Method for wireless communication

Abstract

Providing coverage enhancement for a user equipment (UE) includes decoding a random access channel (RACH) preamble received from the user equipment (UE) via a physical random access channel (PRACH). A repetition number associated with transmitting a random access response (RAR) via a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) can be determined in response to the RACH preamble. A transmission for the UE to be sent via a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) can be encoded. The transmission can indicate the repetition number to the UE using one or more reserved bits of downlink control information (DCI).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates generally to wireless communication systems, including providing coverage enhancement to user equipment. Background Art

[0002] Wireless mobile communication technology uses various standards and protocols to transmit data between base stations and wireless mobile devices. Wireless communication system standards and protocols may include the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE) (e.g., 4G) or New Radio (NR) (e.g., 5G); the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.16 standard, which is commonly referred to by industry organizations as Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX); and the IEEE 802.11 standard for Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs), which is commonly referred to by industry organizations as Wi-Fi. In the 3GPP Radio Access Network (RAN) in an LTE system, a base station may include a RAN node such as an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) Node B (also commonly referred to as an evolved Node B, enhanced Node B, eNodeB, or eNB) and / or a Radio Network Controller (RNC) in the E-UTRAN, which communicates with a wireless communication device called a user equipment (UE). In the fifth generation (5G) wireless RAN, the RAN nodes may include 5G nodes, NR nodes (also known as next generation Node B or g NodeB (gNB)).

[0003] The RAN uses radio access technologies (RATs) to communicate between RAN nodes and UEs. The RAN may include Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) RAN (GERAN), Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN), and / or E-UTRAN, which provide access to communication services through the core network. Each RAN in the RAN operates according to a specific 3GPP RAT. For example, GERAN implements GSM and / or EDGE RATs, UTRAN implements Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) RATs or other 3GPP RATs, E-UTRAN implements LTE RATs, and NG-RAN implements 5G RATs. In some deployments, E-UTRAN may also implement 5G RATs.

[0004] The frequency bands for 5G NR can be divided into two different frequency ranges. Frequency Range 1 (FR1) includes frequency bands below 6 GHz, some of which may be used by previous standards but can potentially be expanded to cover potential new spectrum products from 410 MHz to 7125 MHz. Frequency Range 2 (FR2) includes frequency bands from 24.25 GHz to 52.6 GHz. The frequency bands in the millimeter wave (mmWave) range of FR2 have a shorter range but higher available bandwidth than the frequency bands in FR1. The skilled person will recognize that these frequency ranges, which are provided by way of example, may vary over time or from region to region. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0005] To easily identify the discussion of any particular element or act, the most significant digit(s) in a reference number refers to the drawing number that first introduces the element.

[0006] Figure 1 A communication flow diagram according to one embodiment is shown.

[0007] Figure 2 A communication flow diagram according to one embodiment is shown.

[0008] Figure 3 Aspects of the subject matter according to one embodiment are shown.

[0009] Figure 4 A flow chart of a method according to one embodiment is shown.

[0010] Figure 5 A flow chart of a method according to one embodiment is shown.

[0011] Figure 6 A flow chart of a method according to one embodiment is shown.

[0012] Figure 7 A flow chart of a method according to one embodiment is shown.

[0013] Figure 8 A system according to one embodiment is shown.

[0014] Figure 9 Infrastructure equipment according to one embodiment is shown.

[0015] Figure 10 A platform according to one embodiment is shown.

[0016] Figure 11 An apparatus according to one embodiment is shown.

[0017] Figure 12 An exemplary interface according to one embodiment is shown.

[0018] Figure 13 Components according to one embodiment are shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0019] Target channels for identifying coverage enhancement in 5G NR networks include at least the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) and the Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH). Enhanced solutions may include time domain, frequency domain, demodulation reference signal (DM-RS) enhancement (including no DM-RS transmission), and repetition. Specifically, the Random Access Channel (RACH) procedure (both 4-step and 2-step) is particularly targeted for various coverage enhancement improvements using this document.

[0020] Figure 1 The four-step RACH process is illustrated in the form of a communication flow diagram 100. As shown, the four-step RACH process begins when UE 102 transmits Message 1 (Msg1) 106 (which includes a RACH preamble on the Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH)) to the appropriate beam of base station 104 (e.g., gNB). Notably, the PRACH resource is associated with the downlink (DL) synchronization signal block (SSB) index. Therefore, the gNB can determine the SSB of the best UE.

[0021] Upon receiving / decoding the preamble, the base station 104 responds to the UE's random access (RA) by transmitting a message 2 (Msg2) 108, which is scheduled by a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) downlink control information (DCI) format 1_0 with a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) scrambled by a random access radio network temporary identifier (RA-RNTI). In addition, Msg2 is sent over a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) and includes a temporary cell radio network temporary identifier (TC-RNTI), a timing advance, and an uplink (UL) grant (e.g., a random access response (RAR) UL grant) for a future message 3 (Msg3) transmission by the UE.

[0022] UE 102 then transmits Msg3 110 on the PUSCH grant indicated by base station 104 in Msg2. Msg3 may include uplink scheduling information sent over PUSCH. If the base station fails to decode Msg3, the base station will send PDCCH DCI format 0_0 with a CRC scrambled by TC-RNTI to reschedule Msg3. In addition, the waveform of Msg3, discrete Fourier transform spread orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (DFT-s-OFDM) or orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), is broadcast in the remaining minimum system information (RMSI). Base station 104 confirms the UE's reception of Msg3 by scheduling a PDSCH grant, which is referred to herein as message 4 (Msg4) 112. In addition, as part of Msg4 112, base station 104 assists UE 102 with contention resolution. Then, UE 102 monitors both fallback DCI format 0_0 and fallback DCI format 1_0 with CRC scrambled by TC-RNT. Notably, DCI format 0_0 reschedules Msg3, while DCI format 1_0 schedules PDSCH.

[0023] Figure 2 A two-step RACH procedure is illustrated in the form of a communication flow diagram 200. As shown, UE 202 initiates the two-step RACH procedure by transmitting Message A (MsgA) 106 to base station 204. MsgA essentially includes Msg1 and Msg3 of the four-step RACH procedure. For example, MsgA 106 may include a RACH preamble similar to Msg1 and a PUSCH similar to Msg3. Similarly, Message B (MsgB) 208, sent from base station 204 to UE 202, essentially includes Msg2 and Msg4 of the four-step RACH procedure. For example, MsgB 208 may include a RAR UL grant similar to Msg2 and contention resolution similar to Msg4.

[0024] In the current NR specification (i.e., 3GPP Release 16), Msg2 and Msg3 of the 4-step RACH procedure are scheduled using fallback DL DCI and fallback UL DCI, respectively. However, scheduling using fallback DCI currently cannot support repetitions. Therefore, the disclosure herein discusses solutions that can enhance the coverage of the RACH procedure, including Msg2 and Msg3. For example, such solutions discussed herein include: 1. Explicitly indicating the number of repetitions of both Msg2 and Msg3 in the fallback DCI; and 2. Providing an indication of an applicable waveform rather than RMSI. Specifically, this document provides three solutions associated with indicating the number of repetitions associated with Msg2, Msg3, and / or MsgB, followed by a solution associated with providing an indication of an applicable waveform rather than RMSI.

[0025] The first detailed solution involves the gNB indicating the number of repetitions for the PDSCH carrying Msg2 via DCI 1_0 with a CRC scrambled by the RA-RNTI. This allows the UE to monitor the indicated number of repetitions. Specifically, this solution includes two options: 1. One (or more) of the reserved bits can indicate the number of repetitions. For example, a set of repetition numbers can be broadcast in the System Information Block (SIB), and the DCI can later be mapped to the indication provided in the SIB. In other words, each possible bit value provided in the SIB will be mapped to a specific repetition number that can be identified via the DCI. Or 2. The DCI directly indicates the repetition number. For example, using bit 00 to indicate no repetition, bit 01 to indicate one repetition, and so on.

[0026] In addition, a similar proposal can be used to indicate the number of repetitions for Message B (MsgB) of DCI 1_0 with a CRC scrambled by MsgB-RNTI (note that MsgB includes the second step of the 2-step RACH procedure). For MsgB repetition indication, the number of repetitions can be indicated by a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (MAC CE).

[0027] The second detailed solution involves the gNB indicating the number of repetitions of the PDSCH carrying Msg4 via DCI format 1_0 with a CRC scrambled by the TC-RNTI, which allows the UE to monitor the indicated number of repetitions. It is worth noting that DCI format 1_0 with a CRC scrambled by the TC-RNTI used to schedule Msg4 has only two reserved bits in the form of a downlink allocation index (DAI). Therefore, the gNB can use the DAI reserved bits to indicate the number of repetitions.

[0028] In such an embodiment, the gNB may use all or only a portion of the reserved DAI bits. In other embodiments, the gNB may reuse other bit fields. In one example, the gNB may use the Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) Process Number (HPN), which comprises four bits, to indicate the repetition count. In such an example, the gNB may also utilize a fixed, predetermined HARQ index to determine the repetition count associated with a particular HPN bit value.

[0029] The third detailed solution involves the gNB indicating the number of repetitions of the PUSCH carrying Msg3 via DCI format 0_0 with a CRC scrambled by the TC-RNTI. This allows the UE to transmit Msg3 according to the indicated number of repetitions. Notably, DCI format 0_0 with a CRC scrambled by the TC-RNTI, used to schedule Msg3 retransmissions, has the following reserved bit fields: 1. New Data Indicator (NDI), which consists of one reserved bit; and 2. HARQ Process Number, which consists of four reserved bits. Therefore, the gNB can use the NDI and / or HPN bit fields to indicate the number of repetitions.

[0030] Specifically, the following options can be implemented: 1. A specific repetition number can be broadcast in the SIB and later mapped to one of them via the DCI (i.e., an indirect indication, which includes mapping each of the possible broadcast bits to a specific predefined repetition number); 2. The NDI bit is set to 1 to verify that the bit value in the HPN will be repeated for indicating the repetition number (or the NDI bit is set to 0 when the bit value in the HPN will not be repeated for indicating repetition); or 3. The 2LSBs (least significant bits) of the HPN, the 2MSBs (most significant bits) of the HPN, or all bits of the HPN can be used to indicate the repetition number. Option 1 or Option 2 can be a direct indication (e.g., 01 indicates 1 repetition) or an indirect indication (e.g., mapping each possible bit value to a specific predefined repetition number).

[0031] Regarding the fourth solution involving waveform indication of Msg3, 3GPP TS 38.214 Section 6.1.3 specifies that for PUSCH scheduled by Random Access Response (RAR) UL grant, PUSCH scheduled by fallback RAR UL grant, or PUSCH scheduled by DCI format 0_0 with CRC scrambled by TC-RNTI, the UE shall consider transform precoding "enabled" or "disabled" according to a higher-layer configured parameter called "msg3-transformPrecoder". In addition, 3GPP TS 38.331 specifies that msg3-transformPrecoder is configured with the cell-specific parameter IE RACH-ConfigCommon.

[0032] Therefore, the fourth solution involves enabling the transform precoder for Msg3 transmissions (i.e., for UEs that want to enhance / restore coverage). Specifically, the fourth solution involves the gNB indicating whether the transform precoder is enabled for Msg3 transmissions via the following options: 1. In the RAR UL grant, a single reserved bit in the first octet can be used to indicate that transform precoding is enabled. For example, a 0 indicates that the transform precoder is disabled and a 1 indicates that it is enabled (or vice versa); 2. For DCI format 0_0 with a CRC scrambled by the TC-RNTI, some reserved bits can be reused to indicate whether the transform precoder is enabled. For example, an NDI of 0 indicates that the transform precoder is disabled and a 1 indicates that it is enabled (or vice versa); or 3. An implicit indication can be provided. As a first example, the UE can indicate that it includes coverage enhancement / recovery (e.g., based on the provided PRACH resources / preamble). The UE may also indicate that it is limited in terms of coverage enhancement / recovery (e.g., within a subset of bits in the preamble for coverage-limited UEs, such as bits 1-10 out of 64 bits). As a second example of implicit indication, if Msg3 is rescheduled, the transform precoder may be enabled. Similarly, if Msg3 is not rescheduled, the transform precoder may be disabled.

[0033] It is worth noting that regarding the first option of the fourth solution mentioned above, 3GPP TS 38.321 Section 6.2.3 MAC Payload for Random Access Response specifies that “MAC RAR has Figure 3 It is of fixed size as shown and consists of the following fields:

[0034] -R: reserved bit, set to "0";

[0035] - Timing Advance Command: The Timing Advance Command field indicates the index value TA used to control the timing adjustment amount that the MAC entity must apply in TS 38.213 [6]. The size of the Timing Advance Command field is 12 bits;

[0036] -UL Grant: The Uplink Grant field indicates the resources to be used on the uplink in TS 38.213 [6]. The size of the UL Grant field is 27 bits;

[0037] - Temporary C-RNTI: The Temporary C-RNTI field indicates the temporary identity used by the MAC entity during random access. The size of the Temporary C-RNTI field is 16 bits.

[0038] MAC RAR is octet aligned."

[0039] like Figure 3 As shown, the first octet 302 includes a reserved bit R and a portion of the timing advance command; the second octet 304 includes the remaining portion of the timing advance command and a portion of the UL grant; the third octet 306, the fourth octet 308, and the fifth octet 310 each include the remaining portion of the UL grant; and the sixth octet 312 and the seventh octet 314 each include a portion of the temporary C-RNTI.

[0040] Figure 4 A flow chart of a method 400 for providing coverage enhancement to a UE, including an indication of a possible number of repetitions, is shown. In block 402, the method 400 decodes a random access channel (RACH) preamble received from a user equipment (UE) via a physical random access channel (PRACH). For example, the RACH preamble may include Msg1 of the RACH procedure (i.e., step 1). In block 404, the method 400 determines, in response to the RACH preamble, a repetition number associated with transmitting a random access response (RAR) via a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH). For example, a base station (e.g., a gNB) may determine that the RAR will be transmitted four times. In block 406, the method 400 encodes a transmission for the UE to be transmitted via a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH). Specifically, the transmission may use one or more reserved bits of the transmission to indicate the number of repetitions to the UE.

[0041] Method 400 may also include: indicating a repetition number in a system information block (SIB); and mapping downlink control information (DCI) to the indicated repetition number in the SIB. Method 400 may also include using the DCI to directly indicate the repetition number. Method 300 may also include: encoding the RAR for transmission via a PDSCH; and transmitting the PDSCH up to a number of times equal to the repetition number.

[0042] The method 400 may further include the DCI including a DCI format 1_0 having a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) scrambled by a random access radio network temporary identifier (RA-RNTI). The method 400 may include indicating a repetition number using a medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC CE).

[0043] Figure 5A flow chart of a method 500 for providing coverage enhancement including an indication of a possible number of repetitions to a UE is shown. In block 502, the method 500 decodes a random access channel (RACH) preamble received from a user equipment (UE) via a physical random access channel (PRACH). For example, the RACH preamble may include Msg1 of a RACH procedure (i.e., step 1). In block 504, the method 500 encodes a random access response (RAR) via a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) in response to the RACH preamble. For example, the RAR may include Msg2 of the RACH procedure (i.e., step 2).

[0044] In block 506, method 500 decodes a scheduled uplink (UL) transmission received from the UE via the physical uplink shared channel. For example, the scheduled UL transmission may include Msg3 of the RACH procedure (i.e., step 3). In block 508, method 500 determines a repetition number associated with a response to the scheduled UL transmission via the PDSCH transmission. For example, a base station (e.g., a gNB) may determine that the RAR is to be transmitted three times. In block 510, method 500 encodes a transmission for the UE to be sent via the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH). Specifically, the transmission may indicate the repetition number to the UE.

[0045] The method 500 may also include: using a downlink allocation index (DAI) bit to indicate a repetition number. The method 500 may also include: reusing one or more bits of a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process number (HPN) to indicate a repetition number. The method 500 may also include: encoding a response to the scheduled UL transmission for transmission over the PDSCH; and transmitting the response to the scheduled UL transmission up to a number of times equal to the repetition number. The method 500 may also include: transmitting downlink control information (DCI) format 1_0 including a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) scrambled by a temporary cell radio network temporary identifier (TC-RNTI).

[0046] Figure 6A flow chart of a method 600 for providing coverage enhancement to a UE, including an indication of a possible number of repetitions, is shown. In block 602, the method 600 decodes a random access channel (RACH) preamble received from a user equipment (UE) via a physical random access channel (PRACH). For example, the RACH preamble may include Msg1 of a RACH procedure (i.e., step 1). In block 604, the method 600 determines a repetition number associated with an uplink (UL) transmission scheduled by the UE via a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission. For example, the scheduled UL transmission may include Msg3 of a RACH procedure (i.e., step 3). In another example, a base station (e.g., a gNB) may determine that the scheduled UL transmission will be transmitted three times. The scheduled UL transmission is scheduled by the base station in response to decoding the RACH preamble. In block 606, the method 600 encodes a transmission for the UE to be sent via a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH). Specifically, the transmission may indicate the number of repetitions to the UE.

[0047] The method 600 may further include: using at least one of one or more hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process number (HPN) bits and a new data indicator (NDI) bit to indicate the number of repetitions. The method 600 may further include: using one or more HPN bits to indicate the number of repetitions when the NDI bit is set to 1. The method 600 may further include using one of the following: the two least significant bits (LSBs) of the hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process number (HPN) bits, the two most significant bits (MSBs) of the HPN bits, or all HPN bits.

[0048] Figure 7 A flow chart of a method 700 for providing coverage enhancement including waveform indication to a UE is shown. In block 702, the method 700 decodes a random access channel (RACH) preamble received from a user equipment (UE) via a physical random access channel (PRACH). For example, the RACH preamble may include Msg1 of the RACH procedure (i.e., step 1). In block 704, the method 700 determines the validity of a transform precoding associated with an uplink (UL) transmission scheduled by the UE via a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission. For example, the scheduled UL transmission may be scheduled by a base station in response to decoding the RACH preamble. In block 706, the method 700 encodes a transmission to the UE to be sent via a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH). Specifically, the transmission may indicate the validity of the transform precoding to the UE.

[0049] The method 700 may further include scheduling a PUSCH for the scheduled UL transmission via a random access response (RAR) UL grant. The method 700 may further include indicating that transform precoding is enabled based on a single reserved bit in the first octet of the RAR. The method 700 may further include scheduling the PUSCH for the scheduled UL transmission via a downlink control information (DCI) format 0_0 having a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) scrambled by a temporary cell radio network temporary identifier (TC-RNTI). The method 700 may further include indicating that transform precoding is enabled based on the value of a new data indicator (NDI) bit.

[0050] Figure 8 An exemplary architecture of a system 800 of a network according to various embodiments is shown. The following description is provided for an exemplary system 800 operating in conjunction with LTE system standards and 5G or NR system standards provided by 3GPP technical specifications. However, the exemplary embodiments are not limited in this regard and may be applied to other networks that benefit from the principles described herein, such as future 3GPP systems (e.g., sixth generation (6G) systems), IEEE 802.16 protocols (e.g., WMAN, WiMAX, etc.), and the like.

[0051] like Figure 8 As shown, system 800 includes UE 822 and UE 820. In this example, UE 822 and UE 820 are shown as smartphones (e.g., handheld touchscreen mobile computing devices that can connect to one or more cellular networks), but may also include any mobile or non-mobile computing device, such as consumer electronic devices, mobile phones, smartphones, feature phones, tablet computers, wearable computer devices, personal digital assistants (PDAs), pagers, wireless handheld devices, desktop computers, laptop computers, in-vehicle infotainment (IVI), in-car entertainment (ICE) devices, instrument clusters (ICs), heads-up display (HUD) devices, on-board diagnostic (OBD) devices, dashtop mobile equipment (DME), mobile data terminals (MDTs), electronic engine management systems (EEMS), electronic / engine electronic control units (ECUs), electronic / engine electronic control modules (ECMs), embedded systems, microcontrollers, control modules, engine management systems (EMS), connected or “smart” appliances, MTC devices, M2M, IoT devices, etc.

[0052] In some embodiments, UE 822 and / or UE 820 may be IoT UEs, which may include a network access layer designed for low-power IoT applications that utilize short-term UE connections. The IoT UE may utilize technologies such as M2M or MTC to exchange data with an MTC server or device via a PLMN, ProSe or D2D communication, a sensor network, or an IoT network. The M2M or MTC data exchange may be a machine-initiated data exchange. The IoT network describes interconnected IoT UEs, which may include uniquely identifiable embedded computing devices (within the Internet infrastructure) with short-term connections. The IoT UE may execute background applications (e.g., keep-alive messages, status updates, etc.) to facilitate connectivity to the IoT network.

[0053] UE 822 and UE 820 may be configured to connect, e.g., be communicatively coupled, to an access node or radio access node (shown as IAN 808). In an embodiment, IAN 808 may be an NG RAN or SG RAN, E-UTRAN, or a legacy RAN, such as UTRAN or GERAN. As used herein, the term "NG RAN," etc., may refer to an IAN 808 operating in an NR or SG system, and the term "E-UTRAN," etc., may refer to an IAN 808 operating in an LTE or 4G system. UE 822 and UE 820 utilize connections (or channels) (shown as connection 804 and connection 802, respectively), each of which includes a physical communication interface or layer (discussed in further detail below).

[0054] In this example, connection 804 and connection 802 are air interfaces to achieve communication coupling and may be consistent with a cellular communication protocol, such as a GSM protocol, a CDMA network protocol, a PTT protocol, a POC protocol, a UMTS protocol, a 3GPP LTE protocol, a SG protocol, a NR protocol, and / or any of the other communication protocols discussed herein. In an embodiment, UE 822 and UE 820 may also directly exchange communication data via a ProSe interface 810. The ProSe interface 810 may alternatively be referred to as a sidelink (SL) interface 110 and may include one or more logical channels, including but not limited to a PSCCH, a PSSCH, a PSDCH, and a PSBCH.

[0055] UE 820 is shown as being configured to access AP 812 (also referred to as a "WLAN node," "WLAN," "WLAN terminal," "WT," etc.) via connection 824. Connection 824 may include a local wireless connection, such as a connection consistent with any IEEE 802.11 protocol, where AP 812 would include Wireless Fidelity. router. In this example, AP 812 may be connected to the Internet without being connected to the core network of the wireless system (described in further detail below). In various embodiments, UE 820, IAN 808, and AP 812 may be configured to utilize LWA operation and / or LWIP operation. LWA operation may involve UE 820 in RRC_CONNECTED being configured by RAN node 814 or RAN node 816 to utilize radio resources of LTE and WLAN. LWIP operation may involve UE 820 using WLAN radio resources (e.g., connection 824) via an IPsec protocol tunnel to authenticate and encrypt packets (e.g., IP packets) sent over connection 824. IPsec tunneling may include encapsulating the entire original IP packet and adding a new packet header, thereby protecting the original header of the IP packet.

[0056] (R)AN 808 may include one or more AN nodes, such as RAN node 814 and RAN node 816, that enable connection 804 and connection 802. As used herein, the terms "access node," "access point," and the like may describe equipment that provides radio baseband functionality for data and / or voice connections between a network and one or more users. These access nodes may be referred to as BSs, gNBs, RAN nodes, eNBs, NodeBs, RSUs, TRxPs, or TRPs, and may include ground stations (e.g., terrestrial access points) or satellite stations that provide coverage within a geographic area (e.g., a cell). As used herein, the terms "NG RAN node" and the like may refer to RAN nodes (e.g., gNBs) operating in NR or SG systems, while the terms "E-UTRAN node" and the like may refer to RAN nodes (e.g., eNBs) operating in LTE or 4G systems 800. According to various embodiments, the RAN node 814 or the RAN node 816 may be implemented as one or more of dedicated physical devices such as a macrocell base station and / or a low power (LP) base station for providing a femtocell, picocell, or other similar cell with a smaller coverage area, smaller user capacity, or higher bandwidth than a macrocell.

[0057] In some embodiments, all or part of RAN node 814 or RAN node 816 may be implemented as one or more software entities running on a server computer as part of a virtual network that may be referred to as a CRAN and / or a virtual baseband unit pool (vBBUP). In these embodiments, the CRAN or vBBUP may implement RAN functional splits, such as PDCP split, where the RRC and PDCP layers are operated by the CRAN / vBBUP, while other L2 protocol entities are operated by individual RAN nodes (e.g., RAN node 814 or RAN node 816); MAC / PHY split, where the RRC, PDCP, RLC, and MAC layers are operated by the CRAN / vBBUP, and the PHY layer is operated by individual RAN nodes (e.g., RAN node 814 or RAN node 816); or "lower PHY" split, where the RRC, PDCP, RLC, MAC layers, and upper portions of the PHY layers are operated by the CRAN / vBBUP, and the lower portions of the PHY layers are operated by individual RAN nodes. The virtualization framework allows idle processor cores of the RAN node 814 or RAN node 816 to execute other virtualized applications. In some implementations, each RAN node may represent a virtual machine connected to a server via each F1 interface ( Figure 8 820 and 820. In particular, the gNB-DUs may be connected to the gNB-CUs (not shown). In these implementations, the gNB-DUs may include one or more remote radio heads or RFEMs, and the gNB-CUs may be operated by a server (not shown) located in the IAN 808 or by a server pool in a manner similar to a CRAN / vBBUP. Additionally or alternatively, one or more of the RAN nodes 814 or 816 may be next-generation eNBs (ng-eNBs), which are RAN nodes that provide E-UTRA user plane and control plane protocol terminations to the UEs 822 and 820 and are connected to the SGC via an NG interface (discussed below). In V2X scenarios, one or more of the RAN nodes 814 or 816 may be or function as an RSU.

[0058] The term "roadside unit" or "RSU" may refer to any traffic infrastructure entity used for V2X communications. The RSU may be implemented in or by a suitable RAN node or a stationary (or relatively stationary) UE, where an RSU implemented in or by a UE may be referred to as a "UE-type RSU," an RSU implemented in or by an eNB may be referred to as an "eNB-type RSU," an RSU implemented in or by a gNB may be referred to as a "gNB-type RSU," and so on. In one example, an RSU is a computing device coupled to RF circuitry located on the roadside that provides connectivity support to passing vehicle UEs (vUEs). The RSU may also include internal data storage circuitry for storing intersection map geometry, traffic statistics, media, and applications / software for sensing and controlling ongoing vehicular and pedestrian traffic. The RSU may operate on the 5.9 GHz Direct Short Range Communication (DSRC) band to provide extremely low-latency communications required for high-speed events such as collision avoidance, traffic warnings, and the like. In addition or alternatively, the RSU may operate on the cellular V2X band to provide the aforementioned low-latency communications and other cellular communication services. In addition or alternatively, the RSU may operate as a Wi-Fi hotspot (2.4 GHz band) and / or provide a connection to one or more cellular networks to provide uplink and downlink communications. Some or all of the computing device and the RSU's RF circuits may be packaged in a weatherproof enclosure suitable for outdoor installation, and may include a network interface controller to provide a wired connection (e.g., Ethernet) to a traffic signal controller and / or backhaul network.

[0059] The RAN node 814 and / or the RAN node 816 may terminate the air interface protocol and may be the first point of contact for the UE 822 and the UE 820. In some embodiments, the RAN node 814 and / or the RAN node 816 may perform various logical functions of the IAN 808, including but not limited to radio network controller (RNC) functions such as radio bearer management, uplink and downlink dynamic radio resource management and data packet scheduling, and mobility management.

[0060] In an embodiment, UE 822 and UE 820 may be configured to communicate with each other or with any of RAN node 814 and / or RAN node 816 using OFDM communication signals over a multi-carrier communication channel in accordance with various communication techniques, such as, but not limited to, OFDMA communication techniques (e.g., for downlink communication) or SC-FDMA communication techniques (e.g., for uplink and ProSe or sidelink communication), although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. The OFDM signal may include multiple orthogonal subcarriers.

[0061] In some embodiments, a downlink resource grid may be used for downlink transmissions from RAN node 814 and / or RAN node 816 to UE 822 and UE 820, while uplink transmissions may utilize similar techniques. The grid may be a time-frequency grid, referred to as a resource grid or time-frequency resource grid, which represents the physical resources in the downlink per time slot. This type of time-frequency plane representation is common for OFDM systems, making radio resource allocation intuitive. Each column and row of the resource grid corresponds to an OFDM symbol and an OFDM subcarrier, respectively. The duration of the resource grid in the time domain corresponds to a time slot in a radio frame. The smallest time-frequency unit in the resource grid is represented as a resource element. Each resource grid includes multiple resource blocks, which describe the mapping of certain physical channels to resource elements. Each resource block includes a collection of resource elements; in the frequency domain, this can represent the minimum amount of resources that can currently be allocated. Such resource blocks are used to transmit several different physical downlink channels.

[0062] According to various embodiments, UE 822 and UE 820 and RAN node 814 and / or RAN node 816 communicate data (e.g., transmit data and receive data) via a licensed medium (also referred to as a "licensed spectrum" and / or a "licensed band") and an unlicensed shared medium (also referred to as an "unlicensed spectrum" and / or an "unlicensed band"). The licensed spectrum may include channels operating in a frequency range of approximately 400 MHz to approximately 3.8 GHz, while the unlicensed spectrum may include a 5 GHz band.

[0063] To operate in the unlicensed spectrum, UE 822 and UE 820 and RAN node 814 and / or RAN node 816 may operate using LAA, eLAA, and / or feLAA mechanisms. In these implementations, UE 822 and UE 820 and RAN node 814 or RAN node 816 may perform one or more known medium sensing operations and / or carrier sensing operations before transmitting in the unlicensed spectrum to determine whether one or more channels in the unlicensed spectrum are unavailable or otherwise occupied. The medium / carrier sensing operations may be performed according to a listen-before-talk (LBT) protocol.

[0064] LBT is a mechanism by which equipment (e.g., UE 822 and UE 820, RAN node 814 or RAN node 816, etc.) senses the medium (e.g., a channel or carrier frequency) and transmits when the medium is sensed to be idle (or when a particular channel in the medium is sensed to be unoccupied). The medium sensing operation may include CCA, which utilizes at least ED to determine whether other signals are present on the channel to determine whether the channel is occupied or idle. The LBT mechanism allows cellular / LAA networks to coexist with existing systems in unlicensed spectrum and with other LAA networks. ED may include sensing RF energy over a period of time on an intended transmission band and comparing the sensed RF energy to a predefined or configured threshold.

[0065] Typically, existing systems in the 5 GHz band are WLANs based on IEEE 802.11 technology. WLANs employ a contention-based channel access mechanism called CSMA / CA. Here, when a WLAN node (e.g., a mobile station (MS) such as UE 822, AP 812, etc.) intends to transmit, the WLAN node may first perform CCA before transmitting. In addition, in the case where more than one WLAN node senses the channel as idle and transmits simultaneously, a backoff mechanism is used to avoid collisions. The backoff mechanism may be a counter randomly introduced within the CWS that increases exponentially when a collision occurs and is reset to a minimum value when the transmission is successful. The LBT mechanism designed for LAA is somewhat similar to CSMA / CA for WLAN. In some implementations, the LBT process for a DL or UL transmission burst (including PDSCH or PUSCH transmission) may have an LAA contention window of variable length between X and Y ECCA slots, where X and Y are the minimum and maximum values ​​of the CWS for LAA. In one example, the minimum CWS for LAA transmissions may be 9 microseconds (μs); however, the size of the CWS and MCOT (eg, transmission burst) may be based on government regulatory requirements.

[0066] The LAA mechanism is built on the CA technology of the LTE-Advanced system. In CA, each aggregated carrier is called a CC. A CC can have a bandwidth of 1.4 MHz, 3 MHz, 5 MHz, 10 MHz, 15 MHz, or 20 MHz, and up to five CCs can be aggregated, resulting in a maximum aggregate bandwidth of 100 MHz. In an FDD system, the number of aggregated carriers can be different for DL ​​and UL, where the number of UL CCs is equal to or lower than the number of DL component carriers. In some cases, each CC can have a different bandwidth than other CCs. In a TDD system, the number of CCs and the bandwidth of each CC are generally the same for DL ​​and UL.

[0067] CA also includes individual serving cells to provide individual CCs. The coverage of the serving cells may be different, for example, because CCs on different frequency bands will experience different path losses. The primary serving cell or Pcell may provide the PCC for both UL and DL and may handle activities related to RRC and NAS. The other serving cells are called Scells, and each Scell ​​may provide individual SCCs for both UL and DL. SCCs may be added and removed as needed, and changing the PCC may require the UE 822 to undergo a handover. In LAA, eLAA, and feLAA, some or all of the Scells may operate in unlicensed spectrum (referred to as "LAA Scells"), and the LAA SCells are assisted by the PCells operating in the licensed spectrum. When a UE is configured with more than one LAA SCell, the UE may receive UL grants on the configured LAA SCells indicating different PUSCH starting positions within the same subframe.

[0068] The PDSCH carries user data and higher layer signaling to UE 822 and UE 820. The PDCCH carries, among other information, information regarding the transport format and resource allocation associated with the PDSCH channel. It may also inform UE 822 and UE 820 about the transport format, resource allocation, and HARQ information associated with the uplink shared channel. Typically, downlink scheduling (allocation of control and shared channel resource blocks to UE 820 within a cell) may be performed at either RAN node 814 or RAN node 816 based on channel quality information fed back from either UE 822 and UE 820. Downlink resource allocation information may be sent on the PDCCH for (e.g., allocated to) each of UE 822 and UE 820.

[0069] PDCCH uses CCE to transmit control information. Before being mapped to resource elements, the PDCCH complex-valued symbols can first be organized into quadruples, which can then be arranged using a sub-block interleaver for rate matching. One or more of these CCEs can be used to transmit each PDCCH, where each CCE can correspond to nine sets of four physical resource elements, respectively, called REGs. Four quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) symbols can be mapped to each REG. Depending on the size of the DCI and the channel conditions, one or more CCEs can be used to transmit the PDCCH. There may be four or more different PDCCH formats defined in LTE with different numbers of CCEs (e.g., aggregation levels, L=1, 2, 4, or 8).

[0070] Some embodiments may use the concept of resource allocation for control channel information, which is an extension of the above concept. For example, some embodiments may utilize EPDCCH that uses PDSCH resources for control information transmission. One or more ECCEs may be used to transmit EPDCCH. Similar to the above, each ECCE may correspond to a set of nine physical resource elements, called EREGs, including four physical resource elements. In some cases, an ECCE may have other numbers of EREGs.

[0071] The RAN node 814 or the RAN node 816 may be configured to communicate with each other via an interface 830. In an embodiment where the system 800 is an LTE system (e.g., when the CN 806 is an EPC), the interface 830 may be an X2 interface. The X2 interface may be defined between two or more RAN nodes (e.g., two or more eNBs, etc.) connected to the EPC, and / or between two eNBs connected to the EPC. In some implementations, the X2 interface may include an X2 user plane interface (X2-U) and an X2 control plane interface (X2-C). The X2-U may provide a flow control mechanism for user packets transmitted over the X2 interface and may be used to convey information regarding the delivery of user data between eNBs. For example, the X2-U may provide specific sequence number information regarding user data transmitted from the MeNB to the SeNB; information regarding successful in-sequence delivery of PDCP PDUs for user data from the SeNB to the UE 822; information regarding PDCP PDUs that were not delivered to the UE 822; information regarding the current minimum expected buffer size at the SeNB for transmitting user data to the UE; and the like. X2-C provides intra-LTE access mobility functions, including context transfer from the source eNB to the target eNB, user plane transmission control, load management functions, and inter-cell interference coordination functions.

[0072] In embodiments where system 800 is an SG or NR system (e.g., when CN 806 is an SGC), interface 830 may be an Xn interface. The Xn interface is defined between two or more RAN nodes (e.g., two or more gNBs, etc.) connected to an SGC, between a RAN node 814 (e.g., a gNB) and an eNB connected to an SGC, and / or between two eNBs connected to a 5GC (e.g., CN 806). In some implementations, the Xn interface may include an Xn user plane (Xn-U) interface and an Xn control plane (Xn-C) interface. The Xn-U interface may provide non-guaranteed delivery of user plane PDUs and support / provide data forwarding and flow control functionality. The Xn-C interface may provide management and error handling functionality for managing the functionality of the Xn-C interface. Mobility support for UE 822 in connected mode (e.g., CM-CONNECTED) includes functionality for managing connected-mode UE mobility between one or more RAN nodes 814 or RAN nodes 816. Mobility support may include context transfer from the old (source) serving RAN node 814 to the new (target) serving RAN node 816, as well as control of the user plane tunnel between the old (source) serving RAN node 814 and the new (target) serving RAN node 816. The Xn-U protocol stack may include a transport network layer built on the Internet Protocol (IP) transport layer, and a GTP-U layer built on top of the UDP and / or IP layers for carrying user plane PDUs. The Xn-C protocol stack may include an application layer signaling protocol (referred to as the Xn Application Protocol (Xn-AP)) and a transport network layer built on SCTP. SCTP may be built on top of the IP layer and may provide guaranteed delivery of application layer messages. Within the transport IP layer, signaling PDUs are delivered using point-to-point transport. In other implementations, the Xn-U protocol stack and / or the Xn-C protocol stack may be the same as or similar to the user plane and / or control plane protocol stacks shown and described herein.

[0073] (R)AN 808 is illustrated as being communicatively coupled to a core network—in this embodiment, to CN 806. CN 806 may include one or more network elements 832 configured to provide various data and telecommunication services to customers / subscribers (e.g., users of UE 822 and UE 820) connected to CN 806 via (R)AN 808. Components of CN 806 may be implemented in one physical node or in separate physical nodes, including components for reading and executing instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium). In some embodiments, NFV may be used to virtualize any or all of the above-described network node functions via executable instructions stored in one or more computer-readable storage media (described in further detail below). A logical instantiation of CN 806 may be referred to as a network slice, and a logical instantiation of a portion of CN 806 may be referred to as a network sub-slice. NFV architecture and infrastructure may be used to virtualize one or more network functions onto physical resources comprising a combination of industry-standard server hardware, storage hardware, or switches (alternatively, performed by proprietary hardware). In other words, the NFV system can be used to perform virtual or reconfigurable implementations of one or more EPC components / functions.

[0074] Generally speaking, the application server 818 may be an element that provides applications that use IP bearer resources with the core network (e.g., UMTS PS domain, LTE PS data services, etc.). The application server 818 may also be configured to support one or more communication services (e.g., VoIP sessions, PTT sessions, group communication sessions, social networking services, etc.) for UE 822 and UE 820 via the EPC. The application server 818 may communicate with the CN 806 via the IP communication interface 836.

[0075] In an embodiment, CN 806 may be an SGC, and (R)AN 116 may be connected to CN 806 via an NG interface 834. In an embodiment, NG interface 834 may be divided into two parts: an NG user plane (NG-U) interface 826, which carries traffic data between the RAN node 814 or RAN node 816 and the UPF; and an S1 control plane (NG-C) interface 828, which is a signaling interface between the RAN node 814 or RAN node 816 and the AMF.

[0076] In an embodiment, CN 806 may be an SG CN, while in other embodiments, CN 806 may be an EPC. In the case where CN 806 is an EPC, (R)AN 116 may be connected to CN 806 via an S1 interface 834. In an embodiment, S1 interface 834 may be divided into two parts: an S1 user plane (S1-U) interface 826, which carries traffic data between the RAN node 814 or RAN node 816 and the S-GW; and an S1-MME interface 828, which is a signaling interface between the RAN node 814 or RAN node 816 and the MME.

[0077] Figure 9 An example of infrastructure equipment 900 according to various embodiments is shown. The infrastructure equipment 900 can be implemented as a base station, a radio head, a RAN node, an AN, an application server, and / or any other element / device discussed herein. In other examples, the infrastructure equipment 900 can be implemented in or by a UE.

[0078] The infrastructure equipment 900 includes application circuitry 902, baseband circuitry 904, one or more radio front-end modules 906 (RFEMs), memory circuitry 908, a power management integrated circuit (shown as PMIC 910), a power tee circuit 912, a network controller circuit 914, a network interface connector 920, a satellite positioning circuit 916, and a user interface circuit 918. In some embodiments, the infrastructure equipment 900 may include additional elements such as memory / storage, a display, a camera, sensors, or input / output (I / O) interfaces. In other embodiments, these components may be included in more than one device. For example, the circuitry may be separately included in more than one device for a CRAN, vBBU, or other similar implementation. The application circuitry 902 includes circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more processors (or processor cores), cache memory, and one or more of the following: a low dropout regulator (LDO), an interrupt controller, a serial interface such as SPI, I2C, or a serial bus. 2The application circuit 902 may include a C or general programmable serial interface module, a real-time clock (RTC), a timer-counter (including an interval timer and a watchdog timer), a general input / output (I / O or IO), a memory card controller (such as a secure digital (SD) multimedia card (MMC) or similar product), a universal serial bus (USB) interface, a mobile industry processor interface (MIPI) interface, and a joint test access group (JTAG) test access port. The processor (or core) of the application circuit 902 may be coupled to or may include a memory / storage element and may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory / storage device to enable various applications or operating systems to run on the infrastructure equipment 900. In some specific implementations, the memory / storage element may be an on-chip memory circuit that may include any suitable volatile and / or non-volatile memory, such as DRAM, SRAM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory, solid-state memory, and / or any other type of memory device technology, such as those discussed herein.

[0079] The processor of the application circuit 902 may include, for example, one or more processor cores (CPUs), one or more application processors, one or more graphics processing units (GPUs), one or more reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processors, one or more Acorn RISC Machine (ARM) processors, one or more complex instruction set computing (CISC) processors, one or more digital signal processors (DSPs), one or more FPGAs, one or more PLDs, one or more ASICs, one or more microprocessors or controllers, or any suitable combination thereof. In some embodiments, the application circuit 902 may include or may be a dedicated processor / controller for operating according to various embodiments herein. For example, the processor of the application circuit 902 may include one or more Intel or Processor; Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Processor, Accelerated Processing Unit (APU), or processors; ARM Holdings, Ltd. licensed ARM-based processors, such as the ARM Cortex-A series processors provided by Cavium (TM), Inc. and MIPS-based designs from MIPS Technologies, Inc., such as the MIPS Warrior P-class processor; etc. In some embodiments, the infrastructure equipment 900 may not utilize application circuitry 902, but may include a dedicated processor / controller to process IP data received, for example, from an EPC or 5GC.

[0080] In some implementations, the application circuit 902 may include one or more hardware accelerators, which may be microprocessors, programmable processing devices, and the like. The one or more hardware accelerators may include, for example, computer vision (CV) and / or deep learning (DL) accelerators. For example, the programmable processing device may be one or more field programmable devices (FPDs), such as field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs); programmable logic devices (PLDs), such as complex PLDs (CPLDs) and high-capacity PLDs (HCPLDs); ASICs, such as structured ASICs; programmable SoCs (PSoCs); and the like. In such implementations, the circuitry of the application circuit 902 may include logic blocks or logic architectures, as well as other interconnected resources that can be programmed to perform various functions, such as the processes, methods, functions, and the like of the various embodiments discussed herein. In such an embodiment, the circuitry of the application circuit 902 may include memory cells (e.g., erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, static memory (e.g., static random access memory (SRAM), antifuses, etc.)) for storing logic blocks, logic structures, data, etc. in lookup tables (LUTs), etc. The baseband circuit 904 may be implemented, for example, as a solder-in substrate including one or more integrated circuits, a single packaged integrated circuit soldered to a main circuit board, or a multi-chip module containing two or more integrated circuits.

[0081] The user interface circuitry 918 may include one or more user interfaces designed to enable a user to interact with the infrastructure equipment 900 or a peripheral component interface designed to enable a peripheral component to interact with the infrastructure equipment 900. The user interface may include, but is not limited to, one or more physical or virtual buttons (e.g., a reset button), one or more indicators (e.g., light emitting diodes (LEDs)), a physical keyboard or keypad, a mouse, a touchpad, a touch screen, a speaker or other audio transmitting device, a microphone, a printer, a scanner, a headset, a display screen or display device, etc. The peripheral component interface may include, but is not limited to, a non-volatile memory port, a universal serial bus (USB) port, an audio jack, a power port, etc.

[0082] The radio front-end module 906 may include a millimeter wave (mmWave) radio front-end module (RFEM) and one or more sub-millimeter wave radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs). In some implementations, the one or more sub-millimeter wave RFICs may be physically separate from the mmWave RFEM. The RFIC may include connections to one or more antennas or antenna arrays, and the RFEM may be connected to multiple antennas. In alternative implementations, both mmWave and sub-millimeter wave radio functionality may be implemented in the same physical radio front-end module 906, incorporating both mmWave antennas and sub-millimeter wave antennas.

[0083] The memory circuit 908 may include one or more of the following: a volatile memory including a dynamic random access memory (DRAM) and / or a synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM); and a non-volatile memory (NVM) including a high-speed electrically erasable memory (commonly referred to as "flash memory"), a phase change random access memory (PRAM), a magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM), etc., and may be combined with a memory device obtained from and The memory circuit 908 may be implemented as one or more of the following: a solder-in package integrated circuit, a socket memory module, and a plug-in memory card.

[0084] The PMIC 910 may include a voltage regulator, a surge protector, a power alarm detection circuit, and one or more backup power sources, such as batteries or capacitors. The power alarm detection circuit may detect one or more of a brownout (undervoltage) and a surge (overvoltage) condition. The power tee circuit 912 may provide power drawn from the network cable to provide both power and data connectivity for the infrastructure equipment 900 using a single cable.

[0085] The network controller circuitry 914 can provide connectivity to the network using a standard network interface protocol such as Ethernet, Ethernet over a GRE tunnel, Ethernet over Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS), or some other suitable protocol. Network connectivity can be provided to / from the infrastructure equipment 900 via the network interface connector 920 using a physical connection, which can be an electrical connection (commonly referred to as a "copper interconnect"), an optical connection, or a wireless connection. The network controller circuitry 914 may include one or more dedicated processors and / or FPGAs for communicating using one or more of the aforementioned protocols. In some implementations, the network controller circuitry 914 may include multiple controllers for providing connectivity to other networks using the same or different protocols.

[0086] The positioning circuit 916 includes circuits for receiving and decoding signals transmitted / broadcasted by the positioning network of the global satellite navigation system (GNSS). Examples of navigation satellite constellations (or GNSS) include the United States' Global Positioning System (GPS), Russia's Global Navigation System (GLONASS), the European Union's Galileo system, China's BeiDou Navigation Satellite System, regional navigation systems or GNSS augmentation systems (e.g., navigation using the Indian constellation (NAVIC), Japan's Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), France's Doppler Orbit Chart and Satellite Integrated Radio Positioning (DORIS), etc.). The positioning circuit 916 includes various hardware elements (e.g., including hardware devices such as switches, filters, amplifiers, antenna elements, etc. for facilitating OTA communication) to communicate with components of the positioning network such as navigation satellite constellation nodes. In some embodiments, the positioning circuit 916 may include a micro technology (micro PNT) IC for positioning, navigation, and timing that uses a master timing clock to perform position tracking / estimation without GNSS assistance. The positioning circuit 916 may also be part of or interact with the baseband circuit 904 and / or the radio front end module 906 to communicate with nodes and components of the positioning network. The positioning circuit 916 may also provide location data and / or time data to the application circuit 902, which may use the data to synchronize operations with various infrastructure, etc. Figure 9 The components shown may communicate with each other using interface circuitry that may include any number of bus and / or interconnect (IX) technologies, such as Industry Standard Architecture (ISA), Extended ISA (EISA), Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI), Peripheral Component Interconnect Extended (PCix), PCI express (PCie), or any number of other technologies. The bus / IX may be a proprietary bus, such as used in SoC-based systems. Other bus / IX systems may be included, such as I 2 C interface, SPI interface, point-to-point interface and power bus, etc.

[0087] Figure 10 An example of a platform 1000 according to various embodiments is shown. In an embodiment, the computer platform 1000 may be suitable for use as a UE, an application server, and / or any other element / device discussed herein. The platform 1000 may include any combination of the components shown in the examples. The components of the platform 1000 may be implemented as integrated circuits (ICs), portions of ICs, discrete electronic devices, or other modules, logic, hardware, software, firmware, or combinations thereof adapted into the computer platform 1000, or as components otherwise incorporated within a chassis of a larger system. Figure 10The block diagram is intended to show a high-level view of the components of computer platform 1000. However, some of the components shown may be omitted, additional components may be present, and different arrangements of the components shown may occur in other implementations.

[0088] Application circuit 1002 includes circuits such as, but not limited to, one or more processors (or processor cores), cache memory, and one or more of the following: LDO, interrupt controller, serial interface (such as SPI), I 2 C or general programmable serial interface module, RTC, timer-counter (including interval timer and watchdog timer), general IO, memory card controller (such as SD MMC or similar products), USB interface, MIPI interface and JTAG test access port. The processor (or core) of the application circuit 1002 can be coupled with or include a memory / storage element and can be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory / storage device to enable various applications or operating systems to run on the platform 1000. In some specific implementations, the memory / storage element can be an on-chip memory circuit that can include any suitable volatile and / or non-volatile memory, such as DRAM, SRAM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory, solid-state memory and / or any other type of memory device technology, such as those discussed herein.

[0089] The processor of the application circuit 1002 may include, for example, one or more processor cores, one or more application processors, one or more GPUs, one or more RISC processors, one or more ARM processors, one or more CISC processors, one or more DSPs, one or more FPGAs, one or more PLDs, one or more ASICs, one or more microprocessors or controllers, a multi-threaded processor, an ultra-low voltage processor, an embedded processor, some other known processing element, or any suitable combination thereof. In some embodiments, the application circuit 1002 may include or may be a dedicated processor / controller for operating according to various embodiments herein.

[0090] For example, the processor of the application circuit 1002 may include a processor based on Architecture Core TM Processors such as Quark TM 、Atom TM , i3, i5, i7 or MCU-class processors, or can be purchased from The processor of application circuit 1002 may also be one or more of the following: Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Processor or Accelerated Processing Unit (APU); from Inc.'s AS-A9 processor, Snapdragon by Technologies, Inc. TM processors, Texas Instruments, OpenMultimedia Applications Platform(OMAP) TM processors; MIPS-based designs from MIPS Technologies, Inc., such as the MIPS Warrior M-class, Warrior I-class, and Warrior P-class processors; ARM-based designs licensed from ARM Holdings, Ltd., such as the ARM Cortex-A, Cortex-R, and Cortex-M series processors; etc. In some implementations, the application circuit 1002 can be part of a system on a chip (SoC), in which the application circuit 1002 and other components are formed as a single integrated circuit or a single package, such as company( Edison Corporation TM or Galileo TM SoC board.

[0091] Additionally or alternatively, application circuit 1002 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more of the following: a field programmable device (FPD) such as an FPGA; a programmable logic device (PLD) such as a complex PLD (CPLD), a high-capacity PLD (HCPLD); an ASIC such as a structured ASIC; a programmable SoC (PSoC); and the like. In such embodiments, the circuitry of application circuit 1002 may include logic blocks or logic fabric, as well as other interconnected resources that can be programmed to perform various functions, such as the processes, methods, functions, and the like of the various embodiments discussed herein. In such embodiments, the circuitry of application circuit 1002 may include memory cells (e.g., erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, static memory (e.g., static random access memory (SRAM), antifuses, and the like)) for storing logic blocks, logic fabrics, data, and the like in lookup tables (LUTs) and the like.

[0092] Baseband circuitry 1004 may be implemented, for example, as a solder-in substrate including one or more integrated circuits, a single packaged integrated circuit soldered to a main circuit board, or a multi-chip module containing two or more integrated circuits.

[0093] The radio front-end module 1006 may include a millimeter wave (mmWave) radio front-end module (RFEM) and one or more sub-millimeter wave radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs). In some implementations, the one or more sub-millimeter wave RFICs may be physically separate from the mmWave RFEM. The RFIC may include connections to one or more antennas or antenna arrays, and the RFEM may be connected to multiple antennas. In alternative implementations, both mmWave and sub-millimeter wave radio functionality may be implemented in the same physical radio front-end module 1006, incorporating both mmWave antennas and sub-millimeter wave antennas.

[0094] Memory circuit 1008 may include any number and type of memory devices for providing a fixed amount of system memory. For example, memory circuit 1008 may include one or more of the following: volatile memory, including random access memory (RAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), and / or synchronous dynamic RAM (SD RAM); and non-volatile memory (NVM), including high-speed electrically erasable memory (commonly referred to as flash memory), phase-change random access memory (PRAM), magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM), etc. Memory circuit 1008 may be developed according to a Joint Electron Device Engineering Council (JEDEC) low-power double data rate (LPDDR)-based design, such as LPDDR2, LPDDR3, LPDDR4, etc. The memory circuit 1008 may be implemented as one or more of the following: a solder-in package integrated circuit, a single die package (SDP), a dual die package (DDP), or a quad die package (Q17P), a socketed memory module, a dual in-line memory module (DIMM) including a micro DIMM or a mini DIMM, and / or soldered to a motherboard via a ball grid array (BGA). In a low-power implementation, the memory circuit 1008 may be an on-chip memory or register associated with the application circuit 1002. To provide persistent storage of information such as data, applications, operating systems, etc., the memory circuit 1008 may include one or more mass storage devices, which may include, among others, a solid-state disk drive (SSDD), a hard disk drive (HDD), a micro HDD, a resistive change memory, a phase change memory, a holographic memory, or a chemical memory. For example, the computer platform 1000 may be combined with a computer system obtained from and Three-dimensional (3D) cross-point (XPOINT) memory.

[0095] Removable storage 1026 may include devices, circuitry, housings / casings, ports or receptacles, etc., for coupling portable data storage devices to platform 1000. These portable data storage devices may be used for mass storage and may include, for example, flash memory cards (e.g., Secure Digital (SD) cards, micro SD cards, xD picture cards, etc.), as well as USB flash drives, optical disks, external HDDs, etc.

[0096] Platform 1000 may also include interface circuitry (not shown) for connecting external devices to platform 1000. External devices connected to platform 1000 via the interface circuitry include sensors 1022 and electromechanical components (shown as EMC 1024), as well as removable memory devices coupled to removable memory 1026.

[0097] Sensors 1022 include devices, modules, or subsystems whose purpose is 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 (IMU) including an accelerometer, a gyroscope, and / or a magnetometer; a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) or nanoelectromechanical system (NEMS) including a three-axis accelerometer, a three-axis gyroscope, and / 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 (LiDAR) 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.

[0098] The EMC 1024 includes devices, modules, or subsystems designed to enable the platform 1000 to change its state, position, and / or orientation, or to move or control mechanisms or (sub)systems. Additionally, the EMC 1024 can be configured to generate and send messages / signaling to other components of the platform 1000 to indicate the current state of the EMC 1024. Examples of the EMC 1024 include one or more power switches, relays (including electromechanical relays (EMRs) and / or solid-state relays (SSRs)), actuators (e.g., valve actuators, etc.), audible sound generators, visual warning devices, motors (e.g., DC motors, stepper motors, etc.), wheels, thrusters, propellers, claws, clamps, hooks, and / or other similar electromechanical components. In an embodiment, the platform 1000 is configured to operate one or more EMCs 1024 based on one or more capture events and / or instructions or control signals received from service providers and / or various clients. In some implementations, the interface circuitry can connect the platform 1000 to the positioning circuitry 1016. The positioning circuit 1016 includes circuitry for receiving and decoding signals transmitted / broadcasted by a GNSS positioning network. Examples of navigation satellite constellations (or GNSS) may include the United States' GPS, Russia's GLONASS, the European Union's Galileo system, China's BeiDou Navigation Satellite System, regional navigation systems, or GNSS augmentation systems (e.g., NAVIC, Japan's QZSS, France's DORIS, etc.). The positioning circuit 1016 includes various hardware elements (e.g., including hardware devices for facilitating OTA communications, such as switches, filters, amplifiers, antenna elements, etc.) to communicate with components of the positioning network, such as navigation satellite constellation nodes. In some embodiments, the positioning circuit 1016 may include a micro PNT IC that uses a master timing clock to perform position tracking / estimation without GNSS assistance. The positioning circuit 1016 may also be part of or interact with the baseband circuit 1004 and / or the radio front-end module 1006 to communicate with nodes and components of the positioning network. Positioning circuitry 1016 may also provide location data and / or time data to application circuitry 1002 , which may use the data to synchronize operations with various infrastructure (eg, radio base stations) for use in turn-by-turn navigation applications, and the like.

[0099] In some implementations, the interface circuitry can connect the platform 1000 to near-field communication circuitry (illustrated as NFC circuitry 1012). NFC circuitry 1012 is configured to provide contactless, short-range communication based on the radio frequency identification (RFID) standard, where magnetic field induction is used to enable communication between the NFC circuitry 1012 and an NFC-enabled device (e.g., an "NFC touchpoint") external to the platform 1000. The NFC circuitry 1012 includes an NFC controller coupled to an antenna element and a processor coupled to the NFC controller. The NFC controller can be a chip / IC that provides NFC functionality to the NFC circuitry 1012 by executing NFC controller firmware and an NFC stack. The NFC stack can be executed by the processor to control the NFC controller, and the NFC controller firmware can be executed by the NFC controller to control the antenna element to transmit short-range RF signals. The RF signals can power a passive NFC tag (e.g., a microchip embedded in a sticker or wristband) to transmit stored data to the NFC circuitry 1012, or initiate data transfer between the NFC circuitry 1012 and another active NFC device (e.g., a smartphone or an NFC-enabled POS terminal) in close proximity to the platform 1000.

[0100] Driver circuitry 1018 may include software and hardware components for controlling specific devices embedded in, attached to, or otherwise communicatively coupled to platform 1000. Driver circuitry 1018 may include various drivers to allow other components of platform 1000 to interact with or control various input / output (I / O) devices that may be present within or connected to platform 1000. For example, driver circuitry 1018 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 of platform 1000, a sensor driver for acquiring sensor readings from sensor 1022 and controlling and enabling access to sensor 1022, an EMC driver for acquiring actuator positions of EMC 1024 and / or controlling and enabling access to EMC 1024, 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.

[0101] A power management integrated circuit (illustrated as PMIC 1010) (also referred to as a "power management circuit") can manage the power provided to various components of platform 1000. Specifically, PMIC 1010 can control power source selection, voltage scaling, battery charging, or DC-DC conversion with respect to baseband circuitry 1004. PMIC 1010 is typically included when platform 1000 is capable of being powered by battery 1014, for example, when the device is included in a UE.

[0102] In some embodiments, the PMIC 1010 may control or otherwise be part of various power-saving mechanisms of the platform 1000. For example, if the platform 1000 is in the RRC_Connected state, in which it remains connected to the RAN node because it expects to receive traffic soon, after a period of inactivity, the platform may enter a state known as discontinuous reception mode (DRX). During this state, the platform 1000 may power down for short intervals, thereby saving power. If there is no data traffic activity for an extended period of time, the platform 1000 may transition to the RRC_Idle state, in which the device is disconnected from the network and does not perform operations such as channel quality feedback or handovers. The platform 1000 enters a very low-power state and performs paging, in which the device periodically wakes up again to listen to the network, and then powers down again. The platform 1000 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.

[0103] Battery 1014 can power platform 1000, but in some examples, platform 1000 can be installed in a fixed location and can have a power source coupled to the power grid. Battery 1014 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 V2X applications, battery 1014 can be a typical lead-acid car battery.

[0104] In some implementations, the battery 1014 may be a "smart battery" that includes or is coupled to a battery management system (BMS) or a battery monitoring integrated circuit. The BMS may be included in the platform 1000 to track the state of charge (SoCh) of the battery 1014. The BMS may be used to monitor other parameters of the battery 1014, such as the state of health (SoH) and state of function (SoF) of the battery 1014 to provide fault prediction. The BMS may transmit information about the battery 1014 to the application circuit 1002 or other components of the platform 1000. The BMS may also include an analog-to-digital (ADC) converter that allows the application circuit 1002 to directly monitor the voltage of the battery 1014 or the current from the battery 1014. The battery parameters may be used to determine actions that the platform 1000 may perform, such as transmission frequency, network operation, sensing frequency, etc.

[0105] A power brick or other power source coupled to the grid can be coupled to the BMS to charge the battery 1014. In some examples, the power brick can be replaced with a wireless power receiver to wirelessly obtain power, for example, via a loop antenna in the computer platform 1000. In these examples, wireless battery charging circuitry can be included in the BMS. The specific charging circuit selected can depend on the size of the battery 1014 and, therefore, the required current. Charging can be performed using the aviation fuel standard published by the Aviation Fuel Alliance, the Qi wireless charging standard published by the Wireless Power Consortium, or the Rezence charging standard published by the Wireless Power Consortium.

[0106] The user interface circuit 1020 includes various input / output (I / O) devices present within or connected to the platform 1000, and includes one or more user interfaces designed to implement user interaction with the platform 1000 and / or peripheral component interfaces designed to implement interaction with peripheral components of the platform 1000. The user interface circuit 1020 includes input device circuits and output device circuits. The input device circuit 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, etc. The output device circuit includes any physical or virtual means for displaying information or otherwise conveying information (such as sensor readings, actuator positions, or other similar information). The output device circuitry may include any number and / or combination of audio or visual displays, including, in particular, one or more simple visual outputs / indicators such as binary state indicators (e.g., 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, etc.), wherein the output of characters, graphics, multimedia objects, etc. is generated or produced by the operation of the platform 1000. The output device circuitry may also include a speaker or other audio emitting device, a printer, etc. In some embodiments, the sensor 1022 may function as an input device circuitry (e.g., an image capture device, a motion capture device, etc.) and one or more EMCs may function as output device circuitry (e.g., an actuator for providing tactile feedback, etc.). In another example, an NFC circuit may be included to read an electronic tag and / or connect to another NFC-enabled device, the NFC circuitry including an NFC controller and a processing device coupled to an antenna element. Peripheral component interfaces may include, but are not limited to, a non-volatile memory port, a USB port, an audio jack, a power port, etc.

[0107] Although not shown, the components of platform 1000 may communicate with each other using a suitable bus or interconnect (IX) technology, which may include any number of technologies, including ISA, EISA, PCI, PCix, PCie, a time-triggered protocol (TTP) system, a FlexRay system, or any number of other technologies. The bus / IX may be a proprietary bus / IX, such as used in SoC-based systems. Other bus / IX systems, such as I 2 C interface, SPI interface, point-to-point interface and power bus, etc.

[0108] Figure 11 Example components of a device 1100 according to some embodiments are shown. In some embodiments, the device 1100 may include at least application circuitry 1106, baseband circuitry 1104, radio frequency (RF) circuitry (shown as RF circuitry 1102), front-end module (FEM) circuitry (shown as FEM circuitry 1132), one or more antennas 1130, and power management circuitry (PMC) (shown as PMC 1134), coupled together as shown. The components of the illustrated device 1100 may be included in a UE or a RAN node. In some embodiments, the device 1100 may include fewer components (e.g., a RAN node may not utilize application circuitry 1106 but instead include a processor / controller to process IP data received from an EPC). In some embodiments, the device 1100 may include additional components such as memory / storage, a display, a camera, sensors, or input / output (I / O) interfaces. In other embodiments, the components described below may be included in more than one device (e.g., the circuitry may be included separately in more than one device for a Cloud-RAN (C-RAN) implementation).

[0109] The application circuitry 1106 may include one or more application processors. For example, the application circuitry 1106 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The one or more processors may include any combination of general-purpose processors and specialized processors (e.g., graphics processors, application processors, etc.). These processors may be coupled to or include memory / storage devices and may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory / storage devices to enable various applications or operating systems to run on the device 1100. In some embodiments, the processors of the application circuitry 1106 may process IP data packets received from the EPC.

[0110] The baseband circuitry 1104 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The baseband circuitry 1104 may include one or more baseband processors or control logic to process baseband signals received from the receive signal path of the RF circuitry 1102 and generate baseband signals for the transmit signal path of the RF circuitry 1102. The baseband circuitry 1104 may interact with the application circuitry 1106 to generate and process baseband signals and control the operation of the RF circuitry 1102. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 1104 may include a third generation (3G) baseband processor (3G baseband processor 1108), a fourth generation (4G) baseband processor (4G baseband processor 1110), a fifth generation (5G) baseband processor (5G baseband processor 1112), or other baseband processors 1114 of other existing generations, generations under development, or generations to be developed in the future (e.g., second generation (2G), sixth generation (6G), etc.). The baseband circuitry 1104 (e.g., one or more of the baseband processors) may handle various radio control functions that enable communication with one or more radio networks via the RF circuitry 1102. In other embodiments, some or all of the functions of the illustrated baseband processor may be included in modules stored in the memory 1120 and may be executed via the central processing unit (CPU 1116). Radio control functions may include, but are not limited to, signal modulation / demodulation, encoding / decoding, radio frequency shifting, and the like. In some embodiments, the modulation / demodulation circuitry of the baseband circuitry 1104 may include fast Fourier transform (FFT), precoding, or constellation mapping / demapping functions. In some embodiments, the encoding / decoding circuitry of the baseband circuitry 1104 may include convolution, tail-biting convolution, turbo, Viterbi, or low-density parity check (LDPC) encoder / decoder functions. The implementation of the modulation / demodulation and encoder / decoder functions is not limited to these examples and may include other suitable functions in other embodiments.

[0111] In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 1104 may include a digital signal processor (DSP), such as one or more audio DSPs 1118. The one or more audio DSPs 1118 may include elements for compression / decompression and echo cancellation, and in other embodiments may include other suitable processing elements. In some embodiments, the components of the baseband circuitry may be appropriately combined in a single chip, a single chipset, or provided on the same circuit board. In some embodiments, some or all of the components of the baseband circuitry 1104 and the application circuitry 1106 may be implemented together, for example, on a system on a chip (SOC).

[0112] In some embodiments, baseband circuitry 1104 can provide communications compatible with one or more radio technologies. For example, in some embodiments, baseband circuitry 1104 can support communications with an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (EUTRAN) or other wireless metropolitan area network (WMAN), wireless local area network (WLAN), or wireless personal area network (WPAN). Embodiments in which baseband circuitry 1104 is configured to support radio communications of more than one wireless protocol may be referred to as multi-mode baseband circuitry.

[0113] RF circuitry 1102 can enable communication with a wireless network using modulated electromagnetic radiation through a non-solid medium. In various embodiments, RF circuitry 1102 can include switches, filters, amplifiers, and the like to facilitate communication with the wireless network. RF circuitry 1102 can include a receive signal path, which can include circuitry for downconverting RF signals received from FEM circuitry 1132 and providing baseband signals to baseband circuitry 1104. RF circuitry 1102 can also include a transmit signal path, which can include circuitry for upconverting baseband signals provided by baseband circuitry 1104 and providing an RF output signal for transmission to FEM circuitry 1132.

[0114] In some embodiments, the receive signal path of RF circuitry 1102 may include mixer circuitry 1122, amplifier circuitry 1124, and filter circuitry 1126. In some embodiments, the transmit signal path of RF circuitry 1102 may include filter circuitry 1126 and mixer circuitry 1122. RF circuitry 1102 may also include synthesizer circuitry 1128 for synthesizing frequencies for use by mixer circuitry 1122 of the receive signal path and the transmit signal path. In some embodiments, mixer circuitry 1122 of the receive signal path may be configured to downconvert the RF signal received from FEM circuitry 1132 based on the synthesized frequency provided by synthesizer circuitry 1128. Amplifier circuitry 1124 may be configured to amplify the downconverted signal, and filter circuitry 1126 may be a low-pass filter (LPF) or a band-pass filter (BPF) configured to remove unwanted signals from the downconverted signal to generate an output baseband signal. The output baseband signal may be provided to baseband circuitry 1104 for further processing. In some embodiments, the output baseband signal can be a zero-frequency baseband signal, although this is not required.In some embodiments, mixer circuit 1122 of the receive signal path can include a passive mixer, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[0115] In some embodiments, mixer circuit 1122 of the transmit signal path can be configured to upconvert an input baseband signal based on a synthesized frequency provided by synthesizer circuit 1128 to generate an RF output signal for FEM circuit 1132. The baseband signal can be provided by baseband circuit 1104 and can be filtered by filter circuit 1126.

[0116] In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 1122 of the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 1122 of the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for quadrature down-conversion and up-conversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 1122 of the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 1122 of the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for image rejection (e.g., Hartley image rejection). In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 1122 of the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 1122 may be arranged for direct down-conversion and direct up-conversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 1122 of the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 1122 of the transmit signal path may be configured for superheterodyne operation.

[0117] In some embodiments, the output baseband signal and the input baseband signal may be analog baseband signals, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. In some alternative embodiments, the output baseband signal and the input baseband signal may be digital baseband signals. In these alternative embodiments, RF circuitry 1102 may include analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and digital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuitry, and baseband circuitry 1104 may include a digital baseband interface to communicate with RF circuitry 1102.

[0118] In some dual-mode embodiments, separate radio IC circuits may be provided to process signals for each spectrum, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[0119] In some embodiments, synthesizer circuit 1128 can be a fractional-N synthesizer or a fractional-N / N+1 synthesizer, but the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect, as other types of frequency synthesizers may also be suitable. For example, synthesizer circuit 1128 can be a delta-sigma synthesizer, a frequency multiplier, or a synthesizer including a phase-locked loop with a frequency divider.

[0120] Synthesizer circuit 1128 may be configured to synthesize an output frequency based on a frequency input and a divider control input for use by mixer circuit 1122 of RF circuit 1102. In some embodiments, synthesizer circuit 1128 may be a fractional-N / N+1 synthesizer.

[0121] In some embodiments, the frequency input may be provided by a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO), although this is not required. The divider control input may be provided by baseband circuitry 1104 or application circuitry 1106 (such as an application processor) depending on the desired output frequency. In some embodiments, the divider control input (e.g., N) may be determined from a lookup table based on the channel indicated by application circuitry 1106.

[0122] The synthesizer circuit 1128 of the RF circuit 1102 may include a frequency divider, a delay-locked loop (DLL), a multiplexer, and a phase accumulator. In some embodiments, the frequency divider may be a dual-modulus frequency divider (DMD), and the phase accumulator may be a digital phase accumulator (DPA). In some embodiments, the DMD may be configured to divide the input signal by N or N+1 (e.g., based on a carry) to provide a fractional division ratio. In some example embodiments, the DLL may include a cascaded, tunable delay element, a phase detector, a charge pump, and a set of D-type flip-flops. In these embodiments, the delay element may be configured to divide the VCO cycle into Nd equal phase groups, where Nd is the number of delay elements in the delay line. In this way, the DLL provides negative feedback to help ensure that the total delay through the delay line is one VCO cycle.

[0123] In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuit 1128 can be configured to generate a carrier frequency as the output frequency, while in other embodiments, the output frequency can be a multiple of the carrier frequency (e.g., twice the carrier frequency, four times the carrier frequency) and used in conjunction with a quadrature generator and divider circuit to generate multiple signals at the carrier frequency with multiple different phases relative to each other. In some embodiments, the output frequency can be the LO frequency (fLO). In some embodiments, the RF circuit 1102 can include an IQ / polarity converter.

[0124] The FEM circuitry 1132 may include a receive signal path that may include circuitry configured to operate on RF signals received from the one or more antennas 1130, amplify the received signals, and provide an amplified version of the received signals to the RF circuitry 1102 for further processing. The FEM circuitry 1132 may also include a transmit signal path that may include circuitry configured to amplify transmit signals provided by the RF circuitry 1102 for transmission by one or more of the one or more antennas 1130. In various embodiments, amplification by the transmit or receive signal paths may be performed only in the RF circuitry 1102, only in the FEM circuitry 1132, or in both the RF circuitry 1102 and the FEM circuitry 1132.

[0125] In some embodiments, the FEM circuitry 1132 may include a TX / RX switch to switch between transmit and receive modes of operation. The FEM circuitry 1132 may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the FEM circuitry 1132 may include an LNA to amplify a received RF signal and provide an amplified received RF signal as an output (e.g., to the RF circuitry 1102). The transmit signal path of the FEM circuitry 1132 may include a power amplifier (PA) to amplify an input RF signal (e.g., provided by the RF circuitry 1102), and one or more filters to generate an RF signal for subsequent transmission (e.g., via one or more of the one or more antennas 1130).

[0126] In some embodiments, PMC 1134 can manage the power provided to baseband circuitry 1104. Specifically, PMC 1134 can control power source selection, voltage scaling, battery charging, or DC-DC conversion. PMC 1134 is typically included when device 1100 is capable of being powered by a battery, such as when device 1100 is included in a UE. PMC 1134 can improve power conversion efficiency while providing the desired implementation size and thermal characteristics.

[0127] Figure 11 The PMC 1134 is shown coupled only to the baseband circuitry 1104. However, in other embodiments, the PMC 1134 may additionally or alternatively be coupled to other components (such as, but not limited to, the application circuitry 1106, the RF circuitry 1102, or the FEM circuitry 1132) and perform similar power management operations for these components.

[0128] In some embodiments, the PMC 1134 can control or otherwise be part of various power saving mechanisms for the device 1100. For example, if the device 1100 is in the RRC_Connected state, where the device is still connected to the RAN node because it expects to receive traffic immediately, then after a period of inactivity, the device can enter a state known as discontinuous reception mode (DRX). During this state, the device 1100 can be powered down for short intervals to save power.

[0129] If there is no data traffic activity for an extended period of time, the device 1100 may transition to the RRC_Idle state, in which the device is disconnected from the network and does not perform operations such as channel quality feedback, handover, etc. The device 1100 enters a very low power state and performs paging, in which the device periodically wakes up again to listen to the network and then powers down again. The device 1100 cannot receive data in this state, and in order to receive data, the device must transition back to the RRC_Connected state.

[0130] An additional power saving mode can disable the device from using the network for periods exceeding the paging interval (ranging from a few seconds to several hours). During this period, the device is completely unable to connect to the network and can be completely powered down. Any data sent during this period will incur significant latency, assuming that latency is acceptable.

[0131] The processor of the application circuitry 1106 and the processor of the baseband circuitry 1104 can be used to execute elements of one or more instances of the protocol stack. For example, the processor of the baseband circuitry 1104 can be used, alone or in combination, to perform layer 3, layer 2, or layer 1 functions, while the processor of the application circuitry 1106 can utilize data received from these layers (e.g., packet data) and further perform layer 4 functions (e.g., the Transmit Communication Protocol (TCP) and User Datagram Protocol (UDP) layers). As mentioned herein, layer 3 may include a radio resource control (RRC) layer, which is described in further detail below. As mentioned herein, layer 2 may include a medium access control (MAC) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, and a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, which are described in further detail below. As mentioned herein, layer 1 may include a physical (PHY) layer of the UE / RAN node, which is described in further detail below.

[0132] Figure 12 1 shows an exemplary interface 1200 of a baseband circuit according to some embodiments. As discussed above, Figure 11 The baseband circuit 1104 may include a 3G baseband processor 1108, a 4G baseband processor 1110, a 5G baseband processor 1112, other baseband processors 1114, a CPU 1116, and a memory 1120 used by the processors. As shown, each processor may include a corresponding memory interface 1202 for sending / receiving data to / from the memory 1120.

[0133] The baseband circuit 1104 may also include one or more interfaces for communicatively coupling to other circuits / devices, such as a memory interface 1204 (e.g., an interface for sending / receiving data to / from a memory external to the baseband circuit 1104); an application circuit interface 1206 (e.g., an interface for sending / receiving data to / from a memory external to the baseband circuit 1104); Figure 11 RF circuit interface 1208 (for example, for sending / receiving data to / from the application circuit 1106); Figure 11 an interface for sending / receiving data to / from a RF circuit 1102); a wireless hardware connection interface 1210 (e.g., for sending / receiving data to / from a near field communication (NFC) component, Components (e.g. Low power consumption), components and other communication components to send / receive data); and a power management interface 1212 (eg, an interface for sending / receiving power or control signals to / from the PMC 1134).

[0134] Figure 13 is a block diagram illustrating a component 1300 capable of reading instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium) and capable of performing any one or more of the methods discussed herein, according to some exemplary embodiments. Specifically, Figure 13 A schematic diagram of hardware resources 1302 is shown, including one or more processors 1306 (or processor cores), one or more memory / storage devices 1314, and one or more communication resources 1324, each of which may be communicatively coupled via a bus 1316. For embodiments in which node virtualization (e.g., NFV) is utilized, a hypervisor 1322 may be executed to provide an execution environment for one or more network slices / sub-slices to utilize the hardware resources 1302.

[0135] Processor 1306 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processor, a complex instruction set computing (CISC) processor, a graphics processing unit (GPU), a digital signal processor (DSP) (such as a baseband processor), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), another processor, or any suitable combination thereof) may include, for example, processor 1308 and processor 1310.

[0136] The memory / storage device 1314 may include main memory, disk storage, or any suitable combination thereof. The memory / storage device 1314 may include, but is not limited to, any type of volatile or non-volatile memory, such as 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 storage, etc.

[0137] The communication resources 1324 may include interconnect or network interface components or other suitable devices to communicate with one or more peripheral devices 1304 or one or more databases 1320 via the network 1318. For example, the communication resources 1324 may include wired communication components (e.g., for coupling via a universal serial bus (USB)), cellular communication components, NFC components, Components (e.g. Low power consumption), components and other communication components.

[0138] The instructions 1312 may include software, a program, an application, an applet, an application, or other executable code for causing at least one of the processors 1306 to perform any one or more of the methods discussed herein. The instructions 1312 may reside entirely or partially within at least one of the processors 1306 (e.g., within a cache memory of the processor), the memory / storage device 1314, or any suitable combination thereof. Furthermore, any portion of the instructions 1312 may be transferred to the hardware resources 1302 from any combination of the peripheral devices 1304 or the database 1320. Thus, the memory of the processor 1306, the memory / storage device 1314, the peripheral devices 1304, and the database 1320 are examples of computer-readable and machine-readable media.

[0139] 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, and / or methods described in the Examples section below. For example, the baseband circuitry described above in conjunction with one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the following examples. For another example, circuitry associated with 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.

[0140] Examples

[0141] The following examples relate to additional embodiments.

[0142] Embodiment 1A may include a method for wireless communications by a base station, comprising: decoding a random access channel (RACH) preamble received from a user equipment (UE) via a physical random access channel (PRACH); determining, in response to the RACH preamble, a repetition number associated with transmitting a random access response (RAR) via a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH); and encoding a transmission for the UE to be sent via a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), the transmission using one or more reserved bits of downlink control information (DCI) to indicate the repetition number to the UE.

[0143] Embodiment 2A may include a method according to embodiment 1A, wherein using one or more reserved bits of the DCI to indicate the number of repetitions further comprises: indicating the number of repetitions in a system information block (SIB); and mapping the DCI to the indicated number of repetitions in the SIB.

[0144] Embodiment 3A may include the method of Embodiment 1A, wherein indicating the number of repetitions using one or more reserved bits of the DCI comprises directly indicating the number of repetitions using the DCI.

[0145] Embodiment 4A may include the method of embodiment 1A, further comprising: encoding the RAR for transmission over the PDSCH; and transmitting the PDSCH up to as many times as the number of repetitions.

[0146] Embodiment 5A may include the method of embodiment 1A, wherein the DCI includes DCI format 1_0 with a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) scrambled by a random access radio network temporary identifier (RA-RNTI).

[0147] Embodiment 6A may include the method of embodiment 1A, wherein indicating the number of repetitions comprises indicating the number of repetitions using a medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC CE). Embodiment 7A may include a method for wireless communications by a base station, comprising: decoding a random access channel (RACH) preamble received from a user equipment (UE) via a physical random access channel (PRACH); encoding a random access response (RAR) via a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) in response to the RACH preamble; decoding a scheduled uplink (UL) transmission received from the UE via a physical uplink shared channel; determining a repetition number associated with a response to the scheduled UL transmission via the PDSCH; and encoding a transmission for the UE to be sent via a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), the transmission indicating the number of repetitions to the UE.

[0148] Embodiment 8A may include the method of embodiment 7A, wherein indicating the number of repetitions comprises indicating the number of repetitions using downlink allocation index (DAI) bits.

[0149] Embodiment 9A may include the method of embodiment 7A, wherein indicating the number of repetitions comprises reusing one or more bits of a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process number (HPN) to indicate the number of repetitions.

[0150] Embodiment 10A may include the method according to embodiment 7A, further comprising: encoding the response to the scheduled UL transmission for transmission via the PDSCH; and transmitting the response to the scheduled UL transmission up to as many times as the number of repetitions.

[0151] Embodiment 11A may include the method of embodiment 7A, wherein the transmission comprises downlink control information (DCI) format 1_0 with a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) scrambled by a temporary cell radio network temporary identifier (TC-RNTI).

[0152] Embodiment 12A may include a method for wireless communications by a base station, comprising: decoding a random access channel (RACH) preamble received from a user equipment (UE) via a physical random access channel (PRACH); determining a repetition number associated with an uplink (UL) transmission scheduled by the UE via a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), the scheduled UL transmission being scheduled by the base station in response to decoding the RACH preamble; and encoding a transmission for the UE to be sent via a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), the transmission indicating the repetition number to the UE.

[0153] Embodiment 13A may include the method of embodiment 12A, wherein indicating the number of repetitions comprises indicating the number of repetitions using at least one of one or more hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process number (HPN) bits and a new data indicator (NDI) bit.

[0154] Embodiment 14A may include the method of Embodiment 12A, wherein using at least one of the one or more HPN bits and the NDI bit to indicate the number of repetitions includes using the one or more HPN bits to indicate the number of repetitions when the NDI bit is set to one.

[0155] Embodiment 15A may include a method according to embodiment 12A, wherein indicating the number of repetitions includes using one of: the two least significant bits (LSBs) of a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process number (HPN) bits, the two most significant bits (MSBs) of the HPN bits, or all of the HPN bits.

[0156] Embodiment 16A may include a method for wireless communications by a base station, comprising: decoding a random access channel (RACH) preamble received from a user equipment (UE) via a physical random access channel (PRACH); determining the validity of a transform precoding associated with an uplink (UL) transmission scheduled by the UE via a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), the scheduled UL transmission being scheduled by the base station in response to decoding the RACH preamble; and encoding a transmission for the UE to be sent via a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), the transmission indicating the validity of the transform precoding to the UE.

[0157] Embodiment 17A may include the method of embodiment 16A, wherein the PUSCH for the scheduled UL transmission is scheduled by a random access response (RAR) UL grant.

[0158] Embodiment 18A may include the method of embodiment 17A, wherein indicating the validity of the transform precoding comprises indicating that transform precoding is enabled based on a single reserved bit in a first octet of the RAR.

[0159] Embodiment 19A may include a method according to embodiment 16A, wherein the PUSCH for the scheduled UL transmission is scheduled via downlink control information (DCI) format 0_0 having a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) scrambled by a temporary cell radio network temporary identifier (TC-RNTI).

[0160] Embodiment 20A may include the method of embodiment 19A, wherein indicating the validity of the transform precoding comprises indicating that transform precoding is enabled based on a value of a new data indicator (NDI) bit.

[0161] Embodiment 1B may include an apparatus comprising means for performing one or more elements of the method described in or related to any of the above embodiments, or any other method or process described herein.

[0162] Embodiment 2B may include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media comprising instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform one or more elements of a method described in or related to any of the above embodiments or any other method or process described herein.

[0163] Embodiment 3B may include an apparatus comprising logic components, modules, or circuits for performing one or more elements of the method described in or related to any of the above embodiments or any other method or process described herein.

[0164] Embodiment 4B may include methods, techniques, or processes described in or related to any of the above embodiments, or portions or components thereof.

[0165] Embodiment 5B may include a device comprising: one or more processors and one or more computer-readable media, the one or more computer-readable media comprising instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform a method, technique, or process, or portion thereof, described in or related to any one of the above embodiments.

[0166] Embodiment 6B may include signals or portions or components thereof as described in or related to any of the above embodiments.

[0167] Embodiment 7B may include a datagram, packet, frame, segment, protocol data unit (PDU) or message or a portion or component thereof as described in any of the above embodiments or related thereto, or as otherwise described in this disclosure.

[0168] Embodiment 8B may include a signal encoded with data, or a portion or component thereof, as described in any of the above embodiments or in connection therewith, or as otherwise described in this disclosure.

[0169] Embodiment 9B may include a signal or portion or component thereof encoded with a datagram, packet, frame, segment, PDU or message as described in any of the above embodiments or related thereto, or as otherwise described in this disclosure.

[0170] Embodiment 10B may include an electromagnetic signal carrying computer-readable instructions, wherein execution of the computer-readable instructions by one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform a method, technique, or process, or portion thereof, as described in or related to any of the above embodiments.

[0171] Embodiment 11B may include a computer program comprising instructions, wherein execution of the program by a processing element causes the processing element to perform a method, technique, or process, or a portion thereof, as described in or related to any one of the above embodiments.

[0172] Embodiment 12B may include signals in a wireless network as shown and described herein.

[0173] Embodiment 13B may include a method of communicating in a wireless network as shown and described herein.

[0174] Embodiment 14B may include a system for providing wireless communications as shown and described herein.

[0175] Embodiment 15B may include an apparatus for providing wireless communications as shown and described herein.

[0176] Unless expressly stated otherwise, any of the above embodiments may be combined with any other embodiment (or combination of embodiments). 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.

[0177] Embodiments and implementations of the systems and methods described herein may include various operations that may be embodied in machine-executable instructions to be executed by a computer system. A computer system may include one or more general-purpose or special-purpose computers (or other electronic devices). A computer system may include hardware components that include specific logic components for performing the operations, or may include a combination of hardware, software, and / or firmware.

[0178] It should be understood that the systems described herein include descriptions of specific embodiments. These embodiments can be combined into a single system, partially integrated into other systems, separated into multiple systems, or otherwise divided or combined. In addition, it is contemplated that parameters, attributes, aspects, etc. of one embodiment can be used in another embodiment. For clarity, these parameters, attributes, aspects, etc. are described only in one or more embodiments, and it should be understood that unless otherwise stated herein, these parameters, attributes, aspects, etc. can be combined with or substituted for parameters, attributes, aspects, etc. of another embodiment.

[0179] 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.

[0180] Although the foregoing has been described in considerable detail for purposes of clarity, it will be apparent that certain changes and modifications may be made without departing from the principles of the invention. It should be noted that there are many alternative ways of implementing both the processes and the apparatus described herein. The embodiments of the present invention are therefore to be considered illustrative and not restrictive, and the description is not to be limited to the details given herein, but may be modified within the scope and equivalents of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method for performing wireless communication by a base station using an enhanced random access channel (RACH) procedure, the method comprising: Decoding a RACH preamble received from a user equipment UE via a physical random access channel PRACH; determining, in response to the RACH preamble, a number of repetitions for transmitting a random access response (RAR) via a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH); as well as encoding a transmission for the UE to be sent via a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), the transmission using one or more reserved bits of downlink control information (DCI) to indicate to the UE the number of repetitions for transmitting the RAR, the DCI scheduling the repetitions for transmitting the RAR, The use of the one or more reserved bits of the DCI scheduled for transmitting repetitions of the RAR to indicate the number of repetitions further comprises: Indicating the number of repetitions in a system information block SIB; as well as One or more reserved bits of the DCI are mapped to the indicated number of repetitions in the SIB.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: encoding the RAR for transmission via the PDSCH; as well as The PDSCH is transmitted up to a number as many as the number of repetitions. 3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the DCI comprises a DCI format 1_0 having a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) scrambled by a random access radio network temporary identifier (RA-RNTI). 4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein indicating the number of repetitions comprises indicating the number of repetitions using a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (MAC CE).

Images