Positioning Based on the Arrival Frequency Difference

Abstract

Techniques for wireless positioning are disclosed. In one aspect, a user equipment (UE) receives assistance data for a positioning procedure from a location server, obtains frequency offset measurements of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources transmitted by at least one transmit receive point (TRP) based on the assistance data, and enables the determination of the location of the UE based at least in part on the frequency offset measurements.

Description

Technical Field

[0001]

[0001] Aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to wireless communication.

Background Art

[0002] (Description of Related Art)

[0002] 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 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.

[0003]

[0003] The fifth generation (5G) wireless standard, called New Radio (NR), enables, among other improvements, higher data transfer speeds, a greater number of connections, and better coverage. According to the Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance, the 5G standard is designed to provide higher data rates, more accurate positioning (e.g., based on positioning reference signals (PRS) such as downlink, uplink, or sidelink positioning reference signals, reference signals for positioning (RS-P)), and other technical enhancements compared to previous standards. These enhancements enable highly accurate 5G-based positioning, similar to the use of higher frequency bands, advancements in PRS processes and technologies, and high-density deployments for 5G.

Summary of the Invention

[0004]

[0004] The following presents a simplified summary of one or more aspects disclosed herein. Accordingly, the following summary should not be regarded as an extensive overview of all contemplated aspects, nor should the following summary be regarded as identifying key or critical elements of all contemplated aspects or as delimiting 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 herein prior to the detailed description presented below.

[0005]

[0005] In one aspect, a method for wireless positioning performed by a user equipment (UE) includes receiving assistance data for a positioning procedure from a location server, obtaining frequency offset measurements of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources transmitted by at least one transmission-reception point (TRP) based on the assistance data, and enabling the determination of the location of the UE based at least in part on the frequency offset measurements.

[0006]

[0006] In one aspect, a method for positioning performed by a network entity includes transmitting assistance data for a positioning procedure to a user equipment (UE), receiving frequency offset measurements of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources transmitted by at least one transmission-reception point (TRP) from the UE, and determining the location of the UE based at least in part on the frequency offset measurements.

[0007]

[0007] In one aspect, a user equipment (UE) comprises a memory, at least one transceiver, and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, wherein the at least one processor is configured to receive assistance data for a positioning procedure via the at least one transceiver, obtain frequency offset measurements of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources transmitted by at least one transmission-reception point (TRP) based on the assistance data, and enable the determination of the location of the UE based at least in part on the frequency offset measurements.

[0008]

[0008] In one aspect, a network entity includes a memory, at least one transceiver, and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, where the at least one processor transmits assistance data for a positioning procedure to a user equipment (UE) via the at least one transceiver, receives, via the at least one transceiver, frequency offset measurements of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources transmitted by at least one transmission and reception point (TRP) from the UE, and determines the location of the UE based at least in part on the frequency offset measurements.

[0009]

[0009] In one aspect, a user equipment (UE) includes means for receiving assistance data for a positioning procedure, means for obtaining frequency offset measurements of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources transmitted by at least one transmission and reception point (TRP) based on the assistance data, and means for enabling the determination of the location of the UE based at least in part on the frequency offset measurements.

[0010]

[0010] In one aspect, a network entity includes means for transmitting assistance data for a positioning procedure to a user equipment (UE), means for receiving, from the UE, frequency offset measurements of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources transmitted by at least one transmission and reception point (TRP), and means for determining the location of the UE based at least in part on the frequency offset measurements.

[0011]

[0011] In one aspect, the non-transitory computer-readable medium stores computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a user equipment (UE), cause the UE to receive assistance data for a positioning procedure, obtain a frequency offset measurement of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources transmitted by at least one transmission and reception point (TRP) based on the assistance data, and enable the determination of the location of the UE based at least in part on the frequency offset measurement.

[0012]

[0012] In one aspect, the non-transitory computer-readable medium stores computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a network entity, cause the network entity to transmit assistance data for a positioning procedure to a user equipment (UE), receive from the UE a frequency offset measurement of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources transmitted by at least one transmission and reception point (TRP), and cause the determination of the location of the UE based at least in part on the frequency offset measurement.

[0013]

[0013] Other objectives 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

[0014]

[0014] The accompanying drawings are presented to assist in the description of various aspects of the present disclosure and are provided only for purposes of exemplifying the aspects, not for limiting the aspects.

Figure 1

[0015] An exemplary wireless communication system according to an aspect of the present disclosure is shown.

Figure 2A

[0016] An exemplary wireless network structure according to an aspect of the present disclosure is shown.

Figure 2B

Figure 2C

Figure 3A

[0017] It is a simplified block diagram of some exemplary aspects of components that can be employed in a user equipment (UE) and configured to support the communications taught herein.

Figure 3B

Figure 3C

Figure 4

[0018] Examples of various positioning methods supported in New Radio (NR) according to an aspect of the present disclosure are shown.

Figure 5

[0019] 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 6

[0020] It is a diagram showing an exemplary frame structure according to an aspect of the present disclosure.

Figure 7

[0021] It is a graph representing a radio frequency (RF) channel impulse response over time according to an aspect of the present disclosure.

Figure 8

[0022] It is a diagram showing an exemplary system geometry for a frequency difference of arrival (FDOA) positioning procedure according to an aspect of the present disclosure.

Figure 9

[0023] It is a diagram showing a system geometry for Doppler shift calculation for a non - stationary satellite system according to an aspect of the present disclosure.

Figure 10

[0024] A graph showing an exemplary Doppler shift scenario with a 2 gigahertz (GHz) signal at 600 kilometers (km) on the downlink and uplink, according to aspects of the present disclosure.

Figure 11

[0025] A graph showing an exemplary Doppler shift scenario with a 2 GHz signal at 1500 km on the downlink and uplink, according to aspects of the present disclosure.

Figure 12

[0026] Illustrates determining time-domain correlation between narrowband reference signals, according to aspects of the present disclosure.

Figure 13

[0027] Examples of frequency offset measurements within and between slots are shown, according to aspects of the present disclosure.

Figure 14

[0028] Examples of comb pattern repetitions within and between slots are shown, according to aspects of the present disclosure.

Figure 15

[0029] An exemplary method of positioning is shown, according to aspects of the present disclosure.

Figure 16

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0015]

[0030] Aspects of the present disclosure are provided in the following description and associated drawings directed to various examples provided for illustrative purposes. Alternative aspects may be devised without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Additionally, well-known elements of the present disclosure are not described in detail or are omitted so as not to obscure relevant details of the present disclosure.

[0016]

[0031] As used herein, the terms "exemplary" and / or "example" are used to mean "an example, instance, or illustration." No aspect described herein as "exemplary" and / or "example" should necessarily be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects. Similarly, the term "aspects of the present disclosure" does not necessarily require that all aspects of the present disclosure include the features, advantages, or modes of operation being discussed.

[0017]

[0032] One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the information and signals described below may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referred to throughout the following description may be represented, in part, depending on the particular application, desired design, corresponding technology, etc., by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, optical fields or optical particles, or any combination thereof.

[0018]

[0033] Furthermore, many aspects are described from the perspective of a sequence of actions that would 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 of actions described herein, when executed, can be considered to be 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 of the device to perform or cause to be performed the functionality described herein. Accordingly, 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.

[0019]

[0034] As used herein, the terms "user equipment" (UE) and "base station" are not intended to be specific to, or limited to, any particular radio access technology (RAT) unless otherwise specified. Generally, a UE can be any wireless communication device used by a user to communicate via a wireless communication network (e.g., a mobile phone, router, tablet computer, laptop computer, consumer location device, wearable (e.g., smartwatch, glasses, augmented reality (AR) / virtual reality (VR) headset, etc.), vehicle (e.g., automobile, motorcycle, bicycle, etc.), Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc.). The UE may be mobile or (e.g., at a particular time) stationary and may communicate with a radio access network (RAN). The term "UE" as used herein may be interchangeably referred to as "access terminal" or "AT", "client device", "wireless device", "subscriber device", "subscriber terminal", "subscriber station", "user terminal" or "UT", "mobile device", "mobile terminal", "mobile station", or variants thereof. 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 to other UEs. Of course, other mechanisms for connecting to the core network and / or the Internet are also possible for the UE, 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 specifications, etc.).

[0020]

[0035] The base station may operate according to one of several RATs that the base station is communicating with the UE according to 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 called gNB or g-node B), etc. The base station can 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) used in this specification may refer to either the uplink / reverse traffic channel or the downlink / forward traffic channel.

[0021]

[0036] The term "base station" may refer to a single physical transmit-receive point (TRP) or multiple physical TRPs that may or may not be collocated. For example, when the term "base station" refers to a single physical TRP, the physical TRP may be an antenna of the base station corresponding to 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 a 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 a point from which the base station transmits and receives wireless signals, references to transmissions from or receptions at the base station, as used herein, should be understood to refer to a particular TRP of the base station.

[0022]

[0037] In some implementations that support UE positioning, the base station may not support wireless access by the UE (for example, may not support a data connection, a voice connection, and / or a signaling connection for the UE), but instead may transmit to the UE a reference signal that is to be measured by the UE and / or receive and measure a signal transmitted by the UE. Such a base station may be referred to as a positioning beacon (for example, when transmitting a signal to the UE) and / or a location measurement unit (for example, when receiving and measuring a signal from the UE).

[0023]

[0038] 「RF signal」 includes electromagnetic waves of a given frequency that propagate information through the space between a transmitter and a receiver. The transmitter used in this specification can transmit a single "RF signal" or a plurality of "RF signals" to a receiver. However, due to the propagation characteristics of RF signals through a multipath channel, a receiver may receive a plurality of "RF signals" corresponding to each transmitted RF signal. The same RF signal transmitted through different paths between a transmitter and a receiver may be referred to as a "multipath" RF signal. The RF signal used in this specification may also be referred to as a "wireless signal" or simply a "signal" when the context clearly indicates that the term "signal" refers to a wireless signal or an RF signal.

[0024]

[0039] FIG. 1 shows an exemplary wireless communication system 100 according to an aspect of the present disclosure. (Sometimes referred to as a wireless wide area network (WWAN)) The wireless communication system 100 may include various base stations 102 (labeled "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 may include an eNB and / or an ng-eNB corresponding to the LTE network of the wireless communication system 100, or a gNB corresponding to the 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.

[0025]

[0040] The base station 102 may collectively form a RAN and interface with a core network 170 (e.g., an evolved packet core (EPC) or a 5G core (5GC)) through a backhaul link 122 and, through the core network 170, with one or more location servers 172 (e.g., a location management function (LMF) or a secure user plane location (SUPL) location platform (SLP)). The location server 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 through another network, such as via a wireless local area network (WLAN) access point (AP) (e.g., the AP 150 described below) via an application server (not shown), etc. 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 a direct connection 128), and intervening nodes (if any) are omitted from the signaling diagram for clarity.

[0026]

[0041] In addition to other functions, the base station 102 may perform one or more functions related to transferring user data, radio channel encryption and decryption, integrity protection, header compression, mobility control functions (e.g., handover, dual connectivity), inter-cell interference coordination, connection setup and release, load 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. The 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.

[0027]

[0042] The base station 102 can wirelessly communicate with the UE 104. Each of the base stations 102 can provide communication coverage regarding its respective geographic coverage area 110. In one aspect, one or more cells can be supported by the base stations 102 within each geographic 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 called 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 can be configured according to different protocol types (e.g., machine-type communication (MTC), narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), or others) that can 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 one or both of the logical communication entity and the base station that supports it. Additionally, since the TRP is usually the physical transmission point of a cell, the terms "cell" and "TRP" may be used interchangeably. In some cases, the term "cell" may also refer to the geographic coverage area (e.g., sector) of a base station as long as a carrier frequency can be detected and used for communication within a certain part of the geographic coverage area 110.

[0028]

[0043] 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” for “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).

[0029]

[0044] 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).

[0030]

[0045] 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 gigahertz (GHz)). When communicating in an 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.

[0031]

[0046] Small cell base station 102' may operate in a licensed frequency spectrum and / or an unlicensed frequency spectrum. When operating in an unlicensed frequency spectrum, the small cell base station 102' may utilize LTE technology or NR technology and use the same 5 GHz unlicensed frequency spectrum as that used by the WLAN AP 150. A small cell base station 102' that employs LTE / 5G in an unlicensed frequency spectrum may expand the coverage of the access network and / or increase the capacity of the access network. NR in an unlicensed spectrum may be referred to as NR-U. LTE in an unlicensed spectrum may sometimes be referred to as LTE-U, licensed assisted access (LAA), or MulteFire.

[0032]

[0047] The wireless communication system 100 may further include an mmW base station 180 that communicates with the UE 182 and can operate at millimeter wave (mmW) frequencies and / or near mmW. 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. Communications using the mmW / near mmW radio frequency band have high path loss and a relatively short range. The mmW base station 180 and the UE 182 may utilize beamforming (transmission and / or reception) via the 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 transmit 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.

[0033]

[0048] 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 from the perspective of data rate. To change 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.

[0034]

[0049] 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 received beam (e.g., UE) appears to have the same parameters. In NR, there are four types of quasi-co-location (QCL) relationships. Specifically, a given type of QCL relationship means that certain 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.

[0035]

[0050] 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 perform beamforming in a particular direction, it means that the beam gain in that direction is higher than the beam gains along other directions, or that the beam gain in that direction is the highest compared to the beam gains in that direction of all other receive beams available to the receiver. This results in a stronger received signal strength (e.g., reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR), etc.) of the RF signal received from that direction.

[0036]

[0051] Transmit beams and receive beams may be spatially related. Spatial relationship means that parameters for a second beam (e.g., a transmit beam or a receive beam) for a second reference signal can be derived from information about a first beam (e.g., a receive beam or a transmit beam) for a first reference signal. For example, a UE may receive a reference downlink reference signal (e.g., a 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., a sounding reference signal (SRS)) to that base station based on the parameters of the receive beam.

[0037]

[0052] 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 a base station forms a downlink beam to transmit a reference signal to a UE, the downlink beam is a transmission beam. However, when a UE forms a downlink beam, it is a reception beam for receiving a 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 a base station forms an uplink beam, it is an uplink reception beam, and when a UE forms an uplink beam, it is an uplink transmission beam.

[0038]

[0053] 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 is often (interchangeably) referred to as the "millimeter wave" band in documents and papers, 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.

[0039]

[0054] 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 fact, the characteristics of FR1 and / or FR2 may be extended to the intermediate band frequencies. Note that in order to extend 5G NR operation beyond 52.6 GHz, higher frequency bands are currently being explored. 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.

[0040]

[0055] With the above aspects in mind, unless otherwise specifically described, terms such as "sub-6 GHz" as used in this specification may be understood to 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 be understood to broadly represent frequencies that can include intermediate band frequencies, frequencies that can be within the range of FR2, FR4, FR4-a or FR4-1, and / or FR5, or frequencies that can be within the range of the EHF band.

[0041]

[0056] In a multi-carrier system such as 5G, one of the carrier frequencies is called the "primary carrier" or "anchor carrier" or "primary serving cell" or "PCell", and the remaining carrier frequencies are called the "secondary carrier" or "secondary serving cell" or "SCell". In carrier aggregation, the anchor carrier is the carrier operating on the primary frequency (e.g., FR1) 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 operating 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, there should be no UE-specific signaling information and signals 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. Since the "serving cell" (regardless of PCell or SCell) corresponds to the carrier frequency / component carrier through which several base stations communicate, terms such as "cell", "serving cell", "component carrier", "carrier frequency", etc. can be used interchangeably.

[0042]

[0057] For example, still referring to FIG. 1, one of the frequencies utilized by macro cell base station 102 can be an anchor carrier (or "PCell"), and the other frequencies utilized by macro cell 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 two-fold increase in data rate (i.e., 40 MHz) compared to the data rate achieved by a single 20 MHz carrier.

[0043]

[0058] Wireless communication system 100 may further include a UE 164 that may communicate with macro cell base station 102 via communication link 120 and / or with mmW base station 180 via mmW communication link 184. For example, macro cell base station 102 may support a PCell and one or more SCells for UE 164, and mmW base station 180 may support one or more SCells for UE 164.

[0044]

[0059] In some cases, UE164 and UE182 may be capable of sidelink communication. Sidelink-capable UEs (SL-UEs) can communicate with base station 102 via communication link 120 using the Uu interface (i.e., the air interface between the UE and the base station). The SL-UE (e.g., UE164, UE182) may also communicate directly with each other via wireless sidelink 160 using the PC5 interface (i.e., the air interface between sidelink-capable UEs). The 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 may 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, etc. One or more of the groups of SL-UEs that utilize sidelink communication may be within the geographical coverage area 110 of base station 102. Other SL-UEs in such a group may be outside the geographical coverage area 110 of base station 102 or, in some cases, may not be able to receive transmissions from base station 102. In some cases, the group of SL-UEs communicating via sidelink communication may utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system where each SL-UE transmits to all other SL-UEs within the group. In some cases, base station 102 facilitates the scheduling of resources for sidelink communication. In other cases, sidelink communication is carried out between SL-UEs without the involvement of base station 102.

[0045]

[0060] In one aspect, the side link 160 may operate on a target wireless communication medium, and the associated communication medium may be shared with other wireless communications between other vehicles and / or infrastructure access points, and other RATs. The "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 (including, for example, one or more channels over one or more carriers). In one aspect, 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 certain 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 generally 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.

[0046]

[0061] Figure 1 shows only two of the UEs as SL-UEs (i.e., UE164 and 182), but it should be noted that any of the illustrated UEs may be an SL-UE. Further, although only UE182 was described as being beamforming capable, any of the illustrated UEs, including UE164, may be beamforming capable. When beamforming capable, the SL-UEs may beamform towards each other (i.e., towards other SL-UEs), towards other UEs (e.g., UE104), towards base stations (e.g., base stations 102, 180, small cell 102’, access point 150), and so on. Thus, in some cases, UE164 and UE182 may utilize beamforming via sidelink 160.

[0047]

[0062] In the example of Figure 1, any of the illustrated UEs (shown in Figure 1 as UE114 and 116 for simplicity) may receive signals 124 from one or more earth-orbiting space vehicles (SVs) 112 (e.g., satellites). In one aspect, SV112 may be part of a satellite positioning system that UE114 and / or 116 (or any other UE) can use as an independent source of location information. A satellite positioning system is typically arranged to enable a receiver (e.g., UE114 and / or 116) to determine their locations 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., SV112). Such transmitters typically transmit signals marked with a repeating pseudo-random noise (PN) code of a set number of chips. Although typically located within SV112, the transmitter may sometimes be located on a ground-based control station, base station 102, and / or another UE104. The UE (e.g., UE114 and / or 116) may include one or more dedicated receivers specifically designed to receive signals 124 for deriving geolocation information from SV112.

[0048]

[0063] 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 augmented 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)-aided Geo Augmented Navigation, or the GPS and Geo Augmented Navigation system (GAGAN). Accordingly, the satellite positioning system 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.

[0049]

[0064] 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 (ES) 118 (also called a ground station, NTN gateway, or gateway), which in turn is connected to an element in a 5G network, such as a modified base station 102 (without a terrestrial antenna) or a network node in the 5GC (e.g., core network 170). 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, UE114 and / or 116 can receive communication signals (e.g., signal 124) from SV112 instead of or in addition to communication signals from terrestrial base station 102. The radio link between the UE (e.g., UE114, 116) and SV112 is called a "service link" (e.g., service link 124). The radio link between SV112 and earth station 118 is called a "feeder link" (e.g., feeder link 126).

[0050]

[0065] NTN can also be used to enhance 5G service reliability by providing service continuity for machine-to-machine (M2M) devices and / or IoT devices, or for passengers on a moving platform (e.g., a passenger vehicle such as an aircraft, ship, high-speed train, bus, etc.), or by ensuring service availability anywhere, especially for critical communications. NTN can also enable 5G network scalability by providing efficient multicast / broadcast resources for data delivery towards the network edge or even towards the UE (e.g., UE114 and / or 116).

[0051]

[0066] In the example of FIG. 1, SV112 communicates with UE114 (representing a UE outside the coverage area of base station 102 and in an area not served by the terrestrial 5G network) and UE116 (representing a UE inside the coverage area of base station 102 and not fully served by the terrestrial 5G network). Thus, SV112 may act as a serving base station for UE114 and as a primary cell or secondary cell for UE116 depending on the service provided by base station 102 to UE116.

[0052]

[0067] Note that although FIG. 1 shows only a single SV112 and a single earth station 118, it should be understood that this is merely an example and there may be any number of SV112s connected to any number of earth stations 118.

[0053]

[0068] Wireless communication system 100 may further include one or more UEs, such as UE190, that are indirectly connected to one or more communication networks via one or more device-to-device (D2D) peer-to-peer (P2P) links (referred to as "side links"). In the example of FIG. 1, UE190 has a D2D P2P link 192 with one of UE104s connected to one of base stations 102 (e.g., through which UE190 may indirectly obtain a cellular connection) and a D2D P2P link 194 with WLAN STA152 connected to WLAN AP150 (e.g., through which UE190 may indirectly obtain a WLAN-based Internet connection). 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®.

[0054]

[0069] Figure 2A shows an exemplary wireless network structure 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 backhaul connection 223. In some configurations, Next Generation RAN (NG-RAN) 220 may have one or more gNB 222s, 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).

[0055]

[0070] Another optional aspect may include a location server 230 that may be communicating with the 5GC 210 to provide location assistance to the UE 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 among 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).

[0056]

[0071] Figure 2B shows another exemplary wireless network structure 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 collaboratively 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 access 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 UMTS (universal mobile telecommunications system) subscriber identity module (USIM), AMF 264 retrieves security material from the AUSF. The functions of AMF 264 also include security context management (SCM).The SCM receives from the SEAF the keys that the SCM uses to derive the access network specific keys. The functionality of the AMF 264 also includes location service management for regulatory services, transport for location service messages between the UE 204 and the Location Management Function (LMF) 270 (acting as the location server 230), transport for location service messages between the NG-RAN 220 and the LMF 270, allocation of EPS bearer identifiers for interaction with the evolved packet system (EPS), and UE 204 mobility event notifications. In addition, the AMF 264 also supports functions for non-3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project) access networks.

[0057]

[0072] The functions of the UPF262 include, when applicable, acting as an anchor point for RAT-in / RAT-inter mobility, acting as an external protocol data unit (PDU) session point for 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) processing 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 UPF262 may also support the transfer of location service messages on the user plane between the UE204 and a location server such as the SLP272.

[0058]

[0073] 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 control of policy enforcement and QoS, and downlink data notification. The interface through which the SMF266 communicates with the AMF264 is called the N11 interface.

[0059]

[0074] Another optional aspect may include an LMF 270 that is communicating with the 5GC 260 to provide location assistance to the UE 204. The LMF 270 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 LMF 270 may be configured to support one or more location services for the UE 204 that can connect to the LMF 270 via the core network, via the 5GC 260, and / or via the Internet (not shown). The SLP 272 may support functions similar to those of the LMF 270, while on the other hand, the LMF 270 may communicate with the AMF 264, the NG-RAN 220, and the UE 204 via the control plane (e.g., using interfaces and protocols intended to carry signaling messages rather than voice or data), and the SLP 272 may communicate with the UE 204 and 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).

[0060]

[0075] 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 a plurality of 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.

[0061]

[0076] The user plane interface 263 and the control plane interface 265 connect the 5GC 260, specifically the UPF 262 and the AMF 264 respectively, to one or more gNBs 222 and / or ng-eNBs 224 within the NG-RAN 220. The interface between the gNB 222 and / or ng-eNB 224 and the AMF 264 is called the "N2" interface, and the interface between the gNB 222 and / or ng-eNB 224 and the UPF 262 is called the "N3" interface. The gNBs 222 and / or ng-eNBs 224 of the NG-RAN 220 may communicate directly with each other via a backhaul connection 223 called the "Xn-C" interface. One or more of the gNBs 222 and / or ng-eNBs 224 may communicate with one or more UEs 204 via a wireless interface called the "Uu" interface.

[0062]

[0077] 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 allocated to the gNB-DU 228. More specifically, the gNB-CU 226 generally hosts the radio resource control (RRC), service data adaptation protocol (SDAP), and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) protocols of gNB 222. The gNB-DU 228 is a logical node that generally hosts the radio link control (RLC) and medium 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.

[0063]

[0078] The deployment of a communication system such as a 5G NR system may 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) implementing base station functionality may be implemented in an integrated or disaggregated architecture. For example, a base station (such as a Node B (NB), evolved NB (eNB), NR base station, 5G NB, access point (AP), transmit-receive point (TRP), or cell) may be implemented as an integrated base station (also known as a stand-alone base station or a monolithic base station) or a disaggregated base station.

[0064]

[0079] An integrated base station may be configured to utilize a radio protocol stack physically or logically integrated within a single RAN node. A disaggregated base station may be configured to utilize a protocol stack that is physically or logically distributed among two or more units (such as one or more central units or centralized units (CUs), one or more distributed units (DUs), or one or more radio units (RUs)). In some aspects, the CU may be implemented within a RAN node, one or more DUs may be collocated with the CU, or alternatively, may be geographically or virtually distributed across one or more other RAN nodes. The DU may be implemented to communicate with one or more RUs. Each of the CU, DU, and RU may also be implemented as a virtual unit, i.e., a virtual central unit (VCU), virtual distributed unit (VDU), or virtual radio unit (VRU).

[0065]

[0080] The operation or network design of the base station type may consider the aggregation characteristics of the base station functions. For example, a distributed base station may 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 in various physical locations, as well as virtually dispersing functions for at least one unit, which may enable flexibility in network design. The various units of a non-aggregated base station, or a non-aggregated RAN architecture, may be configured for wired or wireless communication with at least one other unit.

[0066]

[0081] FIG. 2C shows an exemplary split base station architecture 250 according to an aspect of the present disclosure. The split base station architecture 250 can communicate directly with a core network 267 (e.g., 5GC 210, 5GC 260) via a backhaul link or indirectly via one or more split base station units (e.g., 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 can 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 can 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, a UE 204 can be served simultaneously by multiple RUs 287.

[0067]

[0082] Each of the units, namely, CU280, DU285, RU287, and 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 transmission medium or a wireless transmission medium, or may be coupled to one or more such 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 receive and transmit signals to one or more of the other units via a wireless transmission medium.

[0068]

[0083] In some aspects, CU280 can host one or more upper layer control functions. Such control functions may include, for example, Radio Resource Control (RRC), Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP), Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP), etc. 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.

[0069]

[0084] 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 hosts 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 in accordance with function splitting, such as that defined by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). In some embodiments, DU285 may further host one or more low 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.

[0070]

[0085] The lower layer function can be implemented by one or more RU287s. In some deployments, the RU287s controlled by the DU285 may correspond to logical nodes that host an RF processing function, or a lower PHY layer function (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 RU287s can be implemented to handle over the air (OTA) communication with one or more UEs204. In some implementations, the real-time and non-real-time aspects of the control plane communication and user plane communication with the RU287s can be controlled by the corresponding DU285. In some scenarios, this configuration can enable the DU285 and CU280 to be implemented in a cloud-based RAN architecture such as a vRAN architecture.

[0071]

[0086] The SMO framework 255 may 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 may be configured to support the deployment of dedicated physical resources for RAN coverage requirements that can be managed via an operation and maintenance interface (such as an O1 interface). In the case of virtualized network elements, the SMO framework 255 may be configured to interact with a cloud computing platform (such as an Open Cloud (O-Cloud) 269) to perform 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 may 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 may communicate with a hardware aspect of a 4G RAN, such as an open eNB (O-eNB) 261, via an O1 interface. Additionally, in some implementations, the SMO framework 255 may 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.

[0072]

[0087] The non-RT RIC 257 may be configured to include a logical function that enables non-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources, an artificial intelligence / machine learning (AI / ML) workflow 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 an A1 interface). The quasi-RT RIC 259 may be configured to include a logical function that enables quasi-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources by data collection and actions (e.g., via an E2 interface) through an interface connecting one or more CU 280s, one or more DUs 285s, or both, and an O-eNB to the quasi-RT RIC 259.

[0073]

[0088] 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 deployed in the quasi-RT RIC 259. Such information may be utilized by the quasi-RT RIC 259 and may be received from a non-network data source or a network function 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 (e.g., reconfiguration via O1) or via the creation of a RAN management policy (e.g., an A1 policy).

[0074]

[0089] Figures 3A, 3B, and 3C show some exemplary components (represented by corresponding blocks) that may be incorporated within a User Equipment (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 depicted in FIGS. 2A and 2B, such as a private network) to support the operations described herein. It will be understood 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.

[0075]

[0090] UE 302 and base station 304 each include one or more wireless wide area network (WWAN) transceivers 310 and 350, and each provides means (e.g., means for transmitting, means for receiving, means for measuring, means for synchronizing, means for 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., eNBs, gNBs), 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 specific 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 each include one or more receivers 312 and 352, respectively, for receiving and decoding signals 318 and 358.

[0076]

[0091] 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. 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 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.) over the wireless communication medium. 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.) and, conversely, to receive and decode signals 328 and 368 (e.g., messages, instructions, information, pilots, etc.) according to the designated RAT. Specifically, 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 each include one or more receivers 322 and 362, respectively, for receiving and decoding signals 328 and 368. As a specific example, short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 may be WiFi transceivers, Bluetooth® transceivers, Zigbee® and / or Z-Wave® transceivers, NFC transceivers, UWB transceivers, or vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and / or vehicle-to-everything (V2X) transceivers.

[0077]

[0092] The UE 302 and the base station 304 also include satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 in at least some cases. The satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 can be connected to one or more antennas 336 and 376 respectively, and can provide means for receiving and / or measuring satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378 respectively. When the satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 are satellite positioning system receivers, the 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 the satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 are non-terrestrial network (NTN) receivers, the satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378 can be communication signals transmitted from a 5G network (e.g., carrying control and / or user data). The satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 can each be provided with any suitable hardware and / or software for receiving and processing the satellite positioning / communication signals 338 and 378. The satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 can appropriately request information and operations from other systems, and in at least some cases, perform calculations using the acquired measurements to determine the locations of the UE 302 and the base station 304 respectively by any suitable satellite positioning system algorithm.

[0078]

[0093] 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.

[0079]

[0094] The transceiver may be configured to communicate via a wired link or a wireless link. (Regardless of whether it is a wired transceiver or a wireless transceiver), the 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, it may include separate transmitter circuit configurations and separate receiver circuit configurations, or in other implementations, it 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 receive 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.

[0080]

[0095] 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 can 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.

[0081]

[0096] 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 in this specification. 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 equipped with processing means 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.

[0082]

[0097] 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.). Accordingly, memories 340, 386, and 396 can include storage means, retrieval means, maintenance means, etc. 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, when executed, can be part of or a hardware circuit coupled to respective processors 332, 384, and 394 that cause UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 to perform the functions described herein. In other aspects, 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 respective memories 340, 386, and 396 that cause UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 to perform the functions described herein when executed by processors 332, 384, and 394 (or a modem processing system, another processing system, etc.). FIG. 3A shows possible locations 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 possible locations 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 possible locations 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.

[0083]

[0098] 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 satellite signal receivers 330. By way of example, sensors 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 movement detection sensor. Additionally, sensors 344 may include multiple different types of devices and may combine their outputs to provide movement information. For example, sensors 344 may use a combination of a multi-axis accelerometer and an orientation sensor to provide the ability to calculate a position in a two-dimensional (2D) and / or three-dimensional (3D) coordinate system.

[0084]

[0099] Additionally, UE302 includes a user interface 346 that provides means for providing an indication (e.g., an acoustic and / or visual indication) to the user and / or for receiving user input (e.g., when the 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.

[0085]

[0100] Looking at one or more processors 384 in more detail, in the downlink, IP packets from network entity 306 can be provided to processor 384. The one or more processors 384 can implement functions for the Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer, the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, the Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, and the Medium Access Control (MAC) layer. The one or more processors 384 can perform RRC layer functions associated with the broadcast 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 the 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 the mapping between logical channels and transport channels, scheduling information reporting, error correction, prioritization, and logical channel prioritization.

[0086]

[0101] Transmitter 354 and receiver 352 may implement Layer 1 (L1) functions associated with various signal processing functions. Layer 1, including the Physical (PHY) layer, may include error detection on the transport channel, forward error correction (FEC) coding / decoding of the transport channel, interleaving, rate matching, mapping onto the physical channel, modulation / demodulation of the physical channel, and MIMO antenna processing. 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 a reference signal (e.g., pilot) 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 the reference signal transmitted by UE 302 and / or channel state feedback. Each spatial stream may then be provided to one or more different antennas 356. Transmitter 354 may modulate an RF carrier using individual spatial streams for transmission.

[0087]

[0102] In UE302, receiver 312 receives signals through its respective antennas 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 streams 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 originally transmitted by base station 304 on the physical channel. The data and control signals are then provided to one or more processors 332 that implement layer 3 (Layer-3, L3) and layer 2 (Layer-2, L2) functions.

[0088]

[0103] On the uplink, one or more processors 332 provide demultiplexing, packet reassembly, decoding, header recovery, and control signal processing between the transport channel and the logical channel to recover IP packets from the core network. One or more processors 332 are also responsible for error detection.

[0089]

[0104] Similar to the functions described in relation to downlink transmission by the base station 304, one or more processors 332 perform RRC layer functions related to system information (e.g., MIB, SIBs) acquisition, RRC connection, and measurement reporting; PDCP layer functions associated with header compression / decompression and security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification); and 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 reordering 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.

[0090]

[0105] Channel estimation values derived by a channel estimator from a reference signal 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 an RF carrier using individual spatial streams for transmission.

[0091]

[0106] 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.

[0092]

[0107] On the uplink, one or more processors 384 provide demultiplexing in reverse between the transport channel and the logical channel, packet reassembly, decoding, header restoration, and control signal processing to restore IP packets from 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.

[0093]

[0108] For the sake of convenience, UE 302, base station 304, and / or network entity 306 are shown in FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C as including various components that can be configured according to 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 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 UE 302 may omit the WWAN transceiver 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 320 (e.g., cellular only), or may omit the satellite signal receiver 330, or may omit the sensor 344, etc. In another example, in the case of FIG. 3B, a particular implementation of base station 304 may omit the WWAN transceiver 350 (e.g., a Wi-Fi "hotspot" access point without cellular capabilities), or may omit the short-range wireless transceiver 360 (e.g., cellular only), or may omit the satellite signal receiver 370, and so on. 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.

[0094]

[0109] The various components of 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 UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306, respectively. For example, if different logical entities are implemented within the same device (e.g., gNB and location server functionality incorporated within the same base station 304), data buses 334, 382, and 392 can provide communication between them.

[0095]

[0110] 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 functions represented by blocks 310 - 346 can be implemented by the processor and memory components of UE 302 (e.g., by execution of appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of processor components). Similarly, some or all of the functions represented by blocks 350 - 388 can be implemented by the processor and memory components 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 functions represented by blocks 390 - 398 can be implemented by the processor and memory components of network entity 306 (e.g., by execution of appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of processor components). For simplicity, in this specification, various operations, actions, and / or functions are described as being performed "by the UE", "by the base station", "by the network entity", etc. However, as will be understood, 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, such as processors 332, 384, 394, transceivers 310, 320, 350, and 360, memories 340, 386, and 396, positioning components 342, 388, and 398, etc.

[0096]

[0111] 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.

[0097]

[0112] NR supports several cellular network-based positioning techniques, including downlink-based positioning methods, uplink-based positioning methods, and downlink- and uplink-based positioning methods. Downlink-based positioning methods include observed time difference of arrival (OTDOA) in LTE, downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA) in NR, and downlink angle-of-departure (DL-AoD) in NR. Figure 4 shows examples of various positioning methods according to aspects of the present disclosure. In the OTDOA or DL-TDOA positioning procedure shown by scenario 410, the UE measures the difference between the times of arrival (ToAs) of reference signals (e.g., positioning reference signals (PRS)) received from a pair of base stations, referred to as reference signal time difference (RSTD) measurements or time difference of arrival (TDOA) measurements, and reports them to a positioning entity. More specifically, the UE receives identifiers (IDs) of a reference base station (e.g., serving base station) and a plurality of non-reference base stations in assistance data. The UE then measures the RSTD between each of the reference base station and the non-reference base stations. Based on the known locations of the involved base stations and the RSTD measurements, a positioning entity (e.g., the UE in the case of UE-based positioning, or a location server in the case of UE-assisted positioning) can estimate the location of the UE.

[0098]

[0113] In the case of DL-AoD positioning shown by scenario 420, the positioning entity uses measurement reports from the UE of the received signal strength measurements of a plurality of downlink transmission beams to determine the angle between the UE and the transmitting base station. The positioning entity can then estimate the location of the UE based on the determined angle and the known location of the transmitting base station.

[0099]

[0114] Uplink-based positioning methods include uplink time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA) and uplink angle-of-arrival (UL-AoA). UL-TDOA is similar to DL-TDOA, but is based on uplink reference signals (e.g., sounding reference signals (SRS)) transmitted by a UE to multiple base stations. Specifically, the UE transmits one or more uplink reference signals measured by a reference base station and a plurality of non-reference base stations. Each base station then reports the reception time of the reference signal (referred to as relative time of arrival (RTOA)) to a positioning entity (e.g., a location server) that knows the location and relative timing of the involved base stations. Based on the reception-to-reception (Rx-Rx) time difference between the reported RTOA of the reference base station and the reported RTOA of each non-reference base station, the known locations of the base stations, and their known timing offsets, the positioning entity can estimate the location of the UE using TDOA.

[0100]

[0115] In the case of UL-AoA positioning, one or more base stations measure the received signal strength of one or more uplink reference signals (e.g., SRS) received from the UE on one or more uplink reception beams. The positioning entity uses the signal strength measurements and the angles of the reception beams to determine the angle between the UE and the base station. Based on the determined angle and the known location of the base station, the positioning entity can then estimate the location of the UE.

[0101]

[0116] Downlink and uplink based positioning methods include enhanced cell-ID (E-CID) positioning and multi-round trip-time (RTT) positioning (also referred to as "multi-cell RTT" and "multi-RTT"). In the RTT procedure, a first entity (e.g., a base station or UE) transmits a first RTT-related signal (e.g., a PRS or SRS) to a second entity (e.g., a UE or base station), and the second entity transmits a second RTT-related signal (e.g., an SRS or PRS) back to the first entity. Each entity measures the time difference between the arrival time (ToA) of the received RTT-related signal and the transmission time of the transmitted RTT-related signal. This time difference is called the reception-to-transmission (Rx-Tx) time difference. The Rx-Tx time difference measurements can be made or adjusted to include only the time difference between the closest slot boundaries for the received and transmitted signals. Then, both entities can send their Rx-Tx time difference measurements to a location server (e.g., LMF270), and the location server can calculate the round-trip propagation time (i.e., the RTT) between the two entities from the two Rx-Tx time difference measurements (e.g., as the sum of the two Rx-Tx time difference measurements). Alternatively, one entity may send its Rx-Tx time difference measurement to the other entity, and then the other entity calculates the RTT. The distance between the two entities can be determined from the RTT and a known signal speed (e.g., the speed of light). In the case of multi-RTT positioning as shown by scenario 430, a first entity (e.g., a UE or base station) performs RTT positioning procedures with a plurality of second entities (e.g., a plurality of base stations or UEs) to enable the determination of the location of the first entity based on the distance to the second entity and the known location of the second entity (e.g., using multi-lateration).As shown by Scenario 440, the RTT and multi-RTT methods can be combined with other positioning techniques such as UL-AoA and DL-AoD to improve location accuracy.

[0102]

[0117] The E-CID positioning method is based on radio resource management (RRM) measurements. In E-CID, the UE reports the serving cell ID, timing advance (TA), and the identifiers, estimated timing, and signal strengths of the detected neighboring base stations. The location of the UE is then estimated based on this information and the known locations of the base stations.

[0103]

[0118] To assist in the positioning operation, a location server (e.g., location server 230, LMF 270, SLP 272) may provide assistance data to the UE. For example, the assistance data may include the identifier of the base station (or cell / TRP of the base station) from which to measure the reference signal, reference signal configuration parameters (e.g., the number of consecutive slots including PRS, the periodicity of consecutive slots including PRS, the muting sequence, the frequency hopping sequence, the reference signal identifier, the reference signal bandwidth, etc.), and / or other parameters applicable to a particular positioning method. Alternatively, the assistance data may be obtained directly from the base station itself (e.g., in an overhead message broadcast periodically). In some cases, the UE may be able to detect the neighboring network nodes themselves without using the assistance data.

[0104]

[0119] In the case of OTDOA or DL-TDOA positioning procedures, the assistance data may further include an expected RSTD value and the associated uncertainty around the expected RSTD, i.e., a search window. In some cases, the value range of the expected RSTD may be + / - 500 microseconds (μs). In some cases, when any of the resources used for the positioning measurement are within FR1, the value range for the uncertainty of the expected RSTD may be + / - 32 μs. In other cases, when all of the resources used for the positioning measurement are within FR2, the value range for the uncertainty of the expected RSTD may be + / - 8 μs.

[0105]

[0120] Location estimation may be referred to by other names such as position estimation, location, position, position fix, fix, etc. The location estimate may be geodetic and include coordinates (e.g., latitude, longitude, and optionally altitude), or it may be civic and include a street address, postal address, or some other linguistic description of the location. Location estimation may further be defined relative to some other known location or may be defined absolutely (e.g., using latitude, longitude, and optionally altitude). The location estimate may include an expected error or uncertainty (e.g., by including an area or volume within which the location is expected to be included with a specified level or default level of confidence).

[0106]

[0121] Figure 5 shows an exemplary Long-Term Evolution (LTE) positioning protocol (LPP) procedure 500 between a user equipment (UE) 504 and a location server (shown as a Location Management Function (LMF) 570) for performing a positioning operation. As shown in Figure 5, the positioning of the UE 504 is supported through the exchange of LPP messages between the UE 504 and the LMF 570. The LPP messages can be exchanged between the UE 504 and the LMF 570 via the serving base station of the UE 504 (shown as serving gNB 502) and the core network (not shown). The LPP procedure 500 can be used to position the UE 504 to support various location-related services such as navigation (for the UE 504 or for the user of the UE 504), or for routing, or for providing an accurate location to a public safety answering point (PSAP) in relation to an emergency call from the UE 504 to the PSAP, or for some other reason. The LPP procedure 500 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 identification (E-CID), etc.).

[0107]

[0122] First, at step 510, the UE 504 may receive a request regarding its positioning capabilities (e.g., an LPP capability request message) from the LMF 570. At step 520, the UE 504 provides its positioning capabilities for the LPP protocol to the LMF 570 by sending an LPP capability offer message indicating the positioning methods supported by the UE 504 and the characteristics of these positioning methods. The capabilities indicated in the LPP capability offer message may, in some aspects, indicate the types of positioning supported by the UE 504 (e.g., DL-TDOA, RTT, E-CID, etc.) and may indicate the capabilities of the UE 504 for supporting those types of positioning.

[0108]

[0123] Upon receiving the LPP capability provision message in stage 520, the LMF570 determines to use a specific type of positioning method (e.g., DL-TDOA, RTT, E-CID, etc.) based on the indicated type of positioning supported by the UE504, and determines a set of one or more transmit and receive points (TRPs) from which the UE504 should measure the downlink positioning reference signal or to which the UE504 should transmit the uplink positioning reference signal. In stage 530, the LMF570 sends a LPP assistance data provision message to the UE504 to identify the set of TRPs.

[0109]

[0124] In some implementations, the LPP assistance data provision message in stage 530 may be sent by the LMF570 to the UE504 in response to a LPP assistance data request message (not shown in FIG. 5) sent by the UE504 to the LMF570. The LPP assistance data request message may include an identifier of the serving TRP of the UE504 and a request for the positioning reference signal (PRS) configuration of neighboring TRPs.

[0110]

[0125] In stage 540, the LMF570 sends a request for location information to the UE504. 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 require a shorter response time. However, a long response time is called high latency, and a short response time is called low latency.

[0111]

[0126] In some implementations, for example, after the UE 504 receives a request for location information at stage 540 and then sends a request for assistance data to the LMF 570 (e.g., in an LPP assistance data request message not shown in FIG. 5), it should be noted that the LPP assistance data providing message sent at stage 530 can be sent after the LPP location information request message at 540.

[0112]

[0127] At stage 550, the UE 504 utilizes the assistance information received at stage 530 and any additional data received at stage 540 (e.g., a desired location accuracy or a maximum response time) to perform a positioning operation (e.g., measurement of DL-PRS, transmission of UL-PRS, etc.) for the selected positioning method.

[0113]

[0128] At stage 560, the UE 504 can send an LPP location information providing message to the LMF 570 that conveys the result of any measurement obtained at stage 550 (e.g., time of arrival (ToA), reference signal time difference (RSTD), receive-transmit (Rx-Tx), etc.) before or when any maximum response time (e.g., the maximum response time provided by the LMF 570 at stage 540) expires. The LPP location information providing message at stage 560 can also include the time (or times) at which the positioning measurement was obtained and the identification information of the TRP from which the positioning measurement was obtained. Note that the time between the request for location information at 540 and the response at 560 is the "response time" and indicates the latency of the positioning session.

[0114]

[0129] Based at least in part on the measurements received in the LPP location information providing message at stage 560, the LMF 570 calculates the estimated location of the UE 504 using an appropriate positioning technique (e.g., DL-TDOA, RTT, E-CID, etc.).

[0115]

[0130] To support downlink and uplink transmissions between network nodes (e.g., base stations and UEs), various frame structures can be used. FIG. 6 is a diagram 600 showing an exemplary frame structure according to an aspect of the present disclosure. The frame structure can be a downlink or uplink frame structure. Other wireless communication technologies may have different frame structures and / or different channels.

[0116]

[0131] 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.

[0117]

[0132] 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) and above may be available. At each subcarrier spacing, there are 14 symbols per slot. For 15 kHz SCS (μ = 0), there is 1 slot per subframe, that is, 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 30 kHz SCS (μ = 1), there are 2 slots per subframe, that is, 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 60 kHz SCS (μ = 2), there are 4 slots per subframe, that is, 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 120 kHz SCS (μ = 3), there are 8 slots per subframe, that is, 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 240 kHz SCS (μ = 4), there are 16 slots per subframe, that is, 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.

[0118]

[0133] 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.

[0119]

[0134] A resource grid may be used to represent time slots, and each time slot may include one or more time-parallel resource blocks (RBs) (also referred to as 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 include 12 consecutive sub-carriers in the frequency domain and 7 consecutive symbols in the time domain to obtain a total of 84 REs. For an extended cyclic prefix, an RB may include 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.

[0120]

[0135] Some of the REs may carry a reference signal (RS). The reference signal may be a positioning reference signal (PRS), a tracking reference signal (TRS), a phase tracking reference signal (PTRS), a cell-specific reference signal (CRS), a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), a demodulation reference signal (DMRS), a primary synchronization signal (PSS), a secondary synchronization signal (SSS), a synchronization signal block (SSBs), a sounding reference signal (SRS), etc., depending on whether the shown frame structure is used for uplink communication or for downlink communication. FIG. 6 shows an exemplary location of the REs that carry the reference signal (labeled "R").

[0121]

[0136] 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 (one or more, etc.) "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.

[0122]

[0137] The transmission of PRS resources within a given PRB has a specific comb size (also referred to as "comb density"). The comb size "N" represents the sub - carrier spacing (or frequency / tone spacing) within each symbol of the PRS resource configuration. Specifically, for a comb size of "N", the PRS is transmitted at every Nth sub - carrier of the symbols 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 sub - carrier (such as sub - carriers 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. Figure 6 shows an exemplary PRS resource configuration for comb 4 (spanning 4 symbols). That is, the location of the shaded REs (labeled "R") indicates the comb 4 PRS resource configuration.

[0123]

[0138] 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 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 respectively. 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}.

[0124]

[0139] 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. A PRS resource set is identified by a PRS resource set ID and is associated with a specific TRP (identified by a TRP ID). In addition, the PRS resources in a PRS resource set have the same periodicity, common muting pattern configuration, and the same repetition factor (such as "PRS-ResourceRepetitionFactor") across slots. Periodicity 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 periodicity is μ = 0, 1, 2, 3, and 2^μ * may have a length selected from {4, 5, 8, 10, 16, 20, 32, 40, 64, 80, 160, 320, 640, 1280, 2560, 5120, 10240} slots. The repetition factor may have a length selected from {1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 16, 32} slots.

[0125]

[0140] The PRS resource ID in a PRS resource set is associated with a single beam (or beam ID) transmitted from a single TRP (where the TRP may transmit one or more beams). That is, each PRS resource in a PRS resource set may be transmitted on a different beam, and thus may also be referred to as a "PRS resource" or simply a "resource", or 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.

[0126]

[0141] A "PRS instance" or "PRS occasion" is one instance of a periodically repeating time window (such as a group of one or more consecutive slots) that PRS is expected to be transmitted in. 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".

[0127]

[0142] A "positioning frequency layer" (also simply referred to as a "frequency layer") is a set of one or more PRS resource sets across one or more TRPs that have the same value for a particular parameter. Specifically, the set of PRS resource sets has the same subcarrier spacing and cyclic prefix (CP) type (meaning that all numerologies supported for the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) are also supported for PRS), the same Point A, the same value of downlink PRS bandwidth, the same starting PRB (and center frequency), and the same comb size. The Point A parameter takes the value of the parameter "ARFCN-ValueNR" (where "ARFCN" represents "absolute radio-frequency channel number") and is an identifier / code that specifies 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 a maximum of two PRS resource sets can be configured per TRP for each frequency layer.

[0128]

[0143] The concept of frequency layers 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 macro cell base station and a small cell base station) to transmit data channels, while frequency layers are used by several (usually three or more) base stations to transmit PRS. The UE may indicate the number of frequency layers it can support, such as during an LTE positioning protocol (LPP) session when the UE transmits its positioning capabilities to the network. For example, the UE may indicate whether it can support one positioning frequency layer or four positioning frequency layers.

[0129]

[0144] Note that the terms "positioning reference signal" and "PRS" are generally used to refer to specific reference signals for positioning in NR and LTE systems. However, as used herein, the terms "positioning reference signal" and "PRS" can refer to any type of reference signal that can be used for positioning, such as PRS defined in LTE and NR, TRS, PTRS, CRS, CSI-RS, DMRS, PSS, SSS, SSB, SRS, UL-PRS, etc., but are not limited thereto. Furthermore, the terms "positioning reference signal" and "PRS" can refer to downlink, uplink, or sidelink positioning reference signals unless otherwise indicated by the context. If necessary to further distinguish the type 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 signals that can be transmitted in the downlink, uplink, and / or sidelink (e.g., DMRS), "DL", "UL", or "SL" may be prepended to the signal to distinguish the direction. For example, "UL-DMRS" is different from "DL-DMRS".

[0130]

[0145] FIG. 7 is a graph 700 representing the channel impulse response of a multipath channel between a receiver device (e.g., either a UE or a base station as described herein) and a transmitter device (e.g., the other of either a UE or a base station as described herein) according to an aspect of the present disclosure. The channel impulse response represents the strength of a radio frequency (RF) signal received through the multipath channel as a function of time delay. Thus, the horizontal axis is in units of time (e.g., milliseconds), and the vertical axis is in units of signal strength (e.g., decibels). Note that the multipath channel is the channel between the transmitter and the receiver for the RF signal to follow multiple paths, or multipaths, due to the transmission of the RF signal in multiple beams and / or due to the propagation characteristics of the RF signal (e.g., reflection, refraction, etc.).

[0131]

[0146] In the example of FIG. 7, the receiver detects / measures a plurality (4) of clusters of channel taps. Each channel tap represents a multipath that the RF signal has followed between the transmitter and the receiver. That is, the channel tap represents the arrival of the RF signal on the multipath. Each cluster of channel taps indicates that the corresponding multipath has followed essentially the same path, and thus each cluster of channel taps corresponds to a path. Different clusters can exist due to the RF signal being transmitted on different transmit beams (and thus at different angles), and / or due to the propagation characteristics of the RF signal (which can cause it to follow different paths, e.g., due to reflection), and / or both.

[0132]

[0147] All clusters of channel taps for a given RF signal represent the multipath channel (or simply the channel) between the transmitter and the receiver. Under the channel shown in FIG. 7, the receiver receives a first cluster (first path) of two RF signals on the channel tap at time T1, a second cluster (second path) of five RF signals on the channel tap at time T2, a third cluster (third path) of five RF signals on the channel tap at time T3, and a fourth cluster (fourth path) of four RF signals on the channel tap at time T4. In the example of FIG. 7, the first cluster of RF signals at time T1 is assumed to correspond to the RF signal transmitted on the transmission beam aligned with the line-of-sight (LOS), or the shortest path, as it arrives first. The third cluster at time T3 consists of the strongest RF signals and may correspond to, for example, the RF signal transmitted on the transmission beam aligned with the non-line-of-sight (NLOS) path. Although FIG. 7 shows clusters of 2 to 5 channel taps, it should be noted that the clusters may have more or fewer channel taps than the number of channel taps shown. Similarly, although FIG. 7 shows four clusters / paths, it is understood that there may be more or fewer than four.

[0133]

[0148] The network operator may be required to cross-check the UE location reported by the UE in order to meet the regulatory requirements (e.g., lawful interception, emergency calls, public warning systems, etc.) regarding the network-verified UE location. That is, the network operator should be able to check the reported location information of the UE, for example, by estimating the location of the UE on the network side, and specify whether a mechanism is necessary to meet the regulatory requirements. To determine the network-verified UE location for NTN, the NTN-capable UE may report its global navigation satellite system (GNSS) location (since the NTN-capable UE is required to have GNSS), and the network (e.g., a location server) may verify or improve the UE's GNSS report through network-assisted positioning techniques.

[0134]

[0149] One mechanism for using an NTN transmitter (e.g., SV112) to estimate the location of the UE is the frequency difference of arrival (FDOA), or differential Doppler (DD). FDOA is a technique similar to TDOA for estimating the location of the UE based on measurements by the UE of multiple anchors (e.g., different NTN transmitters with known locations) or the same anchor at multiple locations (e.g., the same non-stationary NTN transmitter). TDOA and FDOA can be used together to improve location accuracy as long as TDOA can be used with multiple anchors for position estimation, but FDOA can be used for Doppler estimation whenever there is relative motion between the UE and the anchor (Doppler is the change in the frequency of an electromagnetic wave for an observer moving relative to the wave source). By combining TDOA measurements and FDOA measurements, the instantaneous position of the UE can be implemented two-dimensionally.

[0135]

[0150] In a DL-FDOA positioning method using an NTN transmitter (e.g., a satellite), the location of a UE can be estimated based on knowledge of the satellite ephemeris (i.e., the satellite's orbit over time, or position and velocity), along with measurements made at the UE of the difference or frequency offset of downlink radio signals from a single satellite transmitted at different times, or from multiple satellites.

[0136]

[0151] FIG. 8 is a diagram 800 showing an exemplary system geometry for an FDOA positioning procedure according to an aspect of the present disclosure. In the example of FIG. 8, a target UE is located at a fixed position (x, y, z) to be estimated, denoted by p. For a single satellite and a fixed UE, multiple virtual anchor locations can be created by the satellite transmitting the PRS at M different instants. Alternatively, M satellites can transmit the PRS at the same instant. The M satellite locations (which may be the location of one satellite or multiple satellite locations) can be denoted by s i (i = 1, 2,..., M), and the velocity can be

[0137]

Number

[0138] denoted by. Next, TDOA and FDOA can be expressed as the following system of equations.

[0139]

Number

[0140]

[0152] In the example of FIG. 8, both TDOA and FDOA can be used to improve positioning accuracy despite the poor geometric dilution of precision (GDOP) due to the lower diversity of the anchor locations.

[0141]

[0153] Signals emitted by an NTN transmitter (e.g., a satellite) that can be utilized for positioning purposes have a significant Doppler shift (and thus a frequency offset). Table 1 provides an overview of the Doppler shift and shift variations for different altitudes of the satellite.

[0142]

Table 1

[0143]

[0154] There are known techniques for dealing with the Doppler shift of wireless signals emitted by satellites. FIG. 9 is a diagram 900 showing the system geometry for Doppler shift calculation for a non-geostationary satellite system according to an aspect of the present disclosure. The scenario shown in FIG. 9 assumes a Cartesian coordinate system in which a moving satellite and a receiver (e.g., a UE, a terrestrial base station) are in the y-z plane. The Doppler shift experienced by a stationary receiver can be calculated as follows as a function of time.

[0144]

Equation

[0145] Where f0 is the carrier frequency, d(t) is the distance vector between the satellite and the receiver, and x SAT (t) is the vector of the satellite position. These vectors can be represented as follows. d(t)=[0(R E +h)sin(ω SAT t)(R E +h)cos(ω SAT t)-R E ] T x SAT (t)=[0(R E +h)sin(ω SAT t)(R E +h)cos(ω SAT t)] T Where R E is the radius of the earth, h is the altitude of the satellite, and ω SAT is the angular velocity of the satellite.

[0146]

[0155] After several mathematical operations, the Doppler shift as a function of the elevation angle can be calculated by the following closed-form equation.

[0147]

Number

[0148] In the formula, the angular velocity is

[0149]

Number

[0150] where G is the gravitational constant and M E is the mass of the earth.

[0151]

[0156] When the receiver (e.g., UE) is mounted on an aircraft or a high-speed train, there will be an additional term of the Doppler shift caused by its own speed. In the case of a non-geostationary satellite, the Doppler shift due to the movement of the satellite is much larger than the Doppler shift caused by the movement of the receiver. In the case of a geostationary earth orbiting (GEO) and a high-altitude platform station (HAPS), the Doppler shift component is mainly caused by the movement of the receiver.

[0152]

[0157] FIG. 10 is a graph 1000 showing an exemplary Doppler shift scenario with a 2 GHz signal at 600 km on the downlink and uplink according to an aspect of the present disclosure. The graph 1000 shows plots for both a fixed UE and a moving UE (both moving in the same direction as the satellite and in the opposite direction to the satellite).

[0153]

[0158] Figure 11 is a graph 1100 showing an exemplary Doppler shift scenario with a 2 GHz signal at 1500 km on the downlink and uplink according to an aspect of the present disclosure. Graph 1100 shows plots for both a fixed UE and a moving UE (both moving in the same direction as the satellite and in the opposite direction of the satellite).

[0154]

[0159] Graphs 1000 and 1100 show the worst - case impact for a UE moving at 1000 km / h in the same direction as the (non - geostationary) satellite. The boundaries of the graphs can be defined by adding the Doppler shift due to the movement of the satellite and the Doppler shift due to the movement of the UE. Graphs 1000 and 1100 clearly show the boundaries of the Doppler shift that depend on the perception of movement between the satellite and the UE.

[0155]

[0160] Doppler can be estimated based on the characteristics of the measured reference signal. First referring to time - domain correlation, FIG. 12 shows determining the time - domain correlation between narrow - band reference signals according to an aspect of the present disclosure. In FIG. 1200, a first symbol S i,k (denoted as “S_(i,k)”) belonging to a first narrow - band reference signal (e.g., narrow - band PRS) is transmitted on sub - carrier k in a first slot, slot i. A second symbol S i+Δt,k (denoted as “S_(i + Δt,k)”) belonging to a second narrow - band reference signal is transmitted in a second slot, slot i+Δt, where Δ is the sub - carrier spacing. Let the received symbols be denoted as R i,k and R i+Δt,k respectively, and assume a single - tap channel as

[0156]

Number

[0157] and assume.

[0158]

[0161] Assuming the same power across all pilot tones, the phase difference or phase shift between two slots can be estimated as follows.

[0159]

Number

[0160]

[0162] The reference signals separated by Δt1 can be used to determine the coarse Doppler estimate, as shown in Figure 1200. Specifically, the coarse Doppler can be estimated as follows.

[0161]

Number

[0162] It can be used to determine. Specifically, the coarse Doppler can be estimated as follows.

[0163]

Number

[0164]

[0163] Note that since the phase is wrapped around, the Doppler range (i.e., the maximum and minimum Doppler) may be required for accurate Doppler estimation.

[0165]

[0164] Figure 1250 shows an iterative estimation for determining the fine Doppler estimate. To obtain the fine Doppler estimate, the receiving UE applies a coarse Doppler correction to the reference signal at i + Δt2,

[0166]

Number

[0167] and can estimate the residual Doppler.

[0168] Referring to the time - frequency correlation between reference signals for a multi - path channel having K paths, it is as follows.

[0169]

Number

[0170] In the above formula, x(t) is the transmitted baseband signal. M is the number of symbols, N is the number of sub - carriers, S(m,n) is the reference signal pattern within the time - frequency resource grid (for example, an example of it is shown in FIG. 6), and T is the duration of the OFDM symbol.

[0171] Assuming that there are K paths (for example, in the example of FIG. 7, K = 4), the signal from the k - th path has a delay

[0172]

Number

[0173] and Doppler

[0174]

Number

[0175] and is affected by. The received signal in the time domain is expressed as follows.

[0176]

Number

[0177] In the above formula, g k is the complex gain of the k - th path, and η(t) is the additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN).

[0178]

[0169] The channel matrix can be estimated as follows.

[0179]

Number

[0180]

[0170] From this stage, the delay-Doppler of the K paths can be jointly estimated by the discrete Fourier transform (DFT) method or subspace-based methods (e.g., MUSIC, ESPIRIT, etc.).

[0181]

[0171] Various reference signal design principles are related to determining the delay-Doppler estimates from the reference signals. Specifically, for range resolution, correlate the reciprocal of the SCS, multiply by the gap between pilot tones in the frequency domain, and multiply by the reciprocal of the number of pilot tones in the frequency domain. For velocity resolution, correlate the SCS in parts-per-million (ppm) units, multiply by the gap between pilot tones in the time domain, and multiply by the reciprocal of the number of coherently processed pilot signals. For the maximum unambiguous range, correlate with the reciprocal of the gap between pilot tones in the frequency domain. For the maximum unambiguous velocity, correlate the SCS in ppm units and multiply by the reciprocal of the gap between pilot tones in the time domain.

[0182]

[0172] For both NR PRS and LTE PRS, phase coherence is not guaranteed. However, phase coherence is important for Doppler estimation, which is an important RF sensing measurement. The following options can be considered for the PRS phase coherence indication in the assistance data provided to the UE for a positioning session. As a first option, by default, PRS phase coherence is not guaranteed. Thus, the assistance data can indicate groups of PRS with phase coherence (e.g., PRS resources, resource sets, etc.). The UE can then use the groups of PRS to measure and report the Doppler.

[0183]

[0173] As a second option, the assistance data may indicate a specific TRP that can support PRS phase coherence. The assistance data may also indicate a specific group of PRSs (e.g., PRS resources, resource sets, etc.) associated with that TRP that can support PRS phase coherence. This option can reduce signaling overhead since some TRPs may always be able to support phase coherence. For example, a particular gNB vendor may support such features for some deployments.

[0184]

[0174] As a third option, the assistance data may indicate a specific frequency layer that can be used for RF sensing. Since Doppler is important information for most sensing use cases, the above indication implicitly indicates that the PRS configured under that specific frequency layer by default supports Doppler estimation. The assistance data may indicate PRSs that may not support Doppler estimation (e.g., due to hardware limitations, phase coherence may be difficult for two PRSs that are far apart in the time domain).

[0185]

[0175] Some gNB vendors may not support phase coherent PRS transmission. In that case, the following options may be considered to enable Doppler estimation. As a first option, the assistance data can indicate a relevant downlink reference signal for Doppler estimation, e.g., a TRS. The association between the PRS for Doppler estimation and other downlink reference signals can be implemented by a QCL type A, B, and / or C configuration. The associated downlink reference signal can be a narrowband reference signal but should be configured close to the PRS in the time domain. The TRS can be a preferred reference signal candidate since it should support Doppler estimation.

[0186]

[0176] As a second option, the assistance data may indicate associated non-NR signals for Doppler estimation, such as a radar waveform. Thereby, it is assumed that the PRS and its associated radar waveform are transmitted from a transmitter located at the same location or transmitted by the same transmitter. The assistance data may also include the configuration of the radar waveform (waveform type, parameters, etc.).

[0187]

[0177] Based on the sensed measurements collected at the location server, the location server may also signal the following assistance data for search window selection for Doppler estimation, namely, the expected Doppler and the expected Doppler uncertainty. The location server may define multiple sets of "ExpectedDoppler" and "ExpectedDoppler-Uncertaininty" for the same PRS or group of PRSs. If the assistance data is UE-specific, each set of "ExpectedDoppler" and "ExpectedDoppler-Uncertaininty" may be associated with a path index (i.e., the channel impulse response tap index for the first arriving path, e.g., the path received at time T1 in FIG. 7).

[0188]

[0178] Note that when the sensing receiver is a gNB, there should be corresponding assistance data signaling between the location server and the receiving gNB (e.g., via the NR positioning protocol type A (NRPPa)).

[0189]

[0179] Although the use of PRS for Doppler measurement has been introduced, the procedures for UE measurement and reporting to the location server are not defined. Therefore, the present disclosure provides a definition of phase measurement to be performed by a UE, a definition of a frequency offset to be reported by the UE for FDOA positioning procedures, a method of measuring the frequency offset from PRS, a PRS configuration, UE capability signaling, positioning methods (in addition to DL-TDOA, multi-RTT, GNSS, etc.), and a method for the UE to report the frequency offset to the location server.

[0190]

[0180] The present disclosure defines the measurement of the phase of the reception path of DL PRS (denoted as "RSRPPh") as the linear average of the phases of the channel response x(n) at the nth path delay of the resource element carrying the DL PRS configured for the measurement

[0191]

Number

[0192]

Number

[0193]

[0181] In the above formula, N is the number of subcarriers carrying PRS within an OFDM symbol, and X(k) is the received symbol at the kth subcarrier. If n = 0,

[0194]

Number

[0195] it is.

[0196]

[0182] Based on the above definition regarding phase measurement (i.e., RSRPPh), the frequency offset measurement can be defined as follows.

[0197]

Number

[0198]

[0183] In the above formula, i and j are symbol indexes within the PRS resource, and the allocation of PRS resource elements is the same. The variables i and j should be separated by at least one symbol so that i is not equal to j. The variables i and j can be within the same comb structure under the condition that the resource allocation across frequencies is the same. The variable Δ is the time difference between i and j. The frequency offset measurement can be performed within the same slot (intra-slot) or across slots (inter-slot). In the case of intra-slot frequency offset measurement, i and j belong to the same slot, and Δ = (i - j)T s where, in the formula, T s is the number of OFDM symbols. In the case of inter-slot frequency offset measurement, i and j belong to different slots, and Δ = (i - j)T s + T slot where, in the formula, T s is the number of OFDM symbols, and T slot is the number of slots.

[0199]

[0184] FIG. 13 shows an example of in-slot and inter-slot frequency offset measurement according to an aspect of the present disclosure. Specifically, FIGS. 1310 and 1320 show in-slot frequency offset measurement, and FIG. 1330 shows inter-slot frequency offset measurement. In FIG. 13, time is represented horizontally and frequency is represented vertically. Each large block represents a resource block, and each small block represents a resource element. As described above, a resource element consists of one symbol in the time domain and one sub-carrier in the frequency domain. In the example of FIG. 13, each resource block includes 14 symbols in the time domain and 13 sub-carriers in the frequency domain. The shaded resource elements carry the DL-PRS or are scheduled to carry the DL-PRS. Therefore, the shaded resource elements in each resource block correspond to the PRS resource or (since the PRS resource can spread over multiple resource blocks in the frequency domain) a portion of the PRS resource within one resource block.

[0200]

[0185] As shown in FIG. 13, i and j are selected such that the allocation of the PRS resource elements in the corresponding OFDM symbols is the same. Note that the locations of i and j in FIGS. 1310, 1320, and 1330 are an example, and the present disclosure is not limited to these symbols.

[0201]

[0186] In order to accurately measure the frequency offset between i and j, the UE needs to process the PRS resource elements in symbols i and j coherently. That is, phase coherence needs to be maintained across the PRS resource elements of symbols i and j.

[0202]

[0187] There are various options for configuring the UE to perform frequency offset measurement between i and j. As a first option, the UE may use two different DL-PRS resources to measure the frequency offset between the PRS symbols at i and j. That is, in the above formula, i and j will belong to PRS resources with different resource identifiers. For example, referring to FIG. 13, the PRS resources in slots 0 and 1 of FIG. 1330 may be different PRS resources with the same comb pattern. As a second option, the UE can measure the frequency offset between the PRS symbols at i and j using one DL-PRS resource (single occasion). That is, i and j in the above formula have the same PRS resource identifier and will belong to the PRS resource scheduled during the same occasion. FIGS. 1310 and 1320 in FIG. 13 are examples of this option.

[0203]

[0188] The UE can indicate its capabilities for PRS processing to the location server according to the first option (measuring the frequency offset using two different DL-PRS resources) or the second option (measuring the frequency offset using one DL-PRS resource). Note that in the case of the first option, the UE needs to process the two DL-PRS resources coherently (i.e., with phase coherence). In this case, the location server may need to indicate to the UE a list of PRS resource IDs for each TRP for each frequency layer where phase coherence can be assumed during frequency offset measurement. In the case of the second option, phase coherence between DL-PRS symbols within the same PRS resource can be implicitly assumed, thereby eliminating the need for additional signaling. However, the phase coherence between PRS symbols in different slots (e.g., when the comb pattern is repeated across slots) needs to be signaled to the UE. For example, the location server may indicate to the UE that it can assume coherent processing starting from all even slot numbers up to N slots.

[0204]

[0189] Since the UE needs to coherently process PRS symbols at i and j to obtain frequency offset measurements, and since i and j may span multiple symbols in a single slot or multiple slots, a parameter is required to indicate the number of symbols or slots between i and j. Additionally, since the UE may use only one DL-PRS resource for the second option above, the present disclosure provides in-slot repetition of the PRS comb pattern.

[0205]

[0190] FIG. 14 shows an example of in-slot and inter-slot comb pattern repetition according to an aspect of the present disclosure. In FIG. 14, time is represented horizontally and frequency is represented vertically. Each large block represents a resource block and each small block represents a resource element. The shaded resource elements carry or are scheduled to carry DL-PRS. Thus, the shaded resource elements within each resource block correspond to a PRS resource or a portion of the PRS resource within one resource block (since the PRS resource can span multiple resource blocks in the frequency domain).

[0206] [

[0191] ] Figure 1400 shows an example of the inter-slot repetition of the comb pattern, and Figure 1450 shows an example of the intra-slot repetition of the comb pattern. In the case of inter-slot repetition, for the UE, a repetition gap between i and j as the number of slots can be configured. For example, the location server or the serving base station may configure the UE with a "dl-PRS-CombRepetitionGapSlots" parameter indicating the duration (e.g., the number of slots) of the slots between the repeated comb patterns (one slot in the example of Figure 14). In the case of intra-slot repetition, for the UE, a repetition gap can be configured as the number of symbols within the slot. For example, the location server or the serving base station may configure the UE with a "dl-PRS-CombRepetitionGapSymbols" parameter indicating the duration (e.g., the number of symbols) of the symbols between the repeated comb patterns (eight symbols in the example of Figure 14) within the slot. Both types of repetition gap parameters indicate to the UE that it is necessary to coherently process the symbols separated by the signaled repetition gap.

[0207]

[0192] To support the addition of new positioning procedures, such as DL-FDOA positioning procedures, LPP signaling can be extended to include the necessary signaling (e.g., assistance data, measurement reports, etc.) between the location server and the UE. Alternatively, the current DL-TDOA LPP framework can be used for DL-FDOA positioning procedures. In this case, the location server may request the frequency offset between the reference TRP and one or more neighboring TRPs, and / or the UE may report it. As yet another alternative, the assistance data for DL-FDOA positioning can be broadcast by a base station (terrestrial or non-terrestrial) in one or more positioning SIBs (positioning SIBs, posSIBs). Similar to the LPP assistance data for DL-FDOA, the currently defined posSIBs that carry assistance data for TDOA positioning can be extended to include assistance data for DL-FDOA positioning, or posSIBs dedicated to DL-FDOA can be broadcast. In one aspect, the location server can instruct the base station to broadcast a posSIB that carries assistance data for DL-FDOA positioning and can provide the information to be included in the posSIB.

[0208]

[0193] To support the techniques described herein, the UE may indicate new capabilities (e.g., in an LPP capability provision message) to the location server, such as its ability to support DL-FDOA positioning procedures or its ability to perform frequency offset reporting (e.g., as a per-band reporting capability).

[0209]

[0194] The PRS used for DL-FDOA positioning may have a different configuration from the PRS configured for other types of positioning. For example, the PRS for DL-FDOA is narrowband and can be spread over time, while the PRS for time-based positioning procedures (such as DL-TDOA) is generally wideband. In one aspect, a resource pool for such PRS (e.g., narrowband) can be specified separately from the legacy (e.g., wideband) PRS resource pool. In such a case, the UE can indicate its ability to process narrowband PRS resources separately.

[0210]

[0195] Currently, the UE uses the upper layer (e.g., LPP) information element "NR-DL-PRS-ProcessingCapability" to report its PRS processing capability to the location server. The following is a table of the various fields of the "NR-DL-PRS-ProcessingCapability" information element. The UE can indicate the following capabilities for narrowband PRS processing with the same or different values as those for wideband PRS processing.

[0211]

Table 2

[0212] Note that when the target UE provides the "durationOfPRS-Processing" capability (N, T) for any P (≥ T) time window, the target UE should be able to process all DL-PRS resources within P in the following cases. (1) N ≥ K, where K is defined in 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 38.214, and (2) the number of DL-PRS resources in each slot does not exceed "maxNumOfDL-PRS-ResProcessedPerSlot", and (3) the maximum ratio of the configured measurement gap and the measurement gap length (MGL) / measurement gap repetition period (MGRP) is specified in 3GPP TS 38.133.

[0213]

[0197] In one aspect, the UE can report the frequency offset with respect to the reference TRP. As a first option, the frequency offset measurement can be reported in parallel with the RSTD measurement using, for example, one or more new fields within the higher layer (e.g., LPP) information element "NR-DL-TDOA-SignalMeasurementInformation". As a second option, the frequency offset measurement can be reported separately in one or more new higher layer (e.g., LPP) messages such as the "FrequencyOffset-SignalMeasurementInformation" information element.

[0214]

[0198] As a secondary aspect, the UE may report the frequency offset of the first dominant path (e.g., the path received at time T1 in FIG. 7) and additional frequency offsets for up to N additional paths (e.g., up to 3 additional paths in the example of FIG. 7). In this case, the UE can report the ability to report the first dominant path and the ability to report up to N additional paths. In one aspect, N = {1, 2, 4, 8}.

[0215]

[0199] In one aspect, the UE may report frequency offsets in different formats. In a first aspect, the UE may report frequency offset measurements and / or normalized values or values without units of subcarrier spacing, or report the value of the frequency offset in ppm (per TRP). In a second aspect, the UE may report the value of the frequency offset (per TRP) with respect to speed (e.g., in km / s). In a third aspect, the UE may report the value of the frequency offset in frequency units (e.g., Hertz) (per TRP per component carrier). In a fourth aspect, the UE may report the difference between the observed / measured frequency offset and the predicted frequency offset (signaled to the UE based on the estimated value of the location server of the location of the UE (e.g., the center of the serving beam)) received from the location server.

[0216]

[0200] In one aspect, a frequency offset measurement range and resolution may be configured. The measurement may be in the range of [-M lb f s , M ub f s , where M lb is the lower limit, M ub is the upper limit, and f s is the sampling frequency. The resolution of the measurement can be 2kf s , where k min ≤ k ≤ k max , and k is the reporting granularity coefficient. M lb and M ub (plus k) can be (1) explicitly signaled to the UE by the location server per TRP, component carrier, frequency band, or frequency layer, (2) explicitly signaled to the UE by the location server per TRP in ppm and the UE converts per component carrier, per frequency band, or per frequency layer, or (3) implicitly assumed by the UE based on the orbit of the satellite TRP (e.g., LEO (or LEO - 600km, LEO - 1200km, etc.), MEO, or GEO).

[0217]

[0201] Figure 15 shows an exemplary method 1500 for wireless positioning according to an aspect of the present disclosure. In one aspect, method 1500 may be implemented by a UE (e.g., any of the UEs described herein).

[0218]

[0202] At 1510, the UE receives assistance data for a positioning procedure (e.g., an FDOA or TDOA positioning procedure) from a location server. In one aspect, operation 1510 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 considered means for performing this operation.

[0219]

[0203] At 1520, the UE obtains frequency offset measurements of one or more PRS resources transmitted by at least one TRP (e.g., a space vehicle) based on the assistance data. In one aspect, operation 1520 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 considered means for performing this operation.

[0220]

[0204] At 1530, the UE enables its location to be determined based at least in part on the frequency offset measurements. In one aspect, operation 1530 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 considered means for performing this operation.

[0221]

[0205] Figure 16 shows an exemplary method 1600 for wireless positioning according to an aspect of the present disclosure. In one aspect, method 1600 may be implemented by a network entity (e.g., a location server).

[0222]

[0206] At 1610, the network entity transmits assistance data for a positioning procedure (e.g., an FDOA positioning procedure or a TDOA positioning procedure) to a UE (e.g., any of the UEs described herein). In one aspect, operation 1610 may be performed by one or more network transceivers 390, one or more processors 394, memory 396, and / or positioning component 398, any or all of which may be regarded as means for performing this operation.

[0223]

[0207] At 1620, the network entity receives frequency offset measurements of one or more PRS resources transmitted by at least one TRP from the UE. In one aspect, operation 1620 may be performed by one or more network transceivers 390, one or more processors 394, memory 396, and / or positioning component 398, any or all of which may be regarded as means for performing this operation.

[0224]

[0208] At 1630, the network entity determines the location of the UE based at least in part on the frequency offset measurements. In one aspect, operation 1610 may be performed by one or more network transceivers 390, one or more processors 394, memory 396, and / or positioning component 398, any or all of which may be regarded as means for performing this operation.

[0225]

[0209] As will be appreciated, the technical advantage of methods 1500 and 1600 is to enable the positioning of the UE based on frequency offset measurements.

[0226]

[0210] In the form for implementing the above invention, in the example, it can be seen that different features are grouped with each other. This way of disclosure should not be understood as the intention that the exemplary clauses have more features than those explicitly stated in each clause. Rather, various aspects of the present disclosure may include fewer features than all the features of the individual exemplary clauses disclosed. Therefore, the following clauses should be considered as incorporated into the description, and each clause can 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 of that dependent clause is not limited to that specific combination. It will be understood that other exemplary clauses may also include combinations of aspects of dependent clauses with the subject matter of any other dependent or independent clause, or any combination of 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 easily inferred that a specific combination (such as defining an element as both an electrical insulator and an electrical conductor, etc., 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 can be included in any other independent clause.

[0227]

[0211] In the following numbered clauses, implementation examples are described.

[0228]

[0212] A method of wireless positioning performed by a user equipment (UE), comprising receiving assistance data for a positioning procedure, obtaining a frequency offset measurement of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources transmitted by at least one transmit-receive point (TRP) based on the assistance data, and enabling the determination of the location of the UE based at least in part on the frequency offset measurement.

[0229]

[0213] Clause 2. The frequency offset measurement is the method described in Clause 1 based on the first phase measurement of the first symbol of one or more PRS resources, the second phase measurement of the second symbol of one or more PRS resources, and the time difference between the first symbol and the second symbol.

[0230]

[0214] Clause 3. The method described in Clause 2, wherein the first symbol and the second symbol have the same allocation of PRS resource elements of one or more PRS resources.

[0231]

[0215] Clause 4. The method described in Clause 2 or 3, wherein the first symbol and the second symbol are within the same slot, and the time difference indicates the number of symbols between the first symbol and the second symbol.

[0232]

[0216] Clause 5. The method described in Clause 4, wherein one or more PRS resources are a single PRS resource, the single PRS resource includes at least two repetitions of the comb pattern of the single PRS resource, and the at least two repetitions of the comb pattern are separated by a time difference.

[0233]

[0217] Clause 6. The method described in Clause 2 or 3, wherein the first symbol and the second symbol are in different slots, and the time difference indicates the number of slots between different slots.

[0234]

[0218] Clause 7. The method described in Clause 6, wherein one or more PRS resources in different slots have the same comb pattern.

[0235]

[0219] Clause 8. The method described in any of Clauses 2 to 7, wherein the first symbol and the second symbol belong to the same PRS resource among one or more PRS resources.

[0236]

[0220] For item 9, the first symbol belongs to the first PRS resource among one or more PRS resources, and the second symbol belongs to the second PRS resource among one or more PRS resources different from the first PRS resource, and the method is as described in any of items 2 to 7.

[0237]

[0221] For item 10, the assistance data is the method as described in item 9, indicating that the first PRS resource and the second PRS resource are configured to be transmitted by at least one TRP with phase coherence.

[0238]

[0222] For item 11, the method further includes transmitting, to a location server, a capability message indicating the capability of a UE to obtain a first phase measurement and a second phase measurement from the same PRS resource among one or more PRS resources or to obtain a first phase measurement and a second phase measurement from different PRS resources among one or more PRS resources, and the method is as described in any of items 2 to 10.

[0239]

[0223] For item 12, the first phase measurement is the first phase of the first linear average of the first channel response of the first path delay of the PRS resource element of the first symbol of one or more PRS resources, and the second phase measurement is the second phase of the second linear average of the second channel response of the second path delay of the PRS resource element of the second symbol of one or more PRS resources, and the method is as described in any of items 2 to 11.

[0240]

[0224] For item 13, the assistance data includes the index of the first symbol, the index of the second symbol, and the time difference, and the method is as described in any of items 2 to 12.

[0241]

[0225] For item 14, the method further includes transmitting, to a location server, a capability message indicating the capability of a UE to participate in a frequency difference of arrival (FDOA) positioning procedure, report a frequency offset measurement, or both, and the method is as described in any of items 1 to 13.

[0242]

[0226] Clause 15. The positioning procedure is the method described in any of Clauses 1 to 14, which is an FDOA positioning procedure.

[0243]

[0227] Clause 16. Enabling the location of the UE to be determined includes reporting frequency offset measurements to the location server in order to enable the location server to determine the location of the UE, and is the method described in any of Clauses 1 to 15.

[0244]

[0228] Clause 17. The positioning procedure is a time difference of arrival (TDOA) positioning procedure, and the frequency offset measurement is reported to the location server as part of the TDOA positioning procedure, which is the method described in Clause 16.

[0245]

[0229] Clause 18. Reporting frequency offset measurements includes reporting the first frequency offset measurement of the first main path of one or more PRS resources and reporting one or more second frequency offset measurements of one or more additional paths of one or more PRS resources, which is the method described in Clause 16 or 17.

[0246]

[0230] Clause 19. Further includes transmitting a capability message indicating the UE's capability to report one or more second frequency offset measurements to the location server, which is the method described in Clause 18.

[0247]

[0231] Clause 20. Enabling the location of the UE to be determined includes determining the location of the UE based on frequency offset measurements and ephemeris information for at least one TRP, which is the method described in any of Clauses 1 to 15.

[0248]

[0232] Clause 21. One or more PRS resources are one or more narrowband PRS resources, which is the method described in any of Clauses 1 to 20.

[0249] Clause 22. The method according to clause 21, further comprising transmitting, to a location server, a capability message indicating the capability of a UE to obtain frequency offset measurements based on one or more narrowband PRS resources.

[0250]

[0234] Clause 23. The frequency offset measurements are reported as a normalized value without units, in parts per million (ppm), in units of speed, in units of frequency, or as the difference between the actual frequency offset measurements obtained by the UE and the predicted frequency offset measurements received with the assistance data, according to the method according to any one of clauses 1 to 22.

[0251]

[0235] Clause 24. The assistance data includes the range and resolution for reporting frequency offset measurements for each TRP, component carrier, frequency band, or frequency layer, according to the method according to any one of clauses 1 to 23.

[0252]

[0236] Clause 25. The assistance data includes the range and resolution for reporting frequency offset measurements for each TRP in ppm, and the UE converts the range and resolution into the range and resolution for each component carrier, frequency band, or frequency layer, according to the method according to any one of clauses 1 to 24.

[0253]

[0237] Clause 26. The method according to any one of clauses 1 to 25, further comprising determining the range and resolution of the frequency offset measurements based on the trajectory of at least one TRP.

[0254]

[0238] Clause 27. The assistance data is received from a location server in one or more Long-Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) messages, or from a base station in one or more positioning system information blocks (posSIBs) broadcast by the base station, according to the method according to any one of clauses 1 to 26.

[0255]

[0239] Clause 28. The method according to any one of Clauses 1 to 27, wherein at least one TRP includes at least one space vehicle.

[0256]

[0240] Clause 29. A positioning method performed by a network entity, the method including: transmitting assistance data for a positioning procedure to a user equipment (UE); receiving, from the UE, a frequency offset measurement of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources transmitted by at least one transmission and reception point (TRP); and determining the location of the UE based at least in part on the frequency offset measurement.

[0257]

[0241] Clause 30. The method according to Clause 29, wherein the frequency offset measurement is based on a first phase measurement of a first symbol of one or more PRS resources, a second phase measurement of a second symbol of one or more PRS resources, and a time difference between the first symbol and the second symbol.

[0258]

[0242] Clause 31. The method according to Clause 30, wherein the first symbol and the second symbol have the same allocation of PRS resource elements of one or more PRS resources.

[0259]

[0243] Clause 32. The method according to Clause 30 or 31, wherein the first symbol and the second symbol are in the same slot, and the time difference indicates the number of symbols between the first symbol and the second symbol.

[0260]

[0244] Clause 33. One or more PRS resources are a single PRS resource, the single PRS resource includes at least two repetitions of a comb pattern of the single PRS resource, and the at least two repetitions of the comb pattern are separated by a time difference. The method according to Clause 32.

[0261]

[0245] Clause 34. The first symbol and the second symbol are in different slots, and the time difference is the method described in Clause 30 or 31 indicating the number of slots between different slots.

[0262]

[0246] Clause 35. One or more PRS resources in different slots have the same comb pattern, the method described in Clause 34.

[0263]

[0247] Clause 36. The first symbol and the second symbol belong to the same PRS resource among one or more PRS resources, the method described in any of Clauses 30 to 35.

[0264]

[0248] Clause 37. The first symbol belongs to the first PRS resource among one or more PRS resources, and the second symbol belongs to the second PRS resource among one or more PRS resources different from the first PRS resource, the method described in any of Clauses 30 to 35.

[0265]

[0249] Clause 38. The assistance data indicates that the first PRS resource and the second PRS resource are configured to be transmitted by at least one TRP with phase coherence, the method described in Clause 37.

[0266]

[0250] Clause 39. Further including receiving, from the UE, a capability message indicating the UE's capability to obtain a first phase measurement and a second phase measurement from the same PRS resource among one or more PRS resources, or to obtain a first phase measurement and a second phase measurement from different PRS resources among one or more PRS resources, the method described in any of Clauses 30 to 38.

[0267]

[0251] Clause 40. The assistance data includes the index of the first symbol, the index of the second symbol, and the time difference, the method described in any of Clauses 30 to 39.

[0268]

[0252] Clause 41. A method according to any of clauses 29 to 40, further comprising receiving a capability message from the UE indicating the capability of the UE to participate in a Frequency Difference of Arrival (FDOA) positioning procedure, to report frequency offset measurements, or both.

[0269]

[0253] Clause 42. A method according to any one of clauses 29 to 41, wherein the positioning procedure is an FDOA positioning procedure.

[0270]

[0254] Clause 43. The method of any of clauses 29 to 42, wherein the positioning procedure is a Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA) positioning procedure and the frequency offset measurement is received from the UE as part of the TDOA positioning procedure.

[0271]

[0255] Clause 44. A method according to any of clauses 29 to 43, wherein receiving a frequency offset measurement includes receiving a first frequency offset measurement of a first main path of one or more PRS resources, and receiving one or more second frequency offset measurements of one or more additional paths of the one or more PRS resources.

[0272]

[0256] Clause 45. The method of clause 44, further comprising receiving a capability message from the UE indicating a capability of the UE to report one or more second frequency offset measurements.

[0273]

[0257] Clause 46. A method according to any one of clauses 29 to 45, wherein the one or more PRS resources are one or more narrowband PRS resources.

[0274]

[0258] Clause 47. The method of clause 46, further comprising receiving a capability message from the UE indicating a capability of the UE to obtain frequency offset measurements based on one or more narrowband PRS resources.

[0275]

[0259] Clause 48. The frequency offset measurement is received as a normalized value without unit, in parts per million (ppm) units, in velocity units, in frequency units, or as the difference between the actual frequency offset measurement obtained by the UE and the predicted frequency offset measurement transmitted to the UE in the assistance data, using any of the methods described in Clauses 29 to 47.

[0276]

[0260] Clause 49. The assistance data includes the range and resolution for reporting frequency offset measurements for each TRP, component carrier, frequency band, or frequency layer, or the assistance data includes the range and resolution for reporting frequency offset measurements for each TRP in ppm units, using any of the methods described in Clauses 29 to 48.

[0277]

[0261] Clause 50. Transmitting the assistance data includes transmitting the assistance data in one or more Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) messages, or broadcasting the assistance data in one or more positioning system information blocks (posSIBs), using any of the methods described in Clauses 29 to 49.

[0278]

[0262] Clause 51. At least one TRP includes at least one space vehicle, using any of the methods described in Clauses 29 to 50.

[0279]

[0263] Clause 52. The network entity is a location server, using any of the methods described in Clauses 29 to 51.

[0280] Clause 53. A user equipment (UE) comprising a memory, at least one transceiver, and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, wherein the at least one processor is configured to receive assistance data for a positioning procedure via the at least one transceiver, obtain a frequency offset measurement of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources transmitted by at least one transmission and reception point (TRP) based on the assistance data, and determine the location of the UE based at least in part on the frequency offset measurement.

[0281] Clause 54. The UE according to clause 53, wherein the frequency offset measurement is based on a first phase measurement of a first symbol of one or more PRS resources, a second phase measurement of a second symbol of one or more PRS resources, and a time difference between the first symbol and the second symbol.

[0282] Clause 55. The UE according to clause 54, wherein the first symbol and the second symbol have the same allocation of PRS resource elements of one or more PRS resources.

[0283] Clause 56. The UE according to clause 54 or 55, wherein the first symbol and the second symbol are in the same slot, and the time difference indicates the number of symbols between the first symbol and the second symbol.

[0284] Clause 57. The UE according to clause 56, wherein the one or more PRS resources is a single PRS resource, the single PRS resource includes at least two repetitions of a comb pattern of the single PRS resource, and the at least two repetitions of the comb pattern are separated by a time difference.

[0285] Clause 58. The UE according to clause 54 or 55, wherein the first symbol and the second symbol are in different slots, and the time difference indicates the number of slots between the different slots.

[0286]

[0270] Clause 59. One or more PRS resources in different slots are for the UE described in Clause 58 that have the same comb pattern.

[0287]

[0271] Clause 60. The first symbol and the second symbol are for the UE described in any of Clauses 54 - 59 that belong to the same PRS resource among one or more PRS resources.

[0288]

[0272] Clause 61. The first symbol belongs to the first PRS resource among one or more PRS resources, and the second symbol belongs to the second PRS resource among one or more PRS resources different from the first PRS resource, for the UE described in any of Clauses 54 - 59.

[0289]

[0273] Clause 62. The assistance data indicates that the first PRS resource and the second PRS resource are configured to be transmitted by at least one TRP with phase coherence, for the UE described in Clause 61.

[0290]

[0274] Clause 63. At least one processor is further configured to transmit, via at least one transceiver, a capability message indicating the UE's capability to a location server to obtain a first phase measurement and a second phase measurement from the same PRS resource among one or more PRS resources or to obtain a first phase measurement and a second phase measurement from different PRS resources among one or more PRS resources, for the UE described in any of Clauses 54 - 62.

[0291]

[0275] Clause 64. The first phase measurement is the first phase of the first linear average of the first channel response of the first path delay of the PRS resource element of the first symbol of one or more PRS resources, and the second phase measurement is the second phase of the second linear average of the second channel response of the second path delay of the PRS resource element of the second symbol of one or more PRS resources, for the UE described in any of Clauses 54 - 63.

[0292]

[0276] Clause 65. The UE described in any of Clauses 54 to 64, where the assistance data includes the index of the first symbol, the index of the second symbol, and the time difference.

[0293]

[0277] Clause 66. The UE described in any of Clauses 53 to 65, where at least one processor is further configured to send a capability message indicating the UE's capability to participate in a frequency difference of arrival (FDOA) positioning procedure, report frequency offset measurements, or both, to a location server via at least one transceiver.

[0294]

[0278] Clause 67. The UE described in any of Clauses 53 to 66, where the positioning procedure is an FDOA positioning procedure.

[0295]

[0279] Clause 68. The UE described in any of Clauses 53 to 67, where at least one processor configured to enable determination of the UE's location includes at least one processor configured to report frequency offset measurements to a location server via at least one transceiver to enable the location server to determine the UE's location.

[0296]

[0280] Clause 69. The UE described in Clause 68, where the positioning procedure is a time difference of arrival (TDOA) positioning procedure and the frequency offset measurements are reported to the location server as part of the TDOA positioning procedure.

[0297] Clause 70. At least one processor configured to report frequency offset measurements reports, via at least one transceiver, a first frequency offset measurement of a first primary path of one or more PRS resources, and reports, via at least one transceiver, one or more second frequency offset measurements of one or more additional paths of one or more PRS resources, the UE according to Clause 68 or 69 including at least one processor configured as such.

[0298] Clause 71. The UE according to Clause 70, wherein at least one processor is further configured to transmit, via at least one transceiver, a capability message indicating the UE's capability to report one or more second frequency offset measurements to a location server.

[0299] Clause 72. The UE according to any one of Clauses 53 to 67, including at least one processor configured to determine the UE's location based on frequency offset measurements and ephemeris information for at least one TRP.

[0300] Clause 73. The UE according to any one of Clauses 53 to 72, wherein one or more PRS resources are one or more narrowband PRS resources.

[0301] Clause 74. The UE according to Clause 73, wherein at least one processor is further configured to transmit, via at least one transceiver, a capability message indicating the UE's capability to obtain frequency offset measurements based on one or more narrowband PRS resources to a location server.

[0302]

[0286] Clause 75. The frequency offset measurement is reported as a normalized value without units, in parts per million (ppm) units, in units of speed, in units of frequency, or as the difference between the actual frequency offset measurement obtained by the UE and the predicted frequency offset measurement received with the assistance data, for the UE described in any of Clauses 53 to 74.

[0303]

[0287] Clause 76. The assistance data includes the range and resolution for reporting frequency offset measurements for each TRP, component carrier, frequency band, or frequency layer, for the UE described in any of Clauses 53 to 75.

[0304]

[0288] Clause 77. The assistance data includes the range and resolution for reporting frequency offset measurements for each TRP in ppm units, and the UE converts the range and resolution into the range and resolution for each component carrier, frequency band, or frequency layer, for the UE described in any of Clauses 53 to 76.

[0305]

[0289] Clause 78. The UE is further configured such that at least one processor determines the range and resolution of the frequency offset measurement based on the trajectory of at least one TRP, for the UE described in any of Clauses 53 to 77.

[0306]

[0290] Clause 79. The assistance data is received from a location server in one or more Long-Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) messages, or from a base station in one or more positioning system information blocks (posSIBs) broadcast by the base station, for the UE described in any of Clauses 53 to 78.

[0307]

[0291] Clause 80. At least one TRP includes at least one space vehicle, for the UE described in any of Clauses 53 to 79.

[0308] Clause 81. A network entity comprising a memory, at least one transceiver, and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, wherein the at least one processor is configured to transmit assistance data for a positioning procedure to a user equipment (UE) via the at least one transceiver, receive, via the at least one transceiver, a frequency offset measurement of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources transmitted by at least one transmission and reception point (TRP) from the UE, and determine the location of the UE based at least in part on the frequency offset measurement.

[0309] Clause 82. The network entity according to Clause 81, wherein the frequency offset measurement is based on a first phase measurement of a first symbol of one or more PRS resources, a second phase measurement of a second symbol of one or more PRS resources, and a time difference between the first symbol and the second symbol.

[0310] Clause 83. The network entity according to Clause 82, wherein the first symbol and the second symbol have the same allocation of PRS resource elements of one or more PRS resources.

[0311] Clause 84. The network entity according to Clause 82 or 83, wherein the first symbol and the second symbol are within the same slot, and the time difference indicates the number of symbols between the first symbol and the second symbol.

[0312] Clause 85. The network entity according to Clause 84, wherein the one or more PRS resources are a single PRS resource, the single PRS resource includes at least two repetitions of a comb pattern of the single PRS resource, and the at least two repetitions of the comb pattern are separated by a time difference.

[0313]

[0297] Clause 86. The first symbol and the second symbol are in different slots, and the time difference indicates the number of slots between different slots, the network entity described in Clause 82 or 83.

[0314]

[0298] Clause 87. One or more PRS resources in different slots have the same comb pattern, the network entity described in Clause 86.

[0315]

[0299] Clause 88. The first symbol and the second symbol belong to the same PRS resource among one or more PRS resources, the network entity described in any of Clauses 82 - 87.

[0316]

[0300] Clause 89. The first symbol belongs to the first PRS resource among one or more PRS resources, and the second symbol belongs to the second PRS resource among one or more PRS resources different from the first PRS resource, the network entity described in any of Clauses 82 - 87.

[0317]

[0301] Clause 90. The assistance data indicates that the first PRS resource and the second PRS resource are configured to be transmitted by at least one TRP with phase coherence, the network entity described in Clause 89.

[0318]

[0302] Clause 91. At least one processor is further configured to receive, from a UE via at least one transceiver, a capability message indicating the UE's capability to obtain a first phase measurement and a second phase measurement from the same PRS resource among one or more PRS resources or to obtain a first phase measurement and a second phase measurement from different PRS resources among one or more PRS resources, the network entity described in any of Clauses 82 - 90.

[0319]

[0303] Clause 92. The assistance data is a network entity as described in any of Clauses 82 to 91, including the index of the first symbol, the index of the second symbol, and the time difference.

[0320]

[0304] Clause 93. The network entity as described in any of Clauses 81 to 92 is further configured such that at least one processor receives, via at least one transceiver, a capability message from the UE indicating the UE's capability to participate in a frequency difference of arrival (FDOA) positioning procedure, report frequency offset measurements, or both.

[0321]

[0305] Clause 94. The positioning procedure is an FDOA positioning procedure, and the network entity is as described in any of Clauses 81 to 93.

[0322]

[0306] Clause 95. The positioning procedure is a time difference of arrival (TDOA) positioning procedure, and the frequency offset measurements are received from the UE as part of the TDOA positioning procedure. The network entity is as described in any of Clauses 81 to 94.

[0323]

[0307] Clause 96. The network entity as described in any of Clauses 81 to 95 includes at least one processor configured to receive, via at least one transceiver, a first frequency offset measurement of a first main path of one or more PRS resources, and at least one processor configured to receive, via at least one transceiver, one or more second frequency offset measurements of one or more additional paths of one or more PRS resources.

[0324]

[0308] Clause 97. The network entity as described in Clause 96 is further configured such that at least one processor receives, via at least one transceiver, a capability message from the UE indicating the UE's capability to report one or more second frequency offset measurements.

[0325]

[0309] Clause 98. One or more PRS resources are one or more narrowband PRS resources, and the network entity described in any of Clauses 81 to 97.

[0326]

[0310] Clause 99. The network entity described in Clause 98 is further configured such that at least one processor receives, via at least one transceiver, a capability message indicating the UE's capability to obtain frequency offset measurements from the UE based on one or more narrowband PRS resources.

[0327]

[0311] Clause 100. The frequency offset measurements are received as a normalized value without units, in parts per million (ppm) units, in units of speed, in units of frequency, or as the difference between the actual frequency offset measurement obtained by the UE and the predicted frequency offset measurement transmitted to the UE with the assistance data, for the network entity described in any of Clauses 81 to 99.

[0328]

[0312] Clause 101. The assistance data includes a range and resolution for reporting frequency offset measurements for each TRP, component carrier, frequency band, or frequency layer, or the assistance data includes a range and resolution for reporting frequency offset measurements for each TRP in ppm units, for the network entity described in any of Clauses 81 to 100.

[0329]

[0313] Clause 102. At least one processor included in the network entity described in any of Clauses 81 to 101, which is configured to transmit the assistance data, is configured to transmit the assistance data in one or more Long-Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) messages via at least one transceiver, or to broadcast the assistance data in one or more positioning system information blocks (posSIBs).

[0330]

[0314] Clause 103. At least one TRP is a network entity as described in any of Clauses 81 to 102, including at least one space vehicle.

[0331]

[0315] Clause 104. The network entity as described in any of Clauses 81 to 103 is a location server.

[0332]

[0316] A user equipment (UE) comprising means for receiving assistance data for a positioning procedure, means for obtaining a frequency offset measurement of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources transmitted by at least one transmit and receive point (TRP) based on the assistance data, and means for enabling the determination of the location of the UE based at least in part on the frequency offset measurement.

[0333]

[0317] Clause 106. The UE as described in Clause 105, wherein the frequency offset measurement is based on a first phase measurement of a first symbol of one or more PRS resources, a second phase measurement of a second symbol of one or more PRS resources, and a time difference between the first symbol and the second symbol.

[0334]

[0318] Clause 107. The UE as described in Clause 106, wherein the first symbol and the second symbol have the same allocation of PRS resource elements of one or more PRS resources.

[0335]

[0319] Clause 108. The UE as described in Clause 106 or 107, wherein the first symbol and the second symbol are in the same slot, and the time difference indicates the number of symbols between the first symbol and the second symbol.

[0336]

[0320] Clause 109. One or more PRS resources are a single PRS resource, and the single PRS resource includes at least two repetitions of the comb pattern of the single PRS resource, and the at least two repetitions of the comb pattern are separated by a time difference, for the UE described in Clause 108.

[0337]

[0321] Clause 110. The first symbol and the second symbol are in different slots, and the time difference indicates the number of slots between different slots, for the UE described in Clause 106 or 107.

[0338]

[0322] Clause 111. One or more PRS resources in different slots have the same comb pattern, for the UE described in Clause 110.

[0339]

[0323] Clause 112. The first symbol and the second symbol belong to the same PRS resource among one or more PRS resources, for the UE described in any of Clauses 106 to 111.

[0340]

[0324] Clause 113. The first symbol belongs to the first PRS resource among one or more PRS resources, and the second symbol belongs to the second PRS resource among one or more PRS resources different from the first PRS resource, for the UE described in any of Clauses 106 to 111.

[0341]

[0325] Clause 114. The assistance data indicates that the first PRS resource and the second PRS resource are configured to be transmitted by at least one TRP with phase coherence, for the UE described in Clause 113.

[0342] Clause 115. The UE according to any one of Clauses 106 to 114, further comprising means for transmitting to a location server a capability message indicating the capability of the UE for obtaining a first phase measurement and a second phase measurement from the same PRS resource among one or more PRS resources, or for obtaining a first phase measurement and a second phase measurement from different PRS resources among one or more PRS resources.

[0343] Clause 116. The UE according to any one of Clauses 106 to 115, wherein the first phase measurement is the first phase of the first linear average of the first channel response of the first path delay of the PRS resource element of the first symbol of one or more PRS resources, and the second phase measurement is the second phase of the second linear average of the second channel response of the second path delay of the PRS resource element of the second symbol of one or more PRS resources.

[0344] Clause 117. The UE according to any one of Clauses 106 to 116, wherein the assistance data includes an index of the first symbol, an index of the second symbol, and a time difference.

[0345] Clause 118. The UE according to any one of Clauses 105 to 117, further comprising means for transmitting to a location server a capability message indicating the capability of the UE for participating in a frequency difference of arrival (FDOA) positioning procedure, reporting a frequency offset measurement, or both.

[0346] Clause 119. The UE according to any one of Clauses 105 to 118, wherein the positioning procedure is an FDOA positioning procedure.

[0347] Clause 120. The UE according to any one of Clauses 105 to 119, wherein the means for enabling the determination of the location of the UE includes means for reporting a frequency offset measurement to a location server to enable the location server to determine the location of the UE.

[0348]

[0332] Clause 121. The positioning procedure is a time difference of arrival (TDOA) positioning procedure, and the frequency offset measurement is reported to the location server as part of the TDOA positioning procedure for the UE described in Clause 120.

[0349]

[0333] Clause 122. The means for reporting the frequency offset measurement includes means for reporting the first frequency offset measurement of the first main path of one or more PRS resources, and means for reporting one or more second frequency offset measurements of one or more additional paths of one or more PRS resources, for the UE described in Clause 120 or 121.

[0350]

[0334] Clause 123. The UE described in Clause 122 further includes means for transmitting a capability message to the location server for indicating the UE's capability to report one or more second frequency offset measurements.

[0351]

[0335] Clause 124. The means for enabling the determination of the UE's location includes means for determining the UE's location based on the frequency offset measurement and the ephemeris information for at least one TRP, for the UE described in any of Clauses 105 to 119.

[0352]

[0336] Clause 125. One or more PRS resources are one or more narrowband PRS resources, for the UE described in any of Clauses 105 to 124.

[0353]

[0337] Clause 126. The UE described in Clause 125 further includes means for transmitting a capability message to the location server for indicating the UE's capability to obtain frequency offset measurements based on one or more narrowband PRS resources.

[0354]

[0338] Clause 127. The frequency offset measurement is reported as a normalized value without units, in parts per million (ppm), in units of speed, in units of frequency, or as the difference between the actual frequency offset measurement obtained by the UE and the predicted frequency offset measurement received in the assistance data, for the UE described in any of Clauses 105 to 126.

[0355]

[0339] Clause 128. The assistance data includes the range and resolution for reporting frequency offset measurements for each TRP, component carrier, frequency band, or frequency layer, for the UE described in any of Clauses 105 to 127.

[0356]

[0340] Clause 129. The assistance data includes the range and resolution for reporting frequency offset measurements for each TRP in ppm, and the UE converts the range and resolution into the range and resolution for each component carrier, frequency band, or frequency layer, for the UE described in any of Clauses 105 to 128.

[0357]

[0341] Clause 130. The UE described in any of Clauses 105 to 129 further includes means for determining the range and resolution of the frequency offset measurement based on the trajectories of at least one TRP.

[0358]

[0342] Clause 131. The assistance data is received by the UE described in any of Clauses 105 to 130 from a location server in one or more Long-Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) messages, or from a base station in one or more positioning system information blocks (posSIBs) broadcast by the base station.

[0359]

[0343] Clause 132. At least one TRP includes at least one space vehicle, for the UE described in any of Clauses 105 to 131.

[0360]

[0344] Clause 133. A network entity, comprising means for transmitting assistance data for a positioning procedure to a user equipment (UE), means for receiving from the UE frequency offset measurements of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources transmitted by at least one transmission and reception point (TRP), and means for determining the location of the UE based at least in part on the frequency offset measurements.

[0361]

[0345] Clause 134. The network entity according to clause 133, wherein the frequency offset measurements are based on a first phase measurement of a first symbol of one or more PRS resources, a second phase measurement of a second symbol of one or more PRS resources, and a time difference between the first symbol and the second symbol.

[0362]

[0346] Clause 135. The network entity according to clause 134, wherein the first symbol and the second symbol have the same allocation of PRS resource elements of one or more PRS resources.

[0363]

[0347] Clause 136. The network entity according to clause 134 or 135, wherein the first symbol and the second symbol are in the same slot, and the time difference indicates the number of symbols between the first symbol and the second symbol.

[0364]

[0348] Clause 137. The network entity according to clause 136, wherein the one or more PRS resources are a single PRS resource, the single PRS resource includes at least two repetitions of a comb pattern of the single PRS resource, and the at least two repetitions of the comb pattern are separated by a time difference.

[0365]

[0349] Clause 138. The network entity according to clause 134 or 135, wherein the first symbol and the second symbol are in different slots, and the time difference indicates the number of slots between the different slots.

[0366]

[0350] Clause 139. One or more PRS resources in different slots are the network entities described in Clause 138 that have the same comb pattern.

[0367]

[0351] Clause 140. The first symbol and the second symbol are the network entities described in any of Clauses 134 to 139 that belong to the same PRS resource among one or more PRS resources.

[0368]

[0352] Clause 141. The first symbol belongs to the first PRS resource among one or more PRS resources, and the second symbol belongs to the second PRS resource among one or more PRS resources different from the first PRS resource, which are the network entities described in any of Clauses 134 to 139.

[0369]

[0353] Clause 142. The assistance data is the network entity described in Clause 141, indicating that the first PRS resource and the second PRS resource are configured to be transmitted by at least one TRP with phase coherence.

[0370]

[0354] Clause 143. The network entity described in Clauses 134 to 142 further includes means for receiving, from the UE, a capability message indicating the UE's capability to obtain a first phase measurement and a second phase measurement from the same PRS resource among one or more PRS resources, or to obtain a first phase measurement and a second phase measurement from different PRS resources among one or more PRS resources.

[0371]

[0355] Clause 144. The assistance data is the network entity described in any of Clauses 134 to 143, including the index of the first symbol, the index of the second symbol, and the time difference.

[0372] The network entity according to any one of clauses 133 to 144, further comprising means for receiving from a UE a capability message indicating the UE's capability to participate in a frequency difference of arrival (FDOA) positioning procedure, report a frequency offset measurement, or both.

[0373]

[0357] Clause 146. The network entity according to any one of clauses 133 to 145, wherein the positioning procedure is an FDOA positioning procedure.

[0374]

[0358] Clause 147. The network entity according to any one of clauses 133 to 146, wherein the positioning procedure is a time difference of arrival (TDOA) positioning procedure, and the frequency offset measurement is received from the UE as part of the TDOA positioning procedure.

[0375]

[0359] Clause 148. The means for receiving a frequency offset measurement includes means for receiving a first frequency offset measurement of a first main path of one or more PRS resources and means for receiving one or more second frequency offset measurements of one or more additional paths of one or more PRS resources. The network entity according to any one of clauses 133 to 147.

[0376]

[0360] Clause 149. The network entity according to clause 148, further comprising means for receiving from the UE a capability message indicating the UE's capability to report one or more second frequency offset measurements.

[0377]

[0361] Clause 150. The network entity according to any one of clauses 133 to 149, wherein the one or more PRS resources are one or more narrowband PRS resources.

[0378] The network entity according to clause 150, further comprising means for receiving, from a UE, a capability message indicating the UE's capability to obtain frequency offset measurements based on one or more narrowband PRS resources.

[0379]

[0363] Clause 152. The frequency offset measurement is received as a normalized value without units, in parts per million (ppm), in units of speed, in units of frequency, or as the difference between the actual frequency offset measurement obtained by the UE and the predicted frequency offset measurement transmitted to the UE with the assistance data, by the network entity according to any of clauses 133 to 151.

[0380]

[0364] Clause 153. The assistance data includes a range and resolution for reporting frequency offset measurements per TRP, per component carrier, per frequency band, or per frequency layer, or the assistance data includes a range and resolution for reporting frequency offset measurements per TRP in ppm, by the network entity according to any of clauses 133 to 152.

[0381]

[0365] Clause 154. The means for transmitting the assistance data includes means for transmitting the assistance data in one or more Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) messages, or means for broadcasting the assistance data in one or more positioning system information blocks (posSIBs), by the network entity according to any of clauses 133 to 153.

[0382]

[0366] Clause 155. At least one TRP includes at least one spatial beam, by the network entity according to any of clauses 133 to 154.

[0383]

[0367] Clause 156. The network entity is a location server, by the network entity according to any of clauses 133 to 155.

[0384]

[0368] Clause 157. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by a user equipment (UE), cause the UE to receive assistance data for a positioning procedure, and based on the assistance data, obtain a frequency offset measurement of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources transmitted by at least one transmission and reception point (TRP), and enable the location of the UE to be determined based at least in part on the frequency offset measurement.

[0385]

[0369] Clause 158. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to clause 157, wherein the frequency offset measurement is based on a first phase measurement of a first symbol of one or more PRS resources, a second phase measurement of a second symbol of one or more PRS resources, and a time difference between the first symbol and the second symbol.

[0386]

[0370] Clause 159. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to clause 158, wherein the first symbol and the second symbol have the same allocation of a PRS resource element of one or more PRS resources.

[0387]

[0371] Clause 160. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to clause 158 or 159, wherein the first symbol and the second symbol are within the same slot, and the time difference indicates the number of symbols between the first symbol and the second symbol.

[0388]

[0372] Clause 161. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to clause 160, wherein one or more PRS resources is a single PRS resource, the single PRS resource includes at least two repetitions of a comb pattern of the single PRS resource, and the at least two repetitions of the comb pattern are separated by a time difference.

[0389]

[0373] Clause 162. The first symbol and the second symbol are in different slots, and the time difference indicates the number of slots between different slots, the non-transitory computer-readable medium described in Clause 158 or 159.

[0390]

[0374] Clause 163. One or more PRS resources in different slots have the same comb pattern, the non-transitory computer-readable medium described in Clause 162.

[0391]

[0375] Clause 164. The first symbol and the second symbol belong to the same PRS resource among one or more PRS resources, the non-transitory computer-readable medium described in any of Clauses 158 to 163.

[0392]

[0376] Clause 165. The first symbol belongs to the first PRS resource among one or more PRS resources, and the second symbol belongs to the second PRS resource among one or more PRS resources different from the first PRS resource, the non-transitory computer-readable medium described in any of Clauses 158 to 163.

[0393]

[0377] Clause 166. The assistance data indicates that the first PRS resource and the second PRS resource are configured to be transmitted by at least one TRP with phase coherence, the non-transitory computer-readable medium described in Clause 165.

[0394]

[0378] Clause 167. When executed by the UE, cause the UE to send a capability message indicating the UE's capability to obtain a first phase measurement and a second phase measurement from the same PRS resource among one or more PRS resources or to obtain a first phase measurement and a second phase measurement from different PRS resources among one or more PRS resources to a location server, the computer-executable instructions, further included in the non-transitory computer-readable medium described in any of Clauses 158 to 166.

[0395]

[0379] Clause 168. The first phase measurement is the first phase of the first linear average of the first channel response of the first path delay of the PRS resource element of the first symbol of one or more PRS resources, and the second phase measurement is the second phase of the second linear average of the second channel response of the second path delay of the PRS resource element of the second symbol of one or more PRS resources, the non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 158 to 167.

[0396]

[0380] Clause 169. The assistance data includes the index of the first symbol, the index of the second symbol, and the time difference, the non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 158 to 168.

[0397]

[0381] Clause 170. When executed by a UE, computer-executable instructions that cause the UE to send a capability message indicating the UE's capability to participate in a location server's frequency difference of arrival (FDOA) positioning procedure, report frequency offset measurements, or both, further included in the non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 157 to 169.

[0398]

[0382] Clause 171. The positioning procedure is an FDOA positioning procedure, the non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 157 to 170.

[0399]

[0383] Clause 172. When executed by a UE, the computer-executable instructions that enable the UE to have its location determined include computer-executable instructions that cause the UE to report frequency offset measurements to a location server to enable the location server to determine the UE's location, the non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 157 to 171.

[0400]

[0384] Clause 173. The positioning procedure is a time difference of arrival (TDOA) positioning procedure, and the frequency offset measurement is reported to the location server as part of the TDOA positioning procedure, the non-transitory computer-readable medium described in Clause 172.

[0401]

[0385] Clause 174. When executed by the UE, the computer-executable instructions that cause the UE to report frequency offset measurements include computer-executable instructions that cause the UE to report a first frequency offset measurement of a first main path of one or more PRS resources and one or more second frequency offset measurements of one or more additional paths of one or more PRS resources, the non-transitory computer-readable medium described in Clause 172 or 173.

[0402]

[0386] Clause 175. When executed by the UE, the computer-executable instructions further include computer-executable instructions that cause the UE to send a capability message indicating the UE's capability to report one or more second frequency offset measurements to the location server, the non-transitory computer-readable medium described in Clause 174.

[0403]

[0387] Clause 176. When executed by the UE, the computer-executable instructions that enable the UE's location to be determined include computer-executable instructions that cause the UE to determine the UE's location based on frequency offset measurements and ephemeris information for at least one TRP, the non-transitory computer-readable medium described in any of Clauses 157 to 171.

[0404]

[0388] Clause 177. One or more PRS resources are one or more narrowband PRS resources, the non-transitory computer-readable medium described in any of Clauses 157 to 176.

[0405] Clause 178. The non - transitory computer - readable medium according to clause 177, further comprising computer - executable instructions which, when executed by a UE, cause the UE to send a capability message indicating the UE's capability to obtain frequency offset measurements based on one or more narrowband PRS resources to a location server.

[0406] Clause 179. The frequency offset measurement is reported as a normalized value without units, in parts per million (ppm) units, in units of speed, in units of frequency, or as the difference between the actual frequency offset measurement obtained by the UE and the predicted frequency offset measurement received in the assistance data, for the non - transitory computer - readable medium according to any of clauses 157 - 178.

[0407] Clause 180. The assistance data includes the range and resolution for reporting frequency offset measurements for each TRP, component carrier, frequency band, or frequency layer, for the non - transitory computer - readable medium according to any of clauses 157 - 179.

[0408] Clause 181. The assistance data includes the range and resolution for reporting frequency offset measurements for each TRP in ppm units, and the UE converts the range and resolution into the range and resolution for each component carrier, frequency band, or frequency layer, for the non - transitory computer - readable medium according to any of clauses 157 - 180.

[0409] Clause 182. The non - transitory computer - readable medium according to any of clauses 157 - 181, further comprising computer - executable instructions which, when executed by a UE, cause the UE to determine the range and resolution of frequency offset measurements based on the trajectory of at least one TRP.

[0410]

[0394] Clause 183. The assistance data is a non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in any of Clauses 157 to 182, received from a location server in one or more Long Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) messages or from a base station in one or more positioning system information blocks (posSIBs) broadcast by the base station.

[0411]

[0395] Clause 184. At least one TRP is a non-transitory computer-readable medium as described in any of Clauses 157 to 183, including at least one space vehicle.

[0412]

[0396] Clause 185. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions which, when executed by a network entity, cause the network entity to send assistance data for a positioning procedure to a user equipment (UE), receive from the UE frequency offset measurements of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources transmitted by at least one transmit receive point (TRP), and determine the location of the UE based at least in part on the frequency offset measurements.

[0413]

[0397] Clause 186. The frequency offset measurements are based on a first phase measurement of a first symbol of one or more PRS resources, a second phase measurement of a second symbol of one or more PRS resources, and a time difference between the first symbol and the second symbol, in the non-transitory computer-readable medium according to Clause 185.

[0414]

[0398] Clause 187. The first symbol and the second symbol have the same allocation of PRS resource elements of one or more PRS resources, in the non-transitory computer-readable medium according to Clause 186.

[0415]

[0399] Clause 188. The first symbol and the second symbol are in the same slot, and the time difference indicates the number of symbols between the first symbol and the second symbol. The non-transitory computer-readable medium described in Clause 186 or 187.

[0416]

[0400] Clause 189. One or more PRS resources are a single PRS resource, and the single PRS resource includes at least two repetitions of the comm pattern of the single PRS resource. The at least two repetitions of the comm pattern are separated by a time difference. The non-transitory computer-readable medium described in Clause 188.

[0417]

[0401] Clause 190. The first symbol and the second symbol are in different slots, and the time difference indicates the number of slots between the different slots. The non-transitory computer-readable medium described in Clause 186 or 187.

[0418]

[0402] Clause 191. One or more PRS resources in different slots have the same comm pattern. The non-transitory computer-readable medium described in Clause 190.

[0419]

[0403] Clause 192. The first symbol and the second symbol belong to the same PRS resource among one or more PRS resources. The non-transitory computer-readable medium described in any of Clauses 186 to 191.

[0420]

[0404] Clause 193. The first symbol belongs to the first PRS resource among one or more PRS resources, and the second symbol belongs to the second PRS resource among one or more PRS resources different from the first PRS resource. The non-transitory computer-readable medium described in any of Clauses 186 to 191.

[0421]

[0405] Clause 194. The support data is the non-transitory computer-readable medium according to Clause 193, indicating that the first PRS resource and the second PRS resource are configured to be transmitted by at least one TRP with phase coherence.

[0422]

[0406] Clause 195. When executed by a network entity, the network entity is caused to receive, from a UE, a capability message indicating the UE's capability to obtain a first phase measurement and a second phase measurement from the same PRS resource among one or more PRS resources or to obtain a first phase measurement and a second phase measurement from different PRS resources among one or more PRS resources. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 186 to 194 further includes computer-executable instructions.

[0423]

[0407] Clause 196. The support data is the non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 186 to 195, including an index of a first symbol, an index of a second symbol, and a time difference.

[0424]

[0408] Clause 197. When executed by a network entity, the network entity is caused to receive, from a UE, a capability message indicating the UE's capability to participate in a frequency difference of arrival (FDOA) positioning procedure, report a frequency offset measurement, or both. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 185 to 196 further includes computer-executable instructions.

[0425]

[0409] Clause 198. The positioning procedure is an FDOA positioning procedure. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 185 to 197.

[0426]

[0410] Clause 199. The positioning procedure is a time difference of arrival (TDOA) positioning procedure, and the frequency offset measurement is received from the UE as part of the TDOA positioning procedure. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Clauses 185 to 198.

[0427]

[0411] When executed by a network entity, the computer-executable instructions for causing the network entity to receive frequency offset measurements include computer-executable instructions for causing the network entity to receive a first frequency offset measurement of a first main path of one or more PRS resources and one or more second frequency offset measurements of one or more additional paths of one or more PRS resources when executed by the network entity. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of clauses 185 to 199.

[0428]

[0412] When executed by a network entity, the computer-executable instructions for causing the network entity to receive from a UE a capability message indicating the UE's capability to report one or more second frequency offset measurements. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to clause 200, further comprising.

[0429]

[0413] One or more PRS resources are one or more narrowband PRS resources. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of clauses 185 to 201.

[0430]

[0414] When executed by a network entity, the computer-executable instructions for causing the network entity to receive from a UE a capability message indicating the UE's capability to obtain frequency offset measurements based on one or more narrowband PRS resources. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to clause 202, further comprising.

[0431]

[0415] Clause 204. The frequency offset measurement is received as a normalized value without units, in parts per million (ppm), in units of speed, in units of frequency, or as the difference between the actual frequency offset measurement obtained by the UE and the predicted frequency offset measurement transmitted to the UE with the assistance data, in a non-transitory computer-readable medium described in any of Clauses 185 to 203.

[0432]

[0416] Clause 205. The assistance data includes a range and resolution for reporting frequency offset measurements per TRP, per component carrier, per frequency band, or per frequency layer, or the assistance data includes a range and resolution for reporting frequency offset measurements per TRP in ppm, in a non-transitory computer-readable medium described in any of Clauses 185 to 204.

[0433]

[0417] Clause 206. Computer-executable instructions that cause a network entity to transmit assistance data when executed by the network entity include computer-executable instructions that cause the network entity to transmit the assistance data in one or more Long-Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP) messages or to broadcast the assistance data in one or more positioning system information blocks (posSIBs) when executed by the network entity, in a non-transitory computer-readable medium described in any of Clauses 185 to 205.

[0434]

[0418] Clause 207. At least one TRP includes at least one space vehicle, in a non-transitory computer-readable medium described in any of Clauses 185 to 206.

[0435]

[0419] Clause 208. The network entity is a location server, in a non-transitory computer-readable medium described in any of Clauses 185 to 207.

[0436]

[0420] One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that information and signals can 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.

[0437]

[0421] Furthermore, one of ordinary skill 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. One of ordinary skill 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.

[0438] With respect to the various exemplary logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in the aspects disclosed herein, they may be implemented or carried out 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 gates or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. The 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.

[0439]

[0423] The methods, sequences, and / or algorithms described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in software modules executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. The software modules may 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 may be integral to the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in a user terminal (e.g., a UE). Alternatively, the processor and the storage medium may reside in the user terminal as discrete components.

[0440]

[0424] In one or more exemplary aspects, the described functions may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or transmitted via a computer-readable medium as one or more instructions or code. A 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 coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then 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 using a laser. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable medium.

[0441]

[0425] Note that while the above disclosure shows exemplary aspects of the present disclosure, various changes and modifications can 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 positioning performed by a user equipment (UE), comprising: receiving assistance data for a positioning procedure; obtaining a frequency offset measurement of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources transmitted by at least one transmit-receive point (TRP) based on the assistance data; enabling determination of the location of the UE based at least in part on the frequency offset measurement. A method comprising the above.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the frequency offset measurement is based on a first phase measurement of a first symbol of the one or more PRS resources, a second phase measurement of a second symbol of the one or more PRS resources, and a time difference between the first symbol and the second symbol.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the first symbol and the second symbol have the same allocation of PRS resource elements of the one or more PRS resources.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein the first symbol and the second symbol are within the same slot, and the time difference indicates the number of symbols between the first symbol and the second symbol.

5. The one or more PRS resources is a single PRS resource, the single PRS resource includes at least two repetitions of a comb pattern of the single PRS resource, and the at least two repetitions of the comb pattern are separated by the time difference.

6. The method according to claim 2, wherein the first symbol and the second symbol are in different slots, and the time difference indicates the number of slots between the different slots.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the one or more PRS resources in the different slots have the same comb pattern.

8. The method according to claim 2, wherein the first symbol and the second symbol belong to the same PRS resource among the one or more PRS resources.

9. The first symbol belongs to a first PRS resource among the one or more PRS resources, and the second symbol belongs to a second PRS resource among the one or more PRS resources different from the first PRS resource.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the support data is configured such that the first PRS resource and the second PRS resource have phase coherence and are transmitted by the at least one TRP. **Claim 11** Transmitting, to a location server, a capability message indicating the capability of the UE for obtaining the first phase measurement and the second phase measurement from the same PRS resource among the one or more PRS resources, or for obtaining the first phase measurement and the second phase measurement from different PRS resources among the one or more PRS resources. The method according to claim 2, further comprising the above. **Claim 12** The first phase measurement is the first phase of the first linear average of the first channel response of the first path delay of the PRS resource element of the first symbol of the one or more PRS resources. The method according to claim 2, wherein the second phase measurement is the second phase of the second linear average of the second channel response of the second path delay of the PRS resource element of the second symbol of the one or more PRS resources. **Claim 13** The method according to claim 2, wherein the support data includes an index of the first symbol, an index of the second symbol, and the time difference. **Claim 14** Transmitting, to a location server, a capability message indicating the capability of the UE for participating in a frequency difference of arrival (FDOA) positioning procedure, reporting the frequency offset measurement, or both. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the above. **Claim 15** The method according to claim 1, wherein the positioning procedure is an FDOA positioning procedure. **Claim 16** Enabling determination of the location of the UE includes reporting the frequency offset measurement to the location server to enable the location server to determine the location of the UE. The method according to claim 1, including the above. **Claim 17** The positioning procedure is a time difference of arrival (TDOA) positioning procedure, and the method according to claim 16, wherein the frequency offset measurement is reported to the location server as part of the TDOA positioning procedure. **Claim 18** Reporting the frequency offset measurement includes reporting a first frequency offset measurement of a first main path of the one or more PRS resources, and Reporting one or more second frequency offset measurements of one or more additional paths of the one or more PRS resources, the method according to claim 16, comprising.

19. Transmitting, to the location server, a capability message indicating the capability of the UE for reporting the one or more second frequency offset measurements. The method according to claim 18, further comprising.

20. Enabling the determination of the location of the UE may be Determining the location of the UE based on the frequency offset measurement and ephemeris information about the at least one TRP, the method according to claim 1.

21. The method according to claim 1, wherein the one or more PRS resources are one or more narrowband PRS resources.

22. Transmitting, to the location server, a capability message indicating the capability of the UE for obtaining the frequency offset measurement based on the one or more narrowband PRS resources. The method according to claim 21, further comprising.

23. The frequency offset measurement is As a normalized value without units, In units of parts per million (ppm), In units of speed, In units of frequency, or As the difference between the actual frequency offset measurement obtained by the UE and the predicted frequency offset measurement received in the assistance data, Reported, the method according to claim 1.

24. The method according to claim 1, wherein the assistance data includes a range and resolution for reporting the frequency offset measurement for each TRP, component carrier, frequency band, or frequency layer.

25. The assistance data includes a range and resolution for reporting the frequency offset measurement for each TRP in ppm units, The method according to claim 1, wherein the UE converts the range and resolution into a range and resolution for each component carrier, frequency band, or frequency layer.

26. Determining a range and resolution of the frequency offset measurement based on an orbit of the at least one TRP, The method according to claim 1, further comprising.

27. The assistance data is From a location server, in one or more Long Term Evolution (LTE) positioning protocol (LPP) messages, or From a base station, one or more positioning system information blocks (posSIBs) broadcast by the base station, The method according to claim 1, which is received.

28. The method according to claim 1, wherein the at least one TRP includes at least one space vehicle.

29. A positioning method performed by a network entity, comprising: Transmitting assistance data for a positioning procedure to a user equipment (UE); Receiving, from the UE, frequency offset measurements of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources transmitted by at least one transmission and reception point (TRP); Determining the location of the UE based at least in part on the frequency offset measurements; A method comprising:

30. The method according to claim 29, wherein the frequency offset measurements are based on a first phase measurement of a first symbol of the one or more PRS resources, a second phase measurement of a second symbol of the one or more PRS resources, and a time difference between the first symbol and the second symbol.

31. The method according to claim 30, wherein the first symbol and the second symbol have the same allocation of PRS resource elements of the one or more PRS resources.

32. The first symbol and the second symbol are within the same slot, The method according to claim 30, wherein the time difference indicates the number of symbols between the first symbol and the second symbol.

33. The one or more PRS resources are a single PRS resource, The single PRS resource includes at least two repetitions of a comb pattern of the single PRS resource, The method according to claim 32, wherein the at least two repetitions of the comb pattern are separated by the time difference.

34. The first symbol and the second symbol are in different slots, The method according to claim 30, wherein the time difference indicates the number of slots between the different slots.

35. The method according to claim 34, wherein the one or more PRS resources in the different slots have the same comb pattern.

36. The method according to claim 30, wherein the first symbol and the second symbol belong to the same PRS resource among the one or more PRS resources.

37. The first symbol belongs to a firstPRS resource among the one or more PRS resources; The method according to claim 30, wherein the second symbol belongs to a secondPRS resource among the one or more PRS resources different from the firstPRS resource. **Claim 38** Receiving, from the UE, a capability message indicating the capability of the UE to obtain the first phase measurement and the second phase measurement from the same PRS resource among the one or more PRS resources or to obtain the first phase measurement and the second phase measurement from different PRS resources among the one or more PRS resources; The method according to claim 30, further comprising: **Claim 39** A user equipment (UE), comprising: A memory; At least one transceiver; 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, assistance data for a positioning procedure; Obtain a frequency offset measurement of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources transmitted by at least one transmit receive point (TRP) based on the assistance data; The UE is configured to enable the location of the UE to be determined based at least in part on the frequency offset measurement. **Claim 40** A network entity, comprising: A memory; At least one transceiver; At least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor being configured to: Transmit, via the at least one transceiver, assistance data for a positioning procedure to a user equipment (UE); Receive, via the at least one transceiver, a frequency offset measurement of one or more positioning reference signal (PRS) resources transmitted by at least one transmit receive point (TRP) from the UE; The network entity is configured to determine the location of the UE based at least in part on the frequency offset measurement.

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