Proximity sensing technology using configured gaps

Abstract

The present application relates to apparatus and components, including devices, systems, and methods, for performing body proximity sensing operations based on uplink or measurement gaps.

Description

Background Art

[0001] The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Technical Specifications (TS) define standards for wireless networks. These TSs include details related to measurement gap resource configuration. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0002] Figure 1 A network environment is shown according to some embodiments.

[0003] Figure 2 A resource map is shown according to some embodiments.

[0004] Figure 3 A timing diagram according to some embodiments is shown.

[0005] Figure 4 Additional timing diagrams are shown according to some embodiments.

[0006] Figure 5 Additional timing diagrams are shown according to some embodiments.

[0007] Figure 6 An operational flow / algorithm structure according to some embodiments is shown.

[0008] Figure 7 Another operational flow / algorithm structure according to some embodiments is shown.

[0009] Figure 8 Another operational flow / algorithm structure according to some embodiments is shown.

[0010] Figure 9 User equipment according to some embodiments is shown.

[0011] Figure 10 A base station according to some embodiments is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0012] The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numerals may be used to identify the same or similar elements in different figures. In the following description, specific details, such as specific structures, architectures, interfaces and technologies, are set forth for the purpose of illustration and not limitation, so as to provide a thorough understanding of the various aspects of the various embodiments. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art who benefit from this disclosure that the various aspects of the various embodiments can be practiced in other examples that deviate from these specific details. In some cases, descriptions of well-known devices, circuits and methods are omitted so as not to obscure the description of the various embodiments due to unnecessary details. For the purposes of this document, the phrase "A or B" refers to (A), (B) or (A and B).

[0013] The following is a glossary of terms that may be used in this disclosure.

[0014] As used herein, the term "circuit" refers to, is part of, or includes a hardware component such as an electronic circuit, a logic circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group) or a memory (shared, dedicated, or group) configured to provide the described functionality, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable device (FPD) (e.g., a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic device (PLD), a complex PLD (CPLD), a high capacity PLD (HCPLD), a structured ASIC, a programmable system on chip (SoC)), or a digital signal processor (DSP). In some embodiments, the circuit can execute one or more software or firmware programs to provide at least some of the described functionality. The term "circuit" may also refer to a combination of one or more hardware elements and program code for performing the functionality of the program code (or a combination of circuits used in an electrical or electronic system). In these embodiments, the combination of hardware elements and program code may be referred to as a specific type of circuit.

[0015] As used herein, the term "processor circuitry" refers to, is part of, or includes circuitry that is capable of sequentially and automatically performing a series of arithmetic or logical operations or recording, storing, or transmitting digital data. The term "processor circuitry" may refer to an application processor, a baseband processor, a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit, a single-core processor, a dual-core processor, a triple-core processor, a quad-core processor, or any other device capable of executing or otherwise operating computer-executable instructions (such as program code, software modules, and / or functional processes).

[0016] As used herein, the term "interface circuitry" refers to circuitry that enables, is part of, or includes information exchange between two or more components or devices. The term "interface circuitry" may refer to one or more hardware interfaces, such as a bus, an I / O interface, a peripheral component interface, a network interface card, and the like.

[0017] As used herein, the term "user equipment" or "UE" refers to a device that has radio communication capabilities and can represent a remote user of network resources in a communication network. The terms "user equipment" or "UE" may be considered synonymous and may be referred to as a client, mobile phone, mobile device, mobile terminal, user terminal, mobile unit, mobile station, mobile user, subscriber, user, remote station, access agent, user agent, receiver, radio equipment, reconfigurable radio equipment, or reconfigurable mobile device. Additionally, the term "user equipment" or "UE" may include any type of wireless / wired device or any computing device that includes a wireless communication interface.

[0018] As used herein, the term "computer system" refers to any type of interconnected electronic devices, computer devices, or components thereof. Additionally, the term "computer system" or "system" may refer to various components of a computer that are communicatively coupled to one another. Furthermore, the term "computer system" or "system" may refer to multiple computer devices or multiple computing systems that are communicatively coupled to one another and configured to share computing resources or networked resources.

[0019] As used herein, the term "resource" refers to a physical or virtual device, a physical or virtual component within a computing environment, or a physical or virtual component within a specific device, such as computer equipment, mechanical equipment, memory space, processor / CPU time, processor / CPU utilization, processor and accelerator load, hardware time or utilization, power, input / output operations, ports or network sockets, channel / link allocation, throughput, memory utilization, storage, network, database and application, workload units, etc. "Hardware resources" may refer to computing, storage, or network resources provided by physical hardware elements. "Virtualized resources" may refer to computing, storage, or network resources provided by a virtualization infrastructure to an application, device, or system. The terms "network resources" or "communication resources" may refer to resources that can be accessed by a computer device / system via a communication network. The term "system resource" may refer to any type of shared entity that provides a service and may include computing resources or network resources. System resources may be considered a set of coherent functions, network data objects, or services that can be accessed through a server, where such system resources reside on a single host or multiple hosts and are clearly identifiable.

[0020] As used herein, the term "channel" refers to any tangible or intangible transmission medium for transmitting data or data streams. The term "channel" may be synonymous or equivalent with "communication channel," "data communication channel," "transmission channel," "data transmission channel," "access channel," "data access channel," "link," "data link," "carrier," "radio frequency carrier," or any other similar term indicating a path or medium through which data is transmitted. Additionally, as used herein, the term "link" refers to a connection between two devices for transmitting and receiving information.

[0021] As used herein, the terms "instantiate," "instantiate," and the like refer to the creation of an instance. "Instance" also refers to a concrete occurrence of an object, which may occur, for example, during the execution of program code.

[0022] The term "connected" may mean that two or more elements at a common communication protocol layer have an established signaling relationship with each other through a communication channel, link, interface, or reference point.

[0023] As used herein, the term "network element" refers to physical or virtualized equipment or infrastructure used to provide wired or wireless communication network services. The term "network element" may be considered synonymous with or referred to as a networked computer, networking hardware, network equipment, network node, virtualized network function, etc.

[0024] The term "information element" refers to a structural element that contains one or more fields. The term "field" refers to the individual contents of an information element, or a data element that contains the contents. An information element may include one or more additional information elements.

[0025] Figure 1 1 shows a network environment 100 according to some embodiments. The network environment 100 may include a UE 104 communicatively coupled to one or more base stations, such as a base station 108 and a base station 112. The UE 104 and the base stations 108 / 112 may communicate over an air interface compatible with 3GPP TSs such as those defining Long Term Evolution (LTE) and Fifth Generation (5G) New Radio (NR) system standards. The base stations 108 / 112 may include an evolved Node B (eNB) to provide one or more LTE Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) cells for E-UTRA user plane protocol termination and control plane protocol termination toward the UE 104. The base stations 108 / 112 may additionally / alternatively include a Next Generation Node B (gNB) to provide one or more 5G NR cells for NR user plane protocol termination and control plane protocol termination toward the UE 104.

[0026] Base stations 108 / 112 can be considered as neighboring base stations that provide coverage for adjacent geographic locations. In some embodiments, base stations 108 / 112 can provide overlapping coverage and can cooperate with each other to provide services to UE 104 through dual connectivity (DC) operation. In DC operation, UE 104 can be configured to utilize radio resources provided by different schedulers located in base station 108 and base station 112. The base stations can be coupled to each other via an X2 interface through an ideal or non-ideal backhaul.

[0027] In DC operation, one of the base stations may be configured as a master node (MN) to provide control plane connectivity to the core network 116. The MN may be associated with a set of serving cells, referred to as a master cell group (MCG). The other base stations may be configured as secondary nodes (SNs), which may not have control plane connectivity to the core network 116. The SNs may be used to provide additional resources to the UE 104. The SNs may be associated with a set of serving cells, referred to as a secondary cell group (SCG). If the MN is a gNB and the SN is an eNB, the configuration may be a NE-DC configuration; if the MN is an eNB and the SN is a gNB, the configuration may be an EN-DC configuration; and if both the MN and the SN are gNBs, the configuration may be an NR-DC configuration.

[0028] The cells provided by base station 108 / 112 may be in: frequency range 1 (FR1) corresponding to a frequency range of 410 MHz to 7125 MHz; frequency range 2 (FR2) corresponding to a frequency range of 24,250 MHz to 52,600 MHz; or higher frequency ranges.

[0029] When operating in higher frequency ranges (e.g., FR2 and above), the UE 104 can typically perform beamforming by focusing the transmit beam in a direction toward the receiving base station. To ensure that the selected direction (and power) of the uplink transmit beam is appropriate and complies with maximum permissible exposure (MPE) regulations, the UE 104 can perform body proximity sensing (BPS) operations to detect the presence of a nearby body. BPS operations may include transmitting a low-power sensing signal and using the UE's 104 receiver to measure the reflection of the sensing signal to determine the proximity of a human body.

[0030] The base station 108 / 112 may configure an uplink gap dedicated to the BPS to allow the UE 104 to transmit a sensing signal. Dedicated uplink gaps may impair UE throughput and affect network capacity. An uplink gap on one component carrier may also affect or interrupt other component carriers.

[0031] Base stations 108 / 112 can also configure UE 104 with measurement gaps (MGs) for traditional mobility measurements. Mobility measurements can facilitate connection handovers when UE 104 moves from one area of ​​network coverage to another. Embodiments of the present disclosure describe using such traditional MGs for BPS sensing. This can reduce or eliminate the need to use uplink gaps for this purpose. Some examples of MG-based BPS sensing are briefly described below.

[0032] In a first example, assuming that the MG outage may be longer than the expected measurement gap length (MGL), MG-based BPS sensing may be enabled by utilizing the MG-based outage for BPS sensing. This may be the case for unsynchronized cells.

[0033] In a second example, MG-based BPS sensing may utilize a portion of the legacy MG for BPS. The UE 104 may utilize some portion of the radio frequency (RF) tuning / retune allocation of each UE MG for BPS.

[0034] In a third example, MG-based BPS sensing may utilize time division duplex (TDD) configuration information or downlink signal information to determine which symbol of the MG may be used for BPS sensing.

[0035] In a fourth example, MG-based BPS sensing may exploit an outage on the uplink carrier, which may be due to a timing advance.

[0036] Implementations encompassing these and other examples are described in further detail herein.

[0037] Figure 2 2 is a resource map 200 according to some embodiments. Resource map 200 includes a measurement gap 204 that includes a first tuning margin 208, an effective MGL for measurement 212, and a second tuning margin 216. Measurement gap 204 may include an overall MGL 220 that includes both the tuning margin and the effective MGL for measurement 212.

[0038] In short, the UE 104 can be configured to perform measurements within the measurement gap 204. The base station 108 / 112 can configure the UE 104 with a measurement object (MO) to identify the time and frequency location of the downlink signal to be measured in the measurement gap 204. The signal to be measured can be a synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel block (SSB) transmission or a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) transmission. In some embodiments, the base station 108 / 112 can configure the UE 104 with the MO to perform layer 3 (L3) measurements based on CSI-RS symbols on a target frequency layer that is an intra-frequency layer (e.g., the target cell is on the same frequency layer as the serving cell) or an inter-frequency layer (e.g., the target cell is on a different frequency layer than the serving cell). Unless otherwise described, the CSI-RS-based L3 measurements can be performed similarly as described in Section 9.10 of 3GPP TS 38.133 V17.1.0 (2021-03).

[0039] At 208, UE 104 may tune its RF circuitry from the first frequency layer of the serving cell to the second frequency layer of the target cell including the signal to be measured. UE 104 may perform measurements during an effective MG length 212 for measurement. At 216, UE 104 may tune its RF circuitry back to the first frequency layer for further communication on the serving cell.

[0040] The measurement gap 204 may be configured per UE MG for measurements in a target frequency layer in FR2 or higher frequencies (e.g., configured specifically for the UE 104). The tuning margin 208 / 216 may have a length of 500 microseconds (μs) (or 0.5 milliseconds (ms)). However, the UE 104 may not require the entire length of the tuning margin 208 / 216 to perform RF tuning. The UE 104 may then be able to use a first portion of the tuning margin for BPS operation and a second portion of the tuning margin for RF tuning. In some embodiments, this additional margin may be available if the UE 104 supports each FR MG, but the network configures it with each UE MG for FR2 sensing.

[0041] For example, consider a UE 104 capable of performing RF tuning in 250 μs. In this case, if the serving cell has a 60 kilohertz (kHz) subcarrier spacing (SCS), the UE 104 can use a first time slot 224 for BPS operations (e.g., transmitting BPS signals and receiving / measuring reflections) and a second time slot 228 for tuning the RF circuit to the target frequency layer. The UE 104 can also use time slots following the effective MG length for measurement 212 for BPS operations. For example, time slot N-1 232 immediately following the effective MG length for measurement 212 can be used to tune the RF circuit from the target frequency layer to the serving cell frequency layer. Time slot N 236 can then be used to perform BPS operations.

[0042] If the UE 104 is capable of RF tuning in 250 μs and the serving cell has a 120 kHz SCS, the UE 104 may use the first and second time slots 240 for BPS operations (e.g., transmitting BPS signals and receiving / measuring reflections) and the third and fourth time slots 244 for tuning the RF circuit to the target frequency layer. The UE 104 may then use time slots N-3 and N-2 248 to tune the RF circuit from the target frequency layer to the serving cell frequency layer and time slots N-1 and N 252 to perform BPS operations.

[0043] The portion of the tuning margin used before or after the effective measurement gap length 212 for measurement may be defined by a fraction ratio of X%. Figure 2 As shown, X=50%, where half of the tuning margin 208 / 216 is used for BPS operation. The value X may be defined by 3GPP TS, predefined in UE specific implementation, or dynamically configured by the network.

[0044] Some embodiments describe using TDD configuration or downlink signal (eg, SSB / CSI-RS) information to determine the portion of the measurement gap that may be used for BPS sensing.

[0045] If the measurement gap is used for intra-frequency measurements (eg, the serving cell and the neighbor cell are on the same frequency layer, which may be FR2 or higher), one or more of the following three options may be used.

[0046] In the first option, since all cells on the frequency inner layer are assumed to be synchronized, UE 104 may use one or more symbols other than the SSB symbols or CSI-RS layer 3 (L3) symbols of the serving cell and neighboring cells within the MG to perform BPS sensing transmission. The SSB symbols may be based on the actual detected SSB symbols of the serving cell or neighboring cells. For example, if UE 104 detects SSB transmission on a symbol set, UE 104 may determine that the symbol set in the subsequent frame (or half-frame) is not available for BPS operation. Alternatively, the SSB symbols may be all symbols that are candidates for SSB transmission, regardless of whether they correspond to symbols for which SSB transmission has been detected.

[0047] Avoidable CSI-RS symbols can be configured as CSI-RS L3 symbol positions. These symbol positions can be specifically configured by the serving base station for the UE 104. For example, the serving base station can provide an indication of the CSI-RS symbols to be used for both the serving cell and the neighboring cells. The UE 104 can derive the positioning of the CSI-RS symbols of the neighboring cells based on the reference timing from the serving cell.

[0048] In a second option, the UE 104 may determine the symbols available for BPS operation based on the serving cell TDD UL / DL configuration or the intra-frequency neighbor cell TDD UL / DL configuration. For example, the UE 104 may use one or more uplink symbols to perform BPS sensing transmissions based on the selected TDD UL / DL configuration within the measurement gap.

[0049] In a third option, the network (e.g., base station 108 / 112) may signal the TDD UL / DL configuration to UE 104. UE 104 may then use one or more uplink symbols based on the indicated TDD UL / DL configuration within the measurement gap to perform a BPS sensing transmission (e.g., UE 104 may perform a BPS sensing transmission during the one or more uplink symbols).

[0050] If the measurement gap is used for inter-frequency measurements (eg, serving cell and neighbor cell are on different frequency layers, which may be FR2 or higher), one or more of the following three options may be used.

[0051] In the first option, since it is assumed that all cells on the same frequency layer are synchronized, the UE 104 may first detect the SSB symbols on at least one cell of the target inter-frequency layer. The UE 104 may then perform BPS sensing transmission using one or more symbols other than the SSB symbols or CSI-RS L3 symbols of the cell within the measurement gap (e.g., the UE 104 may perform BPS sensing transmission during one or more symbols other than the SSB / CSI-RS L3 symbols).

[0052] Similar to the discussion above, the SSB symbols to be avoided may be based on the actual detected SSB symbols of the cells of the target inter-frequency layer, or may include symbols at all possible SSB symbol positions.

[0053] The avoided CSI-RS symbols may be configured as CSI-RS L3 symbol positions. These symbol positions may be specifically configured by the serving base station for the UE 104. The UE 104 may derive the positioning of the CSI-RS symbols of the neighboring cells based on the reference timing of the cell from the target inter-frequency layer.

[0054] In a second option, the UE 104 may read the system information (SI) of at least one cell on the target frequency inter-layer (e.g., in the system information block 1 (SIB1)) to detect the TDD UL / DL configuration of the cell. The UE 104 may then use one or more uplink symbols based on the TDD UL / DL configuration of the cell within the measurement gap to perform BPS sensing transmission.

[0055] In a third option, the network (e.g., serving base station) may signal the TDD UL / DL configuration to the UE 104. The UE 104 may then use one or more uplink symbols based on the signaled TDD UL / DL configuration within the measurement gap to perform BPS sensing transmissions.

[0056] The uplink timing advance (TA) may cause a measurement gap to interrupt the transmissions adjacent to the measurement gap.

[0057] For example, section 9.1.2 of 3GPP TS 38.133 provides:

[0058] Whether a UE can transmit in the following time slots depends on the UE implementation:

[0059] - When [Measurement Gap Timing Advance] MGTA is not applied, among L consecutive UL slots of the SCS relative to the UL carrier, having the same slot index as the DL slot occurring immediately after the measurement gap [,]

[0060] - when MGTA is applied and the SCS of the UL carrier is not 15 kHz, among L consecutive UL slots relative to the SCS of the UL carrier, having the same slot index as the DL slot occurring immediately after the measurement gap [, and]

[0061] - When MGTA is applied and the SCS of the UL carrier is 15 kHz, among L consecutive UL slots relative to the SCS of the UL carrier, having the same slot index as the DL slot occurring immediately after the slot partially overlaps with the measurement gap [,]

[0062] Where UL slot means that all symbols in the slot are uplink symbols, and if UL

[0063] Transmitted (N TA +N TA偏移 )×T c If the length of the time slot is less than one, then L = 1; otherwise, L = 2. TA is the timing offset between uplink and downlink radio frames at the UE, as defined in clause 4.2 of 3GPP TS 38.213 v16.5.0 (2021-03-30); N TA偏移 is a fixed timing advance offset as defined in clause 7.1.2.2 of 3GPP TS 38.133; and T c Is the basic time unit as defined in clause 4.1 of 3GPP TS 38.211 v16.5.0 (2021-03-30). Some embodiments describe utilizing this interrupt to perform BPS operations.

[0064] Figure 3 is a timing diagram 300 according to some embodiments. Resource timing diagram 300 includes downlink (DL) time slots 304 and uplink (UL) time slots 308. The frame boundary of UL time slot 308 may be advanced by N relative to the frame boundary of DL time slot 304. TA The measurement gap 312 may be defined relative to the frame boundary of the DL time slot 304. Due to the timing advance, the measurement gap 312 may partially overlap with the UL time slot 7. Therefore, the UE 104 may not be able to use the UL time slot 7 for uplink transmission. Instead, the UE 104 may use the portion of the UL time slot 7 that does not overlap with the measurement gap 312 for BPS operation. Although Figure 3 A measurement gap that interrupts one UL timeslot is shown, but the measurement gap may interrupt another number of UL timeslots depending on the SCS and timing advance. Thus, in some cases, the UE 104 may utilize portions of more than one interrupted UL timeslot for BPS operation.

[0065] More generally, among L consecutive UL slots of the SCS relative to the UL carrier, having the same slot index as the DL slot occurring immediately after the measurement gap, the UE 104 may use one or more symbols immediately after the end point of the measurement gap to indicate the interval {L×slot_length–(N TA +N TA偏移 )×T c}, where slot_length is the length of a time slot. TA +N TA偏移 )×T cIf it is less than slot_length, then L = 1. Otherwise, L = 2. N TA The value of may be provided by the network (eg, serving base station), and N TA偏移 There may be predefined offsets for different arrangements, for example as described in Table 7.1.2-2 of 3GPP TS 38.133. A UL slot for this purpose may denote a slot having some or all of its symbols as uplink symbols.

[0066] In some embodiments, measurements on neighboring cells may be performed using MG timing based on a reference cell that is asynchronous with respect to the FR2 (or higher) serving cell. This may result in interruption of serving cell communications outside of the measurement gap, which in turn may provide the serving cell with an opportunity to perform BPS operation. In these asynchronous scenarios, UE 104 may use one or more symbols to perform BPS sensing transmissions within a timeslot portion that does not overlap with the measurement gap. The timeslot portion may be a portion of a timeslot that partially overlaps with the MG. The partial overlap of the MG may interrupt communications in that timeslot. There may be two partially overlapping timeslots (or "interrupted timeslots"), one at the beginning of the measurement gap and one at the end of the measurement gap.

[0067] Figure 4 A timing diagram 400 is shown according to some embodiments. The resource timing diagram 400 provides a measurement gap 406 of 0 ms MG timing advance for all serving cells in asynchronous EN-DC and asynchronous NE-DC in NR standalone operation, and for serving cells in SCG (with asynchronous NR-DC configuration).

[0068] Resource timing diagram 400 includes a timing diagram 404 for a reference serving cell, which is used as a basis for defining measurement gaps 406. Resource timing diagram 400 also includes a timing diagram 408 corresponding to a serving cell with a 15 kHz SCS, a timing diagram 412 corresponding to a serving cell with a 30 kHz SCS, a timing diagram 416 corresponding to a serving cell with a 60 kHz SCS, and a timing diagram 420 corresponding to a serving cell with a 120 kHz SCS.

[0069] When the serving cell is not synchronized with the reference serving cell, the slot boundaries are misaligned. Consequently, the total interruption time on the serving cell may be greater than the measurement gap. Some implementations may utilize portions of interrupted slots that do not directly overlap with measurement gap 406 for BPS operation. For example, with respect to timing diagram 408, slots j+1 and j+N+1 are both partially overlapping / interrupted slots. Consequently, UE 104 may utilize portions of these slots that do not directly overlap with measurement gap 406 for BPS operation.

[0070] Figure 5A timing diagram 500 is shown according to some embodiments. The resource timing diagram 500 provides a measurement gap 506 of 0.5 ms MG timing advance for all serving cells in asynchronous EN-DC and asynchronous NE-DC in NR standalone operation and for serving cells in SCG (with asynchronous NR-DC configuration).

[0071] Resource timing diagram 500 includes a timing diagram 504 for a reference serving cell, which is used as a basis for defining measurement gaps 506. Resource timing diagram 500 also includes a timing diagram 508 corresponding to a serving cell with a 15 kHz SCS, a timing diagram 512 corresponding to a serving cell with a 30 kHz SCS, a timing diagram 516 corresponding to a serving cell with a 60 kHz SCS, and a timing diagram 520 corresponding to a serving cell with a 120 kHz SCS.

[0072] Similar to the above Figure 4 In the discussed embodiment, the asynchronous nature of the serving cell and the reference serving cell causes the total outage time on the serving cell to be greater than the measurement gap. Therefore, the UE 104 can use the portion of the interfered time slot that does not directly overlap with the measurement gap 506 for BPS operation in a manner similar to that described above.

[0073] As described above, in various embodiments, UE 104 may be able to perform BPS sensing: during RF tuning margin; based on downlink signal (e.g., SSB or CSI-RS) information; based on TDD configuration information; or based on an outage due to timing advance or asynchronous serving cell. In some embodiments, UE 104 may provide the network with an indication to perform BPS sensing based on one or more of these embodiments. In other embodiments, it may be predefined, for example, in the 3GPP TS, that UE 104 will be able to use one or more of these embodiments for BPS sensing.

[0074] In order to successfully perform BPS operations, the UE 104 may require a certain number of slots / symbols within a period of time for BPS sensing. This may be represented by a predetermined threshold value of a ratio (Y%) that represents the expected (or desired) number of slots / symbols to be used for BPS sensing within a period of time. For example, the UE 104 may require Y% of the total number of slots / symbols to perform BPS operations within a period of time. In other embodiments, Y may simply be a threshold number of slots / symbols rather than a percentage of the total number of slots / symbols.

[0075] In some implementations, if measurement gaps are configured and the available time slots / symbols for BPS sensing based on the measurement gaps do not meet Y% within a certain period of time, the network may configure a dedicated UL gap for UE BPS sensing. This may be done based on one or more of the following options.

[0076] In the first option, the UL gaps for BPS sensing and the available time slots / symbols based on the measurement gaps can be used together for UE BPS sensing. Therefore, the network can configure the UL gaps so that the available time slots / symbols for BPS sensing in the dedicated UL gaps and those based on the measurement gaps reach Y%.

[0077] In a second option, the network may configure the dedicated UL gaps so that the available time slots / symbols for BPS sensing in the dedicated UL gaps reach Y%. With this option, the UE 104 may rely on the dedicated UL gaps to perform BPS sensing. In this option, BPS sensing may not require any available time slots / symbols based on the measurement gaps.

[0078] The dedicated UL gap configured as part of the first option or the second option may be configured as an extension of the measurement gap duration in the time domain, or the dedicated UL gap may be configured independently of the measurement gap.

[0079] In a third option, the network may reconfigure the parameters of the measurement gaps (eg, measurement gap duration) or reconfigure the TDD configuration in a manner such that the available time slots / symbols for BPS sensing based on the measurement gaps increase by an amount sufficient to achieve Y%.

[0080] UE 104 may provide a report to the network regarding the threshold value Y. The report may include a UE capability or request that may indicate or otherwise relate to the threshold value Y. In some embodiments, the threshold value Y may be predefined as a hard-coded value in, for example, 3GPP TS.

[0081] In the event that a radio resource management (RRM) opportunity from a measurement gap and a BPS opportunity from an uplink gap (e.g., time slot or symbol) overlap in the time domain, the UE 104 may prioritize one over the other. For example, an RRM opportunity based on a measurement gap may prioritize a BPS sensing opportunity based on an UL gap. Alternatively, a BPS sensing opportunity of an UL gap may prioritize an RRM measurement opportunity based on a measurement gap.

[0082] If the RRM measurement opportunities from the measurement gap and the BPS opportunities from the uplink gap completely overlap, the usage ratio of the RRM measurement opportunities based on the measurement gap can be Z%, and the usage ratio of the BPS sensing opportunities from the UL gap can be 1-Z%. For example, if Z=66 and there are three overlapping opportunities in total, the UE 104 can use two RRM measurement opportunities based on the measurement gap and one BPS opportunity based on the UL gap. In this way, the UE 104 can select the opportunities to perform RRM measurement and BPS operations in a ratio consistent with the usage ratio.

[0083] The value Z may be selected to meet the BPS sensing requirements of the UE 104. The value Z may be provided from the network to the UE 104. This may be done as part of active configuration or in response to a request from the UE 104. The value Z may additionally / alternatively be predefined in, for example, a 3GPP TS.

[0084] If the RRM measurement opportunities from the measurement gap and the BPS opportunities from the uplink gap partially overlap, the UE 104 may prioritize one over the other for the overlapping opportunities and may use the original configuration for non-overlapping opportunities. For example, consider four opportunities, where the first opportunity is an RRM measurement opportunity based on the measurement gap, the second and third opportunities are overlapping RRM measurement / BPS opportunities, and the fourth opportunity is a BPS opportunity from the UL gap. If the RRM measurement opportunities are prioritized over the BPS opportunities, the UE 104 may use the first, second, and third opportunities for RRM measurements and may use the fourth opportunity for BPS.

[0085] The priorities of overlapping opportunities can be designed to meet the BPS sensing requirements of UE 104. The priorities of overlapping opportunities can be indicated from the network to UE 104. This can be done as part of proactive configuration or in response to a request from UE 104. The priorities of overlapping opportunities can also be predefined in, for example, 3GPP TS to meet the BPS sensing requirements for different overlapping situations.

[0086] Figure 6 An operational flow / algorithm structure 600 according to some embodiments is shown. The operational flow / algorithm structure 600 may be performed or implemented by a UE, such as UE 104 or 900; or a component thereof, such as baseband processor 904A.

[0087] The operational flow / algorithm structure 600 may include, at 604, identifying a MO that configures a MG with an RF tuning margin and an effective gap length. The MO may configure the UE to perform neighbor cell measurements for mobility purposes. The MO may be received from the serving base station, and measurement gaps may be configured on a per-UE basis. The measurements may be intra-frequency measurements (e.g., neighboring cells on the same frequency layer as the serving cell) or inter-frequency measurements (e.g., neighboring cells on a different frequency layer than the serving cell). In some embodiments, the neighboring cells may be on FR2 or higher frequency layers.

[0088] The operational flow / algorithm structure 600 may further include, at 608, performing a BPS operation in a first portion of the RF tuning margin, and tuning the UE's RF circuitry from the first frequency layer to the second frequency layer in a second portion of the RF tuning margin. The MG's RF tuning margin may provide a time period longer than the UE needs to tune its RF circuitry. Therefore, the portion of the RF tuning margin that does not require RF circuit tuning can be reused for BPS operation. The portion of the RF tuning margin used for BPS operation may include one or more symbols or time slots. For example, if the component carrier of the serving cell has a 60 kHz SCS and the RF tuning margin is 0.5 ms, the UE may use one time slot for BPS operation and one time slot for RF tuning. For another example, if the component carrier of the serving cell has a 120 kHz SCS and the RF tuning margin is 0.5 ms, the UE may use two time slots for BPS operation and two time slots for RF tuning.

[0089] BPS operations may include transmitting a BPS sensing signal / sequence and measuring reflections of the signal / sequence to determine the proximity of a body adjacent to the UE.

[0090] The RF tuning margin for BPS operation may be at the beginning of a measurement gap or at the end of a measurement gap. When the RF tuning margin is at the beginning of a measurement gap, the first frequency layer may be the frequency layer of the serving cell, and the second frequency layer may be the frequency layer of a neighboring cell. In this case, the portion of the RF tuning margin for BPS operation may occur before the portion of the RF tuning margin used to tune the RF circuit.

[0091] When the RF tuning margin is at the end of the measurement gap, the first frequency layer may be the frequency layer of the neighboring cell, and the second frequency layer may be the frequency layer of the serving cell. In this case, the portion of the RF tuning margin used for BPS operation may appear after the portion of the RF tuning margin used for tuning the RF circuit.

[0092] In some implementations, the UE may determine the relative sizes of the first / second portions of the RF tuning margin based on a portion ratio predefined or configured by the network.

[0093] The operational flow / algorithm structure 600 may further include performing neighbor cell measurements during the effective measurement gap length, at 612. The neighbor cell measurements may be performed on signals transmitted in the neighbor cell including, for example, SSB or CSI-RS.

[0094] Figure 7 An operational flow / algorithm structure 700 according to some embodiments is shown. The operational flow / algorithm structure 700 may be performed or implemented by a UE, such as UE 104 or 900; or a component thereof, such as baseband processor 904A.

[0095] The operational flow / algorithm structure 700 may include identifying a MG to be used for measurement on the target frequency layer at 704. The measurement may be based on signals from neighboring cells on the target frequency layer. In some embodiments, the MO may be provided to the UE to configure the MG as described above.

[0096] The operational flow / algorithm structure 700 may further include identifying a first symbol associated with an SSB or CSI-RS transmission within the measurement gap based on the timing of the reference cell on the target frequency layer, at 708. The SSB or CSI-RS transmission may be from the serving cell or a neighboring cell.

[0097] If the measurement gap is used for intra-frequency measurements, the UE can use the UE's current serving cell as a reference cell. Since all cells on the inter-frequency layer are assumed to be synchronized, the serving cell can be used as the reference cell. Therefore, the target neighbor cell is assumed to be synchronized with the serving cell. Therefore, the UE can determine the timing of SSB or CSI-RS transmissions based on timing information from the serving cell.

[0098] If the measurement gap is used for inter-frequency measurements, the UE can identify a cell on the target frequency layer to use as a reference cell. This can be done by detecting the SSB symbols from the cell on the target frequency layer. This cell can be a neighboring cell that is the measurement target, or simply another cell on the same frequency layer as the neighboring cell.

[0099] The SSB symbols included in the first symbol identified at 708 may include symbols corresponding to actual detected SSB symbols of a serving cell in a neighboring cell. For example, if the UE detects an SSB in a first symbol set (e.g., symbols 3-6), the first symbol may include corresponding symbols (e.g., symbols 3-6) in a later frame / half-frame. In other embodiments, the SSB symbols included in the first symbol identified at 708 may include all candidate symbols for the SSB. For example, the first symbol may include all possible SSB symbol positions, regardless of whether an SSB has actually been detected in the corresponding symbol.

[0100] The CSI-RS symbols may be symbols at configured CSI-RS L3 symbol positions. These positions may be provided to the UE by the serving base station.

[0101] The operational flow / algorithm structure 700 may further include performing a BPS operation within the measurement gap at 712. The BPS operation may be performed on one or more symbols other than the first symbol identified at 708. For example, the BPS operation may be similar to the operation described above with respect to 612.

[0102] In some embodiments, the one or more symbols on which BPS operation may be performed may be further restricted by other information. For example, the UE may obtain TDD configuration information (of the serving or neighboring cell) and select the one or more symbols as UL symbols and DL symbols that are not associated with SSB or CSI-RS transmission.

[0103] Figure 8 An operational flow / algorithm structure 800 according to some embodiments is shown. The operational flow / algorithm structure 800 may be performed or implemented by a base station, such as base station 108 or 1000; or a component thereof, such as baseband processor 1004A.

[0104] The operational flow / algorithm structure 800 may include receiving a BPS capability indication from the UE at 804. The BPS capability indication may indicate whether the UE is capable of performing BPS operations based on measurement gaps. In some embodiments, the BPS capability indication may further provide an indication of one or more types of MG-based BPS operations that the UE is capable of performing. For example, the capability indication may indicate that the UE is capable of performing BPS sensing: during RF tuning margin; based on downlink signal information; based on TDD configuration information; or based on an outage due to a timing advance or an asynchronous serving cell.

[0105] The operational flow / algorithm structure 800 may further include determining a threshold amount of resources for the UE to perform BPS operation at 808. The threshold amount may be a ratio of resources available for BPS operation to the total number of resources during a period of time, or an absolute amount of resources available for BPS operation during the period of time.

[0106] In some embodiments, the threshold number may be UE-specific and, therefore, may be signaled from the UE to the base station. This may be signaled as part of the BPS capability indication at 804 or separately therefrom. In some embodiments, the threshold number may be predefined, for example, in a 3GPP TS. The threshold number may be based on the type of UE (e.g., whether the UE is a high-complexity UE or a low-complexity UE), in which case the type may be signaled and the base station may determine that the UE has the threshold number associated with the particular type.

[0107] The operational flow / algorithm structure 800 may further include determining whether the amount of available resources is less than a threshold amount of resources for the UE to perform BPS operations, at 812. The amount of available resources may be determined based on the current gap configuration and the BPS capability of the UE received at 804. For example, if the base station is capable of performing one or more types of MG-based BPS operations and a measurement gap is configured, the base station may determine the amount of available resources for the UE to perform BPS operations based on the configured measurement gap.

[0108] If it is determined at 812 that the available resource quantity is not less than the threshold resource quantity, the base station may determine that the UE has sufficient resources available to perform the BPS operation. The operation flow / algorithm structure may then end at 816.

[0109] If it is determined at 812 that the available resource quantity is less than the threshold resource quantity, the base station may determine that the UE does not have sufficient resources available to perform the BPS operation. The operation flow / algorithm structure may then proceed to providing / updating configuration information at 820. The configuration information provided / updated at 820 may provide the UE with at least the threshold resource quantity for performing the BPS operation.

[0110] In some embodiments, the base station may provide information for configuring an uplink gap that provides at least a threshold number of resources and a number of available resources based on the measurement gap, for example, the number of BPS sensing opportunities based on the UL gap plus the number of BPS sensing opportunities based on the MG is at least equal to the threshold number of resources.

[0111] In other embodiments, the base station may provide information configuring an uplink gap that provides at least a threshold number of resources independent of available resources based on the measurement gap. For example, the number of BPS sensing opportunities based on the UL gap is at least equal to the threshold number of resources.

[0112] In some embodiments, the base station may reconfigure various MG or TDD parameters to increase the amount of available resources based on the measurement gap. This may be done with or without relying on resources from the UL gap to reach the threshold amount of resources.

[0113] After providing / updating the configuration information at 820 , the operational flow / algorithm structure 800 may end at 816 .

[0114] Figure 9 UE 900 according to some embodiments is shown. UE 900 may be similar to Figure 1 The UE94 is compatible with and essentially interchangeable with it.

[0115] UE 900 can be any mobile or non-mobile computing device, such as a mobile phone, a computer, a tablet, an industrial wireless sensor (e.g., a microphone, a carbon dioxide sensor, a pressure sensor, a humidity sensor, a thermometer, a motion sensor, an accelerometer, a laser scanner, a fluid level sensor, an inventory sensor, a voltage / current meter, or an actuator), a video surveillance / monitoring device (e.g., a camera), a wearable device (e.g., a smart watch), or an Internet of Things device.

[0116] UE 900 may include a processor 904, RF interface circuitry 908, memory / storage 912, a user interface 916, sensors 920, driver circuitry 922, a power management integrated circuit (PMIC) 924, antenna structures 926, and a battery 928. The components of UE 900 may be implemented as integrated circuits (ICs), portions of integrated circuits, discrete electronic devices or other modules, logical components, hardware, software, firmware, or combinations thereof. Figure 9 The block diagram is intended to show a high-level view of certain of the components of the UE 900. However, some of the components shown may be omitted, additional components may be present, and different arrangements of the components shown may occur in other implementations.

[0117] Components of the UE 900 may be coupled to various other components via one or more interconnects 932, which may represent any type of interface, input / output, bus (local, system, or extension), transmission line, trace, or optical connection that allows various circuit components (on a common or different chip or chipsets) to interact with each other.

[0118] The processor 904 may include processor circuits such as a baseband processor circuit (BB) 904A, a central processor unit circuit (CPU) 904B, and a graphics processor unit circuit (GPU) 904C. The processor 904 may include any type of circuit or processor circuit that executes or otherwise operates computer-executable instructions (such as program code, software modules, or functional processes from the memory / storage device 912) to cause the UE 900 to perform operations as described herein.

[0119] In some embodiments, the baseband processor circuit 904A can access the communication protocol stack 936 in the memory / storage device 912 to communicate over a 3GPP-compatible network. Generally speaking, the baseband processor circuit 904A can access the communication protocol stack to perform the following operations: perform user plane functions at the PHY layer, MAC layer, RLC layer, PDCP layer, SDAP layer, and PDU layer; and perform control plane functions at the PHY layer, MAC layer, RLC layer, PDCP layer, RRC layer, and non-access layer. In some embodiments, PHY layer operations can additionally / alternatively be performed by components of the RF interface circuit 908.

[0120] The baseband processor circuit 904A may generate or process baseband signals or waveforms that carry information in 3GPP-compliant networks. In some embodiments, waveforms for NR may be based on cyclic prefix OFDM (CP-OFDM) in the uplink or downlink, and discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-S-OFDM) in the uplink.

[0121] The memory / storage 912 may include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media including instructions (e.g., the communication protocol stack 936) that are executable by one or more processors in the processor 904 to cause the UE 900 to perform various operations described herein. The memory / storage 912 may additionally include data for facilitating these operations, including, for example, gap configuration information and capability information related to performing BPS operations based on measurement gaps.

[0122] The memory / storage 912 includes any type of volatile or non-volatile memory that may be distributed throughout the UE 900. In some embodiments, some of the memory / storage 912 may be located on the processor 904 itself (e.g., L1 cache and L2 cache), while other memory / storage 912 is external to the processor 904 but accessible via a memory interface. The memory / storage 912 may include any suitable volatile or non-volatile memory, such as, but not limited to, dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, solid-state memory, or any other type of memory device technology.

[0123] The RF interface circuit 908 may include transceiver circuitry and a radio frequency front-end module (RFEM), which allows the UE 900 to communicate with other devices over a radio access network. The RF interface circuit 908 may include various components arranged in a transmit path or a receive path. These components may include, for example, switches, mixers, amplifiers, filters, synthesizer circuits, or control circuits.

[0124] In the receive path, the RFEM receives the radiated signal from the air interface via the antenna structure 926 and further filters and amplifies the signal (using a low-noise amplifier). The signal can be provided to the transceiver's receiver, which down-converts the RF signal to a baseband signal that is provided to the baseband processor of the processor 904.

[0125] In the transmit path, the transmitter of the transceiver up-converts the baseband signal received from the baseband processor and provides an RF signal to the RFEM. The RFEM may amplify the RF signal through a power amplifier before the signal is radiated across the air interface via the antenna 926.

[0126] In various embodiments, the RF interface circuit 908 may be configured to transmit / receive signals in a manner compatible with NR access technology.

[0127] Antenna 926 may include antenna elements to convert electrical signals into radio waves to travel through the air and convert received radio waves into electrical signals. These antenna elements may be arranged into one or more antenna panels. Antenna 926 may have an antenna panel that is omnidirectional, directional, or a combination thereof to achieve beamforming and multiple input / multiple output communications. Antenna 926 may include, for example, a microstrip antenna, a printed antenna manufactured on the surface of one or more printed circuit boards, a patch antenna, or a phased array antenna. Antenna 926 may have one or more panels that are designed for a specific frequency band including FR1, FR2, or higher.

[0128] The user interface circuitry 916 includes various input / output (I / O) devices designed to enable a user to interact with the UE 900. The user interface circuitry 916 includes input device circuitry and output device circuitry. The input device circuitry includes any physical or virtual device for accepting input, such as one or more physical or virtual buttons (e.g., a reset button), a physical keyboard, a keypad, a mouse, a touchpad, a touch screen, a microphone, a scanner, or a headset. The output device circuitry includes any physical or virtual device for displaying information or otherwise communicating information (such as sensor readings, actuator positions, or other similar information). The output device circuitry may include any number or combination of audio or visual displays, such as one or more simple visual outputs / indicators (e.g., binary state indicators (such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs)) and multi-character visual outputs), or more complex outputs, such as a display device or touch screen (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD), an LED display, a quantum dot display, or a projector), where the output of characters, graphics, or multimedia objects is generated or produced by the operation of the UE 900.

[0129] Sensors 920 may include devices, modules, or subsystems designed to detect events or changes in their environment and send information about the detected events (sensor data) to some other device, module, or subsystem. Examples of such sensors include, for example: an inertial measurement unit including an accelerometer, gyroscope, or magnetometer; a microelectromechanical system or nanoelectromechanical system including a three-axis accelerometer, a three-axis gyroscope, and a magnetometer; a liquid level sensor; a flow sensor; a temperature sensor (e.g., a thermistor); a pressure sensor; a barometric pressure sensor; a gravity meter; an altimeter; an image capture device (e.g., a camera or lensless aperture); a light detection and ranging sensor; a proximity sensor (e.g., an infrared radiation detector, etc.); a depth sensor; an ambient light sensor; an ultrasonic transceiver; or a microphone or other similar audio capture device.

[0130] The driver circuit 922 may include software and hardware components for controlling specific devices embedded in the UE 900, attached to the UE 1100, or otherwise communicatively coupled to the UE 900. The driver circuit 922 may include various drivers to allow other components to interact with or control various input / output (I / O) devices that may be present in or connected to the UE 900. For example, the driver circuit 922 may include: a display driver for controlling and allowing access to a display device, a touch screen driver for controlling and allowing access to a touch screen interface, a sensor driver for obtaining sensor readings from the sensor circuit 920 and controlling and allowing access to the sensor circuit 920, a driver for obtaining the actuator position of an electromechanical component or controlling and allowing access to an electromechanical component, a camera driver for controlling and allowing access to an embedded image capture device, and an audio driver for controlling and allowing access to one or more audio devices.

[0131] The PMIC 924 may manage power provided to various components of the UE 900. Specifically, with respect to the processor 904, the PMIC 924 may control power source selection, voltage scaling, battery charging, or DC-DC conversion.

[0132] In some embodiments, the PMIC 924 may control or otherwise be part of various power saving mechanisms of the UE 900 , including DRX, as discussed herein.

[0133] The battery 928 can power the UE 900, but in some examples, the UE 900 can be installed in a fixed location and can have a power source coupled to the power grid. The battery 928 can be a lithium-ion battery, a metal-air battery such as a zinc-air battery, an aluminum-air battery, a lithium-air battery, etc. In some implementations, such as in vehicle-based applications, the battery 928 can be a typical lead-acid automobile battery.

[0134] Figure 10 FIGURE 1 shows a gNB 1000 according to some embodiments. The gNB node 1000 may be similar to Figure 1 base station 108 and is essentially interchangeable therewith.

[0135] gNB 1000 may include a processor 1004, RF interface circuitry 1008, core network “CN” interface circuitry 1012, memory / storage device circuitry 1016, and antenna structure 1026.

[0136] Components of gNB 1000 may be coupled to various other components via one or more interconnects 1028.

[0137] The processor 1004, RF interface circuit 1008, memory / storage circuit 1016 (including communication protocol stack 1010), antenna structure 1026 and interconnect 1028 may be similar to those of reference Figure 9 Like-named elements are shown and described.

[0138] The CN interface circuitry 1012 can provide connectivity to a core network (e.g., a fifth generation core network (5GC) using a 5GC-compatible network interface protocol, such as a Carrier Ethernet protocol, or some other suitable protocol). Network connectivity can be provided to / from the gNB 1000 via optical fiber or wireless backhaul. The CN interface circuitry 1012 can include one or more dedicated processors or FPGAs for communicating using one or more of the aforementioned protocols. In some implementations, the CN controller circuitry 1012 can include multiple controllers for providing connectivity to other networks using the same or different protocols.

[0139] It is understood that the use of personally identifiable information should be subject to privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized to meet or exceed industry or government requirements for maintaining 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 stated to users.

[0140] For one or more embodiments, at least one of the components shown in one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to perform one or more operations, techniques, processes, or methods described in the Examples section below. For example, the baseband circuitry described above in conjunction with one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the following examples. For another example, circuitry associated with a UE or base station described above in conjunction with one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples shown in the Examples section below.

[0141] Example

[0142] In the following sections, additional exemplary embodiments are provided.

[0143] Embodiment 1 includes a method of operating a UE, the method comprising: identifying a measurement object configured with a measurement gap having a radio frequency (RF) tuning margin and an effective measurement gap length; performing a body proximity sensing (BPS) operation in a first part of the RF tuning margin; tuning an RF circuit from a first frequency layer to a second frequency layer during a second part of the RF tuning margin; and performing measurement during the effective measurement gap length.

[0144] Embodiment 2 includes the method of embodiment 1 or some other embodiments herein, wherein the subcarrier spacing of the serving cell component carrier is 60 kilohertz (kHz), and the first part and the second part are each one time slot.

[0145] Embodiment 3 includes the method of embodiment 1 or some other embodiments herein, wherein the subcarrier spacing of the serving cell component carrier is 120 kilohertz (kHz), and the first part and the second part are each two time slots.

[0146] Embodiment 4 includes the method according to embodiment 1 or some other embodiments herein, wherein the measurement object configures the measurement gap on a per-UE basis.

[0147] Embodiment 5 includes the method according to embodiment 1 or some other embodiments herein, the method further comprising: identifying a portion ratio predefined or configured by a network; and determining the relative sizes of the first portion and the second portion based on the portion ratio.

[0148] Embodiment 6 includes the method according to embodiment 1 or some other embodiments herein, the method further comprising: performing the BPS operation on the first frequency layer corresponding to the serving cell; and after performing the BPS operation, performing the measurement on the second frequency layer corresponding to the target cell.

[0149] Example 7 includes a method according to Example 6 or some other embodiments herein, wherein the BPS operation is a first BPS operation, the RF tuning margin is a first RF tuning margin, and the method further includes: after performing the measurement during the effective measurement gap length, tuning the RF circuit from the second frequency layer to the first frequency layer in a first part of a second RF tuning margin; and performing a second BPS operation on the first frequency layer in a second part of the second RF tuning margin.

[0150] Embodiment 8 includes a method of operating a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: identifying a measurement gap to be used for measurements on a target frequency layer; identifying a first symbol associated with a synchronization signal block (SSB) or a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) transmission within the measurement gap based on the timing of a reference cell on the target frequency layer; and performing a body proximity sensing (BPS) operation during one or more symbols in the measurement gap, wherein the one or more symbols do not include the first symbol.

[0151] Embodiment 9 includes a method according to embodiment 8 or some other embodiments herein, wherein the measurement is an intra-frequency measurement, the reference cell is a serving cell of the UE, and the method further includes: detecting an SSB from the serving cell; and determining the timing of the reference cell based on the SSB.

[0152] Embodiment 10 includes a method according to embodiment 8 or some other embodiments herein, wherein the measurement is an inter-frequency measurement, the reference cell is a neighboring cell, and the method further includes: detecting an SSB from the neighboring cell; determining the timing of the reference cell based on the SSB; and performing the measurement on the neighboring cell or another neighboring cell on the target frequency layer.

[0153] Embodiment 11 includes the method of embodiment 10 or some other embodiments herein, further comprising detecting SSB over a plurality of symbols, wherein the first symbol corresponds to the plurality of symbols.

[0154] Embodiment 12 includes the method of embodiment 11 or some other embodiments herein, wherein the SSB is transmitted from a serving cell or a neighboring cell.

[0155] Embodiment 13 includes the method of embodiment 8 or some other embodiments herein, further comprising determining a plurality of candidate symbols for SSB, wherein the first symbol corresponds to the plurality of candidate symbols.

[0156] Embodiment 14 includes the method according to embodiment 8 or some other embodiments herein, the method further comprising: receiving information of multiple symbols configured for a CSI-RS of a serving cell or a neighboring cell, wherein the first symbol corresponds to the multiple symbols.

[0157] Embodiment 15 includes a method of operating a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: identifying a time division duplex (TDD) uplink (UL) / downlink (DL) configuration; identifying a measurement gap to be used for measurements on a target frequency layer; selecting one or more uplink symbols based on the TDD UL / DL configuration; and performing a body proximity sensing (BPS) operation during the one or more uplink symbols.

[0158] Embodiment 16 includes a method according to embodiment 15 or some other embodiments herein, wherein the measurement is an intra-frequency measurement, and the method further includes: obtaining system information from a serving cell on the target frequency layer; and identifying the TDD UL / DL configuration based on the system information.

[0159] Embodiment 17 includes a method according to embodiment 15 or some other embodiments herein, wherein the measurement is an inter-frequency measurement, and the method further includes: obtaining system information from a neighboring cell on the target frequency layer; identifying the TDD UL / DL configuration based on the system information; and performing the measurement on the neighboring cell or another neighboring cell on the target frequency layer.

[0160] Embodiment 18 includes a method according to embodiment 15 or some other embodiments herein, the method further comprising: receiving a signal including an indicator of the TDD UL / DL configuration from a base station, wherein the indicator is located in a radio resource control (RRC) information element, a medium access control (MAC) control element, or downlink control information (DCI); and identifying the TDD UL / DL configuration based on the indicator.

[0161] Embodiment 19 includes a method of operating a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: receiving information configuring a measurement gap; determining, based on a timing advance associated with the uplink time slot, that the measurement gap interferes with an uplink time slot following the measurement gap; and performing a body proximity sensing (BPS) operation during at least one symbol of the uplink time slot.

[0162] Embodiment 20 includes a method according to embodiment 19 or some other embodiments herein, wherein the uplink time slot is a first uplink time slot, and the method further includes: determining that the measurement gap interferes with a second uplink time slot that is continuous with the first uplink time slot; and performing a BPS operation during at least one symbol of the second uplink time slot.

[0163] Embodiment 21 includes a method of operating a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: determining timing of a measurement gap based on a reference cell that is asynchronous with a serving cell; detecting a time slot of the serving cell, the time slot comprising a first portion overlapping with the measurement gap and a second portion that does not overlap with the measurement gap; and performing a body proximity sensing (BPS) operation during at least one symbol in the second portion of the time slot.

[0164] Embodiment 22 includes the method of embodiment 21 or some other embodiments herein, wherein the time slot is at the beginning of the measurement gap or at the end of the measurement gap.

[0165] Embodiment 23 includes a method of operating a base station, the method comprising: receiving an indication of a capability of a user equipment (UE) to perform a body proximity sensing (BPS) operation based on a measurement gap configuration; determining a threshold amount of resources for the UE to perform the BPS operation within a period of time; determining, based on the capability and the threshold amount, that an amount of available resources based on the measurement gap configuration is insufficient for the UE to perform the BPS operation within the period of time; and providing a configuration to the UE based on the determination that the amount of available resources based on the measurement gap configuration is insufficient.

[0166] Embodiment 24 includes the method of embodiment 23 or some other embodiments herein, wherein the configuration is an uplink gap configuration or an updated measurement gap configuration.

[0167] Embodiment 25 includes a method according to embodiment 23 or some other embodiments herein, wherein the indication of the capability is an indication that the UE is capable of performing the BPS operation based on a time division duplex (TDD) configuration, and the configuration is an updated TDD configuration.

[0168] Embodiment 26 includes a method according to embodiment 23 or some other embodiments herein, wherein the available amount of resources based on the measurement gap configuration is a first amount of resources, and the method further comprises: providing the configuration as an uplink gap configuration with a second amount of resources, wherein the first amount of resources and the second amount of resources together provide at least the threshold amount of resources.

[0169] Embodiment 27 includes the method of embodiment 23 or some other embodiments herein, wherein the amount of available resources based on the measurement gap configuration is a first amount of resources, and the method further comprises providing the configuration as an updated measurement gap configuration having a second amount of resources, wherein the second amount of resources provides at least the threshold amount of resources.

[0170] Embodiment 28 includes a method according to embodiment 23 or some other embodiments herein, wherein the number of available resources based on the measurement gap configuration is a first number of resources, and the method further comprises: providing the configuration as an uplink gap configuration with a second number of resources, wherein the second number of resources provides at least the threshold number of resources.

[0171] Embodiment 29 includes the method of embodiment 23 or some other embodiments herein, the method further comprising: receiving a message from the UE; and determining the threshold number based on the message.

[0172] Embodiment 30 includes a method according to embodiment 23 or some other embodiments herein, wherein the indication of the capability is an indication that the UE is able to perform BPS sensing: during radio frequency (RF) tuning margin; based on downlink signal information; based on time division duplex (TDD) configuration information; or based on an interruption due to timing advance or asynchronous serving cell.

[0173] Embodiment 31 includes a method of operating a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: detecting a radio resource management (RRM) measurement opportunity based on a measurement gap; detecting a body proximity sensing (BPS) opportunity based on a dedicated uplink gap, wherein the RRM measurement opportunity overlaps with the BPS opportunity in the time domain; determining a relative priority between the RRM measurement opportunity and the BPS opportunity; and performing RRM measurement in the RRM measurement opportunity or performing a BPS operation in the BPS opportunity based on the relative priority.

[0174] Embodiment 32 includes a method according to embodiment 31 or some other embodiments herein, the method further comprising: detecting at least one RRM measurement opportunity based on the measurement gap; detecting one or more BPS opportunities based on the uplink gap, wherein the at least one RRM measurement opportunity and the one or more BPS opportunities completely overlap; identifying a usage ratio; selecting opportunities for RRM measurements and for BPS operations in a ratio consistent with the usage ratio; and performing the RRM measurements and the BPS operations in the selected opportunities.

[0175] Embodiment 33 includes the method of embodiment 32 or some other embodiments herein, the method further comprising: receiving an indication of the usage ratio from a base station.

[0176] Embodiment 34 includes the method of embodiment 33 or some other embodiments herein, the method further comprising transmitting a request for the usage ratio to the base station.

[0177] Embodiment 35 includes the method of embodiment 31 or some other embodiments herein, further comprising receiving an indication of the relative priority from a base station.

[0178] Embodiment 36 includes the method according to embodiment 31 or some other embodiments herein, the method further comprising: detecting a second BPS opportunity that does not overlap with any RRM measurement opportunity; and performing a BPS operation in the second BPS opportunity.

[0179] Embodiment 37 may include an apparatus comprising means for performing one or more elements of a method as described in or related to any of Embodiments 1 to 36, or any other method or process described herein.

[0180] Embodiment 38 may include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media comprising instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform one or more elements of a method described in or related to any one of Embodiments 1 to 36 or any other method or process described herein.

[0181] Embodiment 39 may include an apparatus comprising logic components, modules, or circuits for performing one or more elements of the method described in accordance with or related to any of Embodiments 1 to 36, or any other method or process described herein.

[0182] Embodiment 40 may include a method, technique, or process as described or related to any one of Embodiments 1 to 36, or a portion or component thereof.

[0183] Embodiment 41 may include a device comprising: one or more processors and one or more computer-readable media, wherein the one or more computer-readable media include instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform a method, technique, or process, or portion thereof, as described or related to any one of Embodiments 1 to 36.

[0184] Embodiment 42 may include a signal as described or associated with any one of embodiments 1 to 36, or a portion or component thereof.

[0185] Embodiment 43 may include a datagram, information element, packet, frame, fragment, PDU or message, or a portion or component thereof, as described in or related to any of Embodiments 1 to 36 or otherwise described in this disclosure.

[0186] Embodiment 44 may include a signal encoded with data as described or associated with any one of Embodiments 1 to 36, or a portion or component thereof, or as otherwise described in this disclosure.

[0187] Embodiment 45 may include a signal encoded with a datagram, IE, packet, frame, segment, PDU, or message, or a portion or component thereof, as described in or related to any of Embodiments 1 to 36 or otherwise described in this disclosure.

[0188] Embodiment 46 may include an electromagnetic signal carrying computer-readable instructions, wherein execution of the computer-readable instructions by one or more processors will cause the one or more processors to perform the method, technique, or process described in or related to any one of Embodiments 1 to 36, or a portion thereof.

[0189] Embodiment 47 may include a computer program comprising instructions, wherein execution of the program by a processing element causes the processing element to perform a method, technique, or process described in or related to any one of Embodiments 1 to 36, or a portion thereof.

[0190] Embodiment 48 may include signals in a wireless network as shown and described herein.

[0191] Embodiment 49 may include a method of communicating in a wireless network as shown and described herein.

[0192] Embodiment 50 may include a system for providing wireless communications as shown and described herein.

[0193] Embodiment 51 may include an apparatus for providing wireless communications as shown and described herein.

[0194] Unless expressly stated otherwise, any of the above examples may be combined with any other example (or combination of examples). The foregoing description of one or more specific implementations provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of the embodiments to the precise forms disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings or may be acquired from practice of the various embodiments.

[0195] Although the above embodiments have been described in considerable detail, numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated. It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to encompass all such variations and modifications.

Claims

1. A method of operating a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: identifying a measurement object configuring a measurement gap having a radio frequency (RF) tuning margin and an effective measurement gap length; performing a body proximity sensing (BPS) operation in a first portion of the RF tuning margin; tuning the RF circuit from the first frequency layer to the second frequency layer during a second portion of the RF tuning margin; as well as Measurements are performed during the effective measurement gap length.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein a subcarrier spacing of a serving cell component carrier is 60 kilohertz (kHz), and the first part and the second part are each one time slot.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein a subcarrier spacing of a serving cell component carrier is 120 kilohertz (kHz), and the first portion and the second portion are each two time slots.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the measurement object configures the measurement gap on a per-UE basis.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising: Identifying partial ratios that are predefined or configured by the network; as well as Relative sizes of the first portion and the second portion are determined based on the portion ratio.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising: performing the BPS operation on the first frequency layer corresponding to a serving cell; as well as After performing the BPS operation, performing the measurement on the second frequency layer corresponding to the target cell.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the BPS operation is a first BPS operation, the RF tuning margin is a first RF tuning margin, and the method further comprises: tuning the RF circuit from the second frequency layer to the first frequency layer in a first portion of a second RF tuning margin after performing the measurement during the effective measurement gap length; as well as A second BPS operation is performed on the first frequency layer in a second portion of the second RF tuning margin.

8. One or more computer-readable media having instructions that, when executed, cause a user equipment (UE) to: identifying a measurement gap to be used for measurements on a target frequency layer; identifying a first symbol associated with a synchronization signal block (SSB) or a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) transmission within the measurement gap based on timing of a reference cell on the target frequency layer; and A body proximity sensing (BPS) operation is performed during one or more symbols in the measurement gap, wherein the one or more symbols do not include the first symbol.

9. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 8, wherein the measurement is an intra-frequency measurement, the reference cell is a serving cell of the UE, and the instructions, when executed, further cause the UE to: detecting an SSB from the serving cell; and The timing of the reference cell is determined based on the SSB.

10. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 8, wherein the measurement is an inter-frequency measurement, the reference cell is a neighboring cell, and the instructions, when executed, further cause the UE to: detecting an SSB from the neighboring cell; determining the timing of the reference cell based on the SSB; and The measurement is performed on the neighboring cell or another neighboring cell on the target frequency layer.

11. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 8, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the UE to: An SSB is detected over a plurality of symbols, wherein the first symbol corresponds to the plurality of symbols.

12. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 11, wherein the SSB is transmitted from a serving cell or a neighboring cell.

13. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 8, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the UE to: A plurality of candidate symbols for SSB is determined, wherein the first symbol corresponds to the plurality of candidate symbols.

14. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 8, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the UE to: Information of a plurality of symbols configured for a CSI-RS of a serving cell or a neighboring cell is received, wherein the first symbol corresponds to the plurality of symbols.

15. An apparatus implemented in a user equipment (UE), the apparatus comprising: a memory storing a time division duplex (TDD) uplink (UL) / downlink (DL) configuration; and a processing circuit, the processing circuit being coupled to the memory, the processing circuit being configured to: Identifying a measurement gap to be used for measurement on a target frequency layer; selecting one or more uplink symbols based on the TDD UL / DL configuration; and performing a body proximity sensing (BPS) operation during the one or more uplink symbols.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the measurement is an intra-frequency measurement, and the processing circuit is to further: Acquiring system information from a serving cell on the target frequency layer; and The TDD UL / DL configuration is identified based on the system information.

17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the measurement is an inter-frequency measurement, and the processing circuitry is to further: Acquire system information from neighboring cells on the target frequency layer; identifying the TDD UL / DL configuration based on the system information; and The measurement is performed on the neighboring cell or another neighboring cell on the target frequency layer.

18. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the processing circuit is to further: receiving a signal including an indicator of the TDD UL / DL configuration from a base station, wherein the indicator is located in a radio resource control (RRC) information element, a medium access control (MAC) control element, or downlink control information (DCI); and The TDD UL / DL configuration is identified based on the indicator.

19. One or more computer-readable media having instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause a base station to: receiving an indication of a capability of a user equipment (UE) to perform a body proximity sensing (BPS) operation based on a measurement gap configuration; determining a threshold amount of resources for the UE to perform the BPS operation over a period of time; determining, based on the capability and the threshold resource quantity, that an amount of available resources based on the measurement gap configuration is insufficient for the UE to perform the BPS operation during the period of time; as well as A configuration is provided to the UE based on the determination that the amount of available resources based on the measurement gap configuration is insufficient.

20. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 19, wherein the configuration is an uplink gap configuration or an updated measurement gap configuration.

21. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 19, wherein the indication of the capability is an indication that the UE is capable of performing the BPS operation based on a time division duplex (TDD) configuration, and the configuration is an updated TDD configuration.

22. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 19, wherein the amount of available resources based on the measurement gap configuration is a first amount of resources, and the instructions, when executed, further cause the base station to: The configuration is provided as an uplink gap configuration having a second amount of resources, wherein the first amount of resources and the second amount of resources together provide at least the threshold amount of resources.

23. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 19, wherein the amount of available resources based on the measurement gap configuration is a first amount of resources, and the instructions, when executed, further cause the base station to: The configuration is provided as an updated measurement gap configuration having a second amount of resources, wherein the second amount of resources provides at least the threshold amount of resources.

24. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 19, wherein the amount of available resources based on the measurement gap configuration is a first amount of resources, and the instructions, when executed, further cause the base station to: The configuration is provided as an uplink gap configuration having a second amount of resources, wherein the second amount of resources provides at least the threshold amount of resources.

25. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 19, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the base station to: receiving a message from the UE; and The threshold amount of resources is determined based on the message.

26. One or more computer-readable media according to claim 19, wherein the indication of the capability is an indication that the UE is capable of performing BPS sensing in the following manner: during radio frequency (RF) tuning margin; based on downlink signal information; based on time division duplex (TDD) configuration information; or based on an interruption due to timing advance or asynchronous serving cell.

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