阅读说明：本技术 用于确定视距(los)的系统和方法 (System and method for determining line of sight (LOS) ) 是由 乔治·卡尔切夫 菲利普·萨特瑞 肖维民 于 2019-08-16 设计创作，主要内容包括：一种由第一设备执行的方法包括：与第二设备传送包括双极化过程指示符的LOS确定请求,所述双极化过程指示符指示在第一设备与第二设备之间的传输的LOS表征中使用双极化过程；测量信道的第一资源上的第一信号；以及测量信道的第二资源上的第二信号,其中,第一信号和第二信号包括具有正交极化的单个比特序列并且在频域或码域中被复用。(A method performed by a first device includes: transmitting, with the second device, an LOS determination request comprising a dual-polarized process indicator indicating that a dual-polarized process is used in an LOS representation of a transmission between the first device and the second device; measuring a first signal on a first resource of a channel; and measuring a second signal on a second resource of the channel, wherein the first signal and the second signal comprise a single bit sequence having orthogonal polarizations and are multiplexed in the frequency or code domain.)

1. A method performed by a first device, the method comprising:

transmitting, by the first device, a line-of-sight (LOS) determination request with a second device including a dual-polarized process indicator indicating that a dual-polarized process is used in a LOS representation of a transmission between the first device and the second device;

measuring, by the first device, a first signal on a first resource of a channel; and

measuring, by the first device, a second signal on a second resource of the channel, wherein the first signal and the second signal comprise a single bit sequence having orthogonal polarizations and are multiplexed in a frequency or code domain.

2. The method of claim 1, measuring the first signal comprises measuring, by the first device, a linear average of a power contribution of the first resource transmitting the first signal, and measuring the second signal comprises measuring, by the first device, a linear average of a power contribution of the second resource transmitting the second signal.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising sending, by the first device, the measurement of the first signal and the measurement of the second signal to the second device.

4. The method of any of claims 1 to 3, further comprising receiving, by the first device, the LOS representation of the transmission from the second device.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining, by the first device, that a difference between the measurement of the first signal and the measurement of the second signal satisfies a specified threshold, and based on determining, by the first device, that the difference between the measurement of the first signal and the measurement of the second signal satisfies the specified threshold,

determining, by the first device, that the LOS representation of the transmission comprises an LOS transmission.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining, by the first device, that a difference between the measurement of the first signal and the measurement of the second signal does not satisfy a specified threshold, and based on determining, by the first device, that the difference between the measurement of the first signal and the measurement of the second signal does not satisfy the specified threshold,

determining, by the first device, that the LOS representation of the transmission comprises a non-LOS (NLOS) transmission.

7. The method of any of claims 1, 5 or 6, further comprising sending, by the first device, the LOS representation of the transmission.

8. The method of any of claims 1-7, measuring the first signal or measuring the second signal comprising measuring a Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) value or a Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ) value.

9. The method of any of claims 1 to 7, communicating the LOS determination request comprising sending the LOS determination request or receiving the LOS determination request.

10. The method of any of claims 1-9, the first device comprising a User Equipment (UE) and the second device comprising an access node.

11. The method of any of claims 1 to 10, the LOS determination request further comprising a measurement gap specifying a location of the first and second resources.

12. The method of any of claims 1 to 10, the LOS determination request further comprising a first measurement gap specifying a location of the first resource and a second measurement gap specifying a location of the second resource.

13. The method of any of claims 1 to 10, scrambling the first and second signals with different orthogonal codes.

14. A method performed by a first device, the method comprising:

transmitting, by the first device, a line-of-sight (LOS) determination request with a second device including a dual-polarized process indicator indicating that a dual-polarized process is used in a LOS representation of a transmission between the first device and the second device;

transmitting, by the first device, a first signal on a first resource of a channel; and

transmitting, by the first device, a second signal on a second resource of the channel, wherein the first signal and the second signal comprise a single bit sequence having orthogonal polarizations and are multiplexed in a frequency or code domain.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising receiving, by the first device, the measurement of the first signal and the measurement of the second signal from the second device.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

determining, by the first device, that a difference between the measurement of the first signal and the measurement of the second signal satisfies a specified threshold, and based on determining, by the first device, that the difference between the measurement of the first signal and the measurement of the second signal satisfies the specified threshold,

determining, by the first device, that the LOS representation of the transmission comprises an LOS transmission.

17. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

determining, by the first device, that a difference between the measurement of the first signal and the measurement of the second signal does not satisfy a specified threshold, and based on determining, by the first device, that the difference between the measurement of the first signal and the measurement of the second signal does not satisfy the specified threshold,

determining, by the first device, that the LOS representation of the transmission comprises a non-LOS (NLOS) transmission.

18. The method of any of claims 16 to 17, further comprising sending, by the first device, the LOS representation of the transmission.

19. The method of claim 14, further comprising receiving, by the first device, the LOS representation of the channel from the second device.

20. The method of any of claims 14 to 19, communicating the LOS determination request comprising sending the LOS determination request or receiving the LOS determination request.

21. A first device, comprising:

a non-transitory storage device comprising instructions, an

One or more processors in communication with the storage device, the one or more processors executing the instructions to:

communicating a line-of-sight (LOS) determination request with a second device including a dual-polarized process indicator indicating that a dual-polarized process is used in a LOS representation of a transmission between the first device and the second device,

measuring a first signal on a first resource of a channel, an

Measuring a second signal on a second resource of the channel, wherein the first signal and the second signal comprise a single bit sequence with orthogonal polarizations and are multiplexed in a frequency or code domain.

22. The first device of claim 21, the one or more processors further execute the instructions to send the measurement of the first signal and the measurement of the second signal to the second device.

23. The first device of any of claims 21-22, the one or more processors further execute the instructions to receive the LOS representation of the transmission from the second device.

24. The first device of claim 21, the one or more processors further execute the instructions to: determining that a difference between the measurement of the first signal and the measurement of the second signal satisfies a specified threshold, and determining that the LOS representation of the transmission comprises an LOS transmission based on determining that the difference between the measurement of the first signal and the measurement of the second signal satisfies the specified threshold.

25. The first device of claim 21, the one or more processors further execute the instructions to: determining that a difference between the measurement of the first signal and the measurement of the second signal does not satisfy a specified threshold, and based on determining that the difference between the measurement of the first signal and the measurement of the second signal does not satisfy the specified threshold, determining that the LOS characterization of the transmission comprises a non-LOS (nlos) transmission.

26. The first device of any of claims 21, 24 or 25, said one or more processors further executing said instructions to send said LOS representation of said transmission.

27. The first device of any of claims 21 to 26, said one or more processors further executing said instructions to send or receive said LOS determination request.

28. A first device, comprising:

a non-transitory storage device comprising instructions, an

One or more processors in communication with the storage device, the one or more processors executing the instructions to:

communicating a line-of-sight (LOS) determination request with a second device including a dual-polarized process indicator indicating that a dual-polarized process is used in a LOS representation of a transmission between the first device and the second device,

transmitting a first signal on a first resource of a channel, an

Transmitting a second signal on a second resource of the channel, wherein the first signal and the second signal comprise a single bit sequence with orthogonal polarizations and are multiplexed in a frequency or code domain.

29. The first device of claim 28, the one or more processors further execute the instructions to receive the measurement of the first signal and the measurement of the second signal from the second device.

30. The first device of claim 29, the one or more processors further execute the instructions to: determining that a difference between the measurement of the first signal and the measurement of the second signal satisfies a specified threshold, and determining that the LOS representation of the transmission comprises an LOS transmission based on determining that the difference between the measurement of the first signal and the measurement of the second signal satisfies the specified threshold.

31. The first device of claim 29, the one or more processors further execute the instructions to: determining that a difference between the measurement of the first signal and the measurement of the second signal does not satisfy a specified threshold, and based on determining that the difference between the measurement of the first signal and the measurement of the second signal does not satisfy the specified threshold, determining that the LOS characterization of the transmission comprises a non-LOS (nlos) transmission.

32. The first device of any of claims 30 to 31, the one or more processors further execute the instructions to send the LOS representation of the transmission.

33. The first device of claim 28, said one or more processors further executing said instructions to receive a LOS characterization of said channel from said second device.

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates generally to systems and methods for digital communications, and in particular embodiments, to systems and methods for determining line of sight (LOS).

Background

Time of flight (ToF) is used in many applications to estimate the distance between a transmitter and a receiver. ToF is defined as the duration of time a wave signal propagates between a transmitter and a receiver. One method for estimating ToF is based on exchanging multiple frames with time stamps between the sender and the receiver. When the ToF is determined, a simple multiplication with the speed of light provides an estimate of the distance between the transmitter and the receiver. Once the distances from the unknown locations to at least three fixed points (with known coordinates) are determined, a simple triangulation (multilateration) algorithm can be used to obtain the locations of the unknown points.

When a line of sight (LOS) path between the transmitter and the receiver is not available and the communication is only non-line of sight (NLOS), due to reflections, several copies of the transmitted signal are received, wherein each copy of the signal corresponds to a different propagation path between the transmitter and the receiver and thus has a different ToF. In the case of NLOS, the ToF for each path corresponds to the length of the path, not to the geometric distance between the sender and the receiver. In this case, the ToF-based path length is significantly larger than the actual distance between the transmitter and the receiver, which in turn leads to errors in the position estimation.

Therefore, it is necessary to know whether the signal propagation (or a copy thereof) used for the transmission corresponds to LOS propagation, in order to determine the exact distance between the transmitter and the receiver.

Disclosure of Invention

According to a first aspect, a method performed by a first device is provided. The method comprises the following steps: transmitting, by the first device, a line-of-sight (LOS) determination request with the second device including a dual-polarized process indicator indicating that a dual-polarized process is used in a LOS representation of a transmission between the first device and the second device; measuring, by a first device, a first signal on a first resource of a channel; and measuring, by the first device, a second signal on a second resource of the channel, wherein the first signal and the second signal comprise a single bit sequence having orthogonal polarizations and are multiplexed in a frequency or code domain.

In a first implementation form of the method according to the first aspect as such, measuring the first signal comprises measuring, by the first device, a linear average of a power contribution of a first resource transmitting the first signal, and measuring the second signal comprises measuring, by the first device, a linear average of a power contribution of a second resource transmitting the second signal.

In a second implementation form of the method according to the first aspect as such or any preceding implementation form of the first aspect, further comprising sending, by the first device, the measurement of the first signal and the measurement of the second signal to the second device.

In a third implementation form of the method according to the first aspect as such or any preceding implementation form of the first aspect, further comprising receiving, by the first device, the transmitted LOS representation from the second device.

In a fourth implementation form of the method according to the first aspect as such or any of the preceding implementation forms of the first aspect, further comprising: determining, by the first device, that a difference between the measurement of the first signal and the measurement of the second signal satisfies a specified threshold, and determining, by the first device, that the LOS characterization of the transmission comprises an LOS transmission based on determining, by the first device, that the difference between the measurement of the first signal and the measurement of the second signal satisfies the specified threshold.

In a fifth implementation form of the method according to the first aspect as such or any of the preceding implementation forms of the first aspect, further comprising: determining, by the first device, that a difference between the measurement of the first signal and the measurement of the second signal does not satisfy a specified threshold, and determining, by the first device, that the LOS characterization of the transmission comprises a non-LOS (NLOS) transmission based on determining, by the first device, that the difference between the measurement of the first signal and the measurement of the second signal does not satisfy the specified threshold.

In a sixth implementation form of the method according to the first aspect as such or any preceding implementation form of the first aspect, further comprising sending, by the first device, the LOS representation of the transmission.

In a seventh implementation form of the method according to the first aspect as such or any preceding implementation form of the first aspect, measuring the first signal or measuring the second signal comprises measuring a Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) value or a Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ) value.

In an eighth implementation form of the method according to the first aspect as such or any preceding implementation form of the first aspect, the transmitting the LOS determination request comprises sending a LOS determination request or receiving a LOS determination request.

In a ninth implementation form of the method according to the first aspect as such or any of the preceding implementation forms of the first aspect, the first device comprises a User Equipment (UE) and the second device comprises an access node.

In a tenth implementation form of the method according to the first aspect as such or any preceding implementation form of the first aspect, the LOS determination request further comprises a measurement gap specifying the location of the first and second resources.

In an eleventh implementation form of the method according to the first aspect as such or any preceding implementation form of the first aspect, the LOS determination request further comprises a first measurement gap specifying a location of the first resource and a second measurement gap specifying a location of the second resource.

In a twelfth implementation form of the method according to the first aspect as such or any of the preceding implementation forms of the first aspect, the first signal and the second signal are scrambled with different orthogonal codes.

According to a second aspect, a method performed by a first device is provided. The method comprises the following steps: transmitting, by the first device, an LOS determination request with the second device including a dual-polarized process indicator indicating that a dual-polarized process is used in an LOS representation of a transmission between the first device and the second device; transmitting, by a first device, a first signal on a first resource of a channel; and transmitting, by the first device, a second signal on a second resource of the channel, wherein the first signal and the second signal comprise a single bit sequence having orthogonal polarizations and are multiplexed in a frequency or code domain.

In a first implementation form of the method according to the second aspect as such, further comprising receiving, by the first device, the measurement of the first signal and the measurement of the second signal from the second device.

In a second implementation form of the method according to the second aspect as such or any preceding implementation form of the second aspect, further comprising: determining, by the first device, that a difference between the measurement of the first signal and the measurement of the second signal satisfies a specified threshold, and determining, by the first device, that the LOS characterization of the transmission comprises an LOS transmission based on determining, by the first device, that the difference between the measurement of the first signal and the measurement of the second signal satisfies the specified threshold.

In a third implementation form of the method according to the second aspect as such or any preceding implementation form of the second aspect, further comprising: determining, by the first device, that a difference between the measurement of the first signal and the measurement of the second signal does not satisfy a specified threshold, and determining, by the first device, that the LOS characterization of the transmission comprises an NLOS transmission based on determining, by the first device, that the difference between the measurement of the first signal and the measurement of the second signal does not satisfy the specified threshold.

In a fourth implementation form of the method according to the second aspect as such or any preceding implementation form of the second aspect, further comprising sending, by the first device, the LOS representation of the transmission.

In a fifth implementation form of the method according to the second aspect as such or any preceding implementation form of the second aspect, further comprising receiving, by the first device, a LOS characterization of the channel from the second device.

In a sixth implementation form of the method according to the second aspect as such or any preceding implementation form of the second aspect, the transmitting the LOS determination request comprises sending or receiving a LOS determination request.

According to a third aspect, a first device is provided. The first device includes: a non-transitory storage device comprising instructions; and one or more processors in communication with the storage device. The one or more processors execute instructions to: transmitting, with the second device, an LOS determination request comprising a dual-polarized process indicator indicating that a dual-polarized process is used in an LOS representation of a transmission between the first device and the second device; measuring a first signal on a first resource of a channel; and measuring a second signal on a second resource of the channel, wherein the first signal and the second signal comprise a single bit sequence having orthogonal polarizations and are multiplexed in the frequency or code domain.

In a first implementation form of the first device according to the third aspect as such, the one or more processors further execute the instructions to send the measurement of the first signal and the measurement of the second signal to the second device.

In a second implementation form of the first device according to the third aspect as such or any preceding implementation form of the third aspect, the one or more processors further execute the instructions to receive the transmitted LOS representation from the second device.

In a third implementation form of the first apparatus according to the third aspect as such or any preceding implementation form of the third aspect, the one or more processors further execute the instructions to: the method further includes determining that a difference between the measurement of the first signal and the measurement of the second signal satisfies a specified threshold, and determining that the LOS characterization of the transmission comprises an LOS transmission based on determining that the difference between the measurement of the first signal and the measurement of the second signal satisfies the specified threshold.

In a fourth implementation form of the first apparatus according to the third aspect as such or any of the preceding implementation forms of the third aspect, the one or more processors further execute the instructions to: determining that a difference between the measurement of the first signal and the measurement of the second signal does not satisfy a specified threshold, and determining that the LOS characterization of the transmission comprises an NLOS transmission based on determining that the difference between the measurement of the first signal and the measurement of the second signal does not satisfy the specified threshold.

In a fifth implementation form of the first apparatus according to the third aspect as such or any preceding implementation form of the third aspect, the one or more processors further execute the instructions to send a LOS representation of the transmission.

In a sixth implementation form of the first apparatus according to the third aspect as such or any preceding implementation form of the third aspect, the one or more processors further execute the instructions to send or receive a LOS determination request.

According to a fourth aspect, a first device is provided. The first device includes: a non-transitory storage device comprising instructions; and one or more processors in communication with the storage device. The one or more processors execute instructions to: transmitting, with the second device, an LOS determination request comprising a dual-polarized process indicator indicating that a dual-polarized process is used in an LOS representation of a transmission between the first device and the second device; transmitting a first signal on a first resource of a channel; and transmitting a second signal on a second resource of the channel, wherein the first signal and the second signal comprise a single bit sequence having orthogonal polarizations and are multiplexed in the frequency or code domain.

In a first implementation form of the first device according to the fourth aspect as such, the one or more processors further execute the instructions to receive the measurement of the first signal and the measurement of the second signal from the second device.

In a second implementation form of the first apparatus according to the fourth aspect as such or any of the preceding implementation forms of the fourth aspect, the one or more processors further execute the instructions to: the method further includes determining that a difference between the measurement of the first signal and the measurement of the second signal satisfies a specified threshold, and determining that the LOS characterization of the transmission comprises an LOS transmission based on determining that the difference between the measurement of the first signal and the measurement of the second signal satisfies the specified threshold.

In a third implementation form of the first apparatus according to the fourth aspect as such or any of the preceding implementation forms of the fourth aspect, the one or more processors further execute the instructions to: determining that a difference between the measurement of the first signal and the measurement of the second signal does not satisfy a specified threshold, and determining that the LOS characterization of the transmission comprises an NLOS transmission based on determining that the difference between the measurement of the first signal and the measurement of the second signal does not satisfy the specified threshold.

In a fourth implementation form of the first device according to the fourth aspect as such or any preceding implementation form of the fourth aspect, the one or more processors further execute the instructions to send the LOS representation of the transmission.

In a fifth implementation form of the first device according to the fourth aspect as such or any preceding implementation form of the fourth aspect, the one or more processors further execute the instructions to receive a LOS characterization of the channel from the second device.

An advantage of example embodiments is that power consumption associated with monitoring reference signals is reduced, thereby reducing overall power consumption of the communication device.

Another advantage of example embodiments is that the number of reference signal monitoring sessions is reduced, thereby further reducing the overall power consumption of the communication device.

Drawings

For a more complete understanding of the present disclosure and the advantages thereof, reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a network for communicating data;

fig. 2A shows an example communication system in the case where the propagation between the sender and the receiver is NLOS propagation;

fig. 2B illustrates an example communication system that may be used to implement the apparatus and methods disclosed herein where the propagation between the transmitter and receiver is characterized as LOS propagation (or NLOS beam, NLOS ray, NLOS path, etc.);

FIG. 3A shows an example of a linearly polarized electromagnetic wave;

FIG. 3B shows an example of a circularly polarized electromagnetic wave;

fig. 3C and 3D show examples of the electromagnetic wave 305 during reflection;

fig. 4A shows an example of a signal flow diagram of a first example embodiment of a method for determining a LOS according to an example embodiment presented herein;

fig. 4B shows an example of an alternative signal flow diagram of the first example embodiment of a method for determining a LOS according to the example embodiments presented herein;

fig. 4C shows an example of another alternative signal flow diagram of the first example embodiment of a method for determining a LOS in accordance with the example embodiments presented herein;

fig. 5 illustrates an example of a communication system where propagation between a transmitter and a receiver is NLOS with a cylindrical reflective region utilizing a cylindrical reflective surface that blocks LOS communication (e.g., a beam) according to example embodiments presented herein;

fig. 6A shows an example of a signal flow diagram of a second example embodiment of a method for determining a LOS according to the example embodiments presented herein;

fig. 6B shows an example of an alternative signal flow diagram of a second example embodiment of a method for determining a LOS in accordance with the example embodiments presented herein;

fig. 7 shows an example of a signal flow diagram of a third example embodiment of a method for determining a LOS according to the example embodiments presented herein;

fig. 8A shows a flowchart of an example method for UE operation in a UE-centric solution according to an example embodiment presented herein;

fig. 8B shows a flowchart of an example method for a gNB operation in a UE-centric solution according to an example embodiment presented herein;

fig. 9A shows a flowchart of an example method for UE operation in a gNB-centric solution according to an example embodiment presented herein;

fig. 9B shows a flowchart of an example method for a gNB operation in a gNB-centric solution according to an example embodiment presented herein;

fig. 10 illustrates a flowchart of example operations occurring in a UE-centric LOS measurement solution, according to example embodiments presented herein;

fig. 11 shows a flowchart of example operations occurring in a gNB in a UE-centric LOS measurement solution, according to example embodiments presented herein;

FIG. 12 illustrates an example communication system according to example embodiments presented herein;

13A and 13B illustrate example devices that may implement methods and teachings in accordance with this disclosure;

FIG. 14 is a block diagram of a computing system that may be used to implement the apparatus and methods disclosed herein;

FIG. 15 shows a block diagram of an example embodiment processing system for performing the methods described herein; and

fig. 16 shows a block diagram of a transceiver adapted to send and receive signaling over a telecommunications network according to an example embodiment presented herein.

Detailed Description

In the following description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific example embodiments which may be practiced. These exemplary embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the disclosure, and it is to be understood that other exemplary embodiments may be utilized and that structural, logical and electrical changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. The following description of example embodiments is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present disclosure is defined by the appended claims.

The making and using of embodiments of the present disclosure are discussed in detail below. It should be understood, however, that the concepts disclosed herein may be embodied in a wide variety of specific environments and that the specific example embodiments discussed herein are merely exemplary and are not intended to limit the scope of the claims. Furthermore, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions and alterations can be made herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims. Although aspects of the present invention are described primarily in the context of 5G wireless networks, it should also be understood that these inventive aspects may also apply to 4G and 3G wireless networks.

In an example embodiment, the functions or algorithms described herein may be implemented in software. The software may be comprised of computer-executable instructions stored on a computer-readable medium or computer-readable storage device, such as one or more non-transitory memories or other types of hardware-based storage devices, whether local or networked. Further, such functions correspond to modules, which may be software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. Multiple functions may be performed in one or more modules as desired, and the example embodiments described are merely examples. Software may be executed on a digital signal processor, ASIC, microprocessor, or other type of processor running on a computer system (e.g., personal computer, server, or other computer system) to transform such computer system into a specifically programmed machine.

Fig. 1 shows a network 100 for transmitting data. The network 100 includes an access node 110 having a coverage area 112, a plurality of User Equipments (UEs) 120, 121, and a backhaul network 130. As shown, base station 110 establishes an uplink (dashed line) or downlink (solid line) connection with UEs 120, 121 for carrying wireless transmissions from UEs 120, 121 to base station 110 and from base station 110 to UEs 120, 121. The wireless transmissions over the uplink or downlink connections may include data communicated between the UEs 120, 121, as well as data communicated to and from a remote site (not shown) over the backhaul network 130. As used herein, the term "access node" refers to any component (or collection of components) configured to provide wireless access to a network, such as a base station, next generation base station (gNB), E-UTRAN base station (eNB), macro cell, femto cell, Wi-Fi Access Point (AP), or other wireless enabled device. An Access node may provide wireless Access in accordance with one or more wireless communication protocols, such as Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-advanced (LTE-a), 5G LTE, 5G NR, High Speed Packet Access (HSPA), Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/G/n/ac/ad/ax/ay/be, and so forth. As used herein, the term "UE" refers to any component (or collection of components) capable of establishing a wireless connection with a base station, such as mobile devices, mobile Stations (STAs), IoT devices (e.g., smart sensors, etc.), users, stations, and other wireless-enabled devices. In some example embodiments, the network 100 may include various other wireless devices, such as repeaters, low power nodes, and the like.

When a direct or line-of-sight (LOS) path between a transmitter and a receiver is blocked, propagation between the transmitter and the receiver may pass through a non-line-of-sight (NLOS) path. In other words, the signal propagation is by reflection and diffraction.

Fig. 2A shows an example communication system 200, in this case the propagation between the transmitter 202 and the receiver 204 is NLOS propagation. The communication system 200 may be used to implement the apparatus and methods disclosed herein. System 200 may implement one or more channel access methods including, but not limited to, methods such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), or single-carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA).

In this example, the communication system 200 includes a transmitter 202 and a receiver 204. Although a certain number of these components or elements are shown in fig. 2A, any number of these components or elements may be included in system 200. In fig. 2A, both the transmitter 202 and the receiver 204 may transmit and receive electromagnetic waves at multiple polarizations. And the transmitter 202 and the receiver 204 may be any entity capable of transmitting and receiving, including a base station, a mobile terminal, an access point, a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) station, and so on.

The transmitter 202 may repeatedly transmit the same bit sequence carried in an electromagnetic wave having different polarizations (e.g., vertical polarization, horizontal polarization, and 45 degree polarization) to the receiver 204. The receiver 204 may receive the signal transmitted by the transmitter 202. For multi-path propagation, each path corresponds to one copy of the same transmission (which means that each path corresponds to at least one reflection), e.g., the copies of 210 and 212 in fig. 2A. Where the propagation between the transmitter 202 and the receiver 204 is characterized as NLOS propagation (or NLOS beam, NLOS ray, etc.), the barrier 208 is located between the transmitter 202 and the receiver 204. The signal copy will not pass through barrier 208, e.g., signal copy 210 is blocked by barrier 208. A reflector 206 may also be included between the transmitter 202 and the receiver 204. A signal copy, such as signal copy 212, may be reflected by reflector 206 and then continue to receiver 204. The barrier 208 may block signals sent to the receiver 204. In this example, for each transmission, the receiver 204 receives one or more copies of the same signal propagating on different paths, none of which correspond to an unobstructed (direct or LOS) path. Thus, the communication between the transmitter 202 and the receiver 204 is NLOS communication.

Fig. 2B illustrates an example communication system 230 that may be used to implement the apparatus and methods disclosed herein, in which case the propagation between the transmitter 202 and the receiver 204 is characterized as LOS propagation (or NLOS beam, NLOS ray, etc.). In this case, there is no barrier between the transmitter 202 and the receiver 204, and there is an unobstructed direct path 230 between the transmitter 202 and the receiver 204 such that the signal on the path 230 is unobstructed. Thus, the communication between the transmitter 202 and the receiver 204 is an LOS communication.

The transmitter 202 in the present disclosure is, in some examples, a device that transmits signals to the receiver 204, such as an access node, base station, mobile terminal, access point, WLAN station, UE, and the like. And the receiver 204 in the present disclosure is, in some examples, a device that receives signals from the transmitter 202, e.g., an access node, a base station, a mobile terminal, an access point, a WLAN station, a UE, etc. In any example, the functionality of the sender 202 and the functionality of the receiver 204 may be interchanged.

Fig. 3A shows an example of a linearly polarized electromagnetic wave 302. In this example, if the electric field E vector oscillates in a single fixed plane, the signal wave, e.g., electromagnetic wave 202, is linearly polarized in the "y" direction in this example (e.g., in the "y" direction of fig. 3A). In fig. 3A, "E" represents an electric field intensity vector of the signal wave, "B" represents a magnetic field intensity vector of the signal wave, and "C" represents a propagation velocity of the electromagnetic wave. The signal wave in fig. 3A is linearly polarized because "E" oscillates only in the plane (x-y), and the signal wave (e.g., electromagnetic wave) is a combination of two vector oscillations (e.g., magnetic field strength B and electric field strength E).

Fig. 3B shows an example of a circularly polarized electromagnetic wave 304. In fig. 3B, the electric field strength vector of the electromagnetic wave 304 rotates 360 degrees within a period (e.g., period 306), which is a minimum time interval for 360 degrees of rotation.

Fig. 3C and 3D show examples of the electromagnetic wave 305 during reflection. The electromagnetic wave 305 is polarized. Polarized waves (e.g., electromagnetic waves 305) undergo a change in polarization when reflected, while polarized waves that are not reflected will not. As shown in fig. 3C, the reflection coefficient of light having an electric field parallel to the incident plane becomes zero at an angle of 0 ° to 90 °. The reflected light at this angle is linearly polarized with its electric field vector perpendicular to the plane of incidence and parallel to the plane of the surface it reflects. The angle at which this occurs is called the polarization angle or Brewster angle. At other angles, the reflected light is partially polarized.

From the Fresnel's equations, it can be determined that: when the sum of the incident angle and the transmission angle is equal to 90 °, the parallel reflection coefficient 320 is zero. The application of Snell' law produces an expression for the Brewster angle. Fig. 3C shows an example in which the reflection coefficients for waves parallel to the plane of incidence and perpendicular to the plane of incidence are different. Fig. 3C also shows that when light is incident at brewster's angle, the reflected light is linearly polarized because the reflection for the parallel component is 0. Fig. 3D shows the reflection intensity of a ray parallel to the plane of incidence (parallel reflection coefficient 320) and the reflection intensity of a ray perpendicular to the plane of incidence (perpendicular reflection coefficient 325).

In the following description, a transmitter and a receiver denote devices that can transmit and receive electromagnetic waves having a plurality of polarizations. Examples of such transmitters and receivers are base stations, mobile user equipment, access points, WLAN stations, UEs, etc. One example implementation of the proposed solution comprises the following basic procedures: (1) the transmitter and receiver acknowledge each other that they support the LOS determination feature. For example, they may exchange messages or perform a broadcast of a message containing a field indicating that the feature is supported; (2) the receiver requests the transmitter to begin the process of LOS determination. In this request, the receiver may indicate the number and polarization of transmissions; (3) the transmitter continuously transmits (repeats) the same bit sequence in different polarizations during a single transmission or different transmissions. For example, in the case when there is a single transmission, the transmitted data consists of multiple repetitions of the same bit sequence, each repetition being in a different polarization. When there are multiple transmissions, each transmission is sent with a different polarization. In one example embodiment, the transmitter indicates the number of repetitions and the polarization corresponding to each repetition in the preamble it transmits; (4) the receiver selects a first reception path corresponding to each repetition and compares whether they have the same strength; (5) if the strength of each received repeated first receive path is invariant to the transmitted polarization, the receiver concludes that the communication is LOS; (6) the receiver may inform the transmitter that the communication is LOS.

In different example embodiments, the transmitter may broadcast an indication of LOS feature support, and then indicate the number of repetitions and corresponding polarization for each repetition, followed by broadcasting the bit sequence repetitions in a different polarization. The receiver may then compare the strength of the first receive path in the different polarizations to determine whether the communication is LOS. The transmission polarization can be achieved in different ways, for example two dipole antennas oriented orthogonally to each other, one parallel and one perpendicular to the earth's surface.

In this example, one transceiver transmits the same wave or the same bit sequence at different polarizations at least twice (e.g., the bit sequences have orthogonal polarizations), and the other transceiver receives these transmissions and determines the strength of each received wave or each received bit sequence repetition. If the two received waves (or bit sequences) have the same strength, the transceiver concludes: the received wave propagates as LOS. In some example embodiments, the transmission of the bit sequence repetitions is sequential in time (i.e., one after the other). In some cases, the repetition is performed at approximately the same power or at multiple powers (known at the receiver) so that the receiver can compare the received intensity (power) of each transmission to determine if they have experienced any reflections.

The multipath channel of communication is a channel that: for each transmission from a sender, the receiver receives multiple copies of the transmission because propagation between the sender and the receiver occurs via multiple paths at the same time. In the real world, each path corresponds to one or more reflections of the electromagnetic wave. Thus, in the case of multipath channel propagation, for each transmission from the transmitter, the receiver may receive multiple copies of the same wave or bit sequence (due to reflections in the environment). In many cases, for LOS communications, there is a single path (shortest path) corresponding to the LOS, and multiple additional paths corresponding to reflections. However, if the communication is NLOS, all paths correspond to reflections (even shortest paths) and no LOS path exists. Thus, in the proposed solution, the receiver needs to observe (only, at least) the strength of the first receive path (corresponding to the transmission with the shortest ToF) for each polarization. The receiver preserves the strength of the first receive path (replica) from transmissions having different polarizations. The transmitter and receiver are in LOS if the first receive path strength is invariant to the transmitted polarization, i.e., the first receive path for each different polarization has the same strength for the different transmitter polarization. The path may also be referred to as a ray.

In the above method, if only one repetition of the bit sequence is transmitted (two copies in total, including the original transmission of the bit sequence), a corner situation (a very unlikely event) may occur when there is no los (nlos) but two transmitted bit sequences with different polarizations are still received with the same strength under multiple reflections. This occurs when the reflectors are orthogonal with respect to each other, for example when each reflector is at 45 degrees with respect to each incident wave.

To handle this special case in the proposed solution, the transmitter sends several repetitions of the same bit sequence in different polarizations (e.g. more than two, so there are at least three transmissions), and the receiver determines the reception strength of the first reception path (ray) of each transmission. If these intensities are the same, this implies that the received wave is LOS, i.e. the transmission has not undergone reflection.

Fig. 4A illustrates an example of a signal flow diagram 400 of a first example embodiment of a method for determining a LOS in accordance with the present disclosure. The method may be performed in the context of a system as shown in fig. 2A or fig. 2B, and may use linear or circular polarization as shown by way of example in fig. 3A or fig. 3B.

In step 402, the receiver 204 requests the transmitter 202 to begin the process of LOS determination by sending a LOS determination request to the transmitter 202. The LOS determination request can include one or more of a number of transmissions to the receiver 204 and a number of polarizations available at the receiver 204. The number of transmissions to the receiver 204 and the number and direction of polarizations of the receiver 204 may also be pre-established by known definitions of protocols or standards.

In step 404, the transmitter 202 continuously transmits the same bit sequence with wave signals having different polarizations during a single frame transmission or in different frame transmissions. It should be appreciated that the transmission may be in response to a previous request (e.g., the request in step 402) sent by the receiver 204 to the sender 202. Such a previous request (e.g., the request in step 402) may contain the number and direction of polarizations to be transmitted by the transmitter 202. For example, transmission in different polarizations may be achieved in different ways, such as two dipole antennas oriented orthogonally to each other.

The data transmitted by the transmitter 202 includes multiple repetitions (or copies) of the same bit sequence for a single frame transmission, where each repetition corresponds to one of the different polarizations. The number of repetitions may be referred to as the number of polarizations in the LOS determination request, or may be referred to as a predefined number agreed between the receiver 204 and the transmitter 202. Each frame transmission is sent with a different polarization for multiple frame transmissions. In an example embodiment, the transmitter 204 indicates, for example, in a preamble of its transmission (first portion of the transmission), the number of bit sequence repetitions and the polarization corresponding to each bit sequence repetition to be followed in the transmission.

It should also be appreciated that in some example embodiments of step 404, the transmitter 202 transmits the same signal wave or the same bit sequence at least twice with the same power and in different polarizations into the same direction (same orientation).

The number of times the same signal wave or the same sequence of bits is transmitted may be referred to as the transmission number. The number of transmissions in the LOS determination request may specify the number of times the same signal wave or the same sequence of bits is transmitted.

In step 406, the receiver 204 checks to determine if a first received copy from each of the plurality of polarizations has been detected and measures its power or strength.

In the NLOS multipath channel propagation example, each path corresponds to one copy (also referred to as a primary reflection) of the transmitted signal wave. The receiver 204 receives multiple copies for each transmission because propagation between the sender 202 and the receiver 204 occurs through multiple paths. In some examples, each path corresponds to one or more reflections of the electromagnetic wave. Thus, in the case of multipath channel propagation, for each transmission from the transmitter 202, the receiver 204 may receive multiple copies of the transmission (due to reflections in the environment). For LOS communications, the first receive path (also the shortest path) corresponds to LOS communications, while the other multiple adjacent paths correspond to reflections.

After the receiver 204 measures (or detects) the first receive path (through the received signal) for each transmission, the receiver 204 obtains and compares the strength of each first received copy for the plurality of transmissions, where the first received copy is the copy received via the first receive path.

For example, the transmitter 202 transmits the same bit sequence twice, each time with two polarizations. Twice corresponds to two transmissions. A first transmission of the same bit sequence with two polarizations (e.g., polarization a and polarization B), and a second transmission of the same bit sequence with two polarizations (e.g., polarization C and polarization D). The receiver 204 may detect a first path for the first transmission on the path of polarization a and the path of polarization B. Receiver 204 may detect the first path for the second transmission on the path of polarization C and the path of polarization D. As an example, the first path for the first transmission is a path of polarization a, and the first path for the second transmission is a path of polarization C.

In steps 408 and 410, the receiver 204 determines whether the strength (or power) of each first received copy is equal. The transmission between the receiver 204 and the transmitter 202 may be LOS if the strength (or power) of each first received copy of the multiple transmissions for each polarization is equal (or less than a threshold), otherwise the transmission between the receiver 204 and the transmitter 202 is NLOS.

For example, referring to the example presented above, receiver 204 determines whether the strengths of polarization a and polarization C are equal and characterizes the path accordingly.

For signal waves transmitted with circular polarization (such as the example shown in fig. 3B), the received wave signals have the same strength during a full rotation of the vector "E" for LOS waves. Whereas for NLOS reflection there is a variation in intensity depending on the particular reflection (orientation of the reflecting surface). Thus, for circularly polarized transmission, the receiver 202 will compare the received wave signal strength variations and if there is (or approximately) a constant strength in the received wave propagation, the communication between the transmitter 202 and the receiver 204 may be an LOS communication. To reduce the likelihood of LOS determination errors, the technique may be combined with continuous receive or transmit beamforming as described below.

In step 412, the receiver 204 notifies the transmitter 202 of the determination result.

In this example, the receiver 204 characterizes the path in terms of the strength of each copy of the wave signal, i.e., determines whether the communication between the receiver 204 and the transmitter 202 on the path is LOS. The process that will use the result (characterization of the path), e.g., the process of determining the distance between the receiver 204 and the transmitter 202, may have a greater confidence in the distance determined using ToF.

In an example implementation, when the communication between the receiver 204 and the transmitter 202 changes from LOS to NLOS (e.g., the path characterization changes from LOS to NLOS), the device (which may be the receiver 204 or the transmitter 202) may decide to initiate a handover to a different device or access point (e.g., an access node) (to start a new communication) so that the device may perform LOS communication. In other words, the device initiates a switch to a different device to avoid NLOS communication. For this purpose, the device (which may be the receiver 204 or the transmitter 202) will periodically evaluate whether there is a neighboring device (e.g., an access node) with which it can communicate in LOS to switch to if the current LOS communication fails or becomes NLOS. Such LOS-based switching can be used, for example, to obtain higher quality communications (reduced path LOSs), or to allow accurate tracking of device location.

LOS determination may also allow remote operation of a device (which may be receiver 204 or transmitter 202), such as a drone, to determine changes in trajectory to maintain LOS communication.

In an example embodiment, the detection of LOS may be performed simultaneously using multiple receivers. For example, the transmitter 202 transmits the same wave signal to multiple receivers in different polarizations, and then requests each receiver to report whether the communication between the receiver and the transmitter 202 is an LOS communication. Alternatively, the transmitter 202 transmits the same wave signal in different polarizations, and then allows the LOS receiver to contend for access to the channel via a random access channel procedure. In other words, receivers that determine that they are communicating with LOS initiate a random access channel procedure to satisfy channel access.

In various example embodiments, the device records path characterization information as a function of location (e.g., the channel at the location is NLOS or LOS) and uses the stored information to access or discover access nodes, perform access node discovery, or perform fast beamforming. As an example, to minimize discovery delay, a beamforming scan may start with the device scanning the LOS direction (determined from stored information), and then if the LOS direction becomes obstructed, the device performs additional searches around the LOS direction. In other words, the device performs fast beamforming by initially scanning the LOS direction, which is retrieved from the stored information, and then if no suitable beam is found, the device scans in a direction around the LOS direction.

Fig. 4B illustrates an example of an alternative signal flow diagram 400' of a first example embodiment of a method for determining a LOS in accordance with the present disclosure. The method may be performed in the context of a system as shown in fig. 2A or fig. 2B, and may use linear or circular polarization as shown by way of example in fig. 3A or fig. 3B.

In fig. 4B, transmitter 202 initiates a request to start the LOS procedure. That is, the transmitter 202 transmits an LOS determination request to the receiver 204. And the LOS determination request in step 402' includes one or more of a number of transmissions by the transmitter 202 and a number of polarizations by the transmitter 202. The receiver 204 then sends a response to the sender 202 in step 404'. The response in step 404' may include an indication confirming the start of the LOS procedure. Alternatively, the response in step 404' may include one or more of the number of transmissions of the receiver 204 and the number of polarizations of the receiver 204.

The remaining steps of fig. 4B (steps from 406 'to 414') correspond to the steps from 404 to 412 in fig. 4A and will not be discussed again herein.

Fig. 4C illustrates an example of another alternative signal flow diagram 400 "of the first example embodiment of a method for determining a LOS in accordance with the present disclosure. The method may be performed in the context of a system as shown in fig. 2A or fig. 2B, and may use linear or circular polarization as shown by way of example in fig. 3A or fig. 3B.

In fig. 4C, transmitter 202 initiates a request to start the LOS procedure. That is, transmitter 202 broadcasts a LOS determination request to a receiver, such as receiver 204. The LOS determination request in step 402 "includes one or more of a number of transmissions by the transmitter 202 and a number of polarizations by the transmitter 202. The transmitter 202 broadcasts wave signals comprising the same bit sequence with different polarizations in a single transmission or in different transmissions.

The remaining steps of fig. 4C (steps from 406 "to 412") are the same as the steps from 406 to 412 in fig. 4A and will not be discussed again herein.

Prior to steps 402, 402', and 402 ″, the receiver 204 may send a LOS determination request to the transmitter 202, and the transmitter 202 and the receiver 204 may perform an acknowledgement procedure to confirm that both the transmitter 202 and the receiver 204 support the LOS determination procedure. The confirmation process may be performed by exchanging messages between the receiver 204 and the transmitter 202 or by broadcasting messages through the transmitter 202 and the receiver 204.

The message indicating that the receiver 204 or the transmitter 202 supports LOS determination may be an enhanced directional multi-gigabit (EDMG) Beam Refinement Protocol (BRP) request, and the EDMG BRP request includes an element indication that the device sending the EDMG BRP request (which may be the receiver 204 or the transmitter 202 in this example) supports LOS determination.

By way of example, the EDMG BRP request may follow the format shown in Table 1.

Table 1: first example EDMG BRP request Format

Wherein the first path training element indicates that the device sending the EDMG BRP request (which in this example may be the receiver 204 or the sender 202) supports the first path training process. This means that the device supports determining which path is the shortest path among all paths carrying different copies of the same bit sequence, where each copy corresponds to a polarization.

The LOS training element indicates that the first device sending the EDMG BRP request (which may be the receiver 204 or the transmitter 202) supports LOS determination procedures, such as those presented in fig. 4A-4C and the accompanying discussion.

In another example embodiment, the first path training element may be included in a header of the EDMG BRP request. Alternatively, for example, the first path training element may be included in a text string that is part of an EDMG BRP request.

As another example, the EDMG BRP request may follow the format shown in Table 2:

table 2: second example EDMG BRP request Format

For example, if the receiver 204 and the transmitter 202 request, via EDMG BRP, confirmation that both the transmitter 202 and the receiver 204 support the process of LOS determination, the packet includes an indication that the copy should be used for first path beamforming training. Wherein the first path training element, when set to a first value, e.g., "1," indicates that the TRN field appended to the packet should be used for first path beamforming training. The first path training element, if set to a second value, e.g., "0," indicates that the TRN field appended to the packet should be used for best performance beamforming training.

The LOS training element, when set to a first value, e.g., "1," indicates that the TRN field appended to the packet should be used for LOS beamforming training. The LOS training element, if set to a second value, e.g., "0," indicates that the TRN field appended to the packet is not used for LOS beamforming.

In the EDMG BRP request, if the first device sending the EDMG BRP request supports the LOS determination procedure, both the first path training element and the LOS training element should be set to a first value, e.g., "1". Otherwise, the first device sending the EDMG BRP request does not support the LOS determination procedure.

After the second device (which in this example may be the sender 202 or the receiver 204) receives the EDMG BRP request, the second device may send a response to the first device (which sent the EDMG BRP request) indicating that the second device supports the LOS determination procedure. The second device may also send an EDMG BRP request to the first device to indicate that the second device also supports the LOS determination procedure.

Any response from the second device or EDMG BRP request from the second device may include an indication that the device (the first device or the second device) supports the LOS determination procedure.

In other examples, if receiver 204 and transmitter 202 confirm via a message that both transmitter 202 and receiver 204 support the dual-polarization TRN process, the packet includes an indication to use the first path beamforming training. Wherein a first path training element set to a first value, e.g., "1," indicates that the TRN field appended to the packet should be used for first path beamforming training. The first path training element may be set to a second value, e.g., "0," to indicate that the TRN field appended to the packet should be used for best performance beamforming training.

A LOS training element set to a first value, e.g., "1," indicates that the TRN field appended to the packet should be used for LOS beamforming training. A LOS training element set to a second value, e.g., "0," indicates that the TRN field appended to the packet is not used for LOS BF.

In the EDMG BRP request, if the first device sending the EDMG BRP request supports the LOS determination procedure, both the first path training element and the LOS training element should be set to a first value, e.g., "1". Otherwise, the first device sending the EDMG BRP request does not support the LOS determination procedure.

After the second device (which in this example may be the sender 202 or the receiver 204) receives the EDMG BRP request, the second device may send a response to the first device (which sent the EDMG BRP request) indicating that the second device supports the LOS determination procedure. The second device may also send an EDMG BRP request to the device to indicate that the second device also supports the LOS determination procedure.

Either the response from the second device or the EDMG BRP request from the second device may include an indication of the peer device indicating the LOS determination procedure.

Fig. 5 illustrates an example of a communication system 500, in which case propagation between the transmitter 202 and the receiver 204 is an NLOS with a cylindrical reflective region 509 that blocks a cylindrical reflective surface 508 of LOS communications (e.g., beam 510), which communication system 500 may be used to implement the apparatus and methods disclosed herein.

That is, each repetition (copy) at any polarization will experience similar reflections, and thus, at the receiver 204, the first received copy (e.g., beams 512, 512 ', 514 ', 516, and 516 ') for each transmission will have approximately the same intensity regardless of the polarization at the transmitter 202. If the transmission of the transmitter 202 and the reception of the receiver 204 are omni-directional, the receiver 204 will always receive the same wave signal regardless of the polarization at the transmitter 202 due to the symmetry of this structure (cylindrical reflective surface 508).

However, if the receiver 204 performs beamforming reception (if the receiver 204 receives from a limited spatial direction (e.g., a 3D solid angle)), the ToF will be the same, but the intensity of the first received ray (the first received copy) will change with the polarized wave at the transmitter 202. The receiver 204 may then conclude that: the propagation is NLOS.

Thus, as an example embodiment of the present disclosure, the receiver 204 may repeatedly perform beamforming reception in different spatial directions (and thus potentially subject to different reflections), while the transmitter 202 will change the polarization of the transmitted wave. If a spatial direction is found to have invariance to polarization, then the spatial direction will be considered to be LOS. In an alternative example embodiment, the transmitter 204 transmits the beamformed waves in different directions, where each direction has multiple (different) polarizations, and the receiver 204 observes that the first received wave strength varies with respect to the polarization, then the communication is considered NLOS. For example, after determining the path characterization, adding beamformed transmissions of different polarizations to the LOS process described above may be performed as an additional step of verifying the path characterization. Beamformed transmissions may also be performed during the LOS procedure itself, when the polarization and beamformed beams are combined to determine when and if the first received replica has invariance with respect to polarization, which occurs only in LOS communications.

An example of implementing beamforming involves the use of phased array antennas, such as two-dimensional (2D) polarized antenna arrays, where each antenna has a phase shifter. Another example uses a polarized horn antenna.

Fig. 6A illustrates an example of a signal flow diagram 600 of a second example embodiment of a method for determining a LOS in accordance with the present disclosure. The method may be performed in the context of a system as shown in fig. 2A or fig. 2B, and may use linear or circular polarization as shown by way of example in fig. 3A or fig. 3B.

In step 602, the receiver 204 requests the transmitter 202 to begin an LOS determination process by sending an LOS determination request to the transmitter 202. The LOS determination request may include an indication of whether to use a dual polarization process for LOS, which means that the number of different polarizations for each direction is two. The same sequence is transmitted twice in the same direction with different polarizations (e.g., two orthogonal polarizations).

If the indication indicates that a dual polarized process for LOS is used, the transmitter 102 should transmit the same bit sequence in two differently polarized wave signals. If the indication is that no dual polarization process for LOS is used, transmitter 202 transmits the bit sequence as a wave signal, but without both polarizations. Fig. 6A presents an example in which a dual polarization process for LOS is used.

In step 604, the transmitter 202 transmits the same bit sequence in differently polarized wave signals. An example of such a bit sequence in IEEE 802.11ay is called a training TRN sequence, and is transmitted in a direction in space. The transmission may be in response to a previous LOS determination request that includes an indication of which dual polarization process to use for the LOS. Transmission in different polarizations can be achieved in different ways, for example by two dipole antennas oriented orthogonally to each other, one parallel and one perpendicular to the earth's surface.

For a single frame transmission, the data transmitted by the transmitter 202 includes multiple repetitions (copies) of the same bit sequence, each repetition (copy) being transmitted over one of the polarizations.

The transmitter 202 may inform the TRN power for each polarization before the transmitter 202 transmits a wave signal comprising the same bit sequence to the receiver 204. The transmitter 202 may transmit the same signal wave of the same power for different polarizations, or the transmitter 202 may transmit the same signal wave of different power for different polarizations.

In step 606, the receiver 204 obtains channel measurements for each polarization. Example channel measurements are presented in table 3, which shows example I and Q component values with different polarizations for different filter taps. Channel measurements obtained by receiver 204 may be shown in table 3, where channel measurements for the first path and dual-polarized TRNs are enabled. As shown in table 3, the channel measurement includes a relative I component tap #1 polarization #1 and a relative Q component tap #1 polarization #1 for each polarization. Relative I component tap #1 polarization #1 is the in-phase component of the impulse response for tap #1 (corresponding to the shortest delay) and polarization #1 in dual-polarized TRN. Relative Q component tap #1 polarization #1 is the quadrature component of the impulse response for tap #1 (corresponding to the shortest delay) and polarization #1 in dual-polarized TRN.

If the dual polarization TRN process is not combined with the first path process, the receiver 204 may feed back measurements for more than a single tap (first path) to the transmitter 202, which is also shown in table 3.

In the example of dual-polarized TRN, the transmitter 202 transmits two polarized wave signals containing the same bit sequence. Thus, the receiver 204 obtains a relative Q component and a relative I component for each of the two polarizations. In other examples of dual-polarization TRNs, transmitter 202 transmits two different polarizations of wave signals comprising the same bit sequence via a multipath channel, and receiver 204 obtains a relative Q component and a relative I component for each path of each of the two polarizations.

Table 3: example channels for different polarizations

As the example presented in table 3, in a dual-polarized TRN, the transmitter 202 transmits a wave signal including the same bit sequence in two polarizations, and each polarization has N paths. Channel measurements for the nth path in both polarizations are also presented in table 3. Tap #1 represents the first path measured by the receiver, and tap # N represents the nth path measured by the receiver. The first path has the shortest delay.

In step 608, the receiver 204 compares the channel measurements for the two polarizations to obtain a channel measurement difference.

In step 610, the receiver 204 determines whether the channel measurement difference between the two polarizations is greater than a threshold. The receiver 204 may determine that the transmission between the receiver 204 and the transmitter 202 is NLOS if the channel measurement difference between the two polarizations is greater than a threshold, and LOS otherwise. The threshold value may be specified in a technical standard or by an operator of the communication system. The threshold may be determined by cooperation between devices of the communication system.

If transmitter 202 transmits the same bit sequence in two polarizations, and each polarization has multiple paths, receiver 204 may compare the channel measurements of the first path of each of the two polarizations. The receiver 204 may determine that the transmission between the receiver 204 and the transmitter 202 is NLOS if the channel measurement difference between the two polarizations is greater than a threshold, otherwise the transmission may be LOS. The threshold value is stored in the receiver 204. The threshold may be pre-established or may be implementation specific. The threshold needs to be large enough to filter out possible noise and measurement errors. If the radiated power at the transmitter 202 is different for the two polarizations, the receiver 204 needs to account for this difference in addition to the threshold.

In step 612, the receiver 204 may notify the sender 102 of the determination result.

In this example, the receiver 204 determines whether the communication between the receiver 204 and the transmitter 202 is LOS based on channel measurements for both polarizations to ensure the determination result. So that processes that will utilize the result (path characterization), such as those that determine the distance between the receiver 204 and the transmitter 202, can have good certainty for the result.

In other examples, receiver 204 may not perform steps 608-612. Instead, the receiver 204 sends channel measurements for each polarization to the transmitter 202. Transmitter 202 receives the channel measurements for each polarization and compares the channel measurements for the two polarizations and characterizes the path by performing its own version of steps 608 and 610 (e.g., determining whether the channel measurement difference for the two polarizations is greater than a threshold). The transmitter 202 may determine that the transmission between the receiver 204 and the transmitter 202 is NLOS if the channel measurement difference for the two polarizations is greater than a threshold, and LOS otherwise.

In an example embodiment, when the communication between the receiver 204 and the transmitter 202 changes from LOS to NLOS (e.g., the path characterization changes from LOS to NLOS), the device (which in this example may be the receiver 204 or the transmitter 202) may decide to switch (start a new communication) to a different device or access point (e.g., an access node) so that the device may perform LOS communication. In other words, the device initiates a switch to a different device to avoid NLOS communication. For this purpose, the device (which may be the receiver 204 or the transmitter 202) will periodically evaluate whether there are neighboring devices (e.g., access nodes) with which it can communicate in LOS to switch to when the current LOS communication fails or becomes NLOS. Such LOS-based switching can be used, for example, to obtain higher quality communications (reduced path LOSs), or to allow accurate tracking of the location of the device.

Fig. 6B illustrates an example of a signal flow diagram 600' of a second example embodiment of a method for determining a LOS in accordance with the present disclosure. The method may be performed in the context of a system as shown in fig. 2A or fig. 2B, and may use linear or circular polarization as shown by way of example in fig. 3A or fig. 3B.

In fig. 6B, transmitter 202 initiates a request to start the LOS procedure. That is, the transmitter 202 transmits an LOS determination request to the receiver 204. The LOS determination request in step 602' includes an indication of whether to use a dual polarization process for LOS. And then in step 604', the receiver 204 sends a response to the sender 202. The response in step 604' may include an indication indicating the start of the LOS procedure using a dual polarization procedure.

The steps from 606 'to 614' in fig. 6B are the same as the steps from 604 to 612 in fig. 6A and will not be discussed herein.

Fig. 7 illustrates an example of a signal flow diagram 700 of a third example embodiment of a method for determining a LOS in accordance with the present disclosure. The method may be performed in the context of a system as shown in fig. 2A or fig. 2B, and may use linear or circular polarization as shown by way of example in fig. 3A or fig. 3B.

In fig. 7, at step 702, the transmitter 202 initiates a request to start the LOS procedure. That is, the transmitter 202 broadcasts an LOS determination request to the receiver 204. The LOS determination request in step 702 includes an indication of which dual polarization process to use for LOS. Then, in step 704, the transmitter 202 broadcasts the same bit sequence with different polarizations during a single transmission or in different transmissions.

The steps from 706 to 712 in fig. 7 are the same as the steps from 606 to 612 in fig. 6A and will not be discussed herein.

In other examples, receiver 204 may not perform steps 608-612 in fig. 6A, steps 610 '-614' in fig. 6B, or steps 708-712 in fig. 7. Instead, the receiver 204 sends the channel measurements for each polarization to the transmitter 202 after obtaining the channel measurements for each polarization. The transmitter 202 compares the channel measurements of the two polarizations and characterizes the path by performing the corresponding steps of its own version (e.g., determining whether the channel measurement difference between the two polarizations is greater than a threshold). The transmitter 202 may determine that the transmission between the receiver 204 and the transmitter 202 is NLOS if the channel measurement difference between the two polarizations is greater than a threshold, and LOS otherwise.

Prior to step 702, receiver 204 may send a dual-polarization request to transmitter 202, and transmitter 202 and receiver 204 may perform an acknowledgement procedure to confirm that both transmitter 202 and receiver 204 support a dual-polarization TRN measurement procedure. The confirmation process may be performed by exchanging messages between the receiver 204 and the transmitter 202 or by broadcasting messages through the transmitter 202 and the receiver 204.

The LOS determination request indicating whether to use a dual polarization process for LOS may be an EDMG BRP request. The EDMG BRP request includes a dual polarized TRN field. The dual-polarized TRN field indicates whether a device (which in this example may be receiver 204 or transmitter 202) is sending an EDMG BRP request to request a dual-polarized TRN.

By way of example, the EDMG BRP request may follow the format shown in Table 4.

Table 4: third example EDMG BRP request Format

Therein, the dual-polarized TRN element (which may also be a field) in table 4 indicates whether the first device (which may be receiver 204 or transmitter 202) sending the EDMG BRP request supports the dual-polarized TRN training procedure. The dual-polarized TRN element in table 4 may also be an indication of whether to use a dual-polarized procedure for LOS. If the dual-polarized TRN element is set to a first value, e.g., "1", then the dual-polarized TRN element indicates that a second device receiving the BRP is requested to transmit repetitions of the TRN sequence with different polarizations for same Antenna Weight Vector (AWV) beamforming. That is, if the first device sending the EDMG BRP requests a dual-polarized TRN, then a dual-polarized procedure is used. If the dual-polarized TRN element is set to a second value, e.g. "0", then the dual-polarized TRN element indicates that the TRN can be transmitted without a polarization change for each AWV, which means that the TRN should be transmitted with one polarization. That is, if the device sending the EDMG BRP does not request a dual-polarized TRN, then the dual-polarized process is not used.

The dual-polarized TRN element indicates whether the first device (which may be receiver 204 or transmitter 202) sending the EDMG BRP request requests the dual-polarized process described in fig. 6A-6B and fig. 7.

In another example, the dual-polarized TRN element may be included in a header of the EDMG BRP request.

In other examples, the indication indicating whether to use the dual polarization process may be included in a receive vector (RXVECTOR) parameter or a receive vector (TXVECTOR) parameter. The receiver 204 receives the RXVECTOR parameter, and the RXVECTOR parameter presents physical layer (PHY) interactions during reception of various Physical Layer Convergence Protocol (PLCP) protocol data unit (PPDU) formats. The RXVECTOR parameter is a parameter for the receiver 204. The TXVECTOR parameter is a parameter for the transmitter 202. The TXVECTOR parameter presents PHY interactions during transmission of various PPDU formats.

The indication indicating whether to use the dual polarization process for LOS is included in the RXVECTOR parameter or the TXVECTOR parameter, shown in table 5.

Table 5: RXVECTOR and TXVECTOR dual polarized process indicators

The DUAL POLARIZATION _ TRNS element in the RXVECTOR parameter or the TXVECTOR parameter conveys whether the TRN field appended to the packet has at least two different POLARIZATIONs for each AVW. If the DUAL POLARIZATION _ TRNS element in the RXVECTOR parameter or the TXVECTOR parameter is set to a first value, e.g., "1", then it indicates that the TRN field appended to the packet including the TRN has a different POLARIZATION for each beamforming. If the DUAL POLARIZATION _ TRNS element in the RXVECTOR parameter or the TXVECTOR parameter is set to a second value, e.g., "0," then the TRN field appended to the packet is indicated to have one POLARIZATION.

In other examples, the indication indicating whether to use a dual polarization procedure for LOS may be included in the EMDG-header-a field. The EMDG-header-a field is the field structure and definition for a Single User (SU) PPDU. The indication included in the EMDG-header-a field indicating whether or not the dual polarized procedure for LOS may be a dual polarized TRN training element, and an example thereof is shown in table 6 below.

Table 6: example Dual-polarized Process indicator for EMDG-header-A field

The dual-polarized TRN training element included in the EMDG-header-a field indicates whether consecutive TRN cells for each AVW attached to the packet have different polarizations. The TRN field enables the transmitter and receiver to AWV train. If the dual-polarized TRN training element included in the EMDG-header-a field is set to a first value, e.g., "1", then it indicates that the TRN field appended to the packet has a different polarization for each beamforming. If the dual-polarized TRN training element included in the EMDG-header-a field is set to a second value, e.g., "0", then the TRN field appended to the packet is indicated to have one polarization for each beamforming. If the dual polarized TRN training element included in the EMDG-header-a field is set to a first value, e.g., "1", then the use of a dual polarized procedure for LOS is also indicated.

In other examples, the indication indicating whether to use dual polarization procedures for LOS may be included in the EMDG-header-a 2 subfield. The EDMG-header-a 2 sub-field is transmitted as a second Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) codeword. The indication included in the EMDG-header-a 2 subfield indicating whether or not the dual polarization process for LOS may be a dual polarization TRN training element, and an example thereof is shown in table 7 below:

table 7: example Dual-polarized Process indicator for the EMDG-header-A2 field

The dual-polarized TRN training element included in the EMDG-header-a 2 subfield indicates whether the TRN cells appended to the packet have a different polarization for each AVW. If the dual-polarized TRN training element included in the EMDG-header-a 2 subfield is set to a first value, e.g., "1", then it indicates that the TRN field appended to the packet has a different polarization for each beamforming. If the dual-polarized TRN training element included in the EMDG-header-a 2 subfield is set to a second value, e.g., "0", then the TRN field appended to the packet is indicated to have one polarization for each beamforming. If the dual-polarized TRN training element included in the EMDG-header-a 2 subfield is set to a first value, e.g., "1", then the use of a dual-polarized procedure for LOS is also indicated.

In table 7, "1" indicates that the dual-polarized TRN training element is one bit long, and "6" indicates the bit position of the dual-polarized TRN training element. In table 6, "1" indicates that the dual-polarized TRN training element is one bit long, and "48" indicates the bit position of the dual-polarized TRN training element.

In other examples, the indication indicating whether to use a dual-polarized procedure for LOS may be included in a dual-polarized TRN support subfield of the beamforming capability field format. The indication included in the dual-polarization TRN support subfield of the beamforming capability field format indicating whether to use a dual-polarization procedure for LOS may be a dual-polarization TRN support element, and an example thereof is shown in table 8 below.

Table 8: example Dual polarization Process indicator in a subfield of the beamforming capability field Format

A dual-polarization TRN support element included in a subfield of the beamforming capability field format indicates whether a dual-polarization TRN procedure is enabled. If the dual-polarized TRN element is set to a first value, e.g. "1", indicating that the dual-polarized TRN procedure is enabled, the TRN sequence may be transmitted in a different polarization, which means that the dual-polarized TRN procedure is used. If the dual-polarized TRN support element is set to a second value, e.g. "0", indicating that the dual-polarized TRN procedure is not enabled, the TRN sequence may be transmitted in one polarization, which means that the dual-polarized TRN procedure is used.

The dual polarization power difference subfield indicates the radiated power difference for each polarization. The dual polarization power difference may be as indicated in table 8.

The dual-polarized TRN support element and the dual-polarized power difference may also be a dual-polarized TRN capability field, and an example thereof is shown in table 9 below.

Table 9: example Dual polarization TRN capability field

The indication indicating whether to use the dual polarized procedure for LOS is included in the dual polarized TRN capability field format and is shown in table 8. The indication may also indicate whether dual-polarized TRN procedures are supported. If the dual-polarized TRN element is set to a first value, e.g., "1", this indicates that dual-polarized TRN procedures are supported and that the TRN sequence may be transmitted in a different polarization. If the dual-polarized TRN element is set to a second value, e.g., "0", this indicates that dual-polarized TRN procedures are supported and that the TRN sequence may be transmitted in one polarization.

In other examples, an indication of whether to use a dual polarization process for LOS may be included in the DMG beam refinement element. The DMG beam refinement elements may refer to fig. 9-512 of IEEE 802.11, which is incorporated herein by reference. Dual polarized TRN elements may replace reserved bits in the same figure.

The dual polarized TRN elements of the DMG beam refinement elements (which are shown in fig. 9-512) may be the current EDMG dual polarized TRN channel measurements. The current EDMG dual-polarization TRN channel measurement is equal to a first value, e.g., "1", indicating that the EDMG channel measurement feedback element contains a dual-polarization TRN measurement field. Indicating that the EDMG channel measurement feedback element does not contain a dual-polarized TRN measurement field when the current EDMG dual-polarized TRN channel measurement is equal to a second value, e.g., "0".

The dual polarization power difference subfield indicates the radiated power difference between different polarizations. The TRN power difference indicates the radiation power difference in dB for consecutive TRN sequences with different polarizations.

Table 10 shows an example radiated power difference between the first TRN subfield value and the second TRN subfield value.

Table 10: example difference of first TRN sub-field value and second TRN sub-field value

The polarization described in conjunction with the discussion of fig. 6A, 6B, and 7 and tables 3 through 10 detail the dual polarization process. For example, dual polarization includes two polarizations. In a dual polarization process for LOS determination, the same TRN (same bit sequence in a wave signal) is transmitted in the same direction in two different polarizations, one of which may be referred to as a first polarization and the other of which may be referred to as a second polarization. Thus, the first TRN is a TRN transmitted in a first polarization in that direction, and the second TRN is a TRN transmitted in a second polarization in the same direction.

The polarizations described from fig. 2A to fig. 4C and fig. 5, and tables 1 and 2 are different polarizations for different directions, such as vertical polarization, horizontal polarization, and 45-degree polarization. The different directions of polarization correspond to different paths.

In other examples, the LOS determination process described in fig. 2A through 3C, fig. 5, and tables 1 and 2 may be combined with the LOS determination process described in fig. 6A, 6B, and 7, and tables 3 through 10. The LOS determination request described in steps 402, 402 ', 402 ", 602', and 702 may include an indication of whether to use a dual polarization process, and may be combined with the first path training.

If receiver 204 and transmitter 202 confirm via the message that both transmitter 202 and receiver 204 support the dual-polarized TRN process and the indication of the first path training, the packet includes an indication indicating use of the first path beamforming training and an indication indicating use of the dual-polarized process.

When the LOS procedure is transmitted with only two different polarizations of the same TRN sequence, the procedure is referred to as dual-polarized TRN.

As previously described, the dual polarization TRN process involves transmitting the same TRN sequence twice in different polarizations, and the receiver measures the received signal at each polarization.

The dual polarization TRN process (for LOS) may or may not be combined with the first path training.

If the dual polarization TRN process is combined with the first path training, the receiver will only measure the first received copy (tap) for each polarization transmission. To do this, the transmission of the EDMG BRP request should enable both the first path BF and dual polarization TRN procedures.

The implementation solution may be used in third generation partnership project (3GPP) New Radio (NR) applications, where obtaining accurate location information may be an important consideration. For example, a potential commercial application of precision positioning may be applied to indoor positioning using millimeter wavelength (mmW) access points. Having information about path characterization (or LOS or NLOS propagation) can be used to improve the accuracy of the positioning method. For example, the UE may identify whether the received beam (or ray) is LOS and perform positioning using only LOS beams (or rays). In some example embodiments, the LOS determination techniques described previously may be applied using polarization for NR. Although described with respect to mmW propagation (frequency range 2, FR2), it is also applicable to microwave propagation (frequency range 1, FR 1).

The 3GPP has standardized a variety of positioning technologies for Long Term Evolution (LTE). Furthermore, some new techniques are considered for NR. The 3GPP LTE distribution R1-1809348 (the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference) provides an overview of example positioning techniques. The following provides a summary of the portions of R1-1809348.

In NR, Enhanced Cell Identifiers (ECIDs) are used to estimate UE position based on detected cell IDs in combination with assisted measurements, which may be Tx-Rx time differences of type 1 and type 2, angle of arrival (AOA) of serving cell, Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), and related quality measurements (similar to LTE). The reference signal in NR used in the measurement may be a Primary Synchronization Signal (PSS), a Secondary Synchronization Signal (SSS), a Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH), and a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS). Since the LTE Common Reference Signal (CRS) is not supported in the NR, the NR may use a cell-specific reference signal for measurement in downlink, such as a downlink Tracking Reference Signal (TRS) or a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS). In NR, ECID-based positioning can be performed at the UE side by means of network data, or at the network side by both UE measurements and gNB measurements.

In NR, an observed time difference of arrival (OTDOA) technique is a downlink positioning method in which a UE measures a Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD) of arrival between a reference gNB and an adjacent gNB. The reference signals used for positioning in the downlink may be flexible, bandwidth scalable, and available to all UEs.

It is proposed to define cell-specific Positioning Reference Signals (PRS) similar to LTE PRS in the NR downlink to achieve the goal. Relevant studies include, but are not limited to, design of PRS patterns, sequence design, power boosting, configurable ID, intra-or inter-frequency RSTD measurements, support for Transmit-Receive Point (TRP) or cell PRS transmissions, and combination with beam management mechanisms to support both FR1 and FR2, and signal processes. If PRS is not allowed, an alternative approach is to reuse existing NR reference signals (e.g., TRSs), possibly with minor modifications, so that they can perform the same functions as PRS.

In NR, an uplink time difference of arrival (UTDOA) technique is a network-based positioning method that estimates RSTD between a reference gNB and a neighboring gNB using an uplink SRS. NR UTDOA is a mandatory function because it is well suited to estimate high precision position using network data and measurements while saving PRS overhead because multiple gnbs can receive uplink SRS simultaneously. NR supports beam management and multiple TRPs for both FR1 and FR2, so NR UTDOA can be considered in conjunction with beam management and multiple TRP techniques to obtain high quality UTDOA measurements.

The UE location may be estimated by measuring the AOA of the Uplink reference signal using Uplink AOA (Uplink AOA, UAOA) based positioning. The uplink SRS may be used to measure the AOA in the gNB or TRP, but does not exclude other reference signals (e.g., demodulation reference signals (DMRSs)). UAOA may be measured for both elevation and zenith angles to obtain a 3D position.

The UAOA positioning is triggered by a Location Management Function (LMF) of the NR positioning architecture. The LMF coordinates with the serving cell and related neighbor cells to provide UAOA measurements for position estimation. Related measurements, such as the number of antennas, may also be provided to assess the quality of the UAOA measurements and to assist the LMF in location.

Because both UTDOA and UAOA utilize uplink SRS for measurement and positioning, UAOA-based positioning may apply similar signaling procedures as performed in UTDOA, but additional designs may be considered when both UE and gNB or TRP use transmit beamforming (e.g., for FR2 operation).

In some cases, downlink angle of departure (DAOD) based positioning may be used. Similar to UAOA, it is feasible to estimate UE position from DAODs of multiple gnbs or TRPs. DAOD is the AOD of the strongest path from the gNB and can be measured by the UE. For example, the UE may measure the channels on all available beams received from the gNB and feed this information back to the network so that the network can determine the AOD of the strongest path. In contrast to UAOA, DAOD requires UE assistance to measure feedback. The downlink reference signals used by the UE may be downlink PSS, SSS, CSI-RS, etc.

While the DAOD process is different from UAOA, there are many commonalities and a consistent unified framework for ABP can be standardized.

These techniques can be classified into one of two types of solutions, namely UE-centric solutions and eNB-centric solutions. In a UE-centric solution (e.g., TDOA), the eNB transmits some signals (e.g., reference signals such as PRS) that the UE uses to perform measurements. The UE then reports these measurements. In an eNB-centric solution (e.g., UTDOA), the eNB performs measurements on signals or messages transmitted by the UE. In NR, solutions can be classified into one of two types of UE-centric solutions or gNB-centric (similar to eNB-centric in LTE) solutions.

The example embodiments provide LOS determination using a UE-centric solution. For OTDOA in LTE, the eNB sends a reference signal (e.g., PRS) that the UE uses to determine the time of arrival. Measurements are made for multiple enbs and the time difference between enbs is reported to the serving eNB. PRS configuration is performed using RRC signaling. RSTD measurements by the UE are also sent by RRC signaling. Although the signaling details may be different (e.g., in physical layer messages such as Downlink Control Information (DCI), Uplink Control Information (UCI), sent through MAC messages, etc.), it is reasonable to take a similar approach for NR.

Fig. 8A shows a flowchart 800 of an example method for UE operation in a UE-centric solution. The UE sends an indication that the UE has the capability to perform LOS measurements with signals having different polarizations (block 805). For example, the ability to perform LOS measurements may mean that the UE may perform measurements. OTDOA capabilities can be defined as follows:

an OTDOA-positioning capabilities may be defined and a LOS-UE-allocated field may be added to indicate whether the UE supports LOS determination.

The UE receives an RS (e.g., PRS) configuration (block 807). In LTE, the PRS configuration is received through higher layer messages. RRC signaling indicates measurement gaps where the UE may expect PRS. The process can be extended in several ways. In one example, the measurement gap is extended such that the UE can perform two measurements during the gap (once for a first polarization (e.g., horizontal polarization) and once for a second polarization (e.g., vertical polarization). the length of the measurement gap depends on many factors, including the number of RSs used for positioning, the transmission duration (in terms of the number of Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexed (OFDM) symbols), the extra time required for propagation delay uncertainty, etc.

The length, duration or interval of the measurement gap is for a single measurement, but it is desirable for the UE to perform two measurements simultaneously. For such a case, two different PRS sequences need to be transmitted simultaneously: PRS _ hor for horizontal polarization and PRS _ ver for vertical polarization. The two PRS sequences (or resources) may be multiplexed at the transmitter in a Frequency Division Multiplexed (FDM) or Code Division Multiplexed (CDM) fashion onto the time and frequency resources defined as resource elements for NR.

There are two different gaps configured: one for PRS _ hor and one for PRS _ ver. However, this solution may only be applicable in roaming or stationary scenarios, since to determine whether the ray is LOS, the UE can typically receive signals using substantially the same channel when the gNB transmits in horizontal or vertical polarization.

The UE performs measurements (block 809). To perform the measurement, the UE may typically receive a known RS. The RS is generally defined by a bit sequence and time and frequency resources mapped thereto, which are a set of resource elements. For LTE, unique positioning reference signals, PRSs, are defined.

Since the UE needs to perform measurements for both polarizations, the UE needs to be able to know at which polarization angle the gNB transmitted the signal. There are several ways to do this:

two different PRS sequences can be defined: PRS _ hor and PRS _ ver. If the two sequences are orthogonal, the UE can even measure signals for both polarizations simultaneously and independently. One simple way to achieve this is to scramble a given PRS sequence with different orthogonal codes for horizontally and vertically polarized transmission.

The same sequence can be transmitted at two different time instances known to the UE. The time instances may typically be close enough that the channel does not change significantly.

In one example embodiment, two sets of reference signal resources may be defined, with one resource defined for PRS _ hor and the other resource defined for PRS _ ver. In another example embodiment, reference signals for two antenna ports may be defined, where one antenna port is defined for horizontal polarization measurements and the other antenna port is defined for vertical polarization measurements.

The reflectivity (i.e., the intensity reflection coefficient) is the square of the amplitude reflection coefficient. From the fresnel equations and snell's law, the reflection coefficients for parallel and orthogonal polarizations can be derived as follows:

wherein an incident angle at the reflective surface between the first medium and the second medium is θ_iAnd theta_tIs the transmission angle into the second medium. The difference θ for an electromagnetic wave propagating from a lower index medium to a higher index medium_i-θ_tIs positive. For the purposes of this disclosure, the difference in reflection coefficients for parallel and orthogonal polarizations is the primary observation.

UE measurements need to be defined for LOS detection. Table 11 presents the Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD) measured by the UE for OTDOA.

Table 11: RSTD for UE measurement of OTDOA

For LOS detection, different measurements may be defined. In one example embodiment, the measurement is a difference or ratio of RSRPs measured on two PRS resources or antenna ports at the same receive time. Since the UE typically experiences a multipath propagation environment, RSRP and its ratio need to be measured for the same path of the multiple paths. In the case of cross-polarized antennas at the UE receiver, the measured RSRPs for each PRS for that path on the two polarized antennas need to be added together. The measurement at the UE is performed for the first receive path, since the first receive path is a candidate for LOS propagation. How to distinguish the first receive path from the next receive path is a matter of implementation, where noise and resolution may affect the identification of the first receive path. The UE may report a measured RSRP for each PRS, a difference or ratio of RSRPs between two PRSs, or an indication of path characterization (e.g., LOS or NLOS), where the indication may be binary (i.e., LOS or NLOS) or multilevel to show a likelihood or confidence of its estimation of LOS or NLOS. In another example embodiment, the UE reports only the TOA (or RSTD) for a TRP or cell that is deemed to have LOS communication between the UE and the TRP or cell.

It may be useful to first define UE measurements of the received power of the RS on a single path of the multi-channel, which is shown in table 12. This is a different measurement than the measurement defined in the current 3GPP specifications for RSRP, where the received power of all paths is considered together, as shown by the following definition from 3GPP TS 38.215V15.2.0, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. In some examples, the UE's ability to measure the first path may be communicated to the eNB. The LOS procedure may still be done if the UE cannot measure the first path, but can only measure the sum of all paths, however, the LOS determination may only be successful in certain cases (which is a less likely case) when there is no reflection, i.e. only direct propagation. The eNB may be aware of the UE's limitations through previous capability exchanges.

Table 12: UE measurement of RS received power

The number of resource elements within the considered measurement frequency bandwidth and within the measurement period used by the UE to determine the CSI-RS RSRP is an implementation issue, the limitation of which is that the corresponding measurement accuracy requirements have to be met. The power of each resource element is determined from the energy received during the useful part of the symbol that does not include a Cyclic Prefix (CP).

A new measurement of the received power of the reference signal on a single path of the multi-channel may be defined as shown in table 13.

Table 13: RSRP measurement on a single path of a multi-channel scenario

The number of resource elements within the considered measurement frequency bandwidth and within the measurement period used by the UE to determine RSRP-p may be decided by the UE implementation, with the limitation that the corresponding measurement accuracy requirements have to be met. The power of each resource element may be determined from the energy received during, for example, a useful portion of the symbol that does not include the CP.

The UE reports polarization measurements (block 811). The UE may report the polarization measurements to the gNB in a higher layer message. Alternatively, the UE may report two RSRP values (or signal plus interference to noise ratio (SINR), RSRP, Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI), etc.) to the gNB: a first value for horizontal polarization and a second value for vertical polarization. Alternatively, the UE may report the ratio of the two RSRP values. The UE may also determine a characterization of the path itself (e.g., using a pre-configured threshold and having the UE compare the SINR ratio to the threshold) and report it to the gNB.

In an embodiment, the polarization measurements may be included in the same message as used for reporting RSTD measurements.

In some example embodiments, the measurement is performed on the first path, however in different example embodiments, the measurement may be performed for the strongest path or a combination of the first and strongest paths.

Fig. 8B shows a flowchart 850 of an example method for gNB operation in a UE-centric solution. The gNB receives an indication that the UE has the ability to make LOS measurements with signals having different polarizations (block 855). The gNB transmits the RS, e.g., PRS configuration (block 857). RS configuration may be sent using higher layer signaling. The gNB receives polarization measurements (block 859). The polarization measurements may be received in higher layer messages. The report may include two RSRP values (or SINR, RSRP, RSSI, etc.): a first value for horizontal polarization and a second value for vertical polarization. Alternatively, the report may comprise a ratio of the two RSRP values. The UE may also determine a characterization of the path itself (e.g., using a pre-configured threshold and having the UE compare the SINR ratio to the threshold), and the report may include the characterization of the path.

Example embodiments provide LOS determination techniques for a gNB-centric solution. For the gNB-centric solution, the UE transmits in two polarizations, and the gNB performs measurements of the transmissions in a similar manner to measurements made by the UE in the UE-centric solution. The ability to perform LOS measurements may mean that, for example, the gNB or UE may perform the measurements.

Fig. 9A shows a flowchart 900 of an example method for UE operation in a gNB-centric solution. This operation is similar to that for UE-centric procedures, except that the UE indicates its ability to transmit in two polarizations instead of receiving in two polarizations. The UE sends an indication that the UE has the capability to send signals with different polarizations (block 905). The indication may be sent using higher layer signaling, for example, in DCI. The UE receives a request to transmit in multiple polarizations (block 907). The request may be received through higher layer signaling. The request may also configure the RS (e.g., SRS), the polarization to send, the resource elements or antenna ports to use, the multiplexing to use (TDM, CDM, FDM, or a combination thereof), and so on. The UE transmits the RS in multiple polarizations (block 909).

For RS configured higher layer messaging, techniques similar to those described for OTDOA techniques may be used. The RS configuration may specify that the UE transmits the SRS. As with the PRS, two SRS sequences may be required in order to distinguish the two polarities, and may be obtained by scrambling the SRS with a different sequence for each of the horizontal and vertical polarizations. Different time instances may be used, but the interference experienced at two different time instances may be different. Additional bits may be included in the DCI to indicate that the SRS needs to be transmitted in two polarizations.

Fig. 9B shows a flowchart 950 of an example method for gNB operation in a gNB-centric solution. The gNB receives an indication that the UE has the capability to transmit signals with different polarizations (block 955). The indication may be sent using higher layer signaling. The gNB sends a request to transmit RSs in multiple polarizations by the UE (block 957). The request may be sent by higher layer signaling. The request may also configure the RS, the polarization to send, the resource elements or antenna ports to use, the multiplexing to use (TDM, CDM, FDM, or a combination thereof), and so on. The gNB receives the RS with multiple polarizations (block 959). The RS is received according to its configuration. In addition to receiving the RS, the gNB also makes polarization measurements, which also occurs according to the configuration of the RS. The gNB also characterizes the path in terms of polarization measurements. As an example, the gNB compares the polarization measurement to a pre-specified threshold, and if the polarization measurement meets the threshold, the UE and the gNB are performing LOS communication, otherwise they are performing NLOS communication.

In one example embodiment, a method for sending signaling to support LOS detection is provided. Signaling may be transmitted prior to association of the UE with the access node. Alternatively, signaling may be transmitted after or during association of the UE with the access node. For WLAN technologies such as IEEE 802.11 compliant devices, an Information Element (IE) may have fields such as bits that indicate support for LOS detection features. The IE may be provided in a probe request frame, a probe response frame, a (re) association request frame, a (re) association response frame, a beacon frame, or other type of management or action frame.

In another example embodiment, a method for transmitting a plurality of transmissions having different polarizations is provided. The transmissions may be simultaneous or sequential, and may use the same power for each polarization, or a set of known and pre-established powers for each polarization.

In another example embodiment, a method for receiving multiple transmissions having different polarizations is provided. In one example, the receiver is capable of receiving in each of the transmitted polarization planes and distinguishing between copies of the transmitted signals (beams or rays), and wherein the receiver compares the received power of the first received ray for each corresponding transmitted polarization.

Other example embodiments include: (1) a method wherein the receiver determines that if the received power of the first received ray for each polarisation is the same then the transmitter and receiver are LOS, otherwise the transmitter and receiver are NLOS; (2) a method in which a receiver uses a first ray received in an LOS communication to determine a distance between a transmitter and the receiver using the ToF of the communication; (3) a method wherein the receiver determines whether the first received ray is LOS or NLOS and communicates a representation back to the transmitter; (4) a method in which a sender is informed of whether a communication is LOS or NLOS, and ToF is used to determine the distance between the sender and receiver; (5) a method in which a receiver determines whether a first received ray (a copy of the signal) is LOS and uses information of the direction of arrival (DOA) of the first ray to determine the angle of the transmitter position; (6) a method for determining a change in LOS communication, wherein if a current LOS communication becomes NLOS, the receiver initiates a handover to a new LOS communication with a different transmitter; (7) a method for determining a change from LOS to NLOS communication and reporting the change to a second device, e.g. a base station or AP, wherein the second device sends a control (e.g. link management) message to trigger a handover to a new LOS communication link with a different device (e.g. AP); (8) a method of periodically assessing the LOS or NLOS status of communications with a plurality of devices and deciding to switch communications to an LOS device; (9) a method for periodically assessing by a device, for the purpose of remotely controlling a second device, the LOS or NLOS state of communication with the second device and modifying the trajectory of the second device to maintain an LOS or NLOS communication state; (10) a method for evaluating LOS status, to record LOS status with respect to location and different communication nodes (base station, access point, repeater, access node, etc.) and later use for fast discovery and fast connection such as antenna beamforming in LOS direction or recovery when LOS communication is blocked changing LOS communication direction; (11) a method in which a device is communicating towards a known LOS communication direction using beamforming for fast discovery and if discovery fails it will search in the adjacent direction of the LOS. Other examples are possible.

Fig. 10 shows a flow diagram of example operations 1000 occurring in a UE-centric LOS measurement solution. The operations 1000 may indicate operations that occur in a UE when the UE is engaged in a UE-centric LOS measurement solution.

The operations 1000 begin with the UE transmitting a LOS determination request (block 1005). The UE may send or receive a LOS determination request to or from the gNB. When a LOS determination request is received from the gNB, the LOS determination request may include RS configuration. The UE measures a first signal on the channel (block 1007). The first signal may be a bit sequence having a first polarization. Copies of the first signal may be received on one or more paths. The UE measures a second signal on the channel (block 1009). The second signal may be a bit sequence having a second polarization. Copies of the second signal may be received on one or more paths. The UE may send channel measurements to the access node (block 1011). In some embodiments, the UE provides channel measurements to the gNB, which performs characterization of the path on its own.

The UE may compare the difference in channel measurements to a pre-specified threshold (block 1013). In some embodiments, the UE characterizes the path and provides the characterization of the path to the gNB. If the difference in channel measurements is less than the threshold, the path is LOS (block 1015) and the UE sends a characterization to the gNB (block 1017). If the difference in channel measurements is greater than the threshold, the path is NLOS (block 1019) and the UE sends a characterization to the gNB (block 1017). If the UE does not send channel measurements, the UE may send a characterization of the path to the gNB (block 1117). Although the discussion focuses on UE interaction with a gNB, example embodiments may also operate using other forms of communication controllers, e.g., APs, access nodes, base stations, etc.

Fig. 11 shows a flow diagram of example operations 1100 occurring in a gNB in a UE-centric LOS measurement solution. Operations 1100 may indicate operations that occur in the gNB when the gNB is engaged in a UE-centric LOS measurement solution.

Operation 1100 begins with the gNB transmitting a LOS determination request (block 1105). The gNB may send or receive a LOS determination request to or from the UE. The gNB transmits a first signal on the channel (block 1107). The first signal may be a bit sequence having a first polarization. The gNB transmits a second signal on the channel (block 1109). The second signal may be a bit sequence having a second polarization. The gNB may receive channel measurements from the UE (block 1111). In some embodiments, the UE provides channel measurements to the gNB, which performs characterization of the path on its own.

The gNB may perform a comparison of the difference in channel measurements to a pre-specified threshold (block 1113). In some embodiments, the gNB characterizes the path, and optionally provides a characterization of the path to the UE. If the difference in channel measurements is less than the threshold, the path is LOS (block 1115), and the gNB optionally sends a characterization to the UE (block 1117). If the difference in channel measurements is greater than the threshold, the path is NLOS (block 1119), and the gNB optionally sends a characterization to the UE (block 1117). If the gNB has not received the channel measurements, the gNB may receive a characterization of the path from the UE (block 1117). Although the discussion focuses on UE interaction with a gNB, example embodiments may also operate using other forms of communication controllers, e.g., APs, access nodes, base stations, etc.

Fig. 10 and 11 present flowcharts of example operations occurring in a UE and a gNB in a UE-centric LOS measurement solution. The flow diagrams of example operations occurring in the UE and the gNB in a gNB-centric LOS measurement solution would be similar, except that the UE would send a bit sequence with different polarities, and the gNB would make channel measurements. Furthermore, in a gNB-centric LOS measurement solution, it is unlikely that the gNB will send channel measurements to the UE to perform path characterization by the UE.

Fig. 12 illustrates an example communication system 1200. In general, the system 1200 enables multiple wireless or wired users to send and receive data and other content. System 1200 may implement one or more channel access methods such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), orthogonal FDMA (ofdma), single carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA), or non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA).

In this example, the communication system 1200 includes Electronic Devices (EDs) 1210 a-1210 c, Radio Access Networks (RANs) 1220 a-1220 b, a core network 1230, a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) 1240, the internet 1250, and other networks 1260. Although a certain number of these components or elements are shown in fig. 12, any number of these components or elements may be included in system 1200.

The EDs 1210 a-1210 c are configured to operate or communicate in the system 1200. For example, the EDs 1210 a-1210 c are configured to transmit or receive via a wireless or wired communication channel. Each ED 1210 a-1210 c represents any suitable end-user device, and may include devices (or may be referred to as) such as: a user equipment or device (UE), a wireless transmit or receive unit (WTRU), a mobile station, a fixed or mobile subscriber unit, a cellular telephone, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a smart phone, a laptop computer, a touchpad, a wireless sensor, or a consumer electronic device.

RAN 1220a through 1220b here include base stations 1270a through 1270b, respectively. Each base station 1270 a-1270 b is configured to wirelessly interface with one or more EDs 1210 a-1210 c to enable access to a core network 1230, PSTN 1240, internet 1250, or other network 1260. For example, the base stations 1270 a-1270 b may include (or be) one or more of several well-known devices, such as a Base Transceiver Station (BTS), a Node-b (NodeB), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a Next Generation (NG) NodeB (gnb), a home NodeB, a home eNodeB, a site controller, an Access Point (AP), or a wireless router. The EDs 1210 a-1210 c are configured to interface and communicate with the internet 1250 and may access a core network 1230, PSTN 1240, or other networks 1260.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 12, base station 1270a forms a portion of RAN 1220a and may include other base stations, elements, or devices. Further, base station 1270b forms a portion of RAN 1220b and may include other base stations, elements, or devices. Each base station 1270a through 1270b operates to transmit or receive wireless signals within a particular geographic area or range (sometimes referred to as a "cell"). In some embodiments, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) techniques with multiple transceivers for each cell may be employed.

The base stations 1270a through 1270b communicate with one or more of the EDs 1210a through 1210c over one or more air interfaces 1290 using wireless communication links. Air interface 1290 may utilize any suitable radio access technology.

It is contemplated that system 1200 may utilize multiple channel access functions, including such schemes as described above. In particular embodiments, the base station and the ED implement a 5G New Radio (NR), LTE-A, or LTE-B. Of course, other multiple access schemes and wireless protocols may be utilized.

The RANs 1220 a-1220 b communicate with a core network 1230 to provide Voice, data, applications, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), or other services to the EDs 1210 a-1210 c. It is to be appreciated that the RANs 1220 a-1220 b or the core network 1230 may be in direct or indirect communication with one or more other RANs (not shown). Core network 1230 may also serve as a gateway access for other networks, such as PSTN 1240, internet 1250, and other networks 1260. Additionally, some or all of the EDs 1210 a-1210 c may include functionality for communicating with different wireless networks over different wireless links using different wireless technologies or protocols. Instead of (or in addition to) wireless communication, the ED may communicate with a service operator or switch (not shown) and with the internet 1250 via wired communication channels.

Although fig. 12 shows one example of a communication system, various changes may be made to fig. 12. For example, communication system 1200 may include any number of EDs, base stations, networks, or other components in any suitable arrangement.

Fig. 13A and 13B illustrate example devices that may implement methods and teachings in accordance with this disclosure. In particular, fig. 13A shows an example ED 1310, and fig. 13B shows an example base station 1370. These components may be used in system 1200 or any other suitable system.

As shown in fig. 13A, ED 1310 includes at least one processing unit 1300. Processing unit 1300 implements various processing operations of ED 1310. For example, processing unit 1300 may perform signal coding, data processing, power control, input/output processing, or any other function that enables ED 1310 to operate in system 1200. The processing unit 1300 also supports the methods and teachings described in more detail above. Each processing unit 1300 includes any suitable processing or computing device configured to perform one or more operations. Each processing unit 1300 may, for example, comprise a microprocessor, microcontroller, digital signal processor, field programmable gate array, or application specific integrated circuit.

The ED 1310 also includes at least one transceiver 1302. The transceiver 1302 is configured to modulate data or other content for transmission by at least one antenna or NIC (network interface controller) 1304. The transceiver 1302 is also configured to demodulate data or other content received by at least one antenna 1304. Each transceiver 1302 includes any suitable structure for generating signals for wireless or wired transmission or processing signals for wireless or wired reception. Each antenna 1304 includes any suitable structure for transmitting or receiving wireless or wired signals. One or more transceivers 1302 may be used in the ED 1310, and one or more antennas 1304 may be used in the ED 1310. Although shown as a single functional unit, the transceiver 1302 may also be implemented using at least one transmitter and at least one separate receiver.

The ED 1310 also includes one or more input/output devices 1306 or interfaces (e.g., a wired interface to the internet 1250). The input/output devices 1306 facilitate interaction (network communication) with a user or other devices in the network. Each input/output device 1306 includes any suitable structure for providing information to or receiving information from a user, such as a speaker, microphone, keypad, keyboard, display, or touch screen, including network interface communications.

In addition, ED 1310 includes at least one memory 1308. Memory 1308 stores instructions and data used, generated, or collected by ED 1310. For example, the memory 1308 may store software or firmware instructions executed by the processing unit 1300 and data for reducing or eliminating interference in the input signal. Each memory 1308 includes any suitable volatile or non-volatile storage and retrieval device. Any suitable type of memory may be used, such as Random Access Memory (RAM), Read Only Memory (ROM), hard disk, optical disk, Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card, memory stick, Secure Digital (SD) memory card, and so forth.

As shown in fig. 13B, the base station 1370 includes at least one processing unit 1350, at least one transceiver 135 that includes functionality for a transmitter and a receiver, one or more antennas 1356, at least one memory 1358, and one or more input/output devices or interfaces 1366. A scheduler, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, is coupled to the processing unit 1350. The scheduler may be included within base station 1370 or operate separately from base station 1370. The processing unit 1350 implements various processing operations for the base station 1370, such as signal coding, data processing, power control, input/output processing, or any other functions. The processing unit 1350 may also support the methods and teachings described in more detail above. Each processing unit 1350 includes any suitable processing or computing device configured to perform one or more operations. Each processing unit 1350 may, for example, include a microprocessor, microcontroller, digital signal processor, field programmable gate array, or application specific integrated circuit.

Each transceiver 1352 includes any suitable structure for generating signals for wireless or wired transmission to one or more EDs or other devices. Each transceiver 1352 also includes any suitable structure for processing signals received wirelessly or by wire from one or more EDs or other devices. Although shown as being combined into a transceiver 1352, the transmitter and receiver may be separate components. Each antenna 1356 includes any suitable structure for transmitting or receiving wireless or wired signals. Although a common antenna 1356 is shown coupled to the transceiver 1352, one or more antennas 1356 may be coupled to the transceiver 1352, allowing different antennas 1356 to be coupled to a transmitter and receiver if equipped as separate components. Each memory 1358 includes any suitable volatile or non-volatile storage and retrieval device. Each input/output device 1366 facilitates interaction (network communication) with a user or other devices in the network. Each input/output device 1366 includes any suitable structure for providing information to, or receiving/providing information from, a user, including network interface communications.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram of a computing system 1400 that may be used to implement the apparatus and methods disclosed herein. For example, a computing system may be any entity of a UE, AN Access Network (AN), Mobility Management (MM), Session Management (SM), User Plane Gateway (UPGW), or Access Stratum (AS). A particular device may utilize all of the components shown or only a subset of these components, and the level of integration may vary from device to device. Further, a device may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processing units, processors, memories, transmitters, receivers, etc. Computing system 1400 includes a processing unit 1402. The processing unit includes a Central Processing Unit (CPU) 1414, a memory 1408, and may also include a mass storage device 1404, a video adapter 1410, and an I/O interface 1412, which are connected to the bus 1420.

The bus 1420 may be one or more of any type of several bus architectures including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, or a video bus. The CPU 1414 may include any type of electronic data processor. Memory 1408 may include any type of non-transitory system memory, such as Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), Synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), Read Only Memory (ROM), or a combination thereof. In an embodiment, memory 1408 may include ROM for use at start-up and DRAM for program and data storage for use when executing programs.

The mass storage device 1404 may include any type of non-transitory storage device configured to store and enable access to data, programs, and other information via the bus 1420. The mass storage device 1404 may include, for example, one or more of a solid state drive, hard disk drive, magnetic disk drive, or optical disk drive.

The video adapter 1410 and the I/O interface 1412 provide interfaces for coupling external input and output devices to the processing unit 1402. As shown, examples of input and output devices include a display 1418 coupled to the video adapter 1410 and a mouse, keyboard, or printer 1416 coupled to the I/O interface 1412. Other devices may be coupled to the processing unit 1402, and additional or fewer interface cards may be utilized. For example, a Serial interface such as Universal Serial Bus (USB) (not shown) may be used to provide an interface for external devices.

The processing unit 1402 also includes one or more network interfaces 1406, which one or more network interfaces 1406 may include a wired link, such as an ethernet cable or a wireless link, to an access node or a different network. The network interface 1406 allows the processing unit 1402 to communicate with remote units via a network. For example, the network interface 1406 may provide wireless communication via one or more transmitters/transmit antennas and one or more receivers/receive antennas. In an embodiment, the processing unit 1402 is coupled to a local area network 1422 or a wide area network for data processing and communication with remote devices, such as other processing units, the internet, or remote storage facilities.

FIG. 15 shows a block diagram of an example embodiment processing system 1500 for performing the methods described herein, which may be installed in a host device. As shown, the processing system 1500 includes a processor 1504, a memory 1506, and interfaces 1510-1514, which may (or may not) be arranged as shown in fig. 15. The processor 1504 may be any component or collection of components adapted to perform computations and/or other processing related tasks, and the memory 1506 may be any component or collection of components adapted to store programs and/or instructions for execution by the processor 1504. In an example implementation, the memory 1506 includes a non-transitory computer-readable medium. The interfaces 1510, 1512, 1514 may be any component or collection of components that allow the processing system 1500 to communicate with other devices/components and/or users. For example, one or more of the interfaces 1510, 1512, 1514 may be adapted to communicate data, control or management messages from the processor 1504 to applications installed on a host device and/or a remote device. As another example, one or more of the interfaces 1510, 1512, 1514 can be adapted to allow a user or user device (e.g., a Personal Computer (PC), etc.) to interact/communicate with the processing system 1100. Processing system 1500 may include additional components not depicted in fig. 15, such as long-term storage (e.g., non-volatile memory, etc.).

In some example embodiments, the processing system 1500 is included in a network device that accesses or is otherwise part of a telecommunications network. In one example, the processing system 1500 is located in a network-side device in a wireless or wired telecommunications network, such as a base station, relay station, scheduler, controller, gateway, router, application server, or any other device in a telecommunications network. In other example embodiments, the processing system 1500 is located in a user-side device accessing a wireless or wired telecommunications network, such as a mobile station, UE, PC, tablet, wearable communication device (e.g., smart watch, etc.), or any other device suitable for accessing a telecommunications network.

In some example embodiments, one or more of the interfaces 1510, 1512, 1514 connect the processing system 1500 to a transceiver adapted to send and receive signaling over a telecommunications network. Fig. 16 shows a block diagram of a transceiver 1600 suitable for sending and receiving signaling over a telecommunications network. The transceiver 1600 may be installed in a host device. As shown, transceiver 1600 includes a network-side interface 1602, a coupler 1604, a transmitter 1606, a receiver 1608, a signal processor 1610, and a device-side interface 1612. The network-side interface 1602 may include any component or collection of components adapted to send or receive signaling over a wireless or wireline telecommunications network. The coupler 1604 may comprise any component or collection of components suitable for facilitating bi-directional communication over the network-side interface 1602. The transmitter 1606 may include any component or collection of components (e.g., an upconverter, a power amplifier, etc.) adapted to convert a baseband signal to a modulated carrier signal suitable for transmission over the network-side interface 1602. The receiver 1608 may include any component or collection of components (e.g., a downconverter, a low noise amplifier, etc.) adapted to convert a carrier signal received through the network-side interface 1602 to a baseband signal. The signal processor 1610 may include any component or collection of components adapted to convert baseband signals to data signals adapted for communication over the device-side interface 1612 or to convert data signals adapted for communication over the device-side interface 1612 to baseband signals. Device-side interface 1612 may include any component or collection of components suitable for communicating data signals between signal processor 1210 and components within a host device (e.g., processing system 1100, a Local Area Network (LAN) port, etc.).

The transceiver 1600 may send and receive signaling over any type of communication medium. In some example embodiments, the transceiver 1600 transmits and receives signaling over a wireless medium. For example, transceiver 1600 may be a wireless transceiver adapted to communicate in accordance with a wireless telecommunication protocol, such as a cellular protocol (e.g., LTE, etc.), a WLAN protocol (e.g., Wi-Fi, etc.), or any other type of wireless protocol (e.g., bluetooth, Near Field Communication (NFC), etc.). In such an example embodiment, the network-side interface 1602 includes one or more antenna/radiating elements. For example, the network-side interface 1602 may include a single antenna, a plurality of individual antennas, or a multi-antenna array configured for multi-layer communication, such as Single Input Multiple Output (SIMO), Multiple Input Single Output (MISO), Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO), and so on. In other example embodiments, the transceiver 1600 sends and receives signaling over a wired medium such as twisted pair, coaxial cable, fiber optics, and the like. A particular processing system and/or transceiver may utilize all or only a subset of the components shown, and the level of integration may vary from device to device.

Although combinations of features are shown in the illustrated examples, not all of the features need to be combined to realize the benefits of various example embodiments of the present disclosure. In other words, a system or method designed according to an example embodiment of this disclosure will not necessarily include all of the features shown in any one of the figures or all of the portions schematically shown in the figures. Furthermore, selected features of one example embodiment may be combined with selected features of other example embodiments.

In some example embodiments, some or all of the functionality or processing of one or more devices is implemented or supported by a computer program that is formed from computer readable program code and that is embodied in a computer readable medium. The phrase "computer readable program code" includes any type of computer code, including source code, object code, and executable code. The phrase "computer readable medium" includes any type of medium capable of being accessed by a computer, such as Read Only Memory (ROM), Random Access Memory (RAM), a hard disk drive, a Compact Disc (CD), a Digital Video Disc (DVD), or any other type of memory.

It may be advantageous to set forth definitions of certain words and phrases used throughout this patent document. The terms "include" and "comprise," as well as derivatives thereof, mean inclusion without limitation. The term "or" is inclusive, meaning and/or. The phrases "associated with … …" and "associated therewith," and derivatives thereof, mean to include, be included within, interconnect with … …, contain, be included within, connect to … … or with … …, couple to … … or with … …, communicate with … …, cooperate with … …, interleave, juxtapose, approximate, bond to … … or bond to … …, have the properties of … …, and the like.

While this disclosure has described certain example embodiments and generally associated methods, alterations and permutations of these example embodiments and methods will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the above description of example embodiments does not define or constrain this disclosure. Other changes, substitutions, and alterations are also possible without departing from the spirit and scope of this disclosure, as defined by the following claims.