UL TX processing time for fast switching across carriers

Abstract

Disclosed herein are systems and methods for uplink (UL) transmission (Tx) that enable fast switching across carriers. Embodiments of methods performed by a wireless communication device are disclosed. In one embodiment, the method performed by the wireless communication device includes determining whether an uplink transmission requires an uplink transmission switch from a first carrier to a second carrier and obtaining a value of an uplink transmission-related timing parameter, wherein the value is a first value if the uplink transmission switch is not required and the value is a second value if the uplink transmission switch is required. The method further includes performing an uplink transmission, one or more actions related to the uplink transmission, or both the uplink transmission and one or more actions related to the uplink transmission based on the obtained value of the uplink transmission-related timing parameter.

Description

[0001] Related Applications

[0002] This application claims the benefit of provisional patent application serial number 63 / 008,310, filed on April 10, 2020, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. Technical Field

[0003] The present disclosure relates to uplink transmission in a cellular communication system, and more particularly, to uplink transmission with Tx switching. Background Art

[0004] The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) New Radio (NR) standard provides services for multiple use cases such as enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliable and low-latency communications (URLLC), and machine-type communications (MTC). Each of these services has different technical requirements. For example, the general requirement for eMBB is high data rates with medium latency and medium coverage, while URLLC services require low latency and high reliability transmission but may target medium data rates.

[0005] One of the solutions for low-latency data transmission is a shorter transmission time interval. In NR, in addition to transmitting in time slots, micro-slot transmission is also allowed to reduce latency. A micro-slot can consist of any number of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols from 1 to 14 orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols. It should be noted that the concept of time slots and micro-slots is not specific to a particular service, meaning that micro-slots can be used for either eMBB, URLLC or other services.

[0006] Figure 1 Exemplary radio resources in NR are illustrated.

[0007] Carrier aggregation (CA) is commonly used in NR (5G) and long term evolution (LTE) systems to increase the data rate transmitted / received by user equipment (UE). With CA, the UE is usually initially operated on a single serving cell called a primary cell (PCell). The cell is operated on a component carrier (CC) in a frequency band. The UE is then configured by the network using one or more secondary serving cells ((one or more) SCells). Each SCell may correspond to a CC in the same frequency band (intra-band CA) or a CC in a frequency band different from the frequency band of the CC corresponding to the PCell (inter-band CA). For the UE to transmit / receive data on (one or more) SCells (e.g., by receiving downlink shared channel (DL-SCH) information on a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) or by transmitting an uplink shared channel (UL-SCH) on a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), (one or more) SCells need to be activated by the network. As needed, (one or more) SCells can also be deactivated and reactivated later by means of activation / deactivation signaling.

[0008] The UE may be configured with carrier aggregation to aggregate frequency division duplex (FDD) carriers, time division duplex (TDD) carriers, or both FDD and TDD carriers. The UE may indicate its carrier aggregation capabilities to the network, including whether the UE supports CA on the downlink and whether the UE supports CA on the uplink.

[0009] It may be assumed that a UE supporting uplink CA across carriers has a dedicated transmit (Tx) chain for each carrier and is therefore able to support CA without any restrictions. On the other hand, there may be UEs that may share certain hardware (e.g., Tx antenna, power amplifier, phase-locked loop, transmitter chain circuit) across two carriers and therefore may require special handling (e.g., via scheduling) to ensure correct operation. Figure 2 An example is shown where the UE has only 2 Tx chains, and the UE can transmit on both carriers on the uplink, but with certain restrictions as shown in the table. Such a UE cannot transmit 1Tx on carrier 1 and 2Tx on carrier 2 because it has only 2 Tx chains, and therefore the UE can only support either case 1 or case 2 for transmitting on the uplink.

[0010] The switching gap is needed to allow the UE enough time to switch between the two carriers (e.g., move some hardware (or Tx chain) from carrier 1 to carrier 2 or vice versa). The network needs to provide the switching gap on one of the carriers and will also need to provide enough additional slack in the UE PUSCH processing time, which is the time typically between the end of the UL grant and the start of the PUSCH.

[0011] The UE is configured with carrier aggregation between an FDD carrier and a TDD carrier, where the carrier is configured as a primary carrier (or primary cell). An example frequency band / band combination for this is shown below:

[0012] Carrier 1 can be 1.8GHz, 1Tx UL, 20MHz bandwidth (BW) at 15kHz subcarrier spacing (SCS) in FDD

[0013] Carrier 2 can be in TDD - 3.5GHz at 30kHz SCS with DDDSUDDSUU mode or DDDSUUDDDD mode, 2Tx UL, 80MHz BW

[0014] Another example band / band combination for this is:

[0015] Carrier 1 and Carrier 2 can be in FDD - 1.8GHz at 15kHz SCS, 1Tx UL, 10MHz BW+10MHzBW

[0016] Carrier 3 and Carrier 4 can be in TDD - 3.5GHz at 30kHz SCS with DDDSUDDSUU mode or DDDSUUDDDD mode, 2Tx UL, 40MHz BW+40MHz BW

[0017] In the pattern, D represents a downlink time slot, U represents an uplink time slot, and S represents a time slot that may contain symbols that the UE receives on the downlink and symbols that the UE may receive on the uplink, and a certain gap in between to allow downlink to uplink switching at the UE. Some symbols may be flexible symbols, i.e., they may be used for the downlink or for the uplink or reserved.

[0018] Figure 3 A baseline CA scenario is shown where the UE aggregates FDD and TDD carriers. In this scenario, the UE is expected to transmit with 1Tx on carrier 1 and 1 or 2Tx on carrier 2 at the same time, and thus the UE will effectively have 2 or 3Tx in total. Tx can refer to a Tx chain, a transmitter chain, or a transmit antenna.

[0019] Figure 4A first fast switching UL Tx CA scenario (e.g., option 1) is shown. The UE is configured with FDD-TDD CA. However, the UE does not transmit simultaneously on the FDD part and the TDD part, or the UE may support transmission on the uplink on TDD and FDD in time division multiplexing. When 2Tx transmissions are scheduled on the TDD branch, some symbols are used for (or truncated as) switching gaps. The switching gaps may be defined in units of symbols or absolute time (e.g., 1 orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol in the parameter set of the uplink carrier on which the gap occurs or 4 OFDM symbols in the parameter set of the uplink carrier on which the gap occurs). The switching gap enables moving the transmit chain from the FDD branch to the TDD branch to enable UL multiple input multiple output (MIMO) on TDD. When there is 1Tx transmission on the TDD branch, no switching gap is required.

[0020] Figure 5 A second fast switching UL Tx CA scenario (e.g., option 2) is shown. The UE is configured with FDD-TDD CA. However, the UE does not transmit simultaneously on FDD and TDD only when the TDD part uses 2Tx transmission. In other words, when FDD uses 1Tx and TDD uses 1Tx, the UE can transmit simultaneously on both carriers. When 2Tx transmission is scheduled on the TDD branch, some symbols are used for (or truncated as) switching gaps. The switching gap can be defined in units of symbols or absolute time (e.g., 1 OFDM symbol in the parameter set of the uplink carrier on which the gap occurs or 4 OFDM symbols in the parameter set of the uplink carrier on which the gap occurs). The switching gap enables the transmission chain to be moved from the FDD branch to the TDD branch to enable UL MIMO on TDD. When there is 1Tx transmission on the TDD branch, the switching gap may not be required.

[0021] The same principles of UL CA, UL Tx CA with fast switching scenarios can be applied for multi-carrier aggregation scenarios, where as examples the UE can transmit simultaneously only on FDD carriers (carrier 1 and carrier 2) or only on TDD carriers (carrier 3 and carrier 4), but may not be able to transmit simultaneously on both FDD and TDD carriers.

[0022] Next, a description is provided for the PUSCH preparation time. The network schedules PUSCH transmissions for the UE so that the UE obtains a minimum PUSCH preparation time (or processing time). For typical uplink data transmissions, the minimum processing time is the time between the end of reception of the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) carrying the uplink grant and the start of the corresponding uplink transmission at the UE. The minimum processing time reflects the minimum time that the UE needs to decode the PDCCH, parse the downlink control information (DCI), prepare uplink data, and start transmission. The UE indicates its processing time by means of UE capabilities (e.g., UE capability 1) that are generally based on the SCS. Various means are specified in the standard to reflect various conditions for determining the minimum processing time for a given PUSCH transmission. For example, if uplink control information (UCI) is to be multiplexed onto the PUSCH, additional relaxation is provided for that PUSCH preparation. Similarly, if the PDCCH uses a first SCS and the PUSCH uses a second SCS, the PUSCH preparation time is determined based on a reference SCS determined according to the first and second SCSs.

[0023] An example description of the PUSCH preparation time is shown in the following excerpt from 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 38.214 v16.1.0:

[0024] ---------------

[0025] If the first uplink symbol in a PUSCH assignment for a transport block is no earlier than symbol L 2 , then the UE will transmit a transport block, the first uplink symbol including the time slot offset K 2 and the DM-RS defined by the start and length indicator SLIV of the scheduling DCI and including the effect of timing advance, where L 2 is defined as the time after the end of reception of the last symbol of the PDCCH carrying the DCI scheduling the PUSCH, with its CP starting T proc，2 =max((N 2 +d 2，1 )(2048+144)·κ2 -μ ·T C , d 2，2 )’s next uplink symbol.

[0026] -N 2 Based on μ for UE processing capabilities 1 and 2 respectively, where μ corresponds to the maximum T proc,2 Produced together (μ DL , μ UL ), where μ DLcorresponds to the subcarrier spacing of the downlink with which the PDCCH carrying the DCI scheduling the PUSCH is transmitted and μ UL corresponds to the subcarrier spacing of the uplink channel over which the PUSCH is to be transmitted, and κ is defined in subclause 4.1 of [4, TS38.211].

[0027] Based on whether the first symbol of PUSCH is a DMRS-only symbol, d 2,1 Can take value 0 or 1.

[0028] • If the UE is configured with multiple active component carriers, the first uplink symbol in the PUSCH allocation further includes the effect of the timing difference between the component carriers as given in [11, TS 38.133].

[0029] If the UE is configured with capability 2, it follows capability 2 processing time, otherwise the baseline capability followed by the UE is capability 1.

[0030] If the DCI is scheduled to trigger the BWP switch, then d 2,2 Equal to the BWP switching time, otherwise d 2,2 =0.

[0031] Table 1

[0032]

[0033] ---------------

[0034] exist Figure 6 An example PUSCH transmission is shown in FIG. 1 . The figure shows a PDCCH in time slot n and a corresponding scheduled PUSCH transmission in time slot n+2. Since the scheduled PUSCH allows the UE to have sufficient preparation time (i.e., >= T proc,2 ), the UE transmits on the PUSCH. If sufficient preparation time is not provided, the UE may or may not transmit the PUSCH, or in general, the UE behavior may be undefined. Summary of the invention

[0035] Disclosed herein are systems and methods for uplink (UL) transmission (Tx) that enable fast switching across carriers. Embodiments of methods performed by wireless communication devices are disclosed. In one embodiment, the method performed by the wireless communication device includes determining whether an uplink transmission requires an uplink transmission switch from a first carrier to a second carrier and obtaining a value of an uplink transmission-related timing parameter, wherein the value is a first value if an uplink transmission switch is not required and the value is a second value if an uplink transmission switch is required. The method further includes performing an uplink transmission, one or more actions related to the uplink transmission, or both an uplink transmission and one or more actions related to the uplink transmission based on the obtained value of the uplink transmission-related timing parameter. In this way, the impact on the implementation complexity of the wireless communication device due to the support of UL Tx switching can be reduced.

[0036] In one embodiment, the uplink transmission related timing parameter is the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) processing time. In one embodiment, the PUSCH processing time is the PUSCH preparation time N 2 In one embodiment, the value of the uplink transmission related parameter is a value of the PUSCH processing time, and obtaining the value of the uplink transmission related timing parameter includes if no uplink switching is required, then based on the PUSCH preparation time N 2 The first value of the PUSCH processing time is used to obtain the value of the PUSCH processing time and if uplink switching is required, the PUSCH preparation time N is used to obtain the value of the PUSCH processing time. 2 The second value of the PUSCH processing time is obtained by using the second value of the PUSCH processing time. In one embodiment, the PUSCH preparation time N 2 The second value of is a function of: (a) PUSCH preparation time N 2 (a) a first value of N, (b) a switching gap, (c) a parameter set of the first carrier, (d) a parameter set of the second carrier, or (e) any combination of two or more of (a)-(d). In one embodiment, the PUSCH preparation time N 2 The first value of is represented as a number of time domain symbols, and the PUSCH preparation time N 2 The second value is the PUSCH preparation time N 2 In one embodiment, the PUSCH preparation time N 2 The second value is equal to the PUSCH preparation time N 2The first value of plus ceiling(switching_gap / symbol_duration), where "switching_gap" is the length of the switching gap and "symbol_duration" is the duration of the time domain symbol of the parameter set for the second carrier. In one embodiment, the PUSCH processing time is T proc,2 , T proc,CSI , or

[0037] In one embodiment, the uplink transmission is a PUSCH transmission, a PUSCH transmission with uplink control information (UCI), an aperiodic sounding reference signal (SRS) transmission, a physical random access channel (PRACH) transmission, or a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) transmission.

[0038] In one embodiment, the second value is a function of: (a) the first value, (b) the switching gap, (c) a parameter set for the first carrier, (d) a parameter set for the second carrier, or (e) any combination of two or more of (a)-(d).

[0039] In one embodiment, the first value is represented as a plurality of time-domain symbols and the second value is the first value plus one time-domain symbol.

[0040] In one embodiment, the second value is equal to the first value plus ceiling(switching_gap / symbol_duration), where "switching_gap" is the length of a switching gap (eg, configured or scheduled by the network) and "symbol_duration" is the duration of a time domain symbol of the parameter set for the second carrier.

[0041] Corresponding embodiments of a wireless communication device are also disclosed. In one embodiment, the wireless communication device is adapted to determine whether an uplink transmission requires an uplink transmission switch from a first carrier to a second carrier and obtain a value of an uplink transmission related timing parameter, wherein the value is a first value if the uplink transmission switch is not required and the value is a second value if the uplink transmission switch is required. The wireless communication device is further adapted to perform an uplink transmission, one or more actions related to the uplink transmission, or both the uplink transmission and the one or more actions related to the uplink transmission based on the obtained value of the uplink transmission related timing parameter.

[0042] In one embodiment, a wireless communication device includes one or more transmitters, one or more receivers, and processing circuitry associated with the one or more transmitters and the one or more receivers. The processing circuitry is configured to cause the wireless communication device to determine whether an uplink transmission requires an uplink transmission switch from a first carrier to a second carrier and obtain a value of an uplink transmission-related timing parameter, wherein the value is a first value if the uplink transmission switch is not required and the value is a second value if the uplink transmission switch is required. The wireless communication device is further adapted to perform an uplink transmission, one or more actions related to the uplink transmission, or both the uplink transmission and the one or more actions related to the uplink transmission based on the obtained value of the uplink transmission-related timing parameter.

[0043] An embodiment of a method performed by a base station is also disclosed. In one embodiment, the method performed by the base station includes determining whether an uplink transmission from a specific wireless communication device requires an uplink transmission switch from a first carrier to a second carrier and obtaining a value of an uplink transmission related timing parameter for the specific wireless communication device, wherein the value is a first value if the uplink transmission switch is not required and the value is a second value if the uplink transmission switch is required. The method further includes scheduling uplink transmission from the specific wireless communication device based on the obtained value of the uplink transmission related timing parameter.

[0044] In one embodiment, the uplink transmission related timing parameter is the PUSCH processing time. In one embodiment, the PUSCH processing time is the PUSCH preparation time N 2 In one embodiment, the PUSCH processing time is T proc,2 , T proc,CSI , or

[0045] In one embodiment, the uplink transmission is a PUSCH transmission, a PUSCH transmission with UCI, an aperiodic SRS transmission, a PRACH transmission, or a PUCCH transmission.

[0046] In one embodiment, the second value is a function of: (a) the first value, (b) the switching gap, (c) a parameter set for the first carrier, (d) a parameter set for the second carrier, or (e) any combination of two or more of (a)-(d).

[0047] In one embodiment, the first value is represented as a plurality of time-domain symbols and the second value is the first value plus one time-domain symbol.

[0048] In one embodiment, the second value is equal to the first value plus ceiling(switching_gap / symbol_duration), where "switching_gap" is the length of a switching gap (eg, configured or scheduled by the network) and "symbol_duration" is the duration of a time domain symbol of the parameter set for the second carrier.

[0049] Corresponding embodiments of a base station are also disclosed. In one embodiment, the base station is adapted to determine whether an uplink transmission from a specific wireless communication device requires an uplink transmission switch from a first carrier to a second carrier and obtain a value of an uplink transmission related timing parameter for the specific wireless communication device, wherein the value is a first value if the uplink transmission switch is not required and the value is a second value if the uplink transmission switch is required. The base station is further adapted to schedule uplink transmission from the specific wireless communication device based on the obtained value of the uplink transmission related timing parameter.

[0050] In one embodiment, a base station includes a processing circuit configured to cause the base station to determine whether an uplink transmission from a specific wireless communication device requires an uplink transmission switch from a first carrier to a second carrier and obtain a value of an uplink transmission related timing parameter for the specific wireless communication device, wherein the value is a first value if the uplink transmission switch is not required and the value is a second value if the uplink transmission switch is required. The base station is further adapted to schedule uplink transmission from the specific wireless communication device based on the obtained value of the uplink transmission related timing parameter. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0051] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form a part of this specification, illustrate several aspects of the disclosure, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.

[0052] Figure 1 Exemplary radio resources in New Radio (NR) are described;

[0053] Figure 2 An example is described in which a user equipment (UE) has only two transmit (Tx) chains and the UE can transmit on the uplink on two carriers but with restrictions;

[0054] Figure 3 A baseline carrier aggregation (CA) scenario is shown, where the UE aggregates frequency division duplex (FDD) carriers and time division duplex (TDD) carriers;

[0055] Figure 4 A first fast switching uplink (UL) Tx CA scenario is shown;

[0056] Figure 5 A second fast switching UL Tx CA scenario is shown;

[0057] Figure 6 An example physical uplink shared channel (PUSH) transmission is illustrated;

[0058] Figure 7 An example of a cellular communication system in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented is described;

[0059] Figure 8 is a flow chart illustrating the operation of a wireless communication device (e.g., a UE) according to at least some of the embodiments described herein;

[0060] Fig. 9 is a flow chart illustrating the operation of a base station according to at least some of the embodiments described herein;

[0061] Fig.10 , Fig.11 and Fig.12 is a schematic block diagram of an example embodiment of a radio access node (e.g. a network node or a base station implementing at least some functionality of a base station);

[0062] Fig.13 and Fig.14 is a schematic block diagram of an example embodiment of a wireless communication device;

[0063] Fig.15 An example embodiment of a communication system in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented is described;

[0064] Fig.16 Explained Fig.15 Example embodiments of a host, a base station, and a UE; and

[0065] Fig.17 and Fig.18 It is explained in such Fig.15 Flow diagram of an example embodiment of a method implemented in a communication system of the communication system of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0066] The embodiments set forth below represent information used to enable those skilled in the art to implement the embodiments and illustrate the best mode of implementing the embodiments. When reading the following description in light of the accompanying drawings, those skilled in the art will understand the disclosed concepts and will recognize the applications of these concepts that are not specifically proposed herein. It should be understood that these concepts and applications belong to the scope of the disclosure.

[0067] Generally, unless different meanings are implied by the context in which it is used and / or different meanings are clearly given, they will be interpreted according to the common meaning of all terms used in this article in the relevant technical field. Unless otherwise clearly stated, all references to one / one / the element, equipment, assembly, parts, steps, etc. will be openly interpreted as referring to at least one instance of the element, equipment, assembly, parts, steps, etc. Unless a step is clearly described as being followed by another step or before another step and / or it is implied that a step must be followed by another step or before another step, it is not necessary to perform the steps of any method disclosed herein in the precise order disclosed. Where appropriate, any feature of any embodiment in the embodiments disclosed herein may be applicable to any other embodiment. Similarly, any advantage of any embodiment in the embodiment may be applicable to any other embodiment, and vice versa. By the following description, other purposes, features and advantages of the attached embodiments will be obvious.

[0068] Some of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, other embodiments are included within the scope of the subject matter disclosed herein, and the disclosed subject matter should not be interpreted as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein; on the contrary, these embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art.

[0069] Radio node: As used herein, a "radio node" is either a radio access node or a wireless communication device.

[0070] Radio access node: As used herein, a "radio access node" or "radio network node" or "radio access network node" is any node in a radio access network (RAN) of a cellular communication network that operates to wirelessly transmit and / or receive signals. Some examples of radio access nodes include, but are not limited to, a base station (e.g., a NR base station (gNB) in a 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) fifth generation (5G) new radio (NR) network or an enhanced or evolved Node B (eNB) in a 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) network), a high power or macro base station, a low power base station (e.g., a micro base station, a pico base station, a home eNB, etc.), a relay node, a network node that implements a portion of the functionality of a base station (e.g., a network node that implements a gNB central unit (gNB-CU) or a network node that implements a gNB distributed unit (gNB-DU)), or a network node that implements a portion of the functionality of another type of radio access node.

[0071] Core network node: As used herein, a "core network node" is any type of node in a core network or any node that implements a core network function. Some examples of core network nodes include, for example, a mobility management entity (MME), a packet data network gateway (P-GW), a service capability exposure function (SCEF), a home subscriber server (HSS), and the like. Some other examples of core network nodes include nodes that implement access and mobility management functions (AMF), user plane functions (UPF), session management functions (SMF), authentication server functions (AUSF), network slice selection functions (NSSF), network exposure functions (NEF), network functions (NF) repository functions (NRF), policy control functions (PCF), unified data management (UDM), and the like.

[0072] Communication device: As used herein, a "communication device" is any type of device that can access an access network. Some examples of communication devices include, but are not limited to: mobile phones, smart phones, sensor devices, meters, vehicles, household appliances, medical devices, media players, cameras, or any type of consumer electronics, such as but not limited to televisions, radios, lighting arrangements, tablet computers, laptop computers, or personal computers (PCs). A communication device may be a portable, handheld, computer-included, or vehicle-mounted mobile device that enables the communication of voice and / or data via a wireless or wired connection.

[0073] Wireless communication device: One type of communication device is a wireless communication device, which may be any type of wireless device that can access (i.e., be served by) a wireless network (e.g., a cellular network). Some examples of wireless communication devices include, but are not limited to: user equipment devices (UE) in 3GPP networks, machine type communication (MTC) devices, and Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Such a wireless communication device may be or may be integrated into a mobile phone, a smart phone, a sensor device, an instrument, a vehicle, a household appliance, a medical device, a media player, a camera, or any type of consumer electronic product, such as, but not limited to, a television, a radio, a lighting arrangement, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, or a PC. A wireless communication device may be a portable, handheld, computer-included, or vehicle-mounted mobile device that enables the communication of voice and / or data via a wireless connection.

[0074] Network node: As used herein, a "network node" is any node that is part of either the core network or the RAN of a cellular communication network / system.

[0075] Note that the description given herein focuses on 3GPP cellular communication systems, and as such, 3GPP terminology or terminology similar to 3GPP terminology is often used. However, the concepts disclosed herein are not limited to 3GPP systems.

[0076] Note that in the description herein, reference may be made to the term "cell"; however, particularly with respect to 5GNR concepts, beam may be used instead of cell, and as such, it is important to note that the concepts described herein apply equally to both cells and beams.

[0077] In order to support fast switching uplink (UL) transmission (Tx) carrier aggregation (CA) scenarios (such as option 1 or option 2 in the background description above), the network must provide a switching gap. In addition, since the network can dynamically schedule the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) on two carriers, the UE will need to have sufficient preparation time so that it can decode the downlink control information (DCI) and determine whether to switch hardware or Tx chain (from one carrier to another) based on the content of the DCI and then prepare PUSCH accordingly. Therefore, additional time may be required to reflect the additional step of switching of Tx in the PUSCH preparation time.

[0078] There are some challenges (or some challenges) that exist. Existing solutions are used for T proc,2 The form of relaxation provides processing time relaxation only for PUSCH transmissions, but as per the specification, that means processing time relaxation is applicable only for the case when the UE transmits PUSCH with uplink data without any uplink control information (UCI) multiplexed on it. All other PUSCH scheduling due to UL Tx switching will not have relaxation and hence UE complexity will increase to handle such PUSCH scheduling along with UL Tx switching.

[0079] Certain aspects of the present disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to the aforementioned or other challenges. In some embodiments, the proposed solution(s) include one or more of the following aspects: (1) Redefining the PUSCH preparation time (N) for PUSCH timing capability 2 ) to reflect the additional processing time relaxation due to uplink Tx switching, (2) for uplink Tx switching including, for example, T proc,CSI , and The additional uplink processing time of those of , additional processing time slack is introduced due to uplink Tx switching.

[0080] Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantages(s): Embodiments of the proposed solution(s) may reduce the impact on UE implementation complexity due to the support of UL Tx switching.

[0081] Figure 7 An example of a cellular communication system 700 in which an embodiment of the present disclosure can be implemented is illustrated. In the embodiments described herein, the cellular communication system 700 is a 5G system (5GS) including a next generation RAN (NG-RAN) and a 5G core (5GC). However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Embodiments of the present disclosure may be used in other types of cellular communication systems such as an evolved packet system (EPS) including an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN) (i.e., an LTE RAN). In this example, the RAN includes base stations 702-1 and 702-2 that control corresponding (macro) cells 704-1 and 704-2, and the base stations 702-1 and 702-2 include NR base stations (gNB) and optionally next generation eNBs (ng-eNBs) (i.e., LTE RAN nodes connected to 5GC) in the 5GS. Base stations 702-1 and 702-2 are generally referred to herein as base stations 702 and are individually referred to as base stations 702. Likewise, (macro) cells 704-1 and 704-2 are generally referred to herein as (macro) cells 704 and individually as (macro) cells 704. The RAN may also include a plurality of low-power nodes 706-1 to 706-4 that control corresponding small cells 708-1 to 708-4. The low-power nodes 706-1 to 706-4 may be small base stations (such as micro base stations or femto base stations) or remote radio heads (RRHs), etc. It is noteworthy that, although not described, one or more of the small cells 708-1 to 708-4 may alternatively be provided by the base station 702. The low-power nodes 706-1 to 706-4 are generally referred to herein as low-power nodes 706 and individually as low-power nodes 706. Likewise, the small cells 708-1 to 708-4 are generally referred to herein as small cells 708 and individually as small cells 708. The cellular communication system 700 also includes a core network 710, which is referred to as 5G Core (5GC) in 5GS. The base stations 702 (and optionally the low power nodes 706) are connected to the core network 710.

[0082] The base station 702 and the low power node 706 provide services to wireless communication devices 712-1 to 712-5 in the corresponding cells 704 and 708. The wireless communication devices 712-1 to 712-5 are generally referred to herein as wireless communication devices 712 and individually as wireless communication devices 712. In the following description, the wireless communication device 712 is often a UE and is sometimes referred to as a UE or UE 712 as used, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0083] In certain embodiments, additional processing time is provided for PUSCH preparation in the presence of switching time due to UL Tx switching. For example, if the UE is configured with two uplink carriers (CC1 and CC2) and the UE is configured with UL Tx switching and the UE transmits on the first carrier (CC1) and is scheduled to transmit on the second carrier (CC2), the UE is provided with a switching gap (e.g., to allow the UE to switch from CC1 to CC2) and the preparation time for transmission on the second carrier (CC2) should take into account the presence / equipment of the switching gap. If the UE determines that the scheduling command does not provide sufficient preparation time for a given uplink transmission on the second carrier, the UE may skip the second carrier or not transmit on the second carrier or discard the scheduling command as invalid.

[0084] In one embodiment, when there is no uplink Tx switching for PUSCH, the UE assumes that N 2 The PUSCH preparation time for PUSCH timing indicated by N is a first value, and when there is an uplink Tx switch for PUSCH, the UE assumes it is a second value. In one embodiment, the second value is based on the first value, the switching gap and / or the parameter set. For example, if the switching gap is 35 microseconds (μs), then for a 15kHz parameter set, N may be used. 2 =N 2 +1 gives the second value. 1 symbol in the 15kHz parameter set represents 70μs. Once the updated N2 is defined for the case when there is an uplink Tx switch for PUSCH, the corresponding N 2 May be used for all processing time calculations involving uplink transmissions on the second carrier (i.e., the carrier on which uplink Tx switching is performed). More generally, increased processing time may be provided for several UL transmission related processes. The uplink transmissions may be PUSCH transmissions on the second carrier, PUSCH with UCI, aperiodic sounding reference signal (SRS) transmissions on the second carrier, physical random access channel (PRACH) transmissions, physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) transmissions, etc. Basically, a modified value of N2 may be used instead of N 2.

[0085] The UL transmission related process may be, for example, the transmission of a channel state information (CSI) report using PUSCH, where the time difference between the end of the last symbol of the PDCCH triggering the CSI report and the first uplink PUSCH symbol used to carry the CSI report depends on the processing time T proc,CSI , where T proc，CSI =(Z)(2048+144)·κ2 -μ ·T C , where κ is defined in subclause 4.1 of 3GPP TS 38.211 and μ corresponds to the subcarrier spacing.

[0086] The above embodiments may be used to identify the timeline conditions for transmission of UCI for the following situations:

[0087] · A scenario where the UE will transmit multiple overlapping PUCCHs in a timeslot or transmit overlapping PUCCH(s) and PUSCH(s) in a timeslot and the UE is configured to multiplex different UCI types in one PUCCH and at least one of the multiple overlapping PUCCHs or PUSCHs in response to DCI format detection by the UE. For this scenario,

[0088] ○UE can use processing time To determine the first symbol S of the earliest PUCCH or PUSCH in the group of overlapping PUCCH and PUSCH in the time slot 0 Whether certain timeline conditions are met.

[0089] ○ Alternatively, the UE may use the processing time To determine the first symbol S of the earliest PUCCH or PUSCH in the group of overlapping PUCCH and PUSCH in the time slot 0 Do you meet the following conditions: 0 Not before a symbol with a cyclic prefix (CP) after the last symbol of any DCI format 1_1 corresponding to SPS PDSCH release or indicating SCell dormancy Then start.

[0090] In which the transmission related process uses for example Z or N 1 Another variable to replace N 2 In this case, you can use a modified N 2 Such modified Z or N 1 (e.g., by adding an extra symbol).

[0091] An example is as follows. If the UE is configured with uplink Tx switching and if there is uplink Tx switching for uplink transmission, then d is given by txs :

[0092]

[0093] Where switching_gap represents the switching gap for uplink Tx switching (e.g., in seconds), and the denominator is the symbol duration of the corresponding parameter set, otherwise d txs =0.

[0094] In another example, if the UE is configured with uplink Tx switching and if there is uplink Tx switching for uplink transmission, the additional relaxation d is given by txs Added to N 2 :

[0095]

[0096] where switching_gap represents the switching gap (in milliseconds) for uplink Tx switching and the denominator is the symbol duration of the corresponding parameter set, otherwise no additional slack is added to N 2 value.

[0097] For example, in the case of a 35μs switching gap, d txs =1 or 1 extra symbol relaxation.

[0098] Additional relaxation can be given by rounding the switching gap to an integer number of OFDM symbols in a given parameter set. For example, if the switching gap is 35 μs and the parameter set is 15 kHz (which has an OFDM symbol duration of 70 μs), additional relaxation is given by 1 OFDM symbol in the 15 kHz parameter set.

[0099] As illustrated in Table 1 and Table 2 below, the same principle may be applied to both PUSCH timing capability 1 or PUSCH timing capability 2.

[0100] Table 1: PUSCH preparation time for PUSCH timing capability 1

[0101] μ <![CDATA[PUSCH Preparation Time N 2 [Symbol]]]> 0 <![CDATA[10+d txs ]]> 1 <![CDATA[12+d txs ]]> 2 <![CDATA[23+d txs ]]> 3 36

[0102] Table 2: PUSCH preparation time for PUSCH timing capability 2

[0103] μ <![CDATA[PUSCH Preparation Time N 2 [Symbol]]]> 0 <![CDATA[5+d txs ]]> 1 <![CDATA[5.5+d txs ]]> 2 <![CDATA[For frequency range 1 is 11 + d txs >

[0104] If the UE is configured with uplink Tx switching, N 2The default value of is defined based on the second value, i.e., assuming that there is uplink Tx switching. 2 This is useful for situations where the value is used as a numerical parameter for some other setting that is not necessarily associated with the actual uplink transmission, such as for identifying a processing time related to a configured uplink grant revocation timeline.

[0105] In another example, if the UE is configured with uplink Tx switching, in order to calculate the T proc,2 , T proc,CSI , and Any uplink processing time of one or more of the calculations will be additionally relaxed whenever there is an uplink Tx switch for the associated uplink transmission involved in that calculation. txs Added to the N2 value or directly added to it. If there are multiple overlapping uplink transmissions, always add additional slack d txs , even if only one of them is associated with uplink switching.

[0106] The following processing times involve N 2 And here, d is additionally relaxed whenever there is an uplink Tx switch for the associated uplink transmission involved in that calculation txs Add the N2 value to it.

[0107]

[0108]

[0109] The following processing times do not involve N 2 , but an additional relaxation d may be added whenever there is an uplink Tx switch for an associated uplink transmission involved in that calculation txs Add to the Z or d value or add directly to it.

[0110]

[0111] The following processing times do not involve N 2 , but an additional relaxation d may be added whenever there is an uplink Tx switch for an associated uplink transmission involved in that calculation txs Add to N 1 Or N value or add it directly.

[0112]

[0113]

[0114] The additional relaxation may depend on the switching gap or symbol duration in the reference parameter set, where the same relaxation as for N 2 The same parameter set as that used for determination or the parameter set used for determination when calculating the corresponding processing time may be used.

[0115] SRS is an example where embodiments of the present disclosure are also beneficial. The current specification text for SRS transmission and processing timeline is as follows, where bold underlined text indicates possible updates to accommodate UL Tx switching according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0116] The UE receives downlink DCI, group common DCI or uplink DCI-based commands, where the code point of the DCI can trigger one or more SRS resource sets. For SRS in a resource set with usage set to "codebook" or "antenna switching", the minimum time interval between the last symbol of the PDCCH that triggers aperiodic SRS transmission and the first symbol of the SRS resource is N 2 Otherwise, the minimum time interval between the last symbol of the PDCCH that triggers aperiodic SRS transmission and the first symbol of the SRS resource is N 2 + 14. The minimum time interval in OFDM symbols is calculated based on the minimum subcarrier spacing between PDCCH and aperiodic SRS. When the UE is configured with UL Tx switching and there is a non-periodic SRS transmission UL Tx In case of uplink Tx switching required, N 2 Increase where μ is the PDCCH and aperiodic The minimum subcarrier spacing between SRSs, and switching_gap represents the switching gap for uplink Tx switching), [4, TS38.211] is defined in clause 4.1 κ.

[0117] The gNB can schedule the UE with uplink transmission so that the minimum processing time is met.

[0118] Figure 8 8 is a flow chart illustrating the operation of a wireless communication device 712 (e.g., a UE) according to at least some of the embodiments described above. As illustrated, the wireless communication device 712 determines whether there is an uplink Tx switch for PUSCH transmission (step 800). If not, the wireless communication device 712 obtains a first value of an uplink transmission-related timing parameter (step 802). Otherwise, the wireless communication device 712 obtains a second value of the uplink transmission-related timing parameter (step 804). The wireless communication device 712 then performs a scheduled PUSCH transmission and / or one or more related operations based on the obtained (first or second) value of the uplink transmission-related timing parameter (step 806).

[0119] Fig. 9is a flow chart illustrating the operation of a base station (e.g., base station 702 or gNB) according to at least some of the embodiments described above. As illustrated, the base station determines whether an uplink transmission from a specific wireless communication device 712 requires an uplink transmission switch from a first carrier to a second carrier (step 900). If an uplink transmission switch is not required, the base station obtains a first value of an uplink transmission-related timing parameter for the specific wireless communication device 712 (step 902). Otherwise, if an uplink transmission switch is required, the base station obtains a second value of the uplink transmission-related timing parameter (904). In this example, the base station schedules an uplink transmission from the specific wireless communication device 712 based on the obtained value of the uplink transmission-related timing parameter (step 902).

[0120] Some aspects of the present disclosure may be expressed as follows based on proposals to 3GPP regarding NR specifications:

[0121] Impact on PUSCH preparation time:

[0122] Several aspects related to the impact on the UE PUSCH preparation procedure were discussed in the Ran1#100-eMeeting and the relevant agreements were recorded in R1-2001274-“[100e-5.1LS-TxSwitching-02] Email discussion / approval on remaining issues on PUSCH preparation procedure”, China Telecom, RAN1#100-e in February 2020.

[0123] Regarding how to document the increased PUSCH preparation time in the specification, our preference is to increase N2 by the length of the handover duration, i.e., replace N2 with N2', where N2' = N2 + d txs and Where T switch It is the UE capability to report the length of the UL switching period as agreed in RAN4 (see R1-2001522-“LSon Tx switching between two uplink carriers2”, RAN4■RAN1, RAN2 LS, RAN1#100bis-e-Meeting, April 2020).

[0124] In addition to T proc,2 In addition to the update, it should be clarified whether the added N2 is also used in The calculation of and non-periodic SRS switching delay.

[0125] Proposal 1

[0126] To record the impact of the increased PUSCH processing time, N2 is replaced by N2', where N2' = N2 + d txs and Where T switch It is the UE capability reported for the length of the UL switching cycle.

[0127] Opinion 1

[0128] It should be clarified whether the increased N2 is also used in The calculation of and periodic SRS switching delay.

[0129] Conditions and existence of switching cycles for ULCA : This issue was also discussed in the RAN1#100-eMeeting and the relevant agreement was recorded in R1-2001275-“[100e-5.1LS-TxSwitching-03] Email discussion / approval on remaining issues on inter-band UL CA”, China Telecom, RAN1#100-e in February 2020. The main outstanding issues in this area are the following proposals related to Option 1 and Option 2 (from R1-2001275):

[0130] Proposal 1:

[0131] For inter-band UL CA, a down-selection is made in RAN1#100bis regarding the following two options:

[0132] - Option 1: If uplink Tx switching is configured, then for case 1, it is not desired to configure or schedule the UE with UL transmission on carrier 2.

[0133]

[0134]

[0135] - Option 2: If uplink Tx switching is configured, then for case 1, the UE may be configured or scheduled with UL transmission on both carrier 1 and carrier 2.

[0136] ○ The UE can be configured or scheduled with UL transmission on either carrier 1 or carrier 2

[0137] ○ UE can be configured or scheduled using UL transmission on both carrier 1 and carrier 2

[0138]

[0139] If there is no consensus on the down selection in RAN1#100bis, The UE may report via capability signaling which option (between Option 1 and Option 2) is supported for the situation when uplink Tx switching is configured.

[0140] As discussed in detail in our previous contribution (R1-2000883 - “RAN1 aspects of UL Txswitching”, Ericsson, RAN1#100-e, February 2020) and email discussion [100e-5.1LS-TxSwitching-03], our preference is to support option 2.

[0141] In RAN1#100-eMeeting, a "compromise proposal" to support both Option 2 and Option 1 as different UE capabilities was discussed. If such capability signaling is introduced, we prefer to define the capabilities as shown in Proposal 3.

[0142] Proposal 2

[0143] • Option 2 (ie, "UE may be scheduled with UL transmission on both carrier 1 and carrier 2 simultaneously for case 1") shall be supported for defining the conditions and existence of switching cycles for UL tx switching in CA scenarios.

[0144] Proposal 3

[0145] If UE capabilities between Option 1 and Option 2 are introduced, the capabilities are defined as follows:

[0146] For the UE to indicate the inter-band frequency band combination that supports UL CA (i.e. "CA scenario")

[0147] ○ Introduce additional UE capabilities to indicate supported UE behaviors when configuring UL Tx switching for a UE

[0148] ○ Supported UE behavior can be based on Option 1 or Option 2

[0149] ■ Option 1 : When configured for UL Tx switching, it is not expected to configure or schedule the UE with UL transmission on both carrier 1 and carrier 2 at the same time.

[0150] ■ Option 2 : When configured for UL Tx switching, the UE may be configured or scheduled with UL transmission on both carrier 1 and carrier 2 for scenario 1.

[0151] UE can be configured or scheduled with UL transmission on either carrier 1 or carrier 2

[0152] • The UE may be configured or scheduled with UL transmission on both carrier 1 and carrier 2 simultaneously.

[0153] Fig.10 1 is a schematic block diagram of a radio access node 1000 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Optional features are represented by dashed boxes. The radio access node 1000 may be, for example, a base station 702 or 706 or a network node that implements all or part of the functionality of the base station 702 or gNB described herein. As illustrated, the radio access node 1000 includes a control system 1002, which includes one or more processors 1004 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), and / or the like), a memory 1006, and a network interface 1008. The one or more processors 1004 are also referred to herein as processing circuits. In addition, the radio access node 1000 may include one or more radio units 1010, each of which includes one or more receivers 1014 and one or more transmitters 1012 coupled to one or more antennas 1016. The radio unit 1010 may be referred to as a radio interface circuit or may be part of a radio interface circuit. In some embodiments, the radio unit(s) 1010 are external to the control system 1002 and connected to the control system 1002 via, for example, a wired connection (e.g., an optical cable). However, in some other embodiments, the radio unit(s) 1010 and potentially the antenna(s) 1016 are integrated with the control system 1002. The one or more processors 1004 operate to provide one or more functions of the radio access node 1000 as described herein (e.g., one or more functions of the base station 702 or gNB as described herein). In some embodiments, the function(s) are implemented in software stored, for example, in the memory 1006 and executed by the one or more processors 1004.

[0154] Fig.11 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a virtualized embodiment of a radio access node 1000 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. This discussion is equally applicable to other types of network nodes. In addition, other types of network nodes may have similar virtualized architectures. Again, optional features are represented by dashed boxes.

[0155] As used herein, a "virtualized" radio access node is an implementation of a radio access node 1000 in which at least a portion of the functionality of the radio access node 1000 is implemented as (one or more) virtual components (e.g., by means of (one or more) virtual machines executed on (one or more) physical processing nodes in (one or more) networks). As illustrated, in this example, the radio access node 1000 may include a control system 1002 and / or one or more radio units 1010, as described above. The control system 1002 may be connected to the (one or more) radio units 1010 via, for example, optical cables or the like. The radio access node 1000 includes one or more processing nodes 1100 that are coupled to or included as part of (one or more) networks 1102. If present, the control system 1002 or (one or more) radio units are connected to the (one or more) processing nodes 1100 via the network 1102. Each processing node 1100 includes one or more processors 1104 (eg, CPUs, ASICs, FPGAs, and / or equivalent), memory 1106 , and a network interface 1108 .

[0156] In this example, the functions 1110 of the radio access node 1000 described herein (e.g., one or more functions of the base station 702 or gNB as described herein) are implemented at one or more processing nodes 1100 or distributed across one or more processing nodes 1100 and the control system 1002 and / or the radio unit(s) 1010 in any desired manner. In some specific embodiments, some or all of the functions 1110 of the radio access node 1000 described herein are implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines implemented in a virtual environment(s) hosted by the processing node(s) 1100. As will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art, additional signaling or communication between the processing node(s) 1100 and the control system 1002 is used in order to perform at least some of the desired functions 1110. It is worth noting that in some embodiments, control system 1002 may not be included, in which case radio unit(s) 1010 communicate directly with processing node(s) 1100 via appropriate network interface(s).

[0157] In some embodiments, a computer program comprising instructions is provided, which, when executed by at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to perform the functionality of the radio access node 1000 or a node (e.g., processing node 1100) that implements one or more of the functions 1110 of the radio access node 1000 in a virtual environment according to any of the embodiments described herein. In some embodiments, a carrier comprising the aforementioned computer program product is provided. The carrier is one of an electronic signal, an optical signal, a radio signal, or a computer-readable storage medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable medium such as a memory).

[0158] Fig.12 1 is a schematic block diagram of a radio access node 1000 according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure. The radio access node 1000 includes one or more modules 1200, each of which is implemented in software. The (one or more) modules 1200 provide the functionality of the radio access node 1000 described herein (e.g., one or more functions of the base station 702 or gNB as described herein). This discussion also applies to Fig.11 of processing nodes 1100, where module 1200 may be implemented at one of processing nodes 1100 or distributed across multiple processing nodes 1100 and / or distributed across (one or more) processing nodes 1100 and control system 1002.

[0159] Fig.131300 is a schematic block diagram of a wireless communication device 1300 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As illustrated, the wireless communication device 1300 includes one or more processors 1302 (e.g., CPU, ASIC, FPGA and / or the like), a memory 1304, and one or more transceivers 1306, each of which includes one or more receivers 1310 and one or more transmitters 1308 coupled to one or more antennas 1312. As will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art, the (one or more) transceiver 1306 includes a radio front-end circuit connected to the (one or more) antennas 1312, and the radio front-end circuit is configured to condition the signals transmitted between the (one or more) antennas 1312 and the (one or more) processors 1302. The processor 1302 is also referred to herein as a processing circuit. The transceiver 1306 is also referred to herein as a radio circuit. In some embodiments, the functionality of the wireless communication device 1300 described above (e.g., one or more functions of the wireless communication device 712 or UE described herein) can be implemented in whole or in part with software, such as stored in the memory 1304 and executed by the (one or more) processors 1302. Note that the wireless communication device 1300 may include Fig.13 Additional components not described herein, such as, for example, one or more user interface components (e.g., input / output interfaces including displays, buttons, touch screens, microphones, (one or more) speakers, and / or equivalents and / or any other components for allowing information to be input into the wireless communication device 1300 and / or allowing information to be output from the wireless communication device 1300), a power source (e.g., a battery and associated power circuitry), etc.

[0160] In some embodiments, a computer program comprising instructions is provided, which, when executed by at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to perform the functionality of the wireless communication device 1300 according to any of the embodiments described herein. In some embodiments, a carrier comprising the aforementioned computer program product is provided. The carrier is one of an electronic signal, an optical signal, a radio signal, or a computer-readable storage medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable medium such as a memory).

[0161] Fig.14 1 is a schematic block diagram of a wireless communication device 1300 according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure. The wireless communication device 1300 includes one or more modules 1400, each of which is implemented in software. (One or more) modules 1400 provide the functionality of the wireless communication device 1300 described herein (e.g., one or more functions of the wireless communication device 712 or UE described herein).

[0162] refer to Fig.15 According to an embodiment, a communication system includes a telecommunication network 1500 such as a 3GPP type cellular network, the telecommunication network 1500 including an access network 1502 such as a RAN and a core network 1504. The access network 1502 includes a plurality of base stations 1506A, 1506B, 1506C such as a Node B, eNB, gNB or other type of wireless access point (AP), each defining a corresponding coverage area 1508A, 1508B, 1508C. Each base station 1506A, 1506B, 1506C is connectable to the core network 1504 via a wired or wireless connection 1510. A first UE 1512 located in the coverage area 1508C is configured to be wirelessly connected to the corresponding base station 1506C or to be paged by the corresponding base station 1506C. A second UE 1514 in the coverage area 1508A is wirelessly connectable to the corresponding base station 1506A. Although multiple UEs 1512 , 1514 are illustrated in this example, the disclosed embodiments are equally applicable to scenarios where a single UE is in the coverage area or where a single UE is connecting to the corresponding base station 1506 .

[0163] The telecommunications network 1500 itself is connected to a host 1516, which may be embodied in the hardware and / or software of a standalone server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server, or as processing resources in a server farm. The host 1516 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider, or may be operated by or on behalf of a service provider. The connections 1518 and 1520 between the telecommunications network 1500 and the host 1516 may extend directly from the core network 1504 to the host 1516 or may be via an optional intermediate network 1522. The intermediate network 1522 may be one of a public, private, or managed network or a combination of more than one of a public, private, or managed network; the intermediate network 1522 (if any) may be a backbone network or the Internet; in particular, the intermediate network 1522 may include two or more sub-networks (not shown).

[0164] Fig.15The communication system as a whole enables connectivity between connected UEs 1512, 1514 and hosts 1516. The connectivity may be described as an over-the-top (OTT) connection 1524. The host 1516 and the connected UEs 1512, 1514 are configured to communicate data and / or signaling via the OTT connection 1524 using the access network 1502, the core network 1504, any intermediate networks 1522, and possible additional infrastructure (not shown) as intermediaries. The OTT connection 1524 may be transparent in the sense that the participating communication devices through which the OTT connection 1524 passes are unaware of the routing of uplink and downlink communications. For example, the base station 1506 may not be informed or need not be informed of the past routing of incoming downlink communications, where data originating from the host 1516 is to be forwarded (e.g., handed over) to the connected UE 1512. Similarly, the base station 1506 does not need to know the future routing of outgoing uplink communications originating from the UE 1512 toward the host 1516.

[0165] Now refer to Fig.16 1600, a host 1602 includes hardware 1604, which includes a communication interface 1606 configured to establish and maintain a wired or wireless connection with different communication devices of the communication system 1600. The host 1602 further includes a processing circuit 1608 that may have storage and / or processing capabilities. In particular, the processing circuit 1608 may include one or more programmable processors, ASICs, FPGAs, or a combination of these (not shown) suitable for executing instructions. The host 1602 further includes software 1610, which is stored in the host 1602 or can be accessed by the host 1602 and can be executed by the processing circuit 1608. The software 1610 includes a host application 1612. The host application 1612 can be operable to provide services to remote users such as UE 1614 connected via an OTT connection 1616 terminated at the UE 1614 and the host 1602. When providing services to remote users, the host application 1612 can provide user data transmitted using the OTT connection 1616.

[0166] The communication system 1600 further includes a base station 1618 provided in the telecommunication system and including hardware 1620 enabling it to communicate with the host 1602 and with the UE 1614. The hardware 1620 may include a communication interface 1622 for establishing and maintaining wired or wireless connections with different communication devices of the communication system 1600 and for establishing and maintaining at least connections with devices located in the coverage area served by the base station 1618 (not in the Fig.161624 of a wireless connection 1626 of a UE 1614 in FIG. 1602. The communication interface 1622 may be configured to facilitate a connection 1628 to the host 1602. The connection 1628 may be direct, or it may be through a core network of the telecommunications system (not shown). Fig.16 ) and / or through one or more intermediate networks external to the telecommunications system. In the illustrated embodiment, the hardware 1620 of the base station 1618 further includes processing circuitry 1630, which may include one or more programmable processors, ASICs, FPGAs, or a combination of these (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. The base station 1618 further has software 1632 stored internally or accessible via an external connection.

[0167] The communication system 1600 further includes the UE 1614 already mentioned. The hardware 1634 of the UE 1614 may include a radio interface 1636, which is configured to establish and maintain a wireless connection 1626 with a base station serving the coverage area where the UE 1614 is currently located. The hardware 1634 of the UE 1614 further includes a processing circuit 1638, which may include one or more programmable processors, ASICs, FPGAs, or a combination of these (not shown) suitable for executing instructions. The UE 1614 further includes software 1640 stored in the UE 1614 or accessible by the UE 1614 and executable by the processing circuit 1638. The software 1640 includes a client application 1642. The client application 1642 may be operable to provide services to human or non-human users via the UE 1614 with the support of the host 1602. In the host 1602, the executing host application 1612 can communicate with the executing client application 1642 via an OTT connection 1616 terminated at the UE 1614 and the host 1602. When providing services to the user, the client application 1642 can receive request data from the host application 1612 and provide user data in response to the request data. The OTT connection 1616 can transmit both the request data and the user data. The client application 1642 can interact with the user to generate the user data it provides.

[0168] Notice that Fig.16 The host 1602, base station 1618 and UE 1614 described in Fig.15 The host 1516, one of the base stations 1506A, 1506B, 1506C, and one of the UEs 1512, 1514 may be similar or identical. That is, the internal workings of these entities may be similar to Fig.16 As shown in , and independently, the surrounding network topology can be Fig.15The surrounding network topology.

[0169] exist Fig.16 16, an OTT connection 1616 has been abstractly drawn to illustrate communications between a host 1602 and a UE 1614 via a base station 1618, without explicit reference to any intermediate devices and the precise routing of messages via these devices. The network infrastructure may determine the routing, which may be configured to be hidden from the UE 1614 or hidden from the service provider operating the host 1602, or hidden from both. When the OTT connection 1616 is active, the network infrastructure may further make decisions by which it dynamically changes the routing (e.g., based on network reconfiguration or load balancing considerations).

[0170] The wireless connection 1626 between the UE 1614 and the base station 1618 is in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. One or more of the various embodiments improves the performance of OTT services provided to the UE 1614 using the OTT connection 1616, where the wireless connection 1626 forms the last leg.

[0171] The measurement process may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rate, latency, and other factors improved by one or more embodiments. In response to changes in the measurement results, there may further be optional network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection 1616 between the host 1602 and the UE 1614. The measurement process and / or the network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection 1616 may be implemented in the software 1610 and hardware 1604 of the host 1602 or in the software 1640 and hardware 1634 of the UE 1614, or in both. In some embodiments, a sensor (not shown) may be deployed in or may be associated with a communication device through which the OTT connection 1616 passes; the sensor may participate in the measurement process by providing the values ​​of the monitoring quantities exemplified above or providing the values ​​of other physical quantities by which the software 1610, 1640 can calculate or estimate the monitoring quantities. Reconfiguration of the OTT connection 1616 may include message formats, retransmission settings, preferred routing, etc.; the reconfiguration need not affect the base station 1618, and it may be unknown or imperceptible to the base station 1618. Such processes and functionality may be known and implemented in the art. In certain embodiments, the measurements may involve proprietary UE signaling that facilitates measurements of the host 1602 of throughput, propagation time, latency, etc. The measurements may be achieved because the software 1610 and 1640 uses the OTT connection 1616 to cause messages to be transmitted, particularly empty or "dumb" messages to be transmitted, while the software 1610 and 1640 monitors propagation time, errors, etc.

[0172] Fig.17 is a flow chart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system according to an embodiment. The communication system includes a Fig.15 and Fig.16 For the sake of simplicity of this disclosure, only the referenced Fig.17 . In step 1700 (which may be optional), the UE receives input data provided by the host. Additionally or alternatively, in step 1702, the UE provides user data. In sub-step 1704 of step 1700 (which may be optional), the UE provides user data by executing a client application. In sub-step 1706 of step 1702 (which may be optional), the UE executes a client application that provides user data as a reaction to received input data provided by the host. In providing user data, the executed client application may further consider user input received from the user. Regardless of the specific manner in which the user data is provided, in sub-step 1708 (which may be optional), the UE initiates transmission of user data to the host. In step 1710 of the method, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout the present disclosure, the host receives user data transmitted from the UE.

[0173] Fig.18 is a flow chart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system according to an embodiment. The communication system includes a Fig.15 and Fig.16 For the sake of simplicity of this disclosure, only the referenced Fig.18 In step 1800 (which may be optional), in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the base station receives user data from the UE. In step 1802 (which may be optional), the base station initiates a transmission of the received user data to the host. In step 1804 (which may be optional), the host receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the base station.

[0174] Any appropriate steps, methods, features, functions or benefits disclosed herein may be performed by one or more functional units or modules of one or more virtual devices. Each virtual device may include a plurality of these functional units. These functional units may be implemented with the aid of processing circuits that may include one or more microprocessors or microcontrollers and other digital hardware that may include digital signal processors (DSPs), dedicated digital logic, etc. The processing circuit may be configured to execute program codes stored in a memory, which may include one or more types of memory, such as a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a cache memory, a flash memory device, an optical storage device, etc. The program code stored in the memory includes program instructions for executing one or more telecommunications and / or data communication protocols and instructions for executing one or more of the technologies described herein. In some implementations, according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the processing circuit may be used to cause the corresponding functional unit to perform the corresponding function.

[0175] Although the processes in the figures may illustrate a particular order of operations performed by certain embodiments of the present disclosure, it should be understood that such order is exemplary (e.g., alternative embodiments may perform operations in a different order, combine certain operations, overlap certain operations, etc.).

[0176] Some example embodiments of the present disclosure are as follows:

[0177] Group A Embodiment

[0178] Embodiment 1: A method performed by a wireless communication device (712), the method comprising: determining (800) whether uplink transmission requires uplink transmission switching from a first carrier to a second carrier; obtaining (802, 804) the value of an uplink transmission-related timing parameter, the value being a first value if uplink transmission switching is not required and the value being a second value if uplink transmission switching is required; and performing (806) uplink transmission and / or one or more actions related to uplink transmission based on the obtained value of the uplink transmission-related timing parameter.

[0179] Embodiment 2: The method as described in Embodiment 1, wherein the uplink transmission related timing parameter is the PUSCH processing time.

[0180] Embodiment 3: The method as described in Embodiment 2, wherein the PUSCH processing time is the PUSCH preparation time (N 2 ) function.

[0181] Embodiment 4: The method of embodiment 3, wherein the value of the uplink transmission related parameter is the value of the PUSCH processing time, and obtaining (802, 804) the value of the uplink transmission related timing parameter includes if no uplink switching is required, then based on the PUSCH preparation time N 2 The first value of the PUSCH processing time is used to obtain the value of the PUSCH processing time and if uplink switching is required, the PUSCH preparation time N is used to obtain the value of the PUSCH processing time. 2 The second value of is used to obtain the value of the PUSCH processing time.

[0182] Embodiment 5: The method as described in Embodiment 4, wherein the PUSCH preparation time N 2 The second value of is a function of: (a) PUSCH preparation time N 2 (a) a first value of (b) a switching gap, (c) a parameter set for the first carrier, (d) a parameter set for the second carrier, or (e) any combination of two or more of (a)-(d).

[0183] Embodiment 6: The method as described in Embodiment 4, wherein the PUSCH preparation time N 2 The first value of is represented as a number of time domain symbols, and the PUSCH preparation time N 2 The second value is the PUSCH preparation time N 2 The first value of plus a time domain symbol.

[0184] Embodiment 7: The method as described in Embodiment 4, wherein the PUSCH preparation time N 2 The second value is equal to the PUSCH preparation time N 2 plus ceiling(switching_gap / symbol_duration), where “switching_gap” is the length of a switching gap (eg, configured or scheduled by the network) and “symbol_duration” is the duration of a time-domain symbol of the parameter set for the second carrier.

[0185] Embodiment 8: A method as described in any of Embodiments 2 to 7, wherein the PUSCH processing time is T proc,2 , T proc,CSI , and

[0186] Embodiment 9: A method as described in any of embodiments 1 to 8, wherein the uplink transmission is: physical uplink shared channel PUSCH transmission; PUSCH transmission with uplink control information UCI; non-periodic sounding reference signal SRS transmission; physical random access channel PRACH transmission; or physical uplink control channel PUCCH transmission.

[0187] Embodiment 10: A method as described in Embodiment 1, wherein the second value is a function of: (a) the first value, (b) a switching gap, (c) a parameter set for the first carrier, (d) a parameter set for the second carrier, or (e) any combination of two or more of (a)-(d).

[0188] Embodiment 11: The method as described in Embodiment 1, wherein the first value is represented as multiple time domain symbols, and the second value is the first value plus a time domain symbol.

[0189] Embodiment 12: A method as described in Embodiment 1, wherein the second value is equal to the first value plus ceiling(switching_gap / symbol_duration), where "switching_gap" is the length of a switching gap (e.g., configured or scheduled by the network) and "symbol_duration" is the duration of a time domain symbol of the parameter set for the second carrier.

[0190] Embodiment 13: The method as described in any of the previous embodiments further comprises: providing user data; and forwarding the user data to the host via transmission to the base station.

[0191] Group B Example

[0192] Embodiment 14: A method performed by a base station (702), the method comprising: determining (900) whether an uplink transmission from a specific wireless communication device (712) requires an uplink transmission switch from a first carrier to a second carrier; obtaining (902, 904) a value of an uplink transmission-related timing parameter for the specific wireless communication device (712), the value being a first value if an uplink transmission switch is not required and the value being a second value if an uplink transmission switch is required; and scheduling (906) an uplink transmission from the specific wireless communication device (712) based on the obtained value of the uplink transmission-related timing parameter.

[0193] Embodiment 15: The method as described in any of the previous embodiments further comprises: obtaining user data; and forwarding the user data to a host or a wireless communication device.

[0194] Group C Example

[0195] Embodiment 16: A wireless communication device, comprising: a processing circuit configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments in Group A; and a power supply circuit configured to power the wireless communication device.

[0196] Embodiment 17: A base station, comprising: a processing circuit configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments in Group B; and a power supply circuit configured to supply power to the base station.

[0197] Embodiment 18: A user equipment UE comprises: an antenna configured to send and receive wireless signals; a radio front-end circuit connected to the antenna and to a processing circuit and configured to adjust the signal transmitted between the antenna and the processing circuit; a processing circuit configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments in Group A; an input interface connected to the processing circuit and configured to allow information to be processed by the processing circuit to be input into the UE; an output interface connected to the processing circuit and configured to output information that has been processed by the processing circuit from the UE; and a battery connected to the processing circuit and configured to power the UE.

[0198] Embodiment 19: A communication system, wherein the communication device comprises a host, wherein the host comprises: a communication interface configured to receive user data originating from a transmission from a user equipment UE to a base station; wherein the UE comprises a radio interface and a processing circuit, and the processing circuit of the UE is configured to perform any step of the steps of any embodiment of Group A embodiments.

[0199] Embodiment 20: The communication system as described in the previous embodiment further includes a UE.

[0200] Embodiment 21: The communication system as described in the previous two embodiments further includes a base station, wherein the base station includes a radio interface configured to communicate with the UE and a communication interface configured to forward user data carried by the transmission from the UE to the base station to the host.

[0201] Embodiment 22: A communication system as described in the preceding three embodiments, wherein: the processing circuit of the host is configured to execute a host application; and the processing circuit of the UE is configured to execute a client application associated with the host application, thereby providing user data.

[0202] Embodiment 23: A communication system as described in the previous four embodiments, wherein: the processing circuit of the host is configured to execute a host application to provide request data; and the processing circuit of the UE is configured to execute a client application associated with the host application to provide user data in response to the request data.

[0203] Embodiment 24: A method implemented in a communication system, the communication system comprising a host, a base station and a user equipment UE, the method comprising: receiving user data transmitted from the UE to the base station at the host, wherein the UE performs any step of the steps of any embodiment in Group A embodiments.

[0204] Embodiment 25: The method described in the previous embodiment further includes providing user data to the base station at the UE.

[0205] Embodiment 26: The method as described in the previous two embodiments further comprises: executing a client application at the UE to provide user data to be transmitted; and executing a host application associated with the client application at the host.

[0206] Embodiment 27: The method as described in the preceding three embodiments further comprises: executing a client application at the UE; and receiving input data of the client application at the UE, and providing the input data at the host by executing a host application associated with the client application; wherein the user data to be transmitted is provided by the client application in response to the input data.

[0207] Embodiment 28: A communication system comprising a host, the host comprising a communication interface configured to receive user data originating from a transmission from a user equipment UE to a base station, wherein the base station comprises a radio interface and a processing circuit, and the processing circuit of the base station is configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments in Group B.

[0208] Embodiment 29: The communication system as described in the previous embodiment further includes a base station.

[0209] Embodiment 30: The communication system as described in the previous two embodiments further includes a UE, wherein the UE is configured to communicate with the base station.

[0210] Embodiment 31: A communication system as described in the preceding three embodiments, wherein: the processing circuit of the host is configured to execute a host application; and the UE is configured to execute a client application associated with the host application, thereby providing user data to be received by the host.

[0211] Embodiment 32: A method implemented in a communication system, the communication system comprising a host, a base station and a user equipment UE, the method comprising: receiving at the host from the base station user data originating from a transmission that the base station has received from the UE, wherein the UE performs any of the steps of any of the embodiments in Group A.

[0212] Embodiment 33: The method as described in the previous embodiment further includes receiving user data from the UE at the base station.

[0213] Embodiment 34: The method as described in the previous two embodiments further includes initiating transmission of received user data to the host at the base station.

[0214] Those skilled in the art will recognize improvements and modifications to the embodiments of the present disclosure. All such improvements and modifications are considered to be within the scope of the concepts disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A method performed by a wireless communication device (712), the method comprising: determining (800) whether an uplink transmission requires an uplink transmission switch from a first carrier to a second carrier; obtaining (802, 804) a value of a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) processing time, the value being a first value if uplink transmission switching is not required and the value being a second value if uplink transmission switching is required; as well as The uplink transmission, one or more actions related to the uplink transmission, or both the uplink transmission and the one or more actions related to the uplink transmission are performed (806) based on the obtained value of the PUSCH processing time.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein: The PUSCH processing time is a function of the PUSCH preparation time N2.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein: Obtaining (802, 804) the value of the PUSCH processing time includes obtaining the value of the PUSCH processing time based on a first value of the PUSCH preparation time N2 if uplink switching is not required and obtaining the value of the PUSCH processing time based on a second value of the PUSCH preparation time N2 if uplink switching is required.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein: The second value of the PUSCH preparation time N2 is a function of: (a) the first value of the PUSCH preparation time N2, (b) a switching gap, (c) a parameter set of the first carrier, (d) a parameter set of the second carrier, or (e) any combination of two or more of (a)-(d).

5. The method of claim 3, wherein: The first value of the PUSCH preparation time N2 is represented as a plurality of time domain symbols, and the second value of the PUSCH preparation time N2 is the first value of the PUSCH preparation time N2 plus one time domain symbol.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein: The second value of the PUSCH preparation time N2 is equal to the first value of the PUSCH preparation time N2 plus ceiling(switching_gap / symbol_duration), where "switching_gap" is the length of a switching gap and "symbol_duration" is the duration of a time domain symbol of the parameter set for the second carrier.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein: The PUSCH processing time is T proc,2 , T proc,CSI , or 8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein: The uplink transmission is: Physical uplink shared channel PUSCH transmission; PUSCH transmission with uplink control information UCI; Aperiodic sounding reference signal SRS transmission; Physical Random Access Channel PRACH transmission; or Physical Uplink Control Channel PUCCH transmission.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 2, wherein: The second value is a function of: (a) the first value, (b) a switching gap, (c) a parameter set for the first carrier, (d) a parameter set for the second carrier, or (e) any combination of two or more of (a)-(d).

10. The method of claim 1, wherein: The first value is represented as a plurality of time-domain symbols, and the second value is the first value plus one time-domain symbol.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein: The second value is equal to the first value plus ceiling(switching_gap / symbol_duration), where "switching_gap" is the length of a switching gap and "symbol_duration" is the duration of a time-domain symbol of the parameter set for the second carrier.

12. A wireless communication device (712), the wireless communication device (712) being adapted to: determining (800) whether an uplink transmission requires an uplink transmission switch from a first carrier to a second carrier; obtaining (802, 804) a value of a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) processing time, the value being a first value if uplink transmission switching is not required and the value being a second value if uplink transmission switching is required; and The uplink transmission, one or more actions related to the uplink transmission, or both the uplink transmission and the one or more actions related to the uplink transmission are performed (806) based on the obtained value of the PUSCH processing time.

13. The wireless communication device (712) of claim 12, wherein: The wireless communication device (712) is further adapted to perform the method according to any one of claims 2 to 11.

14. A wireless communication device (712; 1300), comprising: one or more transmitters (1708); one or more receivers (1710); as well as a processing circuit (1702) associated with the one or more transmitters (1708) and with the one or more receivers (1710), the processing circuit (1702) being configured to cause the wireless communication device (712; 1300): determining (800) whether an uplink transmission requires an uplink transmission switch from a first carrier to a second carrier; obtaining (802, 804) a value of a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) processing time, the value being a first value if uplink transmission switching is not required and the value being a second value if uplink transmission switching is required; as well as The uplink transmission, one or more actions related to the uplink transmission, or both the uplink transmission and the one or more actions related to the uplink transmission are performed (806) based on the obtained value of the PUSCH processing time.

15. The wireless communication device (712; 1300) of claim 14, wherein: The processing circuit (1702) is further configured to cause the wireless communication device (712; 1300) to perform the method of any one of claims 2 to 11.

16. A method performed by a base station (702), the method comprising: determining (900) whether an uplink transmission from a particular wireless communication device (712) requires an uplink transmission switch from a first carrier to a second carrier; obtaining (902, 904) a value of a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) processing time for the specific wireless communication device (712), the value being a first value if uplink transmission switching is not required and the value being a second value if uplink transmission switching is required; and The uplink transmission from the specific wireless communication device (712) is scheduled (906) based on the obtained value of the PUSCH processing time.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein: The PUSCH processing time is a function of the PUSCH preparation time N2.

18. The method according to any one of claims 16 and 17, wherein: The PUSCH processing time is T proc,2 , T proc,CSI , or 19. The method according to any one of claims 16 and 17, wherein: The uplink transmission is: Physical uplink shared channel PUSCH transmission; PUSCH transmission with uplink control information UCI; Aperiodic sounding reference signal SRS transmission; Physical Random Access Channel PRACH transmission; or Physical Uplink Control Channel PUCCH transmission.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein: The second value is a function of: (a) the first value, (b) a switching gap, (c) a parameter set for the first carrier, (d) a parameter set for the second carrier, or (e) any combination of two or more of (a)-(d).

21. The method of claim 16, wherein: The first value is represented as a plurality of time-domain symbols, and the second value is the first value plus one time-domain symbol.

22. The method of claim 16, wherein: The second value is equal to the first value plus ceiling(switching_gap / symbol_duration), where "switching_gap" is the length of a switching gap and "symbol_duration" is the duration of a time-domain symbol of the parameter set for the second carrier.

23. A base station (702), adapted to: determining (900) whether an uplink transmission from a particular wireless communication device (712) requires an uplink transmission switch from a first carrier to a second carrier; obtaining (902, 904) a value of a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) processing time for the specific wireless communication device (712), the value being a first value if uplink transmission switching is not required and the value being a second value if uplink transmission switching is required; and The uplink transmission from the specific wireless communication device (712) is scheduled (906) based on the obtained value of the PUSCH processing time.

24. The base station (702) of claim 23, wherein: The base station (702) is further adapted to perform the method according to any of claims 17 to 22.

25. A base station (702; 1000), the base station (702; 1000) comprising a processing circuit (1004; 1104), the processing circuit (1004; 1104) being configured to cause the base station (702; 1000): determining (900) whether an uplink transmission from a particular wireless communication device (712) requires an uplink transmission switch from a first carrier to a second carrier; obtaining (902, 904) a value of a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) processing time for the specific wireless communication device (712), the value being a first value if uplink transmission switching is not required and the value being a second value if uplink transmission switching is required; and The uplink transmission from the specific wireless communication device (712) is scheduled (906) based on the obtained value of the PUSCH processing time.

26. The base station (702; 1000) of claim 25, wherein: The processing circuit (1004; 1104) is further configured to cause the base station (702; 1000) to perform the method of any one of claims 17 to 22.

27. A computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon, which when executed by at least one processor cause the at least one processor to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 11.

28. A computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon, which when executed by at least one processor cause the at least one processor to perform the method of any one of claims 16 to 22.

29. A computer program product comprising instructions which, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 11.

30. A computer program product comprising instructions which, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform the method of any one of claims 16 to 22.

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