# US 12,764,704 B2 · Synchronization and resource allocation for sidelink positioning > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 12,764,704 B2 - Document ID: US12764704B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 18/451,578 - Filed: 2023-08-17 - Published: 2024-04-04 - Granted: 2026-10-13 - Earliest claimed: 2022-09-30 - Assignees: Apple Inc. - Applicants: Apple Inc. - Inventors: Oghenekome Oteri; Sigen Ye; Dawei Zhang; Wei Zeng; Chunxuan Ye; Weidong Yang; Haitong Sun; Seyed Ali Akbar Fakoorian - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12764704B2 ## CPC - H04W 64/00: Locating users or terminals {or network equipment} for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management - H04W 48/20: Selecting an access point - H04W 72/25: between terminals via a wireless link, e.g. sidelink - H04W: WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS (broadcast communication H04H; communication systems using wireless links for non-selective communication, e.g. wireless extensions H04M1/72) ## Abstract Apparatuses, systems, and methods for synchronization and resource allocation for sidelink positioning, e.g., in 5G NR systems and beyond. A device, e.g., a UE or an LMF, may be configured to transmit, to a plurality of wireless devices, an anchor selection request for a sidelink positioning procedure for a target UE. The device may be configured to receive, from one or more wireless devices of the plurality of wireless devices, an anchor selection response. The device may be configured to select based, at least in part, on the anchor selection responses, one or more anchor devices from the one or more wireless devices. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A method, performed by a user equipment device (UE), for selecting a synchronization reference for sidelink positioning, comprising: transmitting, to a plurality of wireless devices, an anchor selection request for a sidelink positioning procedure for a target UE; receiving, from one or more wireless devices of the plurality of wireless devices, an anchor selection response that includes information indicative of synchronization-reference characteristics associated with each wireless device of the one or more wireless devices, wherein the synchronization-reference characteristics include at least one of a synchronization source identifier, a relative time difference, or synchronization quality information; and selecting, based, at least in part, on the synchronization-reference characteristics included in the anchor selection responses, one or more anchor devices from the one or more wireless devices that satisfy a synchronization-reference criterion. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the information indicative of synchronization-reference characteristics associated with each wireless device of the one or more wireless devices included in the anchor selection response includes a UE synchronization type, and wherein the UE synchronization type includes at least one or more of: Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) based synchronization; synchronization signal block (SSB) based synchronization including an SSB identifier; sidelink SSB including a sidelink SSB identifier; and/or UE based synchronization. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the information indicative of synchronization-reference characteristics associated with each wireless device of the one or more wireless devices included in the anchor selection response includes a capability associated with synchronization switching, and wherein the capability associated with synchronization switching indicates whether a wireless device is open to switching synchronization sources. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the synchronization-reference characteristics include a relative time difference between synchronization references of at least two wireless devices. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the anchor selection response includes one or more fields corresponding to the synchronization-reference characteristics. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein selecting the one or more anchor devices comprises comparing synchronization-reference characteristics across anchor selection responses received from the one or more wireless devices. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the synchronization-reference criterion includes selecting wireless devices having a relative time difference less than a threshold. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein selecting the one or more anchor devices comprises ranking the one or more wireless devices based on synchronization quality information. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein selecting the one or more anchor devices comprises excluding wireless devices having synchronization sources different from synchronization sources associated with other candidate anchor devices. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein selecting the one or more anchor devices comprises selecting wireless devices based on synchronization delta information associated with synchronization differences between the wireless devices. ### Claim 11 An apparatus, comprising: a memory; and at least one processor in communication with the memory and configured to: generate instructions to transmit, to a plurality of wireless devices, an anchor selection request for a sidelink positioning procedure for a target user equipment device (UE); receive, from one or more wireless devices of the plurality of wireless devices, an anchor selection response that includes information indicative of synchronization-reference characteristics associated with each wireless device of the one or more wireless devices, wherein the synchronization-reference characteristics include at least one of a synchronization source identifier, a relative time difference, or synchronization quality information; and select, based, at least in part, on the synchronization-reference characteristics included in the anchor selection responses, one or more anchor devices from the one or more wireless devices that satisfy a synchronization-reference criterion. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The apparatus of claim 11, wherein, to select based, at least in part, on the anchor selection responses, the one or more anchor devices from the one or more wireless devices, the at least one processor is further configured to only select wireless devices with a common synchronization reference as anchor devices. ### Claim 13 (depends on 11) The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to disregard one or more anchor selection responses that do not include synchronization-reference characteristics. ### Claim 14 (depends on 11) The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to perform a first selection of candidate anchor devices based on synchronization-reference characteristics and a second selection of anchor devices based on signal quality or relative position associated with the candidate anchor devices. ### Claim 15 (depends on 11) The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to select the one or more anchor devices such that relative time differences between synchronization references of the one or more anchor devices satisfy a threshold prior to performing the sidelink positioning procedure. ### Claim 16 A device, comprising: a memory; at least one network interface; and one or more processors, in communication with the memory and the at least one network interface, configured to cause the device to: transmit, to a plurality of wireless devices, an anchor selection request for a sidelink positioning procedure for a target user equipment device (UE); receive, from one or more wireless devices of the plurality of wireless devices, an anchor selection response that includes information indicative of synchronization-reference characteristics associated with each wireless device of the one or more wireless devices, wherein the synchronization-reference characteristics include at least one of a synchronization source identifier, a relative time difference, or synchronization quality information; and select, based, at least in part, on the synchronization-reference characteristics included in the anchor selection responses, one or more anchor devices from the one or more wireless devices that satisfy a synchronization-reference criterion. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The device of claim 16, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the device to: determine that at least one wireless device of the one or more wireless devices has a different synchronization reference than at least one other wireless device of the one or more wireless devices; and request that the at least one wireless device switch synchronization references prior to selecting the at least one wireless device as an anchor device. ### Claim 18 (depends on 16) The device of claim 16, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the device to: determine that at least one anchor device of the one or more anchor devices has a different synchronization reference than at least one other anchor device of the one or more anchor devices; and request a synchronization delta estimate for the one or more anchor devices, wherein received synchronization delta estimates are used to correct for any synchronization differences amongst the one or more anchor devices. ### Claim 19 (depends on 16) The device of claim 16, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to update selection of the one or more anchor devices based on updated synchronization-reference characteristics received from the one or more wireless devices. ### Claim 20 (depends on 16) The device of claim 16, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to transmit feedback to one or more wireless devices requesting modification of synchronization references associated with the one or more wireless devices.