WO2023037323A1

WO2023037323A1 - Apparatus and method for user equipment positioning measurements

Info

Publication number: WO2023037323A1
Application number: PCT/IB2022/058534
Authority: WO
Inventors: Li Guo
Original assignee: Guangdong Oppo Mobile Telecommunications Corp., Ltd.
Priority date: 2021-09-10
Filing date: 2022-09-10
Publication date: 2023-03-16

Abstract

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a method of wireless communication of a transmission/reception point (TRP) is provided. The method may include receiving, by a plurality of antennas of the TRP, an uplink positioning signal from a user equipment UE. The method may include measuring, by at least one processor, a receive signal receive power (RSRP) value of the uplink positioning signal received by each of the plurality of antennas. The method may include generating, by the at least one processor, a positioning information element (IE) that correlates each of the plurality of antennas with their respective RSRP value and includes a first geographical coordinate of an antenna reference point associated with the plurality of antennas. The method may include communicating, by a communication interface, the positioning IE to be communicated to a location management function (LMF) entity.

Description

APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR USER EQUIPMENT POSITIONING MEASUREMENTS

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of priorities to U.S. Provisional Application No.

63/242,958, filed September 10, 2021, entitled “METHODS AND APPARATUS OF GEOGRAPHICAL COORDINATES OF POSITIONING MEASUREMENTS,” and U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/245,190, filed September 16, 2021, entitled “METHODS AND APPARATUS OF EFFICIENT DOWNLINK ANGLE OF DEPARTURE POSITIONING METHOD,” both of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.

BACKGROUND

[0002] Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to apparatus and method for wireless communication.

[0003] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various telecommunication services such as telephony, video, data, messaging, and broadcasts. In cellular communication, such as the 4th-gen eration (4G) Long Term Evolution (LTE) and the 5th- generation (5G) New Radio (NR), the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) defines various procedures for user equipment (UE) positioning measurements.

SUMMARY

[0004] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a method of wireless communication of a transmission/reception point (TRP) is provided. The method may include receiving, by a plurality of antennas of the TRP, an uplink positioning signal from a user equipment UE. The method may include measuring, by at least one processor, a receive signal receive power (RSRP) value of the uplink positioning signal received by each of the plurality of antennas. The method may include generating, by the at least one processor, a positioning information element (IE) that correlates each of the plurality of antennas with their respective RSRP value and includes a first geographical coordinate of an antenna reference point associated with the plurality of antennas. The method may include communicating, by a communication interface, the positioning IE to be communicated to a location management function (LMF) entity. [0005] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a method of wireless communication of an LMF entity. The method may include receiving, by a communication interface, a positioning IE from a TRP. The positioning IE may include a correlation of each of a plurality of antennas of the TRP with a respective RSRP value and a geographical coordinate of an antenna reference point. The method may include identifying, by at least one processor, a location of the UE based at least in part on the correlation each of the plurality of antennas with their respective RSRP value and the first geographical coordinate of an antenna reference point.

[0006] According to still another aspect of the present disclosure, a method of wireless communication of a UE. The method may include receiving, by a communication interface, a multi-path signal of a DL PRS resource from a TRP. The method may be identifying, by at least one processor, a respective reference RSRP value for each path in the multi-path signal. The method may include transmitting, by the communication interface, the RSRP value for each path in the multi-path signal to a LMF entity.

[0007] According to still a further aspect of the present disclosure, a method of wireless communication of an LMF entity. The method may include receiving, by a communication interface, a signal indicating an RSRP value for each path in a multi-path signal associated with a DL PRS resource received by a UE from a TRP. The method may include identifying, by at least one processor, a location of the UE based at least in part on the RSRP value for each path in the multi-path signal associated with the DL PRS resource received by the UE from the TRP.

[0008] These illustrative embodiments are mentioned not to limit or define the present disclosure, but to provide examples to aid understanding thereof. Additional embodiments are discussed in the Detailed Description, and further description is provided there.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and form a part of the specification, illustrate embodiments of the present disclosure and, together with the description, further serve to explain the principles of the present disclosure and to enable a person skilled in the pertinent art to make and use the present disclosure.

[0010] FIG. 1 illustrates an example wireless network for measuring a UE position based on DL measurement.

[0011] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary wireless network, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [0012] FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary node, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0013] FIG. 4 illustrates a first exemplary technique that may be used by the wireless network of FIG. 2 to perform a first type of UE position measurement, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0014] FIG. 5 illustrates a second exemplary technique that may be used by the wireless network of FIG. 2 to perform a second type of UE position measurement, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0015] FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a first exemplary method of wireless communication, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0016] FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a second exemplary method of wireless communication, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0017] FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a third exemplary method of wireless communication, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0018] FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a fourth exemplary method of wireless communication, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0019] Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] Although specific configurations and arrangements are discussed, it should be understood that this is done for illustrative purposes only. A person skilled in the pertinent art will recognize that other configurations and arrangements can be used without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to a person skilled in the pertinent art that the present disclosure can also be employed in a variety of other applications.

[0021] It is noted that references in the specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “an example embodiment,” “some embodiments,” “certain embodiments,” etc., indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but every embodiment may not necessarily include the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it would be within the knowledge of a person skilled in the pertinent art to effect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described.

[0022] In general, terminology may be understood at least in part from usage in context. For example, the term “one or more” as used herein, depending at least in part upon context, may be used to describe any feature, structure, or characteristic in a singular sense or may be used to describe combinations of features, structures or characteristics in a plural sense. Similarly, terms, such as “a,” “an,” or “the,” again, may be understood to convey a singular usage or to convey a plural usage, depending at least in part upon context. In addition, the term “based on” may be understood as not necessarily intended to convey an exclusive set of factors and may, instead, allow for existence of additional factors not necessarily expressly described, again, depending at least in part on context.

[0023] Various aspects of wireless communication systems will now be described with reference to various apparatus and methods. These apparatus and methods will be described in the following detailed description and illustrated in the accompanying drawings by various blocks, modules, units, components, circuits, steps, operations, processes, algorithms, etc. (collectively referred to as “elements”). These elements may be implemented using electronic hardware, firmware, computer software, or any combination thereof. Whether such elements are implemented as hardware, firmware, or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system.

[0024] The techniques described herein may be used for various wireless communication networks, such as code division multiple access (CDMA) system, time division multiple access (TDMA) system, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) system, orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) system, single-carrier frequency division multiple access (SC- FDMA) system, wireless local area network (WLAN) system, and other networks. The terms “network” and “system” are often used interchangeably. A CDMA network may implement a radio access technology (RAT), such as Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), CDMA 2000, etc. A TDMA network may implement a RAT, such as the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). An OFDMA network may implement a RAT, such as LTE or NR. A WLAN system may implement a RAT, such as Wi-Fi. The techniques described herein may be used for the wireless networks and RATs mentioned above, as well as other wireless networks and RATs.

[0025] Positioning technology is one of the core technologies of wireless communications systems, as well as navigation systems, among others. 5G NR system supports positioning technology using various methods or techniques. For example, known systems generally perform UE positioning measurements using a downlink (DL) time-difference-of-arrival (TDOA) method, an uplink (UL) TDOA method, a multi-round-trip-time (multi-RTT) method, a DL angle-of- departure (DL-AoD) method, a UL angle-of-arrival (AoA) method, or an enhanced cell identification (ID) (E-CID) method.

[0026] Moreover, known 5G NR systems may use a DL positioning reference signal (PRS) to support DL UE positioning measurement and UL sounding reference signal (SRS) to support uplink UE positioning measurement. Some example techniques used by known systems for performing UE positioning measurements include, e.g., a DL reference signal timing difference (RSTD) measured from DL PRS, a UL relative time-of-arrival (RTOA) measured from SRS for positioning, a UE reception-transmission (Rx-Tx) time difference, a base station (also referred to herein as a TRP) Rx-Tx time difference, DL PRS received signal reference signal receive power (RSRP), UL SRS RSRP, and UL AoA. These techniques may involve various entities of a wireless communication system, e.g., such as a UE, a TRP, and a location server (referred to hereinafter as a location management function (LFM) entity). The UE may measure DL PRS resources sent from different TRPs or transmit UL SRS resources to the TRPs for positioning measurement by the LMF entity. In known systems, multiple TRPs are generally involved in determining the location of one UE. Each TRP can transmit a DL PRS resource to the UE or receive and measure UL SRS for positioning information transmitted by the UE.

[0027] FIG. 1 illustrates an example wireless network 100 that performs a DL UE positioning measurement based on DL PRS resources. As shown, the example wireless network 100 may include an LMF entity 102 (referred to hereinafter as “LMF 102”), a plurality of TRPs 104, and a UE 106. At 101, LMF 102 and multiple TRPs 104 coordinate the DL PRS resource configurations. At 103, each TRP 104 transmits the DL PRS resource according to the configuration. At 105, UE 106 measures the DL PRS resources transmitted from multiple TRPs 104 and measures the DL PRS RSRP and/or DL PRS RSTD. At 107, UE 106 reports the positioning measurement results to LMF 102. At 109, LMF 102 may calculate the location of UE 106 based on the reported positioning measurement results. Generally, LMF 102 may calculate UE’s 106 location using a DL angle-of-departure (DL-AoD) method or a multi -round-trip-time (multi-RTT) method, just to name a few.

[0028] One drawback of DL UE positioning measurements is that in 5G NR, multi-path signal propagation is an issue due to beamforming (e.g., a plurality of Tx beams) used for DL signal transmission. In a multi-path scenario, the DL PRS resource may be received by UE 106 via a line-of-sight signal from TRP 104, as well as a reflected signal that bounces off of a surface proximate to TPR 104 and/or UE 106. In the DL-AoD positioning method, UE 106 may report the RSRP measurement of each DL PRS resource, e.g., each TRP Tx beam to LMF 102. However, LMF 102 does not know the beam pattern of each TRP Tx beam. Thus, LMF 102 is unable to accurately estimate the DL-AoD of UE 106 based on the UL UE measurement reporting. Furthermore, the RSRP measurement of the reflected path of the multi-path signal is not reported to LMF entity 102. Without RSRP information of each path of the DL PRS resource multi-path signal, LMF 102 cannot coherently combine those multiple reported paths to achieve a precise UE location estimation.

[0029] In another example, not shown in FIG. 1, UE 106 may send a UL SRS signal to a TRP 104, which generally includes a distributed antenna system (referred to hereinafter as an “antenna array”). The antenna array includes multiple antennas located at different positions within the array. The RSRP value associated with the UL SRS signal received by one or more antennas in the antenna array may differ due to this difference in location. In known systems, TRP 104 estimates the average RSRP value of the entire antenna array. The average RSRP value is then reported to LMF 102. Using the average RSRP value, TRP 104 cannot precisely report the UL UE positioning measurement results. Consequently, LMF 102 may incorrectly estimate UE’s 106 location based on the average RSRP value reported by TRP 104.

[0030] Thus, there exists an unmet need for 1) a UL UE positioning technique in which the TRP does not report an average RSRP value of the entire antenna array to the LMF, and 2) a DL UE positioning technique in which the UE does not report the total power of the received multipath signal to the LMF.

[0031] To overcome these and other challenges, the present disclosure provides a UL UE positioning measurement technique in which the TRP may report, along with the RSRP value for each antenna in the array, an antenna reference point is the original point of the antenna coordinate system, and it includes the actual coordinate of each antenna element in the array with respect to the original point of the coordinate system. In so doing, the LMF may identify the precise location of each of the antennas within the geographical coordinate system, and hence, identify the location of the UE with a greater degree of precision. Moreover, the present disclosure also provides an exemplary DL UE positioning measurement technique in which the UE may report the RSRP value for each path of the multi-path signal of a DL PRS resource. By reporting each of the RSRP values, the LMF may identify the location of the UE with a greater amount of accuracy than in known systems. The exemplary UL UE positioning measurement technique is described below in connection with FIGs. 2, 3, 4, 6, and 7, while the exemplary DL UE positioning measurement technique is described below in connection with FIGs. 2, 3, 5, 8, and 9.

[0032] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary wireless network 200, in which some aspects of the present disclosure may be implemented, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 2, wireless network 200 may include a network of nodes, such as user equipment 202, an access node 204 (also referred to herein as a “TRP”), and a core network element 206. User equipment 202 may be any terminal device, such as a mobile phone, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a tablet, a vehicle computer, a gaming console, a printer, a positioning device, a wearable electronic device, a smart sensor, or any other device capable of receiving, processing, and transmitting information, such as any member of a vehicle to everything (V2X) network, a cluster network, a smart grid node, or an Intemet-of-Things (loT) node. It is understood that user equipment 202 is illustrated as a mobile phone simply by way of illustration and not by way of limitation.

[0033] Access node 204 may be a device that communicates with user equipment 202, such as a wireless access point, a base station (BS), a Node B, an enhanced Node B (eNodeB or eNB), a next-generation NodeB (gNodeB or gNB), a cluster master node, or the like. Access node 204 may have a wired connection to user equipment 202, a wireless connection to user equipment 202, or any combination thereof. Access node 204 may be connected to user equipment 202 by multiple connections, and user equipment 202 may be connected to other access nodes in addition to access node 204. Access node 204 may also be connected to other user equipments. When configured as a gNB, access node 204 may operate in millimeter wave (mmW) frequencies and/or near mmW frequencies in communication with the user equipment 202. When access node 204 operates in mmW or near mmW frequencies, the access node 204 may be referred to as an mmW base station. Extremely high frequency (EHF) is part of the radio frequency (RF) in the electromagnetic spectrum. EHF has a range of 30 GHz to 300 GHz and a wavelength between 1 millimeter and 10 millimeters. Radio waves in the band may be referred to as a millimeter wave. Near mmW may extend down to a frequency of 3 GHz with a wavelength of 200 millimeters. The super high frequency (SHF) band extends between 3 GHz and 30 GHz, also referred to as centimeter wave. Communications using the mmW or near mmW radio frequency band have extremely high path loss and a short range. The mmW base station may utilize beamforming with user equipment 202 to compensate for the extremely high path loss and short range. It is understood that access node 204 is illustrated by a radio tower by way of illustration and not by way of limitation.

[0034] Access nodes 204, which are collectively referred to as E-UTRAN in the evolved packet core network (EPC) and as NG-RAN in the 5G core network (5GC), interface with the EPC and 5GC, respectively, through dedicated backhaul links (e.g., SI interface). In addition to other functions, access node 204 may perform one or more of the following functions: transfer of 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, radio access network (RAN) sharing, multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS), subscriber and equipment trace, RAN information management (RIM), paging, positioning, and delivery of warning messages. Access nodes 204 may communicate directly or indirectly (e.g., through the 5GC) with each other over backhaul links (e.g., X2 interface). The backhaul links may be wired or wireless.

[0035] Core network element 206 may serve access node 204 and user equipment 202 to provide core network services. Examples of core network element 206 may include a home subscriber server (HSS), a mobility management entity (MME), a serving gateway (SGW), or a packet data network gateway (PGW). These are examples of core network elements of an evolved packet core (EPC) system, which is a core network for the LTE system. Other core network elements may be used in LTE and in other communication systems. In some embodiments, core network element 206 includes an access and mobility management function (AMF), a session management function (SMF), a user plane function (UPF), or the LMF of the 5GC for the NR system. The AMF may be in communication with a Unified Data Management (UDM). The AMF is the control node that processes the signaling between the user equipment 202 and the 5GC. Generally, the AMF provides QoS flow and session management. All user Internet protocol (IP) packets are transferred through the UPF. The UPF provides user equipment (UE) IP address allocation as well as other functions. The UPF is connected to the IP Services. The IP Services may include the Internet, an intranet, an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), a PS Streaming Service, and/or other IP services. The LMF is the network entity in the 5GC that supports location determination for UE 202, obtains exemplary UL UE positioning measurements from access node 204 (e.g., via the NG RAN), and obtains exemplary DL UE positioning measurements from UE 202. Using either the exemplary UL UE positioning measurements from access node 204 or DL UE positioning measurements from UE 202, the LMF may identify the location of UE 202 with a high-degree of accuracy. It is understood that core network element 206 is shown as a set of rackmounted servers by way of illustration and not by way of limitation.

[0036] Core network element 206 may connect with a large network, such as the Internet 208, or another Internet Protocol (IP) network, to communicate packet data over any distance. In this way, data from user equipment 202 may be communicated to other user equipments connected to other access points, including, for example, a computer 210 connected to Internet 208, for example, using a wired connection or a wireless connection, or to a tablet 212 wirelessly connected to Internet 208 via a router 214. Thus, computer 210 and tablet 212 provide additional examples of possible user equipments, and router 214 provides an example of another possible access node. [0037] A generic example of a rack-mounted server is provided as an illustration of core network element 206. However, there may be multiple elements in the core network including database servers, such as a database 216, and security and authentication servers, such as an authentication server 218. Database 216 may, for example, manage data related to user subscription to network services. A home location register (HLR) is an example of a standardized database of subscriber information for a cellular network. Likewise, authentication server 218 may handle authentication of users, sessions, and so on. In the NR system, an authentication server function (AUSF) device may be the entity to perform user equipment authentication. In some embodiments, a single server rack may handle multiple such functions, such that the connections between core network element 206, authentication server 218, and database 216, may be local connections within a single rack.

[0038] Each element in FIG. 2 may be considered a node of wireless network 200. More detail regarding the possible implementation of a node is provided by way of example in the description of a node 300 in FIG. 3. Node 300 may be configured as user equipment 202, access node 204, or core network element 206 in FIG. 2. Similarly, node 300 may also be configured as computer 210, router 214, tablet 212, database 216, or authentication server 218 in FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 3, node 300 may include a processor 302, a memory 304, and a transceiver 306. These components are shown as connected to one another by a bus, but other connection types are also permitted. When node 300 is user equipment 202, additional components may also be included, such as a user interface (UI), sensors, and the like. Similarly, node 300 may be implemented as a blade in a server system when node 300 is configured as core network element 206. Other implementations are also possible.

[0039] Transceiver 306 may include any suitable device for sending and/or receiving data. Node 300 may include one or more transceivers, although only one transceiver 306 is shown for simplicity of illustration. An antenna 308 is shown as a possible communication mechanism for node 300. Multiple antennas and/or arrays of antennas may be utilized for receiving multiple spatially multiplex data streams. Additionally, examples of node 300 may communicate using wired techniques rather than (or in addition to) wireless techniques. For example, access node 204 may communicate wirelessly to user equipment 202 and may communicate by a wired connection (for example, by optical or coaxial cable) to core network element 206. Other communication hardware, such as a network interface card (NIC), may be included as well.

[0040] As shown in FIG. 3, node 300 may include processor 302. Although only one processor is shown, it is understood that multiple processors can be included. Processor 302 may include microprocessors, microcontroller units (MCUs), digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), state machines, gated logic, discrete hardware circuits, and other suitable hardware configured to perform the various functions described throughout the present disclosure. Processor 302 may be a hardware device having one or more processing cores. Processor 302 may execute software. Software shall be construed broadly to mean instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executables, threads of execution, procedures, functions, etc., whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise. Software can include computer instructions written in an interpreted language, a compiled language, or machine code. Other techniques for instructing hardware are also permitted under the broad category of software. [0041] As shown in FIG. 3, node 300 may also include memory 304. Although only one memory is shown, it is understood that multiple memories can be included. Memory 304 can broadly include both memory and storage. For example, memory 304 may include random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), ferroelectric RAM (FRAM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), compact disc readonly memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disk storage, hard disk drive (HDD), such as magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, Flash drive, solid-state drive (SSD), or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions that can be accessed and executed by processor 302. Broadly, memory 304 may be embodied by any computer-readable medium, such as a non-transitory computer-readable medium.

[0042] Processor 302, memory 304, and transceiver 306 may be implemented in various forms in node 300 for performing wireless communication functions. In some embodiments, at least two of processor 302, memory 304, and transceiver 306 are integrated into a single system- on-chip (SoC) or a single system-in-package (SiP). In some embodiments, processor 302, memory 304, and transceiver 306 of node 300 are implemented (e.g., integrated) on one or more SoCs. In one example, processor 302 and memory 304 may be integrated on an application processor (AP) SoC (sometimes known as a “host,” referred to herein as a “host chip”) that handles application processing in an operating system (OS) environment, including generating raw data to be transmitted. In another example, processor 302 and memory 304 may be integrated on a baseband processor (BP) SoC (sometimes known as a “modem,” referred to herein as a “baseband chip”) that converts the raw data, e.g., from the host chip, to signals that can be used to modulate the carrier frequency for transmission, and vice versa, which can run a real-time operating system (RTOS). In still another example, processor 302 and transceiver 306 (and memory 304 in some cases) may be integrated on an RF SoC (sometimes known as a “transceiver,” referred to herein as an “RF chip”) that transmits and receives RF signals with antenna 308. It is understood that in some examples, some or all of the host chip, baseband chip, and RF chip may be integrated as a single SoC. For example, a baseband chip and an RF chip may be integrated into a single SoC that manages all the radio functions for cellular communication.

[0043] Referring back to FIG. 2, in some embodiments, access node 204 and core network element 206 may perform the exemplary UL UE positioning measurement technique described below in connection with, e.g., FIGs. 4, 6, and 7. Still referring to FIG. 2, in some embodiments, UE 202 and core network element 206 (e.g., LMF) may perform the exemplary DL UE positioning measurement technique described below in connection with FIGs. 5, 8, and 9.

[0044] FIG. 4 illustrates a first exemplary technique 400 that may be used by a wireless network to perform the exemplary UL UE position measurement, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0045] Referring to FIG. 4, an LMF 402, a TRP 404, and a UE 406 are shown. TRP 404 may include an antenna array 408 with multiple antennas 410. It is understood that antenna array 408 may be made up of more or fewer than twelve antennas without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. To begin, UE 406 may send an uplink positioning signal 401 (e.g., such as a UL SRS) to TRP 404. Uplink positioning signal 401 may be received by each of antenna 410 of antenna array 408. TRP 404 may measure (at 403) the uplink positioning measurement result (e.g., a UL SRS RSRP measurement result, a UL AoA measurement result, a UL RTOA measurement result, a base station Rx-Tx time difference, etc.) of the uplink positioning signal 401 received by each antenna 410. TRP 404 may generate (at 405) a UL positioning measurement result (e.g., a UE positioning information element (IE)) that correlates each antenna 410 with its respective uplink positioning measurement result and includes a geographical coordinate of an antenna reference point.

[0046] TRP 404 may report/communicate the uplink positioning measurement result 407, which includes the geographical coordinate of the antenna reference point for this uplink positioning measurement result, to LMF 402. This communication may occur via a backhaul link, for example. For a first UL positioning measurement result, if TRP 404 does not provide a geographical coordinate of the antenna reference point, LMF 402 may assume that the geographical coordinate of the antenna reference point for the first uplink positioning measurement result is the same as the geographical coordinate of TRP.

[0047] In some embodiments, TRP 404 may provide a geographical coordinate of the antenna reference point for each reported uplink positioning measurement result 407. For example, TRP 404 may report one uplink positioning measurement result 407 through the IE (e.g., a UE positioning IE) illustrated below in Table 1. In the IE shown below, TRP 404 may provide the geographical coordinate of the antenna reference point for the corresponding measurement result. The geographical coordinate of the antenna reference point is the location of the antennas 410 (e.g., Rx antennas) that are used to receive the uplink positioning signal 401 and then obtain the corresponding measurement result, illustrated below in Table 1.

Table 1: IE of UE Positioning Measurement Result

[0048] In the information element of Table 1, the IE Measured Results Value field provides one UL positioning measurement result, which may be a UL SRS-RSRP, a UL Angle of Arrival, a UL RTOA, or a gNB Rx-Tx Time difference. The IE Measured Result Antenna Reference Point (ARP) Location field may provide the geographical coordinate that is relative to the geographical coordinates of each antenna 410 in antenna array 408 for the measured result. LMF 402 may use the UE positioning measurement result information, along with geographical coordinate information contained in the IE illustrated in Table 1 to measure (at 409) the location measurement of UE 406 with a high-degree of precision. Then, LMF 402 may forward the location measurement 411 to UE 406.

[0049] In another embodiment, TRP 404 can report an uplink RTOA measurement, as well as a geographical coordinate of the antenna reference point used to obtain this uplink RTOA measurement. The UL RTOA may be sent along with or separately from UL positioning measurement 407.

[0050] In one example, in the following information element containing the uplink RTOA measurement, the TRP can provide the geographical coordinates of the antenna reference point for the uplink RTOA measurement.

Table 2: IE of UL RTOA Measurement Result

[0051] In IE illustrated above in Table 2, the IE UL RTOA ARP Location field may provide the geographical coordinate that is relative to the geographical coordinates of TRP 404 for the UL RTOA measurement result.

[0052] In still another embodiment, TRP 404 may report a UL AoA measurement result, as well as a geographical coordinate of the antenna reference point used to obtain the AoA measurement result. The UL AoA may be sent along with or separately from UL positioning measurement 407. In one example, TRP 404 can provide the geographical coordinates of the antenna reference point for the UL AoA measurement result in the following IE containing the UL AoA measurement result.

Table 3: IE of UL AoA Measurement Result

[0053] In the IE illustrated above in Table 3, the IE UL AoA ARP Location field provides the geographical coordinate that is relative to the geographical coordinates of TRP 404 for the UL AoA measurement result.

[0054] In yet another embodiment, TRP 404 may report a base Rx-Tx time difference measurement result, along with a geographical coordinate of the antenna reference point used to obtain this gNB Rx-Tx time difference measurement result. The Rx-Tx time difference measurement result may be sent along with or separately from UL positioning measurement 407. In one example, in the following IE illustrated below in Table 4, which also includes the gNB Rx- Tx time difference measurement result, TRP 404 may provide the geographical coordinates of the antenna reference point for the gNB Rx-Tx time difference measurement result.

Table 4: IE of gNB Rx-Tx Time Difference Measurement Result

[0055] In the IE illustrated above in Table 4, the IE gNB Rx-Tx Time Difference Measurement ARP Location field provides the geographical coordinate that is relative to the geographical coordinates of TRP 404 for the gNB Rx-Tx time difference measurement result.

[0056] FIG. 5 illustrates a second exemplary technique 500 that may be used by a wireless network to perform the exemplary DL UE position measurement, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0057] Referring to FIG. 5, an LMF 502, a TRP 504, a UE 506, and a reflective surface 512 (e.g., such as a building, object, vehicle, etc.) are shown. TRP 404 may include an antenna array 508 with multiple antennas 510. It is understood that antenna array 508 may be made up of more or fewer than twelve antennas without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. To begin, TRP 504 may use beamforming to transmit a DL PRS resource (e.g., made up of a set of contiguous orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols) to UE 506. Due to a reflective surface 512, UE 506 may receive the DL PRS resource as a multi-path signal made up of a line-of-sight (LoS) signal 501a and a reflected signal 501b. UE 506 may identify (at 503) an RSRP value for each of the (LoS) signal 501a (e.g., a first path) and the reflected signal 501b (e.g., a second path). Although not shown, the multi-path signal may be made up of multiple LoS signal paths, in some scenarios. UE 506 may generate (at 505) an IE that includes information associated with the RSRP value for each path of the multi-path signal, e.g., LoS signal 501a and reflective signal 501b. An example of the IE is illustrated below in Table 5.

Table 5: IE of Multi-Path RSRP Values

[0058] In some embodiments, in addition to the RSPR values, LMF 502 may request (not shown) that UE 506 include DL-DTOA information or multi-RTT information for each path in the multi-path signal in the IE. LMF 502 may request the DL-DTOA information or multi-RTT information via TRP 504, in some embodiments. Using the DL-DTOA technique, UE 506 may report (at 507) the RSTD measurement associated PRS resource for each of the paths in the multipath signal, as well as the relative time associated with each path in the multi-path signal. In some embodiments, for each reported additional path in RSTD measurement reporting, UE 506 may report (at 507) the differential path PRS RSRP measurement with reference to the RSRP of the corresponding PRS resource for each path. Using the multi-RTT technique, UE 506 may report (at 507) the UE Rx-Tx time difference measurement of one PRS resource, as well as report the relative time of one or more additional paths with reference to the PRS resource. For each reported additional path in UE Rx-Tx time difference measurement reporting, UE 506 can also report (at 507) the path PRS RSRP measurement for that additional path. For each reported additional path in the multi-RTT measurement reporting, UE 506 may report the path PRS RSRP measurement corresponding to that path. In one example, for each reported additional path (e.g., reflected signal 501b) in multi-RTT measurement reporting, UE 506 can report the differential path PRS RSRP measurement with reference to the RSRP of the corresponding PRS resource.

[0059] LMF 502 may identify (at 509) a location of UE 506 based at least in part on the RSRP value for each path in the multi-path signal associated with the DL PRS resource received by the UE from the TRP. In some embodiments, LMF 502 may further use the DL-DTOA information or the multi-RTT information (e.g., included along with the RSRP values in the IE) to identify UE’s 506 location. LMF 502 may send location information 511 to UE 506. By identifying RSRP values for each of LoS signal 501a and reflected signal 501b, LMF 502 may provide UE 506 with its location with a high degree of accuracy.

[0060] In another embodiment, TRP 504 may provide the transmit beam pattern of transmit beam that is applied on one DL PRS resource to LMF 502. TRP 504 may transmit one or more sets of DL PRS resources, and there may be one or more DL PRS resources in each set. Each DL PRS resource may have an associated spatial transmission filter, which may be called a transmit beam. Each transmit beam, or spatial transmission filter, may have a transmit beam pattern, which includes the beamforming gain at different angles or directions.

[0061] For each DL PRS resource, TRP 504 may provide the following information to LMF 502. For example, TRP 504 may provide spatial direction information of that DL PRS resource, which is the boresight direction of the transmit beam applied on that DL PRS resource. The spatial direction information may be represented by an azimuth angle and an elevation angle. In some embodiments, TRP 504 may provide the beamforming gain for each spatial direction or angle. For example, for one spatial direction or angle, TRP 504 may provide the relative power gain with respect to the peak beamforming gain of the transmit beam applied to the DL PRS resource. The peak beamforming gain information may be related to the transmit beam applied to the DL PRS resource. In other words, the beamforming gain of the transmit beam on the boresight direction of that transmit beam. In one example, TRP 504 can report a beamforming gain value for the peak beamforming gain of the transmit beam. In one example, TRP 504 can provide an indicator that can indicate whether the transmit beam applied to the DL PRS resource has the largest peak beamforming gain among all the DL PRS resources of that TRP 504 and if the peak beamforming gain of that DL PRS resource is not the largest, one indicator can be reported to indicate the differential peak beamforming gain of that DL PRS resource with a reference to the peak beamforming gain of the DL PRS resource with the largest peak beamforming gain. In one example, TRP 504 can provide an indicator that can indicate whether the transmit beam applied to the DL PRS resource has the smallest peak beamforming gain among all the DL PRS resources of that TRP and if the peak beamforming gain of that DL PRS resource is not the smallest, one indicator can be reported to indicate the differential peak beamforming gain of that DL PRS resource with a reference to the peak beamforming gain of the DL PRS resource with the smallest peak beamforming gain.

[0062] In some embodiments, TRP 504 can provide spatial direction information of the DL PRS resources that are transmitted by this TRP 504 to the LMF 502. The spatial direction information of one DL PRS resource is given by an azimuth angle of the boresight direction and an elevation angle of the boresight direction. In other words, the spatial direction of the DL PRS resource is the angle direction where the Tx beam applied on that DL PRS resource has the peak beamforming gain. For one spatial direction, TRP 504 provides the beamforming gain of that Tx beam. For that, TRP 504 can provide the information of beam gain of one relative angle with reference to the provided spatial direction of the DL PRS resource. In one example, TRP 504 may provide the following information: 1) one relative azimuth angle and one relative elevation angle with reference to the spatial direction of the DL PRS resource, and 2) the information of beamforming gain of that DL PRS resource corresponding to the provided (relative azimuth angle, relative elevation angle). The information of beamforming gain may be provided by a relative gain with reference to the peak beamforming gain of that DL PRS resource.

[0063] In one example, TRP 504 may provide the beam pattern information in the IE spatial direction information of the DL PRS resource in the format illustrated below in Table 6.

Table 6: IE for Reporting Spatial Direction Information of DL PRS Resource

[0064] As shown in Table 6, the field of “peak beamforming gain indicator” field may be used to report the information of peak beamforming gain of one DL PRS resource. In some examples, the “peak beamforming gain indicator” field may report the peak beamforming gain on the boresight direction of the transmit beam applied on the DL PRS resource. In some embodiments, one value of “peak beamforming gain indicator” field may be used to indicate that the PRS resource has the largest peak beamforming gain among all the DL PRS resources of TRP 504. The value of “peak beamforming gain indicator” field may indicate a differential beamforming gain with reference to the largest peak beamforming gain. The field of “beam pattern information” field may provide the beamforming gain of various angles of the Tx beam applied to the DL PRS resource. The “relative azimuth” field provides a relative azimuth angle with reference to the azimuth angle of the boresight direction. The “relative elevation” field provides a relative elevation angle with reference to the elevation angle of the boresight direction. The “beamforming gain indicator” field may provide the information of beamforming gain related to the beam direction provided by the “relative azimuth” and “relative elevation.” In some examples, the “beamforming gain indicator” field may provide the absolute beamforming gain value. In some embodiments, the “beamforming gain indicator” field may provide a relative beamforming gain with reference to the peak beamforming gain of the DL PRS resource.

[0065] The “beamforming gain indicator” field may provide a relative beamforming gain that uses a multi-level quantization method. In some embodiments, a first step size is used for relative beamforming gain when the relative beamforming gain is between OdB and XI dB, and then a second step size is used for relative beamforming gain when the relative beamforming gain is between XI dB and X2 dB, and a third step size is used for relative beamforming gain when the relative beamforming gain is above X2 dB. For example, the relative beamforming gain may be provided according to Table 7, seen below.

Table ?: Relative Beamforming Gain

[0066] As shown above in Table 7, the step size for relative beamforming gain may be IdB when the relative beamforming gain is between OdB and -lOdB, while the step size for relative beamforming gain is 3dB when the relative beamforming is less than -lOdB.

[0067] In another embodiment, TRP 504 may provide a range of azimuth angle and a range of elevation angle, a step size of azimuth angle, and a step size of elevation angle. Moreover, TRP 504 may provide information of beamforming gain for each spatial direction that is determined by an azimuth angle and/or elevation angle, which can be determined by the range of azimuth angle, range of elevation angle, step size of azimuth angle, and step size of elevation angle.

[0068] In some embodiments, TRP 504 may provide the peak beamforming gain of each DL PRS resource, which is the beamforming gain on the boresight direction of the transmit beam applied to that DL PRS resource. In one example, TRP 504 may provide beamforming gain (e.g., in dB) on the boresight direction of each DL PRS resource. In one example, TRP 504 may provide the differential beamforming gain of the boresight direction of one DL PRS resource with reference to the largest beamforming gain of the boresight direction.

[0069] In some embodiments, TRP 504 may provide information of beamforming gain of all the DL PRS resources for each particular spatial direction. For example, TRP 504 may provide various information. For example, TRP 504 may provide one azimuth angle and one elevation angle, which are used to provide one spatial direction. TRP 504 may provide beamforming gain of each PRS resource on this spatial direction. For one spatial direction, TRP 504 may report one list of differential beamforming gains with a reference to the largest beamforming gain of that spatial direction, and each differential beamforming gain corresponds to one DL PRS resource. If reported differential beamforming gain is OdB, that means that DL PRS resource has the largest beamforming gain in that spatial direction among all the DL PRS resource. Moreover, for each DL PRS resource, TRP 504 may provide the information of beamforming gain at the boresight direction.

[0070] In some embodiments, UE 506 may be requested (e.g., by LMF 502 via TRP 504) to report the RSRP measurement corresponding to one channel path. For example, UE 506 may be requested to report the RSRP measurement of the first arrival path. The path PRS RSRP may be defined as the linear average over the power contributions of the resource elements (REs) that carry the DL PRS reference signals that are received at a certain path delay. In another example, the path PRS RSRP can be calculated as the accumulated received PRS signal received from the channel impulse response over a given time duration corresponding to a given path delay. In one example, the time duration may be pre-specified. In one example, the time duration may be configured by the system, e.g., LMF 502 may indicate a length of time duration through the PRS processing assist data.

[0071] In another embodiment, UE 506 may be requested to report the per path PRS RSRP measurement. In one example, UE 506 can report the RSRP measurement of per path PRS RSRP measurement. In one example, UE 506 can report the RSRP measurement of one PRS resource and report a differential RSRP of one path of that PRS resource with reference to the RSRP of the PRS resource.

[0072] FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a first exemplary method 600 of wireless communication, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Method 600 may be performed by an apparatus for wireless communication, e.g., such as an access node or a TRP, just to name a few. Method 600 may include steps 602-608 as described below. It is to be appreciated that some of the steps may be optional, and some of the steps may be performed simultaneously, or in a different order than shown in FIG. 6.

[0073] Referring to FIG. 6, at 602, the apparatus may receive an uplink positioning signal from a UE. For example, referring to FIG. 4, UE 406 may send an uplink positioning signal 401 (e.g., such as a UL SRS) to TRP 404. Uplink positioning signal 401 may be received by each of antenna 410 of antenna array 408.

[0074] At 604, the apparatus may measure an RSRP value of the uplink positioning signal received by each of the plurality of antennas. For example, referring to FIG. 4, TRP 404 may measure (at 403) the uplink positioning measurement result (e.g., a UL SRS RSRP measurement result, a UL AoA measurement result, a UL RTOA measurement result, a base station Rx-Tx time difference, etc.) of the uplink positioning signal 401 received by each antenna 410.

[0075] At 606, the apparatus may generate a positioning IE that correlates each of the plurality of antennas with their respective RSRP value and includes a first geographical coordinate of an antenna reference point associated with the plurality of antennas. For example, referring to FIG. 4, TRP 404 may generate (at 405) a UL positioning measurement result (e.g., a positioning information element (IE)) that correlates each antenna 410 with its respective uplink positioning measurement result and includes a geographical coordinate of an antenna reference point.

[0076] At 608, the apparatus may communicate the positioning IE to be communicated to an LMF entity. For example, referring to FIG. 4, TRP 404 may report/communicate the uplink positioning measurement result 407, which includes the geographical coordinate of the antenna reference point for this uplink positioning measurement result, to LMF 402. This communication may occur via a backhaul link, for example. For a first UL positioning measurement result, if TRP 404 does not provide a geographical coordinate of the antenna reference point, LMF 402 may assume that the geographical coordinate of the antenna reference point for the first uplink positioning measurement result is the same as the geographical coordinate of TRP. In some embodiments, TRP 404 may provide a geographical coordinate of the antenna reference point for each reported uplink positioning measurement result 407. For example, TRP 404 may report one uplink positioning measurement result 407 through the IE (e.g., a positioning IE) illustrated above in Table 1. In the IE shown below, TRP 404 may provide the geographical coordinate of the antenna reference point for the corresponding measurement result. The geographical coordinate of the antenna reference point is the location of the antennas 410 (e.g., Rx antennas) that are used to receive the uplink positioning signal 401 and then obtain the corresponding measurement result, illustrated above in Table 1.

[0077] FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a second exemplary method 700 of wireless communication, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Method 700 may be performed by an apparatus for wireless communication, e.g., such as a core network element, location server, or LMF entity, just to name a few. Method 700 may include steps 702-704 as described below. It is to be appreciated that some of the steps may be optional, and some of the steps may be performed simultaneously, or in a different order than shown in FIG. 7.

[0078] Referring to FIG. 7, at 702, the apparatus may receive a positioning IE that includes a correlation of each of a plurality of antennas of the TRP with a respective RSRP value and a first geographical coordinate of an antenna reference point. For example, referring to FIG. 4, TRP 404 may report/communicate the uplink positioning measurement result 407, which includes the geographical coordinate of the antenna reference point for this uplink positioning measurement result, to LMF 402. This communication may occur via a backhaul link, for example. For a first UL positioning measurement result, if TRP 404 does not provide a geographical coordinate of the antenna reference point, LMF 402 may assume that the geographical coordinate of the antenna reference point for the first uplink positioning measurement result is the same as the geographical coordinate of TRP. In some embodiments, TRP 404 may provide a geographical coordinate of the antenna reference point for each reported uplink positioning measurement result 407. For example, TRP 404 may report one uplink positioning measurement result 407 through the IE (e.g., a positioning IE) illustrated above in Table 1. In the IE shown above in Table 1, TRP 404 may provide the geographical coordinate of the antenna reference point for the corresponding measurement result. The geographical coordinate of the antenna reference point is the location of the antennas 410 (e.g., Rx antennas) that are used to receive the uplink positioning signal 401 and then obtain the corresponding measurement result, illustrated above in Table 1.

[0079] At 704, the apparatus may identify a location of the UE based at least in part on the correlation each of the plurality of antennas with their respective RSRP value and the geographical coordinate of an antenna reference point. For example, referring to FIG. 4, LMF 402 may use the UE positioning measurement result information, along with geographical coordinate information contained in the IE illustrated in Table 1 to measure (at 409) the location measurement of UE 406 with a high degree of precision.

[0080] FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a third exemplary method 800 of wireless communication, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Method 800 may be performed by an apparatus for wireless communication, e.g., such as a UE. Method 800 may include steps 802-806 as described below. It is to be appreciated that some of the steps may be optional, and some of the steps may be performed simultaneously, or in a different order than shown in FIG. 8.

[0081] Referring to FIG. 8, at 802, the apparatus may receive a multi-path signal of a DL PRS resource from a TRP. For example, referring to FIG. 5, TRP 504 may use beamforming to transmit a DL PRS resource (e.g., made up of a set of contiguous orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols) to UE 506. Due to a reflective surface 512, UE 506 may receive the DL PRS resource as a multi-path signal made up of a line-of-sight (LoS) signal 501a and a reflected signal 501b.

[0082] At 804, the apparatus may identify a respective RSRP value for each path in the multi-path signal. For example, referring to FIG. 5, UE 506 may identify (at 503) an RSRP value for each of the (LoS) signal 501a (e.g., a first path) and the reflected signal 501b (e.g., a second path). Although not shown, the multi-path signal may be made up of multiple LoS signal paths, in some scenarios.

[0083] At 806, the apparatus may transmit the RSRP value for each path in the multi-path signal to an LMF entity. For example, referring to FIG. 5, UE 506 may generate (at 505) an IE that includes information associated with the RSRP value for each path of the multi-path signal, e.g., LoS signal 501a and reflective signal 501b. An example of the IE is illustrated above in Table 5. In some embodiments, in addition to the RSPR values, LMF 502 may request (not shown) that UE 506 include DL-DTOA information or multi-RTT information for each path in the multi-path signal in the IE. LMF 502 may request the DL-DTOA information or multi-RTT information via TRP 504, in some embodiments. Using the DL-DTOA technique, UE 506 may report (at 507) the RSTD measurement associated PRS resource for each of the paths in the multi-path signal, as well as the relative time associated with each path in the multi-path signal. In some embodiments, for each reported additional path in RSTD measurement reporting, UE 506 may report (at 507) the differential path PRS RSRP measurement with reference to the RSRP of the corresponding PRS resource for each path. Using the multi-RTT technique, UE 506 may report (at 507) the UE Rx- Tx time difference measurement of one PRS resource, as well as report the relative time of one or more additional paths with reference to the PRS resource. For each reported additional path in UE Rx-Tx time difference measurement reporting, UE 506 can also report (at 507) the path PRS RSRP measurement for that additional path. For each reported additional path in the multi-RTT measurement reporting, UE 506 may report the path PRS RSRP measurement corresponding to that path. In one example, for each reported additional path (e.g., reflected signal 501b) in multi- RTT measurement reporting, UE 506 can report the differential path PRS RSRP measurement with reference to the RSRP of the corresponding PRS resource.

[0084] FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a fourth exemplary method of wireless communication, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Method 900 may be performed by an apparatus for wireless communication, e.g., such as a core network element, location server, or LMF entity, just to name a few. Method 900 may include steps 902-904 as described below. It is to be appreciated that some of the steps may be optional, and some of the steps may be performed simultaneously, or in a different order than shown in FIG. 9.

[0085] Referring to FIG. 9, the 902, the apparatus may receive a signal indicating an RSRP value for each path in a multi-path signal associated with a DL PRS resource received by UE. For example, referring to FIG. 5, UE 506 may generate (at 505) an IE that includes information associated with the RSRP value for each path of the multi-path signal, e.g., LoS signal 501a and reflective signal 501b. An example of the IE is illustrated above in Table 5. In some embodiments, in addition to the RSPR values, LMF 502 may request (not shown) that UE 506 include DL-DTOA information or multi-RTT information for each path in the multi-path signal in the IE. LMF 502 may request the DL-DTOA information or multi-RTT information via TRP 504, in some embodiments. Using the DL-DTOA technique, UE 506 may report (at 507) the RSTD measurement associated PRS resource for each of the paths in the multi-path signal, as well as the relative time associated with each path in the multi-path signal. In some embodiments, for each reported additional path in RSTD measurement reporting, UE 506 may report (at 507) the differential path PRS RSRP measurement with reference to the RSRP of the corresponding PRS resource for each path. Using the multi-RTT technique, UE 506 may report (at 507) the UE Rx- Tx time difference measurement of one PRS resource, as well as report the relative time of one or more additional paths with reference to the PRS resource. For each reported additional path in UE Rx-Tx time difference measurement reporting, UE 506 can also report (at 507) the path PRS RSRP measurement for that additional path. For each reported additional path in the multi-RTT measurement reporting, UE 506 may report the path PRS RSRP measurement corresponding to that path. In one example, for each reported additional path (e.g., reflected signal 501b) in multi- RTT measurement reporting, UE 506 can report the differential path PRS RSRP measurement with reference to the RSRP of the corresponding PRS resource.

[0086] At 904, the apparatus may identify a location of the UE based at least in part on the RSRP value for each path in the multi-path signal associated with the DL PRS resource received by the UE from the TRP. For example, referring to FIG. 5, LMF 502 may identify (at 509) a location of UE 506 based at least in part on the RSRP value for each path in the multi-path signal associated with the DL PRS resource received by the UE from the TRP. In some embodiments, LMF 502 may further use the DL-DTOA information or the multi-RTT information (e.g., included along with the RSRP values in the IE) to identify UE 506. LMF 502 may send location information associated with UE’s 506 location to TRP 504. TRP 504 may send (at 513) the location information to UE 506. By identifying RSRP values for each of LoS signal 501a and reflected 501b, LMF 502 may provide UE 506 with its location with a high degree of accuracy.

[0087] In various aspects of the present disclosure, the functions described herein may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or encoded as instructions or code on a non-transitory computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes computer storage media. Storage media may be any available media that can be accessed by a computing device, such as node 300 in FIG. 3. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, HDD, such as magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, Flash drive, SSD, 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 processing system, such as a mobile device or a computer. Disk and disc, as used herein, includes CD, laser disc, optical disc, digital video disc (DVD), and floppy disk where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media. [0088] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a method of wireless communication of a TRP is provided. The method may include receiving, by a plurality of antennas of the TRP, an uplink positioning signal from a UE. The method may include measuring, by at least one processor, an RSRP value of the uplink positioning signal received by each of the plurality of antennas. The method may include generating, by the at least one processor, a positioning IE that correlates each of the plurality of antennas with their respective RSRP value and includes a first geographical coordinate of an antenna reference point associated with the plurality of antennas. The method may include communicating, by a communication interface, the positioning IE to be communicated to an LMF entity.

[0089] In some embodiments, the first geographical coordinate of the antenna reference point may indicate a relative position of each of the plurality of antennas with respect to the antenna reference point.

[0090] In some embodiments, the UE positioning IE may further include a second geographical coordinate of each of the plurality of antennas with respect to the geographical coordinate of the antenna reference point.

[0091] In some embodiments, the RSRP value of each of the plurality of antennas is correlated with the second geographical coordinate of its respective antenna.

[0092] In some embodiments, the positioning IE may include a measured results value field, a measured result ARP location field, a position relative geodetic field, and a position relative cartesian field.

[0093] In some embodiments, the measured results value field may indicate a UL positioning measurement result.

[0094] In some embodiments, the UL positioning measurement result may include one or more of a UL SRS-RSRP measurement, a UL AoA measurement, a UL a RTOA measurement, or a base station Rx-Tx time difference measurement.

[0095] In some embodiments, the measured result ARP location field may indicate the first geographical coordinate of the antenna reference point that is relative to a second geographical coordinate for each antenna in antenna array for the UL positioning measurement result.

[0096] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, an apparatus for wireless communication of a TRP. The TRP may include at least one processor. The TRP may further include memory storing instructions, which when executed by the at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to perform causing a plurality of antennas of the TRP to receive an uplink positioning signal from a UE. The TRP may further include memory storing instructions, which when executed by the at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to perform measuring an RSRP value of the uplink positioning signal received by each of the plurality of antennas. The TRP may further include memory storing instructions, which when executed by the at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to perform generating a positioning IE that correlates each of the plurality of antennas with their respective RSRP value and includes a first geographical coordinate of an antenna reference point associated with the plurality of antennas. The TRP may further include memory storing instructions, which when executed by the at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to perform causing a communication interface to send the positioning IE to an LMF entity.

[0097] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a method of wireless communication of a LMF entity. The method may include receiving, by a communication interface, a positioning IE from a TRP. The positioning IE may include a correlation of each of a plurality of antennas of the TRP with a respective RSRP value and a geographical coordinate of an antenna reference point. The method may include identifying, by at least one processor, a location of the UE based at least in part on the correlation each of the plurality of antennas with their respective RSRP value and the first geographical coordinate of an antenna reference point.

[0098] In some embodiments, the first geographical coordinate of the antenna reference point may indicate a relative position of each of the plurality of antennas with respect to the antenna reference point.

[0099] In some embodiments, the positioning IE further includes a second geographical coordinate of each of the plurality of antennas with respect to the first geographical coordinate of the antenna reference point.

[0100] In some embodiments, the RSRP value of each of the plurality of antennas may be correlated with the second geographical coordinate of its respective antenna.

[0101] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, an apparatus for wireless communication of an LMF entity. The apparatus may include at least one processor. The apparatus may include memory storing instructions, which when executed by the at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to perform causing a communication interface to receive a positioning IE from a TRP. The positioning IE may include a correlation of each of a plurality of antennas of the TRP with a respective reference RSRP value and a geographical coordinate of an antenna reference point. The apparatus may include memory storing instructions, which when executed by the at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to perform identifying a location of the UE based at least in part on the correlation each of the plurality of antennas with their respective RSRP value and the geographical coordinate of an antenna reference point.

[0102] According to still another aspect of the present disclosure, a method of wireless communication of a UE. The method may include receiving, by a communication interface, a multi-path signal of a DL PRS resource from a TRP. The method may be identifying, by at least one processor, a respective reference RSRP value for each path in the multi-path signal. The method may include transmitting, by the communication interface, the RSRP value for each path in the multi-path signal to a LMF entity.

[0103] In some embodiments, the method may further include generating, by the at least one processor, an IE that includes the respective RSRP value for each path in the multi-path signal. [0104] In some embodiments, the RSRP value for each path in the multi-path signal may be transmitted to the LMF entity in the IE.

[0105] In some embodiments, the IE further includes DL-TDOA information or RTT information for each path in the multi-path signal.

[0106] According to yet another aspect of the invention, an apparatus for wireless communication of a UE. The apparatus may include at least one processor. The apparatus may include a memory storing instructions, which when executed by the at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to perform causing a communication interface to receive a multi-path signal of a DL PRS resource from a TRP. The apparatus may include a memory storing instructions, which when executed by the at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to perform identifying the respective RSRP value for each path in the multi-path signal. The apparatus may include a memory storing instructions, which when executed by the at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to perform causing the communication interface to send the RSRP value for each path in the multi-path signal to an LMF entity.

[0107] According to still a further aspect of the present disclosure, a method of wireless communication of an LMF entity. The method may include receiving, by a communication interface, a signal indicating an RSRP value for each path in a multi-path signal associated with a DL PRS resource received by a UE from a TRP. The method may include identifying, by at least one processor, a location of the UE based at least in part on the RSRP value for each path in the multi-path signal associated with the DL PRS resource received by the UE from the TRP.

[0108] In some embodiments, the signal indicating the RSRP value for each path in a multipath signal associated with a DL PRS resource includes a positioning IE from a UE.

[0109] In some embodiments, the signal further indicates an RSTD associated with each path in the multi-path signal associated with the DL PRS resource received by the UE from the TRP.

[0110] In some embodiments, the signal may further indicate an Rx-Tx measurement for each path in the multi-path signal associated with the DL PRS resource received by the UE from the TRP. [0111] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, an apparatus for wireless communication of an LMF entity. The apparatus may include at least one processor. The apparatus may include memory storing instructions, which when executed by the at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to perform causing a communication interface to receive a signal indicating an RSRP value for each path in a multi-path signal associated with a DL PRS resource received by a UE from a TRP. The apparatus may include memory storing instructions, which when executed by the at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to perform identifying a location of the UE based at least in part on the RSRP value for each path in the multi-path signal associated with the DL PRS resource received by the UE from the TRP.

[0112] The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so reveal the general nature of the present disclosure that others can, by applying knowledge within the skill of the art, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments, without undue experimentation, without departing from the general concept of the present disclosure. Therefore, such adaptations and modifications are intended to be within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments, based on the teaching and guidance presented herein. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation, such that the terminology or phraseology of the present specification is to be interpreted by the skilled artisan in light of the teachings and guidance.

[0113] Embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above with the aid of functional building blocks illustrating the implementation of specified functions and relationships thereof. The boundaries of these functional building blocks have been arbitrarily defined herein for the convenience of the description. Alternate boundaries can be defined so long as the specified functions and relationships thereof are appropriately performed. The Summary and Abstract sections may set forth one or more but not all exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure as contemplated by the inventor(s), and thus, are not intended to limit the present disclosure and the appended claims in any way. Various functional blocks, modules, and steps are disclosed above. The particular arrangements provided are illustrative and without limitation. Accordingly, the functional blocks, modules, and steps may be re-ordered or combined in different ways than in the examples provided above. Likewise, certain embodiments include only a subset of the functional blocks, modules, and steps, and any such subset is permitted. The breadth and scope of the present disclosure should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments, but should be defined only in accordance with the following claims and their equivalents.

Claims

- 32 - WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A method of wireless communication of a transmission/reception point (TRP), comprising: receiving, by a plurality of antennas of the TRP, an uplink positioning signal from a user equipment (UE); measuring, by at least one processor, a reference signal receive power (RSRP) value of the uplink positioning signal received by each of the plurality of antennas; generating, by the at least one processor, a positioning information element (IE) that correlates each of the plurality of antennas with their respective RSRP value and includes a first geographical coordinate of an antenna reference point associated with the plurality of antennas; and communicating, by a communication interface, the positioning IE to be communicated to a location management function (LMF) entity.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first geographical coordinate of the antenna reference point indicates a location of the antenna reference point within an antenna array.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the positioning IE further includes a second geographical coordinate of each of the plurality of antennas with respect to the first geographical coordinate of the antenna reference point.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the RSRP value of each of the plurality of antennas is correlated with the second geographical coordinate of its respective antenna.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the positioning IE includes a measured results value field, a measured result antenna relative point (ARP) location field, a position relative geodetic field, and a position relative cartesian field.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the measured results value field indicates a UL positioning measurement result.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the UL positioning measurement result includes one or more of an uplink (UL) sounding reference signal (SRS)-RSRP measurement, a UL angle-of- - 33 - arrival (AoA) measurement, a UL round-trip time-of-arrival (RTOA) measurement, or a base station reception (Rx)-transmission (Tx) (Rx-Tx) time difference measurement.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the measured result ARP location field may indicate the first geographical coordinate of the antenna reference point that is relative to a second geographical coordinate for each antenna in antenna array for the UL positioning measurement result.

9. A method of wireless communication of a location management function (LMF) entity, comprising: receiving, by a communication interface, a positioning information element (IE) from a transmission/reception point (TRP), the positioning IE including a correlation of each of a plurality of antennas of the TRP with a respective reference signal receive power (RSRP) value and a first geographical coordinate of an antenna reference point; and identifying, by at least one processor, a location of a user equipment (UE) based at least in part on the correlation each of the plurality of antennas with their respective RSRP value and the first geographical coordinate of an antenna reference point.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the first geographical coordinate of the antenna reference point indicates a location of the antenna reference point within an antenna array.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the positioning IE further includes a second geographical coordinate of each of the plurality of antennas with respect to the first geographical coordinate of the antenna reference point.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the RSRP value of each of the plurality of antennas is correlated with the second geographical coordinate of its respective antenna.

13. A method of wireless communication of a user equipment (UE), comprising: receiving, by a communication interface, a multi-path signal of a downlink (DL) positioning reference signal (PRS) resource from a transmission/reception point (TRP); identifying, by at least one processor, a respective reference signal receive power (RSRP) value for each path in the multi-path signal; and transmitting, by the communication interface, the RSRP value for each path in the multipath signal to a location management function (LMF) entity.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising: generating, by the at least one processor, an information element (IE) that includes the respective RSRP value for each path in the multi-path signal.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the RSRP value for each path in the multi-path signal is transmitted to the LMF entity in the IE.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the IE further includes downlink (DL) time difference- of-arrival (TDOA) (DL-TDOA) information or multi-round-trip-time (RTT) information for each path in the multi-path signal.

17. A method of wireless communication of a location management function (LMF) entity, comprising: receiving, by a communication interface, a signal indicating a reference signal receive power (RSRP) value for each path in a multi-path signal associated with a downlink (DL) positioning reference signal (PRS) resource received by a user equipment (UE) from a transmission/reception point (TRP); and identifying, by at least one processor, a location of the UE based at least in part on the RSRP value for each path in the multi-path signal associated with the DL PRS resource received by the UE from the TRP.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the signal indicating the RSRP value for each path in a multi-path signal associated with a DL PRS resource includes a user equipment (UE) positioning information element (IE) from a UE.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the signal further indicates a received signal timing difference (RSTD) associated with each path in the multi-path signal associated with the DL PRS resource received by the UE from the TRP.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the signal further indicates a reception-transmission (Rx- Tx) measurement for each path in the multi-path signal associated with the DL PRS resource received by the UE from the TRP.