US-12627424-B2 - Method and apparatus for downlink and uplink carrier-phase reporting

US12627424B2US 12627424 B2US12627424 B2US 12627424B2US-12627424-B2

Abstract

Apparatuses and methods for an uplink carrier-phase reporting. A method of operating a user equipment (UE) includes receiving, from N antennas of a base station, N downlink (DL) positioning reference signals (PRSs), respectively, and measuring carrier phase differences of the received DL PRSs corresponding to adjacent pairs of the N antennas. The DL PRSs are received in orthogonal resources and N>1. The method further includes determining a first carrier phase difference to report based on the measured carrier phase differences and reporting the first carrier phase difference to a network.

Inventors

Emad N. Farag

Assignees

SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20230413

Claims (14)

1 . A user equipment (UE) comprising: a transceiver; and a processor coupled with the transceiver and configured to: receive, from N antennas of a base station, N downlink (DL) positioning reference signals (PRSs), respectively, wherein the DL PRSs are received in orthogonal resources and N>1, measure, based on the N DL PRSs, carrier phase differences corresponding to adjacent pairs of the N antennas, wherein information on a first distance between adjacent pairs of the N antennas is received from the base station, determine, based on the first distance and the carrier phase differences, angle values corresponding to the carrier phase differences, determine a first carrier phase difference to report based on averaging M carrier phase differences corresponding to M slots among the carrier phase differences, determine a first angle value to report based on averaging M angle values corresponding to the M slots among the angle values, and report, to the base station, the first carrier phase difference and the first angle value, wherein information on M is received from the base station.
2 . The UE of claim 1 , wherein the orthogonal resources for the DL PRSs are: different comb offsets for the DL PRSs, or different symbols in a slot for the DL PRSs.
3 . The UE of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to: receive, on Y antennas, a DL PRS from the DL PRSs, where Y>1; and measure a second carrier phase difference of the DL PRS between each pair of consecutive antennas of the Y antennas.
4 . The UE of claim 3 , wherein the processor is further configured to; determine an angle of arrival based on the measured second carrier phase difference and a second distance between each pair of consecutive antennas of the Y antennas; and report the angle of arrival to the base station, wherein information on the second distance is transmitted to the base station.
5 . The UE of claim 1 , wherein: the processor is further configured to transmit, to the base station, P sounding reference signals (SRSs) on P antennas, P>1, and the P SRSs are transmitted on orthogonal resources.
6 . The UE of claim 5 , wherein the orthogonal resources for the SRSs are: different comb offsets for the SRSs, or different symbols in a slot for the SRSs.
7 . A base station (BS) comprising: a transceiver; and a processor coupled with the transceiver and configured to transmit, to a user equipment (UE) on N antennas of the BS, N downlink (DL) positioning reference signals (PRSs), respectively, wherein the DL PRSs are received in orthogonal resources and N>1, and receive, from the UE, a first carrier phase difference and a first angle value, wherein the first carrier phase difference corresponds to an average of M carrier phase differences corresponding to M slots among carrier phase differences, wherein the carrier phase differences are based on adjacent pairs of the N antennas, wherein information on a first distance between adjacent pairs of the N antennas is transmitted to the UE by the BS, wherein the first angle value corresponds to an average of M angle values corresponding to the M slots among angle values, wherein the angle values are based on the first distance and the carrier phase differences, and wherein information on M is transmitted to the UE by the BS.
8 . The BS of claim 7 , wherein the orthogonal resources for the DL-PRSs are: different comb offsets for the DL-PRSs, or different symbols in a slot for the DL-PRSs.
9 . The BS of claim 7 , wherein: the processor is further configured to receive P sounding reference signals (SRSs) from P antennas of the UE, P>1, and the P SRSs are transmitted on orthogonal resources.
10 . The BS of claim 9 , wherein the orthogonal resources for the SRSs are: different comb offsets for the SRSs, or different symbols in a slot for the SRSs.
11 . A method performed by a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: receiving, from N antennas of a base station, N downlink (DL) positioning reference signals (PRSs), respectively, wherein the DL PRSs are received in orthogonal resources and N>1; measuring, based on the N DL PRSs, carrier phase differences corresponding to adjacent pairs of the N antennas, wherein information on a first distance between adjacent pairs of the N antennas is received from the base station; determining, based on the first distance and the carrier phase differences, angle values corresponding to the carrier phase differences; determining a first carrier phase difference to report based on averaging M carrier phase differences corresponding to M slots among the carrier phase differences; determining a first angle value to report based on averaging M angle values corresponding to the M slots among the angle values; and reporting, to the base station, the first carrier phase difference and the first angle value, wherein information on M is received from the base station.
12 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the orthogonal resources for the DL PRSs are: different comb offsets for the DL PRSs, or different symbols in a slot for the DL PRSs.
13 . The method of claim 11 , further comprising: receiving, on Y antennas, a DL PRS from the DL PRSs, where Y>1; and measuring a second carrier phase difference of the DL PRS between each pair of consecutive antennas of the Y antennas.
14 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising: determining an angle of arrival based on the measured second carrier phase difference and a second distance between each pair of consecutive antennas of the Y antennas; and reporting the angle of arrival to the base station, wherein information on the second distance is transmitted to the base station.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION AND CLAIM OF PRIORITY This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/335,093 filed on Apr. 26, 2022, U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/336,148 filed on Apr. 28, 2022, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/336,158 filed on Apr. 28, 2022. The above-identified provisional patent applications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates generally to wireless communication systems and, more specifically, to a method and apparatus for downlink and uplink carrier-phase reporting. BACKGROUND 5th generation (5G) or new radio (NR) mobile communications is recently gathering increased momentum with all the worldwide technical activities on the various candidate technologies from industry and academia. The candidate enablers for the 5G/NR mobile communications include massive antenna technologies, from legacy cellular frequency bands up to high frequencies, to provide beamforming gain and support increased capacity, new waveform (e.g., a new radio access technology (RAT)) to flexibly accommodate various services/applications with different requirements, new multiple access schemes to support massive connections, and so on. SUMMARY This disclosure relates to apparatuses and methods for downlink and uplink carrier-phase. In one embodiment, a user equipment (UE) is provided. The UE includes a transceiver configured to receive, from N antennas of a base station, N downlink (DL) positioning reference signals (PRSs), respectively. The DL PRSs are received in orthogonal resources and N>1. The UE further includes a processor operably coupled to the transceiver. The processor is configured to measure carrier phase differences of the received DL PRSs corresponding to adjacent pairs of the N antennas and determine a first carrier phase difference to report based on the measured carrier phase differences. The transceiver is further configured to report the first carrier phase difference to a network. In another embodiment, a base station (BS) is provided. The BS includes a transceiver configured to receive, from M antennas of a user equipment, M sounding reference signals (SRSs), respectively. The SRSs are received in orthogonal resources and M>1. The BS further includes a processor operably coupled to the transceiver. The processor is configured to measure carrier phase differences of the received SRSs corresponding to adjacent pairs of the M antennas, determine a first carrier phase difference to report based on the measured carrier phase differences, and report the first carrier phase difference to a location management function (LMF). In yet another embodiment, a method of operating a UE is provided. The method includes receiving, from N antennas of a base station, N DL PRSs, respectively, and measuring carrier phase differences of the received DL PRSs corresponding to adjacent pairs of the N antennas. The DL PRSs are received in orthogonal resources and N>1. The method further includes determining a first carrier phase difference to report based on the measured carrier phase differences and reporting the first carrier phase difference to a network. Other technical features may be readily apparent to one skilled in the art from the following figures, descriptions, and claims. Before undertaking the DETAILED DESCRIPTION below, it may be advantageous to set forth definitions of certain words and phrases used throughout this patent document. The term “couple” and its derivatives refer to any direct or indirect communication between two or more elements, whether or not those elements are in physical contact with one another. The terms “transmit,” “receive,” and “communicate,” as well as derivatives thereof, encompass both direct and indirect communication. The terms “include” and “comprise,” as well as derivatives thereof, mean inclusion without limitation. The term “or” is inclusive, meaning and/or. The phrase “associated with,” as well as derivatives thereof, means to include, be included within, interconnect with, contain, be contained within, connect to or with, couple to or with, be communicable with, cooperate with, interleave, juxtapose, be proximate to, be bound to or with, have, have a property of, have a relationship to or with, or the like. The term “controller” means any device, system or part thereof that controls at least one operation. Such a controller may be implemented in hardware or a combination of hardware and software and/or firmware. The functionality associated with any particular controller may be centralized or distributed, whether locally or remotely. The phrase “at least one of,” when used with a list of items, means that different combinations of one or more of the listed items may be used, and only one item in the list may be needed. For example, “at least one of: A, B, and C” includes any of the following combinations: A, B, C, A a