Method and apparatus for dynamic power sharing and managing maximum power of a secondary carrier

Abstract

Provided is management of the use of dynamic power sharing for dual carrier operation. An allowable tolerance corresponding to a maximum expected possible deviation between a power level to which communication via a primary cell group is to be set as requested by a user equipment and an actual power level of transmitting corresponding communication via the primary cell group is identified (802). While taking into account the identified allowable tolerance, a lower limit of a maximum configured power of a secondary cell group is determined (804) such that the user equipment can meet transmission requirements during dual carrier operation and a total power constraint of any overall communication of the user equipment. The lower limit of the maximum configured power of carriers of the secondary cell group is set (806) at the determined level.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to dynamic power sharing and managing the maximum power of a secondary carrier, including dynamic power sharing for dual-carrier operation that determines a lower limit level of the maximum configured power of a secondary cell group. Background Art

[0002] Currently, in a network environment that may include one or more cells, a user equipment such as a wireless communication device communicates with other communication devices using wireless signals. Within these cells, various communication connections with the network and other devices operating within the network can be supported. A network environment typically involves one or more sets of standards, each of which defines various aspects of any communication connection made when using the corresponding standard within the network environment. Examples of developed and / or existing standards include New Radio Access Technology (NR), Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA), Long Term Evolution (LTE), Universal Mobile Telecommunications Service (UMTS), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), and / or Enhanced Data GSM Environment (EDGE).

[0003] To support greater data throughput, service providers are increasingly focusing on technologies that expand the available bandwidth allowed for a particular user within the system. At least some bandwidth expansion technologies include using carrier aggregation, dual-carrier, and / or dual-connectivity, where multiple frequency bands from one or more networks are selected to operate together. For example, by utilizing more than one carrier via carrier aggregation, the total transmit bandwidth associated with a particular data channel can be increased and the data capacity of that channel can be enhanced accordingly. Additionally and / or alternatively, a dual-carrier or multi-carrier approach can allow two or more spectrum allocations to be paired and / or used in parallel, including alternatively spectrum allocations associated with different standards and / or radio access technologies, which can also be used to support the ability to enhance and / or provide more robust data throughput.

[0004] This possibility may better support the initial stage of network construction, which involves the initial adoption of a particular standard, where the regional coverage of an emerging standard may be at least initially incomplete. During such a transition, it may be beneficial to better support the transition to an emerging standard by allowing the bearer of the new standard to be supported in combination with the infrastructure of a more mature or previously established standard, and / or to use the more mature standard to supplement the coverage of the emerging standard for coexisting communications.

[0005] In at least some cases, the network infrastructure that supports each standard may alternatively be referred to as a cell group. In some of these cases, one cell group may be prioritized over another cell group. In such a case, the prioritized cell group may be referred to as the primary cell group and the non-prioritized cell group may be referred to as the secondary cell group.

[0006] In the presence of multiple connections, where, in some cases, individual connections may involve connections to different network infrastructures, managing the overall operation of communication connections in a particular user equipment with respect to potentially multiple networks can pose challenges, as some decisions may need to be made in an environment where each participant may not have complete information.

[0007] The present inventors have recognized that existing specifications may be too conservative with respect to when to allow a user equipment not to transmit or scale the power used in association with a secondary cell group, where it is reasonable for the secondary cell group to know the expected configured power of the primary cell group, and this can take into account the allowed tolerance identified with respect to a particular communication with the primary cell group, which in turn can be used as part of a decision-making process regarding whether to require the user equipment to transmit or not transmit in the secondary cell group and the corresponding power levels. Summary of the Invention

[0008] The present application provides a method for managing the use of dynamic power sharing for dual-carrier operation in a user equipment, the dual-carrier operation including respective communications via a primary cell group and a secondary cell group. The method includes identifying an allowed tolerance corresponding to the maximum expected possible deviation between a power level to which the user equipment requests to set a communication via the primary cell group and an actual power level at which the corresponding communication via the primary cell group is transmitted. While taking into account the allowed tolerance identified with respect to any communication via the primary cell group, determining a level of a lower limit of the maximum configured power of the secondary cell group such that the user equipment can meet the transmission requirements for communicating via each of the primary cell group and the secondary cell group during the dual-carrier operation, as well as a total power constraint for any overall communication of the user equipment. Setting the lower limit of the maximum configured power of the carrier of the secondary cell group at the determined level.

[0009] According to another possible embodiment, a user equipment for managing the use of dynamic power sharing for dual carrier operation is provided, the dual carrier operation including respective communications via a primary cell group and a secondary cell group. The user equipment includes a transceiver and a controller coupled to the transceiver, the controller identifying an allowed tolerance corresponding to a maximum expected possible deviation between a power level to which the controller requests the transceiver to set the communication via the primary cell group and an actual power level at which the corresponding communication via the primary cell group is transmitted. The controller further determines a level of a lower limit of a maximum configured power of the secondary cell group while taking into account the identified allowed tolerance with respect to any communication via the primary cell group, such that the user equipment is able to meet transmission requirements for communicating via each of the primary cell group and the secondary cell group during the dual carrier operation, as well as a total power constraint for any overall communication of the user equipment. The controller further sets the lower limit of the maximum configured power of the carrier of the secondary cell group at the determined level.

[0010] These and other objects, features and advantages of the present application will be apparent from the following description of one or more preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] Figure 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary network environment in which the present invention is applicable for operation;

[0012] Figure 2 is a table providing a summary of allowed scaling / dropping behavior for an E-UTRA-NR dual carrier with dynamic power sharing;

[0013] Figure 3 is a graph illustrating allowed scaling and dropping behavior for a general inter-band E-UTRA-NR dual carrier;

[0014] Figure 4 is a graph illustrating behavior allowed in Technical Specification 38.101-3 relative to dynamic power sharing behavior in Technical Specification 38.213 when the maximum power reduction for LTE and NR carriers is equal to 2 dB;

[0015] Figure 5 is a graph illustrating behavior allowed in Technical Specification 38.101-3 relative to dynamic power sharing behavior for full resource block allocation in Technical Specification 38.213;

[0016] Figure 6 is a graph illustrating the in-band lower limit of the configured maximum output power of an NR carrier as a function of the configured LTE power;

[0017] Figure 7is a graph showing the inter-band lower limit of the maximum output power of an NR carrier configured as a function of the LTE power configured when the maximum power of the NR carrier is reduced to 2 dB;

[0018] Figure 8 is a flowchart in a user equipment for managing the use of dynamic power sharing for dual-carrier operation, including a determined level of the lower limit of the maximum configured power of a secondary cell group, taking into account the allowed tolerance identified in the primary cell group transmission;

[0019] Figure 9 is a flowchart in a user equipment for managing the use of dynamic power sharing for dual-carrier operation, including a determined level of the lower limit of the maximum configured power of a secondary cell group, taking into account the allowed tolerance identified from a power headroom report; and

[0020] Figure 10 is an example block diagram of an apparatus according to a possible embodiment. Detailed Description

[0021] Although the present disclosure may take various forms of embodiments, the currently preferred embodiments are shown in the drawings and will be described hereinafter, but it should be understood that the present disclosure should be regarded as an example of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention to the specific embodiments shown.

[0022] Embodiments provide for managing the use of dynamic power sharing related to dual-carrier operation.

[0023] Figure 1 is an example block diagram of a system 100 according to a possible embodiment. The system 100 may include: a wireless communication device 110, such as a user equipment (UE); a base station 120, such as an evolved Node B (eNB) or a next-generation Node B (gNB); and a network 130. The wireless communication device 110 may be a wireless terminal, a portable wireless communication device, a smart phone, a cellular phone, a flip phone, a personal digital assistant, a personal computer, a pager, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, or any other device capable of transmitting and receiving communication signals over a wireless network.

[0024] The network 130 may include any type of network capable of transmitting and receiving wireless communication signals. For example, the network 130 may include a wireless communication network, a cellular phone network, a time division multiple access (TDMA)-based network, a code division multiple access (CDMA)-based network, an orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA)-based network, a long term evolution (LTE) network, a fifth generation (5G) network, a third generation partnership project (3GPP)-based network, a satellite communication network, a high altitude platform network, the Internet, and / or other communication networks.

[0025] As described above, the Technical Specification (TS) 38.101-3 of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project radio access network (titled "NR; User Equipment (UE) radio transmission and reception; Part 3: Range 1 and Range 2 Interworking operation with other radios") does not require a dynamically power-sharing UE to implement dynamic power sharing in the sense defined in the Technical Specification (TS) 38.213 of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project radio access network (titled "NR; Physical layer procedures for control"). In particular, when determining whether a secondary cell group (SCG) should be scaled or dropped regardless of the actual power transmitted on the master cell group (MCG), the UE is always allowed to assume that the master cell group (MCG) for Long Term Evolution (LTE) transmits at its individual maximum power P CMAX,E -UTRA. As a result of this definition, a UE that does not require dynamic power sharing does not implement dynamic power sharing in the sense that the unused power of the MCG is not required to be available for the SCG.

[0026] The scaling and dropping conditions in TS 38.101-3 depend on conditions "a" and "b", which are defined as follows:

[0027] a = 10 log 10 [p CMAX_E-UTRA,c (p) + p CMAX,f,c,NR (q)] > P EN-DC,tot_L ; and

[0028] b = 10 log 10 [p CMAX_E-UTRA,c (p) + p CMAX,f,c,NR (q) / X_scale] > P EN-DC,tot_L

[0029] where, if "b" is TRUE, the UE is allowed to drop the NR carrier, and if "a" is TRUE and "b" is FALSE, the UE is allowed to scale p CMAX,f,c,NR by X_scale. As described above, the current requirements in TS 38.101-3 have several negative impacts, including the following parts:

[0030] i) For multiple actual deployment scenarios, condition "b" is always TRUE, and as long as there is transmission on the MCG, the dynamically power-sharing UE is allowed to drop the SCG carrier.

[0031] ii) For a deployment scenario where condition “a” is true and condition “b” is false, the UE is allowed to scale the SCG even if no scaling is required to meet the transmit or total power constraint.

[0032] iii) There is no requirement that the power unused by the MCG be made available for the SCG. Thus, the specification allows dynamic power sharing but does not require it.

[0033] Fundamentally, in order to require the UE to achieve dynamic power sharing in the sense described in TS 38.213, the P of the SCG CMAX_L must be a function of the actual MCG power Due to the absolute power tolerance, the UE cannot accurately know Therefore, there are concerns about the feasibility and testability of such a requirement. In this document, we address these issues and consider alternative proposals for defining the dynamic power sharing requirement, which allows the UE to make the power unused by the LTE carrier available for the NR carrier.

[0034] Malicious behaviors allowed by the SCG scaling / dropping conditions in TS 38.101-3

[0035] The scaling and dropping rules in TS 38.101-3 have been studied for various intra-band and inter-band EN-DC scenarios, and the results are provided in Figure 2 More specifically, Figure 2 Figure 200 is illustrated, which provides an overview of the allowed scaling / dropping behavior for an E-UTRA-NR dual carrier with dynamic power sharing.

[0036] From Figure 2 the table shown, we have the following four observations:

[0037] Observation 1: For DC_(n)71AA, when there is MCG transmission, the UE is always allowed to drop SCG transmission, regardless of the RB allocation, modulation, value of X_scale, and the actual transmission power on the MCG howsoever.

[0038] Observation 2: For the general intra-band discontinuous EN-DC scenario in Table 1, when there is MCG transmission, the UE is always allowed to drop SCG transmission, regardless of the RB allocation, modulation, value of X_scale, and the actual transmission power on the MCG howsoever.

[0039] Observation 3: For the general intra-band continuous EN-DC scenario in Table 1, if the modulation of the MCG is 64-QAM or less, then when there is MCG transmission, the UE is always allowed to drop SCG transmission, regardless of the RB allocation, value of X_scale, and the actual transmission power on the MCG No matter how, it's always like this.

[0040] Observation 4: For the general inter-band EN-DC scenario in Table 1, if the modulation order of both the MCG and SCG is 64-QAM or less, then when there is MCG transmission, the UE is always allowed to scale the SCG transmission, regardless of the RB allocation, the value of X_scale, and the actual transmission power on the MCG. No matter how, it's always like this.

[0041] We now consider some more detailed examples that illustrate the differences between the RAN1 requirements in TS 38.213 and the allowed behaviors in TS 38.101-3.

[0042] Example 1: General inter-band EN-DC without network signaling (NS)

[0043] We start from Figure 2 considering the general inter-band case without NS signaling, where P LTE = P NR = P ENDC = 23 dBm. Depending on the maximum power reduction (MPR) applied to each carrier, any of the following conditions are possible.

[0044] a = FALSE Scaling or discarding of the SCG is not allowed.

[0045] a = TRUE, b = FALSE SCG scaling is allowed.

[0046] a = TRUE, b = TRUE SCG discarding is always allowed.

[0047] The different regions are marked in Figure 3 . More specifically, Figure 3 is the graph 300, which illustrates the allowed scaling and discarding behaviors for the general inter-band E-UTRA-NR dual carriers. It should be noted that these regions depend on the MPR (which depends on the modulation type and the allocation size and location), but are independent of the actual transmission power and . It can be observed from Figure 3 that if the modulation order on both carriers is less than or equal to 64-QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation) (for which the MPR = 3 dB), then the UE is always allowed to scale or discard the NR carrier, even if scaling is not required to meet the transmit or total power constraints. The UE only needs to transmit the NR carrier within the region above the blue line without scaling, and in this region, the LTE carrier or the NR carrier must transmit 256-QAM so that the allowed MPR on at least one of the two carriers is greater than 3 dB.

[0048] We now consider the allowed behavior of the UE when the MPR on both the LTE and NR carriers is equal to 2 dB. For this case, the sum of the P of the LTE and NR carriers is given by cmax,L is given by

[0049] 10log 10 (10 (23-2) / 10 +10 (23-2) / 10 ) = 24 dBm

[0050] such that condition "a" is true. If we assume that X_scale is 6 dB, then we have

[0051] 10log 10 (10 (23-2) / 10 +10 (23-2-6) / 10 ) = 22 dBm, such that condition "b" is FALSE. Therefore, the UE needs to transmit the NR carrier but is allowed to set the P of the NR carrier to be equal to 15 dBm, regardless of how little power is transmitted on the LTE carrier. For example, if the LTE carrier transmits only 13 dBm, the NR carrier only needs to transmit a maximum of 15 dBm, even though it can transmit up to 21 dBm and still satisfy the transmit and total power constraints. CMAX_L This problem is illustrated in

[0052] where it can be seen that the P of the NR carrier is 6 dB less than the P during dynamic power sharing described in TS 38.213. More specifically, Figure 4 is a graph showing the allowed behavior in Technical Specification 38.101-3 relative to the dynamic power sharing behavior in Technical Specification 38.213 when the maximum power reduction is equal to 2 dB for both the LTE and NR carriers. It should be clear from this example that even when a = TRUE and b = FALSE and the UE must transmit the NR carrier, dynamic power sharing is not required because the UE never needs to transmit more than 15 dBm on the NR carrier. Therefore, indicating support for dynamic power sharing allows the UE to meet the requirements in TS 38.101-3 without the UE having to share the power unused by the LTE carrier with the NR carrier. CMAX_L is 6 dB less than the P during dynamic power sharing described in TS 38.213. More specifically, CMAX_L is a graph showing the allowed behavior in Technical Specification 38.101-3 relative to the dynamic power sharing behavior in Technical Specification 38.213 when the maximum power reduction is equal to 2 dB for both the LTE and NR carriers. It should be clear from this example that even when a = TRUE and b = FALSE and the UE must transmit the NR carrier, dynamic power sharing is not required because the UE never needs to transmit more than 15 dBm on the NR carrier. Therefore, indicating support for dynamic power sharing allows the UE to meet the requirements in TS 38.101-3 without the UE having to share the power unused by the LTE carrier with the NR carrier. Figure 4 is a graph showing the allowed behavior in Technical Specification 38.101-3 relative to the dynamic power sharing behavior in Technical Specification 38.213 when the maximum power reduction is equal to 2 dB for both the LTE and NR carriers. It should be clear from this example that even when a = TRUE and b = FALSE and the UE must transmit the NR carrier, dynamic power sharing is not required because the UE never needs to transmit more than 15 dBm on the NR carrier. Therefore, indicating support for dynamic power sharing allows the UE to meet the requirements in TS 38.101-3 without the UE having to share the power unused by the LTE carrier with the NR carrier.

[0053] Example 2: DC_(n)71AA

[0054] We next consider the example of DC_(n)71AA for the scenario in Figure 2 where P LTE = P NR = P ENDC = 23 dBm. As Figure 2As shown in Table 200, for this example, as long as there is transmission on the LTE carrier, the UE is always allowed to discard the NR carrier. Therefore, the P of the NR carrier CMAX_L is essentially 0 in terms of linearity, as Figure 5 shown, no matter how little power is transmitted on the MCG. More specifically, Figure 5 it is the graph 500, which illustrates the allowed behavior in Technical Specification 38.101-3 relative to the dynamic power sharing behavior in Technical Specification 38.213 for full resource block allocation.

[0055] Although TS 38.101-3 always allows the UE to discard the NR carrier, a large amount of power can still be transmitted on the NR carrier while still meeting the transmit and total power constraints. In Figure 5 it, for cyclic prefix orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (CP-OFDM), the power that can be transmitted is shown as a function of full allocation for which the total additional maximum power reduction (A-MPR) is 6.5 dB. The second curve corresponds to the previously proposed P cmax,L and is consistent with the dynamic power sharing requirements in TS 38.213.

[0056] Verification of dynamic power sharing

[0057] Multiple previous contributions have shown that the problems identified in Table 200 of LTE and illustrated in the graph of NR and ENDC can be solved Figure 2 by modifying the parameters P Figures 3-5 such that discarding can be avoided by ensuring that condition "b" is FALSE, and scaling can be avoided by ensuring that condition "a" is FALSE. However, this method does not solve the problem because if condition "a" is FALSE, then dynamic power sharing is not needed at all (and thus not tested), and if condition "b" is FALSE, the UE can still scale the P of the NR carrier by X_scale even when scaling is not needed, as shown in Example 1 above. Fundamentally, dynamic power sharing cannot be tested when the LTE carrier is at maximum power because dynamic power sharing requires the UE to share the power that the LTE carrier does not need with the NR carrier. cmax As previously mentioned, dynamic power sharing can consider two types of test requirements:

[0058] As previously mentioned, dynamic power sharing can consider two types of test requirements:

[0059] i) Qualitative requirement, where the measured NR transmit power must increase as the measured LTE power decreases. For this requirement, the UE receives power "up" commands for both the LTE and NR carriers until the output power reaches a steady state. The power of the LTE and NR carriers is measured. Then, the UE is given several "down" power control commands for the LTE, and afterwards, it is given consecutive "up" power control commands for the NR. After the NR power reaches a steady state, the measured NR power is recorded. Since each set of "down" power control commands on the LTE carrier is followed by an "up" power command on the NR carrier, which decreases the LTE power, the measured NR power must increase to meet the qualitative requirement.

[0060] ii) Quantitative requirement, where the measured NR power is compared with the modified P of the NR carrier. CMAX,L For this requirement, the P of the NR carrier is determined by the measurement of of the LTE carrier. Consecutive "up" power control commands are provided to the UE for the NR carrier until the NR output power reaches a steady state. To meet the quantitative requirement, the measured NR power must be greater than the modified P of the NR carrier. CMAX,L CMAX,L

[0061] The qualitative test can be used without any change to the definition of the P of the NR carrier, as it only checks the required general behavior, i.e., the less power is transmitted by the LTE carrier, the more power the NR carrier can use. In contrast, the quantitative test requires the P value of the NR carrier, which is a function of the LTE power. Therefore, for the test requirements, we propose the following suggestions. CMAX,L CMAX,L

[0062] In-band EN-DC

[0063] For in-band EN-DC when condition "a" is TRUE, let denote the configured power of the LTE carrier in dB. If

[0064]

[0065] then the NR carrier may be discarded. Otherwise, define

[0066]

[0067] where is the E-UTRA power upper tolerance of the configured power in TS 36.101, less than or equal to P cmax_E-UTRA . We only consider the case when condition "a" is TRUE, as otherwise no change is required. Additionally, use PEN-DC,tot_L This is because is a variable inside the UE. Since the UE knows the LTE power it is configured with it also knows its allowed tolerance and can use it when setting P CMAX_L,NR_DPS During the test of dynamic power sharing, the test equipment configures the LTE carrier and then gives a power "up" command to the NR carrier until a steady state is reached. Since both the UE and the test equipment know the configured power therefore both also know the upper tolerance and then the maximum NR power is required to exceed the lower value

[0068] P CMAX_L,NR_DPS – T LOW (P CMAX_L,NR_DPS ),

[0069] where T LOW (P CMAX_L,NR_DPS ) is the NR power lower tolerance in TS 38.101-1.

[0070] According to at least one embodiment, for in-band EN-DC when the condition "a" is TRUE, let represent the configured power of the LTE carrier in dB. If

[0071]

[0072] then the NR carrier may be discarded. Otherwise, define

[0073]

[0074] where is the E-UTRA power upper tolerance of the configured power in TS 36.101. The maximum NR power needs to exceed the lower value

[0075] P CMAX_L,NR_DPS – T LOW (P CMAX_L,NR_DPS ),

[0076] where T LOW (P CMAX_L,NR_DPS ) is the NR power lower tolerance from TS 38.101-1.

[0077] Figure 6 is graph 600, which shows the in-band lower limit of the configured maximum output power of the NR carrier as a function of the configured LTE power.

[0078] Inter-band EN-DC

[0079] The situation is slightly different because for inter-band EN-DC, P is not defined EN-DC,tot_L , and the definition of does not include the MPR / A-MPR required to meet the transmission constraints on the NR carrier. Therefore, for inter-band EN-DC, we propose the following recommendations.

[0080] For inter-band EN-DC when condition "a" is TRUE, let represent the configured power of the LTE carrier, in dB. If

[0081]

[0082] then the NR carrier may be discarded. Otherwise, define

[0083]

[0084] where P CMAX_L,NR is from 6.2B.4.1.3 of TS 38.101-3, is the E-UTRA power upper tolerance of the configured power from TS 36.101, less than or equal to P cmax_E-UTRA , and we only consider the case where condition "a" is TRUE because otherwise no change is required. As in the in-band case, since the UE knows its configured LTE power therefore it also knows its allowed tolerance and can use it when setting P CMAX_L,NR_DPS . When testing dynamic power sharing, the test device configures for the LTE carrier and then gives a power "up" command to the NR carrier until the NR power reaches a steady state. Since both the UE and the test device know the configured power therefore both also know the upper tolerance and then require the maximum NR power to exceed the lower value

[0085] P CMAX_L,NR_DPS –T LOW (P CMAX_L,NR_DPS ),

[0086] where T LOW (P CMAX_L,NR_DPS ) is the NR power lower tolerance from TS 38.101-1.

[0087] The requirements for P CMAX_L,NR_DPS are proposed as shown in Figure 7 , where, for the NR carrier, the MPR is 2 dB such that P CMAX_L,NR = 21 dB. Also as in Figure 7Shown are the existing requirements from TS38.101-3 and the requirements of TS 38.213 (both from Figure 4 ). It should be noted that since tolerances are included in this embodiment, when the MCG power is higher than 17 dBm, P CMAX_L,NR_DPS may actually drop below the existing TS 38.101-3 requirements. If tolerances are not considered in this area, the UE can use the maximum value required by TS 38.101-3 and P CMAX_L,NR_DPS .

[0088] Figure 7 is graph 700, which shows the inter-band lower limit of the configured maximum output power of the NR carrier as a function of the configured LTE power when the maximum power of the NR carrier is reduced by 2 dB.

[0089] According to at least another embodiment, for inter-band EN-DC when condition "a" is true, let represent the configured power of the LTE carrier in dB. If

[0090]

[0091] then the NR carrier may be discarded. Otherwise, define

[0092]

[0093] where P CMAX_L,NR comes from 6.2B.4.1.3 of TS 38.101-3, is the E-UTRA power upper tolerance of the configured power from TS36.101. The maximum NR power needs to exceed the following value

[0094] P CMAX_L,NR_DPS –T LOW (P CMAX_L,NR_DPS ),

[0095] where T LOW (P CMAX_L,NR_DPS ) is the NR power lower tolerance from TS 38.101-1.

[0096] It is necessary to verify dynamic power sharing to ensure that the UE behaves as expected in TS 38.213 and that the above-mentioned adverse behavior does not occur. From the operator's perspective, the behavior of the UE must be predictable, and there is too much uncertainty in the current UE implementation. For this reason, some suggestions have been proposed to define the requirement that if neither discarding nor scaling is required to meet the transmit or total power constraint, the UE is not allowed to discard or scale the NR carrier when condition "a" is TRUE. As a result, we have the following proposed examples according to at least some embodiments of in-band and inter-band EN-DC, respectively.

[0097] According to at least one embodiment, for in-band EN-DC when condition "a" is true, let represent the configured power of the LTE carrier in dB. If

[0098]

[0099] then the NR carrier may be discarded. Otherwise, define

[0100]

[0101] where, is the E-UTRA power upper tolerance of the configured power in TS 36.101. The maximum NR power needs to exceed the following value

[0102] P CMAX_L,NR_DPS –T LOW (P CMAX_L,NR_DPS ),

[0103] where, T LOW (P CMAX_L,NR_DPS ) is the NR power lower tolerance from TS 38.101-1.

[0104] According to at least another embodiment, for inter-band EN-DC when condition "a" is true, let represent the configured power of the LTE carrier in dB. If

[0105]

[0106] then the NR carrier may be discarded. Otherwise, define

[0107]

[0108] where, P CMAX_L,NR comes from 6.2B.4.1.3 of TS 38.101-3, is the E-UTRA power upper tolerance of the configured power from TS36.101. The maximum NR power needs to exceed the following value

[0109] P CMAX_L,NR_DPS –T LOW (P CMAX_L,NR_DPS ),

[0110] where T LOW (P CMAX_L,NR_DPS ) is the NR power tolerance from TS 38.101-1.

[0111] It should be noted that the above embodiments can be modified to include MCG power estimation based on the LTE carrier margin reported by the UE. In particular, the transmitted MCG power can be determined according to the power margin report of the LTE carrier including the configured Pcmax. With the configured Pcmax and the power margin, P MCG can be estimated as

[0112] P CMAX E-UTRA,c (p) – PHR E-UTRA

[0113] According to at least some of the following embodiments, P CMAX E-UTRA,c (p) – PHR E-UTRA can be used as an alternative to the configured power to determine P CMAX_L,NR_DPS .

[0114] More specifically, according to at least one embodiment, for in-band EN-DC when condition "a" is true, let represent the configured power of the LTE carrier in dB. If

[0115]

[0116] then the NR carrier may be discarded. Otherwise, define

[0117]

[0118] where is the E-UTRA power upper tolerance of the configured power in TS 36.101. The maximum NR power needs to exceed the lower value

[0119] P CMAX_L,NR_DPS –T LOW (P CMAX_L,NR_DPS ),

[0120] where T LOW (P CMAX_L,NR_DPS ) is the NR power tolerance from TS 38.101-1.

[0121] According to at least another embodiment, for inter-band EN-DC when condition "a" is true, let represent the configured power of the LTE carrier, in dB. If

[0122]

[0123] Then the NR carrier may be discarded. Otherwise, define

[0124]

[0125] where P CMAX_L,NR from 6.2B.4.1.3 of TS 38.101-3, is the E-UTRA power upper tolerance of the configured power from TS36.101. The maximum NR power needs to exceed the following value

[0126] P CMAX_L,NR_DPS – T LOW (P CMAX_L,NR_DPS ),

[0127] where T LOW (P CMAX_L,NR_DPS ) is the NR power lower tolerance from TS 38.101-1.

[0128] This disclosure attempts to identify how to define the requirements for EN-DC dynamic power sharing. Currently, dynamic power sharing UEs only need to prioritize LTE, but do not need to make the unused LTE power available for NR carriers. As described above, an important problem in existing systems may include that UEs do not accurately know how much power is transmitted on the LTE carrier, and thus do not know how much power remains for the NR carrier.

[0129] Previous solutions have been proposed, but so far none have been accepted. The unsolved problem is how to handle the tolerance of the configured power.

[0130] Accordingly, according to at least some embodiments of the present application, for EN-DC, it may be necessary to define a new Pcmax,L on the NR carrier for test purposes considering the tolerance of the configured power of the LTE carrier.

[0131] Figure 8FIG. 800 shows a flow chart for managing the use of dynamic power sharing for dual carrier operation in a user equipment, including a determined level of a lower limit of a maximum configured power of a secondary cell group, which takes into account an identified allowable power tolerance in a primary cell group transmission. According to at least one embodiment, the method may include identifying 802 an allowable tolerance, which corresponds to a maximum expected possible deviation between a power level to which a user equipment requests to set a communication via a primary cell group and an actual power level of transmitting the corresponding communication via the primary cell group. A lower limit level of a maximum configured power of a secondary cell group may be determined 804 while taking into account the identified allowable tolerance with respect to any communication via the primary cell group, which enables the user equipment to meet a transmission requirement for communicating via each of the primary cell group and the secondary cell group during dual carrier operation, as well as a total power constraint for any overall communication of the user equipment. The lower limit of the maximum configured power of a carrier of the secondary cell group may be set 806 at the determined level.

[0132] In some cases, a primary cell group and a secondary cell group associated with a dual connectivity mode may include operations according to multiple cellular standards. In some of these cases, the multiple cellular standards may include evolved universal terrestrial radio access (E-UTRA) / long term evolution (LTE) and new radio (NR). In some of these cases, the primary cell group may be associated with an evolved universal terrestrial radio access / long term evolution cellular standard, and the secondary cell group may be associated with a new radio cellular standard.

[0133] In some cases, a user equipment may be configured for in-band dual carrier operation. In some of these cases, the in-band dual carrier operation may include in-band E-UTRA-NR dual carrier, including an LTE carrier and an NR carrier, and when the condition 10log 10 [p CMAX_E-UTRA,c (p)+p CMAX,f,c,NR (q)]>P EN-DC,tot_L is TRUE, may represent a configured power of the LTE carrier, in dB, and wherein, is an allowable upper tolerance of the configured power of the LTE carrier, and the maximum NR power must be equal to or exceed the value P CMAX_L,NR_DPS –T LOW (P CMAX_L,NR_DPS ), wherein, T LOW (P CMAX_L,NR_DPS ) is an allowable lower tolerance of the configured power of the NR carrier.

[0134] In some cases, the user equipment may be configured for inter-band dual-carrier operation. In some of these cases, the inter-band dual-carrier operation may include inter-band E-UTRA-NR dual-carrier, including an LTE carrier and an NR carrier, and when the condition 10log 10 [p CMAX_E-UTRA,c (p)+p CMAX,f,c,NR (q)]>P EN-DC,tot_L is TRUE, may represent the configured power of the LTE carrier, in dB, and where P CMAX_L,NR is the lower limit of the configured maximum output power, is the allowable upper limit of the configured power of the LTE carrier, less than or equal to P cmax_E-UTRA . In some cases, P CMAX_L,NR = MIN{P EMAX,EN-DC ,(P PowerClass,EN-DC –ΔP PowerClass,EN-DC ),MIN(P EMAX, P NR )-ΔT C_NR ,(P PowerClass –ΔP PowerClass )–MAX(MPR+A-MPR+ΔT IB +ΔT C_NR +ΔT RxSRS ,P-MPR)}.

[0135] In some cases, the emission requirements may include one or more of the spectral emission mask requirements, adjacent channel leakage requirements, or spurious emission requirements. In some of these cases, the spectral emission mask requirements may include the requirements for the corresponding spectral emission mask for each carrier that must be met, based on the measurement of out-of-channel emissions not exceeding a predetermined set value. In addition, the adjacent channel leakage requirements may include the requirement that the ratio of the power leaking into the adjacent channel to the power in the desired channel does not exceed a predetermined set value. In addition, the spurious emission requirements may include the requirement that the amount of power leaking into the spectrum farther than the adjacent channel does not exceed a predetermined set value.

[0136] In some cases, the method may further include verifying support for dynamic power sharing for dual-carrier operation, where power from the maximum configured power not used to support communication via the primary cell group may be used to support communication via the secondary cell group. In some of these cases, verifying support for dynamic power sharing for dual-carrier operation may include the following qualitative requirement: when the power measured for communication associated with the primary cell group decreases, the power measured for communication associated with the secondary cell group increases. In the same or other cases, verifying support for dynamic power sharing for dual-carrier operation may include the following qualitative requirement: after considering the amount of power measured for communication via the primary cell group and the identified allowable tolerance corresponding to the maximum expected possible deviation, the power measured for communication associated with the secondary cell group must exceed the lower limit of the maximum configured power of the secondary cell group.

[0137] Figure 9 FIG. 900 shows a flow chart for managing the use of dynamic power sharing for dual-carrier operation in a user equipment, including a lower limit level for determining the maximum configured power of a secondary cell group, which takes into account the identified allowable tolerance from a power headroom report. According to at least one embodiment, the method may include receiving 902 a power headroom report from the primary cell group. An allowable tolerance may be identified 904 from the received power headroom report, which includes the maximum expected possible deviation between the power level to which the user equipment requests to set the communication via the primary cell group and the actual power level of transmitting the corresponding communication via the primary cell group. A lower limit level of the maximum configured power of the secondary cell group may be determined 906 while considering the identified allowable tolerance with respect to any communication via the primary cell group, such that the user equipment can meet the transmission requirements for communicating via each of the primary cell group and the secondary cell group during dual-carrier operation, as well as the total power constraint for any overall communication of the user equipment. The lower limit of the maximum configured power of the carriers of the secondary cell group may be set 908 at the determined level.

[0138] In some cases, the primary cell group and the secondary cell group associated with the dual-connectivity mode may include operations according to multiple cellular standards. In some of these cases, the multiple cellular standards may include evolved universal terrestrial radio access (E-UTRA) / long term evolution (LTE) and new radio (NR). In some of these cases, the primary cell group may be associated with the evolved universal terrestrial radio access / long term evolution cellular standard, and the secondary cell group may be associated with the new radio cellular standard.

[0139] In some cases, the user equipment may be configured for in-band dual-carrier operation. In some of these cases, the in-band dual-carrier operation may include in-band E-UTRA-NR dual-carrier, including an LTE carrier and an NR carrier, and when the condition 10log 10 [p CMAX_E-UTRA,c(p) + p CMAX,f,c,NR (q)] > P EN-DC,tot_L When it is TRUE It can be expressed as the power of the LTE carrier configuration, in dB. Where, when then the NR carrier may be discarded, otherwise it is defined Wherein ) is the allowable upper tolerance of the LTE carrier configuration power, and the maximum NR power must be equal to or exceed the value P CMAX_L,NR_DPS –T LOW (P CMAX_L,NR_DPS ) wherein, T LOW (P CMAX_L,NR_DPS ) is the allowable lower tolerance of the NR carrier configuration power.

[0140] In some cases, the user equipment can be configured for inter-band dual-carrier operation. In some of these cases, the inter-band dual-carrier operation can include inter-band E-UTRA-NR dual-carrier, including an LTE carrier and an NR carrier, and when the condition 10log 10 [p CMAX_E-UTRA,c (p) + p CMAX,f,c,NR (q)] > P EN-DC,tot_L is TRUE It can represent the configured power of the LTE carrier, in dB. Where, when then the NR carrier may be discarded, otherwise, it is defined Wherein, P CMAX_L,NR is the lower limit of the configured maximum output power is the allowable upper tolerance of the LTE carrier configuration power, and the maximum NR power must exceed the value P CMAX_L,NR_DPS –T LOW (P CMAX_L,NR_DPS ) wherein, T LOW (P CMAX_L,NR_DPS ) is the allowable lower tolerance of the NR carrier configuration power.

[0141] In some cases, the emission requirements can include one or more of the spectral emission mask requirements, adjacent channel leakage requirements, or spurious emission requirements. In some of these cases, the spectral emission mask requirements can include the requirements for the corresponding spectral emission mask for each carrier that must be met, which is based on the measurement of out-of-channel emissions not exceeding a predetermined set value. In addition, the adjacent channel leakage requirements can include the requirement that the ratio of the power leaking into the adjacent channel to the power in the desired channel does not exceed a predetermined set value. In addition, the spurious emission requirements can include the requirement that the amount of power leaking into the spectrum farther than the adjacent channel does not exceed a predetermined set value.

[0142] In some cases, the method may further include verifying support for dynamic power sharing for dual carrier operation, wherein power from the maximum configured power not used to support communication via the primary cell group may be used to support communication via the secondary cell group. In some of these cases, verifying support for dynamic power sharing for dual carrier operation may include the following qualitative requirement: when the power measured for communication associated with the primary cell group decreases, the power measured for communication associated with the secondary cell group increases. In the same or other cases, verifying support for dynamic power sharing for dual carrier operation may include the following qualitative requirement: after considering the amount of power measured for communication via the primary cell group and the identified allowable tolerance corresponding to the maximum expected possible deviation, the power measured for communication associated with the secondary cell group must exceed the lower limit of the maximum configured power of the secondary cell group.

[0143] It should be understood that although there are specific steps shown in the figures, various additional or different steps may be performed according to embodiments, and one or more specific steps may be rearranged, repeated, or completely eliminated according to embodiments. Additionally, some of the steps performed may be repeated simultaneously on an ongoing or continuous basis while other steps are being performed. Further, different steps may be performed by different elements or within a single element of the disclosed embodiments. Additionally, network entities such as base stations, transmit and receive points, or other network entities may perform the interactive operations of the UE. For example, a network entity may transmit signals received by the UE and may receive signals transmitted by the UE. The network entity may also process and operate on the transmitted and received signals.

[0144] Figure 10 is an example block diagram of an apparatus 1000 according to a possible embodiment, such as a wireless communication device 110. The apparatus 1000 may include a housing 1010, a controller 1020 within the housing 1010, an audio input and output circuit 1030 coupled to the controller 1020, a display 1040 coupled to the controller 1020, a transceiver 1050 coupled to the controller 1020, an antenna 1055 coupled to the transceiver 1050, a user interface 1060 coupled to the controller 1020, a memory 1070 coupled to the controller 1020, and a network interface 1080 coupled to the controller 1020. The apparatus 1000 may perform the methods described in all embodiments.

[0145] The display 1040 can be a viewfinder, a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light emitting diode (LED) display, a plasma display, a projection display, a touch screen, or any other device for displaying information. The transceiver 1050 can include a transmitter and / or a receiver. The audio input and output circuitry 1030 can include a microphone, a speaker, a transducer, or any other audio input and output circuitry. The user interface 1060 can include a keypad, a keyboard, buttons, a touchpad, a joystick, a touch screen display, another additional display, or any other device that can be used to provide an interface between the user and the electronic device. The network interface 1080 can be a universal serial bus (USB) port, an Ethernet port, an infrared transmitter / receiver, an IEEE 1394 port, a WLAN transceiver, or any other interface that can connect the device to a network, a device, or a computer and can send and receive data communication signals. The memory 1070 can include random access memory, read-only memory, optical memory, solid state memory, flash memory, removable memory, a hard disk drive, a cache, or any other memory that can be coupled to the device.

[0146] The device 1000 or the controller 1020 can implement any operating system, such as Microsoft or Android TM or any other operating system. The device operating software can be written in any programming language, such as C, C++, Java, or Visual Basic. The device software can also run on an application framework, such as, Framework, Framework, or any other application framework. The software and / or the operating system can be stored in the memory 1070 or elsewhere on the device 1000. The device 1000 or the controller 1020 can also use hardware to implement the disclosed operations. For example, the controller 1020 can be any programmable processor. The disclosed embodiments can also be implemented in a general or special purpose computer, a programmed microprocessor or microprocessor, peripheral integrated circuit elements, an application specific integrated circuit, or other integrated circuits, hardware / electronic logic circuits (such as discrete element circuits), or programmable logic devices (such as programmable logic arrays, field programmable gate arrays), etc. Generally, the controller 1020 can be any controller or processor device or a device capable of operating the device and implementing the disclosed embodiments. Some or all of the additional elements of the device 1000 can also perform some or all of the operations of the disclosed embodiments.

[0147] The method of the present disclosure can be implemented on a programmed processor. However, the controller, flowchart, and module can also be implemented on a general-purpose or special-purpose computer, a programmed microprocessor or microcontroller, and peripheral integrated circuit elements, an integrated circuit, a hardware electronic or logic circuit (such as a discrete element circuit), or a programmable logic device, etc. Generally, any device on which a finite state machine capable of implementing the flowchart shown in the figure resides can be used to implement the processor function of the present disclosure.

[0148] Although the present disclosure has been described through its specific embodiments, it is obvious that many alternatives, modifications, and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. For example, the various components of the embodiments can be interchanged, added, or replaced in other embodiments. In addition, all elements of each figure are not necessary for the operation of the disclosed embodiments. For example, it will enable those of ordinary skill in the art of the disclosed embodiments to make and use the teachings of the present disclosure by simply adopting the elements of the independent claims. Therefore, the embodiments of the present disclosure as set forth herein are intended to be illustrative rather than restrictive. Various changes can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

[0149] In this document, relational terms such as "first" and "second" may be used only to distinguish one entity or action from another entity or action, and do not necessarily require or imply any actual such relationship or order between such entities or actions. The phrase "at least one", "at least one selected from the following group", or "at least one selected from the following table" followed by a list is defined to mean one, some, or all of the elements in the list, but not necessarily all. The terms "comprising", "including", "containing", or any other variant thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that includes a list of elements not only includes those elements, but may also include other elements not expressly listed or other elements inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitation, an element starting with "a" or "an" does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes the element. In addition, the term "another" is defined as at least a second or more. As used herein, the terms "including" and "having" are defined as "comprising". In addition, the background section is written as the inventor's understanding of the context of some embodiments at the time of filing, and includes the inventor's own recognition of any problems in the prior art and / or problems encountered in the inventor's own work.

Claims

1. A method for managing the use of dynamic power sharing for dual-carrier operation in a user equipment, the dual-carrier operation including respective communications via a primary cell group and a secondary cell group, the method comprises: identifying a permitted tolerance corresponding to a maximum expected possible deviation between a power level to which the user equipment requests to set the communication via the primary cell group and an actual power level for transmitting the corresponding communication via the primary cell group; determining, while taking into account the permitted tolerance identified with respect to any communication via the primary cell group, a level of a lower limit of a maximum configured power of the secondary cell group, which enables the user equipment to meet the transmission requirements for communicating via each of the primary cell group and the secondary cell group during the dual-carrier operation, and a total power constraint for any overall communication of the user equipment; and setting the lower limit of the maximum configured power of the carrier of the secondary cell group at the determined level.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein, the primary cell group and the secondary cell group associated with the dual-connection mode include operations according to multiple cellular standards.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein, the multiple cellular standards include evolved universal terrestrial radio access E-UTRA / Long Term Evolution LTE and New Radio NR.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein, the primary cell group is associated with the evolved universal terrestrial radio access / Long Term Evolution cellular standard, and the secondary cell group is associated with the New Radio cellular standard.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein, the user equipment is configured for in-band dual-carrier operation.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein, The in-band dual-carrier operation includes in-band E-UTRA-NR dual carriers, including an LTE carrier and an NR carrier, and when the condition 10log 10 [p CMAX_E-UTRA,c (p)+p CMAX,f,c,NR (q)]>P EN-DC,tot_L is TRUE, represents the configured power of the LTE carrier, in dB, and wherein, is the allowable upper tolerance of the configured power of the LTE carrier, and the maximum NR power must be equal to or exceed the value P CMAX_L,NR_DPS -T LOW (P CMAX_L,NR_DPS ), where T LOW (P CMAX_L,NR_DPS ) is the allowable lower tolerance of the configured power of the NR carrier.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein, the user equipment is configured for inter-band dual-carrier operation.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein, The inter-band dual-carrier operation includes inter-band E-UTRA-NR dual-carriers, including an LTE carrier and an NR carrier, and when the condition 10log 10 [p CMAX_E-UTRA,c (p)+p CMAX,f,c,NR (q)]>P EN-DC,tot_L is TRUE, represents the configured power of the LTE carrier in dB, and where P CMAX_L,NR is the lower limit of the configured maximum output power, is the allowable upper limit of the configured power of the LTE carrier, and is less than or equal to P cmax_E-UTRA .

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein, P CMAX_L,NR = MIN{P EMAX,EN-DC , (P PowerClass,EN-DC - ΔP PowerClass,EN-DC ), MIN(P EMAX, P NR ) - ΔT C_NR , (P PowerClass - ΔP PowerClass ) - MAX(MPR + A - MPR + ΔT IB + ΔT C_NR + ΔT RxSRS , P - MPR)}。 10. The method according to claim 1, wherein, the transmission requirements include one or more of a spectral emission mask requirement, an adjacent channel leakage requirement, or a spurious emission requirement.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein, the spectral emission mask requirement includes a requirement for a respective spectral emission mask for each carrier that must be met, based on measurements of out-of-channel emissions not exceeding a predetermined set value.

12. The method according to claim 10, wherein, the adjacent channel leakage requirement includes a requirement that a ratio of power leaked into an adjacent channel to power in a desired channel does not exceed a predetermined set value.

13. The method according to claim 10, wherein, the spurious emission requirement includes a requirement that an amount of power leaked into a spectrum further than the adjacent channel does not exceed a predetermined set value.

14. The method according to claim 1, further comprising verifying support for dynamic power sharing for dual-carrier operation, wherein, enabling power from a maximum configured power not used to support communication via the primary cell group to be used to support communication via the secondary cell group.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein, Verifying support for dynamic power sharing for dual-carrier operation includes the following qualitative requirement: when the power measured for communication associated with the primary cell group decreases, the power measured for communication associated with the secondary cell group increases.

16. The method according to claim 14, wherein, verifying support for dynamic power sharing for dual-carrier operation includes the following qualitative requirement: after considering the amount of power measured for communication via the primary cell group and the identified allowable tolerance corresponding to the maximum expected possible deviation, the power measured for communication associated with the secondary cell group must exceed the lower limit of the maximum configured power of the secondary cell group.

17. A user equipment for managing the use of dynamic power sharing for dual-carrier operation, the dual-carrier operation including respective communications via a primary cell group and a secondary cell group, the user equipment comprising: a transceiver; and a controller coupled to the transceiver, the controller identifying an allowable tolerance corresponding to the maximum expected possible deviation between the power level to which the controller requests the transceiver to set the communication via the primary cell group and the actual power level of transmitting the corresponding communication via the primary cell group; wherein the controller further determines the level of the lower limit of the maximum configured power of the secondary cell group while taking into account the identified allowable tolerance with respect to any communication via the primary cell group, such that the user equipment can meet the transmission requirements for communication via each of the primary cell group and the secondary cell group during the dual-carrier operation, and the total power constraint for any overall communication of the user equipment; and wherein the controller further sets the lower limit of the maximum configured power of the carrier of the secondary cell group at the determined level.

18. The user equipment according to claim 17, wherein, the primary cell group and the secondary cell group associated with the dual-connection mode include operations according to multiple cellular standards.

19. The user equipment according to claim 18, wherein, the multiple cellular standards include evolved universal terrestrial radio access E-UTRA / Long Term Evolution LTE and New Radio NR.

20. The user equipment according to claim 19, wherein, the primary cell group is associated with the evolved universal terrestrial radio access / Long Term Evolution cellular standard, and the secondary cell group is associated with the New Radio cellular standard.

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