Patent Description:
Aspects of the disclosure relate generally to wireless positioning and the like.

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> and <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) 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 (<NUM>) 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 <NUM> 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 <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> standard. Furthermore, signaling efficiencies should be enhanced and latency should be substantially reduced compared to current standards.

<CIT> discloses a mobile device, comprising: a receiver, configured to receive at least one radio signal from a corresponding radio transceiver, in particular a base station, wherein the at least one radio signal comprises at least one carrier component, CC, comprising a set of pilot symbols for localizing the mobile device; and a processor, configured to determine localization information, in particular a time of arrival, TOA, of the at least one radio signal, based on the set of pilot symbols of the at least one CC.

<NPL> discloses techniques for estimating the time difference of arrival (TDOA) associated with signals in a multipath communication channel for wireless indoor positioning.

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.

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) <NUM> 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 "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.

<FIG> illustrates an example wireless communications system <NUM>, according to aspects of the disclosure. The wireless communications system <NUM> (which may also be referred to as a wireless wide area network (WWAN)) may include various base stations <NUM> (labeled "BS") 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 stations 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> (e.g., a location management function (LMF) or a secure user plane location (SUPL) location platform (SLP)). The location server(s) <NUM> 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), 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 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 neighboring macro cell base station <NUM> geographic coverage areas <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>' (labeled "SC" for "small cell") may have a geographic 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 (DL) (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).

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.

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.

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). 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 <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 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 <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 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 the example of <FIG>, any of the illustrated UEs (shown in <FIG> as a single UE <NUM> for simplicity) may receive signals <NUM> from one or more Earth orbiting space vehicles (SVs) <NUM> (e.g., satellites). In an aspect, the SVs <NUM> may be part of a satellite positioning system that a UE <NUM> can use as an independent source of location information. A satellite positioning system typically includes a system of transmitters (e.g., SVs <NUM>) positioned to enable receivers (e.g., UEs <NUM>) to determine their location on or above the Earth based, at least in part, on positioning signals (e.g., signals <NUM>) 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 <NUM>, transmitters may sometimes be located on ground-based control stations, base stations <NUM>, and/or other UEs <NUM>. A UE <NUM> may include one or more dedicated receivers specifically designed to receive signals <NUM> for deriving geo location information from the SVs <NUM>.

In a satellite positioning system, the use of signals <NUM> 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 Multifunctional 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, a satellite positioning system may include any combination of one or more global and/or regional navigation satellites associated with such one or more satellite positioning systems.

In an aspect, SVs <NUM> may additionally or alternatively be part of one or more non-terrestrial networks (NTNs). In an NTN, an SV <NUM> is connected to an earth station (also referred to as a ground station, NTN gateway, or gateway), which in turn is connected to an element in a <NUM> network, such as a modified base station <NUM> (without a terrestrial antenna) or a network node in a 5GC. This element would in turn provide access to other elements in the <NUM> network and ultimately to entities external to the <NUM> network, such as Internet web servers and other user devices. In that way, a UE <NUM> may receive communication signals (e.g., signals <NUM>) from an SV <NUM> instead of, or in addition to, communication signals from a terrestrial base station <NUM>.

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 (referred to as "sidelinks"). 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.

<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 user plane functions <NUM> and control plane functions <NUM>, respectively. 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, a Next Generation RAN (NG-RAN) <NUM> may have one or more gNBs <NUM>, while other configurations include one or more of both ng-eNBs <NUM> and gNBs <NUM>. Either (or both) gNB <NUM> or ng-eNB <NUM> may communicate with one or more UEs <NUM> (e.g., any of the UEs described herein).

Another optional aspect may include a location server <NUM>, which may be in communication with the 5GC <NUM> to provide location assistance for UE(s) <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 (e.g., a third party server, such as an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) server or service server).

<FIG> illustrates another example wireless network structure <NUM>. A 5GC <NUM> (which may correspond to 5GC <NUM> in <FIG>) 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>). The functions of the AMF <NUM> include registration management, connection management, reachability management, mobility management, lawful interception, transport for session management (SM) messages between one or more UEs <NUM> (e.g., any of the UEs described herein) 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 NG-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 (Third Generation Partnership Project) 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 an 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>, NG-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).

User plane interface <NUM> and control plane interface <NUM> connect the 5GC <NUM>, and specifically the UPF <NUM> and AMF <NUM>, respectively, to one or more gNBs <NUM> and/or ng-eNBs <NUM> in the NG-RAN <NUM>. The interface between gNB(s) <NUM> and/or ng-eNB(s) <NUM> and the AMF <NUM> is referred to as the "N2" interface, and the interface between gNB(s) <NUM> and/or ng-eNB(s) <NUM> and the UPF <NUM> is referred to as the "N3" interface. The gNB(s) <NUM> and/or ng-eNB(s) <NUM> of the NG-RAN <NUM> may communicate directly with each other via backhaul connections <NUM>, referred to as the "Xn-C" interface. One or more of gNBs <NUM> and/or ng-eNBs <NUM> may communicate with one or more UEs <NUM> over a wireless interface, referred to as the "Uu" interface.

The functionality of a gNB <NUM> is divided between a gNB central unit (gNB-CU) <NUM> and one or more gNB distributed units (gNB-DUs) <NUM>. The interface <NUM> between the gNB-CU <NUM> and the one or more gNB-DUs <NUM> is referred to as the "F1" interface. A gNB-CU <NUM> 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) <NUM>. More specifically, the gNB-CU <NUM> hosts the radio resource control (RRC), service data adaptation protocol (SDAP), and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) protocols of the gNB <NUM>. A gNB-DU <NUM> is a logical node that hosts the radio link control (RLC), medium access control (MAC), and physical (PHY) layers of the gNB <NUM>. Its operation is controlled by the gNB-CU <NUM>. One gNB-DU <NUM> can support one or more cells, and one cell is supported by only one gNB-DU <NUM>. Thus, a UE <NUM> communicates with the gNB-CU <NUM> via the RRC, SDAP, and PDCP layers and with a gNB-DU <NUM> via the RLC, MAC, and PHY layers.

<FIG>, <FIG>, and <FIG> illustrate several example 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> and the LMF <NUM>, or alternatively may be independent from the NG-RAN <NUM> and/or 5GC <NUM>/<NUM> infrastructure depicted in <FIG> and <FIG>, 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 <NUM> and the base station <NUM> each include one or more 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 each 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., 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> each also include, at least in some cases, one or more short-range wireless transceivers <NUM> and <NUM>, respectively. The short-range wireless 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®, 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 <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 short-range wireless 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. As specific examples, the short-range wireless transceivers <NUM> and <NUM> 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.

The UE <NUM> and the base station <NUM> also include, at least in some cases, satellite signal receivers <NUM> and <NUM>. The satellite signal 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 satellite positioning/communication signals <NUM> and <NUM>, respectively. Where the satellite signal receivers <NUM> and <NUM> are satellite positioning system receivers, the satellite positioning/communication signals <NUM> and <NUM> may be 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. Where the satellite signal receivers <NUM> and <NUM> are non-terrestrial network (NTN) receivers, the satellite positioning/communication signals <NUM> and <NUM> may be communication signals (e.g., carrying control and/or user data) originating from a <NUM> network. The satellite signal receivers <NUM> and <NUM> may comprise any suitable hardware and/or software for receiving and processing satellite positioning/communication signals <NUM> and <NUM>, respectively. The satellite signal receivers <NUM> and <NUM> may request information and operations as appropriate from the other systems, and, at least in some cases, perform calculations to determine locations of the UE <NUM> and the base station <NUM>, respectively, using measurements obtained by any suitable satellite positioning system algorithm.

The base station <NUM> and the network entity <NUM> each include one or more network transceivers <NUM> and <NUM>, respectively, providing means for communicating (e.g., means for transmitting, means for receiving, etc.) with other network entities (e.g., other base stations <NUM>, other network entities <NUM>). For example, the base station <NUM> may employ the one or more network transceivers <NUM> to communicate with other base stations <NUM> or network entities <NUM> over one or more wired or wireless backhaul links. As another example, the network entity <NUM> may employ the one or more network transceivers <NUM> to communicate with one or more base station <NUM> over one or more wired or wireless backhaul links, or with other network entities <NUM> over one or more wired or wireless core network interfaces.

A transceiver may be configured to communicate over a wired or wireless link. A transceiver (whether a wired transceiver or a wireless transceiver) includes transmitter circuitry (e.g., transmitters <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>) and receiver circuitry (e.g., receivers <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>). A transceiver may be an integrated device (e.g., embodying transmitter circuitry and receiver circuitry in a single device) in some implementations, may comprise separate transmitter circuitry and separate receiver circuitry in some implementations, or may be embodied in other ways in other implementations. The transmitter circuitry and receiver circuitry of a wired transceiver (e.g., network transceivers <NUM> and <NUM> in some implementations) may be coupled to one or more wired network interface ports. Wireless transmitter circuitry (e.g., transmitters <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>) 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 (e.g., UE <NUM>, base station <NUM>) to perform transmit "beamforming," as described herein. Similarly, wireless receiver circuitry (e.g., receivers <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>) 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 (e.g., UE <NUM>, base station <NUM>) to perform receive beamforming, as described herein. In an aspect, the transmitter circuitry and receiver circuitry 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 transceiver (e.g., WWAN transceivers <NUM> and <NUM>, short-range wireless transceivers <NUM> and <NUM>) may also include a network listen module (NLM) or the like for performing various measurements.

As used herein, the various wireless transceivers (e.g., transceivers <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM>, and network transceivers <NUM> and <NUM> in some implementations) and wired transceivers (e.g., network transceivers <NUM> and <NUM> in some implementations) may generally be characterized as "a transceiver," "at least one transceiver," or "one or more transceivers. " As such, whether a particular transceiver is a wired or wireless transceiver may be inferred from the type of communication performed. For example, backhaul communication between network devices or servers will generally relate to signaling via a wired transceiver, whereas wireless communication between a UE (e.g., UE <NUM>) and a base station (e.g., base station <NUM>) will generally relate to signaling via a wireless transceiver.

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>, the base station <NUM>, and the network entity <NUM> include one or more processors <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM>, respectively, for providing functionality relating to, for example, wireless communication, and for providing other processing functionality. The processors <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 processors <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM> may include, for example, one or more general purpose processors, multi-core processors, central processing units (CPUs), ASICs, digital signal processors (DSPs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), other programmable logic devices or processing circuitry, or various combinations thereof.

The UE <NUM>, the base station <NUM>, and the network entity <NUM> include memory circuitry implementing memories <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 memories <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 positioning component <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM>, respectively. The positioning component <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM> may be hardware circuits that are part of or coupled to the processors <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 positioning component <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM> may be external to the processors <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM> (e.g., part of a modem processing system, integrated with another processing system, etc.). Alternatively, the positioning component <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM> may be memory modules stored in the memories <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM>, respectively, that, when executed by the processors <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. <FIG> illustrates possible locations of the positioning component <NUM>, which may be, for example, part of the one or more WWAN transceivers <NUM>, the memory <NUM>, the one or more processors <NUM>, or any combination thereof, or may be a standalone component. <FIG> illustrates possible locations of the positioning component <NUM>, which may be, for example, part of the one or more WWAN transceivers <NUM>, the memory <NUM>, the one or more processors <NUM>, or any combination thereof, or may be a standalone component. <FIG> illustrates possible locations of the positioning component <NUM>, which may be, for example, part of the one or more network transceivers <NUM>, the memory <NUM>, the one or more processors <NUM>, or any combination thereof, or may be a standalone component.

The UE <NUM> may include one or more sensors <NUM> coupled to the one or more processors <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 one or more WWAN transceivers <NUM>, the one or more short-range wireless transceivers <NUM>, and/or the satellite signal 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 two-dimensional (2D) and/or three-dimensional (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 one or more processors <NUM> in more detail, in the downlink, IP packets from the network entity <NUM> may be provided to the processor <NUM>. The one or more processors <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 one or more processors <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 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> (L1) 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 one or more processors <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 one or more processors <NUM>, which implements Layer-<NUM> (L3) and Layer-<NUM> (L2) functionality.

In the uplink, the one or more processors <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 one or more processors <NUM> are also responsible for error detection.

Similar to the functionality described in connection with the downlink transmission by the base station <NUM>, the one or more processors <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 one or more processors <NUM>.

In the uplink, the one or more processors <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 one or more processors <NUM> may be provided to the core network. The one or more processors <NUM> are also responsible for error detection.

For convenience, the UE <NUM>, the base station <NUM>, and/or the network entity <NUM> are shown in <FIG>, <FIG>, and <FIG> 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. In particular, various components in <FIG> are optional in alternative configurations and the various aspects include configurations that may vary due to design choice, costs, use of the device, or other considerations. For example, in case of <FIG>, a particular implementation of UE <NUM> may omit the WWAN transceiver(s) <NUM> (e.g., a wearable device or tablet computer or PC or laptop may have Wi-Fi and/or Bluetooth capability without cellular capability), or may omit the short-range wireless transceiver(s) <NUM> (e.g., cellular-only, etc.), or may omit the satellite signal receiver <NUM>, or may omit the sensor(s) <NUM>, and so on. In another example, in case of <FIG>, a particular implementation of the base station <NUM> may omit the WWAN transceiver(s) <NUM> (e.g., a Wi-Fi "hotspot" access point without cellular capability), or may omit the short-range wireless transceiver(s) <NUM> (e.g., cellular-only, etc.), or may omit the satellite receiver <NUM>, and so on. For brevity, illustration of the various alternative configurations is not provided herein, but would be readily understandable to one skilled in the art.

The various components of the UE <NUM>, the base station <NUM>, and the network entity <NUM> may be communicatively coupled to each other over data buses <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM>, respectively. In an aspect, the data buses <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM> may form, or be part of, a communication interface of the UE <NUM>, the base station <NUM>, and the network entity <NUM>, 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 <NUM>), the data buses <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM> may provide communication between them.

The components of <FIG>, <FIG>, and <FIG> may be implemented in various ways. In some implementations, the components of <FIG>, <FIG>, and <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 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 <NUM>, base station <NUM>, network entity <NUM>, etc., such as the processors <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, the transceivers <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM>, the memories <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM>, the positioning component <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM>, etc..

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

<FIG> illustrates an example architecture of a transceiver <NUM> capable of implementing carrier aggregation, according to at least one aspect of the disclosure. The transceiver <NUM> may correspond to a WWAN transceiver <NUM> or a WLAN transceiver <NUM> of UE <NUM>, or a WWAN transceiver <NUM> or a WLAN transceiver <NUM> of base station <NUM>. The transceiver <NUM> may be coupled to first and second antennas <NUM> and <NUM>. The antennas may correspond to antennas <NUM> or <NUM> of UE <NUM> or antennas <NUM> or <NUM> of base station <NUM>.

The transceiver <NUM> includes receiver circuitry <NUM> and transmitter circuitry <NUM>. The receiver circuitry <NUM> may correspond to receiver(s) <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, or <NUM> and the transmitter circuitry <NUM> may correspond to transmitter(s) <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, or <NUM>. The receiver circuitry <NUM> is capable of implementing carrier aggregation. As such, in the example of <FIG>, the receiver circuitry <NUM> includes two radios <NUM> and <NUM> coupled to the two antennas <NUM> and <NUM>, respectively. Note that although <FIG> illustrates only two antennas <NUM> and <NUM> and two radios <NUM> and <NUM>, as will be appreciated, there may be more than two antennas and two radios. The transmitter circuitry <NUM> may also be capable of implementing carrier aggregation similarly to the receiver circuitry <NUM>, but this is not shown in <FIG> for the sake of simplicity.

A transceiver (e.g., transceiver <NUM>) generally includes a modem (e.g., modem <NUM>) and a radio (e.g., radio <NUM> or <NUM>). The radio, broadly speaking, handles selection and conversion of the RF signals into the baseband or intermediate frequency and converts the RF signals to the digital domain. The modem is the remainder of the transceiver.

Referring to <FIG>, radio <NUM> includes an amplifier <NUM>, a mixer <NUM> (also referred to as a signal multiplier) for signal down conversion, a frequency synthesizer <NUM> (also referred to as an oscillator) that provides signals to the mixer <NUM>, a baseband filter (BBF) <NUM>, and an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) <NUM>. Similarly, radio <NUM> includes an amplifier <NUM>, a mixer <NUM>, a frequency synthesizer <NUM>, a BBF <NUM>, and an ADC <NUM>. The ADCs <NUM> and <NUM> are coupled to the signal combiner / signal selector <NUM> of the modem <NUM>, which is coupled to the demodulator <NUM> of the modem <NUM>. The demodulator <NUM> is coupled to a packet processor <NUM>. The demodulator <NUM> and the packet processor <NUM> provide demodulated and processed single or multiple output signals to the communication controller and/or processing system (e.g., processor(s) <NUM> or <NUM>).

Note that not every component illustrated in <FIG> is required for the operation of the system. For example, in direct RF-to-baseband conversion receivers, or any other direct conversion receivers, including certain software-defined radio (SDR) implementations, various components of the receiver circuitry <NUM> are not necessary, as is known in the art. In addition, while <FIG> illustrates a single modem <NUM> coupled to two radios <NUM> and <NUM>, as will be appreciated, each radio <NUM> and <NUM> may be coupled to a different modem, and the receiver circuitry <NUM> would therefore include the same number of radios and modems. Further, while <FIG> illustrates integrated transmitter circuitry <NUM> and receiver circuitry <NUM>, i.e., transceiver <NUM>, in some implementations, a UE or base station may comprise a separate transmitter device and a separate receiver device.

As noted above, carrier aggregation is a technique whereby a UE (e.g., any of the UEs described herein) can receive and/or transmit on multiple carrier frequencies at the same time, thereby increasing downlink and uplink data rates. Thus, the UE may simultaneously utilize radio <NUM> to tune to one carrier frequency (e.g., the anchor carrier) and radio <NUM> to tune to a different carrier frequency (e.g., a secondary carrier). In addition, each radio <NUM> and <NUM> may be tunable to a plurality of different frequencies, one at a time.

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 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> kilohertz (kHz) 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 (SCS), symbol length, etc.). In contrast, NR may support multiple numerologies (µ), for example, subcarrier spacings of <NUM> (µ=<NUM>), <NUM> (µ=<NUM>), <NUM> (µ=<NUM>), <NUM> (µ=<NUM>), and <NUM> (µ=<NUM>) or greater may be available. In each subcarrier spacing, there are <NUM> symbols per slot. For <NUM> SCS (µ=<NUM>), there is one slot per subframe, <NUM> slots per frame, the slot duration is <NUM> millisecond (ms), the symbol duration is <NUM> microseconds (µs), and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with a <NUM> FFT size is <NUM>. For <NUM> SCS (µ=<NUM>), there are two slots per subframe, <NUM> slots per frame, the slot duration is <NUM>, the symbol duration is <NUM>, and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with a <NUM> FFT size is <NUM>. For <NUM> SCS (µ=<NUM>), there are four slots per subframe, <NUM> slots per frame, the slot duration is <NUM>, the symbol duration is <NUM>, and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with a <NUM> FFT size is <NUM>. For <NUM> SCS (µ=<NUM>), there are eight slots per subframe, <NUM> slots per frame, the slot duration is <NUM>, the symbol duration is <NUM>, and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with a <NUM> FFT size is <NUM>. For <NUM> SCS (µ=<NUM>), there are <NUM> slots per subframe, <NUM> slots per frame, the slot duration is <NUM>, the symbol duration is <NUM>, and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with a <NUM> FFT size is <NUM>.

In the example of <FIG>, a numerology of <NUM> is used. Thus, in the time domain, a <NUM> frame is divided into <NUM> equally sized subframes of <NUM> each, and each subframe includes one time slot. In <FIG>, 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 <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.

Some of the REs may carry reference (pilot) signals (RS). The reference signals may include positioning reference signals (PRS), tracking reference signals (TRS), phase tracking reference signals (PTRS), 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), sounding reference signals (SRS), etc., depending on whether the illustrated frame structure is used for uplink or downlink communication. <FIG> illustrates example locations of REs carrying reference signals (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 <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.

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-<NUM>, for each symbol of the PRS resource configuration, REs corresponding to every fourth subcarrier (such as subcarriers <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>) are used to transmit PRS of the PRS resource. Currently, comb sizes of comb-<NUM>, comb-<NUM>, comb-<NUM>, and comb-<NUM> are supported for DL-PRS. <FIG> illustrates an example PRS resource configuration for comb-<NUM> (which spans six symbols). That is, the locations of the shaded REs (labeled "R") indicate a comb-<NUM> PRS resource configuration.

Currently, a DL-PRS resource may span <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, or <NUM> 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 <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM> over <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM> symbols. <NUM>-symbol comb-<NUM>: {<NUM>, <NUM>}; <NUM>-symbol comb-<NUM>: {<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>}; <NUM>-symbol comb-<NUM>: {<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>}; <NUM>-symbol comb-<NUM>: {<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>}; <NUM>-symbol comb-<NUM>: {<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>}; <NUM>-symbol comb-<NUM>: {<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>}; <NUM>-symbol comb-<NUM>: {<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>}; <NUM>-symbol comb-<NUM>: {<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>}; and <NUM>-symbol comb-<NUM>: {<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>}.

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 <NUM>^µ*{<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 (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 physical downlink shared channel (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 <NUM> PRBs and a maximum of <NUM> 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.

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.

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 (e.g., 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 angle(s) 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 RTT measurement signal (e.g., 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 <NUM>, LMF <NUM>, SLP <NUM>) 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 +/- <NUM> 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 +/- <NUM>. In other cases, when all of the resources used for the positioning measurement(s) are in FR2, the value range for the uncertainty of the expected RSTD may be +/- <NUM>.

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).

There is a need for techniques to support the high accuracy (horizontal and vertical), low latency, network efficiency (scalability, reference signal overhead, etc.), and device efficiency (power consumption, complexity, etc.) requirements for commercial positioning uses cases (including general commercial use cases and specifically (I)IoT use cases). Referring to the accuracy requirement specifically, the accuracy of a location estimate depends on the accuracy of the positioning measurements (e.g., ToA, Rx-Tx time difference, RSTD, etc.) of received PRS, and the larger the bandwidth of the measured PRS, the more accurate the positioning measurements. One technique to increase the bandwidth of the measured PRS is multi-frequency layer PRS stitching. Multi-frequency layer PRS stitching enables positioning measurements using PRS that span contiguous component carriers. By spanning contiguous component carriers, the effective PRS bandwidth can be increased, as shown by diagram <NUM> in <FIG>, resulting in increased positioning measurement accuracy. More specifically, a component carrier is currently defined as <NUM>. By using three component carriers, as in the example of <FIG>, the effective bandwidth of the measured PRS is <NUM>. Note that when implementing multi-frequency layer PRS stitching, assumptions between the consecutive component carriers need to be defined (e.g., QCL, same antenna port, etc.) so that the effective PRS bandwidth can be increased (both for UL- and DL-PRS).

An aggregated PRS consists of a collection of PRS resources transmitted from the same TRP such that the UE may assume that the same antenna port is transmitted. Each PRS resource of an aggregated PRS is referred to as a PRS component. Each PRS component could be physically transmitted on different component carriers / bands / frequency layers, or just different bandwidths on the same band.

Bandwidth is the key resource for achieving higher accuracy in ToA estimation. However, network operators typically do not own single contiguous wide portions of bandwidth. Instead, fragmented bandwidths allocated in multiple carrier bands are more common. Accordingly, how to effectively utilize the aggregated bandwidth across disjoint bands is an important issue, and solving it will help to enable high precision positioning in <NUM> networks. In addition, being able to aggregate bandwidth across disjoint bands will also enable a quicker high precision position fix versus having to repeatedly perform measurements of multiple disjoint bands until the desired accuracy is achieved. In addition, it allows carriers to lower their costs by buying fragmented spectrum, and allows fragmented spectrum to potentially be used in verticals where high precision and low latency are required (e.g., automotive and IIOT use cases).

<FIG> is a graph <NUM> illustrating the power delay profile (PDP) of a multipath channel between a receiver device (e.g., any of the UEs or base stations described herein) and a transmitter device (e.g., any other of the UEs or base stations described herein), according to aspects of the disclosure. A PDP represents the intensity of an RF signal (e.g., PRS, SRS, etc.) received through a multipath channel as a function of time delay (the difference in travel time between multipath arrivals). Thus, the horizontal axis is in units of time (e.g., milliseconds) and the vertical axis is in units of signal strength (e.g., decibels). Note that a multipath channel is a channel between a transmitter and a receiver over which an RF signal follows multiple paths, or multipaths, due to transmission of the RF signal on multiple beams and/or to the propagation characteristics of the RF signal (e.g., reflection, refraction, etc.).

In the example of <FIG>, the receiver detects/measures multiple (four) clusters of channel taps. Each channel tap represents a multipath that an RF signal (e.g., a PRS) followed between the transmitter and the receiver. That is, a channel tap represents the arrival of an RF signal on a multipath. Each cluster of channel taps indicates that the corresponding multipaths followed essentially the same path. There may be different clusters due to the RF signal being transmitted on different transmit beams (and therefore at different angles), or because of the propagation characteristics of RF signals (e.g., potentially following different paths due to reflections), or both.

All of the clusters of channel taps for a given RF signal represent the multipath channel (or simply channel) between the transmitter and receiver. Under the channel illustrated in <FIG>, the receiver receives a first cluster of two RF signals on channel taps at time T1, a second cluster of five RF signals on channel taps at time T2, a third cluster of five RF signals on channel taps at time T3, and a fourth cluster of four RF signals on channel taps at time T4. In the example of <FIG>, because the first cluster of RF signals at time T1 arrives first, it is assumed to correspond to the RF signal transmitted on the transmit beam aligned with the LOS, or the shortest, path. The time at which the first cluster arrives, i.e., time T1, is considered to be the ToA of the RF signal (e.g., a PRS). The third cluster at time T3 is comprised of the strongest RF signals, and may correspond to, for example, the RF signal transmitted on a transmit beam aligned with a non-line-of-sight (NLOS) path. Note that although <FIG> illustrates clusters of two to five channel taps, as will be appreciated, the clusters may have more or fewer than the illustrated number of channel taps.

There are issues with the time-domain based approach to determining the ToA of a PRS. For example, it is difficult to distinguish the main lobe from side lobes for channels with more than one channel tap. This is illustrated in <FIG>, which is a graph <NUM> of example time domain waveforms for two separate bands. In graph <NUM>, the vertical axis represents signal strength (in decibels) and the horizontal axis represents frequency. As can be seen, while the peak for Band <NUM> is easily distinguishable, the peak for the combination of Band <NUM> and Band <NUM> is not. In addition to time domain issues with identifying the earlies peak for accurate ToA estimation, phase coherence is also an issue.

The present disclosure proposes to address the issues in the frequency domain using a modified matrix pencil algorithm. A matrix pencil algorithm is a super-resolution signal processing technique. The algorithm has been successfully applied to ToA estimation for positioning using a single contiguous bandwidth. In the present disclosure, the matrix pencil algorithm is extended to allow joint-processing over multiple joint/disjoint component carriers (or frequency layers) for ToA estimation. The disclosed algorithm needs time alignment across the component carriers (or the knowledge of the clock offsets between them), but it does not need phase coherence across component carriers, meaning not all involved component carriers need to have the same phase. The effectiveness of the disclosed algorithm has been verified through simulation.

The following is an overview of a conventional matrix pencil algorithm. A matrix pencil is used to represent the PDP of an RF signal (as illustrated in <FIG>) in the frequency domain. The frequency domain representation of the PDP of an RF signal using a matrix pencil is given as: <MAT> where k is the subcarrier index, n is the channel tap index, r is the total number of taps, j is a complex imaginary number, τn is the delay of the n-th path, dn is the complex amplitude of the n-th path, and Δf is the subcarrier spacing.

The matrix representation is: <MAT> where: <MAT> and where: <MAT>.

In the above equations, VL×r is the Vandermonde Matrix.

The conventional matrix pencil algorithm is calculated as follows. Noise mitigation can be achieved by removing the weak component in the singular value decomposition (SVD) of the Hankel matrix of (X[<NUM>] ~ X[L - <NUM>]) and then slicing the matrix into Xe,<NUM> and Xe,<NUM>, as shown below. Specifically, the Hankel matrices Xe,<NUM> of (X[<NUM>] ~ X[L - <NUM>]) and Xe,<NUM> of (X[<NUM>] ~ X[L - <NUM>]) are determined, where L is the total number of subcarriers and u is the width of the matrix, which is larger than or equal to the total number of channel taps r: <MAT> <MAT>.

These matrices can be represented as: <MAT> <MAT>.

These two matrices are then combined to form a generalized eigenvalue problem as: <MAT> which can be solved by finding the eigen values of inv(Xe,<NUM>) Xe,<NUM>, where inv(A) denotes the pseudo inverse of matrix A. As long as L - u ≥ r and u ≥ r, the generalized eigen values in the above equation conforms to (z<NUM>, z<NUM>, ···, zr).

In contrast to the conventional matrix pencil algorithm described above, where L is the subcarrier index of contiguous subcarriers, the present disclosure describes a modified matrix pencil algorithm that can account for disjoint frequency bands. In the following, it is assumed that there are the two disjoint bands covering two sets of subcarriers X[<NUM>] ~ X[M - <NUM>] and X[L] ~ X[L + K - <NUM>], where L >= M.

In the disclosed matrix pencil algorithm, the Hankel matrices Xe,<NUM> of (X[<NUM>] ~ X[M - <NUM>]) and Xe,<NUM> of (X[<NUM>] ~ X[M - <NUM>]) for the first disjoint frequency band are determined as: <MAT> <MAT>.

These matrices can be represented as follows: <MAT> <MAT>.

These matrices can then be combined as: <MAT>.

For the second disjoint frequency band, the variable ϕ is defined as a complex factor accounting for the unknown phase difference between the measurements on the two disjoint bands. The Hankel matrices Ye,<NUM> of (X[L] ~ X[L + K - <NUM>]) and Ye,<NUM> of (X[L + <NUM>] ~ X[L + K - <NUM>]) for the second disjoint frequency band are determined as: <MAT> <MAT>.

The Hankel matrices Xe,<NUM>, Xe,<NUM>, Ye,<NUM>, and Ye,<NUM> for the two disjoint frequency bands can then be combined as: <MAT>.

Noise reduction can be processed as before on the concatenated Hankel matrix. This can be expanded as follows: <MAT>.

The generalized eigen values in the above equation conform to (z<NUM>, z<NUM>, ···, zr) if D has rank r, which is usually the case when (M-u) + (K - u) ≥ r , considering a generalized Vandermonde matrix-like structure of D.

Although the above algorithm has been described for two disjoint frequency bands, as will be appreciated, extending the algorithm to more than two disjoint bands is straightforward.

<FIG> is a graph <NUM> illustrating example simulation results for the disclosed matrix pencil algorithm for an indoor factory (InF) scenario, according to aspects of the disclosure. In the graph <NUM>, the vertical axis represents the cumulative density function (CDF) and the horizontal axis represents horizontal positioning error (in meters). The rightmost plot is for a <NUM> band, the next plot is for two <NUM> bands separated by another <NUM> band, the middle plot is for a single <NUM> band, the next plot is for two <NUM> bands separated by another <NUM> band, and the leftmost plot is for a <NUM> band. As can be seen, the horizontal positioning accuracy improves with aggregated bandwidth across disjoint bands.

<FIG> and <FIG> illustrate an example processing flow <NUM> of the disclosed matrix pencil algorithm, according to aspects of the disclosure. At the first stage, the receiver (e.g., a UE) performs channel frequency response (CFR) measurements for each of n frequency layers on which an RF signal (e.g., a PRS) is received. The n frequency layers may be contiguous or non-contiguous. For example, each frequency layer may be disjoint from other frequency layers, or different groups of frequency layers may be contiguous with each other but disjoint from other groups of frequency layers.

The frequency domain samples generated at the first (<NUM>) stage are represented as X[kn] ··· X[kn + Ln - <NUM>] and used, at the second (<NUM>) stage, to construct a Hankel matrix Xn for each frequency layer. The matrix form of each Xn is represented as: <MAT> where u is selected such that Ln ≥ u ≥ r and Σ(Ln - u) ≥ r.

After the second (<NUM>) stage, SVD denoising can be performed on <MAT> and <MAT>. SVD denoising can also be performed jointly on the stacked matrix of [X<NUM>; X<NUM>;. The result is then decomposed into X̂<NUM>, X̂<NUM>,.

The results of the SVD denoising, X̂n, are passed to the third (<NUM>) stage, where, for each frequency layer, the Hankel matrices <MAT> and <MAT> are built from slicing X̂n. In an aspect, rather than perform SVD denoising before the third (<NUM>) stage, the SVD denoising can be performed after the third (<NUM>) stage.

At the fourth (<NUM>) stage, the Hankel matrices <MAT> and <MAT> for each frequency layer are stacked in order into matrices Xe,<NUM> and Xe,<NUM>, respectively. At the fifth (<NUM>) stage, the eigenvalues z<NUM>, z<NUM>,. of inv(Xe,<NUM>)Xe,<NUM> are calculated. Subsequently, as an optional operation, values of zi with |abs(zi) -<NUM>| >ε are removed. For example, ε may be <NUM>.

At the sixth (<NUM>) stage, <MAT> is computed. At the seventh (<NUM>) stage, the smallest value of τi is considered as the first ToA of the RF signal received on the n frequency layers.

The disclosed modified matrix pencil algorithm is agnostic to phase changes across frequency layers but not timing differences across the frequency layers. As such, a time alignment procedure is performed. More specifically, a UE may be configured with multiple frequency layers. In each frequency layer, there may be multiple TRPs, and each TRP may have multiple resources. The ToA estimate procedure is carried out for each TRP.

Under certain conditions, the UE cannot measure the resources in different frequency layers concurrently (e.g., for devices with limited bandwidth support). As a result, the timing measurement on each frequency layer is performed in a time-division multiplexing (TDM) fashion, as shown in <FIG>. Specifically, <FIG> is a diagram <NUM> illustrating an example of an RF signal (e.g., a PRS) that is received on three disjoint frequency layers that are measured in consecutive, not concurrent, time periods. In diagram <NUM>, the vertical axis represents frequency and the horizontal axis represents time.

When the resources used for joint processing ToA estimation are measured at different time instances (as illustrated in <FIG>), the time alignment across the measurements on the resources needs to be adjusted first. <FIG> is a processing flow <NUM> illustrating a portion of the disclosed matrix pencil algorithm illustrated in <FIG> and <FIG>, according to aspects of the disclosure. As shown in <FIG>, a time alignment processing block <NUM> can be added to the processing flow illustrated in <FIG> and <FIG> after the CFR measurement stage (the first (<NUM>) stage). The processing flow <NUM> can then continue as illustrated in <FIG> and <FIG>. More specifically, the timing adjustment can be estimated between the measurements on resources from different frequency layers. The estimated time shift can then be used to compensate each measurement in the frequency domain through phase ramping (i.e., multiplying tone k with exp (j<NUM>πkΔfd) for delay adjustment d).

Referring now to SVD denoising in greater detail, SVD denoising starts with SVD decomposition on Xn. Specifically, Xn = UDV*, where D = diag(λ<NUM>, λ<NUM>, ···, λp), λ<NUM> ≥ λ<NUM> ≥ ···, ≥ λp ≥ <NUM>, and V* denotes the Hermitian of V. The components with weaker singular values of λi are removed from Xn as follows: X̂n = U[<NUM>:d] diag(λ<NUM>, λ<NUM>, ···, λd)V[<NUM>:d]*, where U[<NUM>:d] and V[<NUM>:d] denote the first d columns of U and V.

There are various estimation algorithms that can be performed on the number of signals to determine d. One example is the minimum description length (MDL) algorithm, which can be represented as: <MAT> where d = minimizer of MDL(k) for k = <NUM>,. , p, and where p is the number of singular values (λi) and N is the number of tones used in constructing Xn.

Another example is the Akiake information criterion (AIC) algorithm, which can be represented as: <MAT> where d = minimizer of AIC(k) for k = <NUM>,. , p, where p is the number of singular values (λi) and N is the number of tones used in constructing Xn.

<FIG> illustrates an example method <NUM> of wireless communication, according to aspects of the disclosure. In an aspect, method <NUM> may be performed by a network node (e.g., any of the UEs or base stations described herein).

At <NUM>, the network node receives a reference signal comprising a plurality of time and frequency resources, the plurality of time and frequency resources spanning a plurality of disjoint bandwidth segments, the plurality of disjoint bandwidth segments being time aligned or having a known time offset with respect to each other. In an aspect, where the network node is a UE, operation <NUM> may be performed by the one or more WWAN transceivers <NUM>, the one or more processors <NUM>, memory <NUM>, and/or positioning component <NUM>, any or all of which may be considered means for performing this operation. In an aspect, where the network node is a base station, operation <NUM> may be performed by the one or more WWAN transceivers <NUM>, the one or more processors <NUM>, memory <NUM>, and/or positioning component <NUM>, any or all of which may be considered means for performing this operation.

At <NUM>, the network node determines a ToA of the reference signal based on jointly processing the plurality of time and frequency resources of the reference signal across the plurality of disjoint bandwidth segments. In an aspect, where the network node is a UE, operation <NUM> may be performed by the one or more WWAN transceivers <NUM>, the one or more processors <NUM>, memory <NUM>, and/or positioning component <NUM>, any or all of which may be considered means for performing this operation. In an aspect, where the network node is a base station, operation <NUM> may be performed by the one or more WWAN transceivers <NUM>, the one or more processors <NUM>, memory <NUM>, and/or positioning component <NUM>, any or all of which may be considered means for performing this operation.

As will be appreciated, a technical advantage of the method <NUM> is improved ToA estimation by enabling the network node to measure PRS across a larger (disjoint) bandwidth. Another technical advantage is that the method <NUM> does not require phase coherence across the measurements on each disjoint bandwidth.

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-programable 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 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. The ASIC may reside in a user terminal (e.g., UE).

In one or more example 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 (<NUM>) of wireless communication performed by a network node, comprising:
receiving (<NUM>) a reference signal comprising a plurality of time and frequency resources, the plurality of time and frequency resources spanning a plurality of disjoint bandwidth segments, the plurality of disjoint bandwidth segments being time aligned or having a known time offset with respect to each other; and
determining (<NUM>) a time of arrival, ToA, of the reference signal based on jointly processing the plurality of time and frequency resources of the reference signal across the plurality of disjoint bandwidth segments,
wherein determining the ToA of the reference signal comprises: determining the ToA of the reference signal based on a modified matrix pencil algorithm, and wherein determining the ToA of the reference signal based on the modified matrix pencil algorithm comprises:
determining a plurality of channel frequency response, CFR, measurements corresponding to the plurality of disjoint bandwidth segments;
determining a first plurality of Hankel matrices corresponding to the plurality of disjoint bandwidth segments based on the plurality of CFR measurements corresponding to the plurality of disjoint bandwidth segments;
determining a second plurality of Hankel matrices corresponding to the plurality of disjoint bandwidth segments based on slicing the first plurality of Hankel matrices; and
stacking the second plurality of Hankel matrices to generate a plurality of stacked matrices.