Positional determination techniques with ambient energy harvesting devices

Abstract

An ambient energy harvesting (EH) device comprising: at least one transceiver; at least one memory; and at least one processor, in signal communication with the at least one transceiver, and the at least one memory. The at least one processor may be configured to: receive an incident reference signal from a remote device; harvest power from the incident reference signal within a first time duration; produce a first and second response reference signal from the power harvested from the incident reference signal; transmit the first response reference signal within a second time duration after the first time duration; and transmit the second response reference signal at a third time after the second time duration, wherein the first response reference signal has a first power level, the second response reference signal has a second power level, and the first and second power level are within a predefined range of power levels.

Description

Qualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO POSITIONAL DETERMINATION TECHIQUES WITH AMBIENT ENERGY HARVESTING DEVICES CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application claims the benefit of Greek Patent Application No.20240100476, filed July 3, 2024, entitled “POSITIONAL DETERMINATION TECHNIQUES WITH AMBIENT ENERGY HARVESTING DEVICES,” which is assigned to the assignee hereof, and the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference for all purposes. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] Aspects of the present disclosure relate generally to wireless communication systems, and more particularly to backscatter based positioning of ambient internet-of-things (IoT) devices configured for energy harvesting. BACKGROUND

[0003] Ambient internet-of-things (IoT) devices are devices that are generally small and combine low cost with the ability to be deployed inconspicuously to address a wide range of applications. In general, ambient IoT is a 3GPP IoT device which is much smaller and cheaper compared to previous generations of IoT devices; and is typically powered by energy sources such as ambient radio waves via energy harvesting.

[0004] Energy harvesting, as it applies to ambient IoT devices, is the harnessing of the power in ambient radio waves to power electronic circuits within the ambient IoT devices. This radio wave energy harvesting capability generally frees the ambient IoT devices from any monetary / replacement burdens of needing batteries or direct power connectivity. These ambient IoT devices may be generally characterized according to their energy storage capacity, and capability of generating radio frequency (RF) signals for their transmissions.

[0005] Examples of ambient IoT devices may include, for example, smartwatches, health monitoring devices connected to a smartphone, sensors communicating with a smartphone, and sensors communicating amount themselves such as, for example, smart home appliances and / or smart tags within a business environment. These ambient IoT devices may be devices that have no energy storage capabilities or limited energy storage based on whether the ambient IoT device is configured to operate utilizing backscattering transmission, amplified reflected signals, or independent signal generation. -1- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO SUMMARY

[0006] Techniques are discussed for determining the position of ambient energy harvesting (EH) devices that are potentially harvesting some of the power for various purposes along with providing data (e.g., via backscatter). The techniques include a method for determining a location of an ambient EH device. The method may comprise: receiving, with at least one transceiver, an incident reference signal from a remote device; harvesting power from the incident reference signal within a first time duration; producing a first response reference signal and a second response reference signal from the power harvested from the incident reference signal; transmitting the first response reference signal within a second time duration after the first time duration; and transmitting the second response reference signal at a third time after the second time duration, wherein the first response reference signal has a first power level, the second response reference signal has a second power level, and the first power level and second power level are within a predefined range of power levels.

[0007] Utilizing these techniques, an ambient EH device is discussed that comprises: at least one transceiver, at least one memory, at least one processor, in signal communication with the at least one transceiver, and the at least one memory. The at least one processor may be configured to: harvest power from the incident reference signal within a first time duration; produce a first response reference signal and a second response reference signal from the power harvested from the incident reference signal; transmit the first response reference signal within a second time duration after the first time duration; and transmit the second response reference signal at a third time after the second time duration, wherein the first response reference signal has a first power level, the second response reference signal has a second power level, and the first power level and second power level are within a predefined range of power levels.

[0008] Further an ambient EH device is also discussed that comprises: means for receiving an incident reference signal from a remote device; means for harvesting power from the incident reference signal within a first time duration; means for producing a first response reference signal and a second response reference signal from the power harvested from the incident reference signal; and means for transmitting the first response reference signal within a second time duration after the first time duration; and means for transmitting the second response reference signal at a third time after the second time duration, wherein the first response reference signal has a first power level, the second response reference signal has a -2- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO second power level, and the first power level and second power level are within a predefined range of power levels.

[0009] Also discussed are techniques that include a method for determining a location of a remote device. The method may comprise: transmitting, with at least one transceiver, a transmitted reference signal towards a plurality of ambient energy harvesting (EH) devices; receiving a first response reference signal having a first predefined power level from a first ambient EH device within a predefined first time duration; receiving at least a second response reference signal having a second predefined power level from a second ambient EH device within a predefined second time duration; and determining the location of the remote device from the first response reference signal and at least second response reference signal, wherein the first response reference signal and at least second response reference signal are each related to the transmitted reference signal.

[0010] Other devices, apparatuses, systems, methods, features, and advantages of the invention will be or will become apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following figures and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional devices, apparatuses, systems, methods, features, and advantages be included within this description, be within the scope of the invention, and be protected by the accompanying claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] FIG.1 is a simplified diagram of an example wireless communications system.

[0012] FIG.2 is a system block diagram of components of an example user equipment (UE) shown in FIG.1.

[0013] FIG.3 is a system block diagram of components of an example transmission / reception point shown in FIG.1.

[0014] FIG.4 is a system block diagram of components of an example server shown in FIG.1.

[0015] FIG.5 is a functional system block diagram is shown of an example of an implementation of a system for positional determination with a plurality of AEH devices.

[0016] FIG.6 is a system block diagram of an example of an implementation of the user equipment (UE) shown in FIG.5.

[0017] FIG.7 is a system block diagram of an example of an implementation of an AEH device shown in FIG.5. -3- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO

[0018] FIG.8 is a system block diagram of an example of an implementation of an AEH device having an energy storage device.

[0019] FIG.9 is a system block diagram of an example of another implementation of an AEH device having an energy storage device.

[0020] FIG.10 is a system block diagram of an example of another implementation of an AEH device having an energy storage device.

[0021] FIG.11 is a system block diagram of an example of an implementation of an AEH device receiving multiple reference signals from a plurality of UEs and a TRP.

[0022] FIG.12 is a system block diagram of an example of an implementation of a plurality of AEH devices within an area for determining the location of a UE.

[0023] FIG.13 is a diagram of an example of an implementation of a constant-receive-EH- window for a time-domain energy harvesting scheme along time.

[0024] FIG.14 is a diagram of an example of an implementation of a constant-receive-EH- window for a power-splitting or frequency-splitting energy harvesting scheme along time.

[0025] FIG.15 is a flowchart of an example of an implementation of a method for determining a location of an AEH device.

[0026] FIG.16 is a flowchart of an example of an implementation of a method for determining a location of a remote device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] Techniques are discussed for determining the position of ambient energy harvesting (EH) devices that are potentially harvesting some of the power for various purposes along with providing data (e.g., via backscatter). As an example, the ambient EH devices may be ambient EH Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices (also known generally as “ambient IoT devices”). A problem associated with ambient IoT devices is that varied transmitted power levels from sensing nodes (i.e., remote devices transmitting signals to the ambient IoT devices) along with varying amounts of power harvested (by the ambient IoT devices) could create variations in the backscatter power levels (transmitted by the ambient IoT devices) based on what might be expected and, therefore, may impact the accuracy of the positioning estimations based on the reflected power level measurements at the remote devices. The solution may include configuring an ambient EH IoT device with a constant-reflection- power-window where the ambient EH IoT device is expected to reflect signals using, for example, the same power or a set power difference. The solution may also include -4- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO configuring the ambient EH device with a constant-receive-EH-window where the ambient EH IoT device is expected to energy-harvest different signals in the same way, same power- split, or time-split such that the reflected power from the ambient EH IoT device can be determined consistently.

[0028] The techniques include a method for determining a location of an ambient EH IoT device. The method may comprise: receiving, with at least one transceiver, an incident reference signal from a remote device; harvesting power from the incident reference signal within a first time duration; producing a first response reference signal and a second response reference signal from the power harvested from the incident reference signal; transmitting the first response reference signal within a second time duration after the first time duration; and transmitting the second response reference signal at a third time after the second time duration, wherein the first response reference signal has a first power level, the second response reference signal has a second power level, and the first power level and second power level are within a predefined range of power levels.

[0029] Utilizing these techniques, an ambient EH IoT device is discussed that comprises: at least one transceiver; at least one memory; and at least one processor, in signal communication with the at least one transceiver, and the at least one memory. The at least one processor may be configured to: harvest power from the incident reference signal within a first time duration; produce a first response reference signal and a second response reference signal from the power harvested from the incident reference signal; transmit the first response reference signal within a second time duration after the first time duration; and transmit the second response reference signal at a third time after the second time duration, wherein the first response reference signal has a first power level, the second response reference signal has a second power level, and the first power level and second power level are within a predefined range of power levels.

[0030] Further an ambient EH IoT device is also discussed that comprises: means for receiving an incident reference signal from a remote device; means for harvesting power from the incident reference signal within a first time duration; means for producing a first response reference signal and a second response reference signal from the power harvested from the incident reference signal; and means for transmitting the first response reference signal within a second time duration after the first time duration; and means for transmitting the second response reference signal at a third time after the second time duration, wherein the first response reference signal has a first power level, the second response reference -5- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO signal has a second power level, and the first power level and second power level are within a predefined range of power levels.

[0031] Also discussed are techniques that include a method for determining a location of a remote device. The method may comprise: transmitting, with at least one transceiver, a transmitted reference signal towards a plurality of ambient energy harvesting (EH) devices; receiving a first response reference signal having a first predefined power level from a first ambient EH device within a predefined first time duration; receiving at least a second response reference signal having a second predefined power level from a second ambient EH device within a predefined second time duration; and determining the location of the remote device from the first response reference signal and at least second response reference signal, wherein the first response reference signal and at least second response reference signal are each related to the transmitted reference signal.

[0032] The description herein may refer to sequences of actions to be performed, for example, by elements of a computing device. Various actions described herein can be performed by specific circuits (e.g., an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC)), by program instructions being executed by one or more processors, or by a combination of both. Sequences of actions described herein may be embodied within a non-transitory computer- readable medium having stored thereon a corresponding set of computer instructions that upon execution would cause an associated processor to perform the functionality described herein. Thus, the various examples described herein may be embodied in a number of different forms, all of which are within the scope of the disclosure, including claimed subject matter.

[0033] 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 noted. In general, a UE may be any wireless communication device (e.g., a mobile phone, router, tablet computer, laptop computer, consumer asset tracking device, Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc.) used to communicate over a wireless communications network. A UE may be mobile or may (e.g., at certain times) be stationary, and may communicate with a Radio Access Network (RAN). As used herein, the term "UE" may be referred to interchangeably as an "access terminal" or "AT," a "client device," a "wireless device," a "subscriber device," a "subscriber terminal," a "subscriber station," a "user terminal" or UT, a "mobile terminal," a "mobile station," a "mobile device," or variations thereof. Generally, UEs can communicate with a core network via a RAN, and through the core network the UEs -6- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO can be connected with external networks such as the Internet and with other UEs. Of course, other mechanisms of connecting to the core network and / or the Internet are also possible for the UEs, such as over wired access networks, WiFi® networks (e.g., based on IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 802.11, etc.) and so on. Two or more UEs may communicate directly in addition to or instead of passing information to each other through a network.

[0034] A base station may operate according to one of several RATs in communication with UEs depending on the network in which it is deployed. Examples of a base station include an Access Point (AP), a Network Node, a NodeB, an evolved NodeB (eNB), or a general Node B (gNodeB, gNB). In addition, in some systems a base station may provide purely edge node signaling functions while in other systems it may provide additional control and / or network management functions.

[0035] UEs may be embodied by any of a number of types of devices including but not limited to printed circuit (PC) cards, compact flash devices, external or internal modems, wireless or wireline phones, smartphones, tablets, consumer asset tracking devices, asset tags, and so on. A communication link through which UEs can send signals to a RAN is called an uplink channel (e.g., a reverse traffic channel, a reverse control channel, an access channel, etc.). A communication link through which the RAN can send signals to UEs is called a downlink or forward link channel (e.g., a paging channel, a control channel, a broadcast channel, a forward traffic channel, etc.). As used herein the term traffic channel (TCH) can refer to either an uplink / reverse or downlink / forward traffic channel.

[0036] As used herein, the term "cell" or "sector" may correspond to one of a plurality of cells of a base station, or to the base station itself, depending on the context. The term "cell" may refer to a logical communication entity used for communication with a base station (for example, over a carrier), and may be associated with an identifier for distinguishing neighboring cells (for example, a physical cell identifier (PCID), a virtual cell identifier (VCID)) operating via the same or a different carrier. In some examples, a carrier may support multiple cells, and different cells may be configured according to different protocol types (for example, machine-type communication (MTC), narrowband Internet-of-Things (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), or others) that may provide access for different types of devices. In some examples, the term "cell" may refer to a portion of a geographic coverage area (for example, a sector) over which the logical entity operates. -7- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO

[0037] Referring to FIG.1, an example of a communication system 100 includes a UE 105, a 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. The UE 105 and / or the UE 106 may be, e.g., an IoT device, a location tracker device, a cellular telephone, a vehicle (e.g., a car, a truck, a bus, a boat, etc.), or another device. A 5G network may also be referred to as a New Radio (NR) network; NG-RAN 135 may be referred to as a 5G RAN or as an NR RAN; and 5GC 140 may be referred to as an NG Core network (NGC). Standardization of an NG-RAN and 5GC is ongoing in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). Accordingly, the NG-RAN 135 and the 5GC 140 may conform to current or future standards for 5G support from 3GPP. The NG-RAN 135 may be another type of RAN, e.g., a 3G RAN, a 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) RAN, etc. The UE 106 may be configured and coupled similarly to the UE 105 to send and / or receive signals to / from similar other entities in the system 100, but such signaling is not indicated in FIG.1 for the sake of simplicity of the figure. Similarly, the discussion focuses on the UE 105 for the sake of simplicity. The communication system 100 may utilize information from a constellation 185 of satellite vehicles (SVs) 190, 191, 192, 193 for a Satellite Positioning System (SPS) (e.g., a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)) like the Global Positioning System (GPS), the Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS), Galileo, or Beidou or some other local or regional SPS such as the Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System (IRNSS), the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), or the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS). Additional components of the communication system 100 are described below. The communication system 100 may include additional or alternative components.

[0038] As shown in FIG.1, the NG-RAN 135 includes NR nodeBs (gNBs) 110a, 110b, and a next generation eNodeB (ng-eNB) 114, and the 5GC 140 includes an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 115, a Session Management Function (SMF) 117, a Location Management Function (LMF) 120, and a Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) 125. The gNBs 110a, 110b and the ng-eNB 114 are communicatively coupled to each other, are each configured to bi-directionally wirelessly communicate with the UE 105, and are each communicatively coupled to, and configured to bi-directionally communicate with, the AMF 115. The gNBs 110a, 110b, and the ng-eNB 114 may be referred to as base stations (BSs). The AMF 115, the SMF 117, the LMF 120, and the GMLC 125 are communicatively coupled to each other, and the GMLC is communicatively coupled to an external client 130. The -8- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO SMF 117 may serve as an initial contact point of a Service Control Function (SCF) (not shown) to create, control, and delete media sessions. Base stations such as the gNBs 110a, 110b and / or the ng-eNB 114 may be a macro cell (e.g., a high-power cellular base station), or a small cell (e.g., a low-power cellular base station), or an access point (e.g., a short-range base station configured to communicate with short-range technology such as WiFi®, WiFi®- Direct (WiFi®-D), Bluetooth®, Bluetooth®-low energy (BLE), Zigbee®, etc. One or more base stations, e.g., one or more of the gNBs 110a, 110b and / or the ng-eNB 114 may be configured to communicate with the UE 105 via multiple carriers. Each of the gNBs 110a, 110b and / or the ng-eNB 114 may provide communication coverage for a respective geographic region, e.g., a cell. Each cell may be partitioned into multiple sectors as a function of the base station antennas.

[0039] FIG.1 provides a generalized illustration of various components, any or all of which may be utilized as appropriate, and each of which may be duplicated or omitted as necessary. Specifically, although one UE 105 is illustrated, 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, 110b, ng-eNBs 114, AMFs 115, external clients 130, and / or other components. The illustrated connections that connect the various components in the communication system 100 include data and signaling connections which may include additional (intermediary) 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 desired functionality.

[0040] While FIG.1 illustrates a 5G-based network, similar network implementations and configurations may be used for other communication technologies, such as 3G, Long Term Evolution (LTE), etc. Implementations described herein (be they for 5G technology and / or for one or more other communication technologies and / or protocols) may be used to transmit (or broadcast) directional synchronization signals, receive and measure directional signals at UEs (e.g., the UE 105) and / or provide location assistance to the UE 105 (via the GMLC 125 or other location server) and / or compute a location for the UE 105 at a location-capable device such as the UE 105, the gNB 110a, 110b, or the LMF 120 based on measurement quantities received at the UE 105 for such directionally-transmitted signals. The gateway mobile location center (GMLC) 125, the location management function (LMF) 120, the -9- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO access and mobility management function (AMF) 115, the SMF 117, the ng-eNB (eNodeB) 114 and the gNBs (gNodeBs) 110a, 110b are examples and may be replaced by or include various other location server functionality and / or base station functionality respectively.

[0041] The system 100 is capable of wireless communication in that components of the system 100 can communicate with one another (at least some times using wireless connections) directly or indirectly, e.g., via the gNBs 110a, 110b, the ng-eNB 114, and / or the 5GC 140 (and / or one or more other devices not shown, such as one or more other base transceiver stations). For indirect communications, the communications may be altered during transmission from one entity to another, e.g., to alter header information of data packets, to change format, etc. The UE 105 may include multiple UEs and may be a mobile wireless communication device, but may communicate wirelessly and via wired connections. The UE 105 may be any of a variety of devices, e.g., a smartphone, a tablet computer, a vehicle-based device, etc., but these are examples as the UE 105 is not required to be any of these configurations, and other configurations of UEs may be used. Other UEs may include wearable devices (e.g., smart watches, smart jewelry, smart glasses or headsets, etc.). Still other UEs may be used, whether currently existing or developed in the future. Further, other wireless devices (whether mobile or not) may be implemented within the system 100 and may communicate with each other and / or with the UE 105, the gNBs 110a, 110b, the ng-eNB 114, the 5GC 140, and / or the external client 130. For example, such other devices may include internet of thing (IoT) devices, medical devices, home entertainment and / or automation devices, etc. The 5GC 140 may communicate with the external client 130 (e.g., a computer system), e.g., to allow the external client 130 to request and / or receive location information regarding the UE 105 (e.g., via the GMLC 125).

[0042] The UE 105 or other devices may be configured to communicate in various networks and / or for various purposes and / or using various technologies (e.g., 5G, Wi-Fi® communication, multiple frequencies of Wi-Fi® communication, satellite positioning, one or more types of communications (e.g., GSM (Global System for Mobiles), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), LTE (Long Term Evolution), V2X (Vehicle-to-Everything, e.g., V2P (Vehicle-to-Pedestrian), V2I (Vehicle-to-Infrastructure), V2V (Vehicle-to-Vehicle), etc.), IEEE 802.11p, etc.). V2X communications may be cellular (Cellular-V2X (C-V2X)) and / or WiFi® (e.g., DSRC (Dedicated Short-Range Connection)). The system 100 may support operation on multiple carriers (waveform signals of different frequencies). Multi- carrier transmitters can transmit modulated signals simultaneously on the multiple carriers. -10- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO Each modulated signal may be a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) signal, a Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) signal, an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) signal, a Single-Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) signal, etc. Each modulated signal may be sent on a different carrier and may carry pilot, overhead information, data, etc. The UEs 105, 106 may communicate with each other through UE-to-UE sidelink (SL) communications by transmitting over one or more sidelink channels such as a physical sidelink synchronization channel (PSSCH), a physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH), or a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH). Direct wireless-device-to-wireless-device communications without going through a network may be referred to generally as sidelink communications without limiting the communications to a particular protocol.

[0043] The UE 105 may comprise and / or may be referred to as a device, a mobile device, a wireless device, a mobile terminal, a terminal, a mobile station (MS), a Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) Enabled Terminal (SET), or by some other name. Moreover, the UE 105 may correspond to a cellphone, smartphone, laptop, tablet, PDA, consumer asset tracking device, navigation device, Internet of Things (IoT) device, health monitors, security systems, smart city sensors, smart meters, wearable trackers, or some other portable or moveable device. Typically, though not necessarily, the UE 105 may support wireless communication using one or more Radio Access Technologies (RATs) such as Global System for Mobile communication (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), LTE, High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), IEEE 802.11 WiFi® (also referred to as Wi-Fi®), Bluetooth® (BT), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax®), 5G new radio (NR) (e.g., using the NG-RAN 135 and the 5GC 140), etc. The UE 105 may support wireless communication using a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) which may connect to other networks (e.g., the Internet) using a Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) or packet cable, for example. The use of one or more of these RATs may allow the UE 105 to communicate with the external client 130 (e.g., via elements of the 5GC 140 not shown in FIG.1, or possibly via the GMLC 125) and / or allow the external client 130 to receive location information regarding the UE 105 (e.g., via the GMLC 125).

[0044] The UE 105 may include a single entity or may include multiple entities such as in a personal area network where a user may employ audio, video and / or data I / O (input / output) devices and / or body sensors and a separate wireline or wireless modem. An estimate of a location of the UE 105 may be referred to as a location, location estimate, location fix, fix, -11- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO position, position estimate, or position fix, and may be geographic, thus providing location coordinates for the UE 105 (e.g., latitude and longitude) which may or may not include an altitude component (e.g., height above sea level, height above or depth below ground level, floor level, or basement level). Alternatively, a location of the UE 105 may be expressed as a civic location (e.g., as a postal address or the designation of some point or small area in a building such as a particular room or floor). A location of the UE 105 may be expressed as an area or volume (defined either geographically or in civic form) within which the UE 105 is expected to be located with some probability or confidence level (e.g., 67%, 95%, etc.). A location of the UE 105 may be expressed as a relative location comprising, for example, a distance and direction from a known location. The relative location may be expressed as relative coordinates (e.g., X, Y (and Z) coordinates) defined relative to some origin at a known location which may be defined, e.g., geographically, in civic terms, or by reference to a point, area, or volume, e.g., indicated on a map, floor plan, or building plan. In the description contained herein, the use of the term location may comprise any of these variants unless indicated otherwise. When computing the location of a UE, it is common to solve for local x, y, and possibly z coordinates and then, if desired, convert the local coordinates into absolute coordinates (e.g., for latitude, longitude, and altitude above or below mean sea level).

[0045] The UE 105 may be configured to communicate with other entities using one or more of a variety of technologies. The UE 105 may be configured to connect indirectly to one or more communication networks via one or more device-to-device (D2D) peer-to-peer (P2P) links. The D2D P2P links may be supported with any appropriate D2D radio access technology (RAT), such as LTE Direct (LTE-D), WiFi® Direct (WiFi®-D), Bluetooth®, and so on. One or more of a group of UEs utilizing D2D communications may be within a geographic coverage area of a Transmission / Reception Point (TRP) such as one or more of the gNBs 110a, 110b, and / or the ng-eNB 114. Other UEs in such a group may be outside such geographic coverage areas, or may be otherwise unable to receive transmissions from a base station. Groups of UEs communicating via D2D communications may utilize a one-to- many (1:M) system in which each UE may transmit to other UEs in the group. A TRP may facilitate scheduling of resources for D2D communications. In other cases, D2D communications may be carried out between UEs without the involvement of a TRP. One or more of a group of UEs utilizing D2D communications may be within a geographic coverage area of a TRP. Other UEs in such a group may be outside such geographic coverage areas, or -12- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO be otherwise unable to receive transmissions from a base station. Groups of UEs communicating via D2D communications may utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system in which each UE may transmit to other UEs in the group. A TRP may facilitate scheduling of resources for D2D communications. In other cases, D2D communications may be carried out between UEs without the involvement of a TRP.

[0046] Base stations (BSs) in the NG-RAN 135 shown in FIG.1 include NR Node Bs, referred to as the gNBs 110a and 110b. Pairs of the gNBs 110a, 110b in the NG-RAN 135 may be connected to one another via one or more other gNBs. Access to the 5G network is provided to the UE 105 via wireless communication between the UE 105 and one or more of the gNBs 110a, 110b, which may provide wireless communications access to the 5GC 140 on behalf of the UE 105 using 5G. In FIG.1, the serving gNB for the UE 105 is assumed to be the gNB 110a, although another gNB (e.g., the gNB 110b) may act as a serving gNB if the UE 105 moves to another location or may act as a secondary gNB to provide additional throughput and bandwidth to the UE 105.

[0047] Base stations (BSs) in the NG-RAN 135 shown in FIG.1 may include the ng-eNB 114, also referred to as a next generation evolved Node B. The ng-eNB 114 may be connected to one or more of the gNBs 110a, 110b in the NG-RAN 135, possibly via one or more other gNBs and / or one or more other ng-eNBs. The ng-eNB 114 may provide LTE wireless access and / or evolved LTE (eLTE) wireless access to the UE 105. One or more of the gNBs 110a, 110b and / or the ng-eNB 114 may be configured to function as positioning- only beacons which may transmit signals to assist with determining the position of the UE 105 but may not receive signals from the UE 105 or from other UEs.

[0048] The gNBs 110a, 110b and / or the ng-eNB 114 may each comprise one or more TRPs. For example, each sector within a cell of a BS may comprise a TRP, although multiple TRPs may share one or more components (e.g., share a processor but have separate antennas). The system 100 may include macro TRPs exclusively or the system 100 may have TRPs of different types, e.g., macro, pico, and / or femto TRPs, etc. A macro TRP may cover a relatively large geographic area (e.g., several kilometers in radius) and may allow unrestricted access by terminals with service subscription. A pico TRP may cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a pico cell) and may allow unrestricted access by terminals with service subscription. A femto or home TRP may cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a femto cell) and may allow restricted access by terminals having association with the femto cell (e.g., terminals for users in a home). -13- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO

[0049] Each of the gNBs 110a, 110b and / or the ng-eNB 114 may include a radio unit (RU), a distributed unit (DU), and a central unit (CU). For example, the gNB 110b includes an RU 111, a DU 112, and a CU 113. The RU 111, DU 112, and CU 113 divide functionality of the gNB 110b. While the gNB 110b is shown with a single RU, a single DU, and a single CU, a gNB may include one or more RUs, one or more DUs, and / or one or more CUs. An interface between the CU 113 and the DU 112 is referred to as an F1 interface. The RU 111 is configured to perform digital front end (DFE) functions (e.g., analog-to-digital conversion, filtering, power amplification, transmission / reception) and digital beamforming, and includes a portion of the physical (PHY) layer. The RU 111 may perform the DFE using massive multiple input / multiple output (MIMO) and may be integrated with one or more antennas of the gNB 110b. The DU 112 hosts the Radio Link Control (RLC), Medium Access Control (MAC), and physical layers of the gNB 110b. One DU can support one or more cells, and each cell is supported by a single DU. The operation of the DU 112 is controlled by the CU 113. The CU 113 is configured to perform functions for transferring user data, mobility control, radio access network sharing, positioning, session management, etc. although some functions are allocated exclusively to the DU 112. The CU 113 hosts the Radio Resource Control (RRC), Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP), and Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) protocols of the gNB 110b. The UE 105 may communicate with the CU 113 via RRC, SDAP, and PDCP layers, with the DU 112 via the RLC, MAC, and PHY layers, and with the RU 111 via the PHY layer.

[0050] As noted, while FIG.1 depicts nodes configured to communicate according to 5G communication protocols, nodes configured to communicate according to other communication protocols, such as, for example, an LTE protocol or IEEE 802.11x protocol, may be used. For example, in an Evolved Packet System (EPS) providing LTE wireless access to the UE 105, a RAN may comprise an Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) which may comprise base stations comprising evolved Node Bs (eNBs). A core network for EPS may comprise an Evolved Packet Core (EPC). An EPS may comprise an E-UTRAN plus EPC, where the E-UTRAN corresponds to the NG-RAN 135 and the EPC corresponds to the 5GC 140 in FIG.1.

[0051] The gNBs 110a, 110b and the ng-eNB 114 may communicate with the AMF 115, which, for positioning functionality, communicates with the LMF 120. The AMF 115 may support mobility of the UE 105, including cell change and handover and may participate in -14- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO supporting a signaling connection to the UE 105 and possibly data and voice bearers for the UE 105. The LMF 120 may communicate directly with the UE 105, e.g., through wireless communications, or directly with the gNBs 110a, 110b and / or the ng-eNB 114. The LMF 120 may support positioning of the UE 105 when the UE 105 accesses the NG-RAN 135 and may support position procedures / methods such as Assisted GNSS (A-GNSS), Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA) (e.g., Downlink (DL) OTDOA or Uplink (UL) OTDOA), Round Trip Time (RTT), Multi-Cell RTT, Real Time Kinematic (RTK), Precise Point Positioning (PPP), Differential GNSS (DGNSS), Enhanced Cell ID (E-CID), angle of arrival (AoA), angle of departure (AoD), and / or other position methods. The LMF 120 may process location services requests for the UE 105, e.g., received from the AMF 115 or from the GMLC 125. The LMF 120 may be connected to the AMF 115 and / or to the GMLC 125. The LMF 120 may be referred to by other names such as a Location Manager (LM), Location Function (LF), commercial LMF (CLMF), or value added LMF (VLMF). A node / system that implements the LMF 120 may additionally or alternatively implement other types of location-support modules, such as an Enhanced Serving Mobile Location Center (E-SMLC) or a Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) Location Platform (SLP). At least part of the positioning functionality (including derivation of the location of the UE 105) may be performed at the UE 105 (e.g., using signal measurements obtained by the UE 105 for signals transmitted by wireless nodes such as the gNBs 110a, 110b and / or the ng-eNB 114, and / or assistance data provided to the UE 105, e.g., by the LMF 120). The AMF 115 may serve as a control node that processes signaling between the UE 105 and the 5GC 140, and may provide QoS (Quality of Service) flow and session management. The AMF 115 may support mobility of the UE 105 including cell change and handover and may participate in supporting signaling connection to the UE 105.

[0052] The server 150, e.g., a cloud server, is configured to obtain and provide location estimates of the UE 105 to the external client 130. The server 150 may, for example, be configured to run a microservice / service that obtains the location estimate of the UE 105. The server 150 may, for example, pull the location estimate from (e.g., by sending a location request to) the UE 105, one or more of the gNBs 110a, 110b (e.g., via the RU 111, the DU 112, and the CU 113) and / or the ng-eNB 114, and / or the LMF 120. As another example, the UE 105, one or more of the gNBs 110a, 110b (e.g., via the RU 111, the DU 112, and the CU 113), and / or the LMF 120 may push the location estimate of the UE 105 to the server 150. -15- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO

[0053] The GMLC 125 may support a location request for the UE 105 received from the external client 130 via the server 150 and may forward such a location request to the AMF 115 for forwarding by the AMF 115 to the LMF 120 or may forward the location request directly to the LMF 120. A location response from the LMF 120 (e.g., containing a location estimate for the UE 105) may be returned to the GMLC 125 either directly or via the AMF 115 and the GMLC 125 may then return the location response (e.g., containing the location estimate) to the external client 130 via the server 150. The GMLC 125 is shown connected to both the AMF 115 and LMF 120, though may not be connected to the AMF 115 or the LMF 120 in some implementations.

[0054] As further illustrated in FIG.1, the LMF 120 may communicate with the gNBs 110a, 110b and / or the ng-eNB 114 using a New Radio Position Protocol A (which may be referred to as NPPa or NRPPa), which may be defined in 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 38.455. NRPPa may be the same as, similar to, or an extension of the LTE Positioning Protocol A (LPPa) defined in 3GPP TS 36.455, with NRPPa messages being transferred between the gNB 110a (or the gNB 110b) and the LMF 120, and / or between the ng-eNB 114 and the LMF 120, via the AMF 115. As further illustrated in FIG.1, the LMF 120 and the UE 105 may communicate using an LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP), which may be defined in 3GPP TS 36.355. The LMF 120 and the UE 105 may also or instead communicate using a New Radio Positioning Protocol (which may be referred to as NPP or NRPP), which may be the same as, similar to, or an extension of LPP. Here, LPP and / or NPP messages may be transferred between the UE 105 and the LMF 120 via the AMF 115 and the serving gNB 110a, 110b or the serving ng-eNB 114 for the UE 105. For example, LPP and / or NPP messages may be transferred between the LMF 120 and the AMF 115 using a 5G Location Services Application Protocol (LCS AP) and may be transferred between the AMF 115 and the UE 105 using a 5G Non-Access Stratum (NAS) protocol. The LPP and / or NPP protocol may be used to support positioning of the UE 105 using UE-assisted and / or UE-based position methods such as A-GNSS, RTK, OTDOA and / or E-CID. The NRPPa protocol may be used to support positioning of the UE 105 using network-based position methods such as E-CID (e.g., when used with measurements obtained by the gNB 110a, 110b or the ng-eNB 114) and / or may be used by the LMF 120 to obtain location related information from the gNBs 110a, 110b and / or the ng-eNB 114, such as parameters defining directional SS or PRS transmissions from the gNBs 110a, 110b, and / or the ng-eNB 114. The LMF 120 may be co- -16- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO located or integrated with a gNB or a TRP, or may be disposed remote from the gNB and / or the TRP and configured to communicate directly or indirectly with the gNB and / or the TRP.

[0055] With a UE-assisted position method, the UE 105 may obtain location measurements and send the measurements to a location server (e.g., the LMF 120) for computation of a location estimate for the UE 105. For example, the location measurements may include one or more of a Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI), Round Trip signal propagation Time (RTT), Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD), Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) and / or Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ) for the gNBs 110a, 110b, the ng- eNB 114, and / or a WLAN AP. The location measurements may also or instead include measurements of GNSS pseudorange, code phase, and / or carrier phase for the SVs 190-193.

[0056] With a UE-based position method, the UE 105 may obtain location measurements (e.g., which may be the same as or similar to location measurements for a UE-assisted position method) and may compute a location of the UE 105 (e.g., with the help of assistance data received from a location server such as the LMF 120 or broadcast by the gNBs 110a, 110b, the ng-eNB 114, or other base stations or APs).

[0057] With a network-based position method, one or more base stations (e.g., the gNBs 110a, 110b, and / or the ng-eNB 114) or APs may obtain location measurements (e.g., measurements of RSSI, RTT, RSRP, RSRQ or Time of Arrival (ToA) for signals transmitted by the UE 105) and / or may receive measurements obtained by the UE 105. The one or more base stations or APs may send the measurements to a location server (e.g., the LMF 120) for computation of a location estimate for the UE 105.

[0058] Information provided by the gNBs 110a, 110b, and / or the ng-eNB 114 to the LMF 120 using NRPPa may include timing and configuration information for directional SS or PRS transmissions and location coordinates. The LMF 120 may provide some or all of this information to the UE 105 as assistance data in an LPP and / or NPP message via the NG-RAN 135 and the 5GC 140.

[0059] An LPP or NPP message sent from the LMF 120 to the UE 105 may instruct the UE 105 to do any of a variety of things depending on desired functionality. For example, the LPP or NPP message could contain an instruction for the UE 105 to obtain measurements for GNSS (or A-GNSS), WLAN, E-CID, and / or OTDOA (or some other position method). In the case of E-CID, the LPP or NPP message may instruct the UE 105 to obtain one or more measurement quantities (e.g., beam ID, beam width, mean angle, RSRP, RSRQ measurements) of directional signals transmitted within particular cells supported by one or -17- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO more of the gNBs 110a, 110b, and / or the ng-eNB 114 (or supported by some other type of base station such as an eNB or WiFi® AP). The UE 105 may send the measurement quantities back to the LMF 120 in an LPP or NPP message (e.g., inside a 5G NAS message) via the serving gNB 110a (or the serving ng-eNB 114) and the AMF 115.

[0060] As noted, 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., that are used for supporting and interacting with mobile devices such as the UE 105 (e.g., to implement voice, data, positioning, and other functionalities). In some such implementations, 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 InterWorking Function (N3IWF, not shown FIG.1) in the 5GC 140. For example, the WLAN may support IEEE 802.11 WiFi® access for the UE 105 and may comprise one or more WiFi® APs. Here, the N3IWF may connect to the WLAN and to other elements in the 5GC 140 such as the AMF 115. In some implementations, 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 an EPS, the NG-RAN 135 may be replaced by an E-UTRAN containing eNBs and the 5GC 140 may be replaced by an EPC containing a Mobility Management Entity (MME) in place of the AMF 115, an E-SMLC in place of the LMF 120, and a GMLC that may be similar to the GMLC 125. In such an EPS, the E-SMLC may use LPPa in place of NRPPa to send and receive location information to and from the eNBs in the E-UTRAN and may use LPP to support positioning of the UE 105. In these other examples, positioning of the UE 105 using directional PRSs may be supported in an analogous manner to that described herein for a 5G network with the difference that functions and procedures described herein for the gNBs 110a, 110b, the ng-eNB 114, the AMF 115, and the LMF 120 may, in some cases, apply instead to other network elements such eNBs, WiFi® APs, an MME, and an E-SMLC.

[0061] As noted, in some examples, positioning functionality may be implemented, at least in part, using the directional SS or PRS beams, sent by base stations (such as the gNBs 110a, 110b, and / or the ng-eNB 114) that are within range of the UE whose position is to be determined (e.g., the UE 105 of FIG.1). The UE may, in some instances, use the directional SS or PRS beams from a plurality of base stations (such as the gNBs 110a, 110b, the ng-eNB 114, etc.) to compute the position of the UE. -18- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO

[0062] Referring also to FIG.2, a UE 200 may be an example of one of the UEs 105, 106 and may comprise a computing platform including a processor 210, memory 211 including software (SW) 212, one or more sensors 213, a transceiver interface 214 for a transceiver 215 (that includes a wireless transceiver 240 and a wired transceiver 250), a user interface 216, a Satellite Positioning System (SPS) receiver 217, a camera 218, and a position device (PD) 219. The processor 210, the memory 211, the sensor(s) 213, the transceiver interface 214, the user interface 216, the SPS receiver 217, the camera 218, and the position device 219 may be communicatively coupled to each other by a bus 220 (which may be configured, e.g., for optical and / or electrical communication). One or more of the shown apparatus (e.g., the camera 218, the position device 219, and / or one or more of the sensor(s) 213, etc.) may be omitted from the UE 200. The processor 210 may include one or more hardware devices, e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a microcontroller, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc. The processor 210 may comprise 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 the processors 230-234 may comprise multiple devices (e.g., multiple processors). For example, the sensor processor 234 may comprise, e.g., processors for RF (radio frequency) sensing (with one or more (cellular) wireless signals transmitted and reflection(s) used to identify, map, and / or track an object), and / or ultrasound, etc. The modem processor 232 may support dual SIM / dual connectivity (or even more SIMs). For example, a 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 for connectivity. The memory 211 may be a non-transitory storage medium that may include random access memory (RAM), flash memory, disc memory, and / or read-only memory (ROM), etc. The memory 211 may store the software 212 which may be processor-readable, processor-executable software code containing instructions that may be configured to, when executed, cause the processor 210 to perform various functions described herein. Alternatively, the software 212 may not be directly executable by the processor 210 but may be configured to cause the processor 210, e.g., when compiled and executed, to perform the functions. The description herein may refer to the processor 210 performing a function, but this includes other implementations such as where the processor 210 executes software and / or firmware. The description herein may refer to the processor 210 performing a function as shorthand for one or more of the processors 230-234 performing the function. The -19- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO description herein may refer to the UE 200 performing a function as shorthand for one or more appropriate components of the UE 200 performing the function. The processor 210 may include a memory with stored instructions in addition to and / or instead of the memory 211. Functionality of the processor 210 is discussed more fully below.

[0063] The configuration of the UE 200 shown in FIG.2 is an example and not limiting of the disclosure, including the claims, and other configurations may be used. For example, an example configuration of the UE may include one or more of the processors 230-234 of the processor 210, the memory 211, and the wireless transceiver 240. Other example configurations may include one or more of the processors 230-234 of the processor 210, the memory 211, a wireless transceiver, and one or more of the sensor(s) 213, the user interface 216, the SPS receiver 217, the camera 218, the PD 219, and / or a wired transceiver.

[0064] The UE 200 may comprise the modem processor 232 that may be capable of performing baseband processing of signals received and down-converted by the transceiver 215 and / or the SPS receiver 217. The modem processor 232 may perform baseband processing of signals to be upconverted for transmission by the transceiver 215. Also or alternatively, baseband processing may be performed by the general-purpose / application processor 230 and / or the DSP 231. Other configurations, however, may be used to perform baseband processing.

[0065] The UE 200 may include the sensor(s) 213 that may include, for example, an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) 270, one or more magnetometers 271, and / or one or more environment sensors 272. The IMU 270 may comprise, for example, one or more accelerometers 273 (e.g., collectively responding to acceleration of the UE 200 in three dimensions) and / or one or more gyroscopes 274 (e.g., three-dimensional gyroscope(s)). The sensor(s) 213 may include the one or more magnetometers 271 (e.g., three-dimensional magnetometer(s)) to determine orientation (e.g., relative to magnetic north and / or true north) that may be used for any of a variety of purposes, e.g., to support one or more compass applications. The environment sensor(s) 272 may comprise, for example, one or more temperature sensors, one or more barometric pressure sensors, one or more ambient light sensors, one or more camera imagers, and / or one or more microphones, etc. The sensor(s) 213 may generate analog and / or digital signals indications of which may be stored in the memory 211 and processed by the DSP 231 and / or the general-purpose / application processor 230 in support of one or more applications such as, for example, applications directed to positioning and / or navigation operations. The sensor(s) 213 may comprise one or more of -20- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO other various types of sensors such as one or more optical sensors, one or more weight sensors, and / or one or more radio frequency (RF) sensors, etc.

[0066] The sensor(s) 213 may be used in relative location measurements, relative location determination, motion determination, etc. Information detected by the sensor(s) 213 may be used for motion detection, relative displacement, dead reckoning, sensor-based location determination, and / or sensor-assisted location determination. The sensor(s) 213 may be useful to determine whether the UE 200 is fixed (stationary) or mobile and / or whether to report certain useful information to the LMF 120 regarding the mobility of the UE 200. For example, based on the information obtained / measured by the sensor(s) 213, the UE 200 may notify / report to the LMF 120 that the UE 200 has detected movements or that the UE 200 has moved, and may report the relative displacement / distance (e.g., via dead reckoning, or sensor-based location determination, or sensor-assisted location determination enabled by the sensor(s) 213). In another example, for relative positioning information, the sensors / IMU may be used to determine the angle and / or orientation of the other device with respect to the UE 200, etc.

[0067] The IMU 270 may be configured to provide measurements about a direction of motion and / or a speed of motion of the UE 200, which may be used in relative location determination. For example, the one or more accelerometers 273 and / or the one or more gyroscopes 274 of the IMU 270 may detect, respectively, a linear acceleration and a speed of rotation of the UE 200. The linear acceleration and speed of rotation measurements of the UE 200 may be integrated over time to determine an instantaneous direction of motion as well as a displacement of the UE 200. The instantaneous direction of motion and the displacement may be integrated to track a location of the UE 200. For example, a reference location of the UE 200 may be determined, e.g., using the SPS receiver 217 (and / or by some other means) for a moment in time and measurements from the accelerometer(s) 273 and the gyroscope(s) 274 taken after this moment in time may be used in dead reckoning to determine present location of the UE 200 based on movement (direction and distance) of the UE 200 relative to the reference location.

[0068] The magnetometer(s) 271 may determine magnetic field strengths in different directions which may be used to determine orientation of the UE 200. For example, the orientation may be used to provide a digital compass for the UE 200. The magnetometer(s) may include a two-dimensional magnetometer configured to detect and provide indications of magnetic field strength in two orthogonal dimensions. The magnetometer(s) 271 may -21- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO include a three-dimensional magnetometer configured to detect and provide indications of magnetic field strength in three orthogonal dimensions. The magnetometer(s) 271 may provide means for sensing a magnetic field and providing indications of the magnetic field, e.g., to the processor 210.

[0069] The transceiver 215 may include a wireless transceiver 240 and a wired transceiver 250 configured to communicate with other devices through wireless connections and wired connections, respectively. For example, the wireless transceiver 240 may include a wireless transmitter 242 and a wireless receiver 244 coupled to an antenna 246 for transmitting (e.g., on one or more uplink channels and / or one or more sidelink channels) and / or receiving (e.g., on one or more downlink channels and / or one or more sidelink channels) wireless signals 248 and transducing signals from the wireless signals 248 to wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals and from wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals to the wireless signals 248. The wireless transmitter 242 includes appropriate components (e.g., a power amplifier and a digital-to-analog converter). The wireless receiver 244 includes appropriate components (e.g., one or more amplifiers, one or more frequency filters, and an analog-to-digital converter). The wireless transmitter 242 may include multiple transmitters that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components, and / or the wireless receiver 244 may include multiple receivers that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components. The wireless transceiver 240 may be configured to communicate signals (e.g., with TRPs and / or one or more other devices) according to a variety of radio access technologies (RATs) such as 5G New Radio (NR), GSM (Global System for Mobiles), UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone System), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), WCDMA (Wideband CDMA), LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE Direct (LTE-D), 3GPP LTE-V2X (PC5), IEEE 802.11 (including IEEE 802.11p), WiFi®, WiFi® Direct (WiFi®-D), Bluetooth®, Zigbee® etc. New Radio may use mm-wave frequencies and / or sub-6GHz frequencies. The wired transceiver 250 may include a wired transmitter 252 and a wired receiver 254 configured for wired communication, e.g., a network interface that may be utilized to communicate with the NG-RAN 135 to send communications to, and receive communications from, the NG-RAN 135. The wired transmitter 252 may include multiple transmitters that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components, and / or the wired receiver 254 may include multiple receivers that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components. The wired transceiver 250 may be configured, e.g., for optical communication and / or electrical -22- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO communication. The transceiver 215 may be communicatively coupled to the transceiver interface 214, e.g., by optical and / or electrical connection. The transceiver interface 214 may be at least partially integrated with the transceiver 215. The wireless transmitter 242, the wireless receiver 244, and / or the antenna 246 may include multiple transmitters, multiple receivers, and / or multiple antennas, respectively, for sending and / or receiving, respectively, appropriate signals.

[0070] The user interface 216 may comprise one or more of several devices such as, for example, a speaker, microphone, display device, vibration device, keyboard, touch screen, etc. The user interface 216 may include more than one of any of these devices. The user interface 216 may be configured to enable a user to interact with one or more applications hosted by the UE 200. For example, the user interface 216 may store indications of analog and / or digital signals in the memory 211 to be processed by DSP 231 and / or the general- purpose / application processor 230 in response to action from a user. Similarly, applications hosted on the UE 200 may store indications of analog and / or digital signals in the memory 211 to present an output signal to a user. The user interface 216 may include an audio input / output (I / O) device comprising, for example, a speaker, a microphone, digital-to-analog circuitry, analog-to-digital circuitry, an amplifier and / or gain control circuitry (including more than one of any of these devices). Other configurations of an audio I / O device may be used. Also or alternatively, the user interface 216 may comprise one or more touch sensors responsive to touching and / or pressure, e.g., on a keyboard and / or touch screen of the user interface 216.

[0071] The SPS receiver 217 (e.g., a GPS receiver) may be capable of receiving and acquiring SPS signals 260 via an SPS antenna 262. The SPS antenna 262 is configured to transduce the SPS signals 260 from wireless signals to wired signals, e.g., electrical or optical signals, and may be integrated with the antenna 246. The SPS receiver 217 may be configured to process, in whole or in part, the acquired SPS signals 260 for estimating a location of the UE 200. For example, the SPS receiver 217 may be configured to determine location of the UE 200 by trilateration using the SPS signals 260. The general- purpose / application processor 230, the memory 211, the DSP 231 and / or one or more specialized processors (not shown) may be utilized to process acquired SPS signals, in whole or in part, and / or to calculate an estimated location of the UE 200, in conjunction with the SPS receiver 217. The memory 211 may store indications (e.g., measurements) of the SPS signals 260 and / or other signals (e.g., signals acquired from the wireless transceiver 240) for -23- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO use in performing positioning operations. The general-purpose / application processor 230, the DSP 231, and / or one or more specialized processors, and / or the memory 211 may provide or support a location engine for use in processing measurements to estimate a location of the UE 200.

[0072] The UE 200 may include the camera 218 for capturing still or moving imagery. The camera 218 may comprise, for example, an imaging sensor (e.g., a charge coupled device or a CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor) imager), a lens, analog-to-digital circuitry, frame buffers, etc. Additional processing, conditioning, encoding, and / or compression of signals representing captured images may be performed by the general- purpose / application processor 230 and / or the DSP 231. Also or alternatively, the video processor 233 may perform conditioning, encoding, compression, and / or manipulation of signals representing captured images. The video processor 233 may decode / decompress stored image data for presentation on a display device (not shown), e.g., of the user interface 216.

[0073] The position device (PD) 219 may be configured to determine a position of the UE 200, motion of the UE 200, and / or relative position of the UE 200, and / or time. For example, the PD 219 may communicate with, and / or include some or all of, the SPS receiver 217. The PD 219 may work in conjunction with the processor 210 and the memory 211 as appropriate to perform at least a portion of one or more positioning methods, although the description herein may refer to the PD 219 being configured to perform, or performing, in accordance with the positioning method(s). The PD 219 may also or alternatively be configured to determine location of the UE 200 using terrestrial-based signals (e.g., at least some of the wireless signals 248) for trilateration, for assistance with obtaining and using the SPS signals 260, or both. The PD 219 may be configured to determine location of the UE 200 based on a cell of a serving base station (e.g., a cell center) and / or another technique such as E-CID. The PD 219 may be configured to use one or more images from the camera 218 and image recognition combined with known locations of landmarks (e.g., natural landmarks such as mountains and / or artificial landmarks such as buildings, bridges, streets, etc.) to determine location of the UE 200. The PD 219 may be configured to use one or more other techniques (e.g., relying on the UE’s self-reported location (e.g., part of the UE’s position beacon)) for determining the location of the UE 200, and may use a combination of techniques (e.g., SPS and terrestrial positioning signals) to determine the location of the UE 200. The PD 219 may include one or more of the sensors 213 (e.g., gyroscope(s), accelerometer(s), -24- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO magnetometer(s), etc.) that may sense orientation and / or motion of the UE 200 and provide indications thereof that the processor 210 (e.g., the general-purpose / application processor 230 and / or the DSP 231) may be configured to use to determine motion (e.g., a velocity vector and / or an acceleration vector) of the UE 200. The PD 219 may be configured to provide indications of uncertainty and / or error in the determined position and / or motion. Functionality of the PD 219 may be provided in a variety of manners and / or configurations, e.g., by the general-purpose / application processor 230, the transceiver 215, the SPS receiver 217, and / or another component of the UE 200, and may be provided by hardware, software, firmware, or various combinations thereof.

[0074] Referring also to FIG.3, an example of a TRP 300 of the gNBs 110a, 110b and / or the ng-eNB 114 may comprise a computing platform including a processor 310, memory 311 including software (SW) 312, and a transceiver 315. The processor 310, the memory 311, and the transceiver 315 may be communicatively coupled to each other by a bus 320 (which may be configured, e.g., for optical and / or electrical communication). One or more of the shown apparatus (e.g., a wireless transceiver) may be omitted from the TRP 300. The processor 310 may include one or more hardware devices, e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a microcontroller, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc. The processor 310 may comprise multiple processors (e.g., including a general- purpose / application processor, a DSP, a modem processor, a video processor, and / or a sensor processor as shown in FIG.2). The memory 311 may be a non-transitory storage medium that may include random access memory (RAM)), flash memory, disc memory, and / or read- only memory (ROM), etc. The memory 311 may store the software 312 which may be processor-readable, processor-executable software code containing instructions that are configured to, when executed, cause the processor 310 to perform various functions described herein. Alternatively, the software 312 may not be directly executable by the processor 310 but may be configured to cause the processor 310, e.g., when compiled and executed, to perform the functions.

[0075] The description herein may refer to the processor 310 performing a function, but this includes other implementations such as where the processor 310 executes software and / or firmware. The description herein may refer to the processor 310 performing a function as shorthand for one or more of the processors contained in the processor 310 performing the function. The description herein may refer to the TRP 300 performing a function as shorthand for one or more appropriate components (e.g., the processor 310 and the memory -25- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO 311) of the TRP 300 (and thus of one of the gNBs 110a, 110b and / or the ng-eNB 114) performing the function. The processor 310 may include a memory with stored instructions in addition to and / or instead of the memory 311. Functionality of the processor 310 is discussed more fully below.

[0076] The transceiver 315 may include a wireless transceiver 340 and / or a wired transceiver 350 configured to communicate with other devices through wireless connections and wired connections, respectively. For example, the wireless transceiver 340 may include a wireless transmitter 342 and a wireless receiver 344 coupled to one or more antennas 346 for transmitting (e.g., on one or more uplink channels and / or one or more downlink channels) and / or receiving (e.g., on one or more downlink channels and / or one or more uplink channels) wireless signals 348 and transducing signals from the wireless signals 348 to wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals and from wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals to the wireless signals 348. Thus, the wireless transmitter 342 may include multiple transmitters that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components, and / or the wireless receiver 344 may include multiple receivers that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components. The wireless transceiver 340 may be configured to communicate signals (e.g., with the UE 200, one or more other UEs, and / or one or more other devices) according to a variety of radio access technologies (RATs) such as 5G New Radio (NR), GSM (Global System for Mobiles), UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone System), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), WCDMA (Wideband CDMA), LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE Direct (LTE-D), 3GPP LTE-V2X (PC5), IEEE 802.11 (including IEEE 802.11p), WiFi®, WiFi® Direct (WiFi®-D), Bluetooth®, Zigbee® etc. The wired transceiver 350 may include a wired transmitter 352 and a wired receiver 354 configured for wired communication, e.g., a network interface that may be utilized to communicate with the NG-RAN 135 to send communications to, and receive communications from, the LMF 120, for example, and / or one or more other network entities. The wired transmitter 352 may include multiple transmitters that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components, and / or the wired receiver 354 may include multiple receivers that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components. The wired transceiver 350 may be configured, e.g., for optical communication and / or electrical communication.

[0077] The configuration of the TRP 300 shown in FIG.3 is an example and not limiting of the disclosure, including the claims, and other configurations may be used. For example, the -26- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO description herein discusses that the TRP 300 may be configured to perform or performs several functions, but one or more of these functions may be performed by the LMF 120 and / or the UE 200 (i.e., the LMF 120 and / or the UE 200 may be configured to perform one or more of these functions).

[0078] Referring also to FIG.4, a server 400, of which the LMF 120 may be an example, may comprise a computing platform including a processor 410, memory 411 including software (SW) 412, and a transceiver 415. The processor 410, the memory 411, and the transceiver 415 may be communicatively coupled to each other by a bus 420 (which may be configured, e.g., for optical and / or electrical communication). One or more of the shown apparatus (e.g., a wireless transceiver) may be omitted from the server 400. The processor 410 may include one or more hardware devices, e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a microcontroller, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc. The processor 410 may comprise multiple processors (e.g., including a general-purpose / application processor, a DSP, a modem processor, a video processor, and / or a sensor processor as shown in FIG.2). The memory 411 may be a non-transitory storage medium that may include random access memory (RAM)), flash memory, disc memory, and / or read-only memory (ROM), etc. The memory 411 may store the software 412 which may be processor-readable, processor- executable software code containing instructions that are configured to, when executed, cause the processor 410 to perform various functions described herein. Alternatively, the software 412 may not be directly executable by the processor 410 but may be configured to cause the processor 410, e.g., when compiled and executed, to perform the functions. The description herein may refer to the processor 410 performing a function, but this includes other implementations such as where the processor 410 executes software and / or firmware. The description herein may refer to the processor 410 performing a function as shorthand for one or more of the processors contained in the processor 410 performing the function. The description herein may refer to the server 400 performing a function as shorthand for one or more appropriate components of the server 400 performing the function. The processor 410 may include a memory with stored instructions in addition to and / or instead of the memory 411. Functionality of the processor 410 is discussed more fully below.

[0079] The transceiver 415 may include a wireless transceiver 440 and / or a wired transceiver 450 configured to communicate with other devices through wireless connections and wired connections, respectively. For example, the wireless transceiver 440 may include a wireless transmitter 442 and a wireless receiver 444 coupled to one or more antennas 446 for -27- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO transmitting (e.g., on one or more downlink channels) and / or receiving (e.g., on one or more uplink channels) wireless signals 448 and transducing signals from the wireless signals 448 to wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals and from wired (e.g., electrical and / or optical) signals to the wireless signals 448. Thus, the wireless transmitter 442 may include multiple transmitters that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components, and / or the wireless receiver 444 may include multiple receivers that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components. The wireless transceiver 440 may be configured to communicate signals (e.g., with the UE 200, one or more other UEs, and / or one or more other devices) according to a variety of radio access technologies (RATs) such as 5G New Radio (NR), GSM (Global System for Mobiles), UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone System), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), WCDMA (Wideband CDMA), LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE Direct (LTE-D), 3GPP LTE-V2X (PC5), IEEE 802.11 (including IEEE 802.11p), WiFi®, WiFi® Direct (WiFi®-D), Bluetooth®, Zigbee® etc. The wired transceiver 450 may include a wired transmitter 452 and a wired receiver 454 configured for wired communication, e.g., a network interface that may be utilized to communicate with the NG-RAN 135 to send communications to, and receive communications from, the TRP 300, for example, and / or one or more other network entities. The wired transmitter 452 may include multiple transmitters that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components, and / or the wired receiver 454 may include multiple receivers that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components. The wired transceiver 450 may be configured, e.g., for optical communication and / or electrical communication.

[0080] The description herein may refer to the processor 410 performing a function, but this includes other implementations such as where the processor 410 executes software (stored in the memory 411) and / or firmware. The description herein may refer to the server 400 performing a function as shorthand for one or more appropriate components (e.g., the processor 410 and the memory 411) of the server 400 performing the function.

[0081] The configuration of the server 400 shown in FIG.4 is an example and not limiting of the disclosure, including the claims, and other configurations may be used. For example, the wireless transceiver 440 may be omitted. Also or alternatively, the description herein discusses that the server 400 is configured to perform or performs several functions, but one or more of these functions may be performed by the TRP 300 and / or the UE 200 (i.e., the TRP 300 and / or the UE 200 may be configured to perform one or more of these functions). -28- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO Positioning Techniques

[0082] For terrestrial positioning of a UE in cellular networks, techniques such as Advanced Forward Link Trilateration (AFLT) and Observed Time Difference Of Arrival (OTDOA) often operate in “UE-assisted” mode in which measurements of reference signals (e.g., PRS, CRS, etc.) transmitted by base stations are taken by the UE and then provided to a location server. The location server calculates the position of the UE based on the measurements and known locations of the base stations. Because these techniques use the location server to calculate the position of the UE, rather than the UE itself, these positioning techniques are not frequently used in applications such as car or cell-phone navigation, which instead typically rely on satellite-based positioning.

[0083] A UE may use a Satellite Positioning System (SPS) (a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)) for high-accuracy positioning using precise point positioning (PPP) or real time kinematic (RTK) technology. These technologies use assistance data such as measurements from ground-based stations. LTE Release 15 allows the data to be encrypted so that the UEs subscribed to the service exclusively can read the information. Such assistance data varies with time. Thus, a UE subscribed to the service may not easily “break encryption” for other UEs by passing on the data to other UEs that have not paid for the subscription. The passing on would need to be repeated every time the assistance data changes.

[0084] In UE-assisted positioning, the UE sends measurements (e.g., TDOA, Angle of Arrival (AoA), etc.) to the positioning server (e.g., LMF / eSMLC). The positioning server has the base station almanac (BSA) that contains multiple ‘entries’ or ‘records’, one record per cell, where each record contains geographical cell location but also may include other data. An identifier of the ‘record’ among the multiple ‘records’ in the BSA may be referenced. The BSA and the measurements from the UE may be used to compute the position of the UE.

[0085] In conventional UE-based positioning, a UE computes its own position, thus avoiding sending measurements to the network (e.g., location server), which in turn improves latency and scalability. The UE uses relevant BSA record information (e.g., locations of gNBs (more broadly base stations)) from the network. The BSA information may be encrypted. But since the BSA information varies much less often than, for example, the PPP or RTK assistance data described earlier, it may be easier to make the BSA information -29- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO (compared to the PPP or RTK information) available to UEs that did not subscribe and pay for decryption keys. Transmissions of reference signals by the gNBs make BSA information potentially accessible to crowd-sourcing or war-driving, essentially enabling BSA information to be generated based on in-the-field and / or over-the-top observations.

[0086] Positioning techniques may be characterized and / or assessed based on one or more criteria such as position determination accuracy and / or latency. Latency is a time elapsed between an event that triggers determination of position-related data and the availability of that data at a positioning system interface, e.g., an interface of the LMF 120. At initialization of a positioning system, the latency for the availability of position-related data is called time to first fix (TTFF), and is larger than latencies after the TTFF. An inverse of a time elapsed between two consecutive position-related data availabilities is called an update rate, i.e., the rate at which position-related data are generated after the first fix. Latency may depend on processing capability, e.g., of the UE. For example, a UE may report a processing capability of the UE as a duration of DL PRS symbols in units of time (e.g., milliseconds) that the UE can process every T amount of time (e.g., T ms) assuming 272 PRB (Physical Resource Block) allocation. Other examples of capabilities that may affect latency are a number of TRPs from which the UE can process PRS, a number of PRS that the UE can process, and a bandwidth of the UE.

[0087] One or more of many different positioning techniques (also called positioning methods) may be used to determine position of an entity such as one of the UEs 105, 106. For example, known position-determination techniques include RTT, multi-RTT, OTDOA (also called TDOA and including UL-TDOA and DL-TDOA), Enhanced Cell Identification (E-CID), DL-AoD, UL-AoA, etc. RTT uses a time for a signal to travel from one entity to another and back to determine a range between the two entities. The range, plus a known location of a first one of the entities and an angle between the two entities (e.g., an azimuth angle) can be used to determine a location of the second of the entities. In multi-RTT (also called multi-cell RTT), multiple ranges from one entity (e.g., a UE) to other entities (e.g., TRPs) and known locations of the other entities may be used to determine the location of the one entity. In TDOA techniques, the difference in travel times between one entity and other entities may be used to determine relative ranges from the other entities and those, combined with known locations of the other entities may be used to determine the location of the one entity. Angles of arrival and / or departure may be used to help determine location of an entity. For example, an angle of arrival or an angle of departure of a signal combined with a -30- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO range between devices (determined using signal, e.g., a travel time of the signal, a received power of the signal, etc.) and a known location of one of the devices may be used to determine a location of the other device. The angle of arrival or departure may be an azimuth angle relative to a reference direction such as true north. The angle of arrival or departure may be a zenith angle relative to directly upward from an entity (i.e., relative to radially outward from a center of Earth). E-CID uses the identity of a serving cell, the timing advance (i.e., the difference between receive and transmit times at the UE), estimated timing and power of detected neighbor cell signals, and possibly angle of arrival (e.g., of a signal at the UE from the base station or vice versa) to determine location of the UE. In TDOA, the difference in arrival times at a receiving device of signals from different sources along with known locations of the sources and known offset of transmission times from the sources are used to determine the location of the receiving device.

[0088] In a network-centric RTT estimation, the serving base station instructs the UE to scan for / receive RTT measurement signals (e.g., PRS) on serving cells of two or more neighboring base stations (and typically the serving base station, as at least three base stations are needed). The one of more base stations transmit RTT measurement signals on low reuse resources (e.g., resources used by the base station to transmit system information) allocated by the network (e.g., a location server such as the LMF 120). The UE records the arrival time (also referred to as a receive time, a reception time, a time of reception, or a time of arrival (ToA)) of each RTT measurement signal relative to the UE’s current downlink timing (e.g., as derived by the UE from a DL signal received from its serving base station), and transmits a common or individual RTT response message (e.g., SRS (sounding reference signal) for positioning, i.e., UL-PRS) to the one or more base stations (e.g., when instructed by its serving base station) and may include the time difference T_(Rx→Tx) (i.e., UE TRx-Tx or UERx-Tx) between the ToA of the RTT measurement signal and the transmission time of the RTT response message in a payload of each RTT response message. The RTT response message would include a reference signal from which the base station can deduce the ToA of the RTT response. By comparing the difference T_(Tx→Rx) between the transmission time of the RTT measurement signal from the base station and the ToA of the RTT response at the base station to the UE-reported time difference T_(Rx→Tx), and subtracting the UERx-Tx, the base station can deduce the propagation time between the base station and the UE, from which the base station can determine the distance between the UE and the base station by assuming the speed of light during this propagation time. -31- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO

[0089] A UE-centric RTT estimation is similar to the network-based method, except that the UE transmits uplink RTT measurement signal(s) (e.g., when instructed by a serving base station), which are received by multiple base stations in the neighborhood of the UE. Each involved base station responds with a downlink RTT response message, which may include 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 in the RTT response message payload.

[0090] For both network-centric and UE-centric procedures, the side (network or UE) that performs the RTT calculation typically (though not always) transmits the first message(s) or signal(s) (e.g., RTT measurement signal(s)), while the other side responds with one or more RTT response message(s) or signal(s) that may include the difference between the ToA of the first message(s) or signal(s) and the transmission time of the RTT response message(s) or signal(s).

[0091] A multi-RTT technique may be used to determine position. For example, a first entity (e.g., a UE) may send out one or more signals (e.g., unicast, multicast, or broadcast from the base station) and multiple second entities (e.g., other TSPs such as base station(s) and / or UE(s)) may receive a signal from the first entity and respond to this received signal. The first entity receives the 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 ranges to the second entities and may use the multiple ranges and known locations of the second entities to determine the location of the first entity by trilateration.

[0092] In some instances, additional information may be obtained in the form of an angle of arrival (AoA) or angle of departure (AoD) that defines a straight-line direction (e.g., which may be in a horizontal plane or in three dimensions) or possibly a range of directions (e.g., for the UE from the locations of base stations). The intersection of two directions can provide another estimate of the location for the UE.

[0093] For positioning techniques using PRS (Positioning Reference Signal) signals (e.g., TDOA and RTT), PRS signals sent by multiple TRPs are measured and the arrival times of the signals, known transmission times, and known locations of the TRPs used to determine ranges from a UE to the TRPs. For example, an RSTD (Reference Signal Time Difference) may be determined for PRS signals received from multiple TRPs and used in a TDOA technique to determine position (location) of the UE. A positioning reference signal may be referred to as a PRS or a PRS signal. The PRS signals are typically sent using the same -32- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO power and PRS signals with the same signal characteristics (e.g., 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 such that the signal from the more distant TRP may not be detected. PRS muting may be used to help reduce interference by muting some PRS signals (reducing the power of the PRS signal, e.g., to zero and thus not transmitting the PRS signal). In this way, a weaker (at the UE) PRS signal may be more easily detected by the UE without a stronger PRS signal interfering with the weaker PRS signal. The term RS, and variations thereof (e.g., PRS, SRS, CSI-RS (Channel State Information – Reference Signal)), may refer to one reference signal or more than one reference signal.

[0094] Positioning reference signals (PRS) include downlink PRS (DL PRS, often referred to simply as PRS) and uplink PRS (UL PRS) (which may be called SRS (Sounding Reference Signal) for positioning). A PRS may comprise a PN code (pseudorandom number code) or be generated using a PN code (e.g., by modulating a carrier signal with the PN code) such that a source of the PRS may serve as a pseudo-satellite (a pseudolite). The PN code may be unique to the PRS source (at least within a specified area such that identical PRS from different PRS sources do not overlap). PRS may comprise PRS resources and / or PRS resource sets of a frequency layer. A DL PRS positioning frequency layer (or simply a frequency layer) is a collection of DL PRS resource sets, from one or more TRPs, with PRS resource(s) that have common parameters configured by higher-layer parameters DL-PRS- PositioningFrequencyLayer, DL-PRS-ResourceSet, and DL-PRS-Resource. Each frequency layer has a DL PRS subcarrier spacing (SCS) for the DL PRS resource sets and the DL PRS resources in the frequency layer. Each frequency layer has a DL PRS cyclic prefix (CP) for the DL PRS resource sets and the DL PRS resources in the frequency layer. In 5G, a resource block occupies 12 consecutive subcarriers and a specified number of symbols. Common resource blocks are the set of resource blocks that occupy a channel bandwidth. A bandwidth part (BWP) is a set of contiguous common resource blocks and may include all the common resource blocks within a channel bandwidth or a subset of the common resource blocks. Also, a DL PRS Point A parameter defines a frequency of a reference resource block (and the lowest subcarrier of the resource block), with DL PRS resources belonging to the same DL PRS resource set having the same Point A and all DL PRS resource sets belonging to the same frequency layer having the same Point A. A frequency layer also has the same DL PRS bandwidth, the same start PRB (and center frequency), and the same value of comb -33- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO size (i.e., a frequency of PRS resource elements per symbol such that for comb-N, every Nth resource element is a PRS resource element). A PRS resource set is identified by a PRS resource set ID and may be associated with a particular TRP (identified by a cell ID) transmitted by an antenna panel of a base station. A PRS resource ID in a PRS resource set may be associated with an omnidirectional signal, and / or with a single beam (and / or beam ID) transmitted from a single base station (where a base station may transmit one or more beams). Each PRS resource of a PRS resource set may be transmitted on a different beam and as such, a PRS resource (or simply resource) can also be referred to as a beam. This does not have any implications on whether the base stations and the beams on which PRS are transmitted are known to the UE.

[0095] A TRP may be configured, e.g., by instructions received from a server and / or by software in the TRP, to send DL PRS per a schedule. According to the schedule, the TRP may send the DL PRS intermittently, e.g., periodically at a consistent interval from an initial transmission. The TRP may be configured to send one or more PRS resource sets. A resource set is a collection of PRS resources across one TRP, with the resources having the same periodicity, a common muting pattern configuration (if any), and the same repetition factor across slots. Each of the PRS resource sets comprises multiple PRS resources, with each PRS resource comprising multiple OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) Resource Elements (REs) that may be in multiple Resource Blocks (RBs) within N (one or more) consecutive symbol(s) within a slot. PRS resources (or reference signal (RS) resources generally) may be referred to as OFDM PRS resources (or OFDM RS resources). An RB is a collection of REs spanning a quantity of one or more consecutive symbols in the time domain and a quantity (12 for a 5G RB) of consecutive sub-carriers in the frequency domain. Each PRS resource is configured with an RE offset, slot offset, a symbol offset within a slot, and a number of consecutive symbols that the PRS resource may occupy within a slot. The RE offset defines the starting 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 the initial offset. The slot offset is the starting slot of the DL PRS resource with respect to a corresponding resource set slot offset. The symbol offset determines the starting symbol of the DL PRS resource within the starting slot. Transmitted REs may repeat across slots, with each transmission being called a repetition such that there may be multiple repetitions in a PRS resource. The DL PRS resources in a DL PRS resource set are associated with the same TRP and each DL PRS resource has a DL -34- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO PRS resource ID. A DL PRS resource ID in a DL PRS resource set is associated with a single beam transmitted from a single TRP (although a TRP may transmit one or more beams).

[0096] A PRS resource may also be defined by quasi-co-location and start PRB parameters. A quasi-co-location (QCL) parameter may define any quasi-co-location information of the DL PRS resource with other reference signals. The DL PRS may be configured to be QCL type D with a DL PRS or SS / PBCH (Synchronization Signal / Physical Broadcast Channel) Block from a serving cell or a non-serving cell. The DL PRS may be configured to be QCL type C with an SS / PBCH Block from a serving cell or a non-serving cell. The start PRB parameter defines the starting PRB index of the DL PRS resource with respect to reference Point A. The starting PRB index has a granularity of one PRB and may have a minimum value of 0 and a maximum value of 2176 PRBs.

[0097] A PRS resource set is a collection of PRS resources with the same periodicity, same muting pattern configuration (if any), and the same repetition factor across slots. Every time all repetitions of all PRS resources of the PRS resource set are configured to be transmitted is referred as 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 once the specified number of repetitions are transmitted for each of the specified number of PRS resources, the instance is complete. An instance may also be referred to as an “occasion.” A DL PRS configuration including a DL PRS transmission schedule may be provided to a UE to facilitate (or even enable) the UE to measure the DL PRS.

[0098] Multiple frequency layers of PRS may be aggregated to provide an effective bandwidth that is larger than any of the bandwidths of the layers individually. Multiple frequency layers of component carriers (which may be consecutive and / or separate) and meeting criteria such as being quasi co-located (QCLed), and having the same antenna port, may be stitched to provide a larger effective PRS bandwidth (for DL PRS and UL PRS) resulting in increased time of arrival measurement accuracy. Stitching comprises combining PRS measurements over individual bandwidth fragments into a unified piece such that the stitched PRS may be treated as having been taken from a single measurement. Being QCLed, the different frequency layers behave similarly, enabling stitching of the PRS to yield the larger effective bandwidth. The larger effective bandwidth, which may be referred to as the bandwidth of an aggregated PRS or the frequency bandwidth of an aggregated PRS, provides -35- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO for better time-domain resolution (e.g., of TDOA). An aggregated PRS includes a collection of PRS resources and each PRS resource of an aggregated PRS may be called a PRS component, and each PRS component may be transmitted on different component carriers, bands, or frequency layers, or on different portions of the same band.

[0099] RTT positioning is an active positioning technique in that RTT uses positioning signals sent by TRPs to UEs and by UEs (that are participating in RTT positioning) to TRPs. The TRPs may send DL-PRS signals that are received by the UEs and the UEs may send SRS (Sounding Reference Signal) signals that are received by multiple TRPs. A sounding reference signal may be referred to as an SRS or an SRS signal. In 5G multi-RTT, coordinated positioning may be used with the UE sending a single UL-SRS for positioning that is received by multiple TRPs instead of sending a separate UL-SRS for positioning for each TRP. A TRP that participates in multi-RTT will typically search for UEs that are currently camped on that TRP (served UEs, with the TRP being a serving TRP) and also UEs that are camped on neighboring TRPs (neighbor UEs). Neighbor TRPs may be TRPs of a single BTS (Base Transceiver Station) (e.g., gNB), or may be a TRP of one BTS and a TRP of a separate BTS. For RTT positioning, including multi-RTT positioning, the DL-PRS signal and the UL-SRS for positioning signal in a PRS / SRS for positioning signal pair used to determine RTT (and thus used to determine range between the UE and the TRP) may occur close in time to each other such that errors due to UE motion and / or UE clock drift and / or TRP clock drift are within acceptable limits. For example, signals in a PRS / SRS for positioning signal pair may be transmitted from the TRP and the UE, respectively, within about 10 ms of each other. With SRS for positioning being sent by UEs, and with PRS and SRS for positioning being conveyed close in time to each other, it has been found that radio- frequency (RF) signal congestion may result (which may cause excessive noise, etc.) especially if many UEs attempt positioning concurrently and / or that computational congestion may result at the TRPs that are trying to measure many UEs concurrently.

[0100] RTT positioning may be UE-based or UE-assisted. In UE-based RTT, the UE 200 determines the RTT and corresponding range to each of the TRPs 300 and the position of the UE 200 based on the ranges to the TRPs 300 and known locations of the TRPs 300. In UE- assisted RTT, the UE 200 measures positioning signals and provides measurement information to the TRP 300, and the TRP 300 determines the RTT and range. The TRP 300 provides ranges to a location server, e.g., the server 400, and the server determines the location of the UE 200, e.g., based on ranges to different TRPs 300. The RTT and / or range -36- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO may be determined by the TRP 300 that received the signal(s) from the UE 200, by this TRP 300 in combination with one or more other devices, e.g., one or more other TRPs 300 and / or the server 400, or by one or more devices other than the TRP 300 that received the signal(s) from the UE 200.

[0101] Various positioning techniques are supported in 5G NR. The NR native positioning methods supported in 5G NR include DL-only positioning methods, UL-only positioning methods, and DL+UL positioning methods. Downlink-based positioning methods include DL-TDOA and DL-AoD. Uplink-based positioning methods include UL-TDOA and UL- AoA. Combined DL+UL-based positioning methods include RTT with one base station and RTT with multiple base stations (multi-RTT).

[0102] A position estimate (e.g., for a UE) may be referred to by other names, such as a location estimate, location, position, position fix, fix, or the like. A position estimate may be geodetic and comprise coordinates (e.g., latitude, longitude, and possibly altitude) or may be civic and comprise a street address, postal address, or some other verbal description of a location. A position estimate may further be defined relative to some other known location or defined in absolute terms (e.g., using latitude, longitude, and possibly altitude). A position estimate may include an expected error or uncertainty (e.g., by including an area or volume within which the location is expected to be included with some specified or default level of confidence). Position information may include one or more positioning signal measurements (e.g., of one or more satellite signals, of PRS, and / or one or more other signals), and / or one or more values (e.g., one or more ranges (possibly including one or more pseudoranges), and / or one or more position estimates, etc.) based on one or more positioning signal measurements. Ambient Energy Harvesting Devices

[0103] Techniques are discussed for determining the position of ambient energy harvesting (EH) IoT devices within an area; or of remote devices within the area with the assistance of the ambient EH IoT devices. Ambient EH IoT devices are devices that are generally small and combine low cost with the ability to be deployed inconspicuously to address a wide range of applications. The ambient EH IoT devices may be ambient EH devices that may include sensors, processing ability, software and other technologies that connect and exchange data with other devices and systems over the Internet or other communications networks. For ease of description, the ambient EH IoT devices will be referred to simply as “AEH devices.” In -37- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO general, since AEH devices are configured to be connected to a network, the AEH devices are generally individually addressable.

[0104] The IoT technology has evolved due to the convergence of multiple technologies, including ubiquitous computing, commodity sensors, and increasingly powerful embedded systems, as well as machine learning. Older fields of embedded systems, wireless sensor networks, control systems, automation (including home and building automation), independently and collectively enable IoT technology. In the consumer market, IoT technology is generally associated with "smart home" products, including devices and appliances (e.g., lighting fixtures, thermostats, home security systems, cameras, and other home appliances) that support one or more common network ecosystems and can be controlled via remote devices associated with that network ecosystem, such as smartphones (e.g., UEs) and smart devices. IoT is also used in healthcare systems.

[0105] AEH devices, in general, are devices that include electronic circuitry and / or components and are configured to receive all or at least part of their power from ambient energy sources. AEH devices energy harvest the ambient energy sources to power at least part of their electronic circuitry and / or components. In this disclosure, the AEH devices are configured to energy harvest radio frequency (RF) signals that are received by the AEH devices. In general, the ambient IoT devices may be Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) IoT devices.

[0106] In this disclosure, techniques are discussed for determining the position of AEH devices that are potentially harvesting some of the incident RF signal power for various purposes along with providing data. The data may include positioning information for each AEH device via individually transmitted response reference signals that may be positioning signals, where each transmitted response reference signal may be a backscattered signal of a received positional signal that was transmitted by a remote device towards a corresponding AEH device. Further techniques are also discussed for determining the position of a remote device in signal communication with a plurality of AEH devices.

[0107] Turning to FIG.5, a functional system block diagram is shown of an example of an implementation of a system 500 for positional determination with a plurality of AEH devices. In this example, the system 500 includes a plurality of AEH devices such as, for example, a first AEH device 502, second AEH device 504, and third AEH device 506. For ease of illustration, only three AEH devices are shown, however, it is appreciated that any plurality of AEH devices may be utilized. In this example, the first AEH device 502 is shown at a first -38- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO location 508, the second AEH device 504 is shown at a second location 510, and the third AEH device 506 is shown at a third location 512.

[0108] The system 500 may also include a remote device such as, for example, UE 514 that is in signal communication with the plurality of AEH devices (i.e., the first AEH device 502, second AEH device 504, and third AEH device 506). The UE 514 may be in signal communication with a remote entity such as, for example, a server 516 of a first network 518, via a base station 520 and wireless signal path 521. In this example, the UE 514 may be implemented as previously described in relation to UE 105 and UE 200; and the server 516 may be implemented as previously described in relation to 5GC 140, LMF 120, and / or server 400. The base station 520 may be implemented as previously described in relation to NG- RAN 135, gNB 110a and / or TRP 300. The server 516 may be, or may include, a location server. As an example, the first network 518 may be a cellular network.

[0109] In this example, the first AEH device 502, second AEH device 504, and third AEH device 506 may be in signal communication with a second network 522. The second network 522 may be a local network, such as, for example, a Wi-Fi® network that has a coverage area within a physical area that includes the locations (i.e., first location 508, second location 510, and third location 512) of the corresponding first AEH device 502, second AEH device 504, and third AEH device 506. The second network 522 may be in signal communication with the first network 518 via a third network 524 such as, for example, the Internet. Moreover, as an example, the first AEH device 502, second AEH device 504, and third AEH device 506 may be in signal communication with the server 516 via the second network 522, third network 524, and first network 518; or the UE 514, base station 520, and first network 518.

[0110] The circuits, components, modules, and / or devices of, or associated with the system 500 and other devices are described as being in signal communication, communicatively coupled, and / or electrically coupled (or simply “coupled”) with each other, where signal communication refers to any type of communication and / or connection between the circuits, components, modules, and / or devices that allows a circuit, component, module, and / or device to pass and / or receive signals and / or information from another circuit, component, module, and / or device. The communication and / or connection may be along any signal path between the circuits, components, modules, and / or devices that allows signals and / or information to pass from one circuit, component, module, and / or device to another and includes wireless or wired signal paths. The signal paths may be physical, such as, for example, conductive wires, electromagnetic wave guides, cables, attached and / or electromagnetic or mechanically -39- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO coupled terminals, semi-conductive or dielectric materials or devices, or other similar physical connections or couplings. Additionally, signal paths may be non-physical such as free-space (in the case of electromagnetic propagation) or information paths through digital components where communication information may be passed from one circuit, component, module, and / or device to another in varying digital formats without passing through a direct electromagnetic connection.

[0111] In this example, the locations (i.e., location 508, location 510, and location 512) of the first AEH device 502, second AEH device 504, and / or third AEH device 506 may be determined utilizing the UE 514. Alternatively, the location 538 of the UE 538 may also be determined utilizing the at least two AEH devices. For example, the location (i.e., location 508) of the first AEH device 502 may be determined utilizing a method that includes receiving a first incident reference signal 526 from a remote device (i.e., UE 514), harvesting power from the first incident reference signal 526 within a first time duration, producing a first response reference signal 532 from the power harvested from the first incident reference signal 526, and transmitting the first response reference signal 532 within a second time duration after the first time duration, where the first response reference signal 532 has a predefined power level. In this example, the predefined power level may be a power level of a predefined range of power levels that is known to the UE 514 (and / or the server 516). In this example, the first AEH device 502 may transmit the predefined range of power levels to the server 516 (via the first network 518, second network 522, and third network 524 or via the UE 514, base station 520, and first network 518). In this example, the server 516 may be configured to transmit the predefined range of power levels to the UE 514.

[0112] The method may also include producing a second response reference signal with the first AEH device 502 from the power harvested from the first incident reference signal 526 (or subsequent incident reference signals) and transmitting the second response reference signal at a third time after the second time duration, where the second response reference signal has a second power level that is within the predefined range of power levels. In this example, the second power level may or may not be approximately equal to the predefined power level. If the second power level is not equal to the predefined power level, the first AEH device 502 may include transmitting a difference in a power amount that is equal to a difference between the second power level and the predefined power level.

[0113] In this example, the first AEH device 502 may also be configured to receive a third response reference signal 550 from another ambient EH device (i.e., the second AEH device -40- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO 504) and where producing the response first reference signal 532 includes configuring an association of the first response reference signal 532 to the second AEH device 504 from the third response reference signal 550. In this example, the predefined power level may be determined based on the association of the first response reference signal 532 to the third response reference signal 550.

[0114] As another example, the first AEH device 502 may be configured to produce a second response reference signal 533 from the power harvested from the first incident reference signal 526 and / or other incident reference signals and transmit the second response reference signal at a third time after the second time duration. In this example, the

[0115] the first response reference signal (i.e., response reference signal 532) has a first power level, the second response reference signal 533 has second power level, and the first power level and second power level are within a predefined range of power levels. The predefined range of power levels may be known to a remote entity such as the UE 514 and / or server 516. As an example, the second power level may equal to the first power level; or the second power level and the first power level may each be equal to a predefined power margin of the predefined range of power levels, where the predefined power margin may be a power window of acceptable power values based on the design of the AEH device. As a further example, the AEH device 502 may be configured to transmit the predefined range of power levels to the remote entity including a difference in power between the first power level and second power level. As another example, the AEH device 502 may be also configured to receive the third response reference signal 550 from the second AEH device 504 and produce the first response reference signal by being configured to configuring an association of the first response reference signal 532 to the second AEH device 504 from the third response reference signal 550. In this example, the first power level is determined based on the association of the first response reference signal 532 to the third response reference signal 550.

[0116] As another example, the first AEH device 502 may also be configured to receive a second incident reference signal from the UE 514, harvest power from the second incident reference signal at a third time after the second time duration, produce a second response reference signal from the power harvested from the second incident reference signal, and transmit the second response reference signal at a fourth time after the third time, where the second response reference signal may have a second power level that is within a predefined range of power levels. In this example, harvesting power from the first incident reference -41- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO signal 526 may include performing a first power splitting of the incident reference signal to produce a first fraction of the power harvested form the incident signal and harvesting power from the second incident reference signal may include performing a second power splitting of the second incident reference signal to produce a first fraction of the power harvested form the second incident signal. Further, producing the first response reference signal 532 may include producing the first response reference signal 532 from the power harvested from the first fraction of the power harvested form the first response reference signal 532, and producing the second response reference signal may include producing the second response reference signal from the power harvested from the first fraction of the power harvested form the second incident signal. In this example, the second power splitting may be different than the first power splitting, and the difference between the second power splitting and second first splitting is known to the server 516 and / or the UE 514. This example may further include receiving the third response reference signal 550 from another AEH device (e.g., the second AEH device 504) and configuring an association of the response reference signal to the other AEH device from the third response reference signal. In this example, the difference between the second power splitting and second power splitting may be determined based on the association of the response reference signal to the third response reference signal.

[0117] In this example, the location 538 of the UE 514 may also be determined by performing a method that includes transmitting one or more transmitted reference signals (i.e., first incident reference signal 526, second incident reference signal 528, and third incident reference signal 530) towards the plurality of AEH devices (i.e., first AEH device 502, second AEH device 504, and third AEH device 506), receiving a first response reference signal (i.e., first response reference signal 526) having a first predefined power level from the first AEH device 502 within a predefined first time duration, and receiving at least a second response reference signal having a second predefined power level from a second AEH device (e.g., first AEH device 504 and / or third AEH device 506) within a predefined second time duration. The method may also include determining the location of the UE 514 from the first response reference signal 526 and at least second response reference signal, where the first response reference signal 532 and at least second response reference signal are each related to the transmitted reference signal (i.e., first incident reference signal 526, second incident reference signal 528, and / or third incident reference signal 530). -42- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO

[0118] In these examples, the incident reference signal may be a reference signal that includes one or more of a RSSI, RTT, RSTD, RSRP, and / or RSTQ for the remote device (e.g., the UE 514). The response reference signal may also be a reflected / backscattered signal of the incident reference signal with a lower power magnitude; however, the AEH device may utilize any stored power to amplify the power magnitude of the response reference signal.

[0119] In these examples, the first incident reference signal 526, the second incident reference signal 528, and the third incident reference signal 530 may be a single transmitted reference signal produced and transmitted (e.g., via an omnidirectional or broad-beam broadcast transmission) by the UE 514 towards all of the AEH devices where each incident reference signal is a portion of the transmitted reference signal received by a corresponding AEH device.

[0120] Further, the first location 508 of the first AEH device 502, second location 510 of the second AEH device 504, and third location 512 of the third AEH device 506 may be known to second network 522, UE 514, and / or the server 516. The UE 514 may transmit a reference signal that includes a RSRP to the first AEH device 502, second AEH device 504, and the third AEH device 506. When each of the AEH devices receives the reference signal (i.e., as incident reference signals), each AEH device processes the corresponding received incident reference signal, and transmits a reflected signal as a response reference signal (e.g., first response reference signal 532, second response reference signal 534, or third response reference signal 536) to the UE 514. In this example, the power magnitude of each of the incident reference signals is generally lower than the power magnitude of the transmitted reference signal that was initially transmitted from the UE 514 because of the propagation losses associated wirelessly traveling from the UE 514 to the corresponding AEH device. Moreover, since some of the power and / or energy of the received incident reference signal is power that is energy harvested to power the circuitry of the AEH device, the remaining power produces a power magnitude for the transmitted response reference signal that is generally lower than the power magnitude of the incident reference signal received at the corresponding AEH device. Moreover, if some additional portion of the power and / or energy harvested is utilized to charge a storage device on the AEH device, that will further result in an ever lower power magnitude for the transmitted response reference signal. Furthermore, as result of the propagation losses between a corresponding AEH device and the UE 514, the received response reference signal at the UE 514 will have a power magnitude that is even -43- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO lower than the initial power magnitude of the transmitted response reference signal at the corresponding AEH device.

[0121] In this example, if the transmit power of the response reference signals are not the same (or approximately the same within the predefined power margin) when transmitted from a corresponding AEH device, the measured values of the RSRP and / or path-RSRP of the response reference signals will vary to the point that RSRP-based positioning of the UE 514 will fail. As such, the UE 514 and AEH devices may utilize a constant- reflection-power- window (also known as a “constant-transmission-power window”) to transmit the response reference signals, where each AEH device may be configured to transmit the response reference signals with approximately the same power magnitude, where the power magnitude is within a predefined power margin such as, for example, plus or minus 1 decibel (dB). Alternatively, if some of the AEH devices are not capable of transmitting the response reference signals within the predefined power margin, the power difference of the power magnitudes of those response reference signals and an expected predefined power magnitude may be determined and transmitted to the server 516 so that a location server (e.g., 5GC 140, LMF 120, and / or server 400) of the server 516 may be configured to compensate for the power difference for these AEH devices.

[0122] As another alternative example, the AEH devices that are not capable of transmitting within the predefined power margin may also be associated (either explicitly or implicitly) with the transmitted reference signal of the UE 514 with an expected constant power level, or with a power difference that is known to the server 516. In this example, an AEH device may be configured with a predefined power difference, where the AEH device may report directly to the server 516 the value of the power difference. For example, the AEH device may report the power difference to the server 516 via a signal path through the second network 522, third network 524, and first network 518 or via another signal path through the UE 514, base station 520, and first network 518.

[0123] In these examples, the power changes to the response reference signals may be reported to the server 516 via a message such as, for example, a new power indicator (NPI) that may notify the server 516 of event changes in reflected power of a corresponding AEH device.

[0124] As an example, the AEH devices may be in signal communication with the server 516 and the server 516 may (via the serving base station (i.e., base station 520) or an LMF) configure a constant-reflection-power window having a start time and end time (or start time -44- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO and duration time) with a periodicity that applies to all the response reference signals that are being reflected, or a subset of the response reference signals that are being reflected, by the AEH devices in signal communication with the server 516. The server 516 may configure multiple windows that may be configured for the AEH devices and the UE 514. For example, different windows may be related to different band, component carrier (CC), carrier bandwidth part (BWP), or different set of signals. As an example, the download PRS (DL PRS), trustworthy retrieval system (TRS), or signal sidebands (SSBs) may be explicitly or implicitly configured to be reflected back with the same transmit power within a predefined first time of an energy harvesting session, or within a predefined second time from a start of frame of data, or a time-domain reference point. In this example, two or more AEH devices may be configured to have quasi-colocation properties (QCL), where the AEH devices have the same TRS or SSBs. In general, when two reference signals have QCL with each other, they share some long term properties, e.g., average gain, delay spread, delay shift, doppler shift, or doppler spread.

[0125] As another example, the server 516 may configure the UE 514 and AEH devices to reuse any available windows such as, for example, a measurement gap configuration, positioning processing window, or sounding reference signal (SRS) transmission window. Alternatively, the server 516 may configure the AEH devices to transmit the response reference signals within a predefined time after an energy harvesting session or, alternatively, during an energy harvesting session.

[0126] In these examples, the AEH devices may utilize previously stored energy (from previous energy harvesting sessions) to amplify the amount of power utilized by the circuitry of the AEH devices to produce reflected signals (i.e., response reference signals) that are amplified by the previously stored power. Further, if the AEH devices are located in an area that has the presence of other RF signal sources (in addition to the UE 514), the AEH devices may be configured to energy harvest additional RF signals received (i.e., in addition to the incident reference signals received from the UE 514) in the area to charge any available storage devices on the AEH devices. This additional power may also be utilized to amplify the reflected signals produced by the AEH devices.

[0127] In this example, if additional remote devices (i.e., other UEs and TRPs) are transmitting reference signals to the AEH devices and these reference signals are being partially energy harvested by the AEH devices, the remaining energy harvested may be utilized by the AEH devices for processing (e.g., RSRP or path RSRP computation). As will -45- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO be discussed in further detail, the AEH devices may be configured to utilize energy harvesting techniques that may utilize either time-domain splitting, power-domain splitting, or frequency-domain splitting. Utilizing these techniques, the AEH devices may be able to process the RSRP or path RSRP computations using procedures that include using the remaining energy (in the case of power-domain splitting), remaining instances and / or symbols (in the case of time-domain splitting), or remaining bandwidth in the case of frequency-domain splitting. However, by utilizing these techniques for the remaining energy harvested, the power magnitudes of the resulting response reference signals may again vary and the computed RSRPs and / or path-RSRPs may not be the same causing potential positional errors.As another ex

[0128] ample, the AEH devices may be configured to utilize a constant-receive-energy- harvest-window (also known as a constant-receive-power-window or a constant-receive-EH- window. In this example, the AEH devices are expected to utilize the same power-split for all the reference signals (or the same power time-domain split), or if the power-split is not the same, the power time-domain split and / or power frequency-domain split difference is communicated to a location server of the server 516. Utilizing the constant-receive-EH- window, the AEH devices are configured to energy harvest different received signals (including the incident reference signals) in approximately the same way using the same power-split scheme, time-domain split scheme, or frequency-domain split scheme. In these examples, if the AEH devices are not capable of energy harvesting the received signal in the same way, the differences in the energy-harvesting are reported to the location server of the server 516. As an example, the AEH devices may report the differences in the energy- harvesting to the server 516 via a signal path through the second network 522, third network 524, and first network 518 or via another signal path through the UE 514, base station 520, and first network 518.

[0129] In this example, approximately the same reflected power may be achieved by utilizing the same energy harvesting techniques. In general, the reflected power of the transmitted reflected power may be equal to the total incoming power from all of the incident reference signals (and maybe other RF signals that are received by a specific AEH device) minus the amount of power that is energy harvested by the AEH device. As such, the approximately same reflected power for the transmitted reference signal may be achieved by changing the amount of energy harvesting and adding or removing energy from a storage device (e.g., a battery or capacitive circuit) on the AEH device such that the reflected power -46- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO may be equal to the total incoming power minus the amount of power that is energy harvested plus any power that is added from a storage device on the AEH device. In this example, the power in the storage device may be power that was charged previously.

[0130] As another alternative example, the AEH devices that are not capable of energy harvesting in the same way may also be associated (either explicitly or implicitly) with the transmitted reference signal of the UE 514 (i.e., the received incident reference signal at an AEH device) that are expected to be energy harvested using the same power-split scheme, time-domain split scheme, or frequency-domain split with a same power; or with a power- split scheme, time-domain split scheme, or frequency-domain split difference that is determined and reported to the location server of server 516.

[0131] In this example, the DL PRS, TRS or SSBs may be explicitly or implicitly configured to be processed using the same power-split scheme, time-domain split scheme, or frequency-domain split within a first time of an energy harvesting session, or within a second time from a start of frame, or a time-domain reference point.

[0132] FIG.6 is a system block diagram of an example of an implementation of a UE 600 which may be the UE 514 described previously in relation to FIG.5. The UE 600 may include an SPS receiver 602, at least one transceiver 604, at least one memory 606, at least one processor 608, a bus 610, a first antenna 612, and at least one second antenna 614. The at least one memory 606 may include a machine-readable (e.g., computer-readable) medium having software 616 for producing instructions for the at least one processor 608. In this example, the SPS receiver 602, at least one transceiver 604, at least one memory 606, and at least one processor 608 are in signal communication, via the bus 610. The first antenna 612 may be in signal communication with the SPS receiver 602 and the second antenna 614 may be in signal communication with the at least one transceiver 604.

[0133] The SPS receiver 602 may be configured to receive SPS signals 618 from SPS satellites, via the first antenna 612, for positional determination of the location (e.g., location 538) of the UE 600 and the at least one processor 608 may be configured to, via the at least one transceiver 604 and the at least one second antenna 614, transmit one or more reference signals 620 towards the plurality of AEH devices and receive response reference signals 622 from the plurality of AEH devices.

[0134] FIG.7 is a system block diagram of an example of an implementation of an AEH device 700 which may be, for example, either the first AEH device 502, the second AEH device 504, or the third AEH device 506 described previously in relation to FIG.5. In this -47- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO example, the AEH device 700 may include at least one transceiver 702, at least one memory 704, at least one processor 706, at least one antenna 708, and an optional storage device 710. The at least one memory 704 may include a machine-readable (e.g., computer-readable) medium having software for producing instructions for the at least one processor 706.

[0135] In this example, at least one transceiver 702, at least one memory 704, at least one processor 706, and optional storage device 710 are in signal communication, optionally via a bus. The at least one antenna 708 may be in signal communication with the at least one transceiver 702. The at least one processor 706 may be configured to, via the at least one transceiver 702 and the at least one antenna 708, receive one or more reference signals 620 (i.e., at least one incident reference signal) from a remote device (e.g., UE 600).

[0136] In FIG.8, a system block diagram of an example of an implementation of an AEH device 800 having an energy storage device 802 is shown. In this example, the AEH device 800 may include the energy storage device 802, a switch 804, at least one transceiver 806, at least one antenna 808, an energy harvester 810, and an information decoder 812. The information decoder 812 is a communication system that may be a device, component, or system configured to receive data from the signals 814 received (e.g., first incident reference signal 526, second incident reference signal 528, and third incident reference signal 530, and / or at least one reference signal 620) at the at least one transceiver 806 and produce a response reference signal 816 (e.g., first response reference signal 532, second response reference signal 534, and third response reference signal 536) that is transmitted via the at least one transceiver 806. As an example, the data from the signals 814 may be a sequence of symbols.

[0137] In this example, the information decoder 812 may include at least one memory 818 and at least one processor 820. The energy harvester 810 may be a circuitry, device, component, or system configured to harvest energy from the signals received (i.e., one or more received signals 822) to produce power that may be utilized to power the information decoder 812 and / or charge the energy storage device 802. The energy storage device 802 may be, for example, a battery, capacitive circuit, and / or other storage device.

[0138] Alternatively, the energy harvester 810 and energy storage device 802 may be combined into a single device, component, or system. In this example, the information decoder 812 is a communication system configured to receive the harvest the energy / power to operate the circuitry within the information decoder 812 directly from the received portion of the one or more received signals 822 and the combined energy harvester 810 and energy -48- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO storage device 802 may simply be a storage device that is configured to charge when receiving another portion of the one or more received signals 822 and provide power to the information decoder 812 when needed.

[0139] In these examples, a portion of the provided power from the one or more received signals 822 may be stored in the energy storage device 802 or in the combined energy harvester 810 and energy storage device 802. The resulting stored power may then be utilized for operating the information decoder 812 at a later time when no ambient RF signals are present and / or providing additional power, via the stored power, to the information decoder 812 so as to amplify the magnitude of a transmitted response reference signal 816 that was initially produced with a lower magnitude by the harvested power of the signals 814 received at the at least one transceiver 806.

[0140] In general, the AEH device 800 is configured to harvest energy from the signals 814 received at the at least one transceiver 806 for a first time duration to energize the circuitry of the information decoder 812 and / or charge the energy storage device 802; and process any data in the signals 814 received at the at least one transceiver 806 within the first time duration. The AEH device 800 is then configured to transmit the response reference signal 816 in a second time duration after the first time duration.

[0141] In this example, the AEH device 800 may be configured to operate utilizing a time- switching RF energy harvesting scheme that employs a time-switching architecture to switch between operating as an information receiver or an RF energy harvester with the switch 804. As an example, the energy harvested (Ej) by the energy harvester 810 may be from a source (e.g., a remote device) having a transmitted power (Pi), where the energy harvested may bedetermined utilizing the following relationship:^^ = ^^^^ ^^ �� ^^^^,

[0142] where a is the fraction of time allocated for energy harvesting by the switch 804, T is the a period of time, Pi is the power transmitted from the remote device, Ej is the energy harvested with the energy harvester 810, gi-jis the gain from the remote device, and h is an efficiency factor value (between 0 and 1) of how efficient the system is in energy harvesting. In general, in a perfect example, if the incident energy is ^^�^^�^^^^, then all of the energy would be harvested but in practice there are losses that are captured by the h. In this example, a may be greater or equal to 0 and less than or equal to 1. Letting k and W represent the noise spectral density and channel bandwidth, the data rate (Ri-j) of the AEH device 800 may be determined utilizing the following relationship: -49- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO �.

[0143] The energy harvester 810 may harvest energy for a first time equal to a T from the one or more received signals 822 and the information decoder 812 may utilize one or more received signals 822 for a second time equal to (1-a)T for processing information data received via the one or more received signals 822.

[0144] In this example, the AEH device 800 may perform a process that includes receiving an incident reference signal from the signals 814 received at the at least one transceiver 806 to produce the one or more received signals 822 that are provided to either the energy harvester 810 or information decoder 812 via the switch 804. The process then includes harvesting power Ej from the incident reference signal (via the one or more received signals 822) within the first time duration (i.e., first time a T) and producing the response reference signal within a second time duration (i.e., second time (1-a)T) that is after the first time duration.

[0145] In this example, the energy harvester 810 may provide a first portion 824 of the power harvested from the energy from the one or more received signals 822 to power the circuitry of the information decoder 812, a second portion 826 of the power harvested from the energy from the one or more received signals 822 to charge the energy storage device 802, or both. The energy storage device 802 individually, or in combination with the energy harvester 810, information decoder 812, or both, may also be configured provide stored power 828 to the information decoder 812 to optionally amplify the magnitude of the response reference signal.

[0146] In FIG.9, a system block diagram of an example of another implementation of an AEH device 900 having an energy storage device 902 is shown. In this example, the AEH device 900 may include the energy storage device 902, a power divider 904, at least one transceiver 906, at least one antenna 908, an energy harvester 910, and an information decoder 912. The information decoder 912 is a device, component, or system configured to receive data from the signals 814 received (e.g., first incident reference signal 526, second incident reference signal 528, and third incident reference signal 530, and / or at least one reference signal 620) at the at least one transceiver 906 and produce a response reference signal 816 (e.g., first response reference signal 532, second response reference signal 534, and third response reference signal 536) that is transmitted via the at least one transceiver 906. In this example, the information decoder 912 may include at least one memory 918 and -50- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO at least one processor 920. The energy harvester 910 may be a circuitry, device, component, or system configured to harvest energy from the signals received (i.e., one or more received signals 922) to produce power that may be utilized to power the information decoder 912 and / or charge the energy storage device 902. The energy storage device 902 may be, for example, a battery, capacitive circuit, and / or other storage device.

[0147] Alternatively, the energy harvester 910 and energy storage device 902 may be combined into one device or component. In this example, the information decoder 912 is configured to receive the power to operate the circuitry within the information decoder 912 directly from the portion of the one or more received signals 922 and the combined energy harvester 910 and energy storage device 902 may simply be a storage device configured to charge when a receiving another portion of the one or more received signals 922 and provide power to the information decoder 912 when needed.

[0148] In this example, the AEH device 900 may be configured to operate utilizing a power-splitting RF energy harvesting scheme that employs a power-splitting architecture to split the power of the received one or more received signals 922 between information decoder 912 and the energy harvester 910. As an example, the energy harvested (Ej) by the energy harvester 910 may be from the source (e.g., a remote device) having a transmitted power (Pi),where the energy harvested may be determined utilizing the following relationship:^^ = ^^^^^ �� ^^^ ^^,where r is the fraction of power allocated for energy harvesting by the power divider 904, T is the a period of time, Pi is the power transmitted from the remote device, Ej is the energy harvested with the energy harvester 810, gi-j is the gain from the remote device, h is an efficiency value (between 0 and 1) of how efficient the system is in energy harvesting.

[0149] In this example, r may be greater or equal to 0 and less than or equal to 1. Letting k and W represent the noise spectral density and channel bandwidth, the data rate (Ri-j) of theAEH device 800 may be determined utilizing the following relationship:�^^ �� � (1 − ^^)^^^^ = ^^^^^^1 + �^^^^ �.

[0150] The energy time duration from a first portion of the one or moredecoder 912 may utilize a second portion of the one or more received signals 922 to process information data received via the one or more received signals 922. At the end of the first time duration, the energy harvester 910 may stop harvesting energy because the information decoder 912 and at least -51- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO one transceiver may be configured to transmit one or more response reference signals in a second time duration. In this example, the energy harvester 910 may be configured supply a first portion 924 of the power harvested to the information decoder 912 and to store a second portion 926 of the power harvested by the energy harvester 910 in the energy storage device 902 within the first time duration. Alternatively, the information decoder 912 may utilize the power from received portion of the one or more received signals 922 directly to power the circuity within the information decoder 912. The information decoder 912 may then produce the response reference signal by utilizing a difference between the power harvested from the incident reference signal (i.e., the first portion 924) and the first portion (i.e., second portion 926) of the power harvested that is stored in the energy storage device 902.

[0151] In this example, the energy harvester 910 may provide a first portion 924 of the power harvested from the energy from the one or more received signals 922 to power the circuitry of the information decoder 912, a second portion 926 of the power harvested from the energy from the one or more received signals 922 to charge the energy storage device 902, or both. The energy storage device 902 individually, or in combination with the energy harvester 910, information decoder 912, or both, may also be configured provide stored power 928 to the information decoder 912 to optionally amplify the magnitude of the response reference signal.

[0152] In FIG.10, a system block diagram of an example of another implementation of an AEH device 1000 having an energy storage device 1002 is shown. In this example, the AEH device 1000 may include the energy storage device 1002, a frequency filter 1004, at least one transceiver 1006, at least one antenna 1008, an energy harvester 1010, and an information decoder 1012. The information decoder 1012 is a device, component, or system configured to receive data from the signals 814 received (e.g., first incident reference signal 526, second incident reference signal 528, and third incident reference signal 530, and / or at least one reference signal 620) at the at least one transceiver 1006 and produce a response reference signal 816 (e.g., first response reference signal 532, second response reference signal 534, and third response reference signal 536) that is transmitted via the at least one transceiver 1006. In this example, the information decoder 1012 may include at least one memory 1018 and at least one processor 1020. The energy harvester 1010 may be a circuitry, device, component, or system configured to harvest energy from the signals received (i.e., one or more received signals 1022) to produce power that may be utilized to power the information -52- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO decoder 1012 and / or charge the energy storage device 1002. The energy storage device 1002 may be, for example, a battery, capacitive circuit, and / or other storage device.

[0153] Alternatively, the energy harvester 1010 and energy storage device 1002 may be combined into one device or component. In this example, the information decoder 1012 is configured to receive the power to operate the circuitry within the information decoder 1012 directly from the portion of the one or more received signals 1022 and the combined energy harvester 1010 and energy storage device 1002 may simply be a storage device configured to charge when a receiving another portion of the one or more received signals 1022 and provide power to the information decoder 1012 when needed.

[0154] In this example, the AEH device 1000 may be configured to operate utilizing a frequency-splitting RF energy harvesting scheme that employs a frequency-splitting architecture (i.e., the frequency filter 1004) to split the power of the received one or more received signals 1022 between information decoder 1012 and the energy harvester 1010.

[0155] The energy harvester 1010 may harvest energy for a first time duration from a first portion of the one or more received signals 1022 and the information decoder 1012 may utilize a second portion of the one or more received signals 1022 to process information data received via the one or more received signals 1022. At the end of the first time duration, the energy harvester 1010 may stop harvesting energy because the information decoder 1012 and at least one transceiver may be configured to transmit one or more response reference signals in a second time duration. In this example, the energy harvester 1010 may be configured supply a first portion 1024 of the power harvested to the information decoder 1012 and to store a second portion 1026 of the power harvested by the energy harvester 1010 in the energy storage device 1002 within the first time duration. Alternatively, the information decoder 1012 may utilize the power from received portion of the one or more received signals 1022 directly to power the circuity within the information decoder 1012. The information decoder 1012 may then produce the response reference signal by utilizing a difference between the power harvested from the incident reference signal (i.e., the first portion 1024) and the first portion (i.e., second portion 1026) of the power harvested that is stored in the energy storage device 1002.

[0156] In this example, the energy harvester 1010 may provide a first portion 1024 of the power harvested from the energy from the one or more received signals 1022 to power the circuitry of the information decoder 1012, a second portion 1026 of the power harvested from the energy from the one or more received signals 1022 to charge the energy storage device -53- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO 1002, or both. The energy storage device 1002 individually, or in combination with the energy harvester 1010, information decoder 1012, or both, may also be configured provide stored power 1028 to the information decoder 1012 to optionally amplify the magnitude of the response reference signal.

[0157] FIG.11 is a system block diagram of an example of an implementation of an AEH device 1100 receiving multiple reference signals from a plurality of UEs and a TRP 1102. In this example, the AEH device 1100 may receive a first incident reference signal 1104 from the TRP 1102, a second incident reference signal 1106 from a first UE 1108, and a third incident reference signal 1110 from a second UE 1112. The AEH device 1100 may be positioned at a location 1114, the first UE 1108 may be positioned at a location 1116, the second UE 1112 may be positioned at a location 1118, and the TRP 1102 may be positioned at a location 1120. In this example, the AEH device 1100 may be configured to energy harvest the energy of all of the RF energy from the first incident reference signal 1104, second incident reference signal 1106, and third incident reference signal 1110. Further, the AEH device 1100 may also be configured to energy harvest any other received RF signals from other RF sources such as, for example, other UEs or TRPs not shown but present in an area about the AEH device 1100.

[0158] In response to receiving the first incident reference signal 1104, second incident reference signal 1106, and / or third incident reference signal 1110, the AEH device 1100 may energy harvest the received signals and produce and transmit reflected first response reference signal 1122, second response reference signal 1122, and third response reference signal 1125 to the TRP 1102, the first UE 1108, and second UE 1112, respectively.

[0159] In an example of operation, the AEH device 1100 is configured to receive an incident reference signal (i.e., the first incident reference signal 1104, second incident reference signal 1106, and third incident reference signal 1110) from a remote device such, as for example, the TRP 1102, first UE 1108, or second UE 1112 and harvesting power from the incident reference signal, or signals, within a first time duration.

[0160] If the AEH device 1100 is a device that utilizes a time-domain splitting scheme that includes a switch (e.g., switch 804), the first time duration is the time that the switch (e.g., a T described in relation to FIG.8) is set to charging an energy storage device (e.g., energy storage device 802). As described previously, this first time duration may be part of a configured constant-receive-EH-window for the AEH device 1100. After the first time duration, the switch may be switched to receiving the incident reference signal(s). The AEH -54- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO device 1100 is then configured to power the circuitry of the AEH device 1100, process the information / data of the incident reference signal(s), and produce one or more response reference signals utilizing the power harvested from the incident reference signal(s). The AEH device 1100 is then configured to transmit the response reference signal within a second time duration after the first time duration, where the response reference signal has a constant predefined power level. In this example, the second time duration is a time that may also be configured by the constant-receive-EH-window, where the second time duration may be a predefined amount of time after the first time duration. Utilizing this technique, a location server (e.g., of server 516) may have knowledge of the constant-receive-EH-window for the AEH device 1100 and may provide that information to the TRP 1102, first UE 1108, and second UE 1112 to assist in those remote devices being able to properly receive the response reference signals from the AEH device 1100. In this example, the AEH device 1100 may be configured to power the circuitry of the AEH device 1100, process the information / data of the incident reference signal(s), and produce one or more response reference signals utilizing the power harvested from the incident reference signal(s) within a third time duration that is after the first time duration and before the second time duration. By utilizing any power stored (from prior energy harvesting sessions and / or from additional energy harvested from other received RF signals) in the AEH device 1100, additional power may be utilized to produce and transmit the response reference signals within a predefined constant power level defined by the constant-reflection-power window described previously.

[0161] If, instead, the AEH device 1100 is a device that utilizes either a power or frequency splitting scheme (as previously described in relation to FIGS.9 and 10) that includes either a power splitter (e.g., power divider 904) or a frequency splitter (e.g., frequency filter 1004), the first time duration may be the time that is set to charging an energy storage device (e.g., energy storage device 902 or 1002) before receiving and processing the received reference signal(s), and transmitting the response reference signal(s). Since in these examples, the power from the received RF signals at AEH device 1100 is used to both charge the energy storage device (e.g., energy storage device 902 or energy storage device 1002) and power the circuitry (e.g., information decoder 912 or information decoder 1012) at the simultaneously, there is no need for additional time beyond the first time duration to initially power the circuitry of the AEH device 1100, process the received reference signal(s), and produce the corresponding response reference signal(s). In these examples, the constant-receive-EH- window may be utilized to define when the circuitry in the AEH device 1100 should harvest -55- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO enough energy within the first time duration to provide for the possible amplification power to transmit the response reference signal(s) within the second time duration with enough power to be within the constant predefined power level (i.e., within the constant-reflection- power window) such that the remote devices can properly receive the response reference signal(s) and determine the location 1114 for the AEH device 1100, where the response reference signal(s) may include, for example, RSRP or path RSRP values for the AEH device 1100.

[0162] FIG.12 is a system block diagram of an example of an implementation of a plurality of AEH devices within an area 1200 for determining the location 1201 of a UE 1202. In this example, sixteen (16) AEH devices 1204, 1206, 1208, 1210, 1212, 1214, 1216, 1218, 1220, 1222, 1224, 1226, 1228, 1230, 1232, and 1234 are located at various locations (e.g., at locations (x0, y0), (x1, y1), (x1, y1), (x2, y2), (x3, y3), (x4, y4), (x5, y5), (x6, y6), (x7, y7), (x8, y8), (x9, y9), (x10, y10), (x11, y11), (x12, y12), (x13, y13), (x14, y14), and (x15, y15). In this example, it is assumed that the locations of the various AEH devices are known to a location server (e.g., server 516).

[0163] In an example of operation, when the UE 1202 transmits a reference signal towards 1236 a plurality of AEH devices, the receiving AEH devices receive the reference signal and reflect back the transmitted reference signal as response reference signals to the UE 1202, the UE 1202 then receives the response reference signals and determines its location 1201 from the response reference signals. In this example, if the area 1200 is small enough, all of the AEH devices are capable of receiving the transmitted reference signal from the UE 1202 and produce and transmit back response reference signals having, for example, RSRP values that are shown as RSRP0through RSPR15for corresponding AEH devices 1204 through 1234, respectively. As an example, the area 1200 may be an area that is, for example, 20 meters by 20 meters and RSRP value for each AEH device may be measured by the UE 1202.

[0164] In this example, a weighting function may be calculated for the corresponding RSRP values to help determine the location of the UE 1202. The weighting function (w) maybe defined as^^^^^^^^^^ �,��,� =∑9 ^^^^^^^^ ,�:; �,�

[0165] where K is equal to the device (e.g., K=16), k is the iteration between 1 and K, i isAEH device (i.e., 0 to 15), and RSRPi is the corresponding RSPR for each AEH device (i.e., RSPR0 through RSPR15). Utilizing the weight function, the UE 1202 may determine which received RSPR values are -56- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO useful in determining the location 1201 of the UE 1202. As an example, utilizing the weighting function, the UE 1202 may determine that AEH device 1206 at location (x1, y1) with RSRP1, AEH device 1208 at location (x2, y2) with RSRP2, and AEH device 1214 at location (x5, y5) with RSRP5are the closest to the UE 1202 and should be used in calculating the 1201 of the UE 1202.

[0166] FIG.13 is a block diagram of an example of an implementation of a constant- receive-EH-window 1300 for a time-domain energy harvesting scheme along time 1302. As described previously, the constant-receive-EH-window 1300 may include an energy harvesting session 1304, a reception and / or processing session 1306, and transmission session 1308. The energy harvesting session 1306 has a first time duration 1312 with a start time 1314 and a stop time 1316, the transmission session 1310 has a second time duration 1318 with a start time 1320 and a stop time 1322, and the reception and / or processing session 1306 has a third time duration 1324 with a start time 1326 and a stop time 1328. The constant- receive-EH-window 1300 may have a window time duration 1330 with a start time 1332 and stop time 1334. In general, the start time 1314 of the energy harvesting session 1306 may be equal to or after the start time 1332 of the constant-receive-EH-window 1300 and the stop time 1322 of the transmission session 1310 may be equal to or less than the stop time 1334 of the constant-receive-EH-window 1300. As described previously, the energy harvesting session 1306 is when the AEH device is charging the energy storage device for the first time duration 1312. The time after the energy harvesting session 1306 includes at least the second time duration 1318 for the transmission session 1310. The third time duration 1324 for the reception and / or processing session 1306 is optional in that reception and / or processing session 1306 may be performed within the second time duration 1318. In this example, it is assumed that the reception and / or processing session 1306 starts (i.e., start time 1326) at approximately the same time, or within a short amount of time, as the stop time 1316 of the energy harvesting session 1306. Likewise, it is assumed that the transmission session 1308 starts (i.e., start time 1320) at approximately the same time, or within a short amount of time, as the stop time 1328 of the reception and / or processing session 1306.

[0167] FIG.14 is a block diagram of an example of an implementation of a constant- receive-EH-window 1400 for a power-splitting or frequency-splitting energy harvesting scheme along time 1402. As described previously, the constant-receive-EH-window 1400 may include an energy harvesting session 1404, a reception and / or processing session 1406, and transmission session 1408. The energy harvesting session 1406 and reception and / or -57- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO processing session 1406 have a first time duration 1410 with a start time 1412 and a stop time 1414, and the transmission session 1408 has a second time duration 1416 with a start time 1418 and a stop time 1420. The constant-receive-EH-window 1400 may have a window time duration 1422 with a start time 1424 and stop time 1426. In general, the start time 1412 of the energy harvesting session 1404 may be equal to or after the start time 1424 of the constant-receive-EH-window 1400 and the stop time 1420 of the transmission session 1408 may be equal to or less than the stop time 1426 of the constant-receive-EH-window 1400.

[0168] As described previously, the energy harvesting session 1404 is when the AEH device is charging the energy storage device for the first time duration 1410. The time after the energy harvesting session 1404 includes at least the second time duration 1416 for the transmission session 1408. In this example, there is no third time duration for the reception and / or processing session 1406 because the reception and / or processing session 1406 happens within the same first time duration 1410 of the energy harvesting session 1404. In this example, it is assumed that the transmission session 1408 starts (i.e., start time 1418) at approximately the same time, or within a short amount of time, as the stop time 1414 of the energy harvesting session 1404 and / or reception and / or processing session 1406.

[0169] FIG.15 is a flowchart of an example of an implementation of a method 1500 for determining a location (e.g., either first location 508, second location 510, or third location 512) of an AEH device. The method 1500 may comprise: at stage 1502, receiving, with at least one transceiver (e.g., at least one transceiver 702), an incident reference signal (e.g., first incident reference signal 526, second incident reference signal 528, or third incident reference signal 530) from a remote device (e.g., UE 514); at stage 1504, harvesting power from the incident reference signal within a first time duration; at stage 1506, producing a first response reference signal (e.g., first response reference signal 532, second response reference signal 534, or third response reference signal 536) and a second response reference signal (e.g., second response reference signal 533) from the power harvested from the incident reference signal; at stage 1508, transmitting the first response reference signal within a second time duration after the first time duration; and, at stage 1510, transmitting the second response reference signal at a third time after the second time duration, where the first response reference signal has a first power level, the second response reference signal has a second power level, and the first power level and second power level are within a predefined range of power levels. -58- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO

[0170] The at least one transceiver 702, possibly in combination with the at least one processor 706, at least one memory 704, may comprise means for receiving an incident reference signal from a remote device. The at least one processor 706, possibly in combination with the at least one memory 704 may comprise means for harvesting power from the incident reference signal within a first time duration and means for producing a first response reference signal and second response reference signal from the power harvested from the incident reference signal. The at least one transceiver 702, possibly in combination with the at least one processor 706, at least one memory 704, or both, may comprise means for transmitting the first response reference signal within a second time duration after the first time duration and transmitting the second response reference signal within the third time after the second time duration.

[0171] FIG.16 is a flowchart of an example of an implementation of a method 1600 for determining a location (e.g., location 538) of a remote device (e.g., UE 514). The method 1600 may comprise: at stage 1502, transmitting, with at least one transceiver, a transmitted reference signal towards (e.g., first incident reference signal 526, second incident reference signal 528, or third incident reference signal 530) a plurality of AEH devices (e.g., first AEH device 502, second AEH device 504, or third AEH device 506); at stage 1504, receiving a first response reference signal (e.g., first response reference signal 532) having a first power level from a first AEH device (e.g., first AEH device 502) within a predefined first time duration; at stage 1606, receiving at least a second response reference signal (e.g., second response reference signal 534) having a second power level from a second AEH device (e.g., second AEH device 504) within a predefined second time duration; and, at stage 1608, determining the location (e.g., location 538) of the remote device from the first response reference signal and the at least second response reference signal, where the first response reference signal and at least second response reference signal are each related to the transmitted reference signal and the first power level and the second power level are within a predefined range of power levels.

[0172] The at least one transceiver 604, possibly in combination with the at least one processor 608, at least one memory 606, may comprise means for transmitting a transmitted reference signal towards a plurality of AEH devices; means for receiving a first response reference signal having a constant first predefined power level from a first AEH device within a predefined first time duration; and means for receiving the at least second response reference signal having a second predefined power level from a second AEH device within a -59- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO predefined second time duration. The at least one processor 608, possibly in combination with the at least one memory 606 and software 616 may comprise means determining the location of the remote device from the first response reference signal and at least second response reference signal. Implementation examples

[0173] Implementation examples are provided in the following numbered clauses.

[0174] Clause 1. A method for determining a location of an ambient energy harvesting (EH) device, the method comprising: receiving, with at least one transceiver, an incident reference signal from a remote device; harvesting power from the incident reference signal within a first time duration; producing a response reference signal from the power harvested from the incident reference signal; and transmitting the response reference signal within a second time duration after the first time duration, wherein the response reference signal has a predefined power level.

[0175] Clause 2. The method of clause 1, wherein the predefined power level is a predefined range of power levels is known to the remote device.

[0176] Clause 3. The method of clause 2, further comprising transmitting the predefined range of power levels to a server, whereby the server is configured to transmit the predefined range of power levels to the remote device.

[0177] Clause 4. The method of clause 2, further comprising producing a second response reference signal from the power harvested from the incident reference signal; and transmitting the second response reference signal at a third time after the second time duration, wherein the second response reference signal has a second power level that is within the predefined range of power levels.

[0178] Clause 5. The method of clause 4, wherein the second power level is approximately equal to the predefined power level.

[0179] Clause 6. The method of clause 4, wherein the second power level is not equal to the predefined power level, and transmitting the predefined range of power levels includes transmitting a difference in power amount that is equal to a difference the second power level and the difference in power amount.

[0180] Clause 7. The method of clause 6, further comprising transmitting a message to a server that includes the difference in power amount. -60- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO

[0181] Clause 8. The method of clause 6, further comprising: receiving a third response reference signal from another ambient EH device; and producing the response reference signal includes configuring from the third response reference signal an association of the response reference signal to the other ambient EH device, wherein the predefined power level is determined based on the association of the response reference signal to the third response reference signal.

[0182] Clause 9. The method of clause 1, wherein the predefined power level of the response reference signal has a first constant power level that is within a predefined margin of a received power level of the incident reference signal.

[0183] Clause 10. The method of clause 9, further comprising transmitting a message to a server that includes the predefined power level of the response reference signal, wherein the predefined power level is below a predefined margin of a received power level of the incident reference signal, whereby the server is configured to transmit the predefined range of power levels to the remote server.

[0184] Clause 11. The method of clause 1, further comprising producing a second response reference signal from the power harvested from the incident reference signal; and transmitting the second response reference signal at a third time after the second time duration, wherein the second response reference signal has a second power level that is approximately equal to the predefined power level.

[0185] Clause 12. The method of clause 1, further comprising either: storing a first portion of the power harvested in a storage device, wherein producing the response reference signal includes utilizing a difference in power between the power harvested and the first portion of the power harvested that is stored in the storage device; or storing a first portion of the power harvested in a storage device, wherein the storage device has an initial stored power, and producing the response reference signal includes utilizing a combination of a difference between the power harvested from the incident reference signal and the first portion of the power harvested that is stored in the storage device, and a second portion of the initial stored power.

[0186] Clause 13. The method of clause 12, wherein the second portion of the initial stored power is approximately equal to the initial stored power stored in the storage device.

[0187] Clause 14. The method of clause 12, wherein the predefined power level is greater or equal to a received power level of the incident reference signal. -61- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO

[0188] Clause 15. The method of clause 1, wherein receiving the incident reference signal comprises either: switching between harvesting power from the incident reference signal within the first time duration and producing the response reference signal within a third time duration that is after the first time duration and before the second time duration; or splitting a first fraction of the power harvested from the incident reference signal, storing the first fraction of the power harvested in a storage device within the first time duration, wherein producing the response reference signal includes utilizing a second fraction of the power harvested from the incident reference signal, and a combination of the first fraction of the power harvested and second fraction of the power harvested is approximately equal to a total power harvested from the incident reference signal.

[0189] Clause 16. The method of clause 15, further comprises either: storing a first portion of the power harvested in a storage device within the first time duration, wherein producing the response reference signal includes utilizing a difference between the power harvested from the incident reference signal and the first portion of the power harvested that is stored in the storage device; or storing a first portion of the power harvested in a storage device within the first time duration, wherein producing the response reference signal includes utilizing a combination of a difference between the power harvested from the incident reference signal and the first portion of the power harvested that is stored in the storage device, and a second portion of an initial power stored within the storage device.

[0190] Clause 17. The method of clause 16, wherein splitting the first fraction of the power harvested from the incident reference signal includes either: power splitting the first fraction of the power harvested from the second fraction of the power harvested utilizing a power splitter; or splitting the first fraction of the power harvested from the incident reference signal includes frequency splitting the first fraction of the power harvested from the second fraction of the power harvested utilizing a frequency filter, the incident reference signal includes a frequency band, the first fraction of the power harvested corresponds to a first sub- frequency band of the frequency band, and the second fraction of the power harvested corresponds to a second sub-frequency band of the frequency band.

[0191] Clause 18. The method of clause 17, wherein utilizing the power harvested from the incident reference signal to produce the response reference signal includes utilizing a combination of the second fraction of the power harvested and the first fraction of the power harvested, or a combination of the second fraction of the power harvested, the first fraction of the power harvested, and an initial power stored within the storage device. -62- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO

[0192] Clause 19. The method of clause 18, wherein a second portion of the initial power stored is approximately equal to the initial power stored within the storage device.

[0193] Clause 20. The method of clause 18, wherein the predefined power level is greater or equal to a received power level of the incident reference signal.

[0194] Clause 21. The method of clause 1, further comprising: receiving a second incident reference signal from the remote device; harvesting power from the second incident reference signal at a third time after the second time duration; producing a second response reference signal from the power harvested from the second incident reference signal; and transmitting the second response reference signal at a fourth time after the third time, wherein the second response reference signal has a second power level that is within a predefined range of power levels, wherein receiving the incident reference signal comprises a first power split that includes either: switching between harvesting power from the incident reference signal within the first time duration and producing the response reference signal within a third time duration that is after the first time duration and before the second time duration; or splitting a first fraction of the power harvested from the incident reference signal, storing the first fraction of the power harvested in a storage device within the first time duration, wherein producing the response reference signal includes utilizing a second fraction of the power harvested from the incident reference signal, and a combination of the first fraction of the power harvested and second fraction of the power harvested is approximately equal to a total power harvested from the incident reference signal, and receiving the second incident reference signal comprises a second first power split that includes either: switching between harvesting power from the second incident reference signal and producing the second response reference signal; or splitting a third fraction of the power harvested from the second incident reference signal, storing the second fraction of the power harvested in the storage device.

[0195] Clause 22. The method of clause 21, wherein the second power split is approximately equal to the first power split.

[0196] Clause 23. The method of clause 22, wherein the second power split is different than the first power split, and the difference between the first power split and second power split is known to the remote device.

[0197] Clause 24. The method of clause 23, further comprising transmitting the difference between the first power split and second power split to a server, whereby the -63- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO server is configured to transmit the difference between the first power split and second power split the remote device.

[0198] Clause 25. The method of clause 24, further comprising transmitting a message to a server that includes the difference between the first power split and second power split.

[0199] Clause 26. The method of clause 24, further comprising: receiving a third response reference signal from another ambient EH device; and producing the response reference signal includes configuring from the third response reference signal an association of the response reference signal to the other ambient EH device, wherein the difference between the first power split and second power split is determined based on the association of the response reference signal to the third response reference signal.

[0200] Clause 27. An ambient energy harvesting (EH) device comprising: at least one transceiver; at least one memory; at least one processor, in signal communication with the at least one transceiver, and the at least one memory, the at least one processor configured to: receive, with the at least one transceiver, an incident reference signal from a remote device; harvest power from the incident reference signal within a first time duration; produce a response reference signal from the power harvested from the incident reference signal; and transmit the response reference signal within a second time duration after the first time duration, wherein the response reference signal has a predefined power level.

[0201] Clause 28. An ambient energy harvesting (EH) device comprising: at least one transceiver; at least one memory; at least one processor, in signal communication with the at least one transceiver, and the at least one memory, the at least one processor configured to: receive, with the at least one transceiver, an incident reference signal from a remote device; harvest power from the incident reference signal within a first time duration; produce a response reference signal from the power harvested from the incident reference signal; and transmit the response reference signal within a second time duration after the first time duration, wherein the response reference signal has a predefined power level.

[0202] Clause 29. The ambient EH device of clause 28, wherein the predefined power level is a power level of a predefined range of power levels that is known to the remote device.

[0203] Clause 30. The ambient EH device of clause 29, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to transmit the predefined range of power levels to a server, whereby the server is configured to transmit the predefined range of power levels to the remote device. -64- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO

[0204] Clause 31. The ambient EH device of clause 29, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to produce a second response reference signal from the power harvested from the incident reference signal; and transmit the second response reference signal at a third time after the second time duration, wherein the second response reference signal has a second power level that is within the predefined range of power levels.

[0205] Clause 32. The ambient EH device of clause 31, wherein the second power level is approximately equal to the predefined power level.

[0206] Clause 33. The ambient EH device of clause 31, wherein the second power level is not equal to the predefined power level, and the at least one processor is configured to transmit the predefined range of power levels by being further being configured to transmit a difference in a power amount that is equal to a difference between the second power level and the predefined power level.

[0207] Clause 34. The ambient EH device of clause 31, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive a third response reference signal from another ambient EH device; and the at least one processor is configured to produce the response reference signal by further being configured to configure an association of the response reference signal to the other ambient EH device from the third response reference signal, and the at least one processor is further configured to determine the predefined power level based on the association of the response reference signal to the third response reference signal.

[0208] Clause 35. The ambient EH device of clause 28, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to produce a second response reference signal from the power harvested from the incident reference signal; and transmit the second response reference signal at a third time after the second time duration, wherein the second response reference signal has a second power level that is approximately equal to the predefined power level.

[0209] Clause 36. The ambient EH device of clause 28, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive the incident reference signal by being configured to either: switch between being configured to harvest power from the incident reference signal within the first time duration and being configured to produce the response reference signal within a third time duration that is after the first time duration and before the second time duration; or split a first fraction of the power harvested from the incident reference signal, store the first fraction of the power harvested in a storage device within the first time duration, wherein the at least one processor is configured to produce the response reference signal based on a second fraction of the power harvested from the incident reference signal, and wherein a -65- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO combination of the first fraction of the power harvested and second fraction of the power harvested is approximately equal to a total power harvested from the incident reference signal.

[0210] Clause 37. The ambient EH device of clause 36, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to either: store a first portion of the power harvested in a storage device within the first time duration, wherein the at least one processor is configured to produce the response reference signal based on a difference between the power harvested from the incident reference signal and the first portion of the power harvested that is stored in the storage device; or store a first portion of the power harvested in a storage device within the first time duration, wherein the at least one processor is configured to produce the response reference signal based on a combination of a difference between the power harvested from the incident reference signal and the first portion of the power harvested that is stored in the storage device, and a second portion of an initial power stored within the storage device.

[0211] Clause 38. The ambient EH device of clause 37, wherein the at least one processor is configured to split the first fraction of the power harvested from the incident reference signal by being either: configured to power split the first fraction of the power harvested from the second fraction of the power harvested based on a power splitter; or configured to split the first fraction of the power harvested from the incident reference signal by being configured to frequency split the first fraction of the power harvested from the second fraction of the power harvested based on a frequency filter, the incident reference signal includes a frequency band, the first fraction of the power harvested corresponds to a first sub- frequency band of the frequency band, and the second fraction of the power harvested corresponds to a second sub-frequency band of the frequency band.

[0212] Clause 39. The ambient EH device of clause 28, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: receive a second incident reference signal from the remote device; harvest power from the second incident reference signal at a third time after the second time duration; produce a second response reference signal from the power harvested from the second incident reference signal; and transmit the second response reference signal at a fourth time after the third time, wherein the second response reference signal has a second power level that is within a predefined range of power levels, the at least one processor is configured to harvest power from the incident reference signal by further being configured to perform a first power splitting of the incident reference signal to produce a first fraction of the power harvested form the incident signal, harvest power from the second incident reference by -66- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO further being configured to perform a second power splitting of the second incident reference signal to produce a first fraction of the power harvested form the second incident signal, produce the response reference signal by further being configured to produce the response reference signal from the power harvested from the first fraction of the power harvested form the incident signal, and produce the second response reference signal by further being configured to produce the second response reference signal from the power harvested from the first fraction of the power harvested form the second incident signal.

[0213] Clause 40. The ambient EH device of clause 39, wherein the second power splitting is different than the first power splitting, and the difference between the second power splitting and first power splitting is known to the remote device.

[0214] Clause 41. The ambient EH device of clause 40, the at least one processor is further configured to receive a third response reference signal from another ambient EH device, and produce the response reference signal by further being configured to configure an association of the response reference signal to the other ambient EH device from the third response reference signal, wherein the difference between the second power splitting and second power splitting is determined based on the association of the response reference signal to the third response reference signal.

[0215] Clause 41. An ambient energy harvesting (EH) device comprising: means for receiving an incident reference signal from a remote device; means for harvesting power from the incident reference signal within a first time duration; means for producing a response reference signal from the power harvested from the incident reference signal; and means for transmitting the response reference signal within a second time duration after the first time duration, wherein the response reference signal has a predefined power level.

[0216] Clause 42. A method for determining a location of a remote device, the method comprising: transmitting, with at least one transceiver, a transmitted reference signal towards a plurality of ambient energy harvesting (EH) devices; receiving a first response reference signal having a first predefined power level from a first ambient EH device within a predefined first time duration; receiving at least a second response reference signal having a second predefined power level from a second ambient EH device within a predefined second time duration; and determining the location of the remote device from the first response reference signal and at least second response reference signal, wherein the first response reference signal and the at least second response reference signal are each related to the transmitted reference signal. -67- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO

[0217] Clause 43. A method for determining a location of an ambient energy harvesting (EH) device, the method comprising: receiving, with at least one transceiver, an incident reference signal from a remote device; harvesting power from the incident reference signal within a first time duration; producing a first response reference signal and a second response reference signal from the power harvested from the incident reference signal; and transmitting the first response reference signal within a second time duration after the first time duration; and transmitting the second response reference signal at a third time after the second time duration, wherein the first response reference signal has a first power level, the second response reference signal has a second power level, and the first power level and the second power level are within a predefined range of power levels.

[0218] Clause 44. The method of clause 43, wherein the predefined range of power levels is known to a remote entity.

[0219] Clause 45. The method of clause 44, further comprising transmitting the predefined range of power levels to another remote entity.

[0220] Clause 46. The method of clause 43, wherein the second power level is equal to the first power level.

[0221] Clause 47. The method of clause 43, wherein the second power level and the first power level are each equal to a predefined power margin of the predefined range of power levels.

[0222] Clause 48. The method of clause 47, further comprising transmitting the predefined range of power levels to a remote entity including a difference in power between the first power level and the second power level.

[0223] Clause 49. The method of clause 47, further comprising: receiving a third response reference signal from a second ambient EH device; and producing the first response reference signal includes configuring an association of the first response reference signal to the second ambient EH device from the third response reference signal, wherein the first power level is determined based on the association of the first response reference signal to the third response reference signal.

[0224] Clause 50. The method of clause 43, wherein receiving the incident reference signal comprises either: switching between harvesting power from the incident reference signal within the first time duration and producing the first response reference signal within the third time duration that is after the first time duration and before the second time duration; or splitting a first fraction of the power harvested from the incident reference signal, storing -68- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO the first fraction of the power harvested in a storage device within the first time duration, wherein producing the first response reference signal is based on a second fraction of the power harvested from the incident reference signal, and a combination of the first fraction of the power harvested and the second fraction of the power harvested is equal to a total power harvested from the incident reference signal within a predefined power margin.

[0225] Clause 51. The method of clause 50, further comprises either: storing, in the storage device, a first portion of the power harvested within the first time duration, wherein producing the first response reference signal is based on a difference between the power harvested from the incident reference signal, and the first portion of the power harvested that is stored in the storage device; or storing, in the storage device, the first portion of the power harvested within the first time duration, wherein producing the first response reference signal is based on a combination of a difference between the power harvested from the incident reference signal and the first portion of the power harvested that is stored in the storage device, and a second portion of an initial power is stored within the storage device.

[0226] Clause 52. The method of clause 51, wherein splitting the first fraction of the power harvested from the incident reference signal includes either: power splitting the first fraction of the power harvested from the second fraction of the power harvested with a power splitter; or splitting the first fraction of the power harvested from the incident reference signal includes frequency splitting the first fraction of the power harvested from the second fraction of the power harvested with a frequency filter, the incident reference signal includes a frequency band, the first fraction of the power harvested corresponds to a first sub-frequency band of the frequency band, and the second fraction of the power harvested corresponds to a second sub-frequency band of the frequency band.

[0227] Clause 53. The method of clause 43, wherein the incident reference signal is a first incident reference signal, the method further comprising: receiving a second incident reference signal from the remote device; harvesting power from the second incident reference signal at the third time after the second time duration; producing a second response reference signal from the power harvested from the second incident reference signal; and transmitting the second response reference signal at a fourth time after the third time, wherein the second response reference signal has a second power level that is within the predefined range of power levels, wherein harvesting power from the incident reference signal includes performing a first power splitting of the incident reference signal to produce a first fraction of the power harvested from the first incident reference signal, harvesting power from the -69- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO second incident reference signal includes performing a second power splitting of the second incident reference signal to produce a second fraction of the power harvested from the second incident reference signal, producing the first response reference signal includes producing the first response reference signal from the power harvested from the first fraction of the power harvested from the incident reference signal, and producing the second response reference signal includes producing the second response reference signal from the power harvested from the second fraction of the power harvested from the second incident reference signal.

[0228] Clause 54. The method of clause 53, wherein the second power split is different than the first power splitting, and the difference between the second power split and second first splitting is known to the remote device.

[0229] Clause 55. The method of clause 54, further comprising: receiving a third response reference signal from a second ambient EH device; and producing the first response reference signal includes configuring an association of the first response reference signal to the second ambient EH device from the third response reference signal, wherein the difference between the second power split and second power split is determined based on the association of the first response reference signal to the third response reference signal.

[0230] Clause 56. An ambient energy harvesting (EH) device comprising: at least one transceiver; at least one memory; at least one processor, in signal communication with the at least one transceiver, and the at least one memory, the at least one processor configured to: receive, with at least one transceiver, an incident reference signal from a remote device; harvest power from the incident reference signal within a first time duration; produce a first response reference signal and a second response reference signal from the power harvested from the incident reference signal; transmit the first response reference signal within a second time duration after the first time duration; and transmit the second response reference signal at a third time after the second time duration, wherein the first response reference signal has a first power level, the second response reference signal has a second power level, and the first power level and the second power level are within a predefined range of power levels.

[0231] Clause 57. The ambient EH device of clause 56, wherein the predefined range of power levels is known to a remote entity.

[0232] Clause 58. The ambient EH device of clause 57, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to transmit the predefined range of power levels to another remote entity. -70- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO

[0233] Clause 59. The ambient EH device of clause 56, wherein the second power level is equal to the first power level.

[0234] Clause 60. The ambient EH device of clause 56, wherein the second power level and the first power level are each equal to a predefined power margin of the predefined range of power levels.

[0235] Clause 61. The ambient EH device of clause 60, further comprising transmitting the predefined range of power levels to a remote entity including a difference in power between the first power level and the second power level.

[0236] Clause 62. The ambient EH device of clause 60, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive a third response reference signal from a second ambient EH device; and produce the first response reference signal by further being configured to configure an association of the first response reference signal to the second ambient EH device from the third response reference signal, wherein the first power level is determined based on the association of the first response reference signal to the third response reference signal.

[0237] Clause 63. The ambient EH device of clause 56, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive the incident reference signal by being configured to either: switch between being configured to harvest power from the incident reference signal within the first time duration and being configured to produce the first response reference signal within the third time duration that is after the first time duration and before the second time duration; or split a first fraction of the power harvested from the incident reference signal, storing the first fraction of the power harvested in a storage device within the first time duration, wherein the at least one processor is configured to produce the first response reference signal is based on a second fraction of the power harvested from the incident reference signal, and wherein a combination of the first fraction of the power harvested and the second fraction of the power harvested is equal to a total power harvested from the incident reference signal within a predefined power margin.

[0238] Clause 64. The ambient EH device of clause 63, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to either: store, in the storage device, a first portion of the power harvested within the first time duration, wherein the at least one processor is configured to produce the first response reference signal is based on a difference between the power harvested from the incident reference signal, and the first portion of the power harvested that is stored in the storage device; or storing, in the storage device, the first portion of the power -71- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO harvested within the first time duration, wherein the at least one processor is configured to produce the first response reference signal is based on a combination of a difference between the power harvested from the incident reference signal and the first portion of the power harvested that is stored in the storage device, and a second portion of an initial power is stored within the storage device.

[0239] Clause 65. The ambient EH device of clause 64, wherein the at least one processor is configured to split the first fraction of the power harvested from the incident reference signal by being either: configured to power split the first fraction of the power harvested from the second fraction of the power harvested with a power splitter; or configured to split the first fraction of the power harvested from the incident reference signal by being configured to frequency split the first fraction of the power harvested from the second fraction of the power harvested with a frequency filter, the incident reference signal includes a frequency band, the first fraction of the power harvested corresponds to a first sub-frequency band of the frequency band, and the second fraction of the power harvested corresponds to a second sub- frequency band of the frequency band.

[0240] Clause 66. The ambient EH device of clause 56, wherein the incident reference signal is a first incident reference signal, and the at least one processor is further configured to: receive a second incident reference signal from the remote device; harvest power from the second incident reference signal at the third time after the second time duration; produce a second response reference signal from the power harvested from the second incident reference signal; and transmit the second response reference signal at a fourth time after the third time, wherein the second response reference signal has a second power level that is within the predefined range of power levels, and the at least one processor is configured to: harvest power from the incident reference signal by further being configured to perform a first power splitting of the incident reference signal to produce a first fraction of the power harvested from the first incident reference signal, harvest power from the second incident reference signal by further being configured to perform a second power splitting of the second incident reference signal to produce a second fraction of the power harvested from the second incident reference signal, produce the first response reference signal by further being configured to produce the first response reference signal from the power harvested from the first fraction of the power harvested from the incident reference signal, and produce the second response reference signal by further being configured to produce the second response -72- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO reference signal from the power harvested from the second fraction of the power harvested from the second incident reference signal.

[0241] Clause 67. The ambient EH device of clause 66, wherein the second power split is different than the first power split, and the difference between the second power split and second first split is known to the remote device.

[0242] Clause 68. The ambient EH device of clause 67, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive a third response reference signal from a second ambient EH device; and produce the first response reference signal by further being configured to configure an association of the first response reference signal to the second ambient EH device from the third response reference signal, wherein the difference between the second power split and second power split is determined based on the association of the response reference signal to the third response reference signal.

[0243] Clause 69. An ambient energy harvesting (EH) device comprising: means for receiving an incident reference signal from a remote device; means for harvesting power from the incident reference signal within a first time duration; means for producing a first response reference signal and a second response reference signal from the power harvested from the incident reference signal; and means for transmitting the first response reference signal within a second time duration after the first time duration; and means for transmitting the second response reference signal at a third time after the second time duration, wherein the first response reference signal has a first power level, the second response reference signal has a second power level, and the first power level and the second power level are within a predefined range of power levels.

[0244] Clause 70. The ambient EH device of clause 69, wherein means for receiving the incident reference signal comprises either: means for switching between means for harvesting power from the incident reference signal within the first time duration and means for producing the first response reference signal within the third time duration that is after the first time duration and before the second time duration; or means for splitting a first fraction of the power harvested from the incident reference signal, means for storing the first fraction of the power harvested in a storage device within the first time duration, wherein means for producing the first response reference signal is based on a second fraction of the power harvested from the incident reference signal, and a combination of the first fraction of the power harvested and the second fraction of the power harvested is equal to a total power harvested from the incident reference signal within a predefined power margin. -73- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO

[0245] Clause 71. The ambient EH device of clause 69, wherein the incident reference signal is a first incident reference signal, the ambient EH device further comprising: means for receiving a second incident reference signal from the remote device; means for harvesting power from the second incident reference signal at the third time after the second time duration; means for producing a second response reference signal from the power harvested from the second incident reference signal; and means for transmitting the second response reference signal at a fourth time after the third time, wherein the second response reference signal has a second power level that is within the predefined range of power levels, wherein means for harvesting power from the incident reference signal includes means for performing a first power splitting of the incident reference signal to produce a first fraction of the power harvested from the first incident reference signal, means for harvesting power from the second incident reference signal includes means for performing a second power splitting of the second incident reference signal to produce a second fraction of the power harvested from the second incident reference signal, means for producing the first response reference signal includes means for producing the first response reference signal from the power harvested from the first fraction of the power harvested from the incident reference signal, and means for producing the second response reference signal includes means for producing the second response reference signal from the power harvested from the second fraction of the power harvested from the second incident reference signal.

[0246] Clause 72. A method for determining a location of a device, the method comprising: transmitting, with at least one transceiver, a transmitted reference signal towards a plurality of ambient energy harvesting (EH) devices; receiving a first response reference signal having a first power level from a first ambient EH device within a predefined first time duration; receiving at least a second response reference signal having a second power level from a second ambient EH device within a predefined second time duration; and determining the location of the device from the first response reference signal and at least second response reference signal, wherein the first response reference signal and the at least second response reference signal are each related to the transmitted reference signal, and the first power level and the second power level are within a predefined range of power levels.

[0247] Clause 73. The method of clause 72, further including receiving the predefined range of power levels from at least one of the ambient EH devices.

[0248] Clause 29. A device comprising: at least one transceiver; at least one memory; at least one processor, in signal communication with the at least one transceiver, and the at least -74- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO one memory, the at least one processor configured to: transmit, with at least one transceiver, a transmitted reference signal towards a plurality of ambient energy harvesting (EH) devices; receive a first response reference signal having a first power level from a first ambient EH device within a predefined first time duration; receive at least a second response reference signal having a second power level from a second ambient EH device within a predefined second time duration; and determine a location of the device from the first response reference signal and at least second response reference signal, wherein the first response reference signal and the at least second response reference signal are each related to the transmitted reference signal, and the first power level and the second power level are within a predefined range of power levels.

[0249] Clause 30. The device of clause 29, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive the predefined range of power levels from at least one of the ambient EH devices.

[0250] Other examples and implementations are within the scope of the disclosure and appended claims. For example, due to the nature of software and computers, functions described above can be implemented using software executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hardwiring, or a combination of any of these. Features implementing functions may also be physically located at various positions, including being distributed such that portions of functions are implemented at different physical locations.

[0251] As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Thus, reference to a device in the singular (e.g., “a device,” “the device”), including in the claims, includes at least one, i.e., one or more, of such devices (e.g., “a processor” includes at least one processor (e.g., one processor, two processors, etc.), “the processor” includes at least one processor, “a memory” includes at least one memory, “the memory” includes at least one memory, etc.). The phrases “at least one” and “one or more” are used interchangeably and such that “at least one” referred-to object and “one or more” referred-to objects include implementations that have one referred-to object and implementations that have multiple referred-to objects. For example, “at least one processor” and “one or more processors” each includes implementations that have one processor and implementations that have multiple processors.

[0252] The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,” and / or “including,” as used herein, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and / or -75- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof.

[0253] Also, as used herein, “or” as used in a list of items (possibly prefaced by “at least one of” or prefaced by “one or more of”) indicates a disjunctive list such that, for example, a list of “at least one of A, B, or C,” or a list of “one or more of A, B, or C” or a list of “A or B or C” means A, or B, or C, or AB (A and B), or AC (A and C), or BC (B and C), or ABC (i.e., A and B and C), or combinations with more than one feature (e.g., AA, AAB, ABBC, etc.). Thus, a recitation that an item, e.g., a processor, is configured to perform a function regarding at least one of A or B, or a recitation that an item is configured to perform a function A or a function B, means that the item may be configured to perform the function regarding A, or may be configured to perform the function regarding B, or may be configured to perform the function regarding A and B. For example, a phrase of “a processor configured to measure at least one of A or B” or “a processor configured to measure A or measure B” means that the processor may be configured to measure A (and may or may not be configured to measure B), or may be configured to measure B (and may or may not be configured to measure A), or may be configured to measure A and measure B (and may be configured to select which, or both, of A and B to measure). Similarly, a recitation of a means for measuring at least one of A or B includes means for measuring A (which may or may not be able to measure B), or means for measuring B (and 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 recitation that an item, e.g., a processor, is configured to at least one of perform function X or perform function Y means that the item may be configured to perform the function X, or may be configured to perform the function Y, or may be configured to perform the function X and to perform the function Y. For example, a phrase of “a processor configured to at least one of measure X or measure Y” means that the processor may be configured to measure X (and may or may not be configured to measure Y), or may be configured to measure Y (and may or may not be configured to measure X), or may be configured to measure X and to measure Y (and may be configured to select which, or both, of X and Y to measure).

[0254] As used herein, unless otherwise stated, a statement that a function or operation is “based on” an item or condition means that the function or operation is based on the stated item or condition and may be based on one or more items and / or conditions in addition to the stated item or condition. -76- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO

[0255] Substantial variations may be made in accordance with specific requirements. For example, customized hardware might also be used, and / or particular elements might be implemented in hardware, software (including portable software, such as applets, etc.) executed by a processor, or both. Further, connection to other computing devices such as network input / output devices may be employed. Components, functional or otherwise, shown in the figures and / or discussed herein as being connected or communicating with each other are communicatively coupled unless otherwise noted. That is, they may be directly or indirectly connected to enable communication between them.

[0256] The systems and devices discussed above are examples. Various configurations may omit, substitute, or add various procedures or components as appropriate. For instance, features described with respect to certain configurations may be combined in various other configurations. Different aspects and elements of the configurations may be combined in a similar manner. Also, technology evolves and, thus, many of the elements are examples and do not limit the scope of the disclosure or claims.

[0257] A wireless communication system is one in which communications are conveyed wirelessly, i.e., by electromagnetic and / or acoustic waves propagating through atmospheric space rather than through a wire or other physical connection, between wireless communication devices. A wireless communication system (also called a wireless communications system, a wireless communication network, or a wireless communications network) may not have all communications transmitted wirelessly, but is configured to have at least some communications transmitted wirelessly. Further, the term “wireless communication device,” or similar term, does not require that the functionality of the device is exclusively, or even primarily, for communication, or that communication using the wireless communication device is exclusively, or even primarily, wireless, or that the device be a mobile device, but indicates that the device includes wireless communication capability (one-way or two-way), e.g., includes at least one radio (each radio being part of a transmitter, receiver, or transceiver) for wireless communication.

[0258] Specific details are given in the description herein to provide a thorough understanding of example configurations (including implementations). However, configurations may be practiced without these specific details. For example, well-known circuits, processes, algorithms, structures, and techniques have been shown without unnecessary detail in order to avoid obscuring the configurations. The description herein provides example configurations, and does not limit the scope, applicability, or -77- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO configurations of the claims. Rather, the preceding description of the configurations provides a description for implementing described techniques. Various changes may be made in the function and arrangement of elements.

[0259] The terms “processor-readable medium,” “machine-readable medium,” and “computer-readable medium,” as used herein, refer to any medium that participates in providing data that causes a machine to operate in a specific fashion. Using a computing platform, various processor-readable media might be involved in providing instructions / code to processor(s) for execution and / or might be used to store and / or carry such instructions / code (e.g., as signals). In many implementations, a processor-readable medium is a physical and / or tangible storage medium. Such a medium may take many forms, including but not limited to, non-volatile media and volatile media. Non-volatile media include, for example, optical and / or magnetic disks. Volatile media include, without limitation, dynamic memory.

[0260] Having described several example configurations, various modifications, alternative constructions, and equivalents may be used. For example, the above elements may be components of a larger system, wherein other rules may take precedence over or otherwise modify the application of the disclosure. Also, a number of operations may be undertaken before, during, or after the above elements are considered. Accordingly, the above description does not bound the scope of the claims.

[0261] Unless otherwise indicated, “about” and / or “approximately” as used herein when referring to a measurable value such as an amount, a temporal duration, and the like, encompasses variations of ±20% or ±10%, ±5%, or ±0.1% from the specified value, as appropriate in the context of the systems, devices, circuits, methods, and other implementations described herein. Unless otherwise indicated, “substantially” as used herein when referring to a measurable value such as an amount, a temporal duration, a physical attribute (such as frequency), and the like, also encompasses variations of ±20% or ±10%, ±5%, or ±0.1% from the specified value, as appropriate in the context of the systems, devices, circuits, methods, and other implementations described herein.

[0262] A statement that a value exceeds (or is more than or above) a first threshold value is equivalent to a statement that the value meets or exceeds a second threshold value that is slightly greater than the first threshold value, e.g., the second threshold value being one value higher than the first threshold value in the resolution of a computing system. A statement that a value is less than (or is within or below) a first threshold value is equivalent to a -78- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO statement that the value is less than or equal to a second threshold value that is slightly lower than the first threshold value, e.g., the second threshold value being one value lower than the first threshold value in the resolution of a computing system. -79- 4903 / A098WO

Claims

Qualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO CLAIMS: What is claimed.

1. A method for determining a location of an ambient energy harvesting (EH) device, the method comprising: receiving, with at least one transceiver, an incident reference signal from a remote device; harvesting power from the incident reference signal within a first time duration; producing a first response reference signal and a second response reference signal from the power harvested from the incident reference signal; transmitting the first response reference signal within a second time duration after the first time duration; and transmitting the second response reference signal at a third time after the second time duration, wherein the first response reference signal has a first power level, the second response reference signal has a second power level, and the first power level and the second power level are within a predefined range of power levels.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the predefined range of power levels is known to a remote entity.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising transmitting the predefined range of power levels to another remote entity.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the second power level is equal to the first power level.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the second power level and the first power level are each equal to a predefined power margin of the predefined range of power levels.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising transmitting the predefined range of power levels to a remote entity including a difference in power between the first power level and the second power level. -80- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO 7. The method of claim 5, further comprising: receiving a third response reference signal from a second ambient EH device; and producing the first response reference signal includes configuring an association of the first response reference signal to the second ambient EH device from the third response reference signal, wherein the first power level is determined based on the association of the first response reference signal to the third response reference signal.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the incident reference signal comprises either: switching between harvesting power from the incident reference signal within the first time duration and producing the first response reference signal within a third time duration that is after the first time duration and before the second time duration; or splitting a first fraction of the power harvested from the incident reference signal, storing the first fraction of the power harvested in a storage device within the first time duration, wherein producing the first response reference signal is based on a second fraction of the power harvested from the incident reference signal, and a combination of the first fraction of the power harvested and the second fraction of the power harvested is equal to a total power harvested from the incident reference signal within a predefined power margin.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprises either: storing, in the storage device, a first portion of the power harvested within the first time duration, wherein producing the first response reference signal is based on a difference between the power harvested from the incident reference signal, and the first portion of the power harvested that is stored in the storage device; or -81- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO storing, in the storage device, the first portion of the power harvested within the first time duration, wherein producing the first response reference signal is based on a combination of a difference between the power harvested from the incident reference signal and the first portion of the power harvested that is stored in the storage device, and a second portion of an initial power is stored within the storage device.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein splitting the first fraction of the power harvested from the incident reference signal includes either: power splitting the first fraction of the power harvested from the second fraction of the power harvested with a power splitter; or splitting the first fraction of the power harvested from the incident reference signal includes frequency splitting the first fraction of the power harvested from the second fraction of the power harvested with a frequency filter, the incident reference signal includes a frequency band, the first fraction of the power harvested corresponds to a first sub-frequency band of the frequency band, and the second fraction of the power harvested corresponds to a second sub-frequency band of the frequency band.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the incident reference signal is a first incident reference signal, the method further comprising: receiving a second incident reference signal from the remote device; harvesting power from the second incident reference signal at the third time after the second time duration; producing the second response reference signal from the power harvested from the second incident reference signal; and transmitting the second response reference signal at a fourth time after the third time, wherein the second power level of the second response reference signal is within the predefined range of power levels, wherein -82- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO harvesting power from the incident reference signal includes performing a first power splitting of the incident reference signal to produce a first fraction of the power harvested from the first incident reference signal, harvesting power from the second incident reference signal includes performing a second power splitting of the second incident reference signal to produce a second fraction of the power harvested from the second incident reference signal, producing the first response reference signal includes producing the first response reference signal from the power harvested from the first fraction of the power harvested from the incident reference signal, and producing the second response reference signal includes producing the second response reference signal from the power harvested from the second fraction of the power harvested from the second incident reference signal.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the second power split is different than the first power split, and a difference between the second power split and the first split is known to the remote device.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising: receiving a third response reference signal from a second ambient EH device; and producing the first response reference signal includes configuring an association of the first response reference signal to the second ambient EH device from the third response reference signal, wherein the difference between the second power split and the first power split is determined based on the association of the first response reference signal to the third response reference signal.

14. An ambient energy harvesting (EH) device comprising: at least one transceiver; at least one memory; at least one processor, in signal communication with the at least one transceiver, and the at least one memory, the at least one processor configured to: receive, with the at least one transceiver, an incident reference signal from a remote device; -83- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO harvest power from the incident reference signal within a first time duration; produce a first response reference signal and a second response reference signal from the power harvested from the incident reference signal; transmit the first response reference signal within a second time duration after the first time duration; and transmit the second response reference signal at a third time after the second time duration, wherein the first response reference signal has a first power level, the second response reference signal has a second power level, and the first power level and the second power level are within a predefined range of power levels.

15. The ambient EH device of claim 14, wherein the predefined range of power levels is known to a remote entity.

16. The ambient EH device of claim 15, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to transmit the predefined range of power levels to another remote entity.

17. The ambient EH device of claim 14, wherein the second power level is equal to the first power level.

18. The ambient EH device of claim 14, wherein the second power level and the first power level are each equal to a predefined power margin of the predefined range of power levels.

19. The ambient EH device of claim 18, further comprising transmitting the predefined range of power levels to a remote entity including a difference in power between the first power level and the second power level.

20. The ambient EH device of claim 18, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive a third response reference signal from a second ambient EH device; and -84- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO produce the first response reference signal by further being configured to configure an association of the first response reference signal to the second ambient EH device from the third response reference signal, wherein the first power level is determined based on the association of the first response reference signal to the third response reference signal.

21. The ambient EH device of claim 14, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive the incident reference signal by being configured to either: switch between being configured to harvest power from the incident reference signal within the first time duration and being configured to produce the first response reference signal within a third time duration that is after the first time duration and before the second time duration; or split a first fraction of the power harvested from the incident reference signal, storing the first fraction of the power harvested in a storage device within the first time duration, wherein the at least one processor is configured to produce the first response reference signal is based on a second fraction of the power harvested from the incident reference signal, and wherein a combination of the first fraction of the power harvested and the second fraction of the power harvested is equal to a total power harvested from the incident reference signal within a predefined power margin.

22. The ambient EH device of claim 21, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to either: store, in the storage device, a first portion of the power harvested within the first time duration, wherein the at least one processor is configured to produce the first response reference signal is based on a difference between the power harvested from the incident reference signal, and the first portion of the power harvested that is stored in the storage device; or storing, in the storage device, the first portion of the power harvested within the first time duration, wherein the at least one processor is configured to produce the first response reference signal is based on a combination of a difference between the power harvested from -85- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO the incident reference signal and the first portion of the power harvested that is stored in the storage device, and a second portion of an initial power is stored within the storage device.

23. The ambient EH device of claim 22, wherein the at least one processor is configured to split the first fraction of the power harvested from the incident reference signal by being either: configured to power split the first fraction of the power harvested from the second fraction of the power harvested with a power splitter; or configured to split the first fraction of the power harvested from the incident reference signal by being configured to frequency split the first fraction of the power harvested from the second fraction of the power harvested with a frequency filter, the incident reference signal includes a frequency band, the first fraction of the power harvested corresponds to a first sub-frequency band of the frequency band, and the second fraction of the power harvested corresponds to a second sub-frequency band of the frequency band.

24. The ambient EH device of claim 14, wherein the incident reference signal is a first incident reference signal, and the at least one processor is further configured to: receive a second incident reference signal from the remote device; harvest power from the second incident reference signal at the third time after the second time duration; produce the second response reference signal from the power harvested from the second incident reference signal; and transmit the second response reference signal at a fourth time after the third time, wherein the second power level of the second response reference signal is within the predefined range of power levels, and the at least one processor is configured to: harvest power from the incident reference signal by further being configured to perform a first power splitting of the incident reference signal to produce a first fraction of the power harvested from the first incident reference signal, -86- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO harvest power from the second incident reference signal by further being configured to perform a second power splitting of the second incident reference signal to produce a second fraction of the power harvested from the second incident reference signal, produce the first response reference signal by further being configured to produce the first response reference signal from the power harvested from the first fraction of the power harvested from the incident reference signal, and produce the second response reference signal by further being configured to produce the second response reference signal from the power harvested from the second fraction of the power harvested from the second incident reference signal.

25. The ambient EH device of claim 24, wherein the second power split is different than the first power split, and a difference between the second power split and the first power split is known to the remote device.

26. The ambient EH device of claim 25, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive a third response reference signal from a second ambient EH device; and produce the first response reference signal by further being configured to configure an association of the first response reference signal to the second ambient EH device from the third response reference signal, wherein the difference between the second power split and the first power split is determined based on the association of the first response reference signal to the third response reference signal.

27. A method for determining a location of a device, the method comprising: transmitting, with at least one transceiver, a transmitted reference signal towards a plurality of ambient energy harvesting (EH) devices; receiving a first response reference signal having a first power level from a first ambient EH device within a predefined first time duration; receiving at least a second response reference signal having a second power level from a second ambient EH device within a predefined second time duration; and determining the location of the device from the first response reference signal and at least second response reference signal, -87- 4903 / A098WOQualcomm Ref. No.2402094WO wherein the first response reference signal and the at least second response reference signal are each related to the transmitted reference signal, and the first power level and the second power level are within a predefined range of power levels.

28. The method of claim 27, further including receiving the predefined range of power levels from at least one of the ambient EH devices.

29. A device comprising: at least one transceiver; at least one memory; at least one processor, in signal communication with the at least one transceiver, and the at least one memory, the at least one processor configured to: transmit, with the at least one transceiver, a transmitted reference signal towards a plurality of ambient energy harvesting (EH) devices; receive a first response reference signal having a first power level from a first ambient EH device within a predefined first time duration; receive at least a second response reference signal having a second power level from a second ambient EH device within a predefined second time duration; and determine a location of the device from the first response reference signal and at least second response reference signal, wherein the first response reference signal and the at least second response reference signal are each related to the transmitted reference signal, and the first power level and the second power level are within a predefined range of power levels.

30. The device of claim 29, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive the predefined range of power levels from at least one of the ambient EH devices. -88- 4903 / A098WO

Images