ApplePatent applicationNetworks & wirelessInterest 6/10

Apple patents method to locate multiple devices at once using direct signals

Patent drawing from the official filing.

Apple has filed a patent application for a system that allows one device to determine the location of two or more other devices in a single session. The method works by sending a reference signal to the target devices, which then send signals back, allowing the original device to calculate the distance to each based on the time it takes for the signals to travel.

Why it mattersThis technology could improve how groups of devices, such as smartwatches or phones, locate each other directly without needing a central server, potentially enhancing features like finding lost items or coordinating group activities.

In the filing’s own words

Methods, systems, apparatuses, and computer programs for sidelink (SL) positioning of target UEs in a single positioning session are disclosed. In one aspect, operations are performed by a reference UE and can include transmitting a first SL positioning reference signal (SL-PRS) to a first target UE and a second target UE; receiving, in response to transmitting the first SL-PRS, a second SL-PRS and a third SL-PRS from a first target UE and a second target UE, respectively; and obtaining (i) first time of flight (ToF) information indicative of a first distance between the reference UE and the first target UE based on the second SL-PRS, and (ii) second ToF information indicative of a second distance between the reference UE and the second target UE based on the third SL-PRS.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. One or more processors of a reference user equipment (UE) configured to, when executing instructions stored in a memory, perform operations for sidelink (SL) positioning of target UEs in a single positioning session, the operations comprising: transmitting, by the reference UE, a first SL positioning reference signal (SL-PRS) to a first target UE and a second target UE; receiving, by the reference UE and in response to transmitting the first SL-PRS, a second SL-PRS and a third SL-PRS from the first target UE and the second target UE, respectively; and obtaining, by the reference UE, (i) first time of flight (ToF) information indicative of a first distance between the reference UE and the first target UE based on the second SL-PRS, and (ii) second ToF information indicative of a second distance between the reference UE and the second target UE based on the third SL-PRS.

Facts

Company: Apple (Apple Inc.)
Official title: SIDELINK POSITIONING FOR MULTIPLE TARGET USER EQUIPMENT
Publication number: US20260313591A1
Application number: 19482144
Filed: May 11, 2023
Published: Oct 8, 2026
Inventors: 10
Claims: 23

Classified under

H04W 64/00 Electricity & electronicsG01S 13/765 Physics & computingH04W 92/18 Electricity & electronics

Read the full filing (official PDF) ↗ Open in the Patent Tracker

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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.