Systems and methods for locating user equipment in a wireless network

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12196845-B2
Application number	US-202016835852-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 31, 2020
Priority date	Mar 31, 2020
Publication date	Jan 14, 2025
Grant date	Jan 14, 2025

Abstract

Methods and apparatus are provided that may simplify and enhance the location of nodes in a network, including ED and mobile TPs, even if all or many of the nodes are mobile. The methods may be used to enable single TP positioning, and may be used to reduce synchronization error. The provided methods make use of smart reflectors having known location. By processing a combination of signals, which may include an original transmitted signal, and/or one or more reflected signals, the location of a receiving node can be determined. Media tagging may be employed to allow a receiver to detect the identity of the nearby reflectors (with known locations) and based on the identity determine the locations of the reflectors. Using this information, the receiving node can detect its location regardless of knowing the transmission source and/or location.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method in a first node comprising:
receiving from another node, by the first node, a first reflected reference signal which is a reference signal after having been reflected by a first reflector which applied a first signature sequence to the reference signal by performing element by element multiplication of the reference signal with the first signature sequence, wherein the first signature sequence applied by the first reflector to the reference signal using the element by element multiplication includes one or more time domain signatures, wherein the element by element multiplication is performed in a time domain;
making, by the first node, a measurement on the first reflected reference signal;
obtaining, by the first node, a location of the first reflector, wherein the obtaining the location of the first reflector comprises processing the first reflected reference signal to determine the first signature sequence, the first signature sequence being associated with the location of the first reflector in a lookup table containing respective locations for a plurality of signature sequences including the first signature sequence, and obtaining the location of the first reflector based on the first signature sequence by looking up the location associated with the first signature sequence in the lookup table to identify the first reflector from a plurality of reflectors; and
determining, by the first node, a location of the first node based on the location of the first reflector and the measurement on the first reflected reference signal.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
receiving, by the first node, a second reflected reference signal which is the reference signal after having been reflected by a second reflector;
making a measurement, by the first node, on the second reflected reference signal;
obtaining, by the first node, a location of the second reflector; and
wherein said determining, by the first node, the location of the first node is based on the location of the first reflector, the measurement on the first reflected reference signal, the location of the second reflector and the measurement on the second reflected reference signal.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein receiving the second reflected reference signal which is the reference signal after having been reflected by the second reflector comprises:
receiving the second reflected reference signal which is the reference signal after having been reflected by the second reflector which applied a second signature sequence to the signal;
wherein obtaining the location of the second reflector comprises processing the second reflected reference signal to determine the second signature sequence, and obtaining the location of the second reflector based on the second signature sequence.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the reference signal is received from the another node further comprising:
receiving, by the first node, the reference signal directly from the another node;
and the method further comprising:
making a measurement, by the first node, on the reference signal received directly from the another node;
obtaining, by the first node, the location of the another node; and
wherein said determining, by the first node, the location of the first node is based on the location of the first reflector, the measurement on the first reflected reference signal, the location of the another node and the measurement on the reference signal received directly from the another node.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein receiving the reference signal directly from the another node comprises:
receiving the reference signal over at least one beam out of multiple beams from the another node, each beam of the multiple beams received at a respective time period and a respective angle known to the first node.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein:
a particular beam of the multiple beams from the another node is directed towards the first reflector;
receiving the first reflected reference signal after having been reflected by the first reflector comprises receiving the particular beam after having been reflected by the first reflector at the respective time period of the particular beam.

7. The method of claim 5 wherein:
a particular beam of the multiple beams from the other node is directed towards the first reflector over multiple time periods;
receiving the first reflected reference signal after having been reflected by the first reflector comprises receiving the particular beam after having been reflected by the reflector during at least one of the multiple time periods at a respective angle for each of the multiple time periods, the respective angle for each of the multiple time periods known to the first node.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
transmitting, by the first node, the reference signal towards the first reflector.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the reference signal to which the first reflector applied the first signature sequence by performing element by element multiplication is a time domain signal.

10. An apparatus comprising:
a processor and memory, the apparatus configured to:
receive a first reflected reference signal from another node which is a reference signal after having been reflected by a first reflector which applied a first signature sequence to the reference signal by performing element by element multiplication of the reference signal with the first signature sequence, wherein the first signature sequence applied by the first reflector to the reference signal using the element by element multiplication includes one or more time domain signatures, wherein the element by element multiplication is performed in a time domain;
make a measurement on the first reflected reference signal;
obtain a location of the first reflector, wherein the obtaining the location of the first reflector comprises processing the first reflected reference signal to determine the first signature sequence, the first signature sequence being associated with the location of the first reflector in a lookup table containing respective locations for a plurality of signature sequences including the first signature sequence, and obtaining the location of the first reflector based on the first signature sequence by looking up the location associated with the first signature sequence in the lookup table to identify the first reflector from a plurality of reflectors; and
determine a location of the apparatus based on the location of the first reflector and the measurement on the first reflected reference signal.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 further configured to:
receive a second reflected reference signal which is the reference signal after having been reflected by a second reflector;
make a measurement on the second reflected reference signal;
obtain a location of the second reflector; and
wherein said location determined by the apparatus is also based on the location of the second reflector and the measurement on the second reflected reference signal.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the apparatus is configured to receive the second reflected reference signal which is the reference signal after having been reflected by the second reflector by:
receiving the second reflected reference signal which is the reference signal after having been reflected by the second reflector which applied a second signature sequence to the signal;
wherein the apparatus is configured to obtain the location of the second reflector by processing the second reflected reference signal to determine the second signature sequence, and obtaining the location of the secon

Assignees

• Bayesteh Alireza
• Zarifi Keyvan
• Baligh Mohammadhadi
• Tadayon Navid
• Huawei Tech Co Ltd

Inventors

• Bayesteh Alireza
• Zarifi Keyvan
• Baligh Mohammadhadi
• Tadayon Navid

Classifications

• H04W72/23

  in the downlink direction of a wireless link, i.e. towards a terminal · CPC title

• H04W4/02

  Services making use of location information · CPC title

• H04W16/28

  using beam steering · CPC title

• H04B17/27

  for locating or positioning the transmitter · CPC title

• H04W64/00 Primary

  Locating users or terminals {or network equipment} for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management · CPC title