CN116868647A

CN116868647A - Multiplexing of side link positioning reference signals and physical side link feedback channels

Info

Publication number: CN116868647A
Application number: CN202180093291.1A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 刘勇; R·基廷; 陶涛; 李栋
Original assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co Ltd; Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy
Current assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co Ltd; Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy
Priority date: 2021-02-09
Filing date: 2021-02-09
Publication date: 2023-10-10
Also published as: EP4292354A1; WO2022170512A1

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to devices, methods, apparatuses, and computer-readable storage media for multiplexing PRSs with PSFCHs. The method includes obtaining a set of candidate resources allocated for a feedback channel on which feedback messages associated with side chain transmissions are allowed to be sent; and transmitting, to the second device, a reference signal associated with a positioning procedure or a ranging procedure on a target set of resources selected from the candidate set of resources. In this way, unused PSFCH resources may be dynamically utilized to support transmission of side link PRSs, and thus system efficiency may be improved.

Description

Multiplexing of side link positioning reference signals and physical side link feedback channels

Technical Field

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to the field of telecommunications, and more particularly, relate to a method, apparatus, device, and computer-readable storage medium for multiplexing a side link Positioning Reference Signal (PRS) with a physical side link feedback channel (PSFCH).

Background

In release 16, a physical side link feedback channel (PSFCH) for side link communication is designated to carry HARQ feedback over a side link from a User Equipment (UE) that is the intended recipient of a physical side link shared channel (PSSCH) transmission to the UE that performed the transmission. The time resources of the PSFCH are (pre-) configured. The HARQ feedback resources may be obtained from a resource location of a physical side link control channel (PSCCH)/PSSCH.

Further, with the continued enhancement of side link communications in release 17 and future versions, many side link usage examples may require a positioning procedure or ranging procedure for the UE. Thus, transmission of PRSs may need to be performed for a positioning procedure or a ranging procedure.

Disclosure of Invention

In general, example embodiments of the present disclosure provide a scheme for multiplexing PRSs with PSFCHs.

According to a first aspect, a first device is provided. The first device includes at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code; the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the first device to at least: obtaining a set of candidate resources allocated for a feedback channel on which feedback messages associated with side chain transmissions are allowed to be sent; and transmitting, to the second device, a reference signal associated with a positioning procedure or a ranging procedure on a target set of resources selected from the candidate set of resources.

According to a second aspect. There is provided a second device comprising at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code; the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the second device to at least: receiving a reference signal from a first device, the reference signal being associated with a positioning procedure or a ranging procedure on a set of target resources selected from a set of candidate resources allocated for a feedback channel on which feedback messages associated with side link transmissions are allowed to be sent; and performing a positioning process or a ranging process based on the reference signal.

According to a third aspect. There is provided a method comprising: obtaining a set of candidate resources allocated for a feedback channel on which feedback messages associated with side chain transmissions are allowed to be sent; and transmitting, to the second device, a reference signal associated with a positioning procedure or a ranging procedure on a target set of resources selected from the candidate set of resources.

According to a fourth aspect. There is provided a method comprising: receiving a reference signal from a first device, the reference signal being associated with a positioning procedure or a ranging procedure on a set of target resources selected from a set of candidate resources allocated for a feedback channel on which feedback messages associated with side link transmissions are allowed to be sent; and performing a positioning process or a ranging process based on the reference signal.

According to a fifth aspect. There is provided an apparatus comprising: means for obtaining a set of candidate resources allocated for a feedback channel on which feedback messages associated with side chain transmissions are allowed to be sent; and means for transmitting a reference signal to the second device, the reference signal being associated with a positioning procedure or a ranging procedure on a target set of resources selected from the candidate set of resources.

According to a sixth aspect. There is provided an apparatus comprising: means for receiving a reference signal from a first device, the reference signal being associated with a positioning procedure or a ranging procedure on a target set of resources selected from a set of candidate resources allocated for a feedback channel on which feedback messages associated with side chain transmissions are allowed to be sent; and means for performing a positioning process or a ranging process based on the reference signal.

According to a seventh aspect. There is provided a computer readable medium having stored thereon a computer program which, when executed by at least one processor of a device, causes the device to perform a method according to the third aspect.

According to an eighth aspect. There is provided a computer readable medium having stored thereon a computer program which, when executed by at least one processor of a device, causes the device to perform the method according to the fourth aspect.

Other features and advantages of embodiments of the present disclosure will be apparent from the following description of the particular embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the embodiments of the disclosure.

Drawings

The embodiments of the present disclosure are presented in an exemplary sense, and advantages thereof will be explained in more detail hereinafter with reference to the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example environment in which example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented;

fig. 2 shows a signaling diagram illustrating a multiplexing procedure of PRSs and PSFCHs according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of multiplexing PRS with PSFCH according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of multiplexing PRS with PSFCH according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of multiplexing PRS with PSFCH according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 illustrates a flowchart of an example method of multiplexing PRS with PSFCH in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 illustrates a flowchart of an example method of multiplexing PRSs with PSFCH, according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 illustrates a simplified block diagram of a device suitable for implementing exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure; and

fig. 9 illustrates a block diagram of an example computer-readable medium, according to some embodiments of the disclosure.

The same or similar reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like elements. .

Detailed Description

Principles of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some example embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are described merely for the purpose of illustrating and helping those skilled in the art understand and accomplish the objects of the present disclosure and do not set any limit to the scope of the present disclosure. The disclosure described herein may be implemented in various ways other than those described below.

In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

In this disclosure, references to "one embodiment," "an example embodiment," 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 are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an example embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to effect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described.

It will be understood that, although the terms "first" and "second," etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish between functions of the various elements. As used herein, the term "and/or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms "comprises," "comprising," "has," "including," and/or "includes" when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, elements, components, and/or groups thereof, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

As used herein, the term "circuitry" may refer to one or more or all of the following:

(a) Implementation of hardware-only circuitry (such as implementation using only analog and/or digital circuitry), and

(b) A combination of hardware circuitry and software, such as (as applicable):

(i) Combination of analog and/or digital hardware circuit(s) and software/firmware, and

(ii) Any portion of the hardware processor(s) with software, including the digital signal processor(s), software, and memory(s), that work together to cause a device, such as a mobile phone or server, to perform various functions, and

(c) Hardware circuit(s) and/or processor(s), such as microprocessor(s) or a portion of microprocessor(s), that require software (e.g., firmware) to operate, but software may not be present when operation is not required.

This definition of circuitry is applicable to all uses of this term in the present application, including in any claims. As another example, as used in this disclosure, the term circuitry also encompasses hardware-only circuits or processors (or multiple processors) or an implementation of a hardware circuit or processor portion and its accompanying software and/or firmware. For example, if applicable to the particular claim elements, the term circuitry also encompasses a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device, or a similar integrated circuit in a server, a cellular network device, or other computing or network device.

As used herein, the term "communication network" refers to a network that conforms to any suitable communication standard, such as a 5 th generation (5G) system, long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-advanced (LTE-a), wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), high Speed Packet Access (HSPA), narrowband internet of things (NB-IoT), and so forth. Furthermore, communication between a terminal device and a network device in a communication network may be performed according to any suitable generation communication protocol, including, but not limited to, first generation (1G), second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, fifth generation (5G) new air interface (NR) communication protocols, and/or any other protocol currently known or to be developed in the future. Embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied to various communication systems. In view of the rapid development of communications, there are of course future types of communication technologies and systems in which the present disclosure may be implemented. The scope of the present disclosure should not be considered limited to the systems described above.

As used herein, the term "network device" refers to a node in a communication network through which a terminal device accesses the network and receives services from the network. A network device may refer to a Base Station (BS) or an Access Point (AP), e.g., a node B (NodeB or NB), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB), a NR next generation NodeB (gNB), a Remote Radio Unit (RRU), a Radio Header (RH), a Remote Radio Head (RRH), a repeater, a low power node (such as a femto base station, pico base station), etc., depending on the terminology and technology applied. The RAN split architecture includes a gNB CU (centralized unit, hosting RRC, SDAP, and PDCP) that controls multiple gNB DUs (distributed units, hosting RLC, MAC, and PHY). The relay node may correspond to the DU portion of the IAB node.

The term "terminal device" refers to any terminal device capable of wireless communication. By way of example, and not limitation, a terminal device may also be referred to as a communication device, user Equipment (UE), subscriber Station (SS), portable subscriber station, mobile Station (MS), or Access Terminal (AT). The terminal devices may include, but are not limited to, mobile phones, cellular phones, smart phones, voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, tablets, wearable terminal devices, personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), portable computers, desktop computers, image capture terminal devices (such as digital cameras), gaming terminal devices, music storage and playback devices, in-vehicle wireless terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, notebook computer embedded devices (LEEs), notebook computer-mounted devices (LMEs), USB dongles, smart devices, wireless Customer Premise Equipment (CPE), internet of things (IoT) devices, watches or other wearable devices, head Mounted Displays (HMDs), vehicles, drones, medical devices and applications (e.g., tele-surgery), industrial devices and applications (e.g., robots and/or other wireless devices operating in an industrial and/or automated processing chain context), consumer electronic devices, devices operating on commercial and/or industrial wireless networks, and the like. The terminal device may also correspond to a Mobile Terminal (MT) part of an Integrated Access Backhaul (IAB) node (also known as a relay node). In the following description, the terms "terminal device", "communication device", "terminal", "user equipment" and "UE" may be used interchangeably.

Although in various example embodiments, the functions described herein may be performed in fixed and/or wireless network nodes, in other example embodiments, the functions may be implemented in a user equipment device (such as a cell phone or tablet or laptop or desktop or mobile IoT device or fixed IoT device). For example, the user equipment device may be suitably equipped with corresponding capabilities as described in connection with the fixed and/or wireless network node(s). The user equipment device may be a user equipment and/or a control device, such as a chipset or a processor, configured to control the user equipment when installed in the user equipment. Examples of such functions include a bootstrapping server function and/or a home subscriber server, which may be implemented in a user equipment device by providing the user equipment device with software configured to cause the user equipment device to perform from the perspective of these functions/nodes.

Fig. 1 illustrates an example communication network 100 in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. As shown in fig. 1, the communication system 100 includes a network device 120 (hereinafter may also be referred to as a gNB 120 or a third device 120). Network device 120 is associated with one or more service areas, i.e., land areas known as "cells". As shown in fig. 1, network device 120 may serve cell 121.

Communication system 100 may also include a terminal device 110-1 (hereinafter may also be referred to as a first device 110-1 or UE 110-1) and a terminal device 110-2 (hereinafter may also be referred to as a second device 110-2 or UE 110-2). Network device 120 and terminal devices 110-1 and 110-2 may communicate data and control information with each other. It should be understood that the number of network devices, terminal devices, and/or cells are provided for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way. Communication system 100 may include any suitable number of network devices, terminal devices, and/or cells suitable for implementing the present disclosure.

The communication between terminal device 110-1 and terminal device 110-2 may be referred to as side link communication. For example, if a side link transmission between terminal device 110-1 and terminal device 110-2 originates from terminal device 110-1, terminal device 110-1 may be considered a TX side link UE and terminal device 110-2 may be considered an RX side link UE. The sidelink transmission between terminal equipment 110-1 and terminal equipment 110-2 may be performed via a Physical Sidelink Control Channel (PSCCH) and a Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH). In addition, the PSFCH between terminal device 110-1 and terminal device 110-2 may be defined as a transmit side link feedback control information (SFCI).

Depending on the communication technology, network 100 may be a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) network, a Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) network, a Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) network, an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) network, a single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) network, or any other network. The communications discussed in network 100 may conform to any suitable standard including, but not limited to, new radio access (NR), long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE evolution, LTE-advanced (LTE-a), wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), CDMA2000, global system for mobile communications (GSM), and the like. Furthermore, the communication may be performed according to any generation communication protocol currently known or to be developed in the future. Examples of communication protocols include, but are not limited to, first generation (1G), second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, fifth generation (5G) communication protocols. The techniques described herein may be used for the wireless networks and radio technologies described above and other wireless networks and wireless technologies. For clarity, certain aspects of the technology are described below for 5G-NR, and 5G-NR terminology is used in much of the description below.

PSFCH for side link communication is designated to carry HARQ feedback from a receiving UE (Rx UE) to a transmitting UE (Tx UE) performing PSSCH transmission over a side link. For example, the PSFCH may transmit a Zadoff-Chu sequence in one Physical Resource Block (PRB) that repeats over two Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols, where the first symbol is near the end of a side link resource in a slot, which may be used for Automatic Gain Control (AGC). The Zadoff-Chu sequence is (pre) configured for each side link resource pool as a base sequence.

The time resources of the PSFCH are (pre) configured. The HARQ feedback resources may be obtained from the resource locations of the PSCCH/PSSCH. For PSSCH to HARQ timing, the gNB may configure the parameter K in units of slots. The timing of the PSFCH is determined by K. For PSSCH transmission with its last symbol in slot n, HARQ feedback is in slot n+a, where a is the smallest integer greater than or equal to K, provided that slot n+a contains PSFCH resources.

However, the pre-allocated PSFCH resources may not be used for actual PSFCH transmissions. The PSFCH is associated with or determined by the PSSCH. There is a fixed timing/frequency relationship between the PSFCH and the data subchannels. The sub-channel occupying multiple PRBs is the minimum granularity of the PSSCH, i.e., the PSSCH may occupy one or more sub-channels continuously in the frequency domain in a slot. When a PSSCH occupies multiple sub-channels, the corresponding PSFCH is determined by the starting sub-channel of the PSSCH. The PSFCH resources corresponding to the other subchannels will not be used.

The side link control information (SCI) may indicate resources for the PSSCH. The SCI in PSCCH/PSSCH also indicates whether there will be a PSFCH transmission in the pre-allocated PSFCH resources.

The data traffic transmitted on the PSSCH has different propagation (cast) types, i.e., unicast, multicast, and broadcast. HARQ feedback via PSFCH may be enabled or disabled for unicast and multicast through an indication in SCI. HARQ feedback may not be needed for broadcast. The PSFCH resources corresponding to the broadcast and unicast/multicast PSSCH for disabling HARQ feedback will not be used.

Since the PSFCH resources are densely pre-allocated in the side-link resource pool, and if these pre-allocated PSFCH resources are not used for PSFCH transmission, these pre-allocated PSFCH resources may be wasted.

Accordingly, the present disclosure provides a solution for multiplexing PRSs with PSFCHs. In this solution, the UE may obtain a set of candidate resources allocated for the PSFCH. HARQ feedback associated with the side link transmission may be allowed to be sent on the PSFCH. The UE may transmit reference signals associated with a positioning procedure or a ranging procedure on a target set of resources selected from the candidate set of resources. In this way, unused PSFCH resources may be dynamically utilized to support transmission of side link PRSs, and thus system efficiency may be improved.

The principles and implementations of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to fig. 2, which shows a signaling diagram illustrating a process of multiplexing PRSs with PSFCHs according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For discussion purposes, the process 200 will be described with reference to fig. 1. Process 200 may involve UE 110-1 and UE 110-2 as shown in fig. 1.

As shown in fig. 2, if UE 110-1 is engaged in a positioning procedure or a ranging procedure, UE 110-1 may obtain a candidate set of resources. The candidate set of resources may be resources allocated for a PSFCH on which HARQ feedback associated with the side link transmission may be transmitted. In general, the time resources for the PSFCH may be configured or preconfigured, so the resources allocated for the PSFCH may be obtained from the resource locations of the PSCCH/PSSCH.

UE 110-1 may then select 205 a target set of resources from the candidate sets of resources for transmitting reference signals associated with a positioning procedure or a ranging procedure. Hereinafter, reference signals associated with a positioning process or a ranging process may be referred to as side link Positioning Reference Signals (PRSs). It should be appreciated that other suitable reference signals may also be used as reference signals associated with the positioning process or ranging process.

The side link PRS may be configured as a wideband signal with a comb structure, i.e. the side link PRS may occupy multiple PRBs, using only some subcarriers in each PRB. Conversely, the PSFCH may occupy all subcarriers of a PRB. Thus, the target set of resources for transmitting the reference signal may overlap with the set of candidate resources allocated for the PSFCH, and mutual interference between PRSs and the PSFCH may be reduced or randomized.

To determine the target set of resources from the candidate set of resources, UE 110-1 may determine a distribution pattern of the target set of resources on the candidate set of resources.

In some example embodiments, UE 110-1 may determine the number of subcarriers included in the target set of resources and the comb size of the comb structure of PRS, i.e., the offset between the first subcarrier and the second subcarrier among the subcarriers included in the target set of resources in the frequency domain. The comb size may be selected or configured by the gNB 120. UE 110-1 may receive an indication of the comb size from gNB 120.

In addition, UE 110-1 may also determine a comb offset for the PRS. The comb offset may be configured by the gNB 120. Alternatively, the comb offset may also be selected by the UE 110-1 itself.

In some example embodiments, UE 110-1 may also determine the number of PRBs included in the candidate set of resources allocated for the PSFCH. The side link PRSs may be distributed over the full bandwidth of the PSFCH resources. Thus, a lower Power Spectral Density (PSD) may be employed to reduce interference to PSFCH transmissions.

Alternatively, the side links PRS may be distributed over a portion of the bandwidth of the PSFCH resource.

Fig. 3 illustrates an example of multiplexing PRSs with PSFCHs according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 3, there are a plurality of PRBs allocated for the PSFCH, i.e., PRBs 310-1 through 310-N. For simplicity, fig. 3 shows only two ends of the frequency resource for the PSFCH for illustration. The PRBs 310-3 and 310-N are actually used to send HARQ feedback on the PSFCH. The target resource sets 320-1 through 320-N may be distributed over the full bandwidth of the PSFCH resources. 12 (number of subcarriers for PSFCH) may be selected as the comb size for the side-link PRS.

Based on the number of subcarriers included in the target resource set, the comb size, and the number of PRBs included in the candidate resource set, UE 110-1 may determine a distribution pattern of the target resource set on the candidate resource set. Based on the distribution pattern, UE 110-1 may determine a target set of resources from the candidate set of resources.

Further, the gNB 120 may dynamically change the multiplexing policy based on traffic load in the system and expected PSFCH transmissions. For example, the gNB 120 may configure a comb size of 6 for PRSs multiplexed with the PSFCH when the traffic load is low and then increase the comb size to 12 when the traffic load increases.

In some example embodiments, a dynamic multiplexing mechanism may be employed. That is, the UE110-1 may select a target set of resources for transmitting PRS from among the candidate sets of resources only if the UE110-1 determines that the occupancy ratio of the candidate sets of resources allocated for PSFCH is low.

For mode 2 side link communications, UE110-1 may continuously perform the sensing of SCI in PSCCH/pscsch from other UEs for resource selection. Thus, UE110-1 may determine which PSFCH Resources (PRBs) will have the actual PSFCH transmission. Based on the collected information, the UE110-1 determines whether it is capable of transmitting side link PRSs in an upcoming time slot with PSFCH resources.

The collected information may include a PSFCH occupancy ratio, i.e., the number of PRBs to be occupied for PSFCH transmission relative to the total number of pre-allocated PRBs for the PSFCH. In some example embodiments, if UE110-1 determines that the occupancy ratio is less than the threshold ratio, UE110-1 may select a target set of resources for transmitting PRSs from among the candidate sets of resources. This dynamic multiplexing mechanism can guarantee the quality of PRS-based timing (or angle) estimation to some extent.

Referring back now to FIG. 2, UE 110-1 may send 210 a sidelink PRS to UE 110-2 on the target set of resources.

In some example embodiments, UE 110-1 may send side link PRSs on only resources on which no actual PSFCH transmissions occur and mute side link PRS transmissions on resources with actual PSFCH transmissions. For example, UE 110-1 may dynamically apply the muting when PRSs are transmitted based on a total number of PSFCH transmissions and/or pre-configured settings.

Fig. 4 illustrates an example of multiplexing PRSs with PSFCHs according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 4, there are a plurality of PRBs allocated for the PSFCH, i.e., PRBs 410-1 through 410-N. For simplicity, fig. 4 shows only two ends of the frequency resource for the PSFCH for illustration. The PRBs 410-3 and 410-N are actually used to send HARQ feedback on the PSFCH. The target resource sets 420-1, 420-2, …, 420-N-2, and 420-N-1 may be selected for the transmit side link PRSs. The PRB 410-3 with actual PSFCH transmissions and the transmissions of the side link PRSs on PRB 410-N are muted.

In some example embodiments, UE 110-1 may send an indication of silence on the resource with the actual PSFCH transmission.

Subcarrier muting may also be applied based on expected quality of PRSs received at other UEs. For example, if UE 110-1 considers it to have a high quality link with receiving UE 110-2 (e.g., based on past measurements or communications), it may silence the subcarriers in the PSFCH because it is less critical for PRS to have all subcarriers at the receiving UE 110-1.

Alternatively, the UE 110-1 may reduce the transmit power of the PRS based on the determined PSFCH resources with actual transmissions.

Side link PRS subcarrier muting may reduce interference to PSFCH transmissions and provide backward compatibility with R16 UEs with side link capabilities.

For mode 2 side-link communications, UE 110-2 may also continuously perform the sensing of SCI from PSCCH/pscsch of other UEs for resource selection. UE 110-2 may thus determine which PSFCH Resources (PRBs) will have the actual PSFCH transmission. Thus, UE 110-2 may also determine a target set of resources on which to transmit the side link PRS. As shown in fig. 2, UE 110-2 may then perform 215 a positioning procedure or a ranging procedure based on the received side link PRS.

In some example embodiments, UE 110-2 may choose to ignore subcarriers overlapping with actual PSFCH transmissions for correlation estimated based on the timing (or angle) of received side link PRS during positioning or ranging. That is, UE 110-2 may perform timing (or angle) estimation by excluding the received sidelink PRS on PRS resources that overlap with the PSFCH resources with actual PSFCH transmissions, which may improve performance of timing (or angle) estimation based on the received sidelink PRS.

Further, UE 110-2 may receive an indication of muting of resources with actual PSFCH transmissions from UE 110-1. UE 110-2 may then skip reception of the sidelink PRS on the resources with the actual PSFCH transmission.

When UE 110-2 performs a positioning procedure or a ranging procedure, UE 110-2 obtains a set of parameters associated with the sidelink PRS to process the received sidelink PRS (e.g., for timing (or angle) estimation based on the correlation procedure). As one example, the parameter set may be set to the side link PRS, and the received side link PPS may contain the side link PRS plus noise and interference. When UE 110-2 receives an indication of silence on the resource with the actual PSFCH transmission, UE 110-2 may perform a positioning procedure or a ranging procedure by using a portion of the parameters in the set of parameters associated with the sidelink PRS. The portion of the parameters may correspond to side link PRSs received on resources for the transmit side link PRS excluding resources overlapping with the PSFCH resources with actual PSFCH transmissions.

Furthermore, as is known, the PSFCH may repeat on two OFDM symbols near the end of the side link resource in the slot. The first of the two OFDM symbols may be used for AGC. Alternatively, PRSs may also be repeated over two OFDM symbols when the PRS reuses resources for the PSFCH.

Fig. 5 illustrates an example of multiplexing PRSs with PSFCHs according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 5, there are a plurality of PRBs allocated for the PSFCH, i.e., PRBs 510-1 through PRB 510-N. [ -1,1] PRS is used in two OFDM symbols, e.g., 520-1 and 520-1' in PRB 510-1, i.e., PRS in the first symbol is the product of-1 and PRS in the second symbol.

In this way, adding the received first and second OFDM symbols at the receiver that detected the PSFCH may eliminate the impact of PRS reuse of the PSFCH resources. Thus, PSFCH detection performance can be improved by a slightly more complex operation.

Fig. 6 illustrates a flowchart of an example method 600 of multiplexing PRSs with PSFCHs according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The method 600 may be implemented at a first device 110-1 as shown in fig. 1. For discussion purposes, the method 600 will be described with reference to FIG. 1.

At 610, the first device obtains a set of candidate resources allocated for a feedback channel on which feedback messages associated with side chain transmissions are allowed to be sent.

In some example embodiments, the first device may determine a distribution pattern of a target set of resources on the candidate set of resources; and selecting a target set of resources from the candidate set of resources based on the distribution pattern.

In some example embodiments, the first device may determine a number of subcarriers included in the target resource set and a comb size of the target resource set having a comb structure; determining a number of physical resource blocks included in the candidate set of resources; and determining a distribution pattern based on the number of the plurality of sub-carriers, the comb size, and the number of physical resource blocks.

In some example embodiments, the first device may obtain, from the third device, an indication associated with the number of subcarriers and the comb size; and based on the indication, determining the number of sub-carriers and the comb size.

At 620, the first device transmits a reference signal to the second device, the reference signal associated with a positioning procedure or a ranging procedure on a target set of resources selected from the candidate set of resources.

In some example embodiments, the first device may determine, based on the side chain control information, an occupancy ratio of the candidate set of resources, the occupancy ratio indicating a number of resources used to send the feedback message on the candidate set of resources. The first device may send a reference signal on the target set of resources if the first device determines that the occupancy ratio is less than the threshold ratio.

In some example embodiments, the first device may determine a set of reference resources to be used for transmitting the feedback message based on the side chain control information. The first device may silence reference signal transmissions on at least a subset of the target resources in the set of target resources if the first device determines that the at least a subset of the target resources overlaps with the set of reference resources.

In some example embodiments, the first device may send an indication of silence on at least a subset of the target resources to the second device.

In some example embodiments, the first device may determine a reference set of resources for transmitting the feedback message based on the side chain control information. If the first device determines that at least a subset of the target resources in the set of target resources overlap with the set of reference resources, the first device may reduce a transmission power for transmitting the reference signal on the at least a subset of the target resources.

In some example embodiments, the first device may include a side link terminal device and the second device may include a side link terminal device.

In some example embodiments, the third device may comprise a network device.

Fig. 7 illustrates a flowchart of an example method 700 of multiplexing PRSs with PSFCHs according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The method 700 may be implemented at the second device 110-2 as shown in fig. 1. For discussion purposes, the method 700 will be described with reference to FIG. 1.

At 710, the second device receives a reference signal from the first device, the reference signal associated with a positioning procedure or a ranging procedure on a set of target resources selected from a set of candidate resources allocated for a feedback channel on which feedback messages associated with side link transmissions are allowed to be sent.

In some example embodiments, the second device may determine a reference resource set for transmitting the feedback message from the candidate resource sets based on the side chain control information; and determining a set of target resources based on the set of reference resources.

In some example embodiments, the second device may receive, from the first device, an indication of silence on at least a subset of target resources in a set of target resources that overlap with a set of reference resources used to send the feedback message; and causing reception of the reference signal on at least a subset of the target resources to be skipped.

In some example embodiments, the second device may obtain a set of reference parameters associated with the reference signal and perform a positioning procedure or a ranging procedure based on a portion of the set of reference parameters corresponding to the reference signal received on the set of target resources excluding at least a subset of the target resources.

In some example embodiments, the first device may include a side link termination device and the second device may include a side link termination device.

In some example embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing method 600 (e.g., implemented at UE 110-1) may include means for performing the various steps of method 600. The component may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the components may be implemented in circuitry or software modules.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus includes means for obtaining a set of candidate resources allocated for a feedback channel on which feedback messages associated with side chain transmissions are allowed to be sent; and means for transmitting a reference signal to the second device, the reference signal being associated with a positioning procedure or a ranging procedure on a target set of resources selected from the candidate set of resources.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus further includes means for determining a distribution pattern of a target set of resources on the candidate set of resources; and means for selecting a set of target resources from the set of candidate resources based on the distribution pattern.

In some example embodiments, the means for determining the distribution pattern comprises: means for determining a number of subcarriers included in a target resource set and a comb size of the target resource set having a comb structure; means for determining a number of physical resource blocks included in the candidate set of resources; and means for determining a distribution pattern based on the number of the plurality of subcarriers, the comb size, and the number of physical resource blocks.

In some example embodiments, the means for determining the number of subcarriers and the comb size comprises means for obtaining an indication associated with the number of subcarriers and the comb size from a third device; and means for determining the number of subcarriers and the comb size based on the indication.

In some example embodiments, the means for transmitting the reference signal comprises means for determining an occupancy ratio of the candidate set of resources based on the side link control information, the occupancy ratio indicating a number of resources used to transmit the feedback message on the candidate set of resources; and in accordance with a determination that the occupancy ratio is less than the threshold ratio, transmitting a reference signal on the set of target resources.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for determining a reference set of resources from the candidate set of resources that are used to transmit the feedback message based on the side link control information; and means for muting reference signal transmissions in at least a subset of the target resources in accordance with a determination that at least a subset of the target resources in the set of target resources overlap the set of reference resources.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for sending an indication of silence on at least a subset of the target resources to the second device.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for determining a reference set of resources from the candidate set of resources for transmitting the feedback message; and means for reducing a transmission power for transmitting the reference signal on at least a subset of the target resources based on a determination that at least a subset of the target resources in the set of target resources overlap with the set of reference resources.

In some example embodiments, the first device comprises a side link terminal device and the second device comprises a side link terminal device.

In some example embodiments, the third device comprises a network device.

In some example embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing method 700 (e.g., implemented at UE 110-2) may include means for performing the various steps of method 700. The component may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the components may be implemented in circuitry or software modules.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus includes means for receiving a reference signal from a first device, the reference signal associated with a positioning procedure or a ranging procedure on a target set of resources selected from a set of candidate resources allocated for a feedback channel on which feedback messages associated with side link transmissions are allowed to be sent; and means for performing a positioning process or a ranging process based on the reference signal.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for determining a reference set of resources from the candidate set of resources that are used to transmit the feedback message based on the side link control information; and means for determining a set of target resources based on the set of reference resources.

In some example embodiments, the means for performing a positioning procedure or a ranging procedure comprises means for receiving, from the first device, an indication of silence on at least a subset of target resources in a set of target resources, the at least a subset of target resources overlapping with a set of reference resources for transmitting the feedback message; and means for performing a positioning procedure or a ranging procedure by excluding reference signals received on at least a subset of the target resources.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for obtaining a set of reference parameters associated with a reference signal; and means for performing a positioning procedure or a ranging procedure based on a portion of reference parameters in a set of reference parameters, the portion of reference parameters corresponding to reference signals received on the set of target resources excluding at least a subset of the target resources.

Fig. 8 is a simplified block diagram of a device 800 suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. Device 800 may be provided to implement a communication device, such as UE 110-1 and UE 110-2 as shown in fig. 1. As shown, device 800 includes one or more processors 810, one or more memories 840 coupled to processor 810, and one or more transmitters and/or receivers (TX/RX) 840 coupled to processor 810.

TX/RX 840 is used for two-way communication. TX/RX 840 has at least one antenna to facilitate communication. The communication interface may represent any interface necessary to communicate with other network elements.

The processor 810 may be of any type suitable for use in a local technology network and may include one or more of the following: general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital reference signal processors (DSPs) and processors based on a multi-core processor architecture, as non-limiting examples. The device 800 may have multiple processors, such as an application specific integrated circuit chip that is slaved in time to a clock that is synchronized to the master processor.

Memory 820 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of non-volatile memory include, but are not limited to, read-only memory (ROM) 824, electronically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), flash memory, a hard disk, a Compact Disk (CD), a Digital Video Disk (DVD), and other magnetic and/or optical memory. Examples of volatile memory include, but are not limited to, random Access Memory (RAM) 822 and other volatile memory that will not persist during a power outage.

The computer program 830 includes computer-executable instructions that are executed by an associated processor 810. Program 830 may be stored in ROM 820. Processor 810 may perform any suitable actions and processes by loading program 830 into RAM 820.

Embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by the program 830 such that the device 800 may perform any of the processes of the present disclosure discussed with reference to fig. 2-7. Embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented in hardware or by a combination of software and hardware.

In some embodiments, program 830 may be tangibly embodied in a computer-readable medium that may be included in device 800 (such as memory 820) or other storage device accessible to device 800. Device 800 may load program 830 from a computer readable medium into RAM 822 for execution. The computer readable medium may include any type of tangible, non-volatile memory, such as ROM, EPROM, flash memory, hard disk, CD, DVD, etc. Fig. 9 shows an example of a computer readable medium 900 in the form of a CD or DVD. The computer readable medium has stored thereon a program 830.

In general, the various embodiments of the disclosure may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented using firmware or software which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor or other computing device. While various aspects of the embodiments of the disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other pictorial representation, it is well understood that these blocks, apparatus, systems, techniques or methods described herein may be implemented in, as non-limiting examples, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

The present disclosure also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The computer program product comprises computer executable instructions, such as instructions included in program modules, that are executed in a device on a target real or virtual processor to perform the methods 600-700 as described above with reference to fig. 6-7. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. In various embodiments, the functionality of the program modules may be combined or split between program modules as desired. Machine-executable instructions of program modules may be executed within a local device or within a distributed device. In a distributed device, program modules may be located in both local and remote memory storage media.

Program code for carrying out the methods of the present disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. These program code may be provided to a processor or controller of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus such that the program code, when executed by the processor or controller, causes the functions/operations specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram to be implemented. The program code may execute entirely on the machine, partly on the machine, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the machine and partly on a remote machine or entirely on the remote machine or server.

In the context of this disclosure, computer program code or related data may be carried by any suitable carrier to enable an apparatus, device or processor to perform the various processes and operations described above. Examples of carriers include signals, computer readable media, and the like.

The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. The computer readable medium may include, but is not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of a computer-readable storage medium would include an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a Random Access Memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

Further, while operations are described in a particular order, this should not be construed as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. In some cases, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Also, while several specific implementation details are included in the above discussion, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular embodiments. Certain features that are described in the context of separate embodiments can also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment can also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination.

Although the disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the disclosure defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

1. A first device, comprising:

at least one processor; and

At least one memory including computer program code;

the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the first device at least to:

obtaining a set of candidate resources allocated for a feedback channel on which feedback messages associated with side link transmissions are allowed to be sent; and

a reference signal is transmitted to a second device, the reference signal being associated with a positioning procedure or a ranging procedure on a target set of resources selected from the candidate set of resources.

2. A first device of claim 1, wherein the first device is further caused to:

determining a distribution pattern of the target resource set on the candidate resource set; and

the target set of resources is selected from the candidate set of resources based on the distribution pattern.

3. The first device of claim 2, wherein the first device is caused to determine the distribution pattern by:

determining a number of subcarriers included in the target set of resources;

determining a comb size of the target set of resources having a comb structure;

Determining a number of physical resource blocks included in the candidate set of resources; and

the distribution pattern is determined based on the number of subcarriers, the comb size, and the number of physical resource blocks.

4. A first device according to claim 3, wherein the first device is caused to determine the number of sub-carriers and the comb size by:

obtaining an indication associated with the number of sub-carriers and the comb size from a third device; and

the number of subcarriers and the comb size are determined based on the indication.

5. The first device of claim 1, wherein the first device is caused to transmit the reference signal on the target set of resources by:

determining an occupancy ratio of the set of candidate resources based on side link control information, the occupancy ratio indicating a number of resources used to send the feedback message on the set of candidate resources; and

and transmitting the reference signal on the target resource set according to the fact that the occupation ratio is smaller than a threshold ratio.

6. A first device of claim 1, wherein the first device is further caused to:

Determining a set of reference resources from the set of candidate resources that are used to transmit the feedback message based on side link control information; and

the reference signal transmissions on at least a subset of the target resources are muted in accordance with a determination that the at least a subset of the target resources overlap with the reference resource set.

7. A first device of claim 6, wherein the first device is further caused to:

an indication of silence on the at least a subset of target resources is sent to the second device.

8. A first device of claim 1, wherein the first device is further caused to:

determining a reference resource set for transmitting the feedback message from the candidate resource set; and

reducing a transmission power for transmitting the reference signal on at least a subset of the target resources in the set of target resources in accordance with a determination that the at least a subset of the target resources overlap the set of reference resources.

9. The first device of claim 1, wherein the first device comprises a side link termination device and the second device comprises a side link termination device.

10. The first device of claim 4, wherein the third device comprises a network device.

11. A second device, comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory including computer program code;

the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the second device to at least:

receiving a reference signal from a first device, the reference signal being associated with a positioning procedure or a ranging procedure on a set of target resources selected from a set of candidate resources allocated for a feedback channel on which feedback messages associated with side chain transmissions are allowed to be sent; and

the positioning process or the ranging process is performed based on the reference signal.

12. A second device according to claim 10, wherein the second device is further caused to:

the set of target resources is determined based on the set of reference resources.

13. The second device of claim 10, wherein the second device is caused to perform the positioning procedure or the ranging procedure by:

receiving, from the first device, an indication of silence on at least a subset of target resources in the set of target resources, the at least a subset of target resources overlapping with a set of reference resources for transmitting the feedback message; and

causing reception of the reference signal on the at least a subset of target resources to be skipped.

14. A second device according to claim 10, wherein the second device is further caused to:

obtaining a set of reference parameters associated with the reference signal; and

the positioning process or the ranging process is performed based on a portion of reference parameters in the set of reference parameters, the portion of reference parameters corresponding to the reference signals received on the set of target resources excluding the at least a subset of target resources.

15. The second device of claim 10, wherein the first device comprises a side link termination device and the second device comprises a side link termination device.

16. A method, comprising:

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

18. The method of claim 17, wherein determining the distribution pattern comprises:

determining a number of subcarriers included in the target set of resources;

determining a comb size of the target set of resources having a comb structure;

19. The method of claim 18, wherein determining the number of subcarriers and the comb size comprises:

20. The method of claim 16, wherein transmitting the reference signal on the set of target resources comprises:

21. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

22. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

23. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

determining the reference resource set for sending the feedback message from the candidate resource set; and

24. The method of claim 16, wherein the first device comprises a side link termination device and the second device comprises a side link termination device.

25. The method of claim 19, wherein the third device comprises a network device.

26. A method, comprising:

27. The method of claim 26, further comprising:

28. The method of claim 26, wherein performing the positioning procedure or the ranging procedure comprises:

29. The method of claim 28, further comprising:

30. The method of claim 26, wherein the first device comprises a side link termination device and the second device comprises a side link termination device.

31. An apparatus, comprising:

means for obtaining a set of candidate resources allocated for a feedback channel on which feedback messages associated with side link transmissions are allowed to be sent; and

means for transmitting a reference signal to a second device, the reference signal being associated with a positioning procedure or a ranging procedure on a target set of resources selected from the candidate set of resources.

32. An apparatus, comprising:

means for receiving a reference signal from a first device, the reference signal being associated with a positioning procedure or a ranging procedure on a set of target resources selected from a set of candidate resources allocated for a feedback channel on which feedback messages associated with side link transmissions are allowed to be sent; and

means for performing the positioning procedure or the ranging procedure based on the reference signal.

33. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to perform at least the method of any one of claims 16-25.

34. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to perform at least the method of any one of claims 26-30.