Qualcomm Ref. No.2400014WO 1 SIDELINK POSITIONING REFERENCE SIGNAL (SL-PRS) TRANSMISSION AND PHYSICAL SIDELINK CONTROL CHANNEL (PSCCH) TRANSMISSION IN DEDICATED RESOURCE POOL BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE 1. Field of the Disclosure [0001] Aspects of the disclosure relate generally to wireless communications. 2. Description of the Related Art [0002] Wireless communication systems have developed through various generations, including a first-generation analog wireless phone service (1G), a second-generation (2G) digital wireless phone service (including interim 2.5G and 2.75G networks), a third-generation (3G) high speed data, Internet-capable wireless service and a fourth-generation (4G) service (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE) or WiMax). There are presently many different types of wireless communication systems in use, including cellular and personal communications service (PCS) systems. Examples of known cellular systems include the cellular analog advanced mobile phone system (AMPS), and digital cellular systems based on code division multiple access (CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), the Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), etc. [0003] A fifth generation (5G) wireless standard, referred to as New Radio (NR), enables higher data transfer speeds, greater numbers of connections, and better coverage, among other improvements. The 5G standard, according to the Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance, is designed to provide higher data rates as compared to previous standards, more accurate positioning (e.g., based on reference signals for positioning (RS-P), such as downlink, uplink, or sidelink positioning reference signals (PRS)) and other technical enhancements. [0004] Leveraging the increased data rates and decreased latency of 5G, among other things, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication technologies are being implemented to support autonomous driving applications, such as wireless communications between vehicles, between vehicles and the roadside infrastructure, between vehicles and pedestrians, etc. 1 QC2400014WO
Qualcomm Ref. No.2400014WO 2 SUMMARY [0005] The following presents a simplified summary relating to one or more aspects disclosed herein. Thus, the following summary should not be considered an extensive overview relating to all contemplated aspects, nor should the following summary be considered to identify key or critical elements relating to all contemplated aspects or to delineate the scope associated with any particular aspect. Accordingly, the following summary has the sole purpose to present certain concepts relating to one or more aspects relating to the mechanisms disclosed herein in a simplified form to precede the detailed description presented below. [0006] In an aspect, a method of operating a wireless communication device includes engaging in a sidelink positioning procedure with a second wireless communication device; and transmitting to the second wireless communication device or receiving from the second wireless communication device a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS) transmission over a first set of resource elements and a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) transmission over a second set of resource elements, wherein: the SL-PRS transmission is for the sidelink positioning procedure, the PSCCH transmission is associated with the SL-PRS transmission, and the first set of resource elements and the second set of resource elements are arranged based on frequency-division multiplexing (FDM) within an SL-PRS resource. [0007] In an aspect, a wireless communication device includes one or more memories; one or more transceivers; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more memories and the one or more transceivers, the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, configured to: engage in a sidelink positioning procedure with a second wireless communication device; and transmit, via the one or more transceivers, to the second wireless communication device or receive from the second wireless communication device a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS) transmission over a first set of resource elements and a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) transmission over a second set of resource elements, wherein: the SL-PRS transmission is for the sidelink positioning procedure, the PSCCH transmission is associated with the SL-PRS transmission, and the first set of resource elements and the second set of resource 2 QC2400014WO
Qualcomm Ref. No.2400014WO 3 elements are arranged based on frequency-division multiplexing (FDM) within an SL- PRS resource. [0008] In an aspect, a wireless communication device includes means for engaging in a sidelink positioning procedure with a second wireless communication device; and means for transmitting to the second wireless communication device or for receiving from the second wireless communication device a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS) transmission over a first set of resource elements and a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) transmission over a second set of resource elements, wherein: the SL-PRS transmission is for the sidelink positioning procedure, the PSCCH transmission is associated with the SL-PRS transmission, and the first set of resource elements and the second set of resource elements are arranged based on frequency-division multiplexing (FDM) within an SL-PRS resource. [0009] In an aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium stores computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a wireless communication device, cause the wireless communication device to: engage in a sidelink positioning procedure with a second wireless communication device; and transmit to the second wireless communication device or receive from the second wireless communication device a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS) transmission over a first set of resource elements and a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) transmission over a second set of resource elements, wherein: the SL-PRS transmission is for the sidelink positioning procedure, the PSCCH transmission is associated with the SL-PRS transmission, and the first set of resource elements and the second set of resource elements are arranged based on frequency-division multiplexing (FDM) within an SL-PRS resource. [0010] Other objects and advantages associated with the aspects disclosed herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art based on the accompanying drawings and detailed description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0011] The accompanying drawings are presented to aid in the description of various aspects of the disclosure and are provided solely for illustration of the aspects and not limitation thereof. [0012] FIG. 1 illustrates an example wireless communications system, according to aspects of the disclosure. 3 QC2400014WO
Qualcomm Ref. No.2400014WO 4 [0013] FIGS.2A, 2B, and 2C illustrate example wireless network structures, according to aspects of the disclosure. [0014] FIG. 3 illustrates an example user equipment (UE) architecture, according to various aspects of the disclosure. [0015] FIGS.4A and 4B illustrate various scenarios of interest for sidelink-only or joint Uu and sidelink positioning, according to aspects of the disclosure. [0016] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example frame structure, according to aspects of the disclosure. [0017] FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate various comb patterns supported for downlink positioning reference signals (PRS) within a resource block. [0018] FIGS. 7A to 7D are diagrams illustrating examples of resource pools for positioning, according to aspects of the disclosure. [0019] FIG. 8 is a timing diagram illustrating sidelink operations performed by a UE over a sidelink shared or unlicensed frequency spectrum (SL-U), according to aspects of the disclosure. [0020] FIGS. 9A and 9B illustrate examples of allocating resource elements for sidelink positioning reference signals (SL-PRS) and physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) in a frequency domain, according to aspects of the disclosure. [0021] FIG.10 illustrates an example of allocating resource elements for SL-PRS, PSCCH, and corresponding automatic gain control (AGC) transmission, according to aspects of the disclosure. [0022] FIGS. 11A and 11B illustrate examples of keeping the SL-PRS transmission power and the PSCCH transmission power constant across the symbols in a slot in the time domain, according to aspects of the disclosure. [0023] FIG.12 illustrates an SL-PRS resource example, according to aspects of the disclosure. [0024] FIG.13 is a flowchart illustrating a method of operating a wireless communication device, according to aspects of the disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION [0025] Aspects of the disclosure are provided in the following description and related drawings directed to various examples provided for illustration purposes. Alternate aspects may be devised without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Additionally, well-known 4 QC2400014WO
Qualcomm Ref. No.2400014WO 5 elements of the disclosure will not be described in detail or will be omitted so as not to obscure the relevant details of the disclosure. [0026] Various aspects relate generally to arranging resource elements for sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS) and physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) over a sidelink shared or unlicensed frequency spectrum (SL-U). Some aspects more specifically relate to arranging resource elements for SL-PRS and PSCCH based on frequency-division multiplexing (FDM) in an SL-PRS resource over SL-U such that the SL-PRS transmission and the PSCCH transmission may be performed in a consecutive number of symbols and may start at any symbol position in a slot. [0027] Particular aspects of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented to realize one or more of the following potential advantages. In some examples, the performance of the SL-PRS transmission associated with the PSCCH transmission may be free from being omitted by eliminating the transmission gap therebetween and thus eliminating the risk of being unable to detect an idle channel during the transmission gap. In some examples, with the PSCCH no longer mapped only to the first symbols of the slots, multiple starting symbols (within a slot) are now available to use (i.e., when a listen before talk (LBT) procedure clears the channel, the UE does not need to wait till the start of the next slot, but can transmit over the next SL-PRS resource in the slot).. In some aspects, the aforementioned features may improve resource efficiency and may reduce wasted PSCCH transmissions over SL-U. [0028] The words “exemplary” and/or “example” are used herein to mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any aspect described herein as “exemplary” and/or “example” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects. Likewise, the term “aspects of the disclosure” does not require that all aspects of the disclosure include the discussed feature, advantage or mode of operation. [0029] Those of skill in the art will appreciate that the information and signals described below may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the description below may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof, depending in part on the particular application, in part on the desired design, in part on the corresponding technology, etc. 5 QC2400014WO
Qualcomm Ref. No.2400014WO 6 [0030] Further, many aspects are described in terms of sequences of actions to be performed by, for example, elements of a computing device. It will be recognized that various actions described herein can be performed by specific circuits (e.g., application specific integrated circuits (ASICs)), by program instructions being executed by one or more processors, or by a combination of both. Additionally, the sequence(s) of actions described herein can be considered to be embodied entirely within any form of non- transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein a corresponding set of computer instructions that, upon execution, would cause or instruct an associated processor of a device to perform the functionality described herein. Thus, the various aspects of the disclosure may be embodied in a number of different forms, all of which have been contemplated to be within the scope of the claimed subject matter. In addition, for each of the aspects described herein, the corresponding form of any such aspects may be described herein as, for example, “logic configured to” perform the described action. [0031] As used herein, the terms “user equipment” (UE), “vehicle UE” (V-UE), “pedestrian UE” (P-UE), and “base station” are not intended to be specific or otherwise limited to any particular radio access technology (RAT), unless otherwise noted. In general, a UE may be any wireless communication device (e.g., vehicle on-board computer, vehicle navigation device, mobile phone, router, tablet computer, laptop computer, asset locating device, wearable (e.g., smartwatch, glasses, augmented reality (AR) / virtual reality (VR) headset, etc.), vehicle (e.g., automobile, motorcycle, bicycle, etc.), Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc.) used by a user to communicate over a wireless communications network. A UE may be mobile or may (e.g., at certain times) be stationary, and may communicate with a radio access network (RAN). As used herein, the term “UE” may be referred to interchangeably as a “mobile device,” an “access terminal” or “AT,” a “client device,” a “wireless device,” a “subscriber device,” a “subscriber terminal,” a “subscriber station,” a “user terminal” or UT, a “mobile terminal,” a “mobile station,” or variations thereof. [0032] A V-UE is a type of UE and may be any in-vehicle wireless communication device, such as a navigation system, a warning system, a heads-up display (HUD), an on-board computer, an in-vehicle infotainment system, an automated driving system (ADS), an advanced driver assistance system (ADAS), etc. Alternatively, a V-UE may be a portable wireless communication device (e.g., a cell phone, tablet computer, etc.) that is carried 6 QC2400014WO
Qualcomm Ref. No.2400014WO 7 by the driver of the vehicle or a passenger in the vehicle. The term “V-UE” may refer to the in-vehicle wireless communication device or the vehicle itself, depending on the context. A P-UE is a type of UE and may be a portable wireless communication device that is carried by a pedestrian (i.e., a user that is not driving or riding in a vehicle). Generally, UEs can communicate with a core network via a RAN, and through the core network the UEs can be connected with external networks such as the Internet and with other UEs. Of course, other mechanisms of connecting to the core network and/or the Internet are also possible for the UEs, such as over wired access networks, wireless local area network (WLAN) networks (e.g., based on Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11, etc.) and so on. [0033] A base station may operate according to one of several RATs in communication with UEs depending on the network in which it is deployed, and may be alternatively referred to as an access point (AP), a network node, a NodeB, an evolved NodeB (eNB), a next generation eNB (ng-eNB), a New Radio (NR) Node B (also referred to as a gNB or gNodeB), etc. A base station may be used primarily to support wireless access by UEs including supporting data, voice and/or signaling connections for the supported UEs. In some systems a base station may provide purely edge node signaling functions while in other systems it may provide additional control and/or network management functions. A communication link through which UEs can send signals to a base station is called an uplink (UL) channel (e.g., a reverse traffic channel, a reverse control channel, an access channel, etc.). A communication link through which the base station can send signals to UEs is called a downlink (DL) or forward link channel (e.g., a paging channel, a control channel, a broadcast channel, a forward traffic channel, etc.). As used herein the term traffic channel (TCH) can refer to either an UL / reverse or DL / forward traffic channel. [0034] The term “base station” may refer to a single physical transmission-reception point (TRP) or to multiple physical TRPs that may or may not be co-located. For example, where the term “base station” refers to a single physical TRP, the physical TRP may be an antenna of the base station corresponding to a cell (or several cell sectors) of the base station. Where the term “base station” refers to multiple co-located physical TRPs, the physical TRPs may be an array of antennas (e.g., as in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system or where the base station employs beamforming) of the base station. Where the term “base station” refers to multiple non-co-located physical TRPs, the physical TRPs 7 QC2400014WO
Qualcomm Ref. No.2400014WO 8 may be a distributed antenna system (DAS) (a network of spatially separated antennas connected to a common source via a transport medium) or a remote radio head (RRH) (a remote base station connected to a serving base station). Alternatively, the non-co-located physical TRPs may be the serving base station receiving the measurement report from the UE and a neighbor base station whose reference radio frequency (RF) signals the UE is measuring. Because a TRP is the point from which a base station transmits and receives wireless signals, as used herein, references to transmission from or reception at a base station are to be understood as referring to a particular TRP of the base station. [0035] In some implementations that support positioning of UEs, a base station may not support wireless access by UEs (e.g., may not support data, voice, and/or signaling connections for UEs), but may instead transmit reference RF signals to UEs to be measured by the UEs and/or may receive and measure signals transmitted by the UEs. Such base stations may be referred to as positioning beacons (e.g., when transmitting RF signals to UEs) and/or as location measurement units (e.g., when receiving and measuring RF signals from UEs). [0036] An “RF signal” comprises an electromagnetic wave of a given frequency that transports information through the space between a transmitter and a receiver. As used herein, a transmitter may transmit a single “RF signal” or multiple “RF signals” to a receiver. However, the receiver may receive multiple “RF signals” corresponding to each transmitted RF signal due to the propagation characteristics of RF signals through multipath channels. The same transmitted RF signal on different paths between the transmitter and receiver may be referred to as a “multipath” RF signal. As used herein, an RF signal may also be referred to as a “wireless signal” or simply a “signal” where it is clear from the context that the term “signal” refers to a wireless signal or an RF signal. [0037] FIG.1 illustrates an example wireless communications system 100, according to aspects of the disclosure. The wireless communications system 100 (which may also be referred to as a wireless wide area network (WWAN)) may include various base stations 102 (labelled “BS”) and various UEs 104. The base stations 102 may include macro cell base stations (high power cellular base stations) and/or small cell base stations (low power cellular base stations). In an aspect, the macro cell base stations 102 may include eNBs and/or ng-eNBs where the wireless communications system 100 corresponds to an LTE network, or gNBs where the wireless communications system 100 corresponds to a NR 8 QC2400014WO
Qualcomm Ref. No.2400014WO 9 network, or a combination of both, and the small cell base stations may include femtocells, picocells, microcells, etc. [0038] The base stations 102 may collectively form a RAN and interface with a core network 170 (e.g., an evolved packet core (EPC) or 5G core (5GC)) through backhaul links 122, and through the core network 170 to one or more location servers 172 (e.g., a location management function (LMF) or a secure user plane location (SUPL) location platform (SLP)). The location server(s) 172 may be part of core network 170 or may be external to core network 170. A location server 172 may be integrated with a base station 102. A UE 104 may communicate with a location server 172 directly or indirectly. For example, a UE 104 may communicate with a location server 172 via the base station 102 that is currently serving that UE 104. A UE 104 may also communicate with a location server 172 through another path, such as via an application server (not shown), via another network, such as via a wireless local area network (WLAN) access point (AP) (e.g., AP 150 described below), and so on. For signaling purposes, communication between a UE 104 and a location server 172 may be represented as an indirect connection (e.g., through the core network 170, etc.) or a direct connection (e.g., as shown via direct connection 128), with the intervening nodes (if any) omitted from a signaling diagram for clarity. [0039] In addition to other functions, the base stations 102 may perform functions that relate to one or more of transferring user data, radio channel ciphering and deciphering, integrity protection, header compression, mobility control functions (e.g., handover, dual connectivity), inter-cell interference coordination, connection setup and release, load balancing, distribution for non-access stratum (NAS) messages, NAS node selection, synchronization, RAN sharing, multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS), subscriber and equipment trace, RAN information management (RIM), paging, positioning, and delivery of warning messages. The base stations 102 may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., through the EPC / 5GC) over backhaul links 134, which may be wired or wireless. [0040] The base stations 102 may wirelessly communicate with the UEs 104. Each of the base stations 102 may provide communication coverage for a respective geographic coverage area 110. In an aspect, one or more cells may be supported by a base station 102 in each geographic coverage area 110. A “cell” is a logical communication entity used for communication with a base station (e.g., over some frequency resource, referred to as a 9 QC2400014WO
Qualcomm Ref. No.2400014WO 10 carrier frequency, component carrier, carrier, band, or the like), and may be associated with an identifier (e.g., a physical cell identifier (PCI), an enhanced cell identifier (ECI), a virtual cell identifier (VCI), a cell global identifier (CGI), etc.) for distinguishing cells operating via the same or a different carrier frequency. In some cases, different cells may be configured according to different protocol types (e.g., machine-type communication (MTC), narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), or others) that may provide access for different types of UEs. Because a cell is supported by a specific base station, the term “cell” may refer to either or both the logical communication entity and the base station that supports it, depending on the context. In some cases, the term “cell” may also refer to a geographic coverage area of a base station (e.g., a sector), insofar as a carrier frequency can be detected and used for communication within some portion of geographic coverage areas 110. [0041] While neighboring macro cell base station 102 geographic coverage areas 110 may partially overlap (e.g., in a handover region), some of the geographic coverage areas 110 may be substantially overlapped by a larger geographic coverage area 110. For example, a small cell base station 102' (labelled “SC” for “small cell”) may have a geographic coverage area 110' that substantially overlaps with the geographic coverage area 110 of one or more macro cell base stations 102. A network that includes both small cell and macro cell base stations may be known as a heterogeneous network. A heterogeneous network may also include home eNBs (HeNBs), which may provide service to a restricted group known as a closed subscriber group (CSG). [0042] The communication links 120 between the base stations 102 and the UEs 104 may include uplink (also referred to as reverse link) transmissions from a UE 104 to a base station 102 and/or downlink (DL) (also referred to as forward link) transmissions from a base station 102 to a UE 104. The communication links 120 may use MIMO antenna technology, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and/or transmit diversity. The communication links 120 may be through one or more carrier frequencies. Allocation of carriers may be asymmetric with respect to downlink and uplink (e.g., more or less carriers may be allocated for downlink than for uplink). [0043] The wireless communications system 100 may further include a wireless local area network (WLAN) access point (AP) 150 in communication with WLAN stations (STAs) 152 via communication links 154 in an unlicensed frequency spectrum (e.g., 5 GHz). 10 QC2400014WO
Qualcomm Ref. No.2400014WO 11 When communicating in an unlicensed frequency spectrum, the WLAN STAs 152 and/or the WLAN AP 150 may perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) or listen before talk (LBT) procedure prior to communicating in order to determine whether the channel is available. [0044] The small cell base station 102' may operate in a licensed and/or an unlicensed frequency spectrum. When operating in an unlicensed frequency spectrum, the small cell base station 102' may employ LTE or NR technology and use the same 5 GHz unlicensed frequency spectrum as used by the WLAN AP 150. The small cell base station 102', employing LTE / 5G in an unlicensed frequency spectrum, may boost coverage to and/or increase capacity of the access network. NR in unlicensed spectrum may be referred to as NR-U. LTE in an unlicensed spectrum may be referred to as LTE-U, licensed assisted access (LAA), or MULTEFIRE®. [0045] The wireless communications system 100 may further include a mmW base station 180 that may operate in millimeter wave (mmW) frequencies and/or near mmW frequencies in communication with a UE 182. Extremely high frequency (EHF) is part of the RF in the electromagnetic spectrum. EHF has a range of 30 GHz to 300 GHz and a wavelength between 1 millimeter and 10 millimeters. Radio waves in this band may be referred to as a millimeter wave. Near mmW may extend down to a frequency of 3 GHz with a wavelength of 100 millimeters. The super high frequency (SHF) band extends between 3 GHz and 30 GHz, also referred to as centimeter wave. Communications using the mmW/near mmW radio frequency band have high path loss and a relatively short range. The mmW base station 180 and the UE 182 may utilize beamforming (transmit and/or receive) over a mmW communication link 184 to compensate for the extremely high path loss and short range. Further, it will be appreciated that in alternative configurations, one or more base stations 102 may also transmit using mmW or near mmW and beamforming. Accordingly, it will be appreciated that the foregoing illustrations are merely examples and should not be construed to limit the various aspects disclosed herein. [0046] Transmit beamforming is a technique for focusing an RF signal in a specific direction. Traditionally, when a network node (e.g., a base station) broadcasts an RF signal, it broadcasts the signal in all directions (omni-directionally). With transmit beamforming, the network node determines where a given target device (e.g., a UE) is located (relative to the transmitting network node) and projects a stronger downlink RF signal in that 11 QC2400014WO
Qualcomm Ref. No.2400014WO 12 specific direction, thereby providing a faster (in terms of data rate) and stronger RF signal for the receiving device(s). To change the directionality of the RF signal when transmitting, a network node can control the phase and relative amplitude of the RF signal at each of the one or more transmitters that are broadcasting the RF signal. For example, a network node may use an array of antennas (referred to as a “phased array” or an “antenna array”) that creates a beam of RF waves that can be “steered” to point in different directions, without actually moving the antennas. Specifically, the RF current from the transmitter is fed to the individual antennas with the correct phase relationship so that the radio waves from the separate antennas add together to increase the radiation in a desired direction, while cancelling to suppress radiation in undesired directions. [0047] Transmit beams may be quasi-co-located, meaning that they appear to the receiver (e.g., a UE) as having the same parameters, regardless of whether or not the transmitting antennas of the network node themselves are physically co-located. In NR, there are four types of quasi-co-location (QCL) relations. Specifically, a QCL relation of a given type means that certain parameters about a second reference RF signal on a second beam can be derived from information about a source reference RF signal on a source beam. Thus, if the source reference RF signal is QCL Type A, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, and delay spread of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL Type B, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and Doppler spread of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL Type C, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and average delay of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL Type D, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the spatial receive parameter of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. [0048] In receive beamforming, the receiver uses a receive beam to amplify RF signals detected on a given channel. For example, the receiver can increase the gain setting and/or adjust the phase setting of an array of antennas in a particular direction to amplify (e.g., to increase the gain level of) the RF signals received from that direction. Thus, when a receiver is said to beamform in a certain direction, it means the beam gain in that direction is high relative to the beam gain along other directions, or the beam gain in that direction 12 QC2400014WO
Qualcomm Ref. No.2400014WO 13 is the highest compared to the beam gain in that direction of all other receive beams available to the receiver. This results in a stronger received signal strength (e.g., reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), signal-to- interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR), etc.) of the RF signals received from that direction. [0049] Transmit and receive beams may be spatially related. A spatial relation means that parameters for a second beam (e.g., a transmit or receive beam) for a second reference signal can be derived from information about a first beam (e.g., a receive beam or a transmit beam) for a first reference signal. For example, a UE may use a particular receive beam to receive a reference downlink reference signal (e.g., synchronization signal block (SSB)) from a base station. The UE can then form a transmit beam for sending an uplink reference signal (e.g., sounding reference signal (SRS)) to that base station based on the parameters of the receive beam. [0050] Note that a “downlink” beam may be either a transmit beam or a receive beam, depending on the entity forming it. For example, if a base station is forming the downlink beam to transmit a reference signal to a UE, the downlink beam is a transmit beam. If the UE is forming the downlink beam, however, it is a receive beam to receive the downlink reference signal. Similarly, an “uplink” beam may be either a transmit beam or a receive beam, depending on the entity forming it. For example, if a base station is forming the uplink beam, it is an uplink receive beam, and if a UE is forming the uplink beam, it is an uplink transmit beam. [0051] The electromagnetic spectrum is often subdivided, based on frequency/wavelength, into various classes, bands, channels, etc. In 5G NR two initial operating bands have been identified as frequency range designations FR1 (410 MHz – 7.125 GHz) and FR2 (24.25 GHz – 52.6 GHz). It should be understood that although a portion of FR1 is greater than 6 GHz, FR1 is often referred to (interchangeably) as a “Sub-6 GHz” band in various documents and articles. A similar nomenclature issue sometimes occurs with regard to FR2, which is often referred to (interchangeably) as a “millimeter wave” band in documents and articles, despite being different from the extremely high frequency (EHF) band (30 GHz – 300 GHz) which is identified by the INTERNATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATION UNION® as a “millimeter wave” band. [0052] The frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are often referred to as mid-band frequencies. Recent 5G NR studies have identified an operating band for these mid-band frequencies 13 QC2400014WO
Qualcomm Ref. No.2400014WO 14 as frequency range designation FR3 (7.125 GHz – 24.25 GHz). Frequency bands falling within FR3 may inherit FR1 characteristics and/or FR2 characteristics, and thus may effectively extend features of FR1 and/or FR2 into mid-band frequencies. In addition, higher frequency bands are currently being explored to extend 5G NR operation beyond 52.6 GHz. For example, three higher operating bands have been identified as frequency range designations FR4a or FR4-1 (52.6 GHz – 71 GHz), FR4 (52.6 GHz – 114.25 GHz), and FR5 (114.25 GHz – 300 GHz). Each of these higher frequency bands falls within the EHF band. [0053] With the above aspects in mind, unless specifically stated otherwise, it should be understood that the term “sub-6 GHz” or the like if used herein may broadly represent frequencies that may be less than 6 GHz, may be within FR1, or may include mid-band frequencies. Further, unless specifically stated otherwise, it should be understood that the term “millimeter wave” or the like if used herein may broadly represent frequencies that may include mid-band frequencies, may be within FR2, FR4, FR4-a or FR4-1, and/or FR5, or may be within the EHF band. [0054] In a multi-carrier system, such as 5G, one of the carrier frequencies is referred to as the “primary carrier” or “anchor carrier” or “primary serving cell” or “PCell,” and the remaining carrier frequencies are referred to as “secondary carriers” or “secondary serving cells” or “SCells.” In carrier aggregation, the anchor carrier is the carrier operating on the primary frequency (e.g., FR1) utilized by a UE 104/182 and the cell in which the UE 104/182 either performs the initial radio resource control (RRC) connection establishment procedure or initiates the RRC connection re-establishment procedure. The primary carrier carries all common and UE-specific control channels, and may be a carrier in a licensed frequency (however, this is not always the case). A secondary carrier is a carrier operating on a second frequency (e.g., FR2) that may be configured once the RRC connection is established between the UE 104 and the anchor carrier and that may be used to provide additional radio resources. In some cases, the secondary carrier may be a carrier in an unlicensed frequency. The secondary carrier may contain only necessary signaling information and signals, for example, those that are UE-specific may not be present in the secondary carrier, since both primary uplink and downlink carriers are typically UE-specific. This means that different UEs 104/182 in a cell may have different downlink primary carriers. The same is true for the uplink primary carriers. The network 14 QC2400014WO
Qualcomm Ref. No.2400014WO 15 is able to change the primary carrier of any UE 104/182 at any time. This is done, for example, to balance the load on different carriers. Because a “serving cell” (whether a PCell or an SCell) corresponds to a carrier frequency / component carrier over which some base station is communicating, the term “cell,” “serving cell,” “component carrier,” “carrier frequency,” and the like can be used interchangeably. [0055] For example, still referring to FIG. 1, one of the frequencies utilized by the macro cell base stations 102 may be an anchor carrier (or “PCell”) and other frequencies utilized by the macro cell base stations 102 and/or the mmW base station 180 may be secondary carriers (“SCells”). The simultaneous transmission and/or reception of multiple carriers enables the UE 104/182 to significantly increase its data transmission and/or reception rates. For example, two 20 MHz aggregated carriers in a multi-carrier system would theoretically lead to a two-fold increase in data rate (i.e., 40 MHz), compared to that attained by a single 20 MHz carrier. [0056] In the example of FIG.1, any of the illustrated UEs (shown in FIG.1 as a single UE 104 for simplicity) may receive signals 124 from one or more Earth orbiting space vehicles (SVs) 112 (e.g., satellites). In an aspect, the SVs 112 may be part of a satellite positioning system that a UE 104 can use as an independent source of location information. A satellite positioning system typically includes a system of transmitters (e.g., SVs 112) positioned to enable receivers (e.g., UEs 104) to determine their location on or above the Earth based, at least in part, on positioning signals (e.g., signals 124) received from the transmitters. Such a transmitter typically transmits a signal marked with a repeating pseudo-random noise (PN) code of a set number of chips. While typically located in SVs 112, transmitters may sometimes be located on ground-based control stations, base stations 102, and/or other UEs 104. A UE 104 may include one or more dedicated receivers specifically designed to receive signals 124 for deriving geo location information from the SVs 112. [0057] In a satellite positioning system, the use of signals 124 can be augmented by various satellite-based augmentation systems (SBAS) that may be associated with or otherwise enabled for use with one or more global and/or regional navigation satellite systems. For example an SBAS may include an augmentation system(s) that provides integrity information, differential corrections, etc., such as the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), the Multi- functional Satellite Augmentation System (MSAS), the Global Positioning System (GPS) 15 QC2400014WO
Qualcomm Ref. No.2400014WO 16 Aided Geo Augmented Navigation or GPS and Geo Augmented Navigation system (GAGAN), and/or the like. Thus, as used herein, a satellite positioning system may include any combination of one or more global and/or regional navigation satellites associated with such one or more satellite positioning systems. [0058] In an aspect, SVs 112 may additionally or alternatively be part of one or more non- terrestrial networks (NTNs). In an NTN, an SV 112 is connected to an earth station (also referred to as a ground station, NTN gateway, or gateway), which in turn is connected to an element in a 5G network, such as a modified base station 102 (without a terrestrial antenna) or a network node in a 5GC. This element would in turn provide access to other elements in the 5G network and ultimately to entities external to the 5G network, such as Internet web servers and other user devices. In that way, a UE 104 may receive communication signals (e.g., signals 124) from an SV 112 instead of, or in addition to, communication signals from a terrestrial base station 102. [0059] Leveraging the increased data rates and decreased latency of NR, among other things, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication technologies are being implemented to support intelligent transportation systems (ITS) applications, such as wireless communications between vehicles (vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V)), between vehicles and the roadside infrastructure (vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I)), and between vehicles and pedestrians (vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P)). The goal is for vehicles to be able to sense the environment around them and communicate that information to other vehicles, infrastructure, and personal mobile devices. Such vehicle communication will enable safety, mobility, and environmental advancements that current technologies are unable to provide. Once fully implemented, the technology is expected to reduce unimpaired vehicle crashes by 80%. [0060] Still referring to FIG. 1, the wireless communications system 100 may include multiple V-UEs 160 that may communicate with base stations 102 over communication links 120 using the Uu interface (i.e., the air interface between a UE and a base station). V-UEs 160 may also communicate directly with each other over a wireless sidelink 162, with a roadside unit (RSU) 164 (a roadside access point) over a wireless sidelink 166, or with sidelink-capable UEs 104 over a wireless sidelink 168 using the PC5 interface (i.e., the air interface between sidelink-capable UEs). A wireless sidelink (or just “sidelink”) is an adaptation of the core cellular (e.g., LTE, NR) standard that allows direct communication 16 QC2400014WO
Qualcomm Ref. No.2400014WO 17 between two or more UEs without the communication needing to go through a base station. Sidelink communication may be unicast or multicast, and may be used for device- to-device (D2D) media-sharing, V2V communication, V2X communication (e.g., cellular V2X (cV2X) communication, enhanced V2X (eV2X) communication, etc.), emergency rescue applications, etc. One or more of a group of V-UEs 160 utilizing sidelink communications may be within the geographic coverage area 110 of a base station 102. Other V-UEs 160 in such a group may be outside the geographic coverage area 110 of a base station 102 or be otherwise unable to receive transmissions from a base station 102. In some cases, groups of V-UEs 160 communicating via sidelink communications may utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system in which each V-UE 160 transmits to every other V- UE 160 in the group. In some cases, a base station 102 facilitates the scheduling of resources for sidelink communications. In other cases, sidelink communications are carried out between V-UEs 160 without the involvement of a base station 102. [0061] In an aspect, the sidelinks 162, 166, 168 may operate over a wireless communication medium of interest, which may be shared with other wireless communications between other vehicles and/or infrastructure access points, as well as other RATs. A “medium” may be composed of one or more time, frequency, and/or space communication resources (e.g., encompassing one or more channels across one or more carriers) associated with wireless communication between one or more transmitter / receiver pairs. [0062] In an aspect, the sidelinks 162, 166, 168 may be cV2X links. A first generation of cV2X has been standardized in LTE, and the next generation is expected to be defined in NR. cV2X is a cellular technology that also enables device-to-device communications. In the U.S. and Europe, cV2X is expected to operate in the licensed ITS band in sub-6GHz. Other bands may be allocated in other countries. Thus, as a particular example, the medium of interest utilized by sidelinks 162, 166, 168 may correspond to at least a portion of the licensed ITS frequency band of sub-6GHz. However, the present disclosure is not limited to this frequency band or cellular technology. [0063] In an aspect, the sidelinks 162, 166, 168 may be dedicated short-range communications (DSRC) links. DSRC is a one-way or two-way short-range to medium-range wireless communication protocol that uses the wireless access for vehicular environments (WAVE) protocol, also known as IEEE 802.11p, for V2V, V2I, and V2P communications. IEEE 802.11p is an approved amendment to the IEEE 802.11 standard 17 QC2400014WO
Qualcomm Ref. No.2400014WO 18 and operates in the licensed ITS band of 5.9 GHz (5.85-5.925 GHz) in the U.S. In Europe, IEEE 802.11p operates in the ITS G5A band (5.875 – 5.905 MHz). Other bands may be allocated in other countries. The V2V communications briefly described above occur on the Safety Channel, which in the U.S. is typically a 10 MHz channel that is dedicated to the purpose of safety. The remainder of the DSRC band (the total bandwidth is 75 MHz) is intended for other services of interest to drivers, such as road rules, tolling, parking automation, etc. Thus, as a particular example, the mediums of interest utilized by sidelinks 162, 166, 168 may correspond to at least a portion of the licensed ITS frequency band of 5.9 GHz. [0064] Alternatively, the medium of interest may correspond to at least a portion of an unlicensed frequency band shared among various RATs. Although different licensed frequency bands have been reserved for certain communication systems (e.g., by a government entity such as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the United States), these systems, in particular those employing small cell access points, have recently extended operation into unlicensed frequency bands such as the Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure (U-NII) band used by wireless local area network (WLAN) technologies, most notably IEEE 802.11x WLAN technologies generally referred to as “Wi-Fi.” Example systems of this type include different variants of CDMA systems, TDMA systems, FDMA systems, orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA) systems, single-carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) systems, and so on. [0065] Communications between the V-UEs 160 are referred to as V2V communications, communications between the V-UEs 160 and the one or more RSUs 164 are referred to as V2I communications, and communications between the V-UEs 160 and one or more UEs 104 (where the UEs 104 are P-UEs) are referred to as V2P communications. The V2V communications between V-UEs 160 may include, for example, information about the position, speed, acceleration, heading, and other vehicle data of the V-UEs 160. The V2I information received at a V-UE 160 from the one or more RSUs 164 may include, for example, road rules, parking automation information, etc. The V2P communications between a V-UE 160 and a UE 104 may include information about, for example, the position, speed, acceleration, and heading of the V-UE 160 and the position, speed (e.g., where the UE 104 is carried by a user on a bicycle), and heading of the UE 104. 18 QC2400014WO
Qualcomm Ref. No.2400014WO 19 [0066] Note that although FIG.1 only illustrates two of the UEs as V-UEs (V-UEs 160), any of the illustrated UEs (e.g., UEs 104, 152, 182, 190) may be V-UEs. In addition, while only the V-UEs 160 and a single UE 104 have been illustrated as being connected over a sidelink, any of the UEs illustrated in FIG.1, whether V-UEs, P-UEs, etc., may be capable of sidelink communication. Further, although only UE 182 was described as being capable of beam forming, any of the illustrated UEs, including V-UEs 160, may be capable of beam forming. Where V-UEs 160 are capable of beam forming, they may beam form towards each other (i.e., towards other V-UEs 160), towards RSUs 164, towards other UEs (e.g., UEs 104, 152, 182, 190), etc. Thus, in some cases, V-UEs 160 may utilize beamforming over sidelinks 162, 166, and 168. [0067] The wireless communications system 100 may further include one or more UEs, such as UE 190, that connects indirectly to one or more communication networks via one or more device-to-device (D2D) peer-to-peer (P2P) links. In the example of FIG. 1, UE 190 has a D2D P2P link 192 with one of the UEs 104 connected to one of the base stations 102 (e.g., through which UE 190 may indirectly obtain cellular connectivity) and a D2D P2P link 194 with WLAN STA 152 connected to the WLAN AP 150 (through which UE 190 may indirectly obtain WLAN-based Internet connectivity). In an example, the D2D P2P links 192 and 194 may be supported with any well-known D2D RAT, such as LTE Direct (LTE-D), WI-FI DIRECT®, BLUETOOTH®, and so on. As another example, the D2D P2P links 192 and 194 may be sidelinks, as described above with reference to sidelinks 162, 166, and 168. [0068] FIG.2A illustrates an example wireless network structure 200. For example, a 5GC 210 (also referred to as a Next Generation Core (NGC)) can be viewed functionally as control plane (C-plane) functions 214 (e.g., UE registration, authentication, network access, gateway selection, etc.) and user plane (U-plane) functions 212, (e.g., UE gateway function, access to data networks, IP routing, etc.) which operate cooperatively to form the core network. User plane interface (NG-U) 213 and control plane interface (NG-C) 215 connect the gNB 222 to the 5GC 210 and specifically to the user plane functions 212 and control plane functions 214, respectively. In an additional configuration, an ng-eNB 224 may also be connected to the 5GC 210 via NG-C 215 to the control plane functions 214 and NG-U 213 to user plane functions 212. Further, ng-eNB 224 may directly communicate with gNB 222 via a backhaul connection 223. In some configurations, a 19 QC2400014WO
Qualcomm Ref. No.2400014WO 20 Next Generation RAN (NG-RAN) 220 may have one or more gNBs 222, while other configurations include one or more of both ng-eNBs 224 and gNBs 222. Either (or both) gNB 222 or ng-eNB 224 may communicate with one or more UEs 204 (e.g., any of the UEs described herein). [0069] Another optional aspect may include a location server 230, which may be in communication with the 5GC 210 to provide location assistance for UE(s) 204. The location server 230 can be implemented as a plurality of separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules spread across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternately may each correspond to a single server. The location server 230 can be configured to support one or more location services for UEs 204 that can connect to the location server 230 via the core network, 5GC 210, and/or via the Internet (not illustrated). Further, the location server 230 may be integrated into a component of the core network, or alternatively may be external to the core network (e.g., a third party server, such as an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) server or service server). [0070] FIG.2B illustrates another example wireless network structure 240. A 5GC 260 (which may correspond to 5GC 210 in FIG. 2A) can be viewed functionally as control plane functions, provided by an access and mobility management function (AMF) 264, and user plane functions, provided by a user plane function (UPF) 262, which operate cooperatively to form the core network (i.e., 5GC 260). The functions of the AMF 264 include registration management, connection management, reachability management, mobility management, lawful interception, transport for session management (SM) messages between one or more UEs 204 (e.g., any of the UEs described herein) and a session management function (SMF) 266, transparent proxy services for routing SM messages, access authentication and access authorization, transport for short message service (SMS) messages between the UE 204 and the short message service function (SMSF) (not shown), and security anchor functionality (SEAF). The AMF 264 also interacts with an authentication server function (AUSF) (not shown) and the UE 204, and receives the intermediate key that was established as a result of the UE 204 authentication process. In the case of authentication based on a UMTS (universal mobile telecommunications system) subscriber identity module (USIM), the AMF 264 retrieves the security material from the AUSF. The functions of the AMF 264 also include security 20 QC2400014WO
Qualcomm Ref. No.2400014WO 21 context management (SCM). The SCM receives a key from the SEAF that it uses to derive access-network specific keys. The functionality of the AMF 264 also includes location services management for regulatory services, transport for location services messages between the UE 204 and a location management function (LMF) 270 (which acts as a location server 230), transport for location services messages between the NG-RAN 220 and the LMF 270, evolved packet system (EPS) bearer identifier allocation for interworking with the EPS, and UE 204 mobility event notification. In addition, the AMF 264 also supports functionalities for non-3GPP® (Third Generation Partnership Project) access networks. [0071] Functions of the UPF 262 include acting as an anchor point for intra/inter-RAT mobility (when applicable), acting as an external protocol data unit (PDU) session point of interconnect to a data network (not shown), providing packet routing and forwarding, packet inspection, user plane policy rule enforcement (e.g., gating, redirection, traffic steering), lawful interception (user plane collection), traffic usage reporting, quality of service (QoS) handling for the user plane (e.g., uplink/ downlink rate enforcement, reflective QoS marking in the downlink), uplink traffic verification (service data flow (SDF) to QoS flow mapping), transport level packet marking in the uplink and downlink, downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering, and sending and forwarding of one or more “end markers” to the source RAN node. The UPF 262 may also support transfer of location services messages over a user plane between the UE 204 and a location server, such as an SLP 272. [0072] The functions of the SMF 266 include session management, UE Internet protocol (IP) address allocation and management, selection and control of user plane functions, configuration of traffic steering at the UPF 262 to route traffic to the proper destination, control of part of policy enforcement and QoS, and downlink data notification. The interface over which the SMF 266 communicates with the AMF 264 is referred to as the N11 interface. [0073] Another optional aspect may include an LMF 270, which may be in communication with the 5GC 260 to provide location assistance for UEs 204. The LMF 270 can be implemented as a plurality of separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules spread across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternately may each correspond to a single server. The LMF 21 QC2400014WO
Qualcomm Ref. No.2400014WO 22 270 can be configured to support one or more location services for UEs 204 that can connect to the LMF 270 via the core network, 5GC 260, and/or via the Internet (not illustrated). The SLP 272 may support similar functions to the LMF 270, but whereas the LMF 270 may communicate with the AMF 264, NG-RAN 220, and UEs 204 over a control plane (e.g., using interfaces and protocols intended to convey signaling messages and not voice or data), the SLP 272 may communicate with UEs 204 and external clients (e.g., third-party server 274) over a user plane (e.g., using protocols intended to carry voice and/or data like the transmission control protocol (TCP) and/or IP). [0074] Yet another optional aspect may include a third-party server 274, which may be in communication with the LMF 270, the SLP 272, the 5GC 260 (e.g., via the AMF 264 and/or the UPF 262), the NG-RAN 220, and/or the UE 204 to obtain location information (e.g., a location estimate) for the UE 204. As such, in some cases, the third-party server 274 may be referred to as a location services (LCS) client or an external client. The third- party server 274 can be implemented as a plurality of separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules spread across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternately may each correspond to a single server. [0075] User plane interface 263 and control plane interface 265 connect the 5GC 260, and specifically the UPF 262 and AMF 264, respectively, to one or more gNBs 222 and/or ng-eNBs 224 in the NG-RAN 220. The interface between gNB(s) 222 and/or ng-eNB(s) 224 and the AMF 264 is referred to as the “N2” interface, and the interface between gNB(s) 222 and/or ng-eNB(s) 224 and the UPF 262 is referred to as the “N3” interface. The gNB(s) 222 and/or ng-eNB(s) 224 of the NG-RAN 220 may communicate directly with each other via backhaul connections 223, referred to as the “Xn-C” interface. One or more of gNBs 222 and/or ng-eNBs 224 may communicate with one or more UEs 204 over a wireless interface, referred to as the “Uu” interface. [0076] The functionality of a gNB 222 may be divided between a gNB central unit (gNB-CU) 226, one or more gNB distributed units (gNB-DUs) 228, and one or more gNB radio units (gNB-RUs) 229. A gNB-CU 226 is a logical node that includes the base station functions of transferring user data, mobility control, radio access network sharing, positioning, session management, and the like, except for those functions allocated exclusively to the gNB-DU(s) 228. More specifically, the gNB-CU 226 generally host the radio resource 22 QC2400014WO
Qualcomm Ref. No.2400014WO 23 control (RRC), service data adaptation protocol (SDAP), and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) protocols of the gNB 222. A gNB-DU 228 is a logical node that generally hosts the radio link control (RLC) and medium access control (MAC) layer of the gNB 222. Its operation is controlled by the gNB-CU 226. One gNB-DU 228 can support one or more cells, and one cell is supported by only one gNB-DU 228. The interface 232 between the gNB-CU 226 and the one or more gNB-DUs 228 is referred to as the “F1” interface. The physical (PHY) layer functionality of a gNB 222 is generally hosted by one or more standalone gNB-RUs 229 that perform functions such as power amplification and signal transmission/reception. The interface between a gNB-DU 228 and a gNB-RU 229 is referred to as the “Fx” interface. Thus, a UE 204 communicates with the gNB-CU 226 via the RRC, SDAP, and PDCP layers, with a gNB-DU 228 via the RLC and MAC layers, and with a gNB-RU 229 via the PHY layer. [0077] Deployment of communication systems, such as 5G NR systems, may be arranged in multiple manners with various components or constituent parts. In a 5G NR system, or network, a network node, a network entity, a mobility element of a network, a RAN node, a core network node, a network element, or a network equipment, such as a base station, or one or more units (or one or more components) performing base station functionality, may be implemented in an aggregated or disaggregated architecture. For example, a base station (such as a Node B (NB), evolved NB (eNB), NR base station, 5G NB, AP, TRP, cell, etc.) may be implemented as an aggregated base station (also known as a standalone base station or a monolithic base station) or a disaggregated base station. [0078] An aggregated base station may be configured to utilize a radio protocol stack that is physically or logically integrated within a single RAN node. A disaggregated base station may be configured to utilize a protocol stack that is physically or logically distributed among two or more units (such as one or more central or centralized units (CUs), one or more distributed units (DUs), or one or more radio units (RUs)). In some aspects, a CU may be implemented within a RAN node, and one or more DUs may be co-located with the CU, or alternatively, may be geographically or virtually distributed throughout one or multiple other RAN nodes. The DUs may be implemented to communicate with one or more RUs. Each of the CU, DU and RU also can be implemented as virtual units, i.e., a virtual central unit (VCU), a virtual distributed unit (VDU), or a virtual radio unit (VRU). 23 QC2400014WO
Qualcomm Ref. No.2400014WO 24 [0079] Base station-type operation or network design may consider aggregation characteristics of base station functionality. For example, disaggregated base stations may be utilized in an integrated access backhaul (IAB) network, an open radio access network (O-RAN (such as the network configuration sponsored by the O-RAN ALLIANCE®)), or a virtualized radio access network (vRAN, also known as a cloud radio access network (C- RAN)). Disaggregation may include distributing functionality across two or more units at various physical locations, as well as distributing functionality for at least one unit virtually, which can enable flexibility in network design. The various units of the disaggregated base station, or disaggregated RAN architecture, can be configured for wired or wireless communication with at least one other unit. [0080] FIG. 2C illustrates an example disaggregated base station architecture 250, according to aspects of the disclosure. The disaggregated base station architecture 250 may include one or more central units (CUs) 280 (e.g., gNB-CU 226) that can communicate directly with a core network 267 (e.g., 5GC 210, 5GC 260) via a backhaul link, or indirectly with the core network 267 through one or more disaggregated base station units (such as a Near-Real Time (Near-RT) RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) 259 via an E2 link, or a Non-Real Time (Non-RT) RIC 257 associated with a Service Management and Orchestration (SMO) Framework 255, or both). A CU 280 may communicate with one or more DUs 285 (e.g., gNB-DUs 228) via respective midhaul links, such as an F1 interface. The DUs 285 may communicate with one or more radio units (RUs) 287 (e.g., gNB-RUs 229) via respective fronthaul links. The RUs 287 may communicate with respective UEs 204 via one or more radio frequency (RF) access links. In some implementations, the UE 204 may be simultaneously served by multiple RUs 287. [0081] Each of the units, i.e., the CUs 280, the DUs 285, the RUs 287, as well as the Near-RT RICs 259, the Non-RT RICs 257 and the SMO Framework 255, may include one or more interfaces or be coupled to one or more interfaces configured to receive or transmit signals, data, or information (collectively, signals) via a wired or wireless transmission medium. Each of the units, or an associated processor or controller providing instructions to the communication interfaces of the units, can be configured to communicate with one or more of the other units via the transmission medium. For example, the units can include a wired interface configured to receive or transmit signals over a wired transmission medium to one or more of the other units. Additionally, the units can include 24 QC2400014WO
Qualcomm Ref. No.2400014WO 25 a wireless interface, which may include a receiver, a transmitter or transceiver (such as a RF transceiver), configured to receive or transmit signals, or both, over a wireless transmission medium to one or more of the other units. [0082] In some aspects, the CU 280 may host one or more higher layer control functions. Such control functions can include RRC, PDCP, service data adaptation protocol (SDAP), or the like. Each control function can be implemented with an interface configured to communicate signals with other control functions hosted by the CU 280. The CU 280 may be configured to handle user plane functionality (i.e., Central Unit – User Plane (CU- UP)), control plane functionality (i.e., Central Unit – Control Plane (CU-CP)), or a combination thereof. In some implementations, the CU 280 can be logically split into one or more CU-UP units and one or more CU-CP units. The CU-UP unit can communicate bidirectionally with the CU-CP unit via an interface, such as the E1 interface when implemented in an O-RAN configuration. The CU 280 can be implemented to communicate with the DU 285, as necessary, for network control and signaling. [0083] The DU 285 may correspond to a logical unit that includes one or more base station functions to control the operation of one or more RUs 287. In some aspects, the DU 285 may host one or more of a RLC layer, a MAC layer, and one or more high PHY layers (such as modules for forward error correction (FEC) encoding and decoding, scrambling, modulation and demodulation, or the like) depending, at least in part, on a functional split, such as those defined by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP®). In some aspects, the DU 285 may further host one or more low PHY layers. Each layer (or module) can be implemented with an interface configured to communicate signals with other layers (and modules) hosted by the DU 285, or with the control functions hosted by the CU 280. [0084] Lower-layer functionality can be implemented by one or more RUs 287. In some deployments, an RU 287, controlled by a DU 285, may correspond to a logical node that hosts RF processing functions, or low-PHY layer functions (such as performing fast Fourier transform (FFT), inverse FFT (iFFT), digital beamforming, physical random access channel (PRACH) extraction and filtering, or the like), or both, based at least in part on the functional split, such as a lower layer functional split. In such an architecture, the RU(s) 287 can be implemented to handle over the air (OTA) communication with one 25 QC2400014WO
Qualcomm Ref. No.2400014WO 26 or more UEs 204. In some implementations, real-time and non-real-time aspects of control and user plane communication with the RU(s) 287 can be controlled by the corresponding DU 285. In some scenarios, this configuration can enable the DU(s) 285 and the CU 280 to be implemented in a cloud-based RAN architecture, such as a vRAN architecture. [0085] The SMO Framework 255 may be configured to support RAN deployment and provisioning of non-virtualized and virtualized network elements. For non-virtualized network elements, the SMO Framework 255 may be configured to support the deployment of dedicated physical resources for RAN coverage requirements which may be managed via an operations and maintenance interface (such as an O1 interface). For virtualized network elements, the SMO Framework 255 may be configured to interact with a cloud computing platform (such as an open cloud (O-Cloud) 269) to perform network element life cycle management (such as to instantiate virtualized network elements) via a cloud computing platform interface (such as an O2 interface). Such virtualized network elements can include, but are not limited to, CUs 280, DUs 285, RUs 287 and Near-RT RICs 259. In some implementations, the SMO Framework 255 can communicate with a hardware aspect of a 4G RAN, such as an open eNB (O-eNB) 261, via an O1 interface. Additionally, in some implementations, the SMO Framework 255 can communicate directly with one or more RUs 287 via an O1 interface. The SMO Framework 255 also may include a Non-RT RIC 257 configured to support functionality of the SMO Framework 255. [0086] The Non-RT RIC 257 may be configured to include a logical function that enables non- real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources, artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) workflows including model training and updates, or policy-based guidance of applications/features in the Near-RT RIC 259. The Non-RT RIC 257 may be coupled to or communicate with (such as via an A1 interface) the Near- RT RIC 259. The Near-RT RIC 259 may be configured to include a logical function that enables near-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources via data collection and actions over an interface (such as via an E2 interface) connecting one or more CUs 280, one or more DUs 285, or both, as well as an O-eNB, with the Near-RT RIC 259. 26 QC2400014WO
Qualcomm Ref. No.2400014WO 27 [0087] In some implementations, to generate AI/ML models to be deployed in the Near-RT RIC 259, the Non-RT RIC 257 may receive parameters or external enrichment information from external servers. Such information may be utilized by the Near-RT RIC 259 and may be received at the SMO Framework 255 or the Non-RT RIC 257 from non-network data sources or from network functions. In some examples, the Non-RT RIC 257 or the Near-RT RIC 259 may be configured to tune RAN behavior or performance. For example, the Non-RT RIC 257 may monitor long-term trends and patterns for performance and employ AI/ML models to perform corrective actions through the SMO Framework 255 (such as reconfiguration via O1) or via creation of RAN management policies (such as A1 policies). [0088] FIG.3 illustrates several example components (represented by corresponding blocks) that may be incorporated into a UE 300 (which may correspond to any of the UEs described herein). It will be appreciated that these components may be implemented in different types of apparatuses in different implementations (e.g., in an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), in a system-on-chip (SoC), etc.). The illustrated components may also be incorporated into other apparatuses in a communication system. For example, other apparatuses in a system may include components similar to those described to provide similar functionality. Also, a given apparatus may contain one or more of the components. For example, an apparatus may include multiple transceiver components that enable the apparatus to operate on multiple carriers and/or communicate via different technologies. [0089] The UE 300 includes one or more wireless wide area network (WWAN) transceivers 310 providing means for communicating (e.g., means for transmitting, means for receiving, means for measuring, means for tuning, means for refraining from transmitting, etc.) via one or more wireless communication networks (not shown), such as an NR network, an LTE network, a GSM network, and/or the like. The one or more WWAN transceivers 310 may each be connected to one or more antennas 316 for communicating with other network nodes, such as other UEs, access points, base stations (e.g., eNBs, gNBs), etc., via at least one designated RAT (e.g., NR, LTE, GSM, etc.) over a wireless communication medium of interest (e.g., some set of time/frequency resources in a particular frequency spectrum). The one or more WWAN transceivers 310 may be variously configured for transmitting and encoding signals 318 (e.g., messages, 27 QC2400014WO
Qualcomm Ref. No.2400014WO 28 indications, information, and so on) and, conversely, for receiving and decoding signals 318 (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, and so on) in accordance with the designated RAT. Specifically, the one or more WWAN transceivers 310 include one or more transmitters 314 for transmitting and encoding signals 318 and one or more receivers 312 for receiving and decoding signals 318. [0090] The UE 300 also includes, at least in some cases, one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320. The one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320 may be connected to one or more antennas 326 and provide means for communicating (e.g., means for transmitting, means for receiving, means for measuring, means for tuning, means for refraining from transmitting, etc.) with other network nodes, such as other UEs, access points, base stations, etc., via at least one designated RAT (e.g., Wi-Fi, LTE-D, BLUETOOTH®, ZIGBEE®, Z-WAVE®, PC5, dedicated short-range communications (DSRC), wireless access for vehicular environments (WAVE), near-field communication (NFC), ultra-wideband (UWB), etc.) over a wireless communication medium of interest. The one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320 may be variously configured for transmitting and encoding signals 328 (e.g., messages, indications, information, and so on) and, conversely, for receiving and decoding signals 328 (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, and so on) in accordance with the designated RAT. Specifically, the one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320 include one or more transmitters 324 for transmitting and encoding signals 328 and one or more receivers 322 for receiving and decoding signals 328. As specific examples, the one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320 may be Wi-Fi transceivers, BLUETOOTH® transceivers, ZIGBEE® and/or Z-WAVE® transceivers, NFC transceivers, UWB transceivers, or vehicle-to- vehicle (V2V) and/or vehicle-to-everything (V2X) transceivers. [0091] The UE 300 also includes, at least in some cases, a satellite signal interface 330, which includes one or more satellite signal receivers 332 and may optionally include one or more satellite signal transmitters 334. The one or more satellite signal receivers 332 may be connected to one or more antennas 336 and may provide means for receiving and/or measuring satellite positioning/communication signals 338. Where the one or more satellite signal receivers 332 include a satellite positioning system receiver, the satellite positioning/communication signals 338 may be global positioning system (GPS) signals, global navigation satellite system (GLONASS) signals, Galileo signals, Beidou signals, 28 QC2400014WO
Qualcomm Ref. No.2400014WO 29 Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (NAVIC), Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), etc. Where the one or more satellite signal receivers 332 include a non-terrestrial network (NTN) receiver, the satellite positioning/communication signals 338 may be communication signals (e.g., carrying control and/or user data) originating from a 5G network. The one or more satellite signal receivers 332 may comprise any suitable hardware and/or software for receiving and processing satellite positioning/communication signals 338. The one or more satellite signal receivers 332 may request information and operations as appropriate from the other systems, and, at least in some cases, perform calculations to determine locations of the UE 300 using measurements obtained by any suitable satellite positioning system algorithm. [0092] The optional satellite signal transmitter(s) 334, when present, may be connected to the one or more antennas 336 and may provide means for transmitting satellite positioning/communication signals 338. Where the one or more satellite signal transmitters 334 include an NTN transmitter, the satellite positioning/communication signals 338 may be communication signals (e.g., carrying control and/or user data) originating from a 5G network. The one or more satellite signal transmitters 334 may comprise any suitable hardware and/or software for transmitting satellite positioning/communication signals 338. The one or more satellite signal transmitters 334 may request information and operations as appropriate from the other systems. [0093] A transceiver may be configured to communicate over a wired or wireless link. A transceiver (whether a wired transceiver or a wireless transceiver) includes transmitter circuitry (e.g., transmitters 314, 324) and receiver circuitry (e.g., receivers 312, 322). A transceiver may be an integrated device (e.g., embodying transmitter circuitry and receiver circuitry in a single device) in some implementations, may comprise separate transmitter circuitry and separate receiver circuitry in some implementations, or may be embodied in other ways in other implementations. The transmitter circuitry and receiver circuitry of a wired transceiver may be coupled to one or more wired network interface ports. Wireless transmitter circuitry (e.g., transmitters 314, 324) may include or be coupled to a plurality of antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326), such as an antenna array, that permits the respective apparatus (e.g., UE 300) to perform transmit “beamforming,” as described herein. Similarly, wireless receiver circuitry (e.g., receivers 312, 322) may include or be coupled to a plurality of antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326), such as an 29 QC2400014WO
Qualcomm Ref. No.2400014WO 30 antenna array, that permits the respective apparatus (e.g., UE 300) to perform receive beamforming, as described herein. In an aspect, the transmitter circuitry and receiver circuitry may share the same plurality of antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326), such that the respective apparatus can only receive or transmit at a given time, not both at the same time. A wireless transceiver (e.g., the one or more WWAN transceivers 310, the one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320) may also include a network listen module (NLM) or the like for performing various measurements. [0094] As used herein, the various wireless transceivers (e.g., transceivers 310, 320) and wired transceivers may generally be characterized as “a transceiver,” “at least one transceiver,” or “one or more transceivers.” As such, whether a particular transceiver is a wired or wireless transceiver may be inferred from the type of communication performed. For example, backhaul communication between network devices or servers will generally relate to signaling via a wired transceiver, whereas wireless communication between a UE (e.g., UE 300) and a base station will generally relate to signaling via a wireless transceiver. [0095] The UE 300 also includes other components that may be used in conjunction with the operations as disclosed herein. The UE 300 includes one or more processors 342 for providing functionality relating to, for example, wireless communication, and for providing other processing functionality. The one or more processors 342 may therefore provide means for processing, such as means for determining, means for calculating, means for receiving, means for transmitting, means for indicating, etc. In an aspect, the one or more processors 342 may include, for example, one or more general purpose processors, multi-core processors, central processing units (CPUs), ASICs, digital signal processors (DSPs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), other programmable logic devices or processing circuitry, or various combinations thereof. [0096] The UE 300 includes memory circuitry implementing memory 340 (e.g., each including a memory device) for maintaining information (e.g., information indicative of reserved resources, thresholds, parameters, and so on). The memory 340 may therefore provide means for storing, means for retrieving, means for maintaining, etc. In some cases, the UE 300 may include a sidelink positioning component 348. The sidelink positioning component 348 may be hardware circuits that are part of or coupled to the one or more processors 342 that, when executed, cause the UE 300 to perform the functionality 30 QC2400014WO
Qualcomm Ref. No.2400014WO 31 described herein. In other aspects, the sidelink positioning component 348 may be external to the processors 342 (e.g., part of a modem processing system, integrated with another processing system, etc.). Alternatively, the sidelink positioning component 348 may be a memory module stored in the memory 340 that, when executed by the one or more processors 342 (or a modem processing system, another processing system, etc.), cause the UE 300 to perform the functionality described herein. FIG.3 illustrates possible locations of the sidelink positioning component 348, which may be, for example, part of the one or more WWAN transceivers 310, the memory 340, the one or more processors 342, or any combination thereof, or may be a standalone component. [0097] The UE 300 may include one or more sensors 344 coupled to the one or more processors 342 to provide means for sensing or detecting movement and/or orientation information that is independent of motion data derived from signals received by the one or more WWAN transceivers 310, the one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320, and/or the satellite signal interface 330. By way of example, the sensor(s) 344 may include one or more accelerometers (e.g., micro-electrical mechanical systems (MEMS) devices), a gyroscope, a geomagnetic sensor (e.g., a compass), an altimeter (e.g., a barometric pressure altimeter), and/or any other type of movement detection sensor. Moreover, the sensor(s) 344 may include a plurality of different types of devices and combine their outputs in order to provide motion information. For example, the sensor(s) 344 may use a combination of a multi-axis accelerometer and orientation sensors to provide the ability to compute positions in two-dimensional (2D) and/or three-dimensional (3D) coordinate systems. Note that at least the accelerometer and gyroscope may be referred to as “inertial” sensors. [0098] The various components of the UE 300 may be communicatively coupled to each other over a data bus 308. In an aspect, the data bus 308 may form, or be part of, a communication interface of the UE 300. [0099] In addition, the UE 300 includes a user interface 346 providing means for providing indications (e.g., audible and/or visual indications) to a user and/or for receiving user input (e.g., upon user actuation of a sensing device such a keypad, a touch screen, a microphone, and so on). [0100] For convenience, the UE 300 is shown in FIG. 3 as including various components that may be configured according to the various examples described herein. It will be 31 QC2400014WO
Qualcomm Ref. No.2400014WO 32 appreciated, however, that the illustrated components may have different functionality in different designs. In particular, various components in FIG. 3 are optional in alternative configurations and the various aspects include configurations that may vary due to design choice, costs, use of the device, or other considerations. For example, a particular implementation of UE 300 may omit the WWAN transceiver(s) 310 (e.g., a wearable device or tablet computer or PC or laptop may have Wi-Fi and/or BLUEOOTH® capability without cellular capability), or may omit the short-range wireless transceiver(s) 320 (e.g., cellular-only, etc.), or may omit the satellite signal interface 330, or may omit the sensor(s) 344, and so on. For brevity, illustration of the various alternative configurations is not provided herein, but would be readily understandable to one skilled in the art. [0101] The components of FIG. 3 may be implemented in various ways. In some implementations, the components of FIG.3 may be implemented in one or more circuits such as, for example, one or more processors and/or one or more ASICs (which may include one or more processors). Here, each circuit may use and/or incorporate at least one memory component for storing information or executable code used by the circuit to provide this functionality. For example, some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 310 to 346 may be implemented by processor and memory component(s) of the UE 300 (e.g., by execution of appropriate code and/or by appropriate configuration of processor components). For simplicity, various operations, acts, and/or functions are described herein as being performed “by a UE.” However, as will be appreciated, such operations, acts, and/or functions may actually be performed by specific components or combinations of components of the UE 300, such as the one or more processors 342, the one or more transceivers 310 and 320, the memory 340, the sidelink positioning component 348, etc. [0102] NR supports, or enables, various sidelink positioning techniques. FIG. 4A illustrates various scenarios of interest for sidelink-only or joint Uu and sidelink positioning, according to aspects of the disclosure. In scenario 410, at least another UE with a known location can improve the Uu-based positioning (e.g., multi-cell round-trip-time (RTT), downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA), etc.) of a target UE by providing an additional anchor (e.g., using sidelink RTT (SL-RTT)). In scenario 420, a low-end (e.g., reduced capacity, or “RedCap”) target UE may obtain the assistance of premium UEs to 32 QC2400014WO
Qualcomm Ref. No.2400014WO 33 determine its location using, e.g., sidelink positioning and ranging procedures with the premium UEs. Compared to the low-end UE, the premium UEs may have more capabilities, such as more sensors, a faster processor, more memory, more antenna elements, higher transmit power capability, access to additional frequency bands, or any combination thereof. In scenario 430, a relay UE (e.g., with a known location) participates in the positioning estimation of a remote UE without performing uplink positioning reference signal (PRS) transmission over the Uu interface. Scenario 440 illustrates the joint positioning of multiple UEs. Specifically, in scenario 440, two UEs with unknown positions can be jointly located in non-line-of-sight (NLOS) conditions by utilizing constraints from nearby UEs. [0103] FIG. 4B illustrates additional scenarios of interest for sidelink-only or joint Uu and sidelink positioning, according to aspects of the disclosure. In scenario 450, UEs used for public safety (e.g., by police, firefighters, and/or the like) may perform peer-to-peer (P2P) positioning and ranging for public safety and other uses. For example, in scenario 450, the public safety UEs may be out of coverage of a network and determine a location or a relative distance and a relative position among the public safety UEs using sidelink positioning techniques. Similarly, scenario 460 shows multiple UEs that are out of coverage and determine a location or a relative distance and a relative position using sidelink positioning techniques, such as SL-RTT. [0104] Various frame structures may be used to support downlink and uplink transmissions between network nodes (e.g., base stations and UEs). FIG.5 is a diagram 500 illustrating an example frame structure, according to aspects of the disclosure. The frame structure may be a downlink or uplink frame structure. Other wireless communications technologies may have different frame structures and/or different channels. [0105] LTE, and in some cases NR, utilizes orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) on the downlink and single-carrier frequency division multiplexing (SC-FDM) on the uplink. Unlike LTE, however, NR has an option to use OFDM on the uplink as well. OFDM and SC-FDM partition the system bandwidth into multiple (K) orthogonal subcarriers, which are also commonly referred to as tones, bins, etc. Each subcarrier may be modulated with data. In general, modulation symbols are sent in the frequency domain with OFDM and in the time domain with SC-FDM. The spacing between adjacent subcarriers may be fixed, and the total number of subcarriers (K) may be dependent on 33 QC2400014WO
Qualcomm Ref. No.2400014WO 34 the system bandwidth. For example, the spacing of the subcarriers may be 15 kilohertz (kHz) and the minimum resource allocation (resource block) may be 12 subcarriers (or 180 kHz). Consequently, the nominal fast Fourier transform (FFT) size may be equal to 128, 256, 512, 1024, or 2048 for system bandwidth of 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10, or 20 megahertz (MHz), respectively. The system bandwidth may also be partitioned into subbands. For example, a subband may cover 1.08 MHz (i.e., 6 resource blocks), and there may be 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 subbands for system bandwidth of 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10, or 20 MHz, respectively. [0106] LTE supports a single numerology (subcarrier spacing (SCS), symbol length, etc.). In contrast, NR may support multiple numerologies (μ), for example, subcarrier spacings of 15 kHz (μ=0), 30 kHz (μ=1), 60 kHz (μ=2), 120 kHz (μ=3), and 240 kHz (μ=4) or greater may be available. In each subcarrier spacing, there are 14 symbols per slot. For 15 kHz SCS (μ=0), there is one slot per subframe, 10 slots per frame, the slot duration is 1 millisecond (ms), the symbol duration is 66.7 microseconds (μs), and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with a 4K FFT size is 50. For 30 kHz SCS (μ=1), there are two slots per subframe, 20 slots per frame, the slot duration is 0.5 ms, the symbol duration is 33.3 μs, and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with a 4K FFT size is 100. For 60 kHz SCS (μ=2), there are four slots per subframe, 40 slots per frame, the slot duration is 0.25 ms, the symbol duration is 16.7 μs, and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with a 4K FFT size is 200. For 120 kHz SCS (μ=3), there are eight slots per subframe, 80 slots per frame, the slot duration is 0.125 ms, the symbol duration is 8.33 μs, and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with a 4K FFT size is 400. For 240 kHz SCS (μ=4), there are 16 slots per subframe, 160 slots per frame, the slot duration is 0.0625 ms, the symbol duration is 4.17 μs, and the maximum nominal system bandwidth (in MHz) with a 4K FFT size is 800. [0107] In the example of FIG. 5, a numerology of 15 kHz is used. Thus, in the time domain, a 10 ms frame is divided into 10 equally sized subframes of 1 ms each, and each subframe includes one time slot. In FIG. 5, time is represented horizontally (on the X axis) with time increasing from left to right, while frequency is represented vertically (on the Y axis) with frequency increasing (or decreasing) from bottom to top. [0108] A resource grid may be used to represent time slots, each time slot including one or more time-concurrent resource blocks (RBs) (also referred to as physical RBs (PRBs)) in the frequency domain. The resource grid is further divided into multiple resource elements 34 QC2400014WO
Qualcomm Ref. No.2400014WO 35 (REs). An RE may correspond to one symbol length in the time domain and one subcarrier in the frequency domain. In the numerology of FIG. 5, for a normal cyclic prefix, an RB may contain 12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain and seven consecutive symbols in the time domain, for a total of 84 REs. For an extended cyclic prefix, an RB may contain 12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain and six consecutive symbols in the time domain, for a total of 72 REs. The number of bits carried by each RE depends on the modulation scheme. [0109] Some of the REs may carry reference (pilot) signals (RS). The reference signals may include positioning reference signals (PRS), tracking reference signals (TRS), phase tracking reference signals (PTRS), cell-specific reference signals (CRS), channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS), demodulation reference signals (DMRS), primary synchronization signals (PSS), secondary synchronization signals (SSS), synchronization signal blocks (SSBs), sounding reference signals (SRS), etc., depending on whether the illustrated frame structure is used for uplink or downlink communication. FIG.5 illustrates example locations of REs carrying a reference signal (labeled “R”). [0110] A collection of resource elements (REs) that are used for transmission of PRS is referred to as a “PRS resource.” The collection of resource elements can span multiple PRBs in the frequency domain and ‘N’ (such as 1 or more) consecutive symbol(s) within a slot in the time domain. In a given OFDM symbol in the time domain, a PRS resource occupies consecutive PRBs in the frequency domain. [0111] The transmission of a PRS resource within a given PRB has a particular comb size (also referred to as the “comb density”). A comb size ‘N’ represents the subcarrier spacing (or frequency/tone spacing) within each symbol of a PRS resource configuration. Specifically, for a comb size ‘N,’ PRS are transmitted in every Nth subcarrier of a symbol of a PRB. For example, for comb-4, for each symbol of the PRS resource configuration, REs corresponding to every fourth subcarrier (such as subcarriers 0, 4, 8) are used to transmit PRS of the PRS resource. Currently, comb sizes of comb-2, comb-4, comb-6, and comb-12 are supported for DL-PRS. FIG. 5 illustrates an example PRS resource configuration for comb-4 (which spans four symbols). That is, the locations of the shaded REs (labeled “R”) indicate a comb-4 PRS resource configuration. [0112] Currently, a DL-PRS resource may span 2, 4, 6, or 12 consecutive symbols within a slot with a fully frequency-domain staggered pattern. A DL-PRS resource can be configured 35 QC2400014WO
Qualcomm Ref. No.2400014WO 36 in any higher layer configured downlink or flexible (FL) symbol of a slot. There may be a constant energy per resource element (EPRE) for all REs of a given DL-PRS resource. The following are the frequency offsets from symbol to symbol for comb sizes 2, 4, 6, and 12 over 2, 4, 6, and 12 symbols. 2-symbol comb-2: {0, 1}; 4-symbol comb-2: {0, 1, 0, 1}; 6-symbol comb-2: {0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1}; 12-symbol comb-2: {0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1}; 4-symbol comb-4: {0, 2, 1, 3} (as in the example of FIG. 5); 12-symbol comb-4: {0, 2, 1, 3, 0, 2, 1, 3, 0, 2, 1, 3}; 6-symbol comb-6: {0, 3, 1, 4, 2, 5}; 12-symbol comb-6: {0, 3, 1, 4, 2, 5, 0, 3, 1, 4, 2, 5}; and 12-symbol comb-12: {0, 6, 3, 9, 1, 7, 4, 10, 2, 8, 5, 11}. [0113] A “PRS resource set” is a set of PRS resources used for the transmission of PRS signals, where each PRS resource has a PRS resource ID. In addition, the PRS resources in a PRS resource set are associated with the same TRP. A PRS resource set is identified by a PRS resource set ID and is associated with a particular TRP (identified by a TRP ID). In addition, the PRS resources in a PRS resource set have the same periodicity, a common muting pattern configuration, and the same repetition factor (such as “PRS- ResourceRepetitionFactor”) across slots. The periodicity is the time from the first repetition of the first PRS resource of a first PRS instance to the same first repetition of the same first PRS resource of the next PRS instance. The periodicity may have a length selected from 2^μ*{4, 5, 8, 10, 16, 20, 32, 40, 64, 80, 160, 320, 640, 1280, 2560, 5120, 10240} slots, with μ = 0, 1, 2, 3. The repetition factor may have a length selected from {1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 16, 32} slots. [0114] A PRS resource ID in a PRS resource set is associated with a single beam (or beam ID) transmitted from a single TRP (where a TRP may transmit one or more beams). That is, each PRS resource of a PRS resource set may be transmitted on a different beam, and as such, a “PRS resource,” or simply “resource,” also can be referred to as a “beam.” Note that this does not have any implications on whether the TRPs and the beams on which PRS are transmitted are known to the UE. [0115] A “PRS instance” or “PRS occasion” is one instance of a periodically repeated time window (such as a group of one or more consecutive slots) where PRS are expected to be transmitted. A PRS occasion also may be referred to as a “PRS positioning occasion,” a “PRS positioning instance, a “positioning occasion,” “a positioning instance,” a “positioning repetition,” or simply an “occasion,” an “instance,” or a “repetition.” 36 QC2400014WO
Qualcomm Ref. No.2400014WO 37 [0116] A “positioning frequency layer” (also referred to simply as a “frequency layer”) is a collection of one or more PRS resource sets across one or more TRPs that have the same values for certain parameters. Specifically, the collection of PRS resource sets has the same subcarrier spacing and cyclic prefix (CP) type (meaning all numerologies supported for the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) are also supported for PRS), the same Point A, the same value of the downlink PRS bandwidth, the same start PRB (and center frequency), and the same comb-size. The Point A parameter takes the value of the parameter “ARFCN-ValueNR” (where “ARFCN” stands for “absolute radio-frequency channel number”) and is an identifier/code that specifies a pair of physical radio channel used for transmission and reception. The downlink PRS bandwidth may have a granularity of four PRBs, with a minimum of 24 PRBs and a maximum of 272 PRBs. Currently, up to four frequency layers have been defined, and up to two PRS resource sets may be configured per TRP per frequency layer. [0117] The concept of a frequency layer is somewhat like the concept of component carriers and bandwidth parts (BWPs), but different in that component carriers and BWPs are used by one base station (or a macro cell base station and a small cell base station) to transmit data channels, while frequency layers are used by several (usually three or more) base stations to transmit PRS. A UE may indicate the number of frequency layers it can support when it sends the network its positioning capabilities, such as during an LTE positioning protocol (LPP) session. For example, a UE may indicate whether it can support one or four positioning frequency layers. [0118] Note that the terms “positioning reference signal” and “PRS” generally refer to specific reference signals that are used for positioning in NR and LTE systems. However, as used herein, the terms “positioning reference signal” and “PRS” may also refer to any type of reference signal that can be used for positioning, such as but not limited to, PRS as defined in LTE and NR, TRS, PTRS, CRS, CSI-RS, DMRS, PSS, SSS, SSB, SRS, UL-PRS, etc. In addition, the terms “positioning reference signal” and “PRS” may refer to downlink, uplink, or sidelink positioning reference signals, unless otherwise indicated by the context. If needed to further distinguish the type of PRS, a downlink positioning reference signal may be referred to as a “DL-PRS,” an uplink positioning reference signal (e.g., an SRS-for-positioning, PTRS) may be referred to as an “UL-PRS,” and a sidelink positioning reference signal may be referred to as an “SL-PRS.” In addition, for signals 37 QC2400014WO
Qualcomm Ref. No.2400014WO 38 that may be transmitted in the downlink, uplink, and/or sidelink (e.g., DMRS), the signals may be prepended with “DL,” “UL,” or “SL” to distinguish the direction. For example, “UL-DMRS” is different from “DL-DMRS.” [0119] FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate various comb patterns supported for DL-PRS within a resource block. In FIGS. 6A and 6B, time is represented horizontally and frequency is represented vertically. Each large block in FIGS.6A and 6B represents a resource block and each small block represents a resource element. As discussed above, a resource element consists of one symbol in the time domain and one subcarrier in the frequency domain. In the example of FIGS.6A and 6B, each resource block comprises 14 symbols in the time domain and 12 subcarriers in the frequency domain. The shaded resource elements carry, or are scheduled to carry, DL-PRS. As such, the shaded resource elements in each resource block correspond to a PRS resource, or the portion of the PRS resource within one resource block (since a PRS resource can span multiple resource blocks in the frequency domain). [0120] The illustrated comb patterns correspond to various DL-PRS comb patterns described above. Specifically, FIG.6A illustrates a DL-PRS comb pattern 610 for comb-2 with two symbols, a DL-PRS comb pattern 620 for comb-4 with four symbols, a DL-PRS comb pattern 630 for comb-6 with six symbols, and a DL-PRS comb pattern 640 for comb-12 with 12 symbols. FIG. 6B illustrates a DL-PRS comb pattern 650 for comb-2 with 12 symbols, a DL-PRS comb pattern 660 for comb-4 with 12 symbols, a DL-PRS comb pattern 670 for comb-2 with six symbols, and a DL-PRS comb pattern 680 for comb-6 with 12 symbols. [0121] Note that in the example comb patterns of FIG. 6A, the resource elements on which the DL-PRS are transmitted are staggered in the frequency domain such that there is only one such resource element per subcarrier over the configured number of symbols. For example, for DL-PRS comb pattern 620, there is only one resource element per subcarrier over the four symbols. This is referred to as “frequency domain staggering.” [0122] Further, there is some DL-PRS resource symbol offset (given by the parameter “DL-PRS- ResourceSymbolOffset”) from the first symbol of a resource block to the first symbol of the DL-PRS resource. In the example of DL-PRS comb pattern 610, the offset is three symbols. In the example of DL-PRS comb pattern 620, the offset is eight symbols. In 38 QC2400014WO
Qualcomm Ref. No.2400014WO 39 the examples of DL-PRS comb patterns 630 and 640, the offset is two symbols. In the examples of DL-PRS comb pattern 650 to 680, the offset is two symbols. [0123] As will be appreciated, a UE would need to have higher capabilities to measure the DL- PRS comb pattern 610 than to measure the DL-PRS comb pattern 620, as the UE would have to measure resource elements on twice as many subcarriers per symbol for DL-PRS comb pattern 610 as for DL-PRS comb pattern 620. In addition, a UE would need to have higher capabilities to measure the DL-PRS comb pattern 630 than to measure the DL- PRS comb pattern 640, as the UE will have to measure resource elements on twice as many subcarriers per symbol for DL-PRS comb pattern 630 as for DL-PRS comb pattern 640. Further, the UE would need to have higher capabilities to measure the DL-PRS comb patterns 610 and 620 than to measure the DL-PRS comb patterns 630 and 640, as the resource elements of DL-PRS comb patterns 610 and 620 are denser than the resource elements of DL-PRS comb patterns 630 and 640. [0124] FIG. 7A is a diagram 700 illustrating an example of a sidelink resource pool for communication that is also configured to support sidelink positioning (i.e., a shared resource pool), according to aspects of the disclosure. In the example of FIG.7A, time is represented horizontally and frequency is represented vertically. In the time domain, the length of each block is an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol, and the 14 symbols make up a slot. [0125] In some examples, the entire slot (except for the first and last symbols) can be a resource pool for sidelink communication. That is, any of the symbols other than the first and last can be allocated for sidelink communication. In some examples as shown in FIG. 7A, a resource pool for positioning (RP-P) may be allocated in the last four pre-gap symbols of the slot. As such, non-sidelink positioning data, such as user data (e.g., PSSCH), channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), and control information, can only be transmitted in the first eight post-automatic gain control (AGC) symbols and not in the last four pre-gap symbols to prevent a collision with the configured RP-P. The non- sidelink positioning data that would otherwise be transmitted in the last four pre-gap symbols can be punctured or muted, or the non-sidelink data that would normally span more than the eight post-AGC symbols can be rate matched to fit into the eight post-AGC symbols. 39 QC2400014WO
Qualcomm Ref. No.2400014WO 40 [0126] Sidelink positioning reference signals (SL-PRS) have been defined to enable sidelink positioning procedures among UEs. Like a downlink PRS (DL-PRS), a SL-PRS resource is composed of one or more resource elements (i.e., one OFDM symbol in the time domain and one subcarrier in the frequency domain). SL-PRS resources have been designed with a comb-based pattern to enable fast Fourier transform (FFT)-based processing at the receiver. SL-PRS resources are composed of unstaggered, or only partially staggered, resource elements in the frequency domain to provide small time of arrival (TOA) uncertainty and reduced overhead of each SL-PRS resource. SL-PRS may also be associated with specific RP-Ps (e.g., certain SL-PRS may be allocated in certain RP-Ps). SL-PRS have also been defined with intra-slot repetition (not shown in FIG.7A) to allow for combining gains (if needed). There may also be inter-UE coordination of RP- Ps to provide for dynamic SL-PRS and data multiplexing while minimizing SL-PRS collisions. [0127] FIGS.7B and 7C are diagrams 730 and 750, respectively, illustrating additional examples of resource pools for positioning configured within sidelink resource pools for communication. Similar to FIG. 7A, the examples of FIGS. 7B and 7C illustrate shared resource pool structures. With respect to FIGS.7B and 7C, in some designs, the following parameters may be defined, for example: physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) and SL-PRS are only arranged based on time-division multiplexing (TDM), PSSCH and SL- PRS are only arranged based on TDM (e.g., the maximum comb size is 4), PSSCH carries both type 2 sidelink control information (SCI-2) and a sidelink shared channel (SL-SCH) (e.g., a new SCI-2 format is introduced), SL-PRS is mapped on consecutive symbols, SL- PRS is not mapped on symbols with PSSCH demodulation reference signals (DMRS), and/or SL-PRS transmit power is the same as the transmit power of the PSSCH (e.g., this implies per-resource element power boosting will be applied for comb-2 and comb-4). [0128] FIG. 7D is a diagram 770 illustrating another example of a resource pool for sidelink positioning. In the example of FIG. 7D, a dedicated resource pool structure is depicted. With respect to FIG.7D, in some designs, the following parameters may be defined, for example: SL-PRS is immediately preceded by an AGC symbol, SL-PRS is immediately followed by a gap symbol (at least when the gap symbol is the last sidelink symbol in a slot), PSCCH and SL-PRS can only be arranged based on TDM, different comb sizes (N) and SL-PRS durations (M) can be supported in the same resource pool (e.g., one set of 40 QC2400014WO
Qualcomm Ref. No.2400014WO 41 SL-PRS resources can only have a single (M, N) combination), PSCCH is mapped to the first sidelink symbols in a slot, the number of PSCCH symbols is (pre-)configured to 1, 2, or 3, the number of physical resource blocks is (pre-)configured using sidelink communications values, and/or there is a one-to-one implicit mapping between PSCCH and SL-PRS. [0129] In some designs, in a shared resource pool, with regards to the fields in SCI format 2-D, the following fields may be included, for example: a SL-PRS resource information indication of the current slot (ceiling(log2(#SL-PRS resources (pre-)configured in the resource pool) bits)), SL-PRS request (0 or 1 bit), and/or embedded SCI format ([X] bit(s)). If the “embedded SCI format” field is set to [0], the SCI 2-A fields are included with necessary padding. If the “embedded SCI format” field is set to [1], the SCI 2-B fields are included. [0130] In some designs, for a shared resource pool, there may be an explicit (pre-)configuration of SL-PRS resources in a slot, applicable for an indicated frequency domain allocation, which includes, for example: SL-PRS Resource ID, (M, N) pattern, and/or comb offset. In some designs, for a given value of ‘M,’ a SL-PRS resource is mapped to the last consecutive ‘M’ sidelink symbol(s) in the slot that can be used for SL-PRS, taking into consideration multiplexing with PSSCH DMRS, phase tracking reference signals (PT- RS), CSI-RS, PSFCH, gap symbols, AGC symbols, and/or PSCCH in the slot. In some designs, the maximum number of SL-PRS resources in a slot of a shared resource pool may be (pre-)configured. [0131] In some designs, in dedicated resource pools, with regards to the procedure for determining the subset of resources to be reported to higher layers, when triggering the resource (re-)selection procedure, the higher layers provide the following parameters for candidate SL-PRS transmission(s), for example: resource pool from which to report SL- PRS resources, priority, delay budget, reservation period, list of resources for pre-emption and re-evaluation, and/or the set of SL-PRS resource identifiers that can include all (pre- )configured SL-PRS resource identifiers. [0132] In some aspects, in a dedicated resource pool for sidelink positioning as shown in FIG. 7D, the PSCCH symbols may be arranged at the beginning of the slot. In some aspects, the slot format example shown in FIG. 7D may allow multiple UEs to transmit PRS in the same slot, with the PSCCH resources of the UEs being arranged based on frequency- 41 QC2400014WO
Qualcomm Ref. No.2400014WO 42 division multiplexing (FDM) in the first part of the slot and the corresponding SL-PRS resources arranged based on TDM and/or FDM over the remainder of the slot. [0133] In some aspects, the PSCCH transmitted over the dedicated resource pool may follow the format of having two or three (contiguous) symbol durations (where the number of symbol durations may be (pre-)configured per resource pool), and {10, 12, 15, 20, 25} (contiguous) resource blocks over frequency (where the number of resource blocks may be (pre-)configured per resource pool). In some aspects, the SL-PRS transmitted over a dedicated resource pool may have the following characteristics including spanning over the whole bandwidth of the resource pool, having a comb pattern in frequency (e.g., having possible comb sizes: 2, 4, 6) and/or having {1, 2, …, 9} contiguous symbols. In some aspects, a different offset may be applied to the comb pattern in each symbol. In some aspects, the PSCCH and SL-PRS may be each preceded by a respective AGC symbol. [0134] FIG.8 is a timing diagram 800 illustrating sidelink operations performed by a UE over a sidelink shared or unlicensed frequency spectrum (SL-U), according to aspects of the disclosure. In some aspects, in order to perform the sidelink operations over SL-U, the UE may compete based on a listen-before-talk (LBT) procedure for obtaining a time duration for a channel (also referred to as a channel occupancy time (COT) and labeled as “COT” in FIG.8) during which the UE may perform sidelink transmission operations over the channel. [0135] In some aspects, the UE may sense that the channel is idle within the COT at time T0 and perform a first sidelink transmission operation TX1 that ends at time T1. In some aspects, to perform a second sidelink transmission operation TX2 within the COT, the UE may continue monitoring the channel during a transmission time gap (labeled as “TX GAP” in FIG.8) to check if the channel is idle. In some aspects, the UE may perform the second sidelink transmission operation TX2 within the COT in a case that the UE detects that the channel is idle (e.g., at time T2) within the transmission time gap TX GAP, where the second sidelink transmission operation TX2 may end at time T3. [0136] In some aspects, the SL-U may support multiple starting symbols within a slot. In some aspects, a UE may initiate a transmission not only over the start of a slot (e.g., at the slot boundary) but also over a later symbol in the slot. In some aspects, possible additional starting symbols in a slot (in addition to the first symbol in the slot) may be configured 42 QC2400014WO
Qualcomm Ref. No.2400014WO 43 for each resource pool individually. In some aspects, the rationale for the additional starting symbol(s) is to provide easier channel access to the UE, such that the UE, once it finds that the channel is idle, may not need to wait for the start of the next slot and thus lower the risk of some other device acquiring the channel when the UE is waiting for the starting symbol. However, the UE may still risk losing the opportunity to perform the second sidelink transmission operation TX2, with or without the additional in-slot starting symbols. [0137] In some aspects, in view of the discussion above, there may be two possible issues to be addressed when performing sidelink-based positioning operations using a dedicated resource pool over SL-U. The first issue is that there may be a transmission time gap between a SL-PRS transmission and a PSCCH transmission associated with the SL-PRS transmission. In some aspects, after the PSCCH transmission is performed, the UE may not be able to perform the associated SL-PRS transmission if the channel is not idle at the time the SL-PRS transmission is scheduled according to the PSCCH. In some aspects, it is very likely that, during the transmission time gap (e.g., the TX GAP illustrated above), there may be activities by other device(s) via other radio technology, e.g., WiFi, or other sidelink UEs whose SL-PRS transmissions are arranged based on TDM within the same slot. Therefore, this may result in the UE transmitting a wasted PSCCH (as the performance of the associated SL-PRS transmission as scheduled may not be guaranteed over SL-U). In some aspects, this may also result in the receiving UE mistakenly considering what it measured is the SL-PRS transmission as indicated by the PSCCH transmission, while the SL-PRS transmission may be indeed not transmitted as scheduled. [0138] Moreover, the second issue is that some communication standards may limit the PSCCH transmission to be at the beginning of a slot. In some aspects, such limitation may result in a disadvantage with respect to the channel access efficiency. [0139] In view of the above, an approach to address the above-noted issues may be having a transmission format in a dedicated resource pool for sidelink positioning over SL-U that does not include the transmission time gap (e.g., the TX GAP illustrated above) and/or the start of the PSCCH/SL-PRS transmissions is not limited to the first symbol of a slot. [0140] In some aspects, a wireless communication device (e.g., a UE with sidelink communication capability) may engage in a sidelink positioning procedure with a second wireless communication device (e.g., a peer UE with sidelink communication capability) 43 QC2400014WO
Qualcomm Ref. No.2400014WO 44 and may transmit to the second wireless communication device or receive from the second wireless communication device an SL-PRS transmission over a first set of resource elements and a PSCCH transmission over a second set of resource elements. In some aspects, the SL-PRS transmission is for the sidelink positioning procedure, and the PSCCH transmission is associated with the SL-PRS transmission. In some aspects, the wireless communication device may further transmit to the second wireless communication device or receive from the second wireless communication device an AGC transmission over a third set of resource elements. [0141] In some aspects, the first set of resource elements (for the SL-PRS transmission) and the second set of resource elements (for the PSCCH transmission) may be arranged based on FDM within an SL-PRS resource using a set of frequency resources in a frequency domain and a set of symbol durations in a slot in a time domain. In some aspects, the third set of resource elements (for the AGC transmission) may be arranged within the SL- PRS resource. In some aspects, SL-PRS resource may be arranged within a resource pool dedicated to sidelink positioning. In some aspects, the resource pool dedicated to sidelink positioning may be over SL-U. [0142] In some aspects, the third set of resource elements (for the AGC transmission) may be arranged in one or more symbols. In some aspects, the one or more symbols for the AGC transmission may be immediately followed by a set of symbols for the SL-PRS transmission and the PSCCH transmission. [0143] In some aspects, the first set of resource elements (for the SL-PRS transmission) may span over a first bandwidth, and the second set of resource elements (for the PSCCH transmission) may span over a second bandwidth that is the same as the first bandwidth. In some aspects, distributing the PSCCH transmission over the same bandwidth the SL- PRS transmission may have the benefit of having a uniform power spectral density over the bandwidth. [0144] With respect to allocating the resource elements for SL-PRS and PSCCH based on FDM, two non-limiting examples 900A and 900B are illustrated in FIGS.9A and 9B, according to aspects of the disclosure. In FIGS. 9A and 9B, frequency is represented horizontally (on the X axis) with frequency increasing (or decreasing) from left to right, while time is represented vertically (on the Y axis) and only one symbol is depicted for illustration purposes. 44 QC2400014WO
Qualcomm Ref. No.2400014WO 45 [0145] As shown in FIGS.9A and 9B, the resource elements for SL-PRS may be allocated based on a comb pattern. In some aspects, the comb pattern may be defined per resource block (e.g., including 12 resource elements) and then may repeat on a resource block by resource block basis throughout the entire SL-PRS resource bandwidth. In some aspects, a comb pattern may be described based on a comb size (e.g., the comb size N described above) and an offset value (e.g., an offset between the first resource element of the comb pattern in a resource block to a start of the resource block). In the example shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B, the SL-PRS may be allocated based on a comb-4 pattern (the comb size being four) with an offset value of one (shifted by one resource element from the start of the resource block). [0146] In some aspects, the resource elements for the PSCCH may be arranged based on another comb pattern that does not overlap the comb pattern of the SL-PRS. In some aspects, the comb pattern of the PSCCH and the comb pattern of the SL-PRS may have a same comb size. In some aspects, the comb pattern of the PSCCH may be based on adjusting the comb pattern of the SL-PRS by an offset. In some aspects, the offset value of the comb pattern of the PSCCH may be defined as an absolute value with respect to the start of the resource block, or as a relative value with respect to the offset of the comb pattern of the SL-PRS. In the example 900A shown in FIG.9A, the PSCCH may be allocated based on a comb-4 pattern (the comb size being four) with an absolute offset value of three or a relative offset value of two. In some aspects, the comb pattern of the PSCCH may have an offset value the same or different across different symbols. [0147] In some aspects, the resource elements for the PSCCH may be arranged to use all or part of the resource elements (within the SL-PRS resource bandwidth) that are not used by the comb pattern of the SL-PRS. In the example 900B shown in FIG. 9B, the PSCCH may be allocated to use all the resource elements within the SL-PRS resource bandwidth that are not used by the comb pattern of the SL-PRS. [0148] FIG.10 illustrates an example 1000 of allocating resource elements for SL-PRS, PSCCH, and corresponding AGC transmissions, according to aspects of the disclosure. In FIG. 10, time is represented horizontally (on the X axis) with one slot (e.g., including 14 symbols) depicted for illustration purposes, while frequency is represented vertically (on the Y axis) with one resource block (e.g., including 12 resource elements) depicted for illustration purposes. 45 QC2400014WO
Qualcomm Ref. No.2400014WO 46 [0149] In this example 1000, four SL-PRS resources (labeled “SL-PRS Resource 1,” “SL-PRS Resource 2,” “SL-PRS Resource 3,” and “SL-PRS Resource 4”) are arranged within a slot based on TDM, with SL-PRS Resource 1 using the first three symbols, SL-PRS Resource 2 using the next three symbols after SL-PRS Resource 1, SL-PRS Resource 3 using the next five symbols after SL-PRS Resource 2, and SL-PRS Resource 4 using the next two symbols after SL-PRS Resource 3. As shown in FIG. 10, the first symbol of each SL-PRS resource is for a corresponding AGC transmission (labeled “AGC”). Also, as shown in FIG. 10, the resource elements after the AGC symbol in each SL-PRS resource are arranged for SL-PRS and PSCCH (shaded differently and labeled as “SL- PRS” and “PSCCH,” respectively) based on FDM. [0150] As shown in FIG. 10, each SL-PRS resource by itself may correspond to a single contiguous transmission that may or may not start at the beginning of the slot. In some aspects, each SL-PRS resource in this example 1000 may have SL-PRS arranged according to an SL-PRS comb pattern and PSCCH arranged according to an PSCCH comb pattern, which may be a shifted version of the SL-PRS comb pattern. In this example 1000, SL-PRS and PSCCH in SL-PRS Resource 1 and SL-PRS Resource 4 may use all the resource elements other than the corresponding AGC symbol. In this example 1000, SL-PRS and PSCCH in SL-PRS Resource 2 and SL-PRS Resource 3 may use a portion of the resource elements other than the corresponding AGC symbol. In some aspects, the unused resource elements in SL-PRS Resource 2 and SL-PRS Resource 3 may be further arranged for additional SL-PRS based on FDM for multiple UEs. [0151] In some aspects, the offset pattern of PSCCH resource elements across symbols in an SL- PRS resource may be (pre-)configured for each SL-PRS resource, based on a cyclic shifted version of the offset pattern of SL-PRS (e.g., the SL-PRS offset across symbols may be {0, 2, 1, 3} while the PSCCH offset across symbols may be {2, 1, 3, 0}), or defined by a distance (e.g., in a number of resource elements) between the PSCCH resource elements and the SL-PRS resource elements. [0152] Accordingly, as shown in FIGS.9A, 9B, and 10, the set of resource elements for SL-PRS may be arranged based on an SL-PRS comb pattern (in time domain and/or in the frequency domain). In some aspects, as shown in FIGS. 9A, 9B, and 10, the set of resource elements for PSCCH may be based on an entirety or a subset of a complement of the set of resource elements for SL-PRS within the corresponding SL-PRS resource. 46 QC2400014WO
Qualcomm Ref. No.2400014WO 47 The set of resource elements for PSCCH may be arranged based on a PSCCH comb pattern. In some aspects, the PSCCH comb pattern may be based on adjusting the SL- PRS comb pattern by a relative offset (in time domain and/or in the frequency domain). [0153] In some aspects, configuring various transmissions that are arranged based on FDM to have the same duration in the time domain (e.g., the example 1000 in FIG. 10) may simplify transmission power requirements and AGC arrangements. In some aspects, if, based on an initial resource element arrangement and coding, the standalone PSCCH duration (e.g., in the number of symbols) is smaller than the standalone SL-PRS duration (e.g., in the number of symbols), the PSCCH duration may be extended to match the SL- PRS duration in the final resource element arrangement. In some aspects, the PSCCH duration may be extended based on duplicating the PSCCH (in whole or in part as needed). In some aspects, the PSCCH duration may be extended based on configuring the PSCCH payload to be rate-matched to the desirable number of symbols. [0154] In some aspects, if, based on an initial resource element arrangement and coding, the standalone PSCCH duration (e.g., in the number of symbols) is greater than the standalone SL-PRS duration (e.g., in the number of symbols), the SL-PRS duration may be extended to match the PSCCH duration in the final resource element arrangement. In some aspects, the SL-PRS duration may be extended based on adjusting the configuration of the SL-PRS duration to match the PSCCH duration. [0155] FIGS. 11A and 11B illustrate examples 1100A and 1100B of keeping the SL-PRS transmission power and the PSCCH transmission power constant across the symbol durations in a slot in the time domain, according to aspects of the disclosure. In FIGS. 11A and 11B, time is represented vertically (on the Y axis) with four symbols of a slot in the time domain representing a portion of an SL-PRS resource except the corresponding AGC symbol. The left parts of FIGS. 11A and 11B have frequency represented horizontally (on the X axis) with frequency increasing (or decreasing) from left to right. Also, the right parts of FIGS.11A and 11B have the total transmission power (labeled as “Total Power”) represented horizontally (on the X axis) with the power increasing from left to right. In FIG.11A, the combination of region 1112 and region 1116 represents the total transmission power of the SL-PRS and PSCCH, with region 1112 representing the portion attributable to the SL-PRS transmission power and region 1116 representing the portion attributable to the PSCCH transmission power. In FIG. 11B, the combination of 47 QC2400014WO
Qualcomm Ref. No.2400014WO 48 region 1122 and region 1126 represents the total transmission power of the SL-PRS and PSCCH, with region 1122 representing the portion attributable to the SL-PRS transmission power and region 1126 representing the portion attributable to the PSCCH transmission power. [0156] In some aspects, the per-symbol-duration transmission power may be kept constant throughout the symbol durations of a SL-PRS resource in a slot (including SL-PRS resource elements and PSCCH resource elements) to ensure the AGC measurement for an SL-PRS resource would be valid for all symbols of the SL-PRS resource. [0157] As shown in FIG. 11A, the resource elements for SL-PRS and the resource elements for PSCCH may both span across all the four symbols of the SL-PRS resource (except the AGC symbol, which is not depicted in FIG.11A). In some aspects, if the PSCCH duration and the SL-PRS duration match each other, the per-symbol-duration transmission power may be kept constant for all symbols. As shown in FIG. 11A, the portion of the total transmission power attributable to the SL-PRS transmission power (e.g., region 1112) may be constant across the four symbols, and the portion of the total transmission power attributable to the PSCCH transmission power (e.g., region 1116) may also be constant across the four symbols. [0158] As shown in FIG. 11B, the resource elements for SL-PRS may span across all the four symbol durations of the SL-PRS resource (except the AGC symbol, which is not depicted in FIG. 11B), while the resource elements for PSCCH may span across two symbol durations (the symbols in time segment I but not the symbols in time segment II) of the SL-PRS resource (except the AGC symbol). In some aspects, if the PSCCH duration and the SL-PRS duration do not matched each other, such as the PSCCH duration is less than the SL-PRS duration in this example, the symbol with SL-PRS but without PSCCH may have the transmission power of the corresponding resource elements boosted, such that the per-symbol-duration transmission power across symbols remain constant. As shown in FIG.11B, the transmission power for the resource elements in time segment II may be boosted such that the per-symbol-duration transmission power in time segment I (reflected on the total power based on region 1126 and a portion of region 1126 in time segment I) may remain the same as the per-symbol-duration in time segment II (reflected on the total power based on another portion of region 1126 in time segment II). 48 QC2400014WO
Qualcomm Ref. No.2400014WO 49 [0159] In some aspects, for the symbols that contain both SL-PRS and PSCCH, a ratio between a transmission power of a portion of the SL-PRS transmission within a symbol and a transmission power of a portion of the PSCCH transmission within the symbol may be based on a preconfigured value based on a communication standard, a signaled value provided by RRC signaling, sidelink RRC signaling, or sidelink LTE positioning protocol (SLPP) signaling, or a stored value based on implementation of the wireless communication device or implementation of the second wireless communication device. [0160] FIG. 12 illustrates an SL-PRS resource example 1200, according to aspects of the disclosure. In FIG.12, time is represented horizontally (on the X axis) with one slot (e.g., including 14 symbols) depicted for illustration purposes, while frequency is represented vertically (on the Y axis) with one resource block (e.g., including 12 resource elements) depicted for illustration purposes. In FIG. 12, the SL-PRS resource example 1200 uses three symbols 1212, 1216, and 1218. The resource elements in symbol 1212 are for an AGC transmission (i.e., an AGC symbol), and the resource elements in the symbols 1216 and 1218 are for SL-PRS and PSCCH as discussed in view of FIGS.9A-11B. [0161] In some aspects, the AGC symbol (e.g., at symbol 1212) preceding the PSCCH transmission and the SL-PRS transmission (e.g., at symbols 1216 and 1218) that are arranged based on FDM may be configured to have the same per-symbol-duration transmission power as that of the PSCCH transmission and the SL-PRS transmission. In some aspects, the signal components in each of the resource elements in the AGC symbol (e.g., in the symbol 1212) may be a copy of the resource elements in the subsequent symbol (e.g., in the symbol 1216). For example, the signal of the resource elements AGC- I may be a copy of the signal of the resource elements for SL-PRS in the symbol 1216; and the signal of the resource elements AGC-II may be a copy of the signal of the resource elements for PSCCH in the symbol 1216. In some aspects, the term “copy” described in this paragraph may correspond to the duplication of the signals. In some aspects, the term “copy” described in this paragraph may correspond to the generation of the signals based on the same sequence and/or modulation scheme (but not necessarily being exact duplicates). [0162] In some aspects, based on the resource element arrangement examples illustrated above with SL-PRS and PSCCH arranged based on FDM, it may not be practical to find the PSCCH first and then identify the associated SL-PRS based on the PSCCH payload. In 49 QC2400014WO
Qualcomm Ref. No.2400014WO 50 some aspects, for resource pools where PSCCH appears in the same symbols as the associated SL-PRS, the comb sizes and offset values for SL-PRS and PSCCH may be (pre-)configured on a per slot and SL-PRS resource basis. In some aspects, when all the non-SL-PRS resource elements are used by PSCCH, only SL-PRS comb size and the corresponding offset value may need to be (pre-)configured. [0163] In some aspects, the (pre-)configuration of the comb sizes and the corresponding offset values may be based on a pre-configured mapping that may depend on the SL-PRS resource identifier and/or a corresponding slot index. In a non-limiting example, K (a positive integer) sets of comb size/offset value combinations may be (pre-)configured, which may be prepared as part of a table in some examples. In this non-limiting example, each pair of a slot index and an SL-PRS resource identifier may be mapped to one of the K sets of comb size/offset value combinations. In this non-limiting example, provided that the resource elements are arranged to contain M (M=K/2) SL-PRS resources, a SL- PRS resource with SL-PRS identifier m (m = 0, 1, …, M-1) over a slot n may be mapped to the k-th set of the K sets of comb size/offset value combinations, where k = mod(n, 2)×M + m. [0164] Moreover, as illustrated with reference to FIGS. 9A and 9B, the resource elements for PSCCH may be arranged based on a PSCCH comb size and a PSCCH offset value that are based on the SL-PRS comb size and the SL-PRS offset value. In some aspects, once the SL-PRS comb pattern is determined, the PSCCH comb pattern may be determined accordingly. In some aspects, once the SL-PRS resource is identified, characteristics of the SL-PRS and PSCCH within the SL-PRS resource may be identified. [0165] In some aspects, the SL-PRS resource may be identifiable based on an SL-PRS resource identifier, a slot index of the SL-PRS resource, or a combination thereof. In some aspects, the characteristics of the SL-PRS and PSCCH that can be determined based on the SL- PRS resource identifier of the SL-PRS resource, the slot index of the SL-PRS resource, or a combination thereof, may include the SL-PRS comb pattern defined by a SL-PRS comb value and a corresponding offset value for SL-PRS, a PSCCH comb pattern defined by a PSCCH comb value and a corresponding offset value for the set of resource elements for PSCCH, a starting symbol position of the set of resource elements for SL-PRS and a number of SL-PRS symbols in a slot in the time domain, a starting symbol position of the set of resource elements for PSCCH and a number of PSCCH symbols in the slot in the 50 QC2400014WO
Qualcomm Ref. No.2400014WO 51 time domain, a frequency domain allocation of the set of resource elements for SL-PRS, a frequency domain allocation of the set of resource elements for PSCCH, or any combination thereof. [0166] FIG.13 is a flowchart illustrating a method 1300 of operating a wireless communication device, according to aspects of the disclosure. In some aspects, the wireless communication device in the method 1300 may correspond to the UE 300 or any UE described herein. In some aspects, the method 1300 may be performed by the one or more WWAN transceivers 310, the one or more processors 342, the memory 340, and/or the sidelink positioning component 348, any or all of which may be considered means for performing one or more of the following operations of method 1300. [0167] At operation 1310, the wireless communication device may engage in a sidelink positioning procedure with a second wireless communication device. In some aspects, operation 1310 may be performed by the one or more WWAN transceivers 310, the one or more processors 342, the memory 340, and/or the engaging in a sidelink positioning procedure with a sidelink positioning component 348, any or all of which may be considered means for performing operation 1310. [0168] At operation 1320, the wireless communication device may transmit to the second wireless communication device or receive from the second wireless communication device an SL-PRS transmission over a first set of resource elements and a PSCCH transmission over a second set of resource elements. In some aspects, the SL-PRS transmission may be for the sidelink positioning procedure, and the PSCCH transmission may be associated with the SL-PRS transmission. In some aspects, the first set of resource elements and the second set of resource elements may be arranged based on FDM within an SL-PRS resource, as illustrated based on the examples depicted in FIGS.9A-12. [0169] In some aspects, the SL-PRS resource may be within a resource pool dedicated to sidelink positioning. In some aspects, the first set of resource elements may span over a first bandwidth, and the second set of resource elements may span over a second bandwidth that is the same as the first bandwidth. [0170] In some aspects, operation 1320 may be performed by the one or more WWAN transceivers 310, the one or more processors 342, the memory 340, and/or the sidelink positioning component 348, any or all of which may be considered means for performing operation 1320. 51 QC2400014WO
Qualcomm Ref. No.2400014WO 52 [0171] In some aspects, the wireless communication device may transmit to the second wireless communication device or receiving from the second wireless communication device an automatic gain control (AGC) transmission over a third set of resource elements in the SL-PRS resource. In some aspects, the third set of resource elements may be arranged in one or more symbols immediately followed by a set of symbols for the SL-PRS transmission and the PSCCH transmission. [0172] In some aspects, the one or more symbols for the AGC transmission may correspond to a single symbol. In some aspects, as illustrated with reference to FIG. 12, a transmission power of the AGC transmission during the single symbol for the AGC transmission may be set to be the same as a transmission power of a portion of the SL-PRS transmission, a portion of the PSCCH transmission, or both, during a first symbol immediately after the single symbol for the AGC transmission. [0173] In some aspects, the first set of resource elements may be arranged based on a comb pattern. In some aspects, as illustrated with reference to FIGS.9A and 9B, the second set of resource elements may be arranged based on an entirety or a subset of a complement of the first set of resource elements within the set of frequency resources in the frequency domain and the set of symbol durations in the slot in the time domain. [0174] In some aspects, the first comb pattern defined by a first comb value and a first offset value for the first set of resource elements, a second comb pattern defined by a second comb value and a second offset value for the second set of resource elements, a first starting symbol position of the first set of resource elements and a number of SL-PRS symbols in a slot in a time domain, a second starting symbol position of the second set of resource elements in the slot and a number of PSCCH symbols in the time domain, a frequency domain allocation of the first set of resource elements, a frequency domain allocation of the second set of resource elements, or any combination thereof, may be determined based on a SL-PRS resource identifier of the SL-PRS resource, a slot index of the SL-PRS resource, or a combination thereof. In some aspects, the second set of resource elements may be arranged based on the second set of resource elements is arranged based on the second comb pattern. In some aspects, the second comb pattern may be based on adjusting the first comb pattern by a relative offset. [0175] In some aspects, the first set of resource elements and the second set of resource elements may be arranged to have a same number of symbols in a time domain. In some aspects, 52 QC2400014WO
Qualcomm Ref. No.2400014WO 53 as illustrated with reference to FIGS. 11A and 11B, a combination of the first set of resource elements and the second set of resource elements may have a constant per- symbol-duration transmission power throughout corresponding symbols of the SL-PRS resource in the time domain. In some aspects, a ratio between a transmission power of a portion of the SL-PRS transmission within a symbol and a transmission power of a portion of the PSCCH transmission within the symbol may be based on a preconfigured value based on a communication standard. In some aspects, the ratio may be based on a signaled value provided by RRC signaling, sidelink RRC signaling, or SLPP signaling. In some aspects, the ratio may be based on a stored value based on implementation of the wireless communication device or implementation of the second wireless communication device. [0176] As will be appreciated, a technical advantage of the method 1300 is arranging resource elements for SL-PRS and PSCCH based on FDM in an SL-PRS resource over SL-U such that the SL-PRS transmission and the PSCCH transmission may be performed in a consecutive number of symbols and may start at any symbol position in a slot. Accordingly, the performance of the SL-PRS transmission associated with the PSCCH transmission may be free from being omitted by eliminating the transmission gap therebetween and thus eliminating the risk of unable to detect an idle channel during the transmission gap. Also, with the PSCCH no longer mapped only to the first symbols of the slots, multiple starting symbols (within a slot) are now available to use (i.e., when a LBT procedure clears the channel, the UE does not need to wait till the start of the next slot, but can transmit over the next SL-PRS resource in the slot). In some aspects, the aforementioned features may improve resource efficiency and may reduce wasted PSCCH transmissions over SL-U. [0177] In the detailed description above it can be seen that different features are grouped together in examples. This manner of disclosure should not be understood as an intention that the example clauses have more features than are explicitly mentioned in each clause. Rather, the various aspects of the disclosure may include fewer than all features of an individual example clause disclosed. Therefore, the following clauses should hereby be deemed to be incorporated in the description, wherein each clause by itself can stand as a separate example. Although each dependent clause can refer in the clauses to a specific combination with one of the other clauses, the aspect(s) of that dependent clause are not 53 QC2400014WO
Qualcomm Ref. No.2400014WO 54 limited to the specific combination. It will be appreciated that other example clauses can also include a combination of the dependent clause aspect(s) with the subject matter of any other dependent clause or independent clause or a combination of any feature with other dependent and independent clauses. The various aspects disclosed herein expressly include these combinations, unless it is explicitly expressed or can be readily inferred that a specific combination is not intended (e.g., contradictory aspects, such as defining an element as both an electrical insulator and an electrical conductor). Furthermore, it is also intended that aspects of a clause can be included in any other independent clause, even if the clause is not directly dependent on the independent clause. [0178] Implementation examples are described in the following numbered clauses: [0179] Clause 1. A method of operating a wireless communication device, the method comprising: engaging in a sidelink positioning procedure with a second wireless communication device; and transmitting to the second wireless communication device or receiving from the second wireless communication device a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS) transmission over a first set of resource elements and a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) transmission over a second set of resource elements, wherein: the SL-PRS transmission is for the sidelink positioning procedure, the PSCCH transmission is associated with the SL-PRS transmission, and the first set of resource elements and the second set of resource elements are arranged based on frequency-division multiplexing (FDM) within an SL-PRS resource. [0180] Clause 2. The method of clause 1, wherein: the SL-PRS resource is within a resource pool dedicated to sidelink positioning. [0181] Clause 3. The method of any of clauses 1 to 2, further comprising: transmitting to the second wireless communication device or receiving from the second wireless communication device an automatic gain control (AGC) transmission over a third set of resource elements in the SL-PRS resource, wherein the third set of resource elements are arranged in one or more symbols immediately followed by a set of symbols for the SL- PRS transmission and the PSCCH transmission. [0182] Clause 4. The method of clause 3, wherein: the one or more symbols for the AGC transmission correspond to a single symbol, and a transmission power of the AGC transmission during the single symbol for the AGC transmission is set to be the same as a transmission power of a portion of the SL-PRS transmission, a portion of the PSCCH 54 QC2400014WO
Qualcomm Ref. No.2400014WO 55 transmission, or both, during a first symbol immediately after the single symbol for the AGC transmission. [0183] Clause 5. The method of any of clauses 1 to 4, wherein: the first set of resource elements spans over a first bandwidth, the second set of resource elements spans over a second bandwidth that is the same as the first bandwidth. [0184] Clause 6. The method of any of clauses 1 to 5, wherein: the first set of resource elements is arranged based on a first comb pattern, the second set of resource elements is arranged based on an entirety or a subset of a complement of the first set of resource elements within the SL-PRS resource. [0185] Clause 7. The method of clause 6, wherein: the first comb pattern defined by a first comb value and a first offset value for the first set of resource elements, a second comb pattern defined by a second comb value and a second offset value for the second set of resource elements, a first starting symbol position of the first set of resource elements and a number of SL-PRS symbols in a slot in a time domain, a second starting symbol position of the second set of resource elements in the slot and a number of PSCCH symbols in the time domain, a frequency domain allocation of the first set of resource elements, a frequency domain allocation of the second set of resource elements, or any combination thereof, are determined based on a SL-PRS resource identifier of the SL-PRS resource, a slot index of the SL-PRS resource, or a combination thereof. [0186] Clause 8. The method of clause 6, wherein: the second set of resource elements is arranged based on a second comb pattern. [0187] Clause 9. The method of clause 8, wherein: the second comb pattern is based on adjusting the first comb pattern by a relative offset. [0188] Clause 10. The method of any of clauses 1 to 9, wherein: the first set of resource elements and the second set of resource elements are arranged to have a same number of symbols in a time domain. [0189] Clause 11. The method of any of clauses 1 to 10, wherein: a combination of the first set of resource elements and the second set of resource elements has a constant per-symbol- duration transmission power throughout corresponding symbols of the SL-PRS resource in a time domain. [0190] Clause 12. The method of any of clauses 1 to 11, wherein: a ratio between a transmission power of a portion of the SL-PRS transmission within a symbol and a transmission power 55 QC2400014WO
Qualcomm Ref. No.2400014WO 56 of a portion of the PSCCH transmission within the symbol is based on: a preconfigured value based on a communication standard, a signaled value provided by radio resource control (RRC) signaling, sidelink RRC signaling, or sidelink Long-Term Evolution (LTE) positioning protocol (SLPP) signaling, or a stored value based on implementation of the wireless communication device or implementation of the second wireless communication device. [0191] Clause 13. A wireless communication device, comprising: one or more memories; one or more transceivers; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more memories and the one or more transceivers, the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, configured to: engage in a sidelink positioning procedure with a second wireless communication device; and transmit, via the one or more transceivers, to the second wireless communication device or receive from the second wireless communication device a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS) transmission over a first set of resource elements and a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) transmission over a second set of resource elements, wherein: the SL-PRS transmission is for the sidelink positioning procedure, the PSCCH transmission is associated with the SL-PRS transmission, and the first set of resource elements and the second set of resource elements are arranged based on frequency-division multiplexing (FDM) within an SL- PRS resource. [0192] Clause 14. The wireless communication device of clause 13, wherein: the SL-PRS resource is within a resource pool dedicated to sidelink positioning. [0193] Clause 15. The wireless communication device of any of clauses 13 to 14, wherein the one or more processors, either alone or in combination, are further configured to: transmit, via the one or more transceivers, to the second wireless communication device or receive from the second wireless communication device an automatic gain control (AGC) transmission over a third set of resource elements in the SL-PRS resource, wherein the third set of resource elements are arranged in one or more symbols immediately followed by a set of symbols for the SL-PRS transmission and the PSCCH transmission. [0194] Clause 16. The wireless communication device of clause 15, wherein: the one or more symbols for the AGC transmission correspond to a single symbol, and a transmission power of the AGC transmission during the single symbol for the AGC transmission is set to be the same as a transmission power of a portion of the SL-PRS transmission, a portion 56 QC2400014WO
Qualcomm Ref. No.2400014WO 57 of the PSCCH transmission, or both, during a first symbol immediately after the single symbol for the AGC transmission. [0195] Clause 17. The wireless communication device of any of clauses 13 to 16, wherein: the first set of resource elements spans over a first bandwidth, the second set of resource elements spans over a second bandwidth that is the same as the first bandwidth. [0196] Clause 18. The wireless communication device of any of clauses 13 to 17, wherein: the first set of resource elements is arranged based on a first comb pattern, the second set of resource elements is arranged based on an entirety or a subset of a complement of the first set of resource elements within the SL-PRS resource. [0197] Clause 19. The wireless communication device of clause 18, wherein: the first comb pattern defined by a first comb value and a first offset value for the first set of resource elements, a second comb pattern defined by a second comb value and a second offset value for the second set of resource elements, a first starting symbol position of the first set of resource elements and a number of SL-PRS symbols in a slot in a time domain, a second starting symbol position of the second set of resource elements in the slot and a number of PSCCH symbols in the time domain, a frequency domain allocation of the first set of resource elements, a frequency domain allocation of the second set of resource elements, or any combination thereof, are determined based on a SL-PRS resource identifier of the SL-PRS resource, a slot index of the SL-PRS resource, or a combination thereof. [0198] Clause 20. The wireless communication device of clause 18, wherein: the second set of resource elements is arranged based on a second comb pattern. [0199] Clause 21. The wireless communication device of clause 20, wherein: the second comb pattern is based on adjusting the first comb pattern by a relative offset. [0200] Clause 22. The wireless communication device of any of clauses 13 to 21, wherein: the first set of resource elements and the second set of resource elements are arranged to have a same number of symbols in a time domain. [0201] Clause 23. The wireless communication device of any of clauses 13 to 22, wherein: a combination of the first set of resource elements and the second set of resource elements has a constant per-symbol-duration transmission power throughout corresponding symbols of the SL-PRS resource in a time domain. 57 QC2400014WO
Qualcomm Ref. No.2400014WO 58 [0202] Clause 24. The wireless communication device of any of clauses 13 to 23, wherein: a ratio between a transmission power of a portion of the SL-PRS transmission within a symbol and a transmission power of a portion of the PSCCH transmission within the symbol is based on: a preconfigured value based on a communication standard, a signaled value provided by radio resource control (RRC) signaling, sidelink RRC signaling, or sidelink Long-Term Evolution (LTE) positioning protocol (SLPP) signaling, or a stored value based on implementation of the wireless communication device or implementation of the second wireless communication device. [0203] Clause 25. A wireless communication device, comprising: means for engaging in a sidelink positioning procedure with a second wireless communication device; and means for transmitting to the second wireless communication device or for receiving from the second wireless communication device a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS) transmission over a first set of resource elements and a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) transmission over a second set of resource elements, wherein: the SL-PRS transmission is for the sidelink positioning procedure, the PSCCH transmission is associated with the SL-PRS transmission, and the first set of resource elements and the second set of resource elements are arranged based on frequency-division multiplexing (FDM) within an SL-PRS resource. [0204] Clause 26. The wireless communication device of clause 25, wherein: the SL-PRS resource is within a resource pool dedicated to sidelink positioning. [0205] Clause 27. The wireless communication device of any of clauses 25 to 26, further comprising: means for transmitting to the second wireless communication device or for receiving from the second wireless communication device an automatic gain control (AGC) transmission over a third set of resource elements in the SL-PRS resource, wherein the third set of resource elements are arranged in one or more symbols immediately followed by a set of symbols for the SL-PRS transmission and the PSCCH transmission. [0206] Clause 28. The wireless communication device of clause 27, wherein: the one or more symbols for the AGC transmission correspond to a single symbol, and a transmission power of the AGC transmission during the single symbol for the AGC transmission is set to be the same as a transmission power of a portion of the SL-PRS transmission, a portion of the PSCCH transmission, or both, during a first symbol immediately after the single symbol for the AGC transmission. 58 QC2400014WO
Qualcomm Ref. No.2400014WO 59 [0207] Clause 29. The wireless communication device of any of clauses 25 to 28, wherein: the first set of resource elements spans over a first bandwidth, the second set of resource elements spans over a second bandwidth that is the same as the first bandwidth. [0208] Clause 30. The wireless communication device of any of clauses 25 to 29, wherein: the first set of resource elements is arranged based on a first comb pattern, the second set of resource elements is arranged based on an entirety or a subset of a complement of the first set of resource elements within the SL-PRS resource. [0209] Clause 31. The wireless communication device of clause 30, wherein: the first comb pattern defined by a first comb value and a first offset value for the first set of resource elements, a second comb pattern defined by a second comb value and a second offset value for the second set of resource elements, a first starting symbol position of the first set of resource elements and a number of SL-PRS symbols in a slot in a time domain, a second starting symbol position of the second set of resource elements in the slot and a number of PSCCH symbols in the time domain, a frequency domain allocation of the first set of resource elements, a frequency domain allocation of the second set of resource elements, or any combination thereof, are determined based on a SL-PRS resource identifier of the SL-PRS resource, a slot index of the SL-PRS resource, or a combination thereof. [0210] Clause 32. The wireless communication device of clause 30, wherein: the second set of resource elements is arranged based on a second comb pattern. [0211] Clause 33. The wireless communication device of clause 32, wherein: the second comb pattern is based on adjusting the first comb pattern by a relative offset. [0212] Clause 34. The wireless communication device of any of clauses 25 to 33, wherein: the first set of resource elements and the second set of resource elements are arranged to have a same number of symbols in a time domain. [0213] Clause 35. The wireless communication device of any of clauses 25 to 34, wherein: a combination of the first set of resource elements and the second set of resource elements has a constant per-symbol-duration transmission power throughout corresponding symbols of the SL-PRS resource in a time domain. [0214] Clause 36. The wireless communication device of any of clauses 25 to 35, wherein: a ratio between a transmission power of a portion of the SL-PRS transmission within a symbol and a transmission power of a portion of the PSCCH transmission within the 59 QC2400014WO
Qualcomm Ref. No.2400014WO 60 symbol is based on: a preconfigured value based on a communication standard, a signaled value provided by radio resource control (RRC) signaling, sidelink RRC signaling, or sidelink Long-Term Evolution (LTE) positioning protocol (SLPP) signaling, or a stored value based on implementation of the wireless communication device or implementation of the second wireless communication device. [0215] Clause 37. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a wireless communication device, cause the wireless communication device to: engage in a sidelink positioning procedure with a second wireless communication device; and transmit to the second wireless communication device or receive from the second wireless communication device a sidelink positioning reference signal (SL-PRS) transmission over a first set of resource elements and a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) transmission over a second set of resource elements, wherein: the SL-PRS transmission is for the sidelink positioning procedure, the PSCCH transmission is associated with the SL-PRS transmission, and the first set of resource elements and the second set of resource elements are arranged based on frequency-division multiplexing (FDM) within an SL-PRS resource. [0216] Clause 38. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 37, wherein: the SL- PRS resource is within a resource pool dedicated to sidelink positioning. [0217] Clause 39. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 37 to 38, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the wireless communication device, cause the wireless communication device to: transmit to the second wireless communication device or receive from the second wireless communication device an automatic gain control (AGC) transmission over a third set of resource elements in the SL-PRS resource, wherein the third set of resource elements are arranged in one or more symbols immediately followed by a set of symbols for the SL- PRS transmission and the PSCCH transmission. [0218] Clause 40. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 39, wherein: the one or more symbols for the AGC transmission correspond to a single symbol, and a transmission power of the AGC transmission during the single symbol for the AGC transmission is set to be the same as a transmission power of a portion of the SL-PRS transmission, a portion of the PSCCH transmission, or both, during a first symbol immediately after the single symbol for the AGC transmission. 60 QC2400014WO
Qualcomm Ref. No.2400014WO 61 [0219] Clause 41. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 37 to 40, wherein: the first set of resource elements spans over a first bandwidth, the second set of resource elements spans over a second bandwidth that is the same as the first bandwidth. [0220] Clause 42. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 37 to 41, wherein: the first set of resource elements is arranged based on a first comb pattern, the second set of resource elements is arranged based on an entirety or a subset of a complement of the first set of resource elements within the SL-PRS resource. [0221] Clause 43. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 42, wherein: the first comb pattern defined by a first comb value and a first offset value for the first set of resource elements, a second comb pattern defined by a second comb value and a second offset value for the second set of resource elements, a first starting symbol position of the first set of resource elements and a number of SL-PRS symbols in a slot in a time domain, a second starting symbol position of the second set of resource elements in the slot and a number of PSCCH symbols in the time domain, a frequency domain allocation of the first set of resource elements, a frequency domain allocation of the second set of resource elements, or any combination thereof, are determined based on a SL-PRS resource identifier of the SL-PRS resource, a slot index of the SL-PRS resource, or a combination thereof. [0222] Clause 44. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 42, wherein: the second set of resource elements is arranged based on a second comb pattern. [0223] Clause 45. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 44, wherein: the second comb pattern is based on adjusting the first comb pattern by a relative offset. [0224] Clause 46. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 37 to 45, wherein: the first set of resource elements and the second set of resource elements are arranged to have a same number of symbols in a time domain. [0225] Clause 47. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 37 to 46, wherein: a combination of the first set of resource elements and the second set of resource elements has a constant per-symbol-duration transmission power throughout corresponding symbols of the SL-PRS resource in a time domain. [0226] Clause 48. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses 37 to 47, wherein: a ratio between a transmission power of a portion of the SL-PRS transmission within a symbol and a transmission power of a portion of the PSCCH transmission within 61 QC2400014WO
Qualcomm Ref. No.2400014WO 62 the symbol is based on: a preconfigured value based on a communication standard, a signaled value provided by radio resource control (RRC) signaling, sidelink RRC signaling, or sidelink Long-Term Evolution (LTE) positioning protocol (SLPP) signaling, or a stored value based on implementation of the wireless communication device or implementation of the second wireless communication device. [0227] Those of skill in the art will appreciate that information and signals may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof. [0228] Further, those of skill in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present disclosure. [0229] The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented or performed with a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an ASIC, a field-programable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, for example, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of 62 QC2400014WO
Qualcomm Ref. No.2400014WO 63 microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration. [0230] The methods, sequences and/or algorithms described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. A software module may reside in random access memory (RAM), flash memory, read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), registers, hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An example storage medium is coupled to the processor such that the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium may be integral to the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in a user terminal (e.g., UE). In the alternative, the processor and the storage medium may reside as discrete components in a user terminal. [0231] In one or more example aspects, the functions described may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A storage media may be any available media that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of medium. Disk and disc, as used herein, includes compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and Blu-ray disc where disks usually 63 QC2400014WO
Qualcomm Ref. No.2400014WO 64 reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media. [0232] While the foregoing disclosure shows illustrative aspects of the disclosure, it should be noted that various changes and modifications could be made herein without departing from the scope of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims. For example, the functions, steps and/or actions of the method claims in accordance with the aspects of the disclosure described herein need not be performed in any particular order. Further, no component, function, action, or instruction described or claimed herein should be construed as critical or essential unless explicitly described as such. Furthermore, as used herein, the terms “set,” “group,” and the like are intended to include one or more of the stated elements. Also, as used herein, the terms “has,” “have,” “having,” “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,” “including,” and the like does not preclude the presence of one or more additional elements (e.g., an element “having” A may also have B). Further, the phrase “based on” is intended to mean “based, at least in part, on” unless explicitly stated otherwise. Also, as used herein, the term “or” is intended to be inclusive when used in a series and may be used interchangeably with “and/or,” unless explicitly stated otherwise (e.g., if used in combination with “either” or “only one of”) or the alternatives are mutually exclusive (e.g., “one or more” should not be interpreted as “one and more”). Furthermore, although components, functions, actions, and instructions may be described or claimed in the singular, the plural is contemplated unless limitation to the singular is explicitly stated. Accordingly, as used herein, the articles “a,” “an,” “the,” and “said” are intended to include one or more of the stated elements. Additionally, as used herein, the terms “at least one” and “one or more” encompass “one” component, function, action, or instruction performing or capable of performing a described or claimed functionality and also “two or more” components, functions, actions, or instructions performing or capable of performing a described or claimed functionality in combination. 64 QC2400014WO