CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

[0001] This application claims the benefit of priority of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 63/323,011 , filed March 23, 2022, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present disclosure relates to positioning reference signal (PRS) phase measurement. More specifically, systems and methods for PRS phase measurement of downlink positioning reference signal (DL PRS) resource for positioning are provided.

BACKGROUND

[0003] Positioning technology is one of the core technologies of wireless communications systems and navigation systems. New Radio (NR) and fifth generation (5G) systems support positioning technology. Conventional methods for positioning, such as conventional Downlink Angle of Departure (DL AoD) positioning methods are not able to accurately estimate the angle of departure of user equipment (UE). As specified in NR, UE can be configured with one or more downlink positioning reference signal (DL PRS) resource sets and each DL PRS resource set includes one or more DL PRS resources.

[0004] Using conventional methods, the bandwidth of DL PRS resource can be outside the bandwidth of one active band width part (BWP). In addition, the subcarrier spacing used by a DL PRS resource can be different from the subcarrier spacing of an active BWP. Thus, a measurement gap is needed for a UE to measure DL PRS resource. The measurement gap for positioning is configured through RRC. When a UE needs to measure DL PRS resource and there is no measurement gap, the UE can request measurement gap through RRC signaling.

[0005] However, conventional positioning methods (e.g., DL TDoA (downlink Time difference of arrival), multi-RTT (round trip time) and UL RTOA (relative time of arrival)) are based on timing measurement, whose accuracy is limited by the bandwidth of positioning reference signal. The bandwidth of the spectrum used in NR FR1 is no more than 100HMz, and thus the accuracy of positioning service based on those method is restricted and limited. Therefore, improved systems and methods that can address the foregoing issues are desirable and beneficial.

SUMMARY

[0006] The present disclosure is related to systems and methods for enabling terminal devices (or UE) to measure and report phase difference measurements The present system can improve the performance of location service based on the foregoing measurements.

[0007] In some embodiment, a terminal device (UE) can be requested (e.g., by a system) to measure to measure and report a phase of received positioning reference signals. The terminal device can be provided with a configuration of positioning reference signals by the system (e.g., a location server, a server with LMF (location management function), a base station (e.g., a gNB), etc.

[0008] The terminal device can be requested to measure the phase of received signal in DL PRS resources. The DL PRS resources can be multiple DL PRS resources transmitted from different positioning transmission/reception point (TRPs). The configuration of DL PRS resource of one TRP can include one or more PRS resource sets and each DL PRS resource set can contain one or more DL PRS resources.

[0009] In some embodiments, the terminal device can be requested to measure and report the phase of signal received from in one DL PRS resource. In some embodiments, the terminal device can be requested to measure and report a relative phase of signal received from two DL PRS resources. For example, the terminal device can be requested to measure the phase of signal received from a first DL PRS resource and a second DL PRS resource.

[0010] Then the terminal device can calculate the relative phase of received signal of the first DL PRS resource and the second DL PRS resource. The first DL PRS resource can be used as reference for calculating relative phase. In some embodiments, the terminal device can be requested to report the measurement of phase of DL PRS resource and other positioning measurement results (e.g., a reference signal received power (RSRP) measurement of DL PRS resource, a reference signal time difference (RSTD) measurement, terminal device receivingtransmitting (Rx-Tx) time difference measurement, etc.).

[0011] In some embodiments, the present method can be implemented by a tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable medium having processor instructions stored thereon that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform one or more aspects/features of the method described herein. In other embodiments, the present method can be implemented by a system comprising a computer processor and a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that when executed by the computer processor cause the computer processor to perform one or more actions of the method described herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] To describe the technical solutions in the implementations of the present disclosure more clearly, the following briefly describes the accompanying drawings. The accompanying drawings show merely some aspects or implementations of the present disclosure, and a person of ordinary skill in the art may still derive other drawings from these accompanying drawings without creative efforts.

[0013] Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a wireless communication system in accordance with one or more implementations of the present disclosure.

[0014] Fig. 2 is a schematic block diagram of a terminal device in accordance with one or more implementations of the present disclosure.

[0015] Fig. 3 is a flowchart of a method in accordance with one or more implementations of the present disclosure.

[0016] Fig. 4 is a flowchart of a method in accordance with one or more implementations of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] To describe the technical solutions in the implementations of the present disclosure more clearly, the following briefly describes the accompanying drawings. The accompanying drawings show merely some aspects or implementations of the present disclosure, and a person of ordinary skill in the art may still derive other drawings from these accompanying drawings without creative efforts.

[0018] Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a wireless communication system 100 in accordance with one or more implementations of the present disclosure. The wireless communication system 100 can implement the methods discussed herein for measuring phase difference of reference signal resources. As shown in Fig. 1 , the wireless communications system 100 includes a network device (or base station/cell) 101.

[0019] Examples of the network device 101 include a base transceiver station (Base Transceiver Station, BTS), a NodeB (NodeB, NB), an evolved Node B (eNB or eNodeB), a Next Generation NodeB (gNB or gNode B), a Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) access point (AP), etc. In some embodiments, the network device 101 can include a relay station, an access point, an in-vehicle device, a wearable device, and the like. The network device 101 can include wireless connection devices for communication networks such as: a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) network, a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) network, a Wideband CDMA (WCDMA) network, an LTE network, a cloud radio access network (Cloud Radio Access Network, CRAN), an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 -based network (e.g., a Wi-Fi network), an Internet of Things (loT) network, a device-to-device (D2D) network, a next-generation network (e.g., a 5G network), a future evolved public land mobile network (Public Land Mobile Network, PLMN), or the like. A 5G system or network can be referred to as an NR system or network.

[0020] In some embodiments, the network device 101 can include a location server, a server with a location management function (LMF), etc.

[0021] In Fig. 1 , the wireless communications system 100 also includes a terminal device 103. The terminal device 103 can be an end-user device configured to facilitate wireless communication. The terminal device 103 can be configured to wirelessly connect to the network device 101 (via, e.g., via a wireless channel 105) according to one or more corresponding communication protocols/standards.

[0022] The terminal device 103 may be mobile or fixed. The terminal device 103 can be a user equipment (UE), an access terminal, a user unit, a user station, a mobile site, a mobile station, a remote station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a user terminal, a terminal, a wireless communications device, a user agent, or a user apparatus. Examples of the terminal device 103 include a modem, a cellular phone, a smartphone, a cordless phone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a handheld device having a wireless communication function, a computing device or another processing device connected to a wireless modem, an in-vehicle device, a wearable device, an Internet- of-Things (loT) device, a device used in a 5G network, a device used in a public land mobile network, or the like. For illustrative purposes, Fig. 1 illustrates only one network device 101 and one terminal device 103 in the wireless communications system 100. However, in some instances, the wireless communications system 100 can include additional network device 101 and/or terminal device 103.

[0023] The terminal device 103 can be requested (e.g., by the network device 101 ) to measure and report a phase of received positioning reference signals. The terminal device 103 can be provided with a configuration of positioning reference signals by the network device 101 e.g., a location server, a server with LMF (location management function), a base station (e.g., a gNB), etc.

[0024] The terminal device 103 can be requested to measure the phase of received signal in DL PRS resources. The DL PRS resources can be multiple DL PRS resources transmitted from different positioning transmission/reception point (TRPs). The configuration (information) of DL PRS resource of one TRP can include one or more PRS resource sets and each DL PRS resource set can contain one or more DL PRS resources.

[0025] In some embodiments, the terminal device 103 can be requested to measure and report the phase of signal received from in one DL PRS resource. In some embodiments, the terminal device 103 can be requested to measure and report a relative phase of signal received from two DL PRS resources. For example, the terminal device 103 can be requested to measure the phase of signal received from a first DL PRS resource and a second DL PRS resource.

[0026] Then the terminal device 103 can calculate the relative phase of received signal of the first DL PRS resource and the second DL PRS resource. The first DL PRS resource can be used as reference for calculating relative phase. In some embodiments, the terminal device can be requested to report the measurement of phase of DL PRS resource and other positioning measurement results (e.g., a reference signal received power (RSRP) measurement of DL PRS resource, a reference signal time difference (RSTD) measurement, terminal device receivingtransmitting (Rx-Tx) time difference measurement, etc.).

[0027] In some embodiments, the terminal device 103 can be requested to measure the relative phase of received DL PRS resource of two TRPs. As shown in Fig. 1 , the terminal device 103 can be requested to measure the phase of signal received from a first TRP 107 and a second TRP 109. The terminal device 103 can calculate the relative phase of received signal of the first TRP 107 and the second TRP 109. The first TRP 107 can be used as reference for calculating a relative phase.

[0028] In some embodiments, the terminal device 103 can be requested to report the measurement of a phase of DL PRS resource and other positioning measurement results, such as an RSRP measurement of DL PRS resource, an RSTD measurement and/or UE Rx-Tx time difference measurement.

[0029] In one example, the terminal device 103 can be requested to measure the phase of received signal in the first path of DL PRS resource. In such case, the first path can also be called “first detected path.” In this example, the terminal device 103 receives one DL PRS resource and detects the signal in the first path of DL PRS resource. The terminal device 103 then measures the phase of the receive signal received in the first path of DL PRS resource. The terminal device 103 can also be requested to report the phase measurement of the first path of DL PRS resource and other positioning measurements (e.g., the RSRP of the first path, RSTD measured from the first path and/or the UE Rx-Tx time difference measured from the first path).

[0030] In some cases, the terminal device 103 can be requested to measure the phase of received signal in an additional path of DL PRS resource. The additional path can also be called “additional detected path.” In this example, the terminal device 103 receives one DL PRS resource and detects the signal in an additional path of DL PRS resource. The terminal device 103 can then measure the phase of the receive signal received in the additional path of DL PRS resource. [0031] The terminal device 103 can also be requested to report the phase measurement of the additional path of DL PRS resource and other positioning measurements (e.g., the RSRP of the additional path, a relative time of arrival measured from the additional path and/or a UE Rx-Tx time difference measured from the additional path).

[0032] First Set of Embodiments (Report Phase Measurement of PRS)

[0033] The terminal device 103 can be indicated by the network device 101 to measure a PRS phase from DL PRS resources. The PRS phase measurement can be the phase of the reference signal received in DL PRS resource. The terminal device 103 can be indicated by the network device 101 to report the PRS phase measurement results. The network device 101 can indicate the configuration of DL PRS resource to the terminal device 103. The terminal device 103 can be configured with one or more DL PRS resource set configurations. In each resource set, there can be one or more DL PRS resources. The terminal device 103 can be configured with an indicator of one or more TRPs. Each TRP can be associated with one or more DL PRS resource sets. The terminal device 103 can be configured to measure and report a PRS phase on signal of one DL PRS resource. The terminal device 103 can be configured to measure and report PRS phase on signal of multiple DL PRS resources. The terminal device 103 can be requested to report one or more of the followings in PRS phase measurement reporting:

[0034] [1 ] An indicator of a first DL PRS resource of which the PRS phase measurement is reported.

[0035] [2] An RSRP measurement of the first DL PRS resource.

[0036] [3] A measurement of time of arrival of the first DL PRS resource.

[0037] [4] A UE Rx-Tx time difference measured from the first DL PRS resource.

[0038] [5] An RSTD measured from the first DL PRS resource.

[0039] In some embodiments, the PRS phase measurement can be reported with one or more of the following alternatives: [0040] [Alt 1 ] The reported measurement of PRS phase measurement of DL PRS resource can be one value between 0 and 2TT with the step size equal to for example TT/180, 5TT/180, 10TT/180, etc.

[0041] [Alt2] The reported measurement of PRS phase measurement of DL PRS resource can be one value between -IT and IT with the step size equal to for example TT/180, 5TT/180, 10TT/180, etc.

[0042] [Alt3] The reported measurement of PRS phase measurement of DL PRS resource can be one angle value between 0 and 360 degrees with the step size equal to. for example, 1 degree, 5 degrees, 10 degrees, etc.

[0043] [Alt-4] The reported measurement of PRS phase measurement of DL PRS resource can be one angle value between -180 degrees and 180 degree with the step size equal to, for example. 1 degree, 5 degrees, 10 degrees, etc.

[0044] In some embodiments, the alternatives of values of PRS phase measurement listed in this set of embodiments can be applied to all other embodiments in this disclosure.

[0045] Second Set of Embodiments (Report Relative Phase Measurement of PRS Resources)

[0046] The terminal device 103 can be indicated by the network device 101 to measure a relative PRS phase of DL PRS resource. The relative PRS phase of DL PRS resource can be differential between the phase of received signals of different DL PRS resources. For example, the terminal device 103 can be configured with a first DL PRS resource and a second DL PRS resource.

[0047] The terminal device 103 is configured to use the first DL PRS resource as reference to measure the relative PRS phase. The terminal device 103 can measure and obtain the PRS phase of signals in the first DL PRS resource and the second DL PRS resource. The terminal device 103 can calculate the relative PRS phase of the second DL PRS resource with a reference to the PRS phase of the first DL PRS resource. The terminal device 103 can be indicated to measure and report relative PRS phase of PRS resource subsets. The terminal device 103 can be indicated to measure and report relative PRS phase of PRS resource set. The terminal device 103 can be indicated to measure and report relative PRS phase of one TRP. The terminal device 103 can be requested to report the relative PRS phase measurement and an RSRP of DL PRS resource.

[0048] In some implementations, the terminal device 103 can be requested to report a relative PRS phase measurement and a RSTD measurement of DL PRS resource. The relative PRS phase measurement and DL RSDT measurement can be calculated with respect to the same reference DL PRS resource. The terminal device 103 can be requested to report a relative PRS phase measurement and a UE Rx-Tx time difference measurement of DL PRS resource. The terminal device 103 can be requested to report one or more of the followings in relative PRS phase measurement reporting:

[0049] [1 ] An indicator of a first DL PRS resource which is the reference that the relative PRS phase measurement is calculated based on.

[0050] [2] An indicator of a second DL PRS resource of which the relative PRS phase measurement is reported.

[0051] [3] An RSRP measurement of the second DL PRS resource.

[0052] [4] A measurement of time of arrival of the second DL PRS resource.

[0053] [5] A UE Rx-Tx time difference measured from the second DL PRS resource.

[0054] [6] A DL RSTD measured from the second DL PRS resource with respect to the first DL PRS resource.

[0055] [7] An RSRP measurement of the first DL PRS resource.

[0056] Third Set of Embodiments (Report Phase Measurement of 1st Path of PRS Resource)

[0057] The terminal device 103 can be indicated by the network device 101 to measure a PRS phase of the first path on DL PRS resources. The PRS phase measurement of the first path can be the phase of the reference signal received in the first path on DL PRS resource. The terminal device 103 can be indicated by the network device 101 to report the PRS phase measurement. The network device 101 can indicate the configuration of DL PRS resource to the terminal device 103. The terminal device 103 can be configured with one or more DL PRS resource set configurations. In each resource set, there can be one or more DL PRS resources. The terminal device 103 can be configured with indicator of one or more TRPs and each TRP can be associated with one or more DL PRS resource sets. The terminal device 103 can be configured to measure and report PRS phase of the first path on DL PRS resource. The terminal device 103 can be configured to measure and report PRS phase of the first path on DL PRS resource for multiple DL PRS resources. The terminal device 103 can be requested to report one or more of the followings in PRS phase measurement reporting:

[0058] [1 ] An indicator of a first DL PRS resource of which the PRS phase of the first path measurement is reported.

[0059] [2] A path RSRP measurement of the first DL PRS resource.

[0060] [3] A measurement of time of arrival of the first path on the first DL PRS resource.

[0061] [4] A UE Rx-Tx time difference measured from the first path on the first

DL PRS resource.

[0062] [5] An RSTD measured from the first path on the first DL PRS resource.

[0063] Fourth Set of Embodiments (Report Difference Between Phase Measurement from 1 st Path of PRS Resources)

[0064] The terminal device 103 can be indicated by the network device 101 to measure a relative PRS phase of the first path on DL PRS resource. The relative PRS phase of the first path on DL PRS resources can be a difference between the phase of received signals on the first path of different DL PRS resources. For example, the terminal device 103 can be configured with a first DL PRS resource and a second DL PRS resource. The terminal device 103 is configured to use the first DL PRS resource as reference to measure the relative PRS phase. Then the terminal device 103 can measure and obtain the PRS phase of the first path in the first DL PRS resource and the second DL PRS resource. The terminal device 103 can calculate the relative PRS phase of the first path of the second DL PRS resource with a reference to the PRS phase of the first path of the first DL PRS resource. The terminal device 103 can be indicated to measure and report relative PRS phase of the first path of PRS resource subsets. The terminal device 103 can be indicated to measure and report relative PRS phase of the first path of PRS resource set. The terminal device 103 can be indicated to measure and report relative PRS phase of the first path of one TRP. The terminal device 103 can be requested to report the relative PRS phase measurement of the first path and the first path RSRP of DL PRS resource. The terminal device 103 can be requested to report a relative PRS phase of the first path and a DL RSTD measurement of the first path of DL PRS resource. The relative PRS phase measurement of the first path and DL RSTD measurement of the first path can be calculated with respect to the same reference DL PRS resource. The terminal device 103 can be requested to report a relative PRS phase measurement of the first path and a UE Rx-Tx time difference measurement of DL PRS resource. The terminal device 103 can be requested to report one or more of the followings in relative PRS phase measurement reporting:

[0065] [1 ] An indicator of a first DL PRS resource which is the reference that the relative PRS phase measurement is calculated with respect to.

[0066] [2] An indicator of a second DL PRS resource of which the relative PRS phase measurement is reported.

[0067] [3] A path RSRP measurement of the first path of the second DL PRS resource.

[0068] [4] A measurement of time of arrival of the first path of the second DL PRS resource.

[0069] [5] A UE Rx-Tx time difference measured from the second DL PRS resource.

[0070] [6] A DL RSTD measured from the first path of the second DL PRS resource with respect to the first DL PRS resource.

[0071] [7] A path RSRP measurement of the first path of first DL PRS resource.

[0072] [8] A RSRP measurement of the first DL PRS resource.

[0073] [9] An RSRP measurement of the second DL PRS resource.

[0074] Fifth Set of Embodiments (Report Phase Measurement from Additional path of one PRS Resource) [0075] The terminal device 103 can be indicated by the network device 101 to measure PRS phase of one additional path on DL PRS resources. The PRS phase measurement of the one additional path can be the phase of the reference signal received in the additional path on DL PRS resource. The terminal device 103 can be indicated by the network to report the PRS phase measurement. The network device 101 can indicate the configuration of DL PRS resource to the terminal device 103. The terminal device 103 can be configured with one or more DL PRS resource set configurations. In each resource set, there can be one or more DL PRS resources. The terminal device 103 can be configured with indicator of one or more TRPs and each TRP can be associated with one or more DL PRS resource sets. The terminal device 103 can be configured to measure and report PRS phase of one additional path on DL PRS resource. The terminal device 103 can be configured to measure and report PRS phase of one additional path on DL PRS resource for multiple DL PRS resources. The terminal device 103 can be requested to report one or more of the followings in PRS phase measurement reporting:

[0076] [1 ] An indicator of a first DL PRS resource of which the PRS phase of one additional path measurement is reported.

[0077] [2] A path RSRP measurement of the additional path on the DL PRS resource.

[0078] [3] A measurement of time of arrival of the additional path on the first DL

PRS resource.

[0079] [4] A UE Rx-Tx time difference measured from the additional path on the first DL PRS resource.

[0080] [5] The DL RSTD measured from the additional path on the first DL PRS resource.

[0081] In some embodiments, the terminal device 103 can be requested to measure and report relative PRS phase of one additional path on DL PRS resource. The relative PRS phase of one additional path can be calculated with respect to the PRS phase of the first path of the same DL PRS resource. The relative PRS phase measurement in the foregoing can be reported with one or more of the following alternatives: [0082] [Alt1 ] The reported relative PRS phase measurement can be one value between 0 and 2TT with the step size equal to for example TT/180, 5TT/180, IOTT/180, etc.

[0083] [Alt2] The reported relative PRS phase measurement can be one value between -n and n with the step size equal to for example TT/180, 5TT/180, IOTT/180, etc.

[0084] [Alt3] The reported relative PRS phase can be one angle value between 0 and 360 degree with the step size equal to, for example, 1 degree, 5 degrees, 10 degrees, etc.

[0085] [Alt-4] The reported relative PRS phase measurement can be one angle value between -180 degrees and 180 degree with the step size equal to, for example, 1 degree, 5 degrees, 10 degrees, etc.

[0086] In one example, the terminal device 103 can be requested to report quality of reported PRS phase measurement. The quality can be reported as an error range of the reported PRS phase measurement. The quality can be reported as standard deviation error of the reported PRS phase measurement.

[0087] Fig. 2 is a schematic block diagram of a terminal device 203 (e.g., which can implement the methods discussed herein) in accordance with one or more implementations of the present disclosure. As shown, the terminal device 203 includes a processing unit 210 (e.g., a DSP, a CPU, a GPU, etc.) and a memory 220. The processing unit 210 can be configured to implement instructions that correspond to the methods discussed herein and/or other aspects of the implementations described above. It should be understood that the processor 210 in the implementations of this technology may be an integrated circuit chip and has a signal processing capability. During implementation, the steps in the foregoing method may be implemented by using an integrated logic circuit of hardware in the processor 210 or an instruction in the form of software. The processor 210 may be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or another programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, and a discrete hardware component. The methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in the implementations of this technology may be implemented or performed. The general-purpose processor 210 may be a microprocessor, or the processor 210 may be alternatively any conventional processor or the like. The steps in the methods disclosed with reference to the implementations of this technology may be directly performed or completed by a decoding processor implemented as hardware or performed or completed by using a combination of hardware and software modules in a decoding processor. The software module may be located at a random -access memory, a flash memory, a readonly memory, a programmable read-only memory or an electrically erasable programmable memory, a register, or another mature storage medium in this field. The storage medium is located at a memory 220, and the processor 210 reads information in the memory 220 and completes the steps in the foregoing methods in combination with the hardware thereof.

[0088] It may be understood that the memory 220 in the implementations of this technology may be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or may include both a volatile memory and a non-volatile memory. The non-volatile memory may be a readonly memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM) or a flash memory. The volatile memory may be a random-access memory (RAM) and is used as an external cache. For exemplary rather than limitative description, many forms of RAMs can be used, and are, for example, a static random-access memory (SRAM), a dynamic random-access memory (DRAM), a synchronous dynamic random-access memory (SDRAM), a double data rate synchronous dynamic random-access memory (DDR SDRAM), an enhanced synchronous dynamic random-access memory (ESDRAM), a synchronous link dynamic random-access memory (SLDRAM), and a direct Rambus randomaccess memory (DR RAM). It should be noted that the memories in the systems and methods described herein are intended to include, but are not limited to, these memories and memories of any other suitable type. In some embodiments, the memory may be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores instructions capable of execution by a processor.

[0089] Fig. 3 is a flowchart of a method 300 in accordance with one or more implementations of the present disclosure. The method 300 can be implemented by a system (such as the wireless communications system 100). For example, the method 300 may also be implemented by the terminal device 103.

[0090] The method 300 includes, at block 301 , receiving, by a terminal device, receiving, by a terminal device, a request to measure a phase of a positioning reference signal (PRS) in a downlink (DL) PRS resource set. In some embodiments, the configuration information can be provided by a location server. In some embodiments, the configuration information is provided by a base station.

[0091] At block 303, the method 300 continues by receiving, by the terminal device, configuration information regarding the PRS. In some embodiments, in the configuration information, it can be indicated that the first TRP or the first DL PRS resource of the first TRP is a reference.

[0092] At block 305, the method 300 continues by measuring, by the terminal device, a first phase of a first received signal of a first DL PRS resource in the DL PRS resource set and a second phase of a second received signal of a second DL PRS resource in the DL PRS resource set. At block 307, the method 300 continues by calculating, by the terminal device, a relative phase of the first received signal and the second received signal.

[0093] In some embodiments, the method 300 further comprises reporting, by the terminal device, the relative phase of the first received signal and the second received signal. In some embodiments, the first DL PRS resource is from a first transmission/reception point (TRP), and wherein the second DL PRS resource is from a second TRP.

[0094] In some embodiments, the method 300 can further include reporting, by the terminal device, a measurement result associated with the first phase of the first received signal. In some embodiments, the method 300 can further include reporting, by the terminal device, a measurement result associated with the second phase of the second received signal. In some embodiments, the terminal device can also report an RSRP, an RSTD and/or UE Rx-Tx time difference measured from the DL PRS resource set.

[0095] Fig. 4 is a flowchart of a method 400 in accordance with one or more implementations of the present disclosure. The method 400 can be implemented by a system (such as the wireless communications system 100). For example, the method 400 may also be implemented by the network device 101 .

[0096] The method 400 includes, at block 401 , transmitting, by a network device, a request to measure a phase of a positioning reference signal (PRS) in a downlink (DL) PRS resource set. In some embodiments, the network device includes a location server. In some embodiments, network device includes a base station.

[0097] At block 403, the method 400 continues by transmitting, by the network device, configuration information regarding the PRS. In some embodiments, the configuration information indicates that the first TRP is a reference. In some examples, the configuration information indicates that the first DL PRS resource of the first TRP is a reference.

[0098] At block 405, the method continues by instructing a terminal device to measure a first phase of a first received signal of a first DL PRS resource in the DL PRS resource set and a second phase of a second received signal of a second DL PRS resource in the DL PRS resource set. In some embodiments, the first DL PRS resource is from a first transmission/reception point (TRP), and wherein the second DL PRS resource is from a second TRP.

[0099] At block 407, the method continues by receiving, by the network device, a relative phase of the first received signal and the second received signal. The relative phase is calculated based on the first phase and the second phase.

[0100] In some embodiments, the method 400 further comprises receiving a measurement result associated with at least one of the first phase of the first received signal and the of the second phase of the second received signal.

[0101] In some embodiments, the method 400 can further include receiving a measurement result associated with an RSRP, an RSTD and/or UE Rx-Tx time difference measured from the DL PRS resource set.

ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS

[0102] The above Detailed Description of examples of the disclosed technology is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosed technology to the precise form disclosed above. While specific examples for the disclosed technology are described above for illustrative purposes, various equivalent modifications are possible within the scope of the described technology, as those skilled in the relevant art will recognize. For example, while processes or blocks are presented in a given order, alternative implementations may perform routines having steps, or employ systems having blocks, in a different order, and some processes or blocks may be deleted, moved, added, subdivided, combined, and/or modified to provide alternative implementations or subcombinations. Each of these processes or blocks may be implemented in a variety of different ways. Also, while processes or blocks are at times shown as being performed in series, these processes or blocks may instead be performed or implemented in parallel, or may be performed at different times. Further, any specific numbers noted herein are only examples; alternative implementations may employ differing values or ranges.

[0103] In the Detailed Description, numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the presently described technology. In other implementations, the techniques introduced here can be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known features, such as specific functions or routines, are not described in detail in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the present disclosure. References in this description to “an implementation/embodiment,” “one implementation/embodiment,” or the like mean that a particular feature, structure, material, or characteristic being described is included in at least one implementation of the described technology. Thus, the appearances of such phrases in this specification do not necessarily all refer to the same implementation/embodiment. On the other hand, such references are not necessarily mutually exclusive either. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, materials, or characteristics can be combined in any suitable manner in one or more implementations/embodiments. It is to be understood that the various implementations shown in the figures are merely illustrative representations and are not necessarily drawn to scale.

[0104] Several details describing structures or processes that are well-known and often associated with communications systems and subsystems, but that can unnecessarily obscure some significant aspects of the disclosed techniques, are not set forth herein for purposes of clarity. Moreover, although the following disclosure sets forth several implementations of different aspects of the present disclosure, several other implementations can have different configurations or different components than those described in this section. Accordingly, the disclosed techniques can have other implementations with additional elements or without several of the elements described below.

[0105] Many implementations or aspects of the technology described herein can take the form of computer- or processor-executable instructions, including routines executed by a programmable computer or processor. Those skilled in the relevant art will appreciate that the described techniques can be practiced on computer or processor systems other than those shown and described below. The techniques described herein can be implemented in a special-purpose computer or data processor that is specifically programmed, configured, or constructed to execute one or more of the computer-executable instructions described below. Accordingly, the terms “computer” and “processor” as generally used herein refer to any data processor. Information handled by these computers and processors can be presented at any suitable display medium. Instructions for executing computer- or processorexecutable tasks can be stored in or on any suitable computer-readable medium, including hardware, firmware, or a combination of hardware and firmware. Instructions can be contained in any suitable memory device, including, for example, a flash drive and/or other suitable medium.

[0106] The term “and/or” in this specification is only an association relationship for describing the associated objects, and indicates that three relationships may exist, for example, A and/or B may indicate the following three cases: A exists separately, both A and B exist, and B exists separately.

[0107] These and other changes can be made to the disclosed technology in light of the above Detailed Description. While the Detailed Description describes certain examples of the disclosed technology, as well as the best mode contemplated, the disclosed technology can be practiced in many ways, no matter how detailed the above description appears in text. Details of the system may vary considerably in its specific implementation, while still being encompassed by the technology disclosed herein. As noted above, particular terminology used when describing certain features or aspects of the disclosed technology should not be taken to imply that the terminology is being redefined herein to be restricted to any specific characteristics, features, or aspects of the disclosed technology with which that terminology is associated. Accordingly, the invention is not limited, except as by the appended claims. In general, the terms used in the following claims should not be construed to limit the disclosed technology to the specific examples disclosed in the specification, unless the above Detailed Description section explicitly defines such terms.

[0108] A person of ordinary skill in the art may be aware that, in combination with the examples described in the implementations disclosed in this specification, units and algorithm steps may be implemented by electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether the functions are performed by hardware or software depends on particular applications and design constraint conditions of the technical solutions. A person skilled in the art may use different methods to implement the described functions for each particular application, but it should not be considered that the implementation goes beyond the scope of this application.

[0109] Although certain aspects of the invention are presented below in certain claim forms, the applicant contemplates the various aspects of the invention in any number of claim forms. Accordingly, the applicant reserves the right to pursue additional claims after filing this application to pursue such additional claim forms, in either this application or in a continuing application.