Transmission Delay Compensation for In-Band Communication

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to transmission delay compensation for in-band communication. The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for operating transceiver circuitry to transmit or receive signals in various frequency ranges. To this end, an electronic device may determine a reception delay between one or more messages received on different component carriers and may transmit the reception delay to a base station to update how communication is transmitted on one of the component carriers. An update made to at least one of the component carriers may compensate for the reception delay between different component carriers. Compensating for the reception delay may improve the operation of latency downlink communication to reduce the likelihood of or stop simultaneous downlink communication and uplink communication by further adjusting the latency perceived at the electronic device when communicating with a base station disposed at a different distance from the electronic device.

Description

[0001] Cross - Reference to Related Applications

[0002] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62 / 975,445, filed on February 12, 2020, entitled "OPTIMIZATION OF MAXIMUM ROUND-TRIP DELAY IN HIGH FREQUENCY NR INTER-BAND CARRIER AGGREGATION COMBINATIONS", which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes. BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

[0003] The present disclosure relates generally to electronic devices, and more particularly, to electronic devices that utilize radio frequency signals, transmitters, and receivers for wireless communication.

[0004] This section is intended to introduce to the reader various aspects of the art that may be related to various aspects of the present disclosure, which are described and / or claimed hereinafter. This discussion is believed to be helpful to provide background information to the reader to facilitate a better understanding of various aspects of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements should be read in this light, and not as an admission of prior art. The use of wireless communication systems is growing rapidly. In recent years, wireless devices such as smart phones and tablet computers have become increasingly sophisticated. In addition to supporting telephone calls, many mobile devices now also provide access to the Internet, email, text messaging, and navigation using the Global Positioning System (GPS), and are capable of operating sophisticated applications that utilize these features.

[0005] Transmitters and / or receivers may be included in various electronic devices to enable communication between user equipment (e.g., user electronic devices, transmitting or receiving electronic devices) and a core network on the wireless network, through various technology deployments, including but not limited to access network base stations, such as eNodeBs (eNBs) for Long Term Evolution (LTE) access networks and / or next generation NodeBs (gNBs) for 5th generation (5G) access networks. In some electronic devices, the transmitter and receiver are combined to form a transceiver. The transceiver may transmit and / or receive wireless signals, such as radio frequency (RF) signals indicative of data, via an antenna coupled to the transceiver.

[0006] By introducing inter-band carrier aggregation of frequency range 2 (FR2) including bands from 24.25 gigahertz (GHz) to 52.6 GHz in the version (Rel-16) of the new radio standard for 5G communication, network deployments with distributed cells in an inter-band carrier aggregation (CA) combination can result in a large signal delay difference between the aggregated carriers, as perceived by user equipment. Additionally, hardware design constraints eliminate full-duplex operation for FR2 user equipment and can define the delay for transitions from a receive mode to a transmit mode (RX / TX) and / or from a transmit mode to a receive mode (e.g., TX / RX) in design specifications regarding 5G communication and / or LTE communication. In fact, the variable signal delay differences between the aggregated carriers and the RX / TX and TX / RX switching delays can cause the network to undesirably allocate uplink resources and downlink resources to user equipment.

[0007] In fact, when providing a wireless network via one or more network access nodes (e.g., access network base stations, base stations) physically separated from each other, the combination of base stations communicating with an electronic device can change as the electronic device physically moves but remains registered to the access network (e.g., wireless network). Any suitable technology can implement the techniques described herein with reference to base stations (e.g., network access nodes). In these cases, one or more transceivers of the electronic device can be used to receive communications from one or more base stations and / or from one or more component carriers. When sharing a transmission circuit between a base station and / or component carriers, simultaneous transmissions may not occur, such as simultaneous uplink and downlink communications on a first component carrier and a second component carrier. To enable non-simultaneous uplink and downlink communications, the processing circuitry of the base station and / or the electronic device can use symbols and the timing of the corresponding symbols to allocate uplink communication periods and downlink communication periods. In this way, the base station and / or the electronic device can operate according to a first communication configuration that defines when downlink operations occur and the frequency at which downlink operations occur, when uplink operations occur and the frequency at which uplink operations occur, the frequency at which operations are typically paused to allow another uplink operation to occur, and so on.

[0008] When operating to avoid simultaneous transmissions, the electronic device can transmit control signals to a first base station and a second base station to indicate an incoming uplink operation to the first base station. In response to receiving the control signal, the first base station can prepare to receive uplink communications, and the second base station can delay ongoing downlink communications. However, delaying downlink communications as performed by the second base station ultimately slows down downlink communications and can be inefficient.

[0009] Various improvements to the above features may exist with respect to various aspects of the present invention. Other features may also be added to these various aspects. These improvements and additional features may exist alone or in any combination. For example, the various features discussed below in connection with one or more of the illustrated embodiments may be incorporated individually or in any combination into any one of the above aspects of the present invention. The brief summary presented above is intended to acquaint the reader with specific aspects and contexts of the embodiments of the present disclosure and does not limit the subject matter claimed. Summary of the Invention

[0010] A summary of certain embodiments disclosed herein is set forth below. It should be understood that presenting these aspects is merely to provide a concise summary of these particular embodiments to the reader and that these aspects are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Indeed, the present disclosure may cover aspects not set forth below.

[0011] To accommodate communication from multiple base stations (e.g., multiple access nodes) and / or on multiple component carriers, an electronic device (e.g., a user equipment) may include a transceiver that can communicate with multiple base stations and / or multiple component carriers. When operating to avoid simultaneous transmissions, the electronic device may transmit control signals to a first base station and a second base station to indicate incoming uplink operation to the first base station. In response to receiving the control signal, the first base station may prepare to receive uplink communication, and the second base station may delay ongoing downlink communication. Delaying the downlink communication may allow uplink communication between the first base station and the electronic device to occur without interfering with the downlink communication from the second base station. When the second base station interrupts the downlink communication, symbols of the downlink communication may be discarded.

[0012] However, as will be understood and disclosed herein, uplink communication (e.g., scheduling uplink grants) may be scheduled based on the latency associated with an electronic device receiving communication from different component carriers (such as component carriers associated with different base stations), thereby improving these operations. For example, the electronic device and / or the first base station may determine the time difference between the time the electronic device receives a message from the first base station and the time the electronic device receives a message from the second base station. The first base station may continue to delay the uplink operation requested by the electronic device by this time difference to compensate for the latency between the two base stations. When operating in this manner, fewer symbols of the downlink communication of the second base station may be discarded, thereby allowing for more efficient operation of the wireless network.

[0013] Various embodiments can be used to deploy the disclosed system. For example, the second base station can delay the uplink operation by the same (e.g., fixed) amount of delay as the time difference each time. Additionally, when more than two base stations are communicating with the electronic device, the electronic device can determine the longest delay between each communication and transmit that longest delay as the time difference to the first base station. In some cases, the electronic device can report the time difference as part of a report transmitted to the base station, such as part of a user equipment assisted information report. Further, in some cases, one or more of the base stations can determine the delay between communications. For example, the first base station can determine the amount of delay using the timing for one or more other base stations based on signals or messages received from one or more other base stations and / or based on messages from the electronic device. When delaying communications, the base station can also consider the frequency of the communications (e.g., the parameter set used to deploy each base station). Additionally, in some cases, the base station can operate to delay communications based on an indication that the electronic device is capable of performing simultaneous communications.

[0014] In some embodiments, the user equipment can include a transmitter and a receiver. The user equipment can include a processor communicatively coupled to the transmitter and the receiver. Additionally, the user equipment can include a memory that includes instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations. The operations performed by the processor can include operating the receiver to receive a first packet at a first time and a second packet at a second time, and can include determining a first difference between the first time and the second time. The operations performed by the processor can include operating the transmitter to transmit an indication of the first difference to a first base station via a first component carrier. The processor can also, when performing the operations, operate the receiver to receive a communication configuration from the first base station via the first component carrier, where the communication configuration can be generated by the first base station based on the first difference between the first time and the second time. The operations performed by the processor can include applying the communication configuration to adjust the operation of the receiver, the transmitter, or both according to the parameters specified in the communication configuration, and operating the receiver according to the communication configuration to receive a third packet via the first component carrier.

[0015] In addition, in some embodiments, a method performed as described herein may involve a processor of an electronic device receiving a first packet via a first component carrier at a first time according to a first communication configuration. The method may also involve the processor receiving a second packet via a second component carrier at a second time according to a second communication configuration. In some cases, the method may involve the processor determining a reception delay at least in part by determining a difference between the first time and the second time, and transmitting a first indication of the reception delay via the first component carrier. The method may include the processor receiving a third communication configuration generated based on the reception delay via the first component carrier, and applying the third communication configuration to replace the first communication configuration corresponding to the first component carrier. In some cases, the method includes the processor receiving a third packet via the first component carrier according to the third communication configuration.

[0016] In addition, in some cases, a method performed as described herein may involve a processor of a base station transmitting a first message on a first component carrier according to a first communication configuration, and receiving a reception delay from an electronic device. The electronic device may determine the reception delay at least in part based on a time difference between a first reception time of the first message and a second reception time of a second message. The electronic device may transmit the reception delay on the first component carrier to the base station. The method may include the processor generating a second communication configuration at least in part based on the reception delay, and transmitting the second communication configuration on the first component carrier to the electronic device. The method may also include the processor applying the second communication configuration to replace the first communication configuration corresponding to the first component carrier, and transmitting a third message to the electronic device on the first component carrier according to the second communication configuration.

[0017] Various improvements to the above features may exist with respect to various aspects of the present invention. Other features may also be added to these various aspects. These improvements and additional features may exist alone or in any combination. For example, the various features discussed below in connection with one or more of the illustrated embodiments may be incorporated into any one of the above aspects of the present invention alone or in any combination. The foregoing brief summary is intended to acquaint the reader with specific aspects and contexts of the embodiments of the present disclosure and does not limit the subject matter claimed. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] Aspects of the present disclosure may be better understood when the following detailed description is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0019] Figure 1 is a schematic block diagram of an electronic device including a transceiver according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0020] Figure 2 is a perspective view of a laptop computer showing a first embodiment of an electronic device Figure 1 thereof;

[0021] Figure 3 is a front view of a handheld device showing the second embodiment of an electronic device; Figure 1 of;

[0022] Figure 4 is a front view of another handheld device showing the third embodiment of an electronic device; Figure 1 of;

[0023] Figure 5 is a front view of a desktop computer showing the fourth embodiment of an electronic device; Figure 1 of;

[0024] Figure 6 is a front view and a side view of a wearable electronic device showing the fifth embodiment of an electronic device; Figure 1 of;

[0025] Figure 7 is an illustration of a base station that communicates with an electronic device such as an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; Figure 1 of;

[0026] Figure 8A is a timing diagram of a first exemplary communication schedule for a first base station and a second base station for; Figure 7 of;

[0027] Figure 8B is a timing diagram of a second exemplary communication schedule for a first base station and a second base station for; Figure 7 of;

[0028] Figure 8C is a timing diagram of a third exemplary communication schedule for a first base station and a second base station for; Figure 7 of;

[0029] Figure 9A is a timing diagram of a fourth exemplary communication schedule for a first base station and a second base station for; Figure 7 of;

[0030] Figure 9B is a timing diagram of a fifth exemplary communication schedule for a first base station and a second base station for; Figure 7 of;

[0031] Figure 9C is a timing diagram of a sixth exemplary communication schedule for a first base station and a second base station for; Figure 7 of;

[0032] Figure 10is a flowchart of a method for operating an Figure 7 electronic device to transmit or receive radio frequency (RF) signals using a communication configuration adjusted based on a latency seen by the electronic device;

[0033] Figure 11 is a flowchart of a method for operating a base station such as Figure 7 a base station to transmit or receive RF signals using a communication configuration adjusted based on a latency seen by an electronic device 52;

[0034] Figure 12 is a flowchart of a method for operating an Figure 7 electronic device to determine a maximum reception latency based on a reception latency associated with one or more component carriers;

[0035] Figure 13 is a flowchart of a method for operating an Figure 7 electronic device to transmit and / or receive RF signals using a communication configuration adjusted based on a latency seen by a Figure 7 base station when receiving one or more physical random access channel (PRACH) communications;

[0036] Figure 14 is a flowchart of a method for operating a Figure 7 base station to transmit or receive RF signals using a communication configuration adjusted based on a latency seen by a Figure 7 base station when receiving one or more physical random access channel (PRACH) communications;

[0037] Figure 15 is a timing diagram showing two exemplary communication configurations for two component carriers associated with a Figure 7 base station according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0038] Figure 16 is a flowchart of a method for operating a Figure 7 base station to transmit and / or receive RF signals using a communication configuration adjusted based on a latency seen by a Figure 7 base station when receiving one or more physical random access channel (PRACH) communications;

[0039] Figure 17 is an illustration of an electronic device similar to an Figure 7 electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the electronic device communicating with a base station using an antenna panel;

[0040] Figure 18is for operating an electronic device based on an antenna panel of the electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure Figure 7 to determine which operating mode is suitable to use when communicating with one or more base stations of Figure 7 ; and a flowchart of a method for operating an electronic device of Figure 7 to determine which operating mode is suitable to use when communicating with one or more base stations of

[0041] Figure 19 is for operating a base station based on an antenna panel of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure Figure 7 to determine which operating mode to use when communicating with an electronic device of Figure 7 ; and a flowchart of a method for operating a base station of Figure 7 to determine which operating mode to use when communicating with an electronic device of DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0042] One or more specific embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below. The described embodiments are examples of the presently disclosed technology. Additionally, an attempt is made to provide a brief description of these embodiments, and not all features of an actual specific implementation may be described in this specification. It should be understood that in the development of any such actual specific implementation, as in any engineering or design project, specific decisions specific to many specific implementations must be made to achieve the developer's specific goals, such as meeting system-related and business-related constraints that can vary from one specific implementation to another. Furthermore, it should be understood that such development work may be complex and time-consuming, but for those of ordinary skill in the art who benefit from the present disclosure, it will still be routine work in design, fabrication, and manufacturing.

[0043] When introducing elements of various embodiments of the present disclosure, the articles "a" and "the" are intended to mean that there is one or more of the elements. The terms "comprising," "including," and "having" are intended to be inclusive and mean that additional elements may exist in addition to the listed elements. Additionally, it should be understood that reference to "one embodiment" or "an embodiment" of the present disclosure is not intended to be construed as excluding the existence of additional embodiments that also incorporate the recited features. Also, the phrase A "based on" B is intended to mean that A is at least partially based on B. Moreover, the term "or" is intended to be inclusive (e.g., logical or) and not exclusive (e.g., logical xor). In other words, the phrase A "or" B is intended to mean A, B, or both A and B.

[0044] The present invention discloses various methods for adjusting the operating frequency range of an antenna. The processes can be applied to various electronic devices. In some embodiments, a control system (e.g., a controller, one or more processors) of an electronic device can couple a power amplifier to an antenna, a transmission path associated with the antenna (e.g., a transmission channel), and / or a reception path associated with the antenna (e.g., a reception channel) or decouple the power amplifier from the antenna, the transmission path associated with the antenna (e.g., a transmission channel), and / or the reception path associated with the antenna (e.g., a reception channel) to change whether the antenna can transmit or receive signals. It should be noted that a channel can be a medium for transmitting information from a transmitter to a receiver. It should be noted that since the characteristics of the term "channel" can vary according to different wireless protocols, the term "channel" as used in the present invention can be considered to be used in a manner that conforms to the standards of the type of device to which the term usage refers. In some standards, the channel width can be variable (e.g., depending on device capabilities, frequency band conditions). For example, a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network can support scalable channel bandwidths from 1.4 megahertz (MHz) to 20 MHz. In contrast, a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) channel can be 22 MHz wide, while a channel can be 1 MHz wide. Other protocols and standards can include different definitions of channels. Additionally, some standards can define and use multiple types of channels, such as different channels for uplink or downlink and / or different channels for different purposes such as data, control information, etc. Further, as used herein, the term "frequency band" has the full range of its ordinary meaning and includes at least a segment of the spectrum (e.g., radio frequency spectrum) in which channels are used or reserved for the same purpose.

[0045] Moreover, in additional or alternative embodiments, a processor can couple or decouple an inductor circuit to change the operating frequency range of the antenna. As described herein, these processes offer certain advantages to the operation. In view of the foregoing, a general description of suitable electronic devices that can include such processing circuitry is provided below.

[0046] Turning first to Figure 1 , an electronic device 10 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure can include, among other things, one or more of a processor 12, a memory 14, a non-volatile storage device 16, a display 18, an input structure 22, an input / output (I / O) interface 24, a network interface 26, a transceiver 28, and a power supply 30. Figure 1The various functional blocks shown may include hardware elements (including circuits), software elements (including computer code stored on a computer-readable medium), or a combination of both hardware and software elements. Additionally, the combination of elements may be included in a tangible non-transitory machine-readable medium including machine-readable instructions. The instructions may be executed by processor 12 and may cause processor 12 to perform the operations described herein. It should be noted that Figure 1 is only an example of a particular embodiment and is intended to illustrate the types of elements that may be present in electronic device 10.

[0047] By way of example, electronic device 10 may represent Figure 2 the laptop computer shown in Figure 3 the handheld device shown in Figure 4 the handheld device shown in Figure 5 the desktop computer shown in Figure 6 the wearable electronic device shown in or a block diagram of a similar device. It should be noted that Figure 1 processor 12 and other related items in

[0048] In Figure 1 electronic device 10, processor 12 may be operatively coupled to memory 14 and non-volatile storage 16 to execute various algorithms. Such programs or instructions executed by processor 12 may be stored in any suitable article of manufacture, the any suitable article of manufacture including at least one or more tangible computer-readable media that collectively store the instructions or routines, such as memory 14 and non-volatile storage 16. Memory 14 and non-volatile storage 16 may include any suitable article of manufacture for storing data and executable instructions, such as random access memory, read-only memory, rewritable flash memory, hard disk drives, and optical disks. Additionally, programs (e.g., operating systems) encoded on such computer program products may also include instructions executable by processor 12 to enable electronic device 10 to provide various functions.

[0049] In some embodiments, the display 18 can be a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a digital micromirror display (DMD) that can facilitate a user's viewing of images generated on the electronic device 10. In some embodiments, the display 18 can include a touch screen that can facilitate a user's interaction with the user interface of the electronic device 10. Additionally, it should be understood that in some embodiments, the display 18 can include one or more organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays, or some combination of an LCD panel and an OLED panel.

[0050] In some cases, one or more processors 12 can operate circuitry to input or output data generated by the electronic device 10. For example, one or more processors 12 can control and / or operate the memory 14, non-volatile storage device 16, display 18, input structure 22, input / output (I / O) interface 24, network interface 26, transceiver 28, power supply 29, etc., to perform the operations of the electronic device 10 and / or facilitate control of the operation of the electronic device. Specifically, one or more processors 12 can generate control signals for operating the transceiver 28 to transmit data over one or more communication networks.

[0051] The input structure 22 of the electronic device 10 can enable a user to interact with the electronic device 10 (e.g., pressing a button to increase or decrease a volume level). Just as the network interface 26, the I / O interface 24 can enable the electronic device 10 to interact with various other electronic devices. The network interface 26 can include, for example, one or more interfaces for: a personal area network (PAN) such as a network, a local area network (LAN) or a wireless local area network (WLAN) such as 802.11x network, and / or a wide area network (WAN) such as a third generation (3G) cellular network, a fourth generation (4G) cellular network, an LTE cellular network, a long term evolution licensed assisted access (LTE-LAA) cellular network, a fifth generation (5G) cellular network, or a new radio (NR) cellular network. The network interface 26 can also include, for example, one or more interfaces for: a broadband fixed wireless access network (e.g., )), a mobile broadband wireless network (mobile ), an asynchronous digital subscriber line (e.g., ADSL, VDSL), digital video terrestrial broadcast network and its extension DVB handheld network, an ultra-wideband (UWB) network, an alternating current (AC) power line, etc.

[0052] In some embodiments, the electronic device 10 uses the transceiver 28 over the aforementioned wireless networks (e.g., mobile 4G, communicate via, for example, 5G, etc. The transceiver 28 may include circuitry available in both wirelessly receiving and wirelessly transmitting signals (e.g., data signals, wireless data signals, wireless carrier signals, RF signals), such as a transmitter and / or a receiver. In fact, in some embodiments, the transceiver 28 may include a transmitter and a receiver combined into a single unit, or in other embodiments, the transceiver 28 may include a transmitter separate from the receiver. The transceiver 28 may transmit and receive RF signals to support wireless applications such as, for example, PAN networks (e.g., ), WLAN networks (e.g., 802.11x ), WAN networks (e.g., 3G, 4G, 5G, NR, and LTE-LAA cellular networks), networks, mobile networks, ADSL and VDSL networks, and networks, UWB networks, etc. for voice and / or data communication. As further shown, the electronic device 10 may include a power supply 30. The power supply 30 may include any suitable power source, such as a rechargeable lithium polymer (Li-poly) battery and / or an alternating current (AC) power converter.

[0053] In certain embodiments, the electronic device 10 may take the form of a computer, a portable electronic device, a wearable electronic device, or other types of electronic devices. Such computers may be computers that are typically portable (such as laptop computers, notebook computers, and tablet computers) and / or computers that are typically used in one location (such as desktop computers, workstations, and / or servers). In certain embodiments, the electronic device 10 in the form of a computer may be a PRO, MACBOOK mini, or MAC model purchased from Apple Inc. (Cupertino, California). By way of example, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the electronic device 10 in the form of a notebook computer 10A is shown in Figure 2 . The notebook computer 10A may include a housing or casing 36, a display 18, an input structure 22, and ports associated with the I / O interface 24. In one embodiment, the input structure 22 (such as a keyboard and / or a touchpad) may enable interaction with the notebook computer 10A, such as starting, controlling, or operating a graphical user interface (GUI) or an application running on the notebook computer 10A. For example, the keyboard and / or the touchpad may facilitate user interaction with the user interface, GUI, and / or application interface displayed on the display 18.

[0054] Figure 3Depicts a front view of a handheld device 10B, which represents an embodiment of an electronic device 10. The handheld device 10B can represent, for example, a portable phone, a media player, a personal data manager, a handheld game platform, or any combination of such devices. For example, the handheld device 10B can be a or type of handheld device. The handheld device 10B can include a housing 36 to protect internal components from physical damage and to shield internal components from electromagnetic interference. The housing 36 can surround a display 18. An I / O interface 24 can be open through the housing 36 and can include, for example, I / O ports for hardwired connections for charging and / or content manipulation using connectors and protocols such as the Lightning connector, Universal Serial Bus (USB), or other similar connectors and protocols provided by Apple Inc. (Cupertino, California).

[0055] The input structure 22 in combination with the display 18 can enable a user to control the handheld device 10B. For example, the input structure 22 can activate or deactivate the handheld device 10B, navigate the user interface to the home screen, present an application screen editable by the user, and / or activate the voice recognition feature of the handheld device 10B. Other input structures 22 can provide volume control or can switch between vibration and ring modes. The input structure 22 can also include a microphone for capturing the user's voice for various voice-related features and a speaker for enabling audio playback. The input structure 22 can also include a headphone input for enabling input from external speakers and / or headphones.

[0056] Figure 4 Depicts a front view of another handheld device 10C, which represents another embodiment of an electronic device 10. The handheld device 10C can represent, for example, a tablet computer or one of various portable computing devices. For example, the handheld device 10C can be a tablet-sized embodiment of the electronic device 10, specifically, for example, a type of handheld device from Apple Inc. (Cupertino, California).

[0057] See Figure 5 and the computer 10D can represent Figure 1Another embodiment of the electronic device 10. The computer 10D can be any computer, such as a desktop computer, a server, or a laptop computer, and / or can be a standalone media player or a video game console. By way of example, the computer 10D can be one of Apple Inc. (Cupertino, California)'s or other similar devices. It should be noted that the computer 10D can also represent a personal computer (PC) of another manufacturer. The housing 36 can protect and enclose the internal components of the computer 10D, such as the display 18. In some embodiments, a user of the computer 10D can interact with the computer 10D using various peripheral input devices, such as a keyboard 22A or a mouse 22B (e.g., the input structure 22), that are operatively coupled to the computer 10D.

[0058] Similarly, Figure 6 depicts a wearable electronic device 10E that represents Figure 1 another embodiment of the electronic device 10. By way of example, the wearable electronic device 10E, which can include a wristband 43, can be one of Apple Inc. (Cupertino, California)'s APPLE However, in other embodiments, the wearable electronic device 10E can include any wearable electronic device, such as a wearable sports monitoring device (e.g., a pedometer, an accelerometer, a heart rate monitor), or other devices of another manufacturer. The display 18 of the wearable electronic device 10E can include a display 18 (e.g., an LCD, an OLED display, an active matrix organic light emitting diode (AMOLED) display, etc.) and a touchscreen version of the output structure 22, which can facilitate user interaction with the user interface of the wearable electronic device 10E. In some embodiments, as described above, each embodiment of the electronic device 10 (e.g., the laptop computer 10A, the handheld device 10B, the handheld device 10C, the computer 10D, and the wearable electronic device 10E) can include a transceiver 28.

[0059] In view of the foregoing, Figure 7Illustrated are an access network node such as base station 50 (e.g., base station 50A, base station 50B, base station 50C, base station 50D) and a user equipment such as electronic device 52 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Each of base station 50 and / or electronic device 52 may have one or more components similar to those of electronic device 10, and thus may include control circuitry (such as processor 12), memory circuitry (such as memory 14 and / or non-volatile storage device 16), which may operate together to cause base station 50 and / or electronic device 52 to perform operations. It should be noted that user equipment capable of communicating with an access node may include any of a variety of types of computer system devices that are mobile or portable and perform wireless communication. Examples of user equipment include any suitable portable electronic device, mobile phone, smartphone, portable gaming device, laptop computer, wearable device, etc. In general, the term "UE" or "UE device" may be broadly defined to cover any electronic, computing, and / or telecommunications device (or combination of devices) that is easily transportable by a user and capable of wireless communication.

[0060] Each base station in base station 50 may be associated with one or more cells 54. The term "base station" has the full scope of its ordinary meaning and includes at least a wireless communication station that is installed at a fixed location and used for communication as part of a wireless telephone system or radio system. Base station 50 and electronic device 52 may be configured to communicate via a transmission medium using any of a variety of radio access technologies (RATs), which are also referred to as wireless communication technologies or telecommunications standards, such as GSM, UMTS (associated with, for example, WCDMA or TD-SCDMA air interfaces), LTE, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), 5G New Radio (5G NR), HSPA, 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (e.g., 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), etc. It should be noted that if the corresponding base station in base station 50 is implemented in an LTE environment, it may be referred to as an "eNodeB" or "eNB". It should be noted that if the corresponding base station in the base stations is implemented in a 5G NR environment, it may be referred to as a "gNodeB" or "gNB".

[0061] Thus, although base station 50 may act as Figure 7The "serving cell" of the electronic device shown, the electronic device 52 may also be able to receive signals (and may be within the communication range of the cell) from one or more other cells that may be referred to as "neighboring cells" (provided by base station 50 and / or any other base station). Such cells may also be able to facilitate communication between user devices and / or between user devices and the network. Such cells may include "macro" cells, "micro" cells, "pico" cells, and / or any other various granularities of cells providing service area sizes.

[0062] Each of the cells 54 may be an operating area through which the corresponding base station 50 can communicate. For example, the corresponding base station 50 may communicate with the electronic device 52 disposed in each cell 54 shown as touching the corresponding base station 50. In this way, when within the boundary of cell 54A, the electronic device 52 may communicate with base station 50C, rather than with base station 50D, which may communicate with the electronic device 52 when within the boundary of cell 54B.

[0063] When communicating with the electronic device 52, the corresponding base station 50 may transmit messages on a frequency range referred to as a component carrier. A frequency band that may include one or more frequency ranges and is bounded by a lower frequency and a higher frequency (e.g., representing the radio spectrum) may include one or more component carriers. The frequency range covered by the frequency band may be defined by a standards body (e.g., a standard generated by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standards body or development group), and thus may include 3rd Generation (3G), 4th Generation (4G), 5th Generation (5G) frequency bands. For example, the frequency band may include frequencies between 24 gigahertz (GHz) and 48 GHz. Specifically, messages within the same frequency band on independent component carriers of different frequency ranges may be transmitted (e.g., simultaneously) without cross-interference. In some cases, the electronic device 52 may be coupled to one or more base stations 50 via two or more component carriers. For example, the electronic device 52 may use component carrier 56A to communicate with base station 50C and use component carrier 56B to communicate with base station 50B. Component carriers 56A, 56B may both be within the same frequency band, such as a New Radio (NR) or 5th Generation (5G) frequency band, but are associated with different frequency ranges within the same frequency band.

[0064] Hardware, software, or communication standards associated with the operation control of the electronic device 52 may limit concurrent (e.g., simultaneous) uplink communication and downlink communication between component carriers 56. Specifically, while the electronic device 52 may receive many downlink communications individually or simultaneously, the electronic device 52 may not receive any downlink communications or transmit any additional uplink communications when transmitting an uplink communication to one of the base stations 50. To reduce the likelihood of concurrent communication occurring when transmitting a message uplink to a base station, the electronic device 52 may request an uplink allocation from one of the base stations 50 before continuing to transmit the message uplink to the base station. For example, the electronic device 52 may receive a simultaneous downlink message from the base station 50 and / or may request an uplink allocation from two base stations 50 before transmitting a message uplink to one of the base stations 50 (such as base station 50C). However, this operation does not take into account the timing delays seen by the electronic device 52 when communicating with the base station 50. When the electronic device 52 requests an uplink allocation from the base station 50 without considering the timing delays between communications, unnecessary delays may occur when downlink operations resume, resulting in inefficient operation.

[0065] Specifically, the base stations 50 may be physically set at a distance 58A from each other (e.g., logical distance, physical distance, time distance). For example, according to 3GPP standard number TR38.803, the maximum inter-site distance (ISD) for FR2 is 300 meters (m), which may correspond to a 1 microsecond (μs) propagation delay seen by the electronic device 52 when receiving communications transmitted essentially simultaneously from different base stations 50. Some FR2 network deployments may use a larger ISD, such as up to 1500 m, which may correspond to a 5 μs propagation delay. According to 3GPP standard number TS38.104, the maximum allowed timing error between gNBs is 3 μs. This corresponds to a maximum received timing delay difference (MRTD) between 4 μs and 8 μs between distributed carriers (e.g., inter-frequency carriers) at the electronic device 52.

[0066] With this in mind, the electronic device 52 may be at a distance 58B from each corresponding base station in the base stations 50. As the distance between the electronic device 52 and the base station increases, the communication delay between the devices also increases. Thus, due to the greater distance between the base station 50B and the electronic device 52, the communication delay between the base station 50B and the electronic device 52 is greater than the communication delay between the base station 50A and the electronic device 52. In order to improve the process of requesting uplink allocations, the electronic device 52 may consider the delay in communication when requesting uplink allocations, and / or the base station may consider the delay in communication when continuing to schedule uplink allocations in response to a request for uplink allocations from the electronic device 52. For example, in some cases, one or more of the base stations 50 may adjust the communication schedule based on a predetermined adjustment and / or a defined adjustment (e.g., a value stored in a memory or storage device).

[0067] Figure 8A , Figure 8B and Figure 8C An example of a base station (e.g., base station 50C) adjusting its communication schedule based on a predetermined adjustment is shown, regardless of the amount of delay between the base station's communications with another base station (such as base station 50B). Figure 8A , Figure 8B and Figure 8C .

[0068] Figure 8A 1 is a timing diagram of a communication schedule of a component carrier 56A (eg, CC1) corresponding to a base station 50C and a communication schedule of a component carrier 56B (eg, CC2) corresponding to a base station 50B according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 8A A first exemplary delay (e.g., maximum receive timing delay (MRTD)) is shown, where the electronic device 52 receives a downlink message 70 from the base station 50C 0.26 microseconds (μs) after receiving a downlink message 72 from the base station 50B, which is intended to be received simultaneously during a first symbol duration (e.g., Symb 0) of the base station 50C. It can be said that the communication from the base station 50B is generally synchronized with the communication from the base station 50C, because 0.26 μs can be considered to be less than a threshold amount of time (where the threshold can be used to evaluate whether the communication configuration needs to be adjusted, such as when out of sync). Figure 8B is a timing diagram of a communication scheduling table of component carrier 56A and component carrier 56B with a second exemplary delay according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, wherein the electronic device 52 receives a downlink message 70 from the base station 50C 4 μs after receiving the downlink message 72 from the base station 50B, and the downlink message 72 is intended to be received simultaneously during the first symbol duration of the base station 50C. Figure 8CIs a timing diagram of a communication schedule for component carrier 56A and component carrier 56B with a third exemplary delay according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, where the electronic device 52 receives a downlink message 70 from the base station 50C approximately 8 μs (e.g., duration 71) after receiving the downlink message 72 from the base station 50B, and the downlink message 72 is intended to be received simultaneously during the first symbol duration of the base station 50C. Figure 8C The third exemplary delay (e.g., 8 μs) can be greater than Figure 8B The second exemplary delay, which means that the distance between the electronic device 52 and the base station 50B associated with Figure 8C Is greater than the distance between the two associated with Figure 8B Should be noted that for ease of explanation, Figures 8A to 8C Can be discussed together.

[0069] Communication operations can be scheduled according to symbol duration. Symbols (e.g., symb 0, symb1, symb 2, …, symb 5) can represent time allocations that can be assigned to downlink communication or uplink communication. When a symbol is assigned to downlink communication, the electronic device 52 can receive simultaneous downlink messages on one or more component carriers 56. However, when a symbol is assigned to uplink communication, the electronic device 52 may not receive simultaneous uplink messages and / or simultaneous downlink messages. Thus, the base station 50B can use an interrupt command to pause downlink communication, such as at time 79, while the base station 50C operates to perform an uplink transmission of a message from the electronic device 52. In this way, the base station 50B can generate an interrupt command in response to receiving a notification from the electronic device 52 indicating that the electronic device 52 is requesting an uplink allocation from the base station 50C (e.g., requesting that one or more future symbols be assigned by the base station 50C to uplink communication).

[0070] Figures 8A to 8CIllustrated is a constant adjustment 74 of the start of an uplink operation initiated by an uplink allocation request by allowing any ongoing downlink operation to complete based on a maximum delay that may occur (e.g., a delay of the start of uplink message 76 after the end of downlink message 78 that is ongoing when the base station 50 generates an interrupt command). After the operation of transmitting downlink message 78 is completed, the maximum delay and thus the value of constant adjustment 74 is equal to or substantially equal to 8 μs, and thus uplink message 76 is scheduled to occur approximately 8 μs after downlink message 78 (e.g., between 5 μs and 11 μs). Note that each uplink message 76 and / or downlink messages 72, 78 may be associated with a prefix 80. The prefix 80 may be a cyclic prefix that repeats a portion of the delivery of messages 70, 72, 76, 78 (e.g., adding a portion of the end of the message to the front of the message). The cyclic prefix may resist interference within one or more symbols of a previously received signal at the electronic device 52. The prefix 80 may additionally or alternatively include information identifying the duration of the communication, the source of the communication (e.g., header information), or may include other data that the electronic device 52 may use when processing the communication).

[0071] The base station 50 may also use durations 82 (e.g., labeled duration 82A, duration 82B) to prepare the transmit and / or receive circuitry of the electronic device 52 and / or base station 50B for uplink operations. For example, the base station 50 may couple one or more power amplifiers to one or more antennas of the respective circuitry during duration 82. When adjusting the operation of the base station 50 to compensate for the communication delay seen by the electronic device 52, the base station 50 may use duration 82 and thus pause the downlink operation early enough when adjusting the circuitry so as not to lose or interfere with the downlink operation.

[0072] Since the constant adjustment 74 is substantially similar to the maximum delay for the communication Figure 8C shown (e.g., 8 μs), the interruption of the downlink operation by the base station 50B is relatively optimal. However, when the constant adjustment is greater than the communication delay (or less than the communication delay, but not specifically shown), the interruption operation is inefficient. For example, the interruption of the downlink operation by the base station 50B results in Figure 8A and Figure 8B four symbols in being discarded (e.g., skipping symb 1 to symb 4). The efficiency of the interruption operation may be improved when the communication scheduling takes into account a specific delay rather than using a globally defined delay value (e.g., for each adjustment, the delay value is the same rather than a delay value calculated for a specific arrangement of components when adjusting).

[0073] To explain variable delay operation, Figure 9A 、 Figure 9B andFigure 9C The variable adjustment 84 (labeled as adjustment 84A, adjustment 84B, adjustment 84C in the figure) that indicates the start of the uplink message 76 is shown. Figure 9A It is a timing diagram of the communication scheduling table of the component carrier 56A (e.g., CC1) corresponding to the base station 50C and the communication scheduling table of the component carrier 56B (e.g., CC2) corresponding to the base station 50B. Figure 9A The first exemplary delay according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown, where the electronic device 52 receives the downlink message 70 from the base station 50C 0.26 μs after receiving the downlink message 72 from the base station 50B, and the downlink message 72 is intended to be received simultaneously during the first symbol duration (e.g., symb 0) of the base station 50C. It can be said that the communication from the base station 50B is generally synchronized with the communication from the base station 50C because 0.26 μs can be considered less than the threshold time amount (where the threshold can be used to evaluate whether the communication configuration needs to be adjusted, such as when out of sync). The threshold time amount can be any suitable time amount, such as between 0.8 μs and 1.1 μs (e.g., 1 μs).

[0074] Figure 9B It is a timing diagram of the communication scheduling table of the component carrier 56A and the component carrier 56B with a second exemplary delay according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, where the electronic device 52 receives the downlink message 70 from the base station 50C 4 μs after receiving the downlink message 72 from the base station 50B, and the downlink message 72 is intended to be received simultaneously during the first symbol duration of the base station 50C. Figure 9C It is a timing diagram of the communication scheduling table of the component carrier 56A and the component carrier 56B with a third exemplary delay according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, where the electronic device 52 receives the downlink message 70 from the base station 50C after the maximum delay amount (e.g., 8 μs) after receiving the downlink message 72 from the base station 50B, and the downlink message 72 is intended to be received simultaneously during the first symbol duration of the base station 50C. Figure 9C The third exemplary delay of Figure 9B can be greater than Figure 9B the second exemplary delay of Figure 9C , which means that the distance between the electronic device 52 and the base station 50B associated with

[0075] Adjustment 84A and adjustment 84C are shown to be of substantially similar durations, while adjustment 84B is shown to be of a longer duration. In this way, the base station 50C may have adjusted its communication schedule to better align with the delay of the communication associated with the base station 50B, and thus may have used a larger adjustment to delay its uplink allocation to allow for an improved alignment with the allocation of the base station 50B. Therefore, Figures 9A to 9CThe operation makes the relatively more efficient scheduling operation visible because the number of symbols discarded per example is reduced (e.g., three symbols each time).

[0076] The downlink allocation and / or uplink allocation timing advance can be adjusted for each electronic device 52 communicating with the base station 50 based on the communication delay between the corresponding base station and the corresponding electronic device 52. For each possible delay value (e.g., between no delay and maximum delay) and when the frequency of the communication transmission (e.g., the parameter set associated with the base station 50) is equal, the outage period of the downlink communication of the base station 50C (transmitting using the first component carrier 56A (CC1)) can be substantially similar to the outage period of the downlink communication of the base station 50B (transmitting using the second component carrier 56B (CC2)), and thus includes two symbols (e.g., symb 2 and symb 4), rather than just the total number of symbols (e.g., symb3) allocated for uplink communication. A scheduler of a wireless network provider communicatively coupled to the base station 50B and the base station 50C can determine a suitable timing advance for uplink communication and can adjust the downlink allocation and / or uplink allocation based on the determined delay between the base stations 50 to minimize the interruption of communication. However, for ease of discussion, the base station 50 is referred to as determining and applying the adjustment. Note that Figures 8A to 9C The communication shown in is a snapshot of the communication over time and should thus be understood to be capable of extending beyond the scope shown in the figure.

[0077] To further clarify the operation of the electronic device 52 when adjusting the operation based on one or more delays (e.g., communication delay), Figure 10 is a flowchart of a method 96 for operating an electronic device 52 to transmit and / or receive RF signals using a communication configuration adjusted based on the delay experienced by the electronic device 52 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Note that although shown in a particular order, the blocks of method 96 can be executed in any suitable order and at least some blocks can be skipped entirely. As described herein, method 96 is described as being executed by the electronic device 52. However, it should be understood that some or all of the operations of method 96 can be executed by any suitable processing and / or control circuit, such as one or more processors in the processor 12.

[0078] At block 98, the electronic device 52 may receive a first packet (e.g., a first message) from a first base station in the base station 50 via a first component carrier at a first time, and receive a second packet (e.g., a second message) from a second base station in the base station 50 on a second component carrier at a second time. The first time and the second time may correspond to the time of receiving the prefix 80 and / or the time of receiving the first part of the corresponding message (e.g., the downlink message 70, the downlink message 72). The first time and the second time may be stored in a storage device similar to the memory 14. These times may be used to determine the delay at this moment, and / or these times may be accessed in the future in addition to or alternatively to determine how the delay changes over time (e.g., historical analysis of the delay).

[0079] At block 100, the electronic device 52 may determine the reception delay between the first time and the second time. To this end, the electronic device 52 may determine the duration as the reception delay between the first time and the second time. To determine the reception delay, the electronic device 52 may calculate the difference between the two times. However, in some cases, the electronic device 52 may determine the time difference by using a counter to track the reception delay between receiving the downlink message 70 and receiving the downlink message 72. The counter may count the number of durations such as clock cycles between the time the electronic device 52 receives the downlink message 70 and the downlink message 72.

[0080] At block 102, the electronic device 52 may determine whether the reception delay determined at block 100 is greater than or equal to a threshold time amount. The electronic device 52 may determine whether the reception delay (if any) has a sufficient time delay to be corrected. In some cases, the threshold time amount may be used to evaluate whether it is necessary to adjust the communication configuration, such as when out of sync. The threshold time amount may vary based on environmental conditions and / or network load conditions, based on which external factors may adjust the allowable and / or otherwise appropriate amount of out-of-sync. In some cases, the threshold time amount may be substantially similar to (e.g., approximately) 1 μs (e.g., an amount between 0.5 μs and 1.5 μs), where any reception delay below this threshold is typically ignored and the operation proceeds to block 98. However, when the reception delay is greater than or equal to the threshold, the electronic device 52 may continue to perform the operation of block 104.

[0081] At block 104, the electronic device 52 may transmit an indication of the reception delay to the first base station, the second base station, or both. For example, refer to Figure 9BIn an example, the electronic device 52 may determine that the reception delay (e.g., the maximum reception timing delay (MRTD)) is equal to (or substantially similar to) 4 μs. Then, in response to determining that the reception delay is greater than a threshold, the electronic device 52 may transmit an indication of the reception delay to the base station 50B and / or the base station 50C. The base station 50B and / or the base station 50C may use the indication of the reception delay to generate an updated communication configuration for the electronic device 52 to apply.

[0082] At block 106, the electronic device 52 may receive an updated communication configuration from the first base station to adjust an interruption parameter associated with the first base station. For example, the interruption parameter may be operative to delay associated downlink communications scheduled for transmission on a component carrier used by the first base station. When referring Figure 9B to an example, the electronic device 52 may receive an updated communication configuration from the base station 50C that defines an adjustment to communications scheduled for transmission / reception on the component carrier 56A. The updated communication configuration may indicate to the electronic device 52 that an uplink allocation requested by the electronic device will be delayed for a period of time after the downlink message 78.

[0083] At block 108, the electronic device 52 may apply the updated communication configuration to its software and / or hardware (e.g., replace a previous communication configuration stored in the software and / or affect the operation of the transceiver circuitry) to prepare for an adjusted communication allocation. In this way, the electronic device 52 may instruct its control and / or scheduling circuitry to delay the uplink transmission of the uplink message until a time that compensates for the delay associated with the communication between the electronic device 52 and the base station 50B. Additionally, applying the updated communication configuration to the circuitry of the electronic device 52 may cause the antenna circuitry 108 of the electronic device 52 to be prepared to perform uplink operations and / or downlink operations.

[0084] At block 110, the electronic device 52 may receive packets on the first component carrier 56A according to an updated communication configuration and may receive packets on the second component carrier 56B according to an original communication. Thus, even when the communication on the second component carrier 56B is delayed (e.g., because base station 50B is located further away from the electronic device 52 than base station 50C), the communication on the first component carrier 56A from base station 50C may be appropriately delayed based on the reception delay (e.g., the amount of delay is equal to or substantially similar to the reception delay) to improve the alignment of the communication on the two component carriers 56B. When operating to compensate for the variable delay between the component carriers 56, the electronic device 52 may reduce the amount of delay of the downlink communication when scheduling the uplink communication (e.g., discarding four symbols when operating to compensate for the delay using a fixed adjustment, as opposed to discarding three symbols when operating to compensate for the delay using a variable adjustment). Note that although described as adjusting the communication configuration of the first component carrier 56C based on the reception delay rather than the communication configuration of the second component carrier 56B, as opposed to only one component carrier 56 (e.g., component carrier 56B), the same or a similar method may be applied to adjust any one or both of the component carriers 56.

[0085] Figure 11 A method 122 for operating a base station such as Figure 9B base station 50C according to an embodiment of the present disclosure to transmit or receive RF signals using a communication configuration adjusted based on the delay seen by the electronic device 52. Note that although shown in a particular order, the blocks of method 122 may be executed in any suitable order and at least some blocks may be skipped entirely. As described herein, method 122 is described as being executed by base station 50C; however, it should be understood that some or all of the operations of method 122 may be executed by any suitable processing and / or control circuitry, such as one or more processors in processor 12. Note that, as described above, base station 50C uses a frequency within the frequency range of, for example, component carrier 56A to transmit messages to and / or receive messages from the electronic device 52.

[0086] At block 124, base station 50C may transmit a first packet to the electronic device 52 according to a first communication configuration (e.g., an original communication configuration). The first communication configuration may define a frequency range used when transmitting the first packet, the frequency on the frequency range at which the packet is sent, one or more allocation modes (e.g., when downlink communication is scheduled to occur, when uplink communication is scheduled to occur), etc.

[0087] At block 126, base station 50C may receive an indication of receive latency from electronic device 52. The receive latency may be determined by electronic device 52, such as by using method 96. The receive latency may be communicated (e.g., indicated) to base station 50C as the latency between a first packet and an additional packet from another base station, such as base station 50B.

[0088] At block 128, by using the receive latency, base station 50C may update a first communication configuration to generate a second communication configuration. Base station 50C may determine that its transmissions lead those from another base station 50B by a particular amount corresponding to the receive latency. In some cases, base station 50C may analyze the receive latency received from electronic device 52 and information received from base station 50B to determine that base station 50C's transmissions lead those from base station 50B. When generating the second communication configuration, base station 50C may adjust the first communication configuration to compensate for the receive latency. Thus, base station 50C may adjust an interruption parameter such that after receiving a request for an uplink allocation from electronic device 52, subsequent allocation operations are delayed by an amount substantially similar to or equal to the receive latency (e.g., greater than or less than the receive latency by 0 to 0.5 μs, equal to the receive latency).

[0089] At block 130, base station 50C may apply the second communication configuration (e.g., the updated communication configuration) to its software and / or hardware (e.g., replace a previous communication configuration stored in software and / or affect the operation of transceiver circuitry). Applying the second communication configuration to base station 50C may enable re - alignment of downlink operations and / or uplink operations, regardless of the communication latency at electronic device 52 due to the difference in proximity between base station 50 and electronic device 52.

[0090] At block 132, base station 50C may transmit the second communication configuration (e.g., the updated communication configuration) to electronic device 52. Electronic device 52 may apply the second communication configuration in response to receiving the second communication configuration from base station 50C. Applying the second communication configuration to both base station 50C and electronic device 52 may allow for synchronous communication to occur between the two devices on component carrier 56A.

[0091] At block 134, base station 50C may transmit a second packet to electronic device 52 according to the second communication configuration (e.g., the updated communication configuration). Base station 50C may delay some of its uplink allocations to accommodate the latency in component carrier 56B for transmitting a packet from base station 50B to electronic device 52.

[0092] In some cases, electronic device 52 may determine and report a maximum latency determined from multiple determined receive latencies. Figure 12It is a flowchart of a method 146 for operating an electronic device 52 to determine a maximum reception delay from one or more determined reception delays associated with one or more component carriers 56 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Note that although shown in a specific order, the blocks of method 146 can be executed in any suitable order and at least some blocks can be skipped entirely. As described herein, method 146 is described as being performed by electronic device 52. However, it should be understood that some or all of the operations of method 146 can be performed by any suitable processing and / or control circuitry, such as one or more processors in processor 12.

[0093] At block 148, the electronic device 52 can receive packets from one or more base stations 50 according to corresponding communication configurations that define scheduling for the respective component carriers 56. For example, each communication configuration can define interruption parameters for scheduling uplink operations between one or more downlink operations. In this way, the transmission parameters and / or frequencies of communications on a first component carrier can be different from those of a second component carrier. Additionally, how long the transmission delay of an uplink message is after a downlink message can also vary between component carriers 56, at least in part based on the communication configurations associated with each base station in base stations 50 and / or each component carrier in component carriers 56.

[0094] At block 150, the electronic device 52 can determine one or more reception delays that indicate the relative delays between communications received on various component carriers 56. The electronic device 52 can use a method similar to Figure 10 method 96 to determine the reception delays. After determining the one or more reception delays, at block 152, the electronic device 52 can determine a relatively large reception delay from the reception delays determined at block 152. In this way, the electronic device 52 can identify the longest delay experienced across each of the component carriers 56.

[0095] Once the longest reception delay is identified, the electronic device 52 can determine at block 154 whether the reception delay is greater than or equal to a threshold amount of time. If the duration is not greater than or equal to the threshold amount of time, the electronic device 52 can continue communication operations at block 148.

[0096] However, when the electronic device 52 determines that the reception delay is greater than or equal to the threshold amount of time, then at block 156, the electronic device 52 can transmit an indication of the maximum reception delay to one or more base stations 50 for operation compensation and / or for generating additional communication configurations. In some cases, this information can be transmitted to base station 50 as part of user equipment (UE) assistance information and / or as part of a device report.

[0097] In view of the above, Figure 12Process 146 shows how electronic device 52 can estimate the timing difference between each of the component carriers in component carrier 56 and can report the maximum difference between each of the timing differences (e.g., manifested as the reception delay seen by electronic device 52) to one or more of the base stations 50 in the base station as auxiliary information.

[0098] In fact, in some cases, electronic device 52 can operate its receiver to receive a first packet from a first base station 50 on a first component carrier at a first time, receive a second packet from a second base station 50 on a second component carrier at a second time, receive a third packet from a third base station 50 on a third component carrier at a third time, and so on. Electronic device 52 can use Figure 12 Some or all of the operations of method 146 to determine that the difference between the first time and the second time corresponds to the maximum reception time delay (MRTD). To this end, electronic device 52 can select the second time as the reference time, and using the second time as the reference time can determine a first difference between the first time and the second time and a second difference between the third time and the second time. Electronic device 52 can identify which of the first difference or the second difference corresponds to the MRTD by comparing the two differences to determine which of the differences is larger. For example, in response to determining that the first difference is greater than the second difference, electronic device 52 can identify the first difference as the MRTD (e.g., representing the worst delay seen by electronic device 52). Additionally, in some cases, electronic device 52 verifies whether the difference identified as the MRTD passes a synchronization test. For example, electronic device 52 determines whether the first difference (e.g., the difference identified as the MRTD) is greater than or equal to a threshold amount of time (e.g., a threshold for identifying whether two component carriers are out of sync or out of sync by an appropriate amount to justify an adjustment). In response to determining that the first difference is greater than the time threshold, electronic device 52 can transmit the first difference as an indication of the maximum reception delay to one or more of the base stations 50 (e.g., each of the first base station 50, the second base station 50, and the third base station 50). The base station 50 can then adjust the communication configuration based on the indication of the maximum reception delay from the electronic device 52, including, for example, delaying one or more uplink allocations or downlink allocations to better accommodate and / or compensate for the delay experienced by the electronic device 52.

[0099] A wireless network provider may configure an electronic device 52 to provide assistance information as part of a measurement object. The configuration of the electronic device 52 may be associated with an identifier of a component carrier 56 and / or an identifier of a cell 54 associated with each base station 50, such as a physical cell identifier (ID). The electronic device 52 may generate and / or repeatedly determine a maximum received time delay (MRTD) difference (interchangeably referred to as "maximum difference") in response to a command from one of the base stations 50 and / or in a periodic manner (such as daily, hourly, or any other suitable time condition). In some cases, the electronic device 52 may monitor the delay between various component carriers 56 and, when one or more delays deviate too far from a certain value (e.g., when the corresponding received delay is determined to be greater than a threshold amount of delay), may generate and / or re-determine the maximum difference. Note that the electronic device 52 may, in addition or alternatively, generate and / or re-determine each received delay for transmission to the base station 50 in response to an aperiodic condition (e.g., in response to a command from the base station) and / or a periodic condition (e.g., hourly, daily, other suitable time conditions). For example, in response to a radio resource control (RRC) protocol message indicating the determination of the received delay and / or the determination of the MRTD, in response to a media access control (MAC) protocol message indicating the determination, in response to a message transmitted via physical layer signaling indicating the determination, in response to a control signal according to timing parameters or according to a timing schedule (e.g., periodic request), etc., the determination of the received delay and / or the determination of the MRTD may be initiated (e.g., repeated). In fact, the RRC protocol message, the MAC protocol message, the physical layer signaling, and / or the control signal may be transmitted aperiodically or periodically, respectively (e.g., transmitted according to a timing-based schedule). Note also that the wireless network provider may trigger the re-determination of one or more received delays by commanding the base station 50 to instruct the electronic device 52 to repeat the determination.

[0100] In some cases, the electronic device 52 may periodically send a physical random access channel (PRACH) communication on each of the component carriers 56. The PRACH communication may enable each of the base stations 50 to determine the timing difference seen by the electronic device 52. In some cases, each of the base stations 50 may receive messages transmitted on each of the component carriers 56 and may thus identify a delay in the communication when receiving messages with a delay between each reception (e.g., a delay exceeding a threshold amount of time). For example, a base station receiving a first message on a first component carrier at a later time than receiving a second message on a second component carrier may identify that the first component carrier has experienced a delay relative to the second component carrier.

[0101] However, in some cases, the electronic device 52 may transmit two or more PRACH communications on a component carrier, where the first PRACH communication may have a timing corresponding to the component carrier, and the second PRACH communication may have a timing corresponding to another component carrier. Then, the reception delay between the first PRACH communication and the second PRACH communication may be determined by a base station (e.g., base station 50B, base station 50C). Note that the electronic device 52 may, in addition or alternatively, use the PRACH communication to request an uplink allocation from the base station 50. In this way, at a first time, the electronic device 52 may use the PRACH communication to request an uplink allocation, and at a second time, the electronic device 52 may transmit an additional PRACH communication to facilitate the base station 50 in determining the reception delay.

[0102] Specifically, Figure 13 is a flowchart of a method 168 for operating an electronic device 52 to transmit or receive RF signals using a communication configuration that is adjusted based on the delay seen by a base station (such as base station 50C) upon receiving one or more PRACH communications, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. Note that although shown in a particular order, the blocks of method 168 may be executed in any suitable order and at least some blocks may be skipped entirely. As described herein, method 168 is described as being executed by base station 50C; however, it should be understood that some or all of the operations of method 168 may be executed by any suitable processing and / or control circuitry, such as one or more processors in processor 12. Note that, as described above, base station 50C uses a frequency within the frequency range of component carrier 56A to transmit messages to and / or receive messages from the electronic device 52.

[0103] At block 170, the electronic device 52 may transmit a first uplink request and a second uplink request to the base station 50C (e.g., the first base station). The first uplink request and the second uplink request may be PRACH communications and / or may be some other suitable packet transmissions related and / or unrelated to an uplink allocation request operation. The first uplink request may indicate the beam characteristics and / or timing of the base station 50C, while the second uplink request may indicate the beam characteristics and / or timing of an additional base station such as base station 50B. In response to receiving the first uplink request and the second uplink request, the base station 50C may use the received beam characteristics and / or timing of the base stations 50B, 50C to determine the reception timing of the first component carrier 56A relative to the second component carrier 56B, and may use the reception timing to update the communication configuration of the electronic device 52.

[0104] At block 172, the electronic device 52 may receive an updated communication configuration from the base station 50C. The updated communication configuration may adjust the interruption parameters associated with the component carrier 56A to adjust any relative latency between communications on the component carrier 56A and the component carrier 56B. For example, the updated communication configuration may define a communication schedule and / or parameters, such as interruption parameters, that incorporate adjustments made by the base station 50C to accommodate and / or compensate for the determined difference seen by the electronic device 52 (e.g., the difference or latency between communications received on the component carrier 56A and the component carrier 56B).

[0105] At block 174, the electronic device 52 may apply the updated communication configuration to its software and / or hardware (e.g., replace a previous communication configuration stored in the software and / or affect the operation of the transceiver circuitry). After applying the updated communication configuration, at block 176, the electronic device 52 may communicate with the base station 50C according to the updated communication configuration and may communicate with the base station 50B according to the original communication configuration. The original communication configuration may remain applicable to the second component carrier 56B because the communication configuration for communicating via the first component carrier 56A has been adjusted relative to the detected timing and / or detected communication pattern for the second component carrier 56B.

[0106] To further elaborate on the operation of the base station 50C during the execution of method 168, Figure 14 FIG. 188 is a flow chart of a method 188 for operating a base station, such as base station 50C, to transmit or receive RF signals using a communication configuration adjusted based on latency seen by the base station, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. Note that although shown in a particular order, the blocks of method 188 may be executed in any suitable order and at least some blocks may be skipped entirely. As described herein, method 188 is described as being executed by the base station 50C; however, it should be understood that some or all of the operations of method 188 may be executed by any suitable processing and / or control circuitry, such as one or more processors in the processor 12. Note that, as described above, the base station 50C uses frequencies within the frequency range of the component carrier 56A to transmit messages to and / or receive messages from the electronic device 52.

[0107] At block 190, the base station 50C may receive a first uplink request and a second uplink request from the electronic device 52. The electronic device 52 may transmit the first uplink request and the second uplink request to the base station 50C. The first uplink request and the second uplink request may be PRACH communications and / or may be some other suitable packet transmission related and / or unrelated to an uplink allocation request operation. The first uplink request may indicate the beam characteristics and / or timing of the base station 50C, while the second uplink request may indicate the beam characteristics and / or timing of an additional base station, such as base station 50B.

[0108] At block 192, base station 50C may determine the reception timing of the first communication carrier 56A in response to receiving a first uplink request and a second uplink request. The reception timing may be determined by base station 50C relative to the second communication carrier 56B based on the beam characteristics and / or timing of base stations 50B, 50C. Base station 50C may use the reception timing to update the communication configuration of electronic device 52.

[0109] At block 194, base station 50C may generate an updated communication configuration (e.g., updated communication configuration) to be applied to the communication with electronic device 52. The updated communication configuration may adjust the interruption parameters associated with component carrier 56A to adjust any relative delay between the communications on component carrier 56A and component carrier 56B.

[0110] At block 196, base station 50C may apply the updated communication configuration to its software and / or hardware (e.g., replace the previous communication configuration stored in the software and / or affect the operation of the transceiver circuit), which is used to communicate with electronic device 52 via component carrier 56A. At block 198, base station 50C may transmit the updated communication configuration to electronic device 52 such that electronic device 52 may also apply the updated communication configuration. The updated communication configuration may be transmitted to electronic device 52 using the transmission parameters associated with the original communication configuration and / or the communication configuration adjusted to generate the updated communication configuration. Additionally, base station 50C may apply the updated communication configuration at least partially while transmitting the updated communication configuration to electronic device 52.

[0111] After applying the updated communication configuration, base station 50C may communicate with electronic device 52 according to the updated communication configuration at block 200. Note that electronic device 52 may communicate with base station 50B according to a different communication configuration (such as a communication configuration that has not changed relative to the original communication).

[0112] In some cases, the above systems and methods may be applied to systems that use different frequencies for message transmission between component carriers 56. Specifically, Figure 15 is a timing diagram showing two exemplary communication configurations for two component carriers 56 (such as component carriers 56A and 56B) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. When sending a packet to electronic device 52, base station 50 corresponding to component carrier 56 may use different sets of transmission parameters and, in this way, may transmit packets at different frequencies using different frequency ranges within the same frequency band. The sets of transmission parameters may be defined in Table 1.

[0113] For each mu value (e.g., μ = 0, 1, 2, 3, 4), subcarrier frequencies can be defined. For example, when the parameter set is equal to 0 (e.g., μ = 0), the packet is sent by the base station 50C at a rate substantially equal to 15 kilohertz (kHz) over the frequency range corresponding to the component carrier 56A.

[0114] Table 1

[0115] Parameter Set (μ) <![CDATA[Δf = 2 μ * 15 [kHz]]]> 0 20 1 30 2 60 3 120 4 240

[0116] Note that each parameter set may or may not correspond to the same cyclic prefix length (e.g., the same length of prefix 80). Additionally, any other examples described can be used in combination with the Figure 15 described hybrid parameter set deployment. When the parameter set for communication on the component carrier 56 changes, the time period during which the uplink communication of one component carrier overlaps with the downlink communication of another component carrier can change.

[0117] For example, in the case where the component carrier 56A has a parameter set 2 (e.g., μ = 2) and the component carrier 56B has a parameter set 3 (e.g., μ = 3). This can correspond to Figure 15 the shown communication schedule. It should be understood that the symbols 210 corresponding to the component carrier 56B (e.g., symbol 210A, symbol 210B, symbol 210C) occur at a higher repetition frequency (e.g., 120 kHz for μ = 3) than the symbols 210 corresponding to the component carrier 56A (e.g., symbol 210D, symbol 210E, symbol 210F), which has a relatively slower repetition frequency (e.g., 60 kHz for μ = 2). To reduce the likelihood of discarding an undesired number of symbols 210 for any of the component carriers in the component carrier 56 (e.g., reducing, reducing to zero likelihood), the base station 50 and / or the electronic device 52 can adjust the communication configuration used when transmitting on one or more of the component carriers in the component carrier 56 based on the parameter set associated with the component carrier 56.

[0118] Specifically, the communication configuration can be adjusted to change the adjustment (e.g., variable adjustment 84, constant adjustment 74) used to delay the uplink allocation 212 for transmitting the uplink message 76. The adjustment to the number of symbols 210 used to pause the downlink operations on the component carrier 56A and the component carrier 56B can follow the relationships presented in the following tables, Table 2, Table 3, and / or Table 4. Each of Table 1 to Table 4 assumes a reception delay range between 0 μs and 8 μs.

[0119] Table 2

[0120]

[0121] Table 3

[0122]

[0123] Table 4

[0124]

[0125] For example, in Figure 15 the case where, the downlink communication of component carrier 56B is interrupted (e.g., paused, delayed) by base station 50B by 3 symbols 210 (e.g., symbol 210B, symbol 210C, symbol 210G) before symbol 210F of component carrier 56A (e.g., the symbol allocated for uplink message 76). However, if component carrier 56B belongs to parameter set 4 (e.g., μ = 4), the downlink communication can be interrupted by 5 symbols before symbol 210F. Component carrier 56B is also shown to continue to interrupt its downlink communication for two symbols 210 (e.g., symbol 210H, symbol 210I) after symbol 210F. Once the interruption period ends, such as at time 214, substantially simultaneous downlink operations continue on component carrier 56A and / or component carrier 56B, such as using downlink communication 216 and / or downlink communication 218. Note that the transition time of the circuits of base station 50C and / or electronic device 52 for preparing for uplink message 76 can be included in symbol 210 as duration 82.

[0126] In Table 2, the update of the communication configuration for transmitting signals on component carrier 56A takes into account any delay in resuming the downlink operation of base station 50C after the end of symbol 210F, so these parameters are set to 0. However, in some cases, it may be desirable for this delay to be non-zero, so note that if needed, any number of symbols 210 after symbol 210F can be deallocated and used to further delay the downlink communication. Additionally, parameter sets 0 to 4 can correspond to New Radio (NR) and / or 5th Generation (5G) component carrier 56 (e.g., component carrier 56 is defined to operate in a frequency range associated with the NR wavelength), while parameter set 0 can correspond to Long Term Evolution (LTE) component carrier and / or 4th Generation (4G) component carrier 56 (e.g., component carrier 56 defined to operate in a frequency range associated with the LTE wavelength). Tables 2, 3, and / or 4 represent an example of the parameter sets and symbol interruption definitions that can be used when implementing a wireless network, but it should be understood that any suitable combination of symbol delays and / or communication configurations can be used.

[0127] To further elaborate on the operation of base station 50 when considering parameter sets, Figure 16FIG. 230 is a flow chart of a method 230 for operating a base station such as base station 50C to transmit and / or receive RF signals using a communication configuration adjusted based on the latency seen by the base station and based on a set of parameters associated with the base station 50 communicating with the electronic device 52. Note that although shown in a particular order, the blocks of method 230 may be executed in any suitable order and at least some blocks may be skipped entirely. As described herein, method 230 is described as being performed by base station 50C; however, it should be understood that some or all of the operations of method 230 may be performed by any suitable processing and / or control circuitry, such as one or more processors in processor 12. Note that, as described above, base station 50C uses a frequency within the frequency range of component carrier 56A to transmit messages to and / or receive messages from electronic device 52.

[0128] At block 232, base station 50C may transmit a first packet to electronic device 52 on component carrier 56A according to a first communication configuration. At block 234, base station 50C may receive an indication of a receive latency from electronic device 52 that describes the communication latency experienced by electronic device 52 between communications from at least base station 50C and base station 50B. In this way, note that electronic device 52 may transmit a maximum receive latency to base station 50C that represents the worst-case latency seen by electronic device 52 at a particular time, and / or may transmit each determined receive latency to base station 50C. Additionally, note that in some cases, base station 50C may receive one or more signals from electronic device 52, such as PRACH communications, and may use the one or more signals to determine the receive latency between the signals themselves. These embodiments described above may be aligned with some or all of the operations described with reference to other figures above.

[0129] At block 236, base station 50C may receive a first set of parameters for base station 50B and a second set of parameters for base station 50C (e.g., by retrieving from memory to determine its own set of parameters). As described above, each respective set of parameters may determine the respective frequency at which packet transmissions occur for sending packets on signals within the frequency range corresponding to the component carrier of the respective base station 50. In this way, each of base stations 50 may operate according to two frequencies: a first frequency associated with the frequency range for transmitting signals, and a second frequency associated with the speed at which additional messages are scheduled for transmission and / or the number of occurrences of symbol 210 within a set duration.

[0130] At block 238, base station 50C may generate a second communication configuration (e.g., may update the first communication configuration) based on the reception latency, the first parameter set, and the second parameter set. When generating the second communication configuration, base station 50C may refer to a look-up table stored in a memory, similar to memory 14 and / or non-volatile storage device 16, indicating the information shown in Table 1, Table 2, Table 3, and / or Table 4. In some cases, base station 50C may include a processor that executes code stored in a memory similar to memory 14 and / or non-volatile storage device 16, similar to processor 12, to traverse logical conditions to determine a suitable scheduling table for symbol 210 of component carrier 56A and / or component carrier 56B. Note that base station 50C may determine the second communication configuration such that the second communication configuration defines operations for communicating on component carrier 56A and / or component carrier 56B. However, in some cases, base station 50B may determine its own communication configuration at least partially based on the parameter set of base station 50 and / or the reception latency.

[0131] Once the second communication configuration is generated, base station 50C may transmit the second communication configuration to electronic device 52 at block 242. Electronic device 52 and / or base station 50C may apply the second communication configuration to prepare for communication without interfering with the downlink operations associated with base station 50B. After applying the second communication configuration to electronic device 52 and / or base station 50C, at block 244, base station 50C may transmit a second packet to electronic device 52 according to the second communication configuration.

[0132] In some cases, the electronic device 52 may include multiple antenna panels. Each antenna panel of the electronic device 52 may include antenna elements, an array of antenna elements, or multiple antenna arrays. Having two or more antenna panels may mean that the electronic device 52 is capable of performing uplink operations on a first component carrier while performing downlink operations on a second component carrier, or vice versa, without operation interruption (e.g., performing uplink operations and downlink operations at least partially simultaneously). Thus, the previous embodiments may be performed on an electronic device 52 having one or more antenna panels (including an electronic device 52 having only one antenna panel), while the following embodiments may be performed on an electronic device 52 having more than one antenna panel. When the electronic device 52 does not include multiple antenna panels, or when the electronic device 52 receives two or more component channels 56 using the same antenna panel, it can be said that the electronic device 52 supports non-simultaneous uplink and downlink operations, and may be considered to operate by delaying downlink communication in response to incoming uplink communication.

[0133] Figure 17 An example of the operation is provided. Figure 17FIG. is a diagram of a first electronic device 52A and a second electronic device 52B according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Both the electronic devices 52A and 52B include at least two antenna panels. The electronic device 52A illustrates an exemplary operation in which the electronic device 52A receives communications on two component carriers 56 (e.g., component carrier 56C, component carrier 56D) on the same panel, while the electronic device 52B illustrates an exemplary operation in which the electronic device 52B receives communications on a first component carrier (e.g., component carrier 56A), which may be simultaneous with communications on a second component carrier (e.g., component carrier 56B). The electronic device 52B is capable of receiving at least partially simultaneous uplink and downlink communications because the electronic device 52B receives signals on component carrier 56A on an antenna panel different from the antenna panel used to receive signals on component carrier 56B.

[0134] Note that when the electronic device 52A and / or the electronic device 52B physically moves and thus receives signals at different angles and / or with different amplitudes, the allocation of which antenna panels receive signals from which component carriers in the component carriers 56 may change. For example, the electronic device 52 may operate according to an exemplary use case corresponding to the electronic device 52A, but may move its position, and at a second time, operate according to an exemplary use case corresponding to the electronic device 52B.

[0135] To account for changes in the operating mode of the electronic device 52, such as from a simultaneous operating mode to a non-simultaneous operating mode, or vice versa, the electronic device 52 may indicate to one or more base stations 50 whether it is capable of receiving overlapping uplink and downlink communications from different component carriers. For example, the electronic device 52A may provide an indication to the base station 50A that conveys that the electronic device 52A cannot receive overlapping uplink and downlink communications from component carrier 56C and from a second component carrier 56D. However, the electronic device 52B may provide an indication to the base station 50B and / or the base station 50C that conveys that the electronic device 52B is capable of receiving at least partially overlapping uplink and downlink communications from component carrier 56A and component carrier 56B because packets on these subgroups of component carriers 56 may be received on corresponding antenna panels.

[0136] In some cases, the electronic device 52 may allow simultaneous communications on a frequency band, but not allow simultaneous communications between one or more component carriers of the frequency band. Although not specifically described, other combinations of considerations between the frequency band and / or component carriers may also be allowed. Note that these methods may be combined with any of the other methods described herein. For example, the description associated with at least Figure 17 may be combined with the operation of Figure 12 as an enhancement to further improve Figure 12Operations, such as allowing simultaneous transmit and receive operations, while also considering receive latency (e.g., MRTD) between communications from different base stations 50 or on different component carriers 56. In fact, user equipment (UE) assistance information including receive time difference information (e.g., an indication of the MRTD as seen by the electronic device 52) discussed herein can also be combined with the ability of the electronic device 52 to perform simultaneous transmit and receive operations. Such as when the electronic device 52 includes a suitable number of antenna circuits to simultaneously transmit and receive communications. The combined operations can be discussed with respect to at least Figure 18 and Figure 19 to discuss.

[0137] Accordingly, the electronic device 52 can indicate which component carriers 56 can be activated for simultaneous transmit and receive operations (e.g., simultaneous uplink and downlink operations) and / or can indicate which frequency bands including one or more component carriers 56 can be activated for simultaneous transmit and receive operations, and can indicate when the electronic device 52 can no longer support simultaneous transmit and receive operations. Additionally, the electronic device 52 can provide to the base station 50 which combination of component carriers 56 and / or frequency bands can be used to support the indication of simultaneous transmit and receive operations. The indication provided from the electronic device 52 to the base station 50 can be a flag, message, control signal, etc.

[0138] To further elaborate on the operation of the electronic device 52 in these cases, Figure 18 is a flowchart of a method 256 for operating an electronic device 52 to determine which operating mode is suitable for use when communicating with one or more base stations 50 based at least in part on the antenna panel of the electronic device 52. Note that although shown in a particular order, the blocks of method 256 can be executed in any suitable order and at least some blocks can be skipped entirely. As described herein, method 256 is described as being performed by the electronic device 52; however, it should be understood that some or all of the operations of method 256 can be performed by any suitable processing and / or control circuitry, such as one or more processors in the processor 12.

[0139] At block 258, the electronic device 52 may determine the signal strength and / or amplitude of the signals received on one or more component carriers 56 and / or the frequency bands used by one or more base stations 50 to communicate with the electronic device 52. Signal quality, thresholds (e.g., whether the signal strength is greater than a threshold amount), signal power, signal strength, other monitoring parameters, etc. may be determined by the electronic device 52 to support simultaneous transmit and receive operations within a specific frequency range at a specific antenna panel. In this way, the electronic device may monitor the component carriers 56 to determine the panel to be used for communication on one or more of the component carriers 56 (and to determine which base station 50 to communicate with). The geometry of the antenna panel may limit and / or adjust the range or geographical boundary of each antenna panel. For example, the geometry of the antenna panel may include the number and / or type of antennas, the number and / or type of antenna amplifiers, etc.

[0140] At block 260, the electronic device 52 may determine that the detected signal is greater than or equal to a threshold signal strength, thereby warranting classification of the frequency range of the signal to the antenna of the electronic device 52. The value of the threshold signal strength may be based on the sensitivity of the antenna circuitry of the antenna panel, and / or may be taken such that signals with an amplitude or signal strength of detectable noise are ignored. For example, a signal characterized by a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 0 decibels (dB) or greater may include a low enough level of noise to be detected (e.g., the threshold signal strength is equal to approximately 0 dB). In some cases, a signal characterized by an SNR between -20 dB and 0 dB may be considered greater than or equal to the threshold signal strength (e.g., where the threshold signal strength is equal to approximately -20 dB). Once classified and / or identified as having a suitable strength, the electronic device 52 may use the component carrier carrying the signal to further communicate with its corresponding base station.

[0141] When the signal is not greater than or equal to the threshold signal strength, at block 258, the electronic device 52 may repeat determining the signal strength to attempt to identify a component carrier for communication. However, when the signal is greater than or equal to the threshold signal strength, at block 262, the electronic device 52 may assign one or more antenna panels to the component carrier (e.g., frequency range) corresponding to the signal of suitable strength detected. The electronic device 52 may assign the component carriers 56 to one or more antenna panels by using any suitable method, such as by tuning the antenna panel and / or the support communication circuitry to the frequency range of one or more component carriers 56. The electronic device 52 may maintain a log indicating which antenna panel is tuned to which component carrier. The log may be stored in a memory (such as memory 14 and / or non-volatile storage device 16) and may be accessed later, such as to determine which antenna panel is assigned to multiple component carriers 56.

[0142] Once one or more antenna panels are allocated, at block 264, the electronic device 52 can determine whether any of the allocated antenna panels are shared among one or more component carriers 56 and / or frequency bands of the base station 50. In this way, the electronic device 52 can determine whether an antenna panel is allocated to a first component carrier and a second component carrier.

[0143] When the electronic device 52 determines that one or more antenna panels are not shared, at block 266, the electronic device 52 can generate an indication and transmit the indication to one or more base stations 50, which communicate that simultaneous communication is supported. The base stations 50 that receive the indication can each communicate on a frequency range not received at the same antenna panel.

[0144] However, when at block 264 the electronic device 52 determines that one or more antenna panels are shared, the electronic device 52 can transmit an indication to one or more base stations 50 at block 268, which communicate that the electronic device 52 cannot receive simultaneous communication at each corresponding shared antenna panel. The electronic device 52 can transmit the indication to each base station expected to communicate using the component carriers received by the shared antenna panel. In some cases, the electronic device 52 can identify the frequency range of the packets received when determining the signal strength at block 258, and can use the identified frequency range to transmit the indication to the base stations. The base stations 50 and / or the electronic device 52 can continue to operate according to the methods described herein, where receive latency is considered when delaying downlink operations and / or allocating uplink allocations, such as at least the methods described in FIG. 9 and / or Figure 10 as described in. Considering receive latency can allow the base stations 50 to send packets on a frequency range to an antenna panel shared by another frequency range to reduce the likelihood of overlap between downlink operations and uplink operations, thereby improving the communication operations of the wireless network.

[0145] In response to transmitting the indication at block 266 and / or block 268, the electronic device 52 can receive an updated communication configuration from one or more base stations 50 at block 270 to reconfigure the electronic device 52 as to how to communicate with one or more base stations 50. Similar to as described above, the electronic device 52 can communicate with the base stations 50 after applying the updated communication configuration to avoid any non-permissible simultaneous uplink and downlink communications, thereby improving the communication operations between the electronic device 52 and the base stations 50. When applying the updated communication configuration, the electronic device 52 can adjust the operation of its receiver and / or its transmitter.

[0146] To further elaborate on the operation of the base stations 50 when considering an indication from the electronic device 52 as to whether simultaneous (e.g., overlapping) communication between component carriers 56 is allowed, Figure 19Flowchart of method 282 for operating a base station, such as base station 50C, to communicate with an electronic device 52 at least in part based on an antenna panel of the electronic device 52, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. Note that, although shown in a particular order, the blocks of method 282 may be executed in any suitable order and at least some blocks may be skipped entirely. As described herein, method 282 is described as being executed by base station 50C; however, it should be understood that some or all of the operations of method 282 may be executed by any suitable processing and / or control circuitry, such as one or more processors in processor 12. Note that, as described above, base station 50C uses frequencies within the frequency range of component carrier 56A to transmit messages to and / or receive messages from electronic device 52.

[0147] At block 284, base station 50C receives an indication associated with communication on one or more component carriers 56 (e.g., a first component carrier, a second component carrier) from electronic device 52. The indication may be the same indication generated by electronic device 52 at block 266 and / or block 268 of method 256. At block 286, base station 50C may determine whether simultaneous transmission and / or reception is supported. In other words, base station 50C may determine whether uplink operation and downlink operation may occur at least partially simultaneously with each other. Base station 50C may interpret the transmitted voltage level and / or data as an indication to determine whether electronic device 52 is operating to permit simultaneous communication from one or more component carriers 56.

[0148] When base station 50C determines that the indication conveys that electronic device 52 is capable of handling simultaneous downlink and uplink operations, base station 50C may transmit one or more packets on component carrier 56A according to an original communication configuration (e.g., an unupdated first communication configuration) at block 288, regardless of whether overlapping downlink operations and uplink operations are expected to occur, and / or regardless of the transmission delay associated with at least one other component carrier. However, when base station 50C determines that the indication is conveying that electronic device 52 cannot handle simultaneous downlink operations and uplink operations, base station 50C may transmit one or more packets according to an updated communication configuration at block 290. The updated communication configuration may be generated using one or more of the systems and / or methods described above and may thus take into account the transmission delay when generated and applied.

[0149] In view of the above, in some cases, one or more base stations 50 may estimate the reception latency and / or have access to an indication of the reception latency for application to the communication configuration. For example, the reception latency may be hard-coded when installing one or more of the base stations 50 and may thus be accessed by the one or more processors 12 of the base station 50 in memory. In other cases, the base station 50 may include independent transceiver circuitry for sending signals to and / or receiving signals from adjacent base stations 50. Inter-base station communication may enable the base station 50 to determine the reception latency expected to be seen by the electronic device 52. This process may involve a triangulation process and / or analyzing Global Positioning Service (GPS) data associated with the physical location of the electronic device 52 relative to the physical location of the base station 50 to determine the reception latency.

[0150] In addition, it should be noted that the component carriers 56 may operate continuously in the same frequency band (e.g., referred to as in-band contiguous carrier aggregation), operate discontinuously in the same frequency band but separated by one or more frequency gaps (e.g., referred to as in-band non-contiguous carrier aggregation), and / or operate continuously in different frequency bands (e.g., inter-band carrier aggregation). The base station 50 may receive and / or transmit to downlink control information (DCI). The DCI may include information for scheduling a downlink data channel (e.g., Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH)) and / or scheduling an uplink data channel (e.g., Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH)). In addition or alternatively, the base station 50 may receive a Media Access Control protocol address (MAC address) that uniquely identifies a network interface controller (NIC), and this Media Access Control protocol address may be used as a network address in communication within a network segment, such as to identify communication to and / or from the electronic device 52. The base station 50 may use processes such as Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol procedures to transmit messages between base stations 50 of a radio network (e.g., a wireless network provided by the base station 50) and / or between electronic devices 52. In addition, the base station 50 may include an access management device that performs operations associated with the deployment of a radio network (e.g., a wireless network of a cellular service provider, a cellular network, a core network) such as an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF). The access management device may also perform operations associated with registration and / or maintain information associated with user equipment access and / or attempted access to a radio network, such as a User Plane Function (UPF). Thus, when registering the electronic device 52 to a wireless network, the access management device of each base station 50 may access the permissions associated with the SIM card of the electronic device 52.

[0151] The technical effects of the present disclosure include systems and methods for operating transceiver circuitry to transmit or receive signals within various frequency ranges. The frequency ranges can be used to define component carriers, and some electronic devices may not be able to perform simultaneous uplink operations and downlink operations. This operation of delaying the execution of downlink operations when uplink operations are to be performed can be improved by considering the delays experienced by the electronic device when receiving messages (e.g., packets) from base stations located at different distances from the electronic device on different component carriers. For example, the uplink operation assignment can be scheduled to occur at a time later than the time allowed by a previous downlink operation to improve the alignment of the uplink operation assignment with the downlink operation assignments for different component carriers.

[0152] The above specific embodiments have been shown by way of example, and it should be understood that these embodiments are susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms. It should also be understood that the claims are not intended to be limited to the specific forms disclosed, but are intended to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

[0153] The technologies described herein and claimed are recited and applied to specific examples of a physical and tangible nature, which have demonstrably improved the art, and are thus not abstract, intangible, or purely theoretical. Further, if any claim appended to the end of this specification contains one or more elements designated as "means for [performing][function]..." or "step for [performing][function]...", those elements shall be construed in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f). However, for any claim that contains elements designated in any other manner, those elements shall not be construed in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f).

Claims

1. A user equipment, the user equipment comprising: An antenna circuit including a first part and a second part A transmitter coupled to the antenna circuit; A receiver coupled to the antenna circuit; And A processing circuit communicatively coupled to the transmitter and the receiver, wherein the processing circuit is configured to: Operate the receiver to receive signals on two or more component carriers; Determine the signal strength of the received signals; Tune the antenna circuit at least in part based on the signal strength by: Allocating a first component carrier of the two or more component carriers to the first part of the antenna circuit; Allocating a second component carrier of the two or more component carriers to the second part of the antenna circuit; Based on allocating the first component carrier to the first part of the antenna circuit and allocating the second component carrier to the second part of the antenna circuit, determine that simultaneous uplink operation and downlink operation are allowed; Operate the antenna circuit to transmit a first indication that the simultaneous uplink operation and downlink operation are allowed; And While operating the first part of the antenna circuit to receive a first signal via the first component carrier, operate the second part of the antenna circuit to transmit a second signal via the second component carrier.

2. The user equipment according to claim 1, wherein the processing circuit is configured to: Determine that the first network node corresponds to the first component carrier and the second network node corresponds to the second component carrier; And At least by the following operations, while operating the first part of the antenna circuit to receive the first signal via the first component carrier, operate the second part of the antenna circuit to transmit the second signal via the second component carrier: Operate the first part of the antenna circuit to receive the first signal from the first network node via the first component carrier for a first duration; And Operate the second part of the antenna circuit to transmit the second signal to the second network node via the second component carrier for a second duration, wherein the first duration overlaps with the second duration.

3. The user equipment according to claim 1, wherein the first part of the antenna circuit corresponds to a first antenna panel, and wherein the second part of the antenna circuit corresponds to a second antenna panel.

4. The user equipment according to claim 3, wherein the second component carrier is associated with a second base station, and the first component carrier is associated with a first base station.

5. A method, the method comprising: Receiving an indication from a first network node via a first component carrier of two or more component carriers and receiving an indication from a second network node via a second component carrier of the two or more component carriers via a processing circuit of an electronic device configured to operate an antenna circuit; Operating a receiver via the processing circuit to receive signals on the two or more component carriers; Determining that the signal strength of the received signals is greater than a threshold amount; Tuning the antenna circuit at least in part based on the signal strength by: Via the processing circuit, allocate the first component carrier to a first part of the antenna circuit; Via the processing circuit, allocate the second component carrier to a second part of the antenna circuit; Via the processing circuit, based on allocating the first component carrier to the first part of the antenna circuit and allocating the second component carrier to the second part of the antenna circuit, determine that simultaneous uplink operation and downlink operation are allowed; Via the processing circuit, operate the antenna circuit to transmit a first indication that the simultaneous uplink operation and downlink operation are allowed; Via the processing circuit, operate the first part of the antenna circuit to receive at least a first signal from the first network node via the first component carrier at a first time; And Via the processing circuit, operate the second part of the antenna circuit to transmit at least a second signal to the second network node via the second component carrier at the first time.

6. The method according to claim 5, comprising receiving a first communication configuration configured to cause the processing circuit to operate the antenna circuit continuously in the first component carrier and the second component carrier in the same frequency band, operate the antenna circuit discontinuously in the first component carrier and the second component carrier in the same frequency band, or operate the antenna circuit in the first component carrier and the second component carrier in different frequency bands, wherein the first component carrier is associated with a transmission from a first base station and wherein the second component carrier is associated with a transmission from a second base station.

7. The method according to claim 5, wherein both the first component carrier and the second component carrier are associated with a transmission from the same base station.

8. The method according to claim 7, comprising: Via the processing circuit, transmit the first indication to the base station.

9. The method according to claim 5, wherein the first component carrier uses a first frequency range to transmit the first signal, and wherein the second component carrier uses a second frequency range different from the first frequency range to transmit the second signal.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the first frequency range and the second frequency range are frequency ranges between 24 gigahertz and 48 gigahertz.

11. The method according to claim 5, comprising: Based on allocating the first part of the antenna circuit to the first component carrier, tune the first part of the antenna circuit from a third component carrier to the first component carrier.

12. The method according to claim 5, the method comprising: Via the processing circuit, receive a third communication configuration via the second component carrier; Via the processing circuit, apply the third communication configuration to replace a second communication configuration corresponding to the second component carrier; and Via the processing circuit, receive a third signal via the second component carrier according to the third communication configuration.

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