Power management for user equipment in multi-radio connectivity mode or carrier aggregation mode

Abstract

The UE may send a message in response to detecting a power-related condition to direct the primary node to release the secondary node. The message may include a message reporting a radio link failure of the secondary node, or if a channel quality indicator is configured for at least some of the secondary cells of the secondary node, a message reporting a low CQI value may be included so that the network can stop scheduling on such cells. Alternatively, in carrier aggregation (CA) mode, in the case where the UE is connected to a single node including a primary cell and one or more secondary cells, the UE may not control which and how many secondary cells it communicates with. In such a scenario, if such secondary cells are configured for channel quality indicator reporting, the UE may report a low CQI value so that the node will stop scheduling data on such cells.

Description

[0001] Related and co-pending applications

[0002] This patent application claims the benefit of non-provisional application No. 16 / 861,928, filed on April 29, 2020, entitled “POWER MANAGEMENT FOR A USER EQUIPMENT IN A MULTI-RADIO CONNECTIVITY MODE OR CARRIER AGGREGATION MODE”, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62 / 841,738, filed on May 1, 2019, entitled “POWER MANAGEMENT FOR AUSER EQUIPMENT IN A MULTI-RADIO CONNECTIVITY MODE OR CARRIER AGGREGATION MODE”, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62 / 841,738, filed on October 18, 2019, entitled “POWER MANAGEMENT FOR AUSER EQUIPMENT IN A MULTI-RADIO CONNECTIVITY MODE OR CARRIER AGGREGATION MODE Priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62 / 923,344 entitled "POWER MANAGEMENT FOR USER EQUIPMENT IN MULTI-RADIO CONNECTIVITY MODE OR CARRIER AGGREGATION MODE" which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

[0003] background

[0004] field

[0005] The present application relates to power management of a user equipment (UE) in a multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC) scenario, such as an evolved universal terrestrial radio access (E-UTRA) new radio (NR) dual connectivity (EN-DC) scenario. Background Art

[0006] As New Radio (NR) networks begin to be deployed, it is expected that the first networks and devices will be classified as non-standalone (NSA). NR is also commonly referred to as 5G. NSA networks and devices will be supported by existing E-TURA (also known as LTE or 4G) infrastructure. When operating in NSA mode, 5G devices can, for example, connect to the NR network to obtain data throughput improvements and can use LTE for low throughput and / or non-data duties.

[0007] It is expected that many applications may eventually migrate to 5G standalone (SA) operation. Although SA operation brings improvements in simplicity and efficiency compared to NSA operation, many applications may still use NSA even after SA deployment. For example, in the case where full NR network deployment is too expensive, the NSA mode may still be important even when 5G matures and SA has been deployed in other environments. In this way, even in the long term, improvements to power management in NSA multi-radio connectivity scenarios will continue to be useful.

[0008] In NSA MR-DC scenarios (such as EN-DC), a UE may utilize resources provided by two different nodes to increase the time, frequency, and other resources available to the UE for communication. For example, one node may provide NR access and another node may provide E-UTRA or NR access.

[0009] Overview

[0010] In one aspect, a method for reducing power consumption of a user equipment (UE) may include: entering, by the UE, a multi-radio connectivity mode in which the UE is capable of receiving user data from a primary node or a secondary node, wherein the primary node controls the connection of the UE to the secondary node in the multi-radio connectivity mode; detecting, by the UE, a power-related condition of the UE; and sending a message from the UE to the primary node to indicate to the primary node to release the connection of the UE to the secondary node, at least in part in response to detecting the power-related condition of the UE. The method may further include: reducing the power of one or more components associated with receiving a transmission from the secondary node. The method may further include: muting actual measurements of signals associated with the secondary node, at least in part in response to detecting the power-related condition of the UE. The method may further include: detecting that the power-related condition of the UE has been alleviated; and unmuting actual measurements of signals associated with the secondary node, at least in part in response to detecting that the power-related condition of the UE has been alleviated. The power-related condition of the UE may include: a battery state of charge of a battery of the UE drops below a battery state of charge threshold; a battery voltage of a battery of the UE drops below a battery voltage threshold; a temperature reading of the UE exceeds a temperature threshold; or any combination thereof.

[0011] In another aspect, a user equipment (UE) may include: a sensor, a transceiver, a memory, and a processor in communication with the sensor, the transceiver, and the memory. The processor may be configured to: enter a multi-radio connectivity mode in which the UE is capable of receiving user data from a primary node or a secondary node, wherein the primary node controls the multi-radio connectivity mode; receive a signal indicating a power-related condition of the UE from a sensor; and send a message to the primary node via the transceiver to indicate to the primary node to release the connection of the UE to the secondary node, at least in part in response to receiving the signal indicating the power-related condition of the UE. In various aspects, the sensor may be a battery charge sensor, a battery voltage sensor, and / or a temperature sensor.

[0012] On the other hand, a device for reducing power consumption of a user equipment (UE) may include: a device for entering a multi-radio connectivity mode in which the UE is capable of receiving user data from a primary node or a secondary node, wherein the primary node controls the multi-radio connectivity mode; a device for detecting a power-related condition of the UE; and a device for sending a message from the UE to the primary node to indicate to the primary node to release the connection of the UE to the secondary node in response to at least partially detecting the power-related condition of the UE. The device may further include: a device for reducing the power of one or more components associated with receiving a transmission from the secondary node. The device may further include: a device for silencing actual measurements of signals associated with the secondary node in response to at least partially detecting the power-related condition of the UE. The device may further include: a device for detecting that the power-related condition of the UE has been alleviated; and a device for cancelling the actual measurements of signals associated with the secondary node in response to at least partially detecting that the power-related condition of the UE has been alleviated.

[0013] In another aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium stores code for reducing power consumption of a user equipment (UE). The code includes instructions executable by one or more processors of the UE. The instructions may instruct the one or more processors to perform the following operations: enter a multi-radio connectivity mode in which the UE is capable of receiving user data from a primary node or a secondary node, wherein the primary node controls the multi-radio connectivity mode; detect a power-related condition of the UE; and send a message from the UE to the primary node to indicate to the primary node to release the connection of the UE to the secondary node, at least in part in response to detecting the power-related condition of the UE.

[0014] On the other hand, a method for reducing power consumption of a user equipment (UE) may include: entering, by the UE, a multi-radio connectivity mode in which the UE is capable of receiving user data from a primary node or a secondary node, wherein the primary node controls the connection of the UE to the secondary node in the multi-radio connectivity mode, and the secondary node includes one or more secondary cells; detecting, by the UE, a power-related condition of the UE; and sending a message at least partially in response to detecting the power-related condition of the UE. The UE may send a message to the primary node to indicate to the primary node to release the connection of the UE to the secondary node, or the UE may send a message to the secondary node to indicate to the secondary node to stop scheduling on at least one secondary cell configured on the secondary node. The method may further include: determining, by the UE, whether each of the one or more secondary cells configured on the secondary node is a CQI-configured secondary cell configured with a channel quality indicator (CQI). In some implementations, sending a message to indicate to the secondary node to stop scheduling on at least one secondary cell configured on the secondary node includes reporting a CQI value of zero (0) at least once for at least some CQI configurations of the secondary cell.

[0015] On the other hand, a user equipment (UE) may include a sensor, a transceiver, a memory, and a processor in communication with the sensor, the transceiver, and the memory. The processor may be configured to: enter a multi-radio connectivity mode in which the UE is capable of receiving user data from a primary node or a secondary node, wherein the primary node controls the multi-radio connectivity mode and the secondary node includes one or more secondary cells; receive a signal indicating a power-related condition of the UE from a sensor; and perform the following operations at least in part in response to receiving the signal indicating the power-related condition of the UE: send a message to the primary node via the transceiver to indicate to the primary node to release the connection of the UE to the secondary node, or send a message to the secondary node via the transceiver to indicate to the secondary node to stop scheduling on at least one secondary cell configured on the secondary node.

[0016] On the other hand, a device for reducing power consumption of a user equipment (UE) may include: a device for entering a multi-radio connectivity mode, in which the UE is capable of receiving user data from a primary node or a secondary node, wherein the primary node controls the multi-radio connectivity mode and the secondary node includes one or more secondary cells; a device for detecting a power-related condition of the UE; and a device for performing the following operations at least partially in response to detecting the power-related condition of the UE: sending a message from the UE to the primary node to instruct the primary node to release the connection of the UE to the secondary node, or sending a message from the UE to the secondary node to instruct the secondary node to stop scheduling on at least one secondary cell configured on the secondary node.

[0017] On the other hand, a non-transitory computer-readable medium stores code for reducing power consumption of a user equipment (UE). The code includes instructions executable by one or more processors of the UE. These instructions may instruct the one or more processors to perform the following operations: enter a multi-radio connectivity mode in which the UE can receive user data from a master node or a slave node, wherein the master node controls the multi-radio connectivity mode and the slave node includes one or more secondary cellular cells; detect a power-related condition of the UE; and perform the following operations at least in part in response to detecting the power-related condition of the UE: send a message from the UE to the master node to indicate to the master node to release the connection of the UE to the secondary node, or send a message from the UE to the secondary node to indicate to the secondary node to stop scheduling on at least one secondary cellular cell configured on the secondary node.

[0018] In one aspect, a method for reducing power consumption of a user equipment (UE) may include: entering, by the UE, a carrier aggregation mode in which the UE is capable of receiving data from a node including a primary cell and one or more secondary cells; detecting, by the UE, a power-related condition of the UE; determining, by the UE, whether each of the one or more secondary cells is a CQI-configured secondary cell configured with a channel quality indicator (CQI); sending a message to the node to instruct the node to stop scheduling on the at least one secondary cell configured on the node, at least in part in response to detecting the power-related condition of the UE and based on determining that at least one secondary cell configured on the node is a CQI-configured secondary cell; and stopping communication with a network, at least in part in response to detecting the power-related condition of the UE and based on determining that no secondary cell in the node is a CQI-configured secondary cell.

[0019] In another aspect, a user equipment (UE) includes a sensor, a transceiver, a memory, and a processor in communication with the sensor, the transceiver, and the memory. The processor may be configured to: enter a carrier aggregation mode in which the UE is capable of receiving data from a node including a primary cell and one or more secondary cells; receive a signal from the sensor indicating a power-related condition of the UE; determine whether each of the one or more secondary cells is a CQI-configured secondary cell configured with a channel quality indicator (CQI); send a message to the node via the transceiver to indicate to the node to stop scheduling on at least one secondary cell configured on the node at least in part in response to receiving the signal indicating the power-related condition of the UE and based on determining that at least one secondary cell configured on the node is a CQI-configured secondary cell; and stop communicating with a network at least in part in response to receiving the signal indicating the power-related condition of the UE and based on determining that no secondary cell in the node is a CQI-configured secondary cell.

[0020] In another aspect, an apparatus for reducing power consumption of a user equipment (UE) may include: means for entering, by the UE, a carrier aggregation mode in which the UE is capable of receiving data from a node including a primary cell and one or more secondary cells; means for detecting, by the UE, a power-related condition of the UE; determining, by the UE, whether each of the one or more secondary cells is a CQI-configured secondary cell configured with a channel quality indicator (CQI); means for sending a message to the node to instruct the node to stop scheduling on the at least one secondary cell configured on the node, at least in part in response to detecting the power-related condition of the UE and based on determining that at least one secondary cell configured on the node is a CQI-configured secondary cell; and means for stopping communication with a network, at least in part in response to detecting the power-related condition of the UE and based on determining that no secondary cell in the node is a CQI-configured secondary cell.

[0021] In another aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium stores code for reducing power consumption of a user equipment (UE). The code includes instructions executable by one or more processors of the UE. The instructions may instruct the one or more processors to perform the following operations: enter a carrier aggregation mode by the UE, in which the UE is capable of receiving data from a node including a primary cell and one or more secondary cells; detect a power-related condition of the UE by the UE; determine by the UE whether each of the one or more secondary cells is a CQI-configured secondary cell configured with a channel quality indicator (CQI); send a message to the node at least in part in response to detecting the power-related condition of the UE and based on determining that at least one secondary cell configured on the node is a CQI-configured secondary cell to indicate to the node to stop scheduling on the at least one secondary cell; and stop communicating with a network at least in part in response to detecting the power-related condition of the UE and based on determining that no secondary cell in the node is a CQI-configured secondary cell. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] Figure 1A and 1B

[0013] An example of a wireless communication system in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0024] Figure 2A and 2B A sample flow diagram is illustrated in which a user equipment (UE) is connected in Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) New Radio (NR) Dual Connectivity (EN-DC) mode and detects a power-related condition while in EN-DC mode.

[0025] Figure 3 A sample flow diagram is illustrated where a UE is not in EN-DC mode and the LTE network detects a power-related condition before attempting to add a secondary node (SN) in an EN-DC scenario.

[0026] Figure 4 An example method for reducing power consumption of a multi-radio connectivity UE is illustrated.

[0027] Figure 5 An example method for reducing power consumption of a UE is illustrated.

[0028] Figure 6 A diagram of a system including a device supporting power saving of a multi-radio connectivity UE in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0029] Detailed Description

[0030] Figure 1A and 1BAn example of a wireless communication system supporting power saving of multiple connectivity UEs according to various aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. Figure 1A . The wireless communication system 100 includes a base station 105, a UE 115, and a core network 130. In some examples, the wireless communication system 100 may be a long term evolution (LTE) network, an advanced LTE (LTE-A) network, a new radio (NR) network, or a combination thereof. The wireless communication system 100 may support power saving for a multi-connectivity UE by configuring the UE to disable functionality associated with one of two or more nodes to which the UE can connect in one or more scenarios. In some cases, the wireless communication system 100 may support enhanced broadband communications, ultra-reliable (e.g., mission-critical) communications, low latency communications, or communications with low-cost and low-complexity devices.

[0031] The base station 105 may communicate wirelessly with the UE 115 via one or more base station antennas. The base station 105 described herein may include or may be referred to by those skilled in the art as a base transceiver station, a radio base station, an access point, a radio transceiver, a Node B, an evolved Node B (eNB), a next generation Node B, or a Gigabit Node B (any of which may be referred to as a gNB), a Home Node B, a Home Evolved Node B, or some other suitable terminology. The wireless communication system 100 may include different types of base stations 105 (e.g., macro base stations or small cell base stations). The UE 115 described herein may be able to communicate with various types of base stations 105 and network equipment (including macro eNBs, small cell eNBs, gNBs, relay base stations, etc.).

[0032] Each base station 105 may be associated with a particular geographic coverage area 120 in which it supports communications with various UEs 115. Each base station 105 may provide communications coverage for a respective geographic coverage area 120 via a communications link 125, and the communications link 125 between the base station 105 and the UE 115 may utilize one or more carriers. The communications link 125 shown in the wireless communication system 100 may include an uplink transmission from the UE 115 to the base station 105, or a downlink transmission from the base station 105 to the UE 115. Downlink transmissions may also be referred to as forward link transmissions, and uplink transmissions may also be referred to as reverse link transmissions.

[0033] The geographic coverage area 120 of the base station 105 may be divided into sectors that constitute only a portion of the geographic coverage area 120, and each sector may be associated with a cell. For example, each base station 105 may provide communication coverage for a macro cell, a small cell, a hotspot, or other types of cells, or various combinations thereof. In some examples, the base station 105 may be mobile and thus provide communication coverage for a mobile geographic coverage area 120. In some examples, different geographic coverage areas 120 associated with different technologies may overlap, and the overlapping geographic coverage areas 120 associated with different technologies may be supported by the same base station 105 or different base stations 105. For example, the same base station 105 or different base stations 105 may be configured to communicate using multiple radio access technologies (RATs) (such as 5G NR and 4G LTE) at the same time, and the coverage areas 120 associated with the multiple RATs may overlap completely or partially. The wireless communication system 100 may include, for example, a heterogeneous LTE / LTE-A, or NR network in which different types of base stations 105 provide coverage for various geographic coverage areas 120.

[0034] The term "cell" refers to a logical communication entity for communicating with a base station 105 (e.g., on a carrier), and may be associated with an identifier to distinguish adjacent cells operating via the same or different carriers (e.g., a physical cell identifier (PCID), a virtual cell identifier (VCID)). In some examples, a carrier may support multiple cells, and different cells may be configured according to different protocol types that may provide access to different types of devices (e.g., machine type communication (MTC), narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) or other). In some cases, the term "cell" may refer to a portion (e.g., a sector) of a geographic coverage area 120 on which a logical entity operates. In addition, a single physical base station 105 may be associated with more than one cell. For example, one cell may be associated with a primary node (and may be referred to as a PCell), while another cell may be associated with a secondary node (and may be referred to as a PSCell). In some implementations, both the PCell and the PSCell may have equipment installed on the same base station 105. In one example, the PCell may be an LTE cell associated with the base station 105, and the PSCell may be an NR cell associated with the same base station 105. In another example, the PCell may be an NR cell operating in a first frequency range, and the PSCell may also be an NR cell but operating in a second frequency range different from the first frequency range, and both cells may be associated with the same base station 105.

[0035] Each UE 115 can be dispersed throughout the wireless communication system 100, and each UE 115 can be stationary or mobile. UE 115 can also be referred to as a mobile device, a wireless device, a remote device, a handheld device, or a subscriber device, or some other suitable term, wherein "device" can also be referred to as a unit, a station, a terminal, or a client. UE 115 can also be a personal electronic device, such as a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a tablet computer, a laptop computer, or a personal computer. In some examples, UE 115 can also refer to a wireless local loop (WLL) station, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, an Internet of Everything (IoE) device, or an MTC device, etc., which can be implemented in various items such as electrical appliances, vehicles, meters, etc.

[0036] Some UEs 115, such as MTC or IoT devices, may be low-cost or low-complexity devices and may provide automated communication between machines (e.g., via machine-to-machine (M2M) communication). M2M communication or MTC may refer to data communication technology that allows devices to communicate with each other or with a base station 105 without human intervention. In some examples, M2M communication or MTC may include communication from devices that integrate sensors or meters to measure or capture information and relay the information to a central server or application, which may utilize the information or present the information to a person interacting with the program or application. Some UEs 115 may be designed to collect information or implement automated behavior of machines. Examples of applications for MTC devices include: smart metering, inventory monitoring, water level monitoring, equipment monitoring, health care monitoring, field survival monitoring, weather and geographic event monitoring, queue management and tracking, remote security sensing, physical access control, and transaction-based commercial charging.

[0037] Some UEs 115 may be configured to employ a reduced power consumption mode of operation, such as half-duplex communication (e.g., a mode that supports one-way communication via transmission or reception but not simultaneous transmission and reception). In some examples, half-duplex communication may be performed with a reduced peak rate. Other power saving techniques for UE 115 include entering a power saving "deep sleep" mode when not engaged in active communications, or operating over limited bandwidth (e.g., in accordance with narrowband communications). Additionally or alternatively, the UE may employ a power saving mode as described herein with reference to Figure 2A , 2B , 3, and 4. In some cases, the UE 115 may be designed to support critical functions (eg, mission-critical functions), and the wireless communication system 100 may be configured to provide ultra-reliable communications for these functions.

[0038] In some cases, UE 115 may also be able to communicate directly with other UE 115 (e.g., using a peer-to-peer (P2P) or device-to-device (D2D) protocol). One or more UEs in a group of UEs 115 utilizing D2D communication may be within a geographic coverage area 120 of a base station 105. Other UEs 115 in such a group may be outside the geographic coverage area 120 of the base station 105, or may not be able to receive transmissions from the base station 105 for other reasons. In some cases, each group of UEs 115 communicating via D2D communication may utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system, in which each UE 115 transmits to each other UE 115 in the group. In some cases, the base station 105 facilitates the scheduling of resources for D2D communication. In other cases, D2D communication is performed between each UE 115 without involving the base station 105.

[0039] Each base station 105 can communicate with the core network 130 and with each other. For example, the base station 105 can interface with the core network 130 via a backhaul link 132 (e.g., via S1 or other interface). The base stations 105 can communicate with each other directly (e.g., directly between each base station 105) or indirectly (e.g., via the core network 130) on a backhaul link 134 (e.g., via X2 or other interface).

[0040] The core network 130 may provide user authentication, access authorization, tracking, Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity, and other access, routing, or mobility functions. The core network 130 may be an evolved packet core (EPC), which may include at least one mobility management entity (MME), at least one serving gateway (S-GW), and at least one packet data network (PDN) gateway (P-GW). The MME may manage non-access layer (e.g., control plane) functions such as mobility, authentication, and bearer management of UEs 115 served by base stations 105 associated with the EPC. User IP packets may be delivered through the S-GW, which itself may be connected to the P-GW. The P-GW may provide IP address allocation and other functions. The P-GW may be connected to network operator IP services. Operator IP services may include access to the Internet, an intranet, an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS), or packet switched (PS) streaming services.

[0041] At least some network devices (such as base stations 105) may include subcomponents, such as access network entities, which may be examples of access node controllers (ANCs). Each access network entity may communicate with each UE 115 through a number of other access network transport entities, which may be referred to as radio heads, smart radio heads, or transmission / reception points (TRPs). In some configurations, the various functions of each access network entity or base station 105 may be distributed across various network devices (e.g., radio heads and access network controllers) or merged into a single network device (e.g., base station 105).

[0042] The wireless communication system 100 may operate using one or more frequency bands, typically in the range of 300 MHz to 300 GHz. In general, the 300 MHz to 3 GHz region is referred to as the ultra-high frequency (UHF) region or decimeter band because the wavelengths are in the range of from about 1 decimeter to 1 meter long. UHF waves may be blocked or redirected by buildings and environmental features. However, the waves may penetrate various structures sufficiently for macro cells to provide services to UEs 115 located indoors. Transmissions using UHF waves may be associated with smaller antennas and shorter ranges (e.g., less than 100 km) compared to transmissions using lower frequencies and longer waves in the high frequency (HF) or very high frequency (VHF) portions of the spectrum below 300 MHz.

[0043] The wireless communication system 100 may also operate in the very high frequency (SHF) region using frequency bands from 3 GHz to 30 GHz, also known as centimeter bands. The SHF region includes frequency bands that may be opportunistically used by devices that can tolerate interference from other users, such as the 5 GHz Industrial, Scientific, and Medical (ISM) band.

[0044] The wireless communication system 100 may also operate in an extremely high frequency (EHF) region of the spectrum (e.g., from 30 GHz to 300 GHz), which is also referred to as a millimeter band. In some examples, the wireless communication system 100 may support millimeter wave (mmW) communications between the UE 115 and the base station 105, and the EHF antennas of the corresponding devices may be even smaller and more closely spaced than the UHF antennas. In some cases, this may facilitate the use of antenna arrays within the UE 115 (e.g., for multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) operations (such as spatial multiplexing), or for directional beamforming). However, the propagation of EHF transmissions may be subject to even greater atmospheric attenuation and shorter range than SHF or UHF transmissions. The technology disclosed herein may be employed across transmissions using one or more different frequency regions, and the use of frequency bands specified across these frequency regions may vary by country or regulatory agency.

[0045] In some cases, the wireless communication system 100 may utilize both licensed and unlicensed radio frequency spectrum bands. For example, the wireless communication system 100 may adopt LTE license assisted access (LTE-LAA), or LTE unlicensed (LTE-U) radio access technology, or NR technology in an unlicensed band (such as a 5GHz ISM band). When operating in an unlicensed radio frequency spectrum band, wireless devices (such as base stations 105 and UE 115) may adopt a listen-before-talk (LBT) procedure to ensure that the frequency channel is clear before transmitting data. In some cases, operations in unlicensed bands may be based on CA configuration in coordination with component carriers (CCs) operating in licensed bands. Operations in unlicensed spectrum may include downlink transmissions, uplink transmissions, peer-to-peer transmissions, or a combination of these. Duplexing in unlicensed spectrum may be based on frequency division duplexing (FDD), time division duplexing (TDD), or a combination of the two.

[0046] In some cases, the antennas of a base station 105 or a UE 115 may be located within one or more antennas or antenna arrays that may support MIMO operations (such as spatial multiplexing) or transmit or receive beamforming. For example, one or more base station antennas or antenna arrays may be co-located at an antenna assembly (such as an antenna tower). In some cases, the antennas or antenna arrays associated with a base station 105 may be located at different geographic locations. A base station 105 may have an antenna array having several rows and columns of antenna ports that the base station 105 may use to support beamforming for communications with a UE 115. Likewise, a UE 115 may have one or more antenna arrays that may support various MIMO or beamforming operations.

[0047] A MIMO wireless system uses a transmission scheme between a transmitting device (e.g., a base station 105) and a receiving device (e.g., a UE 115), wherein both the transmitting device and the receiving device are equipped with multiple antennas. MIMO communication may employ multipath signal propagation to increase the utilization of the radio frequency spectrum band by transmitting or receiving different signals (which may be referred to as spatial multiplexing) via different spatial paths. For example, the transmitting device may transmit different signals via different antennas or different antenna combinations. Similarly, the receiving device may receive different signals via different antennas or different antenna combinations. Each of the different signals may be referred to as a separate spatial stream, and different antennas or different antenna combinations at a given device (e.g., orthogonal resources associated with a spatial dimension of the device) may be referred to as spatial layers.

[0048] Beamforming (which may also be referred to as spatial filtering, directional transmission, or directional reception) is a signal processing technique that may be used at a transmitting device or a receiving device (e.g., a base station 105 or a UE 115) to shape or steer an antenna beam (e.g., a transmit beam or a receive beam) along a direction between the transmitting device and the receiving device. Beamforming may be achieved by combining signals communicated via antenna elements of an antenna array so that signals propagating at a particular orientation relative to the antenna array experience constructive interference, while other signals experience destructive interference. Adjustments to signals communicated via antenna elements may include the transmitting device or the receiving device applying a particular phase shift, timing advance / delay, or amplitude adjustment to the signal carried via each antenna element associated with the device. The adjustments associated with each antenna element may be defined by a set of beamforming weights associated with a particular orientation (e.g., relative to the antenna array of the transmitting device or the receiving device, or relative to some other orientation).

[0049] In one example, the base station 105 may use multiple antennas or antenna arrays to perform beamforming operations for directional communication with the UE 115. For example, a signal may be transmitted multiple times in different directions, which may include the signal being transmitted according to different beamforming weight sets associated with different transmission directions. A receiving device (e.g., UE 115, which may be an example of a mmW receiving device) may try multiple receive beams when receiving various signals (such as synchronization signals, or other control signals) from the base station 105. For example, the receiving device may try multiple receive directions by receiving via different antenna subarrays, processing the received signal according to different antenna subarrays, receiving according to different receive beamforming weight sets applied to signals received at multiple antenna elements of an antenna array, or processing the received signal according to different receive beamforming weight sets applied to signals received at multiple antenna elements of an antenna array, any of which may be referred to as "listening" according to different receive beams or receive directions.

[0050] In some cases, the wireless communication system 100 can be a packet-based network that operates according to a layered protocol stack. In the user plane, the communication of the bearer or packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer can be based on IP. In some cases, the radio link control (RLC) layer can perform packet segmentation and reorganization to communicate on the logical channel. The media access control (MAC) layer can perform priority handling and multiplex the logical channel into the transport channel. The MAC layer can also use hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) to provide retransmission of the MAC layer, thereby improving link efficiency. In the control plane, the radio resource control (RRC) protocol layer can provide the establishment, configuration and maintenance of the RRC connection of the radio bearer supporting user plane data between the UE 115 and the base station 105 or the core network 130. At the physical (PHY) layer, the transport channel can be mapped to the physical channel.

[0051] In some cases, UE 115 and base station 105 may support retransmission of data to increase the likelihood that the data is successfully received. HARQ feedback is a technique that increases the likelihood of correctly receiving data on communication link 125. HARQ may include a combination of error detection (e.g., using cyclic redundancy check (CRC)), forward error correction (FEC), and retransmission (e.g., automatic repeat request (ARQ)). HARQ can improve the throughput of the MAC layer in poor radio conditions (e.g., signal-to-noise ratio conditions). In some cases, a wireless device may support simultaneous slot HARQ feedback, where the device may provide HARQ feedback in a specific time slot for data received in a previous symbol in the time slot. In other cases, the device may provide HARQ feedback in a subsequent time slot or according to some other time interval.

[0052] The time interval in LTE or NR can be expressed in multiples of the basic time unit (which may, for example, refer to a sampling period Ts=1 / 30,720,000 seconds). The time interval of the communication resource may be organized according to radio frames each having a duration of 10 milliseconds (Tf=307200*Ts). The radio frame may be identified by a system frame number (SFN) ranging from 0 to 1023. Each frame may include 10 subframes numbered from 0 to 9, and each subframe may have a duration of 1 millisecond. The subframe may be further divided into 2 time slots each having a duration of 0.5 milliseconds, and each time slot may contain 6 or 7 modulation codeword periods (for example, depending on the length of the cyclic prefix added before each codeword period). Excluding the cyclic prefix, each codeword period may contain 2048 sampling periods. In some cases, a subframe may be the smallest scheduling unit of the wireless communication system 100 and may be referred to as a transmission time interval (TTI). In other cases, the minimum scheduling unit of the wireless communication system 100 may be shorter than a subframe or may be dynamically selected (e.g., in a burst of shortened TTI (sTTI) or in selected component carriers using sTTI).

[0053] In some wireless communication systems, a time slot may be further divided into a plurality of mini-slots containing one or more symbols, and in some instances, a symbol of a mini-slot or a mini-slot may be the minimum scheduling unit. For example, each symbol may vary in duration depending on the subcarrier spacing or the operating frequency band. Some wireless communication systems may implement time slot aggregation, where multiple time slots or mini-slots may be aggregated together for communication between UE 115 and base station 105.

[0054] A resource element may include one symbol period (e.g., the duration of one modulation symbol) and one subcarrier (e.g., a 15kHz frequency range). A resource block may include 12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain (e.g., collectively forming a "carrier"), and for a normal cyclic prefix in each orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol, 7 consecutive OFDM symbol periods in the time domain (1 time slot), or a total of 84 resource elements across the frequency domain and the time domain. The number of bits carried by each resource element may depend on the modulation scheme (the modulation symbol configuration that may be applied during each symbol period). Thus, the more resource elements a UE 115 receives and the higher the modulation scheme (e.g., the more bits that can be represented by a modulation symbol according to a given modulation scheme), the higher the data rate of the UE 115 can be. In a MIMO system, wireless communication resources may refer to a combination of radio frequency spectrum band resources, time resources, and spatial resources (e.g., spatial layers), and the use of multiple spatial layers may further increase the data rate of communication with the UE 115.

[0055] The term "carrier" refers to a set of radio frequency spectrum resources having a defined organizational structure for supporting uplink or downlink communications on communication link 125. For example, a carrier of communication link 125 may include a portion of a radio frequency spectrum band (also referred to as a frequency channel). In some examples, a carrier may be composed of multiple subcarriers (e.g., multiple waveform signals of different frequencies). A carrier may be organized to include multiple physical channels, each of which may carry user data, control information, or other signaling.

[0056] The organizational structure of a carrier may be different for different radio access technologies (e.g., LTE, LTE-A, NR, etc.). For example, communications on a carrier may be organized according to TTIs or time slots, each of which may include user data and control information or signaling to support decoding of the user data. A carrier may also include dedicated acquisition signaling (e.g., synchronization signals or system information, etc.) and control signaling to coordinate carrier operations. In some examples (e.g., in a carrier aggregation configuration), a carrier may also have acquisition signaling or control signaling to coordinate the operations of other carriers.

[0057] Physical channels may be multiplexed on a carrier according to various techniques. Physical control channels and physical data channels may be multiplexed on a downlink carrier, for example, using a time division multiplexing (TDM) technique, a frequency division multiplexing (FDM) technique, or a hybrid TDM-FDM technique. In some examples, control information transmitted in a physical control channel may be distributed in a cascaded manner between different control regions (e.g., between a common control region or a common search space and one or more UE-specific control regions or UE-specific search spaces).

[0058] A carrier may be associated with a specific bandwidth of a radio frequency spectrum, and in some examples, the carrier bandwidth may be referred to as the "system bandwidth" of the carrier or wireless communication system 100. For example, the carrier bandwidth may be one of several predetermined bandwidths of a carrier of a specific radio access technology (e.g., 1.4, 3, 5, 10, 15, or 20 MHz). In some examples, the system bandwidth may refer to the smallest bandwidth unit used to schedule communications between a base station 105 and a UE 115. In other examples, a base station 105 or a UE 115 may also support communications on a carrier having a bandwidth smaller than the system bandwidth. In such examples, the system bandwidth may be referred to as a "wideband" bandwidth, and the smaller bandwidth may be referred to as a "narrowband" bandwidth. In some examples of the wireless communication system 100, broadband communications may be performed based on a 20 MHz carrier bandwidth, and narrowband communications may be performed based on a 1.4 MHz carrier bandwidth.

[0059] A device (e.g., a base station or UE 115) of the wireless communication system 100 may have a hardware configuration that supports communication over a particular carrier bandwidth, or may be configurable to support communication over one of a set of carrier bandwidths. For example, a base station 105 or UE 115 may perform some communications (e.g., wideband communications) in accordance with a system bandwidth, and may perform some communications (e.g., narrowband communications) in accordance with a smaller bandwidth. In some examples, the wireless communication system 100 may include a base station 105 and / or UE that may support simultaneous communications via carriers associated with more than one different bandwidth.

[0060] The wireless communication system 100 may support communication with the UE 115 on multiple cells or carriers, a feature that may be referred to as carrier aggregation (CA) or multi-carrier operation. The UE 115 may be configured with multiple downlink component carriers (CCs) and one or more uplink CCs according to a carrier aggregation configuration. Carrier aggregation may be used with both FDD and TDD component carriers.

[0061] In some cases, the wireless communication system 100 may utilize an enhanced component carrier (eCC). An eCC may be characterized by one or more features including a wider carrier or frequency channel bandwidth, a shorter symbol duration, a shorter TTI duration, or a modified control channel configuration. In some cases, an eCC may be associated with a carrier aggregation configuration or a dual connectivity configuration (e.g., when multiple serving cells have suboptimal or non-ideal backhaul links). An eCC may also be configured to be used in an unlicensed spectrum or a shared spectrum (e.g., where more than one operator is allowed to use the spectrum). An eCC characterized by a wide carrier bandwidth may include one or more segments that may be utilized by a UE 115 that is not capable of monitoring the entire carrier bandwidth or is otherwise configured to use a limited carrier bandwidth (e.g., to save power).

[0062] In some cases, an eCC may utilize a different symbol duration than other CCs, which may include using a reduced symbol duration compared to the symbol duration of other CCs. A shorter symbol duration may be associated with an increased spacing between adjacent subcarriers. A device utilizing an eCC (such as a UE 115 or a base station 105) may transmit a wideband signal (e.g., according to a frequency channel or carrier bandwidth of 20, 40, 60, 80 MHz, etc.) with a reduced symbol duration (e.g., 16.67 microseconds). A TTI in an eCC may include one or more symbol periods. In some cases, the TTI duration (i.e., the number of symbol periods in a TTI) may be variable.

[0063] Wireless communication systems such as NR systems may use a combination of licensed, shared, and unlicensed bands, etc. The flexibility of eCC symbol duration and subcarrier spacing may allow eCC to be used across multiple spectrums. In some examples, NR shared spectrum may increase spectrum utilization and spectrum efficiency, particularly through dynamic vertical (e.g., across frequency) and horizontal (e.g., across time) sharing of resources.

[0064] UE 115 can be configured as a multi-connectivity UE, wherein UE 115 is configured to communicate with one or more base stations 105 using multiple RATs (e.g., 5G NR, 4G LTE). UE 115 can be configured to monitor the user's behavior and / or habits when using different applications and when utilizing different throughputs associated with each RAT. UE 115 can also be configured to adjust its power consumption based on the monitored behavior and / or habits. UE 115 can adjust its power consumption by disabling one or more of its RATs. UE 115 can determine to adjust its power consumption based on various factors as described in more detail below.

[0065] Reference Figure 1B, the communication system 100′ can implement aspects of the wireless communication system 100. For example, the wireless communication system 100′ includes a first base station 105-a, a second base station 105-b, and a UE 115-a, which can be referenced Figure 1A Examples of corresponding devices described. The wireless communication system 100' may support the use of techniques to enhance power conservation for multiple connectivity UEs based on one or more of various factors.

[0066] In a wireless communication system 100′, a UE 115-a may communicate with a network using a multi-connectivity (e.g., dual connectivity (DC)) configuration. In such a scenario, the UE 115-a may communicate with different base stations 105 (e.g., a first base station 105-a and a second base station 105-b) at the same time. The first base station 105-a may provide a first cell 110-a, and the first base station 105-a may be referred to as a master node (MN). The first cell 110-a may correspond to a PCell in a DC deployment. Additionally, the second base station 105-b may provide a second cell 110-b in a DC configuration, and the second base station 105-b may be referred to as a secondary node (SN). In some cases, the second cell 110-b may correspond to a PSCell in a DC deployment, which may be configured with time-frequency resources for a PUCCH. An additional SCell may be associated with each base station 105-a and 105-b. The primary cell group (MCG) may refer to a serving cell group associated with a MN (including a PCell and optionally one or more SCells), while the secondary cell group (SCG) may refer to a serving cell group associated with a SN (including a PSCell and optionally one or more SCells). In some implementations, in addition to the carriers of the PCell or PSCell, the SCell may provide additional carriers for carrier aggregation. In multi-connectivity implementations (such as dual connectivity), although data transfer is split between the MN and the SN, control of the multi-connectivity still depends on the MN. For example, all RRC configurations related to the SN are sent by the MN, such as, for example, by reference to Figure 2A 209, 212, 242 and 245 of . Other non-scheduling related control information related to the SN may also be routed through the MN, and the scheduling of the SN may be handled by the SN through the SN's own physical downlink control channel (PDCCH). Although the PCell of the MN and the PSCell of the SN are shown as two different base stations 105-a and 105-b for illustrative purposes, it is to be understood that in some implementations, the PCell of the MN and the PSCell of the SN may be separate cellular cells installed on the same physical base station.

[0067] The MN (e.g., 105-a) can instruct the UE (e.g., 115-a) to make signal measurements associated with the SN (e.g., 105-b) and report these measurements to the MN. If the reported signal measurements indicate that a good communication link between the UE and the SN can be established, the MN provides the UE and the SN with all parameters for them to establish a connection. The MN can be configured to control whether to add a SN, and the UE cannot make this determination. In this way, if it is useful for the UE to end the multi-connectivity mode to save power, the UE may not be able to instruct the SN to release the connection, but must send a message to the MN to guide the MN to instruct the SN to release the connection. In order to avoid the need for additional changes to the standard, the UE can use one or more messages already defined in the communication standard to send a message to the MN to guide the MN to instruct the SN to release the connection.

[0068] In some cases, different base stations 105 and corresponding cellular cells of the DC deployment may be associated with the same or different RATs. For example, the first base station 105-a and the second base station 105-b may communicate using the first RAT and the second RAT, respectively. The first RAT and / or the second RAT may be the same or different, and may include, for example, LTE, NR, or another RAT. In this way, various DC deployments may sometimes be referred to as EN-DC, NR-EUTRA DC (NE-DC), NR NR-DC, LTE LTE-DC, enhanced LTE (eLTE) eLTE-DC, or may include other types of MR-DC deployments based on the RAT used by each base station 105. In any case, different cellular cells of the DC deployment may communicate with the UE 115-a using the same or different radio frequency (RF) spectrum bands.

[0069] In some cases, a DC deployment may use different radio bearers for messages transmitted for each cell. For example, when the first base station 105-a is configured as a master node providing a set of service cells corresponding to an MCG, the first base station 105-a may use a first set of signaling radio bearers (SRBs) (e.g., SRB1, SRB2) to transmit messages for the MCG (such as RRC messages). Additionally, when the second base station 105-b is configured as a secondary node, the second base station 105-b may provide another set of service cells corresponding to the SCG and may use a second set of SRBs (e.g., SRB3) to transmit messages for the SCG. In some examples, a split bearer configuration may be supported, in which specific protocol layers (e.g., a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer) for both the master node and the secondary node may be used to route data flows to / from the UE 115-a. Here, the SRBs (e.g., SRB1 / SRB2) may be split between the primary node and the secondary node, and a downlink message sent from the primary node to the UE 115-a may be routed via lower layers (e.g., radio link control (RLC), media access control (MAC), physical (PHY), etc.) of the first base station 105-a (e.g., primary node) or the second base station 105-b (e.g., secondary node). In other cases, the downlink message may be routed via lower layers of both the primary node and the secondary node. In the uplink, the RRC message from the UE 115-a may be transmitted to the primary node via the secondary node (e.g., via a "branch" associated with the secondary node) using a split bearer. For signaling of data in the user plane, the MCG and SCG may use corresponding data radio bearers (DRBs). It is to be understood that, in general, a secondary node includes one or more secondary cells.

[0070] Additionally or alternatively, the UE 115-a may communicate with a single base station 105 (e.g., the first base station 105-a) using multiple carriers (e.g., CCs, which may also be referred to as layers, channels, etc.). In such a case, a CC may refer to each carrier used by the UE 115-a in a carrier aggregation (CA) operation. In addition, a serving cell of the first base station 105-a may correspond to each CC used in the CA operation, where each serving cell may be different (e.g., based on the path loss experienced by different CCs on different RF spectrum bands). In some examples, one carrier may be designated as a primary carrier or primary CC (PCC) for the UE 115-a, which may be served by the PCell of the first base station 105-a. Additional carriers may be designated as secondary carriers or secondary CCs (SCCs), which may be served by the SCell of the first base station 105-a. CA operations may communicate using the same or different RF bands.

[0071] In a multi-radio connectivity scenario (such as a dual connectivity scenario), simultaneous communication by a UE with a MN and a SN may result in increased power consumption of the UE. For example, an additional connection to a SN may require monitoring and measuring additional signals (e.g., reference signals) associated with the SN to report to the MN, and the monitoring, measuring, and reporting increase the power consumed by the UE. Additionally, the frequency band and / or RAT associated with the SN may use a larger number of antennas for transmission and / or reception, or use an antenna array with a larger number of elements, compared to the frequency band and / or RAT associated with the MN, and therefore the additional connection to the SN may be more power-consuming than connecting only to the MN. In addition, in the case where the frequency band used by the SN causes a larger bandwidth for data transmission, the larger bandwidth typically causes a larger power consumption on the UE for processing data received from the SN. Additionally or alternatively, in some implementations, simultaneous connection to both the MN and the SN may require more hardware elements to be powered on and / or a larger processing burden to handle the two connections simultaneously, which increases the power consumption of the UE compared to connecting only to the MN. In view of some or all of the above, power management for multiple connectivity, such as dual connectivity, may extend the time a UE can be used before a battery needs to be recharged.

[0072] Figure 2A and 2B A sample flow 200 is illustrated in which a user equipment (UE) is connected in an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) New Radio (NR) Dual Connectivity (EN-DC) mode and detects a power-related condition while in EN-DC mode. It is to be understood that the sample flow 200 is provided for illustrative purposes and is merely an example of a scenario in which a UE 115 is able to enter a multi-radio connectivity mode (e.g., dual connectivity mode), detect a power-related condition of the UE 115, and send a message to a primary node to indicate release of the UE's connection to a secondary node in response to detecting the power-related condition of the UE 115. In the specific example provided herein, the primary node and the secondary node are each associated with a different RAT. In this example, the primary node is associated with an E-UTRA network or an LTE network 201, and the secondary node is associated with an NR network 202.

[0073] Although not explicitly illustrated in process 200, it is to be understood that certain messages, communications, or processes may occur prior to 203. For example, a random access procedure or a random access control channel (RACH) procedure may have occurred for UE 115 to obtain access to and / or connect to LTE network 201, for example, through a special cell (SpCell) of LTE network 201. In addition, after establishing the connection, LTE network 201 and UE may have exchanged data, including downlink (DL) and / or uplink (UL) data. Such data may include control data or configuration data. In one example, LTE network 201 may have sent a radio resource control (RRC) configuration to UE 115. Typically, the RRC configuration includes information or instructions for causing UE 115 to perform measurements on various signals in the environment of UE 115. In the context of a specific example of process 200, such RRC configuration may include information or instructions that cause UE 115 to perform measurements on reference signals being transmitted by a cell or node associated with an LTE network and to perform measurements on reference signals being transmitted by a cell or associated node associated with an NR network. In one example, such reference signals may include channel state information (CSI) reference signals (CSI-RS). In an NSA EN-DC type scenario, the initial network access may be accessing an LTE network. In addition, the LTE network may control whether and when the UE will connect to the NR network. In this way, reference signal measurements from cells in the NR network may be used by the LTE network to determine when the NR signal as measured by UE 115 is strong enough to initiate the addition of an NR node, base station, or g B node (gNB) and to cause UE 115 to enter EN-DC mode. In such a scenario, an LTE node, base station, or evolved B node (eNB) may be considered a master node (MN), and an NR node may be considered a slave node (SN). MN generally provides a control plane connection to the core network, while the secondary node does not provide a control plane connection to the core network and is used to provide additional resources / capabilities to the UE 115. In the process 200, the LTE node (primary node) and the NR node (secondary node) are more generally referred to as the LTE network 201 and the NR network 202. Although the illustrated example shows the MN as an LTE node and the SN as an NR node, in some scenarios, it is understood that both the MN and the SN can be NR nodes. In addition, in the case where the MN and the SN each use different RATs to communicate with the UE, it is understood that combinations other than LTE and NR are possible.

[0074] At 203, the LTE network 201 may send an add request to the NR network 202. In one example, the add request may be an SgNB Addition Request message. For example, the LTE network 201 may determine that the UE 115 is in a good signaling environment for NR signals based on measurements of reference signals by the UE 115 (e.g., as discussed above, based on an RRC configuration sent from the LTE network 201 to the UE 115). The add request may serve as a resource request, in which the LTE network 201 requests the NR network 202 to allocate resources to the UE 115. As such, the add request may include information for enabling the NR network 202 to determine whether it can accommodate the resource allocation request, such as reference signal measurements of the NR signals reported by the UE 115 to the LTE network 201 and other information that helps the NR network 202 determine whether it can accept the request.

[0075] At 206, if the NR network 202 can accommodate the resource request, it may respond to the addition request message with an acknowledgement message (e.g., an SgNB Addition Request Acknowledge message). The NR network 202 may determine the PSCell and other SCG SCells and provide the new SCG radio resource configuration to the LTE network 201, for example, in an NR RRC configuration message, which in some embodiments may be included in the SgNB Addition Request Acknowledge message.

[0076] At 209, LTE network 201 may send an RRCConnectionReconfiguration message to UE 115, which may, for example, include the NR RRC configuration message received from NR network 202. UE 115 may then apply the new configuration and, at 212, reply to LTE network 201 with an RRCConnectionReconfigurationComplete message. If UE 115 is unable to follow the configuration included in the RRCConnectionReconfiguration message for some reason, it may perform a reconfiguration failure procedure (not shown at 212). In one example, performing a reconfiguration failure procedure may include UE 115 sending an SCGFailureInformationNR message (not shown at 212) to LTE network 201 and setting the failure type in the message to correspond to a failure type associated with an RRC reconfiguration failure, such as, for example, scg-reconfigFailure. In one implementation, when there is an RRC reconfiguration failure, the UE 115 does not apply any part of the reconfiguration and continues to use the configuration it was using prior to the RRCConnectionReconfiguration message at 209 .

[0077] At 215, LTE network 201 may send a reconfiguration complete message to NR network 202 to notify NR network 202 of the successful reconfiguration of UE 115. In one example, such a message may be an SgNB Reconfiguration Complete message. The reconfiguration complete message may include, for example, any information provided from UE 115 to LTE network 201, for example, in the RRCConnectionReconfigurationComplete message of 212.

[0078] At 218, UE 115 performs a random access (RA) procedure with NR network 202. In one example, the UE may perform the RA procedure through the SpCell (also referred to as PSCell) of the SN. Once the RA procedure is completed, UE 115 is connected to NR network 202. In this example, UE 115 is now connected to both LTE network 201 and NR network 202. However, it is to be understood that other MR-DC scenarios may include simultaneous connections to two NR nodes.

[0079] At 221, UE 115 may communicate with LTE network 201. At the same time, at 224, UE 115 may also communicate with NR network 202. Since SNs typically have larger data throughput capacity, data communications between UE 115 and NR network 202 at 224 may include data associated with high throughput, real-time applications such as video streaming or virtual / augmented reality, to name a few examples. In other cases, low throughput applications may be routed, for example, through LTE network 201, as shown in 221. In one implementation, only the MN, which in the illustrated embodiment is an LTE MN of LTE network 201, provides control plane connectivity to the core network. Since UE 115 is now in EN-DC mode, UE 115 is connected to both LTE network 201 and NR network 202 in dual connectivity mode. In an example scenario of dual connectivity mode, UE 115 can send and receive control and user data (including non-scheduled control data related to NR network 202) with LTE network 201, but only send and receive user data to / from NR network 202 (together with scheduling related to user data).

[0080] At 227, the UE detects a power-related condition of the UE 115. As will be explained elsewhere herein, the power-related condition of the UE 115 may include: a battery state of charge of a battery of the UE 115 drops below a battery state of charge threshold, a temperature reading of the UE 115 exceeds a temperature threshold, a battery voltage of a battery of the UE 115 drops below a battery voltage threshold, and the like, or any combination thereof. More generally, the power-related condition of the UE 115 may include any condition that may be mitigated by reducing the power consumed by the UE 115 (e.g., consumed by one or more components of the UE 115). Since the UE is in EN-DC mode, the UE 115 may then seek to disconnect from the additional network. In this NSA example, data traffic with the NR network 202 is additional or optional because the UE 115 may maintain connectivity to the LTE network 201, and therefore, the UE 115 may seek to disconnect from the NR network 202. However, in the NSA EN-DC scenario, the LTE network 201 controls whether and when the UE will connect to the NR network 202. Thus, using the communication protocol available to UE 115, UE 115 may send a message to LTE network 201 to instruct LTE network 201 to release the UE's connection to NR network 202 to save power for UE 115. In a scenario where UE 115 is in dual connectivity mode with two NR nodes, UE 115 may send such a message to the NR MN to, for example, disconnect from the NR SN.

[0081] At 230, UE 115 sends a message to LTE network 201 to indicate to LTE network 201 to release the connection of the UE to NR network 202. UE 115 may, for example, send an RRC message using a protocol defined by a standard (e.g., a standard defined by the "3rd Generation Partnership Project" (3GPP) (including, for example, Technical Specifications (TS) 36.331, 37.340, 38.331) and other related standards). For example, UE 115 may send an SCGFailureInformationNR message to indicate to LTE network 201 that UE 115 has detected a failure to receive NR signals from NR network 202. Although the signal quality of the NR signal may not have failed, UE 115 may still signal such a failure so that LTE network 201 releases the connection between UE 115 and the NR network. The failure message may include a failure type. In one example, the failure type may be set to indicate a synchronous reconfiguration failure SynchReconfigFailure (eg, scg-ChangeFailure or synchronousReconfigurationFailure-SCG, etc.). Figure 2A It is illustrated as a SCGFailureInformationNR message, but it is to be understood that any message that UE 115 is capable of sending to the LTE network 201 (or, more generally, to the MN) to cause the LTE network 201 (or, more generally, the MN) to release the connection between the UE 115 and the NR network (or, more generally, the SN), as defined by the communication standard, may be used.

[0082] Continuing with reference to 230, the SCGFailureInformationNR message may optionally include a field or information element (IE) for causing the UE 115 to report NR signal measurements according to a previous RRC configuration provided to the UE 115 by the LTE network 201 (prior to 203) as discussed above and / or according to the RRC reconfiguration message of 209 discussed above. In one example, such measurements may be included in a MeasResultSCG-Failure field, a measResultFreqListNR field, and the like, or any combination thereof. In one example, the UE 115 may send the SCGFailureInformationNR message without including such a signal measurement field. Alternatively, in the case where UE 115 reports the failure of the NR connection to prompt LTE network 201 to release the connection for power-related purposes, rather than releasing the connection for reasons based on real signal integrity, signal quality and / or reference signal measurements, UE 115 may report artificial NR reference signal measurements to LTE network 201 within or after a SCGFailureInformationNR message (i.e., the UE may send measurement data generated by the UE that is not based on actual measurements).

[0083] At 233, the UE 115 may silence (actual) measurements of the NR cell by stopping reporting such measurements to the LTE network 201. If it is useful to respond to the LTE network 201, the UE 115 may report artificial measurements based on data generated that is not based on actual measurements. As an alternative to being based on actual measurements, the artificial measurements may represent measurements that simulate a poor signaling environment for signals of the NR cell. It is to be understood that when measurements of NR cells or signals are silenced when they are reported to the LTE network, the UE 115 may naturally stop measuring these signals because such measurements are no longer reported. By stopping measurements and silencing measurements of any reference signals or other signals from NR cells associated with the NR network 202, the UE 115 may save power (as well as the power saved by no longer communicating with the NR network 202). Although process 200 is illustrated as occurring before silencing measurements on the NR cell at 233 , sending a message to the LTE network 201 at 230 to instruct the LTE network 201 to release the connection of the UE to the NR network 202 , it is to be understood that silencing measurements on the NR cell may occur before sending the failure message at 230 .

[0084] At 236, in response to receiving the failure message of 230, LTE network 201 may send a release request, such as an SgNB Release Request message, to NR network 202. At 239, if NR network 202 determines that it will release UE 115, NR network 202 may send an acknowledgement.

[0085] At 242, LTE network 201 may send a new RRC reconfiguration message, such as an RRCConnectionReconfiguration message. In some examples, the message may instruct UE 115 to release the configuration associated with NR network 202. At 245, UE 115 may respond with, for example, an RRCConnectionReconfigurationComplete message.

[0086] At 248, UE 115 communicates only with LTE network 201 and does not maintain connection with the NR network.

[0087] Process 200 Figure 2B At 254, the UE 115 may detect that the power-related condition of the UE 115 has been alleviated. For example, the battery charge state of the battery of the UE 115 may now exceed a battery charge threshold (because the UE 115 has been charged), the temperature reading of the UE 115 may drop below a temperature threshold (because the UE 115 has cooled down after reducing power by disconnecting from the NR network 202), the battery voltage of the battery of the UE 115 may now exceed a battery voltage threshold (because the UE 115 has been charged), etc., or any combination thereof.

[0088] At 257, UE 115 unmutes measurements of the NR cell, and thus, UE 115 may begin reporting measurements of signals associated with NR network 202. Such measurements may be based on the RRC configuration received prior to 203 and / or any subsequent RRC configuration and / or reconfiguration messages received. Although UE 115 may be configured to measure NR reference signals from NR cells in NR network 202 based on such RRC configuration, prior to unmuting the measurements at 257, UE 115 may not report such signal measurements or may report such signal measurements using artificial measurements (e.g., data generated by UE 115 not based on actual signal measurements). However, at 257, in the event that UE 115 unmutes the measurements, UE 115 may begin measuring and reporting signals received from NR cells in response to detecting that the power-related condition of UE 115 has been alleviated.

[0089] At 260, optionally, LTE network 201 may request measurements from UE 115. As mentioned, in some implementations, LTE network 201 may not need to explicitly request measurements at 260 due to explicit or implicit instructions from a previous RRC configuration or reconfiguration for UE 115 to provide measurements to LTE network 201.

[0090] At 263, UE 115 may provide measurements to LTE network 201. These measurements may be provided in response to an explicit request as at 260 or due to a previous RRC configuration or reconfiguration. When LTE network 201 receives the measurements (including NR cell measurements), LTE network 201 may determine, for example, whether the NR signal measured by UE 115 meets criteria for enabling UE 115 to connect to NR network 202 and / or whether additional resources of NR network 202 are useful in communicating data with UE 115. In response to this determination, LTE network 201 may determine to request the addition of an NR SN to enable the UE to receive data from NR network 202, as shown at 266.

[0091] At 266, the LTE network 201 may send an add request to the NR network 202 in a manner similar to that described above with reference to 203.

[0092] At 269, the NR network 202 responds to the add request message with an acknowledgement message in a manner similar to that described above with reference to 206.

[0093] At 272 , LTE network 201 may send an RRC reconfiguration message in a manner similar to that described above with reference to 209 , and at 275 , UE 115 may respond in a manner similar to that described above with reference to 212 .

[0094] At 278, the LTE network 201 may send a reconfiguration complete message to the NR network 202 in a manner similar to that described above with reference to 215.

[0095] At 281, UE 115 may perform a RA procedure with NR network 202 in a manner similar to that described above with reference to 218.

[0096] In a manner similar to that described above with reference to 221 and 224 , at 284 , the UE may communicate with the LTE network 201 and simultaneously at 287 , also communicate with the NR network 202 .

[0097] Figure 3 A sample flow chart is illustrated where a UE is not in EN-DC mode and the LTE network detects a power-related condition before attempting to add a secondary node (SN) in an EN-DC scenario. Figure 3 An example similar to Figure 2A and 2B , except that in Figure 3 In the embodiment, when the UE 115 detects a power-related condition of the UE 115, the UE 115 is not yet in the EN-DC mode and is only connected to the LTE network.

[0098] At 303, UE 115 performs a similar operation as referenced above. Figure 2A 227 to detect the power-related condition of the UE 115. However, since in this example, the UE 115 is not yet connected to the NR network 202, the UE 115 does not send any message to the LTE network 201 to instruct the LTE network 201 to release the connection of the UE 115 to the NR network 202.

[0099] At 306, UE 115 mutes measurements on the NR cell. Figure 2A and 2B As mentioned, the RRC configuration or reconfiguration may include explicit or implicit instructions for the UE 115 to perform measurements of various signals in the environment of the UE 115, including NR signals from NR cells of the NR network 202. The LTE network 201 may use the reported signal measurements of the NR cells from the UE 115 to determine that the UE 115 uses the resources of the NR network 202 for communication. However, at 306, the UE 115 will mute the measurements of the NR cells, and therefore, the UE 115 will not report any NR signal measurements to the LTE network 201. Alternatively, the UE 115 may report artificial NR signal measurements, for example, by reporting data generated by the UE that is not based on actual measurements.

[0100] Based on the silencing of measurements of the NR cells of the NR network 202 by the UE 115 as indicated at 306 (i.e., the UE 115 does not report measurements or reports artificial measurements), generally, the LTE network 201 will not seek to add the NR SN of the NR network 202. This is because, in the absence of measurements indicating to the LTE network 201 that the UE 115 is able to receive sufficient quality signals from the NR network 202, the LTE network 201 will generally not determine that the UE 115 should connect to the NR network 202. Additionally or alternatively, in the case where the UE 115 sends artificial measurements to the LTE network 201 and the UE 115 does not generate measurement data based on actual measurements, the UE 115 will generate measurements indicating that the NR signal at the UE 115 is too weak for the UE 115 to connect to the NR network 202, so that the LTE network 201 determines that the NR SN of the NR network 202 will not be added and the LTE network 201 will not attempt to cause the UE 115 to connect to the NR network 202.

[0101] However, there may be situations where LTE network 201 may still attempt to add an NR SN associated with NR network 202 even in the absence of NR signal measurements reported by UE 115 or with artificial NR signal measurements reported by UE 115. In such situations, at 309, LTE network 201 may still perform the following steps similar to those described above with reference to Figure 2A The add request is sent to the NR network 202 in the manner described in 203.

[0102] At 312, the NR network 202 may respond with an add request acknowledgment in a manner similar to that described above with reference to 206.

[0103] At 315, the LTE network 201 may send an RRC reconfiguration message in a manner similar to that described above with reference to 209. However, here, in response to detecting the power-related condition of the UE 115 at 303, the UE 115 may respond at 318 with a failure message in response to the RRC reconfiguration message. In one example, at 318, instead of sending an RRCConnectionReconfigurationComplete message, the UE 115 sends an SCGFailureInformationNR message to the LTE network 201. In one such example, the UE 115 may set the failure type in the message to correspond to a failure type associated with an RRC reconfiguration failure, such as, for example, scg-reconfigFailure. In view of the failure message, the UE 115 does not apply any part of the reconfiguration of 315 and continues to use the RRC configuration it was using prior to the RRC reconfiguration message of 315.

[0104] At 321, the LTE network 201 may notify the NR network 202 that the attempt to add the NR SN associated with the NR network 202 was unsuccessful.

[0105] Since UE 115 refuses to add NR network 202 (as described with reference to 306, 309, 312, 315, 318 and 321), at 324, UE 115 can communicate with LTE network 201 and only LTE traffic can be communicated between UE 115 and LTE network 201.

[0106] At 327, the UE may detect that the power-related condition of the UE 115 has been alleviated. 327 may correspond to reference Figure 2B In response to UE 115 detecting that the power-related condition of UE 115 has been alleviated, process 300 may proceed in a manner similar to that described in reference to Figure 2BThe process 200 shown in 257, 260, 263, 266, 269, 272, 275, 278, 281, 284 and 287 is carried out.

[0107] It is to be understood that example flows 200 and 300 are given with reference to an LTE MN associated with LTE network 201 (which adds an NR SN associated with NR network 202), however, power management by UE 115 may be performed in the case where both the MN and the SN are NR nodes (e.g., in NR-NR dual connectivity (NR-DC)), in which case, to reduce power consumption, UE 115 may perform steps similar to those described above so that the NR MN does not add an NR SN, or releases the NR SN if it has been added. The MN and SN may also operate using other RATs besides LTE or NR, where the RAT of the MN and the RAT of the SN may be the same or different.

[0108] Figure 4 An example method 400 for reducing power consumption of a multi-radio connectivity UE (e.g., UE 115) is illustrated. Optionally, the method 400 begins at block 410 by the UE (e.g., using the processor 620, the UE communication manager 615, etc.) entering a multi-radio (MR) connectivity mode in which the UE is able to receive user data from a primary node and a secondary node, wherein the primary node controls the UE's connection to the secondary node in the multi-radio connectivity mode. In one example, entering the multi-radio connectivity mode may include communicating with reference to Figure 2A Aspects similar to those described in 203, 206, 209, 212, 215, 218, 221 and 224 of . In the example where the UE is in dual connectivity mode, the data received by the UE from the primary node may include, for example, control data on a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH). In addition, in the dual connectivity mode, the data received by the UE from the secondary node may include, for example, user data on a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). When the dual connectivity mode is EN-DC mode, since the node associated with the LTE network is the MN, the UE does not receive non-scheduled control data from the secondary node associated with the NR network, but as mentioned above, control related to scheduling of the secondary node may be received from the secondary node.

[0109] When the UE is in a multi-radio connectivity mode, such as an MR-DC mode (such as, for example, an EN-DC mode, an NR-DC mode, or a NE-DC mode), the UE generally consumes more power than when connected to only one node. This is because: when the UE is, for example, in a dual connectivity mode, the UE will generally perform measurements on a larger number of reference signals, for example, to support the multi-radio connectivity mode, compared to the number of reference signals when connected to only one node. Additionally or alternatively, when the secondary node or network is from a RAT different from the RAT associated with the primary node, the UE may power additional hardware components to achieve simultaneous multi-RAT connectivity. If the connection to one of the radios (e.g., a secondary radio or node) is released, the UE may save power by reducing the power of the hardware associated with the secondary radio or node (e.g., reducing power, placing in sleep mode, completely powering down, etc.). The means for performing the functionality of box 410 may (but not necessarily) include reference to Figure 6 The antenna 640, the transceiver 635, the bus 610, the UE communication manager 615, the modem manager 616, the modem manager 617, the processor 620, and / or the memory 625.

[0110] In view of the power issues discussed above, the method 400 continues at block 420 with the UE (eg, using the processor 620, the UE communication manager 615, etc.) detecting a power-related condition of the UE. Detecting the power-related condition of the UE at block 420 may include comparing the power-related condition of the UE to the power-related condition of the UE. Figure 2A 227 and / or Figure 3 In this way, the power-related condition of the UE may be detected when the UE is in the multi-radio connectivity mode (in the example where the method 400 starts at block 410) or before the UE enters the multi-radio connectivity mode.

[0111] Various examples of power-related conditions of the UE may include: a battery state of charge of a battery of the UE falling below a battery state of charge threshold, a battery voltage of a battery of the UE falling below a battery voltage threshold, a temperature reading of the UE exceeding a temperature threshold, or any combination thereof.

[0112] For example, a processor of the UE (e.g., processor 620, UE communication manager 615) may obtain information from one or more sensors (e.g., referring to Figure 6The temperature sensors 660-a, 660-b, 660-c and / or battery sensors 660-d) receive signals indicating the battery charge status, battery voltage or temperature. The one or more sensors may include, for example, a battery sensor, a current sensor, a voltage sensor, a temperature sensor, etc., or any combination thereof. The sensor may be integrated into a power management integrated circuit (PMIC), integrated with another circuit and / or be a stand-alone sensor.

[0113] For example, to extend the time that the UE remains powered when the battery is low, the UE may seek to reduce its power consumption by disconnecting or releasing the connection to one radio of the multi-radio connectivity mode of the UE. Thus, if the processor receives a signal from a battery sensor (e.g., battery sensor 660-d) indicating that the battery charge state is at and / or below 10%, 5%, 2%, etc., the UE (e.g., processor 620, UE communication manager 615) may detect a power-related condition of the UE. Such a battery charge state may roughly correspond to a battery charge indication displayed on a display of the UE, but it is understood that they may be different. Additionally or alternatively, the voltage output by the battery may drop below a voltage threshold. For example, where the nominal battery output voltage is typically about 3.8V, if the battery output is below 3.4V, 3.3V, 3.2V, etc., the PMIC or other suitable circuit or sensor may send a signal to the processor to indicate the battery output voltage. Upon receiving the signal, the processor may then compare the measured voltages and detect the power-related condition of the UE based on the comparison. It is to be understood that the battery charge state and the battery output voltage may be used together to detect a power-related condition of the UE, since there may be a certain relationship between the battery charge state and the battery output voltage.

[0114] Additionally or alternatively, a processor of the UE (e.g., using processor 620, UE communication manager 615, etc.) may receive a signal from one or more temperature sensors (e.g., sensors 660-a, 660-b, and / or 660-c). Such a signal may indicate a temperature, such as a surface temperature or a die or junction temperature. For example, a temperature sensor may be configured to measure the surface temperature of the UE's outer package at one or more locations on the device (as in temperature sensor 660-c), where if the surface temperature exceeds a temperature that is safe or comfortable for a user to touch or handle when using the UE, the power consumption of the UE should be reduced. In such examples, the temperature threshold may include relatively low temperatures, such as 50°C, 48°C, 45°C, and the like. Additionally or alternatively, one or more temperature sensors may be configured to measure a junction temperature or other temperature (as in temperature sensors 660-a and / or 660-b) on a silicon die of one or more circuits of the UE (e.g., a modem, baseband processor, RF amplifier, antenna array, processor, etc.), wherein if the junction temperature or other temperature exceeds a temperature that may damage the overheated circuit or adjacent circuitry, the power consumption of the UE should be reduced. In such cases, the temperature threshold may include, for example, a temperature at or above 100° C., 105° C., 110° C., etc. The temperature sensor that measures the temperature may then send a signal indicating the measured temperature to a processor of the UE (e.g., using processor 620, UE communications manager 615, etc.), which may be configured to, upon receiving the signal indicating the temperature, compare the measured temperature received in the signal to the temperature threshold and detect a power-related condition of the UE based on the comparison.

[0115] The means for performing the functionality of block 420 may (but need not necessarily) include, for example, reference Figure 6 The bus 610, the UE communication manager 615, the processor 620, the memory 625, the temperature sensors 660-a, 660-b and 660-c, and / or the battery sensor 660-d.

[0116] The method 400 continues at block 430 by sending a message from the UE (e.g., using the processor 620, the UE communication manager 615, etc.) to the primary node in response to detecting the power-related condition of the UE to indicate to the primary node to release the connection of the UE to the secondary node. In one example, sending the message may include sending a message to the primary node in response to detecting the power-related condition of the UE (e.g., using the processor 620, the UE communication manager 615, etc.). Figure 2A 230, 233, 236, 239, 242, 245 and 248 and / or Figure 3Aspects similar to those described in 309, 312, 315, 318, 321 and 324 of . The message for indicating to the master node to release the connection of the UE to the secondary node may include a message indicating to the master node a radio link failure (RLF) of the SCG. For example, the RLF may be a PSCell RLF. Although the connection of the UE to the PSCell of the SCG may not actually experience an RLF, due to power-related conditions detected in the UE, the UE may use the mechanism provided in the standard to indicate the SCG RLF to the master node to temporarily disable the carrier of the SCG, thereby saving power at the UE. In one approach, the UE may send a signal measurement report (including artificial measurements) indicating that the various frequencies used by the secondary node or SCG are not suitable for maintaining a communication link with the UE. In such a situation, the master node or the secondary node may continue to search for other carrier frequencies used by the secondary node and request the UE to measure such signals, etc., which will waste time and resources of both the network and the UE. However, here, by reporting the RLF, a single message can indicate to the master node that the secondary node should be released. However, it is to be understood that other messages or protocols may also be used to instruct the primary node to release the connection of the UE to the secondary node.

[0117] A mechanism for indicating PSCell RLF may include: the UE reports the SCG failure to the master node by sending an RRC message (e.g., an SCGFailureInformationNR message). Typically, as defined by the communication standards associated with LTE and NR, the SCGFailureInformationNR message may optionally include one or more fields for reporting signal (e.g., reference signal) measurements by the UE to the network. For example, such measurements may be included in the MeasResultSCG-Failure field, the measResultFreqListNR field, and the like, or a combination thereof. In some implementations, the UE may send an SCGFailureInformationNR message or other message without including these optional measurements of the signals of the secondary node. Alternatively, the UE may use these fields to send artificial measurements. If, after sending the SCGFailureInformationNR message or other message, the UE receives a command from the master node to send measurements of the carrier of the secondary node, the UE may send artificial measurements (i.e., data not based on actual measurements) instead of actual measurements. In addition, the SCGFailureInformationNR message may include a failure type to indicate a synchronous reconfiguration failure, such as SynchReconfigFailure (eg, scg-ChangeFailure or synchronousReconfigurationFailure-SCG, etc.).

[0118] If the master node attempts to add a secondary node after sending a SCGFailureInformationNR message or other message and when the power-related condition persists, the UE may reject the addition by sending a message. In one example, such a message for rejecting the addition of a secondary node may include a SCGFailureInformationNR message. Here, also as just described above, the UE may not send signal measurements of the carriers associated with the secondary node, or send artificial measurements of these carriers if it is useful for the network to respond.

[0119] After sending the message of block 430, the UE may Figure 2A Alternatively, in a scenario where the power-related condition of the UE is detected before the secondary node of the SCG is added, the UE may be disconnected from the secondary node after the processes of 236, 239, 242, 245 and / or 248 of the reference. Figure 3 The add request is rejected after the process of 318 and / or 321. The means for performing the functionality of block 430 may (but not necessarily) include reference Figure 6 The antenna 640, the transceiver 635, the bus 610, the UE communication manager 615, the modem manager 616, the modem manager 617, the processor 620, and / or the memory 625.

[0120] Once the UE disconnects from the secondary node or refuses to add the secondary node, the method 400 may optionally move to box 440, where the power of one or more components associated with receiving transmissions from the secondary node is reduced by the UE (e.g., using the processor 620, the UE communication manager 615, etc.). For example, in the case where the primary node is associated with one RAT (e.g., LTE) and the secondary node is associated with a different RAT (e.g., NR), the UE can reduce the power of the hardware components or their parts used when using NR to transmit and / or receive signals by placing such hardware components or their parts in sleep mode, or even completely powering down such components without adversely affecting the performance of LTE signal transmission and / or reception. Such components may include a modulator-demodulator (modem), a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), an antenna module, any combination thereof, and / or the like associated with NR in this example. In the case where the primary node and the secondary node are associated with the same RAT (e.g., in the case where both are associated with NR), the secondary node may, for example, use a frequency range different from the frequency range used by the primary node. Thus, similar to the different RAT scenario, the UE may reduce the power of hardware components or portions thereof used when transmitting and / or receiving signals using one NR frequency range used by the secondary node (e.g., frequency range 2 (FR2)), while maintaining the power of hardware components or portions thereof used in the frequency range used by the primary node (e.g., frequency range 1 (FR1)). In such an example, FR1 may be below 4.7 GHz, while FR2 may be greater than about 24 GHz. The means for performing the functionality of block 440 may (but not necessarily) include reference to Figure 6 The antenna 640, the transceiver 635, the bus 610, the UE communication manager 615, the modem manager 616, the modem manager 617, the processor 620, and / or the memory 625.

[0121] The method 400 continues at block 450 with the UE (eg, using the processor 620, the UE communication manager 615, etc.) muting the actual measurements of the signals associated with the secondary node. Silencing the measurements of the signals associated with the secondary node may include muting the measurements of the signals associated with the reference node. Figure 2A 233 and / or Figure 3Aspects similar to those described in 306 of . After the UE instructs the primary node to release the connection of the UE to the secondary node, the UE may stop performing measurements of signals associated with the secondary node (e.g., reference signals, such as CSI-RS, primary synchronization signal (PSS), secondary synchronization signal (SSS) and / or other reference signals)). By not performing these signal measurements, the UE can save power in view of the detected power-related conditions. When the actual measurements are silenced, the UE completely stops reporting signal measurements associated with the secondary node to the primary node or may report artificial measurements to the primary node. Reporting signal measurements may include sending measurement reports for measurements of reference signals (such as CSI-RS, PSS, SSS, etc.). In this way, silencing signal measurements may include: the UE does not send measurement reports to the primary node. In a scenario where the primary node requests such measurements and it is useful for the UE to comply with such requests, the UE may send artificial measurements of signals associated with the secondary node by generating and sending data that is not based on actual measurements. It is to be understood that since the UE does not wish to connect to the secondary node to save power, such artificial measurements that are not generated based on actual measurements will be generated to indicate or simulate a poor signaling environment at the UE for signals associated with the secondary node. In this way, the primary node will not request the UE to add a secondary node based on the received artificial measurements. The means for performing the functionality of block 450 may (but not necessarily) include reference to Figure 6 The antenna 640, the transceiver 635, the bus 610, the UE communication manager 615, the modem manager 616, the modem manager 617, the processor 620, and / or the memory 625.

[0122] Method 400 continues at block 460 with the UE (eg, using processor 620, UE communication manager 615, etc.) detecting that the power-related condition of the UE has been alleviated. Detecting that the power-related condition of the UE has been alleviated may include communicating with reference to Figure 2B 254 and / or Figure 3327 of the present invention. In a manner similar to that described above with reference to block 420, one or more sensors of the UE may send a signal to the processor 620 or the UE communication manager 615 of the UE, wherein the signal indicates a voltage, a battery charge, or a temperature. Upon receiving the signal, the processor may compare the indicated voltage, battery charge, or temperature with an appropriate threshold value, and determine based on the comparison that the power-related condition of the UE has been alleviated. For example, the signal may indicate that the battery charge state is now above a battery charge threshold, the battery voltage is now above a battery voltage threshold, and / or the temperature is now below a temperature threshold. It is to be understood that the battery charge threshold, battery voltage threshold, and / or temperature threshold for detecting power-related conditions may be different from the battery charge threshold, battery voltage threshold, and / or temperature threshold for detecting that the power-related condition of the UE has been alleviated. For example, if the power-related condition of the UE is detected based on a threshold value of the battery charge being below 10% or 5% charge, the UE may be configured to detect that the power-related condition has been alleviated once the charge is greater than, for example, 20% or 15%. Similarly, if the power-related condition of the UE is detected based on the surface temperature exceeding 50° C. or 48° C., the UE may be configured to detect that the power-related condition has been alleviated once the surface temperature is below, for example, 40° C. or 35° C. The means for performing the functionality of block 460 may (but need not) include, for example, reference Figure 6 The bus 610, the UE communication manager 615, the processor 620, the memory 625, the temperature sensors 660-a, 660-b and 660c, and / or the battery sensor 660-d.

[0123] The method 400 continues at block 470 with unmuting, by the UE (e.g., using the processor 620, the UE communication manager 615, etc.), actual measurements of signals associated with the secondary node in response to detecting that the power-related condition of the UE has been alleviated. Unmuting the actual measurements after the power-related condition of the UE has been alleviated may include Figure 2B257, 260, 263, 266, 269, 272, 275, 278, 281, 284 and / or 287 of . In one aspect, the UE may begin measuring signals associated with the secondary node and subsequently report these measured signals (using data based on actual measurements) in response to detecting that the power-related condition of the UE has been alleviated. Based on these reported measurements, the primary node may determine to add the secondary node if these signal measurements indicate that the UE can maintain a good connection to the secondary node. Such reports may include: the UE reports a reference signal received power (RSRP), a received signal strength indicator (RSSI), a reference signal received quality (RSRQ), a channel quality indicator (CQI), etc. for reference signals (such as CSI-RS, PSS, SSS, etc.). The means for performing the functionality of box 470 may (but not necessarily) include reference Figure 6 The antenna 640, the transceiver 635, the bus 610, the UE communication manager 615, the modem manager 616, the modem manager 617, the processor 620, and / or the memory 625.

[0124] Figure 5 An example method 500 for reducing power consumption of a UE is illustrated. Optionally, the method 500 begins at 510 with the UE entering a multi-radio connectivity mode. Block 510 may be similar to, for example, the method described above with reference to FIG. Figure 4 The block 410 discussed. Alternatively, the method 500 may optionally begin at 515 with the UE entering a carrier aggregation (CA) mode. In one example of a CA mode, the UE may operate in a standalone (SA) mode with only a single node. In various examples, the single node in the CA mode may be an LTE node or an NR node. As will be seen later, unlike a multi-radio connectivity mode where there are two (or more) nodes, given the presence of a single node in CA, it is not possible to maintain a connection with the network through one node (such as a primary node) while releasing another node (such as a secondary node). Therefore, as further described below, in CA, a message may be sent that is intended to indicate to the network to stop scheduling on one or more secondary cells being used in CA mode.

[0125] Method 500 continues at 520 with the UE detecting a power-related condition of the UE. Block 520 may be similar to, for example, Figure 2A 227 and / or above references discussed Figure 4 Block 420 is discussed.

[0126] Method 500 continues at 523 with the UE determining whether each of the one or more secondary cells configured on the secondary node is a CQI-configured secondary cell configured with a channel quality indicator (CQI) or a non-CQI-configured secondary cell not configured with a CQI. As discussed elsewhere herein, in order to alleviate power-related conditions, it may be useful to send an RLF of the SCG to the primary node. In such cases, the connections of all secondary cells configured for the secondary node will be released. However, as an alternative to sending an RLF for the secondary node (which will release the connections to all secondary cells configured on the secondary node), a similar result can be achieved by the UE reporting a low CQI value (e.g., a zero (0) value), which indicates to the secondary node that the channel quality of a particular secondary cell is very low (even when the channel quality is good). The secondary node may then reduce or stop scheduling data on the secondary cell that receives the low CQI value based on the report. This mechanism may be useful in the case where a CQI has been configured for a given secondary cell. However, not all cells (particularly in NR) may be configured with a CQI. Therefore, in box 523, the UE may determine which secondary cells configured in the secondary node are configured with a CQI and which secondary cells are not configured with a CQI. This may enable the UE to subsequently use the CQI as a less drastic method for reducing power consumption without completely releasing the connection to the secondary node. In addition, in scenarios where there is a single node (such as in CA mode), the CQI may be used to maintain a connection with one or more cells while reducing or eliminating scheduling from at least one cell to help alleviate power-related conditions. As will be appreciated, even if CQI is configured for some or all cells (whether in CA mode or multi-radio connectivity mode), if the power-related condition is severe enough, the connection to all secondary cells may be released by transmitting an RLF with a message, or even unilaterally stopping all communications with the network, as discussed elsewhere in this document. However, reporting a low CQI may be useful in situations where power-related conditions are not so severe, where reducing or eliminating scheduling of data on one or more given secondary cells may be sufficient to alleviate the condition without releasing connections to all secondary cells.

[0127] The method 500 continues at block 525, where the UE may respond differently in different scenarios based on whether CQI is configured for all secondary cells, for a subset of secondary cells, or for no secondary cells. Thus, at block 525, for each secondary cell, it may be determined whether the secondary cell is a non-CQI configured secondary cell or a CQI configured secondary cell. Typically, when the UE receives an RRC message for configuring CQI reporting for a secondary cell, the cell is a CQI configured secondary cell. Thus, while block 525 may be illustrated as being after blocks 520 and 523, it is to be understood that the UE may make this determination based on RRC messages received before blocks 520 and 523. The UE may store, for example, whether a given cell is a CQI configured cell in a memory, and may subsequently retrieve such stored information later to determine whether none, some, or all secondary cells are CQI configured cells.

[0128] The method 500 continues at block 530 by sending a message to the primary node to indicate to release the connection of the UE to the secondary node at least in part in response to detecting the power-related condition of the UE. The sending in block 530 may be further based on the determination according to block 525 that none of the one or more secondary cells is a CQI-configured secondary cell. Block 530 may be similar to, for example, the method described in reference to Figure 4 In addition, as described above with reference to Figure 4 As described above, once the power-related condition of the UE is reduced, the UE can send a message to the primary node to instruct the primary node to reestablish the connection between the UE and the secondary node. Figure 5 It is not explicitly shown, but it is understood that the method may further include: detecting by the UE that the power-related condition has been alleviated, and in response to detecting that the power-related condition has been alleviated, sending a message to the primary node to re-establish the connection of the UE to one or more secondary cellular cells configured on the secondary node and / or sending a message to the secondary node to instruct the secondary node to resume scheduling on at least one secondary cellular cell configured on the secondary node.

[0129] Returning to block 525 and proceeding to block 535, if the UE determines that CQI is configured for all secondary cells (i.e., all secondary cells are CQI-configured secondary cells) or that CQI is configured for a subset of secondary cells (i.e., a subset of secondary cells are CQI-configured secondary cells), the UE may further determine whether each secondary cell determined to be a CQI-configured secondary cell configured with CQI is a periodic CQI-configured secondary cell or an aperiodic CQI-configured secondary cell. For periodic CQI-configured secondary cells, the UE may be configured to report the CQI of such cells based on a periodic reporting schedule configured via an RRC message. Therefore, in such a scenario, the UE periodically reports the CQI of such cells. Thus, in the event that it is determined that reducing or eliminating scheduling on such a cell is useful, the UE may report a low CQI value (e.g., a value of zero (0)) so that the network or secondary node can begin reducing or eliminating scheduling of data on such a cell for which the low CQI value is reported. However, in the case of an aperiodic CQI configured secondary cell, the UE reports the CQI upon receipt of a query from the network or secondary node. Thus, in the event that the cell is an aperiodic CQI configured secondary cell, the UE may or may not report a low CQI value based on the severity of the power-related condition, depending on whether the UE receives the query quickly enough, as further discussed below. Means for performing the functionality of blocks 523, 525, and 535 may (but do not necessarily) include, for example, reference Figure 6 The bus 610, the UE communication manager 615, the processor 620, the memory 625, the transceiver 635, and the antenna 640.

[0130] Moving forward from box 535, method 500 continues in box 580 by sending a message from the UE to the secondary node to indicate to the secondary node to stop scheduling on at least one secondary cell configured on the node in response to detecting a power-related condition of the UE, at least in part. The sending in box 535 can be further based on the determination of the secondary cell being a periodic CQI configuration secondary cell according to box 535. In the case of a non-periodic CQI configuration secondary cell, the message may or may not be sent, as will be described below. As just discussed, in one example, a message for indicating to the secondary node to stop scheduling may include the UE reporting a low CQI value to the network or the secondary node. In a scenario where the CQI configuration secondary cell is a periodic CQI configuration secondary cell, the UE knows the time when the next CQI should be reported based on the configured reporting schedule. In such a scenario, the UE can determine the severity of the power-related condition. If the power-related condition is not so severe as to indicate an immediate release of all secondary cells, and the UE can wait until the next reporting time, the UE can report a low CQI value at least once for each secondary cell determined to be a periodic CQI configuration type secondary cell. In the case where the UE determines that it is useful to report a low CQI multiple times for one or more secondary cells (e.g., to give the network enough time to stop scheduling data on those secondary cells), the UE can determine a time window during which the low CQI value is to be reported. The time window can be based in part on the periodicity of the CQI report. Thus, for example, if the UE determines that the CQI is to be reported twice or three times, the time window can be calculated to be long enough so that the CQI will be reported the expected number of times. The time window can be further based on the severity of the power-related condition and how quickly the UE wants to resolve the condition. During the time window, the UE reports the CQI and can continue to decode the downlink control information (DCI) and data for which the low CQI value is being reported, but even if they have been correctly decoded, a HARQ NACK is sent to further indicate to the network to stop scheduling on the cell. After this time window, the UE expects no further scheduling from the network and stops decoding DCI and data (as described below with reference to block 590), thereby saving power. In addition, some scenarios include cross-carrier reporting, where the CQI of a given secondary cell may be reported to another cell. For a secondary cell for which the UE reported a low CQI, the UE may continue to report a low CQI for such cell in any cross-carrier reports after scheduling on such cell has ceased. It is also understood that when a low CQI is reported for a given secondary cell, both the wideband and sub-band CQI will be reported as having a low CQI (e.g., a CQI value of zero (0)).

[0131] In a scenario where the CQI-configured secondary cell is an aperiodic CQI-configured secondary cell, the UE may or may not report a low CQI value based on whether a query for a CQI report is received for a given secondary cell within a time window. As described above, in some cases, the time window may be based in part on the periodicity of the periodic CQI-configured cell. In an aperiodic scenario, the time window may be determined by the UE based on, for example, the periodicity of another secondary cell (e.g., another secondary cell for which the UE also intends to report a low CQI). Additionally, as described above, the time window may also be based on a power-related condition and its severity. When the power-related condition does not need to be immediately alleviated, the UE may determine a time window during which the UE may report a low CQI for a periodic CQI-configured secondary cell and may wait for a query from the network for an aperiodic CQI-configured secondary cell. Thus, returning to block 535, in a scenario where some or all CQI configuration secondary cells are aperiodic, if at least one (and preferably several) queries are sent from the network to the UE to request CQI reports, the method 500 moves to block 580 and the UE responds to the queries. In such a scenario, the UE will report a low CQI value for one or more aperiodic CQI configuration secondary cells in response to a query from the network to report CQIs for the one or more aperiodic CQI configuration secondary cells received during a time window determined by the UE, as described above.

[0132] Continuing with reference to block 580 and reporting low CQI values ​​for secondary cells to mitigate power-related conditions, it may be noted that the network behavior in response to a reported CQI value of zero (0) may be unpredictable in some cases. Therefore, prior to and independently of any power-related conditions, the UE may test the network behavior by reporting a CQI value of zero (0) to discover the behavior of the network. For example, if the network does not stop scheduling after the UE reports a low CQI value (e.g., a CQI value of zero (0)), this information may be used by the UE to determine how the UE responds to the actual power-related condition of the UE. In such cases, the UE may simply move to block 530 without moving to 580, even when some or all of the secondary cells are CQI-configured secondary cells. Additionally or alternatively, if the UE determines that the network takes a specific amount of time before stopping scheduling transmissions on a secondary cell reported as having a low CQI, this information may be used by the UE to determine a time window during which to report the CQI and / or a number of times the UE should report a low CQI before the node stops scheduling the secondary cell. This information may also be used by the UE to determine whether there is sufficient time for CQI reporting, taking into account the severity of any given power-related condition and how quickly it should be alleviated.

[0133] The method 500 may optionally continue at block 590 with stopping decoding of secondary cell transmissions of the at least one secondary cell configured on the node. In an example where block 525 determines that a subset of the secondary cells configured in the secondary node are CQI-configured cells and low CQI values ​​are reported for such CQI-configured cells, the UE expects that the network will stop scheduling DCI and / or data on such cells, and thus the UE saves power by stopping decoding DCI and / or data for such cells, thereby alleviating the power-related condition. Additionally or alternatively, at block 590, the method 500 includes continuing to communicate with the remaining set of secondary cells. When it is determined at block 525 that only a subset of the secondary cells are configured for CQI (i.e., only a subset of the cells are CQI-configured secondary cells), the UE may report CQI for such cells, as described above. For the remaining set of the one or more secondary cells configured on the secondary node (those secondary cells that are not CQI configured secondary cells or are CQI configured secondary cells but for which low CQI values ​​are not reported), the UE continues to communicate.

[0134] The means for performing the functionality of blocks 580 and 590 may (but need not) include reference to Figure 6 The antenna 640, the transceiver 635, the bus 610, the UE communication manager 615, the modem manager 616 and / or the modem manager 617, the processor 620, and / or the memory 625.

[0135] In view of the above discussion, it is understood that in the multi-radio connectivity mode, the UE may determine that the power-related condition is too severe, and therefore may seek to release all secondary cells configured in the secondary node. In addition, it is understood that the UE may alternatively determine that the power-related condition can be alleviated by only stopping decoding all or some secondary cells configured on the secondary node without releasing the connection to all secondary cells. In such a case, the UE may determine which secondary cells in the one or more secondary cells are to be stopped from decoding. In order to determine which secondary cells are to be stopped from decoding, the UE may select a secondary cell with a lower throughput than other secondary cells. If these selected cells are CQI-configured secondary cells, and if the UE is able to report a low CQI value at least once for these cells (as described above), the UE may stop decoding on these cells, thereby saving power. This may continue until the power-related condition is alleviated, and the UE may then report an improved CQI value, for example, by previously reporting a low CQI (all) secondary cell or by cross-carrier reporting, and the network may thereafter start scheduling again on (all) secondary cells as soon as possible.

[0136] Returning again to box 515, in some scenarios of method 500, the UE may be in CA mode rather than multi-radio connectivity mode. In such scenarios, it is understood that when in CA mode, the UE is connected to a single node (rather than a primary node and a secondary node) and the (single) node includes a primary cell and one or more secondary cells. Therefore, in box 523, in the CA scenario, the single node determines whether each of the one or more secondary cells configured in the node is a CQI-configured secondary node or a non-CQI-configured secondary cell, rather than the secondary node making the determination. The CQI report may then proceed as described above for the CQI-configured secondary cell. In addition, referring to box 530, in CA mode, if no secondary cell is a CQI-configured secondary cell, then instead of sending a message, in one implementation, the UE may instead simply stop communicating with the network without sending any message to the network. Additionally or alternatively, the UE may simply cease communication with the network without any message to the network after the UE determines that the number of CQI-enabled secondary cells is insufficient to alleviate the power-related condition. The UE thereby saves power to alleviate the power-related condition, and the network may assume that the UE is out of service or has a radio link failure without receiving a message from the UE. In any case, the UE may subsequently seek to reestablish connection with the network after the power-related condition has been alleviated.

[0137] Figure 6 A diagram of a system 600 including a device 605 supporting power saving for multiple connectivity UEs according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The device 605 may be as described above, for example with reference to Figures 1A to 4Examples of components of the described UE 115 or include these components. The device 605 may include components for two-way voice and data communication, including components for transmitting and receiving communications, including a UE communication manager 615, a processor 620, a memory 625, software 630, a transceiver 635, an antenna 640, an I / O controller 645, and (all) I / O components 650. These components may be in communication (e.g., electronic communication) or coupled via one or more buses (e.g., bus 610). To power other components, the device 605 may include a battery 655. Additionally, the device 605 may include temperature sensors 660-a and 660-b to measure the temperature of components that may become too hot when consuming power (such as, for example, the transceiver 635 (which may include, for example, a baseband processor and / or a modem) or the antenna 640). In addition, the device 605 may include a temperature sensor at other locations (such as on an external package, as in the temperature sensor 660-c) to measure the surface temperature. Although the sensors 660-a, 660-b, and 660-c are shown without an indication of a connection to the bus 610 for simplicity of illustration, it is understood that each sensor may be connected to the bus 610 or otherwise connected to the processor 620 and / or the UE communications manager 615. The device 605 may communicate with one or more base stations (e.g., base stations 105-a and 105-b (described above, for example, with reference to Figure 1B )) for wireless communication.

[0138] Figure 6 The UE communication manager 615 may include a modem manager 616 associated with the primary node and a modem manager 617 associated with the secondary node. In a scenario where the MN and the SN operate using different RATs, the modem manager 616 may be associated with a first RAT (such as LTE), for example, and the modem manager 617 may be associated with a second RAT (such as NR), for example. Additionally or alternatively, a single modem manager 616 or 617 may be associated with a single node operating in CA mode, which may be an LTE or NR node.

[0139] The processor 620 may include an intelligent hardware device (e.g., a general purpose processor, a DSP, a central processing unit (CPU), a microcontroller, an ASIC, an FPGA, a programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic component, a discrete hardware component, or any combination thereof). In some cases, the processor 620 may be configured to operate a memory array using a memory controller. In other cases, the memory controller may be integrated into the processor 620. The processor 620 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in the memory to perform various functions (e.g., functions or tasks that support power saving of multi-connectivity UEs). Information such as operating system (OS) information, application statistics, application throughput, temperature, battery charge, or voltage status may be communicated between the various components of the device 605 via the bus 610, and the communication may be incorporated into an interface (such as a modem to application processor interface). As discussed above, the processor 620 is in communication with the sensor(s) 660, the transceiver 635, and the memory 625 via the bus 610. It is to be understood that when executing Figure 2A , 2B , 3, 4 and 5, the processor 620 may use the sensor(s) 660, the transceiver 635 and / or the memory 625 to perform various functions. For example, when detecting a power-related condition of the UE, the processor 620 may perform such detection via the sensor(s) 660 or receive a signal from the sensor(s) 660. Additionally, when sending, transmitting or receiving data or messages to or from the network, the processor 620 may perform such sending, transmitting or receiving via the transceiver 635. In addition, when performing various functions, the processor 620 may execute instructions stored in the memory 625 to instruct the processor to perform various functions.

[0140] The memory 625 may include random access memory (RAM) and read-only memory (ROM). The memory 625 may be a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-readable, computer-executable code or software 630 including instructions that, when executed, instruct a processor (e.g., processor 620, UE communication manager 615) to perform various functions described herein, such as Figure 2A , 2B , 3 and / or 4. In some cases, the memory 625 may include, among other things, a basic input / output system (BIOS) that controls basic hardware or software operations, such as interaction with peripheral components or devices.

[0141] The software 630 may include code for implementing various aspects of the present disclosure, including code for supporting power conservation of multi-connectivity UEs. The software 630 may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium (such as a system memory or other memory). In some cases, the software 630 may not be directly executable by a processor, but may instruct a computer (e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform the functions described herein, such as Figure 2A , 2B , 3 and / or 4.

[0142] The transceiver 635 may communicate bidirectionally via one or more antennas, wired or wireless links, as described above. For example, the transceiver 635 may represent a wireless transceiver and may communicate bidirectionally with another wireless transceiver. The transceiver 635 may also include a modem to modulate packets and provide the modulated packets to the antenna for transmission, and demodulate packets from signals received from the antenna. In one example, the transceiver 635 may include multiple modems (separate or integrated) associated with multiple RATs. For example, the transceiver 635 may include at least a 5G / NR modem and a 4G / LTE modem, but it is understood that in other implementations, a single modem may perform modulation / demodulation for both 5G and 4G. In such a single modem implementation, it is understood that the modem may be configured similarly to that described with reference to FIG. Figure 4 The manner discussed in block 440 of the present invention is to reduce power or power down certain subcomponents of a single modem.

[0143] In some cases, a wireless device may include a single antenna 640. However, in some cases, the device may have more than one antenna 640, which may be capable of transmitting or receiving multiple wireless transmissions concurrently. Additionally or alternatively, the antenna(s) 640 may include one or more antenna arrays, each of which includes multiple antenna elements.

[0144] I / O controller 645 can manage input and output signals for device 605. I / O controller 645 can also manage peripheral devices that are not integrated into device 605. In some cases, I / O controller 645 can represent a physical connection or port to an external peripheral device. In some cases, I / O controller 645 can utilize an operating system, such as Or another known operating system. In other cases, I / O controller 645 may represent or interact with a modem, keyboard, mouse, touch screen, or similar device. In some cases, I / O controller 645 may be implemented as part of a processor. In some cases, a user may interact with device 605 via I / O controller 645 or via hardware components controlled by I / O controller 645.

[0145] I / O component(s) 650 may include various components and / or features that enable interaction with device 605. For example, I / O component(s) may include a screen, touch screen, speaker, microphone, keyboard, or other I / O device.

[0146] The technology described herein can be used in various wireless communication systems, such as code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) and other systems. CDMA systems can implement radio technologies such as CDMA2000, Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA). CDMA2000 covers IS-2000, IS-95 and IS-856 standards. IS-2000 versions are generally referred to as CDMA2000 1X, 1X, etc. IS-856 (TIA-856) is generally referred to as CDMA2000 1xEV-DO, High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), etc. UTRA includes Wideband CDMA (WCDMA) and other variants of CDMA. TDMA systems can implement radio technologies such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM).

[0147] OFDMA systems can implement radio technologies such as Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), E-UTRA, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Flash-OFDM, etc. UTRA and E-UTRA are part of Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS). LTE and LTE-A are versions of UMTS that use E-UTRA. UTRA, E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE, LTE-A, NR, and GSM are described in documents from an organization named "3rd Generation Partnership Project" (3GPP). CDMA2000 and UMB are described in documents from an organization named "3rd Generation Partnership Project 2" (3GPP2). The techniques described herein can be used for the systems and radio technologies mentioned above as well as for other systems and radio technologies. Although aspects of LTE or NR systems may be described for example purposes, and LTE or NR terminology may be used in most descriptions, the techniques described herein may also be applied to applications other than LTE or NR applications.

[0148] One or more wireless communication systems 100 described herein may support synchronous or asynchronous operation. For synchronous operation, the base stations 105 may have similar frame timing, and transmissions from different base stations 105 may be approximately aligned in time. For asynchronous operation, the base stations 105 may have different frame timing, and transmissions from different base stations 105 may not be aligned in time. The techniques described herein may be used for synchronous or asynchronous operation.

[0149] The information and signals described herein may be represented using any of a variety of different techniques and technologies. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be mentioned throughout the above description may be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, optical fields or optical particles, or any combination thereof.

[0150] The various illustrative blocks and modules described in conjunction with the disclosure herein may be implemented or executed with a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device (PLD), discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices (e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration).

[0151] The functions described herein may be implemented in hardware, software executed by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software executed by a processor, the functions may be stored on or transmitted by a computer-readable medium as one or more instructions or codes. Other examples and implementations fall within the scope of this disclosure and the appended claims. For example, due to the nature of software, the functions described above may be implemented using software executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hardwiring, or any combination thereof. Features that implement the functions may also be physically located in various locations, including being distributed so that parts of the functions are implemented at different physical locations.

[0152] Computer readable medium includes both non-transient computer storage medium and communication medium, and it includes any medium that facilitates computer program to transfer from one place to another place.Non-transient storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by general or special-purpose computer.As an example and not limitation, non-transient computer readable medium can include random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, compact disk (CD) ROM or other optical disk storage, disk storage or other magnetic storage device, or can be used to carry or store instruction or data structure form of desired program code means and can be accessed by general or special-purpose computer or general or special-purpose processor any other non-transient medium.Any connection is also properly referred to as computer readable medium.For example, if software is transmitted from website, server or other remote source using coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL) or wireless technology such as infrared, radio and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL or wireless technology such as infrared, radio and microwave are just included in the definition of medium. Disk and disc as used herein include CDs, laser discs, optical discs, digital versatile discs (DVDs), floppy disks, and Blu-ray discs, where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above are also included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0153] As used herein (including in the claims), "or" used in a list of items (e.g., a list of items with a phrase such as "at least one of" or "one or more of") indicates an inclusive list, so that, for example, a list of at least one of A, B, or C means A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C). Similarly, as used herein, the phrase "based on" should not be interpreted as referring to a closed set of conditions. For example, an exemplary step described as "based on condition A" may be based on both condition A and condition B without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In other words, as used herein, the phrase "based on" should be interpreted in the same manner as the phrase "based at least in part on."

[0154] In the accompanying drawings, similar components or features may have the same reference number. In addition, various components of the same type may be distinguished by following the reference number with a dash and a second reference number that distinguishes between similar components. If only the first reference number is used in the specification, the description may apply to any of the similar components having the same first reference number regardless of the second reference number, or other subsequent reference numbers.

[0155] The descriptions set forth herein in conjunction with the accompanying drawings describe example configurations and do not represent all examples that may be implemented or that fall within the scope of the claims. The term "exemplary" as used herein means "used as an example, instance, or illustration" and does not mean "better than" or "better than other examples." This detailed description includes specific details to provide an understanding of the described techniques. However, these techniques may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form to avoid obscuring the concepts of the described examples.

[0156] The description herein is provided to enable those skilled in the art to make or use the present disclosure. Various modifications to the present disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the universal principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Thus, the present disclosure is not limited to the examples and designs described herein, but should be granted the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A method for reducing power consumption of a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: Entering, by the UE, a multi-radio connectivity mode in which the UE is capable of receiving user data from a primary node or a secondary node, wherein the primary node controls a connection of the UE to the secondary node in the multi-radio connectivity mode, and the secondary node comprises one or more secondary cells; Determining, by the UE, whether each of the one or more secondary cells configured on the secondary node is a CQI-configured secondary cell configured with a channel quality indicator (CQI); detecting, by the UE, a power-related condition of the UE; and In response at least in part to detecting the power-related condition of the UE, performing the following operations: A message is sent from the UE to the primary node to instruct the primary node to release the connection between the UE and the secondary node, wherein sending the message to instruct the primary node to release the connection between the UE and the secondary node is further based on determining that none of the one or more secondary cells configured on the secondary node is a CQI-configured secondary cell.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: In response at least in part to detecting the power-related condition of the UE, a message is sent from the UE to the secondary node to instruct the secondary node to stop scheduling on at least one secondary cell configured on the secondary node.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: For each secondary cell determined as a CQI-configuration secondary cell configured with a CQI, the UE further determines whether the CQI-configuration secondary cell is a periodic CQI-configuration secondary cell or an aperiodic CQI-configuration secondary cell.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein: Sending the message to indicate to the secondary node to stop scheduling on at least one secondary cell configured on the secondary node includes reporting a CQI value of zero (0) at least once for each secondary cell determined as a periodic CQI configuration type secondary cell.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein: Reporting a CQI value of zero (0) at least once for each secondary cell determined as a periodic CQI configuration secondary cell includes reporting the CQI value during a time window determined by the UE.

6. The method of claim 4, further comprising: ceasing, by the UE, decoding transmissions of secondary cells in a subset of the one or more secondary cells configured on the secondary node that are determined by the UE to be secondary cells of periodic CQI configuration; as well as The UE continues to communicate with a remaining set of the one or more secondary cells configured on the secondary node for which a CQI value of zero (0) is not reported.

7. The method of claim 3, wherein: Sending the message to instruct the secondary node to stop scheduling on at least one secondary cell configured on the secondary node includes: the UE reports a CQI value of zero (0) for one or more non-periodic CQI-configured secondary cells in response to a query from the network to report the CQI for the one or more non-periodic CQI-configured secondary cells received during a time window determined by the UE.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining, by the UE, that the power-related condition can be alleviated by stopping decoding for only some secondary cells; as well as Which of the one or more secondary cells are to stop decoding is determined by the UE by selecting a secondary cell having a lower throughput than other secondary cells.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising: A CQI value of zero (0) is reported by the UE for a secondary cell independent of detecting the power-related condition of the UE to test network behavior.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising: One or more components associated with receiving transmissions from the secondary node are powered down, by the UE.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising: In response to detecting the power-related condition of the UE, actual measurements of signals associated with the secondary node are muted by the UE.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein: The multi-radio connectivity mode is an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) New Radio (NR) Dual Connectivity (EN-DC) mode, the primary node is associated with an E-UTRA network, and the secondary node is associated with an NR network, and The message used to instruct the E-UTRA network to release the connection of the UE to the NR network is an SCG Failure Information NR message.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein: Sending the SCG failure information NR message includes: including a failure type in the SCG failure information NR message to indicate a synchronization reconfiguration failure.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein: Sending the SCG failure information NR message includes: Sending the SCG failure information NR message without the measurement result frequency list NR field; or The SCG Failure Information NR message is sent with a Measurement Result Frequency List NR field, wherein the Measurement Result Frequency List NR field contains data generated by the UE not based on actual measurements.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising: detecting, by the UE, that the power-related condition of the UE has been alleviated; as well as In response to detecting that the power-related condition of the UE has been alleviated, actual measurements of signals associated with the secondary node are unmuted by the UE.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein: The power-related condition of the UE includes: The battery power state of the battery of the UE drops below a battery power threshold; A battery voltage of the battery of the UE drops below a battery voltage threshold; The temperature reading of the UE exceeds a temperature threshold; or Any combination thereof.

17. A user equipment (UE), comprising: sensor; Transceiver; Memory; as well as a processor in communication with the sensor, the transceiver, and the memory, the processor being configured to: entering a multi-radio connectivity mode in which the UE is capable of receiving user data from a primary node or a secondary node, wherein the primary node controls the multi-radio connectivity mode and the secondary node includes one or more secondary cells; receiving a signal from the sensor indicating a power-related condition of the UE; determining whether each of the one or more secondary cells configured on the secondary node is a CQI-configured secondary cell configured with a channel quality indicator (CQI); and In response at least in part to receiving the signal indicating the power-related condition of the UE, perform the following operations: A message is sent to the main node via the transceiver to instruct the main node to release the connection between the UE and the secondary node, and the processor is further configured to: further send the message to instruct the main node to release the connection between the UE and the secondary node in response to determining that none of the one or more secondary cells configured on the secondary node is a CQI-configured secondary cell.

18. A UE as claimed in claim 17, wherein the processor is further configured to: at least partially in response to receiving the signal indicating the power-related condition of the UE, send a message to the secondary node via the transceiver to instruct the secondary node to stop scheduling on at least one secondary cellular cell configured on the secondary node.

19. The UE according to claim 17, wherein: the sensor is a battery charge sensor, and the signal indicative of the power-related condition of the UE indicates that a battery charge state of a battery of the UE has fallen below a battery charge threshold, the sensor is a battery voltage sensor, and the signal indicative of the power-related condition of the UE indicates that a battery voltage of the battery of the UE has dropped below a battery voltage threshold, or The sensor is a temperature sensor, and the signal indicative of the power-related condition of the UE indicates that a temperature reading of the UE exceeds a temperature threshold.

20. The UE of claim 17, wherein the processor is further configured to: detecting that the power-related condition of the UE has been alleviated; and Actual measurements of signals associated with the secondary node are un-muted in response to detecting that the power-related condition of the UE has been alleviated.

21. The UE of claim 17, wherein the processor is further configured to: For each secondary cell determined as a CQI-configuration secondary cell configured with a CQI, the UE determines whether the CQI-configuration secondary cell is a periodic CQI-configuration secondary cell or an aperiodic CQI-configuration secondary cell.

22. The UE of claim 17, wherein the processor is further configured to: Stop decoding transmissions of secondary cells in a subset of the one or more secondary cells configured on the secondary node that are determined by the UE as periodic CQI configuration secondary cells; and The UE continues to communicate with a remaining set of the one or more secondary cells configured on the secondary node for which a CQI value of zero (0) is not reported.

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