Method and apparatus for partial bandwidth switching based on radio resource control

Abstract

This disclosure describes a method and apparatus for switching a portion of bandwidth for a user equipment and a base station. In an exemplary embodiment, the device receives from the base station an instruction to switch to the new portion of bandwidth for the user equipment on the radio link. Furthermore, the device switches the user equipment to the new portion of bandwidth. The device further signals that the switch to the new portion of bandwidth has occurred within a time period less than a predetermined time period. The device then uses the new portion of bandwidth to transmit information on the radio link.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates generally to wireless technology, and more specifically to using radio resources to control and switch portions of bandwidth. Background Technology

[0002] In 5G New Radio (NR), a new feature called Partial Bandwidth (BWP) is available, which allows for greater flexibility in how resources are allocated within a given carrier. Partial bandwidth can be used to provide flexibility, enabling the transmission of multiple different signal types within a given bandwidth. Some base stations can utilize the wider bandwidth available in 5G. However, user equipment (UE) capabilities will vary, and for some UEs, using a larger available bandwidth will be more challenging. Partial bandwidth can further enable the multiplexing of different signals and signal types to better utilize and adapt to spectrum and UE power.

[0003] Furthermore, the 5G network can switch which BWP (Browser Tool Device) is used on the radio link between the base station and the UE. This handover can occur within a predefined time period governed by the UE's Radio Resource Control (RRC) and the UE's BWP handover delay. At the end of this time period, the network and the UE are ready to transmit data using the 5G radio link with the new BWP. A potential problem is that the UE may have already completed the handover to the new BWP before the predefined time period, in which case the UE is ready to use the new BWP to transmit data. This can lead to inefficient network BWP handover. Summary of the Invention

[0004] A method and apparatus for switching a portion of bandwidth for a user equipment device and a base station are described. In an exemplary embodiment, the device receives from the base station an instruction to switch to the new portion of bandwidth for the user equipment on a radio link. Furthermore, the device switches the user equipment to the new portion of bandwidth. The device further signals that the switch to the new portion of bandwidth has occurred within a time period less than a predetermined time period. The device then uses the new portion of bandwidth to transmit information on the radio link.

[0005] In another embodiment, a non-transitory machine-readable medium is described having executable instructions that cause one or more processing units to perform a method of switching to a new portion of bandwidth on a radio link between a user equipment and a base station. In an exemplary embodiment, the method receives from the base station an instruction to switch the user equipment to the new portion of bandwidth on the radio link. Furthermore, the method switches the user equipment to the new portion of bandwidth. The method further signals that the switch to the new portion of bandwidth has occurred within a time period less than a predetermined time period. The method also uses the new portion of bandwidth to transmit information on the radio link.

[0006] In some implementations, the radio link is a 5G radio link, and a portion of the bandwidth is a subset of a contiguous common physical resource block. Furthermore, the predefined time period may be based at least on the downlink time slot of the radio link. Additionally, the predefined time period may be based on at least one of radio resource control processing delay and radio resource control handover delay. In other implementations, the handover instruction is a radio resource control command. Furthermore, the method may include: transmitting uplink signals using the old portion of the bandwidth until the user equipment sends a feedback signal; and switching the user equipment to use the new portion of the bandwidth to transmit signals using at least one of the uplink and downlink of the radio link. The feedback signal may be a hybrid automatic repeat request feedback. Furthermore, the signaling may be signaling for either a periodic sounding reference signal or a periodic channel quality information (CQI) report for the physical uplink control channel. The method may further switch the user equipment to use the new portion of the bandwidth to transmit signals using at least one of the uplink and downlink of the radio link.

[0007] In other embodiments, a non-transitory machine-readable medium is described having executable instructions that cause one or more processing units to perform a method of switching to a new portion of bandwidth on a radio link between a user equipment and a base station. In an exemplary embodiment, the method sends an indication from the base station that the user equipment has switched to the new portion of bandwidth on the radio link. Furthermore, the method receives a response that the user equipment has switched to the new portion of bandwidth and transmits information on the radio link using the new portion of bandwidth.

[0008] Furthermore, this method can further transmit signals on the old portion of the bandwidth until a first predefined time period. This first predefined time period can be T. HARQ Furthermore, the base station may not schedule signal transmission with the user equipment after the first predefined time period, and may schedule signal transmission with the user equipment after the second time period. The method can further monitor a specific uplink signal from the user equipment, wherein the specific uplink signal is one of a periodic sounding reference signal and a periodic channel quality information (CQI) report from the physical uplink control channel. Furthermore, the response is a random access channel response.

[0009] In another embodiment, a method for switching to a new portion of bandwidth on a radio link between a user equipment and a base station is described. In an exemplary embodiment, the method receives from the base station an instruction to switch the user equipment to the new portion of bandwidth on the radio link. Furthermore, the method switches the user equipment to the new portion of bandwidth. The method further signals that the switch to the new portion of bandwidth has occurred within a time period shorter than a predetermined time period. The method also uses the new portion of bandwidth to transmit information on the radio link.

[0010] In other embodiments, a method for switching to a new portion of bandwidth on a radio link between a user equipment and a base station is described. In an exemplary embodiment, the method sends an indication from the base station that the user equipment has switched to the new portion of bandwidth on the radio link. Furthermore, the method receives a response that the user equipment has switched to the new portion of bandwidth and transmits information on the radio link using the new portion of bandwidth.

[0011] Other methods and apparatus are also described. Attached Figure Description

[0012] The invention is illustrated by way of example and is not limited to the figures in the accompanying drawings, in which similar reference numerals indicate similar elements.

[0013] Figure 1 An exemplary wireless communication system according to some implementation schemes is shown.

[0014] Figure 2 A base station (BS) communicating with a user equipment (UE) device according to some implementation schemes is shown.

[0015] Figure 3 An exemplary block diagram of a UE according to some implementation schemes is shown.

[0016] Figure 4 An exemplary block diagram of a BS according to some implementation schemes is shown.

[0017] Figure 5 An exemplary block diagram of a cellular communication circuit according to some implementation schemes is shown.

[0018] Figure 6 This is a diagram illustrating some implementation schemes for partial bandwidth (BWP) switching.

[0019] Figure 7 This is a flowchart of some implementation schemes for the process of switching BWP on a UE using Radio Resource Control (RRC).

[0020] Figure 8 This is a diagram illustrating some implementation schemes for BWP handover on the UE using RRC.

[0021] Figure 9 This is an illustration of some implementation schemes for BWP handover on the UE using RRC and specific UL signals.

[0022] Figure 10 This is a flowchart of some implementation schemes for using RRC to switch BWPs in a network.

[0023] Figure 11 This is a flowchart of some implementation schemes for the process of switching BWP on a UE using Radio Resource Control (RRC) and specific uplink (UL) signals.

[0024] Figure 12 This is a diagram illustrating some implementation schemes for BWP handover on the UE using RACH.

[0025] Figure 13 This is a flowchart of some implementation schemes for the process of switching BWP in a UE using the Random Access Channel (RACH).

[0026] Figure 14 This is a flowchart of some implementation schemes for using RACH to switch BWPs in a network. Detailed Implementation

[0027] A method and apparatus for switching a portion of the bandwidth between user equipment and a base station are described. Numerous specific details are set forth in the following description to provide a thorough explanation of embodiments of the invention. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that embodiments of the invention can be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known components, structures, and techniques have not been shown in detail so as not to obscure the understanding of this description.

[0028] In this specification, references to "some embodiments" or "implementation" mean that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with that embodiment may be included in at least one embodiment of the invention. The phrase "some embodiments" appearing in various places throughout this specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment.

[0029] In the following description and claims, the terms “coupled” and “connected” and their derivatives may be used. It should be understood that these terms are not intended to be synonymous with each other. “Coupled” is used to mean that two or more elements may or may not be in direct physical or electrical contact with each other, and cooperate or interact with each other. “Connected” is used to mean the establishment of communication between two or more elements that are coupled to each other.

[0030] The processes illustrated in the following figures are executed by processing logic, which includes hardware (e.g., circuitry, special-purpose logic, etc.), software (such as software running on a general-purpose computer system or a special-purpose machine), or a combination of both. While these processes are described below in a certain order, it should be understood that some of the operations may be performed in a different order. Furthermore, some operations may be performed in parallel rather than sequentially.

[0031] The terms “server,” “client,” and “device” are intended to refer generally to a data processing system, rather than to specific form elements of a server, client, and / or device.

[0032] A method and apparatus are described for switching a portion of bandwidth (BWP) between a user equipment (UE) and a base station in a wireless network. In some embodiments, the network (e.g., a base station) instructs the UE to use a new BWP to transmit data over a wireless (e.g., a 5G wireless link). The network may initiate a handover to the new BWP for various reasons, such as load balancing among multiple UEs, switching a UE to a wider BWP for high data rate traffic, and / or other reasons where the network may need to manage network bandwidth. In these embodiments, the network may initiate a BWP handover using a Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling mechanism that instructs the UE to switch to the new BWP. The UE receives the instruction and begins the handover to the new BWP. During the handover period, the UE can use the old BWP to receive and transmit data with the network.

[0033] Once the UE completes the handover to the new UE, it can receive and transmit on the new BWP. However, the network does not begin transmitting data on the new BWP until a predetermined period governed by UERRC processing delays and UE MWP handover delays. This predetermined period can be longer than the actual time required for the UE to handover to the new BWP, which can lead to inefficient network usage. In some implementations, once the UE completes the BWP handover to the new BWP, the UE signals to the network that it is ready to transmit data on the new BWP. In some implementations, this signaling can be implemented using predetermined uplink (UL) signals (e.g., periodic sounding reference signals (SRS), periodic channel quality information (CQI) reports carried on the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), and / or similar signaling), or via the random access channel (RACH). In these implementations, by having the UE use signaling mechanisms to instruct the network to handover to the new BWP, the handover time to the new BWP can be reduced, and network efficiency can be improved.

[0034] Figure 1 A simplified exemplary wireless communication system according to some implementation schemes is shown. It should be noted that... Figure 1The system described herein is merely one example of a possible system, and the features of this disclosure can be implemented in any of a variety of systems as needed.

[0035] As shown in the figure, the exemplary wireless communication system includes a base station 102A, which communicates with one or more user equipments 106A, 106B to 106N, etc., via a transmission medium. Each user equipment may be referred to herein as a "user equipment" (UE). Therefore, user equipment 106 is referred to as a UE or UE device.

[0036] Base station (BS) 102A may be a transceiver base station (BTS) or a cell site (“cellular base station”), and may include hardware that enables wireless communication with UE 106A to UE 106N.

[0037] The communication area (or coverage area) of a base station can be referred to as a "cell". Base station 102A and UE 106 can be configured to communicate via a transmission medium using any of a variety of Radio Access Technologies (RATs), also known as wireless communication technologies or telecommunications standards, such as GSM, UMTS (associated with air interfaces such as WCDMA or TD-SCDMA), LTE, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), 5G New Radio (5G NR), HSPA, 3GPP 2CDMA2000 (e.g., 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, etc.).

[0038] eHRPD, etc. It should be noted that if base station 102A is implemented in an LTE environment, its alternative location may be referred to as "eNodeB" or "eNB". It should also be noted that if base station 102A is implemented in a 5G NR environment, its alternative location may be referred to as "gNodeB" or "gNB". As shown in the figure, base station 102A can also be configured to communicate with network 100 (e.g., the core network of a cellular service provider, telecommunications networks such as the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), and / or the Internet, and various other possible networks). Therefore, base station 102A can facilitate communication between user equipments and / or between user equipments and network 100. In particular, cellular base station 102A can provide UE 106 with various communication capabilities such as voice, SMS, and / or data services.

[0039] Base station 102A and other similar base stations (such as base station 102B...102N) operating under the same or different cellular communication standards can thus provide a network as a cell that can provide continuous or near-continuous overlapping services over a geographical area to UE 106A to UE 106N and similar devices via one or more cellular communication standards.

[0040] Therefore, although base station 102A can act as such Figure 1 The diagram shows the "serving cells" of UEs 106A to UE 106N, but each UE 106 may also be able to receive signals (and possibly within its communication range) from one or more other cells (which may be provided by base stations 102B-N and / or any other base stations), which may be referred to as "neighboring cells". Such cells may also facilitate communication between user equipments and / or between user equipments and network 100. These cells may include "macro" cells, "micro" cells, "pecimen" cells, and / or any other cells of various other granularities providing service area size. For example, in Figure 1 Base stations 102A to 102B shown can be macro cells, while base station 102N can be a micro cell. Other configurations are also possible.

[0041] In some implementations, base station 102A may be a next-generation base station, such as a 5G New Radio (5G NR) base station or a “gNB”. In some implementations, the gNB may be connected to a legacy evolved packet core (EPC) network and / or to an NR core (NRC) network. Furthermore, the gNB cell may include one or more transition and receive points (TRPs). Additionally, a UE capable of operating according to 5G NR may connect to one or more TRPs within one or more gNBs.

[0042] It should be noted that UE 106 can communicate using multiple wireless communication standards. For example, in addition to at least one cellular communication protocol (e.g., GSM, UMTS (associated with, for example, WCDMA or TD-SCDMA air interfaces), LTE, LTE-A, 5G NR, HSPA, 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (e.g., 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD, etc.), UE 106 can be configured to communicate using wireless networking (e.g., Wi-Fi) and / or peer-to-peer wireless communication protocols (e.g., Bluetooth, Wi-Fi peer-to-peer, etc.). If desired, UE 106 can also or alternatively be configured to communicate using one or more Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS, such as GPS or GLONASS), one or more mobile television broadcasting standards (e.g., ATSC-M / H or DVB-H), and / or any other wireless communication protocol. Other combinations of wireless communication standards (including more than two wireless communication standards) are also possible.

[0043] Figure 2 User equipment 106 (e.g., one of devices 106A to 106N) communicating with base station 102 is shown according to some embodiments. UE 106 can be a device with cellular communication capabilities, such as a mobile phone, handheld device, computer, or tablet computer, or virtually any type of wireless device.

[0044] UE 106 may include a processor configured to execute program instructions stored in memory. UE 106 may execute any of the method embodiments of the present invention by executing such stored instructions. Alternatively or additionally, UE 106 may include programmable hardware elements, such as a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) configured to execute any of the method embodiments of the present invention or any portion thereof.

[0045] UE 106 may include one or more antennas for communicating using one or more wireless communication protocols or technologies. In some embodiments, UE 106 may be configured to communicate using, for example, CDMA2000 (1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD) or LTE using a single shared radio component and / or GSM or LTE using a single shared radio component. The shared radio may be coupled to a single antenna or to multiple antennas (e.g., for MIMO) for performing wireless communication. Typically, the radio component may include any combination of baseband processor, analog radio frequency (RF) signal processing circuitry (e.g., including filters, mixers, oscillators, amplifiers, etc.) or digital processing circuitry (e.g., for digital modulation and other digital processing). Similarly, the radio component may use the aforementioned hardware to implement one or more receive chains and transmit chains. For example, UE 106 may share one or more portions of the receive chain and / or transmit chain among various wireless communication technologies such as those discussed above.

[0046] In some implementations, UE 106 may include separate transmit and / or receive chains (e.g., including separate antennas and other radio components) for each wireless communication protocol configured to communicate therewith. As another possibility, UE 106 may include one or more radio components shared among multiple wireless communication protocols, as well as one or more radio components uniquely used by a single wireless communication protocol. For example, UE 106 may include shared radio components for communication using either LTE or 5G NR (or LTE or 1xRTT, or LTE or GSM), and separate radio components for communication using each of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Other configurations are also possible.

[0047] Figure 3 —UE block diagram

[0048] Figure 3 An exemplary simplified block diagram of a communication device 106 according to some embodiments is shown. It should be noted that... Figure 3The block diagram of the communication device is merely one example of possible communication devices. According to the implementation, among other devices, the communication device 106 may be a user equipment (UE) device, a mobile device or mobile station, a wireless device or wireless station, a desktop computer or computing device, a mobile computing device (e.g., a laptop, notebook, or portable computing device), a tablet computer, and / or a combination of devices. As shown, the communication device 106 may include a set of components 300 configured to perform core functions. For example, this set of components may be implemented as a system-on-a-chip (SOC), which may include portions for various purposes. Alternatively, the set of components 300 may be implemented as individual components or groups of components for various purposes. This set of components 300 may be (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to various other circuitry of the communication device 106.

[0049] For example, communication device 106 may include various types of memory (e.g., including NAND flash memory 310), input / output interfaces such as connector I / F 320 (e.g., for connection to a computer system; docking station; charging station; input devices such as microphone, camera, keyboard; output devices such as speaker; etc.), a display 360 that may be integrated with or external to communication device 106, and cellular communication circuitry 330 such as for 5G NR, LTE, GSM, etc., and short- to medium-range wireless communication circuitry 329 (e.g., Bluetooth). TM (and WLAN circuitry). In some embodiments, the communication device 106 may include wired communication circuitry (not shown), such as, for example, a network interface card for Ethernet.

[0050] Cellular communication circuitry 330 may be coupled (e.g., communicatively grounded; directly or indirectly) to one or more antennas, such as antennas 335 and 336 shown. Short-to-medium-range wireless communication circuitry 329 may also be coupled (e.g., communicatively grounded; directly or indirectly) to one or more antennas, such as antennas 337 and 338 shown. Alternatively, short-to-medium-range wireless communication circuitry 329 may be coupled (e.g., communicatively grounded; directly or indirectly) to antennas 337 and 338, or as an alternative, to antennas 335 and 336. Short-to-medium-range wireless communication circuitry 329 and / or cellular communication circuitry 330 may include multiple receive chains and / or multiple transmit chains for receiving and / or transmitting multiple spatial streams, such as in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) configuration.

[0051] In some embodiments, as further described below, the cellular communication circuit 330 may include dedicated receive chains for multiple RATs (including and / or coupled to (e.g., communication ground; directly or indirectly) dedicated processors and / or radio components) (e.g., a first receive chain for LTE and a second receive chain for 5G-NR). Furthermore, in some embodiments, the cellular communication circuit 330 may include a single transmit chain that can be switched between radio components dedicated to a particular RAT. For example, a first radio component may be dedicated to a first RAT, such as LTE, and can communicate with a dedicated receive chain and a transmit chain shared with additional radio components, such as a second radio component that may be dedicated to a second RAT (e.g., 5G NR) and can communicate with a dedicated receive chain and a shared transmit chain.

[0052] The communication device 106 may also include one or more user interface elements and / or be configured to be used with one or more user interface elements. User interface elements may include any of a variety of components such as a display 360 (which may be a touch screen display), a keyboard (which may be a separate keyboard or may be implemented as part of the touch screen display), a mouse, a microphone and / or a speaker, one or more cameras, one or more buttons, and / or any of a variety of other components capable of providing information to the user and / or receiving or interpreting user input.

[0053] The communication device 106 may also include one or more smart cards 345 with SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) functionality, such as one or more UICC cards (one or more general purpose integrated circuit cards) 345.

[0054] As shown in the figure, the SOC 300 may include a processor 302 and a display circuit 304. The processor executes program instructions for the communication device 106, and the display circuit performs graphics processing and provides display signals to the display 360. The processor 302 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 340 (which may be configured to receive addresses from the processor 302 and translate those addresses into locations in memory (e.g., memory 306, read-only memory (ROM) 350, NAND flash memory 310)) and / or coupled to other circuitry or devices (such as the display circuit 304, short-range wireless communication circuitry 229, cellular communication circuitry 330, connector I / F 320, and / or display 360). 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 processor 302.

[0055] As described above, communication device 106 can be configured to communicate using wireless and / or wired communication circuits. Communication device 106 can also be configured to determine physical downlink shared channel scheduling resources for user equipment and base stations. Furthermore, communication device 106 can be configured to select and group CCs from the wireless link, and determine virtual CCs from the selected CC groups. The wireless device can also be configured to perform physical downlink resource mapping based on an aggregation resource matching mode for CC groups.

[0056] As described herein, communication device 106 may include hardware and software components for implementing the aforementioned features for determining physical downlink shared channel scheduling resources for communication device 106 and a base station. For example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium), processor 302 of communication device 106 may be configured to implement some or all of the features described herein. Alternatively (or otherwise), processor 302 may be configured as a programmable hardware element, such as an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) or ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit). Alternatively (or otherwise), in conjunction with one or more of other components 300, 304, 306, 310, 320, 329, 330, 340, 345, 350, 360, processor 302 of communication device 106 may be configured to implement some or all of the features described herein.

[0057] Furthermore, as described in this invention, processor 302 may include one or more processing elements. Therefore, processor 302 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of processor 302. Additionally, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of one or more processors 302.

[0058] Furthermore, as described herein, both the cellular communication circuit 330 and the short-range wireless communication circuit 329 may include one or more processing elements. In other words, one or more processing elements may be included in the cellular communication circuit 330, and similarly, one or more processing elements may be included in the short-range wireless communication circuit 329. Therefore, the cellular communication circuit 330 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of the cellular communication circuit 330. Furthermore, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of the cellular communication circuit 330. Similarly, the short-range wireless communication circuit 329 may include one or more ICs configured to perform the functions of the short-range wireless communication circuit 329. Furthermore, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of the short-range wireless communication circuit 329.

[0059] Figure 4 —Block diagram of a base station

[0060] Figure 4 An exemplary block diagram of a base station 102 according to some embodiments is shown. It should be noted that... Figure 4 The base station shown is merely one example of a possible base station. As illustrated, base station 102 may include a processor 404 capable of executing program instructions specific to base station 102. Processor 404 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 440 or other circuitry or device, which may be configured to receive addresses from processor 404 and translate those addresses into locations in memory (e.g., memory 460 and read-only memory (ROM) 450).

[0061] Base station 102 may include at least one network port 470. Network port 470 may be configured to be coupled to a telephone network and provide access rights as described above. Figure 1 and Figure 2 The telephone network described herein includes multiple devices such as UE device 106.

[0062] Network port 470 (or an additional network port) may also be configured, or alternatively configured, to be coupled 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, network port 470 may be coupled to a 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).

[0063] In some implementations, base station 102 may be a next-generation base station, such as a 5G New Radio (5G NR) base station, or a “gNB”. In such implementations, base station 102 may be connected to a legacy evolved packet core (EPC) network and / or to an NR core (NRC) network. Furthermore, base station 102 may be considered a 5G NR cell and may include one or more transition and receive points (TRPs). Additionally, UEs capable of operating according to 5G NR may connect to one or more TRPs within one or more gNBs.

[0064] Base station 102 may include at least one antenna 434 and possibly multiple antennas. The at least one antenna 434 may be configured to function as a wireless transceiver and may be further configured to communicate with UE device 106 via radio component 430. Antenna 434 communicates with radio component 430 via communication link 432. Communication link 432 may be a receive link, a transmit link, or both. Radio component 430 may be configured to communicate via various wireless communication standards, including but not limited to 5G NR, LTE, LTE-A, GSM, UMTS, CDMA2000, Wi-Fi, etc.

[0065] Base station 102 can be configured to perform wireless communication using multiple wireless communication standards. In some cases, base station 102 may include multiple radios that enable base station 102 to communicate according to multiple wireless communication technologies. For example, as one possibility, base station 102 may include an LTE radio component for performing communication according to LTE and a 5G NR radio component for performing communication according to 5G NR. In this case, base station 102 may be able to operate as both an LTE base station and a 5G NR base station. As another possibility, base station 102 may include a multimode radio component capable of performing communication according to any of multiple wireless communication technologies (e.g., 5G NR and Wi-Fi, LTE and Wi-Fi, LTE and UMTS, LTE and CDMA2000, UMTS and GSM, etc.).

[0066] As further described herein, BS102 may include hardware and software components for implementing or supporting specific implementations of the features described herein. The processor 404 of base station 102 may be configured to implement or support 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). Alternatively, processor 404 may be configured as a programmable hardware element such as a FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), or as an ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit), or a combination thereof. Alternatively (or in addition), in conjunction with one or more of other components 430, 432, 434, 440, 450, 460, and 470, the processor 404 of base station 102 may be configured to implement or support some or all of the features described herein.

[0067] Furthermore, as described herein, processor 404 may comprise one or more processing elements. In other words, one or more processing elements may be included in processor 404. Therefore, processor 404 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of processor 404. Additionally, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of one or more processors 404.

[0068] Additionally, as described herein, the radio component 430 may comprise one or more processing elements. In other words, one or more processing elements may be included in the radio component 430. Therefore, the radio component 430 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of the radio component 430. Furthermore, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of the radio component 430.

[0069] Figure 5 Block diagram of cellular communication circuit

[0070] Figure 5 An exemplary simplified block diagram of a cellular communication circuit according to some embodiments is shown. It should be noted that... Figure 5 The block diagram of the cellular communication circuit is merely one example of a possible cellular communication circuit. According to the implementation, the cellular communication circuit 330 may be included in a communication device such as the communication device 106 described above. As mentioned above, among other devices, the communication device 106 may be a user equipment (UE) device, a mobile device or mobile station, a wireless device or wireless station, a desktop computer or computing device, a mobile computing device (e.g., a laptop, notebook, or portable computing device), a tablet computer, and / or a combination of these devices.

[0071] Cellular communication circuit 330 may (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) be coupled to one or more antennas, such as ( Figure 3 Antennas 335a-b and 336 are shown in the diagram. In some embodiments, the cellular communication circuit 330 may include dedicated receive chains for multiple RATs (including and / or coupled to (e.g., communication ground; directly or indirectly) dedicated processors and / or radio components) (e.g., a first receive chain for LTE and a second receive chain for 5G-NR). For example, as shown... Figure 5 As shown, the cellular communication circuit 330 may include a modem 510 and a modem 520. The modem 510 may be configured for communication according to a first RAT (e.g., such as LTE or LTE-A), and the modem 520 may be configured for communication according to a second RAT (e.g., such as 5G NR).

[0072] As shown, modem 510 may include one or more processors 512 and memory 516 communicating with processors 512. Modem 510 may communicate with radio frequency (RF) front end 530. RF front end 530 may include circuitry for transmitting and receiving radio signals. For example, RF front end 530 may include receiver circuitry (RX) 532 and transmitter circuitry (TX) 534. In some embodiments, receiver circuitry 532 may communicate with downlink (DL) front end 550, which may include circuitry for receiving radio signals via antenna 335a.

[0073] Similarly, modem 520 may include one or more processors 522 and memory 526 communicating with processor 522. Modem 520 may communicate with RF front end 540. RF front end 540 may include circuitry for transmitting and receiving radio signals. For example, RF front end 540 may include receiving circuitry 542 and transmitting circuitry 544. In some embodiments, receiving circuitry 542 may communicate with DL front end 560, which may include circuitry for receiving radio signals via antenna 335b.

[0074] In some implementations, switch 570 may couple transmitting circuitry 534 to uplink (UL) front-end 572. Additionally, switch 570 may couple transmitting circuitry 544 to UL front-end 572. UL front-end 572 may include circuitry for transmitting radio signals via antenna 336. Therefore, when cellular communication circuitry 330 receives an instruction to transmit according to a first RAT (e.g., supported by modem 510), switch 570 may be switched to a first state allowing modem 510 to transmit signals according to the first RAT (e.g., via a transmission chain including transmitting circuitry 534 and UL front-end 572). Similarly, when cellular communication circuitry 330 receives an instruction to transmit according to a second RAT (e.g., supported by modem 520), switch 570 may be switched to a second state allowing modem 520 to transmit signals according to the second RAT (e.g., via a transmission chain including transmitting circuitry 544 and UL front-end 572).

[0075] As described herein, modem 510 may include hardware and software components for implementing the features described above or for switching portions of bandwidth for user equipment and base stations, as well as for various other technologies described herein. For example, processor 512 may be configured to implement some or all of the features described herein by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium). Alternatively (or otherwise), processor 512 may be configured as a programmable hardware element such as an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) or as an ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit). Alternatively (or otherwise), processor 512 may be configured to implement some or all of the features described herein by combining with one or more of other components 530, 532, 534, 550, 570, 572, 335, and 336.

[0076] Furthermore, as described herein, processor 512 may include one or more processing elements. Therefore, processor 512 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of processor 512. Additionally, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of processor 512.

[0077] As described herein, modem 520 may include hardware and software components for implementing the aforementioned features for switching portions of bandwidth on a wireless link between the UE and a base station, as well as various other technologies described herein. For example, processor 522 may be configured to implement some or all of the features described herein by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively (or otherwise), processor 522 may be configured as a programmable hardware element such as a FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) or as an ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit). Alternatively (or additionally), processor 522 may be configured to implement some or all of the features described herein by combining one or more of other components 540, 542, 544, 550, 570, 572, 335, and 336.

[0078] Furthermore, as described herein, processor 522 may include one or more processing elements. Therefore, processor 522 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of processor 522. Additionally, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of processor 522.

[0079] In some implementations, the RAN4 TS38.133 standard describes partial bandwidth (BWP) handover delay requirements based on Radio Resource Control (RRC). In some implementations, the partial bandwidth is a subset of a contiguous common physical resource block (PRB). A UE can be configured to have up to four BWPs in the downlink or up to four BWPs in the uplink. An additional four BWPs can be configured in the supplementary uplink. In these implementations, the BWPs in the UL and DL can be active at a given time. Furthermore, the network (e.g., a base station) can hand over either the UL BWP or the DL BWP for the UE when the radio link between the UE and the base station is active.

[0080] In these implementations, for RRC-based BWP handover, after the UE receives an RRC reconfiguration involving active BWP handover or parameter changes of its active BWP, the UE may be able to receive a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) / Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) (for DL ​​active BWP handover) or transmit a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) (for UL active BWP handover). This can be performed for a new BWP on the serving cell where the BWP handover occurs precisely in the DL time slot. It occurs on the first DL or UL time slot after the start, where DL time slot n is the last time slot containing the RRC command, and T RRCprocessingdelay It is the length of the RRC process delay in milliseconds as defined in Clause 12 of TS 38.33, and T BWPswitchDelayRRC This is the time taken by the UE to perform a BWP handover. Furthermore, on cells where an RRC-based BWP handover occurs, the time taken by T... RRCprocessingdelay +T BWPswitchDelayRRC During the specified time period, the UE does not need to transmit UL signals or receive DL signals. Figure 6 These are illustrations of some implementation schemes for Partial Bandwidth (BWP) Switching 600. Figure 6 In this context, timeline 618 includes time slots n 602A and m 602B. In some implementations, a time slot is a basic time unit in the NR system (e.g., 1 time slot = 1 ms in 15 kHz; 1 time slot = 0.5 ms in 30 kHz; 1 time slot = 0.25 ms in 60 kHz; 1 time slot = 0.125 ms in 120 kHz, etc.). At time slot n 602A, the base station uses an RRC signal 616 to signal a change in the BWP. In some implementations, this BWP can be a change for the UL BWP and / or DL ​​BWP. In these implementations, on the cell where an RRC-based BWP handover occurs, the signal is sent by T... RRCprocessingdelay +T BWPswitchDelayRRCDuring the defined time period 614, the UE is not required to transmit UL signals or receive DL signals. In some implementations, this time period is handled by RRC delay (T). RRCprocessingdelay )608 and UE BWP handover delay (T BWPswitchDelayRRC )610 defines the RRC processing delay as the time spent by the UE processing the RRC command. After this delay, the UE and the base station can each use the new active BWP 612 (e.g., transmit the PDCCH and PDSCH on the new active BWP).

[0081] In some implementations, two potential problems may arise. One problem is that on cells where RRC-based BWP handover occurs, under T... RRCprocessingdelay +T BWPswitchDelayRRC During the limited time period, the UE does not need to transmit UL signals or receive DL signals. However, in time slot n+T HARQ Upon receiving the RRC command 604, the UE needs to send a feedback ACK / NACK to the network. In these implementations, T HARQ This refers to the timing between the DL data transmission (RRC command for active BWP handover) and the confirmation. A second problem may arise if the total delay for RRC-based active BWP handover can be, for example, 16 ms. Introducing a method to indicate this information 606 from the UE to the network is useful if the UE can complete the active BWP handover earlier than n+16.

[0082] In some implementations, and from the UE's perspective, during an RRC-based active BWP handover, the UE will continue to transmit UL signals and receive DL signals on the old active BWP until the UE sends a HARQ feedback to the network (e.g., the base station), where the Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) feedback is a feedback of the RRC command for the active BWP handover. (In time slots) Afterwards, the UE will be able to transmit UL signals and receive DL signals on the new active BWP. Additionally, in time slot n+T HARQ After that, until the time slot The UE may not transmit UL signals and receive DL signals on the legacy active BWP. In some implementations, T HARQ It is the timing between DL data transmission (RRC command for active BWP switching) and confirmation.

[0083] Figure 7 This is a flowchart of some implementation schemes of the process 700 for handing over a BWP on a UE using Radio Resource Control (RRC). Figure 7In block 702, process 700 begins by receiving a BWP handover indication from the network. In some embodiments, the BWP handover indication may be an RRC command instructing the UE to switch BWPs. In block 704, process 700 transmits UL and DL signals using the old active BWP. In some embodiments, process 700 uses the old active BWP because the UE has not yet completed the handover to the new active BWP. In block 706, process 700 stops transmitting UL / DL signals on the old BWP. In some embodiments, process 700 stops this transmission as part of the handover to the new BWP. In block 708, process 700 sends HARQ feedback to the network. In some embodiments, HARQ feedback is an acknowledgment to the network that the UE has received the BWP handover indication. In block 710, process 700 begins transmitting UL / DL signals on the new BWP after a predefined time period. In some embodiments, process 700 transmits UL / DL signals in time slot n+ Then it begins transmitting UL / DL signals.

[0084] The problem here is that the UE may be ready to transmit UL / DL signals on the new BWP before a predetermined time period has elapsed. For example, and in some implementations, the UE may be ready to transmit UL / DL signals on the new BWP several microseconds before the end of the predetermined time period. This leads to inefficient use of the radio link. Figure 8 This is an illustration of some implementation schemes for BWP handover on a UE using RRC 800. In some implementations, regarding the first issue, from the network perspective, during the RRC-based active BWP handover 814, the network will continue to transmit DL signals to the UE and receive UL signals from the UE 816 on the old active BWP until it receives HARQ feedback 804 from the UE, and this HARQ feedback is an RRC command for the active BWP handover. (In the time slot) Subsequently, the network will be scheduled to transmit DL signals to the UE and receive UL signals from the UE on the new active BWP. Furthermore, in time slot n+T HARQ After that, until the time slot At time 812, the network will not schedule UE 810 to transmit DL signals to the UE and receive UL signals from the UE on the old active BWP. The network will schedule UE 810 using the new active BWP after time period 810, for example, to transmit PDCCH and / or PDSCH on the new active BWP. In these implementations, DL slot n is the last slot containing the RRC command for active BWP handover. HARQ This is the timing between DL data transmission (RRC command for active BWP switching) and confirmation. Additionally, T... RRCprocessingdelay 806 is the RRC processing delay, and T BWPswitchDelayRRC 808 is the UE's BWP handover delay, as described above.

[0085] Regarding the second question, and in some implementations, two potential solutions exist. In some implementations, from a network perspective, when the network configures the UE to switch to the active BWP, the network can configure the transmission of a specific UL signal on the new BWP. In these implementations, the specific UL signal can be, but is not limited to, periodic SRS (probe), periodic CQI reports carried by the PUCCH, and / or signaling of a certain type. In some implementations, the network in n+T HARQ The aforementioned UL signal will then be continuously monitored. In these implementations, after the network receives the aforementioned UL signal, the network will determine that the UE is ready to be scheduled on the new BWP.

[0086] Figure 9 This is an illustration of some implementation schemes for BWP handover on the UE using RRC and specific UL signals 900. Figure 9 In this process, the network (e.g., the base station) uses RRC at time slot n to signal to the UE that it has switched to the new BWP 916. In some implementations, the timeline includes two distinct time slots: time slot n 902A and time slot m 902B. At the time of the RRC signaling, the network will continue to receive and transmit data on the old BWP until the network receives an acknowledgment of the RRC signaling. For example, and in some implementations, at time slot n+T HARQ At this point, the network can receive ACK / NACK feedback from the UE in response to the RRC command for switching to the new BWP. In some implementations, the UE can receive ACK / NACK feedback from the UE in less than T RRCprocessingdelay 908+T BWPswitchDelayRRC At time 910, the active BWP handover is completed (914). At this time, the UE transmits a specific UL signal to the network on the new active BWP (912). In these implementations, the specific UL signal can be, but is not limited to, periodic SRS (sounding retrieval), periodic CQI reports carried by the PUCCH, and / or signaling of a certain type. In some implementations, the UE is ready on the new active BWP (this may be later than n+T). HARQ The UE will continue to transmit the aforementioned UL signal afterward. In some implementations, the UE is ready on the new active BWP (this may be later than n+T). HARQ The aforementioned UL signal will continue to be transmitted afterward. Furthermore, DL slot n is the last slot containing the RRC command for the active BWP switching, and T... HARQ This is the timing between DL data transmission (RRC command for active BWP handover) and confirmation. In another implementation, the network receives a specific UL signal 906 from the UE, and the network uses the new active BWP to schedule the UE for data (e.g., sending PDCCH and / or PDSCH on the new active BWP).

[0087] Figure 10 This is a flowchart of some implementation schemes for using RRC to switch BWPs in a network. Figure 10 In block 1002, process 1000 begins by sending a command to configure the UE to switch to the new BWP. In some implementations, process 1000 sends an RRC command to the UE, instructing the UE to configure itself for the new BWP. In these implementations, the command may include characteristics of the new BWP. Additionally, the RRC command may include an indication of a specific UL signal to be used. In block 1004, process 1000 configures the base station for a specific UL signal on the new BWP. In some implementations, the specific UL signal may be, but is not limited to, periodic SRS (probe), periodic CQI reports carried by the PUCCH, and / or signaling of a certain type. In block 1006, process 1000 monitors the UL for the specific UL signal. If process 1000 receives the specific UL signal, execution proceeds to block 1008 below. If process 1000 does not receive the specific UL signal, process 1000 continues monitoring the UL in block 1006. In block 1008, process 1000 prepares the UE for scheduling on the new BWP. In some implementations, the network can use the new BWP to transmit data with the UE.

[0088] Figure 11 This is a flowchart of some implementations of the process 1100 for switching the BWP on the UE using RRC and specific UL signals. Figure 11 In block 1102, process 1100 begins by receiving UL signal configuration for handover to the new BWP. In some embodiments, the configuration may include an indication of the new BWP and a specific UL to be used for signaling. In block 1104, process 1100 configures the UE for the new BWP. In some embodiments, process 1100 prepares the UE to transmit a UL signal on the new BWP, which the UE can transmit once the BWP handover is complete. Once the UE completes the handover to the new active BWP, process 1100 transmits the specific UL signal. In some embodiments, the specific UL signal may be, but is not limited to, periodic SRS (probe), periodic CQI reports carried by PUCCH, and / or signaling of the following types. In the case of a new active BWP setup, in block 1108, process 1100 transmits data on the new BWP.

[0089] In another implementation, the network and UE may use the Random Access Channel (RACH) as a signaling mechanism to let the network know that the UE has configured itself to use the new BWP. Figure 12 These are illustrations of some implementation schemes for BWP handover on the UE using RACH 1200. Figure 12In this process, the network (e.g., the base station) uses RRC at time T to signal to the UE that it has changed to the new BWP 1216. In some implementations, the timeline includes two distinct time slots: time slot n 1202A and time slot m 1202B. At the time of the RRC signaling, the network will continue to receive and transmit data 1218 on the old BWP until the network receives an acknowledgment of the RRC signaling. For example, and in some implementations, at time slot n+T HARQ At this point, the network can receive ACK / NACK feedback from the UE in response to the RRC command for switching to the new BWP. In some implementations, the UE can receive ACK / NACK feedback from the UE in less than T RRCprocessingdelay 1208+T BWPswitchDelayRRC The active BWP handover is completed at time 1210, 1214. In some implementations, from the UE's perspective, during an RRC-based BWP handover, if the target active BWP has RACH resources, the UE will transmit RACH to the network on the new active BWP once the UE completes the active BWP handover 1214. In these implementations, the UE will continue transmitting the aforementioned RACH until the UE receives a RACH response from the network 1212. Furthermore, the RACH transmission on the new active BWP may be later than n+T. HARQ After receiving RACH response 1212 from the network, the UE will use the new BWP as the active BWP for Rx and Tx.

[0090] Furthermore, in some implementations, from a network perspective, a second solution to the second problem involves the network performing n+T handover during RRC-based BWP handover. HARQ The network then continues to monitor the RACH from the UE on the new active BWP. In these implementations, after the network receives the RACH from the UE, it will respond to the UE with 1206 (e.g., using a Random Access Response (RAR)). This response will be marked as "for BWP handover". After the network sends the RACH response 1212 to the UE, the network will use the new BWP as the active BWP for Rx and Tx operations with that UE. Furthermore, DL slot n is the last slot containing the RRC command for the active BWP handover. HARQ It is the timing between DL data transmission (RRC command for active BWP switching) and confirmation.

[0091] Figure 13 This is a flowchart of some implementation schemes for using RACH to switch BWPs in a network 1300. Figure 13In block 1302, procedure 1300 begins by receiving UL signal configuration for the new BWP. In some embodiments, RACH is a random access channel. In these embodiments, the UE will begin transmitting RACH to the network on the new BWP after the UE completes the BWP handover, so that the network knows that the UE has completed the BWP handover. After the UE receives a random access response from the network acknowledging that the network has received the RACH and knows that the UE has completed the BWP handover, the UE will stop transmitting RACH. Furthermore, the UL signal configuration includes new BWP information for the UE to use. In block 1304, procedure 1300 configures the UE to use the new BWP. Procedure 1300 transmits RACH on the new BWP. In block 1308, procedure 1300 determines whether a RACH response has been received. In some embodiments, the base station transmits a RACH response in response to receiving RACH from the UE. If procedure 1300 receives a RACH response, execution proceeds to block 1310, where procedure 1300 uses the new BWP for the UE. If process 1300 does not receive a RACH response, execution proceeds to box 1308, where the process continues to monitor for RACH responses.

[0092] Figure 14 This is a flowchart of some implementation schemes for using RACH to switch BWPs in a network 1400. Figure 14 In block 1402, process 1400 begins by sending a command to configure the UE to use the new BWP. In some implementations, process 1400 uses an RRC command to indicate to the UE that it is configured for the new BWP. In block 1404, process 1400 monitors the RACH on the new BWP. In block 1406, process 1400 determines whether the RACH has been received. If the RACH has been received, then in block 1408, process 1400 uses the new BWP to transmit data with the UE. If the RACH has not been received, execution proceeds to block 1404 above.

[0093] Parts of the content described above can be implemented using logic circuits such as dedicated logic circuits or using microcontrollers or other forms of processing cores that execute program code instructions. Thus, the processes taught in the above discussion can be executed using program code such as machine-executable instructions, which cause the machine to execute these instructions to perform certain functions. In this context, "machine" can be a machine that translates intermediate (or "abstract") instructions into processor-specific instructions (e.g., abstract execution environments such as "virtual machines" (e.g., Java Virtual Machines), interpreters, Common Language Runtimes, high-level language virtual machines, etc.), and / or electronic circuitry set on semiconductor chips (e.g., "logic circuitry" implemented using transistors) designed to execute instructions, such as general-purpose processors and / or dedicated processors. The processes taught in the above discussion can also be executed (as an alternative to or in conjunction with a machine) by electronic circuitry designed to execute processes (or parts thereof) without executing program code.

[0094] The present invention also relates to an apparatus for performing the operations described herein. This apparatus may be specifically configured for a desired purpose, or may comprise a general-purpose computer selectively activated or reconfigured by a computer program stored in a computer. Such a computer program may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, such as, but not limited to, any type of disk, including floppy disks, optical disks, CD-ROMs and magneto-optical disks, read-only memory (ROM), RAM, EPROM, EEPROM, magnetic cards or optical cards, or any type of medium suitable for storing electronic instructions, and each of which is coupled to a computer system bus.

[0095] Machine-readable media include any mechanism that stores or transmits information in a machine-readable (e.g., computer) form. For example, machine-readable media include read-only memory (“ROM”); random access memory (“RAM”); magnetic disk storage media; optical storage media; flash memory devices; and so on.

[0096] The article of manufacture can be used to store program code. The article of manufacture storing program code can be implemented as, but is not limited to, one or more memories (e.g., one or more flash memories, random access memories (static, dynamic, or other)), optical discs, CD-ROMs, DVD-ROMs, EPROMs, EEPROMs, magnetic cards or optical cards, or other types of machine-readable media suitable for storing electronic instructions. Program code can also be downloaded from a remote computer (e.g., a server) to a requesting computer (e.g., a client) by means of data signals contained in a transmission medium (e.g., via a communication link (e.g., a network connection)).

[0097] The foregoing detailed description has been presented according to the algorithms and symbolic representations used to manipulate data bits within computer memory. These algorithmic descriptions and representations are tools used by those skilled in the art of data processing, and these tools are also the most effective means of communicating the essence of their work to others skilled in the art. An algorithm here and generally refers to a self-consistent sequence of operations that leads to a desired result. These operations are those that require physical manipulation of physical quantities. Often, but not necessarily, these quantities take the form of electrical or magnetic signals that can be stored, transmitted, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated. It has proven convenient to refer to these signals as bits, values, elements, symbols, characters, terms, numbers, etc., primarily for general reasons.

[0098] However, it should be remembered that all these and similar terms are associated with appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels applied to those quantities. Unless otherwise specifically stated, it is evident from the foregoing discussion that throughout this specification, discussions using terms such as “send,” “receive,” “switch,” “receive,” “group,” “transmit,” “emit,” “aggregate,” “monitor,” “remove,” etc., refer to the actions and processing of computer systems or similar electronic computing devices that can manipulate data represented as physical (electronic) quantities in the registers and memories of the computer system and convert them into other data similarly represented as physical quantities in the computer system’s memory or registers or other such information storage, transmission, or display devices.

[0099] The processes and displays presented herein are not inherently related to any particular computer or other device. Various general-purpose systems can be used with programs based on the teachings herein, or can prove convenient for constructing more specialized devices to perform the operations described herein. The necessary structures for various such systems will be apparent from the description below. Furthermore, the invention is not described with reference to any particular programming language. It should be understood that various programming languages ​​can be used to implement the teachings of the invention as described herein.

[0100] As is widely recognized, the use of personally identifiable information should comply with privacy policies and practices that are generally accepted to meet or exceed industry or governmental requirements for protecting user privacy. Specifically, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of authorized use should be clearly explained to users.

[0101] The foregoing discussion has only described some exemplary embodiments of the invention. Those skilled in the art will readily recognize from these discussions, drawings, and claims that various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A non-transitory machine-readable medium having executable instructions that cause one or more processing units to perform a method of switching to a new portion of bandwidth on a radio link between a user equipment and a base station, the method comprising: Receive from the base station an instruction to switch the user equipment to the new portion of bandwidth on the wireless link; Switch the user equipment to the new portion of the bandwidth; The signal notifies the base station that the handover to the new portion of the bandwidth has occurred within a time period shorter than a predetermined time period, wherein the predetermined time period is based at least on the downlink time slot of the radio link and further on at least one of radio resource control processing delay and radio resource control handover delay; and The new portion of bandwidth is used to transmit information on the wireless link before the predetermined time period expires.

2. The non-transitory machine-readable medium according to claim 1, wherein the wireless link is a 5G wireless link.

3. The non-transient machine-readable medium of claim 1, wherein a portion of the bandwidth is a subset of a contiguous block of common physical resources.

4. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the instruction to switch is a radio resource control command.

5. The non-transitory machine-readable medium according to claim 1, further comprising: Uplink signals are transmitted using the old portion of the bandwidth until the user equipment sends a feedback signal.

6. The non-transient machine-readable medium of claim 5, wherein the feedback signal is a hybrid automatic repeat request feedback.

7. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the switching comprises: The user equipment is switched to use the new portion of bandwidth to transmit signals using at least one of the uplink and downlink of the wireless link.

8. The non-transient machine-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the signaling notification is used as signaling for either a periodic probe reference signal or a periodic channel quality information (CQI) report for the physical uplink control channel.

9. The non-transient machine-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the signaling notification comprises: The system periodically transmits random access channel signals to the base station until it receives a random access channel response.

10. A non-transitory machine-readable medium having executable instructions that cause one or more processing units to perform a method of switching to a new portion of bandwidth on a radio link between a user equipment and a base station, the method comprising: The base station sends an instruction on the wireless link to switch the user equipment to the new portion of bandwidth; The system receives a response indicating that the user equipment has switched to the new portion of the bandwidth, the switching occurring within a time period less than a predetermined time period, wherein the predetermined time period is based at least on the downlink time slot of the radio link and further on at least one of radio resource control processing delay and radio resource control handover delay; and The new portion of bandwidth is used to transmit information on the wireless link before the predetermined time period expires.

11. The non-transitory machine-readable medium according to claim 10, further comprising: Transmit signals on the old bandwidth until the first predetermined time period.

12. The non-transient machine-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the first predetermined time period is T. HARQ .

13. The non-transient machine-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the base station is not scheduled to transmit signals to the user equipment after the first predetermined time period, and is scheduled to transmit signals to the user equipment on a new portion of the bandwidth after the second time period.

14. The non-transitory machine-readable medium according to claim 10, further comprising: Monitor one of the periodic probe reference signal from the user equipment and the periodic channel quality information (CQI) report from the physical uplink control channel.

15. The non-transient machine-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the response is a random access channel response.

16. A method for switching to a new portion of bandwidth on a radio link between a user equipment and a base station, the method comprising: Receive from the base station an instruction to switch the user equipment to the new portion of bandwidth on the wireless link; Switch to the new portion of bandwidth for the user equipment; The signal notifies the base station that the handover to the new portion of the bandwidth has occurred within a time period shorter than a predetermined time period, wherein the predetermined time period is based at least on the downlink time slot of the radio link and further on at least one of radio resource control processing delay and radio resource control handover delay; and The new portion of bandwidth is used to transmit information on the wireless link before the predetermined time period expires.

17. A method for switching to a new portion of bandwidth on a radio link between a user equipment and a base station, the method comprising: The base station sends an instruction on the wireless link to switch the user equipment to the new portion of bandwidth; The system receives a response indicating that the user equipment has switched to the new portion of the bandwidth, the switching occurring within a time period less than a predetermined time period, wherein the predetermined time period is based at least on the downlink time slot of the radio link and further on at least one of radio resource control processing delay and radio resource control handover delay; and The new portion of bandwidth is used to transmit information on the wireless link before the predetermined time period expires.

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