtain location information (e.g., a location estimate) for the UE 204. Thus, in some cases, the third-party server 274 may be referred to as a location service (LCS) client or an external client. The third-party server 274 may be implemented as multiple distinct servers (e.g., physically distinct 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.

[0068]

[0088] The user plane interface 263 and the control plane interface 265 connect the 5GC 260, specifically the UPF 262 and the AMF 264, to one or more gNBs 222 and / or ng-eNBs 224 in the NG-RAN 220, respectively. The interface between the gNB(s) 222 and / or ng-eNB(s) 224 and the AMF 264 is called the "N2" interface, and the interface between the gNB(s) 222 and / or ng-eNB(s) 224 and the UPF 262 is called the "N3" interface. The gNB(s) 222 and / or ng-eNB(s) 224 in the NG-RAN 220 may communicate directly with each other via a backhaul connection 223 called the "Xn-C" interface. One or more of the gNB 222 and / or ng-eNB 224 may communicate with one or more UEs 204 via a wireless interface called the "Uu" interface.

[0069]

[0089] The functionality of gNB 222 can be split between a gNB central unit (gNB-CU) 226, one or more gNB distributed units (gNB-DUs) 228, and one or more gNB radio units (gNB-RUs) 229. The gNB-CU 226 is a logical node that includes base station functions such as transferring user data, mobility control, radio access network sharing, positioning, session management, etc., except for those functions that are exclusively assigned to the gNB-DU(s) 228. More specifically, the gNB-CU 226 generally hosts the radio resource control (RRC), service data adaptation protocol (SDAP), and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) protocols of gNB 222. The gNB-DU 228 is a logical node that generally hosts the radio link control (RLC) and media access control (MAC) layers of gNB 222. Its operation is controlled by the gNB-CU 226. One gNB-DU 228 can support one or more cells, and one cell is supported by only one gNB-DU 228. The interface 232 between the gNB-CU 226 and one or more gNB-DUs 228 is called the "F1" interface. The physical (PHY) layer functionality of gNB 222 is generally hosted by one or more stand-alone gNB-RUs 229 that perform functions such as power amplification and signal transmission / reception. The interface between the gNB-DU 228 and the gNB-RU 229 is called the "Fx" interface. Thus, the UE 204 communicates with the gNB-CU 226 via the RRC, SDAP, and PDCP layers, with the gNB-DU 228 via the RLC and MAC layers, and with the gNB-RU 229 via the PHY layer.

[0070]

[0090] The deployment of a communication system such as a 5G NR system can be configured in multiple ways using various components or parts. In a 5G NR system or network, network devices such as network nodes, network entities, network mobility elements, RAN nodes, core network nodes, network elements, or base stations, or one or more units (or one or more components) that implement base station functionality can be implemented in an integrated or separated architecture. For example, a base station (such as a Node B (NB), evolved NB (eNB), NR base station, 5G NB, access point (AP), transmit receive point (TRP), or cell, etc.) can be implemented as an integrated base station (also known as a stand-alone base station or a monolithic base station) or a separated base station.

[0071]

[0091] An integrated base station can be configured to utilize a radio protocol stack that is physically or logically integrated within a single RAN node. A separated base station can be configured to utilize a protocol stack that is physically or logically distributed among two or more units (such as one or more central units or centralized units (CUs), one or more distributed units (DUs), or one or more radio units (RUs), etc.). In some aspects, the CU may be implemented within a RAN node, one or more DUs may be collocated with the CU, or alternatively, one or more DUs may be geographically or virtually distributed across one or more other RAN nodes. The DU can be implemented to communicate with one or more RUs. Each of the CU, DU, and RU can also be implemented as a virtual unit, i.e., a virtual central unit (VCU), a virtual distributed unit (VDU), or a virtual radio unit (VRU).

[0072]

[0092] The operation or network design of a base station type may consider the aggregation characteristics of base station functions. For example, a distributed base station can be used in an integrated access backhaul (IAB) network, an open radio access network (O-RAN, such as a network configuration supported by the O-RAN Alliance), or a virtualized radio access network (vRAN, also known as a cloud radio access network (C-RAN)). Non-aggregation may include dispersing functions across two or more units at various physical locations and virtually dispersing functions for at least one unit, which may enable flexibility in network design. The various units of a distributed base station, or a distributed RAN architecture, can be configured for wired or wireless communication with at least one other unit.

[0073]

[0093] Figure 2C shows an exemplary distributed base station architecture 250 according to an aspect of the present disclosure. The distributed base station architecture 250 can communicate directly with a core network 267 (e.g., 5GC 210, 5GC 260) via a backhaul link, or indirectly with the core network 267 through one or more distributed base station units (such as a near real-time (near RT) RAN intelligent controller (RIC) 259 via an E2 link, or a non-real-time (non RT) RIC 257 associated with a Service Management and Orchestration (SMO) framework 255, or both), and may include one or more central units (CUs) 280 (e.g., gNB-CU 226). The CU 280 may communicate with one or more distributed units (DUs) 285 (e.g., gNB-DU 228) via respective midhaul links such as an F1 interface. The DU 285 may communicate with one or more radio units (RUs) 287 (e.g., gNB-RU 229) via respective fronthaul links. The RU 287 can communicate with respective UEs 204 via one or more radio frequency (RF) access links. In some implementations, the UE 204 may be served simultaneously by multiple RUs 287.

[0074]

[0094] Each of the units, namely, CU280, DU285, RU287, and the quasi-RT RIC259, non-RT RIC257, and SMO framework 255, may include one or more interfaces configured to receive or transmit signals, data, or information (collectively, signals) via a wired or wireless transmission medium, or may be coupled to such one or more interfaces. Each of the units, or an associated processor or controller that provides instructions to the communication interface of the unit, may be configured to communicate with one or more of the other units via the transmission medium. For example, a unit may include a wired interface configured to receive or transmit signals to one or more of the other units via a wired transmission medium. Additionally, the units may include a wireless interface that may include a receiver, a transmitter, or a transceiver (such as a radio frequency (RF) transceiver) configured to receive, transmit, or both receive and transmit signals to one or more of the other units via a wireless transmission medium.

[0075]

[0095] In some aspects, CU280 may host one or more upper layer control functions. Such control functions can include radio resource control (RRC), packet data convergence protocol (PDCP), service data adaptation protocol (SDAP), and the like. Each control function can be implemented using an interface configured to communicate signals with other control functions hosted by CU280. CU280 can be configured to handle user plane functions (i.e., Central Unit - User Plane (CU-UP)), control plane functions (i.e., Central Unit - Control Plane (CU-CP)), or a combination thereof. In some implementations, CU280 can be logically divided into one or more CU-UP units and one or more CU-CP units. The CU-UP units can communicate bidirectionally with the CU-CP units via an interface such as an E1 interface when implemented in an O-RAN configuration. CU280 can be implemented to communicate with DU285 as needed for network control and signaling.

[0076]

[0096] DU285 may correspond to a logical unit that includes one or more base station functions for controlling the operation of one or more RU287. In some embodiments, DU285 may host one or more of the radio link control (RLC) layer, the media access control (MAC) layer, and one or more upper physical (PHY) layers (such as modules related to forward error correction (FEC) encoding and decoding, scrambling, modulation and demodulation, etc.) at least partially according to function splitting such as that defined by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). In some embodiments, DU285 may further host one or more lower PHY layers. Each layer (or module) can be implemented using an interface configured to communicate signals with other layers (and modules) hosted by DU285 or with control functions hosted by CU280.

[0077]

[0097] The lower layer functions can be implemented by one or more RU287. In some deployments, the RU287 controlled by DU285 may correspond to a logical node that hosts an RF processing function, or lower PHY layer functions (such as performing fast Fourier transform (FFT), inverse FFT (iFFT), digital beamforming, physical random access channel (PRACH) extraction and filtering, etc.), or both, at least partially based on function splitting such as lower layer function splitting. In such an architecture, the RU(s) 287 can be implemented to handle wireless (over the air, OTA) communication with one or more UE204. In some implementations, the real-time and non-real-time modes of control plane and user plane communication with the RU(s) 287 can be controlled by the corresponding DU285. In some scenarios, this configuration may enable DU(s) 285 and CU280 to be implemented in a cloud-based RAN architecture such as a vRAN architecture.

[0078]

[0098] The SMO framework 255 can be configured to support the RAN deployment and provisioning of non-virtualized and virtualized network elements. In the case of non-virtualized network elements, the SMO framework 255 can be configured to support the deployment of dedicated physical resources for RAN coverage requirements that are managed via an operation and maintenance interface (such as an O1 interface). In the case of virtualized network elements, the SMO framework 255 can be configured to interact with a cloud computing platform (such as an Open Cloud (O-Cloud) 269) to perform network element lifecycle management (such as instantiating virtualized network elements) via a cloud computing platform interface (such as an O2 interface). Such virtualized network elements can include, but are not limited to, a CU 280, a DU 285, an RU 287, and a Near RT RIC 259. In some implementations, the SMO framework 255 can communicate with the hardware aspects of a 4G RAN, such as an open eNB (O-eNB) 261, via an O1 interface. Additionally, in some implementations, the SMO framework 255 can communicate directly with one or more RUs 287 via an O1 interface. The SMO framework 255 may also include a Non-RT RIC 257 configured to support the functions of the SMO framework 255.

[0079]

[0099] The non-RT RIC 257 may be configured to include logical functions that enable non-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources, artificial intelligence / machine learning (AI / ML) workflows including model training and updating, or policy-based guidance of applications / features in the quasi-RT RIC 259. The non-RT RIC 257 may be coupled to the quasi-RT RIC 259 or communicate with the quasi-RT RIC 259 (e.g., via the A1 interface). The quasi-RT RIC 259 may be configured to include logical functions that enable quasi-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources by data collection and actions via an interface connecting the quasi-RT RIC 259 to one or more CU 280s, one or more DUs 285s, or both, and the O-eNB (e.g., via the E2 interface).

[0080]

[0100] In some implementations, the non-RT RIC 257 may receive parameters or external enrichment information from an external server to generate an AI / ML model to be deployed in the quasi-RT RIC 259. Such information may be utilized by the quasi-RT RIC 259 and may be received from non-network data sources or network functions in the SMO framework 255 or the non-RT RIC 257. In some examples, the non-RT RIC 257 or the quasi-RT RIC 259 may be configured to adjust RAN behavior or performance. For example, the non-RT RIC 257 may monitor long-term trends and patterns in performance and employ an AI / ML model to implement corrective measures through the SMO framework 255 (such as reconfiguration via O1) or via the creation of RAN management policies (such as A1 policies).

[0081]

[0101] FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C show some exemplary components (represented by corresponding blocks) that may be incorporated within a UE 302 (which may correspond to any of the UEs described herein), a base station 304 (which may correspond to any of the base stations described herein), and a network entity 306 (which may correspond to or embody any of the network functions described herein, including location server 230 and LMF 270, or alternatively, may be independent of the NG-RAN 220 and / or 5GC 210 / 260 infrastructure shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, such as a private network) to support the operations described herein. It will be appreciated that these components may be implemented in different types of devices in different implementation forms (e.g., within an ASIC, within a system-on-chip (SoC), etc.). The components shown may also be incorporated within other devices in the communication system. For example, other devices in the system may include components similar to those described to provide similar functionality. Also, a given device may include one or more of the components. For example, a device may include multiple transceiver components that enable the device to operate on multiple carriers and / or communicate via different technologies.

[0082]

[0102] UE 302 and base station 304 each include one or more Wireless Wide Area Network (WWAN) transceivers 310 and 350, and provide means (e.g., means for transmitting, receiving, measuring, synchronizing, refraining from transmitting, etc.) for communicating via one or more wireless communication networks (not shown), such as an NR network, an LTE network, a GSM network, etc. WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 can each be connected to one or more antennas 316 and 356, respectively, to communicate with other network nodes such as other UEs, access points, base stations (e.g., eNB, gNB), etc. via at least one designated RAT (e.g., NR, LTE, GSM, etc.) on a target wireless communication medium (e.g., some set of time / frequency resources in a particular frequency spectrum). WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 can be variously configured to transmit and encode signals 318 and 358 (e.g., messages, instructions, information, etc.) according to the designated RAT, and conversely, to receive and decode signals 318 and 358 (e.g., messages, instructions, information, pilots, etc.). Specifically, WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 each include one or more transmitters 314 and 354, respectively, for transmitting and encoding signals 318 and 358, and one or more receivers 312 and 352, respectively, for receiving and decoding signals 318 and 358.

[0083]

[0103] UE 302 and base station 304 also each include, in at least some cases, one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360, respectively. The short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 may each be connected to one or more antennas 326 and 366, respectively, and provide means (e.g., means for transmitting, means for receiving, means for measuring, means for synchronizing, means for refraining from transmitting, etc.) for communicating with other network nodes such as other UEs, access points, base stations, etc. via the wireless communication medium over at least one designated RAT (e.g., WiFi, LTE-D, Bluetooth®, Zigbee®, Z-Wave®, PC5, dedicated short-range communications (DSRC), wireless access for vehicular environments (WAVE), near-field communication (NFC), ultra-wideband (UWB), etc.). The short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 may be variously configured to transmit and encode signals 328 and 368 (e.g., messages, instructions, information, etc.) according to the designated RAT, and conversely, to receive and decode signals 328 and 368 (e.g., messages, instructions, information, pilots, etc.). Specifically, the short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 each include one or more transmitters 324 and 364, respectively, for transmitting and encoding signals 328 and 368, and one or more receivers 322 and 362, respectively, for receiving and decoding signals 328 and 368. As a specific example, the short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 may be a WiFi transceiver, a Bluetooth® transceiver, a Zigbee® and / or Z-Wave® transceiver, an NFC transceiver, an UWB transceiver, or a vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and / or vehicle-to-everything (V2X) transceiver.

[0084]

[0104] UE 302 and base station 304 also include satellite signal receivers 330 and 370, at least in some cases. Satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 can be connected to one or more antennas 336 and 376 respectively, and can respectively provide means for receiving and / or measuring satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378. When satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 are satellite positioning system receivers, satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378 can be Global Positioning System (GPS) signals, Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) signals, Galileo signals, Beidou signals, Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (NAVIC), Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), etc. When satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 are non-terrestrial network (NTN) receivers, satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378 can be communication signals transmitted from a 5G network (e.g., carrying control and / or user data). Satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 can each be equipped with any suitable hardware and / or software for receiving and processing satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378. Satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 can appropriately request information and operations from other systems, and at least in some cases, perform calculations using the acquired measurements to determine the locations of UE 302 and base station 304 respectively by any suitable satellite positioning system algorithm.

[0085]

[0105] Base station 304 and network entity 306 each include one or more network transceivers 380 and 390, respectively, which provide means (e.g., means for transmitting, means for receiving, etc.) for communicating with other network entities (e.g., other base stations 304, other network entities 306). For example, base station 304 may employ one or more network transceivers 380 for communicating with other base stations 304 or network entities 306 via one or more wired or wireless backhaul links. As another example, network entity 306 may employ one or more network transceivers 390 for communicating with one or more base stations 304 via one or more wired or wireless backhaul links or with other network entities 306 via one or more wired or wireless core network interfaces.

[0086]

[0106] The transceiver may be configured to communicate via a wired link or a wireless link. The transceiver (regardless of whether it is a wired transceiver or a wireless transceiver) includes a transmitter circuit configuration (e.g., transmitters 314, 324, 354, 364) and a receiver circuit configuration (e.g., receivers 312, 322, 352, 362). In some implementations, the transceiver may be an integrated device (e.g., embodying the transmitter circuit configuration and the receiver circuit configuration within a single device), in some implementations, may include separate transmitter circuit configurations and separate receiver circuit configurations, or in other implementations, may be embodied in other ways. The transmitter circuit configuration and the receiver circuit configuration of a wired transceiver (e.g., network transceivers 380 and 390 in some implementations) may be coupled to one or more wired network interface ports. The wireless transmitter circuit configuration (e.g., transmitters 314, 324, 354, 364) may include, or be coupled to, a plurality of antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such as an antenna array that enables each device (e.g., UE 302, base station 304) to perform transmission “beamforming” as described herein. Similarly, the wireless receiver circuit configuration (e.g., receivers 312, 322, 352, 362) may include, or be coupled to, a plurality of antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such as an antenna array that enables each device (e.g., UE 302, base station 304) to perform reception beamforming as described herein. In one aspect, the transmitter circuit configuration and the receiver circuit configuration may share a plurality of the same antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366) such that each device can only receive or transmit at a given time and cannot do both at the same time. The wireless transceiver (e.g., WWAN transceivers 310 and 350, short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360) may also include, for example, a network listen module (NLM) for performing various measurements.

[0087]

[0107] The various wireless transceivers (e.g., transceivers 310, 320, 350, and 360, and network transceivers 380 and 390 in some implementations) and wired transceivers (e.g., network transceivers 380 and 390 in some implementations) used in this specification may generally be characterized as a "transceiver", "at least one transceiver", or "one or more transceivers". Thus, whether a particular transceiver is a wired transceiver or a wireless transceiver may be inferred from the type of communication being implemented. For example, backhaul communication between network devices or servers generally relates to signaling via a wired transceiver, while wireless communication between a UE (e.g., UE 302) and a base station (e.g., base station 304) generally relates to signaling via a wireless transceiver.

[0088]

[0108] UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 may also include other components that can be used in conjunction with the operations as disclosed herein. UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 each include one or more processors 332, 384, and 394, for example, to provide functions related to wireless communication and to provide other processing functions. Thus, processors 332, 384, and 394 can be provided with means for processing, such as means for determining, means for calculating, means for receiving, means for transmitting, means for instructing, etc. In one aspect, processors 332, 384, and 394 can include, for example, one or more general-purpose processors, multi-core processors, central processing units (CPUs), ASICs, digital signal processors (DSPs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), other programmable logic devices or processing circuits, or various combinations thereof.

[0089]

[0109] UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 each include a memory circuit that implements memories 340, 386, and 396 (e.g., each including a memory device) to maintain information (e.g., information indicating reserved resources, thresholds, parameters, etc.). Thus, memories 340, 386, and 396 can include means for storing, means for retrieving, means for maintaining, and the like. In some cases, UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 may each include positioning components 342, 388, and 398. Positioning components 342, 388, and 398 can be part of or coupled to processors 332, 384, and 394, respectively, as hardware circuits that, when executed, cause UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 to perform the functions described herein. In other embodiments, positioning components 342, 388, and 398 can be external to processors 332, 384, and 394 (e.g., integrated with another processing system that is part of a modem processing system, etc.). Alternatively, positioning components 342, 388, and 398 can be memory modules stored in memories 340, 386, and 396, respectively, that, when executed by processors 332, 384, and 394 (or a modem processing system, another processing system, etc.), cause UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 to perform the functions described herein. FIG. 3A shows a possible arrangement of positioning component 342, which can be part of, for example, one or more WWAN transceivers 310, memory 340, one or more processors 332, or any combination thereof, or can be a stand-alone component. FIG. 3B shows a possible arrangement of positioning component 388, which can be part of, for example, one or more WWAN transceivers 350, memory 386, one or more processors 384, or any combination thereof, or can be a stand-alone component.FIG. 3C shows a possible arrangement of a positioning component 398, which may be part of, for example, one or more network transceivers 390, a memory 396, one or more processors 394, or any combination thereof, or may be a stand-alone component.

[0090]

[0110] UE302 may include one or more sensors 344 coupled to one or more processors 332 to provide means for detecting or sensing movement and / or orientation information that is independent of movement data derived from signals received by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320, and / or a satellite signal receiver 330. By way of example, sensor(s) 344 may include an accelerometer (e.g., a micro-electrical mechanical systems (MEMS) device), a gyroscope, a geomagnetic sensor (e.g., a compass), an altimeter (e.g., a barometric altimeter), and / or any other type of motion detection sensor. Further, sensor(s) 344 may include multiple different types of devices and may combine their outputs to provide movement information. For example, sensor(s) 344 may use a combination of a multi-axis accelerometer and an orientation sensor to provide the ability to calculate a position in a two-dimensional (2D) and / or three-dimensional (3D) coordinate system.

[0091]

[0111] Additionally, UE302 includes a user interface 346 that provides means for providing a display (e.g., an acoustic and / or visual display) to the user and / or for receiving user input (e.g., when a user operates a sensing device such as a keypad, a touch screen, a microphone, etc.). Although not shown, base station 304 and network entity 306 may also include a user interface.

[0092]

[0112] Looking at one or more processors 384 in more detail, in the downlink, IP packets from network entity 306 may be provided to processor 384. The one or more processors 384 may implement functions for the RRC layer, the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, the radio link control (RLC) layer, and the media access control (MAC) layer. The one or more processors 384 may perform RRC layer functions associated with broadcasting of system information (e.g., master information block (MIB), system information blocks (SIBs)), RRC connection control (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connection modification, and RRC connection release), inter-RAT mobility, and measurement configuration for UE measurement reporting; PDCP layer functions associated with header compression / decompression, security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification), and handover support functions; RLC layer functions associated with transfer of upper layer PDUs, error correction by automatic repeat request (ARQ), concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC service data units (SDUs), resegmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functions associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, scheduling information reporting, error correction, priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0093]

[0113] The transmitter 354 and the receiver 352 may implement Layer-1 (L1) functions associated with various signal processing functions. Layer 1, which includes the Physical (PHY) layer, may include error detection on the transport channel, forward error correction (FEC) coding / decoding of the transport channel, interleaving, rate matching, mapping onto the physical channel, modulation / demodulation of the physical channel, and MIMO antenna processing. The transmitter 354 handles mapping to signal constellations based on various modulation schemes (e.g., binary phase-shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK), M-phase-shift keying (M-PSK), M-quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM)). The encoded and modulated symbols may then be split into parallel streams. Each stream is then mapped to orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) subcarriers, multiplexed with reference signals (e.g., pilots) in the time and / or frequency domain, and then synthesized together using an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) to generate a physical channel carrying a time-domain OFDM symbol stream. The OFDM symbol stream is spatially precoded to generate a plurality of spatial streams. Channel estimates from the channel estimator may be used to determine the coding and modulation scheme and for spatial processing. The channel estimates may be derived from reference signals transmitted by the UE 302 and / or channel state feedback. Each spatial stream may then be provided to one or more different antennas 356. The transmitter 354 may modulate an RF carrier using individual spatial streams for transmission.

[0094]

[0114] In UE302, receiver 312 receives signals through its respective antenna(s) 316. Receiver 312 recovers the information modulated on the RF carrier and provides the information to one or more processors 332. Transmitter 314 and receiver 312 implement layer 1 functions associated with various signal processing functions. Receiver 312 may perform spatial processing on the information to recover any spatial stream directed to UE302. If multiple spatial streams are directed to UE302, they may be combined by receiver 312 into a single OFDM symbol stream. Receiver 312 then uses a fast Fourier transform (FFT) to convert the OFDM symbol stream from the time domain to the frequency domain. The frequency domain signal includes a separate OFDM symbol stream for each subcarrier of the OFDM signal. The symbols and reference signals on each subcarrier are recovered and demodulated by determining the most likely signal constellation points transmitted by base station 304. These soft decisions may be based on channel estimates calculated by a channel estimator. The soft decisions are then decoded and deinterleaved to recover the data signals and control signals initially transmitted by base station 304 on the physical channel. The data signals and control signals are then provided to one or more processors 332 that implement layer 3 (L3) and layer 2 (L2) functions.

[0095]

[0115] On the uplink, one or more processors 332 provide demultiplexing in reverse between the transport channel and the logical channel, packet reassembly, decoding, header recovery, and control signal processing to recover IP packets from the core network. One or more processors 332 are also responsible for error detection.

[0096]

[0116] Similar to the functions described in relation to downlink transmission by the base station 304, one or more processors 332 provide RRC layer functions related to system information (e.g., MIB, SIB) acquisition, RRC connection, and measurement reporting, PDCP layer functions associated with header compression / decompression and security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification), RLC layer functions associated with transfer of upper layer PDUs, error correction by ARQ, concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC SDUs, resegmentation of RLC data PDUs, and rearrangement of RLC data PDUs, and MAC layer functions associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing of MAC SDUs onto transport blocks (TBs), demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction by hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ), priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0097]

[0117] Channel estimation values derived by a channel estimator from reference signals or feedback transmitted by the base station 304 can be used by the transmitter 314 to select an appropriate coding and modulation scheme and to facilitate spatial processing. The spatial streams generated by the transmitter 314 can be provided to different antennas 316. The transmitter 314 can modulate the RF carrier using individual spatial streams for transmission.

[0098]

[0118] Uplink transmission is processed at the base station 304 in a manner similar to the method described with respect to the receiver function in the UE 302. The receiver 352 receives signals via its respective antennas 356. The receiver 352 recovers the information modulated on the RF carrier and provides the information to one or more processors 384.

[0099]

[0119] On the uplink, one or more processors 384 provide demultiplexing between the transport channel and the logical channel, packet reassembly, decoding, header restoration, and control signal processing to recover IP packets from the UE 302. The IP packets from one or more processors 384 can be provided to the core network. One or more processors 384 are also responsible for error detection.

[0100]

[0120] For the sake of convenience, the UE 302, the base station 304, and / or the network entity 306 are shown in FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C as including various components that can be configured according to the various examples described herein. However, it should be understood that the components shown may have different functions in different designs. Specifically, the various components in FIGS. 3A-3C are optional in alternative configurations, and the various aspects include configurations that may vary due to design choices, cost, device usage, or other considerations. For example, in the case of FIG. 3A, a particular implementation of the UE 302 may omit the WWAN transceiver(s) 310 (e.g., a wearable device or a tablet computer or a PC or a laptop may have Wi-Fi and / or Bluetooth capabilities without cellular capabilities), or may omit the short-range wireless transceiver(s) 320 (e.g., cellular only), or may omit the satellite signal receiver 330, or may omit the sensor(s) 344, etc. In another example, in the case of FIG. 3B, a particular implementation of the base station 304 may omit the WWAN transceiver(s) 350 (e.g., a Wi-Fi "hotspot" access point without cellular capabilities), or may omit the short-range wireless transceiver(s) 360 (e.g., cellular only), or may omit the satellite receiver 370, etc. For the sake of brevity, examples of various alternative configurations are not provided herein, but should be readily understandable to those skilled in the art.

[0101]

[0121] The various components of the UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 can be communicatively coupled to each other via data buses 334, 382, and 392, respectively. In one aspect, data buses 334, 382, and 392 can form, or be part of, the communication interfaces of the UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306, respectively. For example, if different logical entities are implemented within the same device (e.g., a gNB and a location server functionality incorporated within the same base station 304), data buses 334, 382, and 392 can provide communication between them.

[0102]

[0122] The components of FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C can be implemented in various ways. In some implementations, the components of FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C can be implemented in one or more circuits, such as, for example, one or more processors and / or one or more ASICs (which may include one or more processors). Here, each circuit may use and / or incorporate at least one memory component for storing information or executable code used by the circuit to provide this functionality. For example, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 310-346 can be implemented by the processor and memory component(s) of UE 302 (e.g., by execution of appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of processor components). Similarly, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 350-388 can be implemented by the processor and memory component(s) of base station 304 (e.g., by execution of appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of processor components). Also, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 390-398 can be implemented by the processor and memory component(s) of network entity 306 (e.g., by execution of appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of processor components). For simplicity, various operations, actions, and / or functions are described herein as being performed "by the UE", "by the base station", "by the network entity", etc. However, as will be appreciated, such operations, actions, and / or functions are actually performed by specific components or combinations of components of UE 302, base station 304, network entity 306, etc., such as processors 332, 384, 394, transceivers 310, 320, 350, and 360, memories 340, 386, and 396, positioning components 342, 388, and 398, etc.

[0103]

[0123] In some designs, network entity 306 may be implemented as a core network component. In other designs, network entity 306 may be separate from the network operator or operation of the cellular network infrastructure (e.g., NG RAN 220 and / or 5GC 210 / 260). For example, network entity 306 may be a component of a private network that is configured to communicate with UE 302 via base station 304 or (e.g., via a non-cellular communication link such as WiFi) independently of base station 304.

[0104]

[0124] NR sidelink supports three basic transmission scenarios, namely, 1) unicast where the sidelink transmission targets a specific receiving device, 2) groupcast where the sidelink transmission targets a specific group of receiving devices, and 3) broadcast where the sidelink transmission targets any device within the transmission range. FIG. 4 shows basic transmission scenarios according to some aspects of the present disclosure. Transmission scenario 400 shows a unicast scenario where UE 402-1 targets UE 402-2 for communication, excluding other UEs in the environment. Transmission scenario 404 shows a groupcast scenario where UE 402-1 targets UE 402-2, UE 402-3, and UE 402-4 for targeted communication. Transmission scenario 406 shows a broadcast scenario where all UEs within the transmission range 408 of UE 402-1 are targeted for transmission.

[0105]

[0125] Generally, regarding the relationship between sidelink communication and a cellular network overlaid therewith, there are three deployment scenarios for NR sidelink communication. FIG. 5 shows three such deployment scenarios according to some aspects of the present disclosure. Deployment scenario 500 shows an in-coverage scenario where both UE506-1 and UE506-2 are within the coverage 502 of base station 504 and communicate with base station 504 via the Uu link. In deployment scenario 500, UE506-1 and 506-2 communicate with each other via the PC5 link. To a greater or lesser extent, depending on the exact operating mode of UE506-1 and 506-2, base station 504 may control the sidelink communication. Deployment scenario 508 shows a partial coverage scenario where UE506-1 is within the coverage 502 and communicates with base station 504 via the Uu link. In deployment scenario 508, UE506-1 and 506-2 are within each other's communication range and communicate via the PC5 link. In one aspect, UE506-1 may act as a repeater for communication between base station 504 and UE506-2. Deployment scenario 510 shows an out-of-coverage operation where neither UE506-1 nor UE506-2 is within the coverage 502, but nevertheless they are within each other's communication range via the PC5 link.

[0106]

[0126] To support downlink transmission and uplink transmission between network nodes (e.g., base stations and UEs), various frame configurations may be used. FIG. 6 is a diagram 600 showing an exemplary frame configuration according to an aspect of the present disclosure. The frame configuration may be a downlink or uplink frame configuration. Other wireless communication technologies may have different frame configurations and / or different channels.

[0107]

[0127] LTE, and in some cases NR, utilize Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) on the downlink and Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiplexing (SC-FDM) on the uplink. However, unlike LTE, NR also has the option of using OFDM on the uplink. OFDM and SC-FDM divide the system bandwidth into multiple (K) orthogonal subcarriers, also commonly referred to as tones, bins, etc. Each subcarrier can be modulated with data. Generally, modulation symbols are sent using OFDM in the frequency domain and SC-FDM in the time domain. The spacing between adjacent subcarriers may be fixed, and the total number of subcarriers (K) may depend on the system bandwidth. For example, the subcarrier spacing may be 15 kilohertz (kHz), and the minimum resource allocation (resource block) may be 12 subcarriers (i.e., 180 kHz). Thus, the nominal Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) size can be equal to 128, 256, 512, 1024, or 2048 for system bandwidths of 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10, or 20 megahertz (MHz), respectively. The system bandwidth can also be divided into subbands. For example, a subband may cover 1.08 MHz (i.e., 6 resource blocks), and there may be 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 subbands for system bandwidths of 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10, or 20 MHz, respectively.

[0108]

[0128] LTE supports a single numerology (such as subcarrier spacing (SCS), symbol length, etc.). In contrast, NR may support multiple numerologies (μ), for example, subcarrier spacings of 15 kHz (μ = 0), 30 kHz (μ = 1), 60 kHz (μ = 2), 120 kHz (μ = 3), and 240 kHz (μ = 4) or more may be available. At each subcarrier spacing, there are 14 symbols per slot. For a 15 kHz SCS (μ = 0), there is 1 slot per subframe, i.e., 10 slots per frame, the slot duration is 1 millisecond (ms), the symbol duration is 66.7 microseconds (μs), and the maximum nominal system bandwidth in MHz with an FFT size of 4K is 50. For a 30 kHz SCS (μ = 1), there are 2 slots per subframe, i.e., 20 slots per frame, the slot duration is 0.5 ms, the symbol duration is 33.3 μs, and the maximum nominal system bandwidth in MHz with an FFT size of 4K is 100. For a 60 kHz SCS (μ = 2), there are 4 slots per subframe, i.e., 40 slots per frame, the slot duration is 0.25 ms, the symbol duration is 16.7 μs, and the maximum nominal system bandwidth in MHz with an FFT size of 4K is 200. For a 120 kHz SCS (μ = 3), there are 8 slots per subframe, i.e., 80 slots per frame, the slot duration is 0.125 ms, the symbol duration is 8.33 μs, and the maximum nominal system bandwidth in MHz with an FFT size of 4K is 400. For a 240 kHz SCS (μ = 4), there are 16 slots per subframe, i.e., 160 slots per frame, the slot duration is 0.0625 ms, the symbol duration is 4.17 μs, and the maximum nominal system bandwidth in MHz with an FFT size of 4K is 800.

[0109]

[0129] In the example of FIG. 6, a numerology of 15 kHz is used. Thus, in the time domain, a 10 ms frame is divided into 10 sub-frames each sized equally at 1 ms, and each sub-frame contains one time slot. In FIG. 6, time is represented horizontally (on the X-axis), with time increasing from left to right, and frequency is represented vertically (on the Y-axis), with frequency increasing (or decreasing) from bottom to top.

[0110]

[0130] A resource grid may be used to represent time slots, and each time slot contains one or more time-parallel resource blocks (RBs) (also called physical RBs (PRBs)) in the frequency domain. The resource grid is further divided into a plurality of resource elements (REs). An RE may correspond to a length of 1 symbol in the time domain and 1 sub-carrier in the frequency domain. In the numerology of FIG. 6, for a normal cyclic prefix, an RB may contain 12 consecutive sub-carriers in the frequency domain and 7 consecutive symbols in the time domain for a total of 84 REs. For an extended cyclic prefix, an RB may contain 12 consecutive sub-carriers in the frequency domain and 6 consecutive symbols in the time domain to obtain a total of 72 REs. The number of bits carried by each RE depends on the modulation scheme.

[0111]

[0131] Some of the REs may carry reference (pilot) signals (RS). The reference signals may include positioning reference signals (PRS), tracking reference signals (TRS), phase tracking reference signals (PTRS), cell-specific reference signals (CRS), channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS), demodulation reference signals (DMRS), primary synchronization signals (PSS), secondary synchronization signals (SSS), synchronization signal blocks (SSBs), sounding reference signals (SRS), etc., depending on whether the shown frame configuration is used for uplink communication or downlink communication. FIG. 6 shows an exemplary arrangement of REs carrying reference signals (labeled "R").

[0112]

[0132] The set of resource elements (REs) used for the transmission of PRS is called a "PRS resource". The set of resource elements can span multiple PRBs in the frequency domain and (such as one or more) "N" consecutive symbols within a slot in the time domain. In a given OFDM symbol in the time domain, the PRS resource occupies consecutive PRBs in the frequency domain.

[0113]

[0133] The transmission of the PRS resource within a given PRB has a specific comb size (also called "comb density"). The comb size "N" represents the subcarrier spacing (or frequency / tone spacing) within each symbol of the PRS resource configuration. Specifically, in the case of comb size "N", the PRS is transmitted on every Nth subcarrier of the symbol of the PRB. For example, in the case of comb 4, for each symbol of the PRS resource configuration, the REs corresponding to every 4th subcarrier (such as subcarriers 0, 4, 8, etc.) are used to transmit the PRS of the PRS resource. Currently, comb sizes of comb 2, comb 4, comb 6, and comb 12 are supported for DL-PRS. FIG. 6 shows an exemplary PRS resource configuration for comb 4 (spanning 4 symbols). That is, the arrangement of the shaded REs (labeled "R") indicates the comb 4 PRS resource configuration.

[0114]

[0134] Currently, the DL-PRS resources can span 2, 4, 6, or 12 consecutive symbols within a slot with a staggered pattern across the entire frequency domain. The DL-PRS resources can be configured within any downlink symbol or flexible (FL) symbol configured by the upper layer of the slot. For all the REs of a given DL-PRS resource, there can be a constant energy per resource element (EPRE). The following are the frequency offsets from symbol to symbol for comb sizes 2, 4, 6, and 12 spanning 2, 4, 6, and 12 symbols. 2-symbol comb 2: {0,1}, 4-symbol comb 2: {0,1,0,1}, 6-symbol comb 2: {0,1,0,1,0,1}, 12-symbol comb 2: {0,1,0,1,0,1,0,1,0,1,0,1}, (in the case of the example in Figure 6), 4-symbol comb 4: {0,2,1,3}, 12-symbol comb 4: {0,2,1,3,0,2,1,3,0,2,1,3}, 6-symbol comb 6: {0,3,1,4,2,5}, 12-symbol comb 6: {0,3,1,4,2,5,0,3,1,4,2,5}, and 12-symbol comb 12: {0,6,3,9,1,7,4,10,2,8,5,11}.

[0115]

[0135] A "PRS resource set" is a set of PRS resources used for the transmission of PRS signals, where each PRS resource has a PRS resource ID. In addition, the PRS resources in a PRS resource set are associated with the same TRP. The PRS resource set is identified by a PRS resource set ID and is associated with a specific TRP (identified by the TRP ID). In addition, the PRS resources in a PRS resource set have the same period, common muting pattern configuration, and the same repetition factor (such as "PRS-ResourceRepetitionFactor") across the slot. The period is the time from the first repetition of the first PRS resource of the first PRS instance to the first repetition of the same first PRS resource of the next PRS instance. The period is μ = 0, 1, 2, 3, and is 2^μ *It may have a length selected from the slots {4, 5, 8, 10, 16, 20, 32, 40, 64, 80, 160, 320, 640, 1280, 2560, 5120, 10240}. The repetition factor may have a length selected from the slots {1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 16, 32}.

[0116]

[0136] The PRS resource ID in the PRS resource set is associated with a single beam (or beam ID) transmitted from a single TRP (where the TRP can transmit one or more beams). That is, each PRS resource in the PRS resource set may be transmitted on a different beam and may thus also be referred to as a "PRS resource" or simply a "resource", or also a "beam". It should be noted that this has no meaning regarding whether the TRP and beam on which the PRS is transmitted are known to the UE.

[0117]

[0137] A "PRS instance" or "PRS occasion" is one instance of a periodically repeated time window (such as a group of one or more consecutive slots) in which the 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".

[0118]

[0138] The "positioning frequency layer" (also simply referred to as the "frequency layer") is a set of one or more PRS resource sets across one or more TRPs that have the same values for several parameters. Specifically, the set of PRS resource sets has the same subcarrier spacing and cyclic prefix (CP) type (which means that all numerologies supported for the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) are also supported for the 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" (where "ARFCN" represents "absolute radio-frequency channel number") and is an identifier / code that designates a pair of physical radio channels used for transmission and reception. The downlink PRS bandwidth may have a granularity of 4 PRB, with a minimum of 24 PRB and a maximum of 272 PRB. Currently, a maximum of four frequency layers are defined, and up to two PRS resource sets per TRP can be configured for each frequency layer.

[0119]

[0139] The concept of the frequency layer is somewhat similar to the concepts of component carriers and bandwidth parts (BWPs), but component carriers and BWPs are used by one base station (or a macrocell base station and a small cell base station) to transmit data channels, while the frequency layer is used by several (usually three or more) base stations to transmit PRS. The UE may indicate the number of frequency layers it can support when the UE transmits its positioning capabilities to the network, such as during an LTE positioning protocol (LPP) session. For example, the UE may indicate whether it can support one positioning frequency layer or four positioning frequency layers.

[0120]

[0140] Note that the terms "positioning reference signal" and "PRS" generally refer to specific reference signals used for positioning in NR systems and LTE systems. The PRS is specifically designed to provide the highest possible accuracy, coverage, and interference avoidance and suppression. In the design of an efficient PRS, special attention is paid to ensuring that the PRS has a large delay spread range, since the PRS must potentially be received from adjacent base stations that are far apart for position estimation. The term PRS is generally used in relation to downlink positioning methods, but as used herein, this term is also intended to cover other such reference signals specifically designed for positioning in downlink positioning methods and uplink positioning methods. If necessary to further distinguish the types of PRS, the downlink positioning reference signal may be referred to as "DL-PRS", the uplink positioning reference signal (e.g., SRS for positioning, PTRS) may be referred to as "UL-PRS", and the sidelink positioning reference signal may be referred to as "SL-PRS". In addition, for other types of signals (e.g., DMRS) that may be transmitted in the downlink, uplink, and / or sidelink, "DL", "UL", or "SL" may be prepended to the signal to distinguish the direction. For example, "UL-DMRS" is different from "DL-DMRS".

[0121]

[0141] Furthermore, NR side-link communication supports various signals including reference signals that are carried within a physical channel or associated with a physical channel. In this regard, DMRS is used by a side-link receiver to decode the associated side-link physical channels (e.g., Physical Side-link Control Channel (PSCCH), Physical Side-link Shared Channel (PSSCH), and Physical Side-link Broadcast Channel (PSBCH)). DMRS is sent within the associated side-link physical channels. Side-link Primary Synchronization Signal (S-PSS) and Side-link Secondary Synchronization Signal (S-SSS) can be used by a side-link receiver to synchronize to the transmitters of these signals. S-PSS and S-SSS are sent within S-SSB. Side-link Channel State Information Reference Signal (SL CSI-RS) is used to measure channel state information (CSI) at the receiver, and the channel state information (CSI) is then fed back to the transmitter. The transmitter adjusts its transmission based on the fed-back CSI. SL CSI-RS is sent within the PSSCH region of a slot. Side-link Phase-tracking reference signal (SL PT-RS) is used to mitigate the effects of phase noise caused by oscillator imperfections (especially at higher frequencies). SL PT-RS is transmitted within the PSSCH region of a slot. Side-link Positioning Reference Signal (S-PRS) is used to perform a positioning operation to determine the absolute position of a side-link device and / or the relative position of a side-link device with respect to other side-link devices. S-PRS is sent within the PSSCH region of a slot.

[0122]

[0142] In NR, only some time and frequency resources are (pre-)configured to support SL transmissions. A subset of the available SL resources is (pre-)configured to be used by some UEs for those SL transmissions. This subset of the available SL resources is called a resource pool.

[0123]

[0143] Figure 7 shows an exemplary resource pool 700 according to some aspects of the present disclosure. The resource pool consists of consecutive PRBs and consecutive or non-consecutive slots, which are (pre-)configured for SL transmission. In the frequency domain, the resource pool is divided into a (pre-)configured number L of consecutive subchannels 702, and a subchannel 704 consists of a group of consecutive PRBs within a slot 706. The number Msub of PRBs within a subchannel corresponds to the subchannel size (pre-)configured within the resource pool 700. In one aspect, the subchannel size Msub can be equal to 10, 12, 15, 20, 25, 50, 75, or 100 PRBs. A subchannel represents the minimum frequency domain unit for sidelink data transmission or reception. Sidelink transmission can use one or more subchannels. In the time domain, the slots that are part of the resource pool are (pre-)configured and occur periodically. In the example of Figure 7, the sidelink resources are shown as individual resource pool elements, and each resource element consists of a single slot 706 on a subchannel 704 that is composed of a set of common physical resource blocks (PRBSs).

[0124]

[0144] In one aspect, the slot 706 of a subchannel allocates only a (pre-)configured subset of its consecutive symbols for sidelink communication. The subset of SL symbols per slot is indicated by a start symbol and the number of consecutive symbols, and these two parameters are (pre-)configured per resource pool. The number of consecutive SL symbols can vary between 7 and 14 symbols depending on the physical channel carried within the slot.

[0125]

[0145] Sidelink communication is performed within a transmission resource pool or a reception resource pool. In the frequency domain, the minimum resource allocation unit is a subchannel (e.g., a set of consecutive PRBs in the frequency domain). In the time domain, the resource allocation is in units of 1 slot interval. However, for sidelink, some slots are not available, and some slots contain feedback resources. In addition, the sidelink resources can be (pre-)configured to occupy fewer symbols than 14 in a slot.

[0126]

[0146] Sidelink resources are configured in the Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer. The RRC configuration can be by pre-configuration (e.g., pre-loaded on the UE) or configuration (e.g., from the serving base station).

[0127]

[0147] NR sidelinks support Hybrid Automatic Repeat reQuest (HARQ) retransmissions. FIG. 8A is a diagram 800 of an exemplary slot configuration without feedback resources according to an aspect of the present disclosure. In the example of FIG. 8A, time is represented horizontally and frequency is represented vertically. In the time domain, the length of each block is 1 Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbol, and 14 symbols constitute a slot. In the frequency domain, the height of each block is 1 subchannel. Currently, the (pre-)configured subchannel size can be selected from the set of {10, 15, 20, 25, 50, 75, 100} Physical Resource Blocks (PRBs).

[0128]

[0148] In the case of a sidelink slot, the first symbol is a repetition of the preceding symbol and is used for automatic gain control (AGC) setting. This is shown by the vertical and horizontal hashing in FIG. 8A. As shown in FIG. 8A, for the sidelink, the physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) and the physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) are transmitted within the same slot. Similar to the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), the PSCCH carries control information regarding sidelink resource allocation and a description regarding the sidelink data transmitted to the UE. Similarly, similar to the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), the PSSCH carries user data for the UE. In the example of FIG. 8A, the PSCCH occupies half of the subchannel bandwidth and only three symbols. Finally, there is a gap symbol after the PSSCH.

[0129]

[0149] FIG. 8B is a diagram 850 of an exemplary slot configuration with feedback resources according to an aspect of the present disclosure. In the example of FIG. 8B, time is represented horizontally and frequency is represented vertically. In the time domain, the length of each block is one OFDM symbol, and 14 symbols constitute a slot. In the frequency domain, the height of each block is one subchannel.

[0130]

[0150] The slot configuration shown in FIG. 8B is similar to the slot configuration shown in FIG. 8A, except that the slot configuration shown in FIG. 8B includes feedback resources. Specifically, the last two symbols of the slot are dedicated to the physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH). The first PSFCH symbol is a repetition of the second PSFCH symbol for AGC setting. In addition to the gap symbol after the PSSCH, there is a gap symbol after the two PSFCH symbols. Currently, the resources for the PSFCH can be configured using a period selected from the set of slots {0, 1, 2, 4}.

[0131]

[0151] The PSCCH carries sidelink control information (SCI). The first-stage SCI (referred to as "SCI-1") is transmitted on the PSCCH and includes information for resource allocation and information for decoding the second-stage SCI (referred to as "SCI-2"). The SCI-2 is transmitted on the physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) and includes information for decoding data that is to be transmitted on the sidelink shared channel (SCH). The SCI-1 information is decodable by all UEs, but the SCI-2 information may include formats that are decodable by only some UEs. This ensures that new features can be introduced in the SCI-2 while maintaining resource reservation backward compatibility in the SCI-1.

[0132]

[0152] Both SCI-1 and SCI-2 use the physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) polar coding chain shown in FIG. 9. FIG. 9 is FIG. 900 showing how a PSSCH is established on a sidelink between two or more UEs according to an aspect of the present disclosure. Specifically, the information in the SCI-1 902 is used for resource allocation 904 (by the network or the participating UEs) for the SCI-2 906 and the PSSCH 908. Further, the information in the SCI-1 902 is used to determine / decode the content of the SCI-2 906 transmitted on the allocated resources. Thus, the receiving UE requires both the resource allocation 904 and the SCI-1 902 to decode the SCI-2 906. The information in the SCI-2 906 is then used to determine / decode the PSSCH 908.

[0133]

[0153] Figure 10 shows an exemplary Long-Term Evolution (LTE) positioning protocol (LPP) procedure 1000 between a User Equipment (UE) 1004 for performing a positioning operation and a location server (shown as a Location Management Function (LMF) 1070). As shown in Figure 10, the positioning of the UE 1004 is supported via the exchange of LPP messages between the UE 1004 and the LMF 1070. The LPP messages can be exchanged between the UE 1004 and the LMF 1070 via the serving base station of the UE 1004 (shown as the serving gNB 1002) and the core network (not shown). The LPP procedure 1000 can be used to position the UE 1004 to support various location-related services such as navigation (for the UE 1004 or for the user of the UE 1004), or for routing, or for providing an accurate location to a Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) related to an emergency call from the UE 1004 to the PSAP, or for some other reasons. The LPP procedure 1000 may also be referred to as a positioning session, and there can be multiple positioning sessions for different types of positioning methods (e.g., Downlink Time Difference of Arrival (DL-TDOA), Round Trip Time (RTT), Enhanced Cell Identity (E-CID), etc.).

[0134]

[0154] First, the UE 1004 may receive, in step 1010, a request regarding its positioning capabilities (e.g., an LPP capabilities request message) from the LMF 1070. In step 1020, the UE 1004 provides its positioning capabilities for the LPP protocol to the LMF 1070 by sending an LPP capabilities provision message indicating the positioning methods supported by the UE 1004 and the characteristics of these positioning methods to the LMF 1070. The capabilities indicated in the LPP capabilities provision message may, in some aspects, indicate the types of positioning supported by the UE 1004 (e.g., DL-TDOA, RTT, E-CID, etc.) and may indicate the capabilities of the UE 1004 to support those types of positioning.

[0135]

[0155] At stage 1020, upon receiving the LPP capability provision message, based on the indicated type(s) of positioning supported by UE1004, LMF1070 determines to use a specific type of positioning method (e.g., DL-TDOA, RTT, E-CID, etc.), and determines a set of one or more transmit and receive points (TRPs) from which UE1004 should measure the downlink positioning reference signal or to which UE1004 should transmit the uplink positioning reference signal. At stage 1030, LMF1070 sends a LPP assistance data provision message to UE1004 to identify the set of TRPs.

[0136]

[0156] In some implementations, the LPP assistance data provision message at stage 1030 may be sent by LMF1070 to UE1004 in response to a LPP assistance data request message (not shown in FIG. 10) sent by UE1004 to LMF1070. The LPP assistance data request message may include an identifier of UE1004's serving TRP and a request for the positioning reference signal (PRS) configuration of neighboring TRPs.

[0137]

[0157] At stage 1040, LMF1070 sends a request for location information to UE1004. The request may be a LPP Request Location Information message. This message typically includes information elements that define the location information type, the desired accuracy of location estimation, and the response time (i.e., the desired latency). Note that low latency requirements allow for a longer response time, while high latency requirements call for a shorter response time. However, a long response time is called high latency and a short response time is called low latency.

[0138]

[0158] In some implementations, for example, after the UE 1004 receives a request for location information at stage 1040 and then sends a request for assistance data to the LMF 1070 (for example, in an LPP assistance data request message not shown in FIG. 10), it should be noted that the LPP assistance data provision message sent at stage 1030 can be sent after the LPP location information request message at 1040.

[0139]

[0159] At stage 1050, the UE 1004 utilizes the assistance information received at stage 1030 and any additional data received at stage 1040 (for example, a desired location accuracy or a maximum response time) to perform positioning operations (for example, DL-PRS measurement, UL-PRS transmission, etc.) for the selected positioning method.

[0140]

[0160] At stage 1060, the UE 1004 can send an LPP location information provision message to the LMF 1070 that conveys the result of any measurement values obtained (for example, time of arrival (ToA), reference signal time difference (RSTD), receive-transmit (Rx-Tx), etc.) at stage 1050 and before or when any maximum response time (for example, the maximum response time provided by the LMF 1070 at stage 1040) expires. The LPP location information provision message at stage 1060 can also include the time (or times) at which the positioning measurement values were obtained and the identification information of the TRP(s) from which the positioning measurement values were obtained. It should be noted that the time between the request for location information at 1040 and the response at 1060 is the "response time" and indicates the latency of the positioning session. The LMF 1070 calculates the estimated location of the UE 1004 using an appropriate positioning technique (for example, DL-TDOA, RTT, E-CID, etc.) based at least in part on the measurement values received in the LPP location information provision message at stage 1060.

[0141]

[0161] Side - link slots may carry CSI - RS that are measured to obtain channel state information. FIG. 11 shows a side - link slot format 1100 including a symbol 1102 with CSI - RS according to an aspect of the present disclosure. The presence of CSI - RS in a side - link slot is indicated by a CSI reporting trigger bit in the SCI. The symbol 1102 of CSI - RS in the slot may be configured on PC5 - RRC. CSI and CSI - RS may be limited to unicast communication (e.g., the unicast communication described above in FIG. 4). In the example shown in FIG. 11, the side - link slot 1100 includes PSCCH information and PSSCH information, like the side - link slot format shown in FIG. 8A. Further, the bandwidth of CSI - RS is shown in FIG. 11 as being limited to the allocated PSSCH bandwidth.

[0142]

[0162] A UE and other side - link devices may be involved in a positioning operation that performs measurements on PRS transmitted via the side - link channel so that the UE can calculate range, position, angle of arrival, etc. FIG. 12 shows an exemplary procedure flow 1200 for a positioning operation between two side - link UEs, UE0 1202 and UE1 1204, according to an aspect of the present disclosure. In this example, UE0 1202 is the initiating side - link device and transmits one or more PRSs labeled as PRS0 that are measured by UE1 1204 in operation 1206. UE1 1204 transmits one or more PRSs labeled as PRS1 that are measured by UE0 1202 in operation 1208. UE1202 and 1204 may be involved in transmitting PRS measurement values in operation 1210, and the PRS measurement values are used by one or both UEs in positioning determination.

[0143]

[0163] Figure 13 shows an exemplary procedure flow 1300 for a positioning operation among four sidelink UEs, UE0 1302, UE1 1304, UE2 1306, and UE3 1308, according to an aspect of the present disclosure. In this example, the positioning operation is generally divided into a PRS transmission and measurement operation 1310 and a measurement reporting operation 1312. Also, in this example, UE0 1302 is designated as the starting sidelink device. During the first part of the PRS transmission and measurement operation 1310, UE0 1302 transmits one or more PRSs labeled as PRS0, which are measured by UE1 1304, UE2 1306, UE2 1306, and UE3 1308. UE1 1304, UE2 1306, UE2 1306, and UE3 1308 also each transmit one or more PRSs measured by UE0 1302. Here, UE1 1304 transmits one or more PRSs (labeled as PRS1), UE2 1306 transmits one or more PRSs (labeled as PRS2), and UE3 1308 transmits one or more PRSs (labeled as PRS3). This example shows the PRSs transmitted by UE1 1304, UE2 1306, and UE3 1308 as being measured only by UE0 1302, but one or more of the non-starting UEs (e.g., UE1 1304, UE2 1306, and UE3 1308) may also measure one or more of PRS1, PRS2, or PRS3. During the measurement reporting operation 1312, UE1 1304, UE2 1306, and UE3 1308 participate in a measurement reporting operation with UE0 1302 to report their measurements of PRS0 to UE0 1302, and UE0 1302 can use the measurements in a positioning determination. Other measurements may be reported during the measurement reporting operation number 1312, depending on whether UE1 1304, UE2 1306, and UE3 1308 measure PRS1, PRS2, and / or PRS3.

[0144]

[0164] The current standard does not define either sidelink resources for sidelink PRS or a sidelink physical layer configuration. Thus, some aspects of the present disclosure are directed to providing various configurations of sidelink resources and / or sidelink physical layer configurations for using PRS in sidelink positioning operations.

[0145]

[0165] Aspects of the present disclosure are directed to wireless communication performed by a first sidelink device (e.g., a first UE). In one aspect, the first sidelink device receives a sidelink transmission having a configured sidelink slot format. The configured sidelink slot format may include an allocated sidelink slot bandwidth (e.g., a transmission bandwidth) across a set of one or more contiguous subchannels, a first set of symbols allocated to the PSCCH, and a second set of symbols allocated to a first set of one or more PRSs. According to some aspects of the present disclosure, the first set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth that is at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth. In one aspect, the first sidelink device measures the first set of one or more PRSs.

[0146]

[0166] FIG. 14 shows an exemplary sidelink slot 1400 according to an aspect of the present disclosure. In this example, the sidelink slot 1400 is configured with an allocated sidelink slot bandwidth 1402. The sidelink slot 1400 includes a set of symbols 1404 allocated to the PSCCH, a set of symbols 1406a and 1406b allocated to the PSSCH, and a single symbol 1408 allocated to the PRS. The PRS may be designated for transmission of the PRS by a sidelink device (e.g., a UE) or for reception of the PRS by a sidelink device.

[0147]

[0167] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, the PRS is transmitted alone at symbol 1408 without a data signal. The bandwidth of the PRS may be at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth 1402. In some aspects, the bandwidth of the PRS may be limited to 1) the carrier bandwidth, 2) the bandwidth of the bandwidth portion used by the sidelink device, or 3) the bandwidth of the sidelink resource pool used by the sidelink device.

[0148]

[0168] According to various aspects of the present disclosure, the placement of the PRS within the sidelink slot 1400 may be 1) (pre-)configured, 2) indicated in the control information within the PSCCH, 3) indicated in the first-stage sidelink control information (SCI-1) within the PSCCH, 4) indicated in the second-stage sidelink control information (SCI-2) within the PSSCH, 5) indicated in the medium access control layer control element (MAC-CE), 6) indicated in the PC5 radio resource control (PC5-RRC) information, 7) indicated in a higher-layer message (e.g., a V2X message, a ProSe layer message, etc.), 8) indicated in the radio transmission standard, or 9) any combination thereof.

[0149]

[0169] FIG. 15 shows an exemplary sidelink slot 1500 according to an aspect of the present disclosure. In this example, the sidelink slot 1500 is composed of the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth 1502. The sidelink slot 1500 includes a set of symbols 1504 allocated to the PSCCH, a set of symbols 1506 allocated to the PSSCH, and a plurality of symbols allocated to one or more PRSs associated with the corresponding sidelink devices (e.g., a set of UEs including UE0, UE1, and UE2). In FIG. 15, the sidelink slot 1500 includes symbols for the transmission and / or reception of one or more PRSs (labeled as UE0, UE1, and UE2) associated with the corresponding sidelink devices (e.g., UE0, UE1, and UE2).

[0150]

[0170] In this example, UE0 is the initiating UE, and a set 1508 of symbols for the transmission of PRS(UE0) is allocated. The sidelink slot 1500 also includes a set 1510 of symbols allocated for the reception of PRS(UE1) from UE1 and a set 1512 of symbols allocated for the reception of PRS(UE2) from UE2. Although the PRS in this example is shown in consecutive symbols, the PRS (e.g., PRS from different UEs) can be separated from each other (e.g., by an empty symbol timing gap, a data symbol, a signal designated as a transition symbol, etc.) to allow time for the UE to transition between a transmission operation mode and a reception operation mode.

[0151]

[0171] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, the PRS in each of the sets of symbols 1508, 1510, and 1512 is transmitted without a data signal. The bandwidth of at least one of PRS(UE0, UE1, UE2) may be at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth 1502. In some aspects, the bandwidth of all of PRS(UE0, UE1, UE2) may be at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth 1502. In some aspects, the bandwidth of one or more of PRS(UE0, UE1, UE2) may be limited to 1) the carrier bandwidth, 2) the bandwidth of the bandwidth portion used by the sidelink device, or 3) the bandwidth of the sidelink resource pool used by the sidelink device.

[0152]

[0172] According to various aspects of the present disclosure, the configuration of the PRS (UE0, UE1, UE2) in the sidelink slot 1500 can be 1) (pre-)configured, 2) indicated in the control information in the PSCCH, 3) indicated in the SCI-1 in the PSCCH, 4) indicated in the SCI-2 in the PSSCH, 5) indicated in the MAC-CE, 6) the indicated PC5-RRC information, 7) indicated in a higher layer message (e.g., a V2X message, a ProSe layer message, etc.), 8) indicated in a radio transmission standard, or 9) any combination thereof.

[0153]

[0173] FIG. 16 shows an exemplary sidelink slot 1600 according to an aspect of the present disclosure. In this example, the sidelink slot 1600 is composed of an allocated sidelink slot bandwidth 1602. The sidelink slot 1600 includes a set of symbols 1504 allocated to the PSCCH and a plurality of symbols allocated to one or more PRSs, each of which is associated with a corresponding sidelink device (e.g., a set of UEs including UE0, UE1, UE2, and UE3) among a plurality of sidelink devices. In FIG. 16, the sidelink slot 1600 includes symbols for transmission and / or reception of the PRS (labeled UE0, UE1, and UE2) associated with the corresponding sidelink device (e.g., UE0, UE1, and UE2).

[0154]

[0174] In this example, UE0 is the starting UE, and a set of symbols 1606 for the transmission of PRS(UE0) is allocated. Compared with the sidelink slot 1500 shown in FIG. 15, the set of symbols 1606 may occupy symbols that are allocated to the PSSCH in some cases. Therefore, the set of symbols 1606 is frequency division multiplexed with the PSCCH 1604. The sidelink slot 1600 also includes a set of symbols 1608 allocated for the reception of PRS(UE1) from UE1, a set of symbols 1610 allocated for the reception of PRS(UE2) from UE2, and a set of symbols 1612 for the reception of PRS(UE3) from UE3. Each of the PRSs in this example is shown in consecutive symbols, but the PRSs (for example, PRSs from different UEs) may be separated from each other (for example, by empty symbol timing gaps, data symbols, signals designated as transition symbols, etc.) to allow time for the UE to transition between the transmission operation mode and the reception operation mode. Since the sidelink slot 1600 does not include the PSSCH, the PSSCH DMRS is not transmitted.

[0155]

[0175] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, the PRS in each set of symbols 1606, 1608, 1610, and 1612 is transmitted without a data signal. The bandwidth of at least one of the PRSs (UE1, UE2, UE3) may be at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth 1602. In some aspects, the bandwidth of the PRSs (UE1, UE2, UE3) may be at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth 1602. In some aspects, the bandwidth of one or more of the PRSs (UE0, UE1, UE2) may be limited to 1) the carrier bandwidth, 2) the bandwidth of the bandwidth portion used by the sidelink device, or 3) the bandwidth of the sidelink resource pool used by the sidelink device.

[0156]

[0176] According to various aspects of the present disclosure, the placement of PRS (UE0, UE1, UE2, UE3) in the sidelink slot 1600 can be 1) (pre-)configured, 2) indicated in the control information within the PSCCH, 3) indicated in the SCI-1 within the PSCCH, 4) indicated in the SCI-2 within the PSSCH, 5) indicated within the MAC-CE, 6) indicated in the PC5-RRC information, 7) indicated in a higher layer message (e.g., a V2X message, a ProSe layer message, etc.), 8) indicated in the radio transmission standard, or 9) any combination thereof.

[0157]

[0177] The exemplary sidelink slot 1600 shown in FIG. 16 includes only symbols for the PSCCH and the PRS, although alternative sidelink slot configurations are contemplated. In one aspect, one such alternative sidelink slot configuration can include a combination of a PSCCH, a PSSCH having only SCI-2, and symbols allocated to the PRS of multiple UEs. In some aspects, when the PSSCH includes only SCI-2, one or more PRSs associated with UE0 can be allocated to symbols occupied by symbols used for other data in the PSSCH, in some cases. In another alternative sidelink slot configuration, the sidelink slot configuration can include a combination of a PSCCH, a PSSCH having symbols only for SCI-2 and the sidelink shared channel (SL-SCH), and symbols allocated to the PRS of multiple UEs. According to various aspects of the present disclosure, the placement for symbols of the alternative configuration can be 1) (pre-)configured, 2) indicated in the control information within the PSCCH, 3) indicated in the SCI-1 within the PSCCH, 4) indicated in the SCI-2 within the PSSCH, 5) indicated in the MAC-CE, 6) indicated in the PC5-RRC information, 7) indicated in a higher layer message (e.g., a V2X message, a ProSe layer message, etc.), 8) indicated in the radio transmission standard, or 9) any combination thereof.

[0158]

[0178] According to various aspects of the present disclosure, the PRS of the starting UE (UE0) may start at 1) the first symbol after the PSCCH, 2) the first symbol after the PSSCH DMRS, or 3) the first symbol after the SCI-2. In some aspects, as shown in FIG. 16, when the PSCCH does not span the entire bandwidth allocated to the sidelink slot, the PRS of the starting UE may start at the first symbol and be frequency division multiplexed with the first symbol of the PSCCH. According to various aspects of the present disclosure, the arrangement of the first symbol of the starting UE can be 1) (pre-)configured, 2) indicated in the control information within the PSCCH, 3) indicated in the SCI-1 within the PSCCH, 4) indicated in the SCI-2 within the PSSCH, 5) indicated in the MAC-CE, 6) indicated in the PC5-RRC information, 7) indicated in the upper layer message (e.g., V2X message, ProSe layer message, etc.), 8) indicated in the radio transmission standard, or 9) any combination thereof.

[0159]

[0179] In some aspects, which UE should transmit the PRS and the order in which the PRS is transmitted within the sidelink slot by the UE can be 1) (pre-)configured, 2) indicated in the control information within the PSCCH, 3) indicated in the SCI-1 within the PSCCH, 4) indicated in the SCI-2 within the PSSCH, 5) indicated in the MAC-CE, 6) indicated in the PC5-RRC information, 7) indicated in the upper layer message (e.g., V2X message, ProSe layer message, etc.), 8) indicated in the radio transmission standard, or 9) any combination thereof.

[0160]

[0180] Figure 17 shows an exemplary sidelink slot 1700 according to an aspect of the present disclosure. In this example, the sidelink slot 1700 is composed of an allocated sidelink slot bandwidth 1702. The sidelink slot 1700 in this example is composed of 12 symbols and includes symbols allocated to PRS from multiple UEs, but does not include any symbols allocated to data (e.g., PSCCH, PSSCH) or other signals (e.g., AGC, DMRS, etc.). Assuming that UE0 is the starting UE, the sidelink slot 1700 includes a first set 1704 of symbols allocated for the transmission of PRS(UE0). The sidelink slot 1700 also includes a set 1706 of symbols allocated for the reception of PRS(UE1) from UE1 and a set 1708 of symbols allocated for the reception of PRS(UE2) from UE2. In one aspect, PRS from different UEs can be separated from each other by empty symbols 1710 allocated as timing gaps to allow time for UEs to transition between a transmission operation mode and a reception operation mode.

[0161]

[0181] According to an aspect of the present disclosure, the bandwidth of at least one of PRS(UE0, UE1, UE2) may be at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth 1702. In some aspects, the bandwidths of all PRS(UE0, UE1, UE2) may be at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth 1702. In some aspects, the bandwidth of one or more PRS(UE0, UE1, UE2) may be limited to 1) the carrier bandwidth, 2) the bandwidth of the bandwidth portion used by the sidelink device, or 3) the bandwidth of the sidelink resource pool used by the sidelink device.

[0162]

[0182] In some aspects, sidelink slot 1700 may be transmitted in a licensed spectrum. When transmitted in a licensed spectrum, sidelink slot 1700 may be synchronized with other sidelink slots transmitted in the licensed spectrum. However, in some aspects, sidelink slot 1700 may be transmitted in an unlicensed spectrum. When transmitted in an unlicensed spectrum, the symbols of sidelink slot 1700 need not be synchronized with the symbols of sidelink slots transmitted in a licensed spectrum.

[0163]

[0183] According to various aspects of the present disclosure, the configuration of the PRS (UE0, UE1, UE2) in sidelink slot 1700 may be 1) (pre-)configured, 2) indicated in the control information within the PSCCH, 3) indicated in the SCI-1 within the PSCCH, 4) indicated in the SCI-2 within the PSSCH, 5) indicated within the MAC-CE, 6) indicated in the PC5-RRC information, 7) indicated in a higher layer message (e.g., a V2X message, a ProSe layer message, etc.), 8) indicated in a radio transmission standard, or 9) any combination thereof.

[0164]

[0184] Figure 18 shows an exemplary method 1800 of wireless communication performed by a first sidelink device according to an aspect of the present disclosure. In operation 1802, the first sidelink device receives a sidelink transmission having a configured sidelink slot format, where the configured sidelink slot format includes an allocated sidelink slot bandwidth over a set of one or more consecutive subchannels, a first set of symbols allocated to at least a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH), and a second set of symbols allocated to a first set of one or more positioning reference signals (PRSs), and the first set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth that is at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth. In one aspect, operation 1802 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or positioning component 342, any or all of which may be regarded as means for performing this operation.

[0165]

[0185] In operation 1804, the first sidelink device transmits or measures one or more of the PRSs of the first set of one or more PRSs. In one aspect, operation 1804 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or positioning component 342, any or all of which may be regarded as means for performing this operation.

[0166]

[0186] In some aspects, the configured sidelink slot format further includes a third set of symbols allocated to a second set of one or more PRSs of a second sidelink device, and the second set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth that is at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth.

[0167]

[0187] In some aspects, transmitting or measuring one or more PRSs of a first set of one or more PRSs includes transmitting one or more PRSs of the first set of one or more PRSs, and the method further includes measuring one or more PRSs of a second set of one or more PRSs.

[0168]

[0188] In some aspects, the configured sidelink slot format further includes a fourth set of symbols assigned to a third set of one or more PRSs of a third sidelink device, and the fourth set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth that is at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth.

[0169]

[0189] In some aspects, the arrangement of the first set of one or more PRSs and the second set of one or more PRSs is at least partially based on the destination identifier of the first sidelink device and a second sidelink device associated with the second set of one or more PRSs.

[0170]

[0190] In some aspects, the arrangement of the first set of one or more PRSs is indicated in a pre-configuration of the configured sidelink slot format in the first sidelink device, control information in the PSCCH, first-stage sidelink control information (SCI-1) in the PSCCH, second-stage sidelink control information (SCI-2) in the PSSCH, media access control layer control element (MAC-CE), PC5 radio resource control (PC5-RRC) information, upper layer message, radio transmission standard, or any combination thereof.

[0171]

[0191] In some aspects, the configured sidelink slot format further includes a fifth set of symbols allocated to the physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), and the placement of the first set of one or more PRSs is at least partially indicated in a second stage sidelink control information (SCI-2), MAC-CE, upper layer message, or any combination thereof.

[0172]

[0192] In some aspects, a first sidelink device transmits one or more PRSs of the first set of PRSs and receives a measurement report including information corresponding to measurements made from one or more PRSs of the first set of one or more PRSs by a second sidelink device.

[0173]

[0193] In some aspects, the first set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth that is at least equal to the bandwidth of the carrier used by the first sidelink device, the bandwidth of the bandwidth part (BWP) used by the first sidelink device, or the bandwidth of the sidelink resource pool used by the first sidelink device.

[0174]

[0194] In one aspect, a method of wireless communication performed by a first sidelink device includes an allocated sidelink slot bandwidth across a plurality of consecutive subchannels, a first set of symbols allocated to at least a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH), and a second set of symbols allocated to a first set of one or more positioning reference signals (PRS) by the first sidelink device, wherein the first set of one or more PRS is frequency division multiplexed with the first set of symbols allocated to the PSCCH; a third set of symbols allocated to a second set of one or more PRS from a second sidelink device, wherein the second set of one or more PRS is allocated a bandwidth at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth; receiving a sidelink transmission having a configured sidelink slot format including the second and third sets of symbols; transmitting or measuring one or more PRS of the first set of one or more PRS; and transmitting or measuring one or more PRS of the second set of one or more PRS.

[0175]

[0195] In some aspects, transmitting or measuring one or more PRS of the first set of one or more PRS includes transmitting one or more PRS of the first set of one or more PRS, and transmitting or measuring one or more PRS of the second set of one or more PRS includes measuring one or more PRS of the second set of one or more PRS.

[0176]

[0196] In some aspects, the second set of one or more PRS is allocated a bandwidth at least equal to a bandwidth of a carrier used by the first sidelink device, a bandwidth of a bandwidth part (BWP) used by the first sidelink device, or a bandwidth of a sidelink resource pool used by the first sidelink device.

[0177]

[0197] In some aspects, the configured sidelink slot format further includes a fourth set of symbols assigned to a third set of one or more PRSs, and the third set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth that is at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth.

[0178]

[0198] In some aspects, the method includes measuring one or more PRSs among a third set of one or more PRSs.

[0179]

[0199] In some aspects, the placement of the first set of one or more PRSs and the second set of one or more PRSs is at least partially based on the destination identifier of the first sidelink device and the second sidelink device associated with the second set of one or more PRSs.

[0180]

[0200] In some aspects, the placement of the first set of one or more PRSs is indicated in a pre-configuration of the configured sidelink slot format in the first sidelink device, control information in the PSCCH, first-stage sidelink control information (SCI-1) in the PSCCH, second-stage sidelink control information (SCI-2) in the PSSCH, media access control layer control element (MAC-CE), PC5 radio resource control (PC5-RRC) information, upper layer messages, radio transmission specifications, or any combination thereof.

[0181]

[0201] Figure 19 shows an exemplary method 1900 of wireless communication performed by a first sidelink device according to an aspect of the present disclosure. At operation 1902, the first sidelink device receives a sidelink transmission having a configured sidelink slot format, the configured sidelink slot format including an allocated sidelink slot bandwidth across a plurality of consecutive subchannels, a first set of symbols allocated to at least a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH), a second set of symbols allocated to a first set of one or more positioning reference signals (PRS) by the first sidelink device, the first set of one or more PRS being frequency division multiplexed with the first set of symbols allocated to the PSCCH, a third set of symbols allocated to a second set of one or more PRS from a second sidelink device, the second set of one or more PRS being allocated a bandwidth at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth. In one aspect, operation 1902 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or positioning component 342, any or all of which may be regarded as means for performing this operation.

[0182]

[0202] In operation 1904, the first sidelink device transmits or measures one or more PRSs among a first set of one or more PRSs. In one aspect, operation 1904 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or positioning component 342, any or all of which may be regarded as means for performing this operation. In operation 1906, the first sidelink device transmits or measures one or more PRSs among a second set of one or more PRSs. In one aspect, operation 1906 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or positioning component 342, any or all of which may be regarded as means for performing this operation.

[0183]

[0203] In some aspects, transmitting or measuring one or more PRSs among a first set of one or more PRSs includes transmitting one or more PRSs among a first set of one or more PRSs, and transmitting or measuring one or more PRSs among a second set of PRSs includes measuring one or more PRSs among a second set of one or more PRSs.

[0184]

[0204] In some aspects, the second set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth that is at least equal to the bandwidth of the carrier used by the first sidelink device, the bandwidth of the bandwidth part (BWP) used by the first sidelink device, or the bandwidth of the sidelink resource pool used by the first sidelink device.

[0185]

[0205] In some aspects, the configured sidelink slot format further includes a fourth set of symbols allocated to a third set of one or more PRSs, and the third set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth that is at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth.

[0186]

[0206] In some aspects, the method includes measuring one or more PRSs of a third set of one or more PRSs.

[0187]

[0207] In some aspects, the placement of the first set of one or more PRSs and the second set of one or more PRSs is at least partially based on the destination identifier of the first sidelink device and a second sidelink device associated with the second set of one or more PRSs.

[0188]

[0208] In some aspects, the placement of the first set of one or more PRSs is indicated in a preconfigured sidelink slot format configured in the first sidelink device, control information in the PSCCH, first-stage sidelink control information (SCI-1) in the PSCCH, second-stage sidelink control information (SCI-2) in the PSSCH, media access control layer control element (MAC-CE), PC5 radio resource control (PC5-RRC) information, upper layer message, radio transmission standard, or any combination thereof.

[0189]

[0209] Figure 20 shows an exemplary method 2000 of wireless communication performed by a first sidelink device according to an aspect of the present disclosure. In operation 2002, the first sidelink device receives a sidelink transmission having a configured sidelink slot format, where the configured sidelink slot format includes an allocated sidelink slot bandwidth over a set of one or more consecutive subchannels, a first set of symbols allocated to a first set of one or more positioning reference signals (PRSs), and a second set of symbols allocated to a second set of one or more PRSs, and where at least one of the first set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth, or at least one of the second set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth, or a combination thereof. In one aspect, operation 2002 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or positioning component 342, any or all of which may be regarded as means for performing this operation.

[0190]

[0210] In operation 2004, the first sidelink device transmits or measures one or more of the one or more PRSs of the first set of one or more PRSs. In one aspect, operation 2004 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or positioning component 342, any or all of which may be regarded as means for performing this operation. In operation 2006, the first sidelink device transmits or measures one or more of the one or more PRSs of the second set of one or more PRSs. In one aspect, operation 2006 may be performed by one or more WWAN transceivers 310, one or more processors 332, memory 340, and / or positioning component 342, any or all of which may be regarded as means for performing this operation.

[0191]

[0211] In some aspects, a first set of one or more PRSs is assigned to a first sidelink device, and a second set of one or more PRSs is assigned to a second sidelink device.

[0192]

[0212] In some aspects, the configured sidelink slot format further includes a third set of symbols assigned to a third set of one or more PRSs, and the third set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth that is at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth.

[0193]

[0213] In some aspects, transmitting or measuring one or more PRSs of the first set of one or more PRSs includes transmitting one or more PRSs of the first set of one or more PRSs, and transmitting or measuring one or more PRSs of the second set of one or more PRSs includes measuring one or more PRSs of the second set of one or more PRSs.

[0194]

[0214] In some aspects, the method includes receiving a first measurement report including information corresponding to measurements made from a first set of one or more PRSs by a second sidelink device, transmitting a measurement report including information corresponding to measurements made from a second set of one or more PRSs, or a combination thereof.

[0195]

[0215] In some aspects, the placement of the first set of one or more PRSs and the placement of the second set of one or more PRSs are indicated in a preconfigured configured side - link slot format in the first side - link device, control information in the PSCCH of the previous side - link slot, first - stage side - link control information (SCI - 1) in the PSCCH of the previous side - link slot, second - stage side - link control information (SCI - 2) in the PSSCH, media access control (MAC) control element (CE), PC5 radio resource control (PC5 - RRC) information of the previous side - link slot, upper - layer messages, radio transmission specifications, or any combination thereof.

[0196]

[0216] In some aspects, the placement of the first set of one or more PRSs and the placement of the second set of one or more PRSs are at least partially based on a destination identifier of the second side - link device associated with the first side - link device and the second set of one or more PRSs.

[0197]

[0217] In some aspects, the first set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth that is at least equal to the bandwidth of the carrier used by the first side - link device, the bandwidth of the bandwidth part (BWP) used by the first side - link device, or the bandwidth of the side - link resource pool used by the first side - link device.

[0198]

[0218] It is understood that the technical advantage of methods 1800, 1900, and 2000 is the provision of a defined side - link slot format that can be used to transmit side - link PRSs for side - link positioning operations.

[0199]

[0219] In the following embodiments for carrying out the above invention, it can be seen that in each example, various features are grouped together. This manner of disclosure should not be understood as intending that the exemplary clauses have more features than are explicitly stated in each clause. Rather, various aspects of the present disclosure may include fewer features than all of the features of the individual exemplary clauses being disclosed. Accordingly, the following clauses should be considered as incorporated into the description, and each clause may be valid separately as a distinct example. Each dependent clause may refer to a specific combination with one of the other clauses within that clause, but the aspect(s) of that dependent clause is not limited to that specific combination. It will be understood that other exemplary clauses may also include combinations of aspect(s) of dependent clauses with the subject matter of any other dependent or independent clause, or combinations of any features with other dependent and independent clauses. Various aspects disclosed herein do not explicitly include these combinations unless it is explicitly stated or can be readily inferred that a particular combination (e.g., defining an element as both an electrical insulator and an electrical conductor, such conflicting aspects) is not intended. Further, even if a clause is not directly dependent on an independent clause, it is also intended that the aspect of the clause may be included in any other independent clause.

[0200]

[0220] In the following numbered clauses, implementation examples will be described.

[0201]

[0221] Clause 1. A method of wireless communication performed by a first sidelink device, comprising: receiving a sidelink transmission having a configured sidelink slot format, the configured sidelink slot format including an allocated sidelink slot bandwidth over a set of one or more consecutive subchannels, a first set of symbols allocated to at least a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH), and a second set of symbols allocated to a first set of one or more positioning reference signals (PRSs), wherein the first set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth that is at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth; and transmitting or measuring one or more PRSs of the first set of one or more PRSs.

[0202]

[0222] Clause 2. The method according to clause 1, wherein the configured sidelink slot format further includes a third set of symbols allocated to a second set of one or more PRSs of a second sidelink device, and the second set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth that is at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth.

[0203]

[0223] Clause 3. The method according to clause 2, wherein transmitting or measuring one or more PRSs of the first set of one or more PRSs includes transmitting one or more PRSs of the first set of one or more PRSs, and the method further includes measuring one or more PRSs of the second set of one or more PRSs.

[0204]

[0224] Clause 4. The method according to clause 2 or 3, wherein the configured sidelink slot format further includes a fourth set of symbols allocated to a third set of one or more PRSs of a third sidelink device, and the third set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth that is at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth.

[0205]

[0225] Method according to any of clauses 2 to 4, wherein the arrangement of the first set of one or more PRSs and the second set of one or more PRSs is at least partially based on the destination identifier of the second sidelink device associated with the first sidelink device and the second set of one or more PRSs.

[0206]

[0226] Clause 6. The arrangement of the first set of one or more PRSs is the method according to any of clauses 1 to 5, as indicated in the pre-configuration of the configured sidelink slot format in the first sidelink device, control information in the PSCCH, first-stage sidelink control information (SCI-1) in the PSCCH, second-stage sidelink control information (SCI-2) in the PSSCH, media access control layer control element (MAC-CE), PC5 radio resource control (PC5-RRC) information, upper layer message, radio transmission standard, or any combination thereof.

[0207]

[0227] Clause 7. The configured sidelink slot format further includes a fifth set of symbols allocated to the physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), and the arrangement of the first set of one or more PRSs is the method according to any of clauses 1 to 6, as at least partially indicated in the second-stage sidelink control information (SCI-2), MAC-CE, upper layer message, or any combination thereof.

[0208]

[0228] Clause 8. The method according to any of clauses 1 to 7, including transmitting one or more PRSs of the first set of one or more PRSs or measuring them, and receiving a measurement report including information corresponding to the measurement made from one or more PRSs of the first set of one or more PRSs by the second sidelink device.

[0209]

[0229] Clause 9. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 8, wherein one or more PRSs of the first set of one or more PRSs are allocated a bandwidth that is at least equal to the bandwidth of the carrier used by the first sidelink device, the bandwidth of the bandwidth part (BWP) used by the first sidelink device, or the bandwidth of the sidelink resource pool used by the first sidelink device.

[0210]

[0230] Clause 10. A method of wireless communication performed by a first sidelink device, comprising: a configured sidelink slot format including an allocated sidelink slot bandwidth across a plurality of consecutive subchannels, a first set of symbols allocated to at least a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH), and a second set of symbols allocated to a first set of one or more positioning reference signals (PRSs) by the first sidelink device, wherein the first set of one or more PRSs is frequency division multiplexed with the first set of symbols allocated to the PSCCH; a third set of symbols allocated to a second set of one or more PRSs from a second sidelink device, wherein the second set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth that is at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth; receiving a sidelink transmission having the configured sidelink slot format; transmitting or measuring one or more PRSs of the first set of one or more PRSs; and transmitting or measuring one or more PRSs of the second set of one or more PRSs.

[0211]

[0231] Clause 11. The method according to Clause 10, wherein transmitting or measuring one or more PRSs of the first set of one or more PRSs includes transmitting one or more PRSs of the first set of one or more PRSs, and transmitting or measuring one or more PRSs of the second set of one or more PRSs includes measuring one or more PRSs of the second set of one or more PRSs.

[0212]

[0232] Clause 12. The method according to clause 10 or 11, wherein a second set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth that is at least equal to the bandwidth of the carrier used by the first sidelink device, the bandwidth of the bandwidth part (BWP) used by the first sidelink device, or the bandwidth of the sidelink resource pool used by the first sidelink device.

[0213]

[0233] Clause 13. The method according to any one of clauses 10 to 12, wherein the configured sidelink slot format further includes a fourth set of symbols allocated to a third set of one or more PRSs, and the third set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth that is at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth.

[0214]

[0234] Clause 14. The method according to clause 13, further comprising measuring one or more PRSs of the third set of one or more PRSs.

[0215]

[0235] Clause 15. The method according to any one of clauses 10 to 14, wherein the arrangement of the first set of one or more PRSs and the second set of one or more PRSs is at least partially based on the destination identifier of the first sidelink device and the second sidelink device associated with the second set of one or more PRSs.

[0216]

[0236] Clause 16. The method according to any one of clauses 10 to 15, wherein the arrangement of the first set of one or more PRSs is indicated in the pre-configuration of the configured sidelink slot format in the first sidelink device, the control information in the PSCCH, the first-stage sidelink control information (SCI-1) in the PSCCH, the second-stage sidelink control information (SCI-2) in the PSSCH, the medium access control layer control element (MAC-CE), the PC5 radio resource control (PC5-RRC) information, the upper layer message, the radio transmission standard, or any combination thereof.

[0217]

[0237] Clause 17. A method of wireless communication performed by a first sidelink device, comprising: an allocated sidelink slot bandwidth over a set of one or more consecutive subchannels; a first set of symbols allocated to a first set of one or more positioning reference signals (PRSs); and a second set of symbols allocated to a second set of one or more PRSs, the configured sidelink slot format being such that either the first set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth, or the second set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth, or a combination thereof, receiving a sidelink transmission having the configured sidelink slot format; transmitting or measuring one or more PRSs of the first set of one or more PRSs; and transmitting or measuring one or more PRSs of the second set of one or more PRSs.

[0218]

[0238] Clause 18. The method according to clause 17, wherein a first set of one or more PRSs is allocated to a first sidelink device and a second set of one or more PRSs is allocated to a second sidelink device.

[0219]

[0239] Clause 19. The method according to clause 17 or 18, wherein the configured sidelink slot format further comprises a third set of symbols allocated to a third set of one or more PRSs, the third set of one or more PRSs being allocated a bandwidth at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth.

[0220]

[0240] Clause 20. Transmitting or measuring a first set of one or more PRSs includes transmitting one or more PRSs among the first set of one or more PRSs, and transmitting or measuring a second set of one or more PRSs includes measuring one or more PRSs among the second set of one or more PRSs, the method according to any of Clauses 17 to 19.

[0221]

[0241] Clause 21. Further including receiving a first measurement report including information corresponding to measurements made from a first set of one or more PRSs by a second sidelink device, transmitting a measurement report including information corresponding to measurements made from a second set of one or more PRSs, or a combination thereof, the method according to Clause 20.

[0222]

[0242] Clause 22. The arrangement of a first set of one or more PRSs and the arrangement of a second set of one or more PRSs are indicated in a preconfigured sidelink slot format in a first sidelink device, control information in the PSCCH of a previous sidelink slot, first-stage sidelink control information (SCI-1) in the PSCCH of a previous sidelink slot, second-stage sidelink control information (SCI-2) in the PSSCH, a media access control (MAC) control element (CE), PC5 radio resource control (PC5-RRC) information of a previous sidelink slot, a higher layer message, a radio transmission standard, or any combination thereof, the method according to any of Clauses 17 to 21.

[0223]

[0243] Clause 23. The arrangement of a first set of one or more PRSs and the arrangement of a second set of one or more PRSs are at least partially based on a destination identifier of a second sidelink device associated with the first sidelink device and the second set of one or more PRSs, the method according to any of Clauses 17 to 22.

[0224]

[0244] Clause 24. The method according to any one of Clauses 17 to 23, wherein a first set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth that is at least equal to the bandwidth of the carrier used by the first sidelink device, the bandwidth of the bandwidth part (BWP) used by the first sidelink device, or the bandwidth of the sidelink resource pool used by the first sidelink device.

[0225]

[0245] Clause 25. A first sidelink device including a memory, at least one transceiver, and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, wherein the at least one processor is configured to receive a sidelink transmission having a configured sidelink slot format via the at least one transceiver, the configured sidelink slot format including an allocated sidelink slot bandwidth across a set of one or more consecutive subchannels, a first set of symbols allocated to at least a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH), and a second set of symbols allocated to a first set of one or more positioning reference signals (PRSs), wherein the first set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth that is at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth, and to transmit or measure one or more PRSs of the first set of one or more PRSs via the at least one transceiver.

[0226]

[0246] Clause 26. The first sidelink device according to Clause 25, wherein the configured sidelink slot format further includes a third set of symbols allocated to a second set of one or more PRSs of the second sidelink device, and the second set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth that is at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth.

[0227]

[0247] Clause 27. The first sidelink device according to Clause 26, wherein the first sidelink device transmits one or more PRSs of a first set of one or more PRSs and measures one or more PRSs of a second set of one or more PRSs.

[0228]

[0248] Clause 28. The first sidelink device according to Clause 26 or 27, wherein the configured sidelink slot format further includes a fourth set of symbols assigned to a third set of one or more PRSs of a third sidelink device, and a fourth set of one or more PRSs is assigned a bandwidth that is at least equal to the configured sidelink slot bandwidth.

[0229]

[0249] Clause 29. The first sidelink device according to any one of Clauses 26 to 28, wherein the arrangement of the first set of one or more PRSs and the second set of one or more PRSs is at least partially based on the destination identifier of the first sidelink device and a second sidelink device associated with the second set of one or more PRSs.

[0230]

[0250] Clause 30. The first sidelink device according to any one of Clauses 25 to 29, wherein the arrangement of the first set of one or more PRSs is indicated in a pre-configuration of the configured sidelink slot format in the first sidelink device, control information in the PSCCH, first-stage sidelink control information (SCI-1) in the PSCCH, second-stage sidelink control information (SCI-2) in the PSSCH, media access control layer control element (MAC-CE), PC5 radio resource control (PC5-RRC) information, upper layer message, radio transmission standard, or any combination thereof.

[0231]

[0251] Clause 31. The configured sidelink slot format further includes a fifth set of symbols allocated to the Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH), and the arrangement of the first set of one or more PRSs is at least partially indicated in the second-stage sidelink control information (SCI-2), MAC-CE, upper layer message, or any combination thereof. The first sidelink device according to any one of Clauses 25 to 30.

[0232]

[0252] Clause 32. At least one processor is configured to transmit one or more PRSs of the first set of one or more PRSs and receive a measurement report including information corresponding to measurements made from one or more PRSs of the first set of one or more PRSs by a second sidelink device. The first sidelink device according to any one of Clauses 25 to 31.

[0233]

[0253] Clause 33. The first set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth that is at least equal to the bandwidth of the carrier used by the first sidelink device, the bandwidth of the bandwidth part (BWP) used by the first sidelink device, or the bandwidth of the sidelink resource pool used by the first sidelink device. The first sidelink device according to any one of Clauses 25 to 32.

[0234]

[0254] Clause 34. A first sidelink device comprising a memory, at least one transceiver, and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, wherein the at least one processor is configured to receive a sidelink transmission having a configured sidelink slot format via the at least one transceiver, the configured sidelink slot format including an allocated sidelink slot bandwidth across a plurality of consecutive subchannels, a first set of symbols allocated to at least a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH), a second set of symbols allocated to a first set of one or more positioning reference signals (PRS) by the first sidelink device, the first set of one or more PRS being frequency division multiplexed with the first set of symbols allocated to the PSCCH, and a third set of symbols allocated to a second set of one or more PRS from a second sidelink device, the second set of one or more PRS being allocated a bandwidth at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth, and to transmit or measure one or more PRS of the first set of one or more PRS via the at least one transceiver and to transmit or measure one or more PRS of the second set of one or more PRS via the at least one transceiver.

[0235]

[0255] Clause 35. The first sidelink device according to clause 34, wherein the first sidelink device is configured to transmit one or more PRS of the first set of one or more PRS and to measure one or more PRS of the second set of one or more PRS.

[0236]

[0256] Clause 36. The first sidelink device as described in Clause 34 or 35, where a second set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth that is at least equal to the bandwidth of the carrier used by the first sidelink device, the bandwidth of the bandwidth part (BWP) used by the first sidelink device, or the bandwidth of the sidelink resource pool used by the first sidelink device.

[0237]

[0257] Clause 37. The first sidelink device as described in any of Clauses 34 to 36, where the configured sidelink slot format further includes a fourth set of symbols allocated to a third set of one or more PRSs, and the third set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth that is at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth.

[0238]

[0258] Clause 38. The first sidelink device as described in Clause 37, where at least one processor is further configured to measure one or more PRSs among the third set of one or more PRSs.

[0239]

[0259] Clause 39. The first sidelink device as described in any of Clauses 34 to 38, where the arrangement of the first set of one or more PRSs and the second set of one or more PRSs is at least partially based on the destination identifier of the first sidelink device and the second sidelink device associated with the second set of one or more PRSs.

[0240]

[0260] Clause 40. The arrangement of the first set of one or more PRSs is indicated in the pre-configuration of the configured sidelink slot format in the first sidelink device, the control information in the PSCCH, the first-stage sidelink control information (SCI-1) in the PSCCH, the second-stage sidelink control information (SCI-2) in the PSSCH, the media access control layer control element (MAC-CE), the PC5 radio resource control (PC5-RRC) information, the upper layer message, the radio transmission standard, or any combination thereof, and is the first sidelink device described in any of Clauses 34 to 39.

[0241]

[0261] Clause 41. A first sidelink device including a memory, at least one transceiver, and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, wherein the at least one processor is configured to receive, via the at least one transceiver, a configured sidelink slot format having an allocated sidelink slot bandwidth over a set of one or more consecutive subchannels, a first set of symbols allocated to a first set of one or more positioning reference signals (PRSs), and a second set of symbols allocated to a second set of one or more PRSs, and wherein the first set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth, or the second set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth, or a combination thereof, and to transmit or measure, via the at least one transceiver, one or more PRSs of the first set of one or more PRSs and transmit or measure, via the at least one transceiver, one or more PRSs of the second set of one or more PRSs.

[0242]

[0262] Clause 42. The first sidelink device according to Clause 41, wherein a first set of one or more PRSs is assigned to a first sidelink device and a second set of one or more PRSs is assigned to a second sidelink device.

[0243]

[0263] Clause 43. The first sidelink device according to Clause 41 or 42, wherein the configured sidelink slot format further includes a third set of symbols assigned to a third set of one or more PRSs, and the third set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth that is at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth.

[0244]

[0264] Clause 44. The first sidelink device according to any one of Clauses 41 to 43, wherein at least one processor is configured to transmit one or more PRSs of the first set of one or more PRSs and measure one or more PRSs of the second set of one or more PRSs.

[0245]

[0265] Clause 45. The first sidelink device according to Clause 44, further configured such that at least one processor receives, via at least one transceiver, a first measurement report including information corresponding to measurements made from a first set of one or more PRSs by a second sidelink device, transmits, via at least one transceiver, a measurement report including information corresponding to measurements made from a second set of one or more PRSs, or performs a combination thereof.

[0246]

[0266] Clause 46. The arrangement of the first set of one or more PRSs and the arrangement of the second set of one or more PRSs are as shown in the pre-configuration of the configured sidelink slot format in the first sidelink device, the control information in the PSCCH of the previous sidelink slot, the first-stage sidelink control information (SCI-1) in the PSCCH of the previous sidelink slot, the second-stage sidelink control information (SCI-2) in the PSSCH, the media access control (MAC) control element (CE), the PC5 radio resource control (PC5-RRC) information of the previous sidelink slot, the upper layer message, the radio transmission standard, or any combination thereof, for the first sidelink device according to any of Clauses 41 to 45.

[0247]

[0267] Clause 47. The arrangement of the first set of one or more PRSs and the arrangement of the second set of one or more PRSs are based at least in part on the destination identifier of the second sidelink device associated with the first sidelink device and the second set of one or more PRSs, for the first sidelink device according to any of Clauses 41 to 46.

[0248]

[0268] Clause 48. The first set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth that is at least equal to the bandwidth of the carrier used by the first sidelink device, the bandwidth of the bandwidth part (BWP) used by the first sidelink device, or the bandwidth of the sidelink resource pool used by the first sidelink device, for the first sidelink device according to any of Clauses 41 to 47.

[0249]

[0269] Means for receiving a sidelink transmission having a configured sidelink slot format, including an allocated sidelink slot bandwidth over a set of one or more consecutive subchannels, a first set of symbols allocated to at least a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH), and a second set of symbols allocated to a first set of one or more positioning reference signals (PRS), wherein the first set of one or more PRS is allocated a bandwidth at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth; and means for transmitting or measuring one or more PRS of the first set of one or more PRS.

[0250]

[0270] The first sidelink device according to clause 49, wherein the configured sidelink slot format further includes a third set of symbols allocated to a second set of one or more PRS of a second sidelink device, and the second set of one or more PRS is allocated a bandwidth at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth.

[0251]

[0271] The first sidelink device according to clause 50, wherein the means for transmitting or measuring one or more PRS of the first set of one or more PRS includes means for transmitting one or more PRS of the first set of one or more PRS and means for measuring one or more PRS of the second set of one or more PRS.

[0252]

[0272] The first sidelink device according to clause 50 or 51, wherein the configured sidelink slot format further includes a fourth set of symbols allocated to a third set of one or more PRS of a third sidelink device, and the third set of one or more PRS is allocated a bandwidth at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth.

[0253]

[0273] Clause 53. The arrangement of the first set of one or more PRSs and the second set of one or more PRSs is at least partially based on the destination identifier of the second sidelink device associated with the first sidelink device and the second set of one or more PRSs, the first sidelink device according to any of Clauses 50 to 52.

[0254]

[0274] Clause 54. The arrangement of the first set of one or more PRSs is in the pre-configuration of the configured sidelink slot format in the first sidelink device, control information in the PSCCH, first-stage sidelink control information (SCI-1) in the PSCCH, second-stage sidelink control information (SCI-2) in the PSSCH, media access control layer control element (MAC-CE), PC5 radio resource control (PC5-RRC) information, upper layer message, radio transmission standard, or any combination thereof, the first sidelink device according to any of Clauses 49 to 53.

[0255]

[0275] Clause 55. The configured sidelink slot format further includes a fifth set of symbols allocated to the physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), and the arrangement of the first set of one or more PRSs is at least partially indicated in the second-stage sidelink control information (SCI-2), MAC-CE, upper layer message, or any combination thereof, the first sidelink device according to any of Clauses 49 to 54.

[0256]

[0276] Clause 56. The means for transmitting or measuring one or more PRSs of the first set of one or more PRSs includes means for transmitting one or more PRSs of the first set of one or more PRSs, and the first sidelink device further includes means for receiving a measurement report including information corresponding to the measurement made from one or more PRSs of the first set of one or more PRSs by the second sidelink device, the first sidelink device according to any of Clauses 49 to 55.

[0257]

[0277] Clause 57. The first set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth that is at least equal to the bandwidth of the carrier used by the first sidelink device, the bandwidth of the bandwidth part (BWP) used by the first sidelink device, or the bandwidth of the sidelink resource pool used by the first sidelink device. The first sidelink device as described in any of Clauses 49 to 56.

[0258]

[0278] Clause 58. A first sidelink device, including: an allocated sidelink slot bandwidth across a plurality of consecutive subchannels; a first set of symbols allocated to at least a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH); a second set of symbols allocated to a first set of one or more positioning reference signals (PRSs) by the first sidelink device, where the first set of one or more PRSs is frequency-division multiplexed with the first set of symbols allocated to the PSCCH; a third set of symbols allocated to a second set of one or more PRSs from a second sidelink device, where the second set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth that is at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth. Means for receiving a sidelink transmission having a configured sidelink slot format, including the above; means for transmitting or measuring one or more PRSs of the first set of one or more PRSs; and means for transmitting or measuring one or more PRSs of the second set of one or more PRSs. The first sidelink device.

[0259]

[0279] Clause 59. The means for transmitting or measuring one or more PRSs among the first set of one or more PRSs includes transmitting one or more PRSs among the first set of one or more PRSs, and the means for transmitting or measuring one or more PRSs among the second set of one or more PRSs includes measuring one or more PRSs among the second set of one or more PRSs. The first sidelink device according to Clause 58.

[0260]

[0280] Clause 60. The second set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth that is at least equal to the bandwidth of the carrier used by the first sidelink device, the bandwidth of the bandwidth part (BWP) used by the first sidelink device, or the bandwidth of the sidelink resource pool used by the first sidelink device. The first sidelink device according to Clause 58 or 59.

[0261]

[0281] Clause 61. The configured sidelink slot format further includes a fourth set of symbols allocated to a third set of one or more PRSs, and the third set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth that is at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth. The first sidelink device according to any one of Clauses 58 to 60.

[0262]

[0282] Clause 62. The first sidelink device according to Clause 61 further includes means for measuring one or more PRSs among the third set of one or more PRSs.

[0263]

[0283] Clause 63. The arrangement of the first set of one or more PRSs and the second set of one or more PRSs is at least partially based on the destination identifier of the first sidelink device and the second sidelink device associated with the second set of one or more PRSs. The first sidelink device according to any one of Clauses 58 to 62.

[0264]

[0284] Clause 64. The arrangement of the first set of one or more PRSs is indicated in the pre - configured configured side - link slot format in the first side - link device, control information in the PSCCH, first - stage side - link control information (SCI - 1) in the PSCCH, second - stage side - link control information (SCI - 2) in the PSSCH, media access control layer control element (MAC - CE), PC5 radio resource control (PC5 - RRC) information, upper - layer message, radio transmission standard, or any combination thereof, and is the first side - link device according to any of Clauses 58 to 63.

[0265]

[0285] Clause 65. A configured side - link slot format including the allocated side - link slot bandwidth across a set of one or more consecutive sub - channels, the first set of symbols allocated to the first set of one or more positioning reference signals (PRSs), and the second set of symbols allocated to the second set of one or more PRSs, wherein the first set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth at least equal to the allocated side - link slot bandwidth, or the second set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth at least equal to the allocated side - link slot bandwidth, or a combination thereof; means for receiving a side - link transmission having the configured side - link slot format; means for transmitting or measuring one or more PRSs among the first set of one or more PRSs; and means for transmitting or measuring one or more PRSs among the second set of one or more PRSs, and is the first side - link device.

[0266]

[0286] Clause 66. The first side - link device according to Clause 65, wherein the first set of one or more PRSs is allocated to the first side - link device and the second set of one or more PRSs is allocated to the second side - link device.

[0267]

[0287] Clause 67. The configured sidelink slot format further includes a third set of symbols assigned to a third set of one or more PRSs, and the third set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth that is at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth, the first sidelink device according to Clause 65 or 66.

[0268]

[0288] Clause 68. Means for transmitting or measuring one or more PRSs of the first set of PRSs includes transmitting one or more PRSs of the first set of one or more PRSs, and means for transmitting or measuring one or more PRSs of the second set of one or more PRSs includes measuring one or more PRSs of the second set of one or more PRSs, the first sidelink device according to any of Clauses 65 to 67.

[0269]

[0289] Clause 69. Means for receiving a first measurement report including information corresponding to measurements made from a first set of one or more PRSs by a second sidelink device, means for transmitting a measurement report including information corresponding to measurements made from a second set of one or more PRSs, or a combination thereof, the first sidelink device according to Clause 68.

[0270]

[0290] Clause 70. The arrangement of the first set of one or more PRSs and the arrangement of the second set of one or more PRSs are indicated in the preconfigured configured sidelink slot format in the first sidelink device, the control information in the PSCCH of the previous sidelink slot, the first stage sidelink control information (SCI-1) in the PSCCH of the previous sidelink slot, the second stage sidelink control information (SCI-2) in the PSSCH, the media access control (MAC) control element (CE), the PC5 radio resource control (PC5-RRC) information of the previous sidelink slot, the upper layer message, the radio transmission standard, or any combination thereof, the first sidelink device according to any of Clauses 65 to 69.

[0271]

[0291] Clause 71. The arrangement of the first set of one or more PRSs and the second set of one or more PRSs is at least partially based on the destination identifier of the first sidelink device and the second sidelink device associated with the second set of one or more PRSs, the first sidelink device according to any of Clauses 65 to 70.

[0272]

[0292] Clause 72. The first set of one or more PRSs is assigned a bandwidth that is at least equal to the bandwidth of the carrier used by the first sidelink device, the bandwidth of the bandwidth part (BWP) used by the first sidelink device, or the bandwidth of the sidelink resource pool used by the first sidelink device, the first sidelink device according to any of Clauses 65 to 71.

[0273]

[0293] Clause 73. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions, the computer-executable instructions, when executed by the first sidelink device, cause the first sidelink device to receive a sidelink transmission having a configured sidelink slot format, including an assigned sidelink slot bandwidth over a set of one or more consecutive subchannels, a first set of symbols assigned to at least the physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH), and a second set of symbols assigned to a first set of one or more positioning reference signals (PRSs), the first set of one or more PRSs being assigned a bandwidth that is at least equal to the assigned sidelink slot bandwidth, and cause the first sidelink device to transmit or measure one or more of the one or more PRSs in the first set of one or more PRSs.

[0274]

[0294] Clause 74. The configured sidelink slot format further includes a third set of symbols assigned to a second set of one or more PRSs of a second sidelink device, wherein the second set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth that is at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to Clause 73.

[0275]

[0295] Clause 75. Transmitting or measuring one or more PRSs of the first set of one or more PRSs includes transmitting one or more PRSs of the first set of one or more PRSs, and the method further includes measuring one or more PRSs of the second set of one or more PRSs. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to Clause 74.

[0276]

[0296] Clause 76. The configured sidelink slot format further includes a fourth set of symbols assigned to a third set of one or more PRSs of a third sidelink device, wherein the fourth set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth that is at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to Clause 74 or 75.

[0277]

[0297] Clause 77. The arrangement of the first set of one or more PRSs and the second set of one or more PRSs is at least partially based on the destination identifier of the first sidelink device and the second sidelink device associated with the second set of one or more PRSs. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 74 to 76.

[0278]

[0298] Clause 78. The arrangement of the first set of one or more PRSs is indicated in the pre-configuration of the configured sidelink slot format in the first sidelink device, control information in the PSCCH, first-stage sidelink control information (SCI-1) in the PSCCH, second-stage sidelink control information (SCI-2) in the PSSCH, medium access control layer control element (MAC-CE), PC5 radio resource control (PC5-RRC) information, upper layer message, radio transmission standard, or any combination thereof, in a non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any of Clauses 73 to 77.

[0279]

[0299] Clause 79. The configured sidelink slot format further includes a fifth set of symbols allocated to the physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), and the arrangement of the first set of one or more PRSs is at least partially indicated in the second-stage sidelink control information (SCI-2), MAC-CE, upper layer message, or any combination thereof, in a non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any of Clauses 73 to 78.

[0280]

[0300] Clause 80. Transmitting or measuring one or more PRSs of the first set of one or more PRSs includes transmitting one or more PRSs of the first set of one or more PRSs and receiving a measurement report including information corresponding to the measurement made from one or more PRSs of the first set of one or more PRSs by a second sidelink device, in a non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any of Clauses 73 to 79.

[0281]

[0301] Clause 81. The first set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth that is at least equal to the bandwidth of the carrier used by the first sidelink device, the bandwidth of the bandwidth part (BWP) used by the first sidelink device, or the bandwidth of the sidelink resource pool used by the first sidelink device, in a non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any of Clauses 73 to 80.

[0282]

[0302] Clause 82. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions, wherein the computer-executable instructions, when executed by a first sidelink device, cause the first sidelink device to: a configured sidelink slot format including an allocated sidelink slot bandwidth over a plurality of consecutive subchannels, a first set of symbols allocated to at least a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH), a second set of symbols allocated to a first set of one or more positioning reference signals (PRS) by the first sidelink device, wherein the first set of one or more PRS is frequency-division multiplexed with the first set of symbols allocated to the PSCCH, a third set of symbols allocated to a second set of one or more PRS from a second sidelink device, wherein the second set of one or more PRS is allocated a bandwidth at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth; receive a sidelink transmission having the configured sidelink slot format; transmit or measure one or more PRS of the first set of one or more PRS; and transmit or measure one or more PRS of the second set of one or more PRS.

[0283]

[0303] Clause 83. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of Clause 82, wherein transmitting or measuring one or more PRS of the first set of one or more PRS includes transmitting one or more PRS of the first set of one or more PRS, and wherein transmitting or measuring one or more PRS of the second set of one or more PRS includes measuring one or more PRS of the second set of one or more PRS.

[0284]

[0304] Clause 84. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to clause 82 or 83, wherein a second set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth that is at least equal to the bandwidth of a carrier used by a first sidelink device, the bandwidth of a bandwidth part (BWP) used by the first sidelink device, or the bandwidth of a sidelink resource pool used by the first sidelink device.

[0285]

[0305] Clause 85. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of clauses 82 to 84, wherein a configured sidelink slot format further includes a fourth set of symbols allocated to a third set of one or more PRSs, and the third set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth that is at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth.

[0286]

[0306] Clause 86. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to clause 85, further including computer-executable instructions that cause the first sidelink device to measure one or more PRSs among a third set of one or more PRSs when executed by the first sidelink device.

[0287]

[0307] Clause 87. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of clauses 82 to 86, wherein the arrangement of a first set of one or more PRSs and a second set of one or more PRSs is at least partially based on a destination identifier of the first sidelink device and a second sidelink device associated with the second set of one or more PRSs.

[0288]

[0308] Clause 88. The arrangement of the first set of one or more PRSs is indicated in the pre - configured configured sidelink slot format in the first sidelink device, control information in the PSCCH, first - stage sidelink control information (SCI - 1) in the PSCCH, second - stage sidelink control information (SCI - 2) in the PSSCH, media access control layer control elements (MAC - CE), PC5 radio resource control (PC5 - RRC) information, upper - layer messages, radio transmission standards, or any combination thereof, on a non - transitory computer - readable medium as described in any of Clauses 82 - 87.

[0289]

[0309] Clause 89. A non - transitory computer - readable medium storing computer - executable instructions, wherein the computer - executable instructions, when executed by a first sidelink device, cause the first sidelink device to receive a sidelink transmission having a configured sidelink slot format including an allocated sidelink slot bandwidth over a set of one or more consecutive subchannels, a first set of symbols allocated to a first set of one or more positioning reference signals (PRSs), and a second set of symbols allocated to a second set of one or more PRSs, wherein either the first set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth, or the second set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth, or a combination thereof, and cause the first sidelink device to transmit or measure one or more PRSs of the first set of one or more PRSs and transmit or measure one or more PRSs of the second set of one or more PRSs.

[0290]

[0310] Clause 90. The non - transitory computer - readable medium according to Clause 89, wherein a first set of one or more PRSs is allocated to a first sidelink device and a second set of one or more PRSs is allocated to a second sidelink device.

[0291]

[0311] Clause 91. The configured sidelink slot format further includes a third set of symbols assigned to a third set of one or more PRSs, and the third set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth that is at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to Clause 89 or 90.

[0292]

[0312] Clause 92. Transmitting or receiving one or more PRSs of the first set of one or more PRSs includes transmitting one or more PRSs of the first set of one or more PRSs, and transmitting or measuring one or more PRSs of the second set of one or more PRSs includes measuring one or more PRSs of the second set of one or more PRSs. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 89 to 91.

[0293]

[0313] Clause 93. When executed by a first sidelink device, cause the first sidelink device to receive a first measurement report including information corresponding to measurements made from a first set of one or more PRSs by a second sidelink device, transmit a measurement report including information corresponding to measurements made from a second set of one or more PRSs, or perform a combination thereof. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to Clause 92, further including computer-executable instructions.

[0294]

[0314] Clause 94. The arrangement of the first set of one or more PRSs and the arrangement of the second set of one or more PRSs are in a non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any of Clauses 89 to 93, as indicated in the pre-configuration of the configured sidelink slot format in the first sidelink device, control information in the PSCCH of the previous sidelink slot, first-stage sidelink control information (SCI-1) in the PSCCH of the previous sidelink slot, second-stage sidelink control information (SCI-2) in the PSSCH, media access control (MAC) control element (CE), PC5 radio resource control (PC5-RRC) information of the previous sidelink slot, upper layer message, radio transmission standard, or any combination thereof.

[0295]

[0315] Clause 95. The arrangement of the first set of one or more PRSs and the arrangement of the second set of one or more PRSs are in a non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any of Clauses 89 to 94, at least partially based on the destination identifier of the second sidelink device associated with the first sidelink device and the second set of one or more PRSs.

[0296]

[0316] Clause 96. The first set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth that is at least equal to the bandwidth of the carrier used by the first sidelink device, the bandwidth of the bandwidth part (BWP) used by the first sidelink device, or the bandwidth of the sidelink resource pool used by the first sidelink device, in a non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any of Clauses 89 to 95.

[0297]

[0317] One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that information and signals may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referred to throughout the above description may be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, optical fields or optical particles, or any combination thereof.

[0298]

[0318] Furthermore, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the various exemplary logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein can be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability 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 upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Those skilled in the art may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0299]

[0319] The various exemplary logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein can be implemented or performed using a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0300]

[0320] The methods, sequences, and / or algorithms described in connection with the aspects disclosed in this specification can be embodied directly in hardware, in software modules executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. The software modules can reside in random access memory (RAM), flash memory, read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), registers, hard disk, removable disk, CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor such that the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. Alternatively, the storage medium can be integral to the processor. The processor and the storage medium can reside in an ASIC. The ASIC can be present in a user terminal (e.g., a UE). Alternatively, the processor and the storage medium can be present in the user terminal as discrete components.

[0301]

[0321] In one or more exemplary embodiments, the functions described may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. The computer-readable medium includes both a computer storage medium and a communication medium including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. The storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable medium can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of medium. As used herein, disk and disc include compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk, and Blu-ray disc where disk typically magnetically reproduces data and disc optically reproduces data with a laser. Combinations of the above are also included within the scope of computer-readable medium.

[0302]

[0322] Note that while the above disclosure shows exemplary aspects of the present disclosure, various changes and modifications may be made herein without departing from the scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims. The functions, steps, and / or acts of the method claims according to the aspects of the present disclosure described herein need not be performed in any particular order. Further, elements of the present disclosure may be described or claimed in the singular, but the plural is contemplated unless expressly stated to the contrary.

Claims

1. A method of wireless communication performed by a first sidelink device, comprising: receiving a sidelink transmission having a configured sidelink slot format including an allocated sidelink slot bandwidth over a set of one or more consecutive subchannels, a first set of symbols allocated to at least a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH), and a second set of symbols allocated to a first set of one or more positioning reference signals (PRS), wherein the first set of one or more PRS is allocated a bandwidth at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth; transmitting or measuring one or more of the first set of one or more PRS. A method comprising the above.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the configured sidelink slot format further includes a third set of symbols allocated to a second set of one or more PRS of a second sidelink device, and the second set of one or more PRS is allocated a bandwidth at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein transmitting or measuring one or more of the first set of one or more PRS includes transmitting one or more of the first set of one or more PRS, and the method further includes measuring one or more of the second set of one or more PRS.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the configured sidelink slot format further includes a fourth set of symbols allocated to a third set of one or more PRS of a third sidelink device, and the fourth set of one or more PRS is allocated a bandwidth at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the arrangement of the first set of one or more PRS and the second set of one or more PRS is at least partially based on a destination identifier of the second sidelink device associated with the first sidelink device and the second set of one or more PRS.

6. ​ ​ ​ ​ The arrangement of the first set of one or more PRSs is the pre - configuration of the configured sidelink slot format in the first sidelink device, the control information in the PSCH, the first - stage sidelink control information (SCI - 1) in the PSCH, the second - stage sidelink control information (SCI - 2) in the PSSCH, the medium access control layer control element (MAC - CE), the PC5 radio resource control (PC5 - RRC) information, the upper - layer message, the radio transmission standard, or any combination thereof The method according to claim 1, as indicated in

7. The configured sidelink slot format further includes a fifth set of symbols allocated to the physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), and the arrangement of the first set of one or more PRSs is at least partially indicated in the second - stage sidelink control information (SCI - 2), the MAC - CE, the upper - layer message, or any combination thereof The method according to claim 1.

8. Transmitting or measuring one or more PRSs of the first set of one or more PRSs includes transmitting one or more PRSs of the first set of one or more PRSs, and receiving a measurement report including information corresponding to measurements made from one or more PRSs of the first set of one or more PRSs by a second sidelink device. The method according to claim 1.

9. The first set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth equal to or at least equal to the bandwidth of the carrier used by the first sidelink device, the bandwidth of the bandwidth part (BWP) used by the first sidelink device, or the bandwidth of the sidelink resource pool used by the first sidelink device. The method according to claim 1.

10. A method of wireless communication performed by a first sidelink device, comprising an allocated sidelink slot bandwidth over a plurality of consecutive sub - channels, and a first set of symbols allocated to at least the physical sidelink control channel (PSCH) A second set of symbols assigned to a first set of one or more positioning reference signals (PRS) by the first sidelink device, wherein the first set of one or more PRS is frequency division multiplexed with the first set of symbols assigned to the PSCH, the second set of symbols; A third set of symbols assigned to a second set of one or more PRS from a second sidelink device, wherein the second set of one or more PRS is allocated a bandwidth at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth, the third set; Receiving a configured sidelink slot format including; Transmitting or measuring one or more PRS of the first set of one or more PRS; Transmitting or measuring one or more PRS of the second set of one or more PRS; A method including. **Claim 11** Said transmitting or measuring one or more PRS of the first set of one or more PRS includes transmitting one or more PRS of the first set of one or more PRS; The method according to claim 10, wherein said transmitting or measuring one or more PRS of the second set of PRS includes measuring one or more PRS of the second set of one or more PRS. **Claim 12** The second set of one or more PRS is The bandwidth of the carrier used by the first sidelink device, The bandwidth of the bandwidth part (BWP) used by the first sidelink device, or The bandwidth of the sidelink resource pool used by the first sidelink device The method according to claim 10, wherein a bandwidth at least equal to is allocated. **Claim 13** The configured sidelink slot format is A fourth set of symbols assigned to a third set of one or more PRS The method according to claim 10, further comprising, wherein the third set of one or more PRS is allocated a bandwidth at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth. **Claim 14** The method according to claim 13, further comprising measuring one or more PRS of the third set of one or more PRS.

15. The method according to claim 10, wherein the arrangement of the first set of one or more PRSs and the second set of one or more PRSs is at least partially based on a destination identifier of the second sidelink device associated with the first sidelink device and the second set of one or more PRSs.

16. The arrangement of the first set of PRSs is pre - configured sidelink slot format in the first sidelink device, control information in the PSCH, first - stage sidelink control information (SCI - 1) in the PSCH, second - stage sidelink control information (SCI - 2) in the PSSCH, medium access control layer control element (MAC - CE), PC5 radio resource control (PC5 - RRC) information, higher - layer message, radio transmission standard, or any combination thereof shown in, the method according to claim 10.

17. A method of wireless communication performed by a first sidelink device, comprising: an allocated sidelink slot bandwidth over a set of one or more consecutive subchannels, a first set of symbols allocated to a first set of one or more positioning reference signals (PRSs), a second set of symbols allocated to a second set of one or more PRSs, a configured sidelink slot format, wherein the first set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth, the second set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth, or a combination thereof, receiving the configured sidelink slot format, transmitting or measuring one or more of the first set of one or more PRSs, transmitting or measuring one or more of the second set of one or more PRSs, The method includes.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein the first set of one or more PRSs is allocated to the first sidelink device, and the second set of one or more PRSs is allocated to a second sidelink device.

19. the configured sidelink slot format being a third set of symbols assigned to a third set of one or more PRSs further comprising, wherein the third set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth that is at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth, the method of claim 17 **Claim 20** said transmitting or measuring of said one or more PRSs of said first set of one or more PRSs including transmitting said one or more PRSs of said first set of one or more PRSs said transmitting or measuring of said one or more PRSs of said second set of one or more PRSs including measuring said one or more PRSs of said second set of one or more PRSs, the method of claim 17 **Claim 21** receiving a first measurement report including information corresponding to measurements made from said first set of one or more PRSs by a second sidelink device transmitting a measurement report including information corresponding to measurements made from said second set of one or more PRSs, or a combination thereof further comprising, the method of claim 20 **Claim 22** the arrangement of said first set of one or more PRSs and the arrangement of said second set of one or more PRSs being a pre-configuration of said configured sidelink slot format in said first sidelink device control information within the PSCCH of a previous sidelink slot first stage sidelink control information (SCI-1) within the PSCCH of said previous sidelink slot second stage sidelink control information (SCI-2) within the PSSCH media access control (MAC) control element (CE) PC5 radio resource control (PC5-RRC) information of said previous sidelink slot upper layer message radio transmission standard, or any combination thereof as indicated in, the method of claim 17 **Claim 23** the arrangement of said first set of one or more PRSs and the arrangement of said second set of one or more PRSs being at least partially based on a destination identifier of a second sidelink device associated with said first sidelink device and said second set of one or more PRSs, the method of claim 17 **Claim 24** said first set of one or more PRSs being The bandwidth of the carrier used by the first sidelink device, The bandwidth of the bandwidth part (BWP) used by the first sidelink device, or The bandwidth of the sidelink resource pool used by the first sidelink device The method according to claim 17, wherein a bandwidth at least equal to is allocated. **Claim 25** A memory, At least one transceiver, At least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, A first sidelink device comprising: wherein the at least one processor An allocated sidelink slot bandwidth over a set of one or more consecutive subchannels, A first set of symbols allocated to at least a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH), A second set of symbols allocated to a first set of one or more positioning reference signals (PRSs), wherein the first set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth, a second set; Receiving, via the at least one transceiver, a sidelink transmission having a configured sidelink slot format including Transmitting or measuring, via the at least one transceiver, one or more PRSs of the first set of one or more PRSs; A first sidelink device configured as such. **Claim 26** The configured sidelink slot format The first sidelink device according to claim 25, further comprising a third set of symbols allocated to a second set of one or more PRSs of a second sidelink device, wherein the second set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth. **Claim 27** The at least one processor Transmitting, via the at least one transceiver, one or more of the one or more PRSs of the first set of one or more PRSs; Measuring one or more PRSs of the second set of one or more PRSs; The first sidelink device according to claim 26, further configured as such. **Claim 28** The configured sidelink slot format The first sidelink device according to claim 26, further comprising a fourth set of symbols assigned to a third set of one or more PRSs of a third sidelink device, wherein the fourth set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth that is at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth.

29. The first sidelink device according to claim 26, wherein the arrangement of the first set of one or more PRSs and the second set of one or more PRSs is at least partially based on a destination identifier of the second sidelink device associated with the first sidelink device and the second set of one or more PRSs.

30. The arrangement of the first set of PRSs is pre - configuration of the configured sidelink slot format in the first sidelink device, control information within the PSCCH, first - stage sidelink control information (SCI - 1) within the PSCCH, second - stage sidelink control information (SCI - 2) within the PSSCH, medium access control layer control element (MAC - CE), PC5 radio resource control (PC5 - RRC) information, higher - layer messages, radio transmission standards, or any combination thereof shown in, the first sidelink device according to claim 25.

31. The configured sidelink slot format further comprises a fifth set of symbols allocated to the physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) and the arrangement of the first set of one or more PRSs is at least partially shown in second - stage sidelink control information (SCI - 2), MAC - CE, higher - layer messages, or any combination thereof in, the first sidelink device according to claim 25.

32. The at least one processor is configured to transmit the one or more PRSs of the first set of PRSs, receive a measurement report including information corresponding to measurements made from the one or more PRSs of the first set of one or more PRSs by a second sidelink device. The first sidelink device according to claim 25, configured as such.

33. The first set of one or more PRSs is the bandwidth of the carrier used by the first sidelink device, The bandwidth of the bandwidth part (BWP) used by the first sidelink device, or The bandwidth of the sidelink resource pool used by the first sidelink device and The first sidelink device according to claim 25, to which a bandwidth of at least equal bandwidth is allocated.

34. A memory, At least one transceiver, At least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, A first sidelink device including: wherein the at least one processor The allocated sidelink slot bandwidth over a plurality of consecutive subchannels, A first set of symbols allocated to at least the physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH), A second set of symbols allocated to a first set of one or more positioning reference signals (PRS) by the first sidelink device, wherein the first set of one or more PRS is frequency division multiplexed with the first set of symbols allocated to the PSCCH; a second set of symbols, A third set of symbols allocated to a second set of one or more PRS from a second sidelink device, wherein the second set of one or more PRS is allocated a bandwidth of at least equal bandwidth to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth; a third set, Receiving a sidelink transmission having a configured sidelink slot format via the at least one transceiver, Transmitting or measuring one or more of the one or more PRS in the first set of one or more PRS via the at least one transceiver, Transmitting or measuring one or more of the one or more PRS in the second set of one or more PRS via the at least one transceiver. The first sidelink device configured as such.

35. Said transmitting or measuring one or more of the one or more PRS in the first set of one or more PRS includes transmitting one or more of the one or more PRS in the first set of one or more PRS, Sending or measuring the one or more PRSs of the second set of one or more PRSs includes measuring the one or more PRSs of the second set of one or more PRSs, the first sidelink device according to claim 34.

36. The second set of one or more PRSs is the bandwidth of the carrier used by the first sidelink device, the bandwidth of the bandwidth part (BWP) used by the first sidelink device, or the bandwidth of the sidelink resource pool used by the first sidelink device and is allocated a bandwidth that is at least equal to, the first sidelink device according to claim 34.

37. The configured sidelink slot format further includes a fourth set of symbols assigned to a third set of one or more PRSs and the third set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth that is at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth, the first sidelink device according to claim 34.

38. The at least one processor is further configured to measure one or more PRSs of the third set of one or more PRSs, the first sidelink device according to claim 37.

39. The arrangement of the first set of one or more PRSs and the second set of one or more PRSs is at least partially based on a destination identifier of the first sidelink device and a second sidelink device associated with the second set of one or more PRSs, the first sidelink device according to claim 34.

40. The arrangement of the first set of one or more PRSs is the pre-configuration of the configured sidelink slot format in the first sidelink device, the control information in the PSCCH, the first stage sidelink control information (SCI-1) in the PSCCH, the second stage sidelink control information (SCI-2) in the PSSCH, the medium access control layer control element (MAC-CE), the PC5 radio resource control (PC5-RRC) information, the upper layer message, the radio transmission standard, or any combination thereof as shown in, the first sidelink device according to claim 34.

41. A memory, At least one transceiver, At least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, A first sidelink device comprising: wherein the at least one processor An allocated sidelink slot bandwidth over a set of one or more consecutive subchannels, A first set of symbols allocated to a first set of one or more positioning reference signals (PRSs), A second set of symbols allocated to a second set of one or more PRSs, A configured sidelink slot format comprising: Whether the first set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth, Whether the second set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth, or A combination thereof, Receiving, via the at least one transceiver, a sidelink transmission having a configured sidelink slot format, Transmitting or measuring, via the at least one transceiver, one or more PRSs of the first set of one or more PRSs, Transmitting or measuring, via the at least one transceiver, one or more PRSs of the second set of one or more PRSs, A first sidelink device configured as such.

42. The first set of one or more PRSs is allocated to the first sidelink device, The first sidelink device according to claim 41, wherein the second set of one or more PRSs is allocated to a second sidelink device.

43. The configured sidelink slot format Further includes a third set of symbols allocated to a third set of one or more PRSs The first sidelink device according to claim 41, wherein the third set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth at least equal to the allocated sidelink slot bandwidth.

44. The at least one processor Transmits the one or more PRSs of the first set of one or more PRSs, Measures the one or more PRSs of the second set of one or more PRSs, The first sidelink device according to claim 41, configured as such.

45. The at least one processor receives, via the at least one transceiver, a first measurement report including information corresponding to measurements made from the first set of one or more PRSs by a second sidelink device, transmits, via the at least one transceiver, a measurement report including information corresponding to measurements made from the second set of one or more PRSs, or performs a combination thereof, The first sidelink device according to claim 44, further configured as such.

46. The arrangement of the first set of one or more PRSs and the arrangement of the second set of one or more PRSs are preconfigured in the configured sidelink slot format in the first sidelink device, control information in the PSCCH of the previous sidelink slot, first-stage sidelink control information (SCI-1) in the PSCCH of the previous sidelink slot, second-stage sidelink control information (SCI-2) in the PSSCH, media access control (MAC) control element (CE), PC5 radio resource control (PC5-RRC) information of the previous sidelink slot, higher layer message, radio transmission standard, or any combination thereof The first sidelink device according to claim 41, indicated in.

47. The arrangement of the first set of one or more PRSs and the arrangement of the second set of one or more PRSs are at least partially based on a destination identifier of a second sidelink device associated with the first sidelink device and the second set of one or more PRSs. The first sidelink device according to claim 41.

48. The first set of one or more PRSs is allocated a bandwidth at least equal to the bandwidth of the carrier used by the first sidelink device, the bandwidth of the bandwidth part (BWP) used by the first sidelink device, or the bandwidth of the sidelink resource pool used by the first sidelink device The first sidelink device according to claim 41.

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