Systems and methods for user equipment assisted carrier aggregation

Abstract

Implementations include a user equipment (UE) and a method performed by the UE. The method includes receiving a measurement configuration request from a network; measuring, in response to the measurement configuration request, a quality of one or more uplink (UL) carrier aggregation (CA) combinations, where each UL CA combination includes a plurality of component carriers; generating a message including the quality of the one or more UL CA combinations; and transmitting the message to the network. Further implementations include the above operations performed as sets of instructions executed by a processor or integrated circuit that includes circuitry to perform the operations.

Description

Background Technology

[0001] User equipment (UE) can establish connections with at least one of several different networks or network types. When establishing a network connection (such as, for example, a connection with a 5G New Radio (NR) network), the UE can provide the network with capability information indicating the UE's radio access capabilities. This capability information enables the network to provide relevant services to the UE. For example, the UE can advertise multiple frequency band combinations available for dual connectivity (DC) and / or carrier aggregation (CA). Subsequently, in order to provide DC and / or CA to the UE, the network can configure the UE to have multiple component carriers (CCs) to facilitate communication between the network and the UE via one of the advertised frequency band combinations.

[0002] When connecting to a network, a UE can utilize additional network capabilities. For example, a UE can utilize carrier aggregation (CA) functionality, where data is transmitted over various network frequency bands using a primary component carrier (PCC) and at least one secondary component carrier (SCC). Typically, the UE advertises a combination of PCCs and SCCs supported by the UE. The network then determines the CCs included in the CA, such as, for example, an uplink (UL) CA. However, the network does this without any feedback from the UE. Therefore, the UL CA combination selected by the network may include CCs that result in poor power and / or throughput performance, thereby reducing network efficiency. Summary of the Invention

[0003] In some exemplary embodiments, a method is performed by a user equipment. The method includes: receiving a measurement configuration request from a network; in response to the measurement configuration request, measuring the quality of one or more uplink (UL) carrier aggregation (CA) combinations, wherein each UL CA combination includes multiple component carriers; generating a message including the quality of the one or more UL CA combinations; and transmitting the message to the network.

[0004] Another exemplary implementation includes a method performed by a user equipment (UE) in which uplink (UL) carrier aggregation (CA) is activated, the UL CA comprising a combination of UL CAs including a primary component carrier (PCC) and a secondary component carrier (SCC). The method includes: determining that the UL CA should be deactivated; and transmitting to the network a quality report including quality measurement results of only the PCC.

[0005] Another exemplary embodiment includes a method performed at a network component. The method includes: instructing a UE to transmit a first sounding reference signal (SRS) on a component carrier (CC) of a first UL CA combination; receiving the first SRS on the CC of the first UL CA combination; and determining quality characteristics of the first UL CA combination based on the first SRS. Attached Figure Description

[0006] Figure 1 Exemplary network arrangements according to various exemplary implementations are shown.

[0007] Figure 2 Exemplary UEs according to various exemplary implementations are shown.

[0008] Figure 3 Signaling diagrams related to configuring a UE to have network connectivity including UE feedback are shown according to various exemplary embodiments.

[0009] Figure 4 Methods for configuring a UE to have network connectivity including UE feedback are illustrated according to various exemplary embodiments.

[0010] Figure 5 Methods for deactivating uplink carrier aggregation by a UE according to various exemplary embodiments are shown.

[0011] Figure 6 Signaling diagrams related to SRS UL CA activation are shown according to various exemplary embodiments. Detailed Implementation

[0012] Exemplary embodiments can be further understood with reference to the following description and related figures, wherein similar elements have the same reference numerals. Exemplary embodiments relate to an apparatus, system, and method for transmitting feedback related to user equipment (UE) uplink (UL) carrier aggregation (CA) to a network (NW) to which the UE is connected.

[0013] The exemplary embodiments are described with respect to the UE. However, the use of the UE is for illustrative purposes only. The exemplary embodiments can be used with any electronic component that can establish a connection to a network and is configured with hardware, software, and / or firmware for exchanging information and data with that network. Therefore, the UE described herein is used to represent any electronic component.

[0014] Exemplary implementations are also described with reference to networks (NWs) that include 5G New Radio (NR) Radio Access Technology (RAT). However, in some implementations, the network may include Long Term Evolution (LTE) RAT, even though the following description will focus primarily on 5G NR RAT. In some implementations, the network may support Carrier Aggregation (CA) and / or LTE-NR Dual Connectivity (ENDC). Although the following description will focus primarily on CA, both CA and ENDC relate to configuring the UE with multiple component carriers (CCs). Each CC may represent a channel that facilitates communication between the UE and the network in a specific frequency band. Multiple CCs may correspond to the same frequency band, or each CC may correspond to different frequency bands or combinations of frequency bands. Furthermore, each CC has a specific bandwidth, and the more CCs the UE is configured with, the more bandwidth is available for communication with the network.

[0015] The UE can be configured to access 5G NR services when operating in 5G non-standalone (NSA) mode or 5G standalone (SA) mode. In NSA mode, the UE can establish connections with both 5G NR RAT and LTE RAT (e.g., ENDC).

[0016] The following example provides a general overview of the types of carrier aggregation (CA) activation / deactivation functionality. A CA may include a primary component carrier (PCC) and at least one secondary component carrier (SCC), which corresponds to the same RAT used to facilitate communication with the network. The PCC may be used in part for control information such as scheduling requests, uplink grants, downlink grants, etc. CA functionality enables the PCC and at least one SCC to combine bandwidth to exchange data with the UE. Therefore, utilizing CA, the PCC provides a first portion of the total bandwidth for the data to be exchanged, while the SCC provides a second portion of that total bandwidth. The combination of the PCC and a single SCC can be characterized as a CC combination including two carriers. To further increase the total available bandwidth for the data to be exchanged with the UE, additional SCCs may be incorporated.

[0017] The current method of providing UL CAs to the UE may present several problems without any UE preference feedback regarding UL CA combinations. For example, dynamic transmission antenna selection for different UL CCs may conflict, so some CCs may end up using suboptimal transmission (Tx) antennas. Furthermore, certain Tx-CC combinations may cause interference on the DL side due to intermodulation, especially in non-standalone (NSA) scenarios where LTE-UL coexist. Further, the UE may face other limitations, such as negative thermal effects of some UL CA combinations, and some bands not being able to transmit on all Tx antennas, leading to reduced robustness. Due to various factors such as specific absorptivity (SAR) limitations and inaccurate beamforming, the UE may not experience similar conditions on UL as it does on DL. Therefore, activating UL CA combinations without UE preference feedback can result in lower power / throughput performance, thus reducing NW efficiency.

[0018] According to a first exemplary embodiment, a method for providing UE preference feedback regarding UL CA combinations to the NW is described. As will be described in further detail below, the UE may periodically provide preference feedback regarding UL CA combinations to the NW based on the occurrence of a predetermined event or based on a triggered event. The NW may consider this feedback when activating a CC of a UL CA.

[0019] According to a second exemplary embodiment, the NW may alternatively instruct the UE to transmit a sounding reference signal (SRS) on these CCs even before adding them to the UL CA combination. Using this SRS method, the NW can directly and better understand the UL conditions. After the UE SRS transmission, the NW can activate the CCs for the UL CA combination.

[0020] Deactivating / unconfiguring the UL CA by the UE can create additional problems. For example, if the UE unilaterally deactivates the UL CA because it is harmful to the UE due to undesirable thermal and / or power consumption effects, and does so without notifying the NW, it can lead to confusion on the NW side (i.e., due to information asymmetry on the NW side). Furthermore, in terms of power efficiency, a given UL CA may be less than ideal when the UL data traffic rate is below a specific threshold determined by the UE (known to the UE but unknown to the NW).

[0021] According to a third exemplary embodiment, the UE may request the NW to deactivate the UL CA by sending a quality report, where only the PCC is a single CC in the UL CA combination to indicate the UE's limitations. Alternatively, the UE may send a quality report to the NW where the UE's thermal / power limitations are set to true for all UL CA combinations. Although it is up to the NW to decide whether to grant the UE's request to deactivate / deconfigure the UL CA, this eliminates confusion on the NW's side if the UE subsequently unilaterally deactivates the UL CA.

[0022] Figure 1 An exemplary network arrangement 100 according to various exemplary embodiments is illustrated. The exemplary network arrangement 100 includes a UE 110. Those skilled in the art will understand that the UE 110 can be any type of electronic component configured to communicate via a network, such as a mobile phone, tablet, desktop computer, smartphone, phablet, embedded device, wearable device, Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc. It should also be understood that a practical network arrangement can include any number of UEs used by any number of users. Therefore, for illustrative purposes, only an example with a single UE 110 is provided.

[0023] UE 110 can be configured to communicate with one or more networks. In the example of network configuration 100, the networks with which UE 110 can wirelessly communicate are 5G New Radio (NR) Radio Access Network (5G NR-RAN) 120 and LTE Radio Access Network (LTE-RAN) 122. However, it should be understood that UE 110 can also communicate with other types of networks (e.g., traditional cellular networks, WLANs, etc.), and UE 110 can also communicate with networks via wired connections. Referring to an exemplary embodiment, UE 110 can establish connections with 5G NR-RAN 120 and / or LTE-RAN 122. Therefore, UE 110 may have both a 5G NR chipset for communicating with 5G NR-RAN 120 and an LTE chipset for communicating with LTE-RAN 122.

[0024] 5G NR-RAN 120 and LTE-RAN 122 can be parts of cellular networks that can be deployed by cellular providers (e.g., Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, etc.). These networks 120 and 122 can include, for example, cells or base stations (Node B, eNodeB, HeNB, eNB, gNB, gNodeB, macrocell base stations, microcell base stations, small cell base stations, femtocell base stations, etc.) configured to send and receive traffic from UEs equipped with appropriate cellular chipsets.

[0025] For illustrative purposes, only the use of 5G NR-RAN 120 and LTE-RAN 122 is provided separately. Actual network deployments may include radio access networks with architectures capable of providing both 5G NR RAT and LTE RAT services. For example, a next-generation radio access network (NG-RAN) may include a next-generation node B (gNB) providing 5G NR services and a next-generation evolved node B (ng-eNB) providing LTE services. The NG-RAN may be connected to at least one of an evolved packet core (EPC) or a 5G core (5GC). Therefore, in one exemplary configuration, UE 110 can achieve ENDC by establishing connections to at least one cell corresponding to 5G NR-RAN 120 and at least one cell corresponding to LTE-RAN 122. In another exemplary configuration, UE 110 can achieve ENDC by establishing connections to at least two cells corresponding to NG-RAN or other similar types of RAN. Therefore, the examples of 5G NR-RAN 120 and LTE-RAN 122 separately are provided for illustrative purposes only.

[0026] Returning to the exemplary network arrangement 100, UE 110 may connect to 5G NR-RAN 120 via at least one of Next Generation Node B (gNB) 120A or gNB 120B. UE 110 may connect to LTE-RAN 122 via at least one of Evolved Node B (eNB) 122A or eNB 122B. Those skilled in the art will understand that any relevant process can be performed to connect UE 110 to 5G NR-RAN 120 or LTE-RAN 122. For example, as described above, 5G NR-RAN 120 may be associated with a specific cellular provider, where UE 110 and / or its user have protocol and credential information (e.g., stored on a SIM card). Upon detecting the presence of 5G NR-RAN 120, UE 110 may transmit the corresponding credential information to associate with 5G NR-RAN 120. More specifically, UE 110 can be associated with a specific cell (e.g., gNB 120A of 5G NR-RAN 120). Similarly, for access to LTE services, UE 110 can be associated with eNB 122A. However, as stated above, the use of 5G NR-RAN 120 and LTE-RAN 122 is for illustrative purposes, and any appropriate type of RAN can be used.

[0027] In addition to RANs 120 and 122, network deployment 100 also includes a cellular core network 130, an Internet 140, an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) 150, and a network services backbone 160. The cellular core network 130 can be viewed as an interconnected set of components that manage the operation and traffic of the cellular network. It may include an EPC and / or a 5GC. The cellular core network 130 also manages the traffic flowing between the cellular network and the Internet 140. The IMS 150 can generally be described as an architecture for delivering multimedia services to the UE 110 using IP protocols. The IMS 150 can communicate with the cellular core network 130 and the Internet 140 to provide multimedia services to the UE 110. The network services backbone 160 communicates directly or indirectly with the Internet 140 and the cellular core network 130. The network services backbone 160 can generally be described as a set of components (e.g., servers, network storage deployments, etc.) that implement a set of services that can be used to extend the functionality of the UE 110 to communicate with various networks.

[0028] Figure 2 An exemplary UE 110 according to various exemplary embodiments is shown. Reference will be made to... Figure 1 The network layout 100 is used to describe UE 110. UE 110 can represent any electronic device and may include processor 205, memory layout 210, display device 215, input / output (I / O) device 220, transceiver 225, and other components 230. Other components 230 may include, for example, audio input devices, audio output devices, batteries providing a limited power source, data acquisition devices, ports for electrically connecting UE 110 to other electronic devices, sensors for detecting the status of UE 110, etc.

[0029] Processor 205 can be configured to execute multiple engines of UE 110. For example, an engine may include CA feedback engine 235. CA feedback engine 235 can receive multiple component carriers (CCs) identified by UE 110 as usable for network connectivity. CA feedback engine 235 can then prioritize specific CC combinations based on various factors. These CC combinations are then advertised based on their corresponding priorities.

[0030] The engines described above, each acting as an application (e.g., a program) executed by processor 205, are merely exemplary. The functionality associated with the engines may also be represented as a separate integrated component of UE 110, or as a modular component coupled to UE 110, such as an integrated circuit with or without firmware. For example, the integrated circuit may include input circuitry for receiving signals and processing circuitry for processing signals and other information. Engines may also be embodied as a single application or multiple separate applications. Furthermore, in some UEs, the functionality described for processor 205 is distributed among two or more processors, such as a baseband processor and an application processor. Exemplary implementations can be implemented according to any of these or other configurations of the UE.

[0031] Memory 210 may be a hardware component configured to store data related to operations performed by UE 110. Display device 215 may be a hardware component configured to display data to a user, while I / O device 220 may be a hardware component enabling user input. Display device 215 and I / O device 220 may be separate components or may be integrated together (such as a touchscreen). Transceiver 225 may be a hardware component configured to establish connections with 5G NR-RAN 120, LTE-RAN 122, etc. Therefore, transceiver 225 can operate on various frequencies or channels (e.g., consecutive frequency groups).

[0032] When connected to a network (e.g., 5G NR-RAN 120, LTE-RAN 122), UE 110 can be configured to be in one of several different operating states. One operating state can be characterized as an RRC idle state, and another operating state can be characterized as an RRC connected state. RRC refers to the Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol. Those skilled in the art will understand that when UE 110 is in the RRC connected state, UE 110 and the network can be configured to exchange information and / or data. The exchange of information and / or data allows UE 110 to perform functionality available via the network connection. Furthermore, those skilled in the art will understand that when UE 110 is connected to the network and in the RRC idle state, UE 110 is generally not exchanging data with the network, and radio resources are not being allocated to UE 110 within the network. However, when UE 110 is in the RRC idle state, UE 110 can monitor information and / or data transmitted by the network.

[0033] As described above, during operation, UE 110 can be configured to have CA, which is related to using multiple CCs to facilitate communication between the network and UE 110. To implement CA, UE 110 can initially provide feedback to the network about which CCs the UE prefers for CA (i.e., CA feedback information). The CA feedback information may also include CC quality.

[0034] Figure 3 The signaling diagram illustrates a general example of how a network can provide CA to UE 110. However, the exemplary implementation is not limited to this. Figure 3 The signaling diagram is intended to illustrate only a general example of the context in which UE 110 may advertise a preferred UL CA combination to the network. The exemplary implementation is applicable to any scenario that triggers UE 110 to advertise the UL CA combination to the network.

[0035] Figure 3 Signaling diagram 300 related to configuring UE 110 with CA according to various exemplary embodiments is shown. Signaling diagram 300 will be described with reference to UE 110 and network arrangement 100. At 305, 5G NR-RAN 120 sends a measurement configuration request to the UE regarding uplink carrier aggregation (UL CA). Therefore, UE 110 determines the quality of different CA combinations and the UE 110's preference for one or more specific CA combinations. The quality of different combinations may be based on the results of any physical layer measurements that UE 110 can perform on downlink (DL) component carriers.

[0036] In some exemplary embodiments, UE preference information may also be based on one or more quality measurements. For example, UE preference information may be based on a DL CC quality measurement result that is higher than a predefined threshold. To provide a concrete example, the CC's Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) may be higher than the threshold. The threshold may be pre-configured in UE 110 or may be transmitted to UE 110 by NW, etc. In some embodiments, UE 110 preference may be based on a DL CC quality measurement result that is higher than a predefined threshold within a predefined time period. For example, an RSRP higher than a predefined threshold within a certain time period may indicate that UE 110 is relatively stable and the channel is unlikely to change over time, so the CC may be preferred for UL CA. Other non-quality measurement preference conditions may exist that can be used to select a preferred CC for UL CA. Examples of these other non-quality measurement preference conditions are described below.

[0037] Then, when a predetermined event occurs (at 315), the UE may periodically report this information to the NW (at 310), and / or when a triggered event occurs, the UE 110 may send this information (at 320). For example, a predetermined event might be that the motion state of the UE 110 has changed if a measured parameter (e.g., RSRP) is greater than or less than a certain threshold within a certain time period, or that the thermal limitation of the UE 110 has changed. A triggered event could be that the network (e.g., 5G NR-RAN 120) triggers the UE 110 to report by sending, for example, a DCI on the trigger PDCCH. These are merely examples of events and / or triggered events, and those skilled in the art will understand that all events / triggered events that can be used to cause the UE 110 to report information to the 5G NR-RAN 120 are possible. Finally, at 325, 5G NR-RAN 120 configures UL CA for UE 110, taking into account feedback from UE 110 (e.g., quality reports and / or UE preferences) and other 5G NR-RAN 120 conditions (e.g., congestion, etc.).

[0038] Figure 4 A method 400 for providing UE feedback regarding UL CA to a NW according to various exemplary embodiments is illustrated. Method 400 provides communication from UE 110 to provide feedback to the NW regarding CA combinations. As described above, the feedback regarding CA combinations may be a response to a measurement configuration request from the NW. Therefore, method 400 is executed by UE 110 and will be targeted at... Figure 1 The system 100 is described in this way. Figure 4 In the example, NW can be considered as 5G NR-RAN 120.

[0039] At 405, UE 110 receives a measurement configuration request from 5G NR-RAN 120 via Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling. It can be assumed that UE 110 is configured with a DL CA and one or more CCs are activated on the UL side. In response, at 410, UE 110 measures the quality of the multiple CCs available for the UL CA combination. Alternatively, at 415, in addition to this measurement, UE 110 determines its UE preference regarding the multiple UL CA combinations based on at least one predetermined factor. Some exemplary preference factors have been discussed above, and additional exemplary preference factors will be described below.

[0040] At 420, UE 110 generates a message including multiple UL CA combinations of quality and / or UE preferences. At 425, UE 110 transmits this message to 5G NR-RAN 120. In some implementations, the message (i.e., feedback) can be transmitted via RRC signaling, Media Access Control-Control Element (MAC-CE) signaling, or Long Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) messages. In some exemplary implementations, the message may include, for example, physical layer measurement results, UL CA combination preferences, and UE restrictions.

[0041] The feedback provided by UE 110 to 5G NR-RAN 120 may include the priority of a certain number (N) UL CA combinations, where N may be in the measurement configuration request or a predetermined number. In some implementations, the N UL CA combinations may be based on existing DL CA combinations available to UE 110. Furthermore, if UE 110 is already configured with UL CAs, the reported N UL CA combinations do not need to include existing UL SCCs, as these UL SCCs may not be preferred CCs. Several methods may exist for selecting N UL CA combinations. Measurement-based preferences have been described above. Other types of preferences for prioritizing UL CA combinations to select N UL CA combinations will be described below.

[0042] In addition to the exemplary factors described above (e.g., factors based on quality measurement results), the UE 110's preference for different UL CA combinations may also be based on one or more other types of factors. In some exemplary embodiments, these factors may include throughput priority (e.g., maximizing throughput), power efficiency priority (e.g., the amount of power required to transmit each bit), beamforming priority, etc. These preference factors may be factors other than those described above, or they may not include the factors described above. In some exemplary embodiments, these factors may be agreed upon between the UE and the infrastructure provider.

[0043] In addition to the information described above, UE 110 limitations can also be reported to 5G NR-RAN 120 along with other UL CA information. For example, for each UL CA combination reported to 5G NR-RAN 120, a bitmask corresponding to the characteristics of that combination can be provided in addition to physical layer metrics. These characteristics may include pre-agreed items such as, for example, intermodulation impulse characteristics, thermal impulse characteristics, power impulse characteristics, transmit antenna conflict characteristics, beamforming conflict characteristics of each combination, etc.

[0044] The 5G NR-RAN 120 can then use some or all of the information about UL CA received from the UE 110 to determine a specific UL CA combination to assign to the UE 110. Those skilled in the art will understand that, in addition to feedback from the UE 110, the 5G NR-RAN 120 may also use other information to assign UL CA combinations to the UE 110.

[0045] Furthermore, since measurement results and / or characteristics can change over time, UE 110 may send periodic or event-based reports to 5G NR-RAN 120 during UL CA operation. 5G NR-RAN 120 may modify the report if an updated report requires a change to the assigned UL CA combination. In some exemplary embodiments, the periodicity of reporting may increase after UL CA activation.

[0046] In theory, the throughput of any UL CA combination is limited by the total channel capacity, which can be expressed as:

[0047]

[0048] Among them W i For the bandwidth of the i-th CC, Let be the transmission power of the i-th CC, and PL i This represents the path loss for the i-th CC. The UE 110 can report physical layer metrics, such as the Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) of the selected active beam for each CC, individually to the 5G NR-RAN 120 so that the 5G NR-RAN 120 can calculate the path loss for each CC. The UE 110 can also report the total transmitted power. Based on the information in this UE report, the 5G NR-RAN 120 can calculate the transmission power of UE 110 on each UL CC based on the activated BWP.

[0049] Additionally, the 5G NR-RAN 120 can request the UE 110 to report these physical layer metrics in the measurement configuration request, regardless of whether the existing UL CA is active. The UE 110 can also apply the same calculations for preferences / priorities when the constraints of two UL CA combinations are the same. The bandwidth of the new UL CC may be based on the widest bandwidth portion (BWP) configured on the DL.

[0050] Figure 5 Methods for deactivating uplink carrier aggregation by UE 110 according to various exemplary embodiments are illustrated. Since UE 110 has a better understanding of UL data traffic based on the activity of applications at UE 110, UE 110 may be more suitable to trigger the deactivation / cancellation configuration of UL CA.

[0051] At position 505, UE 110 sends a quality report to 5G NR-RAN 120, where only the PCC is a single CC of the UL CA combination, to indicate the limitations of UE 110. This quality report is UE 110's recommendation to deactivate the UL CA. In some exemplary embodiments, UE 110 may send a quality report to NW 130, where UE 110's thermal / power limitations are set to true for all UL CA combinations, for example, because the CA combination makes UE 110's thermal or power limitations unacceptable. In addition to the above reports, in some exemplary embodiments, feedback reports may be sent to 5G NR-RAN 120 via MAC-CE, UCI, or PUCCH messages.

[0052] At 510, 5G NR-RAN 120 can deactivate / deconfigure the UL CA based on information received from UE 110. However, since 5G NR-RAN 120 is the entity that ultimately controls the activation / deactivation of the CA, 5G NR-RAN 120 can decide for itself whether to grant UE 110's request.

[0053] If NW 130 does not deactivate / unconfigure UL CA at 510, UE 110 can unilaterally deactivate UL CA at 515. However, since UE 110 sends a quality report at 505, this eliminates confusion for 5G NR-RAN 120, as 5G NR-RAN 120 learns from the report that UE 110 does not wish to continue using UL CA.

[0054] At 520, due to impending high data traffic, UE 110 may request activation of the UL CA combination. For example, the UE may send feedback to 5G NR-RAN 120 indicating that the uplink will experience high data traffic in the near future. This indication may be a separate instruction in the report from UE 110 to 5G NR-RAN 120. UE 110 may understand that this high UL traffic scenario is likely imminent based on the applications running at UE 110. In other exemplary implementations, UE 110 may report very favorable UL CA data to predict upcoming high data traffic conditions, which may lead 5G NR-RAN 120 to activate UL CA.

[0055] Figure 6Signaling diagrams related to the activation of the Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) UL CA according to various exemplary embodiments are shown. The SRS is a signal that the UE 110 can insert into the UL CC at a specific time, frequency, and power level, enabling the 5G NR-RAN 120 (e.g., gNB 120A) to receive the SRS and understand the channel characteristics of the CC. Therefore, using the SRS allows the gNB 120A to directly measure the quality of the UL CC.

[0056] At 605, the 5G NR-RAN 120 can, for example, instruct UE 110 to transmit SRS on the CC of the first UL CA combination via MAC-CE or Downlink Channel Information (DCI) messages. This request can even be made before the CC is added to the UL CA combination of UE 110. Cross-carrier scheduling can be used for SRS transmission even if the target CC has not yet been added to the UL CA combination.

[0057] At 610, UE 110 transmits SRS on the CCs of the first UL CA combination. PCC SRS can be scheduled simultaneously with SRS on these CCs to reflect any potential impact on beamforming and / or transmission (Tx) antenna conflicts. The transmission power of SRS on CCs can be evenly distributed among CCs based on the maximum total transmission power.

[0058] At 615, 5G NR-RAN 120 can instruct UE 110 to transmit SRS on these CCs even before adding the CCs of the second UL CA combination to UE 110's UL CA combination. Cross-carrier scheduling can be used for these SRS transmissions even if the target CC has not yet been added to the UL CA combination.

[0059] At 620, the UE transmits SRS on the CCs of the second UL CA combination. PCC SRS can also be scheduled simultaneously with SRS on these CCs, and the transmission power of SRS on these CCs can again be evenly distributed among these CCs based on the maximum total transmission power.

[0060] Using this method, the 5G NR-RAN 120 can better understand UL conditions because the quality of UL CCs is directly measured. In some implementations, multiple rounds of SRS transmission can be used. In some implementations, if the UE 110 determines that the transmission cost is unacceptable, for example, if the amount of power required to transmit SRS is detrimental to the UE 110's battery life, the UE 110 can autonomously (e.g., unilaterally) disable SRS transmission for some CCs. After the UE SRS transmission, at 625, the 5G NR-RAN 120 can prioritize UL CA combinations based on factors such as cell load, traffic patterns, and radio frequency (RF) conditions. As described above, multiple rounds of SRS transmission can be transmitted before the 5G NR-RAN 120 selects the UL CA combination at 625.

[0061] Exemplary implementations describe various mechanisms related to advertised band combinations. These mechanisms can be used in conjunction with currently implemented band combination advertising methods, future implementations of band combination advertising methods, or independently of other band combination advertising methods. Exemplary implementations are applicable to any scenario where UE 110 is configured to advertise multiple band combinations to the network.

[0062] Those skilled in the art will understand that the exemplary embodiments described above can be implemented with any suitable software or hardware configuration or combination thereof. Exemplary hardware platforms for implementing the exemplary embodiments may include, for example, Intel x86-based platforms with compatible operating systems, Windows OS, Mac platforms and MAC OS, and mobile devices with operating systems such as iOS, Android, etc. In other examples, exemplary embodiments of the methods described above may be embodied as programs comprising lines of code stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, which, at compile time, can be executed on a processor or microprocessor.

[0063] Although this patent application describes various combinations of various embodiments, each with different features, those skilled in the art will understand that any feature of an embodiment can be combined with features of other embodiments or features that are not functionally or logically inconsistent with the operation or function of the device of the disclosed embodiment of the invention in any manner not explicitly denied.

[0064] 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.

[0065] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications can be made to this disclosure without departing from its spirit or scope. Therefore, this disclosure is intended to cover all modifications and variations thereof, provided that such modifications and variations are within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A method for carrier aggregation (CA) assisted by user equipment (UE), comprising: At UE: Receive measurement configuration requests from the network; In response to the measurement configuration request, the quality of one or more uplink (UL) CA combinations is measured, wherein each ULCA combination includes multiple component carriers, wherein the multiple component carriers include a primary component carrier (PCC) and at least one secondary component carrier (SCC). Generate a message including the quality of the one or more UL CA combinations; and The message is transmitted to the network. Wherein, if the UL CA is activated at the UE, the method further includes: The UE determines that the UL CA should be deactivated; and The UE transmits a quality report to the network, which includes only the quality measurement results of the PCC.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: The UE preference for the one or more UL CA combinations is determined based on predetermined factors, and the message further includes the UE preference.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the predetermined factor includes one of the following: (a) the quality measurement result of the downlink (DL) component carrier (CC) is greater than a predetermined value; or (b) the quality measurement result of the DL CC is greater than the predetermined value within a predetermined time period.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the predetermined factor includes one of throughput priority, power efficiency priority, or beamforming priority.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the message includes a number N UL CA combinations, wherein when the number of measured UL CA combinations is greater than the number N, the number N of UL CA combinations selected for the message is based on the UE preference.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the message further includes a UE constraint corresponding to the one or more UL CA combinations, wherein the UE constraint includes one of intermodulation impulse characteristics, thermal impulse characteristics, power impulse characteristics, transmit antenna conflict characteristics, or beamforming conflict characteristics.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the message is transmitted to the network in one of the following ways: periodically; when a predetermined event occurs; or when a triggering event occurs.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the quality includes the reference signal received power (RSRP) of the selected active beam for each component carrier.

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