Carrier aggregation in high-speed mode of user equipment

By optimizing the carrier aggregation process, using methods such as reducing the total number of component carriers, in-band component carriers and co-located service cells, the problem of activation delay in high-speed mode is solved, and the mobility performance of user equipment is improved.

CN116438770BActive Publication Date: 2025-08-29APPLE INC
View PDF 2 Cites 0 Cited by

Patent Information

Application Number
CN202180072271.6
Authority / Receiving Office
CN · China
Patent Type
Patents(China)
Current Assignee / Owner
Priority Date
2020-10-22
Filing Date
2021-09-14
Publication Date
2025-08-29
Estimated Expiration
2041-09-14

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

In high-speed mode, during the carrier aggregation process of user equipment, activation delay problem affects mobility performance, and the prior art is difficult to effectively reduce activation delay.

Method used

By reducing the total number of component carriers, using in-band component carriers, co-located serving cells, non-co-located serving cells, and directly activate serving cells, combined with UE capability information signaling, the carrier aggregation process is optimized and the measurement and activation delay is reduced.

Benefits of technology

It effectively reduces the activation delay of carrier aggregation and improves the mobility performance of user equipment in high-speed mode.

✦ Generated by Eureka AI based on patent content.

Smart Images

  • Figure CN116438770B_ABST
    Figure CN116438770B_ABST
Patent Text Reader

Abstract

This application relates to devices and components, including apparatus, systems, and methods for providing SCell activation. In one example, a UE may support carrier aggregation in high-speed mode, such as FR1CA in HST. A serving cell may be specifically configured for the carrier aggregation based on the UE's capability to support carrier aggregation in high-speed mode. Additionally or alternatively, an SCell activation procedure may be performed based on this capability.
Need to check novelty before this filing date? Find Prior Art

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims the benefit of PCT International Application No. PCT / CN2020 / 122993, filed on October 22, 2020, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes. Background Art

[0003] The fifth generation of mobile networks (5G) is a wireless standard designed to improve data transmission speeds, reliability, availability, etc. While still under development, the standard includes many details related to carrier aggregation (CA), where higher data rates can be achieved, for example, by using multiple component carriers (CCs) for communication with user equipment (UE). BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0004] Figure 1 An example of a network environment is shown according to some embodiments.

[0005] Figure 2 An example of activating a serving cell for carrier aggregation according to some embodiments is shown.

[0006] Figure 3 Examples of possible carrier aggregation configurations supporting high speed mode of a user equipment (UE) according to some embodiments are shown.

[0007] Figure 4 An example of a collocated configuration for carrier aggregation according to some embodiments is shown.

[0008] Figure 5 An example of a non-collocated configuration for carrier aggregation according to some embodiments is shown.

[0009] Figure 6 An example of in-band configuration for carrier aggregation according to some embodiments is shown.

[0010] Figure 7 An example of inter-band configuration for carrier aggregation according to some embodiments is shown.

[0011] Figure 8 An example of serving cell activation based on UE capability information in high speed mode according to some embodiments is shown.

[0012] Figure 9 An example of an operational flow / algorithm structure for performing carrier aggregation in high speed mode according to some embodiments is shown.

[0013] Figure 10Another example of an operational flow / algorithm structure for performing carrier aggregation in high speed mode according to some embodiments is shown.

[0014] Figure 11 An example of direct serving cell activation based on UE capability information in high speed mode is shown according to some embodiments.

[0015] Figure 12 An example of an activation procedure using a shortened serving cell activation duration is shown in accordance with some embodiments.

[0016] Figure 13 Another example of an operational flow / algorithm structure for performing carrier aggregation in high speed mode according to some embodiments is shown.

[0017] Figure 14 An example of a receiving component according to some embodiments is shown.

[0018] Figure 15 An example of a UE according to some embodiments is shown.

[0019] Figure 16 An example of a base station according to some embodiments is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numerals may be used to identify the same or similar elements in different drawings. In the following description, specific details, such as specific structures, architectures, interfaces, technologies, etc., are set forth for the purpose of illustration and not limitation, so as to provide a thorough understanding of each aspect of the various embodiments. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art who benefit from this disclosure that each aspect of the various embodiments can be practiced in other examples that deviate from these specific details. In some cases, descriptions of well-known devices, circuits, and methods have been omitted so as not to obscure the description of the various embodiments due to unnecessary details. For the purposes of this document, the phrase "A or B" refers to (A), (B), or (A and B).

[0021] Generally speaking, carrier aggregation (CA) can be used to increase the data rate of user equipment (UE) communications. CA enables the UE to receive from and / or transmit to multiple serving cells. The serving cell includes a primary cell (PCell) in the case of a single cell group, or a primary secondary cell (PSCell) in the case of multiple cell groups. In the case of a single cell group and multiple cell groups, the serving cell also includes a secondary cell (SCell). An SCell activation process can be performed, whereby the UE and the base station exchange information about the target serving cell being activated. The SCell activation process may require measurements of the component carriers of the target serving cell and requires reporting. The completion time of such actions corresponds to the activation delay.

[0022] Under certain conditions, a UE may travel at high speed. As used herein, high speed refers to a speed greater than a speed threshold, such as 50 kilometers per hour (kph), 100 kph, or some other value up to an upper limit, such as 500 kph. When traveling at high speed, the UE may operate in high speed mode. High speed mode is an operating mode that supports travel speeds of the UE greater than the speed threshold. High speed mode may also be referred to as high-speed train (HST) mode.

[0023] In high-speed mode, activation delays may affect the mobility performance of the UE. In order to reduce the activation delay in high-speed mode, different methods may be used independently or in combination with each other. In one exemplary method, the total number of component carriers may be reduced. This method may reduce the amount of required measurements. In another exemplary method, intra-band component carriers may be used. This method may enable the UE to reuse measurements performed on one component carrier for another intra-band component carrier (e.g., antenna gain control (AGC) estimation). In yet another exemplary method, collocated serving cells are used. This method may enable the UE to reuse measurements performed on one serving cell for another collocated serving cell (e.g., Doppler shift estimation). If the UE can support inter-band component carriers or non-collocated serving cells, another exemplary method may involve configuring non-collocated serving cells and / or inter-band component carriers of collocated or non-collocated serving cells for carrier aggregation of the UE in high-speed mode. In other methods, direct activation can be performed when a serving cell is added via radio resource control (RRC) configuration or during handover (e.g., a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) may not be required to activate the serving cell after configuration). Some or all of these methods may involve signaling from the UE to the network regarding the UE's SCell activation capability in high-speed mode. Additionally or alternatively, some or all of these methods may not require signaling and may rely on the UE's requirements for support in high-speed mode.

[0024] The following is a glossary of terms that may be used in this disclosure.

[0025] As used herein, the term "circuit" refers to, is part of, or includes a hardware component such as an electronic circuit, a logic circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group) or memory (shared, dedicated, or group) configured to provide the described functionality, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable device (FPD) (e.g., a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic device (PLD), a complex PLD (CPLD), a high capacity PLD (HCPLD), a structured ASIC, or a programmable system on a chip (SoC)), a digital signal processor (DSP), etc. In some embodiments, the circuit can execute one or more software or firmware programs to provide at least some of the described functionality. The term "circuit" can also refer to a combination of one or more hardware elements and program code for performing the functions of the program code (or a combination of circuits used in an electrical or electronic system). In these embodiments, the combination of hardware elements and program code can be referred to as a specific type of circuit.

[0026] As used herein, the term "processor circuitry" refers to, is part of, or includes circuitry that is capable of sequentially and automatically performing a series of arithmetic or logical operations or recording, storing, or transmitting digital data. The term "processor circuitry" may refer to an application processor, a baseband processor, a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit, a single-core processor, a dual-core processor, a triple-core processor, a quad-core processor, or any other device capable of executing or otherwise operating computer-executable instructions (such as program code, software modules, and / or functional processes).

[0027] As used herein, the term "interface circuitry" refers to circuitry that enables, is part of, or includes information exchange between two or more components or devices. The term "interface circuitry" may refer to one or more hardware interfaces, such as a bus, an I / O interface, a peripheral component interface, a network interface card, and the like.

[0028] As used herein, the term "user equipment" or "UE" refers to a device that has radio communication capabilities and can represent a remote user of network resources in a communication network. Furthermore, the terms "user equipment" or "UE" may be considered synonymous and may be referred to as a client, mobile phone, mobile device, mobile terminal, user terminal, mobile unit, mobile station, mobile user, subscriber, user, remote station, access agent, user agent, receiver, radio equipment, reconfigurable radio equipment, reconfigurable mobile device, etc. Furthermore, the term "user equipment" or "UE" may include any type of wireless / wired device or any computing device that includes a wireless communication interface.

[0029] As used herein, the term "base station" refers to a device with radio communication capabilities that is a network element of a communication network and can be configured as an access node in the communication network. A UE's access to the communication network can be at least partially managed by a base station, whereby the UE connects to the base station to access the communication network. Depending on the radio access technology (RAT), a base station can be referred to as a gNodeB (gNB), eNodeB (eNB), access point, etc.

[0030] As used herein, the term "computer system" refers to any type of interconnected electronic devices, computer devices, or components thereof. Additionally, the term "computer system" or "system" may refer to various components of a computer that are communicatively coupled to one another. Furthermore, the term "computer system" or "system" may refer to multiple computer devices or multiple computing systems that are communicatively coupled to one another and configured to share computing resources or networked resources.

[0031] As used herein, the term "resource" refers to a physical or virtual device, a physical or virtual component within a computing environment, or a physical or virtual component within a specific device, such as computer equipment, mechanical equipment, memory space, processor / CPU time, processor / CPU utilization, processor and accelerator load, hardware time or utilization, power, input / output operations, ports or network sockets, channel / link allocation, throughput, memory utilization, storage, network, database, and application, workload units, etc. "Hardware resources" may refer to computing, storage, or network resources provided by physical hardware elements. "Virtualized resources" may refer to computing, storage, or network resources provided by a virtualization infrastructure to applications, devices, systems, etc. The terms "network resources" or "communication resources" may refer to resources accessible to a computer device / system via a communication network. The term "system resource" may refer to any type of shared entity that provides a service and may include computing resources or network resources. System resources may be considered a set of coherent functions, network data objects, or services accessible through a server, where such system resources reside on a single host or multiple hosts and are clearly identifiable.

[0032] As used herein, the term "channel" refers to any tangible or intangible transmission medium for transmitting data or data streams. The term "channel" may be synonymous or equivalent with "communication channel," "data communication channel," "transmission channel," "data transmission channel," "access channel," "data access channel," "link," "data link," "carrier," "radio frequency carrier," or any other similar term indicating a path or medium through which data is transmitted. Additionally, as used herein, the term "link" refers to a connection between two devices for transmitting and receiving information.

[0033] As used herein, the terms "instantiate," "instantiate," and the like refer to the creation of an instance. "Instance" also refers to a concrete occurrence of an object, which may occur, for example, during the execution of program code.

[0034] The term "connected" may mean that two or more elements at a common communication protocol layer have an established signaling relationship with each other through a communication channel, link, interface, or reference point.

[0035] As used herein, the term "network element" refers to physical or virtualized equipment or infrastructure used to provide wired or wireless communication network services. The term "network element" may be considered synonymous with or referred to as a networked computer, networking hardware, network equipment, network node, virtualized network function, etc.

[0036] The term "information element" refers to a structural element that contains one or more fields. The term "field" refers to the individual contents of an information element, or a data element that contains the contents. An information element may include one or more additional information elements.

[0037] Figure 1 A network environment 100 is shown according to some embodiments. Network environment 100 may include a UE 104 and a gNB 108. The gNB 108 may be a base station that provides a wireless access cell, such as a 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) New Radio (NR) cell, through which the UE 104 can communicate with the gNB 108. The UE 104 and the gNB 108 may communicate over an air interface compliant with 3GPP technical specifications, such as those defining the fifth generation (5G) NR system standard.

[0038] The gNB 108 can transmit information (e.g., data and control signaling) in the downlink direction by mapping logical channels onto transport channels and mapping transport channels onto physical channels. Logical channels can transfer data between the radio link control (RLC) layer and the medium access control (MAC) layer; transport channels can transfer data between the MAC and PHY layers; and physical channels can transfer information across the air interface. Physical channels can include the physical broadcast channel (PBCH), the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), and the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH).

[0039] The PBCH may be used to broadcast system information that a UE 104 may use to initially access a serving cell. The PBCH may be transmitted in a synchronization signal (SS) / PBCH block along with a physical synchronization signal (PSS) and a secondary synchronization signal (SSS). The SS / PBCH block (SSB) may be used by the UE 104 during the cell search process and for beam selection.

[0040] The PDSCH may be used to carry end-user application data, Signaling Radio Bearer (SRB) messages, system information messages (in addition to, for example, the MIB), and paging messages.

[0041] The PDCCH carries downlink control information (DCI), which the gNB 108 scheduler uses to allocate uplink and downlink resources. DCI can also be used to provide uplink power control commands, configure slot formats, or indicate that preemption has occurred.

[0042] gNB 108 may also transmit various reference signals to UE 104. Reference signals may include demodulation reference signals (DMRS) for PBCH, PDCCH, and PDSCH. UE 104 may compare the received version of the DMRS with the transmitted known DMRS sequence to estimate the impact of the propagation channel. UE 104 may then apply the inverse of the propagation channel during the demodulation process for the corresponding physical channel transmission.

[0043] Reference signals may also include a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS). CSI-RS can be a multi-purpose downlink transmission that can be used for CSI reporting, beam management, connected mode mobility, radio link failure detection, beam failure detection and recovery, and fine-tuning of time and frequency synchronization.

[0044] Reference signals and information from physical channels can be mapped to the resources of the resource grid. For a given antenna port, subcarrier spacing configuration, and transmission direction (e.g., downlink or uplink), there is one resource grid. The basic unit of the NR downlink resource grid can be a resource element, which can be defined by one subcarrier in the frequency domain and one orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol in the time domain. Twelve consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain can constitute a physical resource block (PRB). A resource element group (REG) can include one PRB in the frequency domain and one OFDM symbol in the time domain, for example, twelve resource elements. A control channel element (CCE) can represent a resource group used to transmit a PDCCH. One CCE can be mapped to multiple REGs, for example, six REGs.

[0045] Transmissions using different antenna ports may experience different radio channels. However, in some cases, different antenna ports may share common radio channel characteristics. For example, different antenna ports may have similar Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, delay spread, or spatial reception parameters (e.g., characteristics associated with the angle of arrival of the downlink received signal at the UE). Antenna ports that share one or more of these large-scale radio channel characteristics may be considered to be quasi-co-located (QCL) with each other. 3GPP has specified four types of QCL to indicate which specific channel characteristics are shared. In QCL Type A, antenna ports share Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, and delay spread. In QCL Type B, antenna ports share Doppler shift and Doppler spread. In QCL Type C, antenna ports share Doppler shift and average delay. In QCL Type D, antenna ports share spatial receiver parameters.

[0046] The gNB 108 may provide transmission configuration indicator (TCI) status information to the UE 104 to indicate the QCL relationship between antenna ports used for reference signals (e.g., synchronization signals / PBCH or CSI-RS) and downlink data or control signaling (e.g., PDSCH or PDCCH). The gNB 108 may use a combination of RRC signaling, MAC control element signaling, and DCI to inform the UE 104 of these QCL relationships.

[0047] UE 104 can use physical uplink channels to transmit data and control information to gNB 108. Different types of physical uplink channels are available, including, for example, the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) and the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). The PUCCH carries control information from UE 104 to gNB 108, such as uplink control information (UCI), while the PUSCH carries data traffic (e.g., end-user application data) and can carry UCI.

[0048] The UE 104 and gNB 108 may perform beam management operations to identify and maintain desired beams for transmission in the uplink and downlink directions. Beam management may be applied to both PDSCH and PDCCH in the downlink direction and PUSCH and PUCCH in the uplink direction.

[0049] In one example, communications with gNB 108 and / or base stations can use channels in the Frequency Range 1 (FR1) band (between 410 megahertz (MHz) and 7,125 MHz) and / or the Frequency Range 2 (FR2) band (between 24,250 MHz and 52,600 MHz). The FR1 band includes both licensed and unlicensed bands. The NR Unlicensed Band (NR-U) includes spectrum shared with other types of radio access technologies (RATs) (e.g., LTE-LAA, WiFi, etc.). A listen-before-talk (LBT) process can be used to avoid or minimize conflicts between different RATs in NR-U, whereby devices perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) check before using a channel.

[0050] like Figure 1 As further shown, network environment 100 may further include base station 112 to which UE 104 may also connect. Base station 112 supports the same RAT as gNB 108 (e.g., base station 112 is also a gNB). Additionally or alternatively, base station 112 supports a different RAT (e.g., a Long Term Evolution (LTE) eNB).

[0051] In the example, UE 104 supports dual connectivity (DC), wherein UE 104 can simultaneously connect and exchange data with gNB 108 and base station 112. Additionally or alternatively, UE 104 supports carrier aggregation (CA), wherein UE 104 can simultaneously connect and exchange data with gNB 108 and / or base station 112 via multiple component carriers (CCs). CCs can belong to the same frequency band, in which case they are referred to as intra-band CCs. Intra-band CCs can be contiguous or non-contiguous. CCs can also belong to different frequency bands, in which case they are referred to as inter-band CCs. Serving cells can be configured for UE 104 to use CCs. Multiple serving cells can be activated via the SCell activation procedure, where the component carriers of these serving cells can be intra-band contiguous, intra-band non-contiguous, or inter-band. Serving cells can be collocated or non-collocated.

[0052] To improve resource usage when CA is configured (e.g., processing burden on UE 104, battery usage of UE 104, channel management, and load balancing), a serving cell activation / deactivation mechanism is supported. Generally, if UE 104 is configured with one or more serving cells, gNB 108 can activate and deactivate the configured serving cells. Activation and deactivation generally do not apply to the PCell (or PSCell). After an SCell is configured, such as via higher-layer signaling, the SCell is in a deactivated state. The SCell activation procedure is used to activate the SCell and enable transmission / reception on the SCell (e.g., the SCell's PDSCH, PDCCH, and PUSCH). The SCell activation procedure can be triggered when, for example, more data throughput is required or to load balance communication traffic on the PCell (or PSCell). An SCell can be activated based on its channel quality and can be deactivated if its channel quality is low.

[0053] Figure 2 An example of activating a serving cell for carrier aggregation according to some embodiments is shown. In this example, the serving cell is an SCell and the activation is shown as SCell activation 200. Specifically, UE 210 communicates with gNB 220, where the communication uses the PCell (in Figure 2 2 is shown as a primary component carrier (PCC) in FIG. 1 . For carrier aggregation reasons (e.g., to increase throughput), gNB 220 configures UE 210 to use a secondary component carrier (SCC) of the SCell provided by gNB 230. Although the two gNBs 220 and 230 are shown as separate from each other, they can be a single gNB supporting intra-band or inter-band CCs. UE 210 is initially configured via an RRC connection reconfiguration indicating the SCell. The SCell is added to the CA configuration of UE 210 but is in a deactivated state. To activate the SCell, gNB 220 may send a MAC CE identifying the SCell. The MAC CE triggers UE 210 to activate the SCell, where activation includes performing various measurements and reporting back to gNB 220. Once activated, PDSCH is available to UE 210 on the SCell in addition to the PDSCH on the PCell.

[0054] Typically, the network (e.g., gNB 220 and / or radio network controller (RNC)) uses the CellToAddModList information element (IE) in the RRCConnectionReconfiguration message to add a carrier-aggregated SCell for UE 210. When adding an SCell, gNB 220 may send different types of information to UE 210 via the RRCConnectionReconfiguration message. This information may include: SCellIndex, which identifies the SCell; cellIdentification, which is the physical cell identity and downlink carrier frequency (EARFCN); radioResourceConfigCommonSCell, which is an IE used to transmit system information for the SCell; radioResourceConfigCommonSCell, which contains downlink configurations such as downlink bandwidth, number of antenna ports, etc.; radioResourceConfigDedicatedSCell, which is an IE containing UE-specific configurations for the SCell; and radioResourceConfigDedicatedSCell, which includes downlink-dedicated configurations such as information on the transmission mode for the SCell, cross-carrier scheduling configuration, SCell CSI-RS information, etc. Upon receiving the RRCConnectionReconfiguration message, UE 210 may execute the SCell add command and send a message indicating that the RRC connection reconfiguration is complete.

[0055] Once configured, SCell activation can be triggered based on the MAC CE. The MAC CE is identified by a MAC protocol data unit (PDU) subheader with a unique logical channel identifier (LCID) such as "11011". The MAC CE element includes fields, each of which indicates an SCell with an SCellIndex. The MAC CE carries a bitmap for activation and deactivation of SCells, where a field of the bitmap set to "1" indicates activation of the corresponding SCell, while a field set to "0" indicates deactivation. Using the bitmap, SCells can be activated and deactivated individually, and a single activation / deactivation command can activate / deactivate a subgroup of SCells.

[0056] Figure 3 An example of a possible carrier aggregation configuration supporting a high speed mode 300 of a UE 310 according to some embodiments is shown. In the high speed mode 300, the UE 310 may travel at a speed exceeding a speed threshold. Figure 3In the illustration of FIG, high-speed mode 300 is a high-speed train (HST) mode, illustrated by a train graphic. As UE 310 travels, serving cells may become available and other serving cells may become unavailable, with availability / unavailability depending on the travel speed of UE 210. Carrier aggregation may be desirable so that a target throughput can be provided to UE 310 as it travels. If UE 310 supports carrier aggregation in high-speed mode 300 (such as FR1 CA in HST, with travel speeds up to 500 kph and carrier frequencies up to 3.6 GHz), the network (e.g., gNB and / or RNC) may configure and / or activate a specific serving cell for UE 310.

[0057] Different configurations of serving cells are possible. In one example, collocated cells 320 are configured ( Figure 12 (The figure shows two serving cells: Cell A and Cell B, although a large number of collocated serving cells are possible.) Collocated cells are serving cells that have coverage in the same geographic area. For example, the gNBs for these serving cells may be physically collocated or even a single gNB. Collocated serving cells 320 may use intra-band CCs and / or inter-band CCs.

[0058] In another example, a non-collocated cell 330 may be configured additionally or alternatively. A non-collocated cell 330 refers to a serving cell that is not collocated with another serving cell, such as not collocated with cell A or cell B. The non-collocated cell 330 and another serving cell may use an intra-band CC or an inter-band CC.

[0059] In yet another example, an intra-band cell 340 may be configured. An intra-band cell 340 refers to a serving cell that uses a component carrier in the same frequency band as a component carrier of another configured serving cell, such as cell A or cell B. The intra-band cell 340 and the other serving cell may be collocated or non-collocated.

[0060] In yet another example, an inter-band cell 350 may be configured. An inter-band cell 350 refers to a serving cell that uses component carriers in a different frequency band than a component carrier of another configured serving cell, such as cell A or cell B. The inter-band cell 350 and the other serving cell may be collocated or non-collocated.

[0061] The specific configuration (e.g., collocated, non-collocated, intra-band, and / or inter-band) may depend on the ability of the UE 310 to support carrier aggregation in the high-speed mode 300. The UE 310 may signal this capability to the network via UE capability information. Additionally or alternatively, this capability may be predefined in requirements that the UE 310 needs to meet, such as requirements in a technical specification.

[0062] Once a specific configuration is defined (e.g., via RRC connection reconfiguration), the UE may activate one or more of the configured serving cells. This activation may also depend on the UE 310 supporting carrier aggregation in high-speed mode 300. Furthermore, activation may be triggered by a MAC CE. Alternatively or additionally, activation may be direct when a serving cell is added to the configuration (e.g., via RRC connection reconfiguration), where "direct activation" refers to relying on RRC connection reconfiguration rather than a MAC CE as the trigger for activation.

[0063] In one example, the high speed mode 300 is an HST mode for FR1 frequencies up to 3.6 GHz. In NR networks, SCell activation and SCell deactivation require monitoring and measurements, including, for example, primary synchronization signal (PSS) and secondary synchronization signal (SSS) detection, time index detection, and measurement periods for activated SCells and / or deactivated SCells. Specific activation and deactivation delays may also need to be met. Since HST UEs have high speeds (up to 500 Kph), mobility performance is relatively more important than for legacy UEs (e.g., non-HST operating mode). The delay for legacy FR1 SCell activation is defined, for example, in 3GPP TS 38.133 V16.5.0 (September 2020) Section 8.3.2: "Upon receipt of a SCell activation command in time slot n, the UE shall be able to send a valid CSI report and respond to the SCell activation command no later than time slot n." The activated SCell application involves the actions of the activation command, where:

[0064] T HARQ (in ms) is the timing between DL data transmission and acknowledgment, as specified in TS 38.213 [3].

[0065] T activation_time is the SCell activation delay in milliseconds.

[0066] If the SCell is known and belongs to FR1, then T activation_time for:

[0067] - If the SCell measurement period is equal to or less than 160ms, then T FirstSSB +5ms.

[0068] - If the SCell measurement period is greater than 160ms, T FirstSSB_MAX +T rs +5ms.

[0069] If the SCell is unknown and belongs to FR1, assume that the additional conditions are met Then T activation_time for:

[0070] -T FirstSSB_MAX +T SMTC_MAX +2*T rs +5ms."

[0071] In the above requirements, T FirstSSB Involving time-frequency (T / F) tracking, T FirstSSB_MAX Involves antenna gain control (AGC) stabilization, and T rs Involves cell identification and T / F tracking. If the same or similar activation process is used for SCell activation in HST mode, the total delay of SCell activation will be relatively long and may affect the mobility performance of UE 310. Unless UE 310 has improved monitoring and measurement capabilities relative to traditional UEs, reducing the SCell activation delay may involve enhancements from both the UE and network perspectives and / or enhancements to UE capability indications. For example, the specific number of component carriers used for FR1CA in HST may be determined in order to reduce the SCell activation delay. UE 310 may only need to measure intra-frequency neighboring cells on the selected serving component carrier. The deployment of carrier aggregation may also consider whether to use collocated serving cells or non-collocated serving cells. In addition, a new activation mechanism corresponding to the new UE capability supporting CA for HST may be used to support RRC-based activation during SCell addition and / or activation during switching. The following figures further describe these and other enhancements.

[0072] Figure 4 An example of a collocation configuration 400 for carrier aggregation according to some embodiments is shown. Figure 3 Of the various possible carrier aggregation configurations described, the network may configure carrier aggregation for high-speed mode 300 (e.g., FR1 CA for HST) only for the collocated case. In other words, in the collocated configuration 400, the serving cells configured for carrier aggregation (or serving component carriers in HST FR1) are collocated. Figure 4 This configuration is shown with X marks on the non-collocated cells 330, the intra-band cells 340, and the inter-band cells 350. The collocated cell 320 is added to the carrier aggregation configuration for the UE 310.

[0073] In one example, collocated configuration 400 is predefined as a requirement in the technical specifications. Signaling from UE 310 may not be required to indicate its capability for carrier aggregation in high-speed mode 300. Instead, the network only configures the collocated serving cell (or serving component carrier), and UE 310 may assume that only the collocated serving cell (or serving component carrier) is configured. In another example, signaling is used, for example, where UE 310 sends UE capability information indicating whether it can only support collocated serving cells for carrier aggregation in high-speed mode 300. If this is the case, the network may only provide collocated configuration 400. In both examples, during the SCell activation process, the collocated serving cell 320 may have more similar channel conditions relative to a non-collocated deployment, so that the complexity of the UE implementation can be reduced by exploiting the similarity. For example, Doppler shift may be estimated for one serving cell. Given the collocation of the serving cells, this Doppler shift estimate may be reused for another collocated serving cell being activated (e.g., in time compensation for the Doppler effect in the other collocated serving cell). By reusing the Doppler shift estimate, the overall duration of the SCell activation process can be shortened.

[0074] Figure 5 An example of a non-co-located configuration 500 for carrier aggregation according to some embodiments is shown. Figure 3 Among the various possible carrier aggregation configurations described, the network can use non-collocated serving cells (in addition to or instead of collocated serving cells) to configure carrier aggregation for high speed mode 300 (e.g., FR1 CA for HST). In other words, at least one serving cell activated for carrier aggregation is not collocated with another serving cell used by UE 310. Figure 5 This configuration is shown with X marks on intra-band cells 340 and inter-band cells 350 and is obtained by removing cell B. The non-collocated serving cells configured for carrier aggregation in high speed mode 300 are cell A (shown with element number 520) and non-collocated cell 330.

[0075] In one example, signaling from UE 310 may be required to indicate its capability for carrier aggregation in high-speed mode 300, where the capability supports non-collocated deployment (or both non-collocated and collocated deployment) for, for example, FR1 CA in HST. Specifically, UE 310 may send UE capability information indicating whether it can support collocated or non-collocated serving cells for carrier aggregation in high-speed mode 300. In turn, the network may configure carrier aggregation based on the indicated capability.

[0076] Figure 6 An example of an in-band configuration 600 for carrier aggregation according to some embodiments is shown. Figure 3Among the various possible carrier aggregation configurations described, the network can use intra-band component carriers to configure carrier aggregation for high-speed mode 300 (e.g., FR1 CA for HST). In other words, in the collocated configuration 600, the serving cells configured for carrier aggregation use component carriers in the same frequency band. These component carriers can be contiguous or non-contiguous. Figure 6 This configuration is shown with X marks on non-collocated cells 330 and inter-band 350 and is obtained by removing cell B. The intra-band component carrier is used by cell A 520 and intra-band cell 340. These two cells 520 and 340 (e.g., identities of these cells) are added to the carrier aggregation configuration information.

[0077] In one example, in-band configuration 600 is predefined as a requirement in the technical specification. Signaling from UE 310 may not be required to indicate its capability for carrier aggregation in high-speed mode 300. Instead, the network configures only in-band component carriers (more specifically, in-band contiguous component carriers and / or in-band non-contiguous component carriers as defined in the technical specification), and UE 310 may assume that only serving (contiguous and / or non-contiguous, if applicable) component carriers in the same frequency band are configured. In another example, signaling is used, for example, where UE 310 sends UE capability information indicating whether it can only support in-band component carriers (in-band contiguous component carriers and / or in-band non-contiguous component carriers) for carrier aggregation in high-speed mode 300. If this is the case, the network may only provide in-band configuration 400. In both examples, during the SCell activation process, in-band component carriers may have more similar properties relative to inter-band deployments, such that the complexity of the UE implementation can be reduced by exploiting the similarities. For example, AGC may be estimated for one serving component carrier. Assuming they belong to the same frequency band, the AGC estimate can be scaled for another in-band component carrier of the serving cell being activated. For example, if the two component carriers are contiguous and have the same bandwidth, the AGC estimate can be reused. If the two component carriers are contiguous but have different bandwidths, the AGC estimate can be scaled up or down based on the ratio of the bandwidths. By reusing the AGC estimate, the overall duration of the SCell activation process can be shortened.

[0078] Figure 7 An example of an inter-band configuration 700 for carrier aggregation according to some embodiments is shown. Figure 3 Among the various possible carrier aggregation configurations described, the network may use inter-band component carriers to configure carrier aggregation for high speed mode 300 (e.g., FR1 CA for HST). In other words, in collocated configuration 700, serving cells configured for carrier aggregation use component carriers in different frequency bands. Figure 7This configuration is shown with X marks on the non-collocated cells 330 and intra-band 340 and is obtained by removing cell B. The inter-band component carrier is used by cell A 520 and inter-band cell 350. These two cells 520 and 350 (e.g., identities of these cells) are added to the carrier aggregation configuration information.

[0079] In one example, signaling from UE 310 may be required to indicate its capability for carrier aggregation in high-speed mode 300, where the capability supports inter-band component carriers (or inter-band and intra-band component carriers) for, for example, FR1 CA in HST. Specifically, UE 310 may send UE capability information indicating whether it can only support inter-band component carriers, intra-band contiguous component carriers, or intra-band non-contiguous component carriers for carrier aggregation in high-speed mode 300. The network may then configure carrier aggregation based on the indicated capability.

[0080] For illustrative purposes, the Figures 4 to 7 301. Example configurations of FIG. 302. Each of these configurations may be used independently of the others. Alternatively or additionally, a combination of some or all of these configurations may be used. The combination may be defined in the technical specifications or may depend on signaling from the UE 310 indicating its ability to support the combination in high-speed mode 300. For example, inter-band component carriers (e.g., defined in the technical specifications) may be assumed only with collocated deployment for FR1 CA in HST. In this case, the network may configure and only assume inter-band FR1 CA for HST where those inter-band component carriers are collocated and the UE 301 can expect inter-band FR1 CA. In another illustration, when those inter-band CCs are collocated and the network configures CA aggregation accordingly, the UE 310 indicates its ability to support inter-band FR1 CA for HST. Alternatively, when those inter-band CCs are not collocated and the network configures CA aggregation accordingly, the UE 310 indicates its ability to support inter-band FR1 CA for HST.

[0081] Other variations are also possible. For example, the SCell activation delay can be reduced by reducing the number of serving cells that can be activated and / or configured for subsequent or direct activation. In one example, the maximum number of serving cells (or similarly, serving component carriers) for carrier aggregation under high-speed mode 300 may be defined in the technical specifications. This number may be less than the maximum number in traditional carrier aggregation (e.g., FR1 CA). For example, the number is less than 8. The network may follow this upper limit to implement carrier aggregation of UE 310 under high-speed mode 300. And UE 310 may not expect more serving cells than this upper limit to be configured and activated for carrier aggregation under high-speed mode 300. In another example, signaling is used whereby UE 310 indicates to the network the maximum number of serving cells (or similarly, serving component carriers) that UE 310 can support for carrier aggregation under high-speed mode 300. The network configures and / or commands the UE to activate the serving cells accordingly.

[0082] In another variation, component carrier band combinations (BCs) may be used in addition or alternatively. In one example of this variation, UE 310 may indicate its legacy BC capabilities to the network, for example, in UE capability information. When configuring carrier aggregation in high-speed mode 300, the network may configure serving cells with component carriers based on the legacy BC capabilities. In another example, UE 310 may additionally indicate its BC capabilities specific to high-speed mode 300. In this example, the network may configure serving cells with component carriers based on the high-speed mode-specific BC capabilities.

[0083] Once carrier aggregation in high speed mode 300 has been configured for UE 310 and includes multiple serving cells, additional enhancements may be performed to reduce SCell activation delay. In one example, upon receiving a MAC CE element for starting the SCell activation process or in a direct SCell activation process (e.g., without using a MAC CE), UE 310 may select a subset of serving cells (or similarly, a subset of serving component carriers) for activation. Measurements, such as intra-frequency measurements, may be performed on the selected serving cells (or similarly, the selected serving component carriers). A primary component carrier is typically selected. In addition, one or more secondary component carriers configured with intra-frequency measurement objects may be selected randomly or in ascending or descending order based on the cell / component carrier index. Conversely, for a set of serving cells (or similarly, serving components), the network may select a subset of intra-frequency measurement objects for which the network is configured. The selection may be random or follow an ascending or descending order of the cell / component carrier index. The primary component carrier is typically configured with intra-frequency measurement objects. In this way, the network can indicate to the UE 310 that a primary component carrier is to be selected, and optionally, a secondary component carrier with a corresponding intra-frequency measurement object.

[0084] The above examples can be used in combination. For example, collocated carrier aggregation can be configured. In this configuration, the total number of serving cells that can be activated is less than the maximum number predefined in the technical specifications or indicated by UE 310. Certain component carriers can be intra-band non-contiguous and belong to a frequency band combination supported by UE 310. Some or all of these component carriers can be configured with intra-band measurement objects.

[0085] Figure 8 An example of serving cell activation based on UE capability information in high speed mode 800 according to some embodiments is shown. UE 810 sends UE capability information for carrier aggregation in high speed mode to gNB 820. In turn, gNB 820 configures carrier aggregation for UEs in high speed mode based on the UE capability information. Configuring carrier aggregation may include adding a serving cell for use in carrier aggregation, where the addition identifies the serving cell and may be carried via RRC connection reconfiguration, such as in conjunction with Figure 2 One or more of these serving cells may then be activated via a MAC CE element.

[0086] In one example, the UE capability information uses an IE specific to indicating the UE's ability to support carrier aggregation in high-speed mode. This IE may be sent in addition to other IEs indicating support for carrier aggregation and / or band combinations for UE 810 in legacy mode (e.g., non-high-speed mode). Alternatively, the same IE may be used, where, for example, UE 810 indicates its BC legacy combination in the IE, and gNB 820 uses this IE to also configure carrier aggregation in high-speed mode. The capability information indicating carrier aggregation for high-speed mode may include any one or a combination of the following: supported band combinations, the maximum number of supported serving cells (or similarly, serving component carriers), whether intra-band contiguous component carriers are supported, whether intra-band non-contiguous component carriers are supported, whether inter-band component carriers are supported, whether collocated serving cells are supported, and / or whether non-collocated serving cells are supported. In the absence of such capability information being signaled to the base station 820, the base station 820 may assume (e.g., based on requirements specified in technical specifications) a minimum set of capabilities (e.g., the maximum number of component carriers is less than 8, the same frequency band combination as in the legacy mode, support for intra-band contiguous component carriers in collocated serving cells).

[0087] Figure 9An example of an operational flow / algorithm structure 900 for performing carrier aggregation in high-speed mode according to some embodiments is shown. A UE may implement the operational flow / algorithm structure 900 to improve the SCell activation process in high-speed mode. The operational flow / algorithm structure 900 may be performed or implemented by a UE (such as, for example, UE 104 or 1500) or a component thereof (e.g., processor 1504). The UE may communicate with a base station (such as a gNB). However, the communication may similarly involve or be directed to a network that may include a base station and / or an RNC.

[0088] The operation flow / algorithm structure 900 may include sending UE capability information to the base station at 902. In some embodiments, the UE capability information indicates a capability set that the UE supports for supporting carrier aggregation for high-speed mode, such as in conjunction with Figure 9 The UE capability information may be sent in an IE specific to carrier aggregation in high-speed mode, or may be included in another IE sent for other purposes (e.g., a legacy IE that may be enhanced with information about supported capability sets). In some other embodiments, the UE capability information may not be sent. Instead, the network may assume that the UE supports a specific capability set for carrier aggregation in high-speed mode. In addition, legacy UE capability information (such as the UE's legacy band combination capabilities) may be sent by the UE and used by the network when configuring carrier aggregation in high-speed mode.

[0089] Operational flow / algorithm structure 900 may include, at 904, receiving configuration information for carrier aggregation in high-speed mode from a base station. In some embodiments, the configuration information is generated based on the UE capability information sent in operation 902. In some other embodiments, when no such UE capabilities are sent, the configuration information is generated based on assumed capabilities for carrier aggregation in high-speed mode and, optionally, applicable legacy band combination capabilities. In various embodiments, the configuration information corresponds to the addition of serving cells in an RRC connection reconfiguration. The configuration information may indicate a set of serving cells added for the UE for carrier aggregation. At least one of the size of the set, the location of the serving cells indicated in the set (e.g., collocated or non-collocated with other serving cells), or the component carrier of the serving cell (e.g., in the same frequency band and contiguous with another serving component carrier, in the same frequency band but non-contiguous with another serving component carrier, or in a different frequency band from another serving component carrier) is based on the high-speed mode of the UE, and more specifically, based on the UE's signaled or assumed capability to support carrier aggregation in high-speed mode.

[0090] The operational flow / algorithm structure 900 may include receiving information for activating one or more serving cells from a base station at 906. The serving cells correspond to the set of serving cells indicated in the configuration information. In some embodiments, the information includes a MAC CE with a bitmap identifying the serving cells to be activated.

[0091] The operational flow / algorithm structure 900 may include, at 908, performing an SCell activation procedure based on the information. In some embodiments, at least one of the serving cells is activated. In other embodiments, all of the serving cells indicated by the bitmap to be activated are activated. In other embodiments, more than one of the serving cells indicated by the bitmap to be activated, and at most all of them, are activated. For example, the UE may (randomly or otherwise) select a subset of serving cells configured with intra-frequency measurement objects and perform the activation procedure for only that subset.

[0092] The operational flow / algorithm structure 900 may include receiving or transmitting data on the activated serving cell at 910. In some embodiments, the activated serving cell provides a PDSCH or a PDCCH, where the UE receives traffic data or control on the PDSCH or PDCCH, respectively. In other embodiments, the activated serving cell provides a PUSCH, where the UE transmits traffic data on the PUSCH.

[0093] Figure 10 Another example of an operational flow / algorithm structure 1000 for performing carrier aggregation in high-speed mode according to some embodiments is shown. A base station may implement the operational flow / algorithm structure 1000 to avoid, for example, configuring carrier aggregation and activating a serving cell for a UE in high-speed mode. The operational flow / algorithm structure 1000 may be performed or implemented by a base station (such as, for example, gNB 108, 1600) or a component thereof (e.g., processor 1604). Additionally or alternatively, the operational flow / algorithm structure 1000 may be similarly performed or implemented by a network, which may include a base station and / or an RNC.

[0094] The operational flow / algorithm structure 1000 may include receiving UE capability information from the UE at 1002. In some embodiments, the UE capability information indicates a capability set that the UE supports for supporting carrier aggregation for high speed mode, such as in conjunction with Figure 9 The UE capability information may be sent in an IE specific to carrier aggregation in high-speed mode, or may be included in another IE sent for other purposes (e.g., a legacy IE that may be enhanced with information about supported capability sets). In some other embodiments, the UE capability information may not be received. Instead, the base station may assume that the UE supports a specific capability set for carrier aggregation in high-speed mode. In addition, legacy UE capability information (such as the UE's legacy band combination capabilities) may be received from the UE and used by the base station when configuring carrier aggregation in high-speed mode.

[0095] The operational flow / algorithm structure 1000 may include determining at 1004 that the UE is in high-speed mode (e.g., the current operating mode of the UE is high-speed mode). In some embodiments, this determination may rely on static information. For example, the configuration of the base station may include a flag set to indicate that the base station itself is associated with high-speed mode. Therefore, the base station may assume that the connection with the UE corresponds to the UE being in high-speed mode. In other embodiments, this determination may rely on dynamic information. Different types of dynamic information are possible. In one example, the travel speed may be determined by the base station or by the UE that subsequently indicates the travel speed to the base station. If the travel speed is greater than a speed threshold for high-speed mode, the base station may determine that the UE is in high-speed mode. In another example, the UE may include an optional user setting that sets the UE's operating mode to high-speed mode. In this example, when the user selects this setting, the base station may receive an indication from the UE that the UE is in high-speed mode.

[0096] Operational flow / algorithm structure 1000 may include generating configuration information for carrier aggregation in high-speed mode at 1006. In some embodiments, the configuration information is generated based on the UE capability information received in operation 1002. In some other embodiments, when no such UE capabilities are received, the configuration information is generated based on assumed capabilities for carrier aggregation in high-speed mode and, optionally, applicable legacy band combination capabilities. In various embodiments, the configuration information corresponds to adding a serving cell in an RRC connection reconfiguration.

[0097] Operational flow / algorithm structure 1000 may include, at 1008, sending configuration information to the UE. In some embodiments, the configuration information is sent in an RRC message corresponding to an RRC connection reconfiguration. The configuration information may indicate a set of serving cells added for carrier aggregation for the UE. At least one of the size of the set, the location of the serving cells indicated in the set (e.g., collocated or non-collocated with other serving cells), or the component carrier of the serving cell (e.g., in the same frequency band and contiguous with another serving component carrier, in the same frequency band but non-contiguous with another serving component carrier, or in a different frequency band from another serving component carrier) is based on the high speed mode of the UE, and more specifically, based on the signaled or assumed capability of the UE to support carrier aggregation in high speed mode.

[0098] The operational flow / algorithm structure 1000 may include, at 1010, sending information for activating one or more serving cells. The serving cells correspond to the set of serving cells indicated in the configuration information. In some embodiments, the information includes a MAC CE with a bitmap identifying the serving cells to be activated. In addition, the base station may select a subset from the set for activation (randomly or otherwise) and may indicate the subset in the bitmap. Additionally or alternatively, the base station may configure specific serving cells in the serving cells with intra-frequency measurement objects so that the UE can activate some or all of these specific serving cells.

[0099] The operational flow / algorithm structure 1000 may include receiving or transmitting data on the activated serving cell at 1012. In some embodiments, the activated serving cell provides a PDSCH or a PDCCH, wherein the base station (or another base station) transmits traffic data or control on the PDSCH or PDCCH, respectively. In other embodiments, the activated serving cell provides a PUSCH, wherein the base station (or another base station) receives traffic data on the PUSCH.

[0100] Figure 11 An example of direct serving cell activation based on UE capability information in high-speed mode 1100 according to some embodiments is shown. Here, direct refers to automatic activation of the serving cell upon receipt of an RRC connection reconfiguration message and the absence of a MAC CE for activation. The trigger for this direct activation is the UE 1110's ability to support carrier aggregation in high-speed mode, where this capability is signaled to the base station 1120.

[0101] In general, direct SCell activation during RRC-based SCell addition is defined in 3GPP TS 38.133 V16.5.0 (September 2020), section 8.3.4: “The requirements in this clause apply to a UE configured in the RRC reconfiguration message TS 38.331 [2] with one SCell with the parameter sCellState set to activated.

[0102] The UE shall configure the SCell to be active when the RRC reconfiguration procedure is successfully completed within the specified delay. When the RRC reconfiguration message is received in time slot n, the UE shall be able to send a valid CSI report and respond to the SCell no later than time slot Directly activated SCell application actions, including:

[0103] N direct =T RRC_Process +T1+T activation_time +T CSI_Reporting -3ms

[0104] T RRC_Process: RRC procedure delay defined in clause 12 of TS 38.331 [2],

[0105] T1: Slave time slot The delay starts until the transmission of the RRCConnectionReconfigurationComplete message,

[0106] Note: T1 is dependent on UE implementation.

[0107] T activation_time and T CSI_Reporting Specified in clause 8.3.2, where T FirstSSB and T FirstSSB_MAX The following definitions should override existing definitions:

[0108] -T FirstSSB :To time slot The time after which the end of the first complete SSB burst is indicated by the SMTC

[0109] -T FirstSSB_MAX :To time slot The time after which the end of the first complete SSB burst is indicated by the SMTC

[0110] - In FR1, when intra-band SCell is activated, all active serving cells and the moment the SCell is activated or released send SSB bursts in the same time slot; when inter-band SCell is activated, the SSB burst is sent the first time the SCell is activated.

[0111] - In FR2, all active serving cells and SCells transmit SSB bursts in the same time slot when activated or released.

[0112] Furthermore, direct SCell activation during handover is defined in 3GPP TS 38.133 V16.5.0 (September 2020) Section 8.3.5: “The requirements in this clause apply to UEs configured in the RRC reconfiguration message TS 38.331 [2] for handover with one SCell with the parameter sCellState set to activated.

[0113] The UE shall configure the SCell to be active when the RRC reconfiguration procedure is successfully completed within the specified delay. When the RRC reconfiguration message is received in time slot n, the UE shall be able to send a valid CSI report and respond to the SCell no later than time slot Directly activated SCell application actions, including:

[0114] N direct =T RRC_process +T interrupt+T2+T3+T activation_time +T CSI_Reporting -3ms

[0115] T RRC_Process : RRC procedure delay defined in clause 12 of TS 38.331 [2],

[0116] T interrupt : The interruption time during the switching period as specified in clause 6.1.1,

[0117] T2: From time slot The delay from the start until the UE obtains a valid TA command for the target PCell,

[0118] T3: The delay for applying the received TA to uplink transmissions in the target PCell and is greater than or equal to k+1 time slots, where k is defined in clause 4.2 of TS 38.213,

[0119] T activation_time and T CSI_Reporting Specified in clause 8.3.2, where T FirstSSB and T FirstSSB_MAX The following definitions should override existing definitions:

[0120] -T FirstSSB :To time slot The time after which the end of the first complete SSB burst is indicated by the SMTC

[0121] -T FirstSSB_MAX :To time slot The time after which the end of the first complete SSB burst is indicated by the SMTC

[0122] - In FR1, when intra-band SCell is activated, all active serving cells and the moment the SCell is activated or released send SSB bursts in the same time slot; when inter-band SCell is activated, the SSB burst is sent the first time the SCell is activated.

[0123] - In FR2, all active serving cells and SCells transmit SSB bursts in the same time slot when activated or released.

[0124] In the present disclosure, a similar direct SCell activation procedure may be used, except that the trigger for this direct SCell activation procedure is the UE's ability to support carrier aggregation in high-speed mode. For example, any of the above requirements may apply when the UE signals this capability to the base station and when RRC-based SCell addition or SCell activation is performed during handover.

[0125] like Figure 11 As shown, UE 1110 sends UE capability information to gNB 1120, indicating that UE 1110 supports carrier aggregation in high-speed mode (e.g., HST FR1 CA). UE capability information can be similar to that combined with Figure 9 The network then configures a serving cell set for carrier aggregation based on the UE capability information and sends this information in accordance with the RRC connection reconfiguration. Upon receiving the RRC message, the UE 1110 executes the SCell add command and automatically activates one or more of the serving cells.

[0126] Figure 12 An example of an activation procedure using a shortened serving cell activation duration 1200 is shown, according to some embodiments. Here, the shortened serving cell activation duration 1200 is based on the UE 1210's ability to support carrier aggregation in high-speed mode. The UE 1210 may, but need not, signal this capability to the gNB 1220. If signaled, the gNB 1220 may, but need not, configure a serving cell for carrier aggregation based on the UE's capability information. In these various scenarios, during the SCell activation procedure, the UE can shorten its duration by reusing some information from one or more already activated serving cells in the activation of one or more other serving cells.

[0127] As shown in the figure, UE 1210 receives an RRC Connection Reconfiguration message from gNB 1220 indicating the serving cell being added for carrier aggregation, executes the SCell Addition Command, and sends an RRC Connection Reconfiguration Complete message to gNB 1220. UE 1210 then receives a MAC CE from gNB 1220 to activate some or all of the serving cells. UE 1210 proceeds with the SCell activation process, where certain restrictions may apply to reduce activation latency. In one example, a restriction specifies that SCell activation for high-speed mode only applies when the synchronization signal block (SSB) measurement timing configuration (SMTC) of the target serving cell is below a specific time threshold. The time threshold may be equal to or less than 80 milliseconds or some other value defined in the technical specifications. In another example, coarse cell timing information from a primary cell or an already activated SCell may be reused for the target serving cell being activated. In yet another example, AGC estimates from a PCell or an already activated SCell may be scaled for the target SCell being activated. In this example, the UE can utilize specific RRC parameters controlling the measurement requirements of an unknown to-be-activated SCell or a known to-be-activated SCell (e.g., utilizing a measCycleSCell greater than 160 milliseconds) to skip or shorten the AGC stabilization time for that SCell. In another example, when, for example, a PCell or an already activated SCell is collocated with a target SCell, the Doppler shift estimate from the PCell or the already activated SCell can be reused in the time compensation for the Doppler shift in the serving cell being activated.

[0128] Figure 13 Another example of an operational flow / algorithm structure 1300 for performing carrier aggregation in high-speed mode according to some embodiments is shown. A UE may implement the operational flow / algorithm structure 1300 to reduce SCell activation delay in high-speed mode. The operational flow / algorithm structure 1300 may be performed or implemented by a UE (such as, for example, UE 104 or 1500) or a component thereof (e.g., processor 1504). The UE may communicate with a base station (such as a gNB). However, the communication may similarly involve or be directed to a network that may include a base station and / or an RNC.

[0129] Operational flow / algorithm structure 1300 may include, at 1302, receiving configuration information for carrier aggregation in high-speed mode from a base station. In some embodiments, the configuration information is generated based on UE capability information signaled to the base station by the UE regarding the UE's support for high-speed mode and / or carrier aggregation capabilities. In some embodiments, no such information is signaled to the base station and the configuration information is not generated accordingly. The configuration information corresponds to the addition of serving cells in an RRC connection reconfiguration. The configuration information may indicate a set of serving cells added for the UE for carrier aggregation.

[0130] Operational flow / algorithm structure 1300 may include, at 1304, receiving information from a base station for activating one or more serving cells. The serving cells correspond to the set of serving cells indicated in the configuration information. In some embodiments, the information includes a MAC CE with a bitmap identifying the serving cells to be activated. In other embodiments involving direct SCell activation, the configuration information is the same as the information used to activate one or more cells (e.g., operations 1302 and 1304 are the same and collapsed into one operation).

[0131] The operational flow / algorithm structure 1300 may include performing an SCell activation procedure based on the information and the high-speed mode at 1306. In some embodiments, the trigger for the activation procedure or the duration of the activation procedure is based on the high-speed mode of the UE. Specifically, direct SCell activation may be used, where receiving configuration information may trigger the direct SCell activation, such as Figure 11 Additionally or alternatively, as Figure 12 As described above, the duration of the SCell activation process can be shortened by activating a serving cell with a specific SMTC configuration, reusing available coarse cell timing, reusing AGC estimation, and / or reusing Doppler shift estimation when applicable.

[0132] The operational flow / algorithm structure 1300 may include receiving or transmitting data on the activated serving cell at 1308. In some embodiments, the activated serving cell provides a PDSCH or a PDCCH, where the UE receives traffic data or control on the PDSCH or PDCCH, respectively. In other embodiments, the activated serving cell provides a PUSCH, where the UE transmits traffic data on the PUSCH.

[0133] Figure 14 1. Receive component 1400 of UE 104 according to some embodiments is shown. Receive component 1400 may include an antenna panel 1404 that includes a plurality of antenna elements. Panel 1404 is shown with four antenna elements, but other embodiments may include other numbers.

[0134] The antenna panel 1404 may be coupled to an analog beamforming (BF) component including a plurality of phase shifters 1408(1) to 1408(4). The phase shifters 1408(1) to 1408(4) may be coupled to a radio frequency (RF) chain 1412. The RF chain 1412 may amplify the received analog RF signal, downconvert the RF signal to baseband, and convert the analog baseband signal to a digital baseband signal that may be provided to a baseband processor for further processing.

[0135] In various embodiments, control circuitry, which may reside in a baseband processor, may provide BF weights (e.g., W1-W4) to phase shifters 1408(1) through 1408(4) to provide receive beams at antenna panel 1404. These BF weights may represent phase shift values. These BF weights may be determined based on channel-based beamforming.

[0136] Figure 15 UE 1500 according to some embodiments is shown. UE 1500 may be similar to Figure 1 UE 154 and is essentially interchangeable therewith.

[0137] Similar to what is described above with respect to UE 154, UE 1500 may be any mobile or non-mobile computing device, such as a mobile phone, a computer, a tablet, an industrial wireless sensor (e.g., a microphone, a carbon dioxide sensor, a pressure sensor, a humidity sensor, a thermometer, a motion sensor, an accelerometer, a laser scanner, a fluid level sensor, an inventory sensor, a voltage / current meter, an actuator, etc.), a video surveillance / monitoring device (e.g., a camera, a video camera, etc.), a wearable device, or a loose IoT device. In some embodiments, the UE may be a reduced-capacity UE or an NR-Light UE.

[0138] UE 1500 may include a processor 1504, an RF interface circuit 1508, a memory / storage 1512, a user interface 1516, a sensor 1520, a driver circuit 1522, a power management integrated circuit (PMIC) 1524, and a battery 1528. The components of UE 1500 may be implemented as an integrated circuit (IC), a portion of an integrated circuit, a discrete electronic device or other module, logic, hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof. Figure 15 The block diagram is intended to show a high-level view of certain of the components of the UE 1500. However, some of the components shown may be omitted, additional components may be present, and different arrangements of the shown components may occur in other implementations.

[0139] Components of UE 1500 may be coupled to various other components via one or more interconnects 1532, which may represent any type of interface, input / output, bus (local, system, or extension), transmission line, trace, optical connection, etc., that allows various circuit components (on a common or different chip or chipset) to interact with each other.

[0140] The processor 1504 may include processor circuits such as a baseband processor circuit (BB) 1504A, a central processor unit circuit (CPU) 1504B, and a graphics processor unit circuit (GPU) 1504C. The processor 1504 may include any type of circuit or processor circuit that executes or otherwise operates computer-executable instructions (such as program code, software modules, or functional processes from the memory / storage device 1512) to cause the UE 1500 to perform operations as described herein.

[0141] In some embodiments, the baseband processor circuit 1504A can access the communication protocol stack 1536 in the memory / storage device 1512 to communicate over a 3GPP-compatible network. Generally speaking, the baseband processor circuit 1504A can access the communication protocol stack to perform user plane functions at the PHY layer, MAC layer, RLC layer, PDCP layer, SDAP layer, and PDU layer; and control plane functions at the PHY layer, MAC layer, RLC layer, PDCP layer, RRC layer, and non-access stratum (NAS) layer. In some embodiments, PHY layer operations can additionally / alternatively be performed by components of the RF interface circuit 1508.

[0142] The baseband processor circuit 1504A may generate or process baseband signals or waveforms that carry information in a 3GPP-compliant network. In some embodiments, the waveforms used for NR may be based on cyclic prefix OFDM (CP-OFDM) in the uplink or downlink, and discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-S-OFDM) in the uplink.

[0143] The baseband processor circuit 1504A may also access group information 1524 from the memory / storage 1512 to determine search space groups in which multiple repetitions of the PDCCH may be transmitted.

[0144] The memory / storage 1512 may include any type of volatile or non-volatile memory that may be distributed throughout the UE 1500. In some embodiments, some of the memory / storage 1512 may be located on the processor 1504 itself (e.g., L1 cache and L2 cache), while other memory / storage 1512 may be external to the processor 1504 but accessible via a memory interface. The memory / storage 1512 may include any suitable volatile or non-volatile memory, such as, but not limited to, dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, solid-state memory, or any other type of memory device technology.

[0145] The RF interface circuit 1508 may include transceiver circuitry and a radio frequency front-end module (RFEM), which allows the UE 1500 to communicate with other devices over a radio access network. The RF interface circuit 1508 may include various components arranged in a transmit path or a receive path. These components may include, for example, switches, mixers, amplifiers, filters, synthesizer circuits, control circuits, and the like.

[0146] In the receive path, the RFEM receives the radiated signal from the air interface via antenna 1524 and further filters and amplifies the signal (using a low noise amplifier). The signal can be provided to the transceiver's receiver, which down-converts the RF signal to a baseband signal that is provided to the baseband processor of processor 1504.

[0147] In the transmit path, the transmitter of the transceiver up-converts the baseband signal received from the baseband processor and provides an RF signal to the RFEM. The RFEM may amplify the RF signal through a power amplifier before radiating the signal across the air interface via the antenna 1524.

[0148] In various embodiments, the RF interface circuit 1508 may be configured to transmit / receive signals in a manner compatible with NR access technology.

[0149] Antenna 1524 may include multiple antenna elements, each of which converts electrical signals into radio waves to travel through the air and converts received radio waves into electrical signals. These antenna elements may be arranged into one or more antenna panels. Antenna 1524 may have antenna panels that are omnidirectional, directional, or a combination thereof to enable beamforming and multiple-input / multiple-output communications. Antenna 1524 may include microstrip antennas, printed antennas fabricated on the surface of one or more printed circuit boards, patch antennas, phased array antennas, and the like. Antenna 1524 may have one or more panels designed for specific frequency bands, including those in FR1 or FR2.

[0150] User interface circuitry 1516 includes various input / output (I / O) devices designed to enable a user to interact with UE 1500. User interface circuitry 1516 includes input device circuitry and output device circuitry. Input device circuitry includes any physical or virtual means for accepting input, including, in particular, one or more physical or virtual buttons (e.g., a reset button), a physical keyboard, a keypad, a mouse, a trackpad, a touch screen, a microphone, a scanner, a headset, and the like. Output device circuitry includes any physical or virtual means for displaying or otherwise communicating information (such as sensor readings, actuator positions, or other similar information). Output device circuitry may include any number or combination of audio or visual displays, including, in particular, one or more simple visual outputs / indicators (e.g., binary state indicators such as light emitting diodes (LEDs) and multi-character visual outputs), or more complex outputs such as a display device or touch screen (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD), an LED display, a quantum dot display, a projector, and the like), where output of characters, graphics, multimedia objects, and the like is generated or produced by the operation of UE 1500.

[0151] Sensors 1520 may include devices, modules, or subsystems designed to detect events or changes in their environment and send information about the detected events (sensor data) to some other device, module, subsystem, etc. Examples of such sensors include, among others: an inertial measurement unit including an accelerometer, a gyroscope, or a magnetometer; a microelectromechanical system or nanoelectromechanical system including a three-axis accelerometer, a three-axis gyroscope, or a magnetometer; a fluid level sensor; a flow sensor; a temperature sensor (e.g., a thermistor); a pressure sensor; a barometric pressure sensor; a gravity meter; an altimeter; an image capture device (e.g., a camera or a lensless aperture); a light detection and ranging sensor; a proximity sensor (e.g., an infrared radiation detector, etc.); a depth sensor; an ambient light sensor; an ultrasonic transceiver; a microphone or other similar audio capture device; etc.

[0152] The driver circuit 1522 may include software and hardware components for controlling specific devices embedded in, attached to, or otherwise communicatively coupled to the UE 1500. The driver circuit 1522 may include various drivers to allow other components to interact with or control various input / output (I / O) devices that may be present in or connected to the UE 1500. For example, the driver circuit 1522 may include a display driver for controlling and enabling access to a display device, a touch screen driver for controlling and enabling access to a touch screen interface, a sensor driver for obtaining sensor readings from the sensor circuit 1520 and controlling and enabling access to the sensor circuit 1520, a driver for obtaining actuator positions of electromechanical components or controlling and enabling access to electromechanical components, a camera driver for controlling and enabling access to an embedded image capture device, and an audio driver for controlling and enabling access to one or more audio devices.

[0153] The PMIC 1524 may manage the power provided to various components of the UE 1500. Specifically, with respect to the processor 1504, the PMIC 1524 may control power source selection, voltage scaling, battery charging, or DC-DC conversion.

[0154] In some embodiments, the PMIC 1524 can control or otherwise be part of various power-saving mechanisms for the UE 1500. For example, if the platform UE is in the RRC_Connected state, in which it remains connected to a RAN node because it expects to receive traffic soon, after a period of inactivity, the platform can enter a state known as discontinuous reception mode (DRX). During this state, the UE 1500 can power down for short intervals, thereby saving power. If there is no data traffic activity for an extended period, the UE 1500 can transition to the RRC_Idle state, in which it is disconnected from the network and does not perform operations such as channel quality feedback or handovers. The UE 1500 enters a very low-power state and performs paging, in which it periodically wakes up again to listen to the network before powering down again. The UE 1500 may not receive data in this state; to do so, the platform must transition back to the RRC_Connected state. Additional power-saving modes can prevent the device from using the network for periods exceeding the paging interval (which can range from a few seconds to several hours). During this time, the device is completely unable to connect to the network and can be completely powered off. Any data sent during this time will incur significant delays, assuming that the delay is acceptable.

[0155] The battery 1528 can power the UE 1500, but in some examples, the UE 1500 can be installed in a fixed location and can have a power source coupled to the power grid. The battery 1528 can be a lithium-ion battery, a metal-air battery such as a zinc-air battery, an aluminum-air battery, a lithium-air battery, etc. In some implementations, such as in vehicle-based applications, the battery 1528 can be a typical lead-acid automobile battery.

[0156] Figure 16 FIG2 shows a gNB 1600 according to some embodiments. The gNB node 1600 may be similar to, and substantially interchangeable with, gNB 108. A base station, such as base station 162, may have the same or similar components as gNB 1600.

[0157] gNB 1600 may include a processor 1604, an RF interface circuit 1608, a core network (CN) interface circuit 1612, and a memory / storage device circuit 1616.

[0158] Components of gNB 1600 may be coupled to various other components via one or more interconnects 1628.

[0159] The processor 1604, RF interface circuit 1608, memory / storage circuit 1616 (including communication protocol stack 1610), antenna 1624, and interconnect 1628 may be similar to those described with reference to FIG. Figure 10 Like-named elements are shown and described.

[0160] The CN interface circuitry 1612 can provide connectivity to the core network, for example, using a 5th Generation Core Network (5GC)-compatible network interface protocol, such as the Carrier Ethernet protocol or some other suitable 5GC protocol. Network connectivity can be provided to / from the gNB 1600 via optical fiber or wireless backhaul. The CN interface circuitry 1612 can include one or more dedicated processors or FPGAs for communicating using one or more of the aforementioned protocols. In some implementations, the CN interface circuitry 1612 can include multiple controllers for providing connectivity to other networks using the same or different protocols.

[0161] It is understood that the use of personally identifiable information should be subject to privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized to meet or exceed industry or government requirements for maintaining user privacy. Specifically, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of authorized use should be clearly stated to users.

[0162] For one or more embodiments, at least one of the components shown in one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to perform one or more operations, techniques, processes, or methods described in the Examples section below. For example, the baseband circuitry described above in conjunction with one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples described below. For another example, circuitry associated with the UE, base station, network element, etc. described above in conjunction with one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples shown in the Examples section below.

[0163] Example

[0164] In the following sections, additional exemplary embodiments are provided.

[0165] Embodiment 1 includes a method implemented by a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: receiving configuration information for carrier aggregation from a base station, wherein the configuration information indicates a set of serving cells, wherein at least one of a size of the set, a location of the serving cells indicated in the set, or a component carrier of the serving cells is based on a high-speed mode of the UE, and wherein the high-speed mode is an operating mode that supports a travel speed of the UE greater than a speed threshold; performing an activation process for at least one serving cell in the set; and sending or receiving data on the at least one serving cell.

[0166] Embodiment 2 includes the method according to embodiment 1, further comprising: sending UE capability information indicating that the UE supports the high-speed mode to the base station.

[0167] Embodiment 3 includes the method of embodiment 2, wherein the UE capability information is sent in an information element that also indicates the band combination capability of the UE.

[0168] Embodiment 4 includes the method of embodiment 2, wherein the UE capability information is sent in a first information element, and wherein the method further comprises sending a second information element indicating the band combining capability of the UE to the base station.

[0169] Embodiment 5 includes the method according to embodiment 2, wherein the UE capability information further indicates the number of serving cells that the UE supports carrier aggregation in the high speed mode, wherein the size of the set is equal to or less than the number.

[0170] Embodiment 6 includes the method of embodiment 2, wherein the UE capability information further indicates a frequency band combination of serving cells for which the UE supports carrier aggregation in the high speed mode, wherein the set includes serving cells having component carriers based on the frequency band combination.

[0171] Embodiment 7 includes the method of any preceding embodiment, wherein the serving cells in the set are collocated serving cells.

[0172] Embodiment 8 includes the method according to any of the foregoing embodiments, further comprising: sending UE capability information to the base station indicating that the UE supports non-collocated service cells in the high-speed mode, wherein the configuration information indicates at least two non-collocated service cells based on the UE capability information.

[0173] Embodiment 9 includes a method according to any of the preceding embodiments, further comprising: sending UE capability information to the base station indicating whether the UE supports intra-band component carriers or inter-band component carriers, wherein the configuration information indicates a service cell in the set having component carriers in the same frequency band or in different frequency bands based on the UE capability information.

[0174] Embodiment 10 includes a method according to any of the preceding embodiments, further comprising: sending UE capability information to the base station indicating that the UE supports inter-band component carriers and further indicating whether the UE supports non-collocated service cells, wherein the configuration information indicates the service cells in the set that are collocated or non-collocated and have component carriers in different frequency bands based on the UE capability information.

[0175] Embodiment 11 includes a method according to any preceding embodiment, wherein the configuration information further indicates an intra-frequency measurement object for the at least one serving cell, and wherein the method further comprises: selecting the at least one serving cell for activation based on the intra-frequency measurement object.

[0176] Embodiment 12 includes a method implemented by a base station, the method comprising: determining that a UE is in a high-speed mode, wherein the high-speed mode is an operating mode that supports a travel speed of the UE greater than a speed threshold; generating configuration information for carrier aggregation, wherein the configuration information indicates a set of serving cells, wherein a size of the set, a location of the serving cells indicated in the set, or at least one of the component carriers of the serving cells is based on the high-speed mode; and sending the configuration information to the UE.

[0177] Embodiment 13 includes the method of embodiment 12, wherein the size of the set has an upper limit predefined in the configuration of the base station.

[0178] Embodiment 14 includes the method according to any preceding embodiment 12 to 13, further comprising: selecting at least one serving cell from the set; and including intra-frequency measurement objects associated with the at least one serving cell in the configuration information.

[0179] Embodiment 15 includes the method according to any of the preceding embodiments 12 to 14, further comprising: determining a collocated serving cell based on the high-speed mode; and including an identifier of the serving cell in the configuration information, wherein the identifier indicates the set of serving cells.

[0180] Embodiment 16 includes the method according to any preceding embodiment 12 to 15, further comprising: determining an in-band component carrier based on the high-speed mode; and including an identifier of a serving cell having the in-band component carrier in the configuration information, wherein the identifier indicates the set of serving cells.

[0181] Embodiment 17 includes a method according to any preceding embodiment 12 to 16, further comprising: determining a co-located serving cell having an inter-band component carrier based on the high-speed mode; and including an identifier of the serving cell in the configuration information, wherein the identifier indicates the set of serving cells.

[0182] Embodiment 18 includes a method implemented by a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: receiving configuration information for carrier aggregation from a base station, wherein the configuration information indicates a set of serving cells; performing an activation process for at least one serving cell in the set, wherein at least one of a triggering item for the activation process or a duration of the activation process is based on a high-speed mode of the UE, wherein the high-speed mode is an operating mode that supports a travel speed of the UE greater than a speed threshold; and sending or receiving data on the serving cell.

[0183] Embodiment 19 includes a method according to embodiment 18, wherein the configuration information includes RRC configuration information, wherein the method further includes: sending UE capability information to the base station indicating that the UE supports the high-speed mode, wherein the activation process is directly performed when the RRC configuration information is received and there is no medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) for activating the service cell, and wherein the RRC configuration information corresponds to service cell addition or switching.

[0184] Embodiment 20 includes a method according to any of the foregoing embodiments 18 to 19, wherein performing the activation process includes shortening the duration of the activation process based on the high-speed mode by performing at least one of the following: selecting the service cell for activation based on determining that the service cell has a synchronization signal block (SSB) measurement timing configuration (SMTC) less than a time threshold; using cell timing information associated with an already activated service cell in the activation process of the service cell; using antenna gain control (AGC) associated with the already activated service cell in the activation process of the service cell; or using a Doppler drift estimate associated with the already activated service cell for the Doppler drift in the activation process of the service cell.

[0185] Embodiment 21 includes a UE comprising means for performing one or more elements of the method described in or related to any one of embodiments 1 to 11 or 18 to 20.

[0186] Embodiment 22 includes one or more non-transitory computer-readable media, which include instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a UE, cause the UE to perform one or more elements of a method described in or related to any one of embodiments 1 to 11 or 18 to 20.

[0187] Embodiment 23 includes a UE comprising logic, modules, or circuits for performing one or more elements of the method described in or related to any one of embodiments 1 to 11 or 18 to 20.

[0188] Embodiment 24 includes a UE comprising: one or more processors and one or more computer-readable media, wherein the one or more computer-readable media include instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform one or more elements of a method described in or related to any one of embodiments 1 to 11 or 18 to 20.

[0189] Embodiment 25 includes a system comprising means for performing one or more elements of the method as described or related to any one of embodiments 1-11 or 18-20.

[0190] Embodiment 26 includes a base station comprising means for performing one or more elements of the method according to or in connection with any one of embodiments 12 to 17.

[0191] Embodiment 27 includes one or more non-transitory computer-readable media, which include instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of the UE, cause the base station to perform one or more elements of the method described in or related to any one of embodiments 12 to 17.

[0192] Embodiment 28 includes a base station comprising logic, modules, or circuits for performing one or more elements of the method described in or related to any one of embodiments 12 to 17.

[0193] Embodiment 29 includes a base station comprising: one or more processors and one or more computer-readable media, wherein the one or more computer-readable media include instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform one or more elements of a method described in or related to any one of embodiments 12 to 17.

[0194] Embodiment 30 includes a system comprising means for performing one or more elements of the method according to or in connection with any one of embodiments 12 to 17.

[0195] Unless expressly stated otherwise, any of the above examples may be combined with any other example (or combination of examples). The foregoing description of one or more specific implementations provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of the embodiments to the precise forms disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings or may be acquired from practice of the various embodiments.

[0196] Although the above embodiments have been described in considerable detail, numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated. It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to encompass all such variations and modifications.

Claims

1. A method implemented by a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: receiving configuration information for carrier aggregation from a base station, wherein the configuration information indicates a set of serving cells, wherein at least one of a size of the set, a location of a serving cell indicated in the set, or a component carrier of the serving cell is based on a high speed mode of the UE, and wherein the high speed mode is an operating mode that supports a travel speed of the UE greater than a speed threshold; executing an activation process for at least one serving cell in the set; as well as Data is sent or received on the at least one serving cell.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: UE capability information indicating that the UE supports the high speed mode is sent to the base station. 3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the UE capability information is sent in an information element that also indicates the band combination capability of the UE.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the UE capability information is sent in a first information element, and wherein the method further comprises: A second information element indicating the frequency band combining capability of the UE is sent to the base station.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the UE capability information further indicates the number of serving cells supported by the UE for carrier aggregation in the high speed mode, wherein the size of the set is equal to or smaller than the number.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the UE capability information further indicates a frequency band combination of a serving cell for which the UE supports carrier aggregation in the high speed mode, wherein the set includes serving cells having component carriers based on the frequency band combination.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the serving cells in the set are collocated serving cells.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising: UE capability information indicating that the UE supports non-collocated serving cells in the high-speed mode is sent to the base station, wherein the configuration information indicates at least two non-collocated serving cells based on the UE capability information.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, further comprising: UE capability information indicating whether the UE supports intra-band component carriers or inter-band component carriers is sent to the base station, wherein the configuration information indicates a serving cell in the set having component carriers in the same frequency band or in different frequency bands based on the UE capability information.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, further comprising: UE capability information is sent to the base station, indicating that the UE supports inter-band component carriers and further indicating whether the UE supports non-collocated serving cells, wherein the configuration information indicates serving cells in the set that are collocated or non-collocated and have component carriers in different frequency bands based on the UE capability information.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the configuration information further indicates an intra-frequency measurement object for the at least one serving cell, and wherein the method further comprises: The at least one serving cell for activation is selected based on the intra-frequency measurement object.

12. A base station, comprising: one or more processors; and one or more memories storing computer-readable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, configure the base station to: determining that the UE is in a high speed mode, wherein the high speed mode is an operating mode supporting a travel speed of the UE greater than a speed threshold; generating configuration information for carrier aggregation, wherein the configuration information indicates a set of serving cells, wherein at least one of a size of the set, a location of the serving cells indicated in the set, or a component carrier of the serving cells is based on the high speed mode; as well as Sending the configuration information to the UE.

13. The base station according to claim 12, wherein the size of the set has an upper limit predefined in the configuration of the base station.

14. The base station of any one of claims 12 to 13, wherein execution of the computer-readable instructions further configures the base station to: selecting at least one serving cell from the set; and The configuration information includes an intra-frequency measurement object associated with the at least one serving cell.

15. The base station of any one of claims 12 to 14, wherein execution of the computer-readable instructions further configures the base station to: determining a collocated serving cell based on the high-speed mode; and An identifier of the serving cell is included in the configuration information, wherein the identifier indicates the set of serving cells.

16. The base station of any one of claims 12 to 15, wherein execution of the computer-readable instructions further configures the base station to: determining an in-band component carrier based on the high speed mode; and An identifier of a serving cell having the in-band component carrier is included in the configuration information, wherein the identifier indicates the set of serving cells.

17. The base station of any one of claims 12 to 16, wherein execution of the computer-readable instructions further configures the base station to: determining a collocated serving cell having an inter-band component carrier based on the high speed mode; and An identifier of the serving cell is included in the configuration information, wherein the identifier indicates the set of serving cells.

18. A user equipment (UE), the UE comprising: one or more processors; and one or more memories storing computer-readable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, configure the UE to: receiving configuration information for carrier aggregation from a base station, wherein the configuration information indicates a set of serving cells; performing an activation procedure for at least one serving cell in the set, wherein at least one of a trigger for the activation procedure or a duration of the activation procedure is based on a high speed mode of the UE, wherein the high speed mode is an operating mode supporting a travel speed of the UE greater than a speed threshold; as well as Data is sent or received on the serving cell.

19. The UE of claim 18, wherein the configuration information comprises RRC configuration information, wherein the execution of the computer-readable instructions further configures the UE to: UE capability information indicating that the UE supports the high-speed mode is sent to the base station, wherein the activation process is directly performed when the RRC configuration information is received and there is no medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) for activating the serving cell, and wherein the RRC configuration information corresponds to serving cell addition or switching.

20. The UE according to any one of claims 18 to 19, wherein performing the activation procedure comprises shortening the duration of the activation procedure based on the high-speed mode by performing at least one of the following: selecting the serving cell for activation based on determining that the serving cell has a synchronization signal block (SSB) measurement timing configuration (SMTC) that is less than a time threshold; using cell timing information associated with an already activated serving cell during said activation of said serving cell; using antenna gain control (AGC) associated with the already activated serving cell during the activation process of the serving cell; or The Doppler shift associated with the already activated serving cell is estimated to be used for the Doppler shift during the activation of the serving cell.

Citation Information

Patent Citations

  • Methods and apparatus for coordinating resources

    CN111600694A

  • Configuration of a set of carriers in a carrier aggregation operation of a wireless communication system

    US20170238316A1