Method and apparatus for controlling the bandwidth for processing a baseband transmission signal, receiver for a wireless communication system, and method for a receiver

Abstract

A method for controlling bandwidth is provided, the bandwidth being used for processing a baseband transmission signal by a transmission path of a transmitter. The method includes generating a first comparison result by comparing a first quantity of physical resource blocks allocated to the transmitter for a first transmission time interval with a threshold. Moreover, the method includes generating a second comparison result by comparing a second quantity of physical resource blocks allocated to the transmitter for a subsequent second transmission time interval with the threshold. The method further includes adjusting the bandwidth based on the first comparison result and the second comparison result.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to efficient signal processing. In particular, examples relate to methods and apparatus for controlling the bandwidth for processing a baseband transmit signal, a receiver for a wireless communication system, and a method for a receiver. Background Art

[0002] Mobile wireless devices benefit from power-optimized modem architectures because the amount of available energy is limited by the battery.

[0003] Therefore, power-optimized transmitters and receivers may be desired. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0004] Some examples of the apparatus and / or method will be described below by way of example only and with reference to the drawings, in which

[0005] Figure 1 a flowchart illustrating an example of a method for controlling the bandwidth for processing a baseband transmit signal;

[0006] Figure 2 a process illustrating an example of the number of allocated physical resource blocks;

[0007] Figure 3 a timing scheme illustrating an example for a wireless communication system;

[0008] Figure 4 a block diagram illustrating an example of a method for controlling the bandwidth for processing a baseband transmit signal;

[0009] Figure 5 a process illustrating another example of the number of allocated physical resource blocks;

[0010] Figure 6 a process illustrating yet another example of the number of allocated physical resource blocks;

[0011] Figure 7 a block diagram illustrating an example of a first criterion for selecting a time point to change the bandwidth for processing a baseband transmit signal;

[0012] Figure 8 a process illustrating yet another example of the number of allocated physical resource blocks;

[0013] Figure 9 a process illustrating yet another example of the number of allocated physical resource blocks;

[0014] Figure 10 a block diagram illustrating an example of a second criterion for selecting a time point to change the bandwidth for processing a baseband transmit signal;

[0015] Figure 11 An example of a block diagram showing a third criterion for selecting a time point for changing the bandwidth for processing a baseband transmission signal;

[0016] Figure 12 An example of a block diagram showing a fourth criterion for selecting a time point for changing the bandwidth for processing a baseband transmission signal;

[0017] Figure 13 An example of a block diagram showing a criterion for deciding whether to change the bandwidth for processing a baseband transmission signal;

[0018] Figure 14 An exemplary process of block error rate for different coding rates is shown;

[0019] Figure 15 An example of a block diagram showing a fifth criterion for selecting a time point for changing the bandwidth for processing a baseband transmission signal;

[0020] Figure 16 An example of a block diagram showing a criterion for increasing the power of a radio frequency transmission signal;

[0021] Figure 17 An example of a transmitter is shown;

[0022] Figure 18 An example of the bandwidth of a baseband transmission signal for a transmission time interval sequence is shown;

[0023] Figure 19 Another example of the bandwidth of a baseband transmission signal for a transmission time interval sequence is shown;

[0024] Figure 20 An example of a transmitter is shown;

[0025] Figure 21 An example of frequency shift is shown;

[0026] Figure 22 Another example of frequency shift is shown;

[0027] Figure 23 An example of a transmitter for applying frequency shift is shown;

[0028] Figure 24 Another example of a transmitter for applying frequency shift is shown;

[0029] Figure 25 Yet another example of a transmitter for applying frequency shift is shown;

[0030] Figure 26 Still another example of a transmitter for applying frequency shift is shown;

[0031] Figure 27An example of an apparatus for controlling the bandwidth for processing a baseband transmission signal is shown;

[0032] Figure 28 A flowchart of another example of a method for controlling the bandwidth for processing a baseband transmission signal is shown;

[0033] Figure 29 An example of a state machine implementing a method for controlling the bandwidth for processing a baseband transmission signal is shown;

[0034] Figure 30 An example of an apparatus for controlling the bandwidth for processing a baseband transmission signal is shown;

[0035] Figure 31 An example of a receiver for a wireless communication system is shown;

[0036] Figure 32 Another example of a receiver for a wireless communication system is shown;

[0037] Figure 33 A flowchart of an example of a method for a receiver is shown; and

[0038] Figure 34 An example of a mobile device including a receiver according to the present disclosure and / or an apparatus for controlling the bandwidth for processing a baseband transmission signal according to the present disclosure is shown. Detailed Description

[0039] Various examples will now be described more fully with reference to the drawings showing some examples. In the drawings, for clarity, the thickness of regions, layers, and / or lines may be exaggerated.

[0040] Thus, although other examples are capable of various modifications and alternative forms, some specific examples are shown in the drawings and will be described in detail hereinafter. However, this detailed description does not limit other examples to the specific forms described. Other examples may cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternative forms falling within the scope of the present disclosure. Throughout the description of the drawings, the same reference numerals refer to the same or similar elements, and when providing the same or similar functions, they may be implemented the same or in a modified form.

[0041] It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being "connected" or "coupled" to another element, these elements may be directly connected or coupled or connected or coupled via one or more intermediate elements. If two elements A and B are combined using "or", it should be understood that all possible combinations are disclosed, i.e., only A, only B, and A and B. Alternative terminology for the same combination is "at least one of A and B". The same applies to combinations of more than two elements.

[0042] The terms used herein to describe specific examples are not intended to limit other examples. Whenever singular forms such as "a", "an", and "the" are used and only a single element is not explicitly or implicitly defined as mandatory, other examples can also implement the same function using multiple elements. Similarly, when a function is subsequently described as being implemented using multiple elements, other examples can implement the same function using a single element or processing entity. It will be further understood that the terms "comprises", "comprising", and / or "including", when used, specify the presence of the stated features, integers, steps, operations, processes, acts, elements, and / or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, processes, acts, elements, components, and / or any combination thereof.

[0043] Unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein (including technical and scientific terms) are used in their ordinary meaning in the field to which the examples belong.

[0044] Figure 1 A method 100 for controlling the bandwidth used to process a baseband transmission signal by a transmission path of a transmitter is shown.

[0045] The transmission path includes components or circuits required to generate a wireless communication signal, which can be provided, for example, to an antenna element to be radiated into the environment. Thus, some examples of the transmission path can include circuits for processing (filtering, symbol mapping) the information of the baseband transmission signal. In a wireless communication system, the transmission path can optionally further include a modulation circuit to convert the information of the baseband transmission signal according to the currently used modulation scheme (e.g., using an inverse Fourier transform). Additionally, there can be a subsequent mixing circuit that up-converts the baseband transmission signal to a radio frequency signal for radiating the information. However, the term "transmission path" used herein should not be construed to include all components technically required to generate a radio frequency signal. Instead, the transmission path used in the context of this specification can include only a subset of those components or elements.

[0046] Additionally, the transmitter can optionally include one or more other transmission paths.

[0047] Method 100 includes generating (102) a first comparison result by comparing a first quantity of physical resource blocks (PRBs) allocated to a transmitter for a first transmission time interval (TTI) with a threshold. A PRB can be understood as the smallest resource unit that can be allocated to a transmission path / transmitter / modem / mobile device for uplink or downlink data transmission to / from a base station. A PRB can be, for example, 180 kHz wide in terms of frequency and 0.5 ms long in terms of time. In terms of frequency, a PRB can be, for example, 12 × 15 kHz subcarriers or 24 × 7.5 kHz subcarriers wide. A TTI is related to encapsulating data from a higher layer into a frame for transmission on a radio link layer. A TTI refers to the duration of transmission on a radio link (e.g., the duration of a TTI may be 1 ms).

[0048] In addition, method 100 includes generating (104) a second comparison result by comparing a second quantity of PRBs allocated to the transmitter for a subsequent second TTI with the threshold.

[0049] Method 100 further includes adjusting (106) the bandwidth used to process a baseband transmission signal based on the first comparison result and the second comparison result. For example, adjusting (106) the bandwidth can include providing a control signal to a transmission path or a processing circuit of the transmission path, the control signal indicating the bandwidth to be used to process the baseband transmission signal.

[0050] The higher the bandwidth used by a transmission path to process a baseband transmission signal, the higher the power consumed by the transmission path. The allocation of PRBs to a transmitter can vary from TTI to TTI. This is exemplarily shown in Figure 2 FIG. Figure 2 FIG. shows the respective quantities of PRBs allocated for a plurality of consecutive TTIs. In some TTIs, no uplink data is transmitted, i.e., the TTI is empty. In some TTIs, physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) data is transmitted, while in other TTIs, physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) data or sounding reference signal (SRS) is transmitted. Apparently, the quantity of PRBs allocated can vary dynamically between consecutive TTIs. For example, a single PRB can be allocated for transmitting PUCCH data, while 2, 6, 10, 20, 50 or more PRBs can be allocated for transmitting PUSCH data.

[0051] For a small number of allocated PRBs, a smaller bandwidth for processing them may be sufficient, while for a larger number of allocated PRBs, a higher bandwidth may be required. If only a small number of PRBs are allocated but the baseband signal is processed with a high bandwidth, this may result in (most of) the available bandwidth for processing being unused. For example, if only one PRB is allocated and the transmit path uses 20 MHz for processing, the frequency of the baseband transmit signal may be only 180 kHz wide, leaving more than 19 MHz of the processing bandwidth unused. Thus, by adjusting the bandwidth based on the actual number of PRBs allocated for a given TTI, processing the baseband signal with an unnecessarily high bandwidth can be avoided. As a result, the power consumption of the transmit path can be reduced, and thereby the power consumption of the transmitter can be reduced. In other words, method 100 can improve the power efficiency of the transmitter.

[0052] In some examples, the first TTI may immediately precede the second TTI. In other examples, the first TTI may be the last TTI before the second TTI for which a non-zero number of PRBs are allocated to the transmitter.

[0053] If both the first comparison result and the second comparison result respectively indicate that the number of allocated PRBs is below a threshold, if both the first comparison result and the second comparison result respectively indicate that the number of allocated PRBs is above a threshold, or the second number of allocated PRBs is zero, then adjusting (106) the bandwidth used by the transmit path may include, for example: keeping the bandwidth unchanged.

[0054] Conversely, if one of the first comparison result and the second comparison result indicates that the number of allocated PRBs is below a threshold and the other of the first comparison result and the second comparison result indicates that the number of allocated PRBs is above a threshold, then adjusting (106) the bandwidth may include: changing the bandwidth from a first bandwidth to a second bandwidth.

[0055] The second bandwidth may be less than the first bandwidth, and vice versa. For example, if the second bandwidth is less than the first bandwidth, the threshold may be based on (e.g., equal to) the ratio of the second bandwidth to the width of a PRB in frequency (i.e., the maximum number of PRBs can be transmitted using the smaller second bandwidth). Similarly, if the first bandwidth is less than the second bandwidth, the threshold may be based on (e.g., equal to) the ratio of the first bandwidth to the width of a PRB in frequency (i.e., the maximum number of PRBs can be transmitted using the smaller first bandwidth).

[0056] In addition to the bandwidth, other processing parameters within the transmission path can also be adjusted. For example, method 100 can further include: controlling the transmission path to process the baseband transmission signal using a first sampling rate for a first bandwidth; and controlling the transmission path to process the baseband transmission signal using a second sampling rate for a second bandwidth. Additionally, method 100 can include: controlling the transmission path to process the baseband transmission signal using an inverse Fourier transform of a first size (e.g., inverse fast Fourier transform, iFFT) for a first bandwidth, and controlling the transmission path to process the baseband transmission signal using an inverse Fourier transform of a second size for a second bandwidth. Thus, a lower sampling rate and / or a smaller size of the inverse Fourier transform can be used with a smaller bandwidth to process the baseband transmission signal. By adjusting one or more other processing parameters, the processing of the baseband transmission signal by the transmission path can be further optimized in terms of energy efficiency.

[0057] In a cell of a cellular network, a serving base station typically allocates a certain bandwidth to a mobile device for radio frequency transmission signals. Thus, method 100 can further ensure that the frequency of the baseband transmission signal conforms to the allocated bandwidth. For example, if the second bandwidth is less than the first bandwidth, and the bandwidth of the radio frequency transmission signal generated by the transmission path based on the baseband transmission signal is the first bandwidth (i.e., the allocated bandwidth is the first bandwidth), then method 100 can further include controlling the transmission path to shift the frequency of the baseband transmission signal processed by the transmission path using the second bandwidth to the frequency designated for the first bandwidth. Thus, after shifting the baseband transmission signal to the frequency designated for the first bandwidth, the baseband transmission signal is at the same frequency position as if it had been processed by the transmission path using the higher first bandwidth. Therefore, using the lower second bandwidth to process the baseband transmission signal does not affect the subsequent generation of the resulting radio frequency transmission signal. However, since the baseband transmission signal is processed by the transmission path using the lower second bandwidth, the baseband transmission signal is processed with higher power efficiency.

[0058] It should be noted that in some examples, the bandwidth used for the transmission path to process the baseband transmission signal can be adjusted based on the number of PRBs assigned to the transmitter for one or more additional TTIs. For example, method 100 may further include: generating a third comparison result by comparing a third number of PRBs assigned to the transmitter for a third TTI after a second TTI with a threshold. Accordingly, the bandwidth used to process the baseband transmission signal can be further adjusted (106) based on the third comparison result. Considering the other assigned numbers of PRBs can allow avoiding unnecessary switching between different bandwidths. For example, if the number of PRBs assigned for the first and third TTIs is higher than the threshold and the number of PRBs assigned for the second TTI is lower than the threshold, considering only the number of PRBs assigned for two consecutive TTIs may cause the bandwidth to change from a first bandwidth to a second bandwidth and then back to the first bandwidth for the first to third TTIs. On the other hand, when the number of PRBs assigned for the third TTI is also considered in addition to the number of PRBs assigned for the first and second TTIs, it can be determined that the bandwidth changes only for one TTI. Considering the possible signal errors in the generated radio frequency transmission signal due to adjusting the bandwidth, therefore, considering the number of PRBs assigned for other TTIs can allow deciding not to change the bandwidth, that is, keeping the bandwidth unchanged. Accordingly, a trade-off between power saving and the signal errors in the generated radio frequency transmission can be achieved.

[0059] In some examples, method 100 may further include adjusting the start time for changing the bandwidth from a first bandwidth to a second bandwidth. As described above, changing the bandwidth from a first bandwidth to a second bandwidth may cause signal errors in the generated radio frequency transmission signal. By adjusting the start time for changing the bandwidth from a first bandwidth to a second bandwidth, the start time can be set to minimize the signal errors in the generated radio frequency transmission signal, or to occur in the TTI of data where signal errors can be tolerated.

[0060] In the foregoing, changing the bandwidth from a first bandwidth to a second bandwidth has been described by way of example. However, it should be noted that one or more additional bandwidths may be used to process the baseband transmit signal. For example, a first quantity, a second quantity, and optionally an additional quantity of the allocated PRBs may be compared with one or more additional thresholds to determine whether to change the bandwidth used to process the baseband transmit signal. For example, method 100 may further include: generating a fourth comparison result by comparing the first quantity of the PRBs allocated to the transmitter for a first TTI with a second threshold, and generating a fifth comparison result by comparing the second quantity of the PRBs allocated to the transmitter for a second TTI with the second threshold. Accordingly, the bandwidth may be further adjusted based on the fourth and fifth comparison results. For example, if one of the fourth and fifth comparison results indicates that the number of the allocated PRBs is lower than the second threshold and the other of the fourth and fifth comparison results indicates that the number of the allocated PRBs is higher than the threshold, adjusting the bandwidth may include changing the bandwidth from the first bandwidth to a third bandwidth. Using more bandwidth to process the baseband transmit signal may find the optimal (minimum) bandwidth for different quantities of the allocated PRBs in terms of energy efficiency.

[0061] Accordingly, method 100 may enable a "breathing" transmitter. Method 100 may be understood as an intelligent switching mechanism for a breathing transmitter having a single transmit chain (transmission path). For example, if two transmit chains are implemented in the transmitter, one transmit chain may be fixed to, for example, one PRB, where the proposed control method may be applied to switch the other transmit chain between different bandwidths greater than one PRB. As described above, the method (e.g., implemented as an algorithm) may place the switching at a position (time) with no or minimal impact. The algorithm may, for example, consider the number of PRBs in the previous and next TTIs to make a decision. That is, one advantage of the proposed method may be that if only a small number of PRBs need to be transmitted, the breathing transmitter improves power efficiency by scaling down the generated bandwidth. In addition, a breathing transmitter having one transmit chain instead of two may be smaller and less expensive (however, the generated signal may be degraded in the case of a short switching time). Accordingly, the proposed switching algorithm may ensure that the switching time occurs at a position where they have no or negligible impact.

[0062] For simplicity, only two bandwidths, i.e., "large" and "small", and one threshold are considered for the breathing transmitter in the following description. For example, a threshold of 6 may be selected such that the small bandwidth refers to an allocation of ≤6 PRBs and the large bandwidth refers to an allocation of >6 PRBs. As described above, different values may be selected for the threshold, and the method may be extended to more thresholds / bandwidths.

[0063] Before a possible handover point at the boundary between a first TTI n-1 and a second TTI n, the mobile device already knows the number of PRBs allocated (and other relevant information such as the data type, e.g., PUCCH, PUSCH, or SRS). Figure 3 An exemplary timing scheme for a wireless communication system (e.g., according to the Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project 3GPP) is shown. In Figure 3 Three timelines 310, 320, and 330 are shown. These timelines are scaled in units of 1 ms long TTIs. Timeline 310 relates to the base station of the wireless communication system. For illustrative purposes, timeline 320 is used as a reference and timeline 330 relates to the mobile device (user equipment) of the wireless communication system.

[0064] As Figure 3 shown, the base station sends, in the downlink channel at TTI n-5, the configuration for the mobile device for the first TTI n-1 (including the number of PRBs allocated for this TTI) to the mobile device. Thus, the base station sends the configuration for the mobile device for the second TTI n at TTI n-4.

[0065] After the base station sends the configuration for a TTI, the mobile device can generally receive them. The handover duration (i.e., the time period required for the transmission path of the mobile device to change the bandwidth for processing the baseband transmission signal from a first bandwidth to a second bandwidth) and the necessary pre-computation can take less (much less) time than one TTI. Thus, knowing the configuration for four TTIs in advance may (so far) be sufficient to change the bandwidth of the transmission path.

[0066] Figure 4 A block diagram of handover triggering according to the proposed method is shown. In a comparison block 410, a second number of PRBs allocated to a transmitter (or mobile device) for a second TTI n is compared with a threshold to generate a second comparison result. Correspondingly, in the comparison block 410, a first number of PRBs allocated to the transmitter for a first TTI is compared with the threshold to generate a first comparison result. As described above, the first TTI can be the TTI n-1 immediately preceding the second TTI n, or the last TTI before the second TTI n for which the transmitter is allocated a non-zero number of PRBs (i.e., the last non-empty TTI).

[0067] A bandwidth switch and a bandwidth change may be required only if the number of PRBs allocated in TTI n exceeds a defined threshold relative to the number of PRBs transmitted in the previous TTI (e.g., in TTI n-1 or the last non-empty TTI). As described above, multiple additional thresholds can be used.

[0068] Thus, if the first comparison result and the second comparison result are on the same side of the threshold (i.e., both the first comparison result and the second comparison result respectively indicate that the number of allocated PRBs is lower than the threshold, or both the first comparison result and the second comparison result respectively indicate that the number of allocated PRBs is higher than the threshold), or if the second TTI n is empty (i.e., the second number of allocated PRBs is zero), then no bandwidth switching is performed. Thus, the method proceeds to maintenance block 420, where the bandwidth remains unchanged.

[0069] If the first comparison result and the second comparison result are on different sides of the threshold (i.e., one of the first comparison result and the second comparison result indicates that the number of allocated PRBs is lower than the threshold, and the other of the first comparison result and the second comparison result indicates that the number of allocated PRBs is higher than the threshold), then the bandwidth is switched. Thus, the method proceeds to switching block 430, where at block 430, the bandwidth is changed from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth.

[0070] As described above, if it is decided to switch, the switching point can be optimized in optimization block 440 (e.g., at the end of TTI n - 1 or at the start of TTI n). This is shown in Figure 5 and Figure 6 which shows an exemplary process of the number of allocated PRBs.

[0071] Figure 5 Shows a first exemplary process of the number of allocated PRBs for two consecutive TTIs. In the first TTI n - 1, the number of allocated PRBs is higher than the threshold. Thus, the higher first bandwidth will be used to process the baseband transmission signal. In the second TTI n, the number of allocated PRBs is lower than the threshold, so that the lower second bandwidth can be used to process the baseband transmission signal. That is, Figure 5 shows the conversion from a large bandwidth to a small bandwidth.

[0072] As Figure 5 shown, the bandwidth can be switched before or after the TTI boundary. That is, the start time for changing the bandwidth from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth can be adjusted such that the change of the bandwidth from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth is completed before the transmission path starts to process the data related to the second TTI n in the baseband transmission signal; or the start time for changing the bandwidth from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth can be adjusted to the time point when the transmission path processes the data related to the second TTI n in the baseband transmission signal.

[0073] Figure 6Shows a second exemplary process for the number of PRBs allocated for two consecutive TTIs. In the first TTI n-1, the number of allocated PRBs is below a threshold. Accordingly, a lower first bandwidth can be used to process the baseband transmit signal. In the second TTI n, the number of allocated PRBs is above the threshold, so a higher second bandwidth will be used to process the baseband transmit signal. That is,

[0074] Figure 6 shows the conversion from a small bandwidth to a large bandwidth.

[0075] Similar to Figure 5 the situation shown, the bandwidth can be switched before or after the TTI boundary.

[0076] Different criteria can be used to select the switching point. Below, with reference to Figures 7 to 16 some criteria are described. It should be noted that although the criteria are described separately for illustrative purposes, they can be combined in some examples.

[0077] Figure 7 Shows a first criterion based on the number of PRBs allocated for the first TTI n-1. If it is determined in the determination block 710 that the previous TTI n-1 is empty (i.e., the first number of allocated PRBs is zero), the method can proceed to the switching block 720 and switch the bandwidth in the first TTI n-1 (e.g., at the end of the first TTI n-1). That is, based on the time period required for the transmission path to change the bandwidth from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth, the method can include: adjusting the start time such that the change of the bandwidth from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth is completed before the transmission path starts to process the data related to the second TTI in the baseband transmit signal. This may be beneficial because for an empty TTI, the transmission path does not process any data. Therefore, signal degradation due to bandwidth change does not occur.

[0078] This is shown in Figure 8 and 9 shown. Figure 8 Shows another exemplary process for the number of PRBs allocated for two consecutive TTIs. In the first TTI n-1, the number of allocated PRBs is zero, and the bandwidth is adjusted to a higher first bandwidth. In the second TTI n, the number of allocated PRBs is non-zero and below the threshold, so a lower second bandwidth can be used to process the baseband transmit signal. Initially, the baseband transmit signal is processed using the first bandwidth. As combined with Figure 7As discussed, the bandwidth switch occurs in the empty TTI n-1. That is, based on the time period required to change the bandwidth from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth in the transmission path, the start time is adjusted so that the change of the bandwidth from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth is completed before the transmission path starts to process the data related to the second TTI n in the baseband transmission signal.

[0079] Similarly, Figure 9 Another exemplary process of the number of PRBs allocated for two consecutive TTIs is shown. In the first TTI n-1, the number of allocated PRBs is still zero, but the bandwidth is adjusted to a lower first bandwidth. In the second TTI n, the number of allocated PRBs is non-zero and higher than the threshold, so that a higher second bandwidth will be used to process the baseband transmission signal. Initially, the baseband transmission signal is processed using the first bandwidth. Again, the bandwidth switch is performed in the empty TTI n-1 to avoid signal degradation in the second TTI n including data.

[0080] Returning to Figure 7 the block diagram of, if it is determined in the determination block 710 that the previous TTI n-1 is not empty (i.e., the first number of allocated PRBs is not zero), the method can proceed to the optimization block 730, where one or more other criteria are adopted to select the switching point, and further proceed to the switching block 740 to switch the bandwidth.

[0081] Some criteria for selecting the switching point can also be based on the number of PRBs allocated for the second TTI n. That is, the start time for changing the bandwidth from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth can be adjusted based on at least one of the first number of allocated PRBs (for the first TTI) and the second number of allocated PRBs (for the second TTI).

[0082] In addition, for different conversions, the switching time (i.e., the time period required for the transmission path to change the bandwidth from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth and vice versa) can be different, so that different optimizations depending on the conversion direction can be used. For example, compared with the conversion from a large bandwidth to a small bandwidth, the transmission path may require a shorter time for the conversion from a small bandwidth to a large bandwidth. This is shown in Figure 10 shown.

[0083] Figure 10 Another block diagram for selecting the switching point is shown. In the determination block 1010, it is determined whether the method differentiates between the directions of switching (changing) the bandwidth for processing the baseband transmission signal. If the method differentiates between the switching directions, the current switching direction (i.e., from large to small, or from small to large) is determined in the direction determination block 1020.

[0084] If it is determined that the switching direction is from small to large, the specific optimization of the switching (starting) point in this direction can be determined by the first optimization block 1030. If it is determined that the switching direction is from large to small, the specific optimization of the switching (starting) point in the opposite direction can be determined by the second optimization block 1040.

[0085] For example, if the first quantity of the allocated PRBs (for the first TTI) is lower than the threshold, and the second quantity of the allocated PRBs (for the second TTI) is higher than the threshold (i.e., bandwidth switching from small to large), the method may include adjusting the start time for changing the bandwidth to the time point when data related to the second TTI in the transmit path processed baseband transmit signal is sent. The transition from small to large may be very short (in addition, the coding of a large number of PRBs in the second TTI n may be very robust), so that if the switch is located in the second TTI (e.g., at the start), the impact on the second TTI can be negligible.

[0086] As Figure 10 shown, further optimization of the switching point can be applied by the optional additional optimization block 1050. Then, the bandwidth switching is completed by the switching block 1060.

[0087] For example, for the transition from a large bandwidth to a small bandwidth with a small second TTI n (including, for example, PUCCH data) (which may take more time), the additional optimization block 1050 can implement further optimization (e.g., increasing the transmit power).

[0088] If the method does not distinguish between the switching directions, the method can directly proceed to the additional optimization block 1050 and the switching block 1060.

[0089] In some examples, the selection of the switching point can also be based on the data type of the baseband transmit signal. For example, the method may include: adjusting the start time for changing the bandwidth from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth based on at least one of the type of data related to the first TTI in the baseband transmit signal and the type of data related to the second TTI in the baseband transmit signal. This is described below with reference to Figures 11 to 13 this.

[0090] Figure 11Shows a standard based on the presence of PUCCH data in one of the TTIs. While the PUSCH has a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) scheme and is typically controlled by the base station to a 10% block error rate (BLER), the PUCCH may be more important for correct reception by the base station. Therefore, determination block 1110 determines whether to send PUCCH data in one of the first TTI n-1 and the second TTI n. If PUCCH data is to be sent in one of the first TTI n-1 and the second TTI n, selection block 1120 determines that a handover occurs in the other TTI.

[0091] Optionally, optimization block 1130 may determine a further optimization of the handover point before handover block 1140 switches the bandwidth for processing the baseband transmission signal.

[0092] The PUCCH is very robust and PUCCH data is typically transmitted at low signal power. Therefore, an increase in signal power may be very suitable for the PUCCH and is determined by optimization block 1130.

[0093] If PUCCH data is to be sent in both the first TTI n-1 and the second TTI n, bandwidth switching may not be performed since the PUCCH does not always have a PRB.

[0094] Figure 12 Shows another standard based on the presence of SRS data in one of the TTIs. The SRS symbols are important for channel estimation by the base station. For example, they may be transmitted in the last orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol of the TTI. Therefore, determination block 1210 determines whether to send SRS data in the first TTI n-1. If SRS data is to be sent in the first TTI n-1, selection block 1220 determines that a handover occurs in the second TTI n.

[0095] Optionally, optimization block 1230 may determine a further optimization of the handover point before handover block 1240 switches the bandwidth for processing the baseband transmission signal.

[0096] Figure 13 Shows another handover standard based on the presence of SRS data and PUCCH in the TTI. Determination block 1310 determines whether SRS data will be sent in the first TTI n-1 and, additionally, PUCCH data will be sent in the second TTI n. If SRS data is to be sent in the first TTI n-1 and PUCCH data is to be sent in the second TTI n, selection block 1320 determines not to switch the bandwidth. Otherwise, optional optimization block 1330 may determine an optimization of the handover point before handover block 1340 switches the bandwidth for processing the baseband transmission signal.

[0097] That is, if the type of data related to the first TTI or the second TTI in the baseband transmission signal is a predetermined data type, the start time for changing the bandwidth from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth can be adjusted such that the bandwidth changes from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth when processing, in the transmission path, the data related to the other one of the first TTI and the second TTI in the baseband transmission signal. Of course, the start time adjustment is based on the time period required for the transmission path to change the bandwidth from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth.

[0098] In addition, if both the type of data related to the first TTI in the baseband transmission signal and the type of data related to the second TTI in the baseband transmission signal are predetermined data types, the bandwidth can remain unchanged.

[0099] As described above, the predetermined type of data can be, for example, data for PUCCH, data for SRS, or data for retransmission.

[0100] In some examples, the selection of the switching point can also be based on the coding robustness of the data in the baseband transmission signal. This is described below with reference to Figures 14 to 15 this.

[0101] Coding robustness represents the vulnerability of data to errors, such as errors introduced when processing data in the transmission path or when transmitting data through the generated radio frequency signal. For example, the first coding robustness of the data related to the first TTI in the baseband transmission signal can be based on at least one of the following items: the code rate of the data related to the first TTI in the baseband transmission signal (i.e., the ratio of useful / non-redundant data), the transport block size, the modulation and coding scheme (MCS), the modulation, the code block size, and the code type.

[0102] Compared with the TTI, the switching time (i.e., the time period required for the transmission path to change the bandwidth from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth) may be quite short. For example, the switching time can be less than 20 μs, which means that it only affects a small part of only one OFDM symbol among, for example, 12 or 14 OFDM symbols in the TTI. As described above, for different bandwidth conversions, the switching time can be different (for example, from small to large may be much faster than from large to small).

[0103] For the PUSCH uplink, the effect of changing the bandwidth is shown in Figure 14 In Figure 14 the effect of changing the bandwidth is simulated by blanking a certain length of the first OFDM symbol in the TTI. For the effect of changing the bandwidth, blanking (i.e., no useful data) is the worst-case assumption. Similarly, it is also the worst-case for a small PUSCH uplink where the TTI only has two allocated PRBs because the code block size of the Turbo decoder is small.

[0104] Figure 14 Shows the BLER of the PUSCH uplink relative to its signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for different coding rates and different blanking durations. As a reference, Figure 14 illustrates the typical target BLER of 10 -1 through line 1400.

[0105] At Figure 14 the left side of, a first set of BLER processes 1410 for a coding rate of 0.15 relative to its SNR is shown. This set of BLER processes 1410 includes BLER processes for different blanking durations (different time periods required for the analog transmission path to change the bandwidth from a first bandwidth to a second bandwidth). Similarly, other sets of BLER processes 1420, 1430, 1440, 1450, 1460, 1470, 1480, and 1490 for coding rates of 0.25, 0.35, 0.44, 0.56, 0.65, 0.75, 0.85, and 0.94 are shown.

[0106] From Figure 14 it can be seen that even for relatively large blanking durations, the impact is relatively small (e.g., the bandwidth of the SNR required to achieve the typical target BLER 1400 is less than 0.5 dB). This is because only one of the 12 OFDM symbols with data is partially affected. Therefore, more than 11 / 12 of the data transmissions remain unaffected. Only for coding rates greater than 0.85 is the degradation greater. However, such high coding rates are not realistic for a small number of allocated PRBs. In addition, safety protection can be used when switching the bandwidth.

[0107] The PUCCH with only one allocated PRB has a different coding scheme. Therefore, the impact may be slightly larger (e.g., due to its smaller size). However, compared to the poor high coding rate situation of the PUSCH, the general coding is stronger at a rate of 1 / 2. Since the PUCCH with one allocated PRB always belongs to a small setup, a handover may be blocked here (see above), or the handover may be moved to an adjacent TTI (see above).

[0108] When switching from the downlink to the uplink, the SRS pilot symbols in a frequency division duplex (FDD) system (when configured) are at the end of the OFDM symbol at the end of the TTI, and in a time division duplex configuration, at the end of the special subframe. The SRS pilot symbols usually have many PRBs, and therefore, they may belong to the large bandwidth option. As described above, the handover can be made at the start of the next TTI so that the SRS pilot symbols are not affected.

[0109] Figure 15A block diagram depicting the selection of a handover time based on coding robustness is shown. A comparison block 1510 compares a first coding robustness of data related to a first TTI n-1 in a baseband transmission signal with a second coding robustness of data related to a second TTI n in the baseband transmission signal. Then, a selection block 1520 determines to switch to the more robust one of TTI n-1 and n. That is, based on the time period required for a transmission path to change a bandwidth from a first bandwidth to a second bandwidth, the selection block 1520 may adjust a start time such that the change of the bandwidth from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth occurs when the transmission path processes the data related to the first TTI n-1 and the second TTI n in the baseband transmission signal that exhibits a higher coding robustness.

[0110] As described above, the coding robustness of data related to a certain TTI in a baseband transmission signal may be based on at least one of a code rate, a transport block size, an MCS, modulation, a code block size, and a code type of the data related to the TTI in the baseband transmission signal.

[0111] In addition, an optional optimization block 1530 may determine a further optimization of a handover point before a handover block 1540 switches a bandwidth for processing a baseband transmission signal.

[0112] To compensate for a (small) coding gain loss caused by changing a bandwidth, the transmission power may be increased (e.g., by 1 dB) for an affected TTI (if it is not the maximum power). Thus, a better SNR at a base station may offset the loss of coded bits. For example, for PUCCH, due to its robustness, the transmission power is usually much lower than the maximum transmission power. Thus, the transmission power of a TTI related to PUCCH data may be increased.

[0113] For example, based on an expected (adjusted) handover time and known robustness of a first TTI n-1 and a second TTI n (i.e., based on a coding scheme and rate, a number of allocated PRBs, or a number of pilots), an expected performance degradation may be estimated. For example, the performance degradation may be calculated as an equivalent value of X dB of a signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) at a receiving base station. To compensate for this degradation, if the transmission power is not at the maximum power, the transmission power may be increased by, for example, Y dB (Y is less than, equal to, or greater than X). In addition, it may be checked whether an increased power consumption caused by the increased transmission power offsets a gain brought by a transmission path handover (i.e., a bandwidth handover).

[0114] In Figure 16The increase in the above signal power is shown in the block diagram. Calculation block 1610 calculates the signal degradation of the radio frequency transmission signal due to changing the bandwidth from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth for the radio frequency transmission signal generated by the transmission path based on the baseband transmission signal. Comparison block 1620 compares the power of the radio frequency transmission signal with a predetermined signal power (e.g., the maximum signal power supported by the transmission path for the radio frequency transmission signal, or the maximum signal power for the radio frequency transmission signal according to the communication standard). If the power of the radio frequency transmission signal is less than the predetermined signal power, increase block 1630 increases the power of the radio frequency transmission signal for the signal portion of the radio frequency transmission signal related to the data in the baseband transmission signal processed by the transmission path when the bandwidth changes from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth.

[0115] The method proposed above (e.g., implemented as an algorithm) is mainly described in terms of the first TTI n - 1 and the second TTI n. However, as described above, past and future TTIs can also be considered to further improve the handover decision. For example, when a decision has been made, the control circuit of the transmitter or the transmission path may already know information regarding the number of PRBs allocated for future TTIs n + 1, n + 2,... (e.g., because the processing of the relevant uplink control information in the downlink for TTI n - 4 has been completed, or certain regular patterns (such as SRS or periodic reporting) have specified the number of allocated PRBs in any way). This can also be supported by certain historical algorithms based on past TTIs, which can, for example, identify certain patterns of voice calls or enable other predictions. If there is a handover in the opposite direction shortly thereafter (e.g., from TTI n - 1 to TTI n + 1), this can be used, for example, not to hand over from TTI n - 1 to TTI n. However, if a handover must be made, the prediction may be overridden because the definite information can always be used in the final decision.

[0116] That is, the method may include: generating a third comparison result by comparing the third number of PRBs allocated to the transmitter for a third TTI after the second transmission time interval with a threshold; and further adjusting the bandwidth based on the third comparison result. The third number of allocated PRBs may be based on at least one of the following: information received from the base station, information related to the respective numbers of PRBs allocated to the transmitter for a plurality of TTIs before the first TTI, and information related to the type of data that periodically appears in the baseband transmission signal.

[0117] That is, it is possible to consider using a large amount of history to predict the already available (dynamic or periodic) scheduling information for future TTIs.

[0118] In addition, overall control (e.g., implemented as an algorithm) can be used to check the error rates of PUSCHs generated, for example, in switched and non-switched TTIs (e.g., in a manner based on the physical hybrid-ARQ indicator channel, PHICH, or the BLER of the retransmission grant) and the error rates of PUCCHs (e.g., based on unwanted retransmissions, MCS, or a mismatch between the rank and the reported channel quality indicator CQI). This can allow ensuring that a transmission path switch does not break things and that the overall performance of the transmitter is good.

[0119] That is, the method can additionally include: determining, based on information received from a base station, a signal error of a radio frequency transmission signal due to adjusting the bandwidth, the radio frequency signal being generated by a transmission path based on a baseband transmission signal. If the signal error exceeds an error threshold, the adjustment of the bandwidth can be disabled.

[0120] In summary, if degradation cannot be avoided, the algorithm may seek to minimize the impact and take countermeasures, or even prevent the switch.

[0121] As described above, a serving base station can allocate a certain bandwidth to a mobile device for radio frequency transmission signals. Thus, the proposed method can further ensure that the frequency of the baseband transmission signal conforms to the allocated bandwidth. For example, if a second bandwidth is less than a first bandwidth and the bandwidth of the radio frequency transmission signal generated by the transmission path based on the baseband transmission signal is the first bandwidth (i.e., the allocated bandwidth is the first bandwidth), the method can further include controlling the transmission path to shift the frequency of the baseband transmission signal processed by the transmission path using the second bandwidth to the frequency designated for the first bandwidth. Thus, after shifting the baseband transmission signal to the frequency designated for the first bandwidth, the baseband transmission signal is at the same frequency position as if it had been processed by the transmission path using the higher first bandwidth.

[0122] In Figure 17 an exemplary polar transmitter 1700 that supports the proposed control scheme is shown. The polar transmitter 1700 includes a transmission path 1710 and means 1720 for controlling the transmission path 1710 according to the proposed control scheme.

[0123] A digital front end 1730 (illustrated as a first-in first-out (FIFO) buffer) provides the baseband transmission signal. A first processing portion 1740 of the transmission path 1710 receives and processes the baseband transmission signal. The means 1720 adjusts the bandwidth of the first processing portion 1740 of the transmission path 1710 for processing the baseband transmission signal. The frequency conversion of the baseband transmission signal (i.e., the allocated RBs) to the desired frequency is accomplished by a mixing circuit 1750. The mixing circuit 1750 is also controlled by the means 1720.

[0124] For example, if the bandwidth of the radio frequency transmission signal allocated by the serving base station to the transmitter 1700 is a relatively high first bandwidth, and the first processing section 1740 is controlled to process the baseband transmission signal using a relatively low second bandwidth, the device 1720 controls the hybrid circuit 1750 to shift the frequency of the baseband transmission signal to the frequency designated for the first bandwidth.

[0125] Accordingly, the polar section 1760 of the transmission path 1710 receives the baseband transmission signal at the same frequency position as if it had been processed by the first processing section 1740 using the relatively high first bandwidth. Thus, the polar section 1760 can conventionally generate a radius component and a phase component for driving a (digital) phase-locked loop (PLL) 1770 and a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) 1780 to generate a radio frequency transmission signal 1790 based on the baseband transmission signal.

[0126] As described above, the breathing transmitter according to the proposed scheme can be based on a pure resource allocation scenario. To improve the scheme to address the error vector magnitude (EVM) issue due to the transient time when changing the bandwidth, information about the MCS can be used to adjust the switching time for switching from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth.

[0127] For example, for LTE wireless communication, the 3GPP specification 36.213 defines a modulation and TBS index table (Table 7.1.7.1-1) and a transport block size (Table 7.1.7.2.1-1), which can be used to determine the modulation and coding rate related to the transmission in the current subframe (SF) (i.e., the current TTI). Higher coding rate transmissions allow for more data to be transmitted over a channel with a relatively smaller number of redundant bits, which results in a higher data rate. For poorer channel conditions, a lower coding rate adds more redundant bits to achieve successful decoding of the payload. During uplink transmission, the transmitter can have information regarding the final coding rate, the associated payload, and the number of allocated PRBs for the current transmission.

[0128] According to transmission theory, higher coding rate transmissions require a higher SNR to achieve the same BLER as lower coding rate transmissions. Thus, the mechanism for switching the bandwidth can be further based on the MCS information. For example, the timing of switching the bandwidth based on the MCS of adjacent SFs (TTIs) to shift the resulting transient distortion to an SF with a lower MCS. Placing the transient distortion period in an SF with a lower MCS can ensure a better probability of reception quality at the base station compared to a scheme that does not consider this information.

[0129] As described above, one design criterion for a battery-powered cellular system is to minimize power without negatively impacting system performance. For high-bandwidth transmissions, when the number of allocated PRBs is below a threshold (e.g., six or fewer), switching the size of the iFFT, bandwidth, etc. used for baseband processing to save power may pose a higher retransmission risk for high code rate transmissions if there are transients in the resulting RF transmit signal. Using MCS (especially the coding rate) information and the current resource allocation conditions to "adjust" the position of the transients can ensure an improvement in system performance by reducing the retransmission probability.

[0130] In Figure 18 this technique is shown, which depicts the bandwidth of the baseband transmit signal for a TTI sequence. In Figure 18 five consecutive TTIs 1810, 1820, 1830, 1840, and 1850 are shown.

[0131] In Figure 18 the example, the threshold for deciding whether to switch the bandwidth used for processing the baseband signal is set to 6 PRBs. For TTI 1810, 20 PRBs are allocated to the transmitter. For TTIs 1820 and 1850, 28 PRBs are allocated to the transmitter. For TTIs 1830 and 1840, 2 PRBs are allocated to the transmitter. That is, for TTIs 1810, 1820, and 1850, the baseband transmit signal will be processed by the transmit path using a higher first bandwidth (e.g., 20 MHz) because the number of allocated PRBs exceeds the threshold. For TTIs 1830 and 1840, the baseband transmit signal will be processed by the transmit path using a lower second bandwidth (e.g., 1.4 MHz) because the number of allocated PRBs is below the threshold. Along with the reduced bandwidth, the transmit path can further use a reduced-size iFFT (128 points instead of 2048 points) and / or a reduced sampling rate (e.g., 1.92 MHz instead of 30.72 MHz) to process the baseband transmit signal.

[0132] That is, bandwidth switching occurs between TTI 1820 and 1830 and between TTI 1840 and 1850. The adjustment of the switching time is based on the MCS allocated to different TTIs. In other words, the start time for adjusting the bandwidth from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth can be based on information about the first MCS allocated to the first TTI and the second MCS allocated to the second TTI.

[0133] The decision to switch the bandwidth and iFFT size is based on the previous TTI, the current TTI to be transmitted over the air, and the configuration received for the next TTI. In Figure 18In it, the MCS for TTI 1820 is higher than that for TTI 1830. Therefore, the transition time 1831 is pushed to the start of TTI 1830. Similarly, since the MCS for TTI 1840 is lower than that for TTI 1850, the transition time 1841 is completed before the start of TTI 1850. Therefore, this scheme "protects" the TTI with a higher MCS from the transients caused by bandwidth and the change in the iFFT size in the breathing transmitter. That is, Figure 18 An example of an improved breathing transmitter is shown, where the transients during the iFFT size switch are transferred to the TTI with a lower MCS.

[0134] Similarly, Figure 19 The bandwidth of the baseband transmit signal for another TTI sequence is shown. In Figure 19 Five consecutive TTIs 1910, 1920, 1930, 1940, and 1950 are shown.

[0135] In Figure 19 's example, the threshold of 6 PRBs is used again. For TTIs 1910, 1920, 1940, and 1950, more than 6 PRBs are allocated to the transmitter. For TTI 1930, 2 PRBs are allocated to the transmitter. That is, for TTIs 1910, 1920, 1940, and 1950, since the number of allocated PRBs is higher than the threshold, the baseband transmit signal is to be processed by the transmit path using a higher first bandwidth (e.g., 20 MHz). For TTI 1830, since the number of allocated PRBs is lower than the threshold, the baseband transmit signal can be processed by the transmit path using a lower second bandwidth (e.g., 1.4 MHz). Again, the size of the iFFT and the sampling rate for processing the baseband transmit signal can be reduced along with the bandwidth.

[0136] In Figure 19 's example, the resource allocation changes in subsequent TTIs (e.g., because for consecutive TTIs 1920, 1930, and 1940, PUSCH, PUCCH, and again PUSCH transmissions are scheduled). That is, bandwidth switching occurs between TTI 1920 and 1930 and between TTI 1930 and 1940. Comparing the MCS of TTIs 1920, 1930, and 1940, transmitter breathing may occur, such that the transition period 1931 is at the start and end of the PUCCH (i.e., TTI 1930). Since PUCCH transmissions are more robustly encoded compared to PUSCH, the possibility of PUCCH decoding errors is lower.

[0137] As described above, the information on the MCS for a TTI may include information on the coding rate of data in the baseband transmit signal related to the respective TTI. Thus, the proposed method may include comparing a first coding rate of data in the baseband transmit signal related to a first TTI with a second coding rate of data in the baseband transmit signal related to a second TTI. The first coding rate and the second coding rate are based on information on a first MCS assigned to the first TTI and a second MCS assigned to the second TTI. Further, the method may include: adjusting a start time for changing a bandwidth from a first bandwidth to a second bandwidth based on a time period required for changing the bandwidth from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth along a transmit path, such that a change of the bandwidth from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth occurs when the transmit path processes data related to the first TTI and data related to the second TTI in the baseband transmit signal that exhibits a lower coding rate.

[0138] For example, the MCS increment (i.e., the difference between the MCSs of consecutive TTIs) for determining the transient location due to transmitter breathing may be adjustable (programmable). The optimal value for balancing power savings without sacrificing system performance may be based on, for example, laboratory / field measurements.

[0139] In Figure 20 An example of a transmitter 2000 using the proposed bandwidth-controlled baseband processing is shown. The transmitter 2000 is shown as a transmitter for generating a radio frequency transmit signal according to the LTE standard. However, it should be noted that the proposed bandwidth-controlled baseband processing may also be used for any other mobile communication standard.

[0140] The proposed bandwidth-controlled baseband processing is implemented in the transmitter 2000 because LTE symbols are generated in the baseband (e.g., zero frequency or low frequency) for a smaller bandwidth with a smaller iFFT and by taking advantage of the roll-off characteristics of the filter chain. Then, for example, the shifting of data related to PRBs may be done by adding a frequency control word to the input of a (digital) PLL operating in a two-point manner (for more details see Figure 23 ).

[0141] Thus, due to the reduced sampling rate and smaller iFFT in the entire DFE filter chain, significant power savings can be achieved in the case of only a few allocated PRBs.

[0142] Further, if the data related to PRBs calculated by the (digital) baseband is placed at DC (i.e., zero frequency), it does not experience the roll-off characteristics of the IQ filter chain. Instead, the transmitter 2000 takes advantage of the sharp roll-off characteristics of the existing filter chain to meet the spectral mask requirements without additional filtering. This may result in lower current consumption and a reduced need for semiconductor chips.

[0143] If, for example, six or fewer PRBs are allocated to transmitter 2000, the transmit path 2010 of transmitter 2000 can process a baseband signal having only a 1.4 MHz bandwidth. This is illustrated in Figure 20 by iFFT block 2020, cyclic prefix block 2030, and filter block 2050, which process the baseband signal using a configuration for a 1.4 MHz signal bandwidth. For example, the iFFT size may be 128 points, and for PUSCH / PUCCH data, the size of the cyclic prefix may be fixed in the normal (10 / 9) or extended (32) mode. In addition, transmit path 2010 includes an additional frequency shift block 2060 to shift the signal to the desired frequency (e.g., related to the bandwidth of the resulting radio frequency transmit signal desired by the serving base station).

[0144] Compared to processing the baseband signal using conventional large bandwidth processing (e.g., at 20 MHz bandwidth), symbol mapping block 2040 and frequency shift and phase shift block 2070 for applying a 1 / 2 subcarrier shift are modified. In symbol mapping block 2040, different zero-padding positions are used. Frequency shift and phase shift block 2070 adds another phase shift taking into account the different bandwidths used for processing.

[0145] That is, if the baseband signal is processed at a smaller second bandwidth instead of the larger first bandwidth of the resulting radio frequency transmit signal generated by transmit path 2010 based on the baseband transmit signal, then transmit path 2010 is controlled to shift the phase of the baseband transmit signal processed by the transmit path using the second bandwidth. For example, shifting the phase of the baseband transmit signal by frequency shift and phase shift block 2070 can be based on the difference between the frequency of the data of the baseband transmit signal related to one or more allocated PRBs (when processed using the smaller second bandwidth) and the desired frequency of the data at the first bandwidth. That is, the phase of the baseband transmit signal can be shifted based on the difference between the actual frequency position of the data related to the allocated PRBs used in the signal processing using the smaller second bandwidth and the frequency position of the data if processed using the conventional (and larger) first bandwidth. Additionally, shifting the phase of the baseband transmit signal can be further based on the length of the cyclic prefix used by transmit path 2010 for the second bandwidth.

[0146] With the above blocks, transmit path 2010 filters the baseband transmit signal. To utilize the sharp roll-off characteristics of the filter chain, starting from the edge of the frequency range, the data related to one or more allocated PRBs in the baseband transmit signal is continuously configured within the frequency range used when transmit path 2010 processes the baseband transmit signal based on the (e.g., small) bandwidth used. That is, the data related to the allocated PRBs is placed at the edge of the filter chain in the frequency domain to utilize the roll-off characteristics of the filter chain.

[0147] In the following, some mathematical expressions are given to describe how the frequency shift and phase shift block 2070 in the baseband domain and the frequency shift block 2060 in the radio frequency domain of the transmission path 2010 work together to generate the desired radio frequency signal. In the following exemplary expressions, it is assumed that the desired radio frequency transmission signal exhibits a bandwidth of 20 MHz (i.e., the radio frequency transmission signal is an LTE20 signal).

[0148] The time - continuous signal of antenna port p for single - carrier frequency - division multiple access (SC - FDMA) symbol l in an uplink time slot is defined as:

[0149]

[0150] For ease of understanding, only a single sub - carrier is considered in the following expressions, but the single sub - carrier can be extended to multi - tones by summing these individual tones. Assuming a sampling rate of 30.72 MHz, the simplified expression of expression (1) is:

[0151]

[0152] k + 1 / 2 is the actual position of sub - carrier k in the frequency domain. Replace k + 1 / 2 in expression (2) with p+q, where q represents the deviation within 6 physical resource blocks (PRBs) of sub - carrier k, and p represents how many sub - carriers can be moved from q to k + 1 / 2. Expression (2) can be further rewritten as:

[0153]

[0154] which represents the desired radio frequency transmission signal.

[0155] Assume the IFFT output of the SC - FDMA symbol is:

[0156]

[0157] And the frequency shift block 2060 in the radio frequency domain of the transmission path 2010 performs phase - continuous up - conversion on the baseband signal

[0158]

[0159] Without considering possible phase rotations, the up - converted BB output is:

[0160]

[0161] Comparing expression (3) and (6), the difference between the desired signal and the shifted BB signal is:

[0162]

[0163] When this difference is compensated by the frequency shift and phase shift block 2070 in the baseband domain, the resulting signal is:

[0164]

[0165] The above equations and formulas are based on a single tone, but can be extended to multiple tones within 6 PRBs. Then, through frequency shift, the required RF signal is generated from the baseband with a small-sized IFFT.

[0166] However, note that in expressions (4) and (5), the definition of n is not exactly the same, except that they are the same in the first SC-FDMA symbol (l = 0). n accumulates in expression (5) but not in expression (4), so for the l-th (l ≠ 0) SC-FDMA symbol:

[0167]

[0168] and

[0169]

[0170] For example, the three exponentiations in expression (10) can be implemented respectively in the iFFT block 2020, the frequency shift and phase shift block 2070, and the frequency shift block 2060.

[0171] Figure 21 The shift of the generated signal from the narrow frequency to the required frequency is shown in. At the left side of Figure 21 the baseband transmit signal is processed using a 1.4 MHz bandwidth. The baseband transmit signal includes data 2110 related to the allocated single PRB. To utilize the sharp roll-off characteristic, the data 2110 related to the allocated single PRB is placed at the edge of the frequency range determined by the small 1.4 MHz bandwidth. Using the frequency shift block 2060, since the serving base station expects the generated RF transmit signal to have a 20 MHz bandwidth, the frequency of the baseband transmit signal, that is, the frequency of the data 2110 related to the allocated single PRB, is shifted by the frequency shift amount to shift to the frequency assigned to the 20 MHz bandwidth (related to the 20 MHz bandwidth).

[0172] Figure 22Two different embodiments of the applied frequency shift are shown. Line 2210 shows a rectangular frequency step in the time domain, while line 2220 shows a smooth trajectory. In this particular case, line 2220 follows a sine shape. However, other characteristics (such as erfc(x), sin^2(x), etc.) can also be used. In another embodiment, a simple low-pass filter can be applied to the rectangular frequency step so that the output of the filter follows a smooth step response. In other words, the frequency shift can involve one of the following: a single rectangular frequency step in the time domain, multiple rectangular frequency steps in the time domain, or a non-rectangular frequency trajectory in the time domain.

[0173] Figures 23 to 26 Various examples for controlling the transmit path to achieve frequency shift are shown.

[0174] Figure 23 The transmit path 2310 of the transmitter 2300 using polar modulation is shown for generating a radio frequency transmit signal based on a baseband transmit signal. The transmit path 2310 is controlled to shift the frequency of the baseband transmit signal by modifying the control of the (digital) PLL 2320, which provides an oscillation signal to the DAC 2330 of the transmit path 2310. In particular, the combiner 2350 combines the frequency control f from the processing circuit 2340 operating in the polar domain in the transmit path 2310 with another frequency control word f shift indicating the frequency shift. That is, a frequency step is applied to the frequency control word generated by the processing circuit 2340.

[0175] Figure 24 An alternative embodiment is shown. Figure 24 The transmit path 2410 of the transmitter 2400 in again uses polar modulation to generate a radio frequency transmit signal based on a baseband transmit signal. In the Figure 24 example, information regarding the frequency shift is applied to the phase information at the output of the coordinate rotation digital computer (CORDIC) 2420 by the combiner 2430. Since the phase is the integral of the frequency, a frequency step corresponds to a ramp. In other words, the transmit path 2410 is controlled to shift the frequency of the baseband transmit signal by modifying the phase value Θ ramp related to the frequency shift of the phase information Θ input to the processing circuit 2430 operating in the polar domain in the transmit path 2410.

[0176] Figure 25 Yet another embodiment is shown, which shows the transmit path 2510 of the transmitter 2500, which again uses polar modulation to generate a radio frequency transmit signal based on a baseband transmit signal. For the transmit path 2510, by performing the operation (i + j·q)·exp(j2π·f shiftThe mixer 2520 in the transmission path 2510 of ·t) performs frequency shift in the IQ domain. In other words, the transmission path 2410 is controlled to shift the frequency of the baseband transmission signal by the frequency shift amount f by controlling the mixer 2520. shift to shift the frequency of the baseband transmission signal, and supply the frequency-shifted baseband transmission signal to the processing circuit 2530 operating in the polar domain in the transmission path 2510.

[0177] In Figure 26 is shown an embodiment for Cartesian modulation. The transmission path 2610 of the transmitter 2600 uses Cartesian modulation to generate a radio frequency transmission signal based on the baseband transmission signal. In the Cartesian modulator 2610, frequency shift is applied by changing the control word of the PLL 2620, which generates an oscillation signal for the DAC 2630 of the transmission path 2610 (here, before supplying the oscillation signal to the DAC 2630, the oscillation is further divided by the frequency divider 2640). To achieve fast frequency shift, a frequency step is added in a two-point modulation manner. In other words, by based on a first frequency control word f Chan indicating the carrier frequency of the radio frequency transmission signal and a second frequency control word f shift indicating the frequency shift to control the PLL 2620 to operate as a two-point modulator, to control the transmission path 2610 to shift the frequency of the baseband transmission signal.

[0178] To summarize the bandwidth control, Figure 27 is further shown an apparatus 2700 for controlling the bandwidth used by the transmission path 2720 of a transmitter to process a baseband transmission signal 2701. The transmission path 2720 generates a radio frequency transmission signal 2702 based on the baseband transmission signal 2701. The apparatus 2700 includes a processor circuit 2710. The processor circuit 2710 is configured to generate a first comparison result by comparing a first number 2711 of PRBs allocated to the transmitter for a first TTI with a threshold 2713. In addition, the processor circuit 2710 is configured to generate a second comparison result by comparing a second number 2712 of PRBs allocated to the transmitter for a subsequent second TTI with the threshold 2713.

[0179] Based on the first comparison result and the second comparison result, the processor circuit 2710 is configured to adjust the bandwidth used to process the baseband transmission signal 2701 by the transmission path 2720. For example, the processor circuit 2710 may be configured to provide a control signal indicating the bandwidth to be used to process the baseband transmission signal 2701 to the transmission path 2720 or the processing circuit of the transmission path 2720.

[0180] By adjusting the bandwidth based on the actual number of PRBs allocated for a certain TTI, it is possible to avoid processing the baseband transmission signal 2701 with an unnecessarily high bandwidth. Therefore, the power consumption of the transmission path 2720 can be reduced. In other words, the device 2700 can improve the power efficiency of the transmission path 2720.

[0181] In some examples, the processor circuitry 2710 may further be configured to perform one or more additional optional features corresponding to one or more aspects of the proposed techniques for controlling the bandwidth for processing the baseband transmission signal in the transmission path or the one or more examples above.

[0182] Generally, some examples of the present disclosure relate to an apparatus for controlling a bandwidth for processing a baseband transmission signal by a transmission path of a transmitter. The apparatus includes a component for generating a first comparison result by comparing a first number of PRBs allocated to the transmitter for a first TTI with a threshold. In addition, the apparatus includes a component for generating a second comparison result by comparing a second number of PRBs allocated to the transmitter for a subsequent second TTI with the threshold. The apparatus further includes a component for adjusting the bandwidth based on the first comparison result and the second comparison result.

[0183] In the following, in combination with Figures 28 to 30 Another technique for controlling the bandwidth for processing the baseband transmission signal in the transmission path is described.

[0184] Figure 28 Another method 2800 for controlling the bandwidth for processing the baseband transmission signal by a transmission path of a transmitter is shown. Method 2800 includes calculating (2802) a first coefficient that indicates the power savings resulting from processing the baseband transmission signal using a lower second bandwidth instead of a first bandwidth. If the first coefficient exceeds a first threshold for a first time period, method 2800 further includes operating the transmission path in a first operating mode in which the bandwidth can be switched from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth.

[0185] If the first coefficient exceeds the first threshold, significant power savings can be achieved by switching to a lower bandwidth operation. Therefore, the transmission path operates in a first operating mode that allows switching from the first bandwidth to a lower second bandwidth.

[0186] Conversely, if the first coefficient does not exceed the first threshold for the first time period, method 2800 may further include operating the transmission path in a second operating mode in which the bandwidth is non-adjustably set to the first bandwidth. A low value of the first coefficient may indicate that there is no significant power savings by switching to a lower bandwidth. Therefore, it may be advantageous for the transmission path to continue using the first bandwidth.

[0187] As described above, switching the transmission path to process the size / bandwidth / sampling of the baseband transmission signal may cause signal degradation of the resulting radio frequency transmission signal. By calculating a first coefficient and comparing it with a threshold, method 2800 may allow balancing the cost and benefits of the switch. In other words, method 2800 may be understood as a cost metric.

[0188] The first coefficient may be recalculated for each TTI. For example, for first and second TTIs that are immediately adjacent to each other, calculating (2802) the first coefficient may include calculating the first coefficient for the first TTI and calculating the first coefficient for the second TTI based on the first coefficient.

[0189] If the number of PRBs assigned to the transmitter for a TTI is zero, operating (2804) the transmission path in the first operating mode may include, for example, changing the bandwidth from a first bandwidth to a second bandwidth. That is, method 2800 may use available transmission gaps (i.e., empty TTIs) for switching to avoid signal degradation.

[0190] On the other hand, if there are no available transmission gaps, a cost metric may be used to decide whether to switch to a lower second bandwidth.

[0191] For example, if a non-zero number of PRBs are assigned to the transmitter for each TTI during a second time period, operating (2804) the transmission path in the first operating mode may include: for at least one TTI, calculating a second coefficient indicating signal degradation of the radio frequency transmission signal generated by the transmission path due to changing the bandwidth from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth. The radio frequency transmission signal is generated by the transmission path based on the baseband transmission signal. If the second coefficient is less than a second threshold, operating (2804) the transmission path in the first operating mode may further include changing the bandwidth from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth. That is, if the cost (signal degradation) due to switching the bandwidth is low enough, the bandwidth used by the transmission path to process the baseband transmission signal may be reduced even though there are no natural transmission gaps (i.e., empty TTIs) available.

[0192] Accordingly, operating (2804) the transmission path in the first operating mode may further include adjusting the start time for changing the bandwidth from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth. Moreover, operating (2804) the transmission path in the first operating mode may include adjusting the start time for changing the bandwidth from the second bandwidth back to the first bandwidth. More details on how to adjust the start time for changing the bandwidth are described below in connection with Figure 29 explain more details on how to adjust the start time for changing the bandwidth.

[0193] In addition, if the first coefficient drops below the first threshold, method 2800 may further include: switching the transmit path that operates in the first operating mode (2804) to a transmit path that operates in a second operating mode, wherein in the second operating mode, the bandwidth for processing the baseband transmit signal is non-adjustably set to a first bandwidth. That is, if significant power savings can no longer be achieved by switching to a lower bandwidth, the transmit path is controlled to again continuously use the first bandwidth to process the baseband transmit signal.

[0194] In a cell of a cellular network, a serving base station typically allocates a certain bandwidth to a mobile device for radio frequency transmit signals. Accordingly, method 2800 may further ensure that the frequency of the baseband transmit signal conforms to the allocated bandwidth. For example, if the bandwidth of the radio frequency transmit signal generated by the transmit path based on the baseband transmit signal is a first bandwidth (i.e., the allocated bandwidth is the first bandwidth), method 2800 may further include controlling the transmit path to shift the frequency of the baseband transmit signal processed by the transmit path using a second bandwidth to a frequency designated for the first bandwidth. As a result, after shifting the baseband transmit signal to the frequency designated for the first bandwidth, the baseband transmit signal is in the same frequency position as if it had been processed by the transmit path using the higher first bandwidth. Thus, by using the lower second bandwidth to process the baseband transmit signal, the generation of the resulting radio frequency transmit signal is not affected. However, since the baseband transmit signal is processed by the transmit path using the lower second bandwidth, the baseband transmit signal is processed with higher power efficiency.

[0195] In addition to the bandwidth, other processing parameters within the transmit path may be adjusted. For example, method 2800 may further include: controlling the transmit path to process the baseband transmit signal using a first sampling rate for the first bandwidth; and controlling the transmit path to process the baseband transmit signal using a second sampling rate for the second bandwidth. Additionally, method 2800 may include: controlling the transmit path to process the baseband transmit signal using a first-sized inverse Fourier transform (e.g., iFFT) for the first bandwidth; and controlling the transmit path to process the baseband transmit signal using a second-sized inverse Fourier transform for the second bandwidth. Thus, a lower sampling rate and / or a smaller-sized inverse Fourier transform may be used with the smaller bandwidth to process the baseband transmit signal. By adjusting one or more other processing parameters, the processing of the baseband transmit signal by the transmit path can be further optimized in terms of energy efficiency.

[0196] Switching between sampling rates may cause signal degradation due to, for example, filter delays and other baseband / RF limitations. Thus, method 2800 may allow balancing the cost and benefits of switching and power savings by using knowledge about transmission gaps to select a TTI(SF) for switching based on a metric, or proactively switching back to a larger bandwidth based on a predicted traffic pattern. Thus, method 2800 can be understood as an overall state machine-based technique that utilizes cost and power savings metrics based on traffic patterns as decision criteria for dynamic switching. Method 2800 may allow extracting the benefits of switching to a lower sampling rate / bandwidth / … while minimizing the impact of signal quality degradation caused by the switch.

[0197] The proposed method attempts to utilize the power savings resulting from operations such as lower bandwidth / sampling rate, etc. of the transmission path while minimizing the impact of switching by using a state machine method that can take one of the following actions:

[0198] If possible, place the switching point in a naturally available gap (e.g., measurement gap; TDD receive SF; discontinuous reception (DRX) gap; cell SRS; PUCCH discontinuous transmission (DTX)). The state machine can be consciously aware of the available gaps due to the base station configuration and can inherently bias the waiting threshold to switch in the configured gaps if possible.

[0199] In the absence of an available gap, the state machine can select a TTI(SF) for switching based on the calculated cost metric. The cost metric can be derived based on what is carried in the current SF, the coding rate, and / or the quality of service (QoS) of the traffic. Most importantly, the transmit power in the SF selected for switching can be increased (by a small amount) to offset the loss in terms of quality.

[0200] In other words, the method includes increasing the power of the RF transmit signal for a signal portion of the RF transmit signal generated from a baseband transmit signal by a transmission path that is related to data in the baseband transmit signal processed by the transmission path when the bandwidth changes from a first bandwidth to a second bandwidth, and vice versa.

[0201] For example, the following SF(TTI) may be biased towards having a low cost and thus be favorable for switching:

[0202] a) PUCCH subframes carrying acknowledgments (ACK) / non-acknowledgments (NACK) when the downlink traffic has low QOS. Additionally, the PUCCH is well protected and a small number of degraded samples in the PUCCH do not affect decoding.

[0203] b) If the channel conditions are very static, PUCCH subframes carrying Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) / Rank Indicator (RI). Thus, the lack of CQI / RI does not degrade performance.

[0204] c) PUSCH subframes carrying low-priority data (low QoS).

[0205] In all states, the state machine can continuously estimate a savings metric based on, for example, the current transmit power, duty cycle of transmissions, percentage of time spent in low bandwidth, and / or traffic type. A high value of the metric may indicate that significant power savings can be achieved by switching to lower bandwidth operation. Conversely, a lower value of the metric indicates that switching to lower bandwidth may not result in significant power savings. Thus, it may be better if the mobile device operates at the bandwidth allocated (expected) by the serving cell. If the duty cycle of high-bandwidth transmissions or traffic QoS increases during operation, the savings metric may automatically decrease to support a return (or stay) at high bandwidth / sampling rate, etc., and vice versa. That is, the state machine can adapt to the ongoing traffic pattern.

[0206] Similarly, the state machine can proactively switch back to a higher bandwidth / sampling rate, etc., based on information from a higher layer (e.g., Buffer Status Report (BSR), expected traffic type (QoS, bandwidth)). Thus, the state machine can act based on predicted future traffic patterns. This can be done, for example, by immediately decreasing the savings metric when the BSR indicates a large amount of pending data to be sent to the base station.

[0207] In other words, operating the transmit path in a first operating mode can include changing the bandwidth from a lower second bandwidth back to a first bandwidth if one of the following occurs:

[0208] 1) The amount of pending data for transmission exceeds a third threshold;

[0209] 2) Data of a predetermined type is scheduled for transmission in a future TTI; or

[0210] 3) The number of PRBs exceeding a threshold is allocated to the transmitter for a future TTI.

[0211] Figure 29 A state-machine-based implementation of the proposed method for controlling the bandwidth used by the transmit path of a transmitter to process baseband transmit signals is shown.

[0212] The state machine includes three states A, B, and C. State A represents operations such as high bandwidth / high sampling rate / large-sized iFFT for the transmission path. No bandwidth / sampling rate / iFFT size / etc. switching is prepared for the mobile device / transmitter / transmission path, and the mobile device / transmitter / transmission path uses a fixed bandwidth / sampling rate / iFFT size / etc. (e.g., determined by the cell bandwidth). That is, state A corresponds to the following operating mode of the transmission path, in which the bandwidth used to process the baseband transmission signal is irreversibly set to a first bandwidth.

[0213] State B also represents operations such as high bandwidth / high sampling rate / large-sized iFFT for the transmission path. However, the mobile device / transmitter / transmission path is actively seeking to switch to a lower bandwidth / sampling rate / iFFT size / etc., if possible.

[0214] State C represents operations such as low bandwidth / low sampling rate / small-sized iFFT for the transmission path. The mobile device / transmitter / transmission path can attempt to remain in this state as long as the conditions are favorable.

[0215] That is, states B and C correspond to another operating mode of the transmission path, in which the bandwidth used to process the baseband transmission signal can be switched from the first bandwidth to a lower second bandwidth and vice versa.

[0216] The state machine (implemented in, for example, a mobile device) starts in state A and evaluates the power saving benefit P for switching to a lower bandwidth / lower sampling rate / smaller-sized iFFT / etc. save . If this metric is higher than a certain threshold P save_T1 for a continuous duration P save_threshold (e.g., a few milliseconds), the state machine will switch to state B via transition path 2. Otherwise, the state machine will continue to remain in state A (indicated by path 1) and will not attempt to switch to a lower bandwidth / lower sampling rate / smaller-sized iFFT / etc.

[0217] In other words, a first coefficient P is calculated indicating the power saving resulting from using the lower second bandwidth instead of the first bandwidth to process the baseband transmission signal save . If the first coefficient P save exceeds a first threshold P save_threshold for a first time period P save_T1 , the transmission path is operated in a first operating mode in which the bandwidth can be switched from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth. If the first coefficient P save does not exceed the first threshold P save_threshold for the first time period P save_T1 , the transmission path is operated in a second operating mode in which the bandwidth is irreversibly set to the first bandwidth.

[0218] The first coefficient (i.e., power saving benefit) for the second TTI can be calculated based on an expression that mathematically corresponds to the following formula.

[0219] P save (TTI2) = (1 - v)·P save (TTI1) + v·P inst (11),

[0220] where P save (TTI2) represents the first coefficient of the second TTI, P save (TTI1) represents the first coefficient of the previous first TTI, v represents a constant (e.g., the innovation factor of an infinite impulse response (IIR), a filtered metric), and P inst represents the power saving possibility of the current transmission time interval. For example, in the case where PUSCH transmission uses the full system bandwidth, P inst can be zero, while in the case of the lowest bandwidth transmission, the maximum value of P max is sufficient.

[0221] By finding the transmission gap mentioned above, the state machine attempts to move from state B to state C via transition path 4 at the first available "natural" opportunity. Such a gap can be available considering the cell configuration. In other words, if the transmission path operates in the first operating mode, the method can include: changing the bandwidth from the first bandwidth to a lower second bandwidth if the number of PRBs assigned to the transmitter for the TTI is zero.

[0222] The state machine knows the gap position. A timer threshold T TimerB can be selected such that the state machine is inherently biased towards the waiting state B until any gap becomes available or the configured gap (indicated by path 3) is reached. If the state machine is in state B for a time exceeding T TimerB (e.g., a few milliseconds), it will attempt to force a switch in an active SF (i.e., a TTI where the number of PRBs assigned to the transmitter is not zero). For example, once the timer threshold T TimerB is crossed in state B, a cost metric P penalty can be continuously evaluated for each SF (TTI) with an active transmission. P penalty less than P penalty_threshold for the first TTI can be used to switch to state C (indicated by transmission path 5).

[0223] In other words, if in the second time period T TimerBIf a non-zero number of PRBs are allocated to the transmitter for each TTI, operating the transmit path in the first operating mode may include: calculating a second coefficient P for at least one TTI penalty , the second coefficient P penalty indicates the signal degradation of the radio frequency transmit signal due to changing the bandwidth from a first bandwidth to a second bandwidth. The radio frequency transmit signal is generated by the transmit path based on the baseband transmit signal. If the second coefficient P penalty is less than a second threshold P penalty_threshold , the method may further include changing the bandwidth from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth.

[0224] As described above, the second coefficient P may be calculated based on at least one of the following penalty : the type of data related to the TTI in the baseband transmit signal, the coding rate of the data related to the TTI in the baseband transmit signal, and the desired QoS for the TTI.

[0225] In addition, operating the transmit path in the first operating mode may include adjusting the start time for changing the bandwidth from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth. For example, adjusting the start time for changing the bandwidth from the first bandwidth to a lower second bandwidth may be based on the time period required for the transmit path to change the bandwidth from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth, such that when the transmit path processes data related to a TTI for which the second coefficient P penalty is less than the second threshold P penalty_threshold , or when the transmit path does not process the data in the baseband transmit signal due to the number of PRBs allocated for the TTI being zero, changing the bandwidth from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth occurs.

[0226] State C is the operating state with the highest power efficiency. If, for example, an authorization with a large bandwidth allocation is detected or one of the above criteria occurs, the state machine attempts to remain in state C (indicated by path 7) and may switch back to state B (indicated by transition path 6). The transition from state C to state B may follow similar criteria as the transition from state B to state C (as described above). The transition from state C to state B may differ in the following aspects

[0227] 1) There may be no timer-based trigger for switching from state C to state B. The trigger may be instantaneous (e.g., switch as soon as possible to avoid losing the uplink authorization). The deadline for the switch may depend, for example, on the relationship between downlink authorization detection and uplink transmission as defined in the 3GPP standard;

[0228] 2) If no "natural" opportunity (i.e., an empty TTI) is found before the deadline, the second threshold P for the last SF (TTI) before the switch may be passed penalty_thresholdSet to zero to force a switch to the cell bandwidth.

[0229] In other words, when operating the transmit path in the first operating mode, if any of the following occurs, the method may include changing the bandwidth from a lower second bandwidth to a first bandwidth:

[0230] 1) The amount of outstanding data to be transmitted exceeds a third threshold;

[0231] 2) Data of a predetermined type is scheduled for transmission in a future TTI; or

[0232] 3) A number of PRBs exceeding a fourth threshold are allocated to the transmitter for a future TTI.

[0233] Additionally, the proposed method may further include adjusting the start time for changing the bandwidth from the second bandwidth to the first bandwidth. For example, the method may include: adjusting the start time for changing the bandwidth from the second bandwidth to the first bandwidth based on the time period required for the transmit path to change the bandwidth from the second bandwidth to the first bandwidth, such that during the next time period (during which the transmit path does not process data of the baseband transmit signal (since zero PRBs are allocated for the TTI for which the first coefficient still exceeds the first threshold, i.e., for the TTI before the future TTI)), the change of the bandwidth from the second bandwidth to the first bandwidth occurs. Moreover, the method may include: adjusting the start time for changing the bandwidth from the second bandwidth to the first bandwidth based on the time period required for the transmit path to change the bandwidth from the second bandwidth to the first bandwidth, such that the change of the bandwidth from the second bandwidth to the first bandwidth occurs before the transmit path processes data in the baseband transmit signal that is related to data for the future future TTI.

[0234] If the state machine continues to remain in states B and C (i.e., the first operating mode of the transmit path), then frequent switching between states B and C may result in performance loss when the high - bandwidth uplink is enabled while the state machine and thus the transmit path / transmitter / mobile device is in state C. To prevent performance loss, the power - saving metric P may be continuously updated based on the traffic pattern save . When the metric P save no longer meets the threshold (e.g., P save_threshold + hysteresis), a transition from states B and C to state A may be enforced (indicated by transition paths 8 and 9).

[0235] In other words, if the first coefficient P save drops to the first threshold P save_thresholdThen, the method may further include switching from operating the transmit path in a first operating mode to operating the transmit path in a second operating mode, in which the bandwidth for processing the baseband transmit signal is non-adjustably set to a first bandwidth.

[0236] In addition, if the second bandwidth is currently used in the first operating mode, switching from operating the transmit path in the first operating mode to operating the transmit path in the second operating mode may include changing the bandwidth from the second bandwidth to the first bandwidth and adjusting the start time for changing the bandwidth from the second bandwidth to the first bandwidth.

[0237] The transition may be based on an indication from a higher layer regarding, for example, BSR status, transmitted scheduling request (SR), message 3 (Msg3) grant, or traffic pattern (e.g., high QoS, high bandwidth). These indications from the higher layer may also be used to reset the savings metric P save to cause a natural transition from state B or C to state A. Using the above indications may allow the transmit path / transmitter / mobile device to switch early and avoid performance loss of critical applications.

[0238] That is, during the process of switching from operating the transmit path in a first operating mode to operating the transmit path in a second operating mode, the method may include adjusting the start time for changing the bandwidth from the second bandwidth to the first bandwidth based on the time period required for the transmit path to change the bandwidth from the second bandwidth to the first bandwidth, such that changing the bandwidth from the second bandwidth to the first bandwidth occurs when the transmit path processes the following items:

[0239] 1) Data of the baseband transmit signal for which no PRBs are allocated to the transmitter for a TTI for which the first coefficient still exceeds a first threshold; or

[0240] 2) Data of the baseband transmit signal related to the last TTI for which the first coefficient exceeds the first threshold.

[0241] Figure 30 An embodiment of the proposed method is shown, which shows an apparatus 3000 for controlling the bandwidth used by a transmit path 3020 of a transmitter for processing a baseband transmit signal 3001. Based on the baseband transmit signal 3001, the transmit path 3020 generates a radio frequency transmit signal 3002. The apparatus 3000 includes a processor circuit 3010. The processor circuit 3010 is configured to calculate a first coefficient indicating the power saved due to using a lower second bandwidth instead of the first bandwidth to process the baseband transmit signal 3001.

[0242] If the first coefficient exceeds the first threshold for a first time period, the processor circuit 3010 is configured to control the transmit path 3020 to operate in a first operating mode, in which the bandwidth can be switched from a first bandwidth to a second bandwidth.

[0243] If the first coefficient does not exceed the first threshold for the first time period, the processor circuit 3010 may further be configured to control the transmit path 3020 to operate in a second operating mode, in which the bandwidth is set to the first bandwidth in an non-adjustable manner.

[0244] As described above, switching the bandwidth / sampling / iFFT size for processing the baseband transmit signal 3001 through the transmit path 3020 may result in signal degradation of the resulting radio frequency transmit signal 3002. By calculating the first coefficient and comparing it with the threshold, the device 3000 can allow for balancing the losses and benefits of the switch. The device 3000 can improve the power efficiency of the transmit path 3020.

[0245] In some instances, the processor circuit 3010 may further be configured to perform one or more additional optional features corresponding to one or more aspects of the proposed techniques for controlling one or more aspects of processing a baseband transmit signal in a transmit path or the one or more examples above.

[0246] Generally, some examples of the present disclosure relate to a device for controlling a bandwidth for processing a baseband transmit signal by a transmit path of a transmitter. The device includes components for calculating a first coefficient that indicates power savings resulting from using a lower second bandwidth instead of a first bandwidth to process the baseband transmit signal. Additionally, the device includes components for controlling the transmit path to operate in a first operating mode, in which the bandwidth can be switched from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth if the first coefficient exceeds the first threshold for a first time period.

[0247] The device may optionally further include components for controlling the transmit path to operate in a second operating mode, in which the bandwidth is set to the first bandwidth in an non-adjustable manner if the first coefficient does not exceed the first threshold for the first time period.

[0248] Although aspects of transmission are discussed in the first part of the present disclosure, aspects related to the reception of radio frequency signals are discussed below in the second part of the present disclosure with reference to Figures 31 to 33 aspects related to the reception of radio frequency signals are discussed.

[0249] Receivers are typically optimized to be able to receive signals in the presence of interfering signals (interferers) from transmitters and leaked blocker signals. However, in some operating modes (such as only the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH)), only downlink control data is received and there are no blocker signals. Additionally, there may be no interfering signals on the antenna. However, such operating modes do not require the highly optimized receiver configurations mentioned above.

[0250] Figure 31 A receiver 3100 for a wireless communication system applicable to such an operating mode is shown. The receiver 3100 includes a mixer 3110 configured to generate an analog received signal based on a radio frequency received signal 3101. For example, the radio frequency received signal 3101 may be provided by an antenna coupled to the receiver 3100 (e.g., via a low noise amplifier, LNA, or frequency selective filter).

[0251] Furthermore, the receiver 3100 includes a switch 3120 configured to couple one of a first signal processing chain 3130 and a second signal processing chain 3140 to the mixer 3110.

[0252] The first signal processing chain 3130 and the second signal processing chain 3140 include components or circuits required to process the analog received signal. Thus, some examples of the first signal processing chain 3130 and the second signal processing chain 3140 may include one or more filters, analog-to-digital converters (ADCs), (fractional) sample rate converters, or decimators for signal processing. However, the term signal processing chain as used herein should not be construed to include all components that are technically necessary to process the analog received signal. Instead, the signal processing chain used in the context of this specification may include only a subset of those components or elements.

[0253] The linearity of the second signal processing chain 3140 is lower than the linearity of the first signal processing chain 3130. Linearity is the behavior of a circuit where the output signal strength varies proportionally to the input signal strength. In a linear device, the ratio of the output signal to the input signal amplitude is substantially the same regardless of the strength of the input signal (as long as it is not too strong). Thus, high linearity is generally preferred, but it is not required for every receiving situation.

[0254] Additionally or alternatively, the noise level of the second signal processing chain 3140 is higher than the noise level of the first signal processing chain 3130. The noise level describes the amount of noise present in a circuit (i.e., the unwanted modifications that a signal may suffer during processing). The higher the noise level, the greater the chance of unwanted signal modifications. Thus, a low noise level is generally preferred, but it is not required for every receiving situation.

[0255] The control circuit 3150 of the receiver 3100 is configured to control the switch 3120 to couple one of the first signal processing chain 3130 and the second signal processing chain 3140 to the mixer 3110 based on the information 3102 regarding the operating mode of the receiver 3100 (i.e., based on the operating mode of the receiver 3100). For example, the control circuit 3150 may be configured to provide a control signal 3151 to the switch 3120.

[0256] The operating mode of the receiver 3100 indicates whether the receiver 3100 is in a receiving situation with interference signals and blocking signals. For example, the operating mode may be determined based on the transmission activity of an associated transmitter (e.g., a transmitter implemented in a mobile device or a transceiver including the receiver 3100), or a measurement of the presence of a blocking signal or an interference signal at the antenna. In addition, information regarding the downlink scheduled for the receiver 3100 (or the mobile device including the receiver 3100) may be used to determine the operating mode of the receiver 3100.

[0257] With the help of the control circuit 3150, the receiver 3100 can enter a low linearity and / or high noise mode. Since the requirements for the linearity and / or noise level of the second signal processing chain 3140 are lower, the components of the second signal processing chain 3140 can be optimized in terms of power consumption (power efficiency). Therefore, the power consumption of the second signal processing chain 3140 can be lower than that of the first signal processing chain 3130. That is to say, the second signal processing chain 3140 can provide low-performance and low-power operation signal processing. Therefore, when the receiver 3100 is not blocked by a blocking signal or an interference signal, the power consumption of the receiver 3100 can be reduced.

[0258] Due to the reduced linearity requirements of the second signal processing chain 3140, the first signal processing chain 3130 may include, for example, a first ADC, and the second signal processing chain 3140 may include a second ADC with a lower dynamic range than the first ADC. The second ADC can be optimized for low power rather than high dynamics. For example, the first ADC can be a sigma-delta ADC, while the second ADC can be a successive-approximation-register (SAR) ADC.

[0259] For example, if the operating mode of the receiver 3100 is one of the following, the control circuit 3150 may control the switch 3120 to couple the second signal processing chain 3140 to the mixer 3110: idle mode (i.e., the associated transmitter is inactive or not in use), or an operating mode in which the radio frequency received signal 3101 includes only downlink control data (e.g., PDCCH data).

[0260] To save more power, the control circuit 3150 can be configured to adjust the bias (voltage and / or current) of the mixer 3110 based on the operating mode of the receiver 3100. For example, the bias of the mixer 3110 can be reduced if the second signal processing chain 3140 is coupled to the mixer 3110 through the switch 3120, or if the operating mode of the receiver 3100 is a low linearity reception mode. Thus, the linearity of the mixer 3110 can be reduced to an acceptable level, and at the same time, the power consumption of the receiver 3100 can be further reduced.

[0261] As described above, an amplifier (e.g., LNA) can be coupled to the input of the mixer 3110 and configured to provide the RF reception signal 310 to the mixer 3110. The control circuit 3150 can be configured to further adjust the bias (voltage and / or current) of the amplifier based on the operating mode of the receiver 3100. Similarly, if the second signal processing chain 3140 is coupled to the mixer 3110 through the switch 3120, or if the operating mode of the receiver 3100 is a low linearity reception mode, the bias of the amplifier can be reduced. Thus, the linearity of the amplifier can be reduced to an acceptable level, and at the same time, the power consumption of the receiver 3100 can be further reduced.

[0262] That is, in addition to using the lower signal processing chain 3140, the amplifier and the mixer 3110 can be reconfigured to a power-saving bias state.

[0263] Figure 32 A more detailed example of a receiver 3200 for a wireless communication system according to the present disclosure is shown.

[0264] The receiver 3200 includes an LNA 3210 that receives and amplifies an RF reception signal (e.g., a signal from an antenna or a frequency selective filter). The LNA 3210 provides the amplified RF reception signal to a mixer 3220. The mixer 3220 also receives an oscillation signal for down-converting the RF reception signal. For example, a PLL 3230 can generate a reference oscillation signal, and a frequency divider 3240 can generate an oscillation signal based on the reference oscillation signal (e.g., by halving the frequency). The mixer 3220 generates an analog reception signal based on the RF reception signal. In addition, the receiver 3250 includes a low-pass filter 3260 for filtering the analog reception signal.

[0265] A switch implemented by multiplexer 3260 couples one of the first signal processing chain 3270 and the second signal processing chain 3280 to mixer 3220. The linearity of the second signal processing chain 3280 is lower than that of the first signal processing chain 3270. Additionally, the noise level of the second signal processing chain 3280 may be higher than that of the first signal processing chain 3270. That is to say, the first signal processing chain 3270 can be understood as a full-performance signal processing chain, while the second signal processing chain 3280 can be understood as a low-performance signal processing chain. However, as described above, due to the lower requirements for signal processing, the second signal processing chain 3280 can be optimized in terms of energy efficiency.

[0266] A control circuit (not shown) controls multiplexer 3260 to couple one of the first signal processing chain 3270 and the second signal processing chain 3280 to mixer 3220 based on the operating mode of receiver 3200 (e.g., idle mode, or an operating mode where the RF received signal only contains downlink control data). In other words, by providing multiplexer 3260, the signal after mixer 3220 can be switched to a low-power chain.

[0267] The control circuit can further adjust the bias of LNA 3210 based on the operating mode of the receiver to reduce the power consumption and linearity of LNA 3210 in certain operating modes of receiver 3200. Additionally, the control circuit can adjust the bias of mixer 3220 based on the operating mode of the receiver to reduce the power consumption and linearity of mixer 3220 in certain operating modes of receiver 3200.

[0268] The first signal processing chain 3270 includes a first ADC 3271, and the second signal processing chain 3280 includes a second ADC 3281 with a lower dynamic range than the first ADC 3271. Additionally, the first signal processing chain 3270 includes a first high-speed digital front end (DFE) 3272, and the second signal processing chain 3280 includes a second DFE 3282. For example, DFE 3272 and 3282 can be used for decimating the analog received signal.

[0269] The first ADC 3271 is timed by means of another oscillation signal, which is generated by another frequency divider 3290 based on a reference oscillation signal. The second ADC 3281 can be timed, for example, by a further down - division of the another oscillation signal for the first ADC 3271. Thus, compared with the first ADC 3271, the second ADC 3281 can operate at a different (lower) frequency. In addition, compared with the first ADC 3271, the bit length of the output of the second ADC 3281 can be reduced. Therefore, compared with the first ADC 3271 and the first signal processing chain 3270, the power consumption of the second ADC 3281 and the second signal processing chain 3280 can be reduced.

[0270] As Figure 32 shown, the first and / or second signal processing chains 3270, 3280 can include other optional elements. For example, the second signal processing chain 3280 further includes a transimpedance amplifier 3283 coupled to the input of the second ADC 3281.

[0271] For example, after high - speed decimation, the signal can be fed back to a high - performance DFE (indicated by the intermediate - frequency DFE 3295 and the base - band DFE 3299). Alternatively, a dedicated DFE chain can be used to further reduce the power consumption in low - linearity use cases. That is, the first signal processing path 3270 and the second signal processing path 3270 can be coupled to a processing circuit, which is configured to provide a digital base - band signal to a base - band processor based on the digital signal provided to the processing circuit by the first signal processing path 3270 or the second signal processing path 3280. Alternatively, the first signal processing path 3270 and the second signal processing path 3280 can be coupled to a base - band processor, which is configured to process the digital base - band signal provided to the base - band processor by the first signal processing path 3270 or the second signal processing path 3280.

[0272] In other words, the receiver 3200 implements an alternative parallel path in the analog base - band to save power by leveraging, for example, lower linearity and / or noise requirements in certain use cases. By having the optimization only for low - performance use cases, different architectures and building blocks can be used for the alternative parallel path. This can save significantly more power compared to only reconfiguring the main receive path (i.e., the entire performance signal processing chain). This can be beneficial for, for example, wearable cellular products, where power use cases such as only PDCCH and idle (where the receiver is active without a transmitter) are important.

[0273] Compared to solutions that use a complete additional receiver chain with dedicated input ports as low-power and low-performance receivers, the receivers according to the present disclosure can allow the phase of the oscillating signal used to down-convert the radio frequency received signal to remain constant when switching to the low-performance mode, because the same mixer and oscillating signal path are used. This can allow the receiver to seamlessly switch between the high-performance mode and the low-performance mode without losing phase continuity. Therefore, the channel estimation in the baseband can be retained, and thus further power can be saved.

[0274] Another disadvantage of the complete additional receiver is the additional input port, which increases the complexity of the radio frequency front end and requires time-precise switching in the front end when performing path switching.

[0275] By Figure 33 The flow diagram in shows an example of a method 3300 for a receiver. The receiver includes a mixer configured to generate an analog received signal based on a radio frequency received signal, and a switch configured to couple one of a first signal processing chain and a second signal processing chain to the mixer. The linearity of the second signal processing chain is lower than the linearity of the first signal processing chain and / or the noise level of the second signal processing chain is higher than the noise level of the first signal processing chain. The method 3300 includes controlling (3302) the switch based on the operating mode of the receiver to couple one of the first signal processing chain and the second signal processing chain to the mixer.

[0276] Combined with the proposed technology or one or more of the above examples (e.g., Figure 31 and 32 ) more details and aspects of the method are mentioned. The method may include one or more additional optional features corresponding to one or more aspects of the proposed technology or one or more of the above examples.

[0277] Generally, some examples of the present disclosure relate to an apparatus for receiving a radio frequency received signal. The apparatus includes components for generating an analog received signal based on the radio frequency received signal. In addition, the apparatus includes components for coupling one of a first signal processing chain and a second signal processing chain to the components for generating the analog received signal, wherein the linearity of the second signal processing chain is lower than the linearity of the first signal processing chain and / or the noise level of the second signal processing chain is higher than the noise level of the first signal processing chain. Additionally, the apparatus includes components for controlling the components for coupling based on the operating mode of the components for receiving the radio frequency received signal to couple one of the first signal processing chain and the second signal processing chain to the mixer.

[0278] In Figure 34Examples of implementations of using a receiver and / or device to control the bandwidth for processing a baseband transmit signal are shown in accordance with one or more aspects of the proposed architecture or one or more of the above examples. Figure 34 An example of a mobile device 3400 (e.g., a mobile phone, smartphone, tablet computer, or laptop computer) is schematically shown that includes at least one of a receiver 3410 for a wireless communication system according to examples described herein and a device 3420 for controlling the bandwidth for processing a baseband transmit signal according to examples described herein.

[0279] For example, a transmitter 3430 that includes a transmit path (not shown) may include a device 3420 for controlling the bandwidth for processing a baseband transmit signal.

[0280] A transceiver (modem) 3440 may include a receiver 3410 and a transmitter 3430. At least one antenna element 3450 of the mobile device 3400 may be coupled to the receiver 3410, the transmitter 3430, or the transceiver 3440.

[0281] To this end, a mobile device with reduced power consumption can be provided.

[0282] The proposed baseband processing techniques and the proposed receiving techniques are not limited to mobile devices. The proposed baseband processing techniques and the proposed receiving techniques can be used in any electronic device for processing baseband signals or receiving radio frequency signals.

[0283] A wireless communication circuit using a device and a transmitter according to the proposed techniques or one or more of the above examples can be configured to operate according to one of the mobile communication networks or systems standardized by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). The mobile or wireless communication system can correspond to, for example, Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), High Speed Packet Access (HSPA), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) or UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN), Evolved UTRAN (e-UTRAN), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) or Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) network, GSM / EDGE Radio Access Network (GERAN).

[0284] The examples described herein can be summarized as follows:

[0285] Example 1 is a method for controlling a bandwidth for processing a baseband transmission signal by a transmission path of a transmitter. The method includes: generating a first comparison result by comparing a first quantity of physical resource blocks assigned to the transmitter for a first transmission time interval with a threshold; generating a second comparison result by comparing a second quantity of physical resource blocks assigned to the transmitter for a subsequent second transmission time interval with the threshold; and adjusting the bandwidth based on the first comparison result and the second comparison result.

[0286] In Example 2, the first transmission time interval in the method of Example 1 immediately precedes the second transmission time interval.

[0287] In Example 3, the first transmission time interval in the method of Example 1 is the last transmission time interval before the second transmission time interval, for which a non-zero quantity of physical resource blocks is assigned to the transmitter.

[0288] In Example 4, adjusting the bandwidth in the method of any one of Examples 1-3 includes: keeping the bandwidth unchanged if both the first comparison result and the second comparison result respectively indicate that the quantity of the assigned physical resource blocks is lower than the threshold, if both the first comparison result and the second comparison result respectively indicate that the quantity of the assigned physical resource blocks is higher than the threshold, or if the second quantity of the physical resource blocks is zero.

[0289] In Example 5, adjusting the bandwidth in the method of any one of Examples 1-4 includes: changing the bandwidth from a first bandwidth to a second bandwidth if one of the first comparison result and the second comparison result indicates that the quantity of the assigned physical resource blocks is lower than the threshold, and the other of the first comparison result and the second comparison result indicates that the quantity of the assigned physical resource blocks is higher than the threshold.

[0290] In Example 6, the method of Example 5 further includes: adjusting a start time for changing the bandwidth from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth.

[0291] In Example 7, adjusting the start time for changing the bandwidth in the method of Example 6 is based on at least one of the first quantity of the physical resource blocks and the second quantity of the physical resource blocks.

[0292] In Example 8, if the first quantity of the physical resource blocks is zero, the adjustment in the method of Example 7 for changing the start time of the bandwidth includes: adjusting the start time based on the time period required for the transmission path to change the bandwidth from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth, such that the change of the bandwidth from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth is completed before the transmission path starts to process the data related to the second transmission time interval in the baseband transmission signal.

[0293] In Example 9, if the first quantity of the physical resource blocks is lower than the threshold and the second quantity of the physical resource blocks is higher than the threshold, the adjustment in the method of Example 7 or Example 8 for changing the start time of the bandwidth includes: adjusting the start time to the time point when the transmission path processes the data related to the second transmission time interval in the baseband transmission signal.

[0294] In Example 10, the adjustment in the method of any one of Examples 6 - 9 for changing the start time of the bandwidth is based on at least one of the following: the type of the data related to the first transmission time interval in the baseband transmission signal, and the type of the data related to the second transmission time interval in the baseband transmission signal.

[0295] In Example 11, if the type of the data related to one of the first transmission time interval and the second transmission time interval in the baseband transmission signal is a predetermined data type, the adjustment in the method of Example 10 for changing the start time of the bandwidth includes: adjusting the start time based on the time period required for the transmission path to change the bandwidth from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth, such that the change of the bandwidth from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth occurs when the transmission path processes the data related to the other of the first transmission time interval and the second transmission time interval in the baseband transmission signal.

[0296] In Example 12, the adjustment of the bandwidth in the method of any one of Examples 1 - 11 includes: if the type of the data related to the first transmission time interval in the baseband transmission signal and the type of the data related to the second transmission time interval in the baseband transmission signal are both predetermined data types, keeping the bandwidth unchanged.

[0297] In Example 13, the predetermined data type in the method of Example 11 or Example 12 is data for a physical uplink control channel, data for a sounding reference signal, or data for retransmission.

[0298] In Example 14, the adjustment in the method of any one of Examples 6 - 13 for changing the start time of the bandwidth includes: comparing a first coding robustness of data in the baseband transmission signal related to the first transmission time interval with a second coding robustness of data in the baseband transmission signal related to the second transmission time interval; and adjusting the start time based on the time period required to change the bandwidth from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth along the transmission path, such that the change of the bandwidth from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth occurs when the transmission path processes the one of the data related to the first transmission time interval and the data related to the second transmission time interval in the baseband transmission signal that exhibits higher coding robustness.

[0299] In Example 15, the first coding robustness in the method of Example 14 is based on at least one of the following: the code rate of the data in the baseband transmission signal related to the first transmission time interval, the transmission block size, the modulation and coding scheme, the modulation, the code block size, and the code type.

[0300] In Example 16, the method of any one of Examples 5 - 15 further includes: calculating a signal degradation of the radio frequency transmission signal generated by the transmission path due to the change of the bandwidth from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth, the radio frequency transmission signal being based on the baseband transmission signal; and if the power of the radio frequency transmission signal is less than a predetermined signal power, increasing the power of the radio frequency transmission signal for a signal portion of the radio frequency transmission signal related to the data in the baseband transmission signal processed by the transmission path when the bandwidth changes from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth.

[0301] In Example 17, the predetermined signal power in the method of Example 16 is the maximum signal power supported by the transmission path for the radio frequency transmission signal, or the maximum signal power for the radio frequency transmission signal according to the communication standard.

[0302] In Example 18, the second bandwidth in the method of any one of Examples 5 - 17 is less than the first bandwidth, wherein the bandwidth of the radio frequency transmission signal generated by the transmission path based on the baseband transmission signal is the first bandwidth, and wherein the method further includes: controlling the transmission path to frequency - shift a frequency shift amount of the baseband transmission signal processed by the transmission path using the second bandwidth to a frequency assigned to the first bandwidth.

[0303] In Example 19, the frequency shift amount in the method of Example 18 is related to one of the following: a single rectangular frequency step in the time domain, multiple rectangular frequency steps in the time domain, or a non - rectangular frequency trajectory in the time domain.

[0304] In Example 20, the method of any one of Examples 1-19 further includes: generating a third comparison result by comparing a third quantity of physical resource blocks allocated to the transmitter for a third transmission time interval after the second transmission time interval with the threshold, wherein the bandwidth is further adjusted based on the third comparison result.

[0305] In Example 21, the third quantity of the physical resource blocks in the method of Example 20 is based on at least one of the following: information received from a base station, information related to corresponding quantities of physical resource blocks allocated to the transmitter for a plurality of transmission time intervals before the first transmission time interval, and information related to data types that periodically appear in the baseband transmission signal.

[0306] In Example 22, adjusting the start time for changing the bandwidth in the method of Example 6 is based on information related to a first modulation and coding scheme allocated to the first transmission time interval and a second modulation and coding scheme allocated to the second transmission time interval.

[0307] In Example 23, the method of Example 22 further includes: comparing a first code rate of data related to the first transmission time interval in the baseband transmission signal with a second code rate of data related to the second transmission time interval in the baseband transmission signal, wherein the first code rate and the second code rate are based on information related to the first modulation and coding scheme allocated to the first transmission time interval and the second modulation and coding scheme allocated to the second transmission time interval; and adjusting the start time based on a time period required to change the bandwidth from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth along the transmission path, such that the change of the bandwidth from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth occurs when the transmission path processes the one of the data related to the first transmission time interval and the data related to the second transmission time interval in the baseband transmission signal that exhibits a lower code rate.

[0308] In Example 24, the method of any one of Examples 5-23 further includes: controlling the transmission path to process the baseband transmission signal using a first sampling rate for the first bandwidth; and controlling the transmission path to process the baseband transmission signal using a second sampling rate for the second bandwidth.

[0309] In Example 25, the method of any one of Examples 5-24 further includes: controlling the transmission path to process the baseband transmission signal using an inverse Fourier transform of a first size for the first bandwidth; and controlling the transmission path to process the baseband transmission signal using an inverse Fourier transform of a second size for the second bandwidth.

[0310] In Example 26, the above-mentioned second bandwidth in the method of Example 25 is less than the first bandwidth, where the bandwidth of the radio frequency transmission signal generated by the transmission path based on the baseband transmission signal is the first bandwidth, and where the method further includes: controlling the transmission path to shift the phase of the baseband transmission signal processed by the transmission path using the second bandwidth based on the difference between the frequency of the data of the baseband transmission signal related to the allocated physical resource block and the desired frequency of the data at the first bandwidth.

[0311] In Example 27, controlling the transmission path to shift the phase of the baseband transmission signal in the method of Example 26 is further based on the length of the cyclic prefix used by the transmission path for the second bandwidth.

[0312] In Example 28, the method of any one of Examples 1-27 further includes: controlling the transmission path to filter the baseband transmission signal, where, starting from the edge of the frequency range, the data of the baseband transmission signal related to one or more allocated physical resource blocks is continuously arranged within the frequency range used by the transmission path to process the baseband transmission signal based on the bandwidth.

[0313] In Example 29, the method of any one of Examples 1-28 further includes: determining, based on information received from the base station, a signal error of the radio frequency transmission signal due to adjusting the bandwidth, the radio frequency signal being generated by the transmission path based on the baseband transmission signal; and disabling the adjustment of the bandwidth if the signal error exceeds an error threshold.

[0314] Example 30 is a device for controlling a bandwidth for processing a baseband transmission signal by a transmission path of a transmitter, the device including a processor circuit configured to: generate a first comparison result by comparing a first quantity of physical resource blocks allocated to the transmitter for a first transmission time interval with a threshold; generate a second comparison result by comparing a second quantity of physical resource blocks allocated to the transmitter for a subsequent second transmission time interval with the threshold; and adjust the bandwidth based on the first comparison result and the second comparison result.

[0315] In Example 31, the first transmission time interval in the device of Example 30 immediately precedes the second transmission time interval.

[0316] In Example 32, the first transmission time interval in the device of Example 30 is the last transmission time interval before the second transmission time interval for which a non-zero quantity of physical resource blocks is allocated to the transmitter.

[0317] In Example 33, the processor circuit in the apparatus of any one of Examples 30 - 32 is configured to: keep the bandwidth unchanged if both the first comparison result and the second comparison result respectively indicate that the number of allocated physical resource blocks is lower than the threshold, if both the first comparison result and the second comparison result respectively indicate that the number of allocated physical resource blocks is higher than the threshold, or if the second number of physical resource blocks is zero.

[0318] In Example 34, the processor circuit in the apparatus of any one of Examples 30 - 33 is configured to: change the bandwidth from a first bandwidth to a second bandwidth if one of the first comparison result and the second comparison result indicates that the number of allocated physical resource blocks is lower than the threshold and the other of the first comparison result and the second comparison result indicates that the number of allocated physical resource blocks is higher than the threshold.

[0319] In Example 35, the processor circuit in the apparatus of Example 34 is configured to: adjust the start time for changing the bandwidth from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth.

[0320] In Example 36, the processor circuit in the apparatus of Example 35 is configured to: adjust the start time for changing the bandwidth based on at least one of the first number of physical resource blocks and the second number of physical resource blocks.

[0321] In Example 37, if the first number of physical resource blocks is zero, the processor circuit in the apparatus of Example 36 is configured to: adjust the start time based on the time period required for the transmission path to change the bandwidth from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth, such that the change of the bandwidth from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth is completed before the transmission path starts to process the data related to the second transmission time interval in the baseband transmission signal.

[0322] In Example 38, if the first number of physical resource blocks is lower than the threshold and the second number of physical resource blocks is higher than the threshold, the processor circuit in the apparatus of Example 36 or Example 37 is configured to: adjust the start time to the time point when the transmission path processes the data related to the second transmission time interval in the baseband transmission signal.

[0323] In Example 39, the processor circuit in the apparatus of any one of Examples 35 - 38 is configured to adjust the start time for changing the bandwidth based on at least one of the following: the type of data related to the first transmission time interval in the baseband transmission signal, and the type of data related to the second transmission time interval in the baseband transmission signal.

[0324] In Example 40, if the type of data in the baseband transmission signal related to one of the first transmission time interval and the second transmission time interval is a predetermined data type, the processor circuit in the apparatus of Example 39 is configured to adjust the start time for changing the bandwidth based on the time period required for the transmission path to change the bandwidth from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth, such that the change of the bandwidth from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth occurs when the transmission path processes the data in the baseband transmission signal related to the other of the first transmission time interval and the second transmission time interval.

[0325] In Example 41, the processor circuit in the apparatus of any one of Examples 30 - 40 is configured to: keep the bandwidth unchanged if the type of data in the baseband transmission signal related to the first transmission time interval and the type of data in the baseband transmission signal related to the second transmission time interval are both predetermined data types.

[0326] In Example 42, the predetermined data type in the apparatus of Example 40 or Example 41 is data for a physical uplink control channel, data for a sounding reference signal, or data for retransmission.

[0327] In Example 43, the processor circuit in the apparatus of any one of Examples 35 - 42 is configured to: compare a first coding robustness of the data in the baseband transmission signal related to the first transmission time interval with a second coding robustness of the data in the baseband transmission signal related to the second transmission time interval; and adjust the start time based on the time period required for the transmission path to change the bandwidth from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth, such that the change of the bandwidth from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth occurs when the transmission path processes the one of the data in the baseband transmission signal related to the first transmission time interval and the data in the baseband transmission signal related to the second transmission time interval that exhibits higher coding robustness.

[0328] In Example 44, the first coding robustness in the apparatus of Example 43 is based on at least one of the following: the code rate, transmission block size, modulation and coding scheme, modulation, code block size, and code type of the data in the baseband transmission signal related to the first transmission time interval.

[0329] In Example 45, the processor circuit in the apparatus of any one of Examples 34-44 is further configured to: calculate signal degradation of the radio frequency transmission signal generated by the transmission path due to the change of the bandwidth from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth, the radio frequency transmission signal being based on the baseband transmission signal; and if the power of the radio frequency transmission signal is less than a predetermined signal power, increase the power of the signal portion of the radio frequency transmission signal related to the data in the baseband transmission signal processed by the transmission path when the bandwidth changes from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth.

[0330] In Example 46, the predetermined signal power in the apparatus of Example 45 is the maximum signal power supported by the transmission path for the radio frequency transmission signal, or the maximum signal power for the radio frequency transmission signal according to a communication standard.

[0331] In Example 47, the second bandwidth in the apparatus of any one of Examples 34-46 is less than the first bandwidth, wherein the bandwidth of the radio frequency transmission signal generated by the transmission path based on the baseband transmission signal is the first bandwidth, and the processor circuit is further configured to: control the transmission path to shift the frequency of the baseband transmission signal processed by the transmission path using the second bandwidth by a frequency shift amount to a frequency designated for the first bandwidth.

[0332] In Example 48, the frequency shift amount in the apparatus of Example 47 is related to one of the following: a single rectangular frequency step in the time domain, multiple rectangular frequency steps in the time domain, or a non-rectangular frequency trajectory in the time domain.

[0333] In Example 49, if the transmission path uses polar modulation to generate a radio frequency transmission signal based on a baseband transmission signal, the processor circuit in the apparatus of Example 47 or Example 48 is configured to control the transmission path to shift the frequency of the baseband transmission signal by: controlling a phase-locked loop in the transmission path to generate an oscillation signal based on a frequency control word indicating the frequency shift amount, the phase-locked loop providing the oscillation signal to a digital-to-analog converter in the transmission path; or modifying phase information input to a processing circuit operating in the polar domain in the transmission path with a phase value related to the frequency shift amount; or controlling a mixer in the transmission path to shift the baseband transmission signal by the frequency shift amount and providing the frequency-shifted baseband transmission signal to a processing circuit operating in the polar domain in the transmission path.

[0334] In Example 50, if the transmission path uses Cartesian modulation to generate a radio frequency transmission signal based on a baseband transmission signal, the processor circuit in the apparatus of Example 47 or Example 48 is configured to: control the phase-locked loop of the transmission path to operate as a two-point modulator by based on a first frequency control word indicating the carrier frequency of the radio frequency transmission signal and a second frequency control word indicating the frequency shift amount, thereby controlling the transmission path to shift the frequency of the baseband transmission signal, and the phase-locked loop generates an oscillation signal for the digital-to-analog converter of the transmission path.

[0335] In Example 51, the processor circuit in the apparatus of any one of Examples 30-50 is further configured to: generate a third comparison result by comparing a third quantity of physical resource blocks allocated to the transmitter for a third transmission time interval after the second transmission time interval with the threshold, and further adjust the bandwidth based on the third comparison result.

[0336] In Example 52, the third quantity of the physical resource blocks in the apparatus of Example 51 is based on at least one of the following: information received from the base station, information related to the respective quantities of physical resource blocks allocated to the transmitter for a plurality of transmission time intervals before the first transmission time interval, and information related to the data type that periodically appears in the baseband transmission signal.

[0337] In Example 53, the processor circuit in the apparatus of Example 35 is configured to: adjust the start time for changing the bandwidth based on information related to a first modulation and coding scheme allocated to the first transmission time interval and a second modulation and coding scheme allocated to the second transmission time interval.

[0338] In Example 54, the processor circuit in the apparatus of Example 53 is further configured to: compare a first code rate of data related to the first transmission time interval in the baseband transmission signal with a second code rate of data related to the second transmission time interval in the baseband transmission signal, where the first code rate and the second code rate are based on information related to the first modulation and coding scheme allocated to the first transmission time interval and the second modulation and coding scheme allocated to the second transmission time interval; and adjust the start time based on the time period required for the transmission path to change the bandwidth from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth, such that the bandwidth changes from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth when the transmission path processes the one of the data related to the first transmission time interval and the data related to the second transmission time interval in the baseband transmission signal that exhibits a lower code rate.

[0339] In Example 55, the processor circuitry in the apparatus of any of Examples 34 - 54 is further configured to: control the transmit path to process the baseband transmit signal using a first sampling rate for the first bandwidth; and process the baseband transmit signal using a second sampling rate for the second bandwidth.

[0340] In Example 56, the processor circuitry in the apparatus of any of Examples 34 - 55 is further configured to: control the transmit path to process the baseband transmit signal using an inverse Fourier transform of a first size for the first bandwidth; and process the baseband transmit signal using an inverse Fourier transform of a second size for the second bandwidth.

[0341] In Example 57, the second bandwidth in the apparatus of Example 56 is less than the first bandwidth, where the bandwidth of the radio frequency transmit signal generated by the transmit path based on the baseband transmit signal is the first bandwidth, and where the processor circuitry is further configured to: control the transmit path to shift the phase of the baseband transmit signal processed by the transmit path using the second bandwidth based on the difference between the frequency of the data of the baseband transmit signal associated with one or more allocated physical resource blocks and the desired frequency of the data at the first bandwidth.

[0342] In Example 58, the processor circuitry in the apparatus of Example 57 is further configured to: control the transmit path to shift the phase of the baseband transmit signal based on the length of the cyclic prefix used by the transmit path for the second bandwidth.

[0343] In Example 59, the processor circuitry in the apparatus of any of Examples 30 - 58 is further configured to: control the transmit path to filter the baseband transmit signal, where, starting from the edge of the frequency range, the data of the baseband transmit signal associated with one or more allocated physical resource blocks is continuously arranged within the frequency range used by the transmit path to process the baseband transmit signal based on the bandwidth.

[0344] In Example 60, the processor circuitry in the apparatus of any of Examples 30 - 59 is further configured to: determine a signal error of the radio frequency transmit signal due to adjusting the bandwidth, the radio frequency signal being generated by the transmit path based on the baseband transmit signal, based on information received from the base station; and disable adjusting the bandwidth if the signal error exceeds an error threshold.

[0345] Example 61 is a device for controlling a bandwidth that is used by a transmission path of a transmitter to process a baseband transmission signal. The device includes: a component for generating a first comparison result by comparing a first quantity of physical resource blocks allocated to the transmitter for a first transmission time interval with a threshold; a component for generating a second comparison result by comparing a second quantity of physical resource blocks allocated to the transmitter for a subsequent second transmission time interval with the threshold; and a component for adjusting the bandwidth based on the first comparison result and the second comparison result.

[0346] In Example 62, the component for adjusting the bandwidth in the device of Example 61 is configured to: change the bandwidth from a first bandwidth to a second bandwidth if one of the first comparison result and the second comparison result indicates that the quantity of allocated physical resource blocks is lower than the threshold and the other of the first comparison result and the second comparison result indicates that the quantity of allocated physical resource blocks is higher than the threshold.

[0347] Example 63 is a method for controlling a bandwidth that is used by a transmission path of a transmitter to process a baseband transmission signal. The method includes: calculating a first coefficient that indicates a power saving resulting from using a lower second bandwidth instead of a first bandwidth to process the baseband transmission signal; and operating the transmission path in a first operating mode if the first coefficient exceeds a first threshold for a first time period, in the first operating mode, the bandwidth can be switched from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth.

[0348] In Example 64, if the first coefficient does not exceed the first threshold for the first time period, the method in Example 63 further includes: operating the transmission path in a second operating mode, in the second operating mode, the above bandwidth is set to the first bandwidth in an unadjustable manner.

[0349] In Example 65, the calculating of the first coefficient in the method of Example 63 or Example 64 includes: calculating a first coefficient for a first transmission time interval; and based on the first coefficient, calculating a first coefficient for a second transmission time interval, the second transmission time interval immediately following the first transmission time interval.

[0350] In Example 66, the calculating of the first coefficient for the second transmission time interval in the method of Example 65 is based on an expression that mathematically corresponds to P save (TTI2)=(1 - v)·P save (TTI1)+v·P inst which represents the first coefficient for the second transmission time interval, P save (TTI2) represents the first coefficient for the second transmission time interval, P save(TTI1) represents a first coefficient for a first transmission time interval, v represents a constant, and P inst represents the power saving possibility of the current transmission time interval.

[0351] In Example 67, operating the transmit path in the first operating mode in the method of any one of Examples 63 - 66 includes: if the number of physical resource blocks allocated to the transmitter for the transmission time interval is zero, changing the bandwidth from a first bandwidth to a second bandwidth.

[0352] In Example 68, if a non - zero number of physical resource blocks are allocated to the transmitter for each transmission time interval within a second time period, operating the transmit path in the first operating mode in the method of any one of Examples 63 - 67 includes: calculating, for at least one transmission time interval, a second coefficient that indicates signal degradation of the radio - frequency transmit signal generated by the transmit path due to changing the bandwidth from a first bandwidth to a second bandwidth, the radio - frequency transmit signal being based on a base - band transmit signal; and if the second coefficient is less than a second threshold, changing the bandwidth from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth.

[0353] In Example 69, calculating the second coefficient in the method of Example 68 is based on at least one of the following: the type of data in the base - band transmit signal related to the transmission time interval, the coding rate of the data in the base - band transmit signal related to the transmission time interval, and the required quality of service for the transmission time interval.

[0354] In Example 70, operating the transmit path in the first operating mode in the method of any one of Examples 67 - 69 includes: adjusting the start time for changing the bandwidth from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth.

[0355] In Example 71, adjusting the start time for changing the bandwidth in the method of Example 70 includes: adjusting the start time based on the time period required for the transmit path to change the bandwidth from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth, such that the change of the bandwidth from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth occurs when the transmit path processes the data in the base - band transmit signal related to the transmission time interval.

[0356] In Example 72, operating the transmit path in the first operating mode in the method of any one of Examples 63 - 71 includes: changing the bandwidth from the second bandwidth to the first bandwidth if any of the following occurs: the amount of outstanding data for transmission exceeds a third threshold; data of a predetermined type is scheduled for transmission in a future transmission time interval; a number of physical resource blocks exceeding a fourth threshold are allocated to the transmitter for a future transmission time interval.

[0357] In Example 73, the method of Example 72 further includes adjusting the start time for changing the bandwidth from the second bandwidth to the first bandwidth.

[0358] In Example 74, the adjustment in the method of Example 73 for the start time of changing the bandwidth from a second bandwidth to a first bandwidth includes: adjusting the start time based on the time period required for the transmission path to change the bandwidth from the second bandwidth to the first bandwidth, so as to change the bandwidth from the second bandwidth to the first bandwidth during the next time period, in which the transmission path does not process data of the baseband transmission signal.

[0359] In Example 75, the adjustment in the method of Example 73 or Example 74 for the start time of changing the bandwidth from a second bandwidth to a first bandwidth includes: adjusting the start time based on the time period required for the transmission path to change the bandwidth from the second bandwidth to the first bandwidth, so as to change the bandwidth from the second bandwidth to the first bandwidth when the transmission path processes data of the baseband transmission signal before data of the baseband transmission signal related to a future transmission time interval.

[0360] In Example 76, if the first coefficient drops below a first threshold, the method of any one of Examples 63 - 75 further includes: switching from operating the transmission path in a first operating mode to operating the transmission path in a second operating mode, in which the bandwidth for processing the baseband transmission signal is non - adjustably set to the first bandwidth.

[0361] In Example 77, if the second bandwidth is used for the first operating mode, the switching from operating the transmission path in the first operating mode to operating the transmission path in the second operating mode in the method of Example 76 includes: switching the bandwidth from the second bandwidth to the first bandwidth; and adjusting the start time for changing the bandwidth from the second bandwidth to the first bandwidth.

[0362] In Example 78, the adjustment in the method of Example 77 for the start time of changing the bandwidth from a second bandwidth to a first bandwidth includes: adjusting the start time based on the time period required for the transmission path to change the bandwidth from the second bandwidth to the first bandwidth, so that when the transmission path does not process data of the baseband transmission signal because zero physical resource blocks are allocated to the transmitter for a transmission time interval for which the first coefficient still exceeds the first threshold, or when the transmission path processes data of the baseband transmission signal related to the last transmission time interval for which the first coefficient exceeds the first threshold, the bandwidth is changed from the second bandwidth to the first bandwidth.

[0363] In Example 79, the method of any one of Examples 63 - 78 further includes: when changing the bandwidth from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth, increasing the power of the radio frequency transmission signal based on a signal portion of the radio frequency transmission signal generated by the transmission path based on the baseband transmission signal and related to the data of the baseband transmission signal processed by the transmission path, and vice versa.

[0364] In Example 80, the bandwidth of the radio frequency transmission signal generated by the transmission path based on the baseband transmission signal in the method of any one of Examples 63 - 79 is the first bandwidth, wherein the method further includes: shifting the frequency of the baseband transmission signal processed by the transmission path using the second bandwidth to the frequency assigned to the first bandwidth.

[0365] In Example 81, the method of any one of Examples 63 - 80 further includes: controlling the transmission path to process the baseband transmission signal using a first sampling rate for the first bandwidth; and controlling the transmission path to process the baseband transmission signal using a second sampling rate for the second bandwidth.

[0366] In Example 82, the method of any one of Examples 63 - 81 further includes: controlling the transmission path to process the baseband transmission signal using an inverse Fourier transform of a first size for the first bandwidth; and controlling the transmission path to process the baseband transmission signal using an inverse Fourier transform of a second size for the second bandwidth.

[0367] Example 83 is a device for controlling the bandwidth used by the transmission path of a transmitter to process a baseband transmission signal, the device including a processor circuit configured to: calculate a first coefficient indicating the power savings resulting from using a lower second bandwidth instead of the first bandwidth to process the baseband transmission signal; and if the first coefficient exceeds a first threshold for a first time period, control the transmission path to operate in a first operating mode in which the bandwidth can be switched from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth.

[0368] In Example 84, if the first coefficient does not exceed the first threshold for the first time period, the processor circuit in the device of Example 83 is configured to: control the transmission path to operate in a second operating mode in which the above - mentioned bandwidth is irreversibly set to the first bandwidth.

[0369] In Example 85, the processor circuit in the device of Example 83 or Example 84 is configured to: calculate a first coefficient for a first transmission time interval; and based on the first coefficient, calculate a first coefficient for a second transmission time interval, the second transmission time interval immediately following the first transmission time interval.

[0370] In Example 86, the processor circuit in the device of Example 85 is configured to: based on an expression mathematically corresponding to P save (TTI2)=(1 - v)·P save (TTI1)+v·P inst to calculate the first coefficient for the second transmission time interval, which represents the first coefficient for the second transmission time interval, P save (TTI2) represents the first coefficient for the second transmission time interval, Psave (TTI1) represents a first coefficient for a first transmission time interval, v represents a constant, and P inst represents the power saving possibility for the current transmission time interval.

[0371] In Example 87, the processor circuit in the apparatus of any one of Examples 83 - 86 is configured to: if the number of physical resource blocks allocated to the transmitter for a transmission time interval is zero, then control the transmission path to change the bandwidth from a first bandwidth to a second bandwidth in a first operation mode.

[0372] In Example 88, if the transmission path is operating in the first operation mode and if a non - zero number of physical resource blocks are allocated to the transmitter for each transmission time interval within a second time period, then the processor circuit in the apparatus of any one of Examples 83 - 87 is configured to: calculate a second coefficient for at least one transmission time interval, the second coefficient indicating the signal degradation of the radio frequency transmission signal generated by the transmission path due to changing the bandwidth from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth, the radio frequency transmission signal being based on a baseband transmission signal; and if the second coefficient is less than a second threshold, then control the transmission path to change the bandwidth from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth.

[0373] In Example 89, the processor circuit in the apparatus of Example 88 is configured to calculate the second coefficient based on at least one of the following: the type of data in the baseband transmission signal related to the transmission time interval, the coding rate of the data in the baseband transmission signal related to the transmission time interval, and the required quality of service for the transmission time interval.

[0374] In Example 90, if the transmission path is operating in the first operation mode, then the processor circuit in the apparatus of any one of Examples 87 - 89 is configured to: adjust the start time for changing the bandwidth from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth.

[0375] In Example 91, the processor circuit in the apparatus of Example 90 is configured to: adjust the start time based on the time period required for the transmission path to change the bandwidth from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth, such that the change of the bandwidth from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth occurs when the transmission path processes the data in the baseband transmission signal related to the transmission time interval.

[0376] In Example 92, the processor circuit in the apparatus of any one of Examples 83 - 91 is configured to: if any of the following occurs, then control the transmission path to change the bandwidth from the second bandwidth to the first bandwidth in the first operation mode: the amount of outstanding data for transmission exceeds a third threshold; data of a predetermined type is scheduled for transmission in a future transmission time interval; a number of physical resource blocks exceeding a fourth threshold are allocated to the transmitter for a future transmission time interval.

[0377] In Example 93, the processor circuit in the apparatus of Example 92 is configured to: adjust the start time for changing the bandwidth from a second bandwidth to a first bandwidth.

[0378] In Example 94, the processor circuit in the apparatus of Example 93 is configured to: adjust the start time based on the time period required for the transmission path to change the bandwidth from a second bandwidth to a first bandwidth, adjust the start time for changing the bandwidth from a second bandwidth to a first bandwidth, such that the bandwidth is changed from the second bandwidth to the first bandwidth during a next time period in which the transmission path does not process data of the baseband transmission signal.

[0379] In Example 95, the processor circuit in the apparatus of Example 93 or Example 94 is configured to: adjust the start time based on the time period required for the transmission path to change the bandwidth from a second bandwidth to a first bandwidth, adjust the start time for changing the bandwidth from a second bandwidth to a first bandwidth, such that the bandwidth is changed from the second bandwidth to the first bandwidth when the transmission path processes data of the baseband transmission signal before data of the baseband transmission signal related to a future transmission time interval.

[0380] In Example 96, if a first coefficient drops below a first threshold, the processor circuit in the apparatus of any one of Examples 83 - 95 is configured to: control the transmission path to switch from operating in a first operating mode to operating in a second operating mode, in which the bandwidth for processing the baseband transmission signal is non - adjustably set to a first bandwidth.

[0381] In Example 97, if a second bandwidth is used for the first operating mode, the processor circuit in the apparatus of Example 96 is configured to: control the transmission path to switch from operating in the first operating mode to operating in the second operating mode by controlling the transmission path to change the bandwidth from the second bandwidth to the first bandwidth; and adjust the start time for changing the bandwidth from the second bandwidth to the first bandwidth.

[0382] In Example 98, the processor circuit in the apparatus of Example 97 is configured to: adjust the start time for changing the bandwidth from the second bandwidth to the first bandwidth based on the time period required for the transmission path to change the bandwidth from the second bandwidth to the first bandwidth, such that the change of the bandwidth from the second bandwidth to the first bandwidth occurs when the transmission path does not process data of the baseband transmission signal because zero physical resource blocks are allocated to the transmitter for a transmission time interval for which the first coefficient still exceeds the first threshold, or when the transmission path processes data of the baseband transmission signal related to the last transmission time interval for which the first coefficient exceeds the first threshold.

[0383] In Example 99, the processor circuit in the apparatus of any one of Examples 83-98 is configured to: when changing the bandwidth from a first bandwidth to a second bandwidth, control the transmit path to increase the power of the radio frequency transmit signal based on the signal portion of the radio frequency transmit signal generated by the transmit path based on the baseband transmit signal that is related to the data processed by the transmit path in the baseband transmit signal, and vice versa.

[0384] In Example 100, the bandwidth of the radio frequency transmit signal generated by the transmit path based on the baseband transmit signal in the apparatus of any one of Examples 83-99 is the first bandwidth, wherein the processor circuit is configured to: control the transmit path to shift the frequency of the baseband transmit signal processed by the transmit path using the second bandwidth to the frequency designated for the first bandwidth.

[0385] In Example 101, the processor circuit in the apparatus of any one of Examples 83-100 is configured to: control the transmit path to process the baseband transmit signal using a first sampling rate for the first bandwidth; and control the transmit path to process the baseband transmit signal using a second sampling rate for the second bandwidth.

[0386] In Example 102, the processor circuit in the apparatus of any one of Examples 83-101 is configured to: control the transmit path to process the baseband transmit signal using an inverse Fourier transform of a first size for the first bandwidth; and control the transmit path to process the baseband transmit signal using an inverse Fourier transform of a second size for the second bandwidth.

[0387] Example 103 is an apparatus for controlling the bandwidth used by the transmit path of a transmitter to process a baseband transmit signal, the apparatus including: a component for calculating a first coefficient that indicates the power savings resulting from using a lower second bandwidth instead of the first bandwidth to process the baseband transmit signal; and a component for controlling the transmit path to operate in a first operating mode if the first coefficient exceeds a first threshold for a first period of time, in which first operating mode the bandwidth can be switched from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth.

[0388] In Example 104, the apparatus of Example 103 further includes: a component for controlling the transmit path to operate in a second operating mode if the first coefficient does not exceed the first threshold for the first period of time, in which second operating mode the bandwidth is irreversibly set to the first bandwidth.

[0389] Example 105 is a receiver for a wireless communication system, including: a mixer configured to generate an analog received signal based on a radio frequency received signal; a switch configured to couple one of a first signal processing chain and a second signal processing chain to the mixer, where the linearity of the second signal processing chain is lower than that of the first signal processing chain, and / or the noise level of the second signal processing chain is higher than that of the first signal processing chain; and a control circuit configured to control the switch to couple one of the first signal processing chain and the second signal processing chain to the mixer based on the operating mode of the receiver.

[0390] In Example 106, the first signal processing path and the second signal processing path in the receiver of Example 105 are coupled to a processing circuit configured to provide a digital baseband signal to a baseband processor based on a digital signal provided to the processing circuit by the first signal processing path or the second signal processing path.

[0391] In Example 107, the first signal processing path and the second signal processing path in the receiver of Example 105 are coupled to a baseband processor configured to process the digital baseband signal provided to the baseband processor by the first signal processing path or the second signal processing path.

[0392] In Example 108, the first signal processing chain in the receiver of any one of Examples 105 - 107 includes a first analog-to-digital converter, where the second signal processing chain includes a second analog-to-digital converter having a lower dynamic range than the first analog-to-digital converter.

[0393] In Example 109, the control circuit in the receiver of any one of Examples 105 - 108 is configured to adjust the bias of the mixer based on the operating mode of the receiver.

[0394] In Example 110, the receiver of any one of Examples 105 - 109 further includes an amplifier coupled to the input of the mixer and configured to provide the radio frequency received signal to the mixer, where the control circuit is configured to adjust the bias of the amplifier based on the operating mode of the receiver.

[0395] In Example 111, the switch in the receiver of any one of Examples 105 - 110 is a multiplexer.

[0396] In Example 112, the power consumption of the second signal processing chain in the receiver of any one of Examples 105 - 111 is lower than that of the first signal processing chain.

[0397] In Example 113, the control circuit in the receiver of any one of Examples 105 - 112 is configured such that: if the operating mode of the receiver is either the idle mode or an operating mode in which the radio frequency received signal contains only downlink control data, the control switch couples the second signal processing chain to the mixer.

[0398] Example 114 is an apparatus for receiving a radio frequency received signal, including: a component for generating an analog received signal based on the radio frequency received signal; a component for coupling one of a first signal processing chain and a second signal processing chain to the component for generating the analog received signal, where the linearity of the second signal processing chain is lower than that of the first signal processing chain, and / or the noise level of the second signal processing chain is higher than that of the first signal processing chain; and a component for controlling the coupling component based on the operating mode of the component for receiving the radio frequency received signal to couple one of the first signal processing chain and the second signal processing chain to the mixer.

[0399] In Example 115, the power consumption of the second signal processing chain in the apparatus of Example 114 is lower than that of the first signal processing chain.

[0400] Example 116 is a method for a receiver that includes a mixer configured to generate an analog received signal based on a radio frequency received signal and includes a switch configured to couple one of a first signal processing chain and a second signal processing chain to the mixer, where the linearity of the second signal processing chain is lower than that of the first signal processing chain, and / or the noise level of the second signal processing chain is higher than that of the first signal processing chain. The method includes: controlling the switch based on the operating mode of the receiver to couple one of the first signal processing chain and the second signal processing chain to the mixer.

[0401] In Example 117, controlling the switch in the method of Example 116 includes: if the operating mode of the receiver is either the idle mode or an operating mode in which the radio frequency received signal includes only downlink control data, controlling the switch to couple the second signal processing chain to the mixer.

[0402] In Example 118, the method of Example 116 or Example 117 further includes: adjusting the bias of the mixer based on the operating mode of the receiver.

[0403] In Example 119, the receiver in the method of any one of Examples 116 - 118 further includes an amplifier coupled to the input of the mixer and configured to provide the radio frequency received signal to the mixer. The method further includes: adjusting the bias of the amplifier based on the operating mode of the receiver.

[0404] In Example 120, the power consumption of the second signal processing chain in the method of any one of Examples 116 - 119 is lower than that of the first signal processing chain.

[0405] Example 121 is a transmitter that includes a transmission path and means for controlling the bandwidth for processing a baseband transmission signal according to any one of Examples 30 - 60 or means for controlling the bandwidth for processing a baseband transmission signal according to any one of Examples 82 - 102.

[0406] Example 122 is a transceiver that includes the transmitter according to Example 121 or a receiver according to any one of Examples 105 - 113.

[0407] Example 123 is a mobile device that includes a receiver according to any one of Examples 105 - 113, a transmitter according to Example 121, or a transceiver according to Example 122.

[0408] In Example 124, the mobile device of Example 123 further includes at least one antenna element that is coupled to the receiver, transmitter, or transceiver.

[0409] Example 125 is a non - transitory computer - readable medium having a program stored thereon, the program having program code that, when the program is executed on a computer or a processor, is configured to perform the method according to any one of Examples 1 - 29, the method according to any one of Examples 63 - 82, or the method according to any one of Examples 116 - 120.

[0410] Example 126 is a computer program having program code that is configured to perform the method according to any one of Examples 1 - 29, the method according to any one of Examples 63 - 82, or the method according to any one of Examples 116 - 120 when the computer program is executed on a computer or a processor.

[0411] The aspects and features mentioned and described, as well as one or more of the previously described examples and figures in detail, may also be combined with one or more other examples to replace similar features of another example or to otherwise introduce features into other examples.

[0412] When a computer program is executed on a computer or a processor, an example can further be or relate to a computer program having program code for performing one or more of the above methods. The steps, operations or processes of the various above methods can be executed by a programmed computer or processor. The example can also cover a program storage device, such as a machine, a processor or a non-transitory computer-readable medium or a digital data storage medium that is computer-readable and encodes a machine-executable program, a processor-executable program or a computer-executable program for instructions. The instructions execute or cause to execute some or all of the actions of the above methods. The program storage device can include or can be, for example, a digital memory, a magnetic storage medium such as magnetic disks and magnetic tapes, a hard disk drive or an optically readable digital data storage medium. Further examples can also cover a computer, a processor or a control unit programmed to execute the actions of the above methods, or a (field) programmable logic array ((F)PLA) or a (field) programmable gate array ((F)PGA) programmed to execute the actions of the above methods.

[0413] The description and the drawings merely illustrate the principles of the present disclosure. In addition, all the examples enumerated herein are in principle clearly only for teaching purposes to help the reader understand the principles of the present disclosure and the contributions made by the inventor(s) to the further development of the field. All statements herein citing the principles, aspects and examples of the present disclosure and its specific examples are intended to cover their equivalent forms.

[0414] A functional block representing a "means for..." performing a specific function can refer to a circuit configured to perform the specific function. Thus, a "means for..." can be implemented as a "means configured for or adapted to something", such as a device or a circuit configured for or adapted to the corresponding task.

[0415] The functions of the various elements shown in the drawings, including any functional blocks labeled as "means", "means for providing a sensor signal", "means for generating a transmission signal", etc., can be implemented in the form of dedicated hardware (such as a "signal provider", a "signal processing unit", a "processor", a "controller", etc.) and hardware capable of executing software in association with appropriate software. When provided by a processor, the functions can be provided by a single dedicated processor, a single shared processor or multiple separate processors, some or all of which can be shared. However, the terms "processor" or "controller" so far are not limited only to hardware specifically capable of executing software, but can also include digital signal processor (DSP) hardware, network processors, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), read-only memories (ROMs) for storing software, random access memories (RAMs), and non-volatile storage devices. Other conventional and / or custom hardware can also be included.

[0416] A block diagram, for example, may show a high-level circuit diagram implementing the principles of the present disclosure. Similarly, flowcharts, process flow diagrams, state transition diagrams, pseudocode, etc. may represent various processes, operations, or steps. For example, they may be substantially represented in a computer-readable medium and thus executed by a computer or a processor, whether or not such a computer or processor is explicitly shown. The methods disclosed in the specification or claims may be implemented by a device having means for performing the corresponding actions of these methods.

[0417] It should be understood that the disclosure of multiple actions, processes, operations, steps, or functions in the specification or claims may not be construed as being in a particular order, unless explicitly or implicitly indicated for, e.g., technical reasons. Thus, the disclosure of multiple actions or functions does not limit them to a particular order, unless these actions or functions are not interchangeable for technical reasons. In addition, in some examples, a single action, function, process, operation, or step may respectively include or may be decomposed into multiple sub-actions, sub-functions, sub-processes, sub-operations, or sub-steps. Such sub-actions may be included in the disclosure of the single action and may be part of the disclosure of that single action, unless explicitly excluded.

[0418] In addition, the appended claims are hereby incorporated into the detailed description, where each claim may stand alone as a separate example. Although each claim may stand alone as a separate example, it should be noted that although a dependent claim in the claims may refer to a particular combination with one or more other claims, other examples may also include combinations of the dependent claim with the subject matter of each other independent or dependent claim. Such combinations are explicitly set forth herein unless it is indicated that a particular combination is not intended. In addition, it is intended that the features of the claims be included in any other independent claim as well, even if that claim does not directly depend on that independent claim.

Claims

1. A method for controlling a bandwidth that is used by a transmission path of a transmitter to process a baseband transmission signal, the method comprising: generating a first comparison result by comparing a first quantity of physical resource blocks allocated to the transmitter for a first transmission time interval with a threshold; generating a second comparison result by comparing a second quantity of physical resource blocks allocated to the transmitter for a subsequent second transmission time interval with the threshold; and adjusting the bandwidth based on the first comparison result and the second comparison result, wherein adjusting the bandwidth includes: changing the bandwidth from a first bandwidth to a second bandwidth if one of the first comparison result and the second comparison result indicates that the quantity of allocated physical resource blocks is lower than the threshold and the other of the first comparison result and the second comparison result indicates that the quantity of allocated physical resource blocks is higher than the threshold.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The first transmission time interval immediately precedes the second transmission time interval.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The first transmission time interval is the last transmission time interval before the second transmission time interval for which a non-zero quantity of physical resource blocks is allocated to the transmitter.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein Adjusting the bandwidth includes: keeping the bandwidth unchanged if both the first comparison result and the second comparison result respectively indicate that the quantity of allocated physical resource blocks is lower than the threshold, if both the first comparison result and the second comparison result respectively indicate that the quantity of allocated physical resource blocks is higher than the threshold, or if the second quantity of physical resource blocks is zero.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: adjusting a start time for changing the bandwidth from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein, Adjusting the start time for changing the bandwidth is based on at least one of the first quantity of physical resource blocks and the second quantity of physical resource blocks.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein, If the first quantity of physical resource blocks is zero, adjusting the start time for changing the bandwidth includes: adjusting the start time based on a time period required for the transmission path to change the bandwidth from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth such that the change of the bandwidth from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth is completed before the transmission path starts to process data related to the second transmission time interval in the baseband transmission signal.

8. The method according to claim 6, wherein, If the first quantity of physical resource blocks is lower than the threshold and the second quantity of physical resource blocks is higher than the threshold, adjusting the start time for changing the bandwidth includes: adjusting the start time to a time point at which the transmission path processes data related to the second transmission time interval in the baseband transmission signal.

9. The method according to claim 5, wherein, Adjusting the start time for changing the bandwidth is based on at least one of the following: the type of data related to the first transmission time interval in the baseband transmission signal, and the type of data related to the second transmission time interval in the baseband transmission signal.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein, If a type of data in the baseband transmission signal related to one of the first transmission time interval and the second transmission time interval is a predetermined data type, adjusting a start time for changing the bandwidth includes: Adjusting the start time based on a period required for changing the bandwidth from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth along the transmission path, such that the bandwidth is changed from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth when the transmission path processes data in the baseband transmission signal related to the other of the first transmission time interval and the second transmission time interval.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein Adjusting the bandwidth includes: If both the type of data in the baseband transmission signal related to the first transmission time interval and the type of data in the baseband transmission signal related to the second transmission time interval are predetermined data types, keeping the bandwidth unchanged.

12. The method according to claim 10, wherein The predetermined data type is data for a physical uplink control channel, data for a sounding reference signal, or data for retransmission.

13. The method according to claim 5, wherein, Adjusting a start time for changing the bandwidth includes: Comparing a first coding robustness of data in the baseband transmission signal related to the first transmission time interval with a second coding robustness of data in the baseband transmission signal related to the second transmission time interval; and Adjusting the start time based on a period required for changing the bandwidth from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth along the transmission path, such that the bandwidth is changed from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth when the transmission path processes the one of the data in the baseband transmission signal related to the first transmission time interval and the data in the baseband transmission signal related to the second transmission time interval that exhibits higher coding robustness.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein The first coding robustness is based on at least one of the following: a code rate of data in the baseband transmission signal related to the first transmission time interval, a transport block size, a modulation and coding scheme, modulation, a code block size, and a code type.

15. The method according to claim 1, wherein The method further includes: Calculating signal degradation of a radio frequency transmission signal generated by the transmission path due to the change of the bandwidth from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth, the radio frequency transmission signal being based on the baseband transmission signal; and If a power of the radio frequency transmission signal is less than a predetermined signal power, increasing the power of the radio frequency transmission signal for a signal portion of the radio frequency transmission signal related to data in the baseband transmission signal processed by the transmission path when the bandwidth is changed from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein, The predetermined signal power is a maximum signal power supported by the transmission path for the radio frequency transmission signal, or a maximum signal power for the radio frequency transmission signal according to a communication standard.

17. The method according to claim 1, wherein The second bandwidth is less than the first bandwidth, wherein a bandwidth of the radio frequency transmission signal generated by the transmission path based on the baseband transmission signal is the first bandwidth, and wherein the method further includes: Control the transmission path to shift the frequency of the baseband transmission signal processed by the transmission path using the second bandwidth by a frequency shift amount to a frequency designated for the first bandwidth.

18. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising: Generating a third comparison result by comparing a third quantity of physical resource blocks assigned to the transmitter for a third transmission time interval after the second transmission time interval with the threshold, wherein adjusting the bandwidth is further based on the third comparison result.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein, The third quantity of the physical resource blocks is based on at least one of the following: information received from a base station, information related to the respective quantities of physical resource blocks assigned to the transmitter for a plurality of transmission time intervals before the first transmission time interval, and information related to the type of data that periodically appears in the baseband transmission signal.

20. The method according to claim 5, wherein The start time for adjusting to change the bandwidth is based on information related to a first modulation and coding scheme assigned to the first transmission time interval and a second modulation and coding scheme assigned to the second transmission time interval.

21. The method according to claim 20, further comprising: Comparing a first code rate of data related to the first transmission time interval in the baseband transmission signal with a second code rate of data related to the second transmission time interval in the baseband transmission signal, wherein the first code rate and the second code rate are based on information related to the first modulation and coding scheme assigned to the first transmission time interval and the second modulation and coding scheme assigned to the second transmission time interval; And Adjusting the start time based on the time period required for the transmission path to change the bandwidth from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth, such that when the transmission path processes the data related to the first transmission time interval and the data related to the second transmission time interval in the baseband transmission signal that exhibits a lower code rate, the bandwidth is changed from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth.

22. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The method further comprises: Controlling the transmission path to process the baseband transmission signal using a first sampling rate for the first bandwidth; and Controlling the transmission path to process the baseband transmission signal using a second sampling rate for the second bandwidth.

23. The method according to claim 1, wherein The method further comprises: Controlling the transmission path to process the baseband transmission signal using an inverse Fourier transform of a first size for the first bandwidth; and Controlling the transmission path to process the baseband transmission signal using an inverse Fourier transform of a second size for the second bandwidth.

24. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising: Determining a signal error of a radio frequency transmission signal caused by adjusting the bandwidth based on information received from a base station, the radio frequency transmission signal being generated by the transmission path based on the baseband transmission signal; And If the signal error exceeds an error threshold, disabling the adjustment of the bandwidth.

25. A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by a machine, cause the machine to perform the method according to any one of claims 1-24.

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