IP Library Granted Patent US 12,634,869
Granted Patent B2
US 12,634,869 · App. 18/246,489 · Granted May 19, 2026

Handling of punctured positioning reference signals

Inventors: Alexandros Manolakos (Escondido, CA); Mukesh Kumar (Hyderabad, IN); Srinivas Yerramalli (San Diego, CA); Fnu Siddhant (Bangalore, IN); Guttorm Ringstad Opshaug (Redwood City, CA)
Assignee: QUALCOMM Incorporated
H04W64/00H04L1/0068H04L5/0051
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,634,869
App. No.
18/246,489
Granted
May 19, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

Disclosed are various techniques for wireless communication. In an aspect, a user equipment (UE) measures, during a measurement period that spans multiple measurement opportunities, multiple positioning reference signal (PRS) instances, each PRS instance occupying a different measurement opportunity, to produce a plurality of positioning measurements. A PRS instance can be a PRS resource, a PRS resource set, a PRS frequency layer, a transmission/reception point, or combinations thereof. For each PRS instance measured, the UE determines whether the PRS instance was punctured. Upon a determination that the PRS instance was punctured, the UE discards at least a portion of the positioning measurement and modifies the measurement period, e.g., by restarting the measurement period or extending the measurement period in order to take a measurement of another PRS instance.

Claims (54)

1 . A method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment (UE), the method comprising:

measuring, during a measurement period that spans a plurality of measurement opportunities, a plurality of PRS instances, each PRS instance occupying a different measurement opportunity, to produce a plurality of positioning measurements, each positioning measurement corresponding to one of the plurality of PRS instances; and

for each PRS instance measured in its corresponding measurement opportunity, upon a determination that the PRS instance was punctured, discarding at least a portion of the corresponding positioning measurement and modifying the measurement period.

2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

for each PRS instance measured in its corresponding measurement opportunity, upon a determination that the PRS instance was not punctured, processing the corresponding positioning measurement.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of measurement opportunities comprises a plurality of measurement gaps.

4 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising reporting processed positioning measurements to a network entity.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of PRS instances comprises a positioning reference signal (PRS) resource, a PRS resource set, a PRS frequency layer, a transmission/reception point (TRP), or combinations thereof.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein determining whether the PRS instance was punctured comprises receiving a puncture indication from a network entity.

7 . The method of claim 6 , wherein receiving the puncture indication from the network entity comprises receiving the puncture indication from a base station or a location server.

8 . The method of claim 6 , wherein receiving the puncture indication comprises receiving the puncture indication via a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) or via downlink control information (DCI) signaling.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein discarding the at least a portion of the corresponding positioning measurement comprises discarding a portion of the corresponding positioning measurement associated with punctured symbols or discarding all of the corresponding positioning measurement.

10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein modifying the measurement period comprises restarting or extending the measurement period.

11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein discarding at least a portion of the corresponding measurement comprises discarding positioning measurements that were processed prior to restarting the measurement period.

12 . The method of claim 6 , wherein measuring the plurality of PRS instances comprises measuring a first PRS instance on a first positioning frequency layer (PFL) occupying a first frequency band; and wherein receiving the puncture indication comprises receiving the puncture indication via a second frequency band different from the first frequency band.

13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein measuring the first PRS instance comprises measuring the first PRS instance during a measurement opportunity associated with the first PFL and wherein receiving the puncture indication comprises receiving the puncture indication during the measurement opportunity associated with the first PFL.

14 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising:

measuring, on a second PFL occupying the second frequency band and during a measurement opportunity associated with the second PFL, a second PRS instance, to produce a second positioning measurement;

receiving, via the first frequency band, an indication that the second PRS instance was punctured; and

discarding at least a portion of the second positioning measurement.

15 . A method of wireless communication performed by a base station, the method comprising:

detecting that a first PRS instance being transmitted on a first positioning frequency layer (PFL) occupying a first frequency band and during a measurement opportunity associated with the first PFL has been punctured; and

transmitting, via a second frequency band different from the first frequency band and during the measurement opportunity associated with the first PFL, an indication that the first PRS instance was punctured.

16 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the measurement opportunity associated with the first PFL comprises a measurement gap.

17 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the first PRS instance comprises a positioning reference signal (PRS) resource, a PRS resource set, a PRS frequency layer, a transmission/reception point (TRP), or combinations thereof.

18 . The method of claim 15 , wherein transmitting the indication that the first PRS instance was punctured comprises transmitting the indication via a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) or via downlink control information (DCI) signaling.

19 . A user equipment (UE), comprising:

a memory;

at least one transceiver; and

at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor configured to:

measure, during a measurement period that spans a plurality of measurement opportunities, a plurality of PRS instances, each PRS instance occupying a different measurement opportunity, to produce a plurality of positioning measurements, each positioning measurement corresponding to one of the plurality of PRS instances; and

for each PRS instance measured in its corresponding measurement opportunity, upon a determination that the PRS instance was punctured, discard at least a portion of the corresponding positioning measurement and modify the measurement period.

20 . The UE of claim 19 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

for each PRS instance measured in its corresponding measurement opportunity, upon a determination that the PRS instance was not punctured, process the corresponding positioning measurement.

21 . The UE of claim 19 , wherein the plurality of measurement opportunities comprises a plurality of measurement gaps.

22 . The UE of claim 19 , wherein the at least one processor configured to determine whether the PRS instance was punctured comprises the at least one processor configured to receive a puncture indication from a network entity.

23 . The UE of claim 22 , wherein the at least one processor configured to receive the puncture indication comprises the at least one processor configured to receive the puncture indication via a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) or via downlink control information (DCI) signaling.

24 . The UE of claim 19 , wherein the at least one processor configured to discard the at least a portion of the corresponding positioning measurement comprises the at least one processor configured to discard a portion of the corresponding positioning measurement associated with punctured symbols or to discard all of the corresponding positioning measurement.

25 . The UE of claim 19 , wherein the at least one processor configured to modify the measurement period comprises the at least one processor configured to restart or extend the measurement period.

26 . The UE of claim 22 ,

wherein, to measure the plurality of PRS instances, the at least one processor is configured to measure a first PRS instance on a first positioning frequency layer (PFL) occupying a first frequency band

and wherein, to receive the puncture indication, the at least one processor is configured to receive the punction indication via the at least one transceiver, via a second frequency band different from the first frequency band.

27 . The UE of claim 26 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

measure, on a second PFL occupying the second frequency band and during a measurement opportunity associated with the second PFL, a second PRS instance, to produce a second positioning measurement;

receive, via the at least one transceiver, via the first frequency band, an indication that the second PRS instance was punctured; and

discard at least a portion of the second positioning measurement.

28 . A base station, comprising:

a memory;

at least one transceiver; and

at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor configured to:

detect that a first PRS instance being transmitted on a first positioning frequency layer (PFL) occupying a first frequency band and during a measurement opportunity associated with the first PFL has been punctured; and

transmit, via the at least one transceiver, via a second frequency band different from the first frequency band and during the measurement opportunity associated with the first PFL, an indication that the first PRS instance was punctured.

29 . The base station of claim 28 , wherein the first PRS instance comprises a positioning reference signal (PRS) resource, a PRS resource set, a PRS frequency layer, a transmission/reception point (TRP), or combinations thereof.

30 . The base station of claim 28 , wherein the at least one processor configured to transmit the indication that the first PRS instance was punctured comprises the at least one processor configured to transmit the indication via a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) or via downlink control information (DCI) signaling.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Mar 27, 2023
From: MANOLAKOS, ALEXANDROS; KUMAR, MUKESH; YERRAMALLI, SRINIVAS; SIDDHANT, FNU; OPSHAUG, GUTTORM RINGSTAD
To: QUALCOMM INCORPORATED
Reel/Frame 063108/0734 →
Priority Claims (1)
IN 202041044914 · Oct 15, 2020 · national
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20240064685A1 · Feb 22, 2024
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