Rs configuration and management

Abstract

A signal measurement assistance method includes: obtaining reference signal angle information comprising first indications indicating a first reference signal and a first expected angle of arrival of the first reference signal; and at least one of: requesting a transmission / reception point (TRP) to transmit, to a user equipment, the first indications; or requesting the TRP to search for the first reference signal based on the first expected angle of arrival.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This disclosure relates to the configuration and management of reference signals. [Previous Technology]

[0002] Wireless communication systems have undergone several generations of development, including first-generation analog wireless telephony service (1G), second-generation (2G) digital wireless telephony service (including transitional 2.5G and 2.75G networks), third-generation (3G) high-speed data wireless service with internet capabilities, fourth-generation (4G) service (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE) or WiMax), and fifth-generation (5G) service. Currently, there are many different types of wireless communication systems in use, including cellular and Personal Communication Service (PCS) systems. Known examples of cellular systems include the Cellular Analog Advanced Mobile Telephone System (AMPS), and digital cellular systems based on Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), and GSM TDMA variants.

[0003] The fifth-generation (5G) mobile standard requires higher data transmission speeds, a greater number of connections, better coverage, and other improvements. According to the Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance, the 5G standard is designed to provide tens of millions of bits per second of data rate to each of tens of thousands of users, and one billion bits per second of data rate to dozens of employees on an office floor. It should support hundreds of thousands of simultaneous connections to support large-scale sensor deployments. Therefore, the spectrum efficiency of 5G mobile communications should be significantly improved compared to the current 4G standard. Furthermore, signaling efficiency should be improved and latency should be significantly reduced compared to the current standard. [Summary of the Invention]

[0004] An example network entity includes: an interface; a memory; and a processor communicatively coupled to the interface and the memory and configured to: obtain reference signal angle information including a first indication, the first indication indicating a first reference signal and a first expected angle of arrival of the first reference signal; and perform at least one of the following operations: requesting a transmit / receive point (TRP) to transmit the first indication to a user equipment; or requesting the TRP to search for the first reference signal based on the first expected angle of arrival.

[0005] An example signal measurement assistance method, the method comprising: obtaining reference signal angle information including a first indication, the first indication indicating a first reference signal and a first expected angle of arrival of the first reference signal; and performing at least one of the following operations: requesting a transmit / receive point (TRP) to transmit the first indication to a user equipment; or requesting the TRP to search for the first reference signal based on the first expected angle of arrival.

[0006] An example user equipment includes: a transceiver; memory; and a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory and configured to: transmit angle usage capability information to a network entity via the transceiver, the angle usage capability information indicating the UE's ability to use signal angle information to measure a signal; receive a reference signal indication from the network entity via the transceiver, the reference signal indication indicating a reference signal and at least one reference signal angle search window corresponding to the reference signal; and search for the reference signal based on the at least one reference signal angle search window.

[0007] An example method for measuring a reference signal at a user equipment includes: transmitting an angle usage capability message from the user equipment to a network entity, the angle usage capability message indicating the user equipment's ability to measure a signal using signal angle information; receiving a reference signal indication from the network entity at the user equipment, the reference signal indication indicating a reference signal and at least one reference signal angle search window corresponding to the reference signal; searching for the reference signal at the user equipment based on the at least one reference signal angle search window; and measuring the reference signal at the user equipment.

Implementation Method

[0023] This document discusses techniques for facilitating the measurement of signals, such as reference signals. For example, a user equipment (UE) may instruct itself to use angle-aided information to search for, receive, and measure one or more capabilities of a (reference) signal. Capabilities may be indicated for a corresponding reference signal and / or one or more corresponding characteristics of the reference signal (e.g., frequency band, combination of frequency bands). A network entity may request a transmit / receive point to send angle-aided information to the UE to help reduce the angle search window that the UE uses to receive the (reference) signal. The UE may provide feedback to the network entity to help improve the angle-aided information. However, other examples may be implemented.

[0024] The items and / or techniques described herein may provide one or more of the following capabilities, as well as others not mentioned. The latency for location information determination can be reduced, for example, by reducing the time required to locate the signal to be measured. The accuracy of location information determination can be improved. Computational complexity can be reduced, for example, by reducing the processing required to locate the received signal. Other capabilities may be provided, and not every implementation according to this disclosure is required to provide any, let alone all, of the capabilities discussed.

[0025] Obtaining the location of a mobile device accessing a wireless network can be useful for many applications, including, for example, emergency calls, personal navigation, consumer asset tracking, locating friends or family members, etc. Existing positioning methods include those based on measuring radio signals transmitted from various devices or entities, including satellite vehicles (SVs) and terrestrial radio sources in the wireless network, such as base stations and access points. Standardization for 5G wireless networks is expected to include support for various positioning methods that can utilize reference signals transmitted from base stations for positioning decisions in a manner similar to the current use of Positioning Reference Signals (PRS) and / or Cell-Specific Reference Signals (CRS) in LTE wireless networks.

[0026] This description may refer to a sequence of actions to be performed by elements such as computing devices. The various actions described herein can be performed by special-purpose circuitry (e.g., application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs)), by program instructions being executed by one or more processors, or by a combination of both. The sequence of actions described herein can be implemented in a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a corresponding set of computer instructions that, upon execution, will cause the associated processor to perform the functions described herein. Thus, the aspects described herein can be implemented in several different forms, all of which fall within the scope of this disclosure, including the claimed subject matter.

[0027] As used herein, the terms “User Equipment” (UE) and “Base Station” are not specific to or otherwise limited to any particular Radio Access Technology (RAT) unless otherwise stated. Generally, such a UE can be any wireless communication device (e.g., mobile phone, router, tablet computer, laptop computer, consumer asset tracking device, Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc.) used by a user to communicate over a wireless communication network. The UE can be mobile or can (e.g., at certain times) be stationary and can communicate with a Radio Access Network (RAN). As used herein, the term “UE” can be interchangeably referred to as “Access Terminal” or “AT”, “Client Device”, “Wireless Device”, “Subscriber Device”, “Subscriber Terminal”, “Subscriber Station”, “User Terminal” or “UT”, “Mobile Terminal”, “Mobile Station”, “Mobile Device”, or variations thereof. Generally, a UE can communicate with a core network via the RAN, and through the core network, the UE can connect 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 the UE, such as wired access networks, WiFi networks (e.g., based on IEEE 802.11, etc.).

[0028] Depending on the network in which the base station is deployed, the base station may operate according to one of several RATs when communicating with the UE. Examples of base stations include access points (APs), network nodes, B-nodes, evolved B-nodes (eNBs), or general B-nodes (gNodeBs, gNBs). Additionally, in some systems, the base station may provide pure edge node signaling functions, while in others, it may provide additional control and / or network management functions.

[0029] The UE can be implemented through any of several types of devices, including but not limited to printed circuit (PC) cards, dense flash memory devices, external or internal modems, wireless or wired telephones, smartphones, tablet devices, consumer asset tracking devices, asset tags, etc. The communication link through which the UE can transmit signals to the RAN is called an uplink channel (e.g., reverse flow channel, reverse control channel, access channel, etc.). The communication link through which the RAN can transmit signals to the UE is called a downlink or forward link channel (e.g., paging channel, control channel, broadcast channel, forward flow channel, etc.). As used herein, the term flow channel (TCH) can refer to an uplink / reverse flow channel or a downlink / forward flow channel.

[0030] As used herein, depending on the context, the terms "cell" or "sector" may correspond to one of a number of cells of a base station or to the base station itself. The term "cell" may refer to a logical communication entity used to communicate with the base station (e.g., on a carrier) and may be associated with an identifier to distinguish adjacent cells operating via the same or different carriers (e.g., Entity Cell Identifier (PCID), Virtual Cell Identifier (VCID)). In some examples, a carrier may support multiple cells, and different cells may be configured according to different protocol types that provide access for different types of devices (e.g., Machine Type Communication (MTC), Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), or other protocol types). In some examples, the term "cell" may refer to a portion of the geographic coverage area on which a logical entity operates (e.g., a sector).

[0031] Referring to Figure 1, examples of the communication system 100 include UE 105, UE 106, a radio access network (RAN) (here, a fifth-generation (5G) next-generation (NG) RAN (NG-RAN) 135), a 5G core network (5GC) 140, and a server 150. UE 105 and / or UE 106 may be, for example, IoT devices, location tracker devices, cellular phones, vehicles (e.g., cars, trucks, buses, ships, etc.) or other devices. The 5G network may also be referred to as a new radio (NR) network; NG-RAN 135 may be referred to as 5G RAN or NR RAN; and 5GC 140 may be referred to as an NG core network (NGC). Standardization of NG-RAN and 5GC is underway within the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). Accordingly, NG-RAN 135 and 5GC 140 may comply with current or future standards for 5G support from 3GPP. NG-RAN 135 can be another type of RAN, such as 3G RAN, 4G LTE RAN, etc. UE 106 can be similarly configured and coupled to UE 105 to send and / or receive signals to similar other entities in system 100, but such signaling is not shown in Figure 1 for the sake of diagrammatic simplicity. Similarly, for simplicity, the discussion focuses on UE 105. Communication system 100 can use information from constellation 185 of satellite vehicles (SVs) 190, 191, 192, 193 for satellite positioning systems (SPS) (e.g., Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)), such as GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, or BeiDou, or some other local or regional SPS (such as the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), European Geostationary Navigation Coverage Service (EGNOS), or Wide Area Extended System (WAAS)). Additional components of communication system 100 are described below. The communication system 100 may include additional or alternative components.

[0032] As shown in Figure 1, NG-RAN 135 includes NR B-nodes (gNB) 110a, 110b and Next Generation Evolved B-node (ng-eNB) 114, and 5GC 140 includes Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 115, Talk Management Function (SMF) 117, Location Management Function (LMF) 120 and Gateway Mobility Location Center (GMLC) 125. gNBs 110a, 110b and ng-eNB 114 are communicatively coupled to each other, each configured to conduct bidirectional wireless communication with UE 105, and each communicatively coupled to AMF 115 and configured to conduct bidirectional communication with AMF 115. gNBs 110a, 110b and ng-eNB 114 may be referred to as base stations (BS). AMF 115, SMF 117, LMF 120, and GMLC 125 are communicatively coupled to each other, and GMLC is communicatively coupled to an external client 130. SMF 117 can be used as the initial contact point for a Service Control Function (SCF) (not shown) to establish, control, and delete media conversations. Base stations (such as gNB 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114) can be macrocells (e.g., high-power cellular base stations), small cells (e.g., low-power cellular base stations), or access points (e.g., short-range base stations configured to communicate using short-range technologies such as WiFi, WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth®, Bluetooth®-Low (BLE), Zigbee, etc.). One or more BSs (e.g., one or more of gNB 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114) can be configured to communicate with UE 105 via multiple carriers. Each of the gNB 110a, 110b and ng-eNB 114 can provide communication coverage for a corresponding geographic area (e.g., a cell). Each cell can be divided into multiple sectors based on the base station antennas.

[0033] Figure 1 provides a general explanation of the various components, wherein any or all of the components may be appropriately utilized, and each component may be repeated or omitted as needed. Specifically, although one UE 105 is explained, many UEs (e.g., hundreds, thousands, millions, etc.) may be utilized in the communication system 100. Similarly, the communication system 100 may include a larger (or smaller) number of SVs (i.e., more or fewer than the four SVs 190-193 shown), gNBs 110a and 110b, ng-eNB 114, AMF 115, external client 130, and / or other components. The explained connections connecting the various components in the communication system 100 include data and signaling connections, which may include additional (intermediate) components, direct or indirect physical and / or wireless connections, and / or additional networks. Furthermore, components may be rearranged, combined, separated, substituted, and / or omitted depending on the desired functionality.

[0034] Although Figure 1 illustrates a 5G-based network, similar network implementations and configurations can be used for other communication technologies, such as 3G, Long Term Evolution (LTE), etc. The implementations described herein (which are used for 5G technology and / or for one or more other communication technologies and / or protocols) can be used to transmit (or broadcast) directional synchronization signals, receive and measure directional signals at a UE (e.g., UE 105), and / or provide location assistance to UE 105 (via GMLC 125 or other location servers), and / or calculate the location of UE 105 at a location-capable device (such as UE 105, gNB 110a, 110b, or LMF 120) based on measurements of such directional transmissions received at UE 105. The Gateway Movement Location Center (GMLC) 125, Location Management Function (LMF) 120, Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 115, SMF 117, ng-eNB (Evolved B-Node) 114, and gNB (g B-Node) 110a, 110b are examples and may be replaced by or include these functions in various embodiments by various other location server functions and / or base station functions, respectively.

[0035] System 100 is capable of wireless communication because the components of system 100 can communicate directly or indirectly (at least sometimes using a wireless connection) for example via gNB 110a, 110b, ng-eNB 114 and / or 5GC 140 (and / or one or more other devices not shown, such as one or more other transceiver base stations). For indirect communication, the communication may be modified during transmission from one entity to another, for example, to change the header information of data packets, change the format, etc. UE 105 may include multiple UEs and may be mobile wireless communication devices, but can communicate wirelessly and via wired connections. UE 105 can be any of a variety of devices, such as a smartphone, tablet computer, vehicle-based device, etc., but these are only examples, as UE 105 does not need to be any of these configurations, and other configurations of UEs can be used. Other UEs may include wearable devices (e.g., smartwatches, smart jewelry, smart glasses, or head-mounted devices, etc.). Other UEs, whether currently existing or developed in the future, may also be used. In addition, other wireless devices (whether mobile or not) can be implemented within system 100 and can communicate with each other and / or with UE 105, gNB 110a, 110b, ng-eNB 114, 5GC 140, and / or external client 130. For example, such other devices may include Internet of Things (IoT) devices, medical devices, home entertainment and / or automation devices, etc. 5GC 140 can communicate with external client 130 (e.g., a computer system), for example, to allow external client 130 (e.g., via GMLC 125) to request and / or receive location information about UE 105.

[0036] UE 105 or other devices may be configured to communicate in various networks and / or for various purposes and / or using various technologies (e.g., 5G, Wi-Fi communication, multi-frequency Wi-Fi communication, satellite positioning, one or more types of communication (e.g., GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), LTE (Long Term Evolution), V2X (vehicle-to-everything communication, e.g., V2P (vehicle to pedestrian), V2I (vehicle to infrastructure), V2V (vehicle to vehicle) etc.), IEEE (e.g., 802.11p). V2X communication can be cellular (C-V2X) and / or WiFi (e.g., DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Connectivity)). System 100 can support operation on multiple carriers (waveform signals of different frequencies). A multi-carrier transmitter can transmit modulated signals on multiple carriers simultaneously. Each modulated signal can be a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) signal, a Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) signal, an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) signal, a Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) signal, etc. Each modulated signal can be transmitted on a different carrier and can carry pilots, payload information, data, etc. UEs 105 and 106 can communicate with each other via UE-to-UE sidelink (SL) communication by transmitting on one or more sidelink channels (such as the Physical Sidelink Synchronization Channel (PSSCH), the Physical Sidelink Broadcast Channel (PSBCH), or the Physical Sidelink Control Channel (PSCCH)).

[0037] UE 105 may include and / or may be referred to as a device, mobile device, wireless device, mobile terminal, terminal, mobile station (MS), Secure User Plane Location Enabled (SUPL) terminal (SET), or some other name. Furthermore, UE 105 may correspond to a cellular phone, smartphone, laptop device, tablet device, PDA, consumer asset tracking device, navigation device, Internet of Things (IoT) device, health monitor, security system, smart city sensor, smart meter, wearable tracker, or some other portable or mobile device. Typically, though not required, UE 105 can support wireless communication using one or more Radio Access Technologies (RATs) such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), LTE, High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), IEEE 802.11 WiFi (also known as Wi-Fi), Bluetooth® (BT), WiMAX, and 5G New Radio (NR) (e.g., using NG-RAN 135 and 5GC 140). UE 105 can also support wireless communication using a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), which can connect to other networks (e.g., the Internet) using, for example, digital subscriber line (DSL) or packet cable. Using one or more of these RATs may allow UE 105 (e.g., via an element of 5GC 140 (not shown in Figure 1), or possibly via GMLC 125) to communicate with external client 130 and / or allow external client 130 (e.g., via GMLC 125) to receive location information about UE 105.

[0038] UE 105 may include a single entity or may include multiple entities, such as in a personal area network in which the user may employ audio, video, and / or data I / O (input / output) devices, and / or body sensors, and separate wired or wireless modems. An estimate of the location of UE 105 may be referred to as location, location estimate, location lock, lock, positioning, location estimation, or location lock, and may be geographic, providing location coordinates (e.g., latitude and longitude) of UE 105, which may or may not include an elevation component (e.g., height above sea level; height above ground level, floor level, or basement level, or depth below). Alternatively, the location of UE 105 may be expressed as a municipal location (e.g., expressed as a postal address or designation of a point or smaller area within a building, such as a specific room or floor). The location of UE 105 may be expressed as an area or volume (geographically or municipally defined) in which UE 105 is expected to be located with a certain probability or confidence level (e.g., 67%, 95%, etc.). The location of UE 105 can be expressed as a relative location, which includes, for example, distance and direction from a known location. A relative location can be expressed as relative coordinates (e.g., X, Y (and Z) coordinates) defined relative to an origin at a known location, which can be, for example, geographically, municipally, or with reference to a point, area, or volume indicated, for example, on a map, floor plan, or building plan. In the description contained herein, the use of the term "location" can include any of these variations unless otherwise indicated. When calculating the location of the UE, local x, y, and possibly z coordinates are typically solved, and then (if necessary) the local coordinates are converted to absolute coordinates (e.g., with respect to latitude, longitude, and elevation above or below mean sea level).

[0039] UE 105 can be configured to communicate with other entities using one or more of various technologies. UE 105 can be configured to indirectly connect to one or more communication networks via one or more device-to-device (D2D) point-to-point (P2P) links. D2D P2P links can be supported using any suitable D2D radio access technology (RAT) such as LTE Direct (LTE-D), WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth®, etc. One or more UEs in a group of UEs utilizing D2D communication can be within the geographic coverage area of ​​a transmit / receive point (TRP) (such as one or more of gNB 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114). Other UEs in the group may be outside such geographic coverage areas or may be unable to receive transmissions from base stations for other reasons. A group of UEs communicating via D2D communication can utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system, where each UE can transmit to other UEs in the group. The TRP facilitates the scheduling of resources for D2D communication. In other scenarios, D2D communication can be performed between UEs without involving a TRP. One or more UEs in a group utilizing D2D communication may be within the geographic coverage area of ​​the TRP. Other UEs in the group may be outside such geographic coverage areas or unable to receive transmissions from the base station for other reasons. A group of UEs communicating via D2D communication can utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system, where each UE can transmit to other UEs in the group. The TRP facilitates the scheduling of resources for D2D communication. In other scenarios, D2D communication can be performed between UEs without involving a TRP.

[0040] The base stations (BS) in NG-RAN 135 shown in Figure 1 include NRB nodes (referred to as gNBs 110a and 110b). Each pair of gNBs 110a and 110b in NG-RAN 135 can be connected to each other via one or more other gNBs. Access to the 5G network is provided to UE 105 via wireless communication between UE 105 and one or more of gNBs 110a and 110b. gNBs 110a and 110b can use 5G to provide wireless communication access to 5GC 140 on behalf of UE 105. In Figure 1, it is assumed that the serving gNB of UE 105 is gNB 110a, but another gNB (e.g., gNB 110b) can act as the serving gNB if UE 105 moves to another location, or can act as a secondary gNB to provide additional throughput and bandwidth to UE 105.

[0041] The base station (BS) in NG-RAN 135 shown in Figure 1 may include ng-eNB 114 (also referred to as a next-generation evolved B node). ng-eNB 114 may be connected to one or more of gNBs 110a and 110b in NG-RAN 135 via one or more other gNBs and / or one or more other ng-eNBs. ng-eNB 114 may provide LTE radio access and / or evolved LTE (eLTE) radio access to UE 105. One or more of gNBs 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114 may be configured to act as a location-only beacon, which may transmit signals to assist in determining the location of UE 105, but may not be able to receive signals from UE 105 or other UEs.

[0042] gNB 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114 may each include one or more TRPs. For example, each sector within a cell of the BS may include a TRP, but multiple TRPs may share one or more components (e.g., sharing a processor but having a separate antenna). System 100 may exclusively include macro TRPs, or system 100 may have different types of TRPs, such as macro, pico, and / or femto TRPs. Macro TRPs may cover a relatively large geographic area (e.g., a radius of several kilometers) and allow unrestricted access by terminals with service subscriptions. Pico TRPs may cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a pico cell) and allow unrestricted access by terminals with service subscriptions. Femto or home TRPs may cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a femto cell) and allow restricted access by terminals associated with that femto cell (e.g., terminals of users in a residence).

[0043] Each of gNB 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114 may include a radio unit (RU), a distributed unit (DU), and a central unit (CU). For example, gNB 110a includes RU 111, DU 112, and CU 113. RU 111, DU 112, and CU 113 define the functionality of gNB 110a. Although gNB 110a is shown as having a single RU, a single DU, and a single CU, gNB may include one or more RUs, one or more DUs, and / or one or more CUs. The interface between CU 113 and DU 112 is referred to as the F1 interface. RU 111 is configured to perform digital front-end (DFE) functions (e.g., analog-to-digital conversion, filtering, power amplification, transmit / receive) and digital beamforming, and includes a portion of the physical (PHY) layer. RU 111 can perform DFE using massive MIMO and can be integrated with one or more antennas of gNB 110a. DU 112 stores the radio link control (RLC), media access control (MAC), and physical layer of gNB 110a. One DU can support one or more cells, and each cell is supported by one DU. The operation of DU 112 is controlled by CU 113. CU 113 is configured to perform functions for delivering user data, mobility control, radio access network sharing, location, dialogue management, etc., although some functions are exclusively assigned to DU 112. CU 113 stores the radio resource control (RRC), service data adaptation protocol (SDAP), and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) of gNB 110a. UE 105 can communicate with CU 113 via RRC, SDAP and PDCP layers, with DU 112 via RLC, MAC and PHY layers, and with RU 111 via PHY layer.

[0044] As mentioned, although Figure 1 depicts a node configured to communicate according to the 5G communication protocol, nodes configured to communicate according to other communication protocols (such as, for example, the LTE protocol or the IEEE 802.11x protocol) may also be used. For example, in an evolved packet system (EPS) providing LTE radio access to UE 105, the RAN may include an evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN), which may include base stations containing evolved B-nodes (eNBs). The core network for the EPS may include an evolved packet core (EPC). The EPS may include the E-UTRAN plus the EPC, where the E-UTRAN corresponds to NG-RAN 135 in Figure 1 and the EPC corresponds to 5GC 140 in Figure 1.

[0045] gNB 110a, 110b and ng-eNB 114 can communicate with AMF 115; for positioning functionality, AMF 115 communicates with LMF 120. AMF 115 can support the mobility of UE 105 (including cell changes and handover) and can participate in supporting signaling connections to UE 105 and possibly data and voice bearers for UE 105. LMF 120 can communicate directly with UE 105, for example, via wireless communication, or directly with gNB 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114. LMF 120 supports UE 105 positioning when UE 105 accesses NG-RAN 135, and supports various positioning procedures / methods, such as Auxiliary GNSS (A-GNSS), Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA) (e.g., Downlink (DL) OTDOA or Uplink (UL) OTDOA), Round Trip Time (RTT), Multi-Cell RTT, Real-Time Kinematics (RTK), Precise Point Positioning (PPP), Differential GNSS (DGNSS), Enhanced Cell ID (E-CID), Angle of Arrival (AOA), Angle of Departure (AOD), and / or other positioning methods. LMF 120 can process, for example, location service requests for UE 105 received from AMF 115 or GMLC 125. LMF 120 can connect to AMF 115 and / or GMLC 125. LMF 120 may be referred to by other names, such as Location Manager (LM), Location Function (LF), Commercial LMF (CLMF), or Value-Added LMF (VLMF). The node / system implementing LMF 120 may additionally or alternatively implement other types of location support modules, such as Enhanced Serving Mobile Location Center (E-SMLC) or Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) Location Platform (SLP). At least a portion of the location functionality (including the derivation of the UE 105's location) can be performed at UE 105 (e.g., using signal measurements obtained by UE 105 for signals transmitted by radio nodes (such as gNB 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114), and / or auxiliary data provided to UE 105, for example, by LMF 120). AMF 115 can serve as a control node for handling signaling between UE 105 and 5GC 140, and can provide QoS (Quality of Service) streaming and conversation management. AMF 115 can support the mobility of UE 105 (including cell changes and handovers) and can participate in supporting signaling connections to UE 105.

[0046] Server 150 (e.g., a cloud server) is configured to obtain the location estimate of UE 105 and provide it to external client 130. Server 150 may be configured, for example, to run a microservice / service for obtaining the location estimate of UE 105. Server 150 may, for example, pull the location estimate from (e.g., by sending a location request to) one or more of UE 105, gNB 110a, 110b (e.g., via RU 111, DU 112, CU 113), and / or ng-eNB 114, and / or LMF 120. As another example, UE 105, one or more of gNB 110a, 110b (e.g., via RU 111, DU 112, and CU 113), and / or LMF 120 may push the location estimate of UE 105 to server 150.

[0047] GMLC 125 can support location requests for UE 105 received from external client 130 via server 150, and can forward such location requests to AMF 115 for forwarding to LMF 120, or can forward such location requests directly to LMF 120. A location response from LMF 120 (e.g., containing a location estimate for UE 105) can be returned to GMLC 125 directly or via AMF 115, and GMLC 125 can then return the location response (e.g., containing the location estimate) to external client 130 via server 150. GMLC 125 is shown connected to both AMF 115 and LMF 120, but in some implementations it may not be connected to either AMF 115 or LMF 120.

[0048] As further explained in Figure 1, the LMF 120 can use the New Radio Positioning Protocol A (which may be referred to as NPPa or NRPPa) to communicate with gNB 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114, which is defined in 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 38.455. NRPPa may be the same as, similar to, or an extension of the LTE Positioning Protocol A (LPPa) defined in 3GPP TS 36.455, wherein NRPPa messages are transmitted via AMF 115 between gNB 110a (or gNB 110b) and LMF 120, and / or between ng-eNB 114 and LMF 120. As further explained in Figure 1, the LMF 120 and UE 105 can communicate using the LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP), which is defined in 3GPP TS 36.355. LMF 120 and UE 105 may communicate using a new radio positioning protocol (which may be referred to as NPP or NRPP), either additionally or alternatively. This new radio positioning protocol may be the same as, similar to, or an extension of LPP. Here, LPP and / or NPP messages can be transmitted between UE 105 and LMF 120 via AMF 115 and UE 105's serving gNB 110a, 110b, or serving ng-eNB 114. For example, LPP and / or NPP messages can be transmitted between LMF 120 and AMF 115 using the 5G Location Services Application Protocol (LCS AP), and between AMF 115 and UE 105 using the 5G Non-Access Layer (NAS) protocol. The LPP and / or NPP protocols can be used to support the location of UE 105 using UE-assisted and / or UE-based positioning methods such as A-GNSS, RTK, OTDOA, and / or E-CID. The NRPPa protocol can be used to support the location of UE 105 using network-based location methods (such as E-CID) (e.g., in conjunction with measurements obtained by gNB 110a, 110b, or ng-eNB 114) and / or can be used by LMF 120 to obtain location-related information from gNB 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114, such as defining parameters for directional SS transmissions from gNB 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114. LMF 120 can be co-located or integrated with the gNB or TRP, or it can be configured to communicate directly or indirectly with the gNB and / or TRP, located away from the gNB and / or TRP.

[0049] Using a UE-assisted positioning method, UE 105 can obtain location measurements and send these measurements to a location server (e.g., LMF 120) for calculating the location estimate of UE 105. For example, location measurements may include one or more of the following: Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI), Round-Trip Time (RTT), Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD), Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), and / or Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ) of gNB 110a, 110b, ng-eNB 114, and / or WLAN AP. Location measurements may additionally or alternatively include measurements of GNSS pseudorange, code phase, and / or carrier phase of SV 190-193.

[0050] Using a UE-based positioning method, UE 105 can obtain a location measurement (e.g., which may be the same as or similar to a location measurement for a UE-assisted positioning method) and can calculate the location of UE 105 (e.g., by means of auxiliary data received from a location server (such as LMF 120) or broadcast by gNB 110a, 110b, ng-eNB 114 or other base stations or APs).

[0051] Using a network-based positioning method, one or more base stations (e.g., gNB 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114) or APs can obtain location measurements (e.g., measurements of RSSI, RTT, RSRP, RSRQ, or Time of Arrival (ToA) of signals transmitted by UE 105) and / or can receive measurements acquired by UE 105. The one or more base stations or APs can send these measurements to a location server (e.g., LMF 120) for calculating a location estimate for UE 105.

[0052] The information provided to the LMF 120 by the gNB 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114 using NRPPa may include timing and configuration information for directional SS transmissions, as well as location coordinates. The LMF 120 may provide some or all of this information to the UE 105 as supplementary data in LPP and / or NPP messages via NG-RAN 135 and 5GC 140.

[0053] The LPP or NPP message sent from LMF 120 to UE 105 may instruct UE 105 to perform any of a variety of tasks, depending on the desired functionality. For example, the LPP or NPP message may contain instructions for UE 105 to obtain measurements for GNSS (or A-GNSS), WLAN, E-CID, and / or OTDOA (or some other positioning method). In the case of E-CID, the LPP or NPP message may instruct UE 105 to obtain one or more measurements (e.g., beam ID, beamwidth, average angle, RSRP, RSRQ measurements) of directional signals transmitted within a specific cell supported by one or more of gNB 110a, 110b, and / or ng-eNB 114 (or supported by some other type of base station, such as eNB or WiFi AP). UE 105 can send these measurements back to LMF 120 via serving gNB 110a (or serving ng-eNB 114) and AMF 115 in an LPP or NPP message (e.g., within a 5G NAS message).

[0054] As mentioned, while the communication system 100 is described in relation to 5G technology, the communication system 100 may be implemented to support other communication technologies (such as GSM, WCDMA, LTE, etc.) used to support and interact with mobile devices (such as UE 105) (e.g., to enable voice, data, location, and other functionalities). In some such embodiments, the 5GC 140 may be configured to control different air interfaces. For example, the 5GC 140 may be connected to a WLAN using a non-3GPP interoperability function (N3IWF (not shown in Figure 1)). For example, the WLAN may support IEEE 802.11 WiFi access for UE 105 and may include one or more WiFi APs. Here, the N3IWF may be connected to the WLAN as well as other components in the 5GC 140, such as the AMF 115. In some embodiments, both the NG-RAN 135 and the 5GC 140 may be replaced by one or more other RANs and one or more other core networks. For example, in EPS, NG-RAN 135 can be replaced by E-UTRAN containing eNBs, and 5GC 140 can be replaced by EPC, which includes a Mobility Management Entity (MME) replacing AMF 115, an E-SMLC replacing LMF 120, and a GMLC similar to GMLC 125. In such EPS, the E-SMLC can use LPPa instead of NRPPa to send location information to and receive location information from eNBs in the E-UTRAN, and can use LPP to support the location of UE 105. In these other embodiments, the location of UE 105 using directional PRS can be supported in a manner similar to that described herein for 5G networks, except that the functions and procedures described herein for gNB 110a, 110b, ng-eNB 114, AMF 115, and LMF 120 can be alternatively applied to other network elements, such as eNBs, WiFi APs, MMEs, and E-SMLCs, in some cases.

[0055] As mentioned, in some embodiments, positioning functionality may be achieved at least in part using directional SS beams transmitted by base stations (such as gNB 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114) within range of the UE whose positioning is to be determined (e.g., UE 105 in FIG. 1). In some instances, the UE may use directional SS beams from multiple base stations (such as gNB 110a, 110b, ng-eNB 114, etc.) to calculate the UE's positioning.

[0056] Referring also to FIG2, UE 200 is an example of one of UEs 105 and 106, and includes a computing platform including processor 210, memory 211 including software (SW) 212, one or more sensors 213, a transceiver interface 214 for transceivers 215 (which includes wireless transceivers 240 and wired transceivers 250), a user interface 216, a satellite positioning system (SPS) receiver 217, a camera 218, and a positioning device (PD) 219. The processor 210, memory 211, sensors 213, transceiver interface 214, user interface 216, SPS receiver 217, camera 218, and positioning device 219 may be communicatively coupled to each other via bus 220 (which may be configured for, for example, optical communication and / or electrical communication). One or more of the devices shown (e.g., camera 218, positioning device 219, and / or one or more sensors 213, etc.) can be omitted from UE 200. Processor 210 may include one or more intelligent hardware devices, such as a central processing unit (CPU), microcontroller, application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc. Processor 210 may include multiple processors, including a general-purpose / application processor 230, a digital signal processor (DSP) 231, a modem processor 232, a video processor 233, and / or a sensor processor 234. One or more of processors 230-234 may include multiple devices (e.g., multiple processors). For example, sensor processor 234 may include processors for RF (radio frequency) sensing (where one or more transmitted (cellular) wireless signals and reflections are used to identify, map, and / or track objects), and / or ultrasound, etc. Modem processor 232 may support dual SIM / dual connectivity (or even more SIMs). For example, one SIM (Subscriber Identity Module or Subscriber Identification Module) may be used by an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), and another SIM may be used by an end user of the UE 200 to obtain connectivity. Memory 211 is a non-transitory storage medium, which may include random access memory (RAM), flash memory, disk memory, and / or read-only memory (ROM), etc. Memory 211 stores software 212, which may be processor-readable, processor-executable software code containing instructions configured to cause processor 210 to perform the various functions described herein when executed. Alternatively, software 212 may not be directly executable by processor 210, but may be configured (e.g., when compiled and executed) to cause processor 210 to perform various functions. This description may refer to processor 210 performing functions, but this includes other implementations, such as processor 210 performing software and / or firmware implementations. This description may refer to the processor 210 performing the function as a shorthand for one or more of the processors 230-234 performing the function.This description may refer to the UE 200 performing a function as a shorthand for one or more appropriate components of the UE 200 performing that function. The processor 210 may include memory with stored instructions as a supplement and / or replacement for memory 211. The functionality of the processor 210 is discussed more fully below.

[0057] The configuration of UE 200 shown in Figure 2 is an example and not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure (including the claims), and other configurations may be used. For example, an example configuration of the UE includes one or more of processors 230-234 in processor 210, memory 211, and wireless transceiver 240. Other example configurations include one or more of processors 230-234 in processor 210, memory 211, wireless transceiver, and one or more of the following: sensor 213, user interface 216, SPS receiver 217, camera 218, PD 219, and / or wired transceiver.

[0058] UE 200 may include a modem processor 232, which may be capable of performing baseband processing on signals received and downconverted by transceiver 215 and / or SPS receiver 217. The modem processor 232 may perform baseband processing on signals to be upconverted for transmission by transceiver 215. Alternatively or additionally, baseband processing may be performed by processor 230 and / or DSP 231. However, other configurations may be used to perform baseband processing.

[0059] UE 200 may include sensor 213, which may include one or more of various types of sensors, such as one or more inertial sensors, one or more magnetometers, one or more environmental sensors, one or more optical sensors, one or more weight sensors, and / or one or more radio frequency (RF) sensors. An inertial measurement unit (IMU) may include, for example, one or more accelerometers (e.g., collectively responding to acceleration of UE 200 in three dimensions) and / or one or more gyroscopes (e.g., three-dimensional gyroscopes). Sensor 213 may include one or more magnetometers (e.g., three-dimensional magnetometers) to determine orientation (e.g., relative to magnetic north and / or true north), which may be used for any of a variety of purposes (e.g., supporting one or more compass applications). Environmental sensors may include, for example, one or more temperature sensors, one or more barometric pressure sensors, one or more ambient light sensors, one or more camera imagers, and / or one or more microphones. Sensor 213 can generate analog and / or digital signals, and indications of these signals can be stored in memory 211 and processed by DSP 231 and / or processor 230 to support one or more applications (such as, for example, applications involving positioning and / or navigation operations).

[0060] Sensor 213 can be used for relative position measurement, relative position determination, motion determination, etc. Information detected by sensor 213 can be used for motion detection, relative displacement, dead reckoning, sensor-based position determination, and / or sensor-assisted position determination. Sensor 213 can be used to determine whether UE 200 is stationary or moving and / or whether to report certain useful information related to the mobility of UE 200 to LMF 120. For example, based on information obtained / measured by sensor 213, UE 200 can notify / report to LMF 120 that UE 200 has detected movement or that UE 200 has moved, and report relative displacement / distance (e.g., via dead reckoning implemented through sensor 213, or sensor-based position determination, or sensor-assisted position determination). In another example, for relative positioning information, the sensor / IMU can be used to determine the angle and / or azimuth of another device relative to UE 200, etc.

[0061] The IMU may be configured to provide measurements of the direction and / or velocity of motion of the UE 200, which can be used for relative position determination. For example, one or more accelerometers and / or one or more gyroscopes of the IMU may detect the linear acceleration and rotational velocity of the UE 200, respectively. The linear acceleration and rotational velocity measurements of the UE 200 may be integrated over time to determine the instantaneous direction of motion and displacement of the UE 200. The instantaneous direction of motion and displacement may be integrated to track the position of the UE 200. For example, the reference position of the UE 200 at a certain moment may be determined, for example, using an SPS receiver 217 (and / or through some other means), and measurements acquired from the accelerometers and gyroscopes after that moment may be used for dead reckoning to determine the current position of the UE 200 based on the movement (direction and distance) of the UE 200 relative to that reference position.

[0062] The magnetometer can determine the magnetic field strength in different directions, which can be used to determine the orientation of the UE 200. For example, this orientation can be used to provide a digital compass for the UE 200. The magnetometer may include a two-dimensional magnetometer configured to detect and provide an indication of magnetic field strength in two orthogonal dimensions. The magnetometer may include a three-dimensional magnetometer configured to detect and provide an indication of magnetic field strength in three orthogonal dimensions. The magnetometer can provide means for sensing magnetic fields and, for example, providing a magnetic field indication to the processor 210.

[0063] Transceiver 215 may include a wireless transceiver 240 and a wired transceiver 250 configured to communicate with other devices via wireless and wired connections, respectively. For example, wireless transceiver 240 may include a wireless transmitter 242 and a wireless receiver 244 coupled to antenna 246 for transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals 248 (e.g., on one or more uplink channels and / or one or more sidelink channels) and converting signals from wireless signals 248 to wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals and from wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals to wireless signals 248. Thus, wireless transmitter 242 may include multiple transmitters that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components, and / or wireless receiver 244 may include multiple receivers that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components. The wireless transceiver 240 can be configured to transmit signals according to various Radio Access Technologies (RATs) (e.g., with TRP and / or one or more other devices), such as 5G New Radio (NR), GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), AMPS (Advanced Mobile Telephone System), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), WCDMA (Wideband CDMA), LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE Direct (LTE-D), 3GPP LTE-V2X (PC5), IEEE 802.11 (including IEEE 802.11p), WiFi, WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth®, Zigbee, etc. New Radio can use millimeter-wave frequencies and / or sub-6 GHz frequencies. The wired transceiver 250 may include a wired transmitter 252 and a wired receiver 254 configured for wired communication, for example, a network interface for communicating with NG-RAN 135 to send and receive communications from NG-RAN 135. Wired transmitter 252 may include multiple transmitters, which may be discrete components or combined / integrated components, and / or wired receiver 254 may include multiple receivers, which may be discrete components or combined / integrated components. Wired transceiver 250 may be configured for, for example, optical communication and / or electrical communication. Transceiver 215 may be communicatively coupled to transceiver interface 214 (e.g., via optical and / or electrical connections). Transceiver interface 214 may be at least partially integrated with transceiver 215. Wireless transmitter 242, wireless receiver 244, and / or antenna 246 may each include multiple transmitters, multiple receivers, and / or multiple antennas for transmitting and / or receiving appropriate signals, respectively.

[0064] User interface 216 may include one or more of a number of devices, such as, for example, a speaker, a microphone, a display device, a vibration device, a keyboard, a touch screen, etc. User interface 216 may include any device that includes more than one of these devices. User interface 216 may be configured to enable a user to interact with one or more applications stored in the main memory of UE 200. For example, user interface 216 may store indications of analog and / or digital signals in memory 211 in response to actions from the user, for processing by DSP 231 and / or general-purpose processor 230. Similarly, applications hosted on UE 200 may store indications of analog and / or digital signals in memory 211 to present output signals to the user. User interface 216 may include audio input / output (I / O) devices, including, for example, speakers, microphones, digital-analog circuitry systems, analog-digital circuitry systems, amplifiers and / or gain control circuitry systems (including any device that includes more than one of these devices). Other configurations of the audio I / O devices can be used. Additionally or alternatively, the user interface 216 may include one or more touch sensors that respond to touch and / or pressure on, for example, the keyboard and / or touchscreen of the user interface 216.

[0065] The SPS receiver 217 (e.g., a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver) may be able to receive and acquire the SPS signal 260 via the SPS antenna 262. The SPS antenna 262 is configured to convert the SPS signal 260 from a wireless signal to a wired signal (e.g., an electrical signal or an optical signal) and may be integrated with the antenna 246. The SPS receiver 217 may be configured to process the acquired SPS signal 260 fully or partially to estimate the location of the UE 200. For example, the SPS receiver 217 may be configured to determine the location of the UE 200 by performing trilateration using the SPS signal 260. The SPS receiver 217 may be combined with a general-purpose processor 230, memory 211, DSP 231 and / or one or more dedicated processors (not shown) to process the acquired SPS signal fully or partially and / or calculate the estimated location of the UE 200. Memory 211 may store indications (e.g., measurements) of SPS signal 260 and / or other signals (e.g., signals acquired from wireless transceiver 240) for use during positioning operations. General-purpose processor 230, DSP 231, and / or one or more dedicated processors, and / or memory 211 may provide or support a position engine for processing measurements to estimate the position of UE 200.

[0066] UE 200 may include a camera 218 for capturing still or moving images. Camera 218 may include, for example, an imaging sensor (e.g., a charge-coupled device or a CMOS imager), a lens, an analog-digital circuit system, a frame buffer, etc. Additional processing, conditioning, encoding, and / or compression of the signal representing the captured image may be performed by a general-purpose processor 230 and / or a DSP 231. Alternatively or additionally, a video processor 233 may perform conditioning, encoding, compression, and / or manipulation of the signal representing the captured image. The video processor 233 may decode / decompress stored image data for presentation on a display device (not shown), for example, the user interface 216.

[0067] The positioning device (PD) 219 may be configured to determine the location of the UE 200, the movement of the UE 200, and / or the relative location of the UE 200, and / or the time. For example, the PD 219 may communicate with, and / or include some or all of the SPS receiver 217. The PD 219 may suitably cooperate with the processor 210 and the memory 211 to perform at least a portion of one or more positioning methods, although the description herein may only refer to the PD 219 being configured to perform or to be performed according to the positioning method. The PD 219 may additionally or alternatively be configured to: perform trilateration using terrestrial signals (e.g., at least some radio signals 248), assist in acquiring and using the SPS signal 260, or both, to determine the location of the UE 200. The PD 219 may be configured to determine the location of the UE 200 based on the cell of the serving base station (e.g., the cell center) and / or another technology (such as E-CID). PD 219 can be configured to determine the location of UE 200 using one or more images from camera 218 and image recognition combined with the known location of landmarks (e.g., natural landmarks such as mountains and / or man-made landmarks such as buildings, bridges, streets, etc.). PD 219 can be configured to determine the location of UE 200 using one or more other technologies (e.g., relying on the UE's self-reported location (e.g., part of the UE's positioning beacon)), and can use combinations of these technologies (e.g., SPS and terrestrial positioning signals) to determine the location of UE 200. PD 219 may include one or more sensors 213 (e.g., gyroscopes, accelerometers, magnetometers, etc.) that can sense the orientation and / or motion of UE 200 and provide an indication of that orientation and / or motion. Processor 210 (e.g., processor 230 and / or DSP 231) can be configured to use this indication to determine the motion of UE 200 (e.g., velocity vector and / or acceleration vector). PD 219 can be configured to provide an indication of uncertainty and / or error in the determined positioning and / or motion. The functionality of PD 219 can be provided in a variety of ways and / or configurations, such as by a general-purpose / application processor 230, transceiver 215, SPS receiver 217 and / or another component of UE 200, and can be provided through hardware, software, firmware or various combinations thereof.

[0068] Referring also to FIG3, an example of a TRP 300 for gNB 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114 includes a computing platform comprising a processor 310, memory 311 comprising software (SW) 312, and a transceiver 315. The processor 310, memory 311 and transceiver 315 may be communicatively coupled to each other via a bus 320 (which may be configured for, for example, optical communication and / or electrical communication). One or more of the devices shown (e.g., a wireless interface) may be omitted from the TRP 300. The processor 310 may include one or more intelligent hardware devices, such as a central processing unit (CPU), a microcontroller, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc. The processor 310 may include multiple processors (e.g., including a general-purpose / application processor, a DSP, a modem processor, a video processor and / or a sensor processor as shown in FIG2). Memory 311 is a non-transitory storage medium, which may include random access memory (RAM), flash memory, disk memory, and / or read-only memory (ROM), etc. Memory 311 stores software 312, which may be processor-readable, processor-executable software code containing instructions configured to cause processor 310 to perform the various functions described herein when executed. Alternatively, software 312 may not be directly executable by processor 310, but may be configured (e.g., when compiled and executed) to cause processor 310 to perform the functions.

[0069] This description may refer to processor 310 performing functions, but this includes other implementations, such as processor 310 performing software and / or firmware implementations. This description may refer to processor 310 performing functions as a shorthand for one or more processors included in processor 310 performing such functions. This description may refer to TRP 300 performing functions as a shorthand for one or more suitable components (e.g., processor 310 and memory 311) of TRP 300 (and thereby one of gNB 110a, 110b and / or ng-eNB 114) performing such functions. Processor 310 may include memory with stored instructions as a complement and / or replacement for memory 311. The functionality of processor 310 is discussed more fully below.

[0070] Transceiver 315 may include a wireless transceiver 340 and / or a wired transceiver 350 configured to communicate with other devices via wireless and wired connections, respectively. For example, wireless transceiver 340 may include a wireless transmitter 342 and a wireless receiver 344 coupled to one or more antennas 346 for transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals 348 (e.g., on one or more uplink channels and / or one or more downlink channels) and converting signals from wireless signals 348 to wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals and from wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals to wireless signals 348. Thus, wireless transmitter 342 may include multiple transmitters that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components, and / or wireless receiver 344 may include multiple receivers that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components. The wireless transceiver 340 can be configured to transmit signals according to various radio access technologies (RATs) such as 5G New Radio (NR), GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), AMPS (Advanced Mobile Telephone System), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), WCDMA (Wideband CDMA), LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE Direct (LTE-D), 3GPP LTE-V2X (PC5), IEEE 802.11 (including IEEE 802.11p), WiFi, WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth®, Zigbee, etc. (e.g., with UE 200, one or more other UEs, and / or one or more other devices). Wired transceiver 350 may include a wired transmitter 352 and a wired receiver 354 configured for wired communication, for example, a network interface for communicating with NG-RAN 135 to send and receive communications to and from LMF 120 (e.g., and / or one or more other network entities). Wired transmitter 352 may include multiple transmitters that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components, and / or wired receiver 354 may include multiple receivers that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components. Wired transceiver 350 may be configured for, for example, optical and / or electrical communication.

[0071] The configuration of TRP 300 shown in Figure 3 is an example and not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure (including the claims), and other configurations may be used. For example, the description herein discusses TRP 300 being configured to perform certain functions or TRP 300 performing certain functions, but one or more of these functions may be performed by LMF 120 and / or UE 200 (i.e., LMF 120 and / or UE 200 may be configured to perform one or more of these functions).

[0072] Referring also to FIG4, server 400 (where LMF 120 is an example) includes a computing platform containing processor 410, memory 411 containing software (SW) 412, and transceiver 415. Processor 410, memory 411 and transceiver 415 may be communicatively coupled to each other via bus 420 (which may be configured for, for example, optical communication and / or electrical communication). One or more of the devices shown (e.g., wireless interface) may be omitted from server 400. Processor 410 may include one or more intelligent hardware devices, such as central processing unit (CPU), microcontroller, application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc. Processor 410 may include multiple processors (e.g., including general-purpose / application processors, DSPs, modem processors, video processors and / or sensor processors as shown in FIG2). Memory 411 is a non-transitory storage medium that may include random access memory (RAM), flash memory, disk memory, and / or read-only memory (ROM), etc. Memory 411 stores software 412, which may be processor-readable, processor-executable software code containing instructions configured to cause processor 410 to perform the various functions described herein when executed. Alternatively, software 412 may not be directly executable by processor 410, but may be configured (e.g., when compiled and executed) to cause processor 410 to perform various functions. This description may refer to processor 410 performing functions, but this includes other implementations, such as processor 410 performing software and / or firmware implementations. This description may refer to processor 410 performing functions as a shorthand for one or more processors included in processor 410 performing that function. This description may refer to server 400 performing functions as a shorthand for one or more suitable components of server 400 performing that function. Processor 410 may include memory with stored instructions as a supplement and / or replacement for memory 411. The functionality of processor 410 is discussed more fully below.

[0073] Transceiver 415 may include a wireless transceiver 440 and / or a wired transceiver 450 configured to communicate with other devices via wireless and wired connections, respectively. For example, wireless transceiver 440 may include a wireless transmitter 442 and a wireless receiver 444 coupled to one or more antennas 446 for transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals 448 (e.g., on one or more downlink channels) and converting signals from wireless signals 448 to wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals and from wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals to wireless signals 448. Thus, wireless transmitter 442 may include multiple transmitters that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components, and / or wireless receiver 444 may include multiple receivers that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components. The wireless transceiver 440 can be configured to transmit signals according to various radio access technologies (RATs) such as 5G New Radio (NR), GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), AMPS (Advanced Mobile Telephone System), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), WCDMA (Wideband CDMA), LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE Direct (LTE-D), 3GPP LTE-V2X (PC5), IEEE 802.11 (including IEEE 802.11p), WiFi, WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth®, Zigbee, etc. (e.g., with UE 200, one or more other UEs, and / or one or more other devices). Wired transceiver 450 may include a wired transmitter 452 and a wired receiver 454 configured for wired communication, for example, a network interface for communicating with NG-RAN 135 to send communications to and receive communications from TRP 300 (e.g., and / or one or more other entities). Wired transmitter 452 may include multiple transmitters that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components, and / or wired receiver 454 may include multiple receivers that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components. Wired transceiver 450 may be configured for, for example, optical and / or electrical communication.

[0074] The description herein may refer to processor 410 performing functions, but this includes other implementations, such as processor 410 performing software and / or firmware implementations (stored in memory 411). The description herein may refer to server 400 performing functions as a shorthand for one or more appropriate components of server 400 (e.g., processor 410 and memory 411) performing the function.

[0075] The configuration of server 400 shown in Figure 4 is exemplary and not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure (including the claims), and other configurations may be used. For example, wireless transceiver 440 may be omitted. Additionally or alternatively, the description herein discusses server 400 being configured to perform certain functions or server 400 performing certain functions, but one or more of these functions may be performed by TRP 300 and / or UE 200 (i.e., TRP 300 and / or UE 200 may be configured to perform one or more of these functions).

[0076] Positioning Technology

[0077] For terrestrial positioning of a UE in a cellular network, techniques such as Advanced Forward Link Trilateral Measurement (AFLT) and Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA) typically operate in a “UE-assisted” mode, where measurements of reference signals transmitted by the base station (e.g., PRS, CRS, etc.) are acquired by the UE and subsequently provided to a location server. The location server then calculates the UE’s location based on these measurements and the known location of the base station. Because these techniques use a location server (rather than the UE itself) to calculate the UE’s location, they are not frequently used in applications such as car or cellular phone navigation, which typically rely on satellite-based positioning.

[0078] The UE can use a Satellite Positioning System (SPS) (Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)) to perform high-precision positioning using Precise Point Positioning (PPP) or Real-Time Kinematics (RTK) techniques. These techniques use auxiliary data, such as measurements from ground-based stations. LTE Release 15 allows data to be encrypted so that only UEs subscribed to the service can read the information. This auxiliary data changes over time. Therefore, a UE subscribed to the service may not be able to easily "crack the encryption" for other UEs by passing the data to other UEs that have not paid for the subscription. This transmission needs to be repeated every time the auxiliary data changes.

[0079] In UE-assisted positioning, the UE sends measurements (e.g., TDOA, Angle of Arrival (AoA), etc.) to a positioning server (e.g., LMF / eSMLC). The positioning server has a Base Station Almanac (BSA) containing multiple "items" or "records," one record per cell, where each record contains the geographic cell location, but may also include other data. Identifiers of the "records" among the multiple "records" in the BSA can be referenced. The BSA and measurements from the UE can be used to calculate the UE's positioning.

[0080] In conventional UE-based positioning, the UE calculates its own location, thereby avoiding sending measurements to the network (e.g., a location server), which improves latency and scalability. The UE uses relevant BSA record information from the network (e.g., the location of the gNB (more broadly, the base station). The BSA information can be encrypted. However, since the BSA information changes much less frequently than, for example, PPP or RTK auxiliary data described above, it may be easier (compared to PPP or RTK information) to make the BSA information available to UEs that have not subscribed and are paying for decryption keys. The gNB's transmission of reference signals makes the BSA information potentially accessible to crowdsourcing or driving attacks, thus essentially enabling the BSA information to be generated based on in-the-field and / or over-the-top observations.

[0081] Positioning technology can be characterized and / or evaluated based on one or more criteria, such as positioning decision accuracy and / or latency. Latency is the time elapsed between the event that triggers the decision of positioning-related data and the availability of that data at the positioning system interface (e.g., the LMF 120 interface). At positioning system initialization, the latency for the availability of positioning-related data is called the First Lock Time-Flash (TTFF) and is greater than the latency after the TTFF. The reciprocal of the time elapsed between two consecutive availability of positioning-related data is called the update rate, i.e., the rate at which positioning-related data is generated after the first lock. Latency can depend on (e.g., the UE's) processing capacity. For example, assuming an allocation of 272 PRBs (Physical Resource Blocks), the UE can report its processing capacity as the duration (in time units, e.g., milliseconds) of DL PRS symbols that the UE can process per T time units (e.g., T ms). Other examples that may affect latency are the number of TRPs the UE can handle from its PRS, the number of PRS the UE can handle, and the UE's bandwidth.

[0082] One or more of many different positioning technologies (also known as positioning methods) can be used to determine the location of an entity (such as one of UEs 105 and 106). For example, known positioning determination technologies include RTT, multiple RTT, OTDOA (also known as TDOA, and including UL-TDOA and DL-TDOA), enhanced cell identification (E-CID), DL-AoD, UL-AoA, etc. RTT uses the time it takes for a signal to travel from one entity to another and back to determine the range between the two entities. This range, plus the known location of the first entity and the angle between the two entities (e.g., azimuth), can be used to determine the location of the second entity. In multiple RTT (also known as multi-cell RTT), multiple ranges from one entity (e.g., UE) to other entities (e.g., TRP) and the known locations of these other entities can be used to determine the location of this one entity. In TDOA technology, the time difference of travel between an entity and other entities can be used to determine the relative range with respect to those other entities, and those relative ranges, combined with the known locations of those other entities, can be used to determine the location of that entity. Angle of arrival and / or angle of departure can be used to help determine the location of an entity. For example, the angle of arrival or angle of departure of a signal, combined with the range between devices (the range determined using signals (e.g., signal travel time, signal received power, etc.)) and the known location of one of these devices, can be used to determine the location of the other device. The angle of arrival or angle of departure can be an azimuth angle relative to a reference direction (such as true north). The angle of arrival or angle of departure can be a zenith angle relative to directly upward from the entity (i.e., radially outward from the Earth's center). E-CID uses the identity of the serving cell, timing advance (i.e., the difference between the receive and transmit times at the UE), estimated timing and power of detected neighboring cell signals, and possible angles of arrival (e.g., the angle of arrival of signals from the base station at the UE, or vice versa) to determine the location of the UE. In TDOA, the arrival time difference of signals from different sources at the receiver device, along with the known locations of these sources and the known offsets of the transmission times from these sources, are used to determine the location of the receiver device.

[0083] In network-centric RTT estimation, the serving base station instructs the UE to scan / receive RTT measurement signals (e.g., PRS) on the serving cells of two or more adjacent base stations (and typically the serving base station, since at least three base stations are required). These one or more base stations transmit the RTT measurement signals on low-reuse resources allocated by the network (e.g., resources used by the base station to transmit system information), such as a location server (e.g., LMF 120). The UE records the arrival time (also referred to as the reception time, time of receipt, or time of arrival (ToA)) of each RTT measurement signal relative to the UE's current downlink timing (e.g., as derived by the UE from DL signals received from its serving base station), and (e.g., when instructed by its serving base station) transmits a shared or individual RTT response message (e.g., an SRS (Probe Reference Signal) for positioning, i.e., UL-PRS) to the one or more base stations. The time difference between the ToA of the RTT measurement signal and the transmission time of the RTT response message (i.e., UE TRx-Tx or UERx-Tx) may be included in the payload of each RTT response message. The RTT response message will include a reference signal from which the base station can infer the ToA of the RTT response. By comparing the difference between the transmission time of the RTT measurement signal from the base station and the ToA of the RTT response at the base station with the time difference reported by the UE, the base station can infer the propagation time between the base station and the UE. From this propagation time, the base station can determine the distance between the UE and the base station by assuming that the propagation time period is the speed of light.

[0084] UE-centric RTT estimation is similar to network-based methods, except that: the UE transmits uplink RTT measurement signals (e.g., when instructed by a servicing base station), and these signals are received by multiple base stations near the UE. Each involved base station responds with a downlink RTT response message, which may include in the RTT response message payload the time difference between the ToA of the RTT measurement signal at the base station and the transmission time of the RTT response message from the base station.

[0085] For both network-centric and UE-centric procedures, the side performing RTT calculation (network or UE) typically (but not always) transmits a first message or signal (e.g., an RTT measurement signal), while the other side responds with one or more RTT response messages or signals, which may include the difference between the ToA of the first message or signal and the transmission time of the RTT response message or signal.

[0086] Multiple RTT technology can be used to determine location. For example, a first entity (e.g., a UE) may emit one or more signals (e.g., unicast, multicast, or broadcast from a base station), and multiple second entities (e.g., other TSPs, such as base stations and / or UEs) may receive signals from the first entity and respond to those received signals. The first entity receives responses from the multiple second entities. The first entity (or another entity, such as an LMF) may use the responses from the second entities to determine the range to the second entities, and may use the multiple ranges and the known locations of the second entities to determine the location of the first entity through trilateration.

[0087] In some instances, additional information in the form of angle of arrival (AoA) or angle of departure (AoD) can be obtained, which defines a straight-line direction (e.g., it can be in a datum plane or in three dimensions) or a possible (e.g., the UE's direction as seen from the base station's location) range of directions. The intersection of the two directions can provide another estimate of the UE's position.

[0088] For positioning techniques that use PRS (Location Reference Signal) signals (e.g., TDOA and RTT), the PRS signals transmitted by multiple TRPs are measured, and the arrival time, known transmission time, and known location of the TRPs are used to determine the range from the UE to the TRP. For example, RSTD (Reference Signal Time Difference) can be determined for PRS signals received from multiple TRPs, and these RSTDs are used in TDOA techniques to determine the UE's location. The Location Reference Signal may be referred to as PRS or PRS signal. PRS signals are typically transmitted using the same power, and PRS signals with the same signal characteristics (e.g., the same frequency shift) may interfere with each other, such that a PRS signal from a more distant TRP may be overwhelmed by a PRS signal from a closer TRP, thus the signal from the more distant TRP may not be detected. PRS silencing can be used to help reduce interference by silencing some PRS signals (reducing the power of the PRS signal, e.g., reducing it to zero and thus not transmitting the PRS signal). In this way, the UE can more easily detect the weaker PRS signal (at the UE) without the interference of the stronger PRS signal. The term RS and its variations (e.g., PRS, SRS, CSI-RS (Channel State Information-Reference Signal)) can refer to one or more reference signals.

[0089] The Positioning Reference Signal (PRS) includes a downlink PRS (DL PRS, often simply referred to as PRS) and an uplink PRS (UL PRS) (which may be referred to as the SRS (Detection Reference Signal) used for positioning). The PRS may include PN codes (pseudo-random codes) or be generated using PN codes (e.g., by modulating a carrier signal with PN codes) so that the source of the PRS can be used as a pseudo-satellite. The PN code may be unique for the PRS source (at least unique within a specified area, such that the same PRS from different PRS sources does not overlap). The PRS may include PRS resources of a frequency layer or a set of PRS resources. The DL PRS positioning frequency layer (or simply frequency layer) is a collection of DL PRS resource sets from one or more TRPs, whose PRS resources have common parameters configured by the higher-level parameters DL-PRS-PositioningFrequencyLayer (DL-PRS-PositioningFrequencyLayer), DL-PRS-ResourceSet (DL-PRS-Resource Set), and DL-PRS-Resource (DL-PRS-Resource). Each frequency layer has a DL PRS subcarrier spacing (SCS) for the DL PRS resource set and DL PRS resources within that frequency layer. Each frequency layer also has a DL PRS cyclic prefix (CP) for the DL PRS resource set and DL PRS resources within that frequency layer. In 5G, a resource block occupies 12 consecutive subcarriers and a specified number of symbols. Furthermore, the DL PRS point A parameter defines the frequency of the reference resource block (and the lowest subcarrier of the resource block), where DL PRS resources belonging to the same DL PRS resource set have the same point A, and all DL PRS resource sets belonging to the same frequency layer have the same point A. The frequency layers also have the same DL PRS bandwidth, the same starting PRB (and center frequency), and the same comb size value (i.e., the frequency of the PRS resource element for each symbol, such that for comb N, every Nth resource element is a PRS resource element). The PRS resource set is identified by the PRS resource set ID and can be associated with a specific TRP (identified by the cell ID) transmitted by the base station's antenna panel. A PRS resource ID in a PRS resource set can be associated with an omnidirectional signal and / or with a single beam (and / or beam ID) transmitted from a single base station (where a base station can transmit one or more beams). Each PRS resource in a PRS resource set can be transmitted on a different beam, and thus, a PRS resource (or simply a resource) can also be referred to as a beam. This does not imply at all whether the UE is aware of the base station and beam transmitting the PRS.

[0090] The TRP can be configured, for example, to send DL PRS on a schedule via instructions received from a server and / or via software within the TRP. According to this schedule, the TRP can send DL PRS intermittently (e.g., periodically at consistent intervals from the initial transmission). The TRP can be configured to send one or more PRS resource sets. A resource set is a collection of PRS resources across a TRP, wherein these resources have the same periodicity, a shared silent mode configuration (if any), and the same cross-slot repetition factor. Each PRS resource set comprises multiple PRS resources, wherein each PRS resource comprises multiple resource elements (REs), which may reside in multiple resource blocks (RBs) within N (or more) consecutive symbols in a time slot. An RB is a set of REs spanning one or more consecutive symbols in the time domain and a number of consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain (12 for 5G). Each PRS resource is configured with an RE offset, a time slot offset, a symbol offset within a time slot, and the number of consecutive symbols that the PRS resource can occupy within a time slot. The RE offset defines the initial RE offset of the first symbol within a DL PRS resource in frequency. The relative RE offsets of the remaining symbols within a DL PRS resource are defined based on this initial offset. The slot offset is the starting slot of the DL PRS resource relative to the slot offset of the corresponding resource set. The symbol offset determines the starting symbol of the DL PRS resource within the initial slot. Transmitted REs can be repeated across slots, with each transmission referred to as a repetition, allowing for multiple repetitions within a PRS resource. DL PRS resources in a DL PRS resource set are associated with the same TRP, and each DL PRS resource has a DL PRS resource ID. The DL PRS resource ID in a DL PRS resource set is associated with a single beam transmitted from a single TRP (although a TRP can transmit one or more beams).

[0091] PRS resources can also be defined by quasi-co-location and starting PRB parameters. The quasi-co-location (QCL) parameter defines any quasi-co-location information between the DL PRS resource and other reference signals. The DL PRS can be configured to be QCL type D with DL PRS or SS / PBCH (Synchronization Signal / Physical Broadcast Channel) blocks from serving or non-serving cells. The DL PRS can be configured to be QCL type C with SS / PBCH blocks from serving or non-serving cells. The starting PRB parameter defines the starting PRB index of the DL PRS resource relative to reference point A. The granularity of the starting PRB index is one PRB, and the minimum value can be 0 and the maximum value is 2176 PRBs.

[0092] A PRS resource set is a collection of PRS resources with the same periodicity, the same silent mode configuration (if any), and the same cross-slot repetition factor. Each time all repetitions of all PRS resources in a PRS resource set are configured to be transmitted is called an "instance". Therefore, an "instance" of a PRS resource set is a specified number of repetitions for each PRS resource and a specified number of PRS resources within the PRS resource set, such that the instance is completed once the specified number of repetitions have been transmitted for each of the specified number of PRS resources. An instance may also be referred to as an "opportunity". A DL PRS configuration, including a DL PRS transmission schedule, may be provided to the UE to facilitate the UE's measurement of DL PRS (or even enable the UE to measure DL PRS).

[0093] Multiple frequency layers of a PRS can be aggregated to provide an effective bandwidth greater than any bandwidth of any individual layer. Multiple frequency layers belonging to component carriers (which can be coherent and / or separate) and satisfying criteria such as Quasi-Co-location (QCL) and having the same antenna port can be spliced ​​to provide a larger effective PRS bandwidth (for DL ​​PRS and UL-PRS), thereby improving the accuracy of time of arrival measurements. Splicing involves combining PRS measurements on individual bandwidth segments into a unified segment so that the spliced ​​PRS can be regarded as taken from a single measurement. In the case of QCL, different frequency layers behave similarly, resulting in a larger effective bandwidth for splicing the PRS. A larger effective bandwidth (which may be referred to as the bandwidth of the aggregated PRS or the frequency bandwidth of the aggregated PRS) provides better time-domain resolution (e.g., TDOA resolution). An aggregated PRS comprises a collection of PRS resources, and each PRS resource in the aggregated PRS may be referred to as a PRS component, and each PRS component may be transmitted on different component carriers, frequency bands or frequency layers, or on different portions of the same frequency band.

[0094] RTT positioning is an active positioning technology because RTT uses positioning signals sent by the TRP to the UE and by the UE (participating in RTT positioning) to the TRP. The TRP can send a DL-PRS signal received by the UE, and the UE can send an SRS (Probe Reference Signal) signal received by multiple TRPs. The Probe Reference Signal may be referred to as SRS or SRS signal. In 5G multi-RTT, coordinated positioning can be used, where the UE sends a single UL-SRS for positioning received by multiple TRPs, instead of sending a separate UL-SRS for positioning for each TRP. A TRP participating in multi-RTT will typically search for UEs currently residing on that TRP (the served UE, where the TRP is the serving TRP) and also search for UEs residing on neighboring TRPs (neighbor UEs). A neighboring TRP can be a TRP of a single BTS (e.g., gNB), or it can be a TRP of a single BTS and a TRP of a single BTS. For RTT positioning (including multi-RTT positioning), the DL-PRS and UL-SRS positioning signals in the PRS / SRS positioning signal pair used to determine the RTT (and thus the range between the UE and TRP) may occur close to each other in time, so that the errors caused by UE movement and / or UE clock drift and / or TRP clock drift are within acceptable limits. For example, the signals in the PRS / SRS positioning signal pair may be transmitted from the TRP and the UE within approximately 10 ms of each other. In cases where the SRS positioning signal is being transmitted by the UE and the PRS and SRS positioning signals are transmitted close to each other in time, it has been found that this may lead to radio frequency (RF) signal congestion (which may result in excessive noise, etc.) (especially if many UEs attempt positioning in parallel), and / or computational congestion at the TRP where many UEs are attempting to measure in parallel.

[0095] RTT positioning can be UE-based or UE-assisted. In UE-based RTT, UE 200 determines the RTT and corresponding range to each of TRP 300, and determines the positioning of UE 200 based on the range to TRP 300 and the known location of TRP 300. In UE-assisted RTT, UE 200 measures positioning signals and provides measurement information to TRP 300, and TRP 300 determines the RTT and range. TRP 300 provides the range to a location server (e.g., server 400), and the server determines the position of UE 200, for example, based on the range to different TRP 300. RTT and / or range may be determined by TRP 300, which receives signals from UE 200, by TRP 300 in combination with one or more other devices (e.g., one or more other TRP 300 and / or server 400), or by one or more devices other than TRP 300 that receive signals from UE 200.

[0096] 5G NR supports various positioning technologies. The native NR positioning methods supported in 5G NR include DL-only positioning, UL-only positioning, and DL+UL positioning. Downlink-based positioning methods include DL-TDOA and DL-AoD. Uplink-based positioning methods include UL-TDOA and UL-AoA. Combined DL+UL positioning methods include RTT with one base station and RTT with multiple base stations (multi-RTT).

[0097] Location estimation (e.g., for the UE) may be referred to by other names, such as location estimation, location, positioning, location locking, locking, etc. Location estimation may be geodetic and include coordinates (e.g., latitude, longitude, and possible altitude), or it may be municipal and include street address, postal address, or some other verbal description of location. Location estimation may be further defined relative to some other known location or defined in absolute terms (e.g., using latitude, longitude, and possible altitude). Location estimation may include expected errors or uncertainties (e.g., by including the area or volume that the expected location will be included within with a specified or preset confidence level).

[0098] Positioning with Angle Assistance

[0099] For several reasons, angle information about a reference signal received by the UE may be useful. For example, knowing (e.g., by determining) the angle of arrival of the reference signal may be useful in determining the UE's location. As another example, knowing the angle of arrival of one or more reflected signals can be used for RF sensing to determine information about the UE's environment (e.g., the number, size, and / or location of objects of interest). The location of the reflector can be mapped to the object of interest. Reflections can be used, either additionally or alternatively, to determine the location of a virtual base station (e.g., gNB) and improve the positioning accuracy of the UE's location. Therefore, the UE may attempt to determine the angle of arrival of the reference signal. Having auxiliary information to facilitate the determination of the angle of arrival may be beneficial (e.g., reducing latency and / or reducing power consumption). For example, the UE can use the range of expected angles of arrival of the reference signal to reduce the search window used to receive and measure the reference signal, which may improve computational costs (e.g., latency, processing power).

[0100] Angle information from one or more reference signals can aid in multipath mitigation. For example, knowing the range of the expected angle of arrival can help with multipath mitigation, such as ignoring unwanted multipath signals and / or using multipath signals (e.g., to characterize the environment, aid in localization, etc.). Further measurements supporting multipath mitigation include timing, power K-factor, and Doppler offset measurements for line-of-sight (LOS) paths and one or more non-line-of-sight (NLOS) paths. Auxiliary data can be provided to the UE for use in determining measurements that support multipath mitigation, localization, etc. For example, the expected timing of the reference signal (e.g., the expected reception time and the uncertainty of that reception time) can be provided, thereby providing a time window for receiving the reference signal. For example, the uncertainty might be + / -32 μs for DL ​​PRS in FR1, while the uncertainty might be + / -8 μs for DL ​​PRS in FR2. However, angle auxiliary data has not yet been provided to the UE.

[0101] Referring to FIG. 5, and further referring to FIGS. 1 to 4, UE 500 includes a processor 510, an interface 520, and memory 530, which are communicatively coupled to each other via bus 540. UE 500 may include some or all of the components shown in FIG. 5, and may include one or more other components, such as any of those components shown in FIG. 2, so that UE 200 may be an example of UE 500. Processor 510 may include one or more components of processor 210. Memory 530 is a non-transitory storage medium, which may include RAM, flash memory, disk memory, and / or ROM, etc. Memory 530 may store software 532, which may be processor-readable, processor-executable software code containing instructions configured to cause processor 510 to perform the various functions described herein when executed. Alternatively, software 532 may not be directly executable by processor 510, but may be configured (e.g., when compiled and executed) to cause processor 510 to perform the functions. Interface 520 may include one or more components of transceiver 215, such as wireless transmitter 242 and antenna 246, or wireless receiver 244 and antenna 246, or wireless transmitter 242, wireless receiver 244 and antenna 246. Additionally or alternatively, interface 520 may include wired transmitter 252 and / or wired receiver 254. Interface 520 may include SPS receiver 217 and SPS antenna 262.

[0102] This description may refer to processor 510 performing a function, but this includes other implementations, such as processor 510 performing software and / or firmware implementations (stored in memory 530). This description may refer to UE 500 performing a function as a shorthand for one or more suitable components of UE 500 (e.g., processor 510 and memory 530) performing that function. Processor 510 (possibly in conjunction with memory 530 and, where appropriate, with interface 520) includes angle capability unit 550. Angle capability unit 550 may be configured to send one or more capability messages instructing UE 500 to use angle information about a reference signal to measure the reference signal. The capability messages may indicate: one or more parameters regarding UE 500's ability to use the angle information (e.g., the angle range over which UE 500 can direct a beam to measure the reference signal relative to the angle range of UE 500), one or more frequency bands and / or combinations of one or more frequency bands corresponding to one or more other parameters regarding UE 500's ability to use the angle information, etc. This document further discusses the configuration and functionality of the angle capability unit 550, and the UE 500 (e.g., processor 510 and one or more other suitable components, such as memory 530) is configured to perform the functions of the angle capability unit 550 discussed herein.

[0103] Referring to Figure 6, and further referring to Figures 2 and 3, network entity 600 (which may be an example of TRP 300 shown in Figure 3, an example of server 400 shown in Figure 4, or a combination thereof (e.g., a TRP including LMF)) includes a processor 610, an interface 620, and a memory 630 communicatively coupled to each other via bus 640. Network entity 600 may include some or all of the components shown in Figure 6, and may include one or more other components, such as any of those components shown in Figures 3 and / or 4. For example, interface 620 may include one or more components of transceiver 315, such as wireless transmitter 342 and antenna 346, or wireless receiver 344 and antenna 346, or wireless transmitter 342, wireless receiver 344, and antenna 346. Additionally or alternatively, interface 620 may include wired transmitter 352 and / or wired receiver 354. Memory 630 is a non-transitory storage medium, which may include RAM, flash memory, disk memory, and / or ROM, etc. Memory 630 may store software 632, which may be processor-readable, processor-executable software code containing instructions configured to cause processor 610 to perform the various functions described herein when executed. Alternatively, software 632 may not be directly executable by processor 610, but may be configured (e.g., when compiled and executed) to cause processor 610 to perform the functions. Network entity 600 may additionally or alternatively include similar components of server 400. For example, network entity 600 may be TRP 300 or server 400 and configured to communicate with TRP 300 (e.g., send requests to it), or may include TRP 300 and be configured to communicate with the TRP portion of network entity 600 (e.g., send requests to it).

[0104] This description may refer to processor 610 performing functions, but this includes other implementations, such as processor 610 performing software and / or firmware implementations (stored in memory 630). This description may refer to network entity 600 performing functions as a shorthand for one or more appropriate components of network entity 600 (e.g., processor 610 and memory 630) performing the function. Processor 610 (possibly in conjunction with memory 630 and, where appropriate, with interface 620) includes angle information unit 650. Angle information unit 650 may be configured to request TRP 300 to send reference signal angle information to UE 500 for use by UE 500 when measuring one or more reference signals. For example, if network entity 600 is TRP 300, angle information unit 650 may request one or more other parts of network entity 600 to send reference signal angle information to UE 500. The reference signal angle information may, for example, identify one or more specific signals, identify one or more reference signal frequency bands, explicitly or implicitly indicate the arrival angle window of the corresponding reference signal, indicate the position corresponding to each reference signal and arrival angle window, and / or indicate the effective time associated with each reference signal and arrival angle window. The configuration and functionality of the angle information unit 650 are further discussed herein, and network entity 600 (e.g., processor 610 and one or more other suitable components, such as memory 630) is configured to perform the functions of the angle information unit 650 discussed herein.

[0105] Referring to Figures 7A and 7B, and further to Figures 5 and 6, network entity 600 (here shown as a TRP that may include, for example, an LMF) may send a reference signal to UE 500. The reference signal may follow a LOS path 710, which is incident on the position of UE 500 with an angle of arrival characterized by an azimuth angle 720 (θ) and a zenith angle 730 (φ). The orientation of UE 500 in Figures 7A and 7B is an example, as UE 500 can be rotated to a variety of possible orientations. The azimuth angle θ and the zenith angle φ are determined relative to the Earth's surface, assuming the Earth is a perfect sphere, then the xy plane is tangent to the sphere at the position of UE 500, and the z-axis is the normal to the xy plane. In addition to LOS path 710, the reference signal may additionally (or alternatively) follow NLOS path 740, which is transmitted from network entity 600 and reflected from object 750 before being received by UE 500. The AoA of the reference signal from NLOS path 740 (the reflection path) will generally be different from the AoA of LOS path 710 (although the AoA of LOS path 710 and the AoA of NLOS path 740 may be within the same AoA range). Although Figure 7B shows one NLOS path and one reflecting object, and one reference signal is discussed as being transmitted from network entity 600 to UE 500, multiple reference signals can be transmitted and / or a reference signal can take multiple NLOS paths to its destination location (e.g., to UE 500), for example, reflected from different objects, reflected from multiple objects in one NLOS path, etc.

[0106] Referring also to FIG8, multiple receive signal paths 801, 802 may be provided in UE 500. One or more converters 810, 820 may be coupled to one or more corresponding tuners 811, 821 (the corresponding tuners 811, 821 may be coupled to one or more corresponding phase shifters 812, 822, and the corresponding phase shifters 812, 822 may be coupled to one or more filters 813, 823 and one or more filters 814, 824) to receive one or more signals from one or more desired AoA and provide the signals to processor 510, for example, for measurement. Tuners 811, 821, phase shifters 812, 822 and filters 813, 814, 823, 824 are optional and any one or more of these items may be omitted. Tuners 811, phase shifters 812 and filters 813, 814 provide two receive signal paths 801. Converter 810 may include one or more antenna panels. Tuner 811 can be adjusted under the control of processor 510 to tune converter 810 to receive different frequencies (e.g., signals in different frequency bands). Phase shifter 812 can be controlled by processor 510 to provide different phase shifts to converter 810 to guide the beam of converter 810. Filters 813, 814 can be configured to block or allow desired signal frequencies and can be controlled by processor 510 to change which frequencies are blocked / transmitted. Converter 820, tuner 821, phase shifter 822, and filters 823, 824 are configured to provide functionality similar to that of converter 810, tuner 811, phase shifter 812, and filters 813, 814. One or more of the receive signal paths 801, 802 can be modified to receive signals of different frequencies and / or different angles of arrival at different times, for example, by changing the phase shift and / or frequency filter applied to the received signal. The received signal paths 801, 802 shown are examples, and other configurations are possible.

[0107] Referring to Figure 9, the processing and signal flow 900 for determining positioning information includes the stages shown. Process 900 is an example, and stages can be added, removed, and / or rearranged in process 900.

[0108] At stage 905, network entity 600 can obtain reference signal angle information. For example, network entity 600 can collect crowd outsourcing information by: analyzing channel paths (e.g., delay, angle, path gain, etc.) across multiple signals (e.g., multiple PRS beams and / or multiple SRS beams(ports)), analyzing the information about the location where the information is collected, etc. Network entity 600 can analyze the information to determine the angle of arrival (AoA) corresponding to different signals (e.g., different reference signal channels). The determined information may include the AoA of the LOS signal and the AoA of the NLOS signal reflected before reaching the corresponding location.

[0109] In stage 910, UE 500 (e.g., angle capability unit 550) sends angle capability message 912 to network entity 600 via interface 520. The angle capability message 912 may indicate whether UE 500 is capable of using angle information to assist in measuring reference signals (e.g., to determine the AoA of the reference signal). The angle capability message 912 may include one or more parameters regarding UE 500's ability to use angle information, such as one or more parameters regarding UE 500's ability to measure the angle of one or more reference signals. The angle capability message 912 may provide information regarding UE 500's ability to use angle information for different frequencies (e.g., frequency bands, combinations of frequency bands), for example, because UE 500 may have different numbers and / or types of antennas with different performance characteristics for different frequencies. Different numbers and / or types may provide different beamguiding capabilities, such as a specific angle relative to the body of UE 500.

[0110] Referring also to FIG10, the example angle capability information 1000 includes an angle usage capability field 1010, a frequency band combination field 1020, a frequency band field 1030, an angle range field 1040, and a precision field 1050. The value in the angle usage field 1010 can indicate whether the UE 500 can use angle information (e.g., an angle search window) to measure a reference signal. The value of the angle usage capability field 1010 can be encoded, for example, with single bits having values ​​1 and 0, where a value 1 indicates that the UE 500 can use the angle information and a value 0 indicates that the UE 500 will not use the angle information to measure the reference signal (e.g., in the corresponding frequency band combination and / or frequency band indicated by fields 1020 and 1030). The frequency band combination field 1020 indicates one or more frequency bands corresponding to the angle usage capability indication in the angle usage capability field 1010. The band field 1030 indicates one or more bands corresponding to the angle usage capability indication in the angle usage capability field 1010 and the band combination (if any) indicated in the band combination field 1020. Therefore, for example, within the band combination indicated in field 1020, a band can be indicated in field 1030 for the UE 500's angle usage capability with respect to the indicated band within the corresponding indicated band combination. The UE 500's ability to use angle information (e.g., for different band combinations and / or different bands) can depend on the number of antennas and / or antenna panels (e.g., the different locations of one or more antenna elements on the UE 500) and the antenna performance (e.g., potential scanning angle). The angle range field 1040 can indicate the angle range or field of view (FOV) at which the UE 500 can guide the antenna beam for the corresponding band combination and / or corresponding band. For example, the value of angle range field 1040 can indicate the maximum sweep angle of the antenna beam corresponding to the frequency band combination indicated in field 1020 and / or the frequency band indicated in field 1030. A value of 360° in angle range field 1040 can indicate that there is no angle sweep limitation for the corresponding frequency band combination and / or frequency band. The value of accuracy field 1050 can provide one or more parameters regarding the accuracy of positioning information (e.g., one or more measurements, one or more positioning estimates, etc.) to be provided (e.g., requested) by UE 500. Fields 1020, 1030, 1040, and 1050 are optional, and one or more of fields 1020, 1030, 1040, and 1050 can be omitted. Furthermore, an indication that UE 500 cannot use angle information can be preset, and the capability message 1000 can omit any value in angle usage capability field 1010 indicating that UE 500 cannot use angle information to measure reference signals. The lack of angle usability can be indicated by the 0° angle range.The angle usage capability field 1010 can be omitted, for example, where the ability of UE 500 to use angle information to measure a reference signal is implied by providing a non-zero value for one or more of fields 1020, 1030, and 1040. Capability message 1000 is an example, and many other configurations of capability messages can be used.

[0111] Referring again to Figure 9, at stage 920, network entity 600 obtains the location of UE 500. Network entity 600 may use one or more of a variety of techniques to determine the approximate location of UE 500. For example, network entity 600 may use the location of serving TRP 300 as the location of UE 500, or the cell sector center of the serving cell, or may use E-CID or another technique to determine the location of the UE. Network entity 600 may determine the location of UE 500 by combining the locations determined by one or more techniques (e.g., using a weighted average). Network entity 600 may determine the future predicted location of UE 500, for example, based on the movement of UE 500 (especially relative to TRP 300). The speed of UE 500 may be used by network entity 600 to determine the predicted location of UE 500 and may be used (as discussed further below) to determine the effective time of auxiliary information provided to UE 500.

[0112] In phase 930, network entity 600 (e.g., angle information unit 650) may request TRP 300 to use or transmit reference signal angle information. For example, in sub-phase 932, angle information unit 650 may request TRP 300 (e.g., a TRP portion of network entity 600 or a separate TRP 300) to use the reference signal angle information for AoA measurement of UL PRS from UE 500. Alternatively or additionally, angle information unit 650 may request TRP 300 to send, and TRP 300 may send, reference signal angle information message 934 to UE 500. For example, network entity 600 may send a request via interface 620 to TRP 300, which sends the message to UE 500, or, if network entity 600 includes TRP 300 or TRP 300, angle information unit 650 requests the TRP portion of network entity 600 to send reference signal angle information message 934 to UE 500. The reference signal angle information used by network entity 600 in sub-phase 932 may be the same as or similar to the content of reference signal angle information message 934. Reference signal angle information message 934 may include auxiliary information for UE 500 to use when measuring reference signals, for example, to determine the angle of arrival of the measured signal. The description herein may refer to reference signals, but this includes one or more reference signals. Reference signal angle information message 934 may include one or more information elements (IEs) for conveying reference signal angle information such as DL-PRS expected AoA and / or AoD. The AoA (Aspect of Arrival) may include an azimuth angle (e.g., azimuth 720°) and / or a zenith angle (e.g., ZoA (Zenith Angle of Arrival)) (e.g., zenith angle 730°), and the AoD (Aspect of Departure) may include an azimuth angle and / or a zenith angle (e.g., ZoD (Zenith Departure)). The IE (Interceptor of Arrival) may include DL-PRS (Determined Uncertainty), which may be combined with the desired angle to provide a search window. Alternatively or additionally, endpoints of the search window (e.g., low-end and high-end angles) may be provided to allow the UE 500 to search for a reference signal between the low-end and high-end angles. The IE may include a position corresponding to each indication of the angle search window. An endpoint or desired angle plus uncertainty provides an explicit search window. However, the angle search window may be implicit (e.g., a desired angle is provided and the uncertainty around the desired angle is implicit). The angle uncertainty may be implicit, for example, by statically and / or dynamically configuring uncertainty in the UE 500 and network entity 600. UE 500 can be statically configured (e.g., hard-coded during the manufacture of UE 500) and / or dynamically configured (e.g., by receiving instructions with configuration or instructions regarding which angle from a set of statically configured configurations to use).

[0113] The RS angle information message 934 can be sent to one or more UEs 500. For example, each UE in an area can benefit from the same RS angle information message 934, for example, they can use at least some of the same angle aids to help narrow the search window. Network entity 600 can cause TRP 300 (e.g., the TRP portion of network entity 600) to broadcast the RS angle information message 934 and / or send the RS angle information message 934 in a multicast message. UEs 500 that are to receive the RS angle information message 934 can be grouped, for example, where each UE in a group is assigned a shared group ID and uses the group ID to broadcast the RS angle information message 934, or the RS angle information message 934 can be multicast to UEs 500 with the same group ID.

[0114] Referring also to FIG11, the content of the reference signal angle information message 934 can be selected from the reference signal angle information table 1100, which includes reference signal field 1110, position field 1120, and angle auxiliary data field 1130. Table 1100 includes various example values ​​for fields 1110, 1120, and 1130, some of which have different formats for the same field. Table 1100 is an example, and other configurations of the reference signal angle information message can be used, for example, where the same format of the values ​​for a given field is used for different (e.g., all) items. The reference signal angle information table 1100 includes items 1151, 1152, 1153, 1154, 1155, and 1156, where each of items 1151-1156 includes a value for each of fields 1110, 1120, and 1130.

[0115] Network entity 600 may indicate reference signals to UE 500 in various ways based on values ​​obtained from Table 1100. For example, as shown in item 1151, reference signal field 1110 may indicate a channel. The channel indication may include one or more parameters for the channel (e.g., frequency layer) to define the reference signal. As another example, as shown in items 1152 and 1153, reference signal field 1110 may indicate a frequency band such that all reference signals within the indicated frequency band will have corresponding positions and ancillary information (i.e., as indicated by other fields 1120 and 1130 of the same item). As another example, as shown by items 1154 and 1155, reference signal field 1110 may indicate a combination of frequency bands such that all reference signals within the indicated combination of frequency bands will have corresponding positions and ancillary information (and possibly valid time). As another example, as shown in item 1156, reference signal field 1110 may indicate a specific signal, here PRS1. Specific signal indicators may include one or more parameters used to define the signal (e.g., frequency layer, slot offset, symbol offset, number of comb teeth, etc.).

[0116] Each item in items 1151-1156 of the reference signal angle information table 1100 includes the location to which the item applies, such as the location to which the angle auxiliary data applies. The location may be a specific point (e.g., x, y, and z coordinates, or latitude and longitude, etc.) or a region (e.g., a point with a radius, or a defined boundary (e.g., a rectangle, a circle, or other regular or irregular shape)).

[0117] The angle auxiliary data field 1130 in each of items 1151-1156 provides angle information that the UE 500 and / or TRP 300 can use to measure one or more signals (e.g., a reference signal). For example, the angle information can provide a specific angle (e.g., the average or expected angle of arrival of the (reference) signal), for example, as shown in item 1151. The angle can include azimuth (θ) and can also include zenith (φ). As another example, the angle information can include a search window in the form of an expected angle and uncertainty, for example, as shown in item 1152. The uncertainty can be specified by a signal uncertainty value and thus symmetrical about the expected angle (e.g., + / -A°), or it can be specified by lower and higher uncertainties (e.g., +B°, -C) such that the uncertainty can be asymmetrical about the expected angle. As another example, the angle information can provide a search window by specifying the boundaries of the search window. As shown in item 1153, the angle auxiliary data specifies a window having an azimuth range from M° to N° and a zenith range from P° to Q°. Generally, the angle window values ​​are indicated as angle window 1, angle window 2 and angle window 3 in items 1154-1156, respectively.

[0118] The angles in the angle assistance data 1130 may include the angle of arrival at the UE location and / or TRP location. The angle assistance data provides the expected angle of arrival of a reference signal at the intended UE location. Processor 610 or processor 310 may use these angles to determine the corresponding angle of arrival of a reference signal from a corresponding location at TRP 300 (e.g., separate from or part of network entity 600). Additionally or alternatively, the angle assistance data 1130 may include the expected angle of arrival of a reference signal transmitted by UE 500 from the intended location at one or more TRPs. For example, TRP 300 of network entity 600 may use the angle assistance data 1130 to narrow the angle search window of the UL PRS from UE 500, for example, for AoA-based positioning.

[0119] Network entity 600 is configured to obtain the value of reference signal angle information table 1100. For example, network entity 600 can obtain reference signal angle information, as discussed above regarding stage 905. Network entity 600 can determine the angle of arrival corresponding to different signals (e.g., different reference signal channels) to generate table 1100, from which network entity 600 can select information for reference signal angle information message 934.

[0120] Network entity 600 may be configured to generate or request TRP 300 to generate reference signal angle information message 934 only when network entity 600 receives angle capability message 912 indicating that UE 500 can use angle information to measure at least one reference signal. For example, network entity 600 may generate message 934 and / or request TRP 300 to generate message 934 in response to receiving angle capability message 912 and in response to angle capability message 912 indicating that UE 500 can use angle information of at least one reference signal to receive and / or measure reference signals. Network entity 600 may be configured to generate or request the generation of message 934 in response to UE 500 indicating that UE 500 can use angle information of at least one reference signal to be transmitted by TRP 300.

[0121] Referring also to FIG12, network entity 600 may select reference signal angle information to be used by the network entity in sub-stage 932 and / or for use in reference signal angle information message 934. For example, network entity 600 may request TRP 300 to generate reference signal angle information message 934 (e.g., message 1200) by selecting information from table 1100 and possibly providing additional information for items in message 1200 (here items 1251, 1252). Message 1200 is an example of message 934 (or reference signal angle information used at sub-stage 932) and includes reference signal field 1210, position field 1220, auxiliary data field 1230, and effective time field 1240. Fields 1210, 1220, and at least a portion of field 1230 may be filled with information selected from table 1100. For example, network entity 600 (e.g., angle information unit 650) can use the determined (e.g., predicted) location of UE 500 to identify one or more items in table 1100, the location of which includes the determined location of UE 500. Alternatively, network entity 600 can provide auxiliary information related to one or more locations that are supplementary to and / or different from the predicted location of UE 500 (e.g., providing auxiliary information for the area around UE 500). Network entity 600 can determine which reference signals TRP 300 will transmit corresponding to the identified items, and the angle information (based on angle capability message 912) of which reference signals UE 500 can use, and generate one or more items of message 1200, which includes the reference signals to be transmitted and the corresponding locations for which UE 500 can use its angle information. Alternatively, message 1200 may include a location indication indicating the area where angle auxiliary information can (or should) be used. Angle information unit 650 can populate auxiliary data field 1230 with angle auxiliary data from items identified from table 1100. Angle information unit 650 can include AoD information in auxiliary data field 1230 as a supplement to or replacement of AoA. AoD information can indicate the origin angle of the corresponding reference signal, which UE 500 can use for RF sensing and / or multipath positioning. For example, UE 500 can use the AoD of the measured signal to help determine the position of a reflecting object and / or use the reflected signal to help determine the position of UE 500.

[0122] One or more values ​​in the auxiliary data field 1230 may depend on one or more parameters (e.g., quality, latency, and / or accuracy) of the location information to be provided by the UE 500. For example, a smaller latency requirement allows for a smaller angle window to be provided. As another example, auxiliary data may be provided in response to a threshold level requiring accuracy, and not in other ways, such as when only a rough location of the UE 500 is requested.

[0123] In addition to angle auxiliary data, auxiliary data field 1230 may also include delay auxiliary data. Network entity 600 may request timing information from TRP 300 so that, in addition to angle information to help UE 500 narrow the AoA search window for the reference signal to be measured, UE 500 can also narrow the time search window for the reference signal to be measured. Similar to angle information, timing information may be provided as the start and end times of the window, as a reference time point and time uncertainty (symmetric or asymmetric) for determining the window, as a reference time with implicit uncertainty, etc. Timing information may be provided in conjunction with angle information, as shown in the figure, or may be provided independently of angle information, and UE 500 (e.g., processor 510) may analyze corresponding information (e.g., position, reference signal) to obtain angle and timing information for joint use, for example, searching and measuring the reference signal. Although the discussion herein frequently refers to reference signals, it is applicable to signals other than reference signals.

[0124] The valid time field 1240 of each of items 1251 and 1252 provides the valid time for the auxiliary data field 1230. Angle information may change rapidly, for example, due to the movement of UE 500 relative to TRP 300. Moreover, angle information may be very base station specific, thus varying significantly from base station to base station (e.g., due to different relative movements of UE 500 to different base stations, for example, relative to the LOS path from UE 500 to different base stations). For example, if UE 500 is moving approximately directly toward or approximately directly away from TRP 300, the angle information may not change much even if it changes for the LOS signal, but if UE 500 is moving partially or approximately laterally to the LOS of TRP 300, the angle information may change rapidly, especially as UE 500 gets closer to TRP 300. Therefore, network entity 600 may request TRP 300 to include a valid time value for message 1200 or for each item of message 1200. Different items of message 1200 may include different valid times because angle information may change at different rates for different reference signals (e.g., due to different paths, especially different NLOS paths). Valid time values ​​(e.g., time 1 in item 1251 and time 2 in item 1252) indicate the valid time of the corresponding auxiliary data in auxiliary data field 1230 (at least the angle information in auxiliary data field 1230). Valid time can be specified in various ways, such as a timer value for the time after message 1200 is received, or a future specific time interval (e.g., time of day). Valid time indicates the time after which UE 500 (or network entity 600 at sub-phase 932) should not use the corresponding auxiliary data, or at least after which the auxiliary data may not help narrow down the angle and / or time for searching the reference signal. The value of the valid time may depend on the expected rate of change of the (reference) signal's AoA. The effective time can depend on a variety of factors, including the distance between UE 500 and TRP 300, the speed of UE 500, and the direction of movement of UE 500 relative to TRP 300 (e.g., relative to the LOS path between UE 500 and TRP 300, and the rate of change of AoA of that LOS path). For example, if UE 500 is close to TRP 300 and / or is moving rapidly laterally along the LOS path, the effective time may be much shorter than if UE 500 is stationary, moving slowly, and / or moving close to the LOS path.

[0125] Auxiliary information can be repeatedly updated. For example, to accommodate rapid changes in angle auxiliary information, network entity 600 may request TRP 300 to repeatedly, frequently, and rapidly send RS angle information messages 934. RS angle information messages 934 may be sent to UE 500 periodically and / or non-periodically (e.g., on demand) along with updated information. RS angle information messages 934 may be sent to UE 500, for example, using lower-layer (low latency) communication, such as MAC-CE (Media Access Control-Control Element), especially where network entity 600 includes LMF (Local LMF in RAN). Updated RS angle information messages may be provided, for example, before the expiration of RS angle information message 934 (e.g., the most recently sent RS angle information message, or at least the most recently sent RS angle information message containing auxiliary information of a reference signal for the updated RS angle information message).

[0126] At stage 940, TRP 300 sends RS configuration message 942 to UE 500. RS configuration message 942 contains one or more parameters of RS configuration, such as time slot offset, number of comb teeth, frequency offset, frequency layer DCI information, etc. UE 500 uses RS configuration information to help measure reference signals, for example, by properly tuning one or more antennas, and by using auxiliary data to reduce the search direction and / or search time for the reference signal.

[0127] At stage 950, TRP 300 sends one or more RS 952 to UE 500. TRP 300 sends RS based on RS configuration message 942, for example, with indicated parameters, and possibly in the direction indicated by AoD information in auxiliary data.

[0128] In stage 960, UE 500 determines location information based on the received RS. For example, UE 500 may measure the PRS from TRP 300 to determine location information (e.g., RSRP, ToA, SINR, location estimate, etc.). UE 500 may send some or all of the determined location information to network entity 600 (e.g., to TRP 300 or via TRP 300 to server 400) in location information message 962. UE 500 may be configured (dynamically or statically) to report only (e.g., in response to receiving an indicated angle measurement window) reference signal measurements measured within the indicated angle window. For example, for RF sensing, narrowing the target list may be beneficial. Alternatively or additionally, UE 500 may be configured (dynamically or statically) to report reference signal measurements measured within the indicated angle window and reference signal measurements measured outside the indicated angle window. UE 500 may be configured to indicate that a reference signal for which an angle window is provided was received outside the indicated angle window. UE 500 may be configured to indicate that the provided auxiliary information is invalid and / or incorrect. Additionally or alternatively, UE 500 may be configured to provide feedback to network entity 600 to help network entity 600 determine auxiliary information. For example, UE 500 may be configured to provide suggested auxiliary information to network entity 600 based on the AoA of the received reference signal. The suggested auxiliary information may be, for example, the actual AoA of the received reference signal and / or an angle search window including the actual AoA of the received reference signal. For example, message 962 may indicate that the channel X reference signal was received at an azimuth angle AoA of Y° (and possibly indicate that the reference signal was received at a zenith angle AoA of Z°).

[0129] At stage 970, network entity 600 may determine location information. Network entity 600 (e.g., LMF) may determine the range and / or location estimate of UE 500, for example, based on location information message 962 and possibly based on one or more other messages with other measurement information.

[0130] Operation

[0131] Referring to FIG13, and further referring to FIGS. 1 to 12, the signal measurement assistance method 1300 includes the stages shown. However, method 1300 is merely an example and not a limitation. Method 1300 can be modified, for example, by adding, removing, rearranging, combining, performing in parallel, and / or splitting a single stage into multiple stages.

[0132] In stage 1310, method 1300 includes obtaining reference signal angle information including a first indication, the first indication indicating a first reference signal and a first expected angle of arrival of the first reference signal. For example, angle information unit 650 may retrieve reference signal angle information including one or more indications to one or more reference signals and corresponding angle auxiliary data from table 1100 stored in memory 630 (e.g., according to message 1200), or receive such information via interface 620 (e.g., collecting crowdsourcing information). Processor 610 (possibly in conjunction with memory 630, possibly in conjunction with interface 620 (e.g., wireless receiver 344 and antenna 346, wired receiver 354, wireless receiver 444 and antenna 446, and / or wired receiver 454)) may include means for obtaining reference signal angle information.

[0133] At stage 1320, method 1300 includes at least one of the following operations: requesting a transmit / receive point (TRP) to transmit a first indication to the user equipment; or requesting the TRP to search for a first reference signal based on a first expected angle of arrival. For example, angle information unit 650 may request interface 620 to send, or send via interface 620 (e.g., wired transmitter 452) to a separate TRP 300 to cause the TRP 300 to transmit the first indication (e.g., the value of at least portions of reference signal 1110 and auxiliary data 1130, or the value of at least portions of fields 1210, 1230 of message 1200). Processor 610 (possibly in conjunction with memory 630, possibly in conjunction with interface 620 (e.g., wireless transmitter 442 and antenna 446, and / or wired transmitter 452)) may include means for requesting the TRP to transmit the first indication. Alternatively or concurrently, the angle information unit 650 may request the TRP 300 (e.g., the TRP portion of network entity 600) to search for one or more reference signals based on one or more expected angles of arrival (EAAs) of one or more reference signals. For example, the angle information unit 650 may use the values ​​of at least portions of reference signal 1110 and auxiliary data 1130 (e.g., the values ​​of at least portions of fields 1210 and 1230 of message 1200, regardless of whether message 1200 is generated) to establish one or more search windows for one or more reference signals. The processor 610 (possibly in conjunction with memory 630) may include means for requesting the TRP to search for a first reference signal based on a first EA.

[0134] Implementations of method 1300 may include one or more of the following features. In an example implementation, method 1300 includes at least one of the following operations: requesting the TRP to transmit a valid time indication associated with the first indication to the user equipment; or providing the valid time indication to the TRP. For example, if network entity 600 is or includes TRP 300, angle information unit 650 may cause an interface (e.g., wireless transmitter 342 and antenna 346) to send a valid time field 1240 in message 1200. As another example, if network entity is server 400, angle information unit 650 may send a request to TRP 300 via interface 620 (e.g., wired transmitter 452) to cause the TRP to send a valid time indication. As another example, if network entity 600 includes TRP 300, angle information unit 650 may provide a valid time indication to TRP 300. Processor 610 (possibly in conjunction with memory 630 and possibly with interface 620) may include means for requesting a valid time indication from the TRP and / or means for providing a valid time indication to the TRP. In another example implementation, method 1300 includes determining the value of the valid time indication based on the motion of the user equipment relative to the TRP. For example, processor 610 may calculate the valid time indication or select a valid time indication from a set of predefined valid time value options. Processor 610 may determine the value of the valid time based, for example, on the expected rate of change of the expected AoA of the LOS path between TRP 300 and UE 500 (e.g., based on the speed and orientation of UE 500 (e.g., angular velocity relative to TRP 300)). As another example, processor 610 may determine the value of the valid time based on the speed of UE 500, for example, without determining the rate of change of AoA at UE 500. The processor 610 (possibly in conjunction with memory 630, possibly in conjunction with interface 620) (e.g., to acquire UE motion information) may include means for determining the value of an effective time indication.

[0135] Alternatively or additionally, implementations of method 1300 may include one or more of the following features. In an example implementation, the first indication further indicates a first location, and the reference signal angle information further includes a second indication indicating a first reference signal, a second expected angle of arrival of the first reference signal, and a second location, and the method further includes: acquiring the user equipment location of the user equipment; and selecting the first indication from the reference signal angle information based on the user equipment location corresponding to the first location. For example, the first indication may also include an indication to location field 1120, the processor 610 may acquire (e.g., calculate or receive) the (current or future (e.g., predicted)) location of UE 500, and may select the first indication corresponding to the location of UE 500 (e.g., the location containing UE 500) from a plurality of possible sets of such indications (e.g., table items) such as table 1100. Processor 610 (possibly in conjunction with memory 630, possibly in conjunction with interface 620 (e.g., wireless receiver 344 and antenna 346, wireless receiver 444 and antenna 446, and / or wired receiver 454)) may include means for obtaining the location of the user equipment. Processor 610 (possibly in conjunction with memory 630) may include means for selecting a first indication. In another example implementation, method 1300 includes requesting the TRP to transmit the first indication to the user equipment as either a MAC layer message or a physical layer message. For example, network entity 600 may repeatedly obtain the location of UE 500, determine RS angle information message 934 based on these locations, and transmit the RS angle information message 934 to UE 500, for example, using low latency communication (such as MAC-CE or physical layer messaging).

[0136] Alternatively or additionally, implementations of method 1300 may include one or more of the following features. In one example implementation, the first indication indicates a first expected angle of arrival (AoA) of the first reference signal as a first angle search window including the first expected angle of arrival of the first reference signal. For example, RS angle information message 934 may include an angle search window (e.g., expected AoA and uncertainty, or start and end angles across the expected AoA), for example, as shown in items 1151-1153. AoA may include azimuth and possible zenith angle. In another example implementation, the reference signal angle information further includes a second indication indicating the first reference signal and a second expected angle of arrival of the first reference signal, the first expected angle of arrival being different from the second expected angle of arrival, and at least one of the first and second expected angles of arrival corresponding to a non-line-of-sight path between the TRP and the user equipment. For example, multiple indications of a reference signal having multiple corresponding expected AoA may be provided in the RS angle information (e.g., RS angle information message 934), wherein at least one NLOS expected AoA is included in the RS angle information. In another example implementation, obtaining reference signal angle information includes analyzing reference signal measurements and the position corresponding to those measurements. For example, processor 610 may compile the reference signal angle information for use as auxiliary data from crowd-outsourced measurements of the reference signal. Processor 610 (possibly in conjunction with memory 630) may include means for analyzing the reference signal measurements and position. In another example implementation, method 1300 includes requesting the TRP to transmit a first instruction to the user equipment in response to receiving a capability message from the user equipment indicating that the user equipment is configured to use angle of arrival information to measure the reference signal. For example, processor 610 may request interface 620 or the individual TRP 300 to send angle auxiliary information in response to a UE 500 report (possibly only in the case of a UE 500 report) of the capability to receive (and measure) the reference signal using angle auxiliary information. In another example implementation, the user equipment is a first user equipment, and the method includes requesting the TRP to transmit the first instruction to both the first and second user equipment in at least one of a multicast message or a broadcast message. For example, the angle information unit 650 may request separate TRPs 300 or TRPs 300 as part of network entity 600 to send multicast or broadcast messages with a first indication (e.g., for use when reducing the angle search window used to measure one or more reference signals) to multiple UEs 500. The processor 610 (possibly in conjunction with memory 630, possibly in conjunction with interface 620 (e.g., wireless transmitter 442 and antenna 446, or wired transmitter 452)) may include means for requesting TRPs to transmit multicast and / or broadcast messages.

[0137] Referring to FIG14 and further to FIGS. 1 to 12, method 1400 for measuring a reference signal at a user equipment includes the stages shown. However, method 1400 is merely an example and not a limitation. Method 1400 may be modified, for example, by adding, removing, rearranging, combining, performing in parallel, and / or splitting a single stage into multiple stages.

[0138] In stage 1410, method 1400 includes transmitting an angle usage capability message from a user equipment to a network entity, the angle usage capability message indicating the user equipment's ability to use signal angle information to measure a signal. For example, UE 500 (e.g., angle capability unit 550) may transmit angle capability message 912, such as message 1000 or one or more similar messages, to network entity 600 via interface 520. Processor 510 (possibly in conjunction with memory 530 and interface 520 (e.g., wireless transmitter 242 and antenna 246)) may include means for transmitting the angle usage capability message.

[0139] At stage 1420, method 1400 includes: receiving a reference signal indication from a network entity at a user equipment, the reference signal indication indicating a reference signal and at least one reference signal angle search window corresponding to the reference signal. For example, UE 500 may receive RS angle information message 934 from network entity 600 (which may be the same entity to which UE 500 sends angle capability message 912 or may be a different entity). Message 934 may indicate one or more parameters (e.g., frequency and / or channel) of the reference signal. The reference signal angle search window may be implicit (e.g., based on the provided expected AoA and pre-coding uncertainty) or explicit. Processor 510 (possibly in conjunction with memory 530 and interface 520 (e.g., wireless receiver 244 and antenna 246)) may include means for receiving the reference signal indication.

[0140] At stage 1430, method 1400 includes: searching for the reference signal at a user equipment based on the at least one reference signal angle search window. For example, processor 510 may control interface 520, such as one or more antenna panels or one or more antennas. For example, processor 510 may control one or more components of one or more of the receive signal paths 801, 802 (e.g., converter 810, tuner 821, phase shifter 812, and / or filters 813, 814, 823, 824) to search for the reference signal based on the reference signal angle search window, such as searching across each AoA of the search window. Processor 510 (possibly in conjunction with memory 530, possibly in conjunction with interface 520 (e.g., wireless receiver 244 and antenna 246, including one or more of the receive signal paths 801, 802) may include means for searching for the reference signal.

[0141] At stage 1440, method 1400 includes measuring the reference signal at the user equipment. For example, processor 510 may measure one or more parameters (e.g., RSRP, RSSI, ToA, etc.) of the reference signal received through (e.g., as discussed herein) searching for the reference signal. Processor 510 (possibly in conjunction with memory 530 and interface 520 (e.g., wireless receiver 244 and antenna 246)) may include means for searching for the reference signal.

[0142] Implementations of method 1400 may include one or more of the following features. In one example implementation, method 1400 includes reporting a measurement of the reference signal only if the reference signal is received within at least one reference signal angle search window. For example, processor 510 may be configured not to report (and may not measure) any reference signal received outside the indicated angle search window. Processor 510 (possibly in conjunction with memory 530 and interface 520 (e.g., wireless transmitter 242 and antenna 246)) may include means for reporting measurements of the reference signal. In another example implementation, method 1400 includes reporting measurements of the reference signal regardless of whether the reference signal is received outside at least one reference signal angle search window. For example, processor 510 may be configured to report measurements of any reference signal received within or outside the indicated angle search window. In another example implementation, method 1400 includes transmitting an error message from a user equipment to a network entity indicating that the user equipment failed to receive the reference signal within the at least one reference signal angle search window. For example, processor 510 may be configured to send an indication via interface 520 that a reference signal has not arrived in a search window at an indicated angle. Processor 510 may send this error message to the same entity providing the search window and / or to another entity. The error message may include the actual angle of arrival of the reference signal received by UE 500. Processor 510 (possibly in conjunction with memory 530 and interface 520 (e.g., wireless transmitter 242 and antenna 246)) may include means for transmitting the error message.

[0143] Alternatively or additionally, implementations of method 1400 may include one or more of the following features. In one example implementation, the angle usage capability message indicates at least one of the following: the frequency band to which the user equipment's capability to use signal angle information to measure a signal applies; or a combination of frequency bands to which the user equipment's capability to use signal angle information to measure a signal applies. For example, angle capability unit 550 may generate angle capability message 912 to indicate the UE 500's capability to use angle information to search for a reference signal on a per-band and / or per-band combination basis. In another example implementation, method 1400 includes: determining at the user equipment whether the validity period indicated by the reference signal has expired, and searching for the reference signal according to at least one reference signal angle search window is performed based on the fact that the validity period indicated by the reference signal has not expired. For example, RS angle information message 934 may include one or more validity periods, and processor 510 may determine whether the validity period corresponding to the reference signal to be measured has expired, and use the angle auxiliary data of RS angle information message 934 for the reference signal only if the validity period of the reference signal has not expired. The processor 510 (possibly in conjunction with memory 530) may include means for determining whether the validity period of the reference signal has expired.

[0144] Implementation Example

[0145] Examples of implementations are provided in the following numbered clauses.

[0146] Clause 1. A network entity comprising: an interface; memory; and a processor communicatively coupled to the interface and the memory and configured to: obtain reference signal angle information including a first indication indicating a first reference signal and a first expected angle of arrival of the first reference signal; and perform at least one of the following operations: requesting a transmit / receive point (TRP) to transmit the first indication to a user equipment; or requesting the TRP to search for the first reference signal based on the first expected angle of arrival.

[0147] Clause 2. A network entity as described in Clause 1, wherein the processor is configured to perform at least one of the following operations: requesting the TRP to transmit a valid time indication associated with the first indication to the user equipment; or providing the valid time indication to the TRP.

[0148] Clause 3. The network entity as described in Clause 2, wherein the processor is configured to determine the value of the valid time indication based on the movement of the user equipment relative to the TRP.

[0149] Item 4. A network entity as described in Item 1, wherein the first indication further indicates a first location, and wherein the reference signal angle information further includes a second indication indicating a first reference signal, a second expected angle of arrival of the first reference signal, and a second location, and wherein the processor is configured to: obtain the user equipment location of the user equipment; and select the first indication from the reference signal angle information based on the user equipment location corresponding to the first location.

[0150] Clause 5. A network entity as described in Clause 4, wherein the processor is configured to request the TRP to transmit a first indication to the user equipment as either a MAC layer message or an entity layer message.

[0151] Item 6. As in Item 1, the network entity wherein the first indication indicates the first expected angle of arrival of the first reference signal as a first angle search window including the first expected angle of arrival of the first reference signal.

[0152] Item 7. As in Item 6, the network entity wherein the reference signal angle information further includes a second indication indicating the first reference signal and a second expected angle of arrival of the first reference signal, wherein the first expected angle of arrival is different from the second expected angle of arrival, and wherein at least one of the first expected angle of arrival and the second expected angle of arrival corresponds to a non-line-of-sight path between the TRP and the user equipment.

[0153] Clause 8. A network entity as described in Clause 1, wherein the processor is configured to: analyze a reference signal measurement and the position corresponding to the reference signal measurement to obtain reference signal angle information.

[0154] Clause 9. A network entity as described in Clause 1, wherein the processor is configured to: request the TRP to transmit a first indication to the user equipment, and wherein the processor is configured to: request the TRP to transmit a first indication to the user equipment in response to receiving a capability message from the user equipment indicating that the user equipment is configured to use angle of arrival information to measure a reference signal.

[0155] Item 10. A network entity as described in Item 1, wherein the user equipment is a first user equipment, and wherein the processor is configured to request the TRP to transmit a first instruction to both the first user equipment and the second user equipment in at least one of a multicast message or a broadcast message.

[0156] Clause 11. A network entity comprising: means for obtaining reference signal angle information including a first indication, the first indication indicating a first reference signal and a first expected angle of arrival of the first reference signal; and at least one of the following: means for requesting a transmit / receive point (TRP) to transmit the first indication to a user equipment; or means for requesting the TRP to search for the first reference signal based on the first expected angle of arrival.

[0157] Clause 12. The network entity as described in Clause 11 further includes at least one of the following: means for requesting the TRP to transmit a valid time indication associated with the first indication to the user equipment; or means for providing the valid time indication to the TRP.

[0158] Clause 13. The network entity as described in Clause 12 further includes means for determining the value of the valid time indication based on the movement of the user equipment relative to the TRP.

[0159] Item 14. A network entity as described in Item 11, wherein the first indication further indicates a first location, and wherein the reference signal angle information further includes a second indication indicating a first reference signal, a second expected angle of arrival of the first reference signal, and a second location, the network entity further comprising: means for obtaining the location of the user equipment; and means for selecting the first indication from the reference signal angle information based on the user equipment location corresponding to the first location.

[0160] Item 15. A network entity as described in Item 14, wherein the network entity includes means for requesting the TRP to transmit a first indication to the user equipment, wherein the means for requesting the TRP to transmit the first indication includes means for requesting the TRP to transmit the first indication as either a MAC layer message or an entity layer message.

[0161] Clause 16. A network entity as described in Clause 11, wherein the first indication indicates the first expected angle of arrival of the first reference signal as a first angle search window including the first expected angle of arrival of the first reference signal.

[0162] Clause 17. The network entity as described in Clause 16, wherein the reference signal angle information further includes a second indication indicating the first reference signal and a second expected angle of arrival of the first reference signal, wherein the first expected angle of arrival is different from the second expected angle of arrival, and wherein at least one of the first expected angle of arrival and the second expected angle of arrival corresponds to a non-line-of-sight path between the TRP and the user equipment.

[0163] Clause 18. As in Clause 11, the means for obtaining the reference signal angle information includes means for analyzing the reference signal measurement and the position corresponding to the reference signal measurement to obtain the reference signal angle information.

[0164] Clause 19. A network entity as described in Clause 11, wherein the network entity includes means for requesting the TRP to transmit a first indication to the user equipment, and wherein the means for requesting the TRP to transmit the first indication to the user equipment includes means for requesting the TRP to transmit the first indication to the user equipment in response to receiving from the user equipment a capability message indicating that the user equipment is configured to use angle of arrival information to measure a reference signal.

[0165] Clause 20. A network entity as described in Clause 11, wherein the network entity includes means for requesting the TRP to transmit a first instruction to the user equipment, wherein the user equipment is a first user equipment, and wherein the means for requesting the TRP to transmit the first instruction to the user equipment includes means for requesting the TRP to transmit the first instruction to both the first user equipment and the second user equipment in at least one of a multicast message or a broadcast message.

[0166] Clause 21. A signal measurement assistance method, comprising: obtaining reference signal angle information including a first indication, the first indication indicating a first reference signal and a first expected angle of arrival of the first reference signal; and performing at least one of the following operations: requesting a transmit / receive point (TRP) to transmit the first indication to a user equipment; or requesting the TRP to search for the first reference signal based on the first expected angle of arrival.

[0167] Clause 22. The signal measurement assistance method of Clause 21 further includes performing at least one of the following operations: requesting the TRP to transmit a valid time indication associated with the first indication to the user equipment; or providing the valid time indication to the TRP.

[0168] Clause 23. The signal measurement auxiliary method as described in Clause 22 further includes determining the value of the valid time indication based on the motion of the user equipment relative to the TRP.

[0169] Clause 24. A signal measurement assistance method as described in Clause 21, wherein the first indication further indicates a first position, and wherein the reference signal angle information further includes a second indication indicating a first reference signal, a second expected angle of arrival of the first reference signal, and a second position, the signal measurement assistance method further comprising: obtaining a user equipment position of the user equipment; and selecting a first indication from the reference signal angle information based on the user equipment position corresponding to the first position.

[0170] Clause 25. The signal measurement assistance method as described in Clause 24, wherein the signal measurement assistance method includes requesting the TRP to transmit a first indication to the user equipment as either a MAC layer message or a physical layer message.

[0171] Clause 26. A signal measurement aiding method as described in Clause 21, wherein the first indication indicates the first expected angle of arrival of the first reference signal as a first angle search window including the first expected angle of arrival of the first reference signal.

[0172] Clause 27. The signal measurement assistance method of Clause 26, wherein the reference signal angle information further includes a second indication indicating a first reference signal and a second expected angle of arrival of the first reference signal, wherein the first expected angle of arrival is different from the second expected angle of arrival, and wherein at least one of the first expected angle of arrival and the second expected angle of arrival corresponds to a non-line-of-sight path between the TRP and the user equipment.

[0173] Clause 28. The signal measurement aiding method as described in Clause 21, wherein obtaining the reference signal angle information includes analyzing the reference signal measurement and the position corresponding to the reference signal measurement.

[0174] Clause 29. The signal measurement assistance method of Clause 21, wherein the signal measurement assistance method includes: requesting the TRP to transmit a first instruction to the user equipment in response to receiving a capability message from the user equipment indicating that the user equipment is configured to use angle of arrival information to measure a reference signal.

[0175] Clause 30. A signal measurement assistance method as described in Clause 21, wherein the user equipment is a first user equipment, and wherein the signal measurement assistance method comprises: requesting the TRP to transmit a first instruction to both the first user equipment and the second user equipment in at least one of a multicast message or a broadcast message.

[0176] Clause 31. A non-transitory processor-readable storage medium including processor-readable instructions configured to cause a processor of a network entity to perform the following operations for the purpose of assisting signal measurement: obtaining reference signal angle information including a first indication, the first indication indicating a first reference signal and a first expected angle of arrival of the first reference signal; and at least one of the following: requesting a transmit / receive point (TRP) to transmit the first indication to a user equipment; or requesting the TRP to search for the first reference signal based on the first expected angle of arrival.

[0177] Clause 32. The storage medium of Clause 31 further includes at least one of the following: a processor-readable instruction configured to cause the processor to request the TRP to transmit a valid time indication associated with the first indication to the user equipment; or a processor-readable instruction configured to cause the processor to provide the valid time indication to the TRP.

[0178] Clause 33. The storage medium, as in Clause 32, further includes processor-readable instructions configured to cause the processor to determine the value of the valid time indication based on the movement of the user equipment relative to the TRP.

[0179] Clause 34. The storage medium as described in Clause 31, wherein the first indication further indicates a first position, and wherein the reference signal angle information further includes a second indication indicating a first reference signal, a second expected angle of arrival of the first reference signal, and a second position, the storage medium further including processor-readable instructions configured to cause the processor to perform the following operations: obtain the user equipment position of the user equipment; and select the first indication from the reference signal angle information based on the user equipment position corresponding to the first position.

[0180] Clause 35. Storage medium as described in Clause 34, wherein the storage medium includes processor-readable instructions configured to cause the processor to request the TRP to transmit a first instruction as either a MAC layer message or an entity layer message to the user equipment.

[0181] Clause 36. The storage medium as described in Clause 31, wherein the first instruction indicates the first expected angle of arrival of the first reference signal as a first angle search window including the first expected angle of arrival of the first reference signal.

[0182] Clause 37. The storage medium as described in Clause 36, wherein the reference signal angle information further includes a second indication indicating the first reference signal and a second expected angle of arrival of the first reference signal, wherein the first expected angle of arrival is different from the second expected angle of arrival, and wherein at least one of the first expected angle of arrival and the second expected angle of arrival corresponds to a non-line-of-sight path between the TRP and the user equipment.

[0183] Clause 38. The storage medium of Clause 31, wherein processor-readable instructions configured to cause the processor to obtain the reference signal angle information include processor-readable instructions configured to cause the processor to analyze the reference signal measurement and the position corresponding to the reference signal measurement.

[0184] Clause 39. Storage medium as in Clause 31, wherein the storage medium includes a processor-readable instruction configured to request the TRP to transmit a first instruction to the user equipment in response to receiving a capability message from the user equipment instructing the user equipment to be configured to use angle of arrival information to measure a reference signal.

[0185] Clause 40. Storage medium as in Clause 31, wherein the user equipment is a first user equipment, and wherein the storage medium includes processor-readable instructions configured to cause the processor to request the TRP to transmit a first instruction to both the first user equipment and the second user equipment in at least one of a multicast message or a broadcast message.

[0186] Clause 41. A user equipment, comprising: a transceiver; memory; and a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory and configured to: transmit angle usage capability information to a network entity via the transceiver, the angle usage capability information indicating the UE's ability to use signal angle information to measure a signal; receive a reference signal indication from the network entity via the transceiver, the reference signal indication indicating a reference signal and at least one reference signal angle search window corresponding to the reference signal; and search for the reference signal based on the at least one reference signal angle search window.

[0187] Clause 42. The user equipment as described in Clause 41, wherein the processor is configured to report a measurement of the reference signal only if the reference signal is received within the at least one reference signal angle search window.

[0188] Clause 43. The user equipment as described in Clause 41, wherein the processor is configured to report measurements of the reference signal regardless of whether the reference signal is received outside the at least one reference signal angle search window.

[0189] Clause 44. The user equipment as described in Clause 41, wherein the processor is configured to transmit an error message to the network entity via the transceiver, the error message indicating that the user equipment failed to receive the reference signal within the at least one reference signal angle search window.

[0190] Clause 45. User equipment as described in Clause 44, wherein the processor is configured to include the actual angle of arrival of the reference signal in the error message.

[0191] Clause 46. For a user equipment as described in Clause 41, wherein the angle usage capability information indicates at least one of the following: the frequency band to which the user equipment is applicable to its ability to use the signal angle information to measure the signal; or the combination of frequency bands to which the user equipment is applicable to its ability to use the signal angle information to measure the signal.

[0192] Clause 47. The user equipment as described in Clause 41, wherein the processor is configured to: determine whether the validity period indicated by the reference signal has expired, and search for the reference signal according to the at least one reference signal angle search window based on the fact that the validity period indicated by the reference signal has not expired.

[0193] Clause 48. A user equipment, comprising: means for transmitting an angle usage capability message to a network entity, the angle usage capability message indicating the user equipment's ability to measure a signal using signal angle information; means for receiving a reference signal indication from the network entity, the reference signal indication pointing to a reference signal and at least one reference signal angle search window corresponding to the reference signal; means for searching for the reference signal based on the at least one reference signal angle search window; and means for measuring the reference signal.

[0194] Clause 49. The user equipment as described in Clause 48 further includes: means for reporting a measurement of the reference signal only if the reference signal is received within the at least one reference signal angle search window.

[0195] Clause 50. The user equipment as described in Clause 48 further includes means for reporting measurements of the reference signal, regardless of whether the reference signal is received outside the at least one reference signal angle search window.

[0196] Clause 51. The user equipment as described in Clause 48 further includes means for transmitting an error message to the network entity, the error message indicating that the user equipment failed to receive the reference signal within the at least one reference signal angle search window.

[0197] Clause 52. As in Clause 51, the error message includes the actual angle of arrival of the reference signal.

[0198] Clause 53. For a user equipment as described in Clause 48, wherein the angle usage capability information indicates at least one of the following: the frequency band to which the user equipment is applicable to its ability to use the signal angle information to measure the signal; or the combination of frequency bands to which the user equipment is applicable to its ability to use the signal angle information to measure the signal.

[0199] Clause 54. The user equipment as described in Clause 48 further includes means for determining whether the validity period indicated by the reference signal has expired, wherein the means for searching includes means for searching the reference signal according to the at least one reference signal angle search window based on the fact that the validity period indicated by the reference signal has not expired.

[0200] Clause 55. A method for measuring a reference signal at a user equipment, the method comprising: means for transmitting angle usage capability information from the user equipment to a network entity, the angle usage capability information indicating the user equipment's capability to measure a signal using signal angle information; receiving a reference signal indication from the network entity at the user equipment, the reference signal indication indicating a reference signal and at least one reference signal angle search window corresponding to the reference signal; searching for the reference signal at the user equipment based on the at least one reference signal angle search window; and measuring the reference signal at the user equipment.

[0201] Clause 56. The method of Clause 55 further includes reporting the measurement of the reference signal only if the reference signal is received within the at least one reference signal angle search window.

[0202] Clause 57. The method of Clause 55 further includes reporting the measurement of the reference signal, regardless of whether the reference signal is received outside the at least one reference signal angle search window.

[0203] Clause 58. The method of Clause 55 further includes transmitting an error message from the user equipment to the network entity, the error message indicating that the user equipment failed to receive the reference signal within the at least one reference signal angle search window.

[0204] Clause 59. As in Clause 58, wherein the error message includes the actual angle of arrival of the reference signal.

[0205] Clause 60. The method of Clause 55, wherein the angle usage capability information indicates at least one of the following: the frequency band to which the user equipment is applicable to the ability to use the signal angle information to measure the signal; or the combination of frequency bands to which the user equipment is applicable to the ability to use the signal angle information to measure the signal.

[0206] Clause 61. The method of Clause 55 further includes determining at the user equipment whether the validity period indicated by the reference signal has expired, wherein searching for the reference signal according to the at least one reference signal angle search window is performed based on the fact that the validity period indicated by the reference signal has not expired.

[0207] Clause 62. A non-transitory processor-readable storage medium including processor-readable instructions configured to cause a processor of a user equipment to perform the following operations for measuring a reference signal: transmitting an angle utilization capability message to a network entity, the angle utilization capability message indicating the user equipment's capability to measure a signal using signal angle information; receiving a reference signal indication from the network entity, the reference signal indication indicating a reference signal and at least one reference signal angle search window corresponding to the reference signal; searching for the reference signal at the user equipment based on the at least one reference signal angle search window; and measuring the reference signal at the user equipment.

[0208] Clause 63. The storage medium as described in Clause 62, wherein the storage medium further includes: processor-readable instructions configured to cause the processor to report a measurement of the reference signal only if the reference signal is received within the at least one reference signal angle search window.

[0209] Clause 64. The storage medium as described in Clause 62, wherein the storage medium further includes: a processor-readable instruction configured to cause the processor to report a measurement of the reference signal, regardless of whether the reference signal is received outside the at least one reference signal angle search window.

[0210] Clause 65. The storage medium as described in Clause 62, wherein the storage medium further includes: processor-readable instructions configured to cause the processor to transmit an error message to the network entity, the error message indicating that the user equipment failed to receive the reference signal within the at least one reference signal angle search window.

[0211] Clause 66. As in Clause 65, the storage medium in which the error message includes the actual angle of arrival of the reference signal.

[0212] Item 67. As in Item 62, the storage medium wherein the angle usage capability information indicates at least one of the following: the frequency band to which the user equipment is applicable to the ability to use the signal angle information to measure the signal; or the combination of frequency bands to which the user equipment is applicable to the ability to use the signal angle information to measure the signal.

[0213] Clause 68. The storage medium as described in Clause 62, wherein the storage medium further includes: processor-readable instructions configured to cause the processor to determine whether the validity period indicated by the reference signal has expired, wherein the processor-readable instructions configured to cause the processor to search for the reference signal include processor-readable instructions configured to cause the processor to search for the reference signal according to the at least one reference signal angle search window based on the fact that the validity period indicated by the reference signal has not expired.

[0214] Other considerations

[0215] Other examples and implementations fall within the scope of this disclosure and the appended claims. For example, due to the nature of software and computers, the above-described functions can be implemented using software, hardware, firmware, hardwired, or any combination thereof executed by a processor. Features implementing the functions can also be physically located in various locations, including being distributed such that different parts of the function are implemented at different physical locations.

[0216] As used herein, the singular forms of “a,” “some,” and “the” also include the plural forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. As used herein, the terms “comprising,” “having,” “including,” and / or “containing” indicate the presence of the stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof.

[0217] Similarly, as used herein, the “or” (possibly followed by “at least one of” or “one or more of”) used in the enumeration of items indicates a disjunctive enumeration such that an enumeration of, for example, “at least one of A, B, or C”, or an enumeration of, “one or more of A, B, or C”, or an enumeration of, “A or B or C”, represents A or B or C or AB (A and B) or AC (A and C) or BC (B and C) or ABC (i.e., A and B and C), or a combination having more than one feature (e.g., AA, AAB, ABBC, etc.). Thus, a statement that an item (e.g., a processor) is configured to perform a function with respect to at least one of A or B, or a statement that an item is configured to perform function A or function B, means that the item can be configured to perform a function with respect to A, or can be configured to perform a function with respect to B, or can be configured to perform a function with respect to both A and B. For example, a phrase processor being configured to measure "at least one of A or B" or "the processor is configured to measure A or measure B" means that the processor can be configured to measure A (and may or may not be configured to measure B), or can be configured to measure B (and may or may not be configured to measure A), or can be configured to measure both A and B (and may be configured to select which or both of A and B to measure). Similarly, a description of means for measuring at least one of A or B includes: means for measuring A (which may or may not measure B), or means for measuring B (which may or may not be configured to measure A), or means for measuring A and B (which may be able to select which or both of A and B to measure). As another example, a description of an item (e.g., a processor) being configured to perform at least one of function X or function Y indicates that the item can be configured to perform function X, or can be configured to perform function Y, or can be configured to perform both function X and function Y. For example, the phrase processor being configured to measure "at least one of X or Y" means that the processor can be configured to measure X (and may or may not be configured to measure Y), or can be configured to measure Y (and may or may not be configured to measure X), or can be configured to measure both X and Y (and can be configured to select which or both of X and Y to measure).

[0218] As used herein, unless otherwise stated, a description of a function or operation “based on” an item or condition means that the function or operation is based on the described item or condition and may be based on one or more items and / or conditions other than the described item or condition.

[0219] Substantial modifications may be made according to specific requirements. For example, customized hardware may be used, and / or specific elements may be implemented in the hardware, in processor-executed software (including portable software, such as applets), or both. Furthermore, connections to other computing devices (such as network input / output devices) may be employed. Unless otherwise stated, components shown in the figures and / or discussed herein that are interconnected or communicating (functionally or otherwise) are communicatively coupled. That is, they may be directly or indirectly connected to enable communication between them.

[0220] The systems and devices discussed above are examples. Various configurations may be appropriately omitted, substituted, or have various procedures or components added. For example, features described with reference to certain configurations may be combined in various other configurations. Different aspects and elements of configurations may be combined in a similar manner. Furthermore, technology evolves, and thus many elements are examples and do not limit the scope of this disclosure or the scope of the claims.

[0221] A wireless communication system is a system in which communication is transmitted wirelessly, that is, through the propagation of electromagnetic waves and / or sound waves through the atmosphere rather than through wires or other physical connections. A wireless communication network may not be configured to transmit all communications wirelessly, but rather to transmit at least some communications wirelessly. Furthermore, the term "wireless communication device" or similar terms do not require that the device's functionality be exclusively or uniformly primarily for communication, or that the device is a mobile device, but rather indicate that the device includes wireless communication capabilities (one-way or two-way), for example, including at least one radio (each radio being part of a transmitter, receiver, or transceiver) for wireless communication.

[0222] Specific details are provided in this description to offer a thorough understanding of the example configurations (including implementations). However, these configurations can be practiced without these specific details. For example, known circuits, processes, algorithms, structures, and techniques have been shown without unnecessary detail to avoid confusion regarding these configurations. This description provides only example configurations and does not limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the claims. Rather, the preceding description of the configurations provides a description for implementing the technique. Various changes can be made to the function and arrangement of the elements.

[0223] As used herein, the terms “processor-readable medium,” “machine-readable medium,” and “computer-readable medium” refer to any medium that participates in providing information that enables a machine to operate in a particular manner. Using a computing platform, various processor-readable media may involve providing instructions / code to a processor for execution, and / or being used to store and / or carry such instructions / code (e.g., as signals). In many implementations, processor-readable media are physical and / or tangible storage media. Such media can take many forms, including but not limited to non-volatile and volatile media. Non-volatile media include, for example, optical discs and / or magnetic disks. Volatile media include, but are not limited to, dynamic memory.

[0224] After describing several example configurations, various modifications, alternative constructions, and equivalents can be used. For example, the above elements can be components of a larger system, where other rules may take precedence over or otherwise modify the application of the present invention. Furthermore, several operations may be performed before, during, or after considering the above elements. Accordingly, the above description does not limit the scope of the patent application.

[0225] A statement whose value exceeds (or is greater than or higher than) a first threshold is equivalent to a statement whose value meets or exceeds a second threshold slightly greater than the first threshold. For example, in the resolution of a computing system, the second threshold is one value higher than the first threshold. A statement whose value is less than the first threshold (or within or below the first threshold) is equivalent to a statement whose value is less than or equal to a second threshold slightly lower than the first threshold. For example, in the resolution of a computing system, the second threshold is one value lower than the first threshold. [Simplified Explanation of the Diagram]

[0008] Figure 1 is a simplified diagram of an example wireless communication system.

[0009] Figure 2 is a block diagram of the components of the example user device shown in Figure 1.

[0010] Figure 3 is a block diagram of the components of an example transmit / receive point.

[0011] Figure 4 is a block diagram of the components of an example server, various embodiments of which are shown in Figure 1.

[0012] Figure 5 is a block diagram of an example user device.

[0013] Figure 6 is a block diagram of an example network entity.

[0014] Figure 7A is a perspective view of the signal received from the base station at the angle of arrival.

[0015] Figure 7B is a simplified diagram of the signals received from the base station at the line-of-sight angle and from the base station at the reflected angle of arrival.

[0016] Figure 8 is a simplified diagram of an example of the received signal path of the user equipment shown in Figure 5.

[0017] Figure 9 shows the processing and signal flow used to determine the positioning information.

[0018] Figure 10 is a simplified example of the angle capability information shown in Figure 9.

[0019] Figure 11 is a simplified diagram of the table of reference signal angle information set.

[0020] Figure 12 is a simplified example of the reference signal angle information message shown in Figure 9.

[0021] Figure 13 is a flowchart of the signal measurement auxiliary method.

[0022] Figure 14 is a flowchart of a method for measuring a reference signal.

Claims

1. A network entity, comprising: interface; Memory; The processor, communicatively coupled to the interface and the memory, and configured to: obtain reference signal angle information including a first indication indicating a first reference signal and a first expected angle of arrival of the first reference signal; and perform at least one of the following operations: requesting a transmit / receive point (TRP) to transmit the first indication to the user equipment; or requesting the TRP to search for the first reference signal based on the first expected angle of arrival.

2. The network entity as claimed in claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to perform at least one of the following operations: requesting the TRP to transmit a valid time indication associated with the first indication to the user equipment; or providing the valid time indication to the TRP.

3. The network entity as described in claim 2, wherein the processor is configured to determine the value of the valid time indication based on the movement of the user equipment relative to the TRP.

4. The network entity as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first indication further indicates a first location, and wherein the reference signal angle information further includes a second indication indicating the first reference signal, a second expected angle of arrival of the first reference signal, and a second location, and wherein the processor is configured to: obtain the user equipment location of the user equipment; and select the first indication from the reference signal angle information based on the user equipment location corresponding to the first location.

5. The network entity as described in claim 4, wherein the processor is configured to request the TRP to transmit the first indication to the user equipment as either a MAC layer message or an entity layer message.

6. The network entity as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first indication indicates the first expected angle of arrival of the first reference signal as a first angle search window including the first expected angle of arrival of the first reference signal.

7. The network entity as claimed in claim 6, wherein the reference signal angle information further includes a second indication indicating the first reference signal and a second expected angle of arrival of the first reference signal, wherein the first expected angle of arrival is different from the second expected angle of arrival, and wherein at least one of the first expected angle of arrival and the second expected angle of arrival corresponds to a non-line-of-sight path between the TRP and the user equipment.

8. The network entity as claimed in claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to analyze a reference signal measurement and the position corresponding to the reference signal measurement to obtain reference signal angle information.

9. The network entity as claimed in claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to: request the TRP to transmit the first indication to the user equipment, and wherein the processor is configured to: request the TRP to transmit the first indication to the user equipment in response to receiving a capability message from the user equipment indicating that the user equipment is configured to use angle of arrival information to measure a reference signal.

10. The network entity as claimed in claim 1, wherein the user equipment is a first user equipment, and wherein the processor is configured to request the TRP to transmit the first instruction to both the first user equipment and the second user equipment in at least one of a multicast message or a broadcast message.

11. A signal measurement auxiliary method, comprising: Obtain reference signal angle information including a first indication, the first indication indicating a first reference signal and a first expected angle of arrival of the first reference signal; And perform at least one of the following operations: request the Transmit / Receive Point (TRP) to transmit the first instruction to the User Equipment; or request the TRP to search for the first reference signal based on the first expected angle of arrival.

12. The signal measurement assistance method as claimed in claim 11 further includes performing at least one of the following operations: requesting the TRP to transmit a valid time indication associated with the first indication to the user equipment; or providing the valid time indication to the TRP.

13. The signal measurement assistance method as described in claim 12 further includes determining the value of the effective time indication based on the motion of the user equipment relative to the TRP.

14. The signal measurement assistance method of claim 11, wherein the first indication further indicates a first position, and wherein the reference signal angle information further includes a second indication indicating the first reference signal, a second expected angle of arrival of the first reference signal, and a second position, the signal measurement assistance method further comprising: Obtain the location of the user equipment; And select the first indication from the reference signal angle information based on the user equipment position corresponding to the first position.

15. The signal measurement assistance method as described in claim 14, wherein the signal measurement assistance method includes requesting the TRP to transmit the first indication to the user equipment as either a MAC layer message or a physical layer message.

16. The signal measurement assistance method as claimed in claim 11, wherein the first indication indicates the first expected angle of arrival of the first reference signal as a first angle search window including the first expected angle of arrival of the first reference signal.

17. The signal measurement assistance method of claim 16, wherein the reference signal angle information further includes a second indication indicating the first reference signal and a second expected angle of arrival of the first reference signal, wherein the first expected angle of arrival is different from the second expected angle of arrival, and wherein at least one of the first expected angle of arrival and the second expected angle of arrival corresponds to a non-line-of-sight path between the TRP and the user equipment.

18. The signal measurement assistance method as claimed in claim 11, wherein obtaining the reference signal angle information includes analyzing the reference signal measurement and the position corresponding to the reference signal measurement.

19. The signal measurement auxiliary method as described in claim 11, wherein the signal measurement auxiliary method comprises: In response to receiving a capability message from the user equipment indicating that the user equipment is configured to use angle of arrival information to measure a reference signal, the TRP requests the user equipment to transmit the first instruction to the user equipment.

20. The signal measurement assistance method as claimed in claim 11, wherein the user equipment is a first user equipment, and wherein the signal measurement assistance method comprises: The TRP is requested to transmit the first instruction to both the first user equipment and the second user equipment in at least one of a multicast message or a broadcast message.

21. A user equipment, comprising: transceiver; Memory; The transceiver and the memory are communicatively coupled to the transceiver and configured to: transmit angle usage capability information to a network entity via the transceiver, the angle usage capability information indicating the UE's ability to use signal angle information to measure a signal; receive a reference signal indication from the network entity via the transceiver, the reference signal indication indicating a reference signal and at least one reference signal angle search window corresponding to the reference signal; and search for the reference signal based on the at least one reference signal angle search window.

22. The user equipment as claimed in claim 21, wherein the processor is configured to report a measurement of the reference signal only if the reference signal is received within the at least one reference signal angle search window.

23. The user equipment as claimed in claim 21, wherein the processor is configured to report measurements of the reference signal regardless of whether the reference signal is received outside the at least one reference signal angle search window.

24. The user equipment as claimed in claim 21, wherein the processor is configured to transmit an error message to the network entity via the transceiver, the error message indicating that the user equipment failed to receive the reference signal within the at least one reference signal angle search window.

25. The user equipment as claimed in claim 21, wherein the processor is configured to include the actual angle of arrival of the reference signal in the error message.

26. The user equipment as claimed in claim 21, wherein the angle usage capability information indicates at least one of the following: the frequency band to which the user equipment is applicable to its ability to measure a signal using the signal angle information; or the combination of frequency bands to which the user equipment is applicable to its ability to measure a signal using the signal angle information.

27. The user equipment of claim 21, wherein the processor is configured to: determine whether the validity period indicated by the reference signal has expired, and search for the reference signal according to the at least one reference signal angle search window based on the fact that the validity period indicated by the reference signal has not expired.

28. A method for measuring a reference signal at a user equipment, the method comprising: A means for transmitting angle usage capability information from the user equipment to a network entity, the angle usage capability information indicating the user equipment's ability to measure a signal using signal angle information; receiving a reference signal indication from the network entity at the user equipment, the reference signal indication indicating a reference signal and at least one reference signal angle search window corresponding to the reference signal; searching for the reference signal at the user equipment based on the at least one reference signal angle search window; and measuring the reference signal at the user equipment.

29. The method of claim 28, further comprising: Measurements of the reference signal are reported only if the reference signal is received within the angle search window of the at least one reference signal.

30. The method of claim 28, further comprising: The report covers measurements of the reference signal, regardless of whether the reference signal is received outside the at least one reference signal angle search window.

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