PAIRED DOWNLINK POSITIONING REFERENCE SIGNAL RESOURCE CONFIGURATION

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present Application for Patent is a national stage application, filed under 35 U.S.C. § 371, of International Patent Application No. PCT/CN2021/084819, entitled. “PAIRED DOWNLINK POSITIONING REFERENCE SIGNAL RESOURCE CONFIGURATION”, filed Apr. 1, 2021, which is assigned to the assignee hereof and is expressly incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE
1. Field of the Disclosure

Aspects of the disclosure relate generally to wireless communications.

2. Description of the Related Art

Wireless communication systems have developed through various generations, including a first-generation analog wireless phone service (1G), a second-generation (2G) digital wireless phone service (including interim 2.5G and 2.75G networks), a third-generation (3G) high speed data, Internet-capable wireless service and a fourth-generation (4G) service (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE) or WiMax). There are presently many different types of wireless communication systems in use, including cellular and personal communications service (PCS) systems. Examples of known cellular systems include the cellular analog advanced mobile phone system (AMPS), and digital cellular systems based on code division multiple access (CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), the Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), etc.

A fifth generation (5G) wireless standard, referred to as New Radio (NR), calls for higher data transfer speeds, greater numbers of connections, and better coverage, among other improvements. The 5G standard, according to the Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance, is designed to provide data rates of several tens of megabits per second to each of tens of thousands of users, with 1 gigabit per second to tens of workers on an office floor. Several hundreds of thousands of simultaneous connections should be supported in order to support large sensor deployments. Consequently, the spectral efficiency of 5G mobile communications should be significantly enhanced compared to the current 4G standard. Furthermore, signaling efficiencies should be enhanced and latency should be substantially reduced compared to current standards.

SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary relating to one or more aspects disclosed herein. Thus, the following summary should not be considered an extensive overview relating to all contemplated aspects, nor should the following summary be considered to identify key or critical elements relating to all contemplated aspects or to delineate the scope associated with any particular aspect. Accordingly, the following summary has the sole purpose to present certain concepts relating to one or more aspects relating to the mechanisms disclosed herein in a simplified form to precede the detailed description presented below.

In an aspect, a method of operating a user equipment (UE) includes receiving a paired downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) resource configuration for a first DL-PRS and a second DL-PRS that is offset in time from the first DL-PRS by a time offset, the first and second DL-PRSs associated with the same transmission source; and performing a first measurement of the first DL-PRS and a second measurement of the second DL-PRS in accordance with the paired DL-PRS resource configuration.

In some aspects, the first and second DL-PRSs are scheduled aperiodically, semi-periodically, or periodically.

In some aspects, the paired DL-PRS resource configuration includes a first DL-PRS resource set with a given periodicity for the first DL-PRS, and a second DL-PRS resource set with the given periodicity for the second DL-PRS.

In some aspects, the paired DL-PRS resource configuration includes a first DL-PRS resource set for the first DL-PRS, and a second DL-PRS resource set for the second DL-PRS that is configured as a duplicate of the first DL-PRS resource set, and the time offset is between corresponding DL-PRS resources associated with the first DL-PRS resource set and the second DL-PRS resource set.

In some aspects, the paired DL-PRS resource configuration configures the first and second DL-PRSs as first and second repetitions of the same DL-PRS resource in a DL-PRS resource set with the time offset is between the first and second repetitions.

In some aspects, where the time offset is greater than a maximum DL-PRS resource time gap permitted between non-paired DL-PRSs.

In some aspects, the paired DL-PRS resource configuration configures the first and second DL-PRSs as first and second repetition groups, respectively, of the same DL-PRS resource in a DL-PRS resource set with the time offset is between the first and second repetition groups.

In some aspects, where the time offset is different than a DL-PRS resource time gaps within each of the first and second repetition groups.

In some aspects, the first and second measurements correspond to receive-transmit (Rx-Tx) time difference measurements based on timestamps derived on the same transmission reception point (TRP) and the same respective DL-PRS resources.

In some aspects, the method includes transmitting a measurement report comprising measurement information that is based on the first and second measurements.

In some aspects, the first and second DL-PRSs are scheduled periodically, and the measurement information is associated with two or more periodic instances of the first DL-PRS and two or more corresponding instances of the second DL-PRS.

In some aspects, the first and second DL-PRSs are associated with a positioning measurement procedure that further includes an uplink sounding reference signal for positioning (UL-SRS-P) transmitted by the UE.

In some aspects, the positioning measurement procedure is asymmetric such that a first time differential between the UL-SRS-P and the first DL-PRS is different than a second time differential between the UL-SRS-P and the second DL-PRS.

In some aspects, the time offset is greater than a minimum time offset threshold associated with asymmetric positioning measurement procedures.

In some aspects, the first DL-PRS precedes the UL-SRS-P, and the second DL-PRS follows the UL-SRS-P.

In an aspect, a method of operating a position estimation entity includes determining a paired downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) resource configuration for a first DL-PRS and a second DL-PRS that is offset in time from the first DL-PRS by a time offset, the first and second DL-PRSs associated with the same transmission source; and transmitting an indication of the paired DL-PRS resource configuration to a user equipment (UE).

In some aspects, the method includes receiving, from the UE, a measurement report comprising measurement information that is based on a first measurement of the first DL-PRS by the UE and a second measurement of the second DL-PRS by the UE in accordance with the paired DL-PRS resource configuration.

In some aspects, the method includes determining a clock drift between the first and second measurements; and determining a position estimate of the UE based at least in part upon the clock drift.

In some aspects, the first and second DL-PRSs are scheduled aperiodically, semi-periodically, or periodically.

In some aspects, the first and second DL-PRSs are scheduled periodically

In some aspects, the measurement information is associated with two or more periodic instances of the first DL-PRS and two or more corresponding instances of the second DL-PRS.

In some aspects, the first DL-PRS precedes the UL-SRS-P, and the second DL-PRS follows the UL-SRS-P.

In some aspects, where the time offset is different than a DL-PRS resource time gaps within each of the first and second repetition groups.

In an aspect, a user equipment (UE) includes a memory; a communication interface; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the communication interface, the at least one processor configured to: receive, via the communication interface, a paired downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) resource configuration for a first DL-PRS and a second DL-PRS that is offset in time from the first DL-PRS by a time offset, the first and second DL-PRSs associated with the same transmission source; and perform a first measurement of the first DL-PRS and a second measurement of the second DL-PRS in accordance with the paired DL-PRS resource configuration.

In some aspects, the first and second DL-PRSs are scheduled aperiodically, semi-periodically, or periodically.

In some aspects, where the time offset is greater than a maximum DL-PRS resource time gap permitted between non-paired DL-PRSs.

In some aspects, where the time offset is different than a DL-PRS resource time gaps within each of the first and second repetition groups.

In some aspects, the at least one processor is further configured to: cause the communication interface to transmit a measurement report comprising measurement information that is based on the first and second measurements.

In some aspects, the time offset is greater than a minimum time offset threshold associated with asymmetric positioning measurement procedures.

In some aspects, the first DL-PRS precedes the UL-SRS-P, and the second DL-PRS follows the UL-SRS-P.

In an aspect, a position estimation entity includes a memory; a communication interface; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the communication interface, the at least one processor configured to: determine a paired downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) resource configuration for a first DL-PRS and a second DL-PRS that is offset in time from the first DL-PRS by a time offset, the first and second DL-PRSs associated with the same transmission source; and cause the communication interface to transmit an indication of the paired DL-PRS resource configuration to a user equipment (UE).

In some aspects, the at least one processor is further configured to: receive, via the communication interface, from the UE, a measurement report comprising measurement information that is based on a first measurement of the first DL-PRS by the UE and a second measurement of the second DL-PRS by the UE in accordance with the paired DL-PRS resource configuration.

In some aspects, the at least one processor is thither configured to: determine a clock drift between the first and second measurements; and determine a position estimate of the UE based at least in part upon the clock drift.

In some aspects, the first and second DL-PRSs are scheduled aperiodically, semi-periodically, or periodically.

In some aspects, the first and second DL-PRSs are scheduled periodically

In some aspects, the measurement information is associated with two or more periodic instances of the first DL-PRS and two or more corresponding instances of the second DL-PRS.

In some aspects, the first DL-PRS precedes the UL-SRS-P, and the second DL-PRS follows the UL-SRS-P.

In some aspects, where the time offset is different than a DL-PRS resource time gaps within each of the first and second repetition groups.

Other objects and advantages associated with the aspects disclosed herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art based on the accompanying drawings and detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings are presented to aid in the description of various aspects of the disclosure and are provided solely for illustration of the aspects and not limitation thereof.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example wireless communications system, according to aspects of the disclosure.

FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate example wireless network structures, according to aspects of the disclosure.

FIGS. 3A to 3C are simplified block diagrams of several sample aspects of components that may be employed in a user equipment (UE)), a base station, and a network entity, respectively, and configured to support communications as taught herein.

FIGS. 4A to 4D are diagrams illustrating example frame structures and channels within the frame structures, according to aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of example positioning reference signal (PRS) resource sets having different time gaps, according to aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of conventional DL time difference of arrival (TDoA) based positioning.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing exemplary timings of RTT measurement signals exchanged between a base station and a UE, according to aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing exemplary timings of WIT measurement signals exchanged between a base station and a UE, according to other aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary wireless communications system according to aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 10 illustrates an exemplary wireless communications system according to aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 11 illustrates a timing diagram of RTT measurement signals exchanged between UE 302 and BS 304, according to aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 12 illustrates a timing diagram of RTT measurement signals exchanged between UE 302 and BS 304, according to aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 13 illustrates an exemplary process of wireless communication, according to aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 14 illustrates an exemplary process of wireless communication, according to aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 15 illustrates an example of a paired DL-PRS resource configuration in accordance with aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 16 illustrates another example of a paired DL-PRS resource configuration in accordance with aspects of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

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

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

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

Further, many aspects are described in terms of sequences of actions to be performed by, for example, elements of a computing device. It will be recognized that various actions described herein can be performed by specific circuits (e.g., application specific integrated circuits (ASICs)), by program instructions being executed by one or more processors, or by a combination of both. Additionally, the sequence(s) of actions described herein can be considered to be embodied entirely within any form of non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein a corresponding set of computer instructions that, upon execution, would cause or instruct an associated processor of a device to perform the functionality described herein. Thus, the various aspects of the disclosure may be embodied in a number of different forms, all of which have been contemplated to be within the scope of the claimed subject matter. In addition, for each of the aspects described herein, the corresponding form of any such aspects may be described herein as, for example, “logic configured to” perform the described action.

As used herein, the terms “user equipment” (UE) and “base station” are not intended to be specific 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 locating device, wearable (e.g., smartwatch, glasses, augmented reality (AR)/virtual reality (VR) headset, etc.), vehicle (e.g., automobile, motorcycle, bicycle, etc.), Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc. used by a user 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 device,” a “mobile terminal,” a “mobile station,” or variations thereof. Generally, UEs can communicate with a core network via a RAN, and through the core network the UEs 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, wireless local area network (WLAN) networks (e.g., based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 specification, etc.) and so on.

A base station may operate according to one of several RATS in communication with UEs depending on the network in which it is deployed, and may be alternatively referred to as an access point (AP), a network node, a NodeB, an evolved NodeB (eNB), a next generation eNB (ng-eNB), a New Radio (NR) Node B (also referred to as a gNB or gNodeB), etc. A base station may be used primarily to support wireless access by UEs, including supporting data, voice, and/or signaling connections for the supported UEs. 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. A communication link through which UEs can send signals to a base station is called an uplink (UL) channel (e.g., a reverse traffic channel, a reverse control channel, an access channel, etc.). A communication link through which the base station can send signals to UEs is called a downlink (DL) 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.

The term “base station” may refer to a single physical transmission-reception point (TRP) or to multiple physical TRPs that may or may not be co-located. For example, where the term “base station” refers to a single physical TRP, the physical TRP may be an antenna of the base station corresponding to a cell (or several cell sectors) of the base station. Where the term “base station” refers to multiple co-located physical TRPs, the physical TRPs may be an array of antennas (e.g., as in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system or where the base station employs beamforming) of the base station. Where the term “base station” refers to multiple non-co-located physical TRPs, the physical TRPs may be a distributed antenna system (DAS) (a network of spatially separated antennas connected to a common source via a transport medium) or a remote radio head (RRH) (a remote base station connected to a serving base station). Alternatively, the non-co-located physical TRPs may be the serving base station receiving the measurement report from the UE and a neighbor base station whose reference radio frequency (RF) signals the UE is measuring. Because a TRP is the point from which a base station transmits and receives wireless signals, as used herein, references to transmission from or reception at a base station are to be understood as referring to a particular TRP of the base station.

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

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

FIG. 1 illustrates an example wireless communications system 100, according to aspects of the disclosure. The wireless communications system 100 (which may also be referred to as a wireless wide area network (WWAN)) may include various base stations 102 (labeled “BS”) and various UEs 104. The base stations 102 may include macro cell base stations (high power cellular base stations) and/or small cell base stations (low power cellular base stations). In an aspect, the macro cell base stations may include eNBs and/or ng-eNBs where the wireless communications system 100 corresponds to an LTE network, or gNBs where the wireless communications system 100 corresponds to a NR network, or a combination of both, and the small cell base stations may include femtocells, picocells, microcells, etc.

The base stations 102 may collectively form a RAN and interface with a core network 170 (e.g., an evolved packet core (EPC) or a 5G core (5GC)) through backhaul links 122, and through the core network 170 to one or more location servers 172 (e.g., a location management function (LMF) or a secure user plane location (SUPL) location platform (SLP)). The location server(s) 172 may be part of core network 170 or may be external to core network 170. In addition to other functions, the base stations 102 may perform functions that relate to one or more of transferring user data, radio channel ciphering and deciphering, integrity protection, header compression, mobility control functions (e.g., handover, dual connectivity), inter-cell interference coordination, connection setup and release, load balancing, distribution for non-access stratum (NAS) messages, NAS node selection, synchronization, RAN sharing, multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS), subscriber and equipment trace, RAN information management (RIM), paging, positioning, and delivery of warning messages. The base stations 102 may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., through the EPC/5GC) over backhaul links 134, which may be wired or wireless.

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

While neighboring macro cell base station 102 geographic coverage areas 110 may partially overlap (e.g., in a handover region), some of the geographic coverage areas 110 may be substantially overlapped by a larger geographic coverage area 110. For example, a small cell base station 102′ (labeled “SC” for “small cell”) may have a geographic coverage area 110′ that substantially overlaps with the geographic coverage area 110 of one or more macro cell base stations 102. A network that includes both small cell and macro cell base stations may be known as a heterogeneous network. A heterogeneous network may also include home eNBs (HeNBs), which may provide service to a restricted group known as a closed subscriber group (CSG).

The communication links 120 between the base stations 102 and the UEs 104 may include uplink (also referred to as reverse link) transmissions from a UE 104 to a base station 102 and/or downlink (DL) (also referred to as forward link) transmissions from a base station 102 to a UE 104. The communication links 120 may use MIMO antenna technology, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and/or transmit diversity. The communication links 120 may be through one or more carrier frequencies. Allocation of carriers may be asymmetric with respect to downlink and uplink (e.g., more or less carriers may be allocated for downlink than for uplink).

The wireless communications system 100 may further include a wireless local area network (WLAN) access point (AP) 150 in communication with WLAN stations (STAs) 152 via communication links 154 in an unlicensed frequency spectrum (e.g., 5 GHz). When communicating in an unlicensed frequency spectrum, the WLAN STAs 152 and/or the WLAN AP 150 may perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) or listen before talk (LBT) procedure prior to communicating in order to determine whether the channel is available.

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

The wireless communications system 100 may further include a millimeter wave (mmW) base station 180 that may operate in mmW frequencies and/or near mmW frequencies in communication with a UE 182. Extremely high frequency (EHF) is part of the RF in the electromagnetic spectrum. EHF has a range of 30 GHz to 300 GHz and a wavelength between 1 millimeter and 10 millimeters. Radio waves in this band may be referred to as a millimeter wave. Near mmW may extend down to a frequency of 3 GHz with a wavelength of 100 millimeters. The super high frequency (SHF) band extends between 3 GHz and 30 GHz, also referred to as centimeter wave. Communications using the mmW/near mmW radio frequency band have high path loss and a relatively short range. The mmW base station 180 and the UE 182 may utilize beamforming (transmit and/or receive) over a mmW communication link 184 to compensate for the extremely high path loss and short range. Further, it will be appreciated that in alternative configurations, one or more base stations 102 may also transmit using mmW or near mmW and beamforming. Accordingly, it will be appreciated that the foregoing illustrations are merely examples and should not be construed to limit the various aspects disclosed herein.

Transmit beamforming is a technique for focusing an RF signal in a specific direction. Traditionally, when a network node (e.g., a base station) broadcasts an RF signal, it broadcasts the signal in all directions (omni-directionally). With transmit beamforming, the network node determines where a given target device (e.g., a UE) is located (relative to the transmitting network node) and projects a stronger downlink RF signal in that specific direction, thereby providing a faster (in terms of data rate) and stronger RF signal for the receiving device(s). To change the directionality of the RF signal when transmitting, a network node can control the phase and relative amplitude of the RF signal at each of the one or more transmitters that are broadcasting the RF signal. For example, a network node may use an array of antennas (referred to as a “phased array” or an “antenna array”) that creates a beam of RF waves that can be “steered” to point in different directions, without actually moving the antennas. Specifically, the RF current from the transmitter is fed to the individual antennas with the correct phase relationship so that the radio waves from the separate antennas add together to increase the radiation in a desired direction, while cancelling to suppress radiation in undesired directions.

Transmit beams may be quasi-co-located, meaning that they appear to the receiver (e.g., a UE) as having the same parameters, regardless of whether or not the transmitting antennas of the network node themselves are physically co-located. In NR, there are four types of quasi-co-location (QCL) relations. Specifically, a QCL relation of a given type means that certain parameters about a second reference RF signal on a second beam can be derived from information about a source reference RF signal on a source beam. Thus, if the source reference RF signal is QCL Type A, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, and delay spread of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL Type B, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and Doppler spread of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL Type C, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and average delay of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL Type D, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the spatial receive parameter of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel.

In receive beamforming, the receiver uses a receive beam to amplify RF signals detected on a given channel. For example, the receiver can increase the gain setting and/or adjust the phase setting of an array of antennas in a particular direction to amplify (e.g., to increase the gain level of) the RF signals received from that direction. Thus, when a receiver is said to beamform in a certain direction, it means the beam gain in that direction is high relative to the beam gain along other directions, or the beam gain in that direction is the highest compared to the beam gain in that direction of all other receive beams available to the receiver. This results in a stronger received signal strength (e.g., reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR), etc.) of the RF signals received from that direction.

Transmit and receive beams may be spatially related. A spatial relation means that parameters for a second beam (e.g., a transmit or receive beam) for a second reference signal can be derived from information about a first beam (e.g., a receive beam or a transmit beam) for a first reference signal. For example, a UE may use a particular receive beam to receive a reference downlink reference signal (e.g., synchronization signal block (SSB)) from a base station. The UE can then form a transmit beam for sending an uplink reference signal (e.g., sounding reference signal (SRS)) to that base station based on the parameters of the receive beam.

Note that a “downlink” beam may be either a transmit beam or a receive beam, depending on the entity forming it. For example, if a base station is forming the downlink beam to transmit a reference signal to a UE, the downlink beam is a transmit beam. If the UE is forming the downlink beam, however, it is a receive beam to receive the downlink reference signal. Similarly, an “uplink” beam may be either a transmit beam or a receive beam, depending on the entity forming it. For example, if a base station is forming the uplink beam, it is an uplink receive beam, and if a UE is forming the uplink beam, it is an uplink transmit beam.

In 5G, the frequency spectrum in which wireless nodes (e.g., base stations 102/180, UEs 104/182) operate is divided into multiple frequency ranges, FR1 (from 450 to 6000 MHz), FR2 (from 24250 to 52600 MHz), FR3 (above 52600 MHz), and FR4 (between FR1 and FR2), mmW frequency bands generally include the FR2, FR3, and FR4 frequency ranges. As such, the terms “mmW” and “FR2” or “FR3” or “FR4” may generally be used interchangeably.

In a multi-carrier system, such as 5G, one of the carrier frequencies is referred to as the “primary carrier” or “anchor carrier” or “primary serving cell” or “PCell,” and the remaining carrier frequencies are referred to as “secondary carriers” or “secondary serving cells” or “SCells.” In carrier aggregation, the anchor carrier is the carrier operating on the primary frequency (e.g., FR1) utilized by a UE 104/182 and the cell in which the UE 104/182 either performs the initial radio resource control (RRC) connection establishment procedure or initiates the RRC connection re-establishment procedure. The primary carrier carries all common and UE-specific control channels, and may be a carrier in a licensed frequency (however, this is not always the case). A secondary carrier is a carrier operating on a second frequency (e.g., FR2) that may be configured once the RRC connection is established between the UE 104 and the anchor carrier and that may be used to provide additional radio resources. In some cases, the secondary carrier may be a carrier in an unlicensed frequency. The secondary carrier may contain only necessary signaling information and signals, for example, those that are UE-specific may not be present in the secondary carrier, since both primary uplink and downlink carriers are typically UE-specific. This means that different UEs 104/182 in a cell may have different downlink primary carriers. The same is true for the uplink primary carriers. The network is able to change the primary carrier of any UE 104/182 at any time. This is done, for example, to balance the load on different carriers. Because a “serving cell” (whether a PCell or an SCell) corresponds to a carrier frequency/component carrier over which some base station is communicating, the term “cell,” “serving cell,” “component carrier,” “carrier frequency,” and the like can be used interchangeably.

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

The wireless communications system 100 may further include a UE 164 that may communicate with a macro cell base station 102 over a communication link 120 and/or the mmW base station 180 over a mmW communication link 184. For example, the macro cell base station 102 may support a PCell and one or more SCells for the UE 164 and the mmW base station 180 may support one or more SCells for the UE 164.

In the example of FIG. 1, one or more Earth orbiting satellite positioning system (SPS) space vehicles (SVs) 112 (e.g., satellites) may be used as an independent source of location information for any of the illustrated UEs (shown in FIG. 1 as a single UE 104 for simplicity). A UE 104 may include one or more dedicated SPS receivers specifically designed to receive SPS signals 124 for deriving geo location information from the SVs 112. An SPS typically includes a system of transmitters (e.g., SVs 112) positioned to enable receivers (e.g., UEs 104) to determine their location on or above the Earth based, at least in part, on signals (e.g., SPS signals 124) received from the transmitters. Such a transmitter typically transmits a signal marked with a repeating pseudo-random noise (PN) code of a set number of chips. While typically located in SVs 112, transmitters may sometimes be located on ground-based control stations, base stations 102, and/or other UEs 104.

The use of SPS signals 124 can be augmented by various satellite-based augmentation systems (SBAS) that may be associated with or otherwise enabled for use with one or more global and/or regional navigation satellite systems. For example an SBAS may include an augmentation system(s) that provides integrity information, differential corrections, etc., such as the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), the Multi-functional Satellite Augmentation System (MSAS), the Global Positioning System (GPS) Aided Geo Augmented Navigation or GPS and Geo Augmented Navigation system (GAGAN), and/or the like. Thus, as used herein, an SPS may include any combination of one or more global and/or regional navigation satellite systems and/or augmentation systems, and SPS signals 124 may include SPS, SPS-like, and/or other signals associated with such one or more SPS.

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

FIG. 2A illustrates an example wireless network structure 200. For example, a 5GC 210 (also referred to as a Next Generation Core (NGC)) can be viewed functionally as control plane (C-plane) functions 214 (e.g., UE registration, authentication, network access, gateway selection, etc.) and user plane (U-plane) functions 212, (e.g., UE gateway function, access to data networks, IP routing, etc.) which operate cooperatively to form the core network. User plane interface (NG-U) 213 and control plane interface (NG-C) 215 connect the gNB 222 to the 5GC 210 and specifically to the user plane functions 212 and control plane functions 214, respectively. In an additional configuration, an ng-eNB 224 may also be connected to the 5GC 210 via NG-C 215 to the control plane functions 214 and NG-U 213 to user plane functions 212. Further, ng-eNB 224 may directly communicate with gNB 222 via a backhaul connection 223. In some configurations, a Next Generation RAN (NG-RAN) 220 may have one or more gNBs 222, while other configurations include one or more of both ng-eNBs 224 and gNBs 222. Either (or both) gNB 222 or ng-eNB 224 may communicate with one or more UEs 204 (e.g., any of the UEs described herein).

Another optional aspect may include a location server 230, which may be in communication with the 5GC 210 to provide location assistance for UE(s) 204. The location server 230 can be implemented as a plurality of separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules spread across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternately may each correspond to a single server. The location server 230 can be configured to support one or more location services for UEs 204 that can connect to the location server 230 via the core network, 5GC 210, and/or via the Internet (not illustrated). Further, the location server 230 may be integrated into a component of the core network, or alternatively may be external to the core network (e.g., a third party server, such as an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) server or service server).

FIG. 2B illustrates another example wireless network structure 250. A 5GC 260 (which may correspond to 5GC 210 in FIG. 2A) can be viewed functionally as control plane functions, provided by an access and mobility management function (AMF) 264, and user plane functions, provided by a user plane function (UPF) 262, which operate cooperatively to form the core network (i.e., 5GC 260). The functions of the AMF 264 include registration management, connection management, reachability management, mobility management, lawful interception, transport for session management (SM) messages between one or more UEs 204 (e.g., any of the UEs described herein) and a session management function (SMF) 266, transparent proxy services for routing SM messages, access authentication and access authorization, transport for short message service (SMS) messages between the UE 204 and the short message service function (SMSF) (not shown), and security anchor functionality (SEAF). The AMF 264 also interacts with an authentication server function (AUSF) (not shown) and the UE 204, and receives the intermediate key that was established as a result of the UE 204 authentication process. In the case of authentication based on a UMTS (universal mobile telecommunications system) subscriber identity module (USIM), the AMF 264 retrieves the security material from the AUSF. The functions of the AMF 264 also include security context management (SCM). The SCM receives a key from the SEAF that it uses to derive access-network specific keys. The functionality of the AMF 264 also includes location services management for regulatory services, transport for location services messages between the UE 204 and a location management function (LMF) 270 (which acts as a location server 230), transport for location services messages between the NG-RAN 220 and the LMF 270, evolved packet system (EPS) bearer identifier allocation for interworking with the EPS, and UE 204 mobility event notification. In addition, the AMF 264 also supports functionalities for non-3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project) access networks.

Functions of the UPF 262 include acting as an anchor point for intra-/inter-RAT mobility (when applicable), acting as an external protocol data unit (PDU) session point of interconnect to a data network (not shown), providing packet routing and forwarding, packet inspection, user plane policy rule enforcement (e.g., gating, redirection, traffic steering), lawful interception (user plane collection), traffic usage reporting, quality of service (QoS) handling for the user plane (e.g., uplink/downlink rate enforcement, reflective QoS marking in the downlink), uplink traffic verification (service data flow (SDF) to QoS flow mapping), transport level packet marking in the uplink and downlink, downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering, and sending and forwarding of one or more “end markers” to the source RAN node. The UPF 262 may also support transfer of location services messages over a user plane between the UE 204 and a location server, such as an SLP 272.

The functions of the SMF 266 include session management, UE Internet protocol (IP) address allocation and management, selection and control of user plane functions, configuration of traffic steering at the UPF 262 to route traffic to the proper destination, control of part of policy enforcement and QoS, and downlink data notification. The interface over which the SMF 266 communicates with the AMF 264 is referred to as the N11 interface.

Another optional aspect may include an LMF 270, which may be in communication with the 5GC 260 to provide location assistance for UEs 204. The LMF 270 can be implemented as a plurality of separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules spread across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternately may each correspond to a single server. The LMF 270 can be configured to support one or more location services for UEs 204 that can connect to the LMF 270 via the core network, 5GC 260, and/or via the Internet (not illustrated). The SLP 272 may support similar functions to the LMF 270, but whereas the LMF 270 may communicate with the AMF 264, NG-RAN 220, and UEs 204 over a control plane (e.g., using interfaces and protocols intended to convey signaling messages and not voice or data), the SLP 272 may communicate with UEs 204 and external clients (not shown in FIG. 2B) over a user plane (e.g., using protocols intended to carry voice and/or data like the transmission control protocol (TCP) and/or IP).

User plane interface 263 and control plane interface 265 connect the 5GC 260, and specifically the UPF 262 and AMF 264, respectively, to one or more gNBs 222 and/or ng-eNBs 224 in the NG-RAN 220. The interface between gNB(s) 222 and/or ng-eNB(s) 224 and the AMF 264 is referred to as the “N2” interface, and the interface between gNB(s) 222 and/or ng-eNB(s) 224 and the UPF 262 is referred to as the “N3” interface. The gNB(s) 222 and/or ng-eNB(s) 224 of the NG-RAN 220 may communicate directly with each other via backhaul connections 223, referred to as the “Xn-C” interface. One or more of gNBs 222 and/or ng-eNBs 224 may communicate with one or more UEs 204 over a wireless interface, referred to as the “Uu” interface.

The functionality of a gNB 222 is divided between a gNB central unit (gNB-CU) 226 and one or more gNB distributed units (gNB-DUs) 228. The interface 232 between the gNB-CU 226 and the one or more gNB-DUs 228 is referred to as the “F1” interface. A gNB-CU 226 is a logical node that includes the base station functions of transferring user data, mobility control, radio access network sharing, positioning, session management, and the like, except for those functions allocated exclusively to the gNB-DU(s) 228. More specifically, the gNB-CU 226 hosts the radio resource control (RRC), service data adaptation protocol (SDAP), and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) protocols of the gNB 222. A gNB-DU 228 is a logical node that hosts the radio link control (RLC), medium access control (MAC), and physical (PHY) layers of the gNB 222. Its operation is controlled by the gNB-CU 226. One gNB-DU 228 can support one or more cells, and one cell is supported by only one gNB-DU 228. Thus, a UE 204 communicates with the gNB-CU 226 via the RRC, SDAP, and PDCP layers and with a gNB-DU 228 via the RLC, MAC, and PHY layers.

FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C illustrate several example components (represented by corresponding blocks) that may be incorporated into a UE 302 (which may correspond to any of the UEs described herein), a base station 304 (which may correspond to any of the base stations described herein), and a network entity 306 (which may correspond to or embody any of the network functions described herein, including the location server 230 and the LMF 270, or alternatively may be independent from the NG-RAN 220 and/or 5GC 210/260 infrastructure depicted in FIGS. 2A and 2B, such as a private network) to support the file transmission operations as taught herein. It will be appreciated that these components may be implemented in different types of apparatuses in different implementations (e.g., in an ASIC, in a system-on-chip (SoC), etc.). The illustrated components may also be incorporated into other apparatuses in a communication system. For example, other apparatuses in a system may include components similar to those described to provide similar functionality. Also, a given apparatus may contain one or more of the components. For example, an apparatus may include multiple transceiver components that enable the apparatus to operate on multiple carriers and/or communicate via different technologies.

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

The UE 302 and the base station 304 each also include, at least in some cases, at least one short-range wireless transceiver 320 and 360, respectively. The short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 may be connected to one or more antennas 326 and 366, respectively, and provide means for communicating (e.g., means for transmitting, means for receiving, means for measuring, means for tuning, means for refraining from transmitting, etc.) with other network nodes, such as other UEs, access points, base stations, etc., via at least one designated RAT (e.g., WiFi, LTE-D, Bluetooth®, Zigbee®, Z-Wave®, PC5, dedicated short-range communications (DSRC), wireless access for vehicular environments (WAVE), near-field communication (NFC), etc.) over a wireless communication medium of interest. The short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 may be variously configured for transmitting and encoding signals 328 and 368 (e.g., messages, indications, information, and so on), respectively, and, conversely, for receiving and decoding signals 328 and 368 (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, and so on), respectively, in accordance with the designated RAT. Specifically, the short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 include one or more transmitters 324 and 364, respectively, for transmitting and encoding signals 328 and 368, respectively, and one or more receivers 322 and 362, respectively, for receiving and decoding signals 328 and 368, respectively. As specific examples, the short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 may be WiFi transceivers, Bluetooth® transceivers, Zigbee® and/or Z-Wave® transceivers, NFC transceivers, or vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and/or vehicle-to-everything (V2X) transceivers.

Transceiver circuitry including at least one transmitter and at least one receiver may comprise an integrated device (e.g., embodied as a transmitter circuit and a receiver circuit of a single communication device) in some implementations, may comprise a separate transmitter device and a separate receiver device in some implementations, or may be embodied in other ways in other implementations. In an aspect, a transmitter may include or be coupled to a plurality of antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such as an antenna array, that permits the respective apparatus to perform transmit “beamforming,” as described herein. Similarly, a receiver may include or be coupled to a plurality of antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such as an antenna array, that permits the respective apparatus to perform receive beamforming, as described herein. In an aspect, the transmitter and receiver may share the same plurality of antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such that the respective apparatus can only receive or transmit at a given time, not both at the same time. A wireless communication device (e.g., one or both of the transceivers 310 and 320 and/or 350 and 360) of the UE 302 and/or the base station 304 may also comprise a network listen module (NLM) or the like for performing various measurements.

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

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

In an aspect, the at least one WWAN transceiver 310 and/or the at least one short-range wireless transceiver 320 may form a (wireless) communication interface of the UE 302. Similarly, the at least one WWAN transceiver 350, the at least one short-range wireless transceiver 360, and/or the at least one network interface 380 may form a (wireless) communication interface of the base station 304. Likewise, the at least one network interface 390 may form a (wireless) communication interface of the network entity 306. The various wireless transceivers (e.g., transceivers 310, 320, 350, and 360) and wired transceivers (e.g., network interfaces 380 and 390) may generally be characterized as at least one transceiver, or alternatively, as at least one communication interface. As such, whether a particular transceiver or communication interface relates to a wired or wireless transceiver or communication interface, respectively, may be inferred from the type of communication performed (e.g., a backhaul communication between network devices or servers will generally relate to signaling via at least one wired transceiver).

The UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306 also include other components that may be used in conjunction with the operations as disclosed herein. The UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306 include at least one processor 332, 384, and 394, respectively, for providing functionality relating to, for example, wireless communication, and for providing other processing functionality. The processors 332, 384, and 394 may therefore provide means for processing, such as means for determining, means for calculating, means for receiving, means for transmitting, means for indicating, etc. In an aspect, the processors 332, 384, and 394 may include, for example, at least one general purpose processor, multi-core processor, central processing unit (CPU), ASIC, digital signal processor (DSP), field programmable gate array (FPGA), other programmable logic devices or processing circuitry, or various combinations thereof.

The UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306 include memory circuitry implementing memory components 340, 386, and 396 (e.g., each including a memory device), respectively, for maintaining information (e.g., information indicative of reserved resources, thresholds, parameters, and so on). The memory components 340, 386, and 396 may therefore provide means for storing, means for retrieving, means for maintaining, etc. In some cases, the UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306 may include PRS modules 342, 388, and 398, respectively. The PRS modules 342, 388, and 398 may be hardware circuits that are part of or coupled to the processors 332, 384, and 394, respectively, that, when executed, cause the UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306 to perform the functionality described herein. In other aspects, the PRS modules 342, 388, and 398 may be external to the processors 332, 384, and 394 (e.g., part of a modem processing system, integrated with another processing system, etc.). Alternatively, the PRS modules 342, 388, and 398 may be memory modules stored in the memory components 340, 386, and 396, respectively, that, when executed by the processors 332, 384, and 394 (or a modem processing system, another processing system, etc.), cause the UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306 to perform the functionality described herein. FIG. 3A illustrates possible locations of the PRS module 342, which may be, for example, part of the at least one WWAN transceiver 310, the memory component 340, the at least one processor 332, or any combination thereof, or may be a standalone component. FIG. 3B illustrates possible locations of the PRS module 388, which may be, for example, part of the at least one WWAN transceiver 350, the memory component 386, the at least one processor 384, or any combination thereof, or may be a standalone component. FIG. 3C illustrates possible locations of the PRS module 398, which may be, for example, part of the at least one network interface 390, the memory component 396, the at least one processor 394, or any combination thereof, or may be a standalone component.

The UE 302 may include one or more sensors 344 coupled to the at least one processor 332 to provide means for sensing or detecting movement and/or orientation information that is independent of motion data derived from signals received by the at least one WWAN transceiver 310, the at least one short-range wireless transceiver 320, and/or the SPS receiver 330. By way of example, the sensor(s) 344 may include an accelerometer (e.g., a micro-electrical mechanical systems (MEMS) device), a gyroscope, a geomagnetic sensor (e.g., a compass), an altimeter (e.g., a barometric pressure altimeter), and/or any other type of movement detection sensor. Moreover, the sensor(s) 344 may include a plurality of different types of devices and combine their outputs in order to provide motion information. For example, the sensor(s) 344 may use a combination of a multi-axis accelerometer and orientation sensors to provide the ability to compute positions in two-dimensional (2D) and/or three-dimensional (3D) coordinate systems.

In addition, the UE 302 includes a user interface 346 providing means for providing indications (e.g., audible and/or visual indications) to a user and/or for receiving user input (e.g., upon user actuation of a sensing device such a keypad, a touch screen, a microphone, and so on). Although not shown, the base station 304 and the network entity 306 may also include user interfaces.

Referring to the at least one processor 384 in more detail, in the downlink, IP packets from the network entity 306 may be provided to the at least one processor 384. The at least one processor 384 may implement functionality for an RRC layer, a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, and a medium access control (MAC) layer. The at least one processor 384 may provide RRC layer functionality associated with broadcasting of system information (e.g., master information block (MIB), system information blocks (SIBs)), RRC connection control (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connection modification, and RRC connection release), inter-RAT mobility, and measurement configuration for UE measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression/decompression, security (ciphering, deciphering, integrity protection, integrity verification), and handover support functions; RLC layer functionality associated with the transfer of upper layer PDUs, error correction through automatic repeat request (ARQ), concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC service data units (SDUs), re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, scheduling information reporting, error correction, priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

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

At the UE 302, the receiver 312 receives a signal through its respective antenna(s) 316. The receiver 312 recovers information modulated onto an RF carrier and provides the information to the at least one processor 332. The transmitter 314 and the receiver 312 implement Layer-1 functionality associated with various signal processing functions. The receiver 312 may perform spatial processing on the information to recover any spatial streams destined for the UE 302. If multiple spatial streams are destined for the UE 302, they may be combined by the receiver 312 into a single OFDM symbol stream. The receiver 312 then converts the OFDM symbol stream from the time-domain to the frequency domain using a fast Fourier transform (EFT). The frequency domain signal comprises a separate OFDM symbol stream for each subcarrier of the OFDM signal. The symbols on each subcarrier, and the reference signal, are recovered and demodulated by determining the most likely signal constellation points transmitted by the base station 304. These soft decisions may be based on channel estimates computed by a channel estimator. The soft decisions are then decoded and de-interleaved to recover the data and control signals that were originally transmitted by the base station 304 on the physical channel. The data and control signals are then provided to the at least one processor 332, which implements Layer-3 (L3) and Layer-2 (L2) functionality.

In the uplink, the at least one processor 332 provides demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packet reassembly, deciphering, header decompression, and control signal processing to recover IP packets from the core network. The at least one processor 332 is also responsible for error detection.

Similar to the functionality described in connection with the downlink transmission by the base station 304, the at least one processor 332 provides RRC layer functionality associated with system information (e.g., MIB, SIBS) acquisition, RRC connections, and measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression/decompression, and security (ciphering, deciphering, integrity protection, integrity verification); RLC layer functionality associated with the transfer of upper layer PDUs, error correction through ARQ, concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC SDUs, re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing of MAC SDUs onto transport blocks (TBs), demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction through hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ), priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

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

The uplink transmission is processed at the base station 304 in a manner similar to that described in connection with the receiver function at the UE 302. The receiver 352 receives a signal through its respective antenna(s) 356. The receiver 352 recovers information modulated onto an RF carrier and provides the information to the at least one processor 384.

In the uplink, the at least one processor 384 provides demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packet reassembly, deciphering, header decompression, control signal processing to recover IP packets from the UE 302. IP packets from the at least one processor 384 may be provided to the core network. The at least one processor 384 is also responsible for error detection.

For convenience, the UE 302, the base station 304, and/or the network entity 306 are shown in FIGS. 3A to 3C as including various components that may be configured according to the various examples described herein. It will be appreciated, however, that the illustrated components may have different functionality in different designs.

The various components of the UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306 may communicate with each other over data buses 334, 382, and 392, respectively. In an aspect, the data buses 334, 382, and 392 may form, or be part of, the communication interface of the UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306, respectively. For example, where different logical entities are embodied in the same device (e.g., gNB and location server functionality incorporated into the same base station 304), the data buses 334, 382, and 392 may provide communication between them.

The components of FIGS. 3A to 3C may be implemented in various ways. In some implementations, the components of FIGS. 3A to 3C may be implemented in one or more circuits such as, for example, one or more processors and/or one or more ASICs (which may include one or more processors). Here, each circuit may use and/or incorporate at least one memory component for storing information or executable code used by the circuit to provide this functionality. For example, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 310 to 346 may be implemented by processor and memory component(s) of the UE 302 (e.g., by execution of appropriate code and/or by appropriate configuration of processor components). Similarly, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 350 to 388 may be implemented by processor and memory components) of the base station 304 (e.g., by execution of appropriate code and/or by appropriate configuration of processor components). Also, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 390 to 398 may be implemented by processor and memory component(s) of the network entity 306 (e.g., by execution of appropriate code and/or by appropriate configuration of processor components). For simplicity, various operations, acts, and/or functions are described herein as being performed “by a UE,” “by a base station,” “by a network entity,” etc. However, as will be appreciated, such operations, acts, and/or functions may actually be performed by specific components or combinations of components of the UE 302, base station 304, network entity 306, etc., such as the processors 332, 384, 394, the transceivers 310, 320, 350, and 360, the memory components 340, 386, and 396, the PRS modules 342, 388, and 398, etc.

In some designs, the network entity 306 may be implemented as a core network component. In other designs, the network entity 306 may be distinct from a network operator or operation of the cellular network infrastructure (e.g., NG RAN 220 and/or 5GC 210/260). For example, the network entity 306 may be a component of a private network that may be configured to communicate with the UE 302 via the base station 304 or independently from the base station 304 (e.g., over a non-cellular communication link, such as WiFi).

Various frame structures may be used to support downlink and uplink transmissions between network nodes (e.g., base stations and UEs). FIG. 4A is a diagram 400 illustrating an example of a downlink frame structure, according to aspects of the disclosure. FIG. 4B is a diagram 430 illustrating an example of channels within the downlink frame structure, according to aspects of the disclosure. FIG. 4C is a diagram 450 illustrating an example of an uplink frame structure, according to aspects of the disclosure. FIG. 4D is a diagram 480 illustrating an example of channels within an uplink frame structure, according to aspects of the disclosure. Other wireless communications technologies may have different frame structures and/or different channels.

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

LTE supports a single numerology subcarrier spacing (SCS), symbol length, etc.). In contrast, NR may support multiple numerologies (μ), for example, subcarrier spacings of 15 kHz (μ=0), 30 kHz (μ=1), 60 kHz (μ=2), 120 kHz (μ=3), and 240 kHz (μ=4) or greater may be available. In each subcarrier spacing, there are 14 symbols per slot. For 15 kHz SCS (μ=0), there is one slot per subframe, 10 slots per frame, the slot duration is 1 millisecond (ms), the symbol duration is 66.7 microseconds (μs), and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with a 4K FFT size is 50. For 30 kHz SCS (μ=1), there are two slots per subframe, 20 slots per frame, the slot duration is 0.5 ms, the symbol duration is 33.3 μs, and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with a 4K FFT size is 100. For 60 kHz SCS (μ=2), there are four slots per subframe, 40 slots per frame, the slot duration is 0.25 ms, the symbol duration is 16.7 μs, and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with a 4K FFT size is 200. For 120 kHz SCS (μ=3), there are eight slots per subframe, 80 slots per frame, the slot duration is 0.125 ms, the symbol duration is 8.33 μs, and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with a 4K FFT size is 400. For 240 kHz SCS (μ=4), there are 16 slots per subframe, 160 slots per frame, the slot duration is 0.0625 ms, the symbol duration is 4.17 μs, and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with a 4K FFT size is 800.

In the example of FIGS. 4A to 4D, a numerology of 15 kHz is used. Thus, in the time domain, a 10 ms frame is divided into 10 equally sized subframes of 1 ms each, and each subframe includes one time slot. In FIGS. 4A to 4D, time is represented horizontally (on the X axis) with time increasing from left to right, while frequency is represented vertically (on the Y axis) with frequency increasing (or decreasing) from bottom to top.

A resource grid may be used to represent time slots, each time slot including one or more time-concurrent resource blocks (RBs) (also referred to as physical RBs (PRBs)) in the frequency domain. The resource grid is further divided into multiple resource elements (REs). An RE may correspond to one symbol length in the time domain and one subcarrier in the frequency domain. In the numerology of FIGS. 4A to 4D, for a normal cyclic prefix, an RB may contain 12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain and seven consecutive symbols in the time domain, for a total of 84 REs. For an extended cyclic prefix, an RB may contain 12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain and six consecutive symbols in the time domain, for a total of 72 REs. The number of bits carried by each RE depends on the modulation scheme.

Some of the REs carry downlink reference (pilot) signals (DL-RS). The DL-RS may include positioning reference signals (PRS), tracking reference signals (TRS), phase tracking reference signals (TRS), cell-specific reference signals (CRS), channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS), demodulation reference signals (DMRS), primary synchronization signals (PSS), secondary synchronization signals (SSS), synchronization signal blocks (SSBs), etc. FIG. 4A illustrates example locations of REs carrying PRS (labeled “R”),

A collection of resource elements (REs) that are used for transmission of PRS is referred to as a “PRS resource.” The collection of resource elements can span multiple PRBs in the frequency domain and ‘N’ (such as 1 or more) consecutive symbol(s) within a slot in the time domain. In a given OFDM symbol in the time domain, a PRS resource occupies consecutive PRBs in the frequency domain.

The transmission of a PRS resource within a given PRB has a particular comb size (also referred to as the “comb density”). A comb size ‘N’ represents the subcarrier spacing (or frequency/tone spacing) within each symbol of a PRS resource configuration. Specifically, for a comb size ‘N,’ PRS are transmitted in every Nth subcarrier of a symbol of a PRB. For example, for comb-4, for each symbol of the PRS resource configuration, REs corresponding to every fourth subcarrier (such as subcarriers 0, 4, 8) are used to transmit PRS of the PRS resource. Currently, comb sizes of comb-2, comb-4, comb-6, and comb-12 are supported for DL-PRS. FIG. 4A illustrates an example PRS resource configuration for comb-6 (which spans six symbols). That is, the locations of the shaded REs (labeled “R”) indicate a comb-6 PRS resource configuration.

Currently, a DL-PRS resource may span 2, 4, 6, or 12 consecutive symbols within a slot with a fully frequency-domain staggered pattern. A DL-PRS resource can be configured in any higher layer configured downlink or flexible (FL) symbol of a slot. There may be a constant energy per resource element (EPRE) for all REs of a given DL-PRS resource. The following are the frequency offsets from symbol to symbol for comb sizes 2, 4, 6, and 12 over 2, 4, 6, and 12 symbols. 2-symbol comb-2: {0, 1}; 4-symbol comb-2: {0, 1, 0, 1}; 6-symbol comb-2: {0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1}; 12-symbol comb-2: {0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1}; 4-symbol comb-4: {0, 2, 1, 3}; 12-symbol comb-4: {0, 2, 1, 3, 0, 2, 1, 3, 0, 2, 1, 3}; 6-symbol comb-6: {0, 3, 1, 4, 2, 5}; 12-symbol comb-6: {0, 3, 1. 4, 2, 5, 0, 3, 1, 4, 2, 5}; and 12-symbol comb-12: {0, 6, 3, 9, 1, 7, 4, 10, 2, 8, 5, 11}.

A “PRS resource set” is a set of PRS resources used for the transmission of PRS signals, where each PRS resource has a PRS resource ID. In addition, the PRS resources in a PRS resource set are associated with the same TRP. A PRS resource set is identified by a PRS resource set ID and is associated with a particular TRP (identified by a TRP ID). In addition, the PRS resources in a PRS resource set have the same periodicity, a common muting pattern configuration, and the same repetition factor (such as “PRS-ResourceRepetitionFactor”) across slots. The periodicity is the time from the first repetition of the first PRS resource of a first PRS instance to the same first repetition of the same first PRS resource of the next PRS instance. The periodicity may have a length selected from 2{circumflex over ( )}μ*{4, 5, 8, 10, 16, 20, 32, 40, 64, 80, 160, 320, 640, 1280, 2560, 5120, 10240} slots, with μ=0, 1, 2, 3. The repetition factor may have a length selected from {1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 16, 32} slots.

A PRS resource ID in a PRS resource set is associated with a single beam (or beam ID) transmitted from a single TRP (where a TRP may transmit one or more beams). That is, each PRS resource of a PRS resource set may be transmitted on a different beam, and as such, a “PRS resource,” or simply “resource,” also can be referred to as a “beam.” Note that this does not have any implications on whether the TRPS and the beams on which PRS are transmitted are known to the UE.

A “PRS instance” or “PRS occasion” is one instance of a periodically repeated time window (such as a group of one or more consecutive slots) where PRS are expected to be transmitted. A PRS occasion also may be referred to as a “PRS positioning occasion,” a “PRS positioning instance, a “positioning occasion,” “a positioning instance,” a “positioning repetition,” or simply an “occasion,” an “instance,” or a “repetition.”

A “positioning frequency layer” (also referred to simply as a “frequency layer”) is a collection of one or more PRS resource sets across one or more TRPs that have the same values for certain parameters. Specifically, the collection of PRS resource sets has the same subcarrier spacing and cyclic prefix (CP) type (meaning all numerologies supported for the PDSCH are also supported for PRS), the same Point A, the same value of the downlink PRS bandwidth, the same start PRB (and center frequency), and the same comb-size. The Point A parameter takes the value of the parameter “ARFCN-ValueNR” (where “ARFCN” stands for “absolute radio-frequency channel number”) and is an identifier/code that specifies a pair of physical radio channel used for transmission and reception. The downlink PRS bandwidth may have a granularity of four PRBs, with a minimum of 24 PRBs and a maximum of 272 PRBs. Currently, up to four frequency layers have been defined, and up to two PRS resource sets may be configured per TRP per frequency layer.

The concept of a frequency layer is somewhat like the concept of component carriers and bandwidth parts (BWPs), but different in that component carriers and BWPs are used by one base station (or a macro cell base station and a small cell base station) to transmit data channels, while frequency layers are used by several (usually three or more) base stations to transmit PRS. A UE may indicate the number of frequency layers it can support when it sends the network its positioning capabilities, such as during an LTE positioning protocol (LPP) session. For example, a UE may indicate whether it can support one or four positioning frequency layers.

FIG. 4B illustrates an example of various channels within a downlink slot of a radio frame. In NR, the channel bandwidth, or system bandwidth, is divided into multiple BWPs. A BWP is a contiguous set of PRBs selected from a contiguous subset of the common RBs for a given numerology on a given carrier. Generally, a maximum of four BWPs can be specified in the downlink and uplink. That is, a UE, can be configured with up to four BWPs on the downlink, and up to four BWPs on the uplink. Only one BWP (uplink or downlink) may be active at a given time, meaning the UE may only receive or transmit over one BWP at a time. On the downlink, the bandwidth of each BWP should be equal to or greater than the bandwidth of the SSB, but it may or may not contain the SSB.

Referring to FIG. 4B, a primary synchronization signal (PSS) is used by a UE to determine subframe/symbol timing and a physical layer identity. A secondary synchronization signal (SSS) is used by a UE to determine a physical layer cell identity group number and radio frame timing. Based on the physical layer identity and the physical layer cell identity group number, the UE can determine a PCI. Based on the PCI, the UE can determine the locations of the aforementioned DL-RS. The physical broadcast channel (PBCH), which carries an MIB, may be logically grouped with the PSS and SSS to form an SSB (also referred to as an SS/PBCH). The MIB provides a number of RBs in the downlink system bandwidth and a system frame number (SFN). The physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) carries user data, broadcast system information not transmitted through the PBCH, such as system information blocks (SIBS), and paging messages.

The physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) carries downlink control information (DCI) within one or more control channel elements (CCEs), each CCE including one or more RE group (REG) bundles (which may span multiple symbols in the time domain), each REG bundle including one or more REGs, each REG corresponding to 12 resource elements (one resource block) in the frequency domain and one OFDM symbol in the time domain. The set of physical resources used to carry the PDCCH/DCI is referred to in NR as the control resource set (CORESET). In NR, a PDCCH is confined to a single CORESET and is transmitted with its own DMRS. This enables UE-specific beamforming for the PDCCH.

In the example of FIG. 4B, there is one CORESET per BWP, and the CORESET spans three symbols (although it may be only one or two symbols) in the time domain. Unlike LTE control channels, which occupy the entire system bandwidth, in NR, PDCCH channels are localized to a specific region in the frequency domain (i.e., a CORESET). Thus, the frequency component of the PDCCH shown in FIG. 4B is illustrated as less than a single BWP in the frequency domain. Note that although the illustrated CORESET is contiguous in the frequency domain, it need not be. In addition, the CORESET may span less than three symbols in the time domain.

The DCI within the PDCCH carries information about uplink resource allocation (persistent and non-persistent) and descriptions about downlink data transmitted to the UE, referred to as uplink and downlink grants, respectively. More specifically, the DCI indicates the resources scheduled for the downlink data channel (e.g., PDCCH) and the uplink data channel (e.g., PUSCH). Multiple (e.g., up to eight) DCIs can be configured in the PDCCH, and these DCIs can have one of multiple formats. For example, there are different DCI formats for uplink scheduling, for downlink scheduling, for uplink transmit power control (TPC), etc. A PDCCH may be transported by 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 CCEs in order to accommodate different DCI payload sizes or coding rates.

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

Currently, an SRS resource may span 1, 2, 4, 8, or 12 consecutive symbols within a slot with a comb size of comb-2, comb-4, or comb-8. The following are the frequency offsets from symbol to symbol for the SRS comb patterns that are currently supported. 1-symbol comb-2: {0}; 2-symbol comb-2: {0, 1}; 4-symbol comb-2: {0, 1, 0, 1}; 4-symbol comb-4: {0, 2, 1, 3}; 8-symbol comb-4: {0, 2, 1, 3, 0, 2, 1, 3}; 12-symbol comb-4: {0, 2, 1, 3, 0, 2, 1, 3, 0, 2, 1, 3}; 4-symbol comb-8: {0, 4, 2, 6}; 8-symbol comb-8: 10, 4, 2, 6, 1, 5, 3, 71; and 12-symbol comb-8: {0, 4, 2, 6, 1, 5, 3, 7, 0, 4, 2, 6}.

A collection of resource elements that are used for transmission of SRS is referred to as an “SRS resource,” and may be identified by the parameter “SRS- ResourceId.” “The collection of resource elements can span multiple PRBs in the frequency domain and N (e.g., one or more) consecutive symbol(s) within a slot in the time domain. In a given OFDM symbol, an SRS resource occupies consecutive PRBs. An “SRS resource set” is a set of SRS resources used for the transmission of SRS signals, and is identified by an SRS resource set ID (“SRS-ResourceSetId”).

Generally, a UE transmits SRS to enable the receiving base station (either the serving base station or a neighboring base station) to measure the channel quality between the UE and the base station. However, SRS can also be specifically configured as uplink positioning reference signals for uplink-based positioning procedures, such as uplink time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA), round-trip-time (RTT), uplink angle-of-arrival (UL-AoA), etc. As used herein, the term “SRS” may refer to SRS configured for channel quality measurements or SRS configured for positioning purposes. The former may be referred to herein as “SRS-for-communication” and/or the latter may be referred to as “SRS-for-positioning” when needed to distinguish the two types of SRS.

Several enhancements over the previous definition of SRS have been proposed for SRS-for-positioning (also referred to as “UL-PRS”), such as a new staggered pattern within an SRS resource (except for single-symbol/comb-2), a new comb type for SRS, new sequences for SRS, a higher number of SRS resource sets per component carrier, and a higher number of SRS resources per component carrier. In addition, the parameters “SpatialRelationInfo” and “PathLossReference” are to be configured based on a downlink reference signal or SSB from a neighboring TRP. Further still, one SRS resource may be transmitted outside the active BWP, and one SRS resource may span across multiple component carriers. Also, SRS may be configured in RRC connected state and only transmitted within an active BWP. Further, there may be no frequency hopping, no repetition factor, a single antenna port, and new lengths for SRS (e.g., 8 and 12 symbols). There also may be open-loop power control and not closed-loop power control, and comb-8 (i.e., an SRS transmitted every eighth subcarrier in the same symbol) may be used. Lastly, the UE may transmit through the same transmit beam from multiple SRS resources for UL-AoA. All of these are features that are additional to the current SRS framework, which is configured through RRC higher layer signaling (and potentially triggered or activated through MAC control element (CE) or DCI).

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

Note that the terms “positioning reference signal” and “PRS” generally refer to specific reference signals that are used for positioning in NR and LTE systems. However, as used herein, the terms “positioning reference signal” and “PRS” may also refer to any type of reference signal that can be used for positioning, such as but not limited to, PRS as defined in LTE and NR, TRS, PTRS, CRS, CSI-RS, DMRS, PSS, SSS, SSB, SRS, UL-PRS, etc. In addition, the terms “positioning reference signal” and “PRS” may refer to downlink or uplink positioning reference signals, unless otherwise indicated by the context. If needed to further distinguish the type of PRS, a downlink positioning reference signal may be referred to as a “DL-PRS,” and an uplink positioning reference signal (e.g., an SRS-for-positioning, PTRS) may be referred to as an “UL-PRS.” In addition, for signals that may be transmitted in both the uplink and downlink (e.g., DMRS, PTRS), the signals may be prepended with “UL” or “DL” to distinguish the direction. For example, “UL-DMRS” may be differentiated from “DL-DMRS.”

FIG. 5 is a diagram of example PRS resource sets having different time gaps, according to aspects of the disclosure. In the example of FIG. 5, time is represented horizontally and frequency is represented vertically. Each block represents a slot in the time domain and some bandwidth in the frequency domain.

FIG. 5 illustrates two DL-PRS resource set configurations, a first DL-PRS resource set configuration 510 and a second DL-PRS resource set configuration 550. Each DL-PRS resource set configuration 510 and 550 comprises four PRS resources (labeled “Resource 1,” “Resource 2,” “Resource 3,” and “Resource 4”) and has a repetition factor of four. A repetition factor of four means that each of the four PRS resources is repeated four times (i.e., is transmitted four times) within the DL-PRS resource set. That is, there are four repetitions of each of the four PRS resources within the DL-PRS resource set.

The DL-PRS resource set configuration 510 has a time gap of one slot, meaning that each repetition of a PRS resource (e.g., “Resource 1”) starts on the first slot after the previous repetition of that PRS resource. Thus, as illustrated by DL-PRS resource set configuration 510, the four repetitions of each of the four PRS resources are grouped together. Specifically, the four repetitions of PRS resource “Resource 1” occupy the first four slots (i.e., slots n to n+3) of the DL-PRS resource set configuration 510, the four repetitions of PRS resource “Resource 2” occupy the second four slots (i.e., slots n+4 to n+7), the four repetitions of PRS resource “Resource 3” occupy the third four slots (i.e., slots n+8 to n+11), and the four repetitions of PRS resource “Resource 4” occupy the last four slots (i.e., slots n+12 to n+15).

In contrast, the DL-PRS resource set configuration 550 has a time gap of four slots, meaning that each repetition of a PRS resource (e.g., “Resource 2”) starts on the fourth slot after the previous repetition of that PRS resource. Thus, as illustrated by DL-PRS resource set configuration 550, the four repetitions of each of the four PRS resources are scheduled every fourth slot. For example, the four repetitions of PRS resource “Resource 1” occupy the first, fifth, ninth, and thirteenth slots (i.e., slots n, n+4, n+8, and n+12) of the DL-PRS resource set configuration 550.

Note that the time duration spanned by one DL-PRS resource set containing repeated DL-PRS resources, as illustrated in FIG. 5, should not exceed the PRS periodicity. In addition. UE receive beam sweeping, for receiving measuring the DL-PRS resource set, is not specified, but rather, depends on UE implementation.

NR supports a number of cellular network-based positioning technologies, including downlink-based, uplink-based, and downlink-and-uplink-based positioning methods. Downlink-based positioning methods include observed time difference of arrival (OTDOA) in LTE, downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA) in NR, and downlink angle-of-departure (DL-AoD) in NR. In an OTDOA or DL-TDOA positioning procedure, a UE measures the differences between the times of arrival (ToAs) of reference signals (e.g., positioning reference signals (PRS)) received from pairs of base stations, referred to as reference signal time difference (RSTD) or time difference of arrival (TDOA) measurements, and reports them to a positioning entity. More specifically, the UE receives the identifiers (IDs) of a reference base station (e.g., a serving base station) and multiple non-reference base stations in assistance data. The UE then measures the RSTD between the reference base station and each of the non-reference base stations. Based on the known locations of the involved base stations and the RSTD measurements, the positioning entity can estimate the UE's location.

For DL-AoD positioning, the positioning entity uses a beam report from the UE of received signal strength measurements of multiple downlink transmit beams to determine the angle(s) between the UE and the transmitting base station(s). The positioning entity can then estimate the location of the UE based on the determined angle(s) and the known location(s) of the transmitting base station(s).

Uplink-based positioning methods include uplink time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA) and uplink angle-of-arrival (UL-AoA). UL-TDOA is similar to DL-TDOA, but is based on uplink reference signals sounding reference signals (SRS)) transmitted by the UE. For UL-AoA positioning, one or more base stations measure the received signal strength of one or more uplink reference signals (e.g., SRS) received from a UE on one or more uplink receive beams. The positioning entity uses the signal strength measurements and the angles) of the receive beam(s) to determine the angle(s) between the UE and the base station(s). Based on the determined angle(s) and the known location(s) of the base station(s), the positioning entity can then estimate the location of the UE.

Downlink-and-uplink-based positioning methods include enhanced cell-ID (E-CID) positioning and multi-round-trip-time (RTT) positioning (also referred to as “multi-cell RTT”). In an RTT procedure, an initiator (a base station or a UE) transmits an KIT measurement signal a PRS or SRS) to a responder (a UE or base station), which transmits an RTT response signal (e.g., an SRS or PRS) back to the initiator. The RTT response signal includes the difference between the ToA of the RTT measurement signal and the transmission time of the RTT response signal, referred to as the reception-to-transmission (Rx-Tx) time difference. The initiator calculates the difference between the transmission time of the RTT measurement signal and the ToA of the RTT response signal, referred to as the transmission-to-reception (Tx-Rx) time difference. The propagation time (also referred to as the “time of flight”) between the initiator and the responder can be calculated from the Tx-Rx and Rx-Tx time differences. Based on the propagation time and the known speed of light, the distance between the initiator and the responder can be determined. For multi-RTT positioning, a UE performs an RTT procedure with multiple base stations to enable its location to be determined (e.g., using multilateration) based on the known locations of the base stations. RTT and multi-RTT methods can be combined with other positioning techniques, such as UL-AoA and DL-AoD, to improve location accuracy.

The E-CID positioning method is based on radio resource management (RRM) measurements. In E-CID, the UE reports the serving cell ID, the timing advance (TA), and the identifiers, estimated timing, and signal strength of detected neighbor base stations. The location of the UE is then estimated based on this information and the known locations of the base station(s).

To assist positioning operations, a location server (e.g., location server 230, LMF 270, SLP 272) may provide assistance data to the UE. For example, the assistance data may include identifiers of the base stations (or the cells/TRPs of the base stations) from which to measure reference signals, the reference signal configuration parameters (e.g., the number of consecutive positioning subframes, periodicity of positioning subframes, muting sequence, frequency hopping sequence, reference signal identifier, reference signal bandwidth, etc.), and/or other parameters applicable to the particular positioning method. Alternatively, the assistance data may originate directly from the base stations themselves (e.g., in periodically broadcasted overhead messages, etc.). in some cases, the UE may be able to detect neighbor network nodes itself without the use of assistance data.

In the case of an OTDOA or DL-TDOA positioning procedure, the assistance data may further include an expected RSTD value and an associated uncertainty, or search window, around the expected RSTD. In some cases, the value range of the expected RSTD may be +/−500 microseconds (μs). In some cases, when any of the resources used for the positioning measurement are in FR1, the value range for the uncertainty of the expected RSTD may be +/−32 μs. In other cases, when all of the resources used for the positioning measurements) are in FR2, the value range for the uncertainty of the expected RSTD may be +/−8 μs.

A location estimate may be referred to by other names, such as a position estimate, location, position, position fix, fix, or the like. A location 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 location 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 location estimate may include an expected error or uncertainty (e.g., by including an area or volume within which the location is expected to be included with some specified or default level of confidence).

Examples of some of the above-noted NR RRT-based positioning techniques will now be described in more detail.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of conventional DI, time difference of arrival (TDoA) based positioning. In DL-TDoA, the difference in ToA between synchronized cells, e.g., gNB1, gNB2, and gNB3 in FIG. 6, provides a distance estimate along hyperbolas. Multiple TDoA measurements are used for multilateration, e.g., four or more cells. Network synchronization error among the gNBs is the main obstacle to high precision positioning. The potential timing errors τ1, τ2, and τ3 create a measurement uncertainty along each hyperbola.

FIG. 7 is a diagram 700 showing exemplary timings of RTT measurement signals exchanged between a base station 702 (e.g., any of the base stations described herein) and a UE 704 (e.g., any of the UEs described herein), according to aspects of the disclosure. In the example of FIG. 7, the base station 702 sends an RTT measurement signal 710 (e.g., PRS, NRS, CRS, CSI-RS, etc.) to the UE 704 at time t1. The RTT measurement signal 710 has some propagation delay T_Prop as it travels from the base station 702 to the UE 704. At time t2 (the ToA of the RTT measurement signal 710 at the UE 704), the UE 704 receives/measures the RTT measurement signal 710. After some UE processing time, the UE 704 transmits an RTT response signal 720 at time t3. After the propagation delay T_Prop, the base station 702 receives/measures the RTT response signal 720 from the UE 704 at time t₄(the ToA of the RTT response signal 720 at the base station 702).

In order to identify the ToA (e.g., t2) of a reference signal (e.g., an RTT measurement signal 710) transmitted by a given network node (e.g., base station 702), the receiver (e.g., UE 704) first jointly processes all the resource elements (REs) on the channel on which the transmitter is transmitting the reference signal, and performs an inverse Fourier transform to convert the received reference signals to the time domain. The conversion of the received reference signals to the time domain is referred to as estimation of the channel energy response (CER). The CER shows the peaks on the channel over time, and the earliest “significant” peak should therefore correspond to the ToA of the reference signal. Generally, the receiver will use a noise-related quality threshold to filter out spurious local peaks, thereby presumably correctly identifying significant peaks on the channel. For example, the receiver may choose a ToA estimate that is the earliest local maximum of the CER that is at least X dB higher than the median of the CER and a maximum Y dB lower than the main peak on the channel. The receiver determines the CER for each reference signal from each transmitter in order to determine the ToA of each reference signal from the different transmitters.

In some designs, the RTT response signal 720 may explicitly include the difference between time t3 and time t2 (i.e., T_Rx-Tx 712). Using this measurement and the difference between time t₄and time t₁(i.e., T_Tx-Rx 722), the base station 702 (or other positioning entity, such as location server 230, LMF 270) can calculate the distance to the UE 704 as: d=(1/2c)*(T_Tx-Rx−T_Rx-Tx)=(1/2c)*(t2−t1)−(1/2c)*(t4−t3).

where c is the speed of light. While not illustrated expressly in FIG. 7, an additional source of delay or error may be due to UE and gNB hardware group delay for position location.

Various parameters associated with positioning can impact power consumption at the UE. Knowledge of such parameters can be used to estimate (or model) the UE power consumption. By accurately modeling the power consumption of the UE, various power saving features anchor performance enhancing features can be utilized in a predictive manner so as to improve the user experience.

An additional source of delay or error is due to UE and gNB hardware group delay for position location. FIG. 8 illustrates a diagram 800 showing exemplary timings of WIT measurement signals exchanged between a base station (gNB) (e.g., any of the base stations described herein) and a UE (e.g., any of the UEs described herein), according to aspects of the disclosure. FIG. 8 is similar in some respects to FIG. 7. However, in FIG. 8, the UE and gNB hardware group delay (which is primarily due to internal hardware delays between a baseband (BB) component and antenna (ANT) at the UE and gNB) is shown with respect to 802, 804, 806 and 808. As will be appreciated, both Tx-side and Rx-side path-specific or beam-specific delays impact the RTT measurement. Hardware group delays such as 802, 804, 806 and 808 can contribute to timing errors and/or calibration errors that can impact RTT as well as other measurements such as TDOA, RSTD, and so on, which in turn can impact positioning performance. For example, in some designs, 10 ns of error will introduce the 3 meter of error in the final fix.

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary wireless communications system 900 according to aspects of the disclosure. In the example of FIG. 9, a UE 904 (which may correspond to any of the UEs described herein) is attempting to calculate an estimate of its position, or assist another entity (e.g., a base station or core network component, another UE, a location server, a third party application, etc.) to calculate an estimate of its position, via a multi-RTT positioning scheme. The UE 904 may communicate wirelessly with a plurality of base stations 902-1, 902-2, and 902-3 (collectively, base stations 902, and which may correspond to any of the base stations described herein) using RF signals and standardized protocols for the modulation of the RF signals and the exchange of information packets. By extracting different types of information from the exchanged RF signals, and utilizing the layout of the wireless communications system 900 (i.e., the base stations' locations, geometry, etc.), the UE 904 may determine its position, or assist in the determination of its position, in a predefined reference coordinate system. In an aspect, the UE 904 may specify its position using a two-dimensional coordinate system; however, the aspects disclosed herein are not so limited, and may also be applicable to determining positions using a three-dimensional coordinate system, if the extra dimension is desired. Additionally, while FIG. 9 illustrates one UE 904 and three base stations 902, as will be appreciated, there may be more UEs 904 and more base stations 902.

To support position estimates, the base stations 902 may be configured to broadcast reference RE signals (e.g., PRS, NRS, CRS, TRS, CSI-RS, PSS, SSS, etc.) to UEs 904 in their coverage area to enable a UE 904 to measure characteristics of such reference RF signals. For example, the UE 904 may measure the ToA of specific reference RF signals (e.g., PRS, NRS, CRS, CSI-RS, etc.) transmitted by at least three different base stations 902 and may use the RTT positioning method to report these ToAs (and additional information) back to the serving base station 902 or another positioning entity (e.g., location server, LMF).

In an aspect, although described as the UE 904 measuring reference RE signals from a base station 902, the UE 904 may measure reference RF signals from one of multiple cells supported by a base station 902. Where the UE 904 measures reference RE signals transmitted by a cell supported by a base station 902, the at least two other reference RF signals measured by the UE 904 to perform the RTT procedure would be from cells supported by base stations 902 different from the first base station 902 and may have good or poor signal strength at the UE 904.

In order to determine the position (x, y) of the UE 904, the entity determining the position of the UE 904 needs to know the locations of the base stations 902, which may be represented in a reference coordinate system as (x_k, y_k), where k=1, 2, 3 in the example of FIG. 9. Where one of the base stations 902 (e.g., the serving base station) or the UE 904 determines the position of the UE 904, the locations of the involved base stations 902 may be provided to the serving base station 902 or the UE 904 by a location server with knowledge of the network geometry (e.g., location server, LMF). Alternatively, the location server may determine the position of the UE 904 using the known network geometry.

Either the UE 904 or the respective base station 902 may determine the distance (d_k, where k=1, 2, 3) between the UE 904 and the respective base station 902. In an aspect, determining the RTT 910 of signals exchanged between the UE 904 and any base station 902 can be performed and converted to a distance (d_k). As discussed further below, RTT techniques can measure the time between sending a signaling message (e.g., reference RF signals) and receiving a response. These methods may utilize calibration to remove any processing delays. In some environments, it may be assumed that the processing delays for the UE 904 and the base stations 902 are the same. However, such an assumption may not be true in practice.

Once each distance d_k is determined, the UE 904, a base station 902, or the location server (e.g., LMF) can solve for the position (x, y) of the UE 904 by using a variety of known geometric techniques, such as, for example, trilateration or multilateration. From FIG. 9, it can be seen that the position of the UE 904 ideally lies at the common intersection of three semicircles, each semicircle being defined by radius d_k and center (x_k, y_k), where k=1, 2, 3.

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 904 from the location of a base station 902). The intersection of the two directions at or near the point (x, y) can provide another estimate of the location for the UE 904.

A position estimate (e.g., for a UE 904) 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).

FIG. 10 illustrates an exemplary wireless communications system 1000 according to aspects of the disclosure. While FIG. 9 depicts an example of a multi-cell RTT positioning scheme, FIG. 10 depicts an example of a single-cell RTT positioning scheme. In FIG. 10, RTT1 is measured along with an AoD1 associated with a beam on which a DL PRS is transmitted from a cell to a UE. The overlapping region of the RTT1 and AoD1 depicted in FIG. 10 provides a coarse location estimate for the associated UE.

FIG. 11 illustrates a timing diagram 1100 of RTT measurement signals exchanged between UE 302 and BS 304, according to aspects of the disclosure. The timing diagram 1100 of FIG. 11 is a variation of the timing diagram 700 of FIG. 7, whereby T_Prop is denoted as T_oF(Time of Flight), T_Tx-Rx is denoted as τ_A, T_Rx-Tx is denoted as τ_B, signal 710 is denoted as PRS, and signal 720 is denoted as SRS.

Referring to FIG. 11, in some designs, RTT-based ranging/positioning (e.g., sidelink RTT between two sidelink UEs, or Uu-RTT RTT between UE and gNB) does not require accurate synchronization among different nodes, and clock drift of each node itself can be the dominant component of measurement error. For a single-round PRS/SRS exchanging (as in Rel-16/17 Uu-RTT), τ_A=2T_oF+τ_B(where T_oF=RTT/2 is time-of-flight in single way, and τ_A, τ_Bare Rx-Tx time differences), clock drift can be modelled as {circumflex over (τ)}_A=(1+e_A)τ_A=k_Aτ_Aand {circumflex over (τ)}_B=(1+e_B)τ_B=k_Bτ_B, where {circumflex over (τ)}_Aand {circumflex over (τ)}_Bare measured Rx-Tx time differences e_Aor e_Bmodels the deviation from ideal time, and may be expressed in ppm/ppb (parts per million/billion). For an 5G NR UE, according to 38.101−1/2, the required clock drift is up to ±0.1 ppm (±100 ppb). For estimated T_oFby

${\hat{T}}_{oF} = \frac{1}{2} ({\hat{τ}}_{A} - {\hat{τ}}_{B}) .$

error is:

${\hat{T}}_{oF} - T_{oF} = \frac{1}{2} ({\hat{τ}}_{A} - {\hat{τ}}_{B}) - \frac{1}{2} (τ_{A} - τ_{B}) = \frac{1}{2} (e_{A} τ_{A} - e_{B} τ_{B}) = e_{A} T_{oF} + \frac{τ_{B}}{2} (e_{A} - e_{B}),$

where T_oFis at a level of tens of nanoseconds (for distances e.g. 3 to 30 meters), while τ_Bis at a level of milliseconds—thus τ_B/2(e_A−e_B) is the dominant part of estimation error. Assuming τ_B=100 ms, since the worst case of e_A−e_Bis ±0.2 ppm, the error can be 10 ns (3 meters in distance).

Referring to FIG. 11, for Uu-based RTT in 3GPP Rel-16, a maximum PRS-to-SRS time is required between a DL-PRS and SRS for Rx-Tx time difference measurement. For example, a maximum PRS-to-SRS requirement 25 ms corresponds to 75 cm ranging error due to this ±0.1 ppm time-drift.

However, as the positioning accuracy requirements increase in 3GPP Rel-17/18, the required maximum PRS-to-SRS can be small and may limit gNB scheduling flexibility. For example, for Rel-16 accuracy (e.g., 3-10 meters), the max PRS-to-SRS time can be:

$\frac{3 * 10 %}{0.1 ppm * c} = 10 ms,$

which may not be a very harsh requirement (here 10% is the error budget). However, as positioning requirements increase in Rel-17 (e.g., 1 m for general commercial use, or 20 cm for IIoT,) the max PRS-to-SRS time can be 3.3 ms or 0.66 ms—either impossible, or cause a shortage on SRS capacity.

To this end, time-drift error compensation may be implemented, which may improve positioning accuracy even if PRS-to-SRS time is relatively long.

FIG. 12 illustrates a timing diagram 1200 of RTT measurement signals exchanged between UE 302 and BS 304, according to aspects of the disclosure. In contrast to FIG. 11, a first PRS (PRS #1) before SRS is paired with a second PRS (PRS #2) after SRS.

Referring to FIG. 12, in some designs, the PRS #1, SRS and PRS #2 are symmetric (e.g., a slot offset between PRS #1 and SRS is equal to a slot offset between SRS and PRS #2). In this case, drift-mitigated {circumflex over (T)}_oFmay be calculated as:

$\frac{1}{4} ({\hat{τ}}_{A, 1} - {\hat{τ}}_{B, 1} + {\hat{τ}}_{B, 2} - {\hat{τ}}_{A, 2})$

where error of {circumflex over (T)}_oFmay be calculated as:

$\frac{1}{2} T_{oF} (e_{A} + e_{B}) + \frac{1}{4} (e_{A} - e_{B}) (τ_{B, 1} - τ_{A, 2})$

where the symmetric nature of PRS #1, SRS and PRS #2 mitigates the dominant part of the time-drift error (e.g., which makes scheduling flexibility more difficult, but improves latency).

Referring to FIG. 12., in other designs, the PRS #1, SRS and PRS #2 are asymmetric (e.g., a slot offset between PRS #1 and SRS is not equal to a slot offset between SRS and PRS #2). In this case, drift-mitigated {circumflex over (T)}_oFmay be calculated as:

$\frac{{\hat{τ}}_{A, 1} {\hat{τ}}_{B, 2} - {\hat{τ}}_{A, 2} {\hat{τ}}_{B, 1}}{2 ({\hat{τ}}_{B, 1} + {\hat{τ}}_{B, 2})} = \frac{1}{2} [{\hat{τ}}_{A, 1} - \frac{{\hat{τ}}_{A, 1} + {\hat{τ}}_{A, 2}}{{\hat{τ}}_{B, 1} + {\hat{τ}}_{B, 2}} {\hat{τ}}_{B, 1}]$

where the drift-error reference duration is {circumflex over (τ)}_X,1+{circumflex over (τ)}_X,2, and where error of {circumflex over (T)}_oFmay be calculated as e_AT_oF, where the drift-correction reference duration is long enough to be effective so that the multiplication correction factor is not a constant 1 (e.g., which makes scheduling flexibility easier, but increases latency).

Referring to FIG. 12, it can be seen that multiple DL-PRS can be configured to mitigate the clock-drift issue noted above. In some designs, PRS #1 and PRS #2 may be associated with two independent PRS resource configurations. However, setting up separate DL-PRS configurations for PRS #1 and PRS #2 may be relatively inefficient.

Aspects of the disclosure are directed to a paired DL-PRS resource configuration for first and second DL-PRSs. In some designs, the first and second DL-PRS are associated with an RTT measurement procedure whereby measurements of the first and second DL-PRS are used to compensate for time-drift (e.g., which may be significant in a scenario where PRS-to-SRS time exceeds a threshold, particularly in Rel-17/18). Such aspects may provide various technical advantages, such as improved positioning accuracy due to time-drift compensation without setting up multiple independent DL-PRS resource configurations for the respective DL-PRSs.

FIG. 13 illustrates an exemplary process 1300 of wireless communication, according to aspects of the disclosure. In an aspect, the process 1300 may be performed by UE 302.

Referring to FIG. 13, at 1310, UE 302 (e.g., receiver 312 or 322, etc.) receives a paired downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) resource configuration for a first DL-PRS and a second DL-PRS that is offset in time from the first DL-PRS by a time offset, the first and second DL-PRSs associated with the same transmission source. The paired DL-PRS resource configuration may be conveyed in a variety of ways, as will be described below in more detail. In an example, a means for performing the reception at 1310 may include receiver 312 or 322, etc. of UE 302.

Referring to FIG. 13, at 1320, UE 302 (e.g., receiver 312 or 322, transmitter 314 or 324, processing system 332, etc.) performs a first measurement of the first DL-PRS and a second measurement of the second DL-PRS in accordance with the paired DL-PRS resource configuration. For example, the first and second measurements may correspond to receive-transmit (Rx-Tx) time difference measurements based on timestamps derived on the same transmission reception point (TRP) and the same respective DL-PRS resources. In an example, a means for performing the measurements at 1320 may include receiver 312 or 322, transmitter 314 or 324, processing system 332, etc., of UE 302.

FIG. 14 illustrates an exemplary process 1400 of wireless communication, according to aspects of the disclosure. In an aspect, the process 1400 may be performed by a position estimation entity, which may correspond to a UE such as UE 302 (e.g., for UE-based positioning), a BS or gNB such as BS 304 (e.g., for LMF integrated in RAN), or a network entity 306 (e.g., core network component such as LMF or a location server).

Referring to FIG. 14, at 1410, the position estimation entity (e.g., processor(s) 332 or 384 or 394, PRS module 342 or 388 or 398, etc.) determines a paired downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) resource configuration for a first DL-PRS and a second DL-PRS that is offset in time from the first DL-PRS by a time offset, the first and second DL-PRSs associated with the same transmission source. In an example, a means for performing the determination at 1410 may include processor(s) 332 or 384 or 394, PRS module 342 or 388 or 398, etc., of the position estimation entity.

Referring to FIG. 14, at 1420, the position estimation entity (e.g., transmitter 314 or 324 or 354 or 364, data bus 334, network interface(s) 380 or 390, etc.) transmits an indication of the paired DL-PRS resource configuration to a UE. In some designs, the position estimation entity may correspond to the UE itself. In this case, the transmission at 1420 to this particular component may correspond to an internal transmission of data between logical components over a respective data bus, etc., rather than an external wireless or backhaul transmission. Moreover, the indication of the paired DL-PRS resource configuration may also be transmitted to one or more other entities associated with the positioning procedure, such as one or more gNBs. In an example, a means for performing the transmission of 1420 may include transmitter 314 or 324 or 354 or 364, data bus 334, network interface(s) 380 or 390, etc., of the position estimation entity.

Referring to FIGS. 13-14, in some designs, the first and second DL-PRSs are scheduled aperiodically, semi-periodically, or periodically. FIG. 15 illustrates an example of a paired DL-PRS resource configuration 1500 in accordance with aspects of the disclosure. In particular, FIG. 15 illustrates a periodic scheduling scenario for the first and second PRSs in accordance with aspects of the disclosure. In FIG. 15, a first pairing of PRS #1 and PRS #2 is depicted at 1510, where PRS #1 and PRS #2 are offset from each other by Y msec. PRS #1 of the first pairing of PRS #1 and PRS #2 is offset from PRS #1 of a second pairing of PRS #1 and PRS #2 by X msec. An SRS is also associated with each pairing of PRS #1 and PRS #2. In an example, UE 302 may transmit, to the position estimation entity, a measurement report including measurement information that is based on the first and second measurements. In other words, paired reporting of PRS #1 and PRS #2 may be implemented (e.g., first level batch reporting, in the sense that a measurement report may report paired PRS measurement information for one particular pair of PRS).

Referring to FIGS. 13-14, in some designs, the paired DL-PRS resource configuration includes a first DL-PRS resource set with a given periodicity for the first DL-PRS, and a second DL-PRS resource set with the given periodicity for the second DL-PRS. For example, in case of FIG. 15, different DL-PRS resource sets may be configured for PRS #1 and PRS #2 with the same periodicity (e.g., X msec).

Referring to FIGS. 13-14, in some designs, the paired DL-PRS resource configuration includes a first DL-PRS resource set for the first DL-PRS, and a second DL-PRS resource set for the second DL-PRS that is configured as a duplicate of the first DL-PRS resource set, and the time offset (e.g., Y msec in FIG. 15) is between corresponding DL-PRS resources associated with the first DL-PRS resource set and the second DL-PRS resource set.

Referring to FIGS. 13-14, in some designs, the paired DL-PRS resource configuration configures the first and second DL-PRSs as first and second repetitions of the same DL-PRS resource in a DL-PRS resource set with the time offset is between the first and second repetitions. In an example, the time offset is greater than a maximum DL-PRS resource time gap permitted between non-paired DL-PRSs. For example, the time offset between the two repetitions (e.g., Y) can be larger than PRS-ResourceTimeGap for the case without such paired reporting (as in current Rel-16, only a maximum number of 32 slots is supported), particularly in the asymmetric case. An example of why the time offset (e.g., Y may be kept larger than the maximum DL-PRS resource tune gap permitted between non-paired DL-PRS, at least for asymmetric case is described below with respect to FIG. 16 in more detail.

Referring to FIGS. 13-14, in some designs, the paired DL-PRS resource configuration configures the first and second DL-PRSs as first and second repetition groups, respectively, of the same DL-PRS resource in a DL-PRS resource set with the time offset is between the first and second repetition groups. In an example, the time offset is different than a DL-PRS resource time gaps within each of the first and second repetition groups. For example, the repetition groups can have an offset Y different than the PRS-ResourceTimeGap within each group (e.g., 4 repetitions to derive a measurement, where the first 4 repetitions are in slots n, n+1, n+2, n+3, while the other 4 repetitions are in slots n+Y, n+Y+1, n+Y+2, n+Y+3 (here PRS-ResourceTimeGap is configured as 1).

Referring to FIGS. 13-14, in some designs, the first and second measurements correspond to receive-transmit (Rx-Tx) time difference measurements based on timestamps derived on the same transmission reception point (TRP) and the same respective DL-PRS resources.

Referring to FIGS. 13-14, in some designs, UE 302 may transmit, to the position estimation entity, a measurement report including measurement information that is based on the first and second measurements. In an example where the first and second DL-PRSs are scheduled periodically, and the measurement information may be associated with two or more periodic instances of the first DL-PRS and two or more corresponding instances of the second DL-PRS. In other words, second level paired batch reporting of PRS #1 and PRS #2 may be implemented, in the sense that a measurement report may report paired PRS measurement information for multiple particular pairs of PRS.

FIG. 16 illustrates paired DL-PRS resource configuration 1600 in accordance with aspects of the disclosure. In the example of FIG. 16, a group of K pairs of paired PRSs is depicted at 1610 (K=4). In an example, second level paired batch reporting of PRS #1 and PRS #2 for the group of K pairs of paired PRSs 1610 in a single measurement report. In an example, the measurement report may indicate 2*K Rx-Tx time difference measurements reported with timestamps derived on the same TRP and PRS resources.

Referring to FIG. 16, in some designs as noted above, the scheduling of PRS #1, SRS and PRS #2 may be asymmetric. In this case, the PRS #1 to PRS #2 offset (or Y) may be kept above a threshold (e.g., in some designs, such a threshold for Y need not be enforced for symmetric case). In an example, the threshold may be conditional on that a UL-SRS-P resource transmission that is not configured with equal gap (e.g., a same slot offset) between PRS #1-to-SRS and SRS-to-PRS #2 (since this would allow the symmetric algorithm, which may not require a threshold). In some designs, the aim is to allow a long enough drift-correction ref. duration Y) for the UE to have measurements resulting a time-drifted and different {circumflex over (τ)}_B,1+{circumflex over (τ)}_B,2than gNB basis ({circumflex over (τ)}_A,1+{circumflex over (τ)}_A,2) for the asymmetric algorithm:

In some designs, the threshold may decrease with PRS bandwidth, e.g. >=50 ms for 400 MHz BW, or >=200 ms for 100 MHz BW

Referring to FIGS. 13-14, in some designs, the first and second DL-PRSs are associated with a positioning measurement procedure that further includes an uplink sounding reference signal for positioning (UL-SRS-P) transmitted by the UE. For example, the UL-SRS-P may correspond to any of the SRSs depicted in FIGS. 13, 15 or 16. Moreover, as noted above, the positioning measurement procedure may be symmetric such that a first nine differential between the UL-SRS-P and the first DL-PRS is the same as a second time differential between the UL-SRS-P and the second DL-PRS, or asymmetric such that a first time differential between the UL-SRS-P and the first DL-PRS is different than a second time differential between the UL-SRS-P and the second DL-PRS. In the asymmetric case, the time offset is greater than a minimum time offset threshold associated with asymmetric positioning measurement procedures.

Referring to FIGS. 13-14, in some designs as noted above, the position estimation entity may receive from the UE, a measurement report comprising measurement information that is based on a first measurement of the first DL-PRS by the UE and a second measurement of the second DL-PRS by the UE in accordance with the paired DL-PRS resource configuration. In an example, as noted above, the position estimation entity may determine a clock drift between the first and second measurements, and may then determine a position estimate of the UE based at least in part upon the clock drift.

In the detailed description above it can be seen that different features are grouped together in examples. This manner of disclosure should not be understood as an intention that the example clauses have more features than are explicitly mentioned in each clause. Rather, the various aspects of the disclosure may include fewer than all features of an individual example clause disclosed. Therefore, the following clauses should hereby be deemed to be incorporated in the description, wherein each clause by itself can stand as a separate example. Although each dependent clause can refer in the clauses to a specific combination with one of the other clauses, the aspect(s) of that dependent clause are not limited to the specific combination. It will be appreciated that other example clauses can also include a combination of the dependent clause aspect(s) with the subject matter of any other dependent clause or independent clause or a combination of any feature with other dependent and independent clauses. The various aspects disclosed herein expressly include these combinations, unless it is explicitly expressed or can be readily inferred that a specific combination is not intended (e.g., contradictory aspects, such as defining an element as both an insulator and a conductor). Furthermore, it is also intended that aspects of a clause can be included in any other independent clause, even if the clause is not directly dependent on the independent clause.

Implementation examples are described in the following numbered clauses:

Clause 1. A method of operating a user equipment (UE), comprising: receiving a paired downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) resource configuration for a first DL-PRS and a second DL-PRS that is offset in time from the first DL-PRS by a time offset, the first and second DL-PRSs associated with the same transmission source; and performing a first measurement of the first DL-PRS and a second measurement of the second. DL-PRS in accordance with the paired DL-PRS resource configuration.

Clause 2. The method of clause 1, wherein the first and second DL-PRSs are scheduled aperiodically, semi-periodically, or periodically.

Clause 3. The method of any of clauses 1 to 2, wherein the paired DL-PRS resource configuration includes a first DL-PRS resource set with a given periodicity for the first DL-PRS, and a second DL-PRS resource set with the given periodicity for the second DL-PRS.

Clause 4. The method of any of clauses 1 to 3, wherein the paired DL-PRS resource configuration includes a first DL-PRS resource set for the first DL-PRS, and a second DL-PRS resource set for the second DL-PRS that is configured as a duplicate of the first DL-PRS resource set, and wherein the time offset is between corresponding DL-PRS resources associated with the first DL-PRS resource set and the second DL-PRS resource set.

Clause 5. The method of any of clauses 1 to 4, wherein the paired DL-PRS resource configuration configures the first and second DL-PRSs as first and second repetitions of the same DL-PRS resource in a DL-PRS resource set with the time offset is between the first and second repetitions.

Clause 6. The method of clause 5, where the time offset is greater than a maximum DL-PRS resource time gap permitted between non-paired DL-PRSs.

Clause 7. The method of any of clauses 1 to 6, wherein the paired DL-PRS resource configuration configures the first and second DL-PRSs as first and second repetition groups, respectively, of the same DL-PRS resource in a DL-PRS resource set with the time offset is between the first and second repetition groups.

Clause 8. The method of clause 7, where the time offset is different than a DL-PRS resource time gaps within each of the first and second repetition groups.

Clause 9. The method of any of clauses 1 to 8, wherein the first and second measurements correspond to receive-transmit (Rx-Tx) time difference measurements based on timestamps derived on the same transmission reception point (TRP) and the same respective DL-PRS resources.

Clause 10. The method of any of clauses 1 to 9, further comprising: transmitting a measurement report comprising measurement information that is based on the first and second measurements.

Clause 11 The method of clause 10, wherein the first and second DL-PRSs are scheduled periodically, and wherein the measurement information is associated with two or more periodic instances of the first DL-PRS and two or more corresponding instances of the second DL-PRS.

Clause 12. The method of any of clauses 1 to 11, wherein the first and second DL-PRSs are associated with a positioning measurement procedure that further includes an uplink sounding reference signal for positioning (UL-SRS-P) transmitted by the UE.

Clause 13. The method of clause 12, wherein the positioning measurement procedure is asymmetric such that a first time differential between the UL-SRS-P and the first DL-PRS is different than a second time differential between the UL-SRS-P and the second DL-PRS.

Clause 14. The method of clause 13, wherein the time offset is greater than a minimum time offset threshold associated with asymmetric positioning measurement procedures.

Clause 15. The method of any of clauses 12 to 14, wherein the first DL-PRS precedes the UL-SRS-P, and wherein the second DL-PRS follows the UL-SRS-P.

Clause 16. A method of operating a position estimation entity, comprising: determining a paired downlink positioning reference signal (DL-PRS) resource configuration for a first DL-PRS and a second DL-PRS that is offset in time from the first DL-PRS by a time offset, the first and second DL-PRSs associated with the same transmission source; and transmitting an indication of the paired DL- PRS resource configuration to a user equipment (UE).

Clause 17. The method of clause 16, further comprising: receiving, from the UE, a measurement report comprising measurement information that is based on a first measurement of the first DL-PRS by the UE and a second measurement of the second DL-PRS by the UE in accordance with the paired DL-PRS resource configuration.

Clause 18. The method of clause 17, further comprising: determining a clock drift between the first and second measurements; and determining a position estimate of the UE based at least in part upon the clock drift.

Clause 19. The method of any of clauses 17 to 18, wherein the first and second measurements correspond to receive-transmit (Rx-Tx) time difference measurements based on timestamps derived on the same transmission reception point (TRP) and the same respective DL-PRS resources.

Clause 20. The method of any of clauses 17 to 19, wherein the first and second DL-PRSs are scheduled aperiodically, semi-periodically, or periodically.

Clause 21. The method of clause 20, wherein the first and second DL-PRSs are scheduled periodically

Clause 22. The method of clause 21, wherein the measurement information is associated with two or more periodic instances of the first DL-PRS and two or more corresponding instances of the second DL-PRS.

Clause 23. The method of any of clauses 17 to 22, wherein the first and second DL-PRSs are associated with a positioning measurement procedure that further includes an uplink sounding reference signal for positioning (UL-SRS-P) transmitted by the UE.

Clause 24. The method of clause 23, wherein the positioning measurement procedure is asymmetric such that a first time differential between the UL-SRS-P and the first DL-PRS is different than a second time differential between the UL-SRS-P and the second. DL-PRS.

Clause 25. The method of any of clauses 23 to 24, wherein the first DL-PRS precedes the UL-SRS-P, and wherein the second DL-PRS follows the UL-SRS-P.

Clause 26. The method of any of clauses 16 to 25, wherein the paired DL-PRS resource configuration includes a first DL-PRS resource set with a given periodicity for the first DL-PRS, and a second DL-PRS resource set with the given periodicity for the second DL-PRS.

Clause 27. The method of any of clauses 16 to 26, wherein the paired DL-PRS resource configuration includes a first DL-PRS resource set for the first DL-PRS, and a second DL-PRS resource set for the second DL-PRS that is configured as a duplicate of the first DL-PRS resource set, and wherein the time offset is between corresponding DL-PRS resources associated with the first DL-PRS resource set and the second DL-PRS resource set.

Clause 28. The method of any of clauses 16 to 27, wherein the paired DL-PRS resource configuration configures the first and second DL-PRSs as first and second repetitions of the same DL-PRS resource in a DL-PRS resource set with the time offset is between the first and second repetitions s.

Clause 29, The method of any of clauses 16 to 28, wherein the paired DL-PRS resource configuration configures the first and second DL-PRSs as first and second repetition groups, respectively, of the same DL-PRS resource in a DL-PRS resource set with the time offset is between the first and second repetition groups.

Clause 30. The method of any of clauses 28 to 29, where the time offset is different than a DL-PRS resource time gaps within each of the first and second repetition groups.

Clause 31. An apparatus comprising a memory, a communication interface, and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the communication interface, the memory, the communication interface, and the at least one processor configured to perform a method according to any of clauses 1 to 30.

Clause 32. An apparatus comprising means for performing a method according to any of clauses 1 to 30.

Clause 33. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions, the computer-executable comprising at least one instruction for causing a computer or processor to perform a method according to any of clauses 1 to 30.

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

Further, those of skill in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present disclosure.

The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented or performed with a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an ASIC, a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, for example, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

The methods, sequences and/or algorithms described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. A software module may reside in random access memory (RAM), flash memory, read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), registers, hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An example storage medium is coupled to the processor such that the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium may be integral to the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in a user terminal (e.g., UE). In the alternative, the processor and the storage medium may reside as discrete components in a user terminal.

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

While the foregoing disclosure shows illustrative aspects of the disclosure, it should be noted that various changes and modifications could be made herein without departing from the scope of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims. The functions, steps and/or actions of the method claims in accordance with the aspects of the disclosure described herein need not be performed in any particular order. Furthermore, although elements of the disclosure may be described or claimed in the singular, the plural is contemplated unless limitation to the singular is explicitly stated.

PAIRED DOWNLINK POSITIONING REFERENCE SIGNAL RESOURCE CONFIGURATION

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