Granted Patent B2

US 12,414,073 · App. 17/664,120 · Granted Sep 9, 2025

Inventors: Bapineedu Chowdary Gummadi (Hyderabad, IN); Stephen William Edge (Escondido, CA); Binil Francis Joseph (Hyderabad, IN)

Assignee: QUALCOMM Incorporated

H04W64/003H04L5/0051H04W24/10H04W56/009

Abstract

Claims (48)

1. A method comprising:

configuring an intelligent reflecting surface (IRS) to reflect a wireless reference signal received from a transmitting device back to the transmitting device;

transmitting the wireless reference signal from the transmitting device to the IRS;

receiving a reflected wireless reference signal at the transmitting device, the reflected wireless reference signal comprising a reflection of the wireless reference signal, reflected by the IRS;

making one or more measurements of the reflected wireless reference signal, wherein the measurements comprise round trip signal propagation delay (RTT) and at least one of angle-of-departure (AoD) of the wireless reference signal or angle-of-arrival (AoA) of the reflected wireless reference signal; and

determining a location of the IRS based at least in part on measurements of the reflected wireless reference signal.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises:

receiving from a location server, a request configuring the transmitting device to transmit the wireless reference signal to the IRS; and

transmitting the measurements to the location server for the determination of the location of the IRS based on the measurements.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the transmitting device comprises a base station, and wherein the request is received via a New Radio (NR) Positioning Protocol annex (NRPPa) Protocol.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the transmitting device comprises a second user equipment (UE2) with a known location, and wherein the request is received via Long-Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP).

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising determining a location of a first user equipment (UE1) communicatively coupled with the IRS using the determined location of the IRS.

6. A method comprising:

transmitting to a transmitting device, a request configuring the transmitting device to transmit a wireless reference signal to an intelligent reflecting surface (IRS);

receiving from the transmitting device, measurements of a reflected wireless reference signal, the reflected wireless reference signal comprising a reflection of the wireless reference signal, reflected by the IRS;

making one or more measurements of the reflected wireless reference signal, wherein the measurements comprise round trip signal propagation delay (RTT) and at least one of angle-of-departure (AoD) of the wireless reference signal or angle-of-arrival (AoA) of the reflected wireless reference signal; and

determining a location of the IRS based on the measurements.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the measurements comprise Time difference of arrival (TDOA) and angle-of-departure (AOD) of the reflected wireless reference signal.

8. The method of claim 6 , wherein the transmitting device comprises a base station and the request is transmitted via a New Radio (NR) Positioning Protocol annex (NRPPa) Protocol.

9. The method of claim 6 , further comprising determining a location of a first user equipment (UE1) communicatively coupled with the IRS using the determined location of the IRS; wherein the transmitting device comprises a second user equipment (UE2).

10. A transmitting device in a wireless communication network, comprising:

a wireless communication interface configured to:

configure an intelligent reflecting surface (IRS) to reflect a wireless reference signal back to the transmitting device;

transmit the wireless reference signal to the IRS; and

receive a reflected wireless reference signal, the reflected wireless reference signal comprising a reflection of the wireless reference signal, reflected by the IRS;

a memory; and

one or more processing units communicatively coupled to the wireless communication interface and the memory, the one or more processing units configured to:

make one or more measurements of the reflected wireless reference signal, wherein the measurements comprise round trip signal propagation delay (RTT) and at least one of angle-of-departure (AoD) of the wireless reference signal or angle-of-arrival (AoA) of the reflected wireless reference signal; and

determine a location of the IRS based at least in part on measurements of the reflected wireless reference signal.

11. The transmitting device of claim 10 , wherein the wireless communication interface is configured to:

receive from a location server, a request configuring the transmitting device to transmit the wireless reference signal to the IRS; and

transmit the measurements to the location server for the determination of the location of the IRS based on the measurements.

12. The transmitting device of claim 11 , wherein the transmitting device comprises a base station, and wherein the request is received via a New Radio (NR) Positioning Protocol annex (NRPPa) Protocol.

13. The transmitting device of claim 11 , wherein the transmitting device comprises a second user equipment (UE2) with a known location, and wherein the request is received via Long-Term Evolution (LTE) Positioning Protocol (LPP).

14. The transmitting device of claim 10 , wherein the one or more processing units are further configured to determine a location of a first user equipment (UE1) communicatively coupled with the IRS using the determined location of the IRS.

15. A location server comprising:

a transceiver configured to:

transmit to a transmitting device, a request configuring the transmitting device to transmit a wireless reference signal to an intelligent reflecting surface (IRS); and

receive from the transmitting device, measurements of a reflected wireless reference signal, the reflected wireless reference signal comprising a reflection of the wireless reference signal, reflected by the IRS;

a memory; and

one or more processing units communicatively coupled with the transceiver and the memory, the one or more processing units configured to:

make one or more measurements of the reflected wireless reference signal, wherein the measurements comprise round trip signal propagation delay (RTT) and at least one of angle-of-departure (AoD) of the wireless reference signal or angle-of-arrival (AoA) of the reflected wireless reference signal; and

determine a location of the IRS based on the measurements.

16. The location server of claim 15 , wherein the measurements comprise Time difference of arrival (TDOA).

17. The location server of claim 15 , wherein the transmitting device comprises a base station and the request is transmitted via a New Radio (NR) Positioning Protocol annex (NRPPa) Protocol.

18. The location server of claim 15 , wherein:

the one or more processing units are configured to determine a location of a first user equipment (UE1) communicatively coupled with the IRS using the determined location of the IRS; and

the transmitting device comprises a second user equipment (UE2).

Assignments (1)

Continuity (1)

References Cited (12)