Patent Description:
Wireless communication systems have developed through various generations, including a first-generation analog wireless phone service (<NUM>), a second-generation (<NUM>) digital wireless phone service (including interim <NUM> networks), a third-generation (<NUM>) high speed data, Internet-capable wireless service, and a fourth-generation (<NUM>) service (e.g., Long-Term Evolution (LTE), 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 communication (GSM), etc..

A fifth generation (<NUM>) mobile standard calls for higher data transfer speeds, greater numbers of connections, and better coverage, among other improvements. The <NUM> standard (also referred to as "New Radio" or "NR"), 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 <NUM> 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 <NUM> mobile communications should be significantly enhanced compared to the current <NUM> / LTE standard. Furthermore, signaling efficiencies should be enhanced and latency should be substantially reduced compared to current standards.

The article titled "<NPL>) describes a NR DL PRS muting configuration, where the NR PRS muting of the cell is implemented in the level of the PRS resource. In this configuration, the bit string S_group of a length T_group is used to configure the candidate PRS occasion groups for muting, the bit string S_occasion of a length T_occasion is used to configure the candidate PRS occasion for muting, and the bit string S_set of a length T_set is used to configure the candidate PRS resource set for muting, Assume there are T_resource PRS resources in a PRS resource set, a muting sequence S_resource with the length T_resource will be used to represents this muting PRS resources within the candidate PRS resource sets. If a bit in the S_resource is set to "<NUM>", then no PRS transmission in the corresponding PRS resources of the candidate resource sets.

The article titled "<NPL>) presents the views of the authors (i.e. Nokia et al) on OTDOA positioning in FeMTC. There is discussed an optional finer PRS muting pattern for the muting indication within one PRS occasion. The finer PRS muting pattern could be indicated by one bitmap, where: i) the bitmap length could be <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> or <NUM>; and ii) if a bit is set to "<NUM>", it indicates that the PRS is muted in the corresponding PRS subframe (numbering from the first PRS subframe in one PRS occasion) in a periodic cycle of length equal to the length of the bitmap, otherwise it indicates unmuted; and iii) the muting configuration of the first PRS occasion in one PRS period follows the muting configuration of legacy PRS muting pattern.

Features of some embodiments in accordance with the invention are recited in the dependent claims.

Examples presented in this disclosure that do not, by themselves, include all of the features of any of the independent claims do not, by themselves, represent the invention. But such examples may assist the reader in understanding or implementing the invention.

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, tracking 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 IEEE <NUM>, 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 RF signals (or simply "reference 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 "RF 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. As used herein, an RF signal may also be referred to as a "wireless signal" or simply a "signal" where it is clear from the context that the term "signal" refers to a wireless signal or an RF signal.

According to various aspects, <FIG> illustrates an exemplary wireless communications system <NUM>. The wireless communications system <NUM> (which may also be referred to as a wireless wide area network (WWAN)) may include various base stations <NUM> and various UEs <NUM>. The base stations <NUM> 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 station may include eNBs and/or ng-eNBs where the wireless communications system <NUM> corresponds to an LTE network, or gNBs where the wireless communications system <NUM> 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 <NUM> may collectively form a RAN and interface with a core network <NUM> (e.g., an evolved packet core (EPC) or a <NUM> core (5GC)) through backhaul links <NUM>, and through the core network <NUM> to one or more location servers <NUM> (which may be part of core network <NUM> or may be external to core network <NUM>). In addition to other functions, the base stations <NUM> 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 <NUM> may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., through the EPC / 5GC) over backhaul links <NUM>, which may be wired or wireless.

In an aspect, one or more cells may be supported by a base station <NUM> in each geographic coverage area <NUM>. 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), a virtual cell identifier (VCI), a cell global identifier (CGI)) 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 addition, because a TRP is typically the physical transmission point of a cell, the terms "cell" and "TRP" may be used interchangeably. 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 <NUM>.

While geographic coverage areas <NUM> of neighboring macro cell base stations <NUM> may partially overlap (e.g., in a handover region), some of the geographic coverage areas <NUM> may be substantially overlapped by a larger geographic coverage area <NUM>. For example, a small cell base station <NUM>' may have a coverage area <NUM>' that substantially overlaps with the geographic coverage area <NUM> of one or more macro cell base stations <NUM>. 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 <NUM> between the base stations <NUM> and the UEs <NUM> may include uplink (also referred to as reverse link) transmissions from a UE <NUM> to a base station <NUM> and/or downlink (also referred to as forward link) transmissions from a base station <NUM> to a UE <NUM>. The communication links <NUM> may use MIMO antenna technology, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and/or transmit diversity. The communication links <NUM> 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).

NR in an unlicensed spectrum may be referred to as NR-U.

The mmW base station <NUM> and the UE <NUM> may utilize beamforming (transmit and/or receive) over an mmW communication link <NUM> to compensate for the extremely high path loss and short range.

Receive beams may be spatially related. A spatial relation means that parameters for a transmit beam for a second reference signal can be derived from information about a receive beam for a first reference signal. For example, a UE may use a particular receive beam to receive one or more reference downlink reference signals (e.g., positioning reference signals (PRS), navigation reference signals (NRS), tracking reference signals (TRS), cell-specific reference signals (CRS), channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS), primary synchronization signals (PSS), secondary synchronization signals (SSS), synchronization signal blocks (SSBs), etc.) from a base station. The UE can then form a transmit beam for sending one or more uplink reference signals (e.g., uplink positioning reference signals (UL-PRS), sounding reference signal (SRS), demodulation reference signals (DMRS), etc.) to that base station based on the parameters of the receive beam.

In <NUM>, the frequency spectrum in which wireless nodes (e.g., base stations <NUM>/<NUM>, UEs <NUM>/<NUM>) operate is divided into multiple frequency ranges, FR1 (from <NUM> to <NUM>), FR2 (from <NUM> to <NUM>), FR3 (above <NUM>), and FR4 (between FR1 and FR2). In a multi-carrier system, such as <NUM>, 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 <NUM>/<NUM> and the cell in which the UE <NUM>/<NUM> either performs the initial radio resource control (RRC) connection establishment procedure or initiates the RRC connection reestablishment 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 <NUM> 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 <NUM>/<NUM> 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 <NUM>/<NUM> 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.

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

The wireless communications system <NUM> may further include a UE <NUM> that may communicate with a macro cell base station <NUM> over a communication link <NUM> and/or the mmW base station <NUM> over a mmW communication link <NUM>. For example, the macro cell base station <NUM> may support a PCell and one or more SCells for the UE <NUM> and the mmW base station <NUM> may support one or more SCells for the UE <NUM>. In an aspect, the UE <NUM> may include a muting pattern manager <NUM> that may enable the UE <NUM> to perform the UE operations described herein. Note that although only one UE in <FIG> is illustrated as having a muting pattern manager <NUM>, any of the UEs in <FIG> may be configured to perform the UE operations described herein.

According to various aspects, <FIG> illustrates an example wireless network structure <NUM>. For example, a 5GC <NUM> (also referred to as a Next Generation Core (NGC)) can be viewed functionally as control plane (C-plane) functions <NUM> (e.g., UE registration, authentication, network access, gateway selection, etc.) and user plane (U-plane) functions <NUM>, (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) <NUM> and control plane interface (NG-C) <NUM> connect the gNB <NUM> to the 5GC <NUM> and specifically to the control plane functions <NUM> and user plane functions <NUM>. In an additional configuration, an ng-eNB <NUM> may also be connected to the 5GC <NUM> via NG-C <NUM> to the control plane functions <NUM> and NG-U <NUM> to user plane functions <NUM>. Further, ng-eNB <NUM> may directly communicate with gNB <NUM> via a backhaul connection <NUM>. In some configurations, the New RAN <NUM> may only have one or more gNBs <NUM>, while other configurations include one or more of both ng-eNBs <NUM> and gNBs <NUM>. Either gNB <NUM> or ng-eNB <NUM> may communicate with UEs <NUM> (e.g., any of the UEs depicted in <FIG>). Another optional aspect may include location server <NUM>, which may be in communication with the 5GC <NUM> to provide location assistance for UEs <NUM>. The location server <NUM> 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 <NUM> can be configured to support one or more location services for UEs <NUM> that can connect to the location server <NUM> via the core network, 5GC <NUM>, and/or via the Internet (not illustrated). Further, the location server <NUM> may be integrated into a component of the core network, or alternatively may be external to the core network.

According to various aspects, <FIG> illustrates another example wireless network structure <NUM>. For example, a 5GC <NUM> can be viewed functionally as control plane functions, provided by an access and mobility management function (AMF) <NUM>, and user plane functions, provided by a user plane function (UPF) <NUM>, which operate cooperatively to form the core network (i.e., 5GC <NUM>). User plane interface <NUM> and control plane interface <NUM> connect the ng-eNB <NUM> to the 5GC <NUM> and specifically to UPF <NUM> and AMF <NUM>, respectively. In an additional configuration, a gNB <NUM> may also be connected to the 5GC <NUM> via control plane interface <NUM> to AMF <NUM> and user plane interface <NUM> to UPF <NUM>. Further, ng-eNB <NUM> may directly communicate with gNB <NUM> via the backhaul connection <NUM>, with or without gNB direct connectivity to the 5GC <NUM>. In some configurations, the New RAN <NUM> may only have one or more gNBs <NUM>, while other configurations include one or more of both ng-eNBs <NUM> and gNBs <NUM>. Either gNB <NUM> or ng-eNB <NUM> may communicate with UEs <NUM> (e.g., any of the UEs depicted in <FIG>). The base stations of the New RAN <NUM> communicate with the AMF <NUM> over the N2 interface and with the UPF <NUM> over the N3 interface.

The functions of the AMF <NUM> include registration management, connection management, reachability management, mobility management, lawful interception, transport for session management (SM) messages between the UE <NUM> and a session management function (SMF) <NUM>, transparent proxy services for routing SM messages, access authentication and access authorization, transport for short message service (SMS) messages between the UE <NUM> and the short message service function (SMSF) (not shown), and security anchor functionality (SEAF). The AMF <NUM> also interacts with an authentication server function (AUSF) (not shown) and the UE <NUM>, and receives the intermediate key that was established as a result of the UE <NUM> authentication process. In the case of authentication based on a UMTS (universal mobile telecommunications system) subscriber identity module (USIM), the AMF <NUM> retrieves the security material from the AUSF. The functions of the AMF <NUM> 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 <NUM> also includes location services management for regulatory services, transport for location services messages between the UE <NUM> and a location management function (LMF) <NUM> (which acts as a location server <NUM>), transport for location services messages between the New RAN <NUM> and the LMF <NUM>, evolved packet system (EPS) bearer identifier allocation for interworking with the EPS, and UE <NUM> mobility event notification. In addition, the AMF <NUM> also supports functionalities for non-3GPP access networks.

Functions of the UPF <NUM> 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 <NUM> may also support transfer of location services messages over a user plane between the UE <NUM> and a location server, such as a secure user plane location (SUPL) location platform (SLP) <NUM>.

The functions of the SMF <NUM> 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 <NUM> 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 <NUM> communicates with the AMF <NUM> is referred to as the N11 interface.

Another optional aspect may include an LMF <NUM>, which may be in communication with the 5GC <NUM> to provide location assistance for UEs <NUM>. The LMF <NUM> 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 <NUM> can be configured to support one or more location services for UEs <NUM> that can connect to the LMF <NUM> via the core network, 5GC <NUM>, and/or via the Internet (not illustrated). The SLP <NUM> may support similar functions to the LMF <NUM>, but whereas the LMF <NUM> may communicate with the AMF <NUM>, New RAN <NUM>, and UEs <NUM> over a control plane (e.g., using interfaces and protocols intended to convey signaling messages and not voice or data), the SLP <NUM> may communicate with UEs <NUM> and external clients (not shown in <FIG>) over a user plane (e.g., using protocols intended to carry voice and/or data like the transmission control protocol (TCP) and/or IP).

<FIG>, <FIG>, and <FIG> illustrate several exemplary components (represented by corresponding blocks) that may be incorporated into a UE <NUM> (which may correspond to any of the UEs described herein), a base station <NUM> (which may correspond to any of the base stations described herein), and a network entity <NUM> (which may correspond to or embody any of the network functions described herein, including the location server <NUM>, the LMF <NUM>, and the SLP <NUM>) 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 <NUM> and the base station <NUM> each include wireless wide area network (WWAN) transceivers <NUM> and <NUM>, 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 <NUM> and <NUM> may be connected to one or more antennas <NUM> and <NUM>, respectively, for communicating with other network nodes, such as other UEs, access points, base stations (e.g., ng-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 <NUM> and <NUM> may be variously configured for transmitting and encoding signals <NUM> and <NUM> (e.g., messages, indications, information, and so on), respectively, and, conversely, for receiving and decoding signals <NUM> and <NUM> (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, and so on), respectively, in accordance with the designated RAT. Specifically, the WWAN transceivers <NUM> and <NUM> include one or more transmitters <NUM> and <NUM>, respectively, for transmitting and encoding signals <NUM> and <NUM>, respectively, and one or more receivers <NUM> and <NUM>, respectively, for receiving and decoding signals <NUM> and <NUM>, respectively.

The UE <NUM> and the base station <NUM> also include, at least in some cases, wireless local area network (WLAN) transceivers <NUM> and <NUM>, respectively. The WLAN transceivers <NUM> and <NUM> may be connected to one or more antennas <NUM> and <NUM>, 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®, etc.) over a wireless communication medium of interest. The WLAN transceivers <NUM> and <NUM> may be variously configured for transmitting and encoding signals <NUM> and <NUM> (e.g., messages, indications, information, and so on), respectively, and, conversely, for receiving and decoding signals <NUM> and <NUM> (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, and so on), respectively, in accordance with the designated RAT. Specifically, the WLAN transceivers <NUM> and <NUM> include one or more transmitters <NUM> and <NUM>, respectively, for transmitting and encoding signals <NUM> and <NUM>, respectively, and one or more receivers <NUM> and <NUM>, respectively, for receiving and decoding signals <NUM> and <NUM>, respectively.

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 <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>), 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 <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>), 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 <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>), 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 <NUM> and <NUM> and/or <NUM> and <NUM>) of the UE <NUM> and/or the base station <NUM> may also comprise a network listen module (NLM) or the like for performing various measurements.

The UE <NUM> and the base station <NUM> also include, at least in some cases, satellite positioning systems (SPS) receivers <NUM> and <NUM>. The SPS receivers <NUM> and <NUM> may be connected to one or more antennas <NUM> and <NUM>, respectively, and may provide means for receiving and/or measuring SPS signals <NUM> and <NUM>, 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 <NUM> and <NUM> may comprise any suitable hardware and/or software for receiving and processing SPS signals <NUM> and <NUM>, respectively. The SPS receivers <NUM> and <NUM> request information and operations as appropriate from the other systems, and performs calculations necessary to determine positions of the UE <NUM> and the base station <NUM> using measurements obtained by any suitable SPS algorithm.

The base station <NUM> and the network entity <NUM> each include at least one network interfaces <NUM> and <NUM>, respectively, providing means for communicating (e.g., means for transmitting, means for receiving, etc.) with other network entities. For example, the network interfaces <NUM> and <NUM> (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 <NUM> and <NUM> 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.

The UE <NUM>, the base station <NUM>, and the network entity <NUM> also include other components that may be used in conjunction with the operations as disclosed herein. The UE <NUM> includes processor circuitry implementing a processing system <NUM> for providing functionality relating to, for example, positioning operations, and for providing other processing functionality. The base station <NUM> includes a processing system <NUM> for providing functionality relating to, for example, positioning operations as disclosed herein, and for providing other processing functionality. The network entity <NUM> includes a processing system <NUM> for providing functionality relating to, for example, positioning operations as disclosed herein, and for providing other processing functionality. The processing systems <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM> 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 processing systems <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM> may include, for example, one or more general purpose processors, multi-core processors, ASICs, digital signal processors (DSPs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices or processing circuitry.

The UE <NUM>, the base station <NUM>, and the network entity <NUM> include memory circuitry implementing memory components <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM> (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 <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM> may therefore provide means for storing, means for retrieving, means for maintaining, etc. In some cases, the UE <NUM>, the base station <NUM>, and the network entity <NUM> may include muting pattern managers <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM>, respectively. The muting pattern managers <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM> may be hardware circuits that are part of or coupled to the processing systems <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM>, respectively, that, when executed, cause the UE <NUM>, the base station <NUM>, and the network entity <NUM> to perform the functionality described herein. In other aspects, the muting pattern managers <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM> may be external to the processing systems <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM> (e.g., part of a modem processing system, integrated with another processing system, etc.). Alternatively, the muting pattern managers <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM> may be memory modules (as shown in <FIG>) stored in the memory components <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM>, respectively, that, when executed by the processing systems <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM> (or a modem processing system, another processing system, etc.), cause the UE <NUM>, the base station <NUM>, and the network entity <NUM> to perform the functionality described herein.

The UE <NUM> may include one or more sensors <NUM> coupled to the processing system <NUM> to provide means for sensing or detecting movement and/or orientation information that is independent of motion data derived from signals received by the WWAN transceiver <NUM>, the WLAN transceiver <NUM>, and/or the SPS receiver <NUM>. By way of example, the sensor(s) <NUM> 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) <NUM> may include a plurality of different types of devices and combine their outputs in order to provide motion information. For example, the sensor(s) <NUM> may use a combination of a multi-axis accelerometer and orientation sensors to provide the ability to compute positions in 2D and/or 3D coordinate systems.

In addition, the UE <NUM> includes a user interface <NUM> 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 <NUM> and the network entity <NUM> may also include user interfaces.

Referring to the processing system <NUM> in more detail, in the downlink, IP packets from the network entity <NUM> may be provided to the processing system <NUM>. The processing system <NUM> 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 processing system <NUM> 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 packet data units (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 <NUM> and the receiver <NUM> may implement Layer-<NUM> functionality associated with various signal processing functions. Layer-<NUM>, which includes a physical (PHY) 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 <NUM> 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)). 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. Each spatial stream may then be provided to one or more different antennas <NUM>. The transmitter <NUM> may modulate an RF carrier with a respective spatial stream for transmission.

At the UE <NUM>, the receiver <NUM> receives a signal through its respective antenna(s) <NUM>. The receiver <NUM> recovers information modulated onto an RF carrier and provides the information to the processing system <NUM>. The transmitter <NUM> and the receiver <NUM> implement Layer-<NUM> functionality associated with various signal processing functions. The receiver <NUM> may perform spatial processing on the information to recover any spatial streams destined for the UE <NUM>. If multiple spatial streams are destined for the UE <NUM>, they may be combined by the receiver <NUM> into a single OFDM symbol stream. The receiver <NUM> then converts the OFDM symbol stream from the time-domain to the frequency domain using a fast Fourier transform (FFT). 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 <NUM> on the physical channel. The data and control signals are then provided to the processing system <NUM>, which implements Layer-<NUM> and Layer-<NUM> functionality.

In the uplink, the processing system <NUM> 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 processing system <NUM> is also responsible for error detection.

Similar to the functionality described in connection with the downlink transmission by the base station <NUM>, the processing system <NUM> 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 <NUM> may be used by the transmitter <NUM> to select the appropriate coding and modulation schemes, and to facilitate spatial processing. The spatial streams generated by the transmitter <NUM> may be provided to different antenna(s) <NUM>. The transmitter <NUM> may modulate an RF carrier with a respective spatial stream for transmission.

The uplink transmission is processed at the base station <NUM> in a manner similar to that described in connection with the receiver function at the UE <NUM>. The receiver <NUM> receives a signal through its respective antenna(s) <NUM>. The receiver <NUM> recovers information modulated onto an RF carrier and provides the information to the processing system <NUM>.

In the uplink, the processing system <NUM> provides demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packet reassembly, deciphering, header decompression, control signal processing to recover IP packets from the UE <NUM>. IP packets from the processing system <NUM> may be provided to the core network. The processing system <NUM> is also responsible for error detection.

For convenience, the UE <NUM>, the base station <NUM>, and/or the network entity <NUM> are shown in <FIG>as including various components that may be configured according to the various examples described herein. It will be appreciated, however, that the illustrated blocks may have different functionality in different designs.

The various components of the UE <NUM>, the base station <NUM>, and the network entity <NUM> may communicate with each other over data buses <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM>, respectively. The components of <FIG>may be implemented in various ways. In some implementations, the components of <FIG>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 <NUM> to <NUM> may be implemented by processor and memory component(s) of the UE <NUM> (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 <NUM> to <NUM> may be implemented by processor and memory component(s) of the base station <NUM> (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 <NUM> to <NUM> may be implemented by processor and memory component(s) of the network entity <NUM> (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 positioning 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, base station, positioning entity, etc., such as the processing systems <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM>, the transceivers <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM>, the memory components <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM>, the muting pattern managers <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM>, etc..

Various frame structures may be used to support downlink and uplink transmissions between network nodes (e.g., base stations and UEs). <FIG> is a diagram <NUM> illustrating an example of a downlink 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. For example, the spacing of the subcarriers may be <NUM> and the minimum resource allocation (resource block) may be <NUM> subcarriers (or <NUM>). Consequently, the nominal FFT size may be equal to <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, or <NUM> for system bandwidth of <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, or <NUM> megahertz (MHz), respectively. For example, a subband may cover <NUM> (i.e., <NUM> resource blocks), and there may be <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, or <NUM> subbands for system bandwidth of <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, or <NUM>, respectively.

LTE supports a single numerology (subcarrier spacing, symbol length, etc.). In contrast, NR may support multiple numerologies (µ), for example, subcarrier spacing of <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM> or greater may be available. Table <NUM> provided below lists some various parameters for different NR numerologies.

In the example of <FIG>, a numerology of <NUM> is used. Thus, in the time domain, a frame (e.g., <NUM>) is divided into <NUM> equally sized subframes of <NUM> each, and each subframe includes one time slot. In <FIG>, time is represented horizontally (e.g., on the X axis) with time increasing from left to right, while frequency is represented vertically (e.g., 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 <FIG>, for a normal cyclic prefix, an RB may contain <NUM> consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain and seven consecutive symbols in the time domain, for a total of <NUM> REs. For an extended cyclic prefix, an RB may contain <NUM> consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain and six consecutive symbols in the time domain, for a total of <NUM> REs.

As illustrated in <FIG>, some of the REs carry downlink reference (pilot) signals (DL-RS) for channel estimation at the UE. The DL-RS may include demodulation reference signals (DMRS), channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS), cell-specific reference signals (CRS), positioning reference signals (PRS), navigation reference signals (NRS), tracking reference signals (TRS), etc., exemplary locations of which are labeled "R" in <FIG>.

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 (e.g., <NUM> 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.

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 cell 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 across slots. The periodicity may have a length selected from <NUM>m·{<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>} slots, with µ = <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>. The repetition factor may have a length selected from {<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>} slots.

A PRS resource ID in a PRS resource set is associated with a single beam (and/or a 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," can also 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 (e.g., a group of one or more consecutive slots) where PRS are expected to be transmitted. A PRS occasion may also be referred to as a "PRS positioning occasion," a "PRS positioning instance, a "positioning occasion," a "positioning instance," a "repetition of PRS resources," or simply an "occasion," an "instance," or a "repetition.

Note that the terms "positioning reference signal" and "PRS" may sometimes refer to specific reference signals that are used for positioning in LTE systems. However, as used herein, unless otherwise indicated, the terms "positioning reference signal" and "PRS" refer to any type of reference signal that can be used for positioning, such as but not limited to, PRS in LTE, NRS in <NUM>, TRS, CRS, CSI-RS, DMRS, PSS, SSS, SSB, etc..

There are currently two alternatives for periodic PRS resource allocation. The first alternative is that the periodicity of downlink PRS resources is configured at the downlink PRS resource set level. In this case, a common period is used for downlink PRS resources within a downlink PRS resource set. The second alternative is that the periodicity of downlink PRS resources is configured at the downlink PRS resource level. In this case, different periods can be used for downlink PRS resources within a downlink PRS resource set.

<FIG> illustrates an exemplary PRS configuration <NUM> for a cell/TRP supported by a wireless node (e.g., a base station). <FIG> shows how PRS positioning occasions are determined by a system frame number (SFN), a cell-specific subframe offset (ΔPRS) <NUM>, and a PRS periodicity (TPRS) <NUM>. Typically, the cell-specific PRS subframe configuration is defined by a PRS configuration index (IPRS) included in positioning assistance data. The PRS periodicity (TPRS) <NUM> and the cell-specific subframe offset (ΔPRS) are defined based on the PRS configuration index (IPRS), as illustrated in Table <NUM> below.

A PRS configuration is defined with reference to the SFN of the cell that transmits PRS. PRS instances, for the first subframe of the NPRS downlink subframes comprising a first PRS positioning occasion, may satisfy: <MAT> where nf is the SFN with <NUM> ≤ nf ≤ <NUM>, ns is the slot number within the radio frame defined by nf with <NUM> ≤ ns ≤ <NUM>, TPRS is the PRS periodicity <NUM>, and ΔPRS is the cell-specific subframe offset <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, the cell-specific subframe offset ΔPRS <NUM> may be defined in terms of the number of subframes transmitted starting from SFN <NUM> ("Slot number = <NUM>," marked as slot <NUM>) to the start of the first (subsequent) PRS positioning occasion. In the example in <FIG>, the number of consecutive positioning subframes (NPRS) in each of the consecutive PRS positioning occasions 518a, 518b, and 518c equals <NUM>. Note that while NPRS may specify the number of consecutive positioning subframes per occasion, it may instead specify the number of consecutive positioning slots, based on implementation. For example, in LTE, NPRS specifies the number of consecutive positioning subframes per occasion, whereas in NR, NPRS specifies the number of consecutive positioning slots per occasion.

In some aspects, when a UE receives a PRS configuration index IPRS in the positioning assistance data for a particular cell, the UE may determine the PRS periodicity (TPRS) <NUM> and PRS subframe offset ΔPRS using Table <NUM>. The UE may then determine the radio frame, subframe, and slot when a PRS is scheduled in the cell (e.g., using the equation above). The positioning assistance data may be determined by, for example, the location server, and include assistance data for a reference cell and a number of neighbor cells supported by various wireless nodes.

Typically, PRS occasions from all cells in a network that use the same frequency are aligned in time and may have a fixed known time offset (e.g., cell-specific subframe offset <NUM>) relative to other cells in the network that use a different frequency. In SFN-synchronous networks, all wireless nodes (e.g., base stations) may be aligned on both frame boundary and system frame number. Therefore, in SFN-synchronous networks, all cells supported by the various wireless nodes may use the same PRS configuration index IPRS for any particular frequency of PRS transmission. On the other hand, in SFN-asynchronous networks, the various wireless nodes may be aligned on a frame boundary, but not system frame number. Thus, in SFN-asynchronous networks, the PRS configuration index IPRS for each cell may be configured separately by the network so that PRS occasions align in time.

A UE may determine the timing of the PRS occasions of the reference and neighbor cells for positioning, if the UE can obtain the cell timing (e.g., SFN) of at least one of the cells, such as a reference cell or a serving cell. The timing of the other cells may then be derived by the UE based, for example, on the assumption that PRS occasions from different cells overlap.

For LTE systems, the sequence of subframes used to transmit PRS (e.g., for positioning) may be characterized and defined by a number of parameters, comprising: (i) a reserved block of bandwidth (BW), (ii) the PRS configuration index IPRS, (iii) the duration NPRS, (iv) an optional muting pattern, and (v) a muting sequence periodicity TREP that can be implicitly included as part of the muting pattern in (iv) when present. In some cases, with a fairly low PRS duty cycle, NPRS = <NUM>, TPRS = <NUM> subframes (equivalent to <NUM>), and BW = <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, or <NUM>. To increase the PRS duty cycle, the NPRS value can be increased to six (i.e., NPRS = <NUM>) and the bandwidth (BW) value can be increased to the system bandwidth (i.e., BW = LTE system bandwidth in the case of LTE). An expanded PRS with a larger NPRS (e.g., greater than six) and/or a shorter TPRS (e.g., less than <NUM>), up to the full duty cycle (i.e., NPRS = TPRS), may also be used in later versions of the LTE positioning protocol (LPP). A directional PRS may be configured as just described, and may, for example, use a low PRS duty cycle (e.g., NPRS = <NUM>, TPRS = <NUM> subframes) or a high duty cycle.

<FIG> illustrates an exemplary PRS configuration <NUM> that includes a PRS muting sequence (also referred to as a "muting pattern"), according to aspects of the disclosure. Like <FIG>, <FIG> shows how PRS positioning occasions are determined by an SFN, a cell-specific subframe offset (ΔPRS) <NUM>, and the PRS Periodicity (TPRS) <NUM>. As shown in <FIG>, the cell-specific subframe offset ΔPRS <NUM> may be defined in terms of the number of subframes transmitted starting from SFN <NUM> ("Slot number = <NUM>," marked as slot <NUM>) to the start of the first (subsequent) PRS positioning occasion. In the example in <FIG>, the number of consecutive positioning subframes (NPRS) in each of the consecutive PRS positioning occasions 618a and 618b equals four.

Within each positioning occasion, PRS are generally transmitted with a constant power. A PRS can also be transmitted with zero power (i.e., muted). Muting, which turns off a regularly scheduled PRS transmissions, may be useful when PRS between different cells overlap by occurring at the same or almost the same time. In this case, the PRS from some cells may be muted while PRS from other cells are transmitted (e.g., at a constant power). Muting may aid signal acquisition and time of arrival (ToA) and reference signal time difference (RSTD) measurements, by UEs, of PRS that are not muted (by avoiding interference from PRS that have been muted). For example, when the (strong) PRS the UE receives from one base station is muted, the (weak) PRS from a neighboring base station (with the same frequency shift) can be more easily detected by the UE. Muting may be viewed as the non-transmission of a PRS for a given positioning occasion for a particular cell. Muting patterns may be signaled to a UE using bit strings having a length of <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, or <NUM> bits (corresponding to the selected TREP). If a bit in the bit string is set to '<NUM>,' then the UE infers that all PRS are muted in the corresponding positioning occasion.

With reference to <FIG>, the muting sequence periodicity TREP <NUM> includes two consecutive PRS positioning occasions 618a and 618b followed by two consecutive muted PRS positioning occasions 618c and 618d. In LTE, the PRS muting configuration of a cell is only defined by a periodic muting sequence (e.g., muting sequence periodicity TREP <NUM>), as opposed to an aperiodic or semi-persistent muting sequence. As such, in LTE, the two consecutive PRS positioning occasions 618a and 618b followed by the two consecutive muted PRS positioning occasions 618c and 618d will repeat for the next muting sequence periodicity TREP <NUM>.

To further improve hearability of PRS, positioning subframes/slots may be low-interference subframes/slots that are transmitted without user data channels. As a result, in ideally synchronized networks, PRS may receive interference from other cells' PRS with the same PRS pattern index (i.e., with the same frequency shift), but not from data transmissions. The frequency shift, in LTE for example, is defined as a function of a PRS ID for a cell or other transmission point (TP) (denoted as <MAT>) or as a function of a PCI (denoted as <MAT>) if no PRS ID is assigned, which results in an effective frequency re-use factor of six.

To also improve hearability of PRS (e.g., when PRS bandwidth is limited such as with only six resource blocks corresponding to <NUM> bandwidth), the frequency band for consecutive PRS positioning occasions (or consecutive PRS subframes/slots) may be changed in a known and predictable manner via frequency hopping. In addition, a cell supported by a wireless node may support more than one PRS configuration (e.g., PRS configuration <NUM>/<NUM>), where each PRS configuration may comprise a distinct frequency offset (vshift), a distinct carrier frequency, a distinct bandwidth, a distinct code sequence, and/or a distinct sequence of PRS positioning occasions with a particular number of subframes (NPRS) per positioning occasion and a particular periodicity (TPRS). In some cases, one or more of the PRS configurations supported in a cell may be for a directional PRS and may then have additional distinct characteristics such as a distinct direction of transmission, a distinct range of horizontal angles and/or a distinct range of vertical angles. Further enhancements of a PRS may also be supported by a wireless node.

Note that a PRS configuration, as described above, including the PRS transmission/muting schedule, is signaled to the UE to enable the UE to perform PRS positioning measurements. The UE is not expected to blindly perform detection of PRS configurations.

In LTE, a PRS configuration (e.g., PRS configuration <NUM>/<NUM>) was initially signaled with <NUM> bits, and later with <NUM> bits. The bits of a PRS configuration (whether <NUM> bits or <NUM> bits) signal which PRS occasions are ON (i.e., active, not muted), after which the pattern repeats. In NR, a base station can configure one or more PRS resource sets, where each PRS resource set contains one or more PRS resources. A PRS resource set is associated with some periodicity TPRS. A PRS resource set may have up to <NUM> PRS resources, which could result in a <NUM>-bit bitmap representing which PRS resources are ON and OFF (i.e., inactive, muted) in a specific PRS occasion. In that case, <NUM><NUM>-bit bitmaps would be needed for every PRS resource set, where each bitmap equals the number of PRS resources in the PRS resource set (up to <NUM> bits), so that an indication of which beams are muted is provided for each PRS occasion. As would be appreciated, the foregoing could cause, in the worst case, very high configuration overhead in the positioning assistance data.

<FIG> is a diagram of an exemplary PRS configuration <NUM> for the PRS transmissions of a given base station, according to aspects of the disclosure. In <FIG>, time is represented horizontally, increasing from left to right. Each long rectangle represents a slot and each short (shaded) rectangle represents an OFDM symbol. The PRS configuration <NUM> identifies the PRS resources <NUM> and <NUM> of a PRS resource set <NUM> during which the base station transmits PRS. The PRS resource set <NUM> has an occasion length NPRS of two (<NUM>) slots and a periodicity of TPRS (e.g., <NUM> subframes or <NUM>). As such, both the PRS resources <NUM> and <NUM> are two consecutive slots in length and repeat every TPRS subframes, starting from the slot in which the first symbol of the respective PRS resource occurs.

In the example of <FIG>, the PRS resource set <NUM> includes two PRS resources, a first PRS resource <NUM> (labeled "PRS resource <NUM>" in <FIG>) and a second PRS resource <NUM> (labeled "PRS resource <NUM>" in <FIG>). The PRS resource <NUM> and the PRS resource <NUM> may be transmitted on separate beams of the same base station. The PRS resource <NUM> has a symbol length Nsymb of two (<NUM>) symbols, and the PRS resource <NUM> has a symbol length Nsymb of four (<NUM>) symbols.

Each instance of the PRS resource set <NUM>, illustrated as instances 720a, 720b, and 720c, includes an occasion of length '<NUM>' (i.e., NPRS=<NUM>) for each PRS resource <NUM>, <NUM> of the PRS resource set. The PRS resources <NUM> and <NUM> are repeated every TPRS subframes up to the muting sequence periodicity TREP. As such, a bitmap of length TREP would be needed to indicate which occasions of instances 720a, 720b, and 720c are muted.

In an aspect, there may be additional constraints on a PRS configuration, such as PRS configuration <NUM> illustrated in <FIG>. For example, for all PRS resources (e.g., PRS resources <NUM>, <NUM>) of a PRS resource set (e.g., PRS resource set <NUM>), the base station can configure the following parameters to be the same: (a) the occasion length (e.g., TPRS), (b) the number of symbols (e.g., Nsymb), (c) the comb type, and/or (d) the bandwidth. In addition, for all PRS resources of all PRS resource sets, the subcarrier spacing and the cyclic prefix can be configured to be the same for one base station or for all base stations. Whether it is for one base station or all base stations may depend on the UE's capability to support the subcarrier spacing and the cyclic prefix being the same for one base station or for all base stations.

The present disclosure provides techniques for reducing the overhead of signaling muting pattern configurations for downlink PRS. As a first technique, for each PRS resource set (e.g., PRS resource set <NUM>), a muting pattern can be assigned across PRS occasions that controls the muting of a specific subgroup of PRS resources (e.g., PRS resources <NUM>, <NUM>) of the PRS resource set for each PRS occasion. A subgroup of PRS resources (also referred to as a repetition of PRS resources) can have the same muting pattern across PRS occasions. A bitmap of some size 'X' can be configured for each subgroup of the PRS resource set, where the base station repeats the muting pattern in that PRS resource set after X PRS occasions. There can be as many as Y PRS resources in the PRS resource set, and therefore, as many as Y PRS resource subgroups if each subgroup has only one PRS resource. Note that while a muting pattern is defined per PRS resource set, there could be multiple muting patterns per PRS resource set, one for each subgroup of PRS resources.

For example, a subgroup may contain all the PRS resources of a PRS resource set (e.g., both PRS resources <NUM> and <NUM>), which would result in the same muting pattern across time for all of the beams of that PRS resource set of that base station. This configuration would result in a small configuration overhead, but low flexibility. As another example, each subgroup may contain only one PRS resource (e.g., one of PRS resources <NUM> and <NUM>), in which case, the PRS resource set would contain Y subgroups, where 'Y' is the number of PRS resources in the PRS resource set, and the PRS transmitted on each beam would have a different muting pattern. This configuration would result in a large configuration overhead but high flexibility.

<FIG> illustrates a table <NUM> of an exemplary muting pattern for a given PRS resource set i, according to aspects of the disclosure. The columns of table <NUM> correspond to the subgroups of PRS resources in the PRS resource set i (labeled as "PRS Group ID"), and are numbered from '<NUM>' to <MAT>. The rows of table <NUM> correspond to the PRS occasions within the subgroups of PRS resources in the PRS resource set i (labeled "OCC ID"), and are numbered from '<NUM>' to <MAT> <NUM>. The values <MAT> and <MAT> are configurable (i.e., can be different) for each PRS resource set of each base station. Likewise, the contents (i.e., the values in the rows) of each of the <MAT> subgroups of PRS resources are configurable (i.e., can be different) for each PRS resource set.

In the example of <FIG>, for simplicity, only the contents of the first subgroup of PRS resources (PRS Group ID = <NUM>) are shown. As further illustrated in <FIG>, there are <MAT> <NUM> PRS occasions, and as such, there are <NUM> rows, numbered from '<NUM>' to <MAT>. However, as will be appreciated, there may be more or fewer than <NUM> occasions. Because there are <NUM> occasions, a <NUM>-bit bitmap would be needed for each configured subgroup of PRS resources of the PRS resource set i.

Referring back to <FIG>, a first subgroup of PRS resources of the PRS resource set <NUM> may contain the first PRS resource <NUM>, and a second subgroup of PRS resources may contain the second PRS resource <NUM>. As such, the UE would be configured with two muting pattern bitmaps, one for each subgroup, allowing the two subgroups to be ON (e.g., active, not muted) or OFF (i.e., inactive, muted) independent of each other. That is, in some occasions, first PRS resource <NUM> may be transmitted and second PRS resource <NUM> may be muted, or vice versa, or both may be muted, or both may be transmitted. Note that each subgroup will still have an NPRS of '<NUM>' and a periodicity of TPRS.

Dividing the PRS resources of a PRS resource set into subgroups with the same muting pattern reduces signaling overhead between the UE and the base station. Specifically, as noted above, a PRS resource set is defined as a collection of PRS resources (or beams) with the same periodicity. The UE may be able to report a positioning resource indication (PRI) related to which beam is the best inside the PRS resource set. However, it may not be desirable to have the same muting pattern for all of the beams of the PRS resource set. At the same time, it may not be desirable to always have a different muting pattern across all PRS resources.

For example, a base station may transmit a PRS resource set of <NUM> PRS resources on <NUM> transmit beams, and every fourth beam may already be considered highly spatially separated, and therefore do not interfere with each other (meaning they are spatially muted). As such, the base station can group every fourth beam into a subgroup of PRS resources, for a total of four subgroups. All that is needed then is to provide time-domain muting across the four PRS subgroups. To avoid excessive overhead, the base station can provide the UE with four Noccasions-bit bitmaps, one for each PRS subgroup, rather than having to provide <NUM> X-bit bitmaps (i.e., one for each PRS resource) in which the muting pattern for every fourth PRS resource/beam is exactly the same.

In an aspect, subgroups of PRS resources may only be created when the X-bit muting pattern has an X larger than a threshold.

In an aspect, not providing any subgroups in the PRS muting configuration can be interpreted as either all PRS resources being in the same group, or each PRS resource being in its own group.

As a further technique described herein, for a set of configured muting pattern periodicities (TPRS), the base station can assign a muting pattern across PRS occasions that controls the muting of each subgroup of PRS resources of each PRS resource set of that base station that has the given periodicity. More specifically, the number of PRS subgroups <MAT> may be configurable for each periodicity, and the number of PRS occasions <MAT> may be configurable for each PRS resource set. The base station can configure an <MAT> bitmap for each subgroup of each PRS resource set when the base station wants to repeat the muting pattern in that set after Noccasions occasions.

<FIG> illustrates a table <NUM> of an exemplary muting pattern for an ordered sequence of PRS resource sets with the same periodicity, according to aspects of the disclosure. The columns of table <NUM> correspond to the subgroups of PRS resources in the PRS resource sets. A first PRS resource set has <MAT> subgroups of PRS resources, a second PRS resource set has <MAT> subgroups of PRS resources, a third PRS resource set has <MAT> subgroups of PRS resources, and so on. The rows of table <NUM> correspond to the PRS occasions within the subgroups of PRS resources in the PRS resource sets, and are numbered from '<NUM>' to <MAT>.

In an aspect, there is an option to not configure any PRS subgroups in any of the PRS resource sets, which would result in all PRS resources of all PRS resource sets with the same periodicity having the same muting pattern. In addition, there may be an option to configure the same muting patterns for all PRS resource sets, independent of periodicity. This would result in the minimum configuration overhead, since the base station would only have to provide one bitmap for all PRS resources of all PRS resource sets of a given periodicity.

Currently, a PRS resource set with Nresources PRS resources can be associated with up to Nmuting TREP-bit muting pattern(s), where each bit of the muting pattern bitmap indicates whether a corresponding PRS occasion of the associated subgroup of PRS resources of the PRS resource set is muted or not. Currently, an Ngroups of '<NUM>' is supported, an Nmuting of '<NUM>' is supported, and a TREP of {<NUM>,<NUM>,<NUM>,<NUM>} is supported. Note that it should be possible to configure the same Nmuting muting pattern(s) for all PRS resource sets of a base station even if they have different periodicities.

To further reduce PRS configuration overhead, a base station can provide one <MAT> bit bitmap associated with the first PRS subgroup of a PRS resource set i. In accordance with the independent claims, the UE then derives the remaining <MAT> bitmaps associated with the remaining PRS subgroups using a deterministic function (e.g., cyclic shift index, permutation index), a randomized function, or the like.

<FIG> illustrates a table <NUM> of an exemplary muting pattern for a given PRS resource set i, in accordance with the independent claims. The columns of table <NUM> correspond to the subgroups of PRS resources in the PRS resource set i (labeled as "PRS Group ID"), and are numbered from '<NUM>' to <MAT>. The rows of table <NUM> correspond to the PRS occasions within the subgroups of PRS resources in the PRS resource set i (labeled "OCC ID"), and are numbered from '<NUM>' to <MAT>. In the example of <FIG>, the base station only transmits the first column of table <NUM> as the muting pattern. The UE then derives the remaining columns of table <NUM>. For example, the UE may use a deterministic function, such as a cyclic shift index, as shown in <FIG>.

<FIG> illustrates a table <NUM> of an exemplary muting pattern for a given PRS resource set i, in accordance with the independent claims. The columns of table <NUM> correspond to the subgroups of PRS resources in the PRS resource set i (labeled as "PRS Group ID"), and are numbered from '<NUM>' to <MAT>. The rows of table <NUM> correspond to the PRS occasions within the subgroups of PRS resources in the PRS resource set i (labeled "OCC ID"), and are numbered from '<NUM>' to <MAT>.

In the example of <FIG>, the base station only transmits the first column of table <NUM> as the muting pattern. In addition, the base station sends a parameter, c<NUM>, in the configuration, which may be a cyclic shift index or a permutation index. In this case, the muting pattern of each subgroup changes compared to the configured <MAT> bitmap (i.e., the first column of table <NUM>), without the base station having to provide the bitmaps for each subgroup of PRS resources (i.e., the entire table <NUM>). For example, as shown in <FIG>, if c<NUM> is a cyclic shift equal to '<NUM>,' then in the first column (provided by the base station), the second occasion is muted, in the second column (for the next subgroup of PRS resources), the third occasion is muted, in the third column, the fourth occasion is muted, and so on.

In the example of <FIG>, the base station only transmits the first column of table <NUM> as the muting pattern. In addition, the base station sends a parameter, ci, for each subgroup of PRS resources (i.e., each column of table <NUM>) in the configuration, which may be a cyclic shift index or a permutation index. In this case, the muting pattern of each subgroup changes compared to the configured <MAT> bitmap (i.e., the first column of table <NUM>), without the base station having to provide the entire ( <MAT>)-bit bitmap for all subgroups of PRS resources of the PRS resource set i (i.e., the entire table <NUM>). The UE derives the muting patterns for the subsequent subgroups (or columns of table <NUM>) based on the parameter ci.

For example, if the parameter ci is a permutation index, the UE can apply the corresponding permutation to the first column of table <NUM> to derive the remaining columns of table <NUM>. More specifically, there may be <MAT> (i.e., <MAT> factorial) different permutations of muting patterns that can be configured for the Ngroup subgroups of PRS occasions. The base station may determine which permutations are appropriate (e.g., which muting pattern permutations will provide good hearability for PRS) and signal the index values of such permutations to the UE as the parameters ci. The UE can then determine the muting pattern for the second PRS subgroup <MAT> by calculating or looking up the c<NUM>th permutation of the muting pattern for the first PRS subgroup <MAT> and using that permutation as the muting pattern for the second PRS subgroup <MAT>.

In an aspect, the location server (e.g., location server <NUM>, LMF <NUM>, SLP <NUM>) can signal the PRS configuration and muting pattern to the involved base stations over New Radio positioning protocol type A (NRPPa) or LTE positioning protocol type A (LPPa), and to the UE over LPP (e.g., in the PRS-Info message).

<FIG> illustrates an exemplary method <NUM> of wireless communication, according to aspects of the disclosure. In an aspect, the method <NUM> may be performed by a UE, such as any of the UEs described herein.

At <NUM>, the UE receives, from a transmission point, a first PRS muting pattern for a first subgroup of PRS resources of a first PRS resource set, wherein the first PRS muting pattern comprises a plurality of N bits representing a plurality of N PRS occasions of the first subgroup of PRS resources, wherein each bit of the plurality of N bits represents a corresponding PRS occasion of the plurality of N PRS occasions of each PRS resource of the first subgroup of PRS resources, and wherein the plurality of N PRS occasions comprises a plurality of active (i.e., ON, not muted) PRS occasions of the first subgroup of PRS resources. In an aspect, operation <NUM> may be performed by WWAN transceiver(s) <NUM>, processing system <NUM>, memory component <NUM>, and/or muting pattern manager <NUM>, any or all of which may be considered as means for performing this operation.

At <NUM>, the UE measures, during at least one of the plurality of active PRS occasions of the first subgroup of PRS resources, PRS received from the transmission point. In an aspect, operation <NUM> may be performed by WWAN transceiver(s) <NUM>, processing system <NUM>, memory component <NUM>, and/or muting pattern manager <NUM>, any or all of which may be considered as means for performing this operation.

In accordance with the independent claims (although not shown in <FIG>), the method further comprises: deriving a PRS muting pattern for each subgroup of PRS resources of the plurality of subgroups of PRS resources other than the first subgroup of PRS resources based on the first PRS muting pattern.

In an aspect, the method <NUM> may further include (not shown) estimating, by the UE, a location of the UE based on the measured PRS. Alternatively, or additionally, the UE may report the measured PRS to a positioning entity (e.g., location server <NUM>, LMF <NUM>) to enable the positioning entity to calculate a location of the UE. The PRS may be used (by the UE or the positioning entity) to estimate the location of the UE using various positioning techniques, such as multi-cell RTT, AoA/AoD, etc..

<FIG> illustrates an exemplary method <NUM> of wireless communication. In an aspect, the method <NUM> may be performed by a transmission point, such as a base station (e.g., any of the base stations described herein), an antenna or antenna array of a base station, a RRH, a DAS, etc..

At <NUM>, the transmission point transmits, to a UE (e.g., any of the UEs described herein), a first PRS muting pattern for a first subgroup of PRS resources of a first PRS resource set, wherein the first PRS muting pattern comprises a plurality of N bits representing a plurality of N PRS occasions of the first subgroup of PRS resources, wherein each bit of the plurality of N bits represents a corresponding PRS occasion of the plurality of N PRS occasions of each PRS resource of the first subgroup of PRS resources, and wherein the plurality of N PRS occasions comprises a plurality of active PRS occasions of the first subgroup of PRS resources. In an aspect, operation <NUM> may be performed by WWAN transceiver(s) <NUM>, processing system <NUM>, memory component <NUM>, and/or muting pattern manager <NUM> as shown in <FIG>, any or all of which may be considered as means for performing this operation.

At <NUM>, the transmission point transmits PRS to the UE during at least one of the plurality of active PRS occasions of the first subgroup of PRS resources. In an aspect, operation <NUM> may be performed by WWAN transceiver(s) <NUM>, processing system <NUM>, memory component <NUM>, and/or muting pattern manager <NUM> as shown in <FIG>, any or all of which may be considered as means for performing this operation.

As will be appreciated, a technical advantage of the methods illustrated in <FIG> and <FIG> is to reduce the overhead of signaling muting pattern configurations for downlink PRS.

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 DSP, an ASIC, an 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 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. The ASIC may reside in a user terminal (e.g., UE).

In one or more exemplary aspects, the functions described may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. 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. 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.

Claim 1:
A method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment, UE (<NUM>), the method comprising:
receiving (<NUM>), from a transmission point (<NUM>), a first positioning reference signal, PRS, muting pattern for a first subgroup of PRS resources of a first PRS resource set that comprises a plurality of subgroups of PRS resources including the first subgroup of PRS resources, wherein the first PRS muting pattern comprises a plurality of N bits representing a plurality of N PRS occasions of the first subgroup of PRS resources, wherein each bit of the plurality of N bits represents a corresponding PRS occasion of the plurality of N PRS occasions of each PRS resource of the first subgroup of PRS resources, and wherein the plurality of N PRS occasions comprises a plurality of active PRS occasions of the first subgroup of PRS resources;
deriving a PRS muting pattern for each subgroup of PRS resources of the plurality of subgroups of PRS resources other than the first subgroup of PRS resources based on the first PRS muting pattern; and
measuring (<NUM>), during at least one of the plurality of active PRS occasions of the first subgroup of PRS resources, PRS received from the transmission point (<NUM>).