Associating a sounding reference signal (SRS) with multiple frequency domain staggered random access channel (RACH) resources - Patents.com

Abstract

In one aspect, a user equipment (UE) receives, during a first state, a configuration of sounding reference signal (SRS) resources or a SRS resource set, obtains an association between the SRS resources or the SRS resource set and a group of random access channel (RACH) resources, and, while outside the first state, transmits a group of RACH signals using transmission properties based on the association between the SRS resources or the SRS resource set and the group of RACH resources, wherein the group of RACH resources spans multiple adjacent frequency resources over a single time resource or the group of RACH resources spans multiple adjacent frequency resources over multiple time resources.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This patent application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 to Greek Patent Application No. 20190100544, entitled "ASSOCIATION OF SOUNDING REFERENCE SIGNAL (SRS) WITH MULTIPLE FREQUENCY-DOMAIN STAGGERED RANDOM ACCESS CHANNEL (RACH) RESOURCES," filed on December 5, 2019, which is assigned to the assignee of this application and is expressly incorporated by reference in its entirety herein. 1. Field of disclosure

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

[0002] 2. Description of Related Art

[0003] Wireless communication systems have evolved through various generations, including first generation analog wireless telephone service (1G), second generation (2G) digital wireless telephone service (including intermediate 2.5G and 2.75G networks), third generation (3G) high speed data, Internet-enabled wireless service, and fourth generation (4G) service (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE) or WiMax). Currently, there are many different types of wireless communication systems in use, including cellular and personal communication service (PCS) systems. Examples of known cellular systems include Cellular Analog Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS), and digital cellular systems based on Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), and the like.

[0003]

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

[0004]

[0005] This Summary identifies features of certain exemplary aspects and is not an exclusive or exhaustive description of the disclosed subject matter. Whether a feature or aspect is included in or omitted from this Summary does not indicate the relative importance of such features. Additional features and aspects will be described and will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the following detailed description and viewing the drawings that form a part thereof.

[0005]

[0006] In one aspect, a method of wireless communication implemented by a user equipment (UE) includes, during a first state, receiving a configuration of a sounding reference signal (SRS) resource or resource set; obtaining an association between the SRS resource or resource set and a group of random access channel (RACH) resources; and, while outside of the first state, transmitting a group of RACH signals using a transmission property based on the association between the SRS resource or resource set and the group of RACH resources, where the group of RACH resources spans multiple adjacent frequency resources over a single time resource or the group of RACH resources spans multiple adjacent frequency resources over multiple time resources.

[0006]

[0007] In one aspect, a method of wireless communication performed by a transmission / reception point (TRP) includes receiving an SRS from a UE on an SRS resource or an SRS resource set; and receiving from the UE a group of RACH signals having transmission properties based on an association between the SRS resource or the SRS resource set and a group of RACH resources on which the group of RACH signals was received, where the group of RACH resources spans multiple adjacent frequency resources over a single time resource or the group of RACH resources spans multiple adjacent frequency resources over multiple time resources.

[0007]

[0008] In one aspect, a UE includes a memory, at least one transceiver, and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: receive a configuration of SRS resources or an SRS resource set while in a first state; obtain an association between the SRS resources or the SRS resource set and a group of RACH resources; and transmit a group of RACH signals using a transmission property based on the association between the SRS resources or the SRS resource set and the group of RACH resources while outside of the first state, where the group of RACH resources spans multiple adjacent frequency resources over a single time resource or the group of RACH resources spans multiple adjacent frequency resources over multiple time resources.

[0008]

[0009] In one aspect, the TRP 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 is configured to: receive from the UE an SRS on an SRS resource or an SRS resource set; and receive from the UE a group of RACH signals having transmission properties based on an association between the SRS resource or the SRS resource set and a group of RACH resources on which the group of RACH signals was received, where the group of RACH resources spans multiple adjacent frequency resources over a single time resource or the group of RACH resources spans multiple adjacent frequency resources over multiple time resources.

[0009]

[0010] In one aspect, the UE includes means for receiving a configuration of SRS resources or an SRS resource set while in a first state, means for obtaining an association between the SRS resources or the SRS resource set and a group of RACH resources, and means for transmitting a group of RACH signals using transmission properties based on the association between the SRS resources or the SRS resource set and the group of RACH resources while outside the first state, where the group of RACH resources spans multiple adjacent frequency resources over a single time resource or the group of RACH resources spans multiple adjacent frequency resources over multiple time resources.

[0010]

[0011] In one aspect, the TRP includes means for receiving an SRS from the UE on an SRS resource or an SRS resource set, and means for receiving from the UE a group of RACH signals having transmission properties based on an association between the SRS resource or the SRS resource set and a group of RACH resources on which the group of RACH signals was received, where the group of RACH resources spans multiple adjacent frequency resources over a single time resource or the group of RACH resources spans multiple adjacent frequency resources over multiple time resources.

[0011]

[0012] In one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions includes at least one instruction to instruct the UE to receive a configuration of an SRS resource or an SRS resource set during a first state, at least one instruction to instruct the UE to obtain an association between the SRS resource or the SRS resource set and a group of RACH resources, and at least one instruction to instruct the UE to transmit a group of RACH signals using a transmission property based on the association between the SRS resource or the SRS resource set and the group of RACH resources while outside of the first state, where the group of RACH resources spans multiple adjacent frequency resources over a single time resource or the group of RACH resources spans multiple adjacent frequency resources over multiple time resources.

[0012]

[0013] In one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions includes at least one instruction to instruct a TRP to receive an SRS from a UE on an SRS resource or an SRS resource set, and at least one instruction to instruct the TRP to receive from the UE a group of RACH signals having transmission properties based on an association between the SRS resource or the SRS resource set and a group of RACH resources on which the group of RACH signals was received, where the group of RACH resources spans multiple adjacent frequency resources over a single time resource or the group of RACH resources spans multiple adjacent frequency resources over multiple time resources.

[0013]

[0014] Other objects and advantages associated with the embodiments disclosed herein will become apparent to those skilled in the art based on the accompanying drawings and detailed description.

[0014]

[0015] The accompanying drawings are presented to aid in the explanation of various aspects of the present disclosure and are provided merely to illustrate, and not to limit, such aspects. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1]

[0016] FIG. 1 illustrates an example wireless communication system in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 2A]

[0017] FIG. 1 illustrates an example wireless network structure in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 2B] FIG. 1 illustrates an example wireless network structure in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 3A]

[0018] 1 is a simplified block diagram of several sample aspects of components that may be employed in a UE and configured to support communication as taught herein; [Figure 3B] 1 is a simplified block diagram of several sample aspects of components that may be employed in a base station and configured to support communication as taught herein. [Figure 3C] 1 is a simplified block diagram of several sample aspects of components that may be employed in a network entity and configured to support communications as taught herein. [Figure 4A]

[0019] 1 illustrates an example frame structure in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 4B] 1 illustrates an example of channels within a frame structure, according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Diagram 5]

[0020] 1 illustrates an example random access procedure, according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 6] 1 illustrates an example random access procedure, according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 7]

[0021] FIG. 1 illustrates different RRC states in NR according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 8]

[0022] FIG. 1 illustrates an example positioning procedure between a UE and two TRPs, according to an aspect of the disclosure. [Figure 9]

[0023] Graph showing different preamble lengths and formats. [Figure 10]

[0024] 1 is a diagram of an example allocation of RACH occasions (ROs) in the time domain. [Figure 11A]

[0025] 1A and 1B show various examples of RO allocation in the time and frequency domain. [Figure 11B] 1A and 1B show various examples of RO allocation in the time and frequency domain. [Figure 11C] 1A and 1B show various examples of RO allocation in the time and frequency domain. [Figure 11D] 1A and 1B show various examples of RO allocation in the time and frequency domain. [Figure 12]

[0026] FIG. 2 illustrates an example positioning session between a UE and two TRPs, according to an aspect of the disclosure. [Figure 13A]

[0027] FIG. 2 is a diagram of an example configuration of an RO, according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 13B] FIG. 2 is a diagram of an example configuration of an RO, according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 13C] FIG. 2 is a diagram of an example configuration of an RO, according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 14]

[0028] FIG. 1 illustrates an example method of wireless communication according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 15] FIG. 1 illustrates an example method of wireless communication according to an aspect of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0016]

[0029] Aspects of the present disclosure are provided in the following description and associated drawings, which are directed to various examples provided for illustration purposes. Alternative aspects may be devised without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Additionally, well-known elements of the present disclosure will not be described in detail or will be omitted so as not to obscure the relevant details of the present disclosure.

[0017]

[0030] The words "exemplary" and / or "example" are used herein to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration." Any aspect described herein as "exemplary" and / or "example" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects. Similarly, the term "aspects of the present disclosure" does not require that all aspects of the present disclosure include the described feature, advantage or mode of operation.

[0018]

[0031] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the information and signals described below may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referred to throughout the following description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof, depending in part on the particular application, in part on the desired design, in part on the corresponding technology, etc.

[0019]

[0032] Further, many aspects are described in terms of a sequence of actions to be performed, for example, by elements of a computing device. It will be appreciated that the various actions described herein may be performed by specific circuitry (e.g., an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC)), by program instructions executed by one or more processors, or by a combination of both. Furthermore, a sequence of actions described herein may be considered to be embodied as a whole in any form of non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a corresponding set of computer instructions that, when executed, cause or instruct an associated processor of a device to perform the functions described herein. Thus, various aspects of the present disclosure may be embodied in a number of different forms, all of which are contemplated to fall within the scope of the claimed subject matter. Moreover, for each of the aspects described herein, the corresponding form of any such aspect may be described herein, for example, as "logic configured to" perform the described actions.

[0020]

[0033] The terms "user equipment" (UE) and "base station" as used herein are not intended to be specific or otherwise limited to any particular radio access technology (RAT) unless otherwise stated. Generally, a UE may be any wireless communication device (e.g., a mobile phone, a router, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a tracking device, a wearable (e.g., a smart watch, glasses, an augmented reality (AR) / virtual reality (VR) headset, etc.), a vehicle (e.g., a car, a motorcycle, a bicycle, etc.), an Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc.) used by a user to communicate over a wireless communication network. A UE may be mobile or (e.g., at some times) stationary and may communicate with a radio access network (RAN). The term "UE" as used herein may be referred to interchangeably as an "access terminal" or "AT", "client device", "wireless device", "subscriber device", "subscriber terminal", "subscriber station", "user terminal" or UT, "mobile device", "mobile terminal", "mobile station", or variations thereof. Generally, a UE may communicate with a core network via a RAN, through which the UE may be connected with external networks such as the Internet and other UEs. Of course, other mechanisms for connecting to the core network and / or the Internet are possible for a UE, such as via a wired access network, a wireless local area network (WLAN) network (eg, based on IEEE 802.11, etc.), etc.

[0021]

[0034] Depending on the network in which it is deployed, a base station may operate according to one of several RATs in communication with the UE and may alternatively be referred to as an access point (AP), network node, Node B, evolved Node B (eNB), next generation eNB (ng-eNB), new radio (NR) Node B (also referred to as gNB or gNode B), etc. A base station may be used primarily to support wireless access by UEs, including supporting data, voice, and / or signaling connections for supported UEs. In some systems, a base station may provide purely edge node signaling functionality, while in other systems it may provide additional control and / or network management functionality. A communication link through which a UE may send signals to a base station is referred to as an uplink (UL) channel (e.g., reverse traffic channel, reverse control channel, access channel, etc.). A communication link through which a base station may send signals to a UE is referred to as a downlink (DL) or forward link channel (e.g., paging channel, control channel, broadcast channel, forward traffic channel, etc.). The term Traffic Channel (TCH) as used herein can refer to either a UL / reverse traffic channel or a DL / forward traffic channel.

[0022]

[0035] The term "base station" may refer to a single physical transmit reception point (TRP) or multiple physical TRPs that may or may not be collocated. For example, if the term "base station" refers to a single physical TRP, the physical TRP may be an antenna of the base station corresponding to a cell (or several cell sectors) of the base station. If the term "base station" refers to multiple collocated physical TRPs, the physical TRP may be an array of antennas of the base station (e.g., as in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system or in cases where the base station employs beamforming). If the term "base station" refers to multiple non-collocated physical TRPs, the physical TRP may be a distributed antenna system (DAS) (a network of spatially separated antennas connected to a common source via a transport medium) or a remote radio head (RRH) (a remote base station connected to a serving base station). Alternatively, the non-collocated physical TRP may be a serving base station that receives measurement reports from a UE and a neighbor base station whose reference RF signal the UE is measuring. A TRP is a point from which a base station transmits and receives wireless signals, and therefore, as used herein, references to transmission from or reception at a base station should be understood as referring to the particular TRP of the base station.

[0023]

[0036] In some implementations that support positioning of UEs, a base station may not support wireless access by the UE (e.g., may not support data, voice, and / or signaling connections for the UE), but instead may transmit reference signals to the UE to be measured by the UE and / or may receive and measure signals transmitted by the UE. Such a base station may be referred to as a positioning beacon (e.g., when it transmits signals to the UE) and / or a location measurement unit (e.g., when it receives and measures signals from the UE).

[0024]

[0037] An "RF signal" comprises electromagnetic waves of a given frequency that transport information through space between a transmitter and a receiver. As used herein, a transmitter may transmit a single "RF signal" or multiple "RF signals" to a receiver. However, a receiver may receive multiple "RF signals" corresponding to each transmitted RF signal due to the propagation characteristics of RF signals through multipath channels. The same transmitted RF signal on different paths between a transmitter and a receiver may be referred to as a "multipath" RF signal.

[0025]

[0038] In accordance with various aspects, FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary wireless communication system 100. The wireless communication system 100 (sometimes referred to as a wireless wide area network (WWAN)) may include various base stations 102 and various UEs 104. The base stations 102 may include macrocell base stations (high-power cellular base stations) and / or small cell base stations (low-power cellular base stations). In an aspect, the macrocell base stations may include eNBs and / or ng-eNBs where the wireless communication system 100 corresponds to an LTE network, or gNBs where the wireless communication system 100 corresponds to an NR network, or a combination of both, and the small cell base stations may include femtocells, picocells, microcells, etc.

[0026]

[0039] The base stations 102 collectively form the RAN and may interface with a core network 170 (e.g., Evolved Packet Core (EPC) or 5G Core (5GC)) through the backhaul links 122 and through the core network 170 to one or more location servers 172 (which may be part of the core network 170 or external to the core network 170). In addition to other functions, the base stations 102 may perform functions related to one or more of forwarding user data, radio channel encryption and decryption, integrity protection, header compression, mobility control functions (e.g., handover, dual connectivity), inter-cell interference coordination, connection setup and release, load balancing, distribution for non-access stratum (NAS) messages, NAS node selection, synchronization, RAN sharing, Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Services (MBMS), subscriber and equipment tracing, RAN Information Management (RIM), paging, positioning, and delivery of alert messages. The base stations 102 may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., through EPC / 5GC) via backhaul links 134, which may be wired or wireless.

[0027]

[0040] The base stations 102 may wirelessly communicate with the UEs 104. Each of the base stations 102 may provide communication coverage to a respective geographic coverage area 110. In an aspect, one or more cells may be supported by the base station 102 in each coverage area 110. A "cell" is a logical communication entity used for communication with a base station (e.g., over some frequency resource, called a carrier frequency, component carrier, carrier, band, etc.) and may be associated with an identifier (e.g., physical cell identifier (PCI), virtual cell identifier (VCI), cell global identifier (CGI)) to distinguish cells operating over the same or different carrier frequencies. In some cases, different cells may be configured according to different protocol types (e.g., machine type communication (MTC), narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), or others) that may give access to different types of UEs. Because a cell is supported by a particular base station, the term "cell" may refer to either or both of the logical communication entity and the base station that supports it, depending on the context. In some cases, the term “cell” may also refer to a geographic coverage area (e.g., a sector) of a base station, so long as the carrier frequency can be detected and used for communication within any portion of the geographic coverage area 110.

[0028]

[0041] The geographic coverage areas 110 of neighboring macrocell base stations 102 may overlap partially (e.g., in handover regions), but some of the geographic coverage areas 110 may be significantly overlapped by larger geographic coverage areas 110. For example, a small cell base station 102' may have a coverage area 110' that significantly overlaps with the coverage area 110 of one or more macrocell base stations 102. A network that includes both small cell base stations and macrocell base stations may be known as a heterogeneous network. A heterogeneous network may also include Home eNBs (HeNBs) that may serve restricted groups known as Closed Subscriber Groups (CSGs).

[0029]

[0042] The communication link 120 between the base station 102 and the UE 104 may include UL (also called reverse link) transmissions from the UE 104 to the base station 102, and / or downlink (DL) (also called forward link) transmissions from the base station 102 to the UE 104. The communication link 120 may use MIMO antenna techniques, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and / or transmit diversity. The communication link 120 may be through one or more carrier frequencies. The allocation of carriers may be asymmetric with respect to DL and UL (e.g., more or fewer carriers may be allocated for DL ​​than for UL).

[0030]

[0043] The wireless communication system 100 may further include a wireless local area network (WLAN) access point (AP) 150 communicating with a WLAN station (STA) 152 via a communication link 154 in an unlicensed frequency spectrum (e.g., 5 GHz). When communicating in the unlicensed frequency spectrum, the WLAN STA 152 and / or the WLAN AP 150 may perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) procedure or a listen-before-talk (LBT) procedure before communicating to determine if a channel is available.

[0031]

[0044] The small cell base station 102' may operate in licensed and / or unlicensed frequency spectrums. When operating in an unlicensed frequency spectrum, the small cell base station 102' may employ LTE or NR technology and use the same 5 GHz unlicensed frequency spectrum used by the WLAN AP 150. A small cell base station 102' employing LTE / 5G in an unlicensed frequency spectrum may boost coverage to and / or increase capacity of an access network. NR in an unlicensed spectrum may be referred to as NR-U. LTE in an unlicensed spectrum may be referred to as LTE-U, Licensed Assisted Access (LAA), or MulteFire.

[0032]

[0045] The wireless communication system 100 may further include a mmW base station 180 that may operate in millimeter wave (mmW) and / or near-mmW frequencies in communication with the UE 182. Extremely high frequency (EHF) is a portion of RF in the electromagnetic spectrum. EHF has a range of 30 GHz to 300 GHz and a wavelength between 1 millimeter and 10 millimeters. Radio waves in this band may be referred to as millimeter waves. Near-mmW may extend down to a frequency of 3 GHz with a wavelength of 100 millimeters. The very high frequency (SHF) band extends between 3 GHz and 30 GHz, also called centimeter waves. Communications using the mmW / near-mmW radio frequency bands have high path loss and relatively short range. The mmW base station 180 and the UE 182 may utilize beamforming (transmit and / or receive) over the mmW communication link 184 to compensate for the extremely high path loss and short range. Moreover, it will be appreciated that in alternative configurations, one or more base stations 102 may also transmit using mmW or near mmW and beamforming. Thus, it will be appreciated that the above description is by way of example only and should not be construed as limiting various aspects disclosed herein.

[0033]

[0046] Transmit beamforming is a technique for focusing an RF signal in a particular direction. Traditionally, when a network node (e.g., a base station) broadcasts an RF signal, it broadcasts the signal in all directions (omnidirectionally). In transmit beamforming, the network node determines where a given target device (e.g., UE) is located (relative to the transmitting network node) and projects a stronger downlink RF signal in that particular direction, thereby providing a faster (in terms of data rate) and stronger RF signal to the receiving device(s). To change the directionality of the RF signal when transmitting, the network node can control the phase and relative amplitude of the RF signal at each of the one or more transmitters broadcasting the RF signal. For example, the network node may use an array of antennas (called a "phased array" or "antenna array") that creates beams of RF waves that can be "steered" to point in different directions without actually moving the antennas. In particular, RF current from the transmitter is fed to the individual antennas with the proper phase relationship so that the waves from the separate antennas add together to increase radiation in the desired direction while canceling and suppressing radiation in undesired directions.

[0034]

[0047] A transmit beam may be quasi-co-located, meaning that the transmit beam appears to a receiver (e.g., a UE) to have the same parameters, regardless of whether the network node's transmit antennas themselves are physically co-located. In NR, there are four types of quasi-co-location (QCL) relationships. In particular, a QCL relationship of a given type means that some parameters for a target reference RF signal on a target beam can be derived from information about a source reference RF signal on a source beam. If the source reference RF signal is QCL type A, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, and delay spread of the target reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL type B, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and Doppler spread of the target reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL type C, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and Doppler spread of the target reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL Type D, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate spatial receive parameters of a target reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel.

[0035]

[0048] In receive beamforming, a receiver uses receive beams to amplify RF signals detected on a given channel. For example, the receiver can increase the gain setting and / or adjust the phase setting of an array of antennas in a particular direction to amplify (e.g., increase its gain level) an RF signal received from that direction. Thus, when a receiver is said to beamform in a direction, it means that the beam gain in that direction is high relative to the beam gains along other directions, or that the beam gain in that direction is highest compared to the beam gains 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]

[0049] The receive beams may be spatially related. The spatial relationship means that the parameters for the transmit beam for the second reference signal may be derived from information about the receive beam for the first reference signal. For example, the UE may use a particular receive beam to receive one or more reference downlink reference signals (e.g., 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 primary synchronization signal (PSS), a secondary synchronization signal (SSS), a synchronization signal block (SSB), etc.) from a base station. The UE may then form a transmit beam for sending one or more uplink reference signals (e.g., an uplink positioning reference signal (UL-PRS), a sounding reference signal (SRS), a demodulation reference signal (DMRS), a PTRS, etc.) to that base station based on the parameters of the receive beam.

[0037]

[0050] Note that a "downlink" beam can be either a transmit beam or a receive beam, depending on the entity forming it. For example, if the base station forms a downlink beam to transmit a reference signal to the UE, the downlink beam is a transmit beam. However, if the UE forms a downlink beam, it is a receive beam to receive the downlink reference signal. Similarly, an "uplink" beam can be either a transmit beam or a receive beam, depending on the entity forming it. For example, if the base station forms an uplink beam, it is an uplink receive beam, and if the UE forms an uplink beam, it is an uplink transmit beam.

[0038]

[0051] In 5G, the frequency spectrum in which wireless nodes (e.g., base stations 102 / 180, UEs 104 / 182) operate is divided into multiple frequency ranges: FR1 (from 450 to 6000 MHz), FR2 (from 24250 to 52600 MHz), FR3 (above 52600 MHz), and FR4 (between FR1 and FR2). In a multi-carrier system such as 5G, one of the carrier frequencies is called the "primary carrier" or "anchor carrier" or "primary serving cell" or "PCell," and the remaining carrier frequencies are called "secondary carriers" or "secondary serving cells" or "SCells." In carrier aggregation, the anchor carrier is a carrier operating on a primary frequency (e.g., FR1) utilized by the UE 104 / 182 and the cell in which the UE 104 / 182 is either performing an initial radio resource control (RRC) connection establishment procedure or initiating an RRC connection re-establishment procedure. The primary carrier carries all common and UE-specific control channels and may be a carrier in licensed frequencies (although this is not always the case). The secondary carrier is a carrier operating on a second frequency (e.g., FR2) that may be configured once an RRC connection is established between the UE 104 and the anchor carrier and may be used to provide additional radio resources. In some cases, the secondary carrier may be a carrier in unlicensed frequencies. The secondary carrier may contain only the necessary signaling information and signals, e.g., nothing UE-specific may be present in the secondary carrier since both the primary uplink carrier and the primary downlink carrier are typically UE-specific. This means that different UEs 104 / 182 in a cell may have different downlink primary carriers. The same is true for the uplink primary carrier. The network can change the primary carrier of any UE 104 / 182 at any time. This is done, for example, to distribute the load on different carriers.Since a "serving cell" (whether a PCell or an SCell) corresponds to the carrier frequency / component carrier over which some base station is communicating, terms such as "cell", "serving cell", "component carrier", "carrier frequency", etc. may be used interchangeably.

[0039]

[0052] For example, still referring to FIG. 1, one of the frequencies utilized by the macrocell base station 102 may be an anchor carrier (or “PCell”), and the other frequencies utilized by the macrocell base station 102 and / or the mmW base station 180 may be secondary carriers (“SCells”). Simultaneous transmission and / or reception of multiple carriers allows the UE 104 / 182 to significantly increase its data transmission and / or reception rates. For example, two 20 MHz aggregated carriers in a multi-carrier system would theoretically lead to a doubling of the data rate (i.e., 40 MHz) compared to that achieved by a single 20 MHz carrier.

[0040]

[0053] The wireless communications system 100 may further include a UE 164, which may communicate with the macrocell base station 102 via communications link 120 and / or with the mmW base station 180 via an mmW communications link 184. For example, the macrocell base station 102 may support a PCell and one or more SCells for the UE 164, and the mmW base station 180 may support one or more SCells for the UE 164.

[0041]

[0054] The wireless communication system 100 may further include one or more UEs, such as UE 190, that indirectly connect to one or more communication networks via one or more device-to-device (D2D) peer-to-peer (P2P) links (referred to as "sidelinks"). In the example of FIG. 1, the UE 190 has a D2D P2P link 192 with one of the UEs 104 connected to one of the base stations 102 (e.g., through which the UE 190 may indirectly obtain cellular connectivity) and a D2D P2P link 194 with a WLAN STA 152 connected to a WLAN AP 150 (through which the UE 190 may indirectly obtain WLAN-based Internet connectivity). In one example, the D2D P2P links 192 and 194 may be supported with any well-known D2D RAT, such as LTE Direct (LTE-D), WiFi Direct® (WiFi®-D), Bluetooth®, etc.

[0042]

[0055] According to various aspects, FIG. 2A illustrates an example wireless network structure 200. For example, a 5GC 210 (also referred to as Next Generation Core (NGC)) may be considered functionally as a control plane function 214 (e.g., UE registration, authentication, network access, gateway selection, etc.) and a user plane function 212 (e.g., UE gateway function, access to data network, IP routing, etc.) that operate cooperatively to form a core network. A user plane interface (NG-U) 213 and a control plane interface (NG-C) 215 connect a gNB 222 to the 5GC 210, specifically to the control plane function 214 and the user plane function 212. In an additional configuration, a ng-eNB 224 may also be connected to the 5GC 210 via the NG-C 215 to the control plane function 214 and the NG-U 213 to the user plane function 212. Additionally, the ng-eNB 224 may communicate directly with the gNB 222 via a backhaul connection 223. In some configurations, the new RAN 220 may have only one or more gNBs 222, while other configurations include one or more of both the ng-eNB 224 and the gNB 222. Either the gNB 222 or the ng-eNB 224 may be in communication with the UE 204 (e.g., any of the UEs shown in FIG. 1). Another optional aspect may include a location server 230, which may be in communication with the 5GC 210 to provide location assistance to the UE 204. The location servers 230 may be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules spread across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively, each may correspond to a single server. The location servers 230 may be configured to support one or more location services for the UE 204 that may be connected to the location server 230 via the core network 5GC 210 and / or via the Internet (not shown). Additionally, the location server 230 may be integrated into components of the core network, or alternatively, may be external to the core network.

[0043]

[0056] According to various aspects, FIG. 2B illustrates another exemplary wireless network structure 250. For example, the 5GC 260 may be considered functionally as a control plane function provided by an access and mobility management function (AMF) 264 and a user plane function provided by a user plane function (UPF) 262, which operate cooperatively to form a core network (i.e., the 5GC 260). A user plane interface 263 and a control plane interface 265 connect the ng-eNB 224 to the 5GC 260, specifically to the UPF 262 and the AMF 264, respectively. In an additional configuration, the gNB 222 may also be connected to the 5GC 260 via a control plane interface 265 to the AMF 264 and a user plane interface 263 to the UPF 262. Additionally, the ng-eNB 224 may communicate directly with the gNB 222 via a backhaul connection 223, with or without gNB direct connectivity to the 5GC 260. In some configurations, the new RAN 220 may have only one or more gNBs 222, while other configurations include one or more of both the ng-eNB 224 and the gNB 222. Either the gNB 222 or the ng-eNB 224 may communicate with the UE 204 (e.g., any of the UEs shown in FIG. 1). The base stations of the new RAN 220 communicate with the AMF 264 via an N2 interface and with the UPF 262 via an N3 interface.

[0044]

[0057] The functions of the AMF 264 include registration management, connection management, reachability management, mobility management, lawful interception, transport for session management (SM) messages between the UE 204 and a session management function (SMF) 266, a transparent proxy service for routing SM messages, access authentication and access authorization, transport for short message service (SMS) messages between the UE 204 and a short message service function (SMSF) (not shown), and a security anchor function (SEAF). The AMF 264 also interacts with an authentication server function (AUSF) (not shown) and the UE 204 to receive intermediate keys established as a result of the UE 204 authentication process. In case of UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) Subscriber Identity Module (USIM) based authentication, the AMF 264 retrieves security material from the AUSF. The functions of the AMF 264 also include security context management (SCM). The SCM receives keys from the SEAF that it uses to derive access network specific keys. The AMF 264 functions also include location service management for barred services, transport for location service messages between the UE 204 and a Location Management Function (LMF) 270 (acting as the location server 230), transport for location service messages between the new RAN 220 and the LMF 270, Evolved Packet System (EPS) bearer identifier allocation for interworking with EPS, and UE 204 mobility event notification. Additionally, the AMF 164 also supports functions for non-3GPP access networks.

[0045]

[0058] The functions of the UPF 262 include acting as an anchor point for intra / inter-RAT mobility (when applicable), acting as an outer protocol data unit (PDU) session point for interconnection to a data network (not shown), providing packet routing and forwarding, packet inspection, user plane policy rule enforcement (e.g., gating, redirection, traffic steering), lawful interception (user plane collection), traffic usage reporting, Quality of Service (QoS) handling for the user plane (e.g., UL / DL rate enforcement, reflective QoS marking in DL), UL traffic validation (Service Data Flow (SDF) to QoS flow mapping), transport level packet marking in UL and DL, DL packet buffering and DL data notification triggering, and sending and forwarding one or more "termination markers" to the source RAN node. The UPF 262 may also support forwarding of location service messages on the user plane between the UE 204 and a location server, such as the Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) Location Platform (SLP) 272.

[0046]

[0059] The functions of the SMF 266 include session management, UE Internet Protocol (IP) address allocation and management, selection and control of user plane functions, configuration of traffic steering in the UPF 262 to route traffic to the appropriate destination, control of policy enforcement and parts of QoS, and downlink data notification. The interface through which the SMF 266 communicates with the AMF 264 is called the N11 interface.

[0047]

[0060] Another optional aspect may include an LMF 270, which may be in communication with the 5GC 260 to provide location assistance to the UE 204. The LMF 270 may be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules spread across multiple physical servers, etc.) or, alternatively, each may correspond to a single server. The LMF 270 may be configured to support one or more location services for the UE 204 that may be connected to the LMF 270 via the core network 5GC 260 and / or via the Internet (not shown). The SLP 272 may support similar functions as the LMF 270, except that the LMF 270 may communicate with the AMF 264, the new RAN 220, and the UE 204 via a control plane (e.g., using interfaces and protocols intended to carry signaling messages rather than voice or data), and the SLP 270 may communicate with the UE 204 and external clients (not shown in FIG. 2B) via a user plane (e.g., using protocols intended to carry voice and / or data, such as Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and / or IP).

[0048]

[0061] 3A, 3B, and 3C illustrate several example components (represented by corresponding blocks) that may be incorporated in a UE 302 (which may correspond to any of the UEs described herein), a base station 304 (which may correspond to any of the base stations described herein), and a network entity 306 (which may correspond to or perform any of the network functions described herein, including location server 230 and LMF 270) to support file transmission operations as taught herein. It will be appreciated that these components may be implemented in different types of devices (e.g., in an ASIC, in a system on a chip (SoC), etc.) in different implementations. The illustrated components may also be incorporated in other devices in a communication system. For example, other devices in the system may include similar components 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.

[0049]

[0062] The UE 302 and base station 304 each include a wireless wide area network (WWAN) transceiver 310 and 350, respectively, providing means for communicating (e.g., means for transmitting, means for receiving, means for measuring, means for adjusting, means for refraining from transmitting, etc.) over one or more wireless communications networks (not shown), such as an NR network, an LTE network, a GSM network, etc. The WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 may be connected to one or more antennas 316 and 356, respectively, for communicating with other network nodes, such as other UEs, access points, base stations (e.g., eNBs, gNBs), etc., over at least one designated RAT (e.g., NR, LTE, GSM, etc.) over a wireless communications medium of interest (e.g., some set of time / frequency resources in a particular frequency spectrum). The WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 may be variously configured for transmitting and encoding signals 318 and 358, respectively (e.g., messages, instructions, information, etc.), and conversely, for receiving and decoding signals 318 and 358, respectively (e.g., messages, instructions, information, pilots, etc.), in accordance with a designated RAT. In particular, the WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 include one or more transmitters 314 and 354, respectively, for transmitting and encoding signals 318 and 358, respectively, and include one or more receivers 312 and 352, respectively, for receiving and decoding signals 318 and 358, respectively.

[0050]

[0063] The UE 302 and base station 304 also, in at least some cases, include wireless local area network (WLAN) transceivers 320 and 360, respectively. The WLAN transceivers 320 and 360 may be connected to one or more antennas 326 and 366, respectively, and provide means for communicating (e.g., means for transmitting, means for receiving, means for measuring, means for adjusting, means for refraining from transmitting, etc.) with other network nodes, such as other UEs, access points, base stations, etc., via at least one designated RAT (e.g., WiFi, LTE-D, Bluetooth, etc.) over a wireless communication medium of interest. The WLAN transceivers 320 and 360 may be variously configured for transmitting and encoding signals 328 and 368, respectively (e.g., messages, instructions, information, etc.), and conversely, for receiving and decoding signals 328 and 368, respectively (e.g., messages, instructions, information, pilots, etc.), in accordance with the designated RAT. In particular, the WLAN transceivers 320 and 360 each include one or more transmitters 324 and 364, respectively, for transmitting and encoding signals 328 and 368, and each include one or more receivers 322 and 362, respectively, for receiving and decoding the signals 328 and 368.

[0051]

[0064] A transceiver circuit including at least one transmitter and at least one receiver may in some implementations comprise an integrated device (e.g., implemented as a transmitter circuit and a receiver circuit of a single communication device), in some implementations comprise separate transmitter devices and separate receiver devices, or in other implementations may be implemented in other manners. In one aspect, the transmitter may include or be coupled to multiple antennas, such as an antenna array (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), that enable each device to perform transmit "beamforming" as described herein. Similarly, the receiver may include or be coupled to multiple antennas, such as an antenna array (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), that enable each device to perform receive beamforming as described herein. In one aspect, the transmitter and receiver may share the same multiple antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), that enable each device to only receive or transmit at a given time, rather than both receive and transmit at the same time. The wireless communications device of the UE 302 and / or base station 304 (e.g., one or both of the transceivers 310 and 320 and / or 350 and 360) may also comprise a network listen module (NLM) or the like for performing various measurements.

[0052]

[0065] The UE 302 and base station 304 also, in at least some cases, include satellite positioning system (SPS) receivers 330 and 370. The SPS receivers 330 and 370 may be connected to one or more antennas 336 and 376, respectively, and may provide a means for receiving and / or measuring SPS signals 338 and 378, respectively, such as Global Positioning System (GPS) signals, Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) signals, Galileo signals, BeiDou signals, Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (NAVIC), Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), etc. The SPS receivers 330 and 370 may comprise any suitable hardware and / or software for receiving and processing the SPS signals 338 and 378, respectively. The SPS receivers 330 and 370 request information and actions from other systems as appropriate, and perform the calculations necessary to determine the position of the UE 302 and base station 304 using measurements obtained by any suitable SPS algorithms.

[0053]

[0066] The base station 304 and the network entity 306 each include at least one network interface 380 and 390, respectively, providing a means for communicating (e.g., a means for transmitting, a means for receiving, etc.) with other network entities. For example, the network interfaces 380 and 390 (e.g., one or more network access ports) may be configured to communicate with one or more network entities via a wire-based or wireless backhaul connection. In some aspects, the network interfaces 380 and 390 may be implemented as transceivers configured to support wire-based or wireless signal communication. This communication may involve, for example, sending and receiving messages, parameters, and / or other types of information.

[0054]

[0067] The UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 also include other components that may be used with the operations disclosed herein. The UE 302 includes a processor circuit that implements a processing system 332, for example, for providing functionality related to wireless communications and for providing other processing functions. The base station 304 includes a processing system 384, for example, for providing functionality related to wireless communications and for providing other processing functions disclosed herein. The network entity 306 includes a processing system 394, for example, for providing functionality related to wireless communications and for providing other processing functions disclosed herein. The processing systems 332, 384, and 394 may thus provide means for processing, such as means for determining, means for calculating, means for receiving, means for transmitting, means for indicating, etc. In an aspect, the processing systems 332, 384, and 394 may include, for example, one or more general purpose processors, multi-core processors, ASICs, digital signal processors (DSPs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or other programmable logic devices or processing circuits.

[0055]

[0068] The UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 include memory circuitry implementing memory components 340, 386, and 396, respectively (e.g., each including a memory device) for maintaining information (e.g., information indicating reserved resources, thresholds, parameters, etc.). The memory components 340, 386, and 396 may thus provide a means for storing, a means for retrieving, a means for maintaining, etc. In some cases, the UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 may include positioning components 342, 388, and 398, respectively. The positioning components 342, 388, and 398 may be hardware circuits that are part of or coupled to the processing systems 332, 384, and 394, respectively, that, when executed, cause the UE 302, base station 304, and network entity 306 to perform the functions described herein. In other aspects, the positioning components 342, 388, and 398 may be external to the processing systems 332, 384, and 394 (e.g., part of a modem processing system, integrated with another processing system, etc.). Alternatively, the positioning components 342, 388, and 398 may be memory modules stored in the memory components 340, 386, and 396, respectively, that when executed by the processing systems 332, 384, and 394 (or a modem processing system, another processing system, etc.), cause the UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306 to perform the functions described herein. FIG. 3A illustrates possible locations of the positioning component 342, which may be part of the WWAN transceiver 310, the memory component 340, the processing system 332, or any combination thereof, or may be a stand-alone component. FIG. 3B illustrates possible locations of a positioning component 388, which may be part of the WWAN transceiver 350, the memory component 386, the processing system 384, or any combination thereof, or may be a stand-alone component.FIG. 3C illustrates possible locations for a positioning component 398, which may be part of the network interface(s) 390, memory component 396, processing system 394, or any combination thereof, or may be a stand-alone component.

[0056]

[0069] The UE 302 may include one or more sensors 344 coupled to the processing system 332 to provide a means for sensing or detecting movement and / or orientation information that is independent of movement data derived from signals received by the WWAN transceiver 310, the WLAN transceiver 320, and / or the SPS receiver 330. By way of example, the sensor(s) 344 may include an accelerometer (e.g., a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) device), a gyroscope, a geomagnetic sensor (e.g., a compass), an altimeter (e.g., a barometric altimeter), and / or any other type of movement detection sensor. Moreover, the sensor(s) 344 may include multiple different types of devices and combine their outputs to provide movement information. For example, the sensor(s) 344 may use a combination of a multi-axis accelerometer and an orientation sensor to provide the ability to calculate a position in a 2D and / or 3D coordinate system.

[0057]

[0070] Additionally, the UE 302 includes a user interface 346 that provides means for providing instructions (e.g., audible and / or visual instructions) to a user and / or for receiving user input (e.g., upon user actuation of a sensing device such as a keypad, touch screen, microphone, etc.). Although not shown, the base station 304 and the network entity 306 may also include user interfaces.

[0058]

[0071] Referring more particularly to the processing system 384, on the downlink, IP packets from the network entity 306 may be provided to the processing system 384. The processing system 384 may implement functionality for an RRC layer, a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, a Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, and a Medium Access Control (MAC) layer. The processing system 384 may provide RRC layer functions related to broadcasting of system information (e.g., Master Information Block (MIB), System Information Block (SIB)), RRC connection control (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connection modification, and RRC connection release), inter-RAT mobility, and measurement configuration for UE measurement reporting; PDCP layer functions related to header compression / decompression, security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification), and handover support functions; RLC layer functions related to transfer of higher layer PDUs, error correction via automatic repeat request (ARQ), concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC service data units (SDUs), re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functions related to mapping between logical channels and transport channels, scheduling information reporting, error correction, priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0059]

[0072] The transmitter 354 and receiver 352 may implement Layer 1 (L1) functions related to various signal processing functions. Layer 1, including the physical (PHY) layer, may include error detection on the transport channel, forward error correction (FEC) coding / decoding of the transport channel, interleaving, rate matching, mapping onto the physical channel, modulation / demodulation of the physical channel, and MIMO antenna processing. The transmitter 354 handles mapping to signal constellations based on various modulation schemes (e.g., binary phase shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), M-phase shift keying (M-PSK), multi-level quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM)). The coded and modulated symbols may then be split into parallel streams. Each stream may then be mapped to an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) subcarrier, multiplexed with a reference signal (e.g., pilot) in the time and / or frequency domain, and then combined with each other using an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) to generate a physical channel carrying a time-domain OFDM symbol stream. The OFDM symbol streams are spatially precoded to generate multiple spatial streams. Channel estimates from a channel estimator may be used to determine the coding and modulation scheme, as well as for spatial processing. The channel estimates may be derived from a reference signal and / or channel condition feedback transmitted by the UE 302. Each spatial stream may then be provided to one or more different antennas 356. The transmitter 354 may modulate an RF carrier with the respective spatial stream for transmission.

[0060]

[0073] At the UE 302, the receiver 312 receives the signal through its respective antenna(s) 316. The receiver 312 recovers the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provides the information to the processing system 332. The transmitter 314 and the receiver 312 implement layer 1 functions related to various signal processing functions. The receiver 312 may perform spatial processing on the information to recover the spatial streams destined for the UE 302. If multiple spatial streams are destined for the UE 302, they may be combined by the receiver 312 into a single OFDM symbol stream. The receiver 312 then converts the OFDM symbol stream from the time domain to the frequency domain using a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT). The frequency domain signal comprises a separate OFDM symbol stream for each subcarrier of the OFDM signal. The symbols on each subcarrier and the reference signal are recovered and demodulated by determining the most likely signal constellation point transmitted by the base station 304. These soft decisions may be based on channel estimates calculated by a channel estimator. The soft decisions are then decoded and deinterleaved to recover the data and control signals originally transmitted on the physical channel by the base station 304. The data and control signals are then provided to a processing system 332 that implements Layer 3 (L3) and Layer 2 (L2) functions.

[0061]

[0074] In the uplink, the processing system 332 provides demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packet reassembly, decryption, header recovery, and control signal processing to recover IP packets from the core network. The processing system 332 is also responsible for error detection.

[0062]

[0075] Similar to the functionality described with respect to downlink transmissions by the base station 304, the processing system 332 provides RRC layer functionality related to system information (e.g., MIB, SIB) acquisition, RRC connection, and measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality related to header compression / decompression and security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification); RLC layer functionality related to transfer of upper layer PDUs, error correction via ARQ, concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC SDUs, resegmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality related to mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing of MAC SDUs onto and demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from transport blocks (TBs), scheduling information reporting, error correction via hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ), priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0063]

[0076] Channel estimates derived by the channel estimator from a reference signal or feedback transmitted by the base station 304 may be used by the transmitter 314 to select an appropriate coding and modulation scheme and to facilitate spatial processing. The spatial streams generated by the transmitter 314 may be provided to different antenna(s) 316. The transmitter 314 may modulate an RF carrier with each spatial stream for transmission.

[0064]

[0077] Uplink transmissions are processed at the base station 304 in a manner similar to that described with respect to the receiver function at the UE 302. The receiver 352 receives signals through its respective antenna(s) 356. The receiver 352 recovers the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provides the information to a processing system 384.

[0065]

[0078] In the uplink, the processing system 384 provides demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packet reassembly, decryption, header recovery, and control signal processing to recover IP packets from the UE 302. The IP packets from the processing system 384 may be provided to a core network. The processing system 384 is also responsible for error detection.

[0066]

[0079] For convenience, the UE 302, the base station 304, and / or the network entity 306 are illustrated in Figures 3A-3C as including various components that may be configured in accordance with various examples described herein, however, it will be appreciated that the illustrated blocks may have different functionality in different designs.

[0067]

[0080] The various components of the UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306 may communicate with each other via data buses 334, 382, ​​and 392, respectively. The components of FIGS. 3A-3C may be implemented in various ways. In some implementations, the components of FIGS. 3A-3C may be implemented in one or more circuits, such as, for example, one or more processors and / or one or more ASICs (which may include one or more processors), where each circuit may use and / or incorporate at least one memory component for storing information or executable code used by the circuit to provide this functionality. For example, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 310-346 may be implemented by the processor and memory component(s) of the UE 302 (e.g., by execution of appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor components). Similarly, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 350-388 may be implemented (e.g., by execution of appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor components) by a processor and memory component(s) of the base station 304. Also, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 390-398 may be implemented (e.g., by execution of appropriate code and / or by appropriate configuration of the processor components) by a processor and memory component(s) of the network entity 306. For simplicity, various operations, acts, and / or functions are described herein as being performed "by a UE," "by a base station," "by a positioning entity," etc. However, it will be appreciated that such operations, acts, and / or functions may actually be performed by specific components or combinations of components, such as UEs, base stations, positioning entities, such as processing systems 332, 384, 394, transceivers 310, 320, 350, and 360, memory components 340, 386, and 396, positioning components 342, 388, and 398, etc.

[0068]

[0081] Various frame structures may be used to support downlink and uplink transmissions between network nodes (e.g., base stations and UEs). Figure 4A is a diagram 400 illustrating an example of an uplink frame structure according to an aspect of the disclosure. Figure 4B is a diagram 430 illustrating an example of channels within an uplink frame structure according to an aspect of the disclosure. Other wireless communication technologies may have different frame structures and / or different channels.

[0069]

[0082] LTE, and possibly NR, utilizes OFDM on the downlink and single-carrier frequency division multiplexing (SC-FDM) on the uplink. However, unlike LTE, NR has the option to use OFDM on the uplink as well. OFDM and SC-FDM partition the system bandwidth into multiple (K) orthogonal subcarriers, also commonly referred to as tones, bins, etc. Each subcarrier may be modulated with data. In general, modulation symbols are sent in the frequency domain with OFDM and in the time domain with SC-FDM. The spacing between adjacent subcarriers may be fixed, and the total number of subcarriers (K) may be dependent on the system bandwidth. For example, the subcarrier spacing may be fifteen kilohertz (15 kHz), and the minimum resource allocation (resource block) may be 12 subcarriers (or 180 kHz). Thus, the nominal FFT size may be equal to 128, 256, 512, 1024, or 2048 for a system bandwidth of 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10, or 20 megahertz (MHz), respectively. The system bandwidth may also be partitioned into subbands. For example, a subband may cover 1.08 MHz (i.e., 6 resource blocks), and there may be 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 subbands for a system bandwidth of 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10, or 20 MHz, respectively.

[0070]

[0083] LTE supports a single numerology (subcarrier spacing, symbol length, etc.). In contrast, NR may support multiple numerologies (μ), e.g., subcarrier spacings of 15 kHz, 30 kHz, 60 kHz, 120 kHz, and 240 kHz or greater may be available. Table 1 provided below lists some various parameters for the different NR numerologies.

[0071] [Table 1]

[0072]

[0084] In the example of Figures 4A and 4B, a numerology of 15 kHz is used. Thus, in the time domain, a 10 millisecond (ms) frame is divided into 10 equally sized subframes of 1 ms each, with each subframe containing one time slot. In Figures 4A and 4B, time is represented horizontally (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.

[0073]

[0085] A resource grid may be used to represent a time slot, with each time slot including one or more (also called physical resource block (PRB)) time parallel resource blocks in the frequency domain. The resource grid is further divided into a number of resource elements (REs). An RE may correspond to one symbol length in the time domain and one subcarrier in the frequency domain. In the numerology of FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B, in the case of a normal cyclic prefix, an RB may include 12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain and 7 consecutive symbols in the time domain for a total of 84 REs. In the case of an extended cyclic prefix, an RB may include 12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain and 6 consecutive symbols in the time domain for a total of 72 REs. The number of bits carried by each RE depends on the modulation scheme.

[0074]

[0086] As shown in FIG. 4A, some of the REs (labeled “R”) carry demodulation reference signals (DMRS) for channel estimation at a receiver (e.g., a base station, another UE, etc.). The UE may further transmit an SRS, for example, in the last symbol of a slot. The SRS may have a comb structure, and the UE may transmit the SRS on one of the combs. In the example of FIG. 4A, the illustrated SRS is comb 2 over one symbol. The SRS may be used by the base station to obtain channel state information (CSI) for each UE. The CSI describes how the RF signal propagates from the UE to the base station and represents the combined effects of scattering, fading, and power attenuation over distance. The system uses the SRS for resource scheduling, link adaptation, massive MIMO, beam management, etc.

[0075]

[0087] Currently, an SRS resource can span 1, 2, 4, 8, or 12 consecutive symbols in a slot with comb sizes of Comb 2, Comb 4, or Comb 8. The table below shows the frequency offset between symbols for currently supported SRS comb patterns.

[0076] [Table 2]

[0077]

[0088] A set of resource elements used for transmission of an SRS may be referred to as an "SRS resource" and identified by a parameter SRS-ResourceId. A set of resource elements may span multiple PRBs in the frequency domain and N (e.g., one or more) consecutive symbols within a slot in the time domain. In a given OFDM symbol, an SRS resource occupies consecutive PRBs. An "SRS resource set" is a set of SRS resources used for transmission of an SRS signal and is identified by an SRS resource set ID (SRS-ResourceSetId).

[0078]

[0089] Generally, a UE transmits an SRS to enable a receiving base station (either a serving base station or a neighboring base station) to measure the channel quality between the UE and the base station. However, the SRS can also be used as an uplink positioning reference signal for uplink positioning procedures, such as uplink time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA), multiple round trip time (multiple RTT), downlink angle of arrival (DL-AoA), etc.

[0079]

[0090] Several extensions over the previous definition of SRS have been proposed for SRS-for-positioning (also called "UL-PRS"), such as new staggered patterns in SRS resources (except single symbol / comb 2), new comb types for SRS, new sequences for SRS, higher number of SRS resource sets per component carrier, and higher number of SRS resources per component carrier. Furthermore, the parameters SpatialRelationInfo and PathLossReference should be configured based on downlink reference signals or SSBs from neighboring TRPs. Furthermore, one SRS resource may be transmitted outside the active BWP and one SRS resource may span across multiple component carriers. Also, SRS may be configured in the RRC connected state and transmitted only within the active BWP. Furthermore, there may be frequency hopping, no repetition factor, single antenna port, and new lengths for SRS (e.g., 8 and 12 symbols). Also, there may be open loop power control and no closed loop power control, and comb 8 (i.e., SRS transmitted in every 8th subcarrier in the same symbol) may be used. Finally, the UE may transmit from multiple SRS resources for UL-AoA through the same transmit beam. All of these are features added to the current SRS framework, which are configured through RRC higher layer signaling (and potentially triggered or activated through the MAC Control Element (CE) or DCI).

[0080]

[0091] FIG. 4B illustrates an example of various channels in an uplink slot of a frame according to an aspect of the disclosure. A random access channel (RACH), also referred to as a physical random access channel (PRACH), may be in one or more slots in a frame based on a PRACH configuration. The PRACH may include six consecutive RB pairs in a slot. The PRACH enables a UE to perform initial system access and achieve uplink synchronization. A physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) may be located on the edge of the uplink system bandwidth. The PUCCH carries uplink control information (UCI), such as scheduling requests, CSI reports, channel quality indicators (CQI), precoding matrix indicators (PMI), rank indicators (RI), and HARQ ACK / NACK feedback. A physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) carries data and may be further used to carry buffer status reports (BSR), power headroom reports (PHR), and / or UCI.

[0081]

[0092] It should be noted that the terms "positioning reference signal" and "PRS" may sometimes refer to specific reference signals used for positioning in LTE and NR systems. However, unless otherwise specified, the terms "positioning reference signal" and "PRS" as used herein refer to any type of reference signal that may be used for positioning, such as, but not limited to, PRS, TRS, PTRS, CRS, CSI-RS, DMRS, PSS, SSS, SSB, SRS, UL-PRS, as defined in LTE and 5G. Furthermore, the terms "positioning reference signal" and "PRS" refer to downlink or uplink positioning reference signals, unless otherwise specified. Downlink positioning reference signals may be referred to as "DL-PRS" and uplink positioning reference signals (e.g., SRS, PTRS for positioning) may be referred to as "UL-PRS". Furthermore, for signals that may be transmitted in both uplink and downlink (e.g., DMRS, PTRS), the signals may be prepended with "UL" or "DL" to distinguish the direction. For example, "UL-DMRS" can be distinguished from "DL-DMRS."

[0082]

[0093] 5 illustrates an example four-step random access procedure 500 according to an aspect of the disclosure. The four-step random access procedure 500 is performed between a UE 504 and a base station 502 (denoted as a gNB), which may correspond to any of the UEs and base stations, respectively, described herein.

[0083]

[0094] There are various situations in which a UE may perform the four-step random access procedure 500 (also referred to as a "RACH procedure", "PRACH procedure", etc.). For example, the UE may perform the four-step random access procedure 500 when obtaining initial network access after coming out of an RRC idle state, when performing an RRC connection re-establishment procedure, during handover, when downlink or uplink data arrives and the UE is in an RRC connected state but its uplink synchronization status is "unsynchronized", when transitioning from an RRC INACTIVE state, when establishing time alignment for the addition of an SCell, when requesting other synchronization information, or when performing beam failure recovery.

[0084]

[0095] Before performing the four-step random access procedure 500, the UE 504 first reads one or more SSBs broadcast by the base station 502 on which the UE 504 is performing the four-step random access procedure 500. In NR, each beam transmitted by a base station (e.g., base station 502) is associated with a different SSB, and the UE (e.g., UE 504) selects a beam to use to communicate with the base station 502. Based on the SSB of the selected beam, the UE 504 can then read a SIB type 1 (SIB1) transmitted on the selected beam, which carries cell access related information and provides scheduling of other system information blocks to the UE 504.

[0085]

[0096] When the UE sends the base station 502 the very first message of the four-step random access procedure 500, it sends a specific pattern called a preamble (also called a RACH preamble, a PRACH preamble, or a sequence). The RACH preamble distinguishes requests from different UEs 504. However, if two UEs 504 use the same RACH preamble at the same time, there may be a collision. There are a total of 64 such patterns available to the UE 504, and in case of contention-based random access, the UE 504 randomly chooses one of them. However, in case of contention-free random access, the network instructs the UE 504 as to which one to use.

[0086]

[0097] At 510, the UE 504 selects one of 64 RACH preambles to send to the base station 502 as a RACH request. This message is called "Message 1" or "Msg1" in the four-step RACH procedure. Based on the synchronization information (i.e., SIB1) from the base station 502, the UE 504 selects a RACH preamble and sends it on a RACH opportunity (RO) corresponding to the selected SSB / beam. More specifically, a specific mapping is defined between the SSBs and ROs for the base station 502 to determine which beam the UE 504 has selected (this is done every 10, 20, 40, 80, or 160 ms). By detecting which RO the UE 504 has sent the preamble to, the base station 502 can determine which SSB / beam the UE 504 has selected.

[0087]

[0098] Note that the RO is a time-frequency transmission opportunity for transmitting a RACH preamble, and the RACH preamble index (i.e., values ​​from 0 to 63 for 64 possible preambles) enables the UE 504 to generate the type of RACH preamble expected at the base station 502. The RO and RACH preamble index may be configured in the UE 504 by the base station 502 in the SIB. A RACH resource is the RO on which one RACH preamble index is transmitted. Thus, the terms "RO" (or "RACH opportunity") and "RACH resource" may be used interchangeably depending on the context.

[0088]

[0099] With reciprocity, the UE 504 may use an uplink transmit beam corresponding to the best downlink receive beam determined during synchronization (i.e., the best receive beam for receiving the downlink beam selected from the base station 502). That is, the UE 504 uses the parameters of the downlink receive beam used to receive the beam from the base station 502 to determine the parameters of the uplink transmit beam. If reciprocity is available at the base station 502, the UE 504 may transmit a preamble via one beam. If not, the UE 504 repeats transmission of the same preamble on all of its uplink transmit beams.

[0089]

[0100] The UE 504 also needs to give its identity to the network (via the base station 502) so that the network can address it in the next step. This identity is called the Random Access Radio Network Temporary Identity (RA-RNTI) and is determined from the time slot in which the RACH preamble is sent. If the UE 504 does not receive any response from the base station 502 within a certain time, it increases its transmission power in a fixed step and sends the RACH preamble / Msg1 again.

[0090]

[0101] At 520, the base station 502 sends a Random Access Response (RAR), called "Message 2" or "Msg2" in the four-step RACH procedure, to the UE 504 on the selected beam. The RAR is sent on the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) and is addressed to the RA-RNTI, which is calculated from the time slot in which the preamble was sent (i.e., RO). The RAR carries information such as a Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier (C-RNTI), a Timing Advance (TA) value, and an uplink grant resource. The base station 502 assigns a C-RNTI to the UE 504 to enable further communication with the UE 504. The TA value specifies how much the UE 504 must change its timing to compensate for the round-trip delay between the UE 504 and the base station 502. The uplink grant resource indicates the initial resources that the UE 504 can use on the PUSCH. After this step, the UE 504 and the base station 502 establish a coarse beam alignment that can be utilized in subsequent steps.

[0091]

[0102] At 530, using the allocated PUSCH, the UE 504 sends an RRC connection request message, referred to as "Message 3" or "Msg3," to the base station 502. Since the UE 504 sends Msg3 over resources scheduled by the base station 502, the base station 502 therefore knows where to detect Msg3 and which uplink receive beam to use. Note that the Msg3 PUSCH can be sent on the same or a different uplink transmit beam as Msg1.

[0092]

[0103] The UE 504 identifies itself in Msg3 by the C-RNTI assigned during the previous step. The message contains the identity of the UE 504 and a connection establishment reason. The identity of the UE 504 is either a Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (TMSI) or a random value. If the UE 504 has been previously attached to the same network, the TMSI is used. The UE 504 is identified in the core network by the TMSI. If the UE 504 is attaching to the network for the very first time, the random value is used. The reason for a random value or TMSI is that the C-RNTI has been assigned to more than one UE in a previous step due to multiple requests arriving at the same time. The connection establishment reason indicates why the UE 504 needs to attach to the network and is further explained below.

[0093]

[0104] At 540, if Msg3 is successfully received, the base station 502 responds with a contention resolution message, referred to as "Message 4" or "Msg4." This message includes a new C-RNTI addressed to the TMSI or random value (from Msg3) that will be used for further communications. In particular, the base station 502 sends Msg4 in the PDSCH using the downlink transmit beam determined in the previous step.

[0094]

[0105] The four-step random access procedure 500 described above is a contention-based random access procedure. In contention-based random access, any UE 504 connected to the same cell or TRP sends the same request, in which case there is a possibility of collision between requests from various UEs 504. In contention-free random access, the network can instruct the UE 504 to use some unique identification information to prevent the UE's request from colliding with requests from other UEs. The contention-free random access procedure can be implemented when the UE 504 is in RRC connected mode before the random access procedure, such as in the case of handover.

[0095]

[0106] 6 illustrates an example two-step random access procedure 600 according to an aspect of the disclosure. The two-step random access procedure 600 may be performed between a UE 604 (e.g., any of the UEs described herein) and a base station 602 (denoted as a gNB), which may correspond to any of the UEs and base stations, respectively, described herein.

[0096]

[0107] At 610, the UE 604 transmits a RACH message A ("MsgA") to the base station 602. In the two-step random access procedure 600, Msg1 and Msg3 described above with reference to FIG. 5 are bundled (e.g., combined) into MsgA and sent to the base station 602. Thus, MsgA includes a RACH preamble and a PUSCH similar to the Msg3 PUSCH of the four-step RACH procedure. The RACH preamble may have been selected from 64 possible preambles as described above with reference to FIG. 5 and may be used as a reference signal for demodulation of the data transmitted in MsgA. At 620, the UE 604 receives a RACH message B ("MsgB") from the base station 602. MsgB may be a combination of Msg2 and Msg4 described above with reference to FIG. 5.

[0097]

[0108] The combination of Msg1 and Msg3 into one MsgA and the combination of Msg2 and Msg4 into one MsgB allows the UE 604 to reduce the setup time of the RACH procedure to support the low latency requirements of 5G NR. If the UE 604 may be configured to support the two-step random access procedure 600, but the UE 604 is not able to use the two-step random access procedure 600 due to some constraints (e.g., high transmit power requirements, etc.), the UE 604 may still support the four-step random access procedure 500 as a fallback. Thus, a UE in 5G / NR may be configured to support both the two-step random access procedure and the four-step random access procedure and may determine which random access procedure to configure based on the RACH configuration information received from the base station.

[0098]

[0109] After the random access procedure 500 / 600, the UE 504 / 604 is in an RRC connected state. The RRC protocol is used on the air interface between the UE and the base station. The main functions of the RRC protocol include connection establishment and release functions, broadcast of system information, establishment, reconfiguration and release of radio bearers, RRC connection mobility procedures, paging notification and release, and outer loop power control. In LTE, the UE can be in one of two RRC states (connected or idle), and in NR, the UE can be in one of three RRC states (connected, idle, or inactive). Different RRC states have different radio resources associated with them that the UE can use when the UE is in a given state.

[0099]

[0110] FIG. 7 is a diagram 700 of different RRC states (also referred to as RRC modes) in NR according to an aspect of the disclosure. When a UE is powered on, it first enters an RRC disconnected / idle state 710. After a random access procedure 500 or 600, it moves to an RRC connected state 720. If there is no activity from the UE for a short period of time, it can suspend its session by moving to an RRC inactive state 730. The UE can resume its session by performing a random access procedure 500 or 600 to transition back to the RRC connected state 720. Thus, the UE needs to perform a random access procedure 500 or 600 to transition to the RRC connected state 720 regardless of whether the UE is in an RRC idle state 710 or an RRC inactive state 730.

[0100]

[0111] Operations performed during the RRC idle state 710 include Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) selection, system information broadcast, cell reselection, mobility, paging for mobile terminated data (initiated and managed by the 5GC), discontinuous reception (DRX) for core network paging (configured by the NAS). Operations performed during the RRC connected state 720 include 5GC (e.g., 5GC 260) and new RAN (e.g., new RAN 220) connection establishment (both control and user plane), UE context storage in the new RAN and UE, new RAN knowledge about the cell the UE belongs to, transfer of unicast data to and from the UE, and network controlled mobility. Operations performed during the RRC inactive state 730 include broadcast of system information, cell reselection for mobility, paging (initiated by the new RAN), management (by the new RAN) of RAN based Notification Areas (RNAs), DRX for RAN paging (configured by the new RAN), establishment of 5GC and new RAN connections for the UE (both control and user plane), storing UE context in the new RAN and UE, and new RAN knowledge about the RNA to which the UE belongs.

[0101]

[0112] In some cases, the UE may transition from the RRC connected state 720 to the RRC idle state 710 or the RRC inactive state 730 during an ongoing positioning session, such as a multi-round-trip-time (RTT) session (which can be uplink only or downlink and uplink), an uplink time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA) session (uplink only), or an uplink angle-of-arrival (UL-AoA) session (uplink only).

[0102]

[0113] In the RTT procedure, an initiator (base station or UE) transmits an RTT measurement signal (e.g., PRS or SRS) to a responder (UE or base station), and the responder transmits an RTT response signal (e.g., SRS or PRS) back to the initiator. The RTT response signal includes the difference between the ToA of the RTT measurement signal and the transmit time of the RTT response signal, called a receive-transmit (Rx-Tx) measurement. The initiator calculates the difference between the transmit time of the RTT measurement signal and the ToA of the RTT response signal, called a "Tx-Rx" measurement. The propagation time (also called "time of flight") between the initiator and the responder can be calculated from the Tx-Rx and Rx-Tx measurements. Based on the propagation time and the known speed of light, the distance between the initiator and the responder can be determined. For multi-RTT positioning (also called "multi-cell RTT"), the UE performs RTT procedures with multiple base stations to allow its location to be triangulated based on the known locations of the base stations. The RTT and multi-RTT methods may be combined with other positioning techniques, such as UL-AoA and DL-AoD, to improve location accuracy.

[0103]

[0114] In a UL-TDOA session, the UE transmits an uplink reference signal (e.g., SRS) that is received by the reference base station and one or more non-reference base stations. The base stations report the time of arrival (ToA) of the uplink reference signal to a positioning entity (e.g., UE, serving base station, location server 230, LMF 270, SLP 272), which calculates a reference signal time difference (RSTD) of the uplink reference signal between the reference base station and each non-reference base station. Based on the known locations of the involved base stations and the RSTD measurements, the positioning entity can estimate the location of the UE.

[0104]

[0115] Unlike multi-RTT and UL-TDOA positioning methods that require three or more base stations to measure signals from a UE, a UL-AoA session may be conducted between the UE and a single base station. In a UL-AoA procedure, the base station measures the angle and other channel properties (e.g., gain level) of the uplink receive beam used to communicate with the UE to estimate the UE's location. The UE and base station may also conduct an RTT procedure to further refine the location estimate.

[0105]

[0116] There are various reasons why a UE may transition from the RRC connected state 720 to the RRC idle state 710 or the RRC inactive state 730 during an ongoing positioning session. For example, a UE configured DRX cycle may invite the UE to transition to the RRC inactive state 730, or the UE's serving base station may command the UE to transition to the RRC inactive state 730, or the UE may be disconnected from the network for some reason and transition to the RRC idle state 710. Whatever the reason, it is beneficial for the UE to be able to leverage a subsequent random access procedure 500 or 600 to continue the ongoing positioning session before the UE transitions to the RRC connected state 720.

[0106]

[0117] Thus, there are techniques for associating SRS resources with RACH resources for UEs in an RRC idle state 710 or an RRC inactive state 730 during an uplink-only (e.g., UL-AoA, UL-TDOA) or uplink-downlink (e.g., RTT) positioning session. FIG. 8 is a diagram 800 of an example positioning procedure between a UE 804 and two TRPs 802-1 and 802-2 (collectively TRPs 802) according to an aspect of the disclosure. The UE 804 may correspond to any of the UEs described herein, and the TRPs 802 may correspond to (or be the TRPs of) any of the base stations described herein. The positioning session may be a multi-RTT session, a UL-TDOA session, a UL-AoA session, etc.

[0107]

[0118] During a first RRC connected state 810 (which may correspond to the RRC connected state 720), the UE 804 is configured with a first set of one or more SRS resources to transmit one or more SRSs 812 to the TRP 802 for a positioning session. In particular, the UE 804 is configured with one or more SRS resources to transmit one or more SRSs 812-1 to the TRP 802-1 (labeled as "SRS1") and one or more SRS resources to transmit one or more SRSs 812-2 to the TRP 802-2 (labeled as "SRS2"). In one aspect, the one or more SRS resources may be an SRS resource set.

[0108]

[0119] While in the first RRC connected state 810, the UE 804 obtains a first association of at least one SRS resource (or at least one SRS resource set) of one or more SRS resources to at least one RACH resource of the one or more RACH resources for each TRP 802. More specifically, the UE 804 obtains an association of at least one SRS resource (or at least one SRS resource set) of one or more SRS resources from which one or more SRSs 812-1 were transmitted to at least one RACH resource of the one or more RACH resources allocated for transmission of a RACH message (e.g., Msg1, Msg3, MsgA) to the TRP 802-1. Similarly, the UE 804 obtains an association of at least one SRS resource (or at least one SRS resource set) of one or more SRS resources on which one or more SRSs 812-2 are transmitted to at least one RACH resource of one or more RACH resources allocated for transmission of a RACH message (e.g., Msg1, Msg3, MsgA) to the TRP 802-2. The UE 804 may receive (be configured with) the association from a serving TRP (e.g., one of TRPs 802-1 and 802-2) or each TRP 802-1 and 802-2. In an aspect, the association may be received in an SRS resource configuration or in a separate transmission. The at least one SRS resource may be, for example, one or more SRS resources, an SRS resource set, etc.

[0109]

[0120] The UE 804 then transitions to an RRC idle state or an RRC inactive state 820. This may be due to, for example, a command from a serving TRP (e.g., one of TRPs 802-1 and 802-2), expiration of a DRX timer, etc. When the UE 804 decides to switch from the RRC idle / inactive state 820 to a second RRC connected state 830, it uses the configured association between the SRS resource (or SRS resource set) and the RACH resource received during the RRC connected state 810 to transmit a RACH message 822 (e.g., Msg1 and Msg3, or MsgA) of an associated random access procedure (e.g., random access procedure 500 / 600). More specifically, the UE 804 transmits a RACH message 822-1 (e.g., Msg1 and Msg3 or MsgA) to the TRP 802-1 using transmission properties inherited from the at least one associated SRS resource (or SRS resource set) on which the SRS 812-1 was transmitted. Similarly, the UE 804 transmits a RACH message 822-2 (e.g., Msg1 and Msg3 or MsgA) to the TRP 802-2 using transmission properties inherited from the at least one associated SRS resource (or SRS resource set) on which the SRS 812-2 was transmitted. The TRP 802 measures the RACH message on the associated RACH resource since it has measured the SRS resource (e.g., ToA, AoA, etc.) for positioning.The transmission properties inherited from the at least one associated SRS resource may include an uplink spatial transmit filter for the at least one SRS resource, a path-loss reference resource, a path-loss estimate, and / or a transmission power estimate for the at least one SRS resource, a transmission timing for the at least one SRS resource, a subcarrier spacing (SCS), a duration, and / or a transmission bandwidth for the at least one SRS resource. Note that MsgA includes a RACH preamble and a PUSCH, and the PUSCH carries a DMRS. Thus, if the RACH message 822 is a MsgAs, either the preamble or the DMRS or both may be used for positioning.

[0110]

[0121] More specifically, in one aspect, the configured association may associate an uplink spatial transmit filter (also referred to as an uplink transmit beam) of at least one SRS resource (or SRS resource set) to at least one RACH resource. In that case, the UE 804 may transmit a PRACH preamble (e.g., a PRACH preamble for Msg1 or MsgA) on the at least one RACH resource using the uplink spatial transmit filter of the at least one SRS resource. Additionally or alternatively, the configured association may associate a path loss reference resource, a path loss estimate, and / or a transmit power estimate of the at least one SRS resource (or SRS resource set) to the at least one RACH resource. In that case, the UE 804 may transmit a PRACH preamble on the at least one RACH resource using the transmit power estimate, the path loss estimate, and / or the path loss reference resource of the at least one SRS resource. Additionally or alternatively, the configured association may associate a transmit timing of the at least one SRS resource (or SRS resource set) to the at least one RACH resource. In that case, the UE 804 may transmit a PRACH preamble on the at least one RACH resource using a transmission timing of the at least one SRS resource. Additionally or alternatively, the configured association may associate a first SCS, a first duration, and / or a first transmission bandwidth of the at least one SRS resource (or SRS resource set) with the at least one RACH resource. In that case, the UE 804 may transmit a PRACH preamble on the at least one RACH resource using a second SCS, a second duration, and / or a second transmission bandwidth based on the first SCS, the first duration, and / or the first transmission bandwidth of the at least one SRS resource.

[0111]

[0122] Referring more specifically to the SCS, duration, and / or transmission bandwidth of the at least one SRS resource (or SRS resource set), the at least one SRS resource may have a different SCS, duration, and / or transmission bandwidth allowed for the RACH resource. Thus, a mapping may be required between the SCS of the at least one SRS resource and the SCS of the at least one RACH resource, between the duration of the at least one SRS resource and the duration of the at least one RACH resource, and / or between the transmission bandwidth of the at least one SRS resource and the transmission bandwidth of the at least one RACH resource. Such mappings may be defined by the relevant standard. These mappings may take the form of one or more rules. For example, a rule may state that if the duration of the at least one SRS resource is greater than "X", then select "Y" for the duration of the at least one RACH resource.

[0112]

[0123] When the UE 804 transmits a RACH message 822, it needs to identify itself to the receiving TRP 802 in each RACH resource. To do this, as a first option, each TRP 802 can be provided with a one-to-one mapping of RACH opportunities to UEs. That is, each UE (e.g., UE 804) will be associated with its own RACH opportunity. This mapping can be provided by a location server (e.g., location server 230, LMF 270, SLP 272) or a TRP (e.g., serving TRP). As a second option, the identifier of the UE 804 can be carried to the network in the Msg3 or MsgA payload. As a third option, there can be some association of the UE 804 to the respective RACH resource. For example, a RACH preamble index can be mapped to a specific UE. This information can be provided by either a location server or a TRP (e.g., serving TRP). As a fourth option, a group of UEs may be associated with a set of one or more RACH resources, one or more RACH opportunities, one or more RACH preamble indices, or any combination thereof, and the UEs 804 may provide a shorter identifier in the RACH message payload that uniquely identifies the UEs 804 in that group. Again, this mapping may be provided by a location server or a TRP (e.g., a serving TRP).

[0113]

[0124] A trigger mechanism may also be required to notify the involved TRPs (here, TRPS 802-1 and 802-2) to monitor the relevant RACH resources instead of the SRS resources for positioning. As a first option, the serving TRP (e.g., one of TRPs 802-1 and 802-2) may notify a location server (e.g., location server 230, LMF 270, SLP 272), which may notify a neighboring TRP (e.g., the other of TRPs 802-1 and 802-2). As a second option, the serving TRP may notify the neighboring TRP directly via the backhaul link.

[0114]

[0125] After a random access procedure with the TRPs 802 (e.g., random access procedure 500 / 600), the UE 804 enters a second RRC connected state 830 (e.g., RRC connected state 720). At this point, the UE 804 is configured (e.g., by the location server 230, the LMF 270, the SLP 272) with a new set of one or more SRS resources (or SRS resource sets) for positioning purposes for each TRP 802. The UE 804 continues the positioning session by sending one or more SRSs 832-1 to TRP 802-1 on the newly configured SRS resources for TRP 802-1 and one or more SRSs 832-2 to TRP 802-2 on the newly configured SRS resources for TRP 802-2. Sometime after entering the second RRC connected state 830, the UE 804 may receive a second association of at least one SRS resource (or SRS resource set) of the set of one or more SRS resources allocated for each TRP 802 to at least one RACH resource of the one or more RACH resources allocated for each TRP 802. Again, the UE 804 may receive the association from the serving TRP (e.g., one of TRPs 802-1 and 802-2) or from the respective TRP 802. The UE 804 may store this association until the next time it transitions to an RRC idle or disconnected state during the same positioning session. Thus, as can be appreciated, the UE 804 may repeat the above operations until the positioning session is completed.

[0115]

[0126] Since the RACH message 822 is transmitted as part of an ongoing positioning session, the TRP 802 performs positioning measurements (e.g., ToA, AoA) of the SRS 812, the RACH message 822, and the SRS 832. The TRP 802 may then report these measurements to a positioning entity, such as a location server (e.g., location server 230, LMF 270, SLP 272), the UE 804 (for UE-based positioning), or a serving TRP (e.g., one of TRPs 802-1 and 802-2). If the positioning session is a multi-RTT session, the TRP 802 may transmit downlink reference signals in response to the received SRS 812, the RACH message 822, and the SRS 832. As known in the art, the payload of these response signals may include the amount of time between receipt of the SRS 812, the RACH message 822, and the SRS 832 and the transmission of the response signal (i.e., the Rx-Tx measurement of the TRP 802). Alternatively, the TRP 802 may transmit this information to a positioning entity. The location of the UE 804 may then be estimated using known techniques.

[0116]

[0127] As will be appreciated, the various network nodes described above may communicate over different interfaces and using different protocols. For example, the UE 804 may communicate with the location server using LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) signaling, and vice versa. The TRP 802 may communicate with the location server using LTE Positioning Protocol Type A (LPPa) or NR Positioning Protocol Type A (NRPPa) signaling. The TRPs 802 may communicate with each other via a backhaul connection (e.g., backhaul connection 223). The UE 804 may communicate with the TRP 802 using a wireless cellular protocol, such as an LTE or NR protocol.

[0117]

[0128] Currently, there are two RACH preamble lengths: a RACH preamble with a length of 839 (called a "long" preamble or sequence) and a RACH preamble with a length of 139 (called a "short" preamble or sequence). Furthermore, the long preamble uses four preamble formats, while the short preamble uses nine preamble formats. FIG. 9 is a graph 900 showing different preamble lengths and formats. As can be seen in FIG. 9, the four formats of the long preamble are numbered from "0" to "3", and the nine formats of the short preamble are numbered from "A1" to "A3", "B1" to "B4", and "C0" and "C2". Each row of the graph 900 is an RO. Each RO starts with a cyclic prefix of some length (represented as "C"), has one or more repetitions of the preamble sequence (represented as "S"), and ends with a guard period of some length (represented as "G"). For reference, the last row of graph 900 shows a subframe of PUSCH for a subcarrier spacing of 15 kHz. A subframe therefore has a length of 1 ms and comprises one slot divided into 14 symbols (see Table 1).

[0118]

[0129] The four formats for long preambles are designed for large (i.e., macro) cell deployments in FR1 and are generally used in frequency bands below 6 GHz. The preamble formats (i.e., “0” through “3”) are part of the random access configuration of the cell (broadcast in the SIB), and each cell is generally limited to a single preamble format. In NR, the numerology used for long preambles differs from other NR transmissions because the origin of long preambles is partly from the preambles used for LTE. For example, preamble formats “0” and “1” in NR are the same as preamble formats “0” and “2” in LTE. Preambles can use subcarrier spacing of 1.25 kHz or 5 kHz. A long preamble with 1.25 kHz subcarrier spacing occupies 6 resource blocks in the frequency domain, while a preamble with 5 kHz subcarrier spacing occupies 24 resource blocks.

[0119]

[0130] Short preambles are generally shorter than long preambles, usually spanning only a few OFDM symbols (as shown in FIG. 9). Nine formats of short preambles are designed for small cell deployments, including indoor coverage. These preamble formats can be used for both FR1 and FR2 ranges. The subcarrier spacing for short preambles is aligned with normal NR subcarrier spacing (e.g., 15 kHz, 30 kHz, 60 kHz, and 120 kHz). In FR1, short preambles use subcarrier spacing of 15 or 30 kHz, while in FR2, short preambles use subcarrier spacing of 60 or 120 kHz. Short preambles occupy 12 resource blocks in the frequency domain regardless of preamble numerology.

[0120]

[0131] The short preamble format is designed such that the last part of each OFDM symbol serves as a cyclic prefix for the next OFDM symbol, and the length of the preamble OFDM symbol is equal to the length of the data OFDM symbol. In most cases, it is therefore possible to time-multiplex multiple preamble transmissions within a single RACH slot (when there is a configured number of RACH slots per data slot, see FIG. 10 below). In other words, for short preambles, there can be multiple ROs in the time domain as well as in the frequency domain within a single RACH slot (also called a "PRACH slot"). However, it should be noted that the RACH slots do not necessarily correspond to the data slots, as will be shown below with reference to FIG. 10.

[0121]

[0132] NR supports a mix of "A" and "B" preamble formats to allow for additional formats such as "A1 / B1", "A2 / B2", and "A3 / B3". The short preamble formats "A" and "B" are identical except for a somewhat shorter cyclic prefix for the "B" format. Preamble formats "B2" and "B3" are used in combination with the corresponding "A" formats (i.e., "A2" and "A3").

[0122]

[0133] Short preambles allow the base station receiver to use the same FFT for data and random access preamble detection. These preambles are a combination of multiple shorter OFDM symbols per PRACH preamble, making them more robust against time-varying channel and frequency errors. Short preambles also support analog beam sweeping during PRACH reception so that the same preamble can be received with different beams at the base station.

[0123]

[0134] Figure 10 is a diagram 1000 of an example allocation of ROs in the time domain. In the example of Figure 10, there are two 120 kHz slots (numbered "7" and "8") across one 60 kHz slot. Table 3 below shows the time domain configuration parameters for the particular allocation of ROs shown in Figure 10. The parameters in Table 3 result in the allocation of ROs shown in Figure 10.

[0124] [Table 3]

[0125]

[0135] Thus, from Table 3 and as shown in Figure 10, there are two 120 kHz RACH slots (slots "7" and "8") within a single 60 kHz slot, with the ROs (shaded symbols) starting at symbol 0 in slot "7". Each RO is of format "A1" and therefore two symbols in duration (see graph 900 in Figure 9). There are six ROs in each slot for a total of 12 consecutive symbols per slot.

[0126]

[0136] For the frequency domain configuration, the frequency domain location (i.e., frequency domain resources) for the RACH preamble is determined by the RRC parameters "msg1-FDM" and "msg1-FrequencyStart". The parameter "msg1-FDM" can take values ​​of {1,2,4,8}. The parameter "msg1-FrequencyStart" is an integer from "1" to the maximum number of PRBs minus 1. The time domain location (i.e., time domain resources) for the RACH preamble is determined by the RRC parameter "prach-ConfigurationIndex", which is an integer between 0 and 255.

[0127]

[0137] In NR, each synchronization signal (i.e., SSB) is associated with a different downlink transmission beam, and the UE can select a synchronization signal beam and send a PRACH (i.e., preamble) using an uplink transmission beam based on the selected downlink transmission beam. There is a specific mapping between SSBs and ROs for the network to determine which beam the UE selected. By detecting on which RO the UE sent the PRACH, the network can determine which SSB / beam the UE selected. The mapping between SSBs and ROs is defined by the RRC parameters "msg1-FDM" and "ssb-perRACH-OccasionAndCB-PreamblesPerSSB". The parameter "msg1-FDM" specifies how many ROs are allocated in the frequency domain at the same location in the time domain. The parameter "ssb-perRACH-OccasionAndCB-PreamblesPerSSB" specifies how many SSBs can be mapped to one RO and how many preamble indices can be mapped to a single SSB.

[0128]

[0138] 11A to 11D show various examples of RO allocation in the time and frequency domain. In the example diagram 1100A of FIG. 11A, "msg1-FDM" is equal to "1" and "ssb-perRACH-OccasionAndCB-PreamblesPerSSB" is equal to "1". In the example diagram 1100B of FIG. 11B, "msg1-FDM" is equal to "2" and "ssb-perRACH-OccasionAndCB-PreamblesPerSSB" is equal to "1". In the example diagram 1100C of FIG. 11C, "msg1-FDM" is equal to "2" and "ssb-perRACH-OccasionAndCB-PreamblesPerSSB" is equal to "8". In the example diagram 1100D of FIG. 11D, "msg1-FDM" is equal to "2" and "ssb-perRACH-OccasionAndCB-PreamblesPerSSB" is equal to "1 / 2."

[0129]

[0139] As described above, the short preamble occupies 12 PRBs in the frequency domain regardless of the preamble numerology, which is small compared to the bandwidth of the SRS for positioning. Therefore, when using the RACH preamble for positioning purposes, it is beneficial to increase the bandwidth of the RACH preamble transmission to better match the bandwidth of the SRS for positioning. Therefore, the present disclosure provides a technique for associating one SRS resource (or an SRS resource set) with multiple RACH resources or multiple ROs to increase the transmitted bandwidth of the RACH preamble and thus increase the measurement resolution and the accuracy of the positioning estimate at the base station using the RACH preamble. More specifically, the UE may be configured with the association of one SRS resource (or an SRS resource set) with multiple RACH resources or multiple ROs on different bandwidths, where the UE transmits each RACH preamble using the same antenna port on adjacent transmission opportunities.

[0130]

[0140] FIG. 12 is a diagram 1200 of an example positioning session between a UE 1204 and two TRPs (both numbered 1202 and labeled "TRP1" and "TRP2") according to an aspect of the disclosure. The UE 1204 may correspond to any of the UEs described herein, and the TRPs may be any of the base stations described herein. In FIG. 12, time is represented horizontally and frequency is represented vertically. The positioning session may be a multi-RTT session, a UL-TDOA session, a UL-AoA session, etc. FIG. 12 shows two TRPs 1202 to indicate that there may be multiple TRPs and that the SRS and corresponding RACH resources may be received by multiple TRPs. Thus, the disclosure does not require and is not limited to two TRPs 1202 as shown.

[0131]

[0141] During a first RRC connected state 1210 (e.g., RRC connected state 720), the UE 1204 is configured with an SRS resource 1212 (or an SRS resource set) for transmitting a first SRS for positioning (labeled as “SRS1”) to the TRP 1202. While in the RRC connected state 1210, the UE 1204 obtains an association of the SRS resource 1212 (or an SRS resource set) to multiple RACH resources 1222 (labeled as “RACH1”, “RACH2”, “RACH3”) for the TRP 1202. More specifically, the UE 1204 obtains an association of the SRS resource 1212 (or an SRS resource set) from which it transmitted an SRS for positioning to multiple RACH resources 1222 allocated for transmitting RACH signals / messages (e.g., Msg1, Msg3, MsgA) to the TRP 1202. In one aspect, the UE 1204 may receive (be configured with) the association from a serving TRP (e.g., "TRP1" 1202). In one aspect, the association may be received in the SRS resource configuration or in a separate transmission.

[0132]

[0142] The UE 1204 then transitions to an RRC idle state or an RRC inactive state 1220 (e.g., the RRC idle state 710 or the RRC inactive state 730, respectively). This may be due to, for example, a command from the serving TRP (e.g., “TRP1” 1202), expiration of a DRX timer, etc. Before switching back to the RRC connected state 1210 from the RRC idle / inactive state 1220, the UE 1204 uses the configured association between the SRS resource 1212 (or SRS resource set) and multiple RACH resources 1222 received during the previous RRC connected state 1210 to transmit a RACH signal / message (e.g., Msg1 and Msg3, or MsgA) for the random access procedure (e.g., random access procedure 500 / 600) required for the transition back to the RRC connected state 1210. More specifically, the UE 1204 transmits a RACH message (e.g., Msg1 and Msg3, or MsgA) to the TRP 1202 using transmission properties inherited from the associated SRS resource 1212 (or SRS resource set) on which the previous SRS for positioning ("SRS1") was transmitted. The transmission properties inherited from the associated SRS resource 1212 (or SRS resource set) may be the same as those described above with reference to FIG. 8. The TRP 1202 measures the RACH signal / message on the associated multiple RACH resources 1222 since it measured the SRS for positioning (e.g., ToA, UL-AoA, etc.).

[0133]

[0143] In one aspect, the associated RACH resources 1222 should correspond to ROs that have different frequency bandwidths after they are all processed together, but cover a contiguous bandwidth. The associated RACH resources 1222 should also correspond to ROs that occur during consecutive time instances without a gap in between or with a gap smaller than a specified threshold. In this case, the threshold should be such that no other channels are expected to be transmitted within the gap period. These time and frequency constraints are illustrated in FIG. 12 by the "staircase steps" of the RACH resources 1222. Note that, in general, only ROs within the same RACH slot may be assumed to be transmitted coherently (i.e., the same antenna port is used). Furthermore, only ROs within RACH slots of the same subframe for FR1 (or 60 kHz slots for FR2) may be assumed to be transmitted coherently. Furthermore, the associated multiple RACH resources 1222 should correspond to ROs that transmit through the same transmit port of the UE, are spatially transmit quasi-co-located (i.e., use the same transmit beam), have the same transmission power, and / or have the same timing.

[0134]

[0144] After a random access procedure with the TRP 1202 (e.g., random access procedure 500 / 600), the UE 1204 enters a second RRC connected state 1210 (e.g., RRC connected state 720). At this point, the UE 1204 is configured (e.g., by the location server 230, the LMF 270, the SLP 272) with a new SRS resource 1232 (or an SRS resource set) for positioning purposes for the TRP 1202. The UE 1204 continues the positioning session by sending an SRS for positioning to the TRP 1202 on the newly configured SRS resource 1232 (or an SRS resource set). Sometime after entering the second RRC connected state 1210, the UE 1204 may obtain a second association of one SRS resource 1232 (or one SRS resource set) to multiple RACH resources allocated to the TRP 1202. Again, the UE 1204 may obtain the association from the serving TRP. The UE 1204 may store this association until the next time it transitions to an RRC idle or inactive state during the same positioning session, and thus, as can be appreciated, the UE 1204 may repeat the above operations until the positioning session is completed.

[0135]

[0145] As RACH messages on multiple RACH resources 1222 are transmitted as part of an ongoing positioning session, the TRP 1202 performs positioning measurements (e.g., ToA, UL-AoA) for the SRS for positioning transmitted on the SRS resource 1212 (or SRS resource set), the RACH messages transmitted on the multiple RACH resources 1222, and the SRS for positioning transmitted on the SRS resource 1232 (or SRS resource set). The TRP 1202 may then report these measurements to a positioning entity, such as a location server (e.g., location server 230, LMF 270, SLP 272), the UE 1204 (for UE-based positioning), or a serving TRP. If the positioning session is a multi-RTT session, the TRP 1202 may transmit a downlink reference signal in response to the received SRS for positioning transmitted on the SRS resource 1212 (or SRS resource set), the RACH message transmitted on the multiple RACH resources 1222, and the SRS for positioning transmitted on the SRS resource 1232 (or SRS resource set). As known in the art, the payload of these response signals may include the amount of time between receiving the SRS for positioning transmitted on the SRS resource 1212, the RACH message transmitted on the multiple RACH resources 1222, and the SRS for positioning transmitted on the SRS resource 1232 and transmitting the response signal. Alternatively, the TRP 1202 may transmit this information to a positioning entity. The location of the UE 1204 may then be estimated using known techniques.

[0136]

[0146] 13A to 13C are diagrams of example configurations of ROs according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In each figure, the "msg1-FDM" parameter (specifying how many ROs are allocated in the frequency domain at the same location in the time domain) is "4", and the "ssb-perRACH-OccasionAndCB-PreamblesPerSSB" (specifying how many SSBs can be mapped to one RO and how many preamble indexes can be mapped to a single SSB) is "4". Furthermore, time is represented horizontally and frequency is represented vertically. Thus, in each figure, there are four ROs vertically and four ROs horizontally. The length of each RO in the time domain is the number of symbols of the RO format as shown in FIG. 9. The height of each RO in the frequency domain is the number of PRBs for that RO format and its numerology. For example, a long preamble using a 1.25 kHz numerology occupies 6 PRBs, while a preamble using a 5 kHz numerology occupies 24 PRBs.

[0137]

[0147] In one aspect, there may be four ROs in a group of RACH resources associated with an SRS resource (or SRS resource set). In one aspect, the index of the ROs may be explicitly configured, e.g., {0,5,10,15}, {4,9,14,3}, etc. Alternatively, there may be a specified pattern that defines how the ROs are to be sounded, and thus only the first index of the RO may need to be given per group. In one aspect, an SRS resource may be associated with only one RO in a group (e.g., the first RO that the UE is expected to transmit), but the UE may also transmit the remaining ROs of the group.

[0138]

[0148] FIG. 13A is a diagram 1300A illustrating a first exemplary configuration of ROs. In FIG. 13A, a first group of RACH resources comprises ROs numbered 3, 4, 9, 14, a second group of RACH resources comprises ROs numbered 2, 7, 8, 13, a third group of RACH resources comprises ROs numbered 1, 6, 11, 12, and a fourth group of RACH resources comprises ROs numbered 0, 5, 10, 15. Because the groups of ROs form a diagonal pattern, the UE may be configured with only the index value of the first RO in each group and can derive the remaining index values ​​from the knowledge that the next RO in the group will be diagonal from the previous RO. Alternatively, the UE may be configured with each index value. As will be appreciated, more than one RO group creation principle may be specified.

[0139]

[0149] 13B is a diagram 1300B illustrating a second example configuration of ROs. In FIG. 13B, a first group of RACH resources comprises ROs numbered 2, 4, 10, 13, a second group of RACH resources comprises ROs numbered 0, 6, 9, 15, a third group of RACH resources comprises ROs numbered 3, 5, 11, 12, and a fourth group of RACH resources comprises ROs numbered 1, 7, 8, 14. Since the groups of ROs do not have any particular pattern, a UE may be configured with each index value of each RO in a group.

[0140]

[0150] 13A and 13B, the ROs in a group are adjacent in the time domain (horizontal axis) and will also be contiguous in the frequency domain when processed at the receiving base station (or TRP). In other words, a group of ROs spans multiple adjacent frequency resources (e.g., PRBs) over multiple adjacent time resources (e.g., symbols, slots).

[0141]

[0151] Some UEs may be able to transmit multiple ROs on the same OFDM symbol based on their capabilities. In that case, a group of ROs associated with an SRS resource (or SRS resource set) may be on the same symbol. This is illustrated in FIG. 13C. FIG. 13C is a diagram 1300C illustrating an example configuration of ROs across consecutive symbols. In FIG. 13C, a first group of RACH resources comprises ROs numbered 0-3, a second group of RACH resources comprises ROs numbered 4-7, a third group of RACH resources comprises ROs numbered 8-11, and a fourth group of RACH resources comprises ROs numbered 12-15. Each group is associated with a different SRS resource despite having a length of one symbol. Note that although a group of ROs is associated with a particular SRS resource, it does not mean that they are the same length as the associated SRS resource.

[0142]

[0152] In further aspects of the present disclosure, different numbers of repetitions across frequency may be considered for different RACH formats. For example, for format "2" (long preamble case) (see FIG. 9), which already spans more than 3 ms, it may not be possible to associate one SRS resource with multiple RACH opportunities. However, for format "B1" (short preamble case), which is only four symbols over a 30 kHz subcarrier spacing, there may be multiple (e.g., seven) such repetitions within a subframe, which results in a total RACH bandwidth of 84 RBs (i.e., 7*12=84 RBs) over a 30 kHz subcarrier spacing, which is a total bandwidth of 30 MHz for a group of ROs.

[0143]

[0153] In one aspect, for each RO of a group of ROs associated with an SRS resource, the UE may be configured with one preamble index value or a sequence of preamble index values. If the UE is configured with one preamble index value (having values ​​from 0 to 63 since there are 64 preambles), the UE may be expected to use that preamble index value for all ROs of the group. If the UE is configured with a sequence of preamble index values ​​and there are as many preamble index values ​​as there are ROs in the group, the UE may be expected to transmit each preamble index in each RO. If the UE is configured with a sequence of preamble index values ​​and there are fewer preamble index values ​​than there are ROs in the group, the UE may randomly select a preamble index for each RO of the group of ROs (for example).

[0144]

[0154] In one aspect, the same RO may be shared between positioning RACH and normal RACH. To distinguish between positioning RACH and normal RACH, the UE may use different RACH preamble index and / or RACH configuration index depending on the type of RACH (i.e., positioning or normal). Alternatively or additionally, a new RACH configuration index may be added so that positioning RACH and normal RACH can coexist. Note that in this aspect, the same UE may use the same RO for both positioning RACH and normal RACH, or different UEs may use the same RO, some for positioning RACH and others for normal RACH.

[0145]

[0155] If the UE is using the same RACH resource for both positioning and initial access, the UE will need to add this information to msgA or Msg3. For example, if the RACH resource is a shared resource, the UE may provide this information in the message payload. For example, "1" may mean "initial access", "2" may mean "positioning", and "3" may mean "both". However, as will be appreciated, this is only one example of how to convey this information. In the "both" case, the UE does not need to add the positioning information to the payload, since the positioning information will be added in the RRC connected state. That is, if the UE is performing both initial access and positioning, the UE will be moving to the RRC connected state, and therefore may not need to send the parameter as part of the payload of the RACH PUSCH (in MsgA or Msg3) during the connected state.

[0146]

[0156] In one aspect, the identity of which group of ROs (or which group of RACH resources) can be used for positioning RACH or normal RACH can be a configuration that is common across cells. This means that the UE receives a configuration of the type of group of RACH resources from the base station, e.g., through SIB1 from the serving cell. Then, all SRS resources configured when the UE is in RRC connected state will contain the cell identifier and the RACH resource group identifier that points to the common RACH resource configuration.

[0147]

[0157] It should be noted that the UE may be configured in various ways as described above, either by a SIB being broadcast to all UEs served in the cell or by a specific configuration that is unicast to the UE.

[0148]

[0158] 14 illustrates an example method 1400 of wireless communication in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure. The method 1400 may be performed by a UE (e.g., any of the UEs described herein).

[0149]

[0159] At 1410, the UE receives a configuration of an SRS resource or an SRS resource set while in a first state (e.g., RCC connected state 720). In an aspect, operation 1410 may be performed by the receiver 312, the processing system 332, the memory component 340, and / or the positioning module 342, any or all of which may be considered as a means for performing this operation.

[0150]

[0160] At 1420, the UE obtains an association between an SRS resource or SRS resource set and a group of RACH resources. The UE may receive the first association during the first state or during the previous RRC connected state 720. In an aspect, the operation 1420 may be performed by the receiver 312, the processing system 332, the memory component 340, and / or the positioning module 342, any or all of which may be considered as a means for performing this operation.

[0151]

[0161] At 1430, the UE transmits a group of RACH signals (e.g., to at least one TRP) using a transmission property based on an association between the SRS resource or SRS resource set and the group of RACH resources while outside the first state (e.g., while in the RRC Disconnected / Idle state 710 or the RRC Inactive state 730). In an aspect, the group of RACH resources spans multiple adjacent frequency resources over a single time resource, or the group of RACH resources spans multiple adjacent frequency resources over multiple time resources. In an aspect, the operation 1440 may be performed by the transmitter 314, the processing system 332, the memory component 340, and / or the positioning module 342, any or all of which may be considered as a means for performing this operation.

[0152]

[0162] 15 illustrates an example method 1500 of wireless communication according to an aspect of the disclosure. The method 1500 may be performed by a TRP (e.g., a TRP of any of the base stations described herein).

[0153]

[0163] At 1510, the TRP receives an SRS from a UE (e.g., any of the UEs described herein) on an SRS resource or an SRS resource set. In an aspect, operation 1510 may be performed by the receiver 352, the processing system 384, the memory component 386, and / or the positioning module 388, any or all of which may be considered a means for performing this operation.

[0154]

[0164] At 1520, the TRP receives from the UE a group of RACH signals having transmission properties based on an association between an SRS resource or SRS resource set and a group of RACH resources on which the group of RACH signals was received. In an aspect, the group of RACH resources spans multiple adjacent frequency resources over a single time resource, or the group of RACH resources spans multiple adjacent frequency resources over multiple time resources. In an aspect, the operation 1520 may be performed by the receiver 352, the processing system 384, the memory component 386, and / or the positioning module 388, any or all of which may be considered a means for performing this operation.

[0155]

[0165] By associating one SRS resource (or SRS resource set) with multiple RACH resources or multiple ROs, a technical advantage of methods 1400 and 1500 is to increase the transmitted bandwidth of the RACH preamble, and thus increase the measurement resolution and accuracy of positioning estimates at the base station using the RACH preamble.

[0156]

[0166] Implementation examples are described in the numbered clauses below.

[0157]

[0167] Clause 1. A method of wireless communications implemented by a UE, comprising: while in a first state, receiving a configuration of SRS resources or an SRS resource set; obtaining an association between the SRS resources or the SRS resource set and a group of RACH resources; and while outside of the first state, transmitting a group of RACH signals using transmission properties based on the association between the SRS resources or the SRS resource set and the group of RACH resources, where the group of RACH resources spans multiple adjacent frequency resources over a single time resource or the group of RACH resources spans multiple adjacent frequency resources over multiple time resources.

[0158]

[0168] Clause 2. The method of clause 1, wherein the group of RACH resources corresponds to multiple RACH opportunities.

[0159]

[0169] Clause 3. The method of clause 2, wherein each RACH opportunity of the multiple RACH opportunities is transmitted over the same transmission antenna port of the UE as the remaining RACH opportunities of the multiple RACH opportunities.

[0160]

[0170] Clause 4. The method of any of clauses 2 and 3, wherein each RACH opportunity of the multiple RACH opportunities is spatially transmit quasi-co-located with the remaining RACH opportunities of the multiple RACH opportunities, has the same transmit power as the remaining RACH opportunities of the multiple RACH opportunities, has the same timing as the remaining RACH opportunities of the multiple RACH opportunities, or is any combination thereof.

[0161]

[0171] Clause 5. The method according to clause 4, wherein the same transmission power is a transmission power associated with a first RACH occasion of the multiple RACH occasions or is a maximum transmission power across all of the multiple RACH occasions.

[0162]

[0172] Clause 6. The method according to any of clauses 2 to 5, wherein only RACH opportunities within the same RACH slot are assumed to be transmitted on the same antenna port.

[0163]

[0173] Clause 7. The method according to any of clauses 2 to 6, wherein only RACH opportunities within a RACH slot or FR2 slot of the same FR1 subframe are assumed to be transmitted on the same antenna port.

[0164]

[0174] Clause 8. The method of any of clauses 2-7, further comprising receiving an index value for each RACH opportunity of a plurality of RACH opportunities.

[0165]

[0175] Clause 9. The method of any of clauses 2-7, further comprising receiving an index value for a first RACH opportunity of the multiple RACH opportunities, and receiving a pattern of the multiple RACH opportunities.

[0166]

[0176] Clause 10. The method of clause 9, wherein the association between the SRS resource or SRS resource set and the group of RACH resources comprises an association between the SRS resource or SRS resource set and an index value for the first RACH opportunity.

[0167]

[0177] Clause 11. The method of any of clauses 2-10, further comprising receiving one RACH preamble index for all RACH opportunities of a plurality of RACH opportunities.

[0168]

[0178] Clause 12. The method of any of clauses 2-10, further comprising receiving one RACH preamble index for each RACH opportunity of a plurality of RACH opportunities.

[0169]

[0179] Clause 13. The method of any of clauses 2-10, further comprising receiving a plurality of RACH preamble indexes for a plurality of RACH opportunities; and selecting one of the plurality of RACH preamble indexes for each RACH opportunity of the plurality of RACH opportunities.

[0170]

[0180] Clause 14. The method according to any one of clauses 2 to 13, wherein at least one RACH opportunity of the multiple RACH opportunities is shared between positioning and initial access.

[0171]

[0181] Clause 15. The method of clause 14, wherein the at least one RACH opportunity shared between positioning and initial access is differentiated based on a RACH preamble index and / or a RACH configuration index associated with the at least one RACH opportunity.

[0172]

[0182] Clause 16. The method according to any of clauses 14 and 15, wherein the UE includes in the group of RACH signals an indication that at least one RACH opportunity is shared between positioning and initial access.

[0173]

[0183] Clause 17. The method according to any of clauses 1 to 16, wherein all RACH resources of the group of RACH resources have the same RACH format.

[0174]

[0184] Clause 18. The method of any of clauses 1-17, wherein the first state comprises an RRC connected state, and the UE outside the first state comprises a UE in an RRC idle or an RRC inactive state.

[0175]

[0185] Clause 19. The method of any of clauses 1-18, wherein obtaining the association comprises receiving the association during a first state or determining the association.

[0176]

[0186] Clause 20. The method of any of clauses 1-19, further comprising receiving a configuration of which groups of RACH resources may be used for positioning.

[0177]

[0187] Clause 21. The method of any of clauses 1 to 20, wherein the multiple time resources comprise multiple adjacent time resources.

[0178]

[0188] Clause 22. The method of clause 21, wherein the plurality of frequency resources comprises a plurality of PRBs, the single time resource comprises a symbol, and the plurality of adjacent time resources comprises a plurality of adjacent symbols or a plurality of adjacent slots.

[0179]

[0189] Clause 23. The method of any of clauses 21 and 22, wherein the time resources of a plurality of adjacent time resources are not separated by a gap or are separated by a gap that is shorter than a threshold amount of time, the threshold amount of time being such that no other channels may be transmitted during the gap.

[0180]

[0190] Clause 24. The method of any of clauses 1 to 23, wherein the transmission property comprises an uplink spatial transmit filter for the SRS resource or SRS resource set, a path loss reference resource for the SRS resource or SRS resource set, a path loss estimate for the SRS resource or SRS resource set, a transmit power estimate for the SRS resource or SRS resource set, a transmit timing for the SRS resource or SRS resource set, an SCS for the SRS resource or SRS resource set, a duration for the SRS resource or SRS resource set, a transmission bandwidth for the SRS resource or SRS resource set, or any combination thereof.

[0181]

[0191] Clause 25. The method of clauses 1-24, wherein the group of RACH signals comprises a group of RACH messages A, a group of RACH messages 1, a group of RACH messages 3, a group of DMRSs for RACH messages A, or a group of DMRSs for RACH messages 3.

[0182]

[0192] Clause 26. The method according to clauses 1 to 25, wherein the UE is involved in a positioning session with the TRP.

[0183]

[0193] Clause 27. The method of clause 26, wherein the positioning session comprises a UL-TDOA session, a multi-RTT session, or a UL-AoA session.

[0184]

[0194] Clause 28. A method of wireless communications implemented by a TRP, comprising: receiving from a UE an SRS on an SRS resource or an SRS resource set; and receiving from the UE a group of RACH signals having transmission properties based on an association between the SRS resource or the SRS resource set and a group of RACH resources on which the group of RACH signals was received, wherein the group of RACH resources spans multiple adjacent frequency resources over a single time resource or the group of RACH resources spans multiple adjacent frequency resources over multiple time resources.

[0185]

[0195] Clause 29. The method of clause 28, wherein the TRP is involved in a positioning session with the UE, the method further comprising performing positioning measurements of a group of RACH signals.

[0186]

[0196] Clause 30. The method of any of clauses 28 and 29, wherein the group of RACH resources corresponds to a plurality of RACH opportunities.

[0187]

[0197] Clause 31. The method of clause 30, wherein each RACH opportunity of the multiple RACH opportunities is transmitted over the same transmit antenna port of the UE as the remaining RACH opportunities of the multiple RACH opportunities.

[0188]

[0198] Clause 32. The method of any of clauses 30 and 31, wherein each RACH opportunity of the plurality of RACH opportunities is spatially transmit quasi-co-located with the remaining RACH opportunities of the plurality of RACH opportunities, has the same transmit power as the remaining RACH opportunities of the plurality of RACH opportunities, has the same timing as the remaining RACH opportunities of the plurality of RACH opportunities, or is any combination thereof.

[0189]

[0199] Clause 33. The method of clause 32, wherein the same transmit power is a transmit power associated with a first RACH opportunity of the multiple RACH opportunities or is a maximum transmit power across all of the multiple RACH opportunities.

[0190]

[0200] Clause 34. The method according to any of clauses 30 to 33, wherein only RACH opportunities within the same RACH slot are assumed to be transmitted on the same antenna port.

[0191]

[0201] Clause 35. The method according to any of clauses 30 to 34, wherein only RACH opportunities within a RACH slot or FR2 slot of the same FR1 subframe are assumed to be transmitted on the same antenna port.

[0192]

[0202] Clause 36. The method of any of clauses 30-35, further comprising transmitting, to the UE, an index value for each RACH opportunity of the plurality of RACH opportunities.

[0193]

[0203] Clause 37. The method of any of clauses 30-35, further comprising: transmitting, to the UE, an index value for a first RACH opportunity of the multiple RACH opportunities; and transmitting, to the UE, a pattern of the multiple RACH opportunities.

[0194]

[0204] Clause 38. The method of clause 37, wherein the association between the SRS resource or SRS resource set and the group of RACH resources comprises an association between the SRS resource or SRS resource set and an index value for the first RACH opportunity.

[0195]

[0205] Clause 39. The method of any of clauses 30-38, further comprising transmitting, to the UE, one RACH preamble index for all RACH opportunities of the multiple RACH opportunities.

[0196]

[0206] Clause 40. The method of any of clauses 30-38, further comprising transmitting, to the UE, one RACH preamble index for each RACH opportunity of the multiple RACH opportunities.

[0197]

[0207] Clause 41. The method of any of clauses 30-38, further comprising transmitting to the UE a plurality of RACH preamble indexes for a plurality of RACH opportunities to configure the UE to select one of the plurality of RACH preamble indexes for each RACH opportunity of the plurality of RACH opportunities.

[0198]

[0208] Clause 42. The method according to any one of clauses 30 to 41, wherein at least one RACH opportunity of the multiple RACH opportunities is shared between positioning and initial access.

[0199]

[0209] Clause 43. The method of clause 42, wherein the at least one RACH opportunity shared between positioning and initial access is differentiated based on a RACH preamble index and / or a RACH configuration index associated with the at least one RACH opportunity.

[0200]

[0210] Clause 44. The method of clause 42, wherein an indication in the group of RACH signals indicates that at least one RACH opportunity is shared between positioning and initial access.

[0201]

[0211] Clause 45. The method according to any of clauses 28 to 44, wherein all RACH resources of a group of RACH resources have the same RACH format.

[0202]

[0212] Clause 46. The method of any of clauses 28 to 45, wherein the first state comprises an RRC connected state.

[0203]

[0213] Clause 47. The method of any of clauses 28 to 46, further comprising transmitting the association to the UE.

[0204]

[0214] Clause 48. The method of any of clauses 28 to 47, further comprising transmitting to the UE a configuration of which groups of RACH resources may be used for positioning.

[0205]

[0215] Clause 49. The method of any of clauses 28 to 48, wherein the plurality of time resources comprises a plurality of adjacent time resources.

[0206]

[0216] Clause 50. The method of clause 49, wherein the multiple frequency resources comprise multiple PRBs, the single time resource comprises a symbol, and the multiple adjacent time resources comprise multiple adjacent symbols or multiple adjacent slots.

[0207]

[0217] Clause 51. The method of any of clauses 49 and 50, wherein the time resources of a plurality of adjacent time resources are not separated by a gap or are separated by a gap shorter than a threshold amount of time, the threshold amount of time being such that no other channel may be transmitted during the gap.

[0208]

[0218] Clause 52. The method of any of clauses 28 to 51, wherein the transmission property comprises an uplink spatial transmit filter for the SRS resource or SRS resource set, a path loss reference resource for the SRS resource or SRS resource set, a path loss estimate for the SRS resource or SRS resource set, a transmit power estimate for the SRS resource or SRS resource set, a transmit timing for the SRS resource or SRS resource set, an SCS for the SRS resource or SRS resource set, a duration for the SRS resource or SRS resource set, a transmit bandwidth for the SRS resource or SRS resource set, or any combination thereof.

[0209]

[0219] Clause 53. The method of clauses 28-52, wherein the group of RACH signals comprises a group of RACH messages A, a group of RACH messages 1, a group of RACH messages 3, a group of DMRSs for RACH messages A, or a group of DMRSs for RACH messages 3.

[0210]

[0220] Further implementation examples are described in the numbered clauses below.

[0211]

[0221] Clause 1. A method of wireless communications implemented by a UE, comprising: while in a first state, receiving a configuration of an SRS resource or an SRS resource set; obtaining an association between the SRS resource or the SRS resource set and a group of RACH resources; and while outside of the first state, transmitting a group of RACH signals to a TRP using a transmission property based on the association between the SRS resource or the SRS resource set and the group of RACH resources, wherein the group of RACH resources spans multiple adjacent frequency resources over a single time resource or the group of RACH resources spans multiple adjacent frequency resources over multiple adjacent time resources.

[0212]

[0222] Clause 2. The method of clause 1, wherein the group of RACH resources corresponds to multiple RACH opportunities.

[0213]

[0223] Clause 3. The method of clause 2, wherein each RACH opportunity of the multiple RACH opportunities is transmitted over the same transmit antenna port of the UE as the remaining RACH opportunities of the multiple RACH opportunities.

[0214]

[0224] Clause 4. The method of any of clauses 2 and 3, wherein each RACH opportunity of the multiple RACH opportunities is spatially transmit quasi-co-located with the remaining RACH opportunities of the multiple RACH opportunities, has the same transmit power as the remaining RACH opportunities of the multiple RACH opportunities, has the same timing as the remaining RACH opportunities of the multiple RACH opportunities, or is any combination thereof.

[0215]

[0225] Clause 5. The method of clause 4, wherein the same transmit power is a transmit power associated with a first RACH opportunity of the multiple RACH opportunities or a maximum transmit power across all of the multiple RACH opportunities.

[0216]

[0226] Clause 6. The method according to any of clauses 2 to 5, wherein only RACH opportunities within the same RACH slot are assumed to be transmitted on the same antenna port.

[0217]

[0227] Clause 7. The method according to any of clauses 2 to 6, wherein only RACH opportunities within a RACH slot or a 60 kHz FR2 slot of the same FR1 subframe are assumed to be transmitted on the same antenna port.

[0218]

[0228] Clause 8. The method of any of clauses 2-7, further comprising receiving an index value for each RACH opportunity of a plurality of RACH opportunities.

[0219]

[0229] Clause 9. The method of any of clauses 2-7, further comprising receiving an index value for a first RACH opportunity of the multiple RACH opportunities, and receiving a pattern of the multiple RACH opportunities.

[0220]

[0230] Clause 10. The method of clause 9, wherein the association between the SRS resource or SRS resource set and the group of RACH resources comprises an association between the SRS resource or SRS resource set and an index value for the first RACH opportunity.

[0221]

[0231] Clause 11. The method of any of clauses 2-10, further comprising receiving one RACH preamble index for all RACH opportunities of a plurality of RACH opportunities.

[0222]

[0232] Clause 12. The method of any of clauses 2-10, further comprising receiving one RACH preamble index for each RACH opportunity of a plurality of RACH opportunities.

[0223]

[0233] Clause 13. The method of any of clauses 2-10, further comprising receiving a plurality of RACH preamble indexes for a plurality of RACH opportunities; and selecting one of the plurality of RACH preamble indexes for each RACH opportunity of the plurality of RACH opportunities.

[0224]

[0234] Clause 14. The method according to any one of clauses 2 to 13, wherein at least one RACH opportunity of the multiple RACH opportunities is shared between positioning and initial access.

[0225]

[0235] Clause 15. The method of clause 14, wherein the at least one RACH opportunity shared between positioning and initial access is differentiated based on a RACH preamble index and / or a RACH configuration index associated with the at least one RACH opportunity.

[0226]

[0236] Clause 16. The method according to any of clauses 14 and 15, wherein the UE includes in the group of RACH signals an indication that at least one RACH opportunity is shared between positioning and initial access.

[0227]

[0237] Clause 17. The method according to any of clauses 1 to 16, wherein all RACH resources of a group of RACH resources have the same RACH format.

[0228]

[0238] Clause 18. The method of any of clauses 1 to 17, wherein the first state comprises an RRC connected state.

[0229]

[0239] Clause 19. The method of any of clauses 1-18, wherein obtaining the association comprises receiving the association during a first state or determining the association.

[0230]

[0240] Clause 20. The method of any of clauses 1-19, further comprising receiving a configuration of which groups of RACH resources may be used for positioning.

[0231]

[0241] Clause 21. The method of any one of clauses 1 to 20, wherein the multiple frequency resources comprise multiple PRBs.

[0232]

[0242] Clause 22. The method of clause 21, wherein the single time resource comprises a symbol.

[0233]

[0243] Clause 23. The method of any of clauses 21 and 22, wherein the multiple adjacent time resources comprise multiple adjacent symbols or multiple adjacent slots.

[0234]

[0244] Clause 24. The method of any of clauses 1-23, wherein the multiple adjacent time resources are not separated by gaps or are separated by gaps that are shorter than a threshold amount of time.

[0235]

[0245] Clause 25. The method of clause 24, wherein the threshold amount of time is such that no other channels can be transmitted during the gap.

[0236]

[0246] Clause 26. The method of any of clauses 1 to 25, wherein the transmission property comprises an uplink spatial transmit filter for the SRS resource or SRS resource set, a path loss reference resource for the SRS resource or SRS resource set, a path loss estimate for the SRS resource or SRS resource set, a transmit power estimate for the SRS resource or SRS resource set, a transmit timing for the SRS resource or SRS resource set, an SCS for the SRS resource or SRS resource set, a duration for the SRS resource or SRS resource set, a transmit bandwidth for the SRS resource or SRS resource set, or any combination thereof.

[0237]

[0247] Clause 27. The method of clauses 1-26, wherein the group of RACH signals comprises a group of RACH messages A, a group of RACH messages 1, a group of RACH messages 3, a group of DMRSs for RACH messages A, or a group of DMRSs for RACH messages 3.

[0238]

[0248] Clause 28. The method according to clauses 1 to 27, wherein the UE is involved in a positioning session with the TRP.

[0239]

[0249] Clause 29. The method of clause 28, wherein the positioning session comprises an uplink time difference of arrival (UTDOA) session, a multi-RTT session, or an AoA session.

[0240]

[0250] Clause 30. A method of wireless communications implemented by a TRP, comprising: receiving from a UE an SRS on an SRS resource or an SRS resource set; and receiving from the UE a group of RACH signals having transmission properties based on an association between the SRS resource or the SRS resource set and a group of RACH resources on which the group of RACH signals was received, wherein the group of RACH resources spans multiple adjacent frequency resources over a single time resource, or the group of RACH resources spans multiple adjacent frequency resources over multiple adjacent time resources.

[0241]

[0251] Clause 31. The method of clause 30, wherein the TRP is involved in a positioning session with the UE, the method further comprising performing positioning measurements of a group of RACH signals.

[0242]

[0252] Clause 32. The method of any of clauses 30 and 31, wherein the group of RACH resources corresponds to a plurality of RACH opportunities.

[0243]

[0253] Clause 33. The method of clause 32, wherein each RACH opportunity of the multiple RACH opportunities is transmitted over the same transmit antenna port of the UE as the remaining RACH opportunities of the multiple RACH opportunities.

[0244]

[0254] Clause 34. The method of any of clauses 32 and 33, wherein each RACH opportunity of the plurality of RACH opportunities is spatially transmit quasi-co-located with the remaining RACH opportunities of the plurality of RACH opportunities, has the same transmit power as the remaining RACH opportunities of the plurality of RACH opportunities, has the same timing as the remaining RACH opportunities of the plurality of RACH opportunities, or is any combination thereof.

[0245]

[0255] Clause 35. The method of clause 34, wherein the same transmit power is a transmit power associated with a first RACH opportunity of the multiple RACH opportunities or is a maximum transmit power across all of the multiple RACH opportunities.

[0246]

[0256] Clause 36. The method according to any of clauses 32 to 35, wherein only RACH opportunities within the same RACH slot are assumed to be transmitted on the same antenna port.

[0247]

[0257] Clause 37. The method according to any of clauses 32 to 36, wherein only RACH opportunities within a RACH slot or a 60 kHz FR2 slot of the same FR1 subframe are assumed to be transmitted on the same antenna port.

[0248]

[0258] Clause 38. The method of any of clauses 32-37, further comprising transmitting, to the UE, an index value for each RACH opportunity of the plurality of RACH opportunities.

[0249]

[0259] Clause 39. The method of any of clauses 32-37, further comprising: transmitting, to the UE, an index value for a first RACH opportunity of the multiple RACH opportunities; and transmitting, to the UE, a pattern of the multiple RACH opportunities.

[0250]

[0260] Clause 40. The method of clause 39, wherein the association between the SRS resource or SRS resource set and the group of RACH resources comprises an association between the SRS resource or SRS resource set and an index value for the first RACH opportunity.

[0251]

[0261] Clause 41. The method of any of clauses 32-40, further comprising transmitting, to the UE, one RACH preamble index for all RACH opportunities of the multiple RACH opportunities.

[0252]

[0262] Clause 42. The method of any of clauses 32-40, further comprising transmitting, to the UE, one RACH preamble index for each RACH opportunity of the multiple RACH opportunities.

[0253]

[0263] Clause 43. The method of any of clauses 32-40, further comprising transmitting to the UE a plurality of RACH preamble indexes for a plurality of RACH opportunities to configure the UE to select one of the plurality of RACH preamble indexes for each RACH opportunity of the plurality of RACH opportunities.

[0254]

[0264] Clause 44. The method according to any one of clauses 32 to 43, wherein at least one RACH opportunity of the plurality of RACH opportunities is shared between positioning and initial access.

[0255]

[0265] Clause 45. The method of clause 44, wherein the at least one RACH opportunity shared between positioning and initial access is differentiated based on a RACH preamble index and / or a RACH configuration index associated with the at least one RACH opportunity.

[0256]

[0266] Clause 46. The method according to any of clauses 44 and 45, wherein the UE includes in the group of RACH signals an indication that at least one RACH opportunity is shared between positioning and initial access.

[0257]

[0267] Clause 47. The method according to any of clauses 30 to 46, wherein all RACH resources of a group of RACH resources have the same RACH format.

[0258]

[0268] Clause 48. The method of any of clauses 30 to 47, wherein the first state comprises an RRC connected state.

[0259]

[0269] Clause 49. The method of any of clauses 30 to 48, further comprising transmitting the association to the UE.

[0260]

[0270] Clause 50. The method of any of clauses 30 to 49, further comprising transmitting to the UE a configuration of which groups of RACH resources may be used for positioning.

[0261]

[0271] Clause 51. The method of any one of clauses 30 to 50, wherein the plurality of frequency resources comprises a plurality of PRBs.

[0262]

[0272] Clause 52. The method of clause 51, wherein the single time resource comprises a symbol.

[0263]

[0273] Clause 53. The method of any of clauses 51 and 52, wherein the multiple adjacent time resources comprise multiple adjacent symbols or multiple adjacent slots.

[0264]

[0274] Clause 54. A method according to any of clauses 30 to 53, wherein the plurality of adjacent time resources are not separated by gaps or are separated by gaps that are shorter than a threshold amount of time.

[0265]

[0275] Clause 55. The method of clause 54, wherein the threshold amount of time is such that no other channels can be transmitted during the gap.

[0266]

[0276] Clause 56. The method of any of clauses 30 to 55, wherein the transmission properties comprise an uplink spatial transmit filter for the SRS resource or SRS resource set, a path loss reference resource for the SRS resource or SRS resource set, a path loss estimate for the SRS resource or SRS resource set, a transmit power estimate for the SRS resource or SRS resource set, a transmit timing for the SRS resource or SRS resource set, an SCS for the SRS resource or SRS resource set, a duration for the SRS resource or SRS resource set, a transmit bandwidth for the SRS resource or SRS resource set, or any combination thereof.

[0267]

[0277] Clause 57. The method of any of clauses 30-56, wherein the group of RACH signals comprises a group of RACH messages A, a group of RACH messages 1, a group of RACH messages 3, a group of DMRSs for RACH messages A, or a group of DMRSs for RACH messages 3.

[0268]

[0278] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that information and signals may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, the data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referred to throughout the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

[0269]

[0279] Moreover, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the various exemplary logic blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various exemplary components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends on the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Those skilled in the art may implement the described functionality in 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.

[0270]

[0280] The various example logic blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented or performed using a general purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, an FPGA, or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but alternatively, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0271]

[0281] The methods, sequences and / or algorithms described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented directly in hardware, in software modules executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. The software modules may reside in a random access memory (RAM), a flash memory, a read only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), a register, a hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor such that the processor can read information from, 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., UE). Alternatively, the processor and the storage medium may reside as discrete components in a user terminal.

[0272]

[0282] In one or more exemplary aspects, the functions described may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over a computer-readable medium as one or more instructions or code. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media, including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. Storage media may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media may comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of the medium. As used herein, disk and disc include compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk, and Blu-ray disc, where disks typically reproduce data magnetically and discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0273]

[0283] Although the above disclosure illustrates exemplary aspects of the disclosure, it should be noted that various changes and modifications may be made herein without departing from the scope of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims. The functions, steps and / or actions of the method claims according to the aspects of the disclosure described herein need not be performed in any particular order. Furthermore, although elements of the disclosure may be described or claimed in the singular, the plural is contemplated unless limitation to the singular is explicitly stated. The invention as described in the claims of the original application is set forth below. [C1] A method of wireless communication implemented by a user equipment (UE), comprising: receiving, during a first state, a configuration of a sounding reference signal (SRS) resource or an SRS resource set; obtaining an association between the SRS resource or SRS resource set and a group of Random Access Channel (RACH) resources; transmitting a group of RACH signals using a transmission property based on the association between the SRS resource or SRS resource set and the group of RACH resources while outside the first state, wherein the group of RACH resources spans multiple adjacent frequency resources over a single time resource or the group of RACH resources spans the multiple adjacent frequency resources over multiple time resources. A method comprising: [C2] The method according to C1, wherein the group of RACH resources corresponds to a plurality of RACH opportunities. [C3] The method of C2, wherein each RACH opportunity of the plurality of RACH opportunities is transmitted through the same transmit antenna port of the UE as the remaining RACH opportunities of the plurality of RACH opportunities. [C4] The method of C2, wherein each RACH opportunity of the plurality of RACH opportunities is spatially transmit quasi-co-located with the remaining RACH opportunities of the plurality of RACH opportunities, has the same transmit power as the remaining RACH opportunities of the plurality of RACH opportunities, has the same timing as the remaining RACH opportunities of the plurality of RACH opportunities, or any combination thereof. [C5] The method of C4, wherein the same transmit power is a transmit power associated with a first RACH opportunity of the multiple RACH opportunities or a maximum transmit power across all of the multiple RACH opportunities. [C6] The method according to C2, wherein only RACH opportunities within the same RACH slot are assumed to be transmitted on the same antenna port. [C7] The method of C2, wherein only RACH opportunities within a RACH slot or a Frequency Range 2 (FR2) slot of the same Frequency Range 1 (FR1) subframe are assumed to be transmitted on the same antenna port. receiving an index value for each RACH opportunity of the plurality of RACH opportunities. The method of C2, further comprising: receiving an index value for a first RACH opportunity of the plurality of RACH opportunities; and receiving said pattern of a plurality of RACH opportunities; The method of C2, further comprising: [C10] The method of C9, wherein the association between the SRS resource or SRS resource set and the group of RACH resources comprises an association between the SRS resource or SRS resource set and the index value for the first RACH opportunity. [C11] receiving one RACH preamble index for all RACH opportunities of the plurality of RACH opportunities; The method of C2, further comprising: [C12] receiving one RACH preamble index for each RACH opportunity of the plurality of RACH opportunities; The method of C2, further comprising: [C13] receiving a plurality of RACH preamble indexes for the plurality of RACH opportunities; and selecting one of the plurality of RACH preamble indexes for each RACH opportunity of the plurality of RACH opportunities; The method of C2, further comprising: [C14] The method according to C2, wherein at least one RACH opportunity among the plurality of RACH opportunities is shared between positioning and initial access. [C15] The method according to C14, wherein the at least one RACH opportunity shared between positioning and initial access is differentiated based on a RACH preamble index and / or a RACH configuration index associated with the at least one RACH opportunity. [C16] The method of C14, wherein the UE includes in the group of RACH signals an indication that the at least one RACH opportunity is shared between positioning and initial access. [C17] The method according to C1, wherein all RACH resources of the group of RACH resources have the same RACH format. [C18] the first state comprises a radio resource control (RRC) connected state; The UE being outside the first state comprises the UE being in an RCC idle or RRC inactive state. The method according to C1. [C19] Obtaining the association comprises: receiving said association during said first state; or Determining said association The method of claim C1, comprising: [C20] receiving a configuration in which said group of RACH resources may be used for positioning The method of C1, further comprising: [C21] The method of C1, wherein the plurality of time resources comprises a plurality of adjacent time resources. [C22] The plurality of frequency resources comprises a plurality of physical resource blocks (PRBs), the single time resource comprises a symbol; the plurality of adjacent time resources comprises a plurality of adjacent symbols or a plurality of adjacent slots; The method according to C21. [C23] The time resources of the plurality of adjacent time resources are not separated by gaps or are separated by gaps that are shorter than a threshold amount of time; the threshold amount of time is such that no other channels may be transmitted during the gap; The method according to C21. [C24] The transmission property is: an uplink spatial transmit filter for the SRS resource or the SRS resource set; a path loss reference resource for the SRS resource or the SRS resource set; a path loss estimate for the SRS resource or SRS resource set; a transmit power estimate for the SRS resource or set of SRS resources; a transmission timing of the SRS resource or SRS resource set; the subcarrier spacing (SCS) of the SRS resource or SRS resource set; the duration of the SRS resource or SRS resource set; the transmission bandwidth of said SRS resource or set of SRS resources; or Any combination of them The method of claim C1, comprising: [C25] The method of C1, wherein the group of RACH signals comprises a group of RACH message A, a group of RACH message 1, a group of RACH message 3, a group of demodulation reference signals (DMRS) for RACH message A, or a group of DMRS for RACH message 3. [C26] The method according to C1, wherein the UE is involved in a positioning session with at least one TRP. [C27] The method of C26, wherein the positioning session comprises an uplink time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA) session, a multiple round trip time (multiple RTT) session, or an uplink angle of arrival (UL-AoA) session. [C28] A method of wireless communication implemented by a transmitting / receiving point (TRP), comprising: receiving a sounding reference signal (SRS) from a user equipment (UE) on an SRS resource or an SRS resource set; receiving from the UE a group of random access channel (RACH) signals having transmission properties based on an association between the SRS resource or SRS resource set and a group of RACH resources on which the group of RACH signals was received, wherein the group of RACH resources spans multiple adjacent frequency resources over a single time resource or the group of RACH resources spans the multiple adjacent frequency resources over multiple time resources; A method comprising: [C29] The TRP is involved in a positioning session with the UE, and the method further comprises: performing positioning measurements of said group of RACH signals; The method of C28, further comprising: [C30] The method of C28, wherein the group of RACH resources corresponds to a plurality of RACH opportunities. [C31] The method of C30, wherein each RACH opportunity of the plurality of RACH opportunities is transmitted through the same transmit antenna port of the UE as the remaining RACH opportunities of the plurality of RACH opportunities. [C32] The method of C30, wherein each RACH opportunity of the plurality of RACH opportunities is spatially transmit quasi-co-located with the remaining RACH opportunities of the plurality of RACH opportunities, has the same transmit power as the remaining RACH opportunities of the plurality of RACH opportunities, has the same timing as the remaining RACH opportunities of the plurality of RACH opportunities, or any combination thereof. [C33] The method of C32, wherein the same transmit power is a transmit power associated with a first RACH opportunity of the multiple RACH opportunities or a maximum transmit power across all of the multiple RACH opportunities. [C34] The method of C30, wherein only RACH opportunities within the same RACH slot are assumed to be transmitted on the same antenna port. [C35] The method of C30, wherein only RACH opportunities within a RACH slot or a Frequency Range 2 (FR2) slot of the same Frequency Range 1 (FR1) subframe are assumed to be transmitted on the same antenna port. [C36] transmitting to the UE an index value for each RACH opportunity of the plurality of RACH opportunities. The method of C30, further comprising: transmitting, to the UE, an index value for a first RACH opportunity of the plurality of RACH opportunities; transmitting to the UE the pattern of the plurality of RACH opportunities; The method of C30, further comprising: [C38] The method of C37, wherein the association between the SRS resource or SRS resource set and the group of RACH resources comprises an association between the SRS resource or SRS resource set and the index value for the first RACH opportunity. [C39] transmitting to the UE one RACH preamble index for all RACH opportunities of the plurality of RACH opportunities. The method of C30, further comprising: [C40] transmitting to the UE one RACH preamble index for each RACH opportunity of the plurality of RACH opportunities. The method of C30, further comprising: [C41] transmitting to the UE the plurality of RACH preamble indexes for the plurality of RACH opportunities to configure the UE to select one of the plurality of RACH preamble indexes for each RACH opportunity of the plurality of RACH opportunities. The method of C30, further comprising: [C42] The method according to C30, wherein at least one RACH opportunity among the plurality of RACH opportunities is shared between positioning and initial access. [C43] The method of C42, wherein the at least one RACH opportunity shared between positioning and initial access is differentiated based on a RACH preamble index and / or a RACH configuration index associated with the at least one RACH opportunity. [C44] The method of C42, wherein an indication in the group of RACH signals indicates that the at least one RACH opportunity is shared between positioning and initial access. [C45] The method according to C28, wherein all RACH resources of the group of RACH resources have the same RACH format. [C46] The method of C28, wherein the first state comprises a radio resource control (RRC) connected state. [C47] transmitting the association to the UE. The method of C28, further comprising: [C48] transmitting to the UE a configuration in which the group of RACH resources may be used for positioning. The method of C28, further comprising: [C49] The method of C28, wherein the plurality of time resources comprises a plurality of adjacent time resources. [C50] The plurality of frequency resources comprises a plurality of physical resource blocks (PRBs), the single time resource comprises a symbol; the plurality of adjacent time resources comprises a plurality of adjacent symbols or a plurality of adjacent slots; The method described in C49. [C51] The time resources of the plurality of adjacent time resources are not separated by gaps or are separated by gaps that are shorter than a threshold amount of time; the threshold amount of time is such that no other channels may be transmitted during the gap; The method described in C49. [C52] The transmission property is an uplink spatial transmit filter for the SRS resource or the SRS resource set; a path loss reference resource for the SRS resource or the SRS resource set; a path loss estimate for the SRS resource or SRS resource set; a transmit power estimate for the SRS resource or set of SRS resources; a transmission timing of the SRS resource or SRS resource set; the subcarrier spacing (SCS) of the SRS resource or SRS resource set; the duration of the SRS resource or SRS resource set; the transmission bandwidth of said SRS resource or set of SRS resources; or Any combination of them The method of C28, comprising: [C53] The method of C28, wherein the group of RACH signals comprises a group of RACH message A, a group of RACH message 1, a group of RACH message 3, a group of demodulation reference signals (DMRS) for RACH message A, or a group of DMRS for RACH message 3. [C54] A user equipment (UE), comprising: Memory, At least one transceiver; at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and to the at least one transceiver; wherein the at least one processor: receiving, during a first state, a configuration of a sounding reference signal (SRS) resource or an SRS resource set; obtaining an association between the SRS resource or SRS resource set and a group of Random Access Channel (RACH) resources; transmitting a group of RACH signals using a transmission property based on the association between the SRS resource or SRS resource set and the group of RACH resources while outside the first state, wherein the group of RACH resources spans multiple adjacent frequency resources over a single time resource or the group of RACH resources spans the multiple adjacent frequency resources over multiple time resources. A user equipment (UE) configured to perform the above. [C55] The UE described in C54, wherein the group of RACH resources corresponds to a plurality of RACH opportunities. [C56] The UE of C55, wherein each RACH opportunity of the plurality of RACH opportunities is transmitted through the same transmit antenna port of the UE as the remaining RACH opportunities of the plurality of RACH opportunities. [C57] The UE described in C55, wherein each RACH opportunity of the plurality of RACH opportunities is spatially transmit quasi-colocated with the remaining RACH opportunities of the plurality of RACH opportunities, has the same transmit power as the remaining RACH opportunities of the plurality of RACH opportunities, has the same timing as the remaining RACH opportunities of the plurality of RACH opportunities, or any combination thereof. [C58] The UE of C57, wherein the same transmit power is a transmit power associated with a first RACH opportunity of the multiple RACH opportunities or a maximum transmit power across all of the multiple RACH opportunities. [C59] The UE of C55, wherein only RACH opportunities within the same RACH slot are assumed to be transmitted on the same antenna port. [C60] The UE of C55, wherein only RACH opportunities within a RACH slot or a frequency range 2 (FR2) slot of the same frequency range 1 (FR1) subframe are assumed to be transmitted on the same antenna port. [C61] The at least one processor receiving an index value for each RACH opportunity of said plurality of RACH opportunities; The UE of C55, further configured to: [C62] The at least one processor receiving an index value for a first RACH opportunity of the plurality of RACH opportunities; receiving said pattern of a plurality of RACH opportunities; The UE of C55, further configured to: [C63] The UE of C62, wherein the association between the SRS resource or SRS resource set and the group of RACH resources comprises an association between the SRS resource or SRS resource set and the index value for the first RACH opportunity. [C64] The at least one processor receiving a RACH preamble index for all RACH opportunities of the plurality of RACH opportunities; The UE of C55, further configured to: [C65] The at least one processor receiving a RACH preamble index for each RACH opportunity of the plurality of RACH opportunities; The UE of C55, further configured to: [C66] The at least one processor receiving a plurality of RACH preamble indexes for the plurality of RACH opportunities; selecting one of the plurality of RACH preamble indexes for each RACH opportunity of the plurality of RACH opportunities; The UE of C55, further configured to: [C67] The UE described in C55, wherein at least one RACH opportunity among the plurality of RACH opportunities is shared between positioning and initial access. [C68] The UE described in C67, wherein the at least one RACH opportunity shared between positioning and initial access is differentiated based on a RACH preamble index and / or a RACH configuration index associated with the at least one RACH opportunity. [C69] The UE of C67, wherein the UE includes in the group of RACH signals an indication that the at least one RACH opportunity is shared between positioning and initial access. [C70] The UE according to C54, wherein all RACH resources of the group of RACH resources have the same RACH format. [C71] the first state comprises a radio resource control (RRC) connected state; The UE being outside the first state comprises the UE being in an RCC idle or RRC inactive state. UE as described in C54. [C72] The at least one processor configured to obtain the association receiving said association during said first state; or Determining said association The UE of C54, comprising the at least one processor configured to perform the following: [C73] The at least one processor receiving a configuration in which the group of RACH resources may be used for positioning; The UE of C54, further configured to: [C74] The UE of C54, wherein the plurality of time resources comprises a plurality of adjacent time resources. [C75] The plurality of frequency resources comprises a plurality of physical resource blocks (PRBs), the single time resource comprises a symbol; the plurality of adjacent time resources comprises a plurality of adjacent symbols or a plurality of adjacent slots; UE described in C74. [C76] The time resources of the plurality of adjacent time resources are not separated by gaps or are separated by gaps that are shorter than a threshold amount of time; the threshold amount of time is such that no other channels may be transmitted during the gap; UE described in C74. [C77] The transmission property is: an uplink spatial transmit filter for the SRS resource or the SRS resource set; a path loss reference resource for the SRS resource or the SRS resource set; a path loss estimate for the SRS resource or SRS resource set; a transmit power estimate for the SRS resource or set of SRS resources; a transmission timing of the SRS resource or SRS resource set; the subcarrier spacing (SCS) of the SRS resource or SRS resource set; the duration of the SRS resource or SRS resource set; the transmission bandwidth of said SRS resource or set of SRS resources; or Any combination of them The UE according to C54, comprising: [C78] The UE of C54, wherein the group of RACH signals comprises a group of RACH message A, a group of RACH message 1, a group of RACH message 3, a group of demodulation reference signals (DMRS) for RACH message A, or a group of DMRS for RACH message 3. [C79] The UE described in C54, wherein the UE is involved in a positioning session with at least one TRP. [C80] The UE of C79, wherein the positioning session comprises an uplink time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA) session, a multiple round trip time (multiple RTT) session, or an uplink angle of arrival (UL-AoA) session. [C81] A transmitting / receiving point (TRP), comprising: Memory, At least one transceiver; at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and to the at least one transceiver; wherein the at least one processor: receiving a sounding reference signal (SRS) from a user equipment (UE) on an SRS resource or an SRS resource set; receiving from the UE a group of random access channel (RACH) signals having transmission properties based on an association between the SRS resource or SRS resource set and a group of RACH resources on which the group of RACH signals was received, wherein the group of RACH resources spans multiple adjacent frequency resources over a single time resource or the group of RACH resources spans the multiple adjacent frequency resources over multiple time resources; A Transmit / Receive Point (TRP) configured to: [C82] the TRP is involved in a positioning session with the UE; the at least one processor is further configured to perform positioning measurements on the group of RACH signals. TRP described in C81. [C83] The TRP according to C81, wherein the group of RACH resources corresponds to a plurality of RACH opportunities. [C84] The TRP of C83, wherein each RACH opportunity of the plurality of RACH opportunities is transmitted through the same transmit antenna port of the UE as the remaining RACH opportunities of the plurality of RACH opportunities. [C85] The TRP of C83, wherein each RACH opportunity of the plurality of RACH opportunities is spatially transmit quasi-co-located with the remaining RACH opportunities of the plurality of RACH opportunities, has the same transmit power as the remaining RACH opportunities of the plurality of RACH opportunities, has the same timing as the remaining RACH opportunities of the plurality of RACH opportunities, or is any combination thereof. [C86] The TRP according to C85, wherein the same transmission power is a transmission power associated with a first RACH opportunity of the plurality of RACH opportunities or a maximum transmission power across all of the plurality of RACH opportunities. [C87] The TRP according to C83, wherein only RACH opportunities within the same RACH slot are assumed to be transmitted on the same antenna port. [C88] The TRP according to C83, wherein only RACH opportunities within the same Frequency Range 1 (FR1) subframe or Frequency Range 2 (FR2) slots are assumed to be transmitted on the same antenna port. [C89] The at least one processor causing the at least one transceiver to transmit to the UE an index value for each RACH opportunity of the plurality of RACH opportunities. The TRP of C83, further configured to: [C90] The at least one processor causing the at least one transceiver to transmit, to the UE, an index value for a first RACH opportunity of the plurality of RACH opportunities; causing the at least one transceiver to transmit the pattern of the plurality of RACH opportunities to the UE; The TRP of C83, further configured to: [C91] The TRP of C90, wherein the association between the SRS resource or SRS resource set and the group of RACH resources comprises an association between the SRS resource or SRS resource set and the index value for the first RACH opportunity. [C92] The at least one processor causing the at least one transceiver to transmit to the UE one RACH preamble index for all RACH opportunities of the plurality of RACH opportunities. The TRP of C83, further configured to: [C93] The at least one processor 5. The TRP of claim 4, further configured to: cause the at least one transceiver to transmit, to the UE, one RACH preamble index for each RACH opportunity of the multiple RACH opportunities. [C94] The at least one processor causing the at least one transceiver to transmit to the UE a plurality of RACH preamble indexes for the plurality of RACH opportunities to configure the UE to select one of the plurality of RACH preamble indexes for each RACH opportunity of the plurality of RACH opportunities. The TRP of C83, further configured to: [C95] The TRP according to C83, wherein at least one RACH opportunity among the plurality of RACH opportunities is shared between positioning and initial access. [C96] The TRP of C95, wherein the at least one RACH opportunity shared between positioning and initial access is differentiated based on a RACH preamble index and / or a RACH configuration index associated with the at least one RACH opportunity. [C97] The TRP of C95, wherein an indication in the group of RACH signals indicates that the at least one RACH opportunity is shared between positioning and initial access. [C98] The TRP according to C81, wherein all RACH resources of the group of RACH resources have the same RACH format. [C99] The TRP of C81, wherein the first state comprises a radio resource control (RRC) connected state. [C100] The at least one processor causing the at least one transceiver to transmit the association to the UE. The TRP of C81, further configured to: [C101] The at least one processor causing the at least one transceiver to transmit to the UE a configuration in which the group of RACH resources may be used for positioning. The TRP of C81, further configured to: [C102] The TRP of C81, wherein the plurality of time resources comprises a plurality of adjacent time resources. [C103] The plurality of frequency resources comprises a plurality of physical resource blocks (PRBs), the single time resource comprises a symbol; the plurality of adjacent time resources comprises a plurality of adjacent symbols or a plurality of adjacent slots; TRP described in C102. [C104] The time resources of the plurality of adjacent time resources are not separated by gaps or are separated by gaps that are shorter than a threshold amount of time; the threshold amount of time is such that no other channels may be transmitted during the gap; TRP described in C102. [C105] The transmission property is an uplink spatial transmit filter for the SRS resource or the SRS resource set; a path loss reference resource for the SRS resource or the SRS resource set; a path loss estimate for the SRS resource or SRS resource set; a transmit power estimate for the SRS resource or set of SRS resources; a transmission timing of the SRS resource or SRS resource set; the subcarrier spacing (SCS) of the SRS resource or SRS resource set; the duration of the SRS resource or SRS resource set; the transmission bandwidth of said SRS resource or set of SRS resources; or Any combination of them The TRP of C81, comprising: [C106] The TRP of C81, wherein the group of RACH signals comprises a group of RACH message A, a group of RACH message 1, a group of RACH message 3, a group of demodulation reference signals (DMRS) for RACH message A, or a group of DMRS for RACH message 3. [C107] A user equipment (UE), comprising: means for receiving, during a first state, a configuration of a sounding reference signal (SRS) resource or an SRS resource set; means for obtaining an association between the SRS resource or SRS resource set and a group of Random Access Channel (RACH) resources; means for transmitting, while outside of the first state, a group of RACH signals using a transmission property based on the association between the SRS resource or SRS resource set and the group of RACH resources, wherein the group of RACH resources spans multiple adjacent frequency resources over a single time resource or the group of RACH resources spans the multiple adjacent frequency resources over multiple time resources; A user equipment (UE) comprising: [C108] A transmitting / receiving point (TRP), comprising: Means for receiving a sounding reference signal (SRS) from a user equipment (UE) on an SRS resource or an SRS resource set; means for receiving, from the UE, a group of random access channel (RACH) signals having transmission properties based on an association between the SRS resource or SRS resource set and a group of RACH resources on which the group of RACH signals is received, wherein the group of RACH resources spans multiple adjacent frequency resources over a single time resource or the group of RACH resources spans the multiple adjacent frequency resources over multiple time resources; A transmit / receive point (TRP). [C109] A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions, the computer-executable instructions comprising: At least one instruction to instruct a user equipment (UE) to receive, during a first state, a configuration of a sounding reference signal (SRS) resource or an SRS resource set; at least one instruction to instruct the UE to obtain an association between the SRS resource or SRS resource set and a group of Random Access Channel (RACH) resources; at least one instruction to instruct the UE to, while outside the first state, transmit a group of RACH signals using a transmission property based on the association between the SRS resource or SRS resource set and the group of RACH resources, wherein the group of RACH resources spans multiple adjacent frequency resources over a single time resource or the group of RACH resources spans the multiple adjacent frequency resources over multiple time resources; 1. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising: [C110] A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions, the computer-executable instructions comprising: At least one instruction to instruct a transmission / reception point (TRP) to receive a sounding reference signal (SRS) from a user equipment (UE) on a SRS resource or an SRS resource set; at least one instruction to instruct the TRP to receive from the UE a group of random access channel (RACH) signals having transmission properties based on an association between the SRS resource or SRS resource set and a group of RACH resources on which the group of RACH signals is received, wherein the group of RACH resources spans multiple adjacent frequency resources over a single time resource or the group of RACH resources spans the multiple adjacent frequency resources over multiple time resources; 1. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising:

Claims

1. 1. A method of wireless communication implemented by a user equipment (UE), comprising: receiving, during a first state, a configuration of a sounding reference signal (SRS) resource or an SRS resource set; obtaining an association between the SRS resource or SRS resource set and a group of Random Access Channel (RACH) resources; transmitting a group of RACH signals using a transmission property based on the association between the SRS resource or SRS resource set and the group of RACH resources while outside the first state, wherein the group of RACH resources spans multiple adjacent frequency resources over a single time resource or the group of RACH resources spans the multiple adjacent frequency resources over multiple time resources. A method comprising:

2. The group of RACH resources corresponds to a number of RACH opportunities, preferably Each RACH opportunity of the plurality of RACH opportunities is transmitted over the same transmit antenna port of the UE as the remaining RACH opportunities of the plurality of RACH opportunities; and / or each RACH opportunity of the plurality of RACH opportunities is spatially transmission quasi-co-located with the remaining RACH opportunities of the plurality of RACH opportunities, has the same transmit power as the remaining RACH opportunities of the plurality of RACH opportunities, has the same timing as the remaining RACH opportunities of the plurality of RACH opportunities, or any combination thereof, preferably the same transmit power is a transmit power associated with a first RACH opportunity of the plurality of RACH opportunities or is a maximum transmit power across all of the plurality of RACH opportunities; and / or 2. The method of claim 1, wherein only RACH opportunities within the same RACH slot are assumed to be transmitted on the same antenna port.

3. 3. The method of claim 2, wherein only RACH opportunities within a same Frequency Range 1 (FR1) subframe or Frequency Range 2 (FR2) slot are assumed to be transmitted on the same antenna port, the method preferably further comprising receiving an index value for each RACH opportunity of the multiple RACH opportunities.

4. receiving an index value for a first RACH opportunity of the plurality of RACH opportunities; receiving said plurality of RACH opportunity patterns; The method of claim 2 , further comprising:

5. 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the association between the SRS resource or resource set and the group of RACH resources comprises an association between the SRS resource or resource set and the index value for the first RACH opportunity.

6. receiving a RACH preamble index for all RACH opportunities of the plurality of RACH opportunities; The method of claim 2 , further comprising:

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving one RACH preamble index for each RACH opportunity of the plurality of RACH opportunities. The method of claim 2 , further comprising:

8. Receiving a plurality of RACH preamble indexes for the plurality of RACH opportunities; and selecting one of the plurality of RACH preamble indexes for each RACH opportunity of the plurality of RACH opportunities; The method of claim 2 , further comprising:

9. 3. The method of claim 2, wherein at least one RACH opportunity of the plurality of RACH opportunities is shared between positioning and initial access, and preferably the at least one RACH opportunity shared between positioning and initial access is differentiated based on a RACH preamble index and / or a RACH configuration index associated with the at least one RACH opportunity.

10. the first state comprises a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connected state; The UE outside the first state comprises the UE in an RCC idle or RRC inactive state, and preferably, obtaining the association comprises: receiving said association during said first state; or Determining said association The method of claim 1 , comprising:

11. The plurality of time resources comprises a plurality of adjacent time resources, preferably The plurality of frequency resources comprises a plurality of physical resource blocks (PRBs); the single time resource comprises a symbol; The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of adjacent time resources comprises a plurality of adjacent symbols or a plurality of adjacent slots.

12. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the UE is involved in a positioning session with at least one TRP, the positioning session preferably comprising an Uplink Time Difference of Arrival (UL-TDOA) session, a Multiple Round Trip Time (Multiple RTT) session, or an Uplink Angle of Arrival (UL-AoA) session.

13. 1. A method of wireless communication implemented by a transmission / reception point (TRP), comprising: receiving a sounding reference signal (SRS) from a user equipment (UE) on an SRS resource or an SRS resource set; receiving from the UE a group of random access channel (RACH) signals having transmission properties based on an association between the SRS resource or SRS resource set and a group of RACH resources on which the group of RACH signals was received, wherein the group of RACH resources spans multiple adjacent frequency resources over a single time resource or the group of RACH resources spans the multiple adjacent frequency resources over multiple time resources; A method comprising:

14. The TRP is involved in a positioning session with the UE, and the method further comprises: performing positioning measurements of said group of RACH signals; The method of claim 13 further comprising:

15. A user equipment (UE), means for receiving, during a first state, a configuration of a sounding reference signal (SRS) resource or an SRS resource set; means for obtaining an association between the SRS resource or SRS resource set and a group of Random Access Channel (RACH) resources; means for transmitting, while outside of the first state, a group of RACH signals using a transmission property based on the association between the SRS resource or SRS resource set and the group of RACH resources, wherein the group of RACH resources spans multiple adjacent frequency resources over a single time resource or the group of RACH resources spans the multiple adjacent frequency resources over multiple time resources. A user equipment (UE) comprising:

16. A transmission / reception point (TRP), Means for receiving a sounding reference signal (SRS) from a user equipment (UE) on an SRS resource or an SRS resource set; means for receiving, from the UE, a group of Random Access Channel (RACH) signals having transmission properties based on an association between the SRS resource or SRS resource set and a group of RACH resources on which the group of RACH signals was received, wherein the group of RACH resources spans multiple adjacent frequency resources over a single time resource or the group of RACH resources spans the multiple adjacent frequency resources over multiple time resources; A transmission / reception point (TRP).

17. 15. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause one or more processors to perform a method according to any one of claims 1 to 14.

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