Improvement of Throughput and Radio Resource Utilization in User Equipment with Multiple SIMs

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to an improvement in throughput and radio resource utilization of a user equipment having multiple SIMs. Specifically disclosed is a method that includes: at a user equipment device UE, entering a connection mode with a first radio network and sending a message to the first radio network indicating a scheduling gap for operation of the UE with a second radio network, the UE including a plurality of subscriber identity modules SIMs, a respective one of the plurality of SIMs supporting access to a respective radio network, the first radio network corresponding to a first SIM of the plurality of SIMs, and the second radio network corresponding to a second SIM of the plurality of SIMs.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of a Chinese patent application with an application date of July 12, 2019, an application number of 201910626914.1, and a title of "Improvement of Throughput and Radio Resource Utilization of User Equipment with Multiple SIMs". Technical Field

[0002] The present disclosure relates to the field of wireless communication, and more particularly, to mechanisms that can increase throughput and / or improve radio resource utilization for user equipment (UE) devices having multiple subscriber identity modules and for networks communicating with such UE devices. Background Art

[0003] The use of wireless communication systems is growing rapidly. Additionally, wireless communication technologies have evolved from voice-only communication to also include the transmission of data such as Internet and multimedia content. To enable wireless devices to access a wireless communication network (e.g., a cellular telecommunications network) according to at least some wireless communication technologies and standards, a user may subscribe to a service provider ("carrier"), which in turn may provide such services to the user, for example, via the wireless communication network they operate. Such users in a wireless communication network are typically assigned subscriber identity information, which may be stored, for example, as part of a subscriber identity module (SIM) in the user's wireless device. For example, many wireless devices may be provided with a slot for a removable subscriber identity module (SIM) card. Providing such a slot enables a user to select and / or change their subscriber identity independent of the wireless device, as the user can switch from their current SIM card to a different SIM card at any given time as needed. More recently, UE devices may be equipped with an eSIM (i.e., an electronic SIM, also referred to as an embedded SIM), where the embedded memory in the UE stores the user's subscriber identity information. As used herein, the term "subscriber identity module" includes within its meaning the possibility that the subscriber identity module may be an eSIM or a removable SIM, unless otherwise specified.

[0004] Now, many UE devices are designed as dual-SIM or multi-SIM devices, where the UE is capable of storing two or more sets of subscriber identity information for the user. (As used herein, the term "multi-SIM device" means a device that includes more than one SIM.) This enables the UE to store, for example, a first set of subscriber identity information for the user's home phone number and also a second set of subscriber identity information for the user's business phone number. Dual-SIM or multi-SIM UE devices are particularly popular in recently developing economies such as China.

[0005] One type of dual SIM UE is known as Dual SIM Dual Active (DSDA). A DSDA UE is capable of using two SIMs and two radio components in order to maintain two sets of active data communications simultaneously. For example, the UE can use one SIM for a voice call while performing data communication (e.g., Internet browsing) on the second SIM.

[0006] Another type of dual SIM UE can be referred to as Dual SIM Standby (DSDS), where only one SIM can be connected at any given time. Thus, when the UE is using the first SIM for a voice call, for example, the second SIM will be idle.

[0007] As discussed above, a UE can include two or more SIMs so that the UE can communicate under two or more corresponding wireless service subscriptions. Different SIMs can be registered to different operators or the same operator. The SIMs in the UE can be in different communication states. For example, the first SIM can be in a connected state while the second SIM can be in an idle state. In the case of a dual connectivity scenario, the first SIM will need to use one or more RF chains to transmit and / or receive data to / from one or more base stations (e.g., two base stations). The second SIM (in the idle state) will need to use at least one RF chain to monitor for paging opportunities (or paging moments).

[0008] In the case where the first SIM and the second SIM are registered to different operators, the RF chain can undergo periodic switching between a first frequency that supports data transfer associated with the connected state of the first SIM and a second frequency that supports paging monitoring for the idle state of the second SIM. (Different operators typically use different frequencies.) Thus, during those time periods when the RF chain is tuned away to the second frequency, the UE will not be able to utilize any uplink grants for the first SIM. Similarly, since the first SIM does not have control over the RF chain, any downlink data transmitted by the network of the first SIM during those time periods will be ignored.

[0009] Even in the case where the first SIM and the second SIM are registered to the same operator and thus, the same frequency can be used to support connected mode data transfer for the first SIM and paging monitoring for the idle state of the second SIM, there is a significant time penalty when the UE switches its attention from data transfer to paging monitoring and vice versa.

[0010] Accordingly, there is a fundamental need for mechanisms that can improve the throughput and / or performance of user equipment devices that include more than one SIM and the networks that communicate with such user equipment devices. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0011] In a set of embodiments, a network node in a first wireless network can include: an interface to one or more base stations of the first wireless network; and a processing element operatively coupled to the interface. The processing element can be configured to: receive, via the interface, an indication that a user equipment (UE) device has at least a first subscriber identity module (SIM) and a second SIM, wherein the first wireless network is associated with the first SIM; and receive, via the interface, a service frequency of a second wireless network associated with the second SIM, wherein the second wireless network is different from the first wireless network.

[0012] The processing element can further be configured to select, at least in part based on the service frequency of the second wireless network, a service frequency of the first wireless network for use by the UE device, wherein the service frequency of the first wireless network is selected from a set of available frequencies of the first wireless network to increase the retuning efficiency of radio hardware in the UE device.

[0013] The processing element can further be configured to transmit, via the interface, a reconfiguration message to the UE device, wherein the reconfiguration message includes the selected service frequency of the first wireless network, and wherein the reconfiguration message includes instructions for tuning the radio hardware to the selected service frequency for connection state data transfer for the first SIM.

[0014] In a set of embodiments, a wireless user equipment (UE) device can include: a radio electronic system for performing wireless communication; a processing element operatively coupled to the radio electronic system; and a plurality of subscriber identity modules (SIMs), wherein each subscriber identity module supports access to a corresponding wireless network. The processing element can be configured to: receive a reconfiguration message from a first wireless network corresponding to the first SIM; and in response to receiving the reconfiguration message, reconfigure a serving cell frequency for a data connection of the first SIM to the first wireless network to reduce or eliminate frequency retuning events on an RF chain that supports the data connection for the first SIM and monitoring for paging of a second wireless network associated with the second SIM.

[0015] In a set of embodiments, a wireless user equipment (UE) device may include: a radio electronic system for performing wireless communication; a processing element operatively coupled to the radio electronic system; and a plurality of subscriber identity modules (SIMs), where each subscriber identity module supports access to a corresponding wireless network, where a first SIM is associated with a first wireless network, and where a second SIM is associated with a second wireless network different from the first wireless network. The processing element may be configured to: receive a configuration message from the first wireless network, where the configuration message includes an indication of a rejection probability threshold; and in response to receiving the configuration message, control the time percentage that an RF chain of the radio electronic system tunes away from a first frequency corresponding to a connection to the first wireless network to a second frequency of the second wireless network, where the control is based on the rejection probability threshold.

[0016] In a set of embodiments, a wireless user equipment (UE) device may include: a radio electronic system for performing wireless communication; a processing element operatively coupled to the radio electronic system; and a plurality of subscriber identity modules (SIMs), where each subscriber identity module supports access to a corresponding wireless network, where the SIMs include a first SIM and a second SIM. The processing element may be configured to: select at least one of a first RF chain or a second RF chain of the radio electronic system that is to undergo idle mode activity of the second SIM during a dual connectivity (DC) state of the first SIM; and instruct the radio electronic system to transmit a selection indicator to a first wireless network associated with the first SIM, where the selection indicator indicates a selection of at least one of a master cell group (MCG) and a secondary cell group (SCG) associated with the dual connectivity state of the first SIM, where the selection indicated by the selection indicator is determined based on the selection of at least one of the first RF chain or the second RF chain.

[0017] In a set of embodiments, a network node in a wireless network may include: an interface to a base station of the wireless network; a processing element operatively coupled to the interface. The processing element may be configured to: create a data record for a wireless user equipment (UE) device having a plurality of subscriber identity modules (SIMs), where the data record is linked to first SIM information and second SIM information of the UE device, where the first SIM information corresponds to a first SIM of the UE device, and where the second SIM information corresponds to a second SIM of the UE device. Set the data record to a busy state in response to establishing a first call to or from a first mobile number associated with the first SIM information; and avoid paging the second mobile number associated with the second SIM information for at least a certain period of time in response to receiving a second call for the second mobile number while the data record is in the busy state.

[0018] In a set of embodiments, a wireless user equipment (UE) device may include: a wireless electronic system for performing wireless communication; a processing element operatively coupled to the wireless electronic system; and a plurality of subscriber identity modules (SIMs). Each subscriber identity module supports access to a corresponding wireless network. Additionally, the processing element may be configured to: in response to determining that a first SIM is entering or has entered a connected state and a second SIM is entering or has entered an idle state, instruct the wireless electronic system to transmit paging scheduling information to the wireless network corresponding to the first SIM, wherein the paging scheduling information indicates a periodic sequence of time intervals for at least monitoring paging from the wireless network corresponding to the second SIM; and during the connected state of the first SIM and the idle state of the second SIM, control the RF chain of the wireless electronic system to support a data transfer process for the first SIM and paging monitoring for the second SIM, wherein paging monitoring is performed only during the time intervals of the periodic sequence, wherein the data transfer process has an uplink direction or a downlink direction and occurs only outside the time intervals of the periodic sequence.

[0019] In another set of embodiments, a radio base station of a first wireless network may include: a wireless electronic system for performing wireless communication; a processing element operatively coupled to the wireless electronic system. The processing element may be configured to: receive paging scheduling information from a user equipment (UE) device, wherein the paging scheduling information indicates a periodic sequence of time intervals associated with paging opportunities (or paging moments) of a second wireless network different from the first wireless network; and in response to receiving the paging scheduling information, control the RF chain of the wireless electronic system to support a data transfer process associated with the UE device, wherein the data transfer process has an uplink direction or a downlink direction, and wherein data transfer of the data transfer process is scheduled only outside the periodic sequence of the time intervals.

[0020] Accordingly, embodiments of the present disclosure may relate to methods for improving throughput and / or radio resource utilization of a multi-SIM UE device, to UE devices configured to implement such methods, and / or to non-transitory computer-accessible memory media storing program instructions executable by a processor to implement such methods. The UE device may include radio components for performing wireless communication (e.g., including one or more antennas and / or other radio components). The UE device may also include a processing element configured to implement part or all of the method (e.g., by executing program instructions). The UE device may also include one or more user interface elements, such as a display. Additionally, the UE device may include a non-transitory computer-accessible memory media that may store program instructions executable by the UE. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] A better understanding of the subject matter can be obtained when considering the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments in conjunction with the following drawings.

[0022] Figures 1 to 2 An example of a wireless communication system according to some embodiments is shown.

[0023] Figure 3 An example of a base station communicating with a user equipment device according to some embodiments is shown.

[0024] Figure 4 An example of a block diagram of a user equipment device according to some embodiments is shown.

[0025] Figure 5 An example of a block diagram of a base station according to some embodiments is shown.

[0026] Figure 6 A user equipment 600 according to a set of embodiments is shown, where according to some embodiments, the user equipment 600 includes a plurality of subscriber identity modules (SIMs).

[0027] Figure 7 A base station 700 according to some embodiments is shown. The base station 700 can be used to communicate with Figure 6 the user equipment 600.

[0028] Figure 8A An example of the following according to some embodiments is shown: a default transfer 810 of a first subscriber identity module (SIM) of a user equipment device; a series of paging moments 815 of a second SIM of the user equipment device; and a transfer 820 of the first SIM with suspended scheduling.

[0029] Figure 8B An embodiment of signals exchanged between a first SIM (SIM-1) of a user equipment device, a second SIM (SIM-2) of the user equipment device, and a carrier for the first SIM is shown. SIM1 (Carrier

[0030] Figure 8C An embodiment of a method 880 for reducing the impact of paging monitoring on the connected mode performance of a UE with more than one SIM according to some embodiments is shown.

[0031] Figure 9 An embodiment of a UE device 900 according to some embodiments is shown, which is configured to select one of a master cell group (MCG) or a secondary cell group (SCG) for paging monitoring.

[0032] Figure 10Shows an embodiment of a UE device 1000 according to some embodiments, the UE device being configured to perform periodic tuning on a primary cell group and a secondary cell group.

[0033] Figure 11 Shows an embodiment of a network node 1100 according to some embodiments, the network node being usable to improve the performance of a network providing dual connectivity to a UE device having more than one SIM.

[0034] Figure 12 Shows an embodiment of a node network 1200 according to some embodiments, the node network being usable to reduce paging resources for a UE device having two or more SIMs registered to the same operator.

[0035] Figure 13 Shows an embodiment of a method for reconfiguring a multi-SIM UE device to increase radio retuning efficiency, especially when a connected-mode SIM and an idle-mode SIM are assigned to the same RF chain.

[0036] Figure 14 Shows an embodiment of a method for operating a UE device to increase radio retuning efficiency, especially when an RF chain of the UE device is used to serve both a connected-mode SIM and an idle-mode SIM.

[0037] Figure 15A Shows an embodiment of a method for operating a UE device to limit the percentage of time that an RF chain is used to serve an idle-mode SIM.

[0038] Figure 15B Shows an embodiment of a method according to some embodiments, the method enabling a multi-SIM UE device to autonomously reject transmissions of a connected-mode SIM to support an idle-mode SIM, but with a limited rejection probability.

[0039] Figure 16 Shows an embodiment of a method for operating a UE device, the method enabling the UE device to reduce the impact of serving both a connected-mode SIM and an idle-mode SIM, especially in the context of dual connectivity.

[0040] Figure 17 Shows an embodiment of a method for operating a network node to handle a call for an idle-mode SIM when a call for a connected-mode SIM is already in progress.

[0041] Although the features described herein are susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and are described in detail herein. It should be understood, however, that the drawings and the detailed description thereof are not intended to limit the present disclosure to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the subject matter as defined by the appended claims. Detailed Description

[0042] Acronyms

[0043] The following acronyms are used in this disclosure:

[0044] 3GPP: 3rd Generation Partnership Project

[0045] 3GPP2: 3rd Generation Partnership Project 2

[0046] 5G NR: 5th Generation New Radio

[0047] ACK: Acknowledgment

[0048] ARQ: Automatic Repeat reQuest

[0049] DC: Dual Connectivity

[0050] DL: Downlink

[0051] DRB: (User) Data Radio Bearer

[0052] DRX: Discontinuous Reception

[0053] DSDS: Dual SIM Dual Standby

[0054] eNB (or eNodeB): Evolved Node B, i.e., the base station of 3GPP LTE

[0055] EN-DC: E-UTRA NR Dual Connectivity

[0056] eSIM: Embedded SIM or Electronic SIM

[0057] eUICC: Embedded UICC

[0058] gNB (or gNodeB): Next Generation Node B, i.e., the base station of 5G NR

[0059] GSM: Global System for Mobile Communications

[0060] HARQ: Hybrid ARQ

[0061] KPI: Key Performance Indicator

[0062] LTE: Long Term Evolution

[0063] LTE-A: LTE Advanced

[0064] MAC: Medium Access Control

[0065] MAC-CE: MAC Control Element

[0066] MCG: Master Cell Group

[0067] MCS: Modulation and Coding Scheme

[0068] MO: Mobile Origin

[0069] MR-DC: Multi-RAT DC

[0070] Nr: New Radio component

[0071] NR-DC: NR Dual Connectivity

[0072] NW: Network

[0073] RAT: Radio Access Technology

[0074] RLC: Radio Link Control

[0075] RRC: Radio Resource Control

[0076] SCG: Secondary Cell Group

[0077] SIM: Subscriber Identity Module

[0078] SRB: Signaling Radio Bearer

[0079] UE: User Equipment

[0080] UICC: Universal Integrated Circuit Card

[0081] UL: Uplink

[0082] UMTS: Universal Mobile Telecommunications System

[0083] USIM: UMTS SIM

[0084] Terms

[0085] The following is a glossary of terms used in this disclosure:

[0086] Memory medium – any of various types of memory devices or storage devices. The term “memory medium” is intended to include installation media such as CD-ROMs, floppy disks, or magnetic tape devices; computer system memory or random access memory such as DRAM, DDR RAM, SRAM, EDO RAM, Rambus RAM, etc.; non-volatile memory such as flash memory, magnetic media such as hard disk drives or optical storage devices; registers, or other similar types of memory elements, etc. The memory medium may also include other types of memory, or combinations thereof. In addition, the memory medium may be located in a first computer system that executes a program, or may be located in a different second computer system that is connected to the first computer system via a network such as the Internet. In the latter case, the second computer system may provide program instructions to the first computer for execution. The term “memory medium” may include two or more memory media that may reside at different locations in different computer systems connected, for example, via a network. The memory medium may store program instructions (e.g., embodied as a computer program) executable by one or more processors.

[0087] Carrier medium – the memory medium as described above, and physical transmission media such as buses, networks, and / or other physical transmission media that convey signals such as electrical, electromagnetic, or digital signals.

[0088] Programmable hardware element – includes various hardware devices that include a plurality of programmable functional blocks connected via programmable interconnects. Examples include FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), PLD (Programmable Logic Device), FPOA (Field Programmable Object Array), and CPLD (Complex PLD). The programmable functional blocks can vary from fine-grained (combinational logic components or lookup tables) to coarse-grained (arithmetic logic units or processor cores). The programmable hardware element may also be referred to as a “configurable logic component”.

[0089] Computer system – any of various types of computing or processing systems, including personal computer systems (PCs), mainframe computer systems, workstations, network appliances, Internet appliances, personal digital assistants (PDAs), personal communication devices, smart phones, television systems, grid computing systems, or other devices or combinations of devices. Generally speaking, the term “computer system” may be broadly defined to encompass any device (or combination of devices) having at least one processor that executes instructions from a memory medium.

[0090] User equipment (UE) (or “UE device”) – any of various types of computer system devices that are mobile or portable and perform wireless communication. Examples of UE devices include mobile phones or smart phones (e.g., iPhone TM 、based on AndroidTM telephone), a portable gaming device (e.g., Nintendo DS TM , PlayStation Portable TM , Gameboy Advance TM , iPhone TM ), a wearable device (e.g., a smartwatch, smart glasses), a laptop computer, a PDA, a portable network device, a music player, a data storage device, or other handheld devices, etc. Generally, the term "UE" or "UE device" can be broadly defined to include any electronic, computing, and / or telecommunications device (or combination of devices) that is convenient for a user to transport and capable of wireless communication.

[0091] Base station – The term "base station" has the full scope of its ordinary meaning and includes at least a wireless communication station that is installed at a fixed location and used for communication as part of a wireless telephone system or radio system.

[0092] Processing element – refers to any one of various elements or combinations of elements. Processing elements include, for example, circuits such as ASICs (application-specific integrated circuits), portions of or circuits for individual processor cores, entire processor cores, individual processors, programmable hardware devices (such as field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs)), and / or larger portions of a system that includes multiple processors.

[0093] Automatically – refers to an action or operation that is performed by a computer system (e.g., software executed by a computer system) or a device (e.g., a circuit, a programmable hardware element, an ASIC, etc.) without the need for user input directly specifying or performing the action or operation. Thus, the term "automatically" is contrasted with a user manually performing or specifying an operation, where the user provides input to directly perform the operation. An automatic process can be initiated by input provided by the user, but the subsequent actions that are "automatically" performed are not specified by the user, i.e., they are not "manually" performed, where the user specifies each action to be performed. For example, a user filling out a spreadsheet by selecting each field and providing input to specify information (e.g., by typing information, selecting checkboxes, radio widget selections, etc.) is manually filling out the spreadsheet, even though the computer system must update the spreadsheet in response to the user's actions. The spreadsheet can be filled out automatically by a computer system, where the computer system (e.g., software executed on a computer system) analyzes the fields of the spreadsheet and fills out the spreadsheet without any user input specifying the answers to the fields. As indicated above, the user can initiate the automatic filling of the spreadsheet but does not participate in the actual filling of the spreadsheet (e.g., the user does not manually specify the answers to the fields but they are automatically completed). This specification provides various examples of operations that are automatically performed in response to actions that a user has taken.

[0094] Figures 1 to 3 - Communication system

[0095] Figure 1 and Figure 2 illustrates an exemplary (and simplified) wireless communication system. Note that Figure 1 and Figure 2 the systems of

[0096] Figure 1 the wireless communication system include base station 102A, which communicates with one or more user equipment (UE) devices 106A, 106B, up to 106N via a transmission medium. Each of the user equipment devices may be referred to herein as a "user equipment" (UE). In Figure 2 the wireless communication system of

[0097] in addition to base station 102A, base station 102B also (e.g., simultaneously or concurrently) communicates with UE devices 106A, 106B, up to 106N via a transmission medium. Figure 2 Base stations 102A and 102B may be transceiver base stations (BTS) or cell sites and may include hardware for implementing wireless communication with user devices 106A to 106N. Each base station 102 may also be equipped to communicate with a core network 100 (e.g., base station 102A may be coupled to core network 100A, while base station 102B may be coupled to core network 100B), which may be the core network of a cellular service provider. Each core network 100 may be coupled to one or more external networks (such as external network 108), which may include the Internet, the public switched telephone network (PSTN), or any other network. Thus, base station 102A may facilitate communication between user devices and / or between a user device and network 100A; in

[0098] the system of

[0099] For example, base station 102A and core network 100A may operate according to a first cellular communication standard (e.g., LTE), while base station 102B and core network 100B operate according to a second (e.g., different) cellular communication standard (e.g., GSM, UMTS, and / or one or more CDMA2000 cellular communication standards). The two networks may be controlled by the same network operator (e.g., a cellular service provider or “carrier”) or different network operators. Additionally, the two networks may operate independently of each other (e.g., if they operate according to different cellular communication standards), or may operate in a coupled or tightly coupled manner to some extent.

[0100] It should also be noted that while two different networks may be used to support two different cellular communication technologies as shown in the network configuration as Figure 2 shown, other network configurations for implementing multiple cellular communication technologies are possible. As an example, base stations 102A and 102B may operate according to different cellular communication standards, but are coupled to the same core network. As another example, a multi-mode base station capable of simultaneously supporting different cellular communication technologies (e.g., LTE and CDMA 1xRTT, GSM and UMTS, or any other combination of cellular communication technologies) may be coupled to a core network that also supports different cellular communication technologies. Any other various network deployment scenarios are possible.

[0101] As another possibility, base stations 102A and 102B may also operate according to the same wireless communication technology (or a set of overlapping wireless communication technologies). For example, base station 102A and core network 100A may be operated by one cellular service provider independently of base station 102B and core network 100B, and base station 102B and core network 100B may be operated by different (e.g., competing) cellular service providers. Thus, in this case, although similar and potentially compatible cellular communication technologies are used, UE devices 106A - 106N may communicate independently with base stations 102A - 102B, possibly by communicating with different carrier networks using separate user identities.

[0102] UE 106 is capable of communicating using multiple wireless communication standards. For example, UE 106 may be configured to communicate using either or both of a 3GPP cellular communication standard (such as LTE) and / or a 3GPP2 cellular communication standard (such as a cellular communication standard in the CDMA2000 family of cellular communication standards). As another example, UE 106 may be configured to communicate using different 3GPP cellular communication standards (such as two or more of GSM, UMTS, LTE, or LTE-A). Thus, as described above, UE 106 may be configured to communicate with base station 102A (and / or other base stations) according to a first cellular communication standard (e.g., LTE) and may also be configured to communicate with base station 102B (and / or other base stations) according to a second cellular communication standard (e.g., one or more CDMA2000 cellular communication standards, UMTS, GSM, etc.).

[0103] Base stations 102A and 102B and other base stations operating according to the same or different cellular communication standards may thus be provided as one or more cell networks that may provide continuous or near-continuous overlapping services to UEs 106A - 106N and similar devices over a wide geographic area via one or more cellular communication standards.

[0104] UE 106 may also be configured or alternatively configured to communicate using WLAN, Bluetooth, one or more Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS, e.g., GPS or GLONASS), one and / or more mobile television broadcast standards (e.g., ATSC-M / H or DVB-H), etc. Other combinations of wireless communication standards (including more than two wireless communication standards) are also possible.

[0105] Figure 3 A user equipment 106 (e.g., one of devices 106A to 106N) communicating with a base station 102 (e.g., one of base stations 102A or 102B) is shown. UE 106 may be a device with wireless network connectivity, such as a mobile phone, a handheld device, a computer or tablet, a wearable device, or substantially any type of wireless device.

[0106] The UE may include a processor configured to execute program instructions stored in a memory. The UE may perform any of the method embodiments described herein by executing such stored instructions. Alternatively or in addition, the UE may include programmable hardware elements such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) configured to perform any of the method embodiments described herein, or any part of any of the method embodiments described herein.

[0107] UE 106 may be configured to communicate using any of a plurality of wireless communication protocols. For example, UE 106 may be configured to communicate using two or more of GSM, UMTS (W-CDMA, TD-SCDMA, etc.), CDMA2000 (1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD, etc.), LTE, LTE-A, WLAN, or GNSS. Other combinations of wireless communication standards are possible.

[0108] UE 106 may include one or more antennas for communicating using one or more wireless communication protocols. Within UE 106, one or more portions of the receive and / or transmit chain may be shared among multiple wireless communication standards; for example, UE 106 may be configured to communicate using either (or both) GSM or LTE using a single shared radio component. The shared radio component may include a single antenna, or may include multiple antennas for performing wireless communication (e.g., for MIMO or beamforming). MIMO is an acronym for Multi-Input Multiple-Output.

[0109] Figure 4 -Example of a block diagram of a UE

[0110] Figure 4 An example of a block diagram of UE 106 is shown. As shown, UE 106 may include a System on Chip (SOC) 300, which may include portions for various purposes. For example, as shown, SOC 300 may include one or more processors 302 that may execute program instructions for UE 106, and display circuitry 304 that may perform graphics processing and provide a display signal to a display 345. The one or more processors 302 may also be coupled to a Memory Management Unit (MMU) 340, which may be configured to receive addresses from the one or more processors 302 and translate those addresses into locations in memory (e.g., memory 306, Read Only Memory (ROM) 350, NAND flash memory 310) and / or other circuits or devices, such as display circuitry 304, radio components 330, connector I / F 320, and / or display 345. The MMU 340 may be configured to perform memory protection and page table translation or setup. In some embodiments, the MMU 340 may be included as part of the one or more processors 302.

[0111] As shown, SOC 300 may be coupled to various other circuits of UE 106. For example, UE 106 may include various types of memory (e.g., including flash memory 310), a connector interface 320 (e.g., for coupling to a computer system, docking station, charging station, etc.), a display 345, and a radio 330.

[0112] The radio 330 may include one or more RF chains. Each RF chain may include a transmit chain, a receive chain, or both. For example, the radio 330 may include two RF chains to support dual connectivity with two base stations (or two cells). The radio may be configured to support wireless communication according to one or more wireless communication standards, such as one or more of GSM, UMTS, LTE, LTE-A, WCDMA, CDMA2000, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS, etc.

[0113] The radio 330 is coupled to an antenna subsystem 335 that includes one or more antennas. For example, the antenna subsystem 335 may include multiple antennas to support applications such as dual connectivity or MIMO or beamforming. The antenna subsystem 335 transmits and receives radio signals to / from one or more base stations or devices via a radio propagation medium, which is typically the atmosphere.

[0114] In some embodiments, the processor 302 may include a baseband processor to generate uplink baseband signals and / or process downlink baseband signals. The processor 302 may be configured to perform data processing according to one or more radio communication standards, such as one or more of GSM, UMTS, LTE, LTE-A, WCDMA, CDMA2000, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS, etc.

[0115] The UE 106 may also include one or more user interface elements. The user interface elements may include various elements such as a display 345 (which may be a touchscreen display), a keyboard (which may be a discrete keyboard or may be implemented as part of a touchscreen display), a mouse, a microphone and / or a speaker, one or more cameras, one or more sensors, one or more buttons, and / or any of various other elements capable of providing information to the user and / or receiving or interpreting user input.

[0116] As shown, UE 106 may also include two or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs), such as SIM 360 and SIM 362. One or both of SIM 360 and 362 may be implemented as an embedded SIM (eSIM). In such a case, SIM 360 and / or SIM 362 may be implemented in the device hardware and / or software. For example, in some embodiments, UE 106 may include an embedded UICC (eUICC), e.g., a device built into UE 106 and not removable. The eUICC may be programmable such that one or more eSIMs may be implemented on the eUICC. In other embodiments, the eSIM may be installed in the UE 106 software, e.g., as program instructions on a storage medium (such as memory 306 or Flash 310) executed on a processor (such as processor 302) stored in UE 106. As an example, SIM 360 may be an application executed on a universal integrated circuit card (UICC). Alternatively or in addition, one or both of SIM 360 and 362 may be implemented as a removable SIM card.

[0117] Each SIM 360 or 362 may include various types of information, including personalized information specific to the user and / or device (e.g., personalized information), and information not specific to the user and / or device (e.g., public information). The personalized information may include user / unit specific data, such as information that identifies the user / unit to its operator network, personalized authorization and / or security information, etc. Some or all of this personalized information may be used as the user identity of UE 106, e.g., to identify the user to the operator's network and obtain cellular services from the operator.

[0118] As an example, the personalized information may include one or more international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) codes. The IMSI may identify the user to its operator network. The IMSI may be, for example, a number including the user's "home" mobile country code (MCC) and mobile network code (MNC), and a mobile subscription identification number (MSIN) unique to the user. The personalized information may also include or alternatively include a personal identification number (PIN) (e.g., a code the user may use to access their SIM), a personal unlock code, and / or a personal unlock key (PUC / PUK), and one or more authentication keys (K / Ki). As needed, any of a variety of other personalized information may also be or alternatively be used.

[0119] Thus, each of the SIMs 360 and 362 may contain user identity information that can be used to identify the user to their carrier's cellular network. As described above, the UE 106 may utilize multiple user identities. For example, a user may desire to obtain services from multiple carriers for any of a variety of reasons, including different coverage / service areas of different carriers, different service plans / pricing offered by different carriers, or different technologies being used. In some cases, it may be desirable to utilize multiple user identities (whether from the same or different carriers) as a means of differentiating types of interactions, such as work-related communications and personal communications. For example, one SIM may be used to provide a work phone number, while another SIM may be used to provide a personal phone number.

[0120] As another possibility, it may be the case that for some carriers implementing an LTE network, it may be desirable to utilize multiple user identities in a single device. Specifically, in some cases, the LTE network may be initially deployed at least for packet-switched data communications (e.g., web browsing, email, and other networking applications, etc.), while pre-existing GSM and / or UMTS networks may be used for circuit-switched communication technologies such as voice communications.

[0121] As described further below, the UE 106 may implement various techniques that enable the UE to improve performance when one of the SIMs is in a connected state while the other SIM is in an idle state. Thus, as described further subsequently herein, the UE 106 may include hardware components and software components for implementing such techniques.

[0122] The processor 302 of the UE device 106 may be configured to implement some or all of the methods described herein, for example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). In other embodiments, the processor 302 may be configured to or include: programmable hardware elements such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array); or an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit); or a combination thereof.

[0123] Figure 5 - Examples of Base Stations

[0124] Figure 5 A block diagram of the base station 102 is shown. Note that Figure 5The base station shown is only an example of a possible base station. As shown, base station 102 may include one or more processors 404 that can execute program instructions for base station 102. The one or more processors 404 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 440 (which may be configured to receive addresses from the one or more processors 404 and translate those addresses into locations in memory (e.g., memory 460 and read-only memory ROM 450)) or other circuitry or devices.

[0125] Base station 102 may include at least one network port 470. The network port 470 may be configured to couple to a telephone network and provide access to the telephone network as described above in Figure 1 and Figure 2 for multiple devices such as UE device 106.

[0126] The network port 470 (or an additional network port) may also be configured or alternatively configured to couple to a cellular network, such as the core network of a cellular service provider. The core network may provide mobility-related services and / or other services to multiple devices such as UE device 106. In some cases, the network port 470 may be coupled to the telephone network via the core network, and / or the core network may provide the telephone network (e.g., in other UE devices served by the cellular service provider).

[0127] Base station 102 may include a radio 430 having one or more RF chains. Each RF chain may include a transmit chain, a receive chain, or both. (For example, base station 102 may include at least one RF chain per sector or cell.) The radio 430 is coupled to an antenna subsystem 434 that includes one or more antennas. Multiple antennas will be required, for example, to support applications such as MIMO or beamforming. The antenna subsystem 434 transmits and receives radio signals to / from the UE through a radio propagation medium (usually the atmosphere).

[0128] In some embodiments, the processor 404 may include a baseband processor to generate downlink baseband signals and / or process uplink baseband signals. The baseband processor 430 may be configured to operate according to one or more radio communication standards, including but not limited to GSM, LTE, WCDMA, CDMA2000, etc.

[0129] One or more processors 404 of base station 102 may be configured to implement some or all of the methods described herein, for example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). In some embodiments, the processor 404 may include: programmable hardware elements such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array); or an ASIC (application specific integrated circuit); or a combination thereof.

[0130] Improvement in Throughput and Radio Resource Utilization for User Equipment with Multiple SIMs

[0131] This disclosure presents various mechanisms for improving throughput and / or radio resource utilization for user equipment with multiple SIMs and for networks communicating with such user equipment.

[0132] In some embodiments, a wireless user equipment (UE) device 600 may be configured as shown. UE 600 may include: a radio electronics system 605 for performing wireless communication; a processing element 610 operatively coupled to the radio electronics system; and multiple subscriber identity modules (SIMs) 615. (UE 600 may include, for example, any subset of the above-described UE features in combination with Figure 6 ). Figures 1 to 4 The radio electronics system 605 may include one or more RF chains, for example, as described throughout above. Each RF chain may be configured to receive signals from a radio propagation channel and / or transmit signals onto a radio propagation channel. Thus, each RF chain may include a transmit chain and / or a receive chain. The radio electronics system 605 may be coupled to one or more antennas (or antenna arrays) to facilitate signal transmission and reception. Each RF chain (or some RF chains) may be tuned to a desired frequency, thereby allowing the RF chain to receive or transmit at different frequencies at different times.

[0133] The processing element 610 may be coupled to the radio electronics system and the multiple SIMs and may be configured as described throughout above. (For example, the processing element may be implemented by processor 302.) In some embodiments, the processing element may include one or more baseband processors to (a) generate baseband signals to be transmitted by the radio electronics system and / or (b) process baseband signals provided by the radio electronics system.

[0134]

[0135] The multiple SIM cards 615 may include a first SIM 620 and a second SIM 625. Each SIM supports access to a corresponding wireless network. In other words, each SIM may subscribe to a corresponding carrier. Each SIM may have a corresponding assigned mobile phone number. The carrier associated with the first SIM may be the same as or different from the carrier associated with the second SIM.

[0136] The processing element 610 may also be configured as described throughout the following sections.

[0137] Figure 7 In some embodiments, a radio base station 700 of a first wireless network (not shown) may be configured as Figure 7As shown. The radio base station may include: a radio electronic system 705 for performing wireless communication; and a processing element 710 operatively coupled to the radio electronic system. (The radio base station may also include any subset of the above base station features, e.g., the features described above in connection with Figure 5 (the features described).)

[0138] The radio electronic system 710 may include one or more RF chains. Each RF chain may be tuned to a desired frequency, allowing the RF chain to receive or transmit at different frequencies at different times.

[0139] The processing element 710 may be implemented as described throughout above. For example, in one embodiment, the processing element 710 may be implemented by a processor 404. In some embodiments, the processing element may include one or more baseband processors to (a) generate baseband signals to be transmitted by the radio electronic system and / or (b) process baseband signals provided by the radio electronic system.

[0140] In some embodiments, the NW may know the service mode and service frequency of the SIMs in a multi-SIM UE and provide coordinated configuration and / or scheduling for the multi-SIM UE. The SIM may include at least a first SIM associated with the NW and a second SIM associated with another network.

[0141] In some embodiments, to enable the NW to know the service mode and service frequency of one or more SIMs, the NW may receive the service mode and / or service frequency via a UE NAS procedure. (NAS is the acronym for Non-Access Stratum.) The NW may establish an association between the SIMs and record the association within the NW.

[0142] Alternatively, the UE may provide the NW with multi-SIM assistance information (such as service mode and / or service frequency) to allow the NW to perform coordinated configuration and / or scheduling. For example, the UE may provide information such as the potential active service mode of the second SIM, where the potential activity may include, for example, paging reception, SIB reception, idle mode measurement. (SIB is the acronym for system information block.) As another example, the UE may provide the NW with frequency domain information, such as the service frequency of the second SIM. As yet another example, the UE may simply provide the NW with an indication that the UE is a multi-SIM device, which may enable the NW to avoid wasted effort in cases where the UE does not follow the NW's scheduling instructions due to the activity of the second SIM.

[0143] In some embodiments, to provide coordinated configuration and / or scheduling for a multi-SIM UE, the NW may perform one or more of the following methods.

[0144] Method 1: The NW can provide the service mode (e.g., DRX configuration) of the second SIM to the UE, and the UE can perform data reception and / or transmission of the first SIM based on the service mode, e.g., as disclosed differently herein.

[0145] Method 2: The NW may reconfigure the UE to the serving cell at a frequency such that the RF hardware of the UE can perform simultaneous data transfer (transmission / reception) for two SIMs.

[0146] Method 3: The NW can configure the UE to perform autonomous rejection with a rejection probability, and the UE can autonomously reject data transmission of the first SIM.

[0147] In some embodiments, the NW can provide coordinated configuration and / or scheduling for a multi-SIM UE operating in a dual-connectivity mode (e.g., in a multi-RAT dual-connectivity (MR-DC) mode or a non-DC mode). For the MR-DC mode, the coordination can be cell group (CG)-specific, i.e., the coordination can be SCG- or MCG-specific, and the UE assistance information can also include the affected CG information (MCG / SCG). (SCG is the acronym for Second Cell Group. MCG is the acronym for Master Cell Group.)

[0148] In some embodiments, the first SIM and the second SIM can be associated with the same operator. In these embodiments, when the first SIM of the UE is in the connected mode and the core network (CN) triggers paging of the second SIM, the NW can adopt one or more of the following methods to handle the paging of the second SIM.

[0149] Method 1: The NW may deliver the paging of the second SIM in a traditional manner. The UE can perform paging reception of the second SIM.

[0150] Method 2: The NW can deliver the paging of the second SIM via the connection of the first SIM, e.g., in the RRC signaling container for the first SIM, or in a new L2 PDU for the paging indication including information of the second SIM. (PDU is the acronym for Protocol Data Unit.)

[0151] Method 3: The NW can suspend the paging of the second SIM and deliver the paging after the connection of the first SIM is completed. The paging of the second SIM can be cached by the NW for a certain duration. When the timer is running, the caller can be notified that a call establishment is being attempted while the callee is busy; after that, if the timer expires before the call can be established, the caller can be notified that the callee is busy and the call cannot be established.

[0152] Method 4: The NW can pause paging for the second SIM and directly reply to the caller with "user busy".

[0153] Reducing the impact of paging monitoring on connected mode performance

[0154] Assume that SIM-1 transitions to the connected mode while SIM-2 is in the idle mode and performs paging monitoring according to the configured DRX cycle. When SIM-1 transitions to the connected mode, a data transfer session starts, for example, a high-throughput data transfer session. However, the UE pauses SIM-1 in each DRX cycle to monitor the paging opportunity (or paging moment) of SIM-2 and perform serving cell measurements, and depending on the channel conditions, measurements of in-band, inter-band, or inter-RAT neighbors, which may take 5 to 10 ms. During this period, the NW will continue to send DL data and also provide the UE with UL grants that the UE will not utilize. This results in HARQ retransmissions and radio resource waste on the NW side. In addition, the NW side will not receive responses (UL or ACK) during the offloading period, which results in a reduction in MCS or context release (e.g., dropped call).

[0155] Figure 8A Shows the default data transfer session 810 of SIM-1, which is periodically interrupted by instantaneous time intervals (shown in solid black), where the RF chain used is offloaded by the UE (if the operator of SIM-2 is different from that of SIM-1, offloaded to a different frequency) to support monitoring of the paging moment 815 of SIM-2. (The data transfer of session 810 will occur in the cross-hatched area.) As shown at 805, any UL grants for SIM-1 during the instantaneous time interval will be wasted, and any DL data transferred for SIM-1 during the instantaneous time interval will be wasted because SIM-1 cannot control the RF chain during these time periods.

[0156] In some embodiments, the impact of paging monitoring on connected mode performance can be reduced by applying the following method.

[0157] The UE can notify the network (e.g., the network of SIM-1 and / or the network of SIM-2) of its multi-SIM capabilities during the registration process. SIM-1 can notify its operator (denoted as Carrier SIM1 ) of the paging schedule of SIM-2 (e.g., via MAC-CE or a higher-layer procedure). Using the paging schedule, Carrier SIM1 stops scheduling data for SIM-1 during the above-mentioned instantaneous time intervals and also stops the DL data transmission of SIM-1 during these instantaneous time intervals. In other words, Carrier SIM1 provides a transfer session for SIM-1 with paused scheduling, as shown in Figure 8AAs shown at 820. It should be noted that the instantaneous time intervals are now shown in white (instead of pure black) at 825 to indicate that they are no longer wasted time periods.

[0158] The method can achieve certain benefits such as the following. Carrier SIM2 UL grants can be allocated to other UEs, and DL data retransmissions for SIM-2 are avoided during these gaps, which saves network resources. Retransmissions are reduced, and there are no glitches in the DL throughput (improved throughput and better user experience).

[0159] In some embodiments, a method for reducing the impact of paging monitoring on connected mode performance can be performed, as Figure 8B shown. When SIM-1 is in the connected mode 855 and SIM-2 is in the idle mode 860, a paging offset and a DRX cycle length can be supplied from SIM-2 to SIM-1, as shown at 865. Then, SIM-1 can direct the off-scheduled transmissions 870 to Carrier SIM1 . The off-scheduled can include information indicating the paging offset and the DRX cycle length. In response to receiving the off-scheduled, Carrier SIM1 can block UL grants and DL data transmissions for SIM-1 based on the off-scheduled, as shown at 875.

[0160] Now recall Figure 6 user equipment 600. In some embodiments, in response to determining that the first SIM 620 is entering or has entered the connected state and the second SIM 625 is entering or has entered the idle state, the processing element 610 can be configured to instruct the radio electronic system 605 to transmit paging scheduling information to the radio network corresponding to the first SIM. In an alternative embodiment, the processing element 610 can be configured to instruct the radio electronic system 605 to transmit paging scheduling information as part of the registration process of registering the UE device with the network associated with the first SIM 620.

[0161] The paging scheduling information can indicate a periodic sequence of time intervals for at least monitoring paging from the radio network corresponding to the second SIM. (The paging scheduling information can also include a paging offset.)

[0162] Furthermore, during the connected state of the first SIM 620 and the idle state of the second SIM 625, the processing element can be configured to control the RF chain of the radio electronic system 605 to support the data transfer process of the first SIM and the paging monitoring of the second SIM. Paging monitoring is performed only during the time intervals of the periodic sequence. The data transfer process has an uplink direction or a downlink direction and occurs only outside the time intervals of the periodic sequence.

[0163] In the uplink direction, the data transfer process uses the RF chain to transmit data to the base station of the wireless network corresponding to the first SIM. Specifically, the processing element may provide a baseband signal carrying user data to the RF chain and instruct the RF chain to transmit a radio signal corresponding to the baseband signal. In the downlink direction, the data transfer process may receive data transmitted by the base station. Specifically, the processing element may instruct the RF chain to receive the radio signals transmitted by the base station and convert these radio signals into baseband signals. The processing element may recover the data from the baseband signal and provide the data to a higher protocol layer.

[0164] In some embodiments, at least one time interval is used to perform cell measurements on one or more cells of the wireless network of the second SIM. The processing element may report the measurement results to the wireless network of the second SIM during a time interval.

[0165] In some embodiments, when the RF chain is tuned to a first frequency, data transfer of the data transfer process is performed. For each time interval, paging monitoring may include tuning the RF chain from the first frequency to a second frequency during the time interval.

[0166] In some embodiments, the paging scheduling information may include a DRX cycle value. In some embodiments, the paging scheduling information includes a paging offset. In some embodiments, the paging scheduling information may include the duration of the time interval.

[0167] In some embodiments, the wireless network corresponding to the first SIM and the wireless network corresponding to the second SIM belong to different operators.

[0168] In some embodiments, at least one SIM is an embedded SIM.

[0169] In some embodiments, a wireless user equipment (UE) device may include: a radio subsystem for performing wireless communications; a processing element operatively coupled to the radio subsystem; and a plurality of user identity modules (SIMs), each of which supports access to a corresponding wireless network; wherein the processing element is configured to: in response to determining that a first SIM is entering or has entered a connected state and a second SIM is entering or has entered an idle state, instruct the radio subsystem to transmit paging scheduling information to the wireless network corresponding to the first SIM, wherein the paging scheduling information indicates at least a periodic sequence of time intervals for monitoring paging from the wireless network corresponding to the second SIM; and during a connected state of the first SIM and an idle state of the second SIM, control the RF chain of the radio subsystem to support a data transfer process of the first SIM and paging monitoring of the second SIM, wherein the paging monitoring is performed only during time intervals of the periodic sequence, wherein the data transfer process has an uplink direction or a downlink direction and occurs only outside the time intervals of the periodic sequence.

[0170] In some embodiments, at least one time interval is also used to perform cell measurements on one or more cells of the wireless network of the second SIM.

[0171] In some embodiments, the data transfer of the data transfer process is performed when the RF chain is tuned to a first frequency, wherein for each of the time intervals, the paging monitoring includes tuning the RF chain away from the first frequency to a second frequency during the time interval.

[0172] In some embodiments, the paging scheduling information includes a DRX cycle value.

[0173] In some implementations, the paging schedule information includes a paging offset.

[0174] In some embodiments, the paging schedule information includes the duration of the time interval.

[0175] In some embodiments, the wireless network corresponding to the first SIM and the wireless network corresponding to the second SIM belong to different operators.

[0176] In some embodiments, at least one SIM is an embedded SIM.

[0177] In some embodiments, the method 880 for operating a wireless user equipment (UE) device having multiple subscriber identity modules (SIMs) may be configured as follows: Figure 8C The method may be performed by a processing element of a UE device (eg, as described above).

[0178] At 885, in response to determining that the first SIM is entering or has entered a connected state and the second SIM is entering or has entered an idle state, method 880 may instruct the radio subsystem of the wireless UE device to transmit paging scheduling information to the radio network corresponding to the first SIM, where the paging scheduling information indicates a sequence (e.g., a periodic sequence) of time intervals for at least monitoring paging from the radio network corresponding to the second SIM.

[0179] At 890, during the connected state of the first SIM and the idle state of the second SIM, method 880 may control the RF chain of the radio subsystem to support the data transfer process of the first SIM and the paging monitoring of the second SIM, where paging monitoring is performed only during the time intervals of the sequence, where the data transfer process has an uplink direction or a downlink direction and occurs only outside the time intervals of the sequence.

[0180] In some embodiments, the paging scheduling information may include a DRX cycle value. In some embodiments, the paging scheduling information may include a paging offset. In some embodiments, the paging scheduling information may include the duration of the time interval.

[0181] In some embodiments, the radio network corresponding to the first SIM and the radio network corresponding to the second SIM belong to different operators.

[0182] In some embodiments, a method for operating a wireless user equipment (UE) device having multiple subscriber identity modules (SIMs) may include: in response to determining that the first SIM is entering or has entered a connected state and the second SIM is entering or has entered an idle state, instructing the radio subsystem of the wireless UE device to transmit paging scheduling information to the radio network corresponding to the first SIM, where the paging scheduling information indicates a sequence (e.g., a periodic sequence) of time intervals for at least monitoring paging from the radio network corresponding to the second SIM; and during the connected state of the first SIM and the idle state of the second SIM, controlling the RF chain of the radio subsystem to support the data transfer process of the first SIM and the paging monitoring of the second SIM, where paging monitoring is performed only during the time intervals of the sequence, where the data transfer process has an uplink direction or a downlink direction and occurs only outside the time intervals of the sequence.

[0183] In some embodiments, the paging scheduling information includes a DRX cycle value.

[0184] In some embodiments, the paging scheduling information includes a paging offset.

[0185] In some embodiments, the paging scheduling information includes the duration of the time interval.

[0186] In some embodiments, the wireless network corresponding to the first SIM and the wireless network corresponding to the second SIM belong to different operators.

[0187] Now recall Figure 7 Base station 700. The base station may be associated with (e.g., belong to) a first wireless network (not shown). In some embodiments, the processing element 710 may be configured to receive paging scheduling information from a user equipment (UE) device. The paging scheduling information may indicate a sequence (e.g., a periodic sequence) of time intervals associated with paging opportunities (or paging moments) of a second wireless network different from the first wireless network. In response to receiving the paging scheduling information, the processing element 710 may further be configured to control the RF chain of the radio electronic system 705 to support a data transfer process associated with the UE device. The data transfer process has an uplink direction or a downlink direction. The data transfer of the data transfer process is scheduled only outside the sequence of time intervals.

[0188] In some embodiments, the paging scheduling information may include a discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle value. In some embodiments, the paging scheduling information may include a paging offset. In some embodiments, the paging scheduling information may include the duration of the time interval.

[0189] In some embodiments, the processing element 710 may further be configured to schedule uplink resources to a second UE device within one or more time intervals of the sequence.

[0190] In some embodiments, the base station 700 may further include an antenna subsystem that includes one or more antennas operatively coupled to the radio electronic system. The antenna subsystem may facilitate the transmission and / or reception of radio signals to / from the radio propagation medium.

[0191] In some embodiments, the base station 700 may be configured to be a master node or a slave node of a dual connection with a UE device, e.g., as described throughout above and below.

[0192] In some embodiments, a radio base station of a first wireless network may include: a radio electronics system for performing wireless communication; and a processing element operatively coupled to the radio electronics system, wherein the processing element is configured to: receive paging scheduling information from a user equipment (UE) device, wherein the paging scheduling information indicates a sequence (e.g., a periodic sequence) of time intervals associated with paging opportunities (or paging instances) of a second wireless network different from the first wireless network; and in response to receiving the paging scheduling information, control an RF chain of the radio electronics system to support a data transfer process associated with the UE device, wherein the data transfer process has an uplink direction or a downlink direction, and wherein the data transfer of the data transfer process is scheduled only outside the sequence of time intervals.

[0193] In some embodiments, the paging scheduling information includes a discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle value.

[0194] In some embodiments, the paging scheduling information includes a paging offset.

[0195] In some embodiments, the paging scheduling information further includes a duration of the time interval.

[0196] In some embodiments, the processing element is further configured to: schedule uplink resources to a second UE device within one or more time intervals of the sequence.

[0197] In some embodiments, the base station further includes an antenna subsystem including one or more antennas operatively coupled to the radio electronics system.

[0198] In some embodiments, the radio base station is configured to be a master node or a secondary node of a dual connection with a UE device, e.g., as described differently above and below.

[0199] Dual SIM Dual Connectivity Processing

[0200] Assume that SIM-1 is in the connected mode in an EN-DC (E-UTRA-NR Dual Connectivity) or NR DC (New Radio Dual Connectivity) configuration. SIM-2 is in the idle mode and monitors the paging instances and performs measurements according to the configured DRX cycle. If the RF that has been mapped to the NR branch is diverted from SIM-1 to SIM-2 during the paging instance, this diversion may cause a beam failure on the SCG (Secondary Cell Group), NR branch. This will result in throughput degradation on the NR branch.

[0201] In some embodiments, the UE and network performance can be improved by applying the following methods.

[0202] Both the eNB and gNB (serving cell for SIM-1 in EN-DC) or two gNBs (serving cell for SIM1 in NR-DC) are pre-notified of the DRX cycle and interruption time of SIM-2. The UE can also indicate to the gNB and eNB whether the NR branch or the LTE branch (in the case of EN-DC) or which NR branch (in the case of NR DC) will be deactivated for paging monitoring of SIM-2.

[0203] In the case of EN-DC, it may not be possible or desirable to deactivate the RF mapped to the NR branch for paging monitoring of SIM-2, especially if it is on FR2. Instead, the RF mapped to the LTE branch should be deactivated to SIM-2. Therefore, the UE notifies the network that the NR branch of SIM-1 will not be deactivated, and the network can continue to normally schedule the UL and DL NR branches throughout the session.

[0204] If two RF chains need to be deactivated due to implementation reasons (such as RF limitations depending on the frequencies of SIM-1 and SIM-2), the UE can notify the network that two RF frequencies (mapped to NR and LTE in the case of EN-DC, or mapped to NR and NR in the case of NR DC) are deactivated to allow the network to make an effective scheduling decision.

[0205] In the case of EN-DC, if the RF mapped to the NR branch has to be tuned for any reason, the UE can notify the eNB and gNB accordingly.

[0206] This method can achieve certain benefits, such as the following. The NW and UE can make optimal scheduling decisions because the NW knows the UE's preference regarding which RF chain will be deactivated from the EN-DC (or NR DC) connection to monitor the IDLE mode paging of another SIM.

[0207] Now recall Figure 6 the wireless UE device 600. In some embodiments, the processing element 610 can be configured to instruct the radio electronic system 605 to transmit paging scheduling information to a first base station and a second base station (not shown) of a first radio network corresponding to the first SIM 620. The paging scheduling information can indicate a sequence of time intervals (e.g., a periodic sequence) for monitoring paging of a second radio network corresponding to the second SIM 625.

[0208] In some embodiments, in the dual-connectivity (DC) state of the first SIM 620 and the idle state of the second SIM 625, the processing element 610 may further be configured to control a first RF chain of the radio electronic system to support a first data transfer process of the first SIM 620 and paging monitoring of the second SIM 620. The first data transfer process has an uplink direction or a downlink direction.

[0209] The data transfer of the first data transfer process occurs outside of the time intervals of the sequence (e.g., only outside of it). (This time constraint on the first data transfer process may be the result of the fact that the processing element 610 performs the data transfer of the first data transfer process according to a scheduling decision made by a base station that cooperates to facilitate the first data transfer process, and the fact that the base station has stopped scheduling uplink and / or downlink resources for the first data transfer process within the time intervals in response to having received paging scheduling information.) Paging monitoring of the second SIM is performed during the time intervals of the sequence (e.g., only during).

[0210] In some embodiments, the processing element 610 may further be configured to instruct the radio electronic system 605 to transmit a selection indicator to a first base station and a second base station prior to the paging monitoring of the second SIM. The selection indicator indicates a selected base station among the first base station and the second base station, and the selected base station will communicate with the first RF chain during the control of the first RF chain to support the data transfer process and the paging monitoring.

[0211] In some embodiments, in the DC state of the first SIM 620 and the idle state of the second SIM 625, the processing element 610 may further be configured to control a second RF chain of the radio electronic system 605 to support a second data transfer process of the first SIM 620. (The second data transfer process may have the same or opposite transfer direction as the first data transfer process.) However, in contrast to the first data transfer process, the second data transfer process is not affected by the paging monitoring for the idle mode SIM, e.g., as Figure 9 shown at 916.

[0212] In some embodiments, in the DC state of the first SIM 620 and the idle state of the second SIM 625, the processing element 610 may further be configured to control a second RF chain of the radio electronic system 605 to support a second data transfer process of the first SIM 620 and the paging monitoring of the second SIM 625. (The second data transfer process may have the same or opposite transfer direction as the first data transfer process.) The data transfer of the second data transfer process occurs only outside of the time intervals of the sequence.

[0213] In some embodiments, the processing element 610 may be further configured to instruct the wireless electronic system to transmit a selection indicator to the first base station and the second base station, where the selection indicator indicates that both the first RF chain and the second RF chain are undergoing paging monitoring.

[0214] The first base station and the second base station may conform to the same or different radio access technologies. For example, one base station may be an LTE eNodeB, and the other base station may be a gNB of 5G NR. As another example, both base stations may be gNBs of 5G NR.

[0215] In some embodiments, the paging scheduling information may include a discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle and / or an interruption time, where the interruption time indicates the length of each of the time intervals.

[0216] In some embodiments, in response to determining that the first SIM 620 is entering or has entered a dual-connectivity (DC) state and the second SIM 625 is entering or has entered an idle state, an action is performed to instruct the wireless electronic system to transmit a selection indicator.

[0217] In some embodiments, a wireless user equipment (UE) device may include: a wireless electronic system for performing wireless communication; a processing element operatively coupled to the wireless electronic system; and a plurality of subscriber identity modules (SIMs), where each subscriber identity module supports access to a corresponding wireless network; where the processing element is configured to instruct the wireless electronic system to transmit paging scheduling information to a first base station and a second base station of a first wireless network corresponding to the first SIM, where the paging scheduling information indicates a sequence (e.g., a periodic sequence) of time intervals for monitoring paging of a second wireless network corresponding to the second SIM.

[0218] In some embodiments, the processing element is further configured to: in the dual-connectivity (DC) state of the first SIM and the idle state of the second SIM, control a first RF chain of the wireless electronic system to support a first data transfer process of the first SIM and paging monitoring of the second SIM, where the first data transfer process has an uplink direction or a downlink direction, where the data transfer of the first data transfer process occurs only outside the time intervals of the sequence, and where the paging monitoring of the second SIM is performed only during the time intervals of the sequence.

[0219] In some embodiments, the processing element is further configured to instruct the wireless electronic system to transmit a selection indicator to the first base station and the second base station before the paging monitoring of the second SIM, where the selection indicator indicates a selected base station among the first base station and the second base station, and the selected base station will communicate with the first RF chain during the control of the first RF chain to support the data transfer process and the paging monitoring.

[0220] In some embodiments, the processing element is further configured to: in the DC state of the first SIM and the idle state of the second SIM, control the second RF chain of the radio electronic system to support the second data transfer process of the first SIM and the paging monitoring of the second SIM, wherein the data transfer of the second data transfer process occurs only outside the time intervals of the sequence.

[0221] In some embodiments, the processing element is further configured to instruct the radio electronic system to transmit a selection indicator to the first base station and the second base station, wherein the selection indicator indicates that both the first RF chain and the second RF chain are undergoing paging monitoring.

[0222] The first base station and the second base station conform to the same or different radio access technologies.

[0223] In some embodiments, the paging scheduling information includes a discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle and an interruption time, wherein the interruption time indicates the length of each of the time intervals.

[0224] In some embodiments, in response to determining that the first SIM is entering or has entered the dual connectivity (DC) state and the second SIM is entering or has entered the idle state, the boot is performed.

[0225] Now recall Figure 7 base station 700. In some embodiments, the processing element 710 may be configured to receive paging scheduling information and a node indicator from a user equipment (UE) device. The UE device may include multiple SIMs, for example, as described throughout above. The paging scheduling information indicates a sequence (e.g., a periodic sequence) of time intervals associated with UE paging on a foreign radio network different from the first radio network. The node indicator may indicate a selected dual-connectivity node among two dual-connectivity nodes associated with the UE device.

[0226] In response to determining that the radio base station serves as the selected dual-connectivity node, the processing element 710 may be further configured to perform a data transfer process for the UE device. The data transfer process has an uplink direction or a downlink direction. The data transfer of the data transfer process is scheduled only outside the time intervals of the sequence.

[0227] In some embodiments, the two dual-connectivity nodes include a master node belonging to a first radio access technology and a secondary node belonging to a second radio access technology that is the same as or different from the first radio access technology.

[0228] In some embodiments, the processing element 710 may be further configured to schedule uplink and / or downlink resources for a second UE device during one or more time intervals.

[0229] In some embodiments, a radio base station (for a first radio network) may include: a radio electronic system for performing radio communication; a processing element operatively coupled to the radio electronic system, wherein the processing unit is configured to: (a) receive paging scheduling information and a node indicator from a user equipment (UE) device, wherein the paging scheduling information indicates a sequence of time intervals (e.g., a periodic sequence) associated with paging of a UE on a foreign radio network different from the first radio network, and wherein the node indicator indicates a selected dual-connectivity node of two dual-connectivity nodes associated with the UE device; and (b) in response to determining that the radio base station serves as the selected dual-connectivity node, perform a data transfer process for the UE device, wherein the data transfer process has an uplink direction or a downlink direction, and wherein the data transfer process is scheduled only outside the time intervals of the sequence.

[0230] In some embodiments, the two dual-connectivity nodes include a master node belonging to a first radio access technology and a secondary node belonging to a second radio access technology that is the same as or different from the first radio access technology.

[0231] In some embodiments, the processing element is further configured to schedule uplink and / or downlink resources for a second UE device during one or more time intervals.

[0232] Figure 9 and Figure 10 - MCG and SCG processing for EN-DC SIM

[0233] Figure 9 Shows an embodiment of a multi-SIM user equipment (UE) 900 for MCG and SCG processing when one of the SIMs is in the EN-DC state. (MCG is an acronym for master cell group; SCG is an acronym for secondary cell group.) This embodiment may be described as a "monotonic off" embodiment.

[0234] The UE 900 may include a first SIM 902 and a second SIM 904, for example, as described throughout above. The UE 900 may also include a first transceiver (TxRx1) 910 and a second transceiver (TxRx2) 912. Each transceiver may include a receiver chain and / or a transmitter chain. Each transceiver may be configured to rapidly change the tuning frequency. In some embodiments, each transceiver may also be configured to rapidly change the direction from transmission to reception and vice versa.

[0235] A processor of a UE 900 operating in an EN-DC connection state 906 relative to a first SIM 902 may instruct a first transceiver 910 to transfer data according to LTE and instruct a second transceiver 912 to transfer data according to NR. The first transceiver 910 may communicate signals with an LTE base station (not shown) in the positive-slope cross-hatch area. The second transceiver 910 may communicate signals with a 5G NR base station (not shown) in the negative-slope cross-hatch area.

[0236] As indicated at 909, the processor, also operating in an idle state 908 relative to a second SIM 904, may instruct a selected transceiver among the transceivers to monitor paging of the second SIM, for example, using 5G NR or any other radio access technology (RAT). In Figure 9 this case, the first transceiver 910 has been selected. As described above, the offload gap 914 (shown in solid black) is a time period during which paging monitoring and possibly also measurements can be performed. The unselected transceivers are not affected by the offload gap.

[0237] The transceiver selection for the offload gap may be based on factors such as: the connection-mode RAT and the frequency and RAT of the IDLE-mode RAT (such as IntraFrequency); the impact on continuous data transfer; and the C-DRX gaps of the two connection-mode RATs. (DRX is the acronym for Discontinuous Reception Cycle. C-DRX is the acronym for ConnectedMode DRX.)

[0238] Figure 10 Another embodiment of a multi-SIM user equipment (UE) 1000 for MCG and SCG handling when one of the SIMs is in an EN-DC state is shown. (MCG is the acronym for master cell group; SCG is the acronym for secondary cell group.) This embodiment may be described as a "dual offload" embodiment.

[0239] The UE 1000 may include a first SIM 1002 and a second SIM 1004, for example, as described throughout above. The UE 1000 may also include a first transceiver (TxRx1) 1010 and a second transceiver (TxRx2) 1012. Each transceiver may include a receiver chain and / or a transmitter chain. Each transceiver may be configured to rapidly change the tuning frequency. In some embodiments, each transceiver may also be configured to rapidly change the direction from transmission to reception and vice versa.

[0240] A processor of the UE 1000 operating in the EN-DC connection state 1006 with respect to the first SIM 1002 may instruct the first transceiver 1010 to transfer data according to LTE and instruct the second transceiver 1012 to transfer data according to NR. The first transceiver 1010 may communicate signals with an LTE base station (not shown) in the positive-slope cross-hatch area. The second transceiver 1010 may communicate signals with a 5G NR base station (not shown) in the negative-slope cross-hatch area.

[0241] As indicated at 1009, the processor, also operating in the idle state 1008 with respect to the second SIM 1004, may instruct both transceivers to tune away (e.g., in frequency) according to a paging schedule associated with the operator of the second SIM to support paging monitoring for the second SIM card. (Paging monitoring may be performed according to 5G NR or any other RAT.) As described above, the tune-away gap 1014 (shown in solid black) is a time period during which paging monitoring and possibly also measurements may be performed.

[0242] UL Scheduling for Split Bearers via EN-DC and Multi-SIM UEs

[0243] Assume that SIM-1 is in the connected mode in an EN-DC configuration and a split bearer is configured. SIM-2 is in the idle mode and monitors paging occasions and performs measurements according to a configured DRX cycle.

[0244] During the paging occasion of SIM-2, if the RF of the NR branch or the LTE branch from SIM-1 is tuned away to SIM-2, it will have an impact on the continuous data transfer of SIM-1 on the victim branch. If SIM-1 is running a high-throughput application, the tune-away gap will have a visible performance impact. Previously, it was not possible to tune away data from the victim branch to the non-affected branch (of the split bearer) in UL and DL.

[0245] In some embodiments, the UE and the network may avoid the above problems by applying the following method.

[0246] The paging mode of SIM-2 may be provided to the network of SIM-1 (in an EN-DC configuration). In addition, the dual-connectivity branch to be tuned away to monitor paging on SIM-2 may be notified to the network of SIM-1.

[0247] The network allocates sufficient UL grants to the non-victim branch such that the UE can reroute UL data from the victim branch to the non-victim branch. Similarly, the network can minimize the impact on the UE's downlink data stream by scheduling more (compared to what would be had if there were no paging-related deactivation on either branch) DL data on the non-victim branch and stopping transmissions on the victim branch during the PO gap. (PO is an acronym for Paging Occasion.)

[0248] This method can achieve certain benefits such as the following. The NW and the UE can make effective scheduling decisions to reduce throughput impact / deterioration because the NW knows the UE's preference regarding which RF chain will be deactivated from the EN-DC connection to monitor the IDLE mode paging of another SIM.

[0249] Now recall Figure 6 user equipment 600. In some embodiments, the radio electronic system 605 can include multiple RF chains. Additionally, in response to determining that the first SIM 620 is entering or has entered a dual-connectivity (DC) state and the second SIM 625 is entering or has entered an idle state, the processing element 610 can: select one of the RF chains to be subject to monitoring for paging related to the second SIM; and instruct the radio electronic system to transmit paging scheduling information and node selection information to a first radio network corresponding to the first SIM. (This selection can be based on, for example, one or more of the criteria discussed above.) The dual-connectivity state is a state of being connected to two base stations of a radio network.

[0250] The paging scheduling information can indicate a sequence of time intervals (e.g., a periodic sequence) for the monitoring of paging from a second radio network corresponding to the second SIM. The node selection information can indicate the selection of one of two dual-connectivity nodes associated with the DC state of the first SIM. The selected dual-connectivity node is the node that communicates with the selected RF chain during at least a portion of the DC state of the first SIM and the idle state of the second SIM.

[0251] In some embodiments, the two dual-connectivity nodes can include a master node of the first radio network and a secondary node of the first radio network. The master node can conform to a first radio access technology, and the secondary node corresponds to a second radio access technology that is the same as or different from the first radio access technology. For example, the master node can be an LTE eNB, while the secondary node can be a gNB of 5G NR.

[0252] In some embodiments, the processing element may further be configured to control a selected RF chain to support the data transfer process for the first SIM and the monitoring of paging for the second radio network from the second SIM. The data transfer process has an uplink direction or a downlink direction. The data transfer of the data transfer process is performed only outside the time intervals of the sequence. The action of monitoring paging occurs only within the time intervals of the sequence.

[0253] In some embodiments, a wireless user equipment (UE) device may include: a radio electronic system for performing wireless communication; wherein the radio electronic system includes a plurality of RF chains; a processing element operatively coupled to the radio electronic system; and a plurality of subscriber identity modules (SIMs), wherein each subscriber identity module supports access to a corresponding radio network. The processing element is configured to: in response to determining that the first SIM is entering or has entered a dual connectivity (DC) state and the second SIM is entering or has entered an idle state, (a) select one of the RF chains to be subjected to the monitoring of paging related to the second SIM, and (b) instruct the radio electronic system to transmit paging scheduling information and node selection information to a first radio network corresponding to the first SIM, wherein the paging scheduling information indicates a sequence of time intervals (e.g., a periodic sequence) for the monitoring of paging from the second radio network corresponding to the second SIM, wherein the node selection information indicates the selection of one of two dual connectivity nodes associated with the DC state of the first SIM, and wherein the selected dual connectivity node communicates with the selected RF chain during at least a portion of the dual connectivity state of the first SIM and the idle state of the second SIM.

[0254] In some embodiments, the two dual connectivity nodes include a master node of the first radio network and a secondary node of the first radio network.

[0255] In some embodiments, the master node conforms to a first radio access technology, and the secondary node corresponds to a second radio access technology that is the same as or different from the first radio access technology.

[0256] In some embodiments, the processing element is further configured to: control the selected RF chain to support the data transfer process for the first SIM and the monitoring of paging for the second radio network from the second SIM, wherein the data transfer process has an uplink direction or a downlink direction, wherein the data transfer of the data transfer process is performed only outside the time intervals of the sequence, and wherein the monitoring of paging occurs only within the time intervals of the sequence.

[0257] In some embodiments, network node 110 may be configured as Figure 11As shown. The network node may belong to a first wireless network. The network node may include: an interface 1110 to a first base station 1120 of the first wireless network; an interface 1115 to a second base station 1125 of the first wireless network; and a processing element 1130 operatively coupled to the interfaces.

[0258] The processing element may be configured to receive paging scheduling information and node selection information originating from a wireless user equipment (UE) device via interface 1110 or interface 1115. The paging scheduling information may indicate a sequence of time intervals (e.g., a periodic sequence). The node selection information may further indicate the selection of base station 1120 or base station 1125.

[0259] In response to receiving the paging scheduling information and the node selection information, the processing element 1130 may be configured to instruct the selected base station to avoid scheduling communication resources for the UE device during the time intervals of the sequence, and to instruct the non - selected base station among the first base station and the second base station to increase the rate of scheduling communication resources for the UE device. These instructions may be transmitted to the selected base station and the non - selected base station via interfaces 1110 and 1115.

[0260] In some embodiments, the network node 1100 further includes a third interface (not shown) configured to receive a user data stream for the UE device. The processing element may further be configured to send a first portion of the user data stream to the selected base station and a second portion of the user data stream to the non - selected base station. In response to receiving the paging scheduling information and the node selection information, the processing element may further be configured to reduce the first portion of the downlink user data stream to the selected base station and increase the second portion of the downlink user data stream to the non - selected base station.

[0261] In some embodiments, the processing element may further be configured to direct the selected base station to schedule uplink resources for a second UE device during one or more time intervals of the sequence.

[0262] In some embodiments, a network node in a first wireless network may include: a first interface to a first base station of the first wireless network; a second interface to a second base station of the first wireless network; and a processing element configured to: receive paging scheduling information and node selection information from a user equipment (UE) device via the first interface or the second interface, wherein the paging scheduling information indicates a sequence of time intervals (e.g., a periodic sequence), wherein the node selection information indicates the selection of the first base station or the second base station; and in response to receiving the paging scheduling information and the node selection information, instruct the selected base station to avoid scheduling communication resources for the UE device during the time intervals of the sequence, and instruct the non - selected base station among the first base station and the second base station to increase the rate of scheduling communication resources for the UE device.

[0263] In some embodiments, the network node further includes a third interface configured to receive user data streams for the UE device, wherein the processing unit is further configured to send a first portion of the user data stream to a selected base station and a second portion of the user data stream to an unselected base station; wherein in response to receiving paging scheduling information and node selection information, the processing element is further configured to reduce the first portion of the downlink user data stream to the selected base station and increase the second portion of the downlink user data stream to the unselected base station.

[0264] In some embodiments, the processing element is further configured to direct the selected base station to schedule uplink resources for a second UE device during one or more time intervals of a sequence.

[0265] Reducing paging resources for multi-SIM devices

[0266] Assume that a multi-SIM UE device is designed such that only one SIM can be effectively connected at any given time. Such a device can be referred to as a single-active device. A dual-SIM dual-standby (DSDS) device is an example of a single-active device. If one SIM is in a call, the single-active device will not respond to paging. However, the network side will continuously page the UE device, which is a waste of paging resources. The mobile-originated (MO) side will eventually send a message indicating "paging unreachable", which may mislead the MO user into thinking that the UE device has a coverage problem.

[0267] In some embodiments, the above problem can be solved by the following method, especially if two or more SIMs in the multi-SIM UE device are registered with the same operator.

[0268] The multi-SIM UE device sends information indicating two or more SIMs in the UE to the network during the registration process (e.g., using non-access stratum (NAS) signaling). The network can bind these SIMs at the core network (e.g., associate these SIMs with the UE). If one SIM is in a call, when the network receives an incoming call associated with any other SIM, the network does not page the UE in order to avoid wasting paging resources for a UE that will not respond. (The network can reply to the incoming call originator with a message indicating "user busy".) Alternatively, the network can start a "wait" timer to postpone paging, e.g., until the call under the first SIM is more likely to have ended.

[0269] In response to an incoming call, the network can cross-check to determine whether the "device" is busy rather than whether the "user / SIM" is busy.

[0270] Even if the SIMs in a multi-SIM UE device subscribe to different operators, the above method can be adopted if core network coordination between different operators is possible.

[0271] The above method can save paging resources; improve the network's key performance indicator (KPI) by reducing false declarations of "user unreachable"; and improve the user experience.

[0272] Now recall Figure 6 the wireless user equipment 600. In some embodiments, the first SIM 620 and the second SIM 625 may be registered to the same wireless network. Additionally, the processing element 610 may be configured to, during the process of registering the wireless UE device to the wireless network, instruct the radio electronics system to transmit first SIM information included in the first SIM 620 and second SIM information included in the second SIM 625 to the wireless network. The action of instructing the radio system to transmit the first SIM information and the second SIM information may be performed in response to determining that the wireless UE device is a single-active device (e.g., a dual-SIM dual-standby (DSDS) device). The first SIM information and the second SIM information may be transmitted to a network node (e.g., a node of the network core) via a base station of the wireless network.

[0273] In some embodiments, after completing a first call with respect to the first SIM 620, the processing element 610 may be configured to: receive a paging message from the wireless network, where the paging message indicates that a second call for a mobile number of the second SIM is incoming; and in response to receiving the paging message, connect to the wireless network to receive the second call. (The first call and the second call may be phone calls.)

[0274] In some embodiments, after completing a first call with respect to the first SIM, the processing element 610 may be configured to receive a call attempt notification from the wireless network. The call attempt notification indicates that a second call for the mobile number of the second SIM 625 was attempted during the first call. The processing element may further be configured to display the call attempt notification on a display of the wireless UE device.

[0275] In some embodiments, a wireless user equipment (UE) device may include: a wireless electronic system for performing wireless communication; a processing element operatively coupled to the wireless electronic system; and a first subscriber identity module (SIM) and a second SIM, wherein the first SIM and the second SIM are registered to the same wireless network; wherein the processing element is configured to: in response to determining that the wireless UE device is a single active device, during the process of registering the wireless UE device to the wireless network, instruct the wireless electronic system to transmit first SIM information included in the first SIM and second SIM information included in the second SIM to the wireless network.

[0276] In some embodiments, the processing element is further configured to: after completing a first call with respect to the first SIM, receive a paging message from the wireless network, wherein the paging message indicates that a second call for a mobile number of the second SIM is incoming; and in response to receiving the paging message, connect to the wireless network to receive the second call.

[0277] In some embodiments, the processing element is further configured to: after completing a first call with respect to the first SIM, receive a call attempt notification from the wireless network, wherein the call attempt notification indicates that a second call for a mobile number of the second SIM was attempted during the first call, and display the call attempt notification on a display of the wireless UE device.

[0278] In some embodiments, a network node 1200 in the wireless network may be configured as Figure 12 shown. The network node may include: an interface 1210 to a base station 1220 of the wireless network; and a processing element 1230 operatively coupled to the interface 1210. (The network node may also include a second interface coupled to one or more other nodes of the wireless network, the Internet, the PSTN, or any combination of the foregoing. The network node may be configured to receive incoming calls and / or make outgoing calls on behalf of the UE device via the second interface.) The processing element 1230 may be configured to: receive first SIM information and second SIM information from a multi-SIM user equipment (UE) device via the interface; and create a data record for the multi-SIM UE device, wherein the data record is linked to the first SIM information and the second SIM information. In response to establishing a first call to or from a first mobile number associated with the first SIM information, the processing element may set the data record to a busy state. In response to receiving a second call for a second mobile number associated with the second SIM information while the data record is in the busy state, the processing element may send a response message to the originating device of the second call and avoid paging the second mobile number for at least a certain period of time. The response message may indicate that the user of the multi-SIM UE device is busy.

[0279] In some embodiments, the processing element may further be configured to initiate a waiting timer in response to receiving a second call and delay a paging attempt for the second mobile number until the waiting timer has expired.

[0280] In some embodiments, the processing element may further be configured to: reset the data record to a free state in response to determining that a first call has terminated; and page the second mobile number in response to receiving a third call for the second mobile number while the data record is in the free state.

[0281] In some embodiments, a network node in a wireless network may include: an interface to a base station of the wireless network; and a processing element operatively coupled to the interface and configured to: receive first SIM information and second SIM information from a multi-SIM user equipment (UE) device via the interface; create a data record for the multi-SIM UE device, where the data record is linked to the first SIM information and the second SIM information; set the data record to a busy state in response to establishing a first call to or from a first mobile number associated with the first SIM information; and in response to receiving a second call for a second mobile number associated with the second SIM information while the data record is in the busy state, send a response message to the originating device of the second call and avoid paging the second mobile number for at least a certain period of time, where the response message indicates that the user of the multi-SIM UE device is busy.

[0282] In some embodiments, the processing element is further configured to initiate a waiting timer in response to receiving a second call and delay a paging attempt for the second mobile number until the waiting timer has expired.

[0283] In some embodiments, the processing element is further configured to: reset the data record to a free state in response to determining that a first call has terminated; and page the second mobile number in response to receiving a third call for the second mobile number while the data record is in the free state.

[0284] Figure 13

[0285] In some embodiments, method 1300 for operating a network node in a first wireless network may include Figure 13 the operations shown. (Method 1300 may also include any subset of the features disclosed above in connection with Figures 1 to 12 or below in connection with the following figures.) The network node may be a node in the core of the first wireless network. The network node may include: an interface to one or more base stations of the first wireless network; and a processing element operatively coupled to the interface. The processing element may be configured to perform the operations of the method.

[0286] At 1310, a processing element may receive, via an interface, an indication that a user equipment (UE) device has at least a first subscriber identity module (SIM) and a second SIM, wherein a first radio network is associated with the first SIM. The UE device may transmit the indication to a network node via a base station in the first radio network.

[0287] At 1315, a processing element may receive, via an interface, a service frequency of a second radio network associated with the second SIM, wherein the second radio network is different from the first radio network. The UE device may transmit the service frequency to a network node via a base station in the first radio network. In some embodiments, the above indication and service frequency are transmitted by the UE device as part of a single message.

[0288] At 1320, a processing element may select, at least in part based on the service frequency of the second radio network, a service frequency of the first radio network for use by the UE device, wherein the service frequency of the first radio network is selected from a set of available frequencies of the first radio network to increase the retuning efficiency of radio hardware (e.g., RF chain) in the UE device. The radio hardware may include the RF chain of the UE device (e.g., as described throughout above). The retuning efficiency may be interpreted as the reciprocal of the time required for the radio hardware to retune from one frequency to another. The retuning efficiency may depend on the values of the starting frequency and the target frequency.

[0289] At 1325, a processing element may transmit, via an interface, a reconfiguration message to the UE device, wherein the reconfiguration message includes the selected service frequency of the first radio network, and wherein the reconfiguration message includes instructions for tuning the radio hardware to the selected service frequency for connection state data transfer of the first SIM.

[0290] In some embodiments, method 1300 may further include transmitting, via an interface, a configuration message to a first base station among one or more base stations, wherein the configuration message is an instruction indicating that the first base station should tune the RF chain of the first base station to the selected frequency to support connection state data transfer of the first SIM.

[0291] Any protocol among various protocols may be used to receive the service frequency of the second radio network. For example, in some embodiments, non-access stratum (NAS) signaling is used to receive the service frequency. In other embodiments, access stratum (AS) signaling is used to receive the service frequency.

[0292] Figure 14

[0293] In some embodiments, method 1400 for operating a wireless user equipment (UE) device may include Figure 14 the operations shown. (Method 1400 may further include the above in combination withFigures 1 to 13 or any subset of the features disclosed in connection with the following figures.) The UE device may include: a radio electronic system for performing wireless communication; a processing element operatively coupled to the radio electronic system; and a plurality of subscriber identity modules (SIMs), where each subscriber identity module supports access to a corresponding wireless network. (In some embodiments, the UE device may include any of the features described above in connection with Figure 4 and / or Figure 6 any of the features described.) The processing element may be configured to perform the operations of method 1400. The processing element may use the radio electronic system to perform receive and / or transmit operations, e.g., by receiving a baseband signal and / or providing a baseband signal to the radio electronic system, and by asserting control signals to control the state of the radio electronic system.

[0294] At 1410, the processing element may receive a reconfiguration message from a first wireless network corresponding to a first SIM.

[0295] At 1415, in response to receiving the reconfiguration message, the processing element may reconfigure the serving cell frequency for a data connection of the first SIM with the first wireless network to reduce or eliminate frequency retuning events on the RF chain that support the data connection of the first SIM and the monitoring of paging for a second wireless network associated with a second SIM.

[0296] In some embodiments, the serving cell frequency for the data connection may be reconfigured from the current frequency to the frequency indicated by the reconfiguration message.

[0297] In some embodiments, the frequency indicated by the reconfiguration message is the serving cell frequency of the second wireless network.

[0298] In some embodiments, the frequency indicated by the reconfiguration message may have the following property: the time required to tune the RF chain away from the indicated frequency to a second frequency for the monitoring is less than the time required to tune the RF chain away from the current frequency to the second frequency.

[0299] In some embodiments, the processing element may be configured to direct the transmission of one or more serving frequencies of a second wireless network associated with a second SIM to the first wireless network.

[0300] Figure 15A and Figure 15B - autonomous rejection

[0301] In some embodiments, method 1500 for operating a wireless user equipment (UE) device may include Figure 15A the operations shown. (Method 1500 may also include any of the features described above in connection with Figures 1 to 14or any subset of the features disclosed in connection with the following figures.) The wireless UE device may include: a wireless electronic system for performing wireless communication; a processing element operatively coupled to the wireless electronic system; and a plurality of subscriber identity modules (SIMs), where each subscriber identity module supports access to a corresponding wireless network, where a first SIM is associated with a first wireless network and a second SIM is associated with a second wireless network different from the first wireless network. (In some embodiments, the UE device may include any of the features described above in connection with Figure 4 and / or Figure 6 any of the features described.) The processing element may be configured to perform the operations of method 1500.

[0302] At 1510, the processing element may receive a configuration message from the first wireless network, where the configuration message includes an indication of a rejection probability threshold.

[0303] At 1515, in response to receiving the configuration message, the processing element may control the time percentage that the RF chain of the wireless electronic system tunes away from a first frequency corresponding to a connection to the first wireless network to a second frequency of the second wireless network, where the control is based on (e.g., limited by) the rejection probability threshold. The connection to the first wireless network is associated with the connection state of the first SIM. As part of the control, the processing element may autonomously determine which scheduling transfers to reject based on the rejection probability threshold. For example, by deciding to tune the RF chain away from the first frequency, the processing element may reject an uplink transfer (its connection) from the first SIM or reject a downlink transfer (its connection) for the first SIM. The processing element may limit the time percentage that the RF chain is tuned away from the first frequency such that the percentage does not exceed the rejection probability threshold. (Anywhere in this disclosure where a non-strict inequality ≤ is mentioned, it should be understood that alternative embodiments may utilize the strict inequality <. Similarly, anywhere a non-strict inequality ≥ is mentioned, alternative embodiments may utilize the strict inequality >.)

[0304] In some embodiments, the processing element may be configured to perform the control such that the probability of losing authorization for uplink resources does not exceed the rejection probability threshold relative to the connection to the first wireless network.

[0305] In some embodiments, the processing element may be configured to perform the control such that the probability of missing a downlink transmission does not exceed the rejection probability threshold relative to the connection to the first wireless network.

[0306] In some embodiments, a processing element may be configured to instruct a wireless electronic system to transmit a device type indication to a first wireless network, where the device type indication indicates that the UE device has multiple SIMs. The first wireless network may transmit a configuration message to the UE device in response to receiving the device type indication.

[0307] In some embodiments, the radio resource control (RRC) protocol may be used to receive the configuration message.

[0308] In some embodiments, an autonomous rejection process such as method 1500 may provide benefits such as the following. It may help the NW (e.g., Figure 15B NW2) control the scheduling loss probability caused by a multi-SIM UE device. Otherwise, the NW may have little or no knowledge of the scheduling loss probability. It may enable the NW to more accurately evaluate the NW / UE scheduling performance. For example, for a 1% autonomous rejection probability configuration of a multi-SIM UE, if the total probability of scheduling loss is 21%, the NW may rule out the multi-SIM UE problem and adjust the probability to 20%, which may be further considered for NW deployment optimization.

[0309] As an example of the autonomous rejection process, the NW may provide an autonomous rejection configuration to the UE via the SIM-1 connection. Thus, the UE may be allowed to reject 2 schedules / transmissions within 200 ms (corresponding to a 1% probability). When the NW evaluates the UE scheduling performance, the NW may exclude 1% of the multi-SIM UE problem from the statistics.

[0310] Figure 15B An autonomous rejection process according to some embodiments is shown. UE device 1550 includes a first SIM (SIM1) and a second SIM (SIM2). The first SIM is associated with a first network (NW1), and the second SIM is associated with a second network (NW2). The first SIM may be in an idle state 1555, and the second SIM may be in a connected state 1560. The second SIM may establish a radio resource control (RRC) connection 1565 with the first network. The second network may receive UE assistance information 1570 from the second SIM (or from the UE device operating on behalf of the second SIM). The UE assistance information may include an indication that the UE device is a multi-SIM device (i.e., a device having more than one SIM). (In some embodiments, the second network may operate without any further information about the SIMs in the UE device.)

[0311] In response to UE assistance information, a second network (NW2) may send RRC configuration information 1575, enabling the UE device (or second SIM) to configure itself for autonomous rejection of data transfer (e.g., scheduled transfer) under the second SIM. The RRC configuration information may include a rejection probability threshold. The rejection probability threshold may be expressed in various forms, e.g., in terms of a validity period 1580 and a rejection sub-frame time. For example, a validity period of 200 ms and a rejection sub-frame time of 2 ms would correspond to a rejection probability threshold of 1% = 2 / 200. The rejection sub-frame time limits the amount of time that the UE device's RF chain is disengaged from the second SIM's connection to the service idle mode activity 1585 of the first SIM (such as paging measurement and system information decoding). Thus, the number of missed scheduled transfers of the second SIM connection is limited. As Figure 15B shown, two scheduled transfers (S1 and S2) are missed, as indicated by the X marks. Thus, the second network may control the negative impact on the second SIM connection via the rejection probability.

[0312] Figure 16 - Dual connectivity

[0313] In some embodiments, a method 1600 for operating a wireless user equipment (UE) device may include Figure 16 the operations shown in. (Method 1600 may also include any subset of the features disclosed above in connection with Figures 1 to 1 5 or below in connection with the following figures.) The wireless UE device may include: a radio electronic system for performing wireless communication; a processing element operatively coupled to the radio electronic system; and a plurality of subscriber identity modules (SIMs), each subscriber identity module capable of supporting access to a corresponding wireless network, where the SIMs include a first SIM and a second SIM. (In some embodiments, the UE device may include any subset of the features disclosed above in connection with Figure 4 and / or Figure 6 .) The processing element may be configured to perform the operations of method 1600.

[0314] At 1610, the processing element may select at least one of a first RF chain or a second RF chain of the radio electronic system that is to undergo idle mode activity of the second SIM during a dual connectivity (DC) state of the first SIM, e.g., as described throughout above.

[0315] At 1615, the processing element may instruct the radio electronic system to transmit a selection indicator to a first radio network associated with the first SIM, where the selection indicator indicates a selection of at least one of a master cell group (MCG) and a secondary cell group (SCG) associated with the dual-connectivity state of the first SIM, and where the selection indicated by the selection indicator (i.e., the result of the selection) is determined based on at least one of the first RF chain or the second RF chain. For example, if selection operation 1610 selects the first RF chain, the selection indicator may indicate the cell group (MCG or SCG) associated with (or assigned to) the first RF chain.

[0316] In some embodiments, method 1600 may further include instructing the radio electronic system to transmit active mode information to the first radio network, where the active mode information indicates a sequence of time intervals (e.g., a periodic sequence) for performing the idle mode activities, where the idle mode activities include one or more of paging monitoring, system information block (SIB) decoding, and idle mode measurements. The first radio network may instruct the selected cell group (MCG or SCG) of the dual-connectivity state to avoid scheduling downlink and / or uplink transmissions of the dual-connectivity state of the first SIM during the time intervals.

[0317] In some embodiments, method 1600 may further include instructing the radio electronic system to transmit the frequency of a serving cell of a second radio network corresponding to the second SIM. The serving cell frequency may be transmitted to the first radio network and used, for example, as described throughout above.

[0318] In some embodiments, only one of the first RF chain and the second RF chain is selected for undergoing the idle mode activities of the second SIM. In these embodiments, method 1600 may further include: in the DC state of the first SIM and the idle state of the second SIM, controlling the selected RF chain to support a first data transfer process for the dual-connectivity state of the first SIM and the idle mode activities of the second SIM, where the first data transfer process has an uplink direction or a downlink direction.

[0319] In some embodiments, method 1600 may further include: in the DC state of the first SIM and the idle state of the second SIM, controlling the unselected RF chain of the first RF chain and the second RF chain to support a second data transfer process for the DC state of the first SIM, where in the DC state of the first SIM and the idle state of the second SIM, the unselected RF chain does not undergo the idle mode activities of the second SIM. The second data transfer process may have the same or opposite transfer direction (uplink or downlink) as the first data transfer process.

[0320] In some embodiments, both the first RF chain and the second RF chain are selected to undergo idle mode activities of the second SIM. In these embodiments, method 1600 may further include: in the DC state of the first SIM and the idle state of the second SIM, controlling each of the first RF chain and the second RF chain to support the corresponding data transfer process of the first SIM and the idle mode activities of the second SIM.

[0321] In some embodiments, the first base station and the second base station may conform to different (or the same) radio access technologies (RATs). For example, in the context of EN-DC (E-UTRA NR dual connectivity), one of the base stations will be an LTE base station (eNB), and the other will be a 5G NR base station (gNB).

[0322] In some embodiments, the paging scheduling information may include one or more of the following: a discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle; a paging offset; and an interruption time indicating the length of each of the time intervals.

[0323] Figure 17

[0324] In some embodiments, method 1700 for operating a network node in a wireless network may include Figure 17 the operations shown. (Method 1700 may also include any subset of the features disclosed above in connection with Figures 1 to 16 or below in connection with the following figures.) The network node may be a node in the core network of the wireless network. The network node may include: an interface to a base station of the wireless network; and a processing element operatively coupled to the interface. The processing element may be configured to perform the operations of method 1700.

[0325] At 1710, the processing element may create a data record for a UE device having multiple subscriber identity modules (SIMs), where the data record is linked to the first SIM information and the second SIM information of the UE device. The first SIM information corresponds to the first SIM of the UE device, and the second SIM information corresponds to the second SIM of the UE device. The data record may be stored in the memory of the network node.

[0326] At 1715, the processing element may set the data record to a busy state in response to establishing a first call to or from a first mobile number associated with the first SIM information. The network node may include a second interface to one or more other nodes of the wireless network, the Internet, the public switched telephone network (PSTN), or any combination of the foregoing. The network node may receive incoming calls via the second interface and / or make outgoing calls via the second interface (on behalf of the UE device).

[0327] At 1720, the processing element may avoid paging the second mobile number for at least a certain period of time in response to receiving a second call for a second mobile number associated with the second SIM information while the data record is in a busy state.

[0328] In some embodiments, method 1700 may further include receiving first SIM information and second SIM information from a user equipment (UE) device via an interface.

[0329] In some embodiments, method 1700 may further include: in response to receiving the second call while the data record is in a busy state, sending a response message to the originating device of the second call, where the response message indicates that the user of the UE device is busy.

[0330] In some embodiments, method 1700 may further include starting a waiting timer in response to receiving the second call and delaying a paging attempt for the second mobile number until the waiting timer has expired.

[0331] In some embodiments, method 1700 may further include: starting a waiting timer in response to receiving the second call; and while the waiting timer is running, monitoring the end of the first call to attempt to establish the second call after the first call ends, and / or sending a response message to the originating device of the second call to indicate that an attempt is being made to establish the second call.

[0332] In some embodiments, method 1700 may further include, in response to the waiting timer expiring before the first call ends, sending another response message to the originating device of the second call to indicate that the user of the UE device is busy.

[0333] In some embodiments, method 1700 may further include: in response to determining that the first call has terminated, resetting the data record to a free state; and in response to receiving a third call for the second mobile number while the data record is in a free state, paging the second mobile number.

[0334] Embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in any of a variety of forms. For example, some embodiments may be implemented as a computer-implemented method, a computer-readable memory medium, or a computer system. Other embodiments may be implemented using one or more custom-designed hardware devices such as an ASIC. Still other embodiments may be implemented using one or more programmable hardware elements such as an FPGA.

[0335] In some embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium may be configured such that it stores program instructions and / or data, wherein if the program instructions are executed by a computer system, the computer system is caused to perform a method, such as any of the method embodiments described herein, or any combination of the method embodiments described herein, or any subset of any of the method embodiments described herein, or any combination of such subsets.

[0336] In some embodiments, a computer system may be configured to include a processor (or a group of processors) and a memory medium, wherein the memory medium stores program instructions, wherein the processor is configured to read and execute the program instructions from the memory medium, and wherein the executable program instructions are to implement any one of the various method embodiments described herein (or any combination of the method embodiments described herein, or any subset of any of the method embodiments described herein, or any combination of such subsets). The computer system may be implemented in any of a variety of forms. For example, the computer system may be a personal computer (in any of its various implementations), a workstation, a computer on a card, a dedicated computer in a box, a server computer, a client computer, a handheld device, a user equipment (UE), a tablet computer, a wearable computer, etc.

[0337] It is well known that the use of personally identifiable information should follow privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or government requirements for maintaining user privacy. Specifically, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of inadvertent or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of the authorized use should be clearly explained to the user.

[0338] While the above embodiments have been described in considerable detail, many variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully understood. The present disclosure is intended that the following claims be construed to cover all such variations and modifications.

Claims

1. A method for wireless communication, comprising: At a user equipment (UE) device, the UE including a plurality of subscriber identity modules (SIMs), wherein a respective SIM of the plurality of SIMs supports access to a respective wireless network: Entering a connection mode with a first wireless network, wherein the first wireless network corresponds to a first SIM of the plurality of SIMs; And Sending, to the first wireless network, a message indicating a periodic scheduling gap for operation of the UE with a second wireless network, wherein the second wireless network corresponds to a second SIM of the plurality of SIMs, and the message includes a paging offset and a duration of the periodic scheduling gap.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the information in the message is related to discontinuous reception (DRX).

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the information includes DRX parameters for operation with the second wireless network.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the periodic scheduling gap is related to idle mode operation with the second wireless network.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein sending the message is in response to entering an idle mode with the second wireless network.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the UE does not exchange data with the first wireless network during the periodic scheduling gap.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein entering the connection mode includes operating according to a dual connectivity configuration regarding the first wireless network.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the dual connectivity configuration includes E-UTRA-NR dual connectivity.

9. The method according to claim 7, wherein the dual connectivity configuration includes New Radio dual connectivity.

10. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising a processor configured to cause a user equipment (UE) device to implement the method according to any one of claims 1-9.

11. The apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising radio components operatively coupled to the processor.

12. A method for wireless communication, comprising: At a first wireless network: Entering a connection mode with a user equipment (UE) device, the UE including a plurality of subscriber identity modules (SIMs), wherein a respective SIM of the plurality of SIMs supports access to a respective wireless network, wherein the first wireless network corresponds to a first SIM of the plurality of SIMs; And Receiving, from the UE, a message indicating a periodic scheduling gap for operation of the UE with a second wireless network, wherein the second wireless network corresponds to a second SIM of the plurality of SIMs, and the message includes a paging offset and a duration of the periodic scheduling gap.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the information in the message is related to discontinuous reception (DRX).

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the information includes DRX parameters for operation with the second wireless network.

15. The method according to claim 12, wherein the message is sent in response to entering an idle mode with the second wireless network.

16. The method according to claim 12, wherein the UE does not exchange data with the first wireless network during the periodic scheduling gap.

17. The method according to claim 12, wherein the periodic scheduling gap is associated with an idle mode operation with the second wireless network.

18. A computer program product comprising program instructions configured to cause a device to implement the method according to any one of claims 1-9 or claims 12-17.

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