Mitigating local interference conditions caused by concurrent transmissions in multiple radio access technologies and multiple connectivity environments

Abstract

The present disclosure describes systems and methods for mitigating local interference conditions caused by concurrent transmissions in a multi-radio access technology and a multi-connectivity environment. For a user device (110) transmitting data in a multi-radio access technology / multi-connectivity environment, an interference manager application (218) instructs the user device (110) to determine (705) that an interference condition exists locally at the user device (110). The interference manager application instructs the user device (110) to determine a configuration of the user device's wireless communication hardware (204, 206, 208, 210) for mitigating the local interference condition, and instructs the user device (110) to send (715) a request message to a base station (412), so that the base station (412) configures (725) the wireless communication hardware (254, 256, 258) of the base station (412) to receive data (750) transmitted by the user device (110) in accordance with the determined configuration of the user device's wireless communication hardware (204, 206, 208, 210) that mitigates the determined local interference condition.

Description

Background Art

[0001] User equipment (UE) can send different data concurrently using different radio access technologies (RATs). The concurrent transmission of different data occurs in an environment called a multiple radio access technology (MRAT) / multiple connectivity (MC) environment. In this environment, the UE can connect to and communicate with base stations wirelessly, each of which includes hardware to support wireless communication using one or more RATs.

[0002] As an example, a smartphone may be connected to a base station using a third generation partnership project long term evolution (3GPP LTE) RAT and also connected to the same base station using a fifth generation new radio (5G NR) RAT. The smartphone may perform concurrent uplink transmissions to send mobility data to the base station using subcarriers of the 3GPP LTE RAT and to send video data to the base station using subcarriers of the 5G NR RAT.

[0003] In a multi-radio access technology and multi-connectivity environment, intermodulation may occur between frequency components of concurrent uplink transmissions. This intermodulation may be a byproduct of the nonlinearity inherent in the radio transmitter components of the UE, and may in some cases form additional frequency components that interfere with the subcarriers of the RAT associated with the concurrent uplink transmission or interfere with other subcarriers of the same or other RATs. This interference condition, which is local to the UE, may suppress uplink transmissions from the UE and downlink transmissions to the UE. In some cases, the interference condition may extend to other UEs close to the UE.

[0004] Continuing with this example, when a smartphone is using subcarriers of a 3GPP LTE RAT to send mobility data and is using subcarriers of a 5G NR RAT to send video data, intermodulation may occur such that additional frequency components are formed that interfere with uplink transmissions of voice data from the smartphone to the base station using other subcarriers of the 5G NR RAT. Additional frequency components may also be formed that interfere with downlink transmissions from the base station to the smartphone, such as transmissions of control plane data from the base station to the smartphone using other subcarriers of the 3GP LTE RAT.

[0005] To further complicate the problem, intermodulation may create additional frequency components that interfere with other subcarriers of other RATs. Other RATs may support wireless communications between the UE and other base stations or access points, such as subcarriers of a RAT supporting WLAN wireless communications between a smartphone and a router or access point, subcarriers of a RAT supporting Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) wireless communications between a smartphone and a global positioning satellite, etc.

[0006] Although local to the user equipment, the interference may have a wide-ranging impact on the radio access network. As an example, data contention or data loss resulting from the interference may be detrimental to data integrity and affect the operation of the radio access network. In addition to this direct impairment in terms of effectiveness, additional power consumption is required by the user equipment and base stations on behalf of the radio access network due to the need to resend data, and data contention or loss may also result in impairments in efficiency due to the need to reallocate subcarriers of the radio access network. Summary of the invention

[0007] The present invention describes systems and methods that are directed to mitigating local interference conditions caused by concurrent transmissions in multiple radio access technologies and multiple connectivity environments. For a user device that sends data in multiple radio access technologies and multiple connectivity environments, an interference manager of the user device determines that an interference condition exists locally in the user device. The interference manager determines a configuration of the user device wireless communication hardware for mitigating the local interference condition, and causes the user device to send a request message to a base station. The request message causes the base station to configure the wireless communication hardware of the base station to receive data sent by the user device in accordance with the configuration of the user device wireless communication hardware determined to mitigate the determined local interference condition.

[0008] In some aspects, a method performed by a user device is described. The method includes the user device determining an interference condition that is local to the user device, wherein the local interference condition is attributable to a first configuration of wireless communication hardware of the user device, the first configuration being used by the user device when concurrently sending: first data from the user device to a base station using a first radio access technology; and second data from the user device to the base station using a second radio access technology. As part of the method, the user device determines a second configuration of the wireless communication hardware of the user device that mitigates the determined local interference condition and is used by the user device when concurrently sending: first data from the user device to the base station using the first radio access technology; and second data from the user device to the base station using the second radio access technology. The method also includes the user device sending a request message having content to the base station that causes the base station to configure the wireless communication hardware of the base station to receive the first data and the second data sent by the user device in accordance with the determined second configuration of the wireless communication hardware of the user device.

[0009] In other aspects, a method performed by a base station is described. The method includes the base station receiving a request message from a user equipment. Based on the content of the received request message, the base station configures the wireless communication hardware of the base station to receive first data sent by the user equipment using a first radio access technology and second data sent by the user equipment using a second radio access technology, wherein the first data and the second data are sent concurrently by the user equipment in accordance with a second configuration of the wireless communication hardware of the user equipment, the second configuration being determined by the user equipment to mitigate a transmission interference condition attributable to the first configuration of the wireless communication hardware of the user equipment for concurrently sending the first data using the first radio access technology and the second data using the second radio access technology.

[0010] In other aspects, a user device is described. The user device includes: a first transceiver, the first transceiver being compatible with a first radio access technology; a second transceiver, the second transceiver being compatible with a second radio access technology; a processor, and a computer-readable storage medium. The computer-readable storage medium includes an interference manager having instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the user device to determine an interference condition that is local to the user device. The local interference condition is attributable to a first wireless communication hardware configuration of the user device, the first wireless communication hardware configuration being used by the user device when concurrently using the first radio access technology to send first data to a first base station and using the second radio access technology to send second data to a second base station. The processor executing the instructions of the interference manager also causes the user device to determine a second configuration of the wireless communication hardware that mitigates the determined local interference condition and is used by the user device when concurrently sending: (i) first data from the user device to the base station using the first radio access technology; and (ii) second data from the user device to the base station using the second radio access technology. The processor executing the code of the interference manager also causes the user equipment to send a first request message to the first base station, the first request message causing the first base station to configure the wireless communication hardware of the first base station to receive the first data sent by the first transceiver using the first radio access technology according to the second configuration determined by the wireless communication hardware of the user equipment. The execution of the code also causes the user equipment to send a second request message to the second base station, the second request message causing the second base station to configure the wireless communication hardware of the second base station to receive the second data sent by the second transceiver using the second radio access technology according to the second configuration determined by the wireless communication hardware of the user equipment.

[0011] The details of one or more embodiments are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the following description. Other features and advantages will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims. This summary is provided to introduce the subject matter that is further described in the detailed description and drawings. Therefore, this summary should not be considered to describe essential features, nor should it be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] Details directed to one or more aspects of adapting multiple radio access technologies and multiple connectivity to mitigate local interference are described below. The use of the same reference numerals in different instances in the specification and the drawings may indicate the same elements.

[0013] Figure 1 An example operating environment is illustrated in which various aspects of mitigating local interference conditions caused by concurrent transmissions in a multiple radio access technology and multiple connectivity environment are implemented.

[0014] Figure 2 An example device diagram is illustrated in accordance with one or more aspects of mitigating local interference conditions caused by concurrent transmissions in multiple radio access technologies and multiple connectivity environments.

[0015] Figure 3 An example air interface is illustrated in accordance with one or more aspects of mitigating local interference conditions caused by concurrent transmissions in multiple radio access technologies and multiple connectivity environments.

[0016] Figure 4 Example details of a scenario for mitigating local interference conditions caused by concurrent transmissions in a multiple radio access technology and multiple connectivity environment are illustrated.

[0017] Figure 5 An example method performed by a user equipment to mitigate local interference conditions caused by concurrent transmissions in a multiple radio access technology and multiple connectivity environment is illustrated.

[0018] Figure 6 An example method performed by a base station to mitigate local interference conditions caused by concurrent transmissions in a multiple radio access technology and multiple connectivity environment is illustrated.

[0019] Figure 7 Illustrated are example details of signaling and control transactions associated with mitigating local interference conditions caused by concurrent transmissions in a multiple radio access technology and multiple connectivity environment.

[0020] The following discussion describes examples of operating environments, systems, methods, and signaling / control transactions that can be directed to mitigating local interference conditions caused by concurrent transmissions in multiple radio access technologies and multiple connectivity environments.In the context of the present disclosure, reference is made by way of example only. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] Operating Environment

[0022] Figure 1 An example environment 100 is illustrated, which includes a plurality of user equipments 110 (UE 110), illustrated as UE 111, UE 112, and UE 113. Each UE 110 may communicate with a base station 120 (illustrated as base stations 121, 122, 123, and 124) via one or more wireless communication links 130 (wireless links 130), illustrated as wireless links 131 and 132. For simplicity, UE 110 is implemented as a smart phone, but may be implemented as any suitable computing or electronic device, such as a mobile communication device, a modem, a cellular phone, a gaming device, a navigation device, a media device, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a tablet computer, a smart home appliance, a vehicle-based communication system, or an Internet of Things (IoT) device, such as a sensor or actuator. The base station 120 (e.g., an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network Node B, E-UTRAN Node B, evolved Node B, eNodeB, eNB, next generation Node B, gNode B, gNB, ng-eNB, etc.) can be implemented in a macro cell, a micro cell, a small cell, a pico cell, etc., or any combination thereof.

[0023] The base station 120 communicates with the UE 110 using wireless links 131 and 132, which may be implemented as any suitable type of wireless links. The wireless links 131 and 132 include control and data communications, such as downlinks of data and control information transmitted from the base station 120 to the UE 110, uplinks of other data and control information transmitted from the UE 110 to the base station 120, or both. The wireless link 130 may include one or more wireless links (e.g., radio links) or bearers implemented using any suitable communication protocol or standard or combination of communication protocols or standards such as the Third Generation Partnership Project Long Term Evolution (3GPP LTE), the Fifth Generation New Radio (5G NR), etc. Multiple wireless links 130 may be aggregated in carrier aggregation to provide higher data rates for the UE 110. Multiple wireless links 130 from multiple base stations 120 may be configured for coordinated multi-point (CoMP) communication with the UE 110.

[0024] The base stations 120 are collectively referred to as a radio access network 140 (e.g., RAN, Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network, E-UTRAN, 5G NR RAN, or NR RAN). The RAN 140 is illustrated as NR RAN 141 and E-UTRAN 142. The base stations 121 and 123 in the NR RAN 141 are connected to a fifth generation core 150 (5GC 150) network. The base stations 122 and 124 in the E-UTRAN 142 are connected to an evolved packet core 160 (EPC 160). Alternatively or additionally, the base station 122 may be connected to both the 5GC 150 network and the EPC 160 network.

[0025] Base stations 121 and 123 are connected to 5GC 150 at 102 and 104, respectively, via an NG2 interface for control plane signaling and using an NG3 interface for user plane data communications. Base stations 122 and 124 are connected to EPC 160 at 106 and 108, respectively, using an S1 interface for control plane signaling and user plane data communications. Alternatively or additionally, if base station 122 is connected to both 5GC 150 and EPC 160 networks, base station 122 is connected to 5GC 150 at 180 using an NG2 interface for control plane signaling and via an NG3 interface for user plane data communications.

[0026] In addition to the connection to the core network, the base stations 120 can also communicate with each other. For example, base stations 121 and 123 communicate at 103 through an Xn interface using an Xn application protocol (XnAP), base stations 122 and 123 communicate at 105 through an Xn interface, and base stations 122 and 124 communicate at 107 through an X2 interface.

[0027] The 5GC 150 includes an access and mobility management function 152 (AMF 152), which provides control plane functions such as registration and authentication of multiple UEs 110, authorization, and mobility management in the 5G NR network. The EPC 160 includes a mobility management entity 162 (MME 162), which provides control plane functions such as registration and authentication of multiple UEs 110, authorization, or mobility management in the E-UTRA network. The AMF 152 and the MME 162 communicate with the base station 120 in the RAN 140 and also communicate with the multiple UEs 110 using the base station 120.

[0028] Within operating environment 100, a radio access technology (RAT) that uses resources defined by the time and frequency domains associated with a wireless communication protocol may be associated with a wireless communication protocol. For example, a radio access technology (RAT) that uses resources associated with a 3GPP LTE wireless communication protocol may be referred to as a 3GPP LTE RAT, whereas a radio access technology that uses resources associated with a 5G NR wireless communication protocol may be referred to as a 5G NR RAT. These resources typically include subcarriers of the radio access technology.

[0029] In the example of operating environment 100, UE 110 may use radio links 130 associated with multiple RATs to be in a multi-connected state (hereinafter referred to as Figure 4 1 to illustrate and describe depictions of several example multi-connectivity states. Although UE 110 is in a multi-connectivity state and is concurrently transmitting different data using multiple RATs, nonlinearities that may be inherent to radio transmitter components (e.g., power supplies, oscillators, modulators, amplifiers, antennas, and antenna tuners) of UE 110 may cause intermodulation between subcarriers of multiple RATs. Such intermodulation may result in an interference condition that is local to UE 110 and may interfere not only with subcarriers of multiple RATs performing concurrent transmissions but also with subcarriers of other RATs.

[0030] Continuing with the example of UE 111, during concurrent transmission of first data to base station 121 and second data to base station 122, intermodulation may occur between subcarriers of the 5G NR RAT and the 3GPP LTE RAT to cause an interference condition that is local to UE 111. In addition to interfering with subcarriers associated with the 5G NR RAT and the 3GPP LTE RAT, the local interference condition may also interfere with other RATs, such as the WLAN RAT used for wireless communication between UE 111 and a router, the WLAN RAT used for wireless communication between UE 111 and a laptop, and the 3GPP LTE RAT used for wireless communication between UE 111 and a laptop. RAT, or Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) RAT for wireless communications between UE 111 and satellites.

[0031] In some cases, and based on nonlinearities that may exist in the radio transmitter components of the UE 110, the local interference condition may be attributed to the configuration of the wireless communication hardware (e.g., the radio transmitter components) of the UE 110. The configuration of the wireless communication hardware may cause the UE 110 to perform concurrent transmissions using a set of subcarriers, transmission beams implemented through beamforming, transmission duty cycles and patterns, transmission time intervals (TTIs), or transmission powers of multiple RATs (e.g., 5G NR RAT and 3GPP LTE RAT). In such cases, changing the configuration of the wireless communication hardware may mitigate the local interference condition.

[0032] system

[0033] Figure 2 An example device diagram 200 is illustrated in accordance with one or more aspects of mitigating local interference conditions caused by concurrent transmissions in a multiple radio access technology and multiple connectivity environment including multiple UEs 110 and base stations 120. For clarity, the multiple UEs 110 and base stations 120 may include Figure 2 Additional functions and interfaces omitted in .

[0034] UE 110 includes antenna 202, radio frequency front end 204 (RF front end 204), LTE transceiver 206 for communicating with base station 120 using LTE RAT, and 5G NR transceiver 208 for communicating with base station 120 using 5G NR RAT. UE 110 may also include additional WLAN / The GNSS / GNSS transceiver 210 may be used to communicate with another wireless communication platform using another radio access technology, examples of which include a modem (e.g., WLAN RAT), a laptop (e.g., RAT) or satellite (e.g., GNSS RAT). The RF front end 204 of the UE 110 can couple or connect the antenna 202 of the UE 110 to the LTE transceiver 206, the 5G NR transceiver 208, and the WLAN / The UE 110 may include an antenna 202 for facilitating various types of wireless communications. The antenna 202 of the UE 110 may include an array of multiple antennas that are configured similarly to each other or differently from each other. The antenna 202 and the RF front end 204 may be tuned and / or tunable to a signal defined by a communication standard and provided by the LTE transceiver 206, the 5G NR transceiver 208, and / or the WLAN / In some embodiments, the antenna 202, the RF front end 204, the LTE transceiver 206, and / or the 5G NR transceiver 208 may be configured to support beamforming for transmission and reception of communications with the base station 120.

[0035] UE 110 also includes detection circuitry 212 that may monitor RAT subcarriers local to UE 110 to detect interference conditions local to UE 110. Detection circuitry 212 may include elements of a spectrum or signal analyzer that may be coupled to antenna 202 and RF front end 204. Additionally, and in some cases, detection circuitry 212 may not be separate but included in each respective transceiver (e.g., LTE transceiver 206 and 5G NR transceiver 208).

[0036] UE 110 also includes a processor 214 and a computer readable storage medium 216 (CRM 216). Processor 214 can be a single core processor or a multi-core processor composed of various materials such as silicon, polysilicon, high-K dielectrics, copper, etc. The computer readable storage media described herein exclude propagating signals. CRM 216 can include any suitable memory or storage device for storing data at UE 110, such as random access memory (RAM), static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), non-volatile RAM (NVRAM), read-only memory (ROM), or flash memory.

[0037] The CRM 216 also includes an interference manager application 218 having executable code or instructions. Alternatively or additionally, the interference manager application 218 can be implemented in whole or in part as hardware logic or circuitry that is integrated or separate from other components of the UE 110. In at least some aspects, the processor 214 executing the code or instructions of the interference manager application 218 can mathematically predict the intermodulation that produces transmission interference based on factors including signal reception and transmission frequency, signal transmission and reception timing, or nonlinearities of the radio transmitter components of the user equipment. The interference manager can also determine the configuration of the wireless communication hardware (including the RF front end 204, the LTE transceiver 206, and / or the 5G NR transceiver 208) of the UE 110 that mitigates local interference conditions.

[0038] Figure 2The device diagram of the base station 120 shown includes an antenna 252, a radio frequency front end 254 (RF front end 254), one or more LTE transceivers 256, and / or one or more 5G NR transceivers 258 for communicating with the UE 110. The RF front end 254 of the base station 120 can couple or connect the LTE transceiver 256 and the 5G NR transceiver 258 to the antenna 252 to facilitate various types of wireless communications. The antenna 252 of the base station 120 may include an array of multiple antennas configured to be similar to each other or different from each other. The antenna 252 and the RF front end 254 can be tuned and / or tunable to one or more frequency bands defined by the 3GPP LTE and 5G NR communication standards and implemented by the LTE transceiver 256 and / or the 5G NR transceiver 258. Additionally, the antenna 252, the RF front end 254, the LTE transceiver 256 and / or the 5G NR transceiver 258 can be configured to support beamforming (such as massive MIMO) for transmission and reception of communications with the UE 110.

[0039] The base station 120 also includes a processor 260 and a computer readable storage medium 262 (CRM 262). The processor 260 may be a single core processor or a multi-core processor composed of various materials such as silicon, polysilicon, high-K dielectrics, or copper. The CRM 262 may include any suitable memory or storage device that can be used to store data at the base station 120, such as a random access memory (RAM), a static RAM (SRAM), a dynamic RAM (DRAM), a non-volatile RAM (NVRAM), a read-only memory (ROM), or a flash memory.

[0040] The CRM 262 also includes an interference manager application 264. Alternatively or additionally, the interference manager application 264 can be implemented in whole or in part as hardware logic or circuitry that is integrated or separate from other components of the base station 120. In at least some aspects, the processor 260 executing code or instructions of the interference manager application 264 configures the LTE transceiver 256 and the 5G NR transceiver 258 to communicate with the UE 110, as well as to communicate with the core network, to perform the techniques described herein.

[0041] The base station 120 includes an inter-base station interface 266, such as an Xn interface and / or an X2 interface, which the interference manager application 264 configures to exchange user plane and control plane data between another base station 120 to manage the communication of the base station 120 with the UE 110. The base station 120 includes a core network interface 268, which the interference manager application 264 configures to exchange user plane and control plane data with core network functions and entities.

[0042] Figure 3An example air interface 300 is illustrated in accordance with one or more aspects of mitigating local interference conditions caused by concurrent transmissions in a multiple radio access technology and multiple connectivity environment. The air interface 300 may support wireless communications in accordance with a wireless communication protocol (e.g., a 3GPP LTE wireless communication protocol or a 5G NR wireless communication protocol). Figure 1 The wireless link 130, and therefore, is associated to the radio access technology (RAT) of the wireless communication protocol.

[0043] The air interface resources 302 can be divided into resource units 304, each of which occupies a certain intersection of the frequency spectrum and the elapsed time. A portion of the air interface resources 302 is schematically illustrated in a grid or matrix with multiple resource blocks 310 (including example resource blocks 311, 312, 313, 314). The example of the resource unit 304 therefore includes at least one resource block 310. As shown, time is depicted along the horizontal dimension as the horizontal axis, and frequency is depicted along the vertical dimension as the vertical axis. The air interface resources 302 as defined by a given communication protocol or standard can span any suitable specified frequency range and / or can be divided into intervals of any specified duration. The increment of time can correspond to, for example, milliseconds (mSec). The increment of frequency can correspond to, for example, megahertz (MHz).

[0044] Typically in example operation, the base station 120 allocates portions of the air interface resources 302 (e.g., resource elements 304) for uplink and downlink communications. Each resource block 310 of the network access resources may be allocated to support respective wireless communication links 106 of a plurality of user devices 110. In the lower left corner of the grid, a resource block 311 may span a specified frequency range 306 as defined by a given communication protocol and include a plurality of subcarriers or frequency subbands. The resource block 311 may include any suitable number of subcarriers (e.g., 12), each of which corresponds to a respective portion (e.g., 15 kHz) of the specified frequency range 306 (e.g., 180 kHz). The resource block 311 may also span a specified time interval 308 or time slot (e.g., lasting approximately one-half millisecond or 7 orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols) as defined by a given communication protocol. The time interval 308 includes subintervals, each of which may correspond to a symbol, such as an OFDM symbol. As shown in FIG. Figure 3 As shown, each resource block 310 may include a plurality of resource elements 320 (REs) corresponding to or defined by sub-intervals (or symbols) of subcarriers and time intervals 308 of the frequency range 306. Alternatively, a given resource element 320 may span more than one frequency subcarrier or symbol. Thus, the resource unit 304 may include at least one resource block 310, at least one resource element 320, and the like.

[0045] In an example embodiment, UE 110 may concurrently send the first data and the second data to base station 120 using a first subcarrier set including subcarriers associated with a first RAT for the first data and subcarriers associated with a second RAT for the second data using wireless communication hardware configured to send the first data and the second data using a subcarrier set (e.g., resource elements corresponding to a frequency range).

[0046] In an example of an exemplary embodiment, UE 110 (e.g., processor 214 executing instructions or code of interference manager application 218) may determine an interference condition that is local to UE 110 and is caused by intermodulation resulting from concurrently transmitting first data and second data using a first set of subcarriers. Determining that such an interference condition is due to intermodulation may include monitoring a signal quality being received by UE 110 when UE 110 is performing uplink transmissions in a multiple connection state, and comparing it to a signal quality (e.g., a signal being received by UE 110) when UE 110 is performing uplink transmissions in a single connection state.

[0047] To mitigate the local interference condition, UE 110 may reconfigure the wireless communication hardware to transmit the second data using a second set of subcarriers. In this case, the second set of subcarriers includes subcarriers (associated with the first RAT and with the second RAT) corresponding to a frequency range different from the frequency range of the first set of subcarriers. The respective frequency ranges of the first set of subcarriers and the second set of subcarriers may not overlap, i.e., the first set of subcarriers and the second set of subcarriers do not contain any common subcarriers. The first set of subcarriers and the second set of subcarriers may be selected such that intermodulation between subcarriers of the first set of subcarriers and the second set of subcarriers does not cause local interference in one or more additional frequency ranges used by the user equipment for uplink transmissions and / or downlink transmissions.

[0048] For example, and if Figure 3As illustrated, the wireless communication hardware of UE 110 may be configured to a first configuration for transmitting the first data using subcarrier 322. Subcarrier 322 is associated with a first RAT, which may be, for example, a 5G NR RAT, and is part of a subcarrier set that includes subcarriers of a second RAT (details associated with the second data, the second subcarrier, and the second RAT are omitted for simplicity). Upon determining an interference condition that is local to UE 110, UE 110 may reconfigure the wireless communication hardware of UE 110 to a second wireless hardware configuration that causes UE 110 to transmit the first data and the second data using a second set of subcarriers, wherein the first data is transmitted using subcarrier 324 in accordance with the second wireless communication hardware configuration. As shown, subcarrier 324 is also associated with the first RAT (e.g., an example 5G NR RAT), but spans a different frequency range than subcarrier 322.

[0049] Figure 4 Example details 400 of scenarios for mitigating local interference conditions caused by concurrent transmissions in a multiple radio access technology and multiple connectivity environment are illustrated. Scenario 402 illustrates a first example scenario of multiple radio access technologies being used for multiple connectivity, where a UE 110 is dually connected to a base station 404 using two radio access technologies (RATs). The UE 110 is connected to the base station 404 using a first RAT (3GPP LTE RAT) using a 3GPP LTE wireless link 406. The UE 110 is also connected to the base station 404 using a second RAT (5G NR RAT) using a 5G NR wireless link 408. Each link can allow concurrent transmissions from the UE 110 to the base station 404 in accordance with a corresponding wireless communication protocol.

[0050] Scenario 410 illustrates a second example scenario of multiple radio access technologies being used for multiple connectivity, where UE 110 is connected to a first base station 412 using a first RAT (3GPP LTE RAT) using a 3GPP LTE wireless link 414. Additionally, UE 110 is connected to a second base station 416 using a second RAT (5G NR RAT) using a 5G NR wireless link 418. The links may support concurrent transmissions from UE 110 to base stations 412 and 416 in accordance with respective wireless communication protocols. In general, scenarios 402 and 410 may each create interference conditions that are local to UE 110 (due to intermodulation during concurrent transmissions).

[0051] method

[0052] Figure 5An example method 500 performed by a user equipment to mitigate local interference conditions caused by concurrent transmissions in a multi-radio access technology and multi-connectivity environment is illustrated. The method 500 may be performed by a UE 110 (e.g., a processor 214 executing code of an interference manager application 218). In addition, the method 500 may be performed in accordance with the UE 110 dual connection to a base station (such as Figure 4 Method 500 is performed using a base station 404 of scene 402).

[0053] At operation 502, the user equipment determines an interference condition that is local to the user equipment, wherein the local interference condition is attributable to (in other words, caused by or as a result of) a first configuration of wireless communication hardware of the user equipment. The first configuration is used by the user equipment when concurrently transmitting: first data from the user equipment to a base station using a first radio access technology; and second data from the user equipment to the base station using a second radio access technology.

[0054] In some cases and at 502, the user equipment may determine the local interference conditions with the aid of a detection circuit local to the user equipment (e.g., detection circuit 212). As part of determining the local interference conditions, the user equipment may also calculate and predict the local interference conditions based on data and algorithms stored at the user equipment (e.g., within interference manager application 218). As an example, the data and algorithms may take into account harmonics of frequencies or known nonlinearities of radio transmitter components of the user equipment.

[0055] In addition, and at 502, the first configuration of the wireless communication hardware can enable the user equipment to use a first subcarrier set to send the first data and the second data, wherein the first subcarrier set includes subcarriers of the first radio access technology and subcarriers of the second radio access technology. The determined local interference condition can be a condition in which wireless communications sent to the user equipment using a third radio access technology different from the first radio access technology and the second radio access technology interfere. As an example, the first radio access technology can be a fifth generation new radio (5G NR) radio access technology, the second radio access technology can be a third generation partnership project long term evolution (3GPP LTE) radio access technology, and the third radio access technology can be WLAN, Or Global Navigation Satellite System radio access technology. Transmission and reception by UE 110 will be performed with the help of the corresponding transceivers of UE 110 (e.g., LTE transceiver 206, 5G NR transceiver 208 and WLAN / Bluetooth / GNSS transceiver 210).

[0056] At operation 504, the user equipment determines a second configuration of the wireless communication hardware of the user equipment. The second configuration is used by the user equipment when concurrently sending the following: first data from the user equipment to the base station using the first radio access technology; and second data from the user equipment to the base station using the second radio access technology. The second configuration of the wireless communication hardware of the determined user equipment mitigates the determined local interference condition. As an example, a mathematical calculation can determine that the third-order intermodulation of the uplink transmission performed by the user equipment (e.g., a user equipment in a multi-connected state) does not fall into the frequency range of the downlink transmission of the user equipment. As another example, a mathematical calculation can determine that the third harmonic of the uplink transmission performed by the user equipment (e.g., a user equipment in a multi-connected state) does not fall into the frequency range of the downlink transmission of the user equipment.

[0057] In addition, and at 504, the interference manager application 218 selects a second configuration of the wireless communication hardware to use a second corresponding subcarrier set different from the first corresponding subcarrier set to send the first data and the second data, wherein the second corresponding subcarrier set includes subcarriers of the first radio access technology and subcarriers of the second radio access technology. The second configuration of the wireless communication hardware can cause the user device to send the first data and the second data using a transmission duty cycle and / or mode, beamforming parameters, transmission time interval, or transmission power parameter that is different from the transmission duty cycle and / or mode, beamforming parameters, transmission time interval, or transmission power parameter of the first configuration of the wireless communication hardware. The transmission duty cycle, transmission mode, beamforming parameters, transmission time interval, and / or transmission power parameters can be selected to reduce or eliminate local interference with one or more other uplink transmissions and / or downlink transmissions at the user device. When the wireless communication hardware of the user device is in the second configuration, appropriate selection of any of the aforementioned parameters combined with appropriate selection of subcarriers can substantially reduce or eliminate local interference.

[0058] At operation 506, the user equipment sends a request message to the base station, the request message having content requesting the base station to configure the wireless communication hardware of the base station to receive the first data and the second data sent by the user equipment according to the second configuration of the wireless communication hardware of the user equipment determined. The request message may be a single request message or a combination of multiple request messages. As an example, a single request message may be sent using a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) associated with a 5G NR RAT, or a combination of multiple request messages may be sent by way of a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) associated with a 5G NR RAT and a 3GPP LTE RAT.

[0059] At operation 506, the content may include subcarrier scheduling parameters (eg, for needs related to scheduling and allocation of the second set of subcarriers), transmission duty cycle and pattern, beamforming parameters, transmission time interval, and transmission power parameters.

[0060] Figure 6 An example method 600 performed by a base station to mitigate local interference conditions caused by concurrent transmissions in a multiple radio access technology and multiple connectivity environment is illustrated. The method 600 may be performed by a base station to mitigate local interference conditions caused by concurrent transmissions in a multiple radio access technology and multiple connectivity environment. Figure 4 The base station 404 of scenario 402 (e.g., the processor 260 executing code of the interference manager application 264) is executed.

[0061] At operation 602, the base station receives a request message from a user equipment.

[0062] At operation 604, and based on the content of the request message, the base station configures wireless communication hardware of the base station to receive first data sent by the user equipment using the first radio access technology and second data sent by the user equipment using the second radio access technology, wherein the first data and the second data are sent concurrently by the user equipment in accordance with the determined second configuration of the wireless communication hardware of the user equipment to mitigate interference conditions that are local to the user equipment. The interference conditions are attributable to the first configuration of the wireless communication hardware of the user equipment for concurrently sending the first data using the first radio access technology and the second data using the second radio access technology.

[0063] The content of the request message may include subcarrier scheduling parameters (e.g., for needs related to scheduling and allocation of the second subcarrier set), transmission duty cycle and mode, beamforming parameters, transmission time interval, and transmission power parameters. In addition, the base station may share the content of the request message with other base stations to manage wireless communications across corresponding radio access networks.

[0064] In some cases, variations of methods 500 and 600 may include additional operations involving negotiation between the user equipment and the base station. As a first example of such additional operations, and in response to receiving the request message, the base station may determine that it is not possible to configure its wireless communication hardware to receive data sent from the user equipment in accordance with the determined second configuration of the user equipment, and send a response message to the user equipment including an indication that the determined second configuration was rejected by the base station.

[0065] As a second example of an additional operation, in response to receiving a request message, the base station may determine that the determined second configuration of the user equipment cannot be supported by the base station or that an alternative configuration will result in a more efficient scheduling of base station resources. The base station may determine alternative wireless communication parameters (e.g., subcarriers, transmission duty cycle and mode, beamforming parameters, or transmission power parameters) corresponding to a third configuration of the wireless communication hardware of the user equipment, and send a response message including the determined alternative wireless communication parameters. The response message may include an indication that the determined second configuration is rejected by the base station, or the presence of alternative wireless communication parameters in the response message indicates to the user equipment that the base station has rejected the determined second configuration. The user equipment may then accept the parameters (and reconfigure its hardware according to the third configuration), reject the parameters, or accept and reject corresponding parts of the parameters. Additionally, the user equipment and the base station may exchange additional request and response messages to negotiate configurations acceptable to both the base station and the user equipment.

[0066] Signaling and control transactions

[0067] Figure 7 Example details 700 of signaling and control transactions associated with mitigating local interference conditions caused by concurrent transmissions in a multiple radio access technology and multiple connectivity environment are illustrated. Example details 700 may be related to Figure 4 410 (e.g., UE 110 is connected to base station 412 using 3GPP LTE wireless link 414 and is connected to base station 416 using 5G NR wireless link 418).

[0068] UE 110 determines an interference condition that is local to UE 110 at 705, and determines a wireless communication hardware configuration that mitigates the local interference condition at 710. At 715, UE 110 sends a first request message to base station 412. In the context of this example, the request message may be sent using a 3GPP LTE physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) and have content associated with the wireless communication hardware configuration determined at 710, including parameters related to an upcoming transmission of first data from UE 110 to base station 412, including a transmission duty cycle and pattern, beamforming parameters, transmission time intervals, and transmission power parameters. As another example, the message may be embedded in a file containing data to be sent, in which case such content may be included as part of a header, data frame, or data packet of a portion of the file.

[0069] At 720, UE 110 sends a second request message to base station 416. In the context of the present example, the request message is sent using a 5G NR physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) and has content including parameters related to an upcoming transmission of second data from UE 110 to base station 416, including a transmission duty cycle and pattern, beamforming parameters, transmission time interval, and transmission power parameters.

[0070] At 725 and 730, base station 412 and base station 416 determine that wireless communication with UE 110 can be performed in accordance with the first request message and the second request message, respectively, and configure their wireless communication hardware to perform operations. At 735, base station 412 sends a first response message to UE 110, the first response message including an indication that base station 412 has accepted the parameter configuration included in the first request message. At 740, base station 416 sends a second response message to UE 110, the second response message including an indication that base station 416 has accepted the parameter configuration included in the second request message.

[0071] At 745, and upon receiving the response message, UE 110 configures the wireless communication hardware of UE 110 to perform uplink transmission in accordance with the determined configuration. At 750, UE 110 uses 3GPP LTE wireless link 414 (e.g., using 3GPP LTE RAT) to send the first data to base station 412, while at 755, UE 110 uses 5G NR wireless link 418 (e.g., using 5G NR RAT) to send the second data to base station 416.

[0072] Example signaling and changes in control transactions include determinations and signaling by one or both of the base stations (e.g., base station 410 and base station 414) associated with negotiating or commanding parameters that affect configuration of wireless communication hardware of the base station (e.g., base station 412 or base station 416) and / or UE 110. In such cases, one or both of the base stations may determine that they cannot accommodate UE 110's request and instead send a response message that includes parameters that affect configuration of wireless communication hardware that may be part of the base station and / or UE 110.

[0073] Unless otherwise noted, the signaling and control transactions described are used as examples only and are not constrained by the order or sequence of presentation. Furthermore, in some aspects, additional signaling and control transactions may augment or replace the described signaling and control transactions.

[0074] change

[0075] There are many variations and arrangements of the aforementioned methods and systems. For example, consider multiple connectivity using more than two radio access technologies. Although the above description includes an arrangement of user equipment that is dually connected to a base station (or dually connected to two base stations) using two radio access technologies, the user equipment can be connected to a base station (or connected to three base stations) using three radio access technologies such as 3GPP LTE RAT, 5G NR RAT, and the sixth generation (6G) RAT. In such a case, the user equipment will include a transceiver that supports 6G RAT. Typically, these technologies can be extended beyond dual RAT, dual connectivity environments.

[0076] Although techniques and apparatus for mitigating local interference conditions caused by concurrent transmissions in multiple radio access technologies and multiple connectivity environments are described, it should be understood that the subject matter of the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or methods described. Rather, the specific features and methods are disclosed as example ways in which mitigation of local interference conditions caused by concurrent transmissions in multiple radio access technologies and multiple connectivity environments can be achieved.

[0077] Example

[0078] The following paragraphs describe several examples:

[0079] Example 1: A method performed by a user equipment, the method comprising: determining, by the user equipment, an interference condition that is local to the user equipment, the determined local interference condition being attributable to a first configuration of wireless communication hardware of the user equipment, the first configuration being used by the user equipment when concurrently sending: first data from the user equipment to a base station using a first set of subcarriers, the first set of subcarriers being associated with a first radio access technology; and second data from the user equipment to the base station using a second set of subcarriers, the second set of subcarriers being associated with a second radio access technology; determining, by the user equipment, a second configuration of the wireless communication hardware of the user equipment, the second configuration mitigating the determined local interference condition, and The method is used by the user equipment when concurrently sending: the first data from the user equipment to the base station using a third subcarrier set, the third subcarrier set being associated with the first radio access technology and different from the first subcarrier set; and the second data from the user equipment to the base station using a fourth subcarrier set, the fourth subcarrier set being associated with the second radio access technology and different from the second subcarrier set; and sending a request message by the user equipment to the base station, the request message having content that causes the base station to configure the wireless communication hardware of the base station to receive the first data and the second data sent by the user equipment in accordance with the determined second configuration of the wireless communication hardware of the user equipment.

[0080] Example 2: A method as described in Example 1, wherein the determined local interference condition is a local interference condition that interferes with wireless communications, and the wireless communications are sent to the user equipment using a third radio access technology that is different from the first radio access technology and different from the second radio access technology.

[0081] Example 3: A method as described in Example 1 or Example 2, wherein the determined second configuration of the wireless communication hardware indicates that the user equipment uses a transmission duty cycle and mode different from the transmission duty cycle and mode indicated by the first configuration of the wireless communication hardware to send the first data and the second data.

[0082] Example 4: A method as described in any one of Examples 1 to 3, wherein the determined second configuration of the wireless communication hardware indicates that the user equipment uses beamforming parameters different from the beamforming parameters indicated by the first configuration of the wireless communication hardware to send the first data and the second data.

[0083] Example 5: A method as described in any one of Examples 1 to 4, wherein the determined second configuration of the wireless communication hardware indicates that the user equipment uses a transmission power parameter different from the transmission power parameter indicated by the first configuration of the wireless communication hardware to send the first data and the second data.

[0084] Example 6: A method as described in any one of Examples 1 to 5, wherein the determined second configuration of the wireless communication hardware indicates that the user equipment sends the first data and the second data using a transmission time interval different from the transmission time interval indicated by the first configuration of the wireless communication hardware.

[0085] Example 7: A method as described in any one of Examples 1 to 6, wherein determining the local interference condition includes calculating the local interference condition based on an algorithm stored in the user equipment.

[0086] Example 8: The method of Example 7, wherein the algorithm takes into account harmonics, frequencies, or known nonlinearities of the user equipment.

[0087] Example 9: A method as described in any one of Examples 1 to 8, wherein determining the second configuration of the wireless communication hardware includes determining that third-order intermodulation of an uplink transmission performed by the user equipment does not fall within a frequency range of a downlink transmission to the user equipment.

[0088] Example 10: A method as described in any one of Examples 1 to 8, wherein determining the second configuration of the wireless communication hardware includes determining that a third harmonic of an uplink transmission performed by the user equipment does not fall within a frequency range of a downlink transmission to the user equipment.

[0089] Embodiment 11: A method performed by a base station, the method comprising: receiving a request message from a user equipment by the base station; configuring the wireless communication hardware of the base station to receive first data sent by the user equipment using a first radio access technology and second data sent by the user equipment using a second radio access technology based on the content of the request message, wherein the first data and the second data: are sent concurrently by the user equipment in accordance with a second configuration of the wireless communication hardware of the user equipment, the second configuration is determined by the user equipment to alleviate an interference condition that is local to the user equipment; and the interference condition is attributable to the first configuration of the wireless communication hardware of the user equipment used to concurrently send the first data using the first radio access technology and the second data using the second radio access technology; and the base station sends the content of the request message to another base station.

[0090] Example 12: A method as described in Example 11, wherein the content of the request message includes radio access technology subcarrier scheduling parameters that enable the base station to schedule and allocate radio access technology subcarriers to receive the first data and the second data concurrently sent by the user equipment in accordance with the second configuration from the user equipment.

[0091] Example 13: A method as described in Example 11 or Example 12, wherein the content of the request message includes beamforming parameters for the base station to receive from the user equipment the first data and the second data sent by the user equipment in accordance with the second configuration.

[0092] Example 14: A user device, comprising: a processor and a computer-readable storage medium, wherein the computer-readable storage medium stores instructions of an interference manager application, and when executed by the processor, the instructions of the interference manager application instruct the user device to perform any method described in Examples 1 to 10.

[0093] Example 15: A base station, comprising: a processor; and a computer-readable storage medium, wherein the computer-readable storage medium stores instructions of a base station manager application, and when executed by the processor, the instructions of the base station manager application instruct the base station to perform any method described in Examples 11 to 13.

Claims

1. A method performed by a user equipment, the method comprising: determining, by the user equipment, an interference condition that is local to the user equipment, the determined local interference condition being attributable to a first configuration of wireless communication hardware of the user equipment, the first configuration being used by the user equipment when concurrently sending: first data from the user equipment to a first base station using a first set of subcarriers, the first set of subcarriers being associated with a first radio access technology; as well as second data from the user equipment to a second base station using a second set of subcarriers, the second set of subcarriers being associated with a second radio access technology; determining, by the user equipment, a second configuration of the wireless communication hardware of the user equipment, the second configuration mitigating the determined local interference condition and used by the user equipment when concurrently sending: the first data from the user equipment to the first base station using a third set of subcarriers, the third set of subcarriers being associated with the first radio access technology and being different from the first set of subcarriers; as well as the second data from the user equipment to the second base station using a fourth set of subcarriers, the fourth set of subcarriers being associated with the second radio access technology and being different from the second set of subcarriers; as well as A request message having content is sent by the user equipment to the first base station and the second base station, wherein the content indicates to the first base station and the second base station one or more of a duty cycle and a transmission mode or a transmission time interval to be used by the user equipment when sending the first data using the third subcarrier set and sending the second data using the fourth subcarrier set.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The determined local interference condition is a local interference condition interfering with wireless communications sent to the user equipment using a third radio access technology different from the first radio access technology and different from the second radio access technology.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The content further indicates to the first base station and / or the second base station beamforming parameters to be used by the user equipment when sending the first data using the third subcarrier set and sending the second data using the fourth subcarrier set.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The determined second configuration of the wireless communication hardware instructs the user equipment to send the first data and the second data using a transmission power parameter different from the transmission power parameter indicated by the first configuration of the wireless communication hardware.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein: Determining the local interference condition includes calculating the local interference condition based on an algorithm stored in the user equipment.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein: The algorithm takes into account harmonics, frequencies or known non-linearities of the user equipment.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein: Determining the second configuration of the wireless communication hardware includes determining that third order intermodulation of uplink transmissions by the user equipment does not fall within a frequency range of downlink transmissions to the user equipment.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein: Determining the second configuration of the wireless communication hardware includes determining that a third harmonic of an uplink transmission by the user equipment does not fall within a frequency range of a downlink transmission to the user equipment.

9. A user equipment, comprising: A processor and a computer-readable storage medium storing instructions of an interference manager application, which, when executed by the processor, instruct the user equipment to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

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