Prioritizing resource set processing based on resource index information

Abstract

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

Description

Technical Field

[0001]

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

Background Art

[0002]

[0002] Wireless communication systems have evolved through various generations, including the first generation analog wireless telephone service (1G), the second generation (2G) digital wireless telephone service (including the intermediate 2.5G network), the third generation (3G) high-speed data and Internet-capable wireless service, and the fourth generation (4G) service (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE (registered trademark)), WiMax (registered trademark)). Currently, there are many different types of wireless communication systems in use, including cellular and personal communication service (PCS) systems. Examples of known cellular systems include the cellular analog advanced mobile phone system (AMPS), and digital cellular systems based on code division multiple access (CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM (registered trademark)), and the like.

[0003]

[0003] Among the improvements, the fifth-generation (5G) mobile standard requires higher data transfer speeds, a greater number of connections, and better coverage. The 5G standard (also known as "New Radio" or "NR") by the Next Generation Mobile Network Alliance is designed to provide tens of megabits per second of data rates to each of tens of thousands of users and gigabit connection speeds to dozens of users in a common location, such as on an office floor. Hundreds of thousands of simultaneous connections should be supported to support large sensor deployments. Therefore, the spectral efficiency of 5G mobile communications should be significantly expanded compared to current 4G / LTE standards. Furthermore, signaling efficiency should be expanded and latency should be significantly reduced compared to current standards. [Overview of the project]

[0004]

[0004] The following provides a simplified overview relating to one or more embodiments disclosed herein. Therefore, the following overview should not be considered a broad overview relating to all intended embodiments, nor should it be considered to identify important or significant elements relating to all intended embodiments or to define the scope relating to a particular embodiment. Accordingly, the following overview has the sole purpose of presenting, in a simplified form, some concepts relating to one or more embodiments relating to the mechanisms disclosed herein, prior to embodiments for carrying out the invention presented below.

[0005]

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

[0006]

[0006] In another example, a computer implementation method for enabling positioning reference signal (PRS) prioritization is provided. This computer implementation method may include, in a user instrument, receiving beam index information related to a PRS beamset; the user instrument determining, based on the beam index information, an assigned beam, at least one adjacent beam, or both; and the user instrument determining one or more location measurements based on the assigned beam, at least one adjacent beam, or both.

[0007]

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

[0008]

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

[0009]

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

[0010]

[0010] The summary of the present invention is not intended to identify the main or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor to be used independently to determine the scope of the claimed subject matter. The subject matter should be understood by referring to the entire specification of this patent, any or all of the drawings, and the appropriate portion of each claim.

[0011]

[0011] Other objectives and advantages relating to the embodiments disclosed herein will become apparent to those skilled in the art based on the accompanying drawings and embodiments for carrying out the invention.

[0012]

[0012] The accompanying drawings are provided to aid in describing various aspects of the present disclosure and are provided merely as examples of aspects, not as an limitation of aspects. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0013] [Figure 1]

[0013] A diagram illustrating an exemplary wireless communication system according to several aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 2A]

[0014] A diagram illustrating an exemplary wireless network structure according to several aspects of this disclosure. [Figure 2B] A diagram illustrating an exemplary wireless network structure according to several aspects of this disclosure. [Figure 3]

[0015] Exemplary communication diagrams between next-generation node B ("gNB") and user equipment (UE) according to several aspects of this disclosure. [Figure 4]

[0016] An illustrative diagram of a set of positioning reference signals (PRS) resources that may be utilized by a mobile device (e.g., a UE device) according to some aspects of this disclosure. [Figure 5]

[0017] Another illustrative diagram of a PRS resource set that may be utilized by a mobile device (e.g., a UE device) according to some aspects of this disclosure. [Figure 6]

[0018] Another illustrative diagram of a PRS resource set that may be utilized by a mobile device (e.g., a UE device) according to some aspects of this disclosure. [Figure 7]

[0019] An illustrative diagram of a PRS resource set that may be utilized by a mobile device (e.g., a UE device) according to several aspects of this disclosure. [Figure 8]

[0020] An illustrative flowchart of a process for determining adjacent beams related to a PRS resource set, according to several aspects of this disclosure. [Figure 9]

[0021] An illustrative flowchart of a process for determining beam adjacency based on predetermined rules, according to several aspects of the disclosed technology. [Figure 10]

[0022] An illustrative flowchart of a process for determining beam adjacency relationships based on assistance data (AD) according to several aspects of the disclosed technology. [Figure 11]

[0023] Exemplary block diagram of a computing system of a user equipment (UE) according to some aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 12]

[0024] Diagram showing an exemplary computing system according to an aspect of the present disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014]

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

[0015]

[0026] The following description provides only exemplary embodiments and does not limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the present disclosure. Instead, the following description of the exemplary embodiments provides those skilled in the art with an explanation that enables implementation of the exemplary embodiments. It should be understood that various changes may be made in the functions and configurations of the elements without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application as set forth in the appended claims.

[0016]

[0027] The terms "exemplary" and / or "example" are used herein to mean "an example, instance, or serving as an illustration". Any aspect described herein as "exemplary" and / or "example" should not necessarily be construed as more preferred or advantageous than other aspects. Similarly, the term "aspect of the present disclosure" does not require that all aspects of the present disclosure include the features, advantages, or modes of operation described.

[0017]

[0028] Aspects of the present disclosure relate to features for improving location estimation of a mobile device, such as a user equipment (UE). Location estimates used herein may be referred to by other names, such as position estimates, locations, positions, location fixes, fixes, etc. A location estimate may be geodesic and may comprise coordinates (e.g., latitude, longitude, and optionally altitude), or may be urban and may comprise a street address, postal address, or some other description of a location. A location estimate may further be defined relative to some other known location or may be defined in absolute terms (e.g., using latitude, longitude, and / or altitude). A location estimate may include an expected error or uncertainty (e.g., by including an area or volume within which the location is expected to be included at some specified or default level of confidence).

[0018]

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

[0019]

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

[0020]

[0031] As described above, the UE device can determine or identify the assigned beam, at least one adjacent beam, or both, based on beam index information. The UE device can further determine or identify at least one adjacent beam based on the assigned beam associated with the beam index information. In some embodiments, at least one adjacent beam may further be determined based on predetermined adjacent beam rules stored in the UE device. In some embodiments, at least one adjacent beam may be determined based on adjacent beam rules received from a location server. In some implementations, at least one adjacent beam may be determined based on predetermined adjacent beam rules received from a base station. In one example, at least one adjacent beam may be adjacent to the assigned beam in the angular domain (for example, the adjacent beam has the closest DL-AOD angle among the beams from the PRS beamset).

[0021]

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

[0022]

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

[0023]

[0034] As used herein, the terms “User Equipment” (UE) and “Base Station” are not intended to be specific to or otherwise limited to any particular Radio Access Technology (RAT) unless otherwise noted. Generally, a UE may be any wireless communication device used by a user to communicate over a wireless communication network (e.g., mobile phones, routers, tablet computers, laptop computers, and / or tracking devices), wearables (e.g., smartwatches, smart glasses, wearable rings, and / or extended reality (XR) devices such as virtual reality (VR) headsets, augmented reality (AR) headsets or glasses, or mixed reality (MR) headsets), vehicles (e.g., automobiles, motorcycles, bicycles, and / or Internet of Things (IoT) devices). A UE may be mobile or (e.g., stationary at some time) and may communicate with a Radio Access Network (RAN). As used herein, the term “UE” may be interchangeably referred to as “Access Terminal” or “AT,” “Client Device,” “Wireless Device,” “Subscriber Device,” “Subscriber Terminal,” “Subscriber Station,” “User Terminal” or “UT,” “Mobile Device,” “Mobile Terminal,” “Mobile Station,” or variations thereof. Generally, a UE can communicate with the core network via the RAN, and through the core network, a 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 also possible for a UE, such as via a wired access network, a wireless local area network (WLAN) network (for example, based on the IEEE 802.11 communication standard), etc.

[0024]

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

[0025]

[0036] The term “base station” can refer to a single physical transmit / receive point (TRP), or to multiple physical TRPs, which may or may not be colocated. For example, when the term “base station” refers to a single physical TRP, the physical TRP could be the base station’s antennas corresponding to the base station’s cells (or several cell sectors). When the term “base station” refers to multiple colocated physical TRPs, the physical TRPs could be an array of antennas at the base station (for example, in a multi-input multiple-output (MIMO) system, or if the base station employs beamforming). When the term “base station” refers to multiple uncolocated physical TRPs, the physical TRPs could be a distributed antenna system (DAS) (a network of spatially separated antennas connected to a common source via a transport medium) or a remote radio head (RRH) (a remote base station connected to a serving base station). Alternatively, uncolocated physical TRPs could be a serving base station receiving measurement reports from a UE and a neighbor base station from which the UE is measuring its reference RF signal (or simply “reference signal”). Since a TRP is the point from which a base station transmits and receives wireless signals, references to transmission from a base station or reception at a base station used herein should be understood to refer to a specific TRP of the base station.

[0026]

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

[0027]

[0038] A radio frequency signal, or "RF signal," comprises an electromagnetic wave of a given frequency that transports information through the space between a transmitter and a receiver. A transmitter as used herein may transmit a single "RF signal" or multiple "RF signals" to a receiver. However, due to the propagation characteristics of RF signals through multipath channels, a receiver may receive multiple "RF signals" corresponding to each transmitted RF signal. The same transmitted RF signal on different paths between the transmitter and receiver may be called a "multipath" RF signal. As used herein, an RF signal may also be referred to as a "wireless signal" or simply a "signal" where it is clear from the context that the term "signal" refers to a wireless signal or an RF signal.

[0028]

[0039] In various embodiments, Figure 1 shows an exemplary wireless communication system 100. (Sometimes called a wireless wide area network (WWAN)) The wireless communication system 100 may include various base stations 102 and various UEs 104. The base stations 102 may include macrocell base stations (high-power cellular base stations) and / or small cell base stations (low-power cellular base stations). In one embodiment, the macrocell base station may include an eNB and / or ng-eNB corresponding to an LTE network, or a gNB corresponding to an NR network, or a combination of both, and the small cell base station may include a femtocell, picocell, microcell, etc.

[0029]

[0040] The base station 102 may collectively form a RAN and interface with the core network 170 (e.g., an Advanced Packet Core (EPC) or a 5G core (5GC)) through a backhaul link 122, and may interface with one or more location servers 172 through the core network 170 (which may be part of the core network 170 or outside of the core network 170). In addition to other functions, the base station 102 may perform functions related to forwarding user data, radio channel encryption and decryption, integrity protection, header compression, mobility control functions (e.g., handover, dual connectivity), inter-cell interference coordination, connection setup and release, load balancing, distribution for non-access layer (NAS) messages, NAS node selection, synchronization, RAN sharing, multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS), subscriber and equipment tracing, RAN information management (RIM), paging, positioning, and delivery of alert messages. The base stations 102 can communicate with each other directly or indirectly (for example, through EPC / 5GC) via a backhaul link 134 which may be wired and / or wireless.

[0030]

[0041] Base station 102 can communicate wirelessly with UE 104. Each base station 102 can provide communication coverage to its respective geographical coverage area 110. In one embodiment, one or more cells may be supported by base stations 102 in each coverage area 110. A “cell” is a logical communication entity used for communication with a base station (over some frequency resource, such as carrier frequency, component carrier, carrier, or band), and may be associated with an identifier (e.g., a physical cell identifier (PCI), a virtual cell identifier (VCI), or a cell global identifier (CGI)) to distinguish cells operating over the same or different carrier frequencies. In some cases, different cells may be configured according to different protocol types (e.g., machine-type communications (MTC), narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), or others) that may provide access to different types of UEs. Since a cell is supported by a particular base station, the term “cell” may, depending on the context, refer to either or both the logical communication entity and the base station that supports it. Furthermore, since TRP is generally the physical transmission point of a cell, the terms “cell” and “TRP” can be used interchangeably. In some cases, the term “cell” can also refer to the geographical coverage area (e.g., sector) of a base station, insofar as the carrier frequency can be detected and used for communications within some portion of the geographical coverage area 110.

[0031]

[0042] The geographical coverage areas 110 of neighboring macrocell base stations 102 may partially overlap (for example, in the handover area), but some of the geographical coverage areas 110 may be considerably overlapped by larger geographical coverage areas 110. For example, a small cell base station 102' may have a coverage area 110' that considerably overlaps with the coverage areas 110 of one or more macrocell base stations 102. A network that includes both small cell base stations and macrocell base stations may be known as a heterogeneous network. A heterogeneous network may also include a home eNB (HeNB) that can serve a limited group known as a limited subscriber group (CSG).

[0032]

[0043] The communication link 120 between base station 102 and UE 104 may include uplink transmissions from UE 104 to base station 102 (also called a reverse link) and / or downlink transmissions from base station 102 to UE 104 (also called a forward link). The communication link 120 may use MIMO antenna technology, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and / or transmit diversity. The communication link 120 may be traversed by one or more carrier frequencies. Carrier allocation may be asymmetric with respect to downlinks and uplinks (for example, more or fewer carriers may be allocated to the downlink than to the uplink).

[0033]

[0044] The wireless communication system 100 may further include a WLAN access point (AP) 150 communicating with a wireless local area network (WLAN) station (STA) 152 via a communication link 154 in an unlicensed frequency spectrum (e.g., 5 GHz). When communicating in an unlicensed frequency spectrum, the WLAN STA 152 and / or WLAN AP 150 may perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) procedure or a listen-before-talk (LBT) procedure before communication to determine whether the channel is available. In some examples, the wireless communication system 100 may include a device (e.g., a UE) that communicates with one or more UEs 104, base stations 102, AP 150, etc., using an ultra-wideband (UWB) spectrum. The UWB spectrum can span from 3.1 GHz to 10.5 GHz.

[0034]

[0045] Small cell base station 102' may operate in licensed and / or unlicensed frequency spectrums. When operating in unlicensed frequency spectrums, small cell base station 102' may employ LTE or NR technology and use the same 5GHz unlicensed frequency spectrum used by WLAN AP150. Small cell base station 102' employing LTE and / or 5G in unlicensed frequency spectrums may boost coverage to the access network and / or increase the capacity of the access network. NR in unlicensed spectrums is sometimes referred to as NR-U. LTE in unlicensed spectrums is sometimes referred to as LTE-U, License-Assisted Access (LAA), or MulteFire.

[0035]

[0046] The wireless communication system 100 may further include a millimeter-wave (mmW) base station 180, which can operate in millimeter-wave (mmW) and / or near-mmW frequencies, communicating with UE 182. Extremely high frequency (EHF) is a part of RF in the electromagnetic spectrum. EHF has a range of 30 GHz to 300 GHz and wavelengths between 1 millimeter and 10 millimeters. Radio waves in this band are sometimes called millimeter waves. Near-mmW can extend down to frequencies of 3 GHz with wavelengths of 100 millimeters. The very high frequency (SHF) band, also called centimeter waves, extends between 3 GHz and 30 GHz. Communication using the mmW and / or near-mmW radio frequency bands has high path loss and relatively short range. The mmW base station 180 and UE 182 may utilize beamforming (transmit and / or receive) via the mmW communication link 184 to compensate for the extremely high path loss and short range. Furthermore, in alternative configurations, it will be understood that one or more base stations 102 may also transmit using mmW or near-mmW and beamforming. Accordingly, it will be understood that the above description is merely illustrative and should not be construed as limiting the various embodiments disclosed herein.

[0036]

[0047] Transmit beamforming is a technique for focusing RF signals in a specific direction. Traditionally, when a network node (e.g., a base station) broadcasts an RF signal, it broadcasts the signal in all directions (omnidirectionally). In transmit beamforming, the network node determines where a given target device (e.g., a UE) is located (relative to the transmitting network node) and projects a stronger downlink RF signal in that specific direction, thereby providing a faster and stronger RF signal (in terms of data rate) to one or more receiving devices. To change the directionality of an RF signal when transmitting, the network node can control the phase and relative amplitude of the RF signal at each of the one or more transmitters broadcasting the RF signal. For example, the network node may use an array of antennas (called a "phased array" or "antenna array") that can create beams of RF waves that can be "steered" to point in different directions without actually moving the antennas. Specifically, the RF current from the transmitter is supplied to individual antennas with the appropriate phase relationship so that the radio waves from separate antennas are added together to increase radiation in the desired direction, while canceling out and suppressing radiation in undesirable directions.

[0037]

[0048] Transmit beams can be pseudo-collocated, meaning that the transmit beam appears to the receiver (e.g., UE) to have the same parameters regardless of whether the network node's transmit antenna itself is physically collocated. In NR, there are four types of pseudo-collocation (QCL) relationships. In particular, a given type of QCL relationship means that several parameters relating to a second reference RF signal on a second beam can be derived from information about the source reference RF signal on the source beam. Thus, if the source reference RF signal is QCL type A, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift, Doppler spread, mean delay, and delay spread of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL type B, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and Doppler spread of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL type C, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and mean delay of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL type D, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the spatial reception parameters of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel.

[0038]

[0049] In receive beamforming, a receiver uses a received beam to amplify an RF signal detected on a given channel. For example, a receiver may increase the gain setting of an antenna array in a particular direction and / or adjust the phase setting to amplify an RF signal received from that direction (e.g., increase its gain level). Therefore, when a receiver is said to beamform in a certain direction, it means that the beam gain in that direction is higher than the beam gain along other directions, or that the beam gain in that direction is the highest compared to the beam gain of other beams available to the receiver. This results in a stronger received signal intensity (e.g., reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), signal-to-interference plus noise ratio (SINR), etc.) of the RF signal received from that direction.

[0039]

[0050] Received beams can be spatially related. Spatial relationships mean that parameters for a transmit beam for a second reference signal can be derived from information about the received beam for a first reference signal. For example, a UE may use a specific receive beam to receive one or more reference downlink reference signals from a base station (e.g., positioning reference signal (PRS), tracking reference signal (TRS), phase tracking reference signal (PTRS), cell-specific reference signal (CRS), channel status information reference signal (CSI-RS), primary synchronization signal (PSS), secondary synchronization signal (SSS), synchronization signal block (SSB), etc.). The UE can then, based on the parameters of the received beam, form a transmit beam to send one or more uplink reference signals to its base station (e.g., uplink positioning reference signal (UL-PRS), sounding reference signal (SRS), demodulation reference signal (DMRS), PTRS, etc.).

[0040]

[0051] It should be noted that a “downlink” beam can be either a transmit beam or a receive beam, depending on the entity forming it. For example, if a base station forms a downlink beam to transmit a reference signal to a UE, then the downlink beam is a transmit beam. However, if a UE forms a downlink beam, then it is a receive beam for receiving a downlink reference signal. Similarly, an “uplink” beam can be either a transmit beam or a receive beam, depending on the entity forming it. For example, if a base station forms an uplink beam, then it is an uplink receive beam, and if a UE forms an uplink beam, then it is an uplink transmit beam.

[0041]

[0052] In 5G, the frequency spectrum on which wireless nodes (e.g., base stations 102 / 180, UE104 / 182) operate is divided into multiple frequency ranges: FR1 (450 to 6000 MHz), FR2 (24250 to 52600 MHz), FR3 (above 52600 MHz), and FR4 (between FR1 and FR2). In multi-carrier systems such as 5G, one of the carrier frequencies is called the "primary carrier," "anchor carrier," "primary serving cell," or "PCell," while the remaining carrier frequencies are called "secondary carriers," "secondary serving cells," or "SCells." In carrier aggregation, the anchor carrier is the carrier operating on the primary frequency (e.g., FR1) utilized by UE104 / 182 and the cell from which UE104 / 182 either performs the initial radio resource control (RRC) connection establishment procedure or initiates the RRC connection re-establishment procedure. The primary carrier carries the control channel common to all UEs and specific to each UE, and may be a carrier on licensed frequencies (though this is not always the case). The secondary carrier is a carrier operating on a second frequency (e.g., FR2) that may be configured once an RRC connection is established between the UE104 and the anchor carrier and may be used to provide additional radio resources. In some cases, the secondary carrier may be a carrier on unlicensed frequencies. The secondary carrier may contain only the necessary signaling information and signals, and since both the primary uplink and primary downlink carriers are generally UE-specific, UE-specific signaling information and signals may not be present in the secondary carrier. This means that different UE104 / 182s in a cell may have different downlink primary carriers. The same is true for uplink primary carriers. The network can change the primary carrier of any UE104 / 182 at any time. This is done, for example, to distribute the load across different carriers.Since a “serving cell” (whether PCell or SCell) corresponds to the carrier frequency and / or component carrier through which some base station communicates, terms such as “cell,” “serving cell,” “component carrier,” and “carrier frequency” can be used interchangeably.

[0042]

[0053] For example, still referring to Figure 1, one of the frequencies used by the macrocell base station 102 may be the anchor carrier (or "PCell"), and the other frequencies used by the macrocell base station 102 and / or the mmW base station 180 may be secondary carriers ("SCell"). In carrier aggregation, base stations 102 and / or UE 104 may use a spectrum of bandwidth up to Y MHz per carrier (e.g., 5, 10, 15, 20, 100 MHz) for transmission in each direction, up to a total of Yx MHz (x component carriers). Component carriers may or may not be adjacent to each other on the frequency spectrum. Carrier allocation may be asymmetric with respect to downlink and uplink (e.g., more or fewer carriers may be allocated to the downlink than to the uplink). Simultaneous transmission and / or reception of multiple carriers allows UE 104 / 182 to significantly increase its data transmission and / or reception rates. For example, in a multi-carrier system, two aggregated 20MHz carriers would theoretically lead to a doubling of the data rate (i.e., 40MHz) compared to what would be achieved with a single 20MHz carrier.

[0043]

[0054] To operate on multiple carrier frequencies, base station 102 and / or UE104 are equipped with multiple receivers and / or transmitters. For example, UE104 may have two receivers, “Receiver 1” and “Receiver 2”, where “Receiver 1” is a multiband receiver that can be tuned to a band (i.e., carrier frequency) “X” or band “Y”, and “Receiver 2” is a single-band receiver that can be tuned to band “Z” only. In this example, if UE104 is serving on band “X”, band “X” will be called the PCell or active carrier frequency, and “Receiver 1” will need to tune from band “X” to band “Y” to measure band “Y” (SCell) (and vice versa). In contrast, regardless of whether UE104 is serving on band “X” or band “Y”, for the separate “Receiver 2”, UE104 can measure band “Z” without interrupting service on band “X” or band “Y”.

[0044]

[0055] The wireless communication system 100 may further include a UE 164 that can communicate with a macrocell base station 102 via a communication link 120 and / or with an mmW base station 180 via an mmW communication link 184. For example, the macrocell base station 102 may support a PCell and one or more SCells for the UE 164, and the mmW base station 180 may support one or more SCells for the UE 164.

[0045]

[0056] The wireless communication system 100 may further include one or more UEs, such as UE 190, which are indirectly connected to one or more communication networks via one or more device-to-device (D2D) peer-to-peer (P2P) links (called “sidelinks”). In the example in Figure 1, UE 190 has a D2D P2P link 192 with one of UEs 104 connected to one of base stations 102 (through which UE 190 may indirectly obtain cellular connectivity), and a D2D P2P link 194 with a WLAN STA 152 connected to a WLAN AP 150 (through which UE 190 may indirectly obtain WLAN-based internet connectivity). In one example, D2D P2P links 192 and 194 may be supported using any well-known D2D RAT, such as LTE Direct (LTE-D), Wi-Fi Direct® (Wi-Fi-D), or Bluetooth®.

[0046]

[0057] In various embodiments, Figure 2A shows an exemplary wireless network structure 200. For example, 5GC210 (also called Next Generation Core (NGC)) can be functionally considered as control plane functions 214 (e.g., UE registration, authentication, network access, gateway selection, etc.) and user plane functions 212 (e.g., UE gateway functions, access to data networks, IP routing, etc.) working collaboratively to form the core network. User plane interface (NG-U) 213 and control plane interface (NG-C) 215 connect gNB222 to 5GC210, in particular to control plane functions 214 and user plane functions 212. In an additional configuration, ng-eNB224 may also be connected to 5GC210 via NG-C215 to control plane functions 214 and NG-U213 to user plane functions 212. Furthermore, ng-eNB224 may communicate directly with gNB222 via backhaul connection 223. In some configurations, the new RAN220 may have only one or more gNB222s, while other configurations may include one or more of both ng-eNB224 and gNB222. Either the gNB222 or the ng-eNB224 may communicate with the UE204 (for example, one of the UEs shown in Figure 1).

[0047]

[0058] Another optional aspect may include a location server 230, which may communicate with 5GC210 to provide location assistance to UE204. The location server 230 may be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules spread across multiple physical servers), or alternatively, each corresponding to a single server. The location server 230 may be configured to support one or more location services for UE204, which can be connected to the location server 230 via the core network 5GC210 and / or via the internet (not shown). Furthermore, the location server 230 may be integrated with components of the core network, or alternatively, located outside the core network. In some examples, the location server 230 may be operated by the carrier or provider of 5GC210, a third party, an original equipment manufacturer (OEM), or other party. In some cases, multiple location servers may be provided, such as a location server for the carrier, a location server for the OEM of a particular device, and / or other location servers. In such cases, location assistance data may be received from the carrier's location server, and other assistance data may be received from the OEM's location server.

[0048]

[0059] In various embodiments, Figure 2B shows another exemplary wireless network structure 250. For example, 5GC260 can be functionally considered as control plane functions provided by Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 264 and user plane functions provided by User Plane Function (UPF) 262, working collaboratively to form the core network (i.e., 5GC260). User plane interface 263 and control plane interface 265 connect ng-eNB224 to 5GC260, in particular to UPF262 and AMF264, respectively. In an additional configuration, gNB222 may also be connected to 5GC260 via control plane interface 265 to AMF264 and user plane interface 263 to UPF262. Furthermore, ng-eNB224 may communicate directly with gNB222 via backhaul connection 223, with or without gNB direct connectivity to 5GC260. In some configurations, the new RAN220 may have only one or more gNB222s, while other configurations may include one or more of both ng-eNB224 and gNB222. Either a gNB222 or an ng-eNB224 may communicate with a UE204 (for example, one of the UEs shown in Figure 1). The base station of the new RAN220 communicates with the AMF264 via the N2 interface and with the UPF262 via the N3 interface.

[0049]

[0060] The functions of AMF264 include registration management, connection management, reachability management, mobility management, lawful interception, transport for session management (SM) messages between UE204 and Session Management Function (SMF)266, transparent proxy service for routing SM messages, access authentication and access permission, transport for short message service (SMS) messages between UE204 and Short Message Service Function (SMSF) (not shown), and / or security anchor function (SEAF). AMF264 also interacts with Authentication Server Function (AUSF) (not shown) and UE204 and receives intermediate keys established as a result of the UE204 authentication process. In the case of authentication based on UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) Subscriber Identification Module (USIM), AMF264 retrieves security materials from AUSF. The functions of AMF264 also include security context management (SCM). SCM receives keys from SEAF that it uses to derive access network-specific keys. The AMF264's functionality also includes location service management for regulatory services, transport for location service messages between the UE204 and the Location Management Function (LMF) 270 (acting as the Location Server 230), transport for location service messages between the new RAN220 and the LMF270, EPS bearer identifier allocation for interaction with the Advanced Packet System (EPS), and UE204 mobility event notification. Furthermore, the AMF264 also supports functionality for non-3GPP® access networks.

[0050]

[0061] The functions of UPF262 include acting as an anchor point for intra-RAT mobility (when applicable), acting as an external protocol data unit (PDU) session point for interconnection to a data network (not shown), providing packet routing and forwarding, packet inspection, user plane policy rule enforcement (e.g., gating, redirection, traffic steering), lawful interception (user plane collection), traffic usage reporting, quality of service (QoS) handling for the user plane (e.g., uplink and / or downlink rate enforcement, reflective QoS marking on the downlink), uplink traffic verification (service data flow (SDF) versus QoS flow mapping), transport level packet marking on the uplink and downlink, downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering, and sending and forwarding one or more “termination markers” to the source RAN node. UPF262 may also support the forwarding of location service messages over the user plane between UE204 and location servers such as Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) Location Platform (SLP) 272.

[0051]

[0062] The functions of the SMF266 ​​include session management, UE Internet Protocol (IP) address allocation and management, selection and control of user plane functions, configuration of traffic steering in the UPF262 for routing traffic to appropriate destinations, policy enforcement and some QoS control, and downlink data notification. The interface through which the SMF266 ​​communicates with the AMF264 is called the N11 interface.

[0052]

[0063] In some embodiments, location and positioning functions may be assisted by a Location Management Function (LMF) 270 configured for communication with 5GC260 to provide location assistance to UE204, for example. The LMF270 may be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules spread across multiple physical servers, etc.) or alternatively, each corresponding to a single server. The LMF270 may be configured to support one or more location services for UE204, which can connect to the LMF270 via the core network 5GC260 and / or via the internet (not shown). The SLP272 may support similar functionality to the LMF270, but the LMF270 can communicate with the AMF264, the new RAN220, and the UE204 on the control plane (for example, using interfaces and protocols intended to transmit signaling messages rather than voice or data), while the SLP272 can communicate with the UE204 and external clients (not shown in Figure 2B) on the user plane (for example, using protocols intended to carry voice and / or data, such as Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and / or IP).

[0053]

[0064] In one embodiment, the LMF270 and / or SLP272 may be integrated with base stations such as the gNB222 and / or ng-eNB224. When integrated with the gNB222 and / or ng-eNB224, the LMF270 and / or SLP272 may be referred to as “Location Management Components,” or “LMC.” However, references to the LMF270 and SLP272 as used herein include both cases where the LMF270 and SLP272 are components of a core network (e.g., 5GC260) and cases where the LMF270 and SLP272 are components of a base station.

[0054]

[0065] As described herein, NR supports several cellular network-based positioning techniques, including downlink-based positioning methods, uplink-based positioning methods, and downlink and uplink-based positioning methods. For example, the LMF270 can enable positioning based on location measurements calculated for various positioning signal (PRS or SRS) resources. As used herein, a “PRS resource set” is a set of PRS resources used for transmitting PRS signals, where each PRS resource has a PRS resource identifier (ID). Furthermore, PRS resources in a PRS resource set are associated with the same TRP. A PRS resource set is identified by a PRS resource set ID and is associated with a particular TRP (identified, for example, by a TRP ID). Furthermore, PRS resources in a PRS resource set have the same periodicity, common muting pattern configuration, and the same repetition factor (e.g., PRS-ResourceRepetitionFactor) across slots. Periodicity is the time from the first iteration of the first PRS resource of the first PRS instance to the same first iteration of the same first PRS resource of the next PRS instance. μ The length can be selected from the {4,5,8,10,16,20,32,40,64,80,160,320,640,1280,2560,5120,10240} slots, and μ = 0, 1, 2, 3. The iteration coefficient can have a length selected from the {1,2,4,6,8,16,32} slots.

[0055]

[0066] In some cases, a PRS resource ID in a PRS resource set is associated with a single beam (and / or beam ID) transmitted from a single TRP (where a TRP may transmit one or more beams). For example, each PRS resource in a PRS resource set may be transmitted on a different beam, and therefore, "PRS resource" or simply "resource" may also be referred to as "beam." Note that this does not imply in any way whether the TRP and the beam on which the PRS is transmitted are known to the UE.

[0056]

[0067] A "PRS instance" or "PRS occasion" is one instance of a periodically repeating time window (for example, a group of one or more consecutive slots) in which a PRS is expected to be sent. A PRS occasion may also be called a "PRS positioning occasion," "PRS positioning instance," "positioning occasion," "positioning instance," "positioning iteration," or simply "occasion," "instance," or "iteration."

[0057]

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

[0058]

[0069] The concept of frequency layers is somewhat similar to the concepts of component carriers and bandwidth portions (BWPs), but differs in that component carriers and BWPs are used by a single base station (or macrocell and smallcell base stations) to transmit data channels, while frequency layers are used by several (usually three or more) base stations to transmit PRSs. When a UE sends its positioning capability to the network, such as during an LTE positioning protocol (LPP) session, it may indicate the number of frequency layers it can support. For example, a UE may indicate whether it can support one or four positioning frequency layers.

[0059]

[0070] Downlink-based location measurements can include Observed Time of Arrival (OTDOA) in LTE, Downlink Time of Arrival (DL-TDOA) in NR, and Downlink Departure Angle (DL-AoD) in NR. In the OTDOA or DL-TDOA positioning procedure, the UE measures the difference between the Time of Arrival (ToA) of a reference signal (e.g., PRS, TRS, NRS, CSI-RS, SSB, etc.) received from a pair of base stations, called Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD) or Time of Arrival (TDOA) measurements, and reports them to the positioning entity. More specifically, the UE receives identifiers for a reference base station (e.g., a serving base station) and several non-reference base stations in the supporting data. The UE then measures the RSTD between each of the reference base stations and the non-reference base stations. Based on the known locations of the base stations involved and the RSTD measurements, the positioning entity (e.g., LMF270) can estimate the UE's location. In DL-AoD positioning, the base station (gNB222) measures the angle of the downlink transmit beam used to communicate with the UE and other channel properties (e.g., signal strength) in order to estimate the UE's location.

[0060]

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

[0061]

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

[0062]

[0073] To assist positioning operations, a location server (e.g., location server 230, LMF270, or another location server) may provide the UE with support data. For example, the support data may include identifiers of the base station (or base station cells and / or TRPs) from which the reference signal should be measured, reference signal configuration parameters (e.g., the number of consecutive positioning subframes, the periodicity of the positioning subframes, the muting sequence, the frequency hopping sequence, the reference signal identifier (ID), the reference signal bandwidth, etc.), and / or other parameters applicable to a particular positioning method. Alternatively, the support data may originate directly from the base station itself (e.g., in periodically broadcast overhead messages). In some cases, the UE may be able to discover neighbor network nodes on its own without using support data.

[0063]

[0074] In the case of DL-AoD, UE204 can provide LMF270 with DL-PRS beam received signal received power (RSRP) measurements, and gNB222 can provide beam azimuth and elevation angle information. When using the UL AoA positioning method, the position of UE204 is estimated based on UL SRS AoA measurements taken at different TRPs (not shown). For example, a TRP can report AoA measurements directly to LMF270. Using angle information (e.g., AoD or AoA) along with TRP co-coordinate information and beam configuration details, LMF270 can estimate the location of UE204.

[0064]

[0075] In the case of multi-RTT location measurements, the LMF270 can initiate a procedure in which multiple TRPs (not shown) and UEs perform gNB Rx-Tx measurements and UE Rx-Tx measurements, respectively. For example, gNB222 and UE204 can transmit a downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) and an uplink sounding reference signal (UL-SRS), respectively, so that gNB222 configures the UL-SRS for UE204 using, for example, the Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol. The LMF270 can then provide the DL-PRS configuration to UE204. The resulting location measurements are reported to the LMF270 by UE204 and / or gNB222 in order to perform location estimation for UE204.

[0065]

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

[0066]

[0077] For example, UE device 302 may only be able to process five PRS resources, but PRS support data may provide UE device 302 with 20 PRS resources. In this example, UE device 302 may select a subset of PRS resources, such as five PRS resources, from the 20 PRS resources on which location or position measurements should be performed. In some cases, the UE may select PRS resources based on the format in which the resources are provided by the support data and the corresponding default order. For example, the UE may operate in a manner that assumes PRS resources are provided in descending order of measurement priority (e.g., in the AD). As an example, within the positioning frequency layer, DL PRS resources may be classified in the AD in descending order of measurement priority for which UE device 302 should perform measurements, with the reference indicated by nr-DL-PRS-ReferenceInfo being the highest priority for the measurement. The priority can include up to 64 dl-PRS-IDs in the positioning frequency layer classified according to priority, or up to two sets of DL PRS resources per dl-PRS-ID in the positioning frequency layer classified according to priority. In such cases, if the initially selected PRS resource cannot be used for PRS measurement purposes, the UE device 302 proceeds to the next PRS resource in descending order of measurement priority. However, in some cases, the five selected PRS resources may not be optimal for performing the PRS measurement.

[0067]

[0078] The embodiments of the disclosed technology address the above limitations by providing solutions for improving the PRS resource selection process. In some embodiments, the initial PRS resource selection may be based on beam index information received at the UE from, for example, a base station (e.g., gNB) or a location server (e.g., LMF). In such a technique, the beam index information may specify an assigned beam associated with a set of PRS resources from which one or more location or position measurements should be determined. For example, a UE device may first process the PRS resources associated with an assigned beam before processing other PRS resources associated with other beams. In some embodiments, the selection of subsequent beams by the UE after processing the PRS resources of an assigned beam for performing a location or position measurement may be based on identified adjacency relationships between beams and on a priority order specified, for example, by a priority rule and / or signaled to the UE (e.g., from a base station and / or location server). Depending on the desired implementation, priority rules may be predetermined and stored in the UE, or they may be provided to the UE by another device (e.g., by a location server such as an LMF and / or by a base station such as a gNB). The priority rules can indicate to the UE how beam selection should be carried out, such as by the subsequent selection of one or more adjacent beams for an assigned beam. As will be described in more detail below, beam adjacency may be based on angular proximity / adjacency or on ordering indicated by information elements (IE) (e.g., in AD). For example, adjacent beams (or adjacent resources) may refer to beams (or resources) related to the nearest angle, such as those sharing the nearest DL-AoD angle. Further explanations of various methods for selecting the optimal PRS resource according to the adjacency and priority order between beams are provided in reference to Figures 4-7.

[0068]

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

[0069]

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

[0070]

[0081] For example, a location server (e.g., a Location Management Function (LMF)) can provide support to enable new radio downlink departure angles (NR DL-AoD) by determining and providing beam index information to the UE. There may be cases where each UE has different expected AoA and Zenith Arrival (ZoA) relative to the TRP. For example, the PRS system 400 can be UE-assisted (e.g., if the UE device performs location or positioning measurements) or UE-based (e.g., if the UE device performs location or positioning measurements and calculations).

[0071]

[0082] In UE-assisted mode, UE devices may be unaware of TRP beam locations, which can make it difficult for them to calculate priority rules (for selecting which PRS resources to process) based on expected AoD. By utilizing beam indices, UE devices can determine which beams should be used first to measure location or positioning data. For example, PRS system 400 can utilize beam indices rather than expected AoD in the angular domain. In one example, an LMF can provide UE devices with expected beam indices to determine which beams should be used first to measure location or positioning data (using the PRS resources of those beams). Beams identified by beam indices are sometimes called assigned beams.

[0072]

[0083] A beam index may include information such as an assigned PRS resource or assigned beam (for example, having ID=X, where ID may, in one exemplary example, include dl-PRS-ID). In some cases, a PRS resource ID (e.g., ID=X) in a PRS resource set (e.g., PRS resource set 402) may relate to a single beam (and / or beam ID) transmitted from a single TRP (where the TRP may transmit one or more beams). For example, each PRS resource in PRS resource set 402 may transmit on a different beam, and therefore, “PRS resource” or simply “resource” may also be referred to as “beam” in this specification.

[0073]

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

[0074]

[0085] The UE device can select from a variety of beams associated with the PRS resource set 402 based on adjacency ordering and beam priority rules (also called adjacency beam rules). An example of an adjacency beam rule, as shown in Figures 6 and 7, may include X, X-1, X+1, X-2, X+2, X-3, X+4, etc., where X is the assigned beam indicated by beam index information, and XI, X+I, etc., are adjacent beams selected according to the priority ordering rules. Based on the adjacency ordering described above, the UE device can determine which (one or more) beams are adjacent to the assigned beam X. In this example, once the PRS resources associated with the assigned beam X are processed (e.g., and / or unsuitable for location or position measurement), the UE device can select the PRS resources associated with the next beam in priority order, which in the above example would be beam X-1 (to the left of the assigned beam X, according to the adjacency order).

[0075]

[0086] In some embodiments, location and positioning functions may be assisted by an LMF configured for communication with the 5GC to provide location assistance to the UE device. The LMF may be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules spread across multiple physical servers, etc.) or alternatively, each corresponding to a single server. The LMF may be configured to support one or more location services for the UE, which can connect to the LMF via the core network 5GC and / or via the internet (not shown).

[0076]

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

[0077]

[0088] To further assist location or positioning operations, the LMF (and / or in some cases, the base station, such as a gNB) may provide support data to the UE device. For example, the support data may include identifiers of the base station (or base station cells and / or TRPs) from which the reference signal should be measured, reference signal configuration parameters (e.g., the number of consecutive positioning subframes, the periodicity of the positioning subframes, the muting sequence, the frequency hopping sequence, the reference signal identifier (ID), the reference signal bandwidth, etc.), and / or other parameters applicable to a particular positioning method. In some cases, the support data may originate directly from the base station itself (e.g., in periodically broadcast overhead messages). In some cases, the UE device can discover neighbor network nodes on its own without using support data.

[0078]

[0089] Referring to Figure 4, the UE device can receive support data about AoA / AoD from the LMF or base station, including beam indices associated with the PRS resource set 402. The PRS resource set 402 may be associated with a sequence of beams 404 arranged in adjacency order 406. For example, the beam indices may include the initial assigned beam to be used by the UE device. For example, if beam 1 is the assigned beam for the UE device, the UE device will attempt to initiate a location or positioning operation using beam 1. In some cases, the beam indices may include information that provides the UE device with beam order (e.g., beam 1, beam 2, beam 3, beam 4, beam 5, and beam 6).

[0079]

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

[0080]

[0091] Figure 5 shows an exemplary diagram of a positioning reference signal (PRS) resource set 502 that may be used by a mobile device (e.g., a UE device) in a PRS system 500. In some implementations, the UE device may receive support data from an LMF or base station, including beam indices associated with the PRS resource set 502. The PRS resource set 502 may be associated with a plurality of beams 504 arranged in a predetermined adjacency order. As described above, the beam indices may include information indicating the initially allocated beams that should be used by the UE device to calculate location or positioning.

[0081]

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

[0082]

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

[0083]

[0094] The beam index may include the assigned beams that the UE device will initially use to perform location measurements. In this implementation, Beam 2 is the assigned beam indicated in the beam index that should be utilized by the UE device. Once the PRS resources of Beam 2 have been processed by the UE device to determine location or positioning data, the UE device may process the PRS resources of adjacent beams (e.g., Beam 1 or Beam 3) according to one or more priority rules (also called adjacent beam rules) known to the UE device (e.g., predetermined and / or stored in the UE device's memory) or signaled to the UE device by a gNB or LMF. Once the PRS resources of Beams 1 and 3 have been processed by the UE device, the UE device may continue to process the PRS resources of the next adjacent beam, for example, Beam 4. In some cases, adjacent beams may be indicated in the beam index to inform the UE device which beams are adjacent to the initially assigned beam and subsequent beams.

[0084]

[0095] As described above, priority rules can be known by the UE device or signaled to the UE device. Priority rules can indicate which beam should be used after the assigned beams have been processed to measure location or position data. For example, Figure 6 shows a priority rule with an order starting with beam 2 (the assigned beam), followed by beam 3, then beam 1, and then beam 4.

[0085]

[0096] Figure 7 shows an exemplary diagram of a positioning reference signal (PRS) resource set 702 that may be available to a mobile device (e.g., a UE device) in a PRS system 700, similar to the PRS system 500 in Figure 5. In this embodiment, the UE device may receive support data, including beam indices, from the LMF. The UE may receive a PRS resource set 602 associated with a plurality of beams 604, and the PRS resource set 602 may be available to the UE device to measure location data or position data that may be used to determine the UE's position. Figure 7 shows the beam adjacency order of beams 1, 4, 6, 3, 5, and 2. As described above, the beam adjacency order may be known by the UE (e.g., predetermined and / or stored in the memory of the UE device), such as shown in Figure 4, or it may be signaled to the UE by a gNB or LMF (e.g., in the IE of support data), such as shown in Figure 5.

[0086]

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

[0087]

[0098] As described above, priority rules can be known by the UE device or signaled to the UE device. Priority rules can indicate which beam should be used after the allocated beams have been processed to measure location or position data. For example, Figure 7 shows a priority rule with an order starting with beam 6 (the allocated beam), followed by beam 3, then beam 4, then beam 5.

[0088]

[0099] Figure 8 shows a flowchart of an exemplary process 800 for enabling beam selection by a UE device. In block 802, process 800 includes receiving beam index information associated with a PRS beamset (e.g., by user equipment). In some implementations, a PRS beamset may be associated with multiple beams, each including an assigned beam and at least one adjacent beam. The multiple beams associated with a PRS beamset may also be sequentially ordered by adjacency in the angular domain (e.g., according to DL-AoD). In some embodiments, the beam index information may be a PRS resource index.

[0089]

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

[0090]

[0101] In block 804, process 800 includes determining the assigned beam, at least one adjacent beam, or both, based on the beam index information shown in block 802 (for example, by user equipment). In some embodiments, the assigned beam may be based on at least one of the expected beam index, expected PRS resource index, reference PRS resource, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, at least one adjacent beam may further be determined based on adjacent beam rules stored in user equipment. In other embodiments, at least one adjacent beam may further be determined based on adjacent beam rules received from a location server.

[0091]

[0102]

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

[0092]

[0104] In some examples, determining at least one adjacent beam may involve determining a first adjacent beam based on assigned beam and beam index information, wherein the first adjacent beam is adjacent to the assigned beam; determining a second adjacent beam based on assigned beam and beam index information, wherein the second adjacent beam is adjacent to the assigned beam; and the first adjacent beam is different from the second adjacent beam. In other examples, determining at least one adjacent beam may involve determining a third adjacent beam based on assigned beam and beam index information, wherein the third adjacent beam is adjacent to the first adjacent beam; and determining a fourth adjacent beam based on assigned beam and beam index information, wherein the fourth adjacent beam is adjacent to the second adjacent beam; and the third adjacent beam is different from the fourth adjacent beam.

[0093]

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

[0094]

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

[0095]

[0107] Figure 9 shows an exemplary flowchart of a process 900 for determining beam adjacency relationships based on predetermined rules (e.g., predetermined adjacency beam rules) according to several aspects of the disclosed technology. In block 902, the process 900 includes receiving a PRS beamset (e.g., by a user equipment device). As described above, a PRS beamset may be associated with multiple beams, including an assigned beam and at least one adjacent beam.

[0096]

[0108] In block 904, process 900 includes determining the adjacency relationships of multiple beams related to the PRS beamset received in block 902, for example, based on a predetermined adjacency beam rule. As described above, the predetermined adjacency beam rule may be stored in memory associated with the UE device. In some examples, the beam adjacency relationships may be predefined, such as PRS resources (beams) being ordered according to angular proximity / adjacency relationships. For example, adjacent beams may include neighboring beams in the beam order, as shown in Figure 4, as described above.

[0097]

[0109] Figure 10 shows an exemplary flowchart of a process 1000 for determining beam adjacency relationships based on support data (AD) according to several aspects of the disclosed technology. In block 1002, the process 1000 includes receiving a PRS beamset (for example, by a user equipment device). As described above, a PRS beamset may be associated with multiple beams, including an assigned beam and at least one adjacent beam.

[0098]

[0110] In block 1004, process 1000 includes receiving support data from another device, such as a location server (e.g., LMF) or a base station (e.g., gNB). As described above, the support data may include identifiers of the base station (or base station cells and / or TRP) from which the reference signal should be measured, reference signal configuration parameters (e.g., the number of consecutive positioning subframes, the periodicity of the positioning subframes, the muting sequence, the frequency hopping sequence, the reference signal identifier (ID), the reference signal bandwidth, etc.), and / or other parameters applicable to a particular positioning method. Alternatively, the support data may originate directly from the base station itself (e.g., in periodically broadcast overhead messages).

[0099]

[0111] In block 1006, process 1000 includes determining the adjacency relationships of multiple beams associated with a PRS beamset based on supporting data. For example, the supporting data may include beam priority rules indicating the adjacency order of multiple beams to the UE. As described above, the supporting data may also include providing information that the beam index indicates the initially allocated beam that should be used by the UE device to calculate location or position measurements.

[0100]

[0112] In some embodiments, adjacent beam rules (or priority rules) may be used to specify subsequent beam selections that should be performed by the UE after the PRS resources of the allocated beams have been processed. Depending on the implementation, beam selection prioritization may be based on the initially allocated beams as well as the determined adjacent ordering (e.g., adjacent order 406 in Figure 4 or adjacent order 506 in Figure 5).

[0101]

[0113] In some examples, the processes described herein (for example, processes 800, 900, 1200, and / or other processes described herein) may be performed by a computing device or apparatus. For example, processes 800, 900, and / or 1000 may be performed by a computing device or by the computing system 1200 shown in Figure 12.

[0102]

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

[0103]

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

[0104]

[0116] Process 800 describes a sequence of actions that may be implemented by hardware, computer instructions, or a combination thereof. In the context of computer instructions, an action represents a computer-executable instruction stored in one or more computer-readable storage media that, when executed by one or more processors, performs the described action. Generally, computer-executable instructions include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc., that perform a particular function or implement a particular data type. The order in which actions are described is not to be interpreted as limiting, and any number of described actions may be combined in any order and / or in parallel to implement the process.

[0105]

[0117] Furthermore, the processes 800 and / or other processes described herein may be carried out under the control of one or more computer systems comprising executable instructions, and may be implemented as code (e.g., executable instructions, one or more computer programs, or one or more applications) that are executed collectively on one or more processors, by hardware, or in combination thereof. As described above, the code may be stored in a computer-readable or machine-readable storage medium, for example, in the form of a computer program comprising multiple instructions executable by one or more processors. The computer-readable or machine-readable storage medium may be non-temporary.

[0106]

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

[0107]

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

[0108]

[0120] One or more wireless transceivers 1178 can transmit and receive wireless signals (e.g., signals 1188) via antennas 1187 to and from one or more other devices, such as one or more UEs, network devices (e.g., base stations such as eNBs and / or gNBs, WiFi® routers, etc.), cloud networks, etc. One or more wireless transceivers 1178 described herein may include combined transmitter / receiver, individual transmitters, individual receivers, or any combination thereof. In some examples, the computing system 1170 may include multiple antennas. Wireless signals 1188 may be transmitted over a wireless network. The wireless network may be any wireless network, such as a cellular or telecommunications network (e.g., 3G, 4G, 5G, etc.), a wireless local area network (e.g., a WiFi network), a Bluetooth network, and / or other networks. In some examples, one or more wireless transceivers 1178 may include a radio frequency (RF) front end, which may include one or more components, such as an amplifier, a mixer (also called a signal multiplier) for signal down-conversion, a frequency synthesizer (also called an oscillator) that provides the signal to the mixer, a baseband filter, an analog-to-digital converter (ADC), and one or more power amplifiers. The RF front end can generally handle the selection of the wireless signal 1188 and the conversion of the wireless signal 1188 to baseband or intermediate frequencies, and can convert the RF signal into the digital domain.

[0109]

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

[0110]

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

[0111]

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

[0112]

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

[0113]

[0125] In some embodiments, the UE 1107 may include means for performing the operations described herein. Such means may include one or more components of the computing system 1170. For example, means for performing the operations described herein may include one or more input devices 1172, one or more SIMs 1174, one or more modems 1176, one or more wireless transceivers 1178, one or more output devices (1180), one or more DSPs 1182, a processor (1184), one or more memory devices 1186, and / or one or more antennas 1187.

[0114]

[0126] In some embodiments, the UE1107 may include means for receiving resource configuration information, wherein the resource configuration information indicates a time gap for transmitting sounding reference signal (SRS) resources, based on thresholds associated with the device. In some embodiments, the UE1107 may further include means for transmitting one or more SRS resources based on the time gap indicated by the resource configuration information.

[0115]

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

[0116]

[0128] Figure 12 shows an example of a system for implementing several aspects of this technology. In particular, Figure 12 shows an example of a computing system 1200, which may be, for example, any computing device, remote computing system, camera, or any component thereof that constitutes an internal computing system, and the components of the system communicate with each other using connection 1005. Connection 1005 may be a physical connection to the processor 1012 using a bus, or a direct connection to the processor 1012 in a chipset architecture, etc. Connection 1005 may also be a virtual connection, a networked connection, or a logical connection.

[0117]

[0129] In some embodiments, the computing system 1200 is a distributed system in which the functions described herein may be distributed across a data center, multiple data centers, a peer network, and so on. In some embodiments, one or more of the system components described represent many such components, each of which performs some or all of the functions described therein. In some embodiments, the components may be physical or virtual devices.

[0118]

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

[0119]

[0131] The processor 1012 may include any general-purpose processor and hardware or software services, such as services 1232, 1234, and 1236 stored in memory device 1230, configured to control the processor 1012 and dedicated processors, where software instructions are incorporated into the actual processor design. The processor 1012 may be a fully self-contained computing system that essentially includes multiple cores or processors, buses, memory controllers, caches, etc. A multicore processor may be symmetrical or asymmetrical.

[0120]

[0132] To enable user interaction, the computing system 1200 includes an input device 1245, which can represent any number of input mechanisms, such as a microphone for voice, a touch-sensitive screen for gesture or graphical input, a keyboard, a mouse, motion input, or voice. The computing system 1200 may also include an output device 1235, which may be one or more of several output mechanisms. In some cases, a multimodal system can allow the user to provide multiple types of inputs and outputs for communication with the computing system 1200. The computing system 1200 may generally include a communication interface 1240 that can control and manage user inputs and system outputs.

[0121]

[0133] Communication interfaces include audio jacks / plugs, microphone jacks / plugs, Universal Serial Bus (USB) ports / plugs, Apple® Lightning® ports / plugs, Ethernet® ports / plugs, fiber optic ports / plugs, proprietary wired ports / plugs, Bluetooth® wireless signal transmission, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) wireless signal transmission, IBEACON® wireless signal transmission, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) wireless signal transmission, Near Field Communication (NFC) wireless signal transmission, Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC) wireless signal transmission, 802.11 Wi-Fi wireless signal transmission, and Wireless Local Area Network. Wired and / or wireless transceivers, including those utilizing (WLAN) signaling, visible light communications (VLC), worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX®), infrared (IR) communications wireless signaling, public switched telephone network (PSTN) signaling, integrated services digital network (ISDN) signaling, 3G / 4G / 5G / LTE cellular data network wireless signaling, ad hoc network signaling, radio signaling, microwave signaling, infrared signaling, visible light signaling, ultraviolet light signaling, wireless signaling along the electromagnetic spectrum, or any combination thereof, may be used to perform or enable the reception and / or transmission of wired or wireless communications.

[0122]

[0134] The communication interface 1240 may also include one or more GNSS receivers or transceivers used to determine the location of the computing system 1200 based on the reception of one or more signals from one or more satellites associated with one or more Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) systems. GNSS systems include, but are not limited to, the US-based Global Positioning System (GPS), the Russian-based Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS), the China-based Beidou Navigation Satellite System (BDS), and the European-based Galileo GNSS. There are no restrictions on operation on any particular hardware configuration, and therefore the basic features described herein can be easily substituted with improved hardware or firmware configurations as they are developed.

[0123]

[0135] The storage device 1230 may be a non-volatile and / or non-temporary and / or computer-readable memory device, such as a magnetic cassette, flash memory card, solid memory device, digital multipurpose disk, cartridge, floppy disk, flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, magnetic strip / stripe, any other magnetic storage medium, flash memory, memristor memory, any other solid memory, compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) optical disc, rewritable compact disc (CD) optical disc, digital video disc (DVD) optical disc, Blu-ray® disc (BDD) optical disc, holographic optical disc, another optical medium, Secure Digital (SD) card, microSecure Digital (microSD) card, Memory This could be a hard disk or other type of computer-readable medium capable of storing computer-accessible data, such as Stick® cards, smart card chips, EMV chips, subscriber identification module (SIM) cards, mini / micro / nano / pico SIM cards, other integrated circuit (IC) chips / cards, random access memory (RAM), static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM®), flash EPROM (FLASHEPROM), cache memory (L1 / L2 / L3 / L4 / L5 / L#), resistive random access memory (RRAM® / ReRAM), phase-change memory (PCM), spin-transfer torque RAM (STT-RAM), other memory chips or cartridges, and / or combinations thereof.

[0124]

[0136] The storage device 1230 may include software services, servers, services, etc., which cause the system to perform functions when code defining such software is executed by the processor 1012. In some embodiments, a hardware service that performs a particular function may include software components stored on a computer-readable medium with respect to the necessary hardware components, such as the processor 1012, connection 1005, and output device 1235, in order to perform that function. The term “computer-readable medium” includes, but is not limited to, portable or non-portable storage devices, optical storage devices, and various other media capable of storing, containing, or carrying (one or more) instructions and / or data. The computer-readable medium may include non-temporary media in which data can be stored, and it does not include carrier waves and / or temporary electronic signals that propagate wirelessly or via wired connections.

[0125]

[0137] Examples of non-temporary media include, but are not limited to, magnetic disks or tapes, optical storage media such as compact discs (CDs) or digital multipurpose discs (DVDs), flash memory, memory, or memory devices. Computer-readable media may store code and / or machine-executable instructions thereon, which may represent procedures, functions, subprograms, programs, routines, subroutines, modules, software packages, classes, or any combination of instructions, data structures, or program statements. Code segments may be coupled to other code segments or hardware circuits by passing and / or receiving information, data, arguments, parameters, or memory content. Information, arguments, parameters, data, etc., may be passed, forwarded, or transmitted via any preferred means, including memory sharing, message passing, token passing, network transmission, etc.

[0126]

[0138] Specific details have been provided in the above description to provide a complete understanding of the embodiments and examples provided herein, but those skilled in the art will recognize that this application is not limited thereto. Therefore, while exemplary embodiments of this application are described in detail herein, it should be understood that, except as limited by the prior art, the inventive concept may be embodied and adopted in various ways, and the appended claims should be interpreted to include such variations. Various features and aspects of the applications described above may be used individually or together. Furthermore, embodiments may be used in any number of environments and applications other than those described herein without departing from the broader spirit and scope of this specification. Therefore, this specification and the drawings should be considered illustrative and not restrictive. For illustrative purposes, the methods have been described in a specific order. It should be understood that in alternative embodiments, the methods may be carried out in a different order than described.

[0127]

[0139] For clarity of explanation, in some cases the technology may be presented as including individual functional blocks comprising devices, device components, steps or routines in a method embodied in software, or combinations of hardware and software. Additional components other than those shown in the figures and / or described herein may be used. For example, circuits, systems, networks, processes, and other components may be shown as components in the form of block diagrams to avoid obscuring the embodiment with unnecessary details. In other cases, well-known circuits, processes, algorithms, structures, and techniques may be shown without unnecessary details to avoid obscuring the embodiment.

[0128]

[0140] Furthermore, those skilled in the art will understand that the various exemplary logic blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithmic steps described in relation to the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination of both. To clearly demonstrate this hardware-software compatibility, various exemplary components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above in general terms of their function. Whether such functions are implemented as hardware or software depends on the specific application and the design constraints imposed on the overall system. Those skilled in the art may implement the described functions in various ways for each specific application, but such decisions should not be construed as resulting in a departure from the scope of this disclosure.

[0129]

[0141] Individual embodiments may be described above as processes or methods shown as flowcharts, flow diagrams, data flow diagrams, structural diagrams, or block diagrams. While flowcharts may describe operations as sequential processes, many operations may occur in parallel or simultaneously. Furthermore, the order of operations may be rearranged. When the operations of a process are completed, the process terminates, but it may have additional steps not shown in the diagram. A process may correspond to a method, function, procedure, subroutine, subprogram, etc. When a process corresponds to a function, its termination may correspond to the function returning to a calling function or the main function.

[0130]

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

[0131]

[0143] In some embodiments, computer-readable storage devices, media, and memories may include cable signals or wireless signals, such as bitstreams. However, as stated, non-transitory computer-readable storage medium explicitly excludes media such as energy, carrier signals, electromagnetic waves, and signals themselves.

[0132]

[0144] Those skilled in the art will understand that information and signals can be represented using any of the various different techniques and methods. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be mentioned throughout the above description may, in some cases, be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, light fields or optical particles, or any combination thereof, depending in part with the specific application, part with the desired design, part with the corresponding technology, etc.

[0133]

[0145] The various exemplary logic blocks, modules, and circuits described in relation to the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented or executed using hardware, software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description languages, or any combination thereof, and may take on any of the various form factors. When implemented in software, firmware, middleware, or microcode, program code or code segments (e.g., computer program products) for performing the required tasks may be stored in computer-readable or machine-readable media. One or more processors may perform the required tasks. Examples of form factors include laptops, smartphones, mobile phones, tablet devices or other small form factor personal computers, personal digital assistants, rack-mount devices, and standalone devices. The functions described herein may also be embodied in peripheral devices or add-in cards. Such functions may also, as a further example, be implemented on a circuit board between different chips or different processes running in a single device.

[0134]

[0146] Instructions, a medium for transmitting such instructions, computing resources for executing them, and other structures for supporting such computing resources are exemplary means for providing the functionality described herein.

[0135]

[0147] The techniques described herein may also be implemented in electronic hardware, computer software, firmware, or any combination thereof. Such techniques may be implemented in any of a variety of devices, such as general-purpose computers, wireless communication device handsets, or integrated circuit devices with multiple applications, including applications in wireless communication device handsets and other devices. Features described as modules or components may be implemented together in an integrated logic device, or separately as individual but interoperable logic devices. When implemented in software, the techniques may be at least partially realized by a computer-readable data storage medium comprising program code containing instructions that, when executed, perform one or more of the methods, algorithms, and / or operations described above. The computer-readable data storage medium may form part of a computer program product, which may include packaging materials. The computer-readable medium may comprise memory or data storage media such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, magnetic or optical data storage media, etc. This technique can be implemented, at least in part, by computer-readable communication media, such as propagating signals or radio waves, that carry or communicate program code in the form of instructions or data structures, and which can be accessed, read, and / or executed by a computer.

[0136]

[0148] The program code may be executed by a processor which may include one or more processors, such as one or more digital signal processors (DSPs), general-purpose microprocessors, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable logic arrays (FPGAs), or other equivalent integrated circuits or discrete logic circuits. Such a processor may be configured to implement any of the techniques described herein. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but alternatively, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, for example, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors working with a DSP core, or any other such configuration. Accordingly, the term “processor” as used herein may refer to any of the above structures, any combination thereof, or any other structure or device suitable for implementing the techniques described herein.

[0137]

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

[0138]

[0150] When components are described as "configured to perform certain operations," such configurations can be achieved, for example, by designing electronic circuits or other hardware to perform the operations, by programming programmable electronic circuits (e.g., a microprocessor, or other suitable electronic circuits) to perform the operations, or by any combination thereof.

[0139]

[0151] The phrase "combined" refers to any component that is physically connected to another component, either directly or indirectly, and / or any component that communicates with another component, either directly or indirectly (for example, connected to another component via a wired or wireless connection and / or other suitable communication interface).

[0140]

[0152] Claim language or other wording that states "at least one of the sets" and / or "one or more of the sets" indicates that one member of the sets or multiple members of the sets (in any combination) satisfy the claim. For example, claim language that states "at least one of A and B" or "at least one of A or B" means A, B, or A and B. In another example, claim language that states "at least one of A, B, and C" or "at least one of A, B, or C" means A, B, C, or A and B, or A and C, or B and C, or A and B and C. The wording "at least one of the sets" and / or "one or more of the sets" does not limit the sets to the items listed in the sets. For example, claim language that states "at least one of A and B" or "at least one of A or B" may mean A, B, or A and B, and may also include items not listed in the A and B set.

[0141]

[0153] Exemplary aspects of this disclosure include the following:

[0142]

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

[0143]

[0155] Embodiment 2: The apparatus according to Embodiment 1, wherein at least one adjacent beam is further determined based on an adjacent beam rule stored in at least one memory.

[0144]

[0156] Embodiment 3: The apparatus according to any one of Embodiments 1 to 2, wherein at least one adjacent beam is further determined based on adjacent beam rules received from a location server.

[0145]

[0157] Embodiment 4: The apparatus according to any one of embodiments 1 to 3, wherein at least one adjacent beam is further determined based on adjacent beam rules received from a base station.

[0146]

[0158] Embodiment 5: The apparatus according to any one of Embodiments 1 to 4, wherein the PRS beamset is associated with a plurality of beams, and the plurality of beams include an assigned beam and at least one adjacent beam.

[0147]

[0159] Embodiment 6: The apparatus according to any one of Embodiments 1 to 5, wherein multiple beams associated with a PRS beamset are sequentially ordered by adjacency relationships in an angular domain.

[0148]

[0160] Embodiment 7: The apparatus according to any one of embodiments 1 to 6, wherein at least one adjacent beam is physically adjacent to the assigned beam in at least one of the azimuthal domain, elevation domain, or combination thereof.

[0149]

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

[0150]

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

[0151]

[0163] Embodiment 10: The apparatus according to any one of Embodiments 1 to 9, wherein beam index information is received from a location server.

[0152]

[0164] Embodiment 11: The apparatus according to any one of Embodiments 1 to 10, wherein the location measurement includes at least one of the following: downlink disconnection angle, PRS base reference signal received power (RSRP) measurement, earliest path arrival time, phase information, amplitude information, location information, or a combination thereof.

[0153]

[0165] Embodiment 12: The apparatus according to any one of embodiments 1 to 11, wherein at least one processor is further configured to receive updated beam index information related to an updated PRS beamset via at least one receiver.

[0154]

[0166] Embodiment 13: The apparatus according to any one of Embodiments 1 to 12, wherein the beam index information is the PRS resource index.

[0155]

[0167] Embodiment 14: The apparatus according to any one of Embodiments 1 to 13, wherein the assigned beam is based on at least one of the expected beam index, expected PRS resource index, reference PRS resource, or a combination thereof.

[0156]

[0168] Embodiment 15: The apparatus according to any one of Embodiments 1 to 14, wherein the processor is further configured to determine a first adjacent beam based on assigned beam and beam index information, wherein the first adjacent beam is adjacent to the assigned beam, and a second adjacent beam based on assigned beam and beam index information, wherein the second adjacent beam is adjacent to the assigned beam, and wherein the first adjacent beam is different from the second adjacent beam.

[0157]

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

[0158]

[0170] Embodiment 17: A computer implementation method for enabling positioning reference signal (PRS) prioritization, the method comprising: receiving beam index information related to a PRS beamset in a user device; determining, by the user device, an assigned beam, at least one adjacent beam, or both, based on the beam index information; and determining, by the user device, one or more location measurements based on at least one of the assigned beam, at least one adjacent beam, or both.

[0159]

[0171] Embodiment 18: The computer implementation method according to Embodiment 17, wherein at least one adjacent beam is further determined based on adjacent beam rules stored in the user equipment.

[0160]

[0172] Embodiment 19: A computer implementation method according to any one of embodiments 17 to 18, wherein at least one adjacent beam is further determined based on adjacent beam rules received from a location server.

[0161]

[0173] Embodiment 20: A computer implementation method according to any one of embodiments 17 to 19, wherein at least one adjacent beam is further determined based on adjacent beam rules received from a base station.

[0162]

[0174] Embodiment 21: A computer implementation method according to any one of Embodiments 17 to 20, wherein the PRS beamset is associated with a plurality of beams, and the plurality of beams include an assigned beam and at least one adjacent beam.

[0163]

[0175] Embodiment 22: A computer implementation method according to any one of Embodiments 17 to 21, wherein multiple beams associated with a PRS beamset are sequentially ordered by adjacency relationships in an angular domain.

[0164]

[0176] Embodiment 23: A computer implementation method according to any one of embodiments 17 to 22, wherein at least one adjacent beam is physically adjacent to the assigned beam in at least one of the azimuthal domain, elevation domain, or combination thereof.

[0165]

[0177] Embodiment 24: A computer implementation method according to any one of embodiments 17 to 23, wherein beam index information is generated based on at least one of the following: transmit / receive point (TRP) location, antenna array panel location, estimated user equipment (UE) location, or a combination thereof.

[0166]

[0178] Embodiment 25: A computer implementation method according to any one of Embodiments 17 to 24, wherein beam index information is received from a base station.

[0167]

[0179] Embodiment 26: A computer implementation method according to any one of Embodiments 17 to 25, wherein beam index information is received from a location server.

[0168]

[0180] Embodiment 27: A computer implementation method according to any one of Embodiments 17 to 26, wherein the location measurement includes at least one of the following: downlink disconnection angle, PRS base reference signal received power (RSRP) measurement, earliest path arrival time, phase information, amplitude information, location information, or a combination thereof.

[0169]

[0181] Embodiment 28: A computer implementation method according to any one of Embodiments 17 to 27, further comprising receiving updated beam index information related to an updated PRS beamset.

[0170]

[0182] Embodiment 29: A computer implementation method according to any one of Embodiments 17 to 28, wherein the beam index information is a PRS resource index.

[0171]

[0183] Embodiment 30: A computer implementation method according to any one of Embodiments 17 to 29, wherein the allocated beam is based on at least one of the expected beam index, expected PRS resource index, reference PRS resource, or a combination thereof.

[0172]

[0184] Embodiment 31: A computer implementation method according to any one of Embodiments 17 to 30, wherein determining at least one adjacent beam comprises determining a first adjacent beam based on an assigned beam and beam index information, wherein the first adjacent beam is adjacent to the assigned beam, and determining a second adjacent beam based on an assigned beam and beam index information, wherein the second adjacent beam is adjacent to the assigned beam, and wherein the first adjacent beam is different from the second adjacent beam.

[0173]

[0185] Embodiment 32: A computer implementation method according to any one of Embodiments 17 to 31, wherein determining at least one adjacent beam comprises determining a third adjacent beam based on assigned beam and beam index information, wherein the third adjacent beam is adjacent to a first adjacent beam, and determining a fourth adjacent beam based on assigned beam and beam index information, wherein the fourth adjacent beam is adjacent to a second adjacent beam, and wherein the third adjacent beam is different from the fourth adjacent beam.

[0174]

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

[0175]

[0187] Embodiment 34: The apparatus according to Embodiment 33, wherein at least one adjacent beam is further determined based on adjacent beam rules stored in the apparatus.

[0176]

[0188] Embodiment 35: The apparatus according to any one of embodiments 33 to 34, wherein at least one adjacent beam is further determined based on adjacent beam rules received from a location server.

[0177]

[0189] Embodiment 36: The apparatus according to any one of embodiments 33 to 35, wherein at least one adjacent beam is further determined based on adjacent beam rules received from a base station.

[0178]

[0190] Embodiment 37: The apparatus according to any one of embodiments 33 to 36, wherein the PRS beamset is associated with a plurality of beams, the plurality of beams including an assigned beam and at least one adjacent beam.

[0179]

[0191] Embodiment 38: The apparatus according to any one of embodiments 33 to 37, wherein multiple beams associated with a PRS beamset are sequentially ordered by adjacency relationships in an angular domain.

[0180]

[0192] Embodiment 39: The apparatus according to any one of embodiments 33 to 38, wherein at least one adjacent beam is physically adjacent to the assigned beam in at least one of the azimuthal domain, elevation domain, or combination thereof.

[0181]

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

[0182]

[0194] Embodiment 41: The apparatus according to any one of Embodiments 33 to 40, wherein beam index information is received from a base station.

[0183]

[0195] Embodiment 42: The apparatus according to any one of Embodiments 33 to 41, wherein beam index information is received from a location server.

[0184]

[0196] Apparatus 43: Apparatus according to any one of Apparatus 33 to 42, wherein the location measurement includes at least one of the following: downlink disconnection angle, PRS base reference signal received power (RSRP) measurement, earliest path arrival time, phase information, amplitude information, location information, or a combination thereof.

[0185]

[0197] Embodiment 44: The apparatus according to any one of embodiments 33 to 43, further comprising means for receiving updated beam index information related to an updated PRS beamset.

[0186]

[0198] Embodiment 45: The apparatus according to any one of Embodiments 33 to 44, wherein the beam index information is the PRS resource index.

[0187]

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

[0188]

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

[0189]

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

[0190]

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

[0191]

[0203] Embodiment 50: A non-temporary computer-readable storage medium according to Embodiment 49, wherein at least one adjacent beam is further determined based on adjacent beam rules stored in the storage medium.

[0192]

[0204] Embodiment 51: A non-temporary computer-readable storage medium according to any one of embodiments 49 to 50, wherein at least one adjacent beam is further determined based on adjacent beam rules received from a location server.

[0193]

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

[0194]

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

[0195]

[0207] Embodiment 54: A non-temporary computer-readable storage medium according to any one of Embodiments 49 to 53, wherein multiple beams associated with a PRS beamset are sequentially ordered by adjacency relationships in an angular domain.

[0196]

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

[0197]

[0209] Embodiment 56: A non-temporary computer-readable storage medium according to any one of embodiments 49 to 55, wherein beam index information is generated based on at least one of a transmit / receive point (TRP) location, an antenna array panel location, an estimated user equipment (UE) location, or a combination thereof.

[0198]

[0210] Embodiment 57: A non-temporary computer-readable storage medium according to any one of Embodiments 49 to 56, wherein beam index information is received from a base station.

[0199]

[0211] Embodiment 58: A non-temporary computer-readable storage medium according to any one of Embodiments 49 to 57, wherein beam index information is received from a location server.

[0200]

[0212] Embodiment 59: A non-temporary computer-readable storage medium according to any one of Embodiments 49 to 58, wherein the location measurement includes at least one of the following: downlink disconnection angle, PRS base reference signal received power (RSRP) measurement, earliest path arrival time, phase information, amplitude information, location information, or a combination thereof.

[0201]

[0213] Embodiment 60: A non-temporary computer-readable storage medium according to any one of embodiments 49 to 59, wherein at least one instruction further causes a computer or processor to receive updated beam index information relating to an updated PRS beamset.

[0202]

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

[0203]

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

[0204]

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

[0205]

[0217] Aspect 64: A non-temporary computer-readable storage medium according to any one of aspects 49 to 63, wherein at least one instruction causes a computer or processor to determine a third adjacent beam based on assigned beam and beam index information, wherein the third adjacent beam is adjacent to the first adjacent beam, and a fourth adjacent beam based on assigned beam and beam index information, wherein the fourth adjacent beam is adjacent to the second adjacent beam, and the third adjacent beam is different from the fourth adjacent beam. The invention described in the original claims of this application is listed below. [C1] A device for enabling positioning reference signals (PRS) prioritization, wherein the device comprises at least one receiver and At least one memory, A processor coupled to the at least one receiver and the at least one memory. The at least one processor is provided The receiver receives beam index information related to the PRS beamset via at least one of the aforementioned receivers, Based on the beam index information, determine the assigned beam, at least one adjacent beam, or both. Determining one or more location measurements based on the assigned beam, at least one adjacent beam, or both. A device configured to perform the following actions. [C2] The apparatus according to C1, wherein the at least one adjacent beam is further determined based on adjacent beam rules stored in the at least one memory. [C3] The apparatus according to C1, wherein the at least one adjacent beam is further determined based on adjacent beam rules received from a location server. [C4] The apparatus according to C1, wherein the at least one adjacent beam is further determined based on adjacent beam rules received from a base station. [C5] The apparatus according to C1, wherein the PRS beamset is associated with a plurality of beams, the plurality of beams including the assigned beam and the at least one adjacent beam. [C6] The apparatus according to C5, wherein the plurality of beams associated with the PRS beamset are sequentially ordered by their adjacency in an angular domain. [C7] The apparatus according to C1, wherein the at least one adjacent beam is physically adjacent to the assigned beam in at least one of the azimuthal domain, the elevation domain, or a combination thereof. [C8] The apparatus according to C1, wherein the beam index information is generated based on at least one of the following: a transmit / receive point (TRP) location, an antenna array panel location, an estimated user equipment (UE) location, or a combination thereof. [C9] The apparatus described in C1, which receives the aforementioned beam index information from the base station. [C10] The apparatus described in C1, which receives the aforementioned beam index information from the location server. [C11] The apparatus according to C1, wherein the location measurement includes at least one of the following: downlink disconnection angle, PRS base reference signal received power (RSRP), earliest path arrival time, phase information, amplitude information, location information, or a combination thereof. [C12] The apparatus according to C1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive updated beam index information related to an updated PRS beamset via the at least one receiver. [C13] The apparatus described in C1, wherein the beam index information is the PRS resource index. [C14] The apparatus according to C1, wherein the assigned beam is based on at least one of the following: an expected beam index, an expected PRS resource index, a reference PRS resource, or a combination thereof. [C15] To determine the at least one adjacent beam, the processor: Determining a first adjacent beam based on the assigned beam and the beam index information, wherein the first adjacent beam is adjacent to the assigned beam, Determining a second adjacent beam based on the assigned beam and the beam index information, wherein the second adjacent beam is adjacent to the assigned beam, and wherein the first adjacent beam is different from the second adjacent beam. The apparatus described in C1, further configured to perform the following actions. [C16] To determine the at least one adjacent beam, the processor: A third adjacent beam is determined based on the assigned beam and the beam index information, and therein, the third adjacent beam is adjacent to the first adjacent beam, A fourth adjacent beam is determined based on the assigned beam and the beam index information, wherein the fourth adjacent beam is adjacent to the second adjacent beam, and the third adjacent beam is different from the fourth adjacent beam. The apparatus described in C15, further configured to perform the following actions. [C17] A computer implementation method for enabling positioning reference signals (PRS) prioritization, wherein the method is The user equipment receives beam index information related to the PRS beamset, The user device determines, based on the beam index information, the assigned beam, at least one adjacent beam, or both. The user equipment determines one or more location measurements based on the assigned beam, the at least one adjacent beam, or both. A computer implementation method comprising the above. [C18] The computer implementation method according to C17, wherein the at least one adjacent beam is further determined based on adjacent beam rules stored in the user device. [C19] The computer implementation method according to C17, wherein the at least one adjacent beam is further determined based on adjacent beam rules received from a location server. [C20] The computer implementation method according to C17, wherein the at least one adjacent beam is further determined based on adjacent beam rules received from a base station. [C21] The computer implementation method according to C17, wherein the PRS beamset is associated with a plurality of beams, and the plurality of beams include the assigned beam and the at least one adjacent beam. [C22] The computer implementation method according to C21, wherein the plurality of beams associated with the PRS beamset are sequentially ordered by adjacency relationships in the angular domain. [C23] The computer implementation method according to C17, wherein the at least one adjacent beam is physically adjacent to the assigned beam in at least one of the azimuthal domain, the elevation domain, or a combination thereof. [C24] The computer implementation method according to C17, wherein the beam index information is generated based on at least one of the following: a transmit / receive point (TRP) location, an antenna array panel location, an estimated user equipment (UE) location, or a combination thereof. [C25] The computer implementation method described in C17, wherein the beam index information is received from the base station. [C26] The computer implementation method described in C17, wherein the beam index information is received from the location server. [C27] The computer implementation method according to C17, wherein the location measurement includes at least one of the following: downlink disconnection angle, PRS base reference signal received power (RSRP) measurement, earliest path arrival time, phase information, amplitude information, location information, or a combination thereof. [C28] A computer implementation method described in C17, further comprising receiving updated beam index information related to an updated PRS beamset. [C29] The computer implementation method described in C17, wherein the beam index information is the PRS resource index. [C30] The computer implementation method described in C17, wherein the assigned beam is based on at least one of the following: an expected beam index, an expected PRS resource index, a reference PRS resource, or a combination thereof. [C31] Determining the at least one adjacent beam is Determining a first adjacent beam based on the assigned beam and the beam index information, wherein the first adjacent beam is adjacent to the assigned beam, Determining a second adjacent beam based on the assigned beam and the beam index information, wherein the second adjacent beam is adjacent to the assigned beam, and wherein the first adjacent beam is different from the second adjacent beam. A computer implementation method as described in C17, comprising: [C32] Determining the at least one adjacent beam is A third adjacent beam is determined based on the assigned beam and the beam index information, and therein, the third adjacent beam is adjacent to the first adjacent beam, A fourth adjacent beam is determined based on the assigned beam and the beam index information, wherein the fourth adjacent beam is adjacent to the second adjacent beam, and the third adjacent beam is different from the fourth adjacent beam. A computer implementation method as described in C31, comprising: [C33] A device for enabling positioning reference signal (PRS) prioritization, wherein the device includes means for receiving beam index information related to a PRS beamset, Means for determining the assigned beam, at least one adjacent beam, or both, based on the beam index information, Means for determining one or more location measurements based on the assigned beam, the at least one adjacent beam, or both. A device equipped with the following features. [C34] The apparatus according to C33, wherein the at least one adjacent beam is further determined based on adjacent beam rules stored in the apparatus. [C35] The apparatus according to C33, wherein the at least one adjacent beam is further determined based on adjacent beam rules received from a location server. [C36] The apparatus according to C33, wherein the at least one adjacent beam is further determined based on adjacent beam rules received from a base station. [C37] The apparatus according to C33, wherein the PRS beamset is associated with a plurality of beams, the plurality of beams including the assigned beam and the at least one adjacent beam. [C38] The apparatus according to C37, wherein the plurality of beams associated with the PRS beamset are sequentially ordered by their adjacency in an angular domain. [C39] The apparatus according to C33, wherein the at least one adjacent beam is physically adjacent to the assigned beam in at least one of the azimuthal domain, the elevation domain, or a combination thereof. [C40] The apparatus according to C33, wherein the beam index information is generated based on at least one of the following: transmit / receive point (TRP) location, antenna array panel location, estimated user equipment (UE) location, or a combination thereof. [C41] The apparatus described in C33, which receives the aforementioned beam index information from the base station. [C42] The apparatus described in C33, which receives the aforementioned beam index information from the location server. [C43] The apparatus according to C33, wherein the location measurement includes at least one of the following: downlink disconnection angle, PRS base reference signal received power (RSRP), earliest path arrival time, phase information, amplitude information, location information, or a combination thereof. [C44] The apparatus described in C33 further comprises means for receiving updated beam index information related to an updated PRS beamset. [C45] The apparatus described in C33, wherein the beam index information is the PRS resource index. [C46] The apparatus according to C33, wherein the assigned beam is based on at least one of the following: an expected beam index, an expected PRS resource index, a reference PRS resource, or a combination thereof. [C47] The means for determining the at least one adjacent beam is, Means for determining a first adjacent beam based on the assigned beam and the beam index information, wherein the first adjacent beam is adjacent to the assigned beam, Means for determining a second adjacent beam based on the assigned beam and the beam index information, wherein the second adjacent beam is adjacent to the assigned beam, and wherein the first adjacent beam is different from the second adjacent beam. The apparatus described in C33, comprising: [C48] The means for determining the at least one adjacent beam is, Means for determining a third adjacent beam based on the assigned beam and the beam index information, wherein the third adjacent beam is adjacent to the first adjacent beam, Means for determining a fourth adjacent beam based on the assigned beam and the beam index information, wherein the fourth adjacent beam is adjacent to the second adjacent beam, and wherein the third adjacent beam is different from the fourth adjacent beam. The apparatus described in C47, comprising: [C49] In a computer or processor, Receiving beam index information related to the positioning reference signal (PRS) beamset, Based on the beam index information, determine the assigned beam, at least one adjacent beam, or both. Determining one or more location measurements based on the assigned beam, the at least one adjacent beam, or both. A non-temporary computer-readable storage medium having at least one instruction for performing a certain action. [C50] The non-temporary computer-readable storage medium according to C49, wherein the at least one adjacent beam is further determined based on adjacent beam rules stored in the storage medium. [C51] The non-temporary computer-readable storage medium according to C49, wherein the at least one adjacent beam is further determined based on adjacent beam rules received from a location server. [C52] The non-temporary computer-readable storage medium according to C49, wherein the at least one adjacent beam is further determined based on adjacent beam rules received from a base station. [C53] The non-temporary computer-readable storage medium according to C49, wherein the PRS beamset is associated with a plurality of beams, the plurality of beams including the assigned beam and the at least one adjacent beam. [C54] A non-temporary computer-readable storage medium according to C53, wherein the plurality of beams associated with the PRS beamset are sequentially ordered by adjacency relationships in angular domains. [C55] The non-temporary computer-readable storage medium according to C49, wherein the at least one adjacent beam is physically adjacent to the assigned beam in at least one of the azimuthal domain, the elevation domain, or a combination thereof. [C56] A non-temporary computer-readable storage medium according to C49, wherein the beam index information is generated based on at least one of the following: a transmit / receive point (TRP) location, an antenna array panel location, an estimated user equipment (UE) location, or a combination thereof. [C57] A non-temporary computer-readable storage medium as described in C49, on which the beam index information is received from the base station. [C58] A non-temporary computer-readable storage medium as described in C49, on which the beam index information is received from the location server. [C59] A non-temporary computer-readable storage medium according to C49, wherein the location measurement includes at least one of the following: downlink departure angle, PRS base reference signal received power (RSRP) measurement, earliest path arrival time, phase information, amplitude information, location information, or a combination thereof. [C60] The non-temporary computer-readable storage medium according to C49, wherein at least one instruction further causes the computer or the processor to receive updated beam index information related to the updated PRS beamset. [C61] A non-temporary computer-readable storage medium as described in C49, wherein the beam index information is a PRS resource index. [C62] A non-temporary computer-readable storage medium according to C49, wherein the allocated beam is based on at least one of the expected beam index, expected PRS resource index, reference PRS resource, or a combination thereof. [C63] To determine the at least one adjacent beam, the at least one instruction further provides the computer or processor: Determining a first adjacent beam based on the assigned beam and the beam index information, wherein the first adjacent beam is adjacent to the assigned beam, Determining a second adjacent beam based on the assigned beam and the beam index information, wherein the second adjacent beam is adjacent to the assigned beam, and wherein the first adjacent beam is different from the second adjacent beam. A non-temporary computer-readable storage medium as described in C49, which enables the following: [C64] To determine the at least one adjacent beam, the at least one instruction further provides the computer or processor: A third adjacent beam is determined based on the assigned beam and the beam index information, and therein, the third adjacent beam is adjacent to the first adjacent beam, A fourth adjacent beam is determined based on the assigned beam and the beam index information, wherein the fourth adjacent beam is adjacent to the second adjacent beam, and the third adjacent beam is different from the fourth adjacent beam. A non-temporary computer-readable storage medium described in C64 that enables the following.

Claims

1. A device for enabling the processing sequence of positioning reference signals (PRS), wherein the device is At least one receiver, At least one memory, A processor coupled to the at least one receiver and the at least one memory. The at least one processor is The system receives beam index information related to an assigned beam among multiple beams of a PRS beamset via at least one of the receivers, and the assigned beam is the beam that is processed first in the location measurement. Using the beam adjacency sequence of the assigned beam and the plurality of beams in the PRS beamset, the processing order for location measurements of at least one other beam in the PRS beamset is determined, wherein the processing order for location measurements of at least one adjacent beam follows the location measurement of the assigned beam, and the at least one adjacent beam is adjacent to the assigned beam in the PRS beamset based on angular proximity. In accordance with the processing sequence, one or more location measurements are determined based on the assigned beam and the at least one adjacent beam. A device configured to perform the following actions.

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

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

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

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

6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the location measurement uses at least one of the following: downlink departure angle, PRS base reference signal received power (RSRP), arrival time of the earliest path, phase information, amplitude information, location information, or a combination thereof.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive updated beam index information related to an updated PRS beamset via the at least one receiver.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the beam index information is the PRS resource index.

9. To determine the at least one adjacent beam, the processor: The first adjacent beam is determined using the assigned beam and the beam index information, Determining a second adjacent beam using the assigned beam and the beam index information, wherein the first adjacent beam is different from the second adjacent beam. The apparatus according to claim 1, further configured to perform the following:

10. To determine the at least one adjacent beam, the processor: Determining a third adjacent beam using the first adjacent beam and the beam index information, wherein the third adjacent beam is adjacent to the first adjacent beam, Determining a fourth adjacent beam using the second adjacent beam and the beam index information, wherein the fourth adjacent beam is adjacent to the second adjacent beam, and wherein the third adjacent beam is different from the fourth adjacent beam. The apparatus according to claim 9, further configured to perform the following:

11. A computer implementation method for enabling the processing sequence of positioning reference signals (PRS), wherein the method is The user equipment receives beam index information related to an assigned beam among multiple beams of the PRS beamset, and the assigned beam is the beam that is processed first in the location measurement. The user equipment determines the processing order for location measurements of at least one other beam in the PRS beamset, using the beam adjacency order of the assigned beam and the plurality of beams in the PRS beamset, wherein the processing order for location measurements of at least one adjacent beam follows the location measurement of the assigned beam, and the at least one adjacent beam is adjacent to the assigned beam in the PRS beamset based on angular proximity. The user device determines one or more location measurements based on the assigned beam and at least one adjacent beam, according to the processing sequence. A computer implementation method comprising the above.

12. A non-temporary computer-readable storage medium comprising at least one instruction for causing a computer or processor to perform the method of claim 11.

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