Uplink and Downlink RIS-Aided Signaling

Abstract

The signal reporting method includes transmitting a first PRS (Positioning Reference Signal) from a first wireless signaling device to a second wireless signaling device via a first RIS (Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface) at a first time, receiving a second PRS from the second wireless signaling device at the first wireless signaling device via a second RIS that is physically separate from the first RIS at a second time, and providing a signal report including at least one time value corresponding to the first time and the second time and indicating the first PRS and the second PRS.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of Greek Patent Application No. 20210100160, entitled "UPLINK AND DOWNLINK RIS-AIDED SIGNALING," filed March 16, 2021, which is assigned to the assignee of the present application and the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference for all purposes. [Background technology]

[0002] Wireless communication systems have evolved through various generations, including first-generation analog wireless telephone service (1G), second-generation (2G) digital wireless telephone service (including intermediate 2.5G and 2.75G networks), third-generation (3G) high-speed data, Internet-enabled wireless service, fourth-generation (4G) service (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE) or WiMax), fifth-generation (5G) service, and the like. Currently, there are many different types of wireless communication systems in use, including cellular and personal communications services (PCS) systems. Examples of known cellular systems include the Cellular Analog Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS), and digital cellular systems based on code division multiple access (CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), Global System for Mobile Access (GSM) variants of TDMA, and the like.

[0003]

[0003] Fifth-generation (5G) mobile standards require, among other improvements, higher data rates, a greater number of connections, and better coverage. The 5G standard from 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 1 gigabit per second to dozens of workers on an office floor. To support large sensor deployments, hundreds of thousands of simultaneous connections should be supported. Therefore, 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 current standards. Summary of the Invention

[0004]

[0004] An exemplary first wireless signaling device includes a transceiver configured to transmit and receive wireless signals, a memory, and a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory and configured to transmit a first PRS (positioning reference signal) to a second wireless signaling device via a first RIS (reconfigurable intelligent surface) via the transceiver at a first time, receive a second PRS from the second wireless signaling device via a second RIS that is physically separate from the first RIS via the transceiver at a second time, and provide a signal report indicating the first PRS and the second PRS, including at least one time value corresponding to the first time and the second time.

[0005] Implementations of such a device may include one or more of the following features: The processor is configured to transmit a request for the second wireless signaling device to transmit the second PRS to a second RIS via the transceiver to a server to transmit the second PRS to the first wireless signaling device. The processor is configured to receive a first reference signal from the second wireless signaling device via the transceiver via the second RIS, receive the second reference signal from the second wireless signaling device via the transceiver via a third RIS that is separate from the second RIS, and transmit the request for the second wireless signaling device to transmit the second PRS to the second RIS based on a first quality metric of the first reference signal at the first wireless signaling device being better than a second quality metric of the second reference signal at the first wireless signaling device.

[0006] Also or alternatively, implementations of such a device may include one or more of the following features: the processor is configured to transmit the first PRS in response to receiving the second PRS, and the at least one time value includes a time difference between the first time and the second time.

[0007]

[0007] An exemplary signal reporting method includes transmitting a first PRS (positioning reference signal) from a first wireless signaling device to a second wireless signaling device via a first RIS (reconfigurable intelligent surface) at a first time, receiving a second PRS from the second wireless signaling device at the first wireless signaling device via a second RIS that is physically separate from the first RIS at a second time, and providing a signal report indicating the first PRS and the second PRS, the signal report including at least one time value corresponding to the first time and the second time.

[0008] Implementations of such a method may include one or more of the following features. The method includes causing a server to transmit a request for a second wireless signaling device to transmit a second PRS to a second RIS to transmit the second PRS to the first wireless signaling device. The method includes receiving, at the first wireless signaling device, a first reference signal from the second wireless signaling device via the second RIS and receiving, at the first wireless signaling device, a second reference signal from the second wireless signaling device via a third RIS that is distinct from the second RIS, where the request for the second wireless signaling device to transmit the second PRS to the second RIS is transmitted based on a first quality metric of the first reference signal at the first wireless signaling device that is better than a second quality metric of the second reference signal at the first wireless signaling device.

[0009] Also or alternatively, implementations of such methods may include one or more of the following features: the first PRS is transmitted in response to receiving the second PRS, and the at least one time value includes a time difference between the first time and the second time.

[0010]

[0010] Another exemplary first wireless signaling device includes means for transmitting a first PRS (positioning reference signal) to a second wireless signaling device via a first RIS (reconfigurable intelligent surface) at a first time, means for receiving a second PRS from the second wireless signaling device via a second RIS that is physically separate from the first RIS at a second time, and means for providing a signal report indicating the first PRS and the second PRS, the signal report including at least one time value corresponding to the first time and the second time.

[0011] Implementations of such a device may include one or more of the following features: The device includes means for causing a server to transmit a request for a second wireless signaling device to transmit a second PRS to a second RIS to transmit a second PRS to the first wireless signaling device, the device includes means for receiving a first reference signal from the second wireless signaling device via the second RIS and means for receiving the second reference signal from the second wireless signaling device via a third RIS that is distinct from the second RIS, where the means for transmitting the request includes means for transmitting the request based on a first quality metric of the first reference signal at the first wireless signaling device being better than a second quality metric of the second reference signal at the first wireless signaling device.

[0012] Also or alternatively, implementations of such a device may include one or more of the following features: the means for transmitting the first PRS includes means for transmitting the first PRS in response to receiving the second PRS, and the at least one time value includes a time difference between the first time and the second time.

[0013]

[0013] An exemplary non-transitory processor-readable storage medium includes processor-readable instructions for causing a processor of a first wireless signaling device to transmit a first PRS (positioning reference signal) to a second wireless signaling device via a first RIS (reconfigurable intelligent surface) at a first time, receive a second PRS from the second wireless signaling device via a second RIS that is physically separate from the first RIS at a second time, and provide a signal report including at least one time value corresponding to the first time and the second time, and indicating the first PRS and the second PRS.

[0014] Implementations of such a storage medium may include one or more of the following features: The storage medium includes processor-readable instructions for causing a processor to send a request to a server for a second wireless signaling device to transmit a second PRS to a second RIS to transmit a second PRS to the first wireless signaling device. The storage medium includes processor-readable instructions for causing a processor to receive a first reference signal from the second wireless signaling device via the second RIS and receive the second reference signal from the second wireless signaling device via a third RIS that is distinct from the second RIS, where the processor-readable instructions for causing the processor to send the request include processor-readable instructions for causing the processor to send the request based on a first quality metric of the first reference signal at the first wireless signaling device being better than a second quality metric of the second reference signal at the first wireless signaling device.

[0015] Also or alternatively, implementations of such a storage medium may include one or more of the following features: the processor-readable instructions for causing a processor to transmit a first PRS include processor-readable instructions for causing the processor to transmit the first PRS in response to receiving a second PRS, and the at least one time value includes a time difference between a first time and a second time.

[0016] An exemplary computing device includes a memory and a communication unit communicatively coupled to the memory, the communication unit configured to acquire at least one first time value corresponding to (1) a first departure time of a first PRS (Positioning Reference Signal) from a first wireless signaling device that is sent to a second wireless signaling device via a first RIS (Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface), and (2) a first arrival time of a second PRS that is sent from the second wireless signaling device to the first wireless signaling device via a second RIS that is physically separate from the first RIS, and (3) a first arrival time of a second PRS that is sent from the second wireless signaling device to the first wireless signaling device via a second RIS that is physically separate from the first RIS. and a processor configured to acquire (1) at least one second time value corresponding to a second departure time of the second PRS from the second wireless signaling device sent to the device, and (2) a second arrival time of the first PRS sent from the first wireless signaling device to the second wireless signaling device via the first RIS, and determine a first range between the first wireless signaling device and the first RIS, or a second range between the first wireless signaling device and the second RIS, or a combination thereof, based on the at least one first time value and the at least one second time value.

[0017] Implementations of such a computing device may include one or more of the following features: The processor is configured to determine a location of the first wireless signaling device based on a first range and a first angle of departure of the first PRS from the first wireless signaling device, or a first range and a first angle of arrival of the first PRS at the first RIS, or a second range and a second angle of departure of the second PRS from the second RIS, or a second range and a second angle of arrival of the second PRS at the first wireless signaling device, or any combination thereof. The processor obtains at least one third time value corresponding to (1) a third departure time of a third PRS from the first wireless signaling device sent to the third wireless signaling device via the third RIS, and (2) a third arrival time of a fourth PRS sent from the third wireless signaling device to the first wireless signaling device via a fourth RIS that is physically separate from the third RIS, and obtains at least one third time value corresponding to (1) a fourth departure time of the fourth PRS from the third wireless signaling device sent to the first wireless signaling device via the fourth RIS, and (2) a third arrival time of the fourth PRS sent from the first wireless signaling device to the third wireless signaling device via the third RIS. and (2) determining a location of the first wireless signaling device based on the at least one fourth time value corresponding to a fourth arrival time of the PRS, the at least one fourth time value corresponding to a fourth arrival time of the PRS, the at least one fourth time value corresponding to a fourth arrival time of the PRS, and the at least one fourth time value corresponding to a fourth arrival time of the PRS. The at least one fourth time value and the at least one fourth time value are used to determine a third range between the first wireless signaling device and a third RIS, or a fourth range between the first wireless signaling device and a fourth RIS, or a combination thereof. The at least one fourth time value and the at least one fourth time value are used to determine a location of the first wireless signaling device based on (1) the first range, or the second range, or a combination thereof, and (2) the third range, or the fourth range, or a combination thereof, where the combination of the first RIS, the second RIS, the third RIS, and the fourth RIS includes at least three physically separate RISs. The third wireless signaling device is physically separate from the second wireless signaling device.

[0018] Also or alternatively, implementations of such a computing device may include one or more of the following features: the processor is configured to determine the first range, or the second range, or a combination thereof, based on cumulative travel times of a first PRS from the first wireless signaling device to the first RIS and a second PRS from the second RIS to the first wireless signaling device; the computing device is a server, and the processor is configured to schedule the first PRS based on a first request for the first PRS reflected by the first RIS, or schedule the second PRS based on a second request for the second PRS reflected by the second RIS, or a combination thereof.

[0019] An exemplary location information determination method includes, in a computing device, obtaining at least one first time value corresponding to (1) a first departure time of a first PRS (Positioning Reference Signal) from a first wireless signaling device that is sent to a second wireless signaling device via a first RIS (Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface) and (2) a first arrival time of a second PRS that is sent from the second wireless signaling device to the first wireless signaling device via a second RIS that is physically separate from the first RIS; and (2) obtaining at least one second time value corresponding to a second departure time of the second PRS from the second wireless signaling device sent to the second wireless signaling device via the first RIS, and determining, at the computing device and based on the at least one first time value and the at least one second time value, a first range between the first wireless signaling device and the first RIS, or a second range between the first wireless signaling device and the second RIS, or a combination thereof.

[0020] Implementations of such a method may include one or more of the following features: The method includes determining a location of the first wireless signaling device based on a first range and a first angle of departure of the first PRS from the first wireless signaling device, or a first range and a first angle of arrival of the first PRS at the first RIS, or a second range and a second angle of departure of the second PRS from the second RIS, or a second range and a second angle of arrival of the second PRS at the first wireless signaling device, or any combination thereof.The method includes obtaining, in a computing device, at least one third time value corresponding to (1) a third departure time of a third PRS from a first wireless signaling device sent to a third wireless signaling device via a third RIS, and (2) a third arrival time of a fourth PRS sent from the third wireless signaling device to the first wireless signaling device via a fourth RIS that is physically separate from the third RIS; and obtaining, in the computing device, at least one third time value corresponding to (1) a fourth departure time of the fourth PRS from the third wireless signaling device sent to the first wireless signaling device via the fourth RIS, and (2) a third arrival time of the third PRS sent from the first wireless signaling device to the third wireless signaling device via the third RIS. and determining, in the computing device, a third range between the first wireless signaling device and a third RIS, or a fourth range between the first wireless signaling device and a fourth RIS, or a combination thereof, based on the at least one third time value and the at least one fourth time value. The method also includes determining, in the computing device, a location of the first wireless signaling device based on (1) the first range, or the second range, or a combination thereof, and (2) the third range, or the fourth range, or a combination thereof, where the combination of the first RIS, the second RIS, the third RIS, and the fourth RIS includes at least three physically separate RISs. The third wireless signaling device is physically separate from the second wireless signaling device.

[0021] Also or alternatively, implementations of such a method may include one or more of the following features: the first range, or the second range, or a combination thereof, is determined based on cumulative travel times of a first PRS from the first wireless signaling device to the first RIS and a second PRS from the second RIS to the first wireless signaling device; the computing device is a server, and the method includes scheduling, by the server, the first PRS based on a first request for the first PRS reflected by the first RIS, or scheduling, by the server, the second PRS based on a second request for the second PRS reflected by the second RIS, or a combination thereof.

[0022]

[0022] Another exemplary computing device includes means for obtaining at least one first time value corresponding to (1) a first departure time of a first PRS (Positioning Reference Signal) from a first wireless signaling device that is sent to a second wireless signaling device via a first RIS (Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface), and (2) a first arrival time of a second PRS that is sent from the second wireless signaling device to the first wireless signaling device via a second RIS that is physically separate from the first RIS; and (3) a first time value corresponding to (1) a first departure time of a first PRS from the first wireless signaling device via the second RIS (Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface) to the second wireless signaling device. and (2) a second departure time of the second PRS from the second wireless signaling device sent to the second wireless signaling device via the first RIS, and means for determining a first range between the first wireless signaling device and the first RIS, or a second range between the first wireless signaling device and the second RIS, or a combination thereof, based on the at least one first time value and the at least one second time value.

[0023] Implementations of such a computing device may include one or more of the following features: The computing device includes means for determining a location of the first wireless signaling device based on a first range and a first angle of departure of the first PRS from the first wireless signaling device, or a first range and a first angle of arrival of the first PRS at the first RIS, or a second range and a second angle of departure of the second PRS from the second RIS, or a second range and a second angle of arrival of the second PRS at the first wireless signaling device, or any combination thereof. The computing device includes means for obtaining at least one third time value corresponding to (1) a third departure time of a third PRS from the first wireless signaling device sent to the third wireless signaling device via a third RIS, and (2) a third arrival time of a fourth PRS sent from the third wireless signaling device to the first wireless signaling device via a fourth RIS that is physically separate from the third RIS, and means for obtaining at least one third time value corresponding to (1) a fourth departure time of the fourth PRS from the third wireless signaling device sent to the first wireless signaling device via the fourth RIS, and (2) a third arrival time of the fourth PRS sent from the first wireless signaling device to the third wireless signaling device via the third RIS. The wireless signaling device includes: means for obtaining at least one fourth time value corresponding to a fourth arrival time of the RS; means for determining a third range between the first wireless signaling device and a third RIS, or a fourth range between the first wireless signaling device and a fourth RIS, or a combination thereof, based on the at least one third time value and the at least one fourth time value; and means for determining a location of the first wireless signaling device based on (1) the first range, or the second range, or a combination thereof, and (2) the third range, or the fourth range, or a combination thereof, wherein the combination of the first RIS, the second RIS, the third RIS, and the fourth RIS includes at least three physically separate RISs.The third wireless signaling device is physically separate from the second wireless signaling device.

[0024] Also or alternatively, implementations of such a computing device may include one or more of the following features: the means for determining the first range, or the second range, or a combination thereof, includes means for determining the first range, or the second range, or a combination thereof based on a cumulative travel time of the first PRS from the first wireless signaling device to the first RIS and the second PRS from the second RIS to the first wireless signaling device; the computing device is a server, and the computing device includes means for scheduling the first PRS based on a first request for the first PRS reflected by the first RIS, or means for scheduling the second PRS based on a second request for the second PRS reflected by the second RIS, or a combination thereof.

[0025] Another exemplary non-transitory processor-readable storage medium includes processor-readable instructions for causing a processor of a computing device to obtain at least one first time value corresponding to (1) a first departure time of a first PRS (Positioning Reference Signal) from a first wireless signaling device that is sent to a second wireless signaling device via a first RIS (Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface), and (2) a first arrival time of a second PRS that is sent from the second wireless signaling device to the first wireless signaling device via a second RIS that is physically separate from the first RIS; and (2) at least one second time value corresponding to a second departure time of the second PRS from the second wireless signaling device sent to the wireless signaling device via the first RIS, and processor-readable instructions for determining a first range between the first wireless signaling device and the first RIS, or a second range between the first wireless signaling device and the second RIS, or a combination thereof, based on the at least one first time value and the at least one second time value.

[0026] Implementations of such a storage medium may include one or more of the following features: The storage medium includes processor-readable instructions that cause a processor to determine a location of the first wireless signaling device based on a first range and a first angle of departure of the first PRS from the first wireless signaling device, or a first range and a first angle of arrival of the first PRS at the first RIS, or a second range and a second angle of departure of the second PRS from the second RIS, or a second range and a second angle of arrival of the second PRS at the first wireless signaling device, or any combination thereof. The storage medium includes processor-readable instructions for causing a processor to obtain at least one third time value corresponding to (1) a third departure time of a third PRS from the first wireless signaling device sent to the third wireless signaling device via a third RIS, and (2) a third arrival time of a fourth PRS sent from the third wireless signaling device to the first wireless signaling device via a fourth RIS that is physically separate from the third RIS; and (3) a fourth departure time of the fourth PRS from the third wireless signaling device sent to the first wireless signaling device via the fourth RIS. processor-readable instructions for obtaining at least one fourth time value corresponding between the first wireless signaling device and a third RIS, or a fourth range between the first wireless signaling device and the fourth RIS, or a combination thereof, based on the at least one third time value and the at least one fourth time value; and processor-readable instructions for determining a location of the first wireless signaling device based on (1) the first range, or the second range, or a combination thereof, and (2) the third range, or the fourth range, or a combination thereof, wherein the combination of the first RIS, second RIS, third RIS, and fourth RIS includes at least three physically separate RISs.The third wireless signaling device is physically separate from the second wireless signaling device.

[0027] Also or alternatively, implementations of such a storage device may include one or more of the following features: The processor-readable instructions for causing a processor to determine the first range, or the second range, or a combination thereof include processor-readable instructions for causing the processor to determine the first range, or the second range, or a combination thereof based on a cumulative travel time of a first PRS from the first wireless signaling device to the first RIS and a second PRS from the second RIS to the first wireless signaling device. The storage medium includes processor-readable instructions for causing the processor to schedule the first PRS based on a first request for the first PRS reflected by the first RIS, or schedule the second PRS based on a second request for the second PRS reflected by the second RIS, or a combination thereof. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0028] [Figure 1]

[0028] A simplified diagram of an exemplary wireless communication system. [Figure 2]

[0029] 2 is a block diagram of components of the exemplary user equipment shown in FIG. 1. [Figure 3]

[0030] 1 is a block diagram of components of an exemplary transmit / receive point. [Figure 4]

[0031] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of components of an exemplary server, various embodiments of which are illustrated in FIG. [Figure 5]

[0032] A simplified diagram of a wireless communication environment including a RIS (Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface). [Figure 6]

[0033] A simplified diagram of a wireless communication environment with multiple transmit / receive points, multiple RISs, and a target device. [Figure 7]

[0034] 1 is a simplified diagram of an exemplary wireless signaling device. [Figure 8]

[0035] Timing diagram of the signaling loop initiated by the sending / receiving point. [Figure 9]

[0036] FIG. 9 is a simplified block diagram of the signaling loop shown in FIG. 8. [Figure 10]

[0037] FIG. 10 is a timing diagram of a user equipment initiated signaling loop. [Figure 11]

[0038] Simplified diagram of reference signal transfer and reporting. [Figure 12]

[0039] 1 is a block flow diagram of a signal reporting method for facilitating the determination of location information. [Figure 13]

[0040] 1 is a block flow diagram of a method for determining location information. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0029]

[0041] Techniques are described herein for determining location information of a mobile device using uplink and downlink signals (e.g., an uplink PRS (Positioning Reference Signal) and a downlink PRS) reflected by a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS). For example, a downlink PRS may be sent from a base station to a mobile device, and an uplink PRS may be sent from the mobile device to a base station, with the downlink PRS reflected by one RIS and the uplink PRS reflected by a different RIS. The timing of transmission and reception of the downlink PRS and uplink PRS, the separation of the RIS, and the direction of PRS movement from the RIS reflecting the downlink PRS to the mobile device may be used to determine the range between the mobile device and the RIS reflecting the downlink PRS. This range and direction of PRS movement may be used to determine the location of the mobile device. The range from multiple RISs to the mobile device and the locations of the RISs may be used to determine the location of the mobile device. Still other techniques are described herein.

[0030]

[0042] The items and / or techniques described herein may provide one or more of the following capabilities, as well as other capabilities not mentioned: The location of a mobile device may be determined in a scenario of asymmetric uplink and downlink signal transfer between a base station and a mobile device via a RIS. The accuracy of the location determination for a mobile device may be enhanced by providing ranging information determined using uplink and downlink signals transferred between a base station and a mobile device via a separate RIS. Other capabilities may be provided, and every implementation according to the present disclosure need not provide any, much less all, of the described capabilities.

[0031]

[0043] Obtaining the location of a mobile device accessing a wireless network can be useful for many applications, including, for example, emergency calls, personal navigation, consumer asset tracking, locating friends or family, etc. Existing positioning methods include methods based on measuring radio signals transmitted from various devices or entities, including satellite vehicles (SVs), and terrestrial radio sources in the wireless network, such as base stations and access points. Standardization for 5G wireless networks is expected to include support for various positioning methods, which may utilize reference signals transmitted by base stations in a manner similar to how LTE wireless networks currently utilize positioning reference signals (PRS) and / or cell-specific reference signals (CRS) for position determination.

[0032]

[0044] The descriptions may, for example, refer to sequences of actions to be performed by elements of a computing device. The various actions described herein may be performed by particular circuitry (e.g., an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC)), by program instructions executed by one or more processors, or by a combination of both. The sequences of actions described herein may be embodied in a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a corresponding set of computer instructions that, when executed, cause an associated processor to perform the functions described herein. Thus, the various aspects described herein may be embodied in several different forms, all of which are within the scope of the present disclosure, including claimed subject matter.

[0033]

[0045] The terms “user equipment” (UE) and “base station” as used herein are not specific to or limited to any particular radio access technology (RAT) unless otherwise specified. Generally, such a UE may be any wireless communication device (e.g., a mobile phone, a router, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a consumer asset tracking device, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc.) used by a user to communicate over a wireless communication network. A UE may be mobile or (e.g., at some times) stationary and may communicate with a radio access network (RAN). The term “UE” as used herein may be referred to interchangeably as an “access terminal” or “AT,” “client device,” “wireless device,” “subscriber device,” “subscriber terminal,” “subscriber station,” “user terminal” or UT, “mobile terminal,” “mobile station,” “mobile device,” or variations thereof. Generally, a UE may communicate with a core network via a RAN, through which the UE may be connected to external networks such as the Internet and other UEs. Of course, other mechanisms for connecting to the core network and / or the Internet are possible for the UE, such as via a wired access network, a WiFi network (e.g., based on IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 802.11, etc.), etc.

[0034]

[0046] A base station may operate according to one of several RATs in communication with UEs, depending on the network in which it is deployed. Examples of base stations include an access point (AP), a network node, a Node B, an evolved Node B (eNB), or a generic Node B (gNode B, gNB). Furthermore, in some systems, the base station may provide purely edge node signaling functionality, while in other systems it may provide additional control and / or network management functions.

[0035]

[0047] A UE may be embodied by any of several types of devices, including, but not limited to, a printed circuit (PC) card, a compact flash device, an external or internal modem, a wireless or wireline phone, a smartphone, a tablet, a consumer asset tracking device, an asset tag, etc. A communication link through which a UE may send signals to a RAN is called an uplink channel (e.g., a reverse traffic channel, a reverse control channel, an access channel, etc.). A communication link through which a RAN may send signals to a UE is called a downlink or forward link channel (e.g., a paging channel, a control channel, a broadcast channel, a forward traffic channel, etc.). As used herein, the term traffic channel (TCH) may refer to either an uplink / reverse traffic channel or a downlink / forward traffic channel.

[0036]

[0048] The terms “cell” or “sector” as used herein may correspond to one of multiple cells of a base station or to the base station itself, depending on the context. The term “cell” may refer to a logical communication entity used for communication with a base station (e.g., on a carrier) and may be associated with an identifier (e.g., physical cell identifier (PCID), virtual cell identifier (VCID)) to distinguish neighboring cells operating over the same or different carriers. In some examples, a carrier may support multiple cells, and different cells may be configured according to different protocol types (e.g., machine-type communication (MTC), narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), etc.) that may provide access to different types of devices. In some examples, the term “cell” may refer to a portion (e.g., sector) of a geographic coverage area over which the logical entity operates.

[0037]

[0049] Referring to FIG. 1 , an example of a communication system 100 includes a UE 105, a UE 106, a radio access network (RAN) 135, here a fifth-generation (5G) next-generation (NG) RAN (NG-RAN), and a 5G core network (5GC) 140. The UE 105 and / or the UE 106 may be, for example, an IoT device, a location tracker device, a cellular phone, a vehicle (e.g., a car, truck, bus, boat, etc.), or other device. A 5G network may also be referred to as a new radio (NR) network, the NG-RAN 135 may also be referred to as a 5G RAN or an NR RAN, and the 5GC 140 may also be referred to as an NG core network (NGC). Standardization of the NG-RAN and 5GC is underway in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP®). Thus, the NG-RAN 135 and 5GC 140 may comply with current or future standards for 5G support from 3GPP. The NG-RAN 135 may be another type of RAN, e.g., a 3G RAN, a 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) RAN, etc. The UE 106 may be configured and coupled similarly to the UE 105 to send and / or receive signals to and from similar other entities in the system 100, although such signaling is not shown in FIG. 1 for simplicity of illustration. Similarly, the description focuses on the UE 105 for simplicity. The communications system 100 may utilize information from a constellation 185 of satellite vehicles (SVs) 190, 191, 192, 193 for a satellite positioning system (SPS) (e.g., a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)), such as a Global Positioning System (GPS), a Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS), Galileo, or Beidou, or some other local or regional SPS, such as the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), or a Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS). Described below are additional components of communication system 100. Communication system 100 may include additional or alternative components.

[0038]

[0050] 1, the NG-RAN 135 includes NR NodeBs (gNBs) 110a, 110b and an evolved eNodeB (ng-eNB) 114, and the 5GC 140 includes an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 115, a Session Management Function (SMF) 117, a Location Management Function (LMF) 120, and a Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) 125. The gNBs 110a, 110b, and the ng-eNB 114 are communicatively coupled to each other and each configured to wirelessly communicate bidirectionally with the UE 105, and each communicatively coupled to and configured to communicate bidirectionally with the AMF 115. The gNBs 110a, 110b, and the ng-eNB 114 may be referred to as base stations (BSs). The AMF 115, SMF 117, LMF 120, and GMLC 125 are communicatively coupled to each other, and the GMLC is communicatively coupled to an external client 130. The SMF 117 may serve as an initial point of contact for a service control function (SCF) (not shown) to create, control, and delete media sessions. Base stations such as the gNBs 110a, 110b, and / or the ng-eNB 114 may be macrocells (e.g., high-power cellular base stations), or small cells (e.g., low-power cellular base stations), or access points (e.g., short-range base stations configured to communicate using short-range technologies such as WiFi, WiFi-Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Zigbee, etc.). One or more of the base stations, e.g., one or more of the gNBs 110a, 110b, and / or the ng-eNB 114, may be configured to communicate with the UE 105 over multiple carriers. Each of the gNBs 110a, 110b, and / or the ng-eNB 114 may provide communication coverage for a respective geographic area, e.g., a cell. Each cell may be partitioned into multiple sectors as a function of the base station antennas.

[0039]

[0051] FIG. 1 provides a generalized illustration of various components, any or all of which may be utilized as appropriate, and each of which may be duplicated or omitted as needed. In particular, while only one UE 105 is shown, many UEs (e.g., hundreds, thousands, millions, etc.) may be utilized in communications system 100. Similarly, communications system 100 may include a greater number (or fewer) of SVs (i.e., more or fewer than the four SVs 190-193 shown), gNBs 110a, 110b, ng-eNB 114, AMF 115, external client 130, and / or other components. The illustrated connections connecting the various components in communications system 100 include data and signaling connections, which may include additional (intermediate) components, direct or indirect physical and / or wireless connections, and / or additional networks. Furthermore, components may be rearranged, combined, separated, substituted, and / or omitted depending on the desired functionality.

[0040]

[0052] 1 shows a 5G-based network, similar network implementations and configurations may be used for other communication technologies, such as 3G, Long Term Evolution (LTE), etc. The implementations described herein (whether for 5G technology and / or for one or more other communication technologies and / or protocols) may be used to transmit (or broadcast) directional synchronization signals, receive and measure the directional signals at a UE (e.g., the UE 105), and / or provide location assistance to the UE 105 (via the GMLC 125 or other location server), and / or calculate a location for the UE 105 at a location-enabled device, such as the UE 105, gNB 110a, 110b, or LMF 120, based on measurements received at the UE 105 for such directionally transmitted signals. The Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) 125, Location Management Function (LMF) 120, Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 115, SMF 117, ng-eNB (eNodeB) 114, and gNB (gNodeB) 110a, 110b are examples and may each be replaced by or include various other location server functions and / or base station functions in various embodiments.

[0041]

[0053] System 100 is capable of wireless communication in that components of system 100 can communicate with one another (at least sometimes using a wireless connection) directly or indirectly, for example, via gNBs 110a, 110b, ng-eNB 114, and / or 5GC 140 (and / or one or more other devices, not shown, such as one or more other base transceiver stations). In indirect communication, communications may be altered during transmission from one entity to another, for example, by changing header information of data packets, modifying formatting, etc. UE 105 may include multiple UEs and may be a mobile wireless communication device, but may communicate wirelessly and via a wired connection. UE 105 may be any of a variety of devices, e.g., a smartphone, a tablet computer, a vehicle-based device, etc., although these are examples and other configurations of UEs may be used, as UE 105 need not be any of these configurations. Other UEs may include wearable devices (e.g., smart watches, smart jewelry, smart glasses, or headsets, etc.). Still other UEs, whether currently existing or developed in the future, may be used. Additionally, other wireless devices (whether mobile or not) may be implemented within the system 100 and may communicate with each other and / or with the UE 105, the gNBs 110a, 110b, the ng-eNB 114, the 5GC 140, and / or the external client 130. For example, such other devices may include Internet of Things (IoT) devices, medical devices, home entertainment and / or automation devices, etc. The 5GC 140 may communicate with the external client 130 (e.g., a computer system), for example, to enable the external client 130 to request and / or receive location information regarding the UE 105 (e.g., via the GMLC 125).

[0042]

[0054] The UE 105 or other devices may be configured to communicate in various networks and / or for various purposes and / or using various technologies (e.g., 5G, Wi-Fi® communications, multiple frequencies of Wi-Fi communications, satellite positioning, one or more types of communications (e.g., GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), LTE (Long Term Evolution), V2X (vehicle-to-anything, e.g., V2P (vehicle-to-pedestrian), V2I (vehicle-to-infrastructure), V2V (vehicle-to-vehicle), etc.), IEEE 802.11p, etc.). The V2X communications may be cellular (Cellular V2X (C-V2X)) and / or WiFi (e.g., DSRC (dedicated short-range communications)). The system 100 may support operation on multiple carriers (waveform signals at different frequencies). A multi-carrier transmitter can transmit modulated signals simultaneously on multiple carriers. Each modulated signal may be a code division multiple access (CDMA) signal, a time division multiple access (TDMA) signal, an orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) signal, a single-carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) signal, etc. Each modulated signal may be sent on a different carrier and may carry pilot, overhead information, data, etc. The UEs 105, 106 may communicate with each other through sidelink (SL) communications between UEs by transmitting over one or more sidelink channels, such as a physical sidelink synchronization channel (PSSCH), a physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH), or a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH).

[0043]

[0055] The UE 105 may comprise and / or be referred to as a device, a mobile device, a wireless device, a mobile terminal, a terminal, a mobile station (MS), a Secure User Plane Location (SUPL)-enabled terminal (SET), or by some other name. Additionally, the UE 105 may correspond to a cell phone, a smartphone, a laptop, a tablet, a PDA, a consumer asset tracking device, a navigation device, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, an asset tracker, a health monitor, a security system, a smart city sensor, a smart meter, a wearable tracker, or some other portable or movable device. Typically, although not necessarily, the UE 105 may support wireless communications using one or more radio access technologies (RATs), such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), LTE, High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), IEEE 802.11 WiFi (also referred to as Wi-Fi), Bluetooth (BT), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), 5G New Radio (NR) (e.g., using NG-RAN 135 and 5GC 140), etc. The UE 105 may support wireless communications using a wireless local area network (WLAN), which may connect to other networks (e.g., the Internet) using, for example, a digital subscriber line (DSL) or packet cable. Use of one or more of these RATs may enable UE 105 to communicate with external client 130 (e.g., via elements of 5GC 140 not shown in FIG. 1 or possibly via GMLC 125) and / or enable external client 130 to receive location information regarding UE 105 (e.g., via GMLC 125).

[0044]

[0056] The UE 105 may comprise a single entity, or may comprise multiple entities, such as in a personal area network where a user may employ audio, video, and / or data I / O (input / output) devices and / or body sensors and a separate wireline or wireless modem. An estimate of the location of the UE 105 may be referred to as a location, location estimate, location fix, fix, position, position estimate, or position fix, and may be geographic and thus provide location coordinates (e.g., latitude and longitude) of the UE 105 that may or may not include an altitude component (e.g., height above sea level, height or depth above ground, floor level, or basement level). Alternatively, the location of the UE 105 may be expressed as a civic location (e.g., as a postal address or as a designation of some point or small area in a building, such as a particular room or floor). The location of the UE 105 may be expressed as an area or volume (defined either geographically or in urban terms) within which the UE 105 is expected to be located with a certain probability or confidence level (e.g., 67%, 95%, etc.). The location of the UE 105 may be expressed as a relative location, for example, comprising a distance and a direction from a known location. The relative location may be expressed as relative coordinates (e.g., X, Y (and Z) coordinates) defined relative to some origin in the known location, which may be defined, for example, geographically, with respect to a city, or by reference to a point, area, or volume shown on a map, floor plan, or building plan. In the description contained herein, use of the term location may comprise any of these variations unless otherwise indicated. When calculating the location of a UE, it is common to determine the values ​​of the local x, y, and possibly z coordinates and then, if desired, convert the local coordinates to absolute coordinates (e.g., for latitude, longitude, and altitude above or below mean sea level).

[0045]

[0057] The UE 105 may be configured to communicate with other entities using one or more of a variety of technologies. The UE 105 may be configured to indirectly connect to one or more communication networks via one or more device-to-device (D2D) peer-to-peer (P2P) links. The D2D P2P links may be supported using any suitable D2D radio access technology (RAT), such as LTE Direct (LTE-D), WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth, etc. One or more of a group of UEs utilizing D2D communication may be within the geographic coverage area of ​​a transmit / receive point (TRP), such as one or more of the gNBs 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114. Other UEs in such a group may be outside such geographic coverage area or may otherwise be unable to receive transmissions from the base station. A group of UEs communicating via D2D communication may utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system in which each UE may transmit to other UEs in the group. The TRP may facilitate scheduling of resources for D2D communication. In other cases, D2D communication may occur between UEs without the involvement of a TRP. One or more of a group of UEs utilizing D2D communication may be within the geographic coverage area of ​​a TRP. Other UEs in such a group may be outside such geographic coverage area or may otherwise be unable to receive transmissions from a base station. A group of UEs communicating via D2D communication may utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system in which each UE may transmit to other UEs in the group. A TRP may facilitate scheduling of resources for D2D communication. In other cases, D2D communication may occur between UEs without the involvement of a TRP.

[0046]

[0058] The base stations (BSs) in the NG-RAN 135 shown in FIG. 1 include NR Node Bs referred to as gNBs 110a and 110b. The pair of gNBs 110a, 110b in the NG-RAN 135 may be connected to each other via one or more other gNBs. Access to the 5G network is provided to the UE 105 via wireless communication between the UE 105 and one or more of the gNBs 110a, 110b, and the gNBs 110a, 110b may provide wireless communication access to the 5G Grid Control 140 for the UE 105 using 5G. In FIG. 1, the serving gNB for the UE 105 is assumed to be gNB 110a, although another gNB (e.g., gNB 110b) may act as the serving gNB if the UE 105 moves to another location or as a secondary gNB to provide additional throughput and bandwidth to the UE 105.

[0047]

[0059] 1 may include an ng-eNB 114, also referred to as a next-generation evolved Node B. The ng-eNB 114 may be connected to one or more of the gNBs 110a, 110b in the NG-RAN 135, possibly via one or more other gNBs and / or one or more other ng-eNBs. The ng-eNB 114 may provide LTE wireless access and / or evolved LTE (eLTE) wireless access to the UE 105. One or more of the gNBs 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114 may be configured to function as positioning-only beacons that may transmit signals to assist in determining the location of the UE 105 but may not receive signals from the UE 105 or other UEs.

[0048]

[0060] The gNBs 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114 may each comprise one or more TRPs. For example, each sector in a BS's cell may comprise a TRP, but the multiple TRPs may share one or more components (e.g., share a processor but have separate antennas). System 100 may include only macro TRPs, or system 100 may have different types of TRPs, such as macro TRPs, pico TRPs, and / or femto TRPs. A macro TRP may cover a relatively large geographic area (e.g., a radius of several kilometers) and allow unrestricted access by terminals with service subscriptions. A pico TRP may cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a pico cell) and allow unrestricted access by terminals with service subscriptions. A femto TRP or home TRP may cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a femto cell) and allow restricted access by terminals associated with the femto cell (e.g., terminals for home users).

[0049]

[0061] As mentioned, although Figure 1 illustrates nodes configured to communicate according to a 5G communication protocol, nodes configured to communicate according to other communication protocols, such as, for example, an LTE protocol or an IEEE 802.11x protocol, may be used. For example, in an Evolved Packet System (EPS) providing LTE wireless access to the UE 105, the RAN may comprise an Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN), which may comprise base stations with evolved Node Bs (eNBs). The core network for the EPS may comprise an Evolved Packet Core (EPC). The EPS may comprise an E-UTRAN+EPC, where E-UTRAN corresponds to the NG-RAN 135 in Figure 1 and the EPC corresponds to the 5G Node B 140.

[0050]

[0062] The gNBs 110a, 110b and the ng-eNB 114 may communicate with the AMF 115, which communicates with the LMF 120, for positioning functions. The AMF 115 may support mobility of the UE 105, including cell changes and handovers, and may participate in supporting signaling connections to the UE 105 and, in some cases, data and voice bearers for the UE 105. The LMF 120 may communicate directly with the UE 105 through wireless communication or directly with the gNBs 110a, 110b, and / or the ng-eNB 114, for example. The LMF 120 may support positioning of the UE 105 when the UE 105 accesses the NG-RAN 135 and may support position procedures / methods such as Aided GNSS (A-GNSS), Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA) (e.g., downlink (DL) OTDOA or uplink (UL) OTDOA), Round Trip Time (RTT), Multi-cell RTT, Real Time Kinematic (RTK), Precise Point Positioning (PPP), Differential GNSS (DGNSS), Extended Cell ID (E-CID), Angle of Arrival (AOA), Angle of Departure (AOD), and / or other position methods. The LMF 120 may process location service requests for the UE 105 received, for example, from the AMF 115 or from the GMLC 125. The LMF 120 may be connected to the AMF 115 and / or the GMLC 125. The LMF 120 may be referred to by other names such as a location manager (LM), location function (LF), commercial LMF (CLMF), or value-added LMF (VLMF). A node / system implementing the LMF 120 may additionally or alternatively implement other types of location support modules, such as an enhanced serving mobile location center (E-SMLC) or a secure user plane location (SUPL) location platform (SLP).At least a portion of the positioning functionality (including deriving the location of the UE 105) may be implemented in the UE 105 (e.g., using signals transmitted by wireless nodes such as the gNBs 110a, 110b and / or the ng-eNB 114 and / or signal measurements obtained by the UE 105 for, e.g., assistance data provided to the UE 105 by the LMF 120). The AMF 115 may act as a control node that handles signaling between the UE 105 and the 5GC 140 and may provide QoS (Quality of Service) flow and session management. The AMF 115 may support the mobility of the UE 105, including cell changes and handovers, and may participate in supporting signaling connections to the UE 105.

[0051]

[0063] The GMLC 125 may support location requests for the UE 105 received from the external client 130 and may forward such location requests to the AMF 115 for forwarding by the AMF 115 to the LMF 120 or may forward the location requests directly to the LMF 120. A location response from the LMF 120 (e.g., containing a location estimate for the UE 105) may be returned to the GMLC 125 either directly or via the AMF 115, which may then return a location response (e.g., containing the location estimate) to the external client 130. Although the GMLC 125 is shown connected to both the AMF 115 and the LMF 120, only one of these connections may be supported by the 5GC 140 in some implementations.

[0052]

[0064] 1, the LMF 120 may communicate with the gNBs 110a, 110b and / or the ng-eNB 114 using the New Radio Location Protocol A (sometimes referred to as NPPa or NRPPa), which may be defined in 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 38.455. NRPPa may be the same as, similar to, or an extension of the LTE Positioning Protocol A (LPPa) defined in 3GPP TS 36.455, and NRPPa messages are transferred between the gNB 110a (or gNB 110b) and the LMF 120 and / or between the ng-eNB 114 and the LMF 120 via the AMF 115. As further shown in FIG. 1, the LMF 120 and the UE 105 may communicate using the LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP), which may be defined in 3GPP TS 36.355. The LMF 120 and the UE 105 may also or instead communicate using a New Radio Positioning Protocol (sometimes referred to as NPP or NRPP), which may be the same as, similar to, or an extension of LPP. Here, LPP and / or NPP messages may be transferred between the UE 105 and the LMF 120 via the AMF 115 and the serving gNB 110a, 110b, or serving ng-eNB 114 for the UE 105. For example, LPP and / or NPP messages may be transferred between the LMF 120 and the AMF 115 using a 5G Location Services Application Protocol (LCS AP) and between the AMF 115 and the UE 105 using a 5G Non-Access Stratum (NAS) protocol. The LPP and / or NPP protocols may be used to support positioning of the UE 105 using UE-assisted and / or UE-based location methods, such as A-GNSS, RTK, OTDOA, and / or E-CID.The NRPPa protocol may be used to support positioning of the UE 105 using network-based location methods such as E-CID (e.g., when used in conjunction with measurements obtained by the gNB 110a, 110b, or ng-eNB 114) and / or may be used by the LMF 120 to obtain location-related information from the gNB 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114, such as parameters defining directional SS (synchronization signal) or PRS transmissions from the gNB 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114. The LMF 120 may be co-located or integrated with the gNB or TRP, or may be located remotely from the gNB and / or TRP and configured to communicate directly or indirectly with the gNB and / or TRP.

[0053]

[0065] In a UE-assisted location method, the UE 105 may obtain location measurements and send the measurements to a location server (e.g., the LMF 120) for calculation of a location estimate for the UE 105. For example, the location measurements may include one or more of a received signal strength indication (RSSI), a round-trip signal propagation time (RTT), a reference signal time difference (RSTD), a reference signal received power (RSRP), and / or a reference signal received quality (RSRQ) for the gNBs 110a, 110b, the ng-eNB 114, and / or WLAN APs. The location measurements may also or instead include measurements of GNSS pseudorange, code phase, and / or carrier phase for the SVs 190-193.

[0054]

[0066] In a UE-based location method, the UE 105 may obtain location measurements (which may, for example, be the same as or similar to location measurements for a UE-assisted location method) and may calculate the location of the UE 105 (e.g., with the help of assistance data received from a location server such as the LMF 120 or broadcast by the gNB 110a, 110b, ng-eNB 114, or other base station or AP).

[0055]

[0067] In a network-based location method, one or more base stations (e.g., gNBs 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114) or APs may obtain location measurements (e.g., RSSI, RTT, RSRP, RSRQ, or Time of Arrival (ToA) measurements for signals transmitted by the UE 105) and / or may receive measurements obtained by the UE 105. The one or more base stations or APs may send the measurements to a location server (e.g., LMF 120) for calculation of a location estimate for the UE 105.

[0056]

[0068] The information provided by the gNBs 110a, 110b, and / or the ng-eNB 114 to the LMF 120 using the NRPPa may include timing and configuration information for directional SS or PRS transmissions and location coordinates. The LMF 120 may provide some or all of this information to the UE 105 as assistance data in LPP and / or NPP messages via the NG-RAN 135 and the 5GC 140.

[0057]

[0069] An LPP or NPP message sent from the LMF 120 to the UE 105 may instruct the UE 105 to do any of a variety of things depending on the desired functionality. For example, the LPP or NPP message may include instructions for the UE 105 to obtain measurements for GNSS (or A-GNSS), WLAN, E-CID, and / or OTDOA (or some other location method). In the case of E-CID, the LPP or NPP message may instruct the UE 105 to obtain one or more measurements (e.g., beam ID, beam width, average angle, RSRP, RSRQ measurements) of directional signals transmitted within a particular cell supported by one or more of the gNBs 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114 (or supported by some other type of base station, such as an eNB or WiFi AP). The UE 105 may send measurements back to the LMF 120 in an LPP or NPP message (e.g., within a 5G NAS message) via the serving gNB 110a (or serving ng-eNB 114) and the AMF 115.

[0058]

[0070] As mentioned, although communication system 100 is described with respect to 5G technology, communication system 100 may be implemented to support other communication technologies, such as GSM, WCDMA, LTE, etc., used to support and interact with mobile devices such as UE 105 (e.g., to implement voice, data, positioning, and other functions). In some such embodiments, 5GC 140 may be configured to control different air interfaces. For example, 5GC 140 may connect to a WLAN using a non-3GPP interworking function (N3IWF, not shown in FIG. 1 ) in 5GC 140. For example, the WLAN may support IEEE 802.11 WiFi access for UE 105 and may comprise one or more WiFi APs. Here, the N3IWF may connect to the WLAN and to other elements in 5GC 140, such as AMF 115. In some embodiments, both NG-RAN 135 and 5GC 140 may be replaced by one or more other RANs and one or more other core networks. For example, in an EPS, the NG-RAN 135 may be replaced by an E-UTRAN including eNBs, and the 5GC 140 may be replaced by an EPC including a mobility management entity (MME) in place of the AMF 115, an E-SMLC in place of the LMF 120, and a GMLC that may be similar to the GMLC 125. In such an EPS, the E-SMLC may use an LPPa instead of an NRPPa to send location information to and receive location information from eNBs in the E-UTRAN, and may use an LPP to support positioning of the UE 105. In these other embodiments, positioning of the UE 105 using a directional PRS may be supported in a manner similar to that described herein for a 5G network, except that the functions and procedures described herein for the gNBs 110a, 110b, ng-eNB 114, AMF 115, and LMF 120 may, in some cases, instead apply to other network elements, such as eNBs, WiFi APs, MMEs, and E-SMLCs.

[0059]

[0071] As mentioned, in some embodiments, the positioning functionality may be implemented at least in part using directional SS or PRS beams sent by base stations (such as gNBs 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114) that are within range of the UE whose position is to be determined (e.g., UE 105 of FIG. 1). The UE may, in some cases, use directional SS or PRS beams from multiple base stations (such as gNBs 110a, 110b, ng-eNB 114) to calculate the UE's position.

[0060]

[0072] 2, UE 200 is an example of one of UEs 105, 106 and comprises a computing platform including a processor 210, a memory 211 including software (SW) 212, one or more sensors 213, a transceiver interface 214 for a transceiver 215 (including a wireless transceiver 240 and / or a wired transceiver 250), a user interface 216, a satellite positioning system (SPS) receiver 217, a camera 218, and a position device (PD) 219. Processor 210, memory 211, sensor(s) 213, transceiver interface 214, user interface 216, SPS receiver 217, camera 218, and position device 219 may be communicatively coupled to each other by a bus 220 (which may be configured for optical and / or electrical communication, for example). One or more of the illustrated devices (e.g., camera 218, position device 219, and / or one or more of sensor(s) 213, etc.) may be omitted from UE 200. Processor 210 may include one or more intelligent hardware devices, e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a microcontroller, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc. Processor 210 may comprise multiple processors, including general-purpose / application processor 230, digital signal processor (DSP) 231, modem processor 232, video processor 233, and / or sensor processor 234. One or more of processors 230-234 may comprise multiple devices (e.g., multiple processors). For example, sensor processor 234 may comprise, for example, a processor for RF (radio frequency) sensing (in which one or more (cellular) wireless signals are transmitted and reflection(s) are used to identify, map, and / or track objects), ultrasound, etc. The modem processor 232 may support dual SIM / dual connectivity (and even more SIMs).For example, one SIM (Subscriber Identity Module or Subscriber Identity Module) may be used by an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and another SIM may be used by an end user of UE 200 for connectivity. Memory 211 is a non-transitory storage medium that may include random access memory (RAM), flash memory, disk memory, and / or read-only memory (ROM), etc. Memory 211 stores software 212, which may be processor-readable, processor-executable software code that includes instructions that, when executed, are configured to cause processor 210 to perform various functions described herein. Alternatively, software 212 may not be directly executable by processor 210, but may be configured, for example, when compiled and executed, to cause processor 210 to perform a function. While the description may refer to processor 210 performing a function, this includes other implementations, such as when processor 210 executes software and / or firmware. The description may refer to processor 210 performing a function as shorthand for one or more of processors 230-234 performing the function. The description may refer to UE 200 performing a function as shorthand for one or more appropriate components of UE 200 that perform the function. Processor 210 may include memory with stored instructions in addition to and / or instead of memory 211. The functionality of processor 210 is described more fully below.

[0061]

[0073] 2 is an example of the present disclosure, including the claims, and is not intended to limit the present disclosure; other configurations may be used. For example, an exemplary configuration of a UE includes one or more of processors 230-234 of processor 210, memory 211, and wireless transceiver 240. Another exemplary configuration includes one or more of processors 230-234 of processor 210, memory 211, wireless transceiver 240, and one or more of sensor(s) 213, user interface 216, SPS receiver 217, camera 218, PD 219, and / or wired transceiver 250.

[0062]

[0074] The UE 200 may include a modem processor 232 that may be capable of performing baseband processing of signals received and downconverted by the transceiver 215 and / or the SPS receiver 217. The modem processor 232 may perform baseband processing of signals to be upconverted for transmission by the transceiver 215. Also or alternatively, the baseband processing may be performed by the general purpose / application processor 230 and / or the DSP 231. However, other configurations may be used to perform the baseband processing.

[0063]

[0075] The UE 200 may include sensor(s) 213, which may include one or more of various types of sensors, such as, for example, one or more inertial sensors, one or more magnetometers, one or more environmental sensors, one or more light sensors, one or more weight sensors, and / or one or more radio frequency (RF) sensors. An inertial measurement unit (IMU) may comprise, for example, one or more accelerometers and / or one or more gyroscopes (e.g., three-dimensional gyroscope(s)) (e.g., collectively responsive to acceleration of the UE 200 in three dimensions). The sensor(s) 213 may include one or more magnetometers (e.g., three-dimensional magnetometer(s)) for determining orientation (e.g., relative to magnetic north and / or true north), which may be used for any of a variety of purposes, for example, to support one or more compass applications. The environmental sensor(s) may comprise, for example, one or more temperature sensors, one or more barometric pressure sensors, one or more ambient light sensors, one or more camera imagers, and / or one or more microphones, etc. The sensor(s) 213 may generate analog and / or digital signals whose indications may be stored in memory 211 and processed by DSP 231 and / or general purpose / application processor 230 to support one or more applications, such as applications directed to positioning and / or navigation operations, for example.

[0064]

[0076] The sensor(s) 213 may be used in relative location measurement, relative location determination, motion determination, etc. Information detected by the sensor(s) 213 may be used for motion detection, relative displacement, dead reckoning, sensor-based location determination, and / or sensor-assisted location determination. The sensor(s) 213 may be useful for determining whether the UE 200 is fixed (stationary) or mobile and / or whether certain useful information regarding the mobility of the UE 200 should be reported to the LMF 120. For example, based on information acquired / measured by the sensor(s) 213, the UE 200 may notify / report to the LMF 120 that the UE 200 has detected movement or that the UE 200 has moved, and may report a relative displacement / distance (e.g., via dead reckoning, or sensor-based location determination, or sensor-assisted location determination enabled by the sensor(s) 213). In another example, the sensor / IMU may be used to determine the angle and / or orientation of other devices relative to the UE 200 for relative positioning information.

[0065]

[0077] The IMU may be configured to provide measurements of the direction and / or speed of movement of the UE 200, which may be used in relative location determination. For example, one or more accelerometers and / or one or more gyroscopes of the IMU may detect the linear acceleration and rotational velocity of the UE 200, respectively. The measurements of the linear acceleration and rotational velocity of the UE 200 may be integrated over time to determine the instantaneous direction and displacement of the UE 200's movement. The instantaneous direction and displacement of the movement may be integrated to track the UE 200's location. For example, a reference location of the UE 200 may be determined, for example, using the SPS receiver 217 (and / or by some other means) for a certain moment in time, and measurements from the accelerometer(s) and gyroscope(s) obtained after this moment in time may be used in dead reckoning to determine the UE 200's current location based on the UE 200's movement (direction and distance) relative to the reference location.

[0066]

[0078] The magnetometer(s) may determine magnetic field strength in different directions, which may be used to determine an orientation of the UE 200. For example, the orientation may be used to provide a digital compass for the UE 200. The magnetometer(s) may include a two-dimensional magnetometer configured to detect and provide an indication of magnetic field strength in two orthogonal dimensions. Alternatively, the magnetometer(s) may include a three-dimensional magnetometer configured to detect and provide an indication of magnetic field strength in three orthogonal dimensions. The magnetometer(s) may provide a means for sensing the magnetic field and providing an indication of the magnetic field to, for example, the processor 210.

[0067]

[0079] The transceiver 215 may include a wireless transceiver 240 and a wired transceiver 250 configured to communicate with other devices through wireless and wired connections, respectively. For example, the wireless transceiver 240 may include a wireless transmitter 242 and a wireless receiver 244 coupled to an antenna 246 for transmitting (e.g., on one or more uplink channels and / or one or more sidelink channels) and / or receiving (e.g., on one or more downlink channels and / or one or more sidelink channels) wireless signals 248 and converting the wireless signals 248 to wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals and from the wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals to the wireless signals 248. The wireless transmitter 242 includes appropriate components (e.g., a power amplifier and a digital-to-analog converter). The wireless receiver 244 includes appropriate components (e.g., one or more amplifiers, one or more frequency filters, and an analog-to-digital converter). The wireless transmitter 242 may include multiple transmitters, which may be separate components or combined / integrated components, and / or the wireless receiver 244 may include multiple receivers, which may be separate components or combined / integrated components. The wireless transceiver 240 may be configured to communicate signals (e.g., with the TRP and / or one or more other devices) according to various radio access technologies (RATs), such as 5G New Radio (NR), GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone System), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), WCDMA (Wideband CDMA), LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE Direct (LTE-D), 3GPP LTE-V2X (PC5), IEEE 802.11 (including IEEE 802.11p), WiFi, WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth, Zigbee, etc. The new radio may use mm-wave and / or sub-6 GHz frequencies.The wired transceiver 250 may include a wired transmitter 252 and a wired receiver 254 configured for wired communication, e.g., a network interface that may be utilized to communicate with and send communications to and receive communications from the NG-RAN 135. The wired transmitter 252 may include multiple transmitters, which may be separate components or combined / integrated components, and / or the wired receiver 254 may include multiple receivers, which may be separate components or combined / integrated components. The wired transceiver 250 may be configured for optical and / or electrical communication, for example. The transceiver 215 may be communicatively coupled to the transceiver interface 214, for example, by an optical and / or electrical connection. The transceiver interface 214 may be at least partially integrated with the transceiver 215. The wireless transmitter 242, wireless receiver 244, and / or antenna 246 may each include multiple transmitters, multiple receivers, and / or multiple antennas for transmitting and / or receiving appropriate signals, respectively.

[0068]

[0080] The user interface 216 may comprise one or more of several devices, such as, for example, a speaker, a microphone, a display device, a vibrating device, a keyboard, a touchscreen, etc. The user interface 216 may include two or more of any of these devices. The user interface 216 may be configured to allow a user to interact with one or more applications hosted by the UE 200. For example, the user interface 216 may store instructions of analog and / or digital signals in the memory 211 for processing by the DSP 231 and / or the general purpose / application processor 230 in response to actions from the user. Similarly, applications hosted on the UE 200 may store instructions of analog and / or digital signals in the memory 211 for presenting output signals to the user. The user interface 216 may include audio input / output (I / O) devices, including, for example, a speaker, a microphone, digital-to-analog circuitry, analog-to-digital circuitry, amplifiers, and / or gain control circuits (including two or more of any of these devices). Other configurations of audio I / O devices may be used. Also or alternatively, the user interface 216 may include one or more touch sensors that respond to touch and / or pressure, for example, on a keyboard and / or touchscreen of the user interface 216 .

[0069]

[0081] The SPS receiver 217 (e.g., a global positioning system (GPS) receiver) may be capable of receiving and acquiring the SPS signals 260 via the SPS antenna 262. The SPS antenna 262 is configured to convert the SPS signals 260 from wireless signals to wired signals, e.g., electrical or optical signals, and may be integrated with the antenna 246. The SPS receiver 217 may be configured to process, in whole or in part, the acquired SPS signals 260 to estimate the location of the UE 200. For example, the SPS receiver 217 may be configured to determine the location of the UE 200 by trilateration using the SPS signals 260. The general-purpose / applications processor 230, the memory 211, the DSP 231, and / or one or more special-purpose processors (not shown) may be utilized in conjunction with the SPS receiver 217 to process, in whole or in part, the acquired SPS signals and / or to calculate the estimated location of the UE 200. The memory 211 may store indications (e.g., measurements) of the SPS signals 260 and / or other signals (e.g., signals acquired from the wireless transceiver 240) for use in performing positioning operations. The general purpose / application processor 230, the DSP 231, and / or one or more special purpose processors, and / or the memory 211 may provide or support a location engine for use in processing the measurements to estimate the location of the UE 200.

[0070]

[0082] The UE 200 may include a camera 218 for capturing still or video images. The camera 218 may comprise, for example, an imaging sensor (e.g., a charge-coupled device or a CMOS (complementary metal-oxide semiconductor) imager), a lens, analog-to-digital circuitry, a frame buffer, etc. Additional processing, conditioning, encoding, and / or compression of signals representing the captured images may be performed by the general-purpose / application processor 230 and / or the DSP 231. Also or alternatively, a video processor 233 may perform conditioning, encoding, compression, and / or manipulation of signals representing the captured images. The video processor 233 may decode / restore stored image data for presentation on a display device (not shown), e.g., of the user interface 216.

[0071]

[0083] The position device (PD) 219 may be configured to determine the position of the UE 200, the movement of the UE 200, and / or the relative position of the UE 200, and / or time. For example, the PD 219 may be in communication with and / or include part or all of the SPS receiver 217. The PD 219 may operate in conjunction with the processor 210 and the memory 211 to implement at least a portion of one or more positioning methods, as appropriate, although the description herein may refer to the PD 219 being configured to implement or implementing according to the positioning method(s). Also or alternatively, the PD 219 may be configured to determine the location of the UE 200 using ground-based signals (e.g., at least some of the wireless signals 248) for trilateration, to assist in the acquisition and use of SPS signals 260, or both. The PD 219 may be configured to determine the location of the UE 200 based on the cell (e.g., cell center) of the serving base station and / or another technique, such as E-CID. The PD 219 may be configured to use one or more images from the camera 218 and image recognition combined with known locations of landmarks (e.g., natural landmarks such as mountains, and / or man-made landmarks such as buildings, bridges, streets, etc.) to determine the location of the UE 200. The PD 219 may be configured to use one or more other techniques (e.g., relying on the UE's self-reported location (e.g., part of the UE's location beacon)) to determine the location of the UE 200 and may use a combination of techniques (e.g., SPS and terrestrial positioning signals) to determine the location of the UE 200.The PD 219 may include one or more of the sensors 213 (e.g., gyroscope(s), accelerometer(s), magnetometer(s), etc.) that may sense and provide an indication of the orientation and / or movement of the UE 200, which the processor 210 (e.g., the general purpose / application processor 230 and / or the DSP 231) may be configured to use to determine the movement (e.g., a velocity vector and / or an acceleration vector) of the UE 200. The PD 219 may be configured to provide an indication of the uncertainty and / or error in the determined position and / or movement. The functionality of the PD 219 may be provided in various manners and / or configurations by, for example, the general purpose / application processor 230, the transceiver 215, the SPS receiver 217, and / or another component of the UE 200, and may be provided by hardware, software, firmware, or various combinations thereof.

[0072]

[0084] 3, an example of a TRP 300 of the gNB 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114 comprises a computing platform including a processor 310, a memory 311 including software (SW) 312, and a transceiver 315. The processor 310, memory 311, and transceiver 315 may be communicatively coupled to each other by a bus 320 (e.g., which may be configured for optical and / or electrical communications). One or more of the illustrated devices (e.g., a wireless transceiver) may be omitted from the TRP 300. The processor 310 may include one or more intelligent hardware devices, e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a microcontroller, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc. The processor 310 may comprise multiple processors (e.g., including a general-purpose / application processor, a DSP, a modem processor, a video processor, and / or a sensor processor shown in FIG. 2). Memory 311 is a non-transitory storage medium that may include random access memory (RAM), flash memory, disk memory, and / or read-only memory (ROM), etc. Memory 311 stores software 312, which may be processor-readable, processor-executable software code that includes instructions configured, when executed, to cause processor 310 to perform various functions described herein. Alternatively, software 312 may not be directly executable by processor 310, but may be configured, for example, when compiled and executed, to cause processor 310 to perform a function. While the description may refer to processor 310 performing a function, this includes other implementations, such as when processor 310 executes software and / or firmware. The description may refer to processor 310 performing a function as shorthand for one or more of the processors included in processor 310 that perform the function.The description may refer to the TRP 300 performing a function as shorthand for one or more appropriate components of the TRP 300 (e.g., the processor 310 and the memory 311) that perform the function (and thus one of the gNBs 110a, 110b and / or the ng-eNB 114). The processor 310 may include memory with stored instructions in addition to and / or in place of the memory 311. The functionality of the processor 310 is described more fully below.

[0073]

[0085] The transceiver 315 may include a wireless transceiver 340 and / or a wired transceiver 350 configured to communicate with other devices over wireless and wired connections, respectively. For example, the wireless transceiver 340 may include a wireless transmitter 342 and a wireless receiver 344 coupled to one or more antennas 346 for transmitting (e.g., on one or more uplink channels and / or one or more downlink channels) and / or receiving (e.g., on one or more downlink channels and / or one or more uplink channels) wireless signals 348 and converting the wireless signals 348 to wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals and vice versa. Thus, the wireless transmitter 342 may include multiple transmitters, which may be separate components or combined / integrated components, and / or the wireless receiver 344 may include multiple receivers, which may be separate components or combined / integrated components. The wireless transceiver 340 may be configured to communicate signals (e.g., with the UE 200, one or more other UEs, and / or one or more other devices) according to various radio access technologies (RATs), such as 5G New Radio (NR), GSM (Global System for Mobile), UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone System), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), WCDMA (Wideband CDMA), LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE Direct (LTE-D), 3GPP LTE-V2X (PC5), IEEE 802.11 (including IEEE 802.11p), WiFi, WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth, Zigbee, etc.The wired transceiver 350 may include a wired transmitter 352 and a wired receiver 354 configured for wired communications, e.g., a network interface that may be utilized to communicate with the NG-RAN 135 to send communications to and receive communications from, e.g., the LMF 120, and / or one or more other network entities. The wired transmitter 352 may include multiple transmitters, which may be separate components or combined / integrated components, and / or the wired receiver 354 may include multiple receivers, which may be separate components or combined / integrated components. The wired transceiver 350 may be configured for optical communications and / or electrical communications, for example.

[0074]

[0086] 3 is an example of the present disclosure, including the claims, and is not intended to limit the present disclosure, and other configurations may be used. For example, the description herein describes the TRP 300 as being configured to perform or performing certain functions, but one or more of these functions may be performed by the LMF 120 and / or the UE 200 (i.e., the LMF 120 and / or the UE 200 may be configured to perform one or more of these functions).

[0075]

[0087] 4, server 400, of which LMF 120 is an example, comprises a computing platform including processor 410, memory 411 including software (SW) 412, and transceiver 415. Processor 410, memory 411, and transceiver 415 may be communicatively coupled to each other by bus 420 (which may be configured for optical and / or electrical communication, for example). One or more of the illustrated devices (e.g., wireless transceivers) may be omitted from server 400. Processor 410 may include one or more intelligent hardware devices, such as a central processing unit (CPU), a microcontroller, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc. Processor 410 may comprise multiple processors (e.g., including the general-purpose / application processor, DSP, modem processor, video processor, and / or sensor processor shown in FIG. 2). Memory 411 is a non-transitory storage medium that may include random access memory (RAM), flash memory, disk memory, and / or read-only memory (ROM), etc. The memory 411 stores software 412, which may be processor-readable, processor-executable software code including instructions configured, when executed, to cause the processor 410 to perform various functions described herein. Alternatively, the software 412 may not be directly executable by the processor 410, but may be configured, for example, when compiled and executed, to cause the processor 410 to perform a function. The description may refer to the processor 410 performing a function, but this includes other implementations, such as when the processor 410 executes software and / or firmware. The description may refer to the processor 410 performing a function as shorthand for one or more of the processors included in the processor 410 that perform the function. The description may refer to the server 400 performing a function as shorthand for one or more appropriate components of the server 400 that perform the function. The processor 410 may include a memory with stored instructions in addition to and / or instead of the memory 411.The functionality of processor 410 is more fully described below.

[0076]

[0088] The transceiver 415 may include a wireless transceiver 440 and / or a wired transceiver 450 configured to communicate with other devices over wireless and wired connections, respectively. For example, the wireless transceiver 440 may include a wireless transmitter 442 and a wireless receiver 444 coupled to one or more antennas 446 for transmitting (e.g., on one or more downlink channels) and / or receiving (e.g., on one or more uplink channels) wireless signals 448 and converting the wireless signals 448 to wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals and vice versa. Thus, the wireless transmitter 442 may include multiple transmitters, which may be separate components or combined / integrated components, and / or the wireless receiver 444 may include multiple receivers, which may be separate components or combined / integrated components. The wireless transceiver 440 may be configured to communicate signals (e.g., with the UE 200, one or more other UEs, and / or one or more other devices) according to various radio access technologies (RATs), such as 5G New Radio (NR), GSM (Global System for Mobile), UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone System), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), WCDMA (Wideband CDMA), LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE Direct (LTE-D), 3GPP LTE-V2X (PC5), IEEE 802.11 (including IEEE 802.11p), WiFi, WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth, Zigbee, etc. The wired transceiver 450 may include a wired transmitter 452 and a wired receiver 454 configured for wired communication, e.g., a network interface that may be utilized to communicate with the NG-RAN 135 to send communications to and receive communications from, e.g., the TRP 300, and / or one or more other entities.The wired transmitter 452 may include multiple transmitters, which may be separate components or combined / integrated components, and / or the wired receiver 454 may include multiple receivers, which may be separate components or combined / integrated components. The wired transceiver 450 may be configured for optical and / or electrical communications, for example.

[0077]

[0089] The description herein may refer to processor 410 performing a function, but this includes other implementations, such as when processor 410 executes software and / or firmware (stored in memory 411). The description herein may refer to server 400 performing a function as shorthand for one or more appropriate components of server 400 (e.g., processor 410 and memory 411) that perform the function.

[0078]

[0090] 4 is an example of the present disclosure, including the claims, and is not intended to limit the present disclosure; other configurations may be used. For example, wireless transceiver 440 may be omitted. Also or alternatively, the description herein describes server 400 as being configured to perform or performing certain functions, but one or more of these functions may be performed by TRP 300 and / or UE 200 (i.e., TRP 300 and / or UE 200 may be configured to perform one or more of these functions).

[0079]

[0091] Positioning Technique

[0092] For terrestrial positioning of UEs in cellular networks, techniques such as Advanced Forward Link Trilateration (AFLT) and Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA) often operate in a "UE-assisted" mode, in which measurements of reference signals (e.g., PRS, CRS, etc.) transmitted by base stations are obtained by the UE and then provided to a location server. The location server then calculates the UE's position based on the measurements and the known locations of the base stations. Because these techniques use a location server rather than the UE itself to calculate the UE's position, these positioning techniques are not frequently used in applications such as car navigation or cell phone navigation, which instead generally rely on satellite-based positioning.

[0080]

[0093] UEs may use satellite positioning systems (SPS) (also known as global navigation satellite systems (GNSS)) for high-precision positioning using precise point positioning (PPP) or real-time kinematic (RTK) techniques. These techniques use assistance data, such as measurements from ground stations. LTE Release 15 allows data to be encrypted so that only UEs that have subscribed to the service can read the information. Such assistance data varies over time. Therefore, UEs that have subscribed to the service may not easily "decrypt" the data for other UEs that have not paid for the subscription by transferring it to them. The transfer would need to be repeated each time the assistance data changes.

[0081]

[0094] In UE-assisted positioning, the UE sends measurements (e.g., TDOA, angle of arrival (AoA), etc.) to a positioning server (e.g., LMF / eSMLC). The positioning server has a Base Station Almanac (BSA) that contains multiple "entries" or "records," one record per cell, where each record includes the geographic cell location but may also include other data. An identifier for a "record" among the multiple "records" in the BSA may be referenced. The BSA and measurements from the UE may be used to calculate the UE's position.

[0082]

[0095] In traditional UE-based positioning, the UE calculates its own location and thus avoids sending measurements to the network (e.g., a location server), which improves latency and scalability. The UE uses relevant BSA record information from the network (e.g., the location of gNBs (more broadly, base stations)). The BSA information may be encrypted. However, because BSA information fluctuates much less frequently than, for example, the previously described PPP or RTK assistance data, it may be easier (compared to PPP or RTK information) to make the BSA information available to UEs that have not subscribed and paid for a decryption key. The transmission of reference signals by gNBs makes the BSA information potentially accessible for crowdsourcing or wardriving, essentially allowing the BSA information to be generated based on in-situ and / or over-the-top observations.

[0083]

[0096] Positioning techniques may be characterized and / or assessed based on one or more criteria, such as position determination accuracy and / or latency. Latency is the time elapsed between an event triggering the determination of position-related data and the availability of that data at a positioning system interface, e.g., the interface of the LMF 120. At the initialization of the positioning system, the latency for the availability of position-related data is referred to as the time to first fix (TTFF) and is greater than the latency after the TTFF. The reciprocal of the time elapsed between two consecutive availability of position-related data is referred to as the update rate, i.e., the rate at which position-related data is generated after the initial position fix. Latency may depend, for example, on the processing capability of the UE. For example, the UE may report its processing capability as the duration of DL PRS symbols in time units (e.g., milliseconds) that the UE can process per T amount of time (e.g., T ms) for a 272 PRB (Physical Resource Block) allocation. Other examples of capabilities that may affect latency are the number of TRPs that a UE can handle PRSs, the number of PRSs that a UE can handle, and the bandwidth of the UE.

[0084]

[0097] One or more of many different positioning techniques (also called positioning methods) may be used to determine the location of an entity such as one of the UEs 105, 106. For example, known positioning techniques include RTT, multi-RTT, OTDOA (also called TDOA, including UL-TDOA and DL-TDOA), Extended Cell Identity (E-CID), DL-AoD, UL-AoA, etc. RTT uses the time it takes a signal to travel from one entity to another and back to determine the range between the two entities. That range, along with the known location of a first one of the entities and the angle (e.g., azimuth) between the two entities, may be used to determine the location of a second one of the entities. In multi-RTT (also called multi-cell RTT), multiple ranges from one entity (e.g., UE) to another entity (e.g., TRP) and the known locations of the other entities may be used to determine the location of the one entity. In TDOA techniques, the difference in travel time between one entity and another may be used to determine the relative range from the other entity, which may be used in combination with the known location of the other entity to determine the location of the entity. Angle of arrival and / or angle of departure may be used to help determine the location of an entity. For example, the angle of arrival or angle of departure of a signal, combined with the range between devices (determined using the signal, e.g., the signal's travel time, the signal's received power, etc.) and the known location of one of the devices, may be used to determine the location of the other device. The angle of arrival or angle of departure may be an azimuth angle relative to a reference direction such as due north. The angle of arrival or angle of departure may be a zenith angle directly upward from the entity (i.e., relative to a radial direction outward from the center of the Earth).E-CID uses the identity of the serving cell, the timing advance (i.e., the difference between the receive time and the transmit time at the UE), the estimated timing and power of detected neighbor cell signals, and possibly the angle of arrival (e.g., of the signal at the UE from the base station, or vice versa) to determine the location of the UE. In TDOA, the difference in the arrival times at a receiving device of signals from different sources, along with the known locations of the sources and known offsets in the transmit times from the sources, are used to determine the location of the receiving device.

[0085]

[0098] In network-centric RTT estimation, the serving base station instructs the UE to scan / receive RTT measurement signals (e.g., PRS) on the serving cells of two or more neighboring base stations (and the serving base station, since typically at least three base stations are required). One or more base stations transmit the RTT measurement signals on low reuse resources (e.g., resources used by base stations to transmit system information) allocated by the network (e.g., a location server such as the LMF 120). The UE records the arrival time (also referred to as receive time, reception time, time of reception, or time of arrival (ToA)) of each RTT measurement signal relative to the UE's current downlink timing (e.g., as derived by the UE from a DL signal received from its serving base station), transmits (e.g., when commanded by its serving base station) common or individual RTT response messages (e.g., SRS (Sounding Reference Signal) for positioning, i.e., UL-PRS) to one or more base stations, and includes in the payload of each RTT response message the time difference T between the ToA of the RTT measurement signal and the transmission time of the RTT response message. Rx→Tx (i.e., UE T Rx-Tx or UE Rx-TxThe RTT response message will contain a reference signal from which the base station can infer the ToA of the RTT response. The difference T between the transmission time of the RTT measurement signal from the base station and the ToA of the RTT response at the base station Tx→Rx The UE reported time difference T Rx→Tx By comparing the propagation time between the base station and the UE, the base station can infer the propagation time between the base station and the UE, and by assuming the speed of light during this propagation time, the base station can determine the distance between the UE and the base station.

[0086]

[0099] UE-centric RTT estimation is similar to the network-based method, except that the UE (e.g., when commanded by the serving base station) transmits (one or more) uplink RTT measurement signals that are received by multiple base stations in the UE's vicinity. Each participating base station responds with a downlink RTT response message, which may include in the RTT response message payload the time difference between the ToA of the RTT measurement signal at the base station and the transmission time of the RTT response message from the base station.

[0087]

[0100] For both network-centric and UE-centric procedures, the party performing the RTT calculation (network or UE) typically (but not always) sends the initial message(s) or signal(s) (e.g., RTT measurement signal(s)), and the other party responds with one or more RTT response messages or signals that may include the difference between the ToA of the initial message(s) or signal(s) and the transmission time of the RTT response message(s) or signal(s).

[0088]

[0101] Multi-RTT techniques may be used to determine location. For example, a first entity (e.g., a UE) may send out one or more signals (e.g., unicast, multicast, or broadcast from a base station), and multiple second entities (e.g., other TSPs, such as base station(s) and / or UE(s)) may receive the signals from the first entity and respond to the received signals. The first entity receives responses from multiple second entities. The first entity (or another entity, such as an LMF) may use the responses from the second entities to determine a range to the second entity and may use the multiple ranges and the known location of the second entities to determine the location of the first entity by trilateration.

[0089]

[0102] In some cases, additional information may be obtained in the form of a linear direction (which may be, for example, in the horizontal plane or in three dimensions), or possibly an angle of arrival (AoA) or angle of departure (AoD) that defines a range of directions (e.g., for the UE from the location of the base station). The intersection of the two directions may provide another estimate of the location for the UE.

[0090]

[0103] In positioning techniques (e.g., TDOA and RTT) that use PRS (positioning reference signal) signals, PRS signals sent by multiple TRPs are measured, and the signal arrival times, known transmission times, and known locations of the TRPs are used to determine the range from the UE to the TRP. For example, a reference signal time difference (RSTD) may be determined for PRS signals received from multiple TRPs and used in TDOA techniques to determine the location of the UE. Positioning reference signals may be referred to as PRSs or PRS signals. PRS signals are generally sent using the same power, and PRS signals with the same signal characteristics (e.g., the same frequency shift) may interfere with each other. Thus, PRS signals from more distant TRPs may be overwhelmed by PRS signals from closer TRPs, and thus, signals from more distant TRPs may not be detected. PRS muting may be used to help reduce interference by muting some PRS signals (reducing the power of the PRS signals, for example, to 0, and thus not transmitting the PRS signals). In this way, a weaker PRS signal (at the UE) can be more easily detected by the UE without a stronger PRS signal interfering with the weaker PRS signal. The term RS and its variants (e.g., PRS, SRS, CSI-RS (Channel State Information - Reference Signal)) may refer to one reference signal or two or more reference signals.

[0091]

[0104] Positioning reference signals (PRS) include downlink PRS (DL PRS, often simply referred to as PRS) and uplink PRS (UL PRS), sometimes referred to as SRS (Sounding Reference Signal) for positioning. The PRS may comprise a PN code (pseudorandom code) or may be generated using a PN code (e.g., by scrambling the PN code with another signal) so that the source of the PRS can act as a pseudolite. The PN code may be unique to the PRS source (at least within a designated area so that the same PRS from different PRS sources does not overlap). The PRS may comprise PRS resources and / or PRS resource sets of a frequency layer. The DL PRS positioning frequency layer (or simply frequency layer) is a collection of DL PRS resource sets from one or more TRPs with PRS resource(s) having common parameters configured by the higher layer parameters DL-PRS-PositioningFrequencyLayer, DL-PRS-ResourceSet, and DL-PRS-Resource. Each frequency layer has a DL PRS subcarrier spacing (SCS) for the DL PRS resource set and DL PRS resources in the frequency layer. Each frequency layer has a DL PRS cyclic prefix (CP) for the DL PRS resource set and DL PRS resources in the frequency layer. In 5G, a resource block occupies 12 consecutive subcarriers and a specified number of symbols. A common resource block is a set of resource blocks that occupy the channel bandwidth. A bandwidth portion (BWP) is a set of adjacent common resource blocks, which may include all common resource blocks within the channel bandwidth or a subset of the common resource block. The DL PRS point A parameter also defines the frequency of the reference resource block (and the lowest subcarrier of the resource block), and specifies whether DL PRS resources belong to the same DL PRS resource set with the same point A, and all DL PRS resource sets belong to the same frequency layer with the same point A.The frequency layers also have the same DL PRS bandwidth, the same starting PRB (and center frequency), and the same comb size (i.e., for comb N, the frequency of PRS resource elements per symbol such that every Nth resource element is a PRS resource element). A PRS resource set may be identified by a PRS resource set ID and associated with a specific TRP transmitted by a base station antenna panel (identified by a cell ID). A PRS resource ID in a PRS resource set may be associated with an omnidirectional signal and / or with a single beam (and / or beam ID) transmitted from a single base station (where a base station may transmit one or more beams). Each PRS resource in a PRS resource set may be transmitted on a different beam; therefore, a PRS resource, or simply a resource, may also be referred to as a beam. This does not have any implication as to whether the base station and the beam on which the PRS is transmitted are known to the UE.

[0092]

[0105] The TRP may be configured to send the DL PRS per schedule, for example, by instructions received from a server and / or by software in the TRP. According to the schedule, the TRP may send the DL-PRS intermittently, for example, periodically at regular intervals from the initial transmission. The TRP may be configured to send one or more PRS resource sets. A resource set is a collection of PRS resources across one TRP, where the resources have the same periodicity, common muting pattern configuration (if any), and the same repetition factor across a slot. Each PRS resource set comprises multiple PRS resources, and each PRS resource comprises multiple OFDM (orthogonal frequency division multiplexing) resource elements (REs) that may be located in multiple resource blocks (RBs) within N consecutive symbol(s) within a slot. PRS resources (or reference signal (RS) resources in general) may be referred to as OFDM PRS resources (or OFDM RS resources). An RB is a collection of REs spanning one or more consecutive symbols in the time domain and a number of consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain (12 for 5G RBs). Each PRS resource consists of an RE offset, a slot offset, a symbol offset within the slot, and the number of consecutive symbols the PRS resource may occupy within the slot. The RE offset defines the starting RE offset of the first symbol in the DL PRS resource in frequency. The relative RE offsets of the remaining symbols in the DL PRS resource are defined based on the initial offset. The slot offset is the starting slot of the DL PRS resource relative to the corresponding resource set slot offset. The symbol offset determines the starting symbol of the DL PRS resource within the starting slot. The transmitted RE may repeat across slots, with each transmission being called a repetition; therefore, there may be multiple repetitions in a PRS resource. DL PRS resources in a DL PRS resource set are associated with the same TRP, and each DL PRS resource has a DL PRS resource ID.A DL PRS resource ID in a DL PRS resource set is associated with a single beam transmitted from a single TRP (although a TRP may transmit one or more beams).

[0093]

[0106] The PRS resources may also be defined by quasi-co-location and starting PRB parameters. The quasi-co-location (QCL) parameter may define any quasi-co-location information of the DL PRS resources with other reference signals. The DL PRS may be configured to be QCL type D with the DL PRS or SS / PBCH (synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel) block from the serving cell or a non-serving cell. The DL PRS may be configured to be QCL type C with the SS / PBCH block from the serving cell or a non-serving cell. The starting PRB parameter defines the starting PRB index of the DL PRS resources with respect to reference point A. The starting PRB index has a granularity of one PRB and may have a minimum value of 0 PRBs and a maximum value of 2176 PRBs.

[0094]

[0107] A PRS resource set is a collection of PRS resources with the same periodicity, the same muting pattern configuration (if any), and the same repetition factor across slots. Any time configured for all repetitions of all PRS resources in a PRS resource set to be transmitted is called an "instance." Thus, an "instance" of a PRS resource set is a specified number of repetitions for each PRS resource and a specified number of PRS resources within the PRS resource set; thus, an instance is complete when the specified number of repetitions have been transmitted for each of the specified number of PRS resources. An instance may also be referred to as an "occasion." A DL PRS configuration, including a DL PRS transmission schedule, may be provided to a UE to facilitate (and even enable) the UE to measure the DL PRS.

[0095]

[0108] Multiple frequency layers of a PRS can be aggregated to provide an effective bandwidth greater than any of the layer bandwidths individually. Multiple frequency layers of component carriers (which may be contiguous and / or distinct) and that meet criteria such as being quasi-colocated (QCL), having the same antenna port, etc., can be stitched together to provide a larger effective PRS bandwidth (for DL ​​PRS and UL PRS) and result in increased time-of-arrival measurement accuracy. Stitching comprises combining PRS measurements across individual bandwidth segments so that the stitched PRS can be treated as if taken from a single measurement. When QCLed, different frequency layers behave similarly, allowing stitching of PRSs to result in a larger effective bandwidth. A larger effective bandwidth, sometimes referred to as the aggregated PRS bandwidth or the aggregated PRS frequency bandwidth, provides better time-domain resolution (e.g., for TDOA). An aggregated PRS includes a collection of PRS resources, where each PRS resource of the aggregated PRS may be referred to as a PRS component, and each PRS component may be transmitted on a different component carrier, band, or frequency layer or on a different portion of the same band.

[0096]

[0109] RTT positioning is an active positioning technique in that the RTT uses positioning signals sent by the TRP to the UE and by UEs (participating in the RTT positioning) to the TRP. The TRP may send DL-PRS signals received by the UE, and the UE may send SRS (Sounding Reference Signal) signals received by multiple TRPs. The Sounding Reference Signal may be referred to as an SRS or SRS signal. In 5G multi-RTT, cooperative positioning may be used, in which the UE sends a single UL-SRS for positioning received by multiple TRPs rather than sending a separate UL-SRS for positioning for each TRP. A TRP participating in multi-RTT will generally search for UEs currently camped on that TRP (served UEs, the TRP is the serving TRP) and also for UEs camped on neighboring TRPs (neighbor UEs). A neighbor TRP may be a TRP of a single BTS (Base Transceiver Station) (e.g., gNB), or a TRP of one BTS and a TRP of a separate BTS. In RTT positioning, including multi-RTT positioning, the DL-PRS and UL-SRS signals for the positioning signals in the PRS / SRS for the positioning signal pair used to determine the RTT (and thus the range between the UE and the TRP) may occur close in time to each other, so that errors due to UE motion and / or UE clock drift and / or TRP clock drift are within acceptable limits. For example, the signals in the PRS / SRS for the positioning signal pair may be transmitted from the TRP and the UE, respectively, within about 10 ms of each other. It has been found that when the positioning related SRS is sent by the UE and the positioning related PRS and SRS are carried close in time to each other, particularly when many UEs are attempting to position at the same time, radio frequency (RF) signal congestion (which may cause excessive noise, etc.) can occur and / or calculation congestion can occur in the TRPs attempting to measure many UEs at the same time.

[0097]

[0110] RTT positioning can be UE-based or UE-assisted. In UE-based RTT, the UE 200 determines the RTT, the corresponding range to each TRP 300, and the location of the UE 200 based on the range to the TRP 300 and the known location of the TRP 300. In UE-assisted RTT, the UE 200 measures positioning signals and provides the measurement information to the TRP 300, which determines the RTT and range. The TRP 300 provides the range to a location server, e.g., server 400, which determines the location of the UE 200, e.g., based on the range to a different TRP 300. The RTT and / or range can be determined by the TRP 300 receiving signal(s) from the UE 200, by this TRP 300 in combination with one or more other devices, e.g., one or more other TRPs 300 and / or server 400, or by one or more devices other than the TRP 300 receiving signal(s) from the UE 200.

[0098]

[0111] Various positioning techniques are supported in 5G NR. NR native positioning methods supported in 5G NR include DL-only, UL-only, and DL+UL positioning methods. Downlink-based positioning methods include DL-TDOA and DL-AoD. Uplink-based positioning methods include UL-TDOA and UL-AoA. Combined DL+UL-based positioning methods include RTT with one base station and RTT with multiple base stations (multi-RTT).

[0099]

[0112] A position estimate (e.g., for a UE) may be called a location estimate, location, position, position fix, fix, or other names. A position estimate may be geodetic and comprise coordinates (e.g., latitude, longitude, and possibly altitude) or may be civic and comprise a street address, postal address, or some other verbal description of the location. A position estimate may also be defined relative to some other known location or in absolute terms (e.g., using latitude, longitude, and possibly altitude). A position estimate may include an expected error or uncertainty (e.g., by including an area or volume that is expected to contain the location with some specified or default confidence level).

[0100]

[0113] Environments where RIS reflections are used

[0114] 5, wireless communication environment 500 includes server 505, TRPs 510 and 511, reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs) 520 and 521, UEs 530, 531 and 532, and obstacles 540 (e.g., buildings or other objects that obstruct / block RF signals). Server 505 may be an example of server 400, TRPs 510 and 511 may be examples of TRP 300, and UEs 530 and 531 may be examples of UE 200 or other UEs described herein. TRPs 510 and 511 and UEs 530 and 531 may be examples of wireless signaling devices described herein, e.g., wireless signaling device 700. The TRPs 510, 511 are configured to communicate (send and / or receive wireless signals) with at least antenna beams 551, 552, 553, 554, 561, 562, 563, and 564, respectively. The RISs 520, 521 are man-made structures with engineered electromagnetic (EM) properties. The RISs 520, 521 are configured to receive wireless signals from a transmitter (e.g., a base station or a UE) and passively beamform and retransmit the received signals (e.g., without power amplification) via one or more beams toward a receiver (e.g., a base station or a UE), where the retransmitted signals are referred to as reflected signals. The RISs can be configured to reflect impinging signals in desired directions. For example, each of the RISs 520, 521 can be dynamically configured to transmit a respective reflected signal toward one or more receivers, such as one or more of the UEs 530-532. RIS 520 is configured to use antenna beams 571, 572, 573, 574 in this example to send and / or receive wireless signals.

[0101]

[0115] 5, the TRP 510 is connected to and configured to control the RISs 520, 521 to control the direction of reflected signals from the RISs 520, 521. As shown, the TRP 510 cannot communicate directly with the UE 531 due to an obstacle 540 disposed along the line-of-sight (LOS) direction (e.g., beam 552 from the TRP 510 to the UE 531) between the TRP 510 and the UE 531. The UE 531 is disposed behind the obstacle 540 with respect to the TRP 510 and therefore cannot receive the LOS beam (beam 552) from the TRP 510. The TRP 510 can realize that the obstacle 540 creates a coverage hole, i.e., a geographical area where signals from the TRP 510 cannot reach directly or can reach but may be sufficiently attenuated to make detection of the signal difficult or impossible by a UE within the coverage hole. In this scenario, the TRP 510 may bounce one or more signals from one or more RISs into the coverage hole to provide coverage to devices within the coverage hole, including devices that the TRP 510 is not currently aware of. For example, the TRP 510 can use beam 551 to send signal 556 to and control the RIS 520 to reflect an incoming signal into beam 573 to transmit a reflected signal 576 toward the UE 531, thereby communicating with the UE 531 around the obstacle 540. The TRP 510 can configure the RIS 520 to reflect an UL signal from the UE 531 into beam 571 to the TRP 510. Similarly, the TRP 510 can send signal 557 to and control the RIS 520 to reflect an incoming signal toward the UE 531, thereby communicating with the UE 531 around the obstacle 540. As another example, the TRP 510 may send signals 558, 559 directly to the UEs 530, 532. As another example, TRP510 can send a signal 560 to RIS521 and control RIS521 to reflect the input signal 560 toward UE532, even though TRP510 could (and does) send one or more signals directly to UE532.

[0102]

[0116] The environment 500 may be used to facilitate signal transfer between one or more TRPs and one or more low-tier (e.g., low-power, low-bandwidth, low-antenna-count, low-baseband-processing-capability) UEs, e.g., “NR lite” UEs or reduced-capability UEs (i.e., “NR RedCap” UEs), that may not have the capability to hear or detect PRS transmitted from non-serving TRPs, especially TRPs that are far from the UE. Similarly, SRS for positioning measurements by non-serving TRPs from low-tier UEs may be of lower quality than SRS for positioning measurements from UEs that are not low-tier UEs. Use of one or more of the RISs 520, 521 may enable transfer of one or more additional signals between the TRP 510 and the UE 531. The use of RIS520, 521 from a single TRP, here TRP510, can reduce or eliminate synchronization errors that may occur with multiple signals from multiple TRPs, which can help improve positioning accuracy based on signal transfer between TRP510 and UE531, for example.

[0103]

[0117] In some situations, a UE may be in a location with asymmetric downlink signal reception and uplink signal transmission using the same RIS. For example, the UE 531 may receive a downlink signal from the RIS 520 (and / or the RIS 521) with good quality (e.g., at least a threshold value of a quality metric such as RSRP), while an uplink signal sent from the UE 531 to the TRP 510 via the RIS 520 (and / or the RIS 521) is received by the TRP 510 with insufficient quality (e.g., none or at least insufficient power to measure the uplink signal with a threshold accuracy). As another example, the UE 531 may receive a downlink signal from the RIS 520 (and / or the RIS 521) with insufficient quality, while an uplink signal sent from the UE 531 to the TRP 510 via the RIS 520 (and / or the RIS 521) is received by the TRP 510 with good quality. Thus, a RIS may be used to reflect uplink signals from the UE to the TRP, and a different RIS may be used to reflect downlink signals from the TRP to the UE.

[0104]

[0118] 6, simplified environment 600 includes wireless signaling devices 611, 612, 613, and 614 and RISs 621, 622, 623, 624, and 625. In this example, device 614 is a target UE (a UE whose location is desired to be determined), and devices 611-613 are TRPs. In this example, arrows indicate signal transfer between device 614 (the target UE) and devices 611-613 via respective ones of RISs 621-625. As shown, device 611 sends UL-PRSs 632, 633, and 634 to devices 612, 613, and 614, respectively, and receives DL-PRSs 642, 643, 644, and 645 from devices 612, 613, and 614, respectively. Signals other than those shown may also be forwarded, such as one or more DL-PRSs and / or one or more UL-PRSs forwarded directly between devices without reflection by a RIS, one or more other signals to and / or from one or more other devices (e.g., other TRPs), and one or more signals shown in FIG. 6 may not be forwarded.

[0105]

[0119] 7, a wireless signaling device 700 includes a processor 710, a transceiver 720, and a memory 730 communicatively coupled to each other by a bus 740. Each of the devices 611-614 is an example of a device 700. Thus, the device 700 may include the components shown in FIG. 7 and may include one or more other components, such as any of the components shown in FIG. 2 or any of the components shown in FIG. 3. For example, the processor 710 may include one or more of the components of the processor 210 or the processor 310. The transceiver 720 may include one or more of the components of the transceiver 215 or the transceiver 315, e.g., a wireless transmitter 242 (342) and an antenna 246 (346), or a wireless receiver 244 (344) and an antenna 246 (346), or a wireless transmitter 242 (342), a wireless receiver 244 (344), and an antenna 246 (346). Also or alternatively, the transceiver 720 may include a wired transmitter 252 (352) and / or a wired receiver 254 (354). The memory 730 may be configured similarly to the memory 211 (311), e.g., including software having processor-readable instructions configured to cause the processor 710 to perform functions.

[0106]

[0120] The description herein may refer to the processor 710 performing a function, but this includes other implementations, such as when the processor 710 executes software and / or firmware (stored in memory 730). The description herein may refer to the device 700 performing a function as shorthand for one or more appropriate components of the device 700 that perform the function (e.g., the processor 710 and the memory 730). The processor 710 (possibly together with the memory 730 and, as appropriate, the transceiver 720 and / or one or more other components of the device 700) may include a signal measurement unit 750, a measurement reporting unit 760, a PRS transmission unit 770, and / or a location information unit 780 (e.g., any single one of units 750, 760, 770, 780, or any combination of two or more of units 750, 760, 770, 780). The signal measurement unit 750, the measurement reporting unit 760, the PRS transmission unit 770, and the location information unit 780 are described further below, and the wireless signaling device is configured to perform the functions of units 750, 760, 770, 780. The description may refer generally to the processor 710, or generally to the device 700, as performing any of the functions of the signal measurement unit 750, the measurement reporting unit 760, the PRS transmission unit 770, and / or the location information unit 780. The PRS transmission unit 770 is configured to transmit a PRS based on a schedule provided, for example, by the server 400. The type of PRS that the PRS transmission unit 770 is configured to transmit may depend on the type of the device 700, e.g., DL-PRS if the device 700 is a TRP, and UL-PRS and SL-PRS (sidelink PRS) if the device 700 is a UE.

[0107]

[0121] 8-10, multiple implementations of device 700 may be used with multiple RISs to forward PRSs to determine location information (e.g., one or more PRS measurements, one or more ranges (e.g., pseudoranges), and / or one or more location estimates) for a target device, e.g., a UE. For example, a UE implementation of device 700 may be used as device 611, and a TRP implementation of device 700 may be used as devices 612-614, and a signaling loop may be effected between the UE and the TRP via multiple RISs. FIG. 8 illustrates a scenario in which the signaling loop begins and ends at the TRP, while FIG. 10 illustrates a scenario in which the signaling loop begins and ends at the UE.

[0108]

[0122] 8, the TRP 810 starts the signaling loop by sending a DL-PRS 811 to the RIS 820 at time T1. For example, the PRS transmission unit 770 of the TRP 810 transmits the DL-PRS 811 via the transceiver 720 (e.g., the wireless transmitter 342 and the antenna 346). The DL-PRS 811 travels from the TRP 810 to the RIS 820 over a propagation time T prop1 , and arrives at time T2. RIS 820 reflects DL-PRS 811 to UE 830 as DL-PRS 821 at time T3, which travels from RIS 820 to UE 830 over propagation time T prop2and arrives at the UE 830 at time T4. The time difference (group delay) between time T2 and time T3 is typically negligible and may be ignored or estimated / calculated. The UE 830 receives the DL-PRS 821, e.g., the processor 710 of the UE 830 receives the DL-PRS 821 via the transceiver 215 (e.g., wireless receiver 244 and antenna 246). The signal measurement unit 750 of the UE 830 can measure the DL-PRS 821, for example, to determine the arrival time T4. The signal measurement unit 750 of the UE 830 can be used to measure reference signals (e.g., PRS, CSI-RS, etc.) to determine the beam of the RIS 820 from which the strongest (e.g., highest RSRP) signal is received by the UE 830. The measurement reporting unit 760 of the UE 830 can report this beam information to the TRP 810 and / or the server 400 so that the TRP 810 can control the RIS 820 to use that beam to transmit the DL-PRS 821. The PRS transmission unit 770 of the UE 830 is configured to respond to the reception of the DL-PRS 821 by sending a corresponding UL-PRS 831. Here, the UE 830 transmits the UL-PRS 831 to the RIS 840 at time T5, and the UL-PRS 831 travels from the UE 830 to the RIS 840 over a propagation time T prop3 , and arrives at RIS 840 at time T6. RIS 840 reflects UL-PRS 831 to TRP 810 as UL-PRS 841 at time T7, and UL-PRS 841 travels from RIS 840 to TRP 810 over propagation time T prop4 and arrives at the TRP 810 at time T8. The time difference (group delay) between time T6 and time T7 is typically negligible and may be ignored or estimated / calculated. The TRP 810 receives the UL-PRS 841, and, for example, the processor 710 of the UE 830 receives the DL-PRS 841 via the transceiver 315 (e.g., the wireless receiver 344 and the antenna 346). The signal measurement unit 750 of the UE 830 can measure the DL-PRS 841 to determine, for example, the arrival time T8.

[0109]

[0123] The measurement reporting unit 760 of the TRP 810 may be configured to report one or more indications of a transmission-reception time from the transmission of the DL-PRS 811 at time T1 to the reception of the UL-PRS 841 at time T8. The measurement reporting unit 760 may be configured to send a report 850 to the server 400, the report 850 including at least one time corresponding to the transmission time T1 and the reception time T8. For example, the measurement reporting unit 760 may report the transmission-reception time, i.e., the time difference TRP-T Rx-Tx 850. Also or alternatively, the measurement reporting unit 760 may be configured to report the transmit time T1 and the receive time T8. As another example, the measurement reporting unit 760 may be configured to report the receive time T8, where the transmit time T1 is known by the server 400 by being scheduled in the assistance data provided to the TRP 810. The report 850 may indicate the DL-PRS 811 and the UL-PRS 841, and the server 400 may use this information to determine location information (e.g., range, location, etc.) for the UE 830, for example, by using the RIS locations corresponding to the DL-PRS 811 and the UL-PRS 841, and the AoD associated with the DL-PRS 811 (e.g., as further described herein).

[0110]

[0124] The measurement reporting unit 760 of the TRP 810 measures the propagation time T between the TRP 810 and the RIS 820, 840, respectively. prop1 , T prop4The location of the RIS 820, 840 can be known to the TRP 810 (e.g., sent to the TRP 810, programmed into the memory 730 of the TRP 810, etc.), and the location of the TRP 810 is known (e.g., programmed into the memory 730, determined by an SPS calculation, etc.). The processor 710 can be configured to determine the range to the RIS 820, 840, for example, by calculating a range based on the location of the RIS 820, 840 and the location of the TRP 810, or by retrieving the range from the memory 730.

[0111]

[0125] The measurement reporting unit 760 of the UE 830 may be configured to report one or more indications of a transition time from receiving the DL-PRS 821 at time T4 to transmitting the UL-PRS 831 at time T5. The measurement reporting unit 760 may be configured to send a report 860 to the server 400, the report 860 including at least one time corresponding to the receiving time T4 and the transmitting time T5. For example, the measurement reporting unit 760 may report the transition time, i.e., the time difference UE-T Rx-Tx Also or alternatively, the measurement reporting unit 760 may be configured to report the receive time T4 and the transmit time T5. The report 860 may indicate the DL-PRS 821 and the UL-PRS 831.

[0112]

[0126] The server 400 may be configured to determine location information for the UE 830 based on the reports 850, 860. For example, the location information unit 460 may determine the range R between the RIS 820 and the UE 830 according to the following equation (1): T The method may be configured to determine:

[0113]

number

[0114] However, as shown in Figure 9, R Ris the range between the UE 830 and the RIS 840, L is the distance between the RIS 820 and the RIS 840, and θ T is the AoD from RIS820 to UE830. AoDθ T R may be estimated by RSRP measurements reported by the UE 830. For example, the UE 830 measures the power of multiple beams from the RIS 820 and the UE 830, determines a normalized vector of the measured power, compares this vector to a matrix of normalized powers corresponding to various AoDs (or uses interpolation and the two closest vectors in the matrix), and determines the AoD as the angle corresponding to the vector in the matrix that most closely corresponds to the normalized vector of the measured power. sum The value of can be estimated using equation (4) below:

[0115]

number

[0116] where c is the speed of light and TRP-T Rx-Tx is the time from the transmission of DL-PRS 811 to the reception of UL-PRS 841, i.e., T8-T1. If the group delay at any of the RISs is not negligible, the group delay at the RIS may be reduced by, for example, the transmission time TRP-T in Eq. Rx-Tx can be compensated for by subtracting the group delay from

[0117]

[0127] The location information unit 780 may be configured to determine a location estimate of the UE 830. For example, the location information unit 780 may use the known location of the RIS 820, the determined range R T , and AoDθ T(3) may determine a location estimate of the UE 830 based on the AoA of the UL-PRS 831 received from the UE 830 in the RIS 840. Also or alternatively, the location information unit 780 may be configured to determine a location estimate of the UE 830 using triangulation and determined ranges between the UE 830 and multiple RISs that reflect DL signals from one or more TRPs (e.g., RISs 622, 624, 625 shown in FIG. 6). Also or alternatively, the location information unit 780 may be configured to determine a location estimate of the UE 830 using triangulation based on the ranges to multiple uplink RISs determined using equation (3) and the known locations of the uplink RISs. Also or alternatively, the location information unit 780 may be configured to determine a location estimate of the UE 830 using equation (3) and the AoA of the UL-PRS 831 received from the UE 830 in the RIS 840. Also or alternatively, the location information unit 780 may be configured to determine a location estimate of the UE 830 using triangulation and ranges to one or more DL RISs and one or more UL RISs. The location information unit 780 can determine the location of the UE 820 using triangulation ranges determined from signal transmissions with multiple TRPs without a high level of synchronization of the TRPs (e.g., less than 10 ns). For example, TRP synchronization of 50 ns or less may be sufficient.

[0118]

[0128] 10, the UE 820 initiates a signaling loop by sending a UL-PRS 1031 to the RIS 840. For example, the PRS transmission unit 770 of the UE 830 transmits the UL-PRS 1031 via the transceiver 720 (e.g., the wireless transmitter 242 and the antenna 246). Here, the UE 830 transmits the UL-PRS 1031 to the RIS 840 at time T1, and the UL-PRS 1031 travels from the UE 830 to the RIS 840 over a propagation time T prop1, and arrives at RIS 840 at time T2. RIS 840 reflects UL-PRS 1031 to TRP 810 as UL-PRS 1041 at time T3, and UL-PRS 1041 travels from RIS 840 to TRP 810 over propagation time T prop2 , and arrives at the TRP 810 at time T4. The PRS transmission unit 770 of the TRP 810 responds to receiving the UL-PRS 1041 by transmitting the DL-PRS 1011 via the transceiver 720 (e.g., wireless transmitter 342 and antenna 346) at time T5. The DL-PRS 1011 travels from the TRP 810 to the RIS 820 over propagation time T prop3 , and arrives at time T6. The RIS 820 reflects the DL-PRS 1011 to the UE 830 as the DL-PRS 1021 at time T7, and the DL-PRS 1021 travels from the RIS 820 to the UE 830 over propagation time T prop4 The propagation time T between the TRP 810 and the RIS 820, 840 is prop2 , T prop3 An indication of one or more of the transition time, transmit time T1, and receive time T8, from the reception of UL-PRS 1031 at time T4 to the transmission of DL-PRS 1011 at time T5, the transmit time T1, and the receive time T8, are sent by the TRP 810 and the UE 830 in respective reports 1050, 1060, respectively, to the server 400. The report 1060 may comprise, for example, the time difference T8-T1 between the transmission of UL-PRS 1031 and the reception of DL-PRS 1021, and / or the transmit time T1 and the receive time T8, or possibly just the receive time T8, where the transmit time T1 is known by the server 400 by being scheduled in the assistance data provided to the UE 830. The server 400 may determine location information (e.g., a location estimate) for the UE 830 using equation (1) or (3) above, and equation (5) (instead of equation (4)).

[0119]

number

[0120] However, TRP-T Rx-Tx is the time difference between the receiving time T4 and the sending time T5 (i.e., the time it takes for the TRP 810 to send the DL-PRS 1011 in response to receiving the UL-PRS 1041), and Rx-Tx is the time from the transmission of UL-PRS 1031 to the reception of DL-PRS 1021, that is, T8-T1.

[0121]

[0129] Each PRS may have an appropriate propagation time T to facilitate determining location information for a UE using DL-PRS and UL-PRS reflected by different RISs, for example, to facilitate use of Equations (1)-(3), or Equations (1)-(2) and (4), to determine corresponding location information. propN , the distance between the RIS L, and AoD θ TA measurement report may be associated with the RIS used to reflect the PRS to facilitate associating the PRS with the PRS measurement. The measurement report may include an indication of measurements of PRSs reflected by different RISs for the downlink and uplink, and the measurement indication may identify or otherwise be associated with the RIS that reflected the PRS. Different PRSs reflected by different RISs are configured differently and associated with corresponding RISs so that measurements can be associated with the appropriate RIS. One or more of various techniques may be used to distinguish PRSs and associate different PRSs with corresponding RISs. For example, a RIS ID (RIS identification information) that identifies the RIS used to reflect the PRS may be included in the PRS. The RIS ID may be provided to the UE in assistance data, e.g., along with the schedule of DL-PRS and UL-PRS resources. As another example, a PRS may have a sequence that is unique to and associated with the RIS used to reflect the PRS; e.g., the PRS may be scrambled using the RIS ID. As another example, different PRS configurations, e.g., time and frequency combinations, may be associated with (e.g., assigned to) different RISs. As another example, different PRSs may have different codebooks applied to them to weight the PRSs differently (even if the different PRSs have the same sequence, timing, and frequency).

[0122]

[0130] The server 400 may be configured to determine which RIS to use to reflect a PRS for signal transfer between the TRP and the UE. For example, the server 400 may be configured to select a RIS based on reference signal measurements provided by the UE and / or the TRP, e.g., to select a RIS at which a reference signal is received with good quality. As another example, the TRP may determine a particular RIS at which a UL reference signal (UL-RS) with good quality is received based on one or more reference signal measurements and send a message to the server requesting the server 400 to select a particular RIS to reflect the appropriate signal. Also or alternatively, the UE may determine a RIS at which a DL reference signal (DL-RS) is received with good quality and send a message to the server requesting the server to select that RIS to reflect the DL-PRS to the UE. For example, and referring again to FIG. 11 , the TRP 810 can send DL-RS 1111 to the RIS 820, which reflects DL-RS 1111 to the UE 830 as DL-RS 1121, and the UE 830 can send UL-RS 1131 to the RIS 840, which reflects UL-RS 1131 to the TRP 810 as UL-RS 1141. The reference signals 1111, 1131 can be sent independently of each other (e.g., the UE 830 can send UL-RS 1131 despite receiving DL-RS 1121 and therefore without responding to receiving DL-RS 1121). The TRP 810 can send the reference signal 1111 before or after the UE 830 sends UL-RS 1131. The TRP 810 can send an indication of measurement of UL-RS 1141 to the server 400 in report 1150. The TRP 810 can measure UL-RSs from multiple RISs from the UE 830 (e.g., similar to the RISs 520, 521, and TRP 510 shown in FIG. 5) and can include a request for use of the RIS 840 for the UL-PRS from the UE 830 in the report 1150. The UE 830 can send an instruction to measure the DL-RS 1121 to the server 400 in the report 1160.The UE 830 may measure DL-PRS from multiple RISs from the TRP 810 (e.g., as shown in FIG. 5 or as shown with respect to the RISs 622, 625 in FIG. 6) and may include in the report 1160 a request for use of the RIS 820 for DL-PRS from the TRP 810. The server 400 is configured to schedule PRS based on the selected RIS, e.g., schedule PRS resources associated with each RIS. The server 400 may provide assistance data 1170 to the TRP 810 and / or assistance data 1180 to the UE 830 (directly and / or indirectly via the TRP 810). The assistance data 1170, 1180 may include a DL-PRS schedule and a UL-PRS schedule, may include one or more indications of the RIS to be used, and / or may include one or more RIS IDs.

[0123]

[0131] 1-11, a signal reporting method 1200 includes the steps shown. However, method 1200 is by way of example and not limitation. Method 1200 may be modified, for example, by adding, removing, rearranging, combining, or simultaneously performing steps, and / or by dividing a single step into multiple steps.

[0124]

[0132] At stage 1210, method 1200 includes transmitting a first PRS from a first wireless signaling device to a second wireless signaling device at a first time via a first RIS. For example, the TRP 810 sends DL-PRS 811 (or DL-PRS 1011) to the UE 830 via the RIS 820. As another example, the UE 820 sends UL-PRS 831 (or UL-PRS 1031) to the TRP 810 via the RIS 840. The processor 710, possibly in combination with the memory 730 and in combination with the transceiver 720 (e.g., the wireless transmitter 342 and antenna 346, or the wireless transmitter 242 and antenna 246), may comprise means for transmitting the first PRS.

[0125]

[0133] At stage 1220, method 1200 includes receiving, at a second time, at the first wireless signaling device, a second PRS from the second wireless signaling device via a second RIS that is physically separate from the first RIS. For example, the TRP 810 receives the UL-PRS 841 (or the UL-PRS 1041) from the UE 830 via the RIS 840. As another example, the UE 820 receives the DL-PRS 821 (or the UL-PRS 1021) from the TRP 810 via the RIS 820. The processor 710, possibly in combination with the memory 730, in combination with the transceiver 720 (e.g., the antenna 346 and the wireless receiver 344, or the antenna 246 and the wireless receiver 244), may comprise means for receiving the second PRS.

[0126]

[0134] At stage 1230, method 1200 includes providing a signal report including at least one time value corresponding to a first time and a second time and indicating a first PRS and a second PRS. For example, the TRP 810 sends a report 850 indicating a transmit time T1 and a receive time T8 (or a report 1050 indicating a receive time T4 and a transmit time T5). As another example, the UE 830 sends a report 860 indicating a receive time T4 and a transmit time T5 (or a report 1060 indicating a transmit time T1 and a receive time T8). The signal report may be transmitted to another device, for example, if the first wireless signaling device is a UE or is intra-device, e.g., if the first wireless signaling device is an integrated TRP and server. The processor 710, possibly in combination with the memory 730 and possibly in combination with the transceiver 720 (e.g., the wireless transmitter 342 and antenna 346, or the wireless transmitter 242 and antenna 246), may comprise means for providing the signal report.

[0127]

[0135] Implementations of the method 1200 may include one or more of the following features. In one example implementation, the method 1200 comprises transmitting, to a server, a request for a second wireless signaling device to transmit a second PRS to a second RIS to transmit the second PRS to the first wireless signaling device. For example, the TRP 810 may send a report 1150 requesting a RIS 840 to be used to send a UL-PRS 841, 1041 based on a measurement of the UL-RS 1141. As another example, the UE 830 may send a report 1160 requesting a RIS 820 to be used to send a DL-PRS 821, 1021 based on a measurement of the DL-RS 1121. The processor 710, possibly in combination with the memory 730 and possibly in combination with the transceiver 720 (e.g., the wireless transmitter 342 and antenna 346, or the wireless transmitter 242 and antenna 246), may comprise means for transmitting the request. In another example implementation, method 1200 comprises receiving, at a first wireless signaling device, a first reference signal from the second wireless signaling device via a second RIS and receiving, at the first wireless signaling device, a second reference signal from the second wireless signaling device via a third RIS that is distinct from the second RIS, wherein a request for the second wireless signaling device to transmit a second PRS to the second RIS is transmitted based on a first quality metric of the first reference signal at the first wireless signaling device that is better than a second quality metric of the second reference signal at the first wireless signaling device. For example, the TRP 810 measures reference signals from multiple RISs (e.g., RISs 520, 521) and requests the RIS from which the higher quality RIS is received to be used to reflect the PRS to the TRP 810. As another example, the UE 830 measures reference signals from multiple RISs (e.g., RISs 520, 521) and requests the RIS from which a higher quality RIS is received to be used to reflect the PRS back to the UE 830. The third RIS may be the first RIS or another RIS.The processor 710, possibly in combination with the memory 730, may comprise means for receiving a first RS and means for receiving a second RS in combination with the transceiver 720 (e.g., the antenna 346 and the wireless receiver 344, or the antenna 246 and the wireless receiver 244).

[0128]

[0136] Also or alternatively, implementations of method 1200 may include one or more of the following features. In one example implementation, the first PRS is transmitted in response to receiving the second PRS. For example, the UE 830 transmits the UL-PRS 831 in response to receiving the DL-PRS 821. As another example, the TRP 810 transmits the DL-PRS 1011 in response to receiving the UL-PRS 1041. In another example implementation, the at least one time value comprises a time difference between the first time and the second time. For example, the report 850 may include the time difference T8-T1, or the report 860 may include the time difference T5-T4, or the report 1050 may include the time difference T5-T4, or the report 1060 may include the time difference T8-T1.

[0129]

[0137] 1-11 , and with further reference to FIG. 13 , a method 1300 for facilitating determining location information includes the steps shown. However, method 1300 is by way of example and not limitation. Method 1300 may be modified, for example, by adding, removing, rearranging, combining, or performing steps simultaneously, and / or by dividing a single step into multiple steps.

[0130]

[0138] At stage 1310, method 1300 includes, at a computing device, obtaining at least one first time value corresponding to (1) a first departure time of a first PRS from a first wireless signaling device sent to a second wireless signaling device via a first RIS, and (2) a first arrival time of a second PRS sent from the second wireless signaling device to the first wireless signaling device via a second RIS that is physically separate from the first RIS. For example, server 400 may receive signal timing information, for example, from report 1060 (e.g., via transceiver 415 from a physically separate TRP or via an internal connection from a TRP integrated with server 400). Although the computing device may be a device other than server 400, such as a UE, server 400 is used as an example for purposes of description herein. Also, the example described herein is the signal transfer shown in FIG. 10, although other signal transfers (such as those shown in FIG. 8) may be used. The server 400 may, for example, receive an indication of the times T1 and T8 and / or an indication of the time difference T8-T1. The processor 410, possibly in combination with the memory 411, and possibly in combination with the transceiver 415 (e.g., the antenna 446 and the wireless receiver 444 or the wired receiver 454), may comprise means for obtaining at least one first time value.

[0131]

[0139] At stage 1320, method 1300 includes, at a computing device, obtaining at least one second time value corresponding to (1) a second departure time of a second PRS from a second wireless signaling device sent to the first wireless signaling device via a second RIS, and (2) a second arrival time of the first PRS sent from the first wireless signaling device to the second wireless signaling device via the first RIS. For example, server 400 may receive signal timing information, for example, from report 1050. Server 400 may receive, for example, an indication of times T4 and T5 and / or an indication of a time difference T5-T4. Processor 410, possibly in combination with memory 411 and possibly in combination with transceiver 415 (e.g., antenna 446, and wireless receiver 444 or wired receiver 454), may comprise means for obtaining the at least one second time value.

[0132]

[0140] At stage 1330, method 1300 includes determining, at the computing device and based on the at least one first time value and the at least one second time value, a first range between the first wireless signaling device and the first RIS, or a second range between the first wireless signaling device and the second RIS, or a combination thereof. For example, location information unit 460 may use the obtained timing information to calculate a range from RIS 820 to UE 830 using equations (1) and (5) and / or a range from RIS 840 to UE 830 using equations (3) and (5). Processor 410, possibly in combination with memory 411, may comprise means for determining the first range, or the second range, or a combination thereof.

[0133]

[0141] Implementations of method 1300 may include one or more of the following features. In one example implementation, method 1300 comprises determining a location of a first wireless signaling device based on a first range and a first departure angle of a first PRS from the first wireless signaling device, or a first range and a first angle of arrival of the first PRS at a first RIS, or a second range and a second departure angle of a second PRS from a second RIS, or a second range and a second angle of arrival of the second PRS at the first wireless signaling device, or any combination thereof. For example, location information unit 460 may use the range and departure or arrival angle between UE 830 and RIS 820 or between UE 820 and RIS 840, as appropriate, to determine the location of UE 830.In another example implementation, method 1300 includes obtaining, at a computing device, at least one third time value corresponding to (1) a third departure time of a third PRS from a first wireless signaling device sent to a third wireless signaling device via a third RIS, and (2) a third arrival time of a fourth PRS sent from the third wireless signaling device to the first wireless signaling device via a fourth RIS that is physically separate from the third RIS; and obtaining, at the computing device, at least one third time value corresponding to (1) a fourth departure time of the fourth PRS from the third wireless signaling device sent to the first wireless signaling device via the fourth RIS, and (2) a third arrival time of a fourth PRS sent from the first wireless signaling device to the third wireless signaling device via the third RIS. obtaining at least one fourth time value corresponding to a fourth arrival time of the third PRS; determining, in the computing device, a third range between the first wireless signaling device and the third RIS, or a fourth range between the first wireless signaling device and the fourth RIS, or a combination thereof, based on the at least one third time value and the at least one fourth time value; and determining, in the computing device, a location of the first wireless signaling device based on (1) the first range, or the second range, or a combination thereof, and (2) the third range, or the fourth range, or a combination thereof, wherein the combination of the first RIS, the second RIS, the third RIS, and the fourth RIS comprises at least three physically separate RISs. For example, the server 400 may obtain timing information for signal transfer between the UE 830 and another device, e.g., the TRP 810 or another TRP 300, and the signal transfer may go through different RISs for the uplink and downlink, at least one of which is different from the RIS used to transfer the first and second PRSs.For example, device 611 may exchange signals 632, 642 with device 612 via RISs 621, 622, may exchange signals 632, 645 with device 612 via RISs 621, 625, and / or may exchange signals 634, 644 with device 614 via RISs 622, 624, and / or may exchange signals 633, 643 with device 613 via RISs 623, 624. The location information unit 460 may use the timing information to determine one or more ranges to one or more corresponding RISs (e.g., not yet determined) and may use the ranges to determine the location of the UE 830 (e.g., using triangulation and / or ranges plus angles to / from a known location). The processor 410, possibly in combination with the memory 411 and possibly in combination with the transceiver 415 (e.g., the antenna 446 and the wireless receiver 444, or the wired receiver 454), may comprise means for obtaining at least one third time value and at least one fourth time value. The processor 410, possibly in combination with the memory 411, may comprise means for determining a third range, or a fourth range, or a combination thereof, and means for determining a location of the first wireless signaling device. In another example implementation, the third wireless signaling device is physically separate from the second wireless signaling device. For example, the UE 830 may transfer signals via a RIS having two different TRPs, e.g., device 611 may exchange PRS signals with device 612 and device 614.

[0134]

[0142] Also or alternatively, implementations of method 1300 may include one or more of the following features. In one example implementation, the first range, or the second range, or a combination thereof, is determined based on a cumulative travel time of the first PRS from the first wireless signaling device to the first RIS and the second PRS from the second RIS to the first wireless signaling device. For example, the location information unit 460 may use the timing information in equation (5) to determine the range between the UE 830 and the RIS 820 using equation (1) and / or the range between the UE 830 and the RIS 840 using equation (3). In another example implementation, the computing device is a server, and method 1300 comprises scheduling, by the server, the first PRS based on a first request for the first PRS reflected by the first RIS, or scheduling the second PRS based on a second request for the second PRS reflected by the second RIS, or a combination thereof. For example, server 400 may schedule the DL-PRS and / or the UL-PRS based on one or more RIS requests received in report 1150 and / or report 1160. Processor 410, possibly in combination with memory 411, may comprise means for scheduling a first PRS, or means for scheduling a second PRS, or a combination thereof.

[0135]

[0143] Other Considerations

[0144] Other examples and implementations are within the scope of this disclosure and the scope of the appended claims. For example, due to the nature of software and computers, the functions described above may be implemented using software executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hardwiring, or any combination thereof. The features that implement the functions may also be physically located in various locations, including being distributed such that portions of the functions are implemented in different physical locations.

[0136]

[0145] As used herein, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" include the plural forms unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. As used herein, the terms "comprises," "comprising," "includes," and / or "including" specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof.

[0137]

[0146] The term RS (Reference Signal) as used herein may refer to one or more reference signals and may apply to any form of the term RS, e.g., PRS, SRS, CSI-RS, etc., as appropriate.

[0138]

[0147] Unless otherwise specified, as used herein, a statement that a function or operation is "based on" an item or condition means that the function or operation is based on the stated item or condition, and may be based on one or more items and / or conditions in addition to the stated item or condition.

[0139]

[0148] Also, as used herein, "or" in a list of items (sometimes ending with "at least one of" or "one or more of") indicates a disjunctive list, such that a list of "at least one of A, B, or C," or a list of "one or more of A, B, or C," or a list of "A, B, or C" means A or B or C, or AB (A and B), or AC (A and C), or BC (B and C), or ABC (i.e., A, B, and C), or a combination of two or more features (e.g., AA, AAB, ABBC, etc.). Thus, a statement that an item, e.g., a processor, is configured to perform a function with respect to at least one of A or B, or that an item is configured to perform function A or function B, means that the item can be configured to perform the function with respect to A, or the function with respect to B, or the function with respect to A and B. For example, the phrases "a processor configured to measure at least one of A or B" or "a processor configured to measure A or measure B" mean that the processor may be configured to measure A (and may or may not be configured to measure B), or may be configured to measure B (and may or may not be configured to measure A), or may be configured to measure A and measure B (and may be configured to select whether A and B, or both, to measure). Similarly, a reference to a means for measuring at least one of A or B includes a means for measuring A (which may or may not be capable of measuring B), or a means for measuring B (and which may or may not be configured to measure A), or a means for measuring A and B (which may be capable of selecting whether A and B, or both, to measure).As another example, a statement that an item, e.g., a processor, is configured to at least one of perform function X or perform function Y means that the item may be configured to perform function X, or may be configured to perform function Y, or may be configured to perform function X and function Y. For example, the phrase "a processor configured to perform at least one of measuring X or measuring Y" means that the processor may be configured to measure X (and may or may not be configured to measure Y), or may be configured to measure Y (and may or may not be configured to measure X), or may be configured to measure X and measure Y (and may be configured to select whether X or Y, or both, to measure).

[0140]

[0149] Substantial modifications may be made according to particular requirements. For example, customized hardware may also be used, and / or particular elements may be implemented in hardware, software (including portable software, such as applets) executed by a processor, or both. Additionally, connections to other computing devices, such as network input / output devices, may be employed. Unless otherwise noted, functional or other components shown in the figures and / or described herein as connected or communicating with each other are communicatively coupled. That is, they may be connected directly or indirectly so as to enable communication therebetween.

[0141]

[0150] The systems and devices described above are examples. Various configurations may omit, substitute, or add various procedures or components as appropriate. For example, features described with respect to some configurations may be combined in various other configurations. Different aspects and elements of the configurations may be combined in a similar manner. Also, technology evolves, and thus many of the elements are examples and do not limit the scope of the disclosure or claims.

[0142]

[0151] A wireless communication system is a communication system in which communications are carried wirelessly, i.e., by electromagnetic and / or acoustic waves propagating through atmospheric space rather than through wires or other physical connections. A wireless communication network may not all communications be transmitted wirelessly, but is configured such that at least some communications are transmitted wirelessly. Furthermore, the term "wireless communication device" or similar terms may indicate that the function of the device is exclusively, or equivalently primarily, for communication, or that communications using the wireless communication device are exclusively, or equivalently primarily, wireless, or that the device is not required to be a mobile device, but that the device includes wireless communication capabilities (one-way or two-way), e.g., at least one radio for wireless communication (each radio being part of a transmitter, receiver, or transceiver).

[0143]

[0152] In the description, specific details are given to provide a thorough understanding of example configurations (including implementation forms). However, the configurations may be practiced without these specific details. For example, well-known circuits, processes, algorithms, structures, and techniques are shown without unnecessary detail to avoid obscuring the configurations. This description provides example configurations and does not limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the claims. Rather, the above description of the configurations provides a description for implementing the described techniques. Various changes may be made in the function and arrangement of elements.

[0144]

[0153] As used herein, the terms “processor-readable medium,” “machine-readable medium,” and “computer-readable medium” refer to any medium that participates in providing data that causes a machine to operate in a specific manner. Using a computing platform, various processor-readable media may participate in providing instructions / code to processor(s) for execution and / or may be used to store and / or carry such instructions / code (e.g., as a signal). In many implementations, processor-readable media are physical and / or tangible storage media. Such media may take many forms, including, but not limited to, non-volatile media and volatile media. Non-volatile media include, for example, optical and / or magnetic disks. Volatile media include, but are not limited to, dynamic memory.

[0145]

[0154] While several example configurations have been described, various modifications, alternative configurations, and equivalents may be used. For example, the above elements may be components of a larger system, and other rules may take precedence over or otherwise modify the application of the present disclosure. Also, some actions may occur before, during, or after the above elements are considered. Therefore, the above description does not limit the scope of the claims.

[0146]

[0155] Unless otherwise indicated, "about" and / or "approximately," as used herein, when referring to measurable values ​​such as quantities, time periods, etc., in the context of the systems, devices, circuits, methods, and other implementations described herein, encompasses a variation of ±20%, or ±10%, or ±5%, or ±0.1%, from the particular value, as appropriate. Unless otherwise indicated, "substantially," as used herein, when referring to measurable values ​​such as quantities, time periods, physical attributes (e.g., frequency), etc., in the context of the systems, devices, circuits, methods, and other implementations described herein, also encompasses a variation of ±20%, or ±10%, or ±5%, or ±0.1%, from the particular value, as appropriate.

[0147]

[0156] A statement that a value exceeds (or is greater than, or exceeds) a first threshold is equivalent to a statement that the value meets or exceeds a second threshold that is slightly greater than the first threshold, e.g., the second threshold is a value that is higher than the first threshold at the resolution of the computing system. A statement that a value is less than (or is within, or is below) a first threshold is equivalent to a statement that the value is less than or equal to a second threshold that is slightly lower than the first threshold, e.g., the second threshold is a value that is lower than the first threshold at the resolution of the computing system. The inventions described in the claims of the present application as originally filed are set forth below. [C1] a transceiver configured to transmit and receive wireless signals; Memory and communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory; Transmitting a first PRS (Positioning Reference Signal) via the transceiver to a second wireless signaling device via a first RIS (Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface) at a first time; receiving, via the transceiver at a second time, a second PRS from the second wireless signaling device via a second RIS that is physically separate from the first RIS; providing a signal report including at least one time value corresponding to the first time and the second time and indicating the first PRS and the second PRS; a processor configured to: a first wireless signaling device comprising: [C2] The first wireless signaling device of C1, wherein the processor is further configured to send a request for the second wireless signaling device to send the second PRS to the second RIS via the transceiver to a server to transmit the second PRS to the first wireless signaling device. [C3] The processor: receiving a first reference signal from the second wireless signaling device via the transceiver via the second RIS; receiving a second reference signal from the second wireless signaling device via the transceiver via a third RIS that is separate from the second RIS; transmitting the request for the second wireless signaling device to transmit the second PRS to the second RIS based on a first quality metric of the first reference signal at the first wireless signaling device being better than a second quality metric of the second reference signal at the first wireless signaling device. The first wireless signaling device according to C2, configured to: [C4] The first wireless signaling device of C1, wherein the processor is configured to transmit the first PRS in response to receiving the second PRS. [C5] The first wireless signaling device of C1, wherein the at least one time value comprises a time difference between the first time and the second time. [C6] transmitting a first PRS (Positioning Reference Signal) from a first wireless signaling device to a second wireless signaling device via a first RIS (Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface) at a first time; receiving, at the first wireless signaling device at a second time, a second PRS from the second wireless signaling device via a second RIS that is physically separate from the first RIS; providing a signal report including at least one time value corresponding to the first time and the second time, the signal report indicating the first PRS and the second PRS; A signal reporting method comprising: [C7] The method of C6, further comprising causing a server to send a request for the second wireless signaling device to send the second PRS to the second RIS to send the second PRS to the first wireless signaling device. [C8] receiving, at the first wireless signaling device, a first reference signal from the second wireless signaling device via the second RIS; receiving, at the first wireless signaling device, a second reference signal from the second wireless signaling device via a third RIS that is distinct from the second RIS; Furthermore, wherein the request for the second wireless signaling device to transmit the second PRS to the second RIS is transmitted based on a first quality metric of the first reference signal at the first wireless signaling device being better than a second quality metric of the second reference signal at the first wireless signaling device. The method described in C7. [C9] The method of C6, wherein the first PRS is transmitted in response to receiving the second PRS. [C10] The method of C6, wherein the at least one time value comprises a time difference between the first time and the second time. [C11] means for transmitting a first PRS (Positioning Reference Signal) to a second wireless signaling device via a first RIS (Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface) at a first time; means for receiving, at a second time, a second PRS from the second wireless signaling device via a second RIS that is physically separate from the first RIS; means for providing a signal report including at least one time value corresponding to the first time and the second time, the signal report indicating the first PRS and the second PRS; a first wireless signaling device comprising: [C12] A first wireless signaling device as described in C11, further comprising means for causing a server to send a request for the second wireless signaling device to transmit the second PRS to the second RIS in order to transmit the second PRS to the first wireless signaling device. [C13] means for receiving a first reference signal from the second wireless signaling device via the second RIS; means for receiving a second reference signal from the second wireless signaling device via a third RIS that is separate from the second RIS; Furthermore, wherein the means for transmitting the request comprises means for transmitting the request based on a first quality metric of the first reference signal at the first wireless signaling device being better than a second quality metric of the second reference signal at the first wireless signaling device. A first wireless signaling device as described in C12. [C14] The first wireless signaling device of C11, wherein the means for transmitting the first PRS comprises means for transmitting the first PRS in response to receiving the second PRS. [C15] The first wireless signaling device of C11, wherein the at least one time value comprises a time difference between the first time and the second time. [C16] a processor of the first wireless signaling device; Processor-readable instructions for causing a first PRS (Positioning Reference Signal) to be transmitted via a first RIS (Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface) to a second wireless signaling device at a first time; processor-readable instructions for receiving, at a second time, a second PRS from the second wireless signaling device via a second RIS that is physically separate from the first RIS; processor-readable instructions for providing a signal report including at least one time value corresponding to the first time and the second time, the signal report indicating the first PRS and the second PRS; 1. A non-transitory processor-readable storage medium comprising: [C17] The storage medium of C16, further comprising processor-readable instructions for causing the processor to send a request to a server for the second wireless signaling device to send the second PRS to the second RIS to transmit the second PRS to the first wireless signaling device. [C18] the processor, processor-readable instructions for receiving a first reference signal from the second wireless signaling device via the second RIS; processor-readable instructions for receiving a second reference signal from the second wireless signaling device via a third RIS that is separate from the second RIS; Furthermore, wherein the processor-readable instructions for causing the processor to send the request comprise processor-readable instructions for causing the processor to send the request based on a first quality metric of the first reference signal at the first wireless signaling device that is better than a second quality metric of the second reference signal at the first wireless signaling device. [C19] The storage medium of C16, wherein the processor-readable instructions for causing the processor to transmit the first PRS comprise processor-readable instructions for causing the processor to transmit the first PRS in response to receiving the second PRS. [C20] The storage medium of C16, wherein the at least one time value comprises a time difference between the first time and the second time. [C21] Memory and communicatively coupled to the memory; (1) obtaining at least one first time value corresponding to a first departure time of a first PRS (Positioning Reference Signal) from a first wireless signaling device that is sent to a second wireless signaling device via a first RIS (Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface); and (2) a first arrival time of a second PRS that is sent from the second wireless signaling device to the first wireless signaling device via a second RIS that is physically separate from the first RIS; obtaining at least one second time value corresponding to (1) a second departure time of the second PRS from the second wireless signaling device sent to the first wireless signaling device via the second RIS, and (2) a second arrival time of the first PRS sent from the first wireless signaling device to the second wireless signaling device via the first RIS; determining a first range between the first wireless signaling device and the first RIS, or a second range between the first wireless signaling device and the second RIS, or a combination thereof, based on the at least one first time value and the at least one second time value; a processor configured to: 1. A computing device comprising: [C22] The processor: the first range and first departure angle of the first PRS from the first wireless signaling device; or the first range and first angle of arrival of the first PRS at the first RIS; or the second range and second departure angle of the second PRS from the second RIS; or the second range and second angle of arrival of the second PRS at the first wireless signaling device; or Any combination of them 20. The computing device of claim 19, further configured to determine a location of the first wireless signaling device based on: [C23] The processor: (1) obtaining at least one third time value corresponding to a third departure time of a third PRS from the first wireless signaling device sent to a third wireless signaling device via a third RIS; and (2) a third arrival time of a fourth PRS sent from the third wireless signaling device to the first wireless signaling device via a fourth RIS that is physically separate from the third RIS; (1) obtaining at least one fourth time value corresponding to a fourth departure time of the fourth PRS from the third wireless signaling device sent to the first wireless signaling device via the fourth RIS, and (2) a fourth arrival time of the third PRS sent from the first wireless signaling device to the third wireless signaling device via the third RIS; determining a third range between the first wireless signaling device and the third RIS, or a fourth range between the first wireless signaling device and the fourth RIS, or a combination thereof, based on the at least one third time value and the at least one fourth time value; determining a location of the first wireless signaling device based on (1) the first range, or the second range, or a combination thereof, and (2) the third range, or the fourth range, or a combination thereof; further configured as follows: 20. The computing device of claim 19, wherein the combination of the first RIS, the second RIS, the third RIS, and the fourth RIS comprises at least three physically separate RISs. [C24] The computing device of C23, wherein the third wireless signaling device is physically separate from the second wireless signaling device. [C25] The computing device of C21, wherein the processor is configured to determine the first range, or the second range, or the combination thereof, based on a cumulative travel time of the first PRS from the first wireless signaling device to the first RIS and the second PRS from the second RIS to the first wireless signaling device. [C26] The computing device is a server, wherein the processor: further configured to schedule the first PRS based on a first request for the first PRS reflected by the first RIS; or further configured to schedule the second PRS based on a second request for the second PRS reflected by the second RIS; or The computing device of C21, which is a combination thereof. [C27] In a computing device, obtaining at least one first time value corresponding to (1) a first departure time of a first PRS (Positioning Reference Signal) from a first wireless signaling device that is sent to a second wireless signaling device via a first RIS (Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface), and (2) a first arrival time of a second PRS that is sent from the second wireless signaling device to the first wireless signaling device via a second RIS that is physically separate from the first RIS; obtaining, at the computing device, at least one second time value corresponding to (1) a second departure time of the second PRS from the second wireless signaling device sent to the first wireless signaling device via the second RIS, and (2) a second arrival time of the first PRS from the first wireless signaling device to the second wireless signaling device via the first RIS; determining, in the computing device and based on the at least one first time value and the at least one second time value, a first range between the first wireless signaling device and the first RIS, or a second range between the first wireless signaling device and the second RIS, or a combination thereof; A location information determination method comprising: [C28] the first range and first departure angle of the first PRS from the first wireless signaling device; or the first range and first angle of arrival of the first PRS at the first RIS; or the second range and second departure angle of the second PRS from the second RIS; or the second range and second angle of arrival of the second PRS at the first wireless signaling device; or Any combination of them 20. The method of claim 19, further comprising determining a location of the first wireless signaling device based on: [C29] obtaining, at the computing device, at least one third time value corresponding to (1) a third departure time of a third PRS from the first wireless signaling device sent to a third wireless signaling device via a third RIS, and (2) a third arrival time of a fourth PRS sent from the third wireless signaling device to the first wireless signaling device via a fourth RIS that is physically separate from the third RIS; obtaining, at the computing device, at least one fourth time value corresponding to (1) a fourth departure time of the fourth PRS from the third wireless signaling device sent to the first wireless signaling device via the fourth RIS, and (2) a fourth arrival time of the third PRS sent from the first wireless signaling device to the third wireless signaling device via the third RIS; determining, in the computing device and based on the at least one third time value and the at least one fourth time value, a third range between the first wireless signaling device and the third RIS, or a fourth range between the first wireless signaling device and the fourth RIS, or a combination thereof; determining, at the computing device, a location of the first wireless signaling device based on (1) the first range, or the second range, or a combination thereof, and (2) the third range, or the fourth range, or a combination thereof; Furthermore, The method of C27, wherein the combination of the first RIS, the second RIS, the third RIS, and the fourth RIS comprises at least three physically separate RISs. [C30] The method of C29, wherein the third wireless signaling device is physically separate from the second wireless signaling device. [C31] The method of claim 27, wherein the first range, the second range, or the combination thereof is determined based on a cumulative travel time of the first PRS from the first wireless signaling device to the first RIS and the second PRS from the second RIS to the first wireless signaling device. [C32] The computing device is a server, and wherein the method comprises: scheduling, by the server, the first PRS based on a first request for the first PRS reflected by the first RIS; or scheduling, by the server, the second PRS based on a second request for the second PRS reflected by the second RIS; or combinations of these The method of C27, further comprising: [C33] means for obtaining at least one first time value corresponding to (1) a first departure time of a first PRS (Positioning Reference Signal) from a first wireless signaling device that is sent to a second wireless signaling device via a first RIS (Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface); and (2) a first arrival time of a second PRS that is sent from the second wireless signaling device to the first wireless signaling device via a second RIS that is physically separate from the first RIS; means for obtaining at least one second time value corresponding to (1) a second departure time of the second PRS from the second wireless signaling device sent to the first wireless signaling device via the second RIS, and (2) a second arrival time of the first PRS from the first wireless signaling device to the second wireless signaling device via the first RIS; means for determining a first range between the first wireless signaling device and the first RIS, or a second range between the first wireless signaling device and the second RIS, or a combination thereof, based on the at least one first time value and the at least one second time value; A computing device comprising: [C34] the first range and first departure angle of the first PRS from the first wireless signaling device; or the first range and first angle of arrival of the first PRS at the first RIS; or the second range and second departure angle of the second PRS from the second RIS; or the second range and second angle of arrival of the second PRS at the first wireless signaling device; or Any combination of them The computing device of C33, further comprising means for determining a location of the first wireless signaling device based on: [C35] means for obtaining at least one third time value corresponding to (1) a third departure time of a third PRS from the first wireless signaling device sent to a third wireless signaling device via a third RIS, and (2) a third arrival time of a fourth PRS sent from the third wireless signaling device to the first wireless signaling device via a fourth RIS that is physically separate from the third RIS; means for obtaining at least one fourth time value corresponding to (1) a fourth departure time of the fourth PRS from the third wireless signaling device sent to the first wireless signaling device via the fourth RIS, and (2) a fourth arrival time of the third PRS sent from the first wireless signaling device to the third wireless signaling device via the third RIS; means for determining a third range between the first wireless signaling device and the third RIS, or a fourth range between the first wireless signaling device and the fourth RIS, or a combination thereof, based on the at least one third time value and the at least one fourth time value; means for determining a location of the first wireless signaling device based on (1) the first range, or the second range, or a combination thereof, and (2) the third range, or the fourth range, or a combination thereof; Furthermore, wherein the combination of the first RIS, the second RIS, the third RIS, and the fourth RIS comprises at least three physically separate RISs. A computing device as described in C33. [C36] The computing device of C35, wherein the third wireless signaling device is physically separate from the second wireless signaling device. [C37] The computing device described in C33, wherein the means for determining the first range, the second range, or the combination thereof comprises means for determining the first range, the second range, or the combination thereof based on a cumulative travel time of the first PRS from the first wireless signaling device to the first RIS and the second PRS from the second RIS to the first wireless signaling device. [C38] The computing device is a server, wherein the computing device: means for scheduling the first PRS based on a first request for the first PRS reflected by the first RIS; or means for scheduling the second PRS based on a second request for the second PRS reflected by the second RIS; or combinations of these 3. The computing device of claim 2, further comprising: [C39] A processor of a computing device, processor-readable instructions for obtaining at least one first time value corresponding to (1) a first departure time of a first PRS (Positioning Reference Signal) from a first wireless signaling device that is sent to a second wireless signaling device via a first RIS (Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface); and (2) a first arrival time of a second PRS that is sent from the second wireless signaling device to the first wireless signaling device via a second RIS that is physically separate from the first RIS; processor-readable instructions for obtaining at least one second time value corresponding to (1) a second departure time of the second PRS from the second wireless signaling device sent to the first wireless signaling device via the second RIS, and (2) a second arrival time of the first PRS from the first wireless signaling device to the second wireless signaling device via the first RIS; processor-readable instructions for determining, based on the at least one first time value and the at least one second time value, a first range between the first wireless signaling device and the first RIS, or a second range between the first wireless signaling device and the second RIS, or a combination thereof; 1. A non-transitory processor-readable storage medium comprising: [C40] the processor, the first range and first departure angle of the first PRS from the first wireless signaling device; or the first range and first angle of arrival of the first PRS at the first RIS; or the second range and second departure angle of the second PRS from the second RIS; or the second range and second angle of arrival of the second PRS at the first wireless signaling device; or Any combination of them 4. The storage medium of claim 39, further comprising processor-readable instructions for causing a location of the first wireless signaling device to be determined based on: [C41] the processor, processor-readable instructions for obtaining at least one third time value corresponding to (1) a third departure time of a third PRS from the first wireless signaling device sent to a third wireless signaling device via a third RIS, and (2) a third arrival time of a fourth PRS sent from the third wireless signaling device to the first wireless signaling device via a fourth RIS that is physically separate from the third RIS; processor-readable instructions for obtaining at least one fourth time value corresponding to (1) a fourth departure time of the fourth PRS from the third wireless signaling device sent to the first wireless signaling device via the fourth RIS, and (2) a fourth arrival time of the third PRS sent from the first wireless signaling device to the third wireless signaling device via the third RIS; processor-readable instructions for determining a third range between the first wireless signaling device and the third RIS, or a fourth range between the first wireless signaling device and the fourth RIS, or a combination thereof, based on the at least one third time value and the at least one fourth time value; processor-readable instructions for determining a location of the first wireless signaling device based on (1) the first range, or the second range, or a combination thereof, and (2) the third range, or the fourth range, or a combination thereof; Furthermore, 10. The storage medium of claim 9, wherein the combination of the first RIS, the second RIS, the third RIS, and the fourth RIS comprises at least three physically separate RISs. [C42] The storage medium of C41, wherein the third wireless signaling device is physically separate from the second wireless signaling device. [C43] The storage medium of C39, wherein the processor-readable instructions for causing the processor to determine the first range, the second range, or the combination thereof comprise processor-readable instructions for causing the processor to determine the first range, the second range, or the combination thereof based on a cumulative travel time of the first PRS from the first wireless signaling device to the first RIS and the second PRS from the second RIS to the first wireless signaling device. [C44] the processor, processor-readable instructions for scheduling the first PRS based on a first request for the first PRS reflected by the first RIS; or processor-readable instructions for scheduling the second PRS based on a second request for the second PRS reflected by the second RIS; or combinations of these The storage medium of C39 further comprising:

Claims

1. transmitting a first PRS (Positioning Reference Signal) from a first wireless signaling device to a second wireless signaling device via a first RIS (Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface) at a first time; receiving, at the first wireless signaling device at a second time, a second PRS from the second wireless signaling device via a second RIS that is physically separate from the first RIS; providing a signal report including at least one time value corresponding to the first time and the second time, the signal report indicating the first PRS and the second PRS; A signal reporting method comprising:

2. 10. The method of claim 1, further comprising: causing a server to send a request for the second wireless signaling device to transmit the second PRS to the second RIS to transmit the second PRS to the first wireless signaling device.

3. receiving, at the first wireless signaling device, a first reference signal from the second wireless signaling device via the second RIS; receiving, at the first wireless signaling device, a second reference signal from the second wireless signaling device via a third RIS that is distinct from the second RIS; Furthermore, wherein the request for the second wireless signaling device to transmit the second PRS to the second RIS is transmitted based on a first quality metric of the first reference signal at the first wireless signaling device being better than a second quality metric of the second reference signal at the first wireless signaling device. The method of claim 2.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first PRS is transmitted in response to receiving the second PRS.

5. means for transmitting a first PRS (Positioning Reference Signal) to a second wireless signaling device via a first RIS (Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface) at a first time; means for receiving, at a second time, a second PRS from the second wireless signaling device via a second RIS that is physically separate from the first RIS; means for providing a signal report including at least one time value corresponding to the first time and the second time, the signal report indicating the first PRS and the second PRS; a first wireless signaling device comprising:

6. 6. The first wireless signaling device of claim 5, further comprising: means for causing a server to transmit a request for the second wireless signaling device to transmit the second PRS to the second RIS, to transmit the second PRS to the first wireless signaling device.

7. means for receiving a first reference signal from the second wireless signaling device via the second RIS; means for receiving a second reference signal from the second wireless signaling device via a third RIS that is distinct from the second RIS; Furthermore, wherein the means for transmitting the request comprises means for transmitting the request based on a first quality metric of the first reference signal at the first wireless signaling device being better than a second quality metric of the second reference signal at the first wireless signaling device. The first wireless signaling device of claim 6 .

8. 6. The first wireless signaling device of claim 5, wherein the means for transmitting the first PRS comprises means for transmitting the first PRS in response to receiving the second PRS.

9. Memory and communicatively coupled to the memory; (1) obtaining at least one first time value corresponding to a first departure time of a first PRS (Positioning Reference Signal) from a first wireless signaling device that is sent to a second wireless signaling device via a first RIS (Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface); and (2) a first arrival time of a second PRS that is sent from the second wireless signaling device to the first wireless signaling device via a second RIS that is physically separate from the first RIS; (1) obtaining at least one second time value corresponding to a second departure time of the second PRS from the second wireless signaling device sent to the first wireless signaling device via the second RIS; and (2) a second arrival time of the first PRS sent from the first wireless signaling device to the second wireless signaling device via the first RIS; determining a first range between the first wireless signaling device and the first RIS, or a second range between the first wireless signaling device and the second RIS, or a combination thereof, based on the at least one first time value and the at least one second time value; a processor configured to:

1. A computing device comprising:

10. The processor: the first range and first departure angle of the first PRS from the first wireless signaling device; or the first range and first angle of arrival of the first PRS at the first RIS; or the second range and second departure angle of the second PRS from the second RIS; or the second range and second angle of arrival of the second PRS at the first wireless signaling device; or Any combination of them 10. The computing device of claim 9, further configured to determine a location of the first wireless signaling device based on:

11. The processor: (1) obtaining at least one third time value corresponding to a third departure time of a third PRS from the first wireless signaling device sent to a third wireless signaling device via a third RIS; and (2) a third arrival time of a fourth PRS sent from the third wireless signaling device to the first wireless signaling device via a fourth RIS that is physically separate from the third RIS; (1) obtaining at least one fourth time value corresponding to a fourth departure time of the fourth PRS from the third wireless signaling device sent to the first wireless signaling device via the fourth RIS, and (2) a fourth arrival time of the third PRS sent from the first wireless signaling device to the third wireless signaling device via the third RIS; determining a third range between the first wireless signaling device and the third RIS, or a fourth range between the first wireless signaling device and the fourth RIS, or a combination thereof, based on the at least one third time value and the at least one fourth time value; determining a location of the first wireless signaling device based on (1) the first range, or the second range, or a combination thereof, and (2) the third range, or the fourth range, or a combination thereof; further configured as follows:

10. The computing device of claim 9, wherein the combination of the first RIS, the second RIS, the third RIS, and the fourth RIS comprises at least three physically separate RISs.

12. 10. The computing device of claim 9, wherein the processor is configured to determine the first range, the second range, or the combination thereof based on a cumulative travel time of the first PRS from the first wireless signaling device to the first RIS and the second PRS from the second RIS to the first wireless signaling device.

13. In a computing device, obtaining at least one first time value corresponding to (1) a first departure time of a first PRS (Positioning Reference Signal) from a first wireless signaling device that is sent to a second wireless signaling device via a first RIS (Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface), and (2) a first arrival time of a second PRS that is sent from the second wireless signaling device to the first wireless signaling device via a second RIS that is physically separate from the first RIS; obtaining, at the computing device, at least one second time value corresponding to (1) a second departure time of the second PRS from the second wireless signaling device sent to the first wireless signaling device via the second RIS, and (2) a second arrival time of the first PRS sent from the first wireless signaling device to the second wireless signaling device via the first RIS; determining, at the computing device and based on the at least one first time value and the at least one second time value, a first range between the first wireless signaling device and the first RIS, or a second range between the first wireless signaling device and the second RIS, or a combination thereof; A location information determination method comprising:

14. the first range and first departure angle of the first PRS from the first wireless signaling device; or the first range and first angle of arrival of the first PRS at the first RIS; or the second range and second departure angle of the second PRS from the second RIS; or the second range and second angle of arrival of the second PRS at the first wireless signaling device; or Any combination of them 14. The method of claim 13, further comprising determining a location of the first wireless signaling device based on:

15. obtaining, at the computing device, at least one third time value corresponding to (1) a third departure time of a third PRS from the first wireless signaling device sent to a third wireless signaling device via a third RIS, and (2) a third arrival time of a fourth PRS sent from the third wireless signaling device to the first wireless signaling device via a fourth RIS that is physically separate from the third RIS; obtaining, at the computing device, at least one fourth time value corresponding to (1) a fourth departure time of the fourth PRS from the third wireless signaling device sent to the first wireless signaling device via the fourth RIS, and (2) a fourth arrival time of the third PRS sent from the first wireless signaling device to the third wireless signaling device via the third RIS; determining, at the computing device and based on the at least one third time value and the at least one fourth time value, a third range between the first wireless signaling device and the third RIS, or a fourth range between the first wireless signaling device and the fourth RIS, or a combination thereof; determining, at the computing device, a location of the first wireless signaling device based on (1) the first range, or the second range, or a combination thereof, and (2) the third range, or the fourth range, or a combination thereof; Furthermore, 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the combination of the first RIS, the second RIS, the third RIS, and the fourth RIS comprises at least three physically separate RISs.

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