Method for wireless communication

Abstract

Reporting the potential impact of a sounding reference signal switch (SRS switch) to a base station may include: determining that an SRS switch is to be performed by a UE. Based on the determination that an SRS switch is to be performed, a potential impact on one or more of the multiple radio access technologies (RATs) caused by performing an SRS switch when a radio frequency (RF) front end (RFFE) is shared between at least a subset of the RATs may be processed. These potential impacts may include at least one of a transmit blanking (Tx blanking) and a receive blanking (Rx blanking) associated with one or more RATs in the subset of the RATs. Communications indicating the potential impact of these SRS switches may be encoded for transmission to the base station. The base station may also provide a priority configuration for determining how to handle Tx blanking, Rx blanking, and SRS skipping associated with an SRS switch.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application generally relates to wireless communication systems, including sounding reference signal (SRS) switching (SRS switching). 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 generally referred to as Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) by industry organizations; and the IEEE 802.11 standard for wireless local area networks (WLANs), which is generally referred to as Wi-Fi by industry organizations. 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, an enhanced Node B, an eNodeB, or an eNB) and / or a radio network controller (RNC) in the E-UTRAN, which communicates with a wireless communication device referred to as a user equipment (UE). In the fifth generation (5G) wireless RAN, the RAN nodes may include 5G nodes, NR nodes (also called 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 a global system for mobile communications (GSM), an enhanced data rate for GSM evolution (EDGE) RAN (GERAN), a universal terrestrial radio access network (UTRAN), and / or an E-UTRAN, which provides access to communication services through a core network. Each RAN in the RAN operates according to a specific 3GPP RAT. For example, GERAN implements GSM and / or EDGE RAT, UTRAN implements Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) RAT or other 3GPP RAT, E-UTRAN implements LTE RAT, and NG-RAN implements 5G RAT. In some deployments, E-UTRAN may also implement 5G RAT.

[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 from time to time or 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 1A An exemplary embodiment of SRS switching that may be delayed within a time span window is shown.

[0007] Figure 1B An exemplary implementation of repeating the SRS resources across multiple symbols or time slots is shown.

[0008] Figure 1C An exemplary implementation of a single DCI triggering multiple SRS resources or opportunities is shown.

[0009] Figure 2 A communication flow chart for updating the priority between UE and RAN is shown.

[0010] Figure 3 An exemplary implementation of two active SRS switching configurations with different periods is shown.

[0011] Figure 4 A flow chart showing a method for reporting potential impact of SRS switching to a base station.

[0012] Figure 5 A flow chart of a method for multi-opportunity SRS switching is shown.

[0013] Figure 6 A flow chart of a method for adjusting priorities associated with RATs for SRS skipping is shown.

[0014] Figure 7 A flow chart of a method for time bundling based SRS switching is shown.

[0015] Figure 8 A flow chart of a method for conditional SRS skipping is shown.

[0016] Fig. 9 An example implementation of LTE and NR RAT / carriers equipped with fully independent RF front ends (RFFEs) is shown.

[0017] Fig.10 An example implementation of LTE and NR RAT / carriers equipped with fully independent RF front ends (RFFEs) is shown.

[0018] Fig.11 An example implementation of LTE and NR RAT / carrier equipped with a shared RF front end (RFFE) is shown.

[0019] Fig.12 An example implementation of LTE and NR RAT / carrier equipped with a shared RF front end (RFFE) is shown.

[0020] Fig.13 An example implementation of LTE and NR RAT / carrier equipped with a shared RF front end (RFFE) is shown.

[0021] Fig.14 An example implementation of LTE and NR RAT / carrier equipped with a shared RF front end (RFFE) is shown.

[0022] Fig.15 A timeline view of an exemplary implementation of LTE and NR RAT / carrier equipped with a shared RF front end (RFFE) is shown.

[0023] Fig.16 A timeline view of an exemplary implementation of LTE and NR RAT / carrier equipped with a shared RF front end (RFFE) is shown.

[0024] Fig.17 A timeline view of an exemplary implementation of LTE and NR RAT / carrier equipped with a shared RF front end (RFFE) is shown.

[0025] Fig.18 NS3 setup and assumptions are shown.

[0026] Fig.19 Examples of UDP throughput and loss at different SNR values ​​are shown.

[0027] Fig. 20 Examples of TCP throughput and loss at different SNR values ​​are shown.

[0028] Fig.21 A system according to one embodiment is shown.

[0029] Fig. 22Infrastructure equipment according to one embodiment is shown.

[0030] Fig.23 A platform according to one embodiment is shown.

[0031] Fig.24 An apparatus according to one embodiment is shown.

[0032] Fig.25 An exemplary interface according to one embodiment is shown.

[0033] Fig.26 Components according to one embodiment are shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034] Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) switching (SRS switching) in LTE / NR includes both SRS antenna switching and SRS carrier switching. The principles described herein may particularly relate to SRS antenna switching (also known as SRS transmit port (Tx port) switching), and therefore, unless otherwise specified, the use of the term SRS switching herein may specifically refer to SRS antenna switching.

[0035] It is worth noting that the principles described herein may allow for calibration of uplink / downlink (UL / DL) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) channels for better throughput performance. However, the principles described herein may also be applicable to SRS carrier switching. In fact, with respect to SRS carrier switching, the principles described herein extend the core idea of ​​antenna switching to DL-only carriers without paired uplinks.

[0036] SRS switching may include scanning the SRS signal across all downlink (DL) receive (Rx) antennas at different symbols in the time domain. SRS switching includes different types as follows: a.1T2R; b.1T4R; c.2T4R; d.1T1R; e.2T2R; and f.4T4R. "R" refers to a subset / set of receive antennas used for PDSCH, and "T" refers to the SRS antennas used for DL ​​channel state information (CSI) acquisition.

[0037] When switching to an alternative Tx antenna with SRS switching, a radio frequency (RF) reconfiguration occurs. If this reconfiguration affects neighboring carriers / radio access technologies (RATs) that share the same configuration, these carriers / RATs will be interrupted, even if there is no SRS switching activity on these carriers / RATs at the time.

[0038] Generally speaking, when the RF configuration of two carriers is shared, SRS switching of the aggressor carrier may cause an interruption on the victim carrier. For example, the following scenarios may be applicable: 1. An interruption on a carrier within the same RAT (i.e., an intra-RAT carrier), which includes the aggressor carrier and the victim carrier being within the same RAT and sharing all or part of their RF front end (RFFE) / antenna; 2. An interruption on a carrier from a different RAT (i.e., an inter-RAT carrier), which includes the aggressor carrier and the victim carrier being from different RATs but sharing all or part of their RF front end (RFFE) / antenna; and 3. SRS switching on an adjacent panel (FR2), which includes SRS switching to an alternative panel that potentially affects ongoing services (of the carrier) using the current panel. It is worth noting that the conflict / blanking effects due to SRS switching are further discussed below.

[0039] To address the impact of the conflict, when a victim carrier (or RAT) is affected by the SRS switching of an aggressor carrier (or RAT), there are two existing solutions that can be improved by the principles described herein: 1. SRS skipping, which includes the aggressor carrier / RAT skipping its SRS switching during the conflicted symbols; and 2. Tx / Rx blanking, which includes the victim carrier / RAT blanking the affected symbols in terms of Tx / Rx activity (referred to as Tx blanking and Rx blanking, respectively).

[0040] It is worth noting that in 3GPP Release 17, the impact of collision / blanking may be exacerbated by the following potential SRS enhancements that make SRS resources more flexible but also denser in the time domain: a. SRS antenna switching for 6Rx and 8Rx UEs; b. SRS repetition; c. SRS time bundling; and d. SRS coverage and flexibility.

[0041] In response to these issues, this article discusses a number of detailed solutions. The first detailed solution includes reporting blanking statistics. The existing NR specification (i.e., 3GPP Release 16) indicates the interruption caused by SRS switching by specifying the affected frequency band via a field in the UE's SRS switching capability. However, the above method is both tedious and inefficient. For example, with respect to this method, the following situations apply: 1. For each CA combination, there may be multiple affected frequency bands to be reported (potentially involving multiple RATs), resulting in high overhead; and 2. It is impossible to describe the complete impact in terms of: b. within the affected frequency band, which specific carrier or RAT is affected; b. for the affected carrier / RAT, the frequency it is affected; c. whether the impact is about Tx blanking, Rx blanking, or both.

[0042] Therefore, the first detailed solution involves UE reporting statistics of Tx blanking and Rx blanking that occurs due to SRS switching, and includes the following two options: 1. UE SRS switching capability indicates whether it will be affected by Tx / Rx blanking due to the shared RFFE structure; and 2. The network (NW) can configure the UE to report statistics of Tx / Rx blanking caused by SRS switching. Regarding the second option: a. UE can collect blanking statistics from a given time window and report to the NW; b. The reporting granularity can be per carrier or per RAT; c. The reporting cadence can be periodic or aperiodic (i.e., one-time trigger).

[0043] In one example, the following statistics may be utilized: 1. Regarding Tx blanking: For the victim carrier / RAT, the UE may report the percentage of UL time slots (or symbols) affected by Tx blanking; 2. Regarding Rx blanking: For the victim carrier / RAT, the UE may report the percentage of DL time slots (or symbols) affected by Rx blanking; and 3. Regarding SRS skipping: For the aggressor carrier / RAT, the UE may report (during SRS switching) the percentage of SRS skipping used to avoid the impact of blanking.

[0044] As briefly described herein, 3GPP Release 17 may include providing more opportunities (resources) for SRS switching. Therefore, the second detailed solution is related here and is referred to herein as multi-opportunity SRS switching.

[0045] In particular, Figure 1A-Figure 1C Included are three scenarios as part of multi-opportunity SRS switching: 1. Figure 1A A first scenario (referred to herein as a time span window) is shown, which includes an SRS switch that can be delayed within a time span window 108 if the SRS switch conflicts with traffic of a victim carrier / RAT. In particular, each rectangle constitutes a time slot (as shown by time slot 102). In addition, candidate time slots 104 (i.e., candidate time slots 104a to candidate time slots 104d) include time slots in which the UE can potentially perform an SRS switch but refrain from doing so. Similarly, selected time slots 106 include time slots in which the UE has selected to actually perform an SRS switch. In this way, the UE can delay SRS switching during various time slots within the time span window and select a time slot within the time span window, which allows avoiding conflicts with traffic of the victim carrier / RAT.

[0046] Figure 1BA second scenario (referred to herein as repetition) is shown, which includes repeating SRS resources across multiple symbols or time slots. Again, each rectangle constitutes a time slot (as shown by time slot 102). In addition, candidate time slots 112 (i.e., candidate time slots 112a through candidate time slots 112d) include time slots in which the UE may repeat SRS resources across multiple time slots (or symbols) in time window 118. Similarly, repeated SRS time slots 114 (i.e., repeated SRS time slots 114a through repeated SRS time slots 114d) include time slots (or symbols) in which SRS resources are repeated within time window 118.

[0047] Figure 1C A third scenario (referred to herein as a single DCI) is shown, which includes using a single DCI to trigger multiple SRS resources or opportunities. Again, each rectangle constitutes a time slot (as shown in time slot 102), and a single DCI 110 is configured to trigger multiple SRS resources 116 (i.e., SRS resources 116a to SRS resources 116c) within a time window 120.

[0048] Therefore, the second detailed solution (as the first option) includes: for multi-opportunity SRS switching, when the SRS switching will cause Tx / Rx blanking impact on (the ongoing services of) the victim carrier / RAT, allowing the UE to skip a subset of opportunities. As a second option, the second detailed solution includes the UE proactively determining a subset of opportunities for SRS skipping. For example, such determination by the UE may be based on the service priority of the victim carrier / RAT, or based on NW rules specifically defined for multi-opportunity scenarios.

[0049] The third detailed solution involves dynamic priority for SRS skipping. More specifically, the NW can dynamically adjust the RAT priority used by the UE to select between SRS skipping and Tx / Rx blanking. It is worth noting that the third detailed solution includes three options. The first option includes that the NW is configured to adjust the priority of different RATs used for the UE to select between 1. SRS skipping and 2. Tx / Rx blanking. This priority can be dynamic, and the NW can update the priority via RRC messaging or MAC-CE.

[0050] In one example, if the victim RAT has ongoing traffic that conflicts with the SRS switching of the aggressor RAT, then when the victim RAT is configured as having a higher priority, the SRS switching is skipped to protect the victim RAT. Otherwise, the SRS switching opportunity is maintained. In this case, Tx / Rx blanking is triggered (on the victim RAT).

[0051] The second option of the third detailed solution includes the UE using its local conditions to derive its preferred priority. It is worth noting that the UE can update the NW with this preferred priority via a UE Assistance Information (UAI) channel. In an example, the local conditions of the UE may include throughput, power consumption, thermal conditions, and / or battery conditions.

[0052] Figure 2 A communication flow diagram 200 is shown illustrating a priority update between a UE 202 and a RAN 204. In particular, the priority communication flow begins by performing an initial RRC connection establishment 206. The RAN 204 may then provide the RAT priority associated with the SRS switching conflict to the UE via communication 208. Ellipses 210 then illustrate that any number of other actions / communications may occur before the UE 202 responds to the RAN 204 with the UE's preferred RAT priority via communication 212, as discussed above with respect to the second option of the third detailed solution. Finally, the RAT priority associated with the SRS switching conflict may be adjusted via communication 214 in response to the UE's preferred RAT priority.

[0053] The third option of the third detailed solution includes the case where the UE can dynamically report its preferred SRS switching configuration to the NW. The UE's preferred configuration may include: 1. disabling / enabling SRS switching on the carrier; and 2. SRS switching configuration upgrade (e.g., from 1T2R to 1T4R) or downgrade (from 1T4R to 1T2R).

[0054] The fourth detailed solution relates to a time bundling scenario, where the NW may trigger multiple SRS switching configurations that are active simultaneously. In such a case, each of these configurations may have a different periodicity type (i.e., periodic vs. aperiodic) and time resources. Therefore, the fourth solution is associated with allowing the NW to apply different priorities for those simultaneous configurations in terms of SRS skipping vs. Tx / Rx blanking in such a case.

[0055] Likewise, the fourth detailed solution includes two options. The first option includes: for time-bundled SRS switching, when the NW triggers multiple different configurations active simultaneously, allowing the NW to apply different priorities for each configuration (associated with the tradeoff between SRS skipping and Tx / Rx blanking).

[0056] Figure 3 An example is shown including two active SRS switching configurations, where a first active SRS switching configuration is periodic and a second active SRS switching configuration is aperiodic. Figure 3 As shown, each rectangle constitutes a time slot (as shown by time slot 102) within time window 304. In addition, Figure 3Included are periodic SRS switching resources (ie, periodic SRS switching resources 306 to periodic SRS switching resources 312 ) and aperiodic SRS switching resources (ie, aperiodic SRS switching resources 314 and aperiodic SRS switching resources 316 ).

[0057] In a more specific example, assume that the NW activates one periodic SRS switching resource with a long period and another aperiodic SRS switching resource with a shorter period. In this way, the periodic resources can track long-term channel conditions, while the aperiodic resources can capture short-term channel changes. In this case, the periodic resources associated with the long-term channel may have a higher priority and may not be skipped. In contrast, the aperiodic resources may be best effort and therefore may be skipped when causing Tx / Rx blanking.

[0058] Therefore, the second option associated with the fourth detailed solution may include an assumption that there are two active SRS switching configurations in a time-bundled manner, the first of which is a periodic resource and the second is a non-periodic. Therefore, the NW may configure the periodic SRS switching resource with a high priority for long-term channels and configure the non-periodic SRS switching resource to be skippable to avoid Tx / Rx blanking.

[0059] As described herein, there are two conflict mitigation options: 1. SRS skipping; and 2. Tx / Rx blanking. Therefore, the fifth detailed solution involves utilizing conditional SRS skipping logic. More specifically, the NW can configure and trigger conditional SRS skipping. In response, the UE can monitor such conditions so that the SRS is skipped when the conditions are met. In one example, potential conditions may include one or more of the following: 1. Link quality (e.g., reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), etc.); 2. Scheduling ratio; 3. Throughput; and 4. Service priority. It is worth noting that the UE can monitor these conditions and take any applicable subsequent actions.

[0060] In a more specific example related to link quality, when the link quality (RSRP / RSRQ / SNR) of the victim carrier is better than the link quality of the aggressor carrier by a given threshold, then when a conflict occurs, SRS switching of the aggressor carrier can be skipped. In an example related to scheduling ratio, when the scheduling ratio of the victim carrier is higher than the scheduling ratio of the aggressor carrier by a certain threshold, then when a conflict occurs, SRS switching of the aggressor carrier can be skipped. In an example related to throughput, when the throughput of the victim carrier is higher than the throughput of the aggressor carrier by a certain threshold, then when a conflict occurs, SRS switching of the aggressor carrier can be skipped. In an example related to service priority, when the service priority of the victim carrier is higher than the service priority of the aggressor carrier, then when a conflict occurs, SRS switching of the aggressor carrier can be skipped (see Service Priority: 3GPP QCI Table, Table 6.1.7-A: Standardized QCI Characteristics).

[0061] Figure 4 A flow chart of a method 400 for reporting the potential impact of SRS switching to a base station is shown. In box 402, the method 400 determines that a sounding reference signal switch (SRS switch) is to be performed by a UE. In box 404, the method 400 processes the potential impact on one or more of the multiple radio access technologies (RATs) caused by performing an SRS switch when a radio frequency (RF) front end (RFFE) is shared between at least a subset of the multiple RATs based on determining that the SRS switch is to be performed. For example, the potential impact may include at least one of a transmit blanking (Tx blanking) and a receive blanking (Rx blanking) associated with one or more RATs in the subset of RATs. Thus, the potential impact may be determined with respect to the impact on a specific RAT. In box 406, the method 400 encodes a communication indicating the potential impact of the SRS switch for transmission to the base station. In particular, the UE may encode a communication indicating the potential impact associated with one or more RATs.

[0062] Figure 5 A flow chart of a method 500 for multi-opportunity SRS switching is shown. In block 502, the method 500 determines that a multi-opportunity sounding reference signal switching (SRS switching) is to be performed by a UE. For example, the multi-opportunity SRS switching may include creating multiple SRS switching opportunities for the UE. In a more specific example, the multi-opportunity SRS switching may include a time span window, a repetition, or a single DCI, as further described herein.

[0063] In block 504, the method 500 processes a potential impact on one or more of a plurality of radio access technologies (RATs) caused by performing an SRS switching when a radio frequency (RF) front end (RFFE) is shared between at least a subset of the plurality of RATs based on determining that an SRS switching is to be performed. For example, the potential impact may include at least one of a transmit blanking (Tx blanking) and a receive blanking (Rx blanking) associated with one or more of the subset of RATs. In block 506, the method 500 skips a subset of SRS switching opportunities based on determining that the potential impact will affect at least one of the subset of RATs during at least a subset of the plurality of SRS switching opportunities. For example, based on determining that one or more SRS switching opportunities will result in Tx blanking and / or Rx blanking associated with one or more RATs, the UE may skip such opportunities.

[0064] Figure 6 A flow chart of a method 600 for adjusting priorities associated with RATs for SRS skipping is shown. In block 602, the method 600 determines that a sounding reference signal switch (SRS switch) is to be performed by a UE. In block 604, the method 600 processes a potential impact on one or more of a plurality of radio access technologies (RATs) caused by performing an SRS switch when a radio frequency (RF) front end (RFFE) is shared between at least a subset of the RATs based on determining that the SRS switch is to be performed. For example, the potential impact may include at least one of a transmit blanking (Tx blanking) and a receive blanking (Rx blanking) associated with the subset of RATs. In addition, at least one RAT in the subset of RATs may be determined during processing to be affected by the potential impact.

[0065] In block 606, the method 600 decodes the priority of each of the plurality of RATs. For example, some RATs may have a higher priority than other RATs, such that SRS skipping is more likely to be performed when the RAT with the higher priority will be affected by SRS switching than the RAT with the lower priority. In block 608, the method 600 adjusts the priority of at least one RAT. For example, the priority may be adjusted by the UE in response to an adjustment made by the base station, or by the UE without triggering such adjustment by the base station. In block 610, the method 600 performs at least one of SRS skipping, Tx blanking, or Rx blanking based on adjusting the priority of at least one RAT. For example, SRS skipping may be performed based on adjusting the priority of a RAT that would otherwise be affected by performing SRS switching (i.e., adjusting to a higher priority) with respect to a specific timing.

[0066] Figure 7A flow chart of a method 700 for time-bundling-based SRS switching is shown. In block 702, the method 700 decodes an SRS switching configuration received from a base station. For example, a multi-SRS switching configuration may include at least a periodic SRS switching configuration and an aperiodic SRS switching configuration that are each simultaneously active. In addition, the periodic SRS switching configuration may have a first priority configuration associated with determining whether to perform transmit blanking (Tx blanking), receive blanking (Rx blanking), or SRS skipping in a given scenario, and the aperiodic SRS switching configuration may have a second different priority configuration associated with determining whether to perform transmit blanking (Tx blanking), receive blanking (Rx blanking), or SRS skipping in a given scenario.

[0067] In block 704, the method 700 processes a potential impact on one or more of the multiple radio access technologies (RATs) caused by performing SRS switching when sharing a radio frequency (RF) front end (RFFE) between at least a subset of the multiple RATs based on decoding a multi-SRS switching configuration. For example, the potential impact may include at least one of Tx blanking, Rx blanking, and SRS skipping associated with one or more RATs in the subset of RATs. In block 706, the method 700 performs at least one of SRS skipping, Tx blanking, or Rx blanking associated with a periodic SRS switching configuration based on a first priority configuration and the potential impact. For example, based on the potential impact and a first priority associated with a long-term channel, Tx blanking and / or Rx blanking may be performed. In block 708, the method 700 performs at least one of SRS skipping, Tx blanking, or Rx blanking associated with an aperiodic SRS switching configuration based on a second priority configuration and the potential impact. For example, based on the potential impact and a second priority associated with a best-effort short-term channel, SRS skipping may be performed.

[0068] Figure 8 A flow chart of a method 800 for conditional SRS skipping is shown. In block 802, the method 800 determines that a sounding reference signal switch (SRS switch) is to be performed by a UE. In block 804, the method 800 processes a potential impact on one or more of a plurality of radio access technologies (RATs) caused by performing an SRS switch when a radio frequency (RF) front end (RFFE) is shared between at least a subset of the plurality of RATs based on a decoded SRS switch condition configuration. For example, the potential impact may include at least one of a transmit blanking (Tx blanking), a receive blanking (Rx blanking), and an SRS skip associated with one or more RATs in the subset of RATs.

[0069] In box 806, method 800 decodes the SRS skip condition configuration received from the base station. For example, the SRS skip condition configuration may include one or more conditions associated with one or more RATs and logic for skipping the SRS switching opportunity based on the one or more conditions. In box 808, method 800 monitors one or more conditions of one or more RATs. For example, one or more conditions may include link quality, scheduling ratio, throughput and / or service priority. In box 810, method 800 skips at least one SRS switching opportunity associated with one or more RATs based on logic for skipping the SRS switching opportunity and one or more monitored conditions of one or more RATs. In one example, when the link quality (RSRP, RSRQ, SNR, etc.) of the victim carrier is better than the link quality of the offender carrier by a given threshold, then when a conflict occurs, the SRS switching of the offender carrier can be skipped.

[0070] Figure 9-Figure 20 The following example in shows the inter-RAT interruption due to SRS switching. It is worth noting that the EN-DC case (LTE+NR) is used as a typical example. It should be noted that similar impact / analysis can be applied for the intra-RAT inter-carrier case, but the details are omitted for simplicity.

[0071] Fig. 9 An example of LTE+NR, both 1Tx / 4Rx and equipped with completely independent RF front ends (RFFE), is shown. When LTE and NR are equipped with independent RF front ends, then SRS switching of one RAT will not interrupt the other RAT.

[0072] Fig.10 Another example of LTE+NR equipped with a completely independent RF front end (similar to Fig. 9 ). In such cases, no conflict / blanking effects will occur, as further described herein.

[0073] Fig.11 An example of LTE+NR is shown where both are 1Tx / 4Rx and share a total of 4 RF front ends and antennas. When LTE and NR jointly share the RF front end (and antennas), then SRS switching in one RAT can interrupt the other RAT.

[0074] Fig.12 Another example of fully shared RFFE / antenna for LTE and NR is shown (similar to Fig.11 ), which may include conflicting and blanking effects.

[0075] Fig.13 An example of LTE+NR with 1Tx / 4Rx using a total of 6 RFFEs / antennas is shown, where RFFE2 and RFFE3 are shared by two RATs. Fig.13 In LTE and NR, some RFFEs / antennas may be partially shared. In such a case, SRS switching of one RAT may interrupt the other RAT only when the SRS switching conflicts with the shared RFFE.

[0076] Fig.14 Another example of partially shared RFFE / antenna for LTE and NR is shown (similar to Fig.13 ), which leads to conflicts and blanking effects.

[0077] As Figure 9-14 In summary of the examples in , the following situations apply: 1. Fig. 9 and Fig.10 Includes completely independent RFFE resources and no conflicts; 2. Fig.11 and Fig.12 Includes fully shared RFFE resources and conflicts; and 3. Fig.13 and Fig.14 Includes partially shared RFFE resources and conflicts when colliding with shared RFFE resources.

[0078] Fig.15 Shown with Fig.11 and Fig.12 The first part of the timeline view associated with the example in Fig.16 and Fig.17 Shows Fig.15 ). Fig.11 and Fig.12 Briefly described, Fig.15 Including LTE and NR jointly sharing 4 RFFE / antennas. It is worth noting that this timeline view analysis can also be applied to Fig.13 and Fig.14 Examples in .

[0079] Fig.16 Shown with Fig.11 and Fig.12 The second part of the timeline view associated with the example in Fig.16 As shown in Figure 2, when NR SRS switches from Ant-3 to Ant-2, it will interrupt LTE-Rx2 and trigger LTE Rx blanking within the interruption window.

[0080] Fig.17 Shown with Fig.11 and Fig.12 The third section of the timeline view associated with the example in Fig.17 As shown, when NR SRS switches from Ant-3 to Ant-0, it will interrupt LTE-Tx0 / Rx0 and trigger LTETx / Rx blanking within the interruption window.

[0081] The application of Tx blanking and Rx blanking also depends on the FDD / TDD configuration of the RAT. In particular, when LTE / NR is synchronous TDD, SRS switching may result in Tx blanking and no Rx blanking on the other RAT because they are synchronous TDD. On the contrary, when LTE / NR is asynchronous (or LTE / NR is a FDD+TDD combination), SRS switching may result in both Tx blanking and Rx blanking on the other RAT.

[0082] Fig.18 The NS3 setup and assumptions are shown below:

[0083]

[0084]

[0085] Fig.19 Examples of UDP throughput and loss at different SNR values ​​are shown. Fig. 20 Examples of TCP throughput and loss at different SNR values ​​are shown. As shown in the figure, regarding the blanking period, more frequent blanking (20ms to 5ms) results in higher loss rates. Regarding TCP vs. UDP, the TCP results show much worse loss rates compared to the UDP case. Regarding the TDD configuration, the simulation was performed with the FDD configuration, and the TDD configuration has fewer DL and UL subframes; its loss rate may be higher. Regarding concurrent Tx / Rx blanking, the simulation assumes both Tx blanking and Rx blanking, which is the worst case. The VOIP scenario prefers a heavily loaded network with a large number of UEs.

[0086] Blanking design should gracefully handle blanked subframes. A good design can target a soft blanking solution with the following considerations:

[0087]

[0088] 3GPP Release 15, Section 38.822, Table 4.1-1 also includes SRS Tx switching capability.

[0089] Fig.21 An exemplary architecture of a system 2100 of a network according to various embodiments is shown. The following description is provided for an example system 2100 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 the embodiments 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.

[0090] like Fig.21 As shown, system 2100 includes UE 2122 and UE 2120. In this example, UE 2122 and UE 2120 are shown as smart phones (e.g., handheld touch screen mobile computing devices that can connect to one or more cellular networks), but may also include any mobile or non-mobile computing devices, such as consumer electronic devices, cellular phones, smart phones, 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 control units (ECUs), electronic / engine control modules (ECMs), embedded systems, microcontrollers, control modules, engine management systems (EMS), networked or "smart" appliances, MTC devices, M2M, IoT devices, etc.

[0091] In some embodiments, UE 2122 and / or UE 2120 may be an IoT UE, 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 PLMN, ProSe or D2D communications, sensor networks, or IoT networks. M2M or MTC data exchanges may be machine-initiated data exchanges. The IoT network describes interconnected IoT UEs, which may include uniquely identifiable embedded computing devices (within the Internet infrastructure) with short-lived connections. The IoT UE may execute background applications (e.g., keep-alive messages, status updates, etc.) to facilitate connectivity to the IoT network.

[0092] UE 2122 and UE 2120 may be configured to be connected, e.g., communicatively coupled, to an access node or radio access node (shown as (R) AN 2108). In an embodiment, (R) AN 2108 may be an NG RAN or SG RAN, an E-UTRAN, or a traditional RAN, such as a UTRAN or GERAN. As used herein, the term "NG RAN", etc. may refer to an (R) AN 2108 operating in an NR or SG system, and the term "E-UTRAN", etc. may refer to an (R) AN 2108 operating in an LTE or 4G system. UE 2122 and UE 2120 utilize connections (or channels), respectively shown as connection 2104 and connection 2102, each connection (or channel) comprising a physical communication interface or layer (discussed in further detail below).

[0093] In this example, connection 2104 and connection 2102 are air interfaces for enabling communication coupling, and may conform to 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 other communication protocol discussed herein. In an embodiment, UE 2122 and UE 2120 may also directly exchange communication data via a ProSe interface 2110. The ProSe interface 2110 may alternatively be referred to as a side link (SL) interface 110, and may include one or more logical channels, including but not limited to PSCCH, PSSCH, PSDCH, and PSBCH.

[0094] UE 2120 is shown as being configured to access AP 2112 (also referred to as a "WLAN node," "WLAN," "WLAN terminal," "WT," etc.) via connection 2124. Connection 2124 may include a local wireless connection, such as a connection compliant with any IEEE 802.11 protocol, where AP 2112 would include wireless fidelity. router. In this example, AP 2112 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 2120, (R) AN 2108, and AP 2112 may be configured to utilize LWA operation and / or LWIP operation. LWA operation may involve UE 2120 in RRC_CONNECTED being configured by RAN node 2114 or RAN node 2116 to utilize radio resources of LTE and WLAN. LWIP operation may involve UE 2120 using WLAN radio resources (e.g., connection 2124) via an IPsec protocol tunnel to authenticate and encrypt packets (e.g., IP packets) sent through connection 2124. 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.

[0095] (R)AN 2108 may include one or more AN nodes, such as RAN node 2114 and RAN node 2116, that enable connection 2104 and connection 2102. As used herein, the terms "access node", "access point", etc. may describe equipment that provides radio baseband functions for data and / or voice connections between a network and one or more users. These access nodes may be referred to as BS, gNB, RAN node, eNB, NodeB, RSU, TRxP or TRP, etc., 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 nodes" and the like may refer to RAN nodes (e.g., eNBs) operating in LTE or 4G systems 2100. According to various embodiments, the RAN node 2114 or the RAN node 2116 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.

[0096] In some embodiments, all or part of RAN node 2114 or RAN node 2116 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 splits, 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 2114 or RAN node 2116); MAC / PHY splits, 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 2114 or RAN node 2116); or "lower PHY" splits, 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 2114 or RAN node 2116 to execute other virtualized applications. In some implementations, each RAN node may represent a virtualized application via each F1 interface ( Fig.21In some 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 (R)AN 2108 or by a server pool in a manner similar to the CRAN / vBBUP. In addition or alternatively, one or more of the RAN node 2114 or the RAN node 2116 may be a next generation eNB (ng-eNB), which is a RAN node that provides E-UTRA user plane and control plane protocol terminations to the UE 2122 and the UE 2120 and is connected to the SGC via an NG interface (discussed below). In the V2X scenario, the RAN node 2114 or one or more of the RAN node 2116 may be an RSU or act as an RSU.

[0097] 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, wherein 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, the RSU is a computing device coupled to a radio frequency circuit located on the roadside that provides connectivity support to passing vehicle UEs (vUEs). The RSU may also include internal data storage circuits for storing intersection map geometry, traffic statistics, media, and applications / software for sensing and controlling ongoing vehicle 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. Additionally or alternatively, the RSU may operate on a cellular V2X band to provide the aforementioned low-latency communications as well as other cellular communications services. Additionally or alternatively, the RSU may operate as a Wi-Fi hotspot (2.4 GHz band) and / or provide connectivity to one or more cellular networks to provide uplink and downlink communications. Some or all of the computing device and the RSU's RF circuitry may be packaged in a weather-resistant 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.

[0098] The RAN node 2114 and / or the RAN node 2116 may terminate the air interface protocol and may be the first point of contact for the UE 2122 and the UE 2120. In some embodiments, the RAN node 2114 and / or the RAN node 2116 may perform various logical functions of the (R)AN 2108, 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.

[0099] In an embodiment, UE 2122 and UE 2120 may be configured to communicate with each other or with RAN node 2114 and / or RAN node 2116 over a multi-carrier communication channel using OFDM communication signals according to 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.

[0100] In some embodiments, a downlink resource grid may be used for downlink transmissions from RAN node 2114 and / or RAN node 2116 to UE 2122 and UE 2120, while uplink transmissions may utilize similar techniques. The grid may be a time-frequency grid, referred to as a resource grid or a time-frequency resource grid, which is a physical resource in the downlink in each time slot. For OFDM systems, such a time-frequency plane representation is common practice, which makes radio resource allocation intuitive. Each column and each 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 a plurality of resource blocks, which describe the mapping of certain physical channels to resource elements. Each resource block includes a set of resource elements; in the frequency domain, this may represent the minimum amount of resources that can currently be allocated. Such resource blocks are used to transmit several different physical downlink channels.

[0101] According to various embodiments, UE 2122 and UE 2120 and RAN node 2114 and / or RAN node 2116 communicate (e.g., transmit and receive) data through 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, and the unlicensed spectrum may include a 5 GHz band.

[0102] To operate in the unlicensed spectrum, the UE 2122 and UE 2120 and the RAN node 2114 or RAN node 2116 may operate using LAA, eLAA, and / or feLAA mechanisms. In these specific implementations, the UE 2122 and UE 2120 and the RAN node 2114 or RAN node 2116 may perform one or more known medium sensing operations and / or carrier sensing operations to determine whether one or more channels in the unlicensed spectrum are unavailable or otherwise occupied before transmitting in the unlicensed spectrum. The medium / carrier sensing operations may be performed according to a listen-before-talk (LBT) protocol.

[0103] LBT is a mechanism by which equipment (e.g., UE 2122 and UE 2120, RAN node 2114 or RAN node 2116, 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 in order 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 expected transmission band and comparing the sensed RF energy to a predefined or configured threshold.

[0104] Typically, existing systems in the 5 GHz band are WLANs based on IEEE 802.11 technology. WLANs use a contention-based channel access mechanism called CSMA / CA. Here, when a WLAN node (e.g., a mobile station (MS) such as UE 2122, AP 2112, 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 at the same time, a backoff mechanism is used to avoid conflicts. The backoff mechanism may be a counter randomly introduced within the CWS that increases exponentially when a conflict occurs and is reset to a minimum value when the transmission is successful. The LBT mechanism designed for LAA is somewhat similar to the CSMA / CA of WLAN. In some specific implementations, the LBT process for a DL or UL transmission burst (including PDSCH or PUSCH transmission) may have a 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 of 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.

[0105] 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, 3, 5, 10, 15, or 20 MHz, and up to five CCs can be aggregated, so the maximum aggregated bandwidth is 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 may have a different bandwidth from other CCs. In a TDD system, the number of CCs and the bandwidth of each CC are typically the same for DL ​​and UL.

[0106] 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. 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 PCCs may require the UE 2122 to undergo switching. In LAA, eLAA, and feLAA, some or all of the SCells may operate in an 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 start positions within the same subframe.

[0107] The PDSCH carries user data and higher layer signaling to UE 2122 and UE 2120. The PDCCH carries, among other information, information about the transport format and resource allocation related to the PDSCH channel. It may also inform UE 2122 and UE 2120 about the transport format, resource allocation, and HARQ information related to the uplink shared channel. Typically, downlink scheduling (allocation of control and shared channel resource blocks to UE 2120 within a cell) may be performed at either RAN node 2114 or RAN node 2116 based on channel quality information fed back from either UE 2122 and UE 2120. Downlink resource allocation information may be sent on the PDCCH for (e.g., allocated to) each of UE 2122 and UE 2120.

[0108] PDCCH uses CCE to transmit control information. Before being mapped to resource elements, the PDCCH complex-valued symbols can first be organized into quadruplets, 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 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).

[0109] 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 nine sets of four physical resource elements, referred to as EREG. In some cases, ECCE may have other numbers of EREGs.

[0110] RAN node 2114 or RAN node 2116 may be configured to communicate with each other via interface 2130. In an embodiment where system 2100 is an LTE system (e.g., when CN 2106 is an EPC), interface 2130 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 specific implementations, the X2 interface may include an X2 user plane interface (X2-U) and an X2 control plane interface (X2-C). X2-U may provide a flow control mechanism for user packets transmitted over the X2 interface, and may be used to transmit information about the delivery of user data between eNBs. For example, X2-U may provide specific sequence number information about user data transmitted from MeNB to SeNB; information about successfully delivering PDCP PDUs from SeNB to UE 2122 in sequence for user data; information about PDCP PDUs not delivered to UE 2122; information about the current minimum expected buffer size at Se NB for transmitting user data to UE; and the like. X2-C can provide intra-LTE access mobility functions, including context transfer from source eNB to target eNB, user plane transmission control, etc.; load management functions; and inter-cell interference coordination functions.

[0111] In an embodiment where the system 2100 is a SG or NR system (e.g., when the CN 2106 is an SGC), the interface 2130 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 the SGC, between a RAN node 2114 (e.g., a gNB) and an eNB connected to the SGC, and / or between two eNBs connected to a 5GC (e.g., CN2106). In some specific implementations, the Xn interface may include an Xn user plane (Xn-U) interface and an Xn control plane (Xn-C) interface. The Xn-U may provide non-guaranteed delivery of user plane PDUs and support / provide data forwarding and flow control functions. The Xn-C may provide management and error handling functions for managing the functions of the Xn-C interface; mobility support for UE 2122 in a connected mode (e.g., CM-CONNECTED) includes functions for managing UE mobility in a connected mode between one or more RAN nodes 2114 or RAN nodes 2116. Mobility support may include context transfer from the old (source) service RAN node 2114 to the new (target) service RAN node 2116, and control of the user plane tunnel between the old (source) service RAN node 2114 and the new (target) service RAN node 2116. The protocol stack of Xn-U may include a transport network layer built on the Internet Protocol (IP) transport layer, and a GTP-U layer on top of the UDP and / or IP layer 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 on top of the IP layer and may provide guaranteed delivery of application layer messages. In the transport IP layer, point-to-point transport is used to deliver signaling PDUs. In other specific implementations, the Xn-U protocol stack and / or the Xn-C protocol stack may be the same or similar to the user plane and / or control plane protocol stacks shown and described herein.

[0112] (R)AN 2108 is shown as being communicatively coupled to the core network - in this embodiment, communicatively coupled to CN2106. CN 2106 may include one or more network elements 2132, which are configured to provide various data and telecommunication services to customers / subscribers (e.g., users of UE 2122 and UE 2120) connected to CN2106 via (R)AN 2108. The components of CN 2106 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-mentioned 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 2106 may be referred to as a network slice, and a logical instantiation of a portion of CN 2106 may be referred to as a network sub-slice. NFV architecture and infrastructure can be used to virtualize one or more network functions onto physical resources including 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 a virtual or reconfigurable implementation of one or more EPC components / functions.

[0113] In general, the application server 2118 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 2118 may also be configured to support one or more communication services (e.g., VoIP sessions, PTT sessions, group communication sessions, social network services, etc.) for UE 2122 and UE 2120 via the EPC. The application server 2118 may communicate with the CN 2106 via the IP communication interface 2136.

[0114] In an embodiment, CN 2106 may be an SGC, and (R)AN 116 may be connected to CN 2106 via an NG interface 2134. In an embodiment, NG interface 2134 may be divided into two parts: an NG user plane (NG-U) interface 2126, which carries service data between RAN node 2114 or RAN node 2116 and UPF; and an S1 control plane (NG-C) interface 2128, which is a signaling interface between RAN node 2114 or RAN node 2116 and AMF.

[0115] In an embodiment, CN 2106 may be an SG CN, while in other embodiments, CN 2106 may be an EPC. In the case where CN 2106 is an EPC, (R)AN 116 may be connected to CN 2106 via an S1 interface 2134. In an embodiment, S1 interface 2134 may be divided into two parts: an S1 user plane (S1-U) interface 2126, which carries service data between RAN node 2114 or RAN node 2116 and S-GW; and an S1-MME interface 2128, which is a signaling interface between RAN node 2114 or RAN node 2116 and MME.

[0116] Fig. 22 An example of infrastructure equipment 2200 according to various embodiments is shown. The infrastructure equipment 2200 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 2200 can be implemented in or by a UE.

[0117] The infrastructure equipment 2200 includes application circuits 2202, baseband circuits 2204, one or more radio front-end modules 2206 (RFEM), memory circuits 2208, power management integrated circuits (shown as PMIC 2210), power tee circuits 2212, network controller circuits 2214, network interface connectors 2220, satellite positioning circuits 2216, and user interface circuits 2218. In some embodiments, the infrastructure equipment 2200 may include additional elements, such as, for example, memory / storage devices, displays, cameras, sensors, or input / output (I / O) interfaces. In other embodiments, these components may be included in more than one device. For example, the circuits may be separately included in more than one device for CRAN, vBBU, or other similar implementations. The application circuits 2202 include circuits such as, but not limited to, one or more processors (or processor cores), cache memory, and one or more of the following: low dropout regulators (LDOs), interrupt controllers, serial interfaces such as SPI, I 2C or general programmable serial interface module, real-time clock (RTC), timer-counter (including interval timer and watchdog timer), general input / output (I / O or IO), memory card controller (such as secure digital (SD) multimedia card (MMC) or similar products), universal serial bus (USB) interface, mobile industry processor interface (MIPI) interface and joint test access group (JTAG) test access port. The processor (or core) of the application circuit 2202 can be coupled with or can 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 infrastructure equipment 2200. In some specific implementations, the memory / storage element can be an on-chip memory circuit, which 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.

[0118] The processor of the application circuit 2202 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 2202 may include or may be a dedicated processor / controller for operating according to various embodiments herein. As an example, the processor of the application circuit 2202 may include one or more Intel FPGAs. or Processor: Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Processor, Accelerated Processing Unit (APU) or processors; ARM-based processors licensed by ARM Holdings, Ltd., 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 2200 may not utilize the application circuit 2202, and may instead include a dedicated processor / controller to process IP data received, for example, from the EPC or 5GC.

[0119] In some implementations, the application circuit 2202 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), and the like; programmable logic devices (PLDs), such as complex PLDs (CPLDs), high capacity PLDs (HCPLDs), and the like; ASICs, such as structured ASICs, and the like; programmable SoCs (PSoCs); and the like. In such implementations, the circuitry of the application circuit 2202 may include logic blocks or logic structures, as well as other interconnected resources that may be programmed to perform various functions, such as the procedures, methods, functions, and the like of the various embodiments discussed herein. In such embodiments, the circuitry of the application circuit 2202 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), anti-fuse, etc.)) for storing logic blocks, logic structures, data, etc. in a lookup table (LUT), etc. The baseband circuit 2204 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.

[0120] The user interface circuit 2218 may include one or more user interfaces designed to enable a user to interact with the infrastructure equipment 2200 or a peripheral component interface designed to enable a peripheral component to interact with the infrastructure equipment 2200. 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., a light emitting diode (LED)), a physical keyboard or keypad, a mouse, a touch pad, 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 interface, etc.

[0121] The radio front end module 2206 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 separated from the millimeter wave 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 millimeter wave and sub-millimeter wave radio functions may be implemented in the same physical radio front end module 2206 that combines both millimeter wave antennas and sub-millimeter waves.

[0122] The memory circuit 2208 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 a "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 2208 may be implemented as one or more of: a solder-in package integrated circuit, a socket memory module, and a plug-in memory card.

[0123] The PMIC 2210 may include a voltage regulator, a surge protector, a power alarm detection circuit, and one or more backup power sources, such as a battery or capacitor. The power alarm detection circuit may detect one or more of a brownout (undervoltage) and a surge (overvoltage) condition. The power tee circuit 2212 may provide electrical power drawn from a network cable to provide both power supply and data connection for the infrastructure equipment 2200 using a single cable.

[0124] The network controller circuit 2214 may provide connectivity to the network using a standard network interface protocol such as Ethernet, Ethernet based on a GRE tunnel, Ethernet based on Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS), or some other suitable protocol. Network connectivity may be provided to / from the infrastructure equipment 2200 via the network interface connector 2220 using a physical connection, which may be an electrical connection (commonly referred to as a "copper interconnect"), an optical connection, or a wireless connection. The network controller circuit 2214 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 circuit 2214 may include multiple controllers for providing connectivity to other networks using the same or different protocols.

[0125] Positioning circuit 2216 includes circuits for receiving and decoding signals transmitted / broadcasted by a positioning network of a global navigation satellite 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., using the Indian constellation (NAVIC), Japan's Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), France's Doppler Orbit Chart and Satellite Integrated Radio Positioning (DORIS), etc. for navigation), etc. Positioning circuit 2216 includes various hardware elements (e.g., including hardware devices such as switches, filters, amplifiers, antenna elements, etc. for facilitating OTA communications) to communicate with components of the positioning network such as navigation satellite constellation nodes. In some embodiments, positioning circuit 2216 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 2216 may also be part of or interact with the baseband circuit 2204 and / or the radio front end module 2206 to communicate with nodes and components of the positioning network. The positioning circuit 2216 may also provide location data and / or time data to the application circuit 2202, which may use the data to synchronize operations with various infrastructures, etc. Fig. 22 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.

[0126] Fig.23 An example of a platform 2300 according to various embodiments is shown. In an embodiment, the computer platform 2300 may be suitable for use as a UE, an application server, and / or any other element / device discussed herein. The platform 2300 may include any combination of the components shown in the examples. The components of the platform 2300 may be implemented as an integrated circuit (IC), part of an IC, a discrete electronic device, or other modules, logic, hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof adapted in the computer platform 2300, or implemented as components otherwise combined within a chassis of a larger system. Fig.23The block diagram is intended to show a high-level view of the components of computer platform 2300. 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.

[0127] Application circuit 2302 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 2302 can be coupled with or can 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 2300. 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.

[0128] The processor of the application circuit 2302 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, multi-threaded processors, ultra-low voltage processors, embedded processors, some other known processing elements, or any suitable combination thereof. In some embodiments, the application circuit 2302 may include or may be a dedicated processor / controller for operating according to various embodiments herein.

[0129] For example, the processor of the application circuit 2302 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 2302 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 Processor, 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 2302 can be part of a system on a chip (SoC), in which the application circuit 2302 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.

[0130] Additionally or alternatively, the application circuit 2302 may include circuits such as, but not limited to, one or more of the following: a field programmable device (FPD), such as an FPGA, etc.; a programmable logic device (PLD), such as a complex PLD (CPLD), a high capacity PLD (HCPLD), etc.; an ASIC, such as a structured ASIC, etc.; a programmable SoC (PSoC); etc. In such embodiments, the circuits of the application circuit 2302 may include logic blocks or logic structures, and other interconnected resources that can be programmed to perform various functions such as the processes, methods, functions, etc. of the various embodiments discussed herein. In such embodiments, the circuits of the application circuit 2302 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), anti-fuse, etc.)) for storing logic blocks, logic structures, data, etc. in a lookup table (LUT), etc.

[0131] Baseband circuit 2304 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.

[0132] The radio front end module 2306 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 separated from the millimeter wave 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 millimeter wave and sub-millimeter wave radio functions may be implemented in the same physical radio front end module 2306 that combines both millimeter wave antennas and sub-millimeter waves.

[0133] The memory circuit 2308 may include any number and type of memory devices for providing a certain amount of system memory. For example, the memory circuit 2308 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. The memory circuit 2308 may be developed according to the Joint Electron Device Engineering Council (JEDEC) based low power double data rate (LPDDR) design such as LPDDR2, LPDDR3, LPDDR4, etc. The memory circuit 2308 may be implemented as one or more of 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 2308 may be an on-chip memory or register associated with the application circuit 2302. In order to provide persistent storage of information such as data, applications, operating systems, etc., the memory circuit 2308 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 2300 may be combined with a computer system obtained from and Three-dimensional (3D) cross-point (XPOINT) memory.

[0134] Removable memory circuitry 2326 may include devices, circuitry, housings / casings, ports or receptacles, etc., for coupling portable data storage devices to platform 2300. 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.

[0135] The platform 2300 may also include an interface circuit (not shown) for connecting external devices to the platform 2300. External devices connected to the platform 2300 via the interface circuit include sensors 2322 and electromechanical components (shown as EMC 2324), as well as a removable memory device coupled to the removable memory 2326.

[0136] Sensors 2322 include devices, modules, or subsystems whose purpose is to detect events or changes in their environment and to 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 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.

[0137] EMC 2324 includes devices, modules or subsystems for the purpose of enabling platform 2300 to change its state, position and / or orientation or to move or control mechanism or (sub) system. In addition, EMC 2324 may be configured to generate messages / signaling and send messages / signaling to other components of platform 2300 to indicate the current state of EMC 2324. Examples of EMC 2324 include one or more power switches, relays (including electromechanical relays (EMR) and / or solid-state relays (SSR)), 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, platform 2300 is configured to operate one or more EMC 2324 based on one or more capture events and / or instructions or control signals received from service providers and / or various clients. In some specific implementations, an interface circuit may connect platform 2300 to positioning circuit 2316. The positioning circuit 2316 includes a circuit for receiving and decoding signals transmitted / broadcasted by a positioning network of a GNSS. 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.), etc. The positioning circuit 2316 includes various hardware elements (e.g., including hardware devices such as switches, filters, amplifiers, antenna elements, etc. for facilitating OTA communications) to communicate with components of the positioning network such as navigation satellite constellation nodes. In some embodiments, the positioning circuit 2316 may include a micro PNT IC that uses a master timing clock to perform position tracking / estimation without GNSS assistance. The positioning circuit 2316 may also be part of or interact with the baseband circuit 2304 and / or the radio front-end module 2306 to communicate with nodes and components of the positioning network. The positioning circuit 2316 may also provide position data and / or time data to the application circuit 2302, which may use the data to synchronize operations with various infrastructure (e.g., radio base stations) for use in turn-by-turn navigation applications, etc.

[0138] In some implementations, the interface circuit may connect the platform 2300 to a near field communication circuit (shown as NFC circuit 2312). The NFC circuit 2312 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 circuit 2312 and an NFC-enabled device (e.g., an "NFC touch point") external to the platform 2300. The NFC circuit 2312 includes an NFC controller coupled to an antenna element and a processor coupled to the NFC controller. The NFC controller may be a chip / IC that provides NFC functionality to the NFC circuit 2312 by executing NFC controller firmware and an NFC stack. The NFC stack may be executed by the processor to control the NFC controller, and the NFC controller firmware may be executed by the NFC controller to control the antenna element to transmit a short-range RF signal. The RF signal may power a passive NFC tag (e.g., a microchip embedded in a sticker or wristband) to transmit stored data to the NFC circuit 2312, or initiate data transmission between the NFC circuit 2312 and another active NFC device (e.g., a smart phone or an NFC-enabled POS terminal) near the platform 2300.

[0139] The driver circuit 2318 may include software and hardware elements for controlling specific devices embedded in, attached to, or otherwise communicatively coupled to the platform 2300. The driver circuit 2318 may include various drivers to allow other components of the platform 2300 to interact with or control various input / output (I / O) devices that may be present in or connected to the platform 2300. For example, the driver circuit 2318 may include a display driver for controlling and allowing access to a display device, a touch screen driver for controlling and allowing access to a touch screen interface of the platform 2300, a sensor driver for obtaining sensor readings of a sensor 2322 and controlling and allowing access to the sensor 2322, an EMC driver for obtaining an actuator position of an EMC 2324 and / or controlling and allowing access to the EMC 2324, a camera driver for controlling and allowing access to an embedded image capture device, and an audio driver for controlling and allowing access to one or more audio devices.

[0140] A power management integrated circuit (shown as PMIC 2310) (also referred to as a "power management circuit") can manage the power provided to various components of the platform 2300. In particular, the PMIC 2310 can control power selection, voltage scaling, battery charging, or DC-DC conversion with respect to the baseband circuit 2304. The PMIC 2310 can typically be included when the platform 2300 is capable of being powered by a battery 2314, for example, when the device is included in a UE.

[0141] In some embodiments, the PMIC 2310 may control or otherwise be part of various power saving mechanisms of the platform 2300. For example, if the platform 2300 is in the RRC_Connected state, in which the platform is still connected to the RAN node because it expects to receive traffic soon, then after a period of inactivity, the platform may enter a state called discontinuous reception mode (DRX). During this state, the platform 2300 may be powered off for short time intervals, thereby saving power. If there is no data traffic activity for an extended period of time, the platform 2300 may transition to the RRC_Idle state, in which the device is disconnected from the network and no operations such as channel quality feedback, handover, etc. are performed. The platform 2300 enters a very low power state and performs paging, in which the device wakes up periodically again to listen to the network and then powers off again. In this state, the platform 2300 may not receive data; in order to receive data, the platform must transition back to the RRC_Connected state. Additional power saving modes may prevent the device from using the network for longer than the paging interval (ranging from a few seconds to a few 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 be significantly delayed, and it is assumed that the delay is acceptable.

[0142] The battery 2314 can power the platform 2300, but in some examples, the platform 2300 can be mounted in a fixed location and can have a power source coupled to the grid. The battery 2314 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, the battery 2314 can be a typical lead-acid car battery.

[0143] In some implementations, the battery 2314 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 2300 to track the state of charge (SoCh) of the battery 2314. The BMS may be used to monitor other parameters of the battery 2314, such as the state of health (SoH) and state of function (SoF) of the battery 2314 to provide fault prediction. The BMS may transmit information about the battery 2314 to the application circuit 2302 or other components of the platform 2300. The BMS may also include an analog-to-digital (ADC) converter that allows the application circuit 2302 to directly monitor the voltage of the battery 2314 or the current from the battery 2314. The battery parameters may be used to determine actions that the platform 2300 may perform, such as transmission frequency, network operation, sensing frequency, etc.

[0144] A power block or other power source coupled to the grid can be coupled to the BMS to charge the battery 2314. In some examples, the power block can be replaced with a wireless power receiver to obtain power wirelessly, for example, through a loop antenna in the computer platform 2300. In these examples, a wireless battery charging circuit can be included in the BMS. The specific charging circuit selected can depend on the size of the battery 2314 and therefore the current required. 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 Alliance, or the Rezence charging standard published by the Wireless Power Alliance.

[0145] The user interface circuit 2320 includes various input / output (I / O) devices present in or connected to the platform 2300, and includes one or more user interfaces designed to implement user interaction with the platform 2300 and / or a peripheral component interface designed to implement interaction with the peripheral components of the platform 2300. The user interface circuit 2320 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 touchpad, 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 status indicators (e.g., light emitting diodes (LEDs)) and multi-character visual outputs, or more complex outputs such as display devices or touch screens (e.g., liquid crystal displays (LCDs), LED displays, quantum dot displays, projectors, etc.), where outputs of characters, graphics, multimedia objects, etc. are generated or produced by the operation of the platform 2300. The output device circuitry may also include speakers or other audio emitting devices, printers, etc. In some embodiments, the sensor 2322 may be used as an input device circuit (e.g., an image capture device, a motion capture device, etc.), and one or more EMCs may be used as output device circuits (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 circuit including an NFC controller and a processing device coupled to an antenna element. The peripheral component interface may include, but is not limited to, a non-volatile memory port, a USB port, an audio jack, a power interface, etc.

[0146] Although not shown, the components of platform 2300 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.

[0147] Fig.24 Exemplary components of device 2400 according to some embodiments are shown. In some embodiments, device 2400 may include at least an application circuit 2406, a baseband circuit 2404, a radio frequency (RF) circuit (shown as RF circuit 2402), a front-end module (FEM) circuit (shown as FEM circuit 2422), one or more antennas 2420, and a power management circuit (PMC) (shown as PMC 2426) coupled together as shown in the figure. The components of the exemplary device 2400 may be included in a UE or a RAN node. In some embodiments, device 2400 may include fewer elements (for example, a RAN node may not utilize application circuit 2406, but include a processor / controller to process IP data received from an EPC). In some embodiments, device 2400 may include additional elements, such as, for example, a memory / storage device, a display, a camera, a sensor, or an input / output (I / O) interface. In other embodiments, the following components may be included in more than one device (for example, the circuit may be included separately in more than one device for a specific implementation of a cloud RAN (C-RAN)).

[0148] The application circuit 2406 may include one or more application processors. For example, the application circuit 2406 may include circuits 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 special-purpose processors (e.g., graphics processors, application processors, etc.). These processors may be coupled to or may include a memory / storage device and may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory / storage device to enable various applications or operating systems to run on the device 2400. In some embodiments, the processor of the application circuit 2406 may process IP data packets received from the EPC.

[0149] The baseband circuit 2404 may include circuits such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The baseband circuit 2404 may include one or more baseband processors or control logic components to process baseband signals received from the receive signal path of the RF circuit 2402 and generate baseband signals for the transmit signal path of the RF circuit 2402. The baseband circuit 2404 may interact with the application circuit 2406 to generate and process baseband signals and control the operation of the RF circuit 2402. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuit 2404 may include a third generation (3G) baseband processor (3G baseband processor 2412), a fourth generation (4G) baseband processor (4G baseband processor 2418), a fifth generation (5G) baseband processor (5G baseband processor 2424), or other baseband processors 2428 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 circuit 2404 (e.g., one or more processors in the baseband processor) may handle various radio control functions that enable communication with one or more radio networks via the RF circuit 2402. In other embodiments, some or all of the functions of the illustrated baseband processor may be included in a module stored in the memory 2434 and executed via the central processing unit (CPU 2430). The radio control functions may include, but are not limited to, signal modulation / demodulation, encoding / decoding, radio frequency shifting, etc. In some embodiments, the modulation / demodulation circuit of the baseband circuit 2404 may include a fast Fourier transform (FFT), precoding, or constellation mapping / demapping function. In some embodiments, the encoding / decoding circuit of the baseband circuit 2404 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.

[0150] In some embodiments, the baseband circuit 2404 may include a digital signal processor (DSP), such as one or more audio DSPs 2432. The audio DSP 2432 may include elements for compression / decompression and echo cancellation, and may include other suitable processing elements in other embodiments. In some embodiments, the components of the baseband circuit may be appropriately combined in a single chip, a single chipset, or disposed on the same circuit board. In some embodiments, some or all of the components of the baseband circuit 2404 and the application circuit 2406 may be implemented together, such as, for example, on a system on a chip (SOC).

[0151] In some embodiments, baseband circuitry 2404 may provide communications compatible with one or more radio technologies. For example, in some embodiments, baseband circuitry 2404 may 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 2404 is configured to support radio communications of more than one wireless protocol may be referred to as multi-mode baseband circuitry.

[0152] RF circuit 2402 may enable communication with a wireless network through a non-solid medium using modulated electromagnetic radiation. In various embodiments, RF circuit 2402 may include switches, filters, amplifiers, etc. to facilitate communication with a wireless network. RF circuit 2402 may include a receive signal path, which may include circuitry for down-converting an RF signal received from FEM circuit 2422 and providing a baseband signal to baseband circuit 2404. RF circuit 2402 may also include a transmit signal path, which may include circuitry for up-converting a baseband signal provided by baseband circuit 2404 and providing an RF output signal to FEM circuit 2422 for transmission.

[0153] In some embodiments, the receive signal path of the RF circuit 2402 may include a mixer circuit 2408, an amplifier circuit 2410, and a filter circuit 2414. In some embodiments, the transmit signal path of the RF circuit 2402 may include a filter circuit 2414 and a mixer circuit 2408. The RF circuit 2402 may also include a synthesizer circuit 2416 for synthesizing frequencies used by the mixer circuit 2408 of the receive signal path and / or the transmit signal path. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 2408 of the receive signal path may be configured to down-convert the RF signal received from the FEM circuit 2422 based on the synthesized frequency provided by the synthesizer circuit 2416. The amplifier circuit 2410 may be configured to amplify the down-converted signal, and the filter circuit 2414 may be a low pass filter (LPF) or a band pass filter (BPF) configured to remove unwanted signals from the down-converted signal to generate an output baseband signal. The output baseband signal may be provided to the baseband circuit 2404 for further processing. In some embodiments, the output baseband signal may be a zero frequency baseband signal, although this is not required.In some embodiments, mixer circuit 2408 of the receive signal path may include a passive mixer, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[0154] In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 2408 of the transmit signal path can be configured to up-convert an input baseband signal based on a synthesized frequency provided by the synthesizer circuit 2416 to generate an RF output signal for the FEM circuit 2422. The baseband signal can be provided by the baseband circuit 2404 and can be filtered by the filter circuit 2414.

[0155] In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 2408 of the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 2408 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 2408 of the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 2408 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 2408 of the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 2408 of the transmit signal path may be arranged for direct down-conversion and direct up-conversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 2408 of the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 2408 of the transmit signal path may be configured for superheterodyne operation.

[0156] 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, the RF circuit 2402 may include an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuit, and the baseband circuit 2404 may include a digital baseband interface to communicate with the RF circuit 2402.

[0157] 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.

[0158] In some embodiments, synthesizer circuit 2416 may be a fractional-N synthesizer or a fractional-N / N+1 synthesizer, but the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this regard, as other types of frequency synthesizers may also be suitable. For example, synthesizer circuit 2416 may be a delta-sigma synthesizer, a frequency multiplier, or a synthesizer including a phase-locked loop with a frequency divider.

[0159] Synthesizer circuit 2416 may be configured to synthesize an output frequency based on a frequency input and a divider control input for use by mixer circuit 2408 of RF circuit 2402. In some embodiments, synthesizer circuit 2416 may be a fractional-N / N+1 synthesizer.

[0160] 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 2404 or application circuitry 2406 (such as an application processor) according to 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 2406.

[0161] The synthesizer circuit 2416 of the RF circuit 2402 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-mode 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 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.

[0162] In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuit 2416 can be configured to generate a carrier frequency as an 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 with a quadrature generator and divider circuit to generate multiple signals with multiple different phases relative to each other at the carrier frequency. In some embodiments, the output frequency can be an LO frequency (fLO). In some embodiments, the RF circuit 2402 can include an IQ / polarity converter.

[0163] FEM circuitry 2422 may include a receive signal path that may include circuitry configured to operate on RF signals received from one or more antennas 2420, amplify the received signals, and provide an amplified version of the received signals to RF circuitry 2402 for further processing. FEM circuitry 2422 may also include a transmit signal path that may include circuitry configured to amplify transmit signals provided by RF circuitry 2402 for transmission by one or more of one or more antennas 2420. In various embodiments, amplification by the transmit or receive signal path may be accomplished only in RF circuitry 2402, only in FEM circuitry 2422, or in both RF circuitry 2402 and FEM circuitry 2422.

[0164] In some embodiments, the FEM circuit 2422 may include a TX / RX switch to switch between transmit mode and receive mode operation. The FEM circuit 2422 may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the FEM circuit 2422 may include an LNA to amplify the received RF signal and provide the amplified received RF signal as an output (e.g., provided to the RF circuit 2402). The transmit signal path of the FEM circuit 2422 may include a power amplifier (PA) to amplify the input RF signal (e.g., provided by the RF circuit 2402), and one or more filters to generate an RF signal for subsequent transmission (e.g., through one or more of the one or more antennas 2420).

[0165] In some embodiments, the PMC 2426 can manage the power provided to the baseband circuit 2404. In particular, the PMC 2426 can control power selection, voltage scaling, battery charging, or DC-DC conversion. When the device 2400 is capable of being powered by a battery, for example, when the device 2400 is included in a UE, the PMC 2426 can generally be included. The PMC 2426 can improve power conversion efficiency while providing the desired specific implementation size and heat dissipation characteristics.

[0166] Fig.24 PMC 2426 is shown coupled only to baseband circuitry 2404. However, in other embodiments, PMC 2426 may additionally or alternatively be coupled to other components (such as, but not limited to, application circuitry 2406, RF circuitry 2402, or FEM circuitry 2422) and perform similar power management operations for these components.

[0167] In some embodiments, the PMC 2426 may control or otherwise be part of various power saving mechanisms of the device 2400. For example, if the device 2400 is in the RRC_Connected state, and in this state the device is still connected to the RAN node because the device expects to receive communications soon, then the device may enter a state called discontinuous reception mode (DRX) after a period of inactivity. During this state, the device 2400 may be powered off for short time intervals, thereby saving power.

[0168] If there is no data traffic activity for an extended period of time, the device 2400 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 2400 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 2400 cannot receive data in this state, and in order to receive data, the device must transition back to the RRC_Connected state.

[0169] An additional power saving mode can keep a device from using the network for longer than 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 down. Any data sent during this time will be significantly delayed, and it is assumed that the delay is acceptable.

[0170] The processor of the application circuit 2406 and the processor of the baseband circuit 2404 can be used to execute elements of one or more instances of the protocol stack. For example, the processor of the baseband circuit 2404 can be used alone or in combination to perform layer 3, layer 2, or layer 1 functions, while the processor of the application circuit 2406 can utilize data received from these layers (e.g., packet data) and further perform layer 4 functions (e.g., a transport communication protocol (TCP) layer and a user datagram protocol (UDP) layer). As mentioned herein, layer 3 may include a radio resource control (RRC) layer, which will be 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 will be described in further detail below. As mentioned herein, layer 1 may include a physical (PHY) layer of a UE / RAN node, which will be described in further detail below.

[0171] Fig.25 An exemplary interface 2500 of a baseband circuit according to some embodiments is shown. As discussed above, Fig.24 The baseband circuit 2404 may include a 3G baseband processor 2412, a 4G baseband processor 2418, a 5G baseband processor 2424, other baseband processors 2428, a CPU 2430, and a memory 2434 utilized by the processors. As shown, each of the processors may include a corresponding memory interface 2502 for sending / receiving data to / from the memory 2434.

[0172] The baseband circuit 2404 may also include: one or more interfaces for communicatively coupling to other circuits / devices, such as a memory interface 2504 (e.g., an interface for sending / receiving data to / from a memory external to the baseband circuit 2404); an application circuit interface 2506 (e.g., an interface for sending / receiving data to / from a memory external to the baseband circuit 2404); Fig.24 RF circuit interface 2508 (for example, for sending / receiving data to / from the application circuit 2406); Fig.24 an interface for sending / receiving data to / from a RF circuit 2402); a wireless hardware connection interface 2510 (e.g., for sending / receiving data to / from a near field communication (NFC) component, Parts (e.g. LowEnergy), components and other communication components to send / receive data); and a power management interface 2512 (for example, an interface for sending / receiving power or control signals to / from PMC 2426).

[0173] Fig.26 2600 is a block diagram illustrating a component 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, Fig.26 A diagrammatic representation of hardware resources 2602 is shown, including one or more processors 2606 (or processor cores), one or more memory / storage devices 2614, and one or more communication resources 2624, each of which may be communicatively coupled via a bus 2616. For embodiments in which node virtualization (e.g., NFV) is utilized, a hypervisor 2622 may be executed to provide an execution environment for one or more network slices / sub-slices to utilize the hardware resources 2602.

[0174] Processor 2606 (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 2608 and processor 2610.

[0175] The memory / storage device 2614 may include main memory, disk storage, or any suitable combination thereof. The memory / storage device 2614 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.

[0176] The communication resources 2624 may include interconnect or network interface components or other suitable devices to communicate with one or more peripheral devices 2604 or one or more databases 2620 via the network 2618. For example, the communication resources 2624 may include wired communication components (e.g., for coupling via a universal serial bus (USB)), cellular communication components, NFC components, Parts (such as Low power consumption), components and other communication components.

[0177] The instructions 2612 may include software, programs, applications, applets, applications, or other executable code for causing at least any one of the processors 2606 to perform any one or more of the methods discussed herein. The instructions 2612 may reside completely or partially within the processor 2606 (e.g., within a cache memory of the processor), within at least one of the memory / storage devices 2614, or within any suitable combination thereof. In addition, any portion of the instructions 2612 may be transmitted to the hardware resources 2602 from any combination of the peripheral device 2604 or the database 2620. Therefore, the memory of the processor 2606, the memory / storage device 2614, the peripheral device 2604, and the database 2620 are examples of computer-readable and machine-readable media.

[0178] 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 following examples section. For example, the baseband circuit 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, the circuits 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.

[0179] Examples

[0180] The following examples relate to additional embodiments.

[0181] Embodiment 1 is a method for wireless communication for user equipment (UE), comprising: determining that a sounding reference signal switch (SRS switch) is to be performed by the UE; based on determining that the SRS switch is to be performed, processing potential impacts on one or more of the multiple radio access technologies (RATs) caused by performing the SRS switch when a radio frequency (RF) front end (RFFE) is shared between at least a subset of the multiple RATs, the potential impacts including at least one of transmit blanking (Tx blanking) and receive blanking (Rx blanking) associated with one or more RATs in the subset of the RATs; and encoding communications indicating the potential impacts of these SRS switches for transmission to a base station.

[0182] Embodiment 2 is a method according to embodiment 1, wherein the encoded communication further includes an indication of the RATs that will be affected by the potential impacts.

[0183] Embodiment 3 is a method according to embodiment 1, further comprising: decoding the SRS switching report configuration received from the base station; and applying the decoded SRS switching report configuration; and based on applying the decoded SRS switching report configuration, generating statistical information associated with the potential impact of these SRS switches within a given time window, the generated statistical information being encoded in the communication indicating the potential impact of these SRS switches.

[0184] Embodiment 4 is a method according to embodiment 3, wherein the encoded communication further includes an indication of the RATs or specific carriers that will be affected by the potential impacts.

[0185] Embodiment 5 is a method according to embodiment 3, wherein the encoded communication is transmitted to the base station aperiodically.

[0186] Embodiment 6 is a method according to embodiment 3, wherein the potential impacts also include impacts associated with SRS skipping.

[0187] Embodiment 7 is a method according to embodiment 3, wherein when the generated statistical information is associated with Tx blanking, the generated statistical information can include a percentage of uplink (UL) time slots affected by Tx blanking of at least one RAT in the subset of RATs.

[0188] Embodiment 8 is a method according to embodiment 3, wherein when the generated statistical information is associated with Rx blanking, the generated statistical information can include a percentage of downlink (DL) time slots affected by Rx blanking of at least one RAT in the subset of RATs.

[0189] Embodiment 9 is a method according to embodiment 3, wherein when the generated statistical information is associated with SRS skipping, the generated statistical information can include a percentage of SRS skipping that occurs during SRS switching to avoid blanking effects.

[0190] Embodiment 10 is a method for wireless communication by a user equipment (UE), comprising: determining that a multi-opportunity sounding reference signal switching (SRS switching) is to be performed by the UE, wherein the multi-opportunity SRS switching includes multiple SRS switching opportunities for the UE; based on determining that the SRS switching is to be performed, processing potential impacts on one or more of the multiple radio access technologies (RATs) caused by performing the SRS switching when a radio frequency (RF) front end (RFFE) is shared between at least a subset of the RATs, the potential impacts including at least one of transmit blanking (Tx blanking) and receive blanking (Rx blanking) associated with one or more RATs in the subset of the RATs; and skipping a subset of the SRS switching opportunities based on determining that the potential impacts will affect at least one RAT in the subset of the RATs during at least a subset of the multiple SRS switching opportunities.

[0191] Embodiment 11 is a method according to embodiment 10, wherein the UE skips the subset of SRS switching opportunities based on one or more rules associated with multi-opportunity SRS switching provided by a base station.

[0192] Embodiment 12 is a method according to embodiment 10, wherein the UE skips the subset of SRS switching opportunities based on a traffic priority associated with at least one RAT affected by the potential impacts from the subset of RATs.

[0193] Embodiment 13 is a method according to embodiment 10, wherein multi-opportunity SRS switching further comprises one of: repeating SRS resources across multiple symbols or time slots; and triggering multiple SRS resources or multiple SRS switching opportunities using a single downlink control information (DCI).

[0194] Embodiment 14 is a method for wireless communication for a user equipment (UE), comprising: determining that the UE is to perform a sounding reference signal switch (SRS switch); based on determining that the SRS switch is to be performed, processing potential impacts on one or more of the multiple radio access technologies (RATs) caused by performing the SRS switch when a radio frequency (RF) front end (RFFE) is shared between at least a subset of the multiple RATs, the potential impacts including at least one of transmit blanking (Tx blanking) and receive blanking (Rx blanking) associated with one or more RATs in the subset of the RATs, wherein at least one RAT in the subset of the RATs is determined during processing to be affected by the potential impact; decoding a priority of each of the multiple RATs; adjusting the priority of the at least one RAT; and performing at least one of SRS skipping, Tx blanking, or Rx blanking based on adjusting the priority of the at least one RAT.

[0195] Embodiment 15 is a method according to embodiment 14, wherein adjusting the priority of the at least one RAT comprises: decoding an updated priority of the at least one RAT received from a base station.

[0196] Embodiment 16 is a method according to embodiment 15, wherein the update priority is received via radio resource control (RRC) messaging or medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC CE).

[0197] Embodiment 17 is a method according to embodiment 15, wherein the update priority is updated by the UE based on at least one of throughput, power consumption, thermal condition, and battery condition.

[0198] Embodiment 18 is a method according to embodiment 17, wherein the update priority is provided to the base station via UE assistance information (UAI).

[0199] Embodiment 19 is a method according to embodiment 15, wherein adjusting the priority of the at least one RAT includes: the UE dynamically reports the preferred SRS switching priority configuration to the base station.

[0200] Embodiment 20 is a method for wireless communication for user equipment (UE), comprising: decoding a multi-SRS switching configuration received from a base station, the multi-SRS switching configuration comprising at least a periodic SRS switching configuration and an aperiodic SRS switching configuration that are each simultaneously active, wherein the periodic SRS switching configuration has a first priority configuration associated with determining whether to perform transmit blanking (Tx blanking), receive blanking (Rx blanking), or SRS skipping in a given scenario, and the aperiodic SRS switching configuration has a second different priority configuration associated with determining whether to perform transmit blanking (Tx blanking), receive blanking (Rx blanking), or SRS skipping in a given scenario; based on decoding the multi-SRS switching configuration, processing the SRS switching configuration received by Potential impacts on one or more of the multiple radio access technologies (RATs) caused by performing SRS switching when a radio frequency (RF) front end (RFFE) is shared between at least a subset of the multiple RATs, the potential impacts including at least one of Tx blanking, Rx blanking, and SRS skipping associated with one or more RATs in the subset of the RATs; based on the first priority configuration and these potential impacts, performing at least one of SRS skipping, Tx blanking, or Rx blanking associated with the periodic SRS switching configuration; and based on the second priority configuration and these potential impacts, performing at least one of SRS skipping, Tx blanking, or Rx blanking associated with the non-periodic SRS switching configuration.

[0201] Embodiment 21 is a method according to embodiment 20, wherein the first priority configuration includes a high priority associated with a long-term channel, and the second priority configuration includes a low priority associated with a short-term channel, which can be skipped to avoid the impact of Tx blanking or Rx blanking.

[0202] Embodiment 22 is a method for wireless communication for a user equipment (UE), comprising: determining that a sounding reference signal switch (SRS switch) is to be performed by the UE; based on decoding the SRS switch condition configuration, processing potential impacts on one or more of the multiple radio access technologies (RATs) caused by performing SRS switching when a radio frequency (RF) front end (RFFE) is shared between at least a subset of the multiple RATs, the potential impacts including at least one of transmit blanking (Tx blanking), receive blanking (Rx blanking), and SRS skipping associated with one or more RATs in the subset of the RATs; and decoding the SRS skip condition configuration received from a base station, the SRS skip condition configuration including one or more conditions associated with the one or more RATs and logic for skipping SRS switching opportunities based on the one or more conditions; monitoring the one or more conditions of the one or more RATs; and skipping at least one SRS switching opportunity associated with the one or more RATs based on the logic for skipping the SRS switching opportunity and one or more monitored conditions of the one or more RATs.

[0203] Embodiment 23 is a method according to embodiment 22, wherein the one or more conditions include at least one of link quality, scheduling ratio, throughput and service priority.

[0204] Embodiment 1B may include an apparatus comprising means for performing 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.

[0205] Embodiment 2B may include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media, which include 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.

[0206] 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.

[0207] Embodiment 4B may include methods, techniques or processes described in or related to any of the above embodiments, or parts or components thereof.

[0208] Embodiment 5B may include a device comprising: one or more processors and one or more computer-readable media, wherein the one or more computer-readable media include instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform a method, technique, or process, or portion thereof, described in or related to any of the above embodiments.

[0209] Embodiment 6B may include a signal or a portion or component thereof as described in or related to any of the above embodiments.

[0210] 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 the present disclosure.

[0211] Embodiment 8B may include a signal encoded with data or a portion or component thereof as described in any of the above embodiments or related thereto, or as otherwise described in the present disclosure.

[0212] Embodiment 9B may include a signal or a 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 the present disclosure.

[0213] Embodiment 10B may include an electromagnetic signal carrying computer-readable instructions, wherein execution of the computer-readable instructions by one or more processors will cause the one or more processors to perform a method, technique, or process, or a portion thereof, as described in or related to any of the above embodiments.

[0214] 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, described in or related to any one of the above embodiments.

[0215] Embodiment 12B may include signals in a wireless network as shown and described herein.

[0216] Embodiment 13B may include a method of communicating in a wireless network as shown and described herein.

[0217] Embodiment 14B may include a system for providing wireless communications as shown and described herein.

[0218] Embodiment 15B may include an apparatus for providing wireless communications as shown and described herein.

[0219] Unless explicitly 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 form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in view of the above teachings or may be obtained from the practice of the various embodiments.

[0220] 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 or special purpose computers (or other electronic devices). A computer system may include hardware components that include specific logic components for performing operations, or may include a combination of hardware, software, and / or firmware.

[0221] It should be appreciated that the systems described herein include descriptions of specific embodiments. These embodiments may be combined into a single system, partially incorporated 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 may be used in another embodiment. For clarity, these parameters, attributes, aspects, etc. are described only in one or more embodiments, and it should be appreciated that unless otherwise stated herein, these parameters, attributes, aspects, etc. may be combined with or substituted for parameters, attributes, aspects, etc. of another embodiment.

[0222] 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 the authorized use should be clearly stated to users.

[0223] Although the foregoing has been described in considerable detail for the sake 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 to implement both the processes and the apparatus described herein. Therefore, the embodiments of the present invention are to be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive, and the specification is not limited to the details given herein, but may be modified within the scope and equivalents of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method for wireless communication by a user equipped with a UE, comprising: Determining that a multi-opportunity sounding reference signal (SRS) switching is to be performed by the UE, wherein the multi-opportunity SRS switching includes a plurality of SRS switching opportunities of the UE; processing, based on determining that an SRS switch is to be performed, a potential impact on one or more of a plurality of radio access technologies (RATs) caused by performing an SRS switch when a radio frequency front end (RFFE) is shared between at least a subset of the plurality of RATs, the potential impact comprising at least one of transmit Tx blanking and receive Rx blanking associated with one or more RATs in the subset of the RATs; and The subset of SRS switching opportunities is skipped based on determining that the potential impact will affect at least one RAT in the subset of RATs during at least one subset of the plurality of SRS switching opportunities. 2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the UE skips the subset of SRS switching opportunities based on one or more rules associated with multi-opportunity SRS switching provided by a base station.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the UE skips the subset of SRS switching opportunities based on a traffic priority associated with at least one RAT affected by the potential impact from the subset of RATs.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the multi-opportunity SRS switching further comprises one of: Repeating SRS resources across multiple symbols or time slots; and A single downlink control information DCI is used to trigger multiple SRS resources or multiple SRS switching opportunities.

5. A method for a user to equip a UE for wireless communication, comprising: Determining that a sounding reference signal (SRS) switching is to be performed by the UE; processing, based on determining that an SRS switching is to be performed, a potential impact on one or more RATs of a plurality of radio access technologies (RATs) caused by performing an SRS switching when a radio frequency front end (RFFE) is shared between at least a subset of the plurality of RATs, the potential impact comprising at least one of transmit Tx blanking and receive Rx blanking associated with one or more RATs of the subset of RATs, wherein at least one RAT of the subset of RATs is determined during the processing to be affected by the potential impact; decoding a priority of each RAT in the plurality of RATs; adjusting the priority of the at least one RAT; and At least one of SRS skipping, Tx blanking, or Rx blanking is performed based on adjusting the priority of the at least one RAT.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein adjusting the priority of the at least one RAT comprises: An updated priority level of the at least one RAT received from a base station is decoded.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the updated priority is received via a Radio Resource Control (RRC) messaging or a Medium Access Control (MAC) CE.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the update priority is updated by the UE based on at least one of throughput, power consumption, thermal condition, and battery condition.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the update priority is provided to the base station via UE assistance information UAI.

10. The method of claim 6, wherein adjusting the priority of the at least one RAT comprises: The UE dynamically reports the preferred SRS switching priority configuration to the base station.

11. A method for wireless communication by a user equipped with a UE, comprising: Decoding multiple SRS switching configurations received from a base station, the multiple SRS switching configurations comprising at least a periodic SRS switching configuration and an aperiodic SRS switching configuration that are each simultaneously active, wherein the periodic SRS switching configuration has a first priority configuration associated with determining whether to perform transmit Tx blanking, receive Rx blanking, or SRS skipping in any given scenario, and the aperiodic SRS switching configuration has a different second priority configuration associated with determining whether to perform transmit Tx blanking, receive Rx blanking, or SRS skipping in any given scenario; processing, based on decoding the multiple SRS switching configuration, potential impact on one or more RATs of a plurality of radio access technologies (RATs) caused by performing SRS switching when a radio frequency front end (RFFE) is shared between at least a subset of the plurality of RATs, the potential impact comprising at least one of Tx blanking, Rx blanking, and SRS skipping associated with one or more RATs of the subset of RATs; performing at least one of SRS skipping, Tx blanking, or Rx blanking associated with the periodic SRS switching configuration based on the first priority configuration and the potential impact; and Based on the second priority configuration and the potential impact, at least one of SRS skipping, Tx blanking, or Rx blanking associated with the aperiodic SRS switching configuration is performed.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the first priority configuration comprises a high priority associated with a long-term channel, and the second priority configuration comprises a low priority associated with a short-term channel, the short-term channel being able to be skipped to avoid the impact of Tx blanking or Rx blanking.

13. A method for wireless communication by a user equipment UE, comprising: Determining that a sounding reference signal (SRS) switching is to be performed by the UE; processing, based on decoding the SRS switching condition configuration, potential impact on one or more RATs of a plurality of radio access technologies (RATs) caused by performing SRS switching when a radio frequency front end (RFFE) is shared between at least a subset of the plurality of RATs, the potential impact comprising at least one of transmit Tx blanking, receive Rx blanking, and SRS skipping associated with one or more RATs of the subset of RATs; as well as decoding an SRS skip condition configuration received from a base station, the SRS skip condition configuration comprising one or more conditions associated with the one or more RATs and logic for skipping an SRS switching opportunity based on the one or more conditions; monitoring the one or more conditions of the one or more RATs; as well as At least one SRS switching opportunity associated with the one or more RATs is skipped based on the logic for skipping SRS switching opportunities and the monitored one or more conditions of the one or more RATs.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the one or more conditions include at least one of link quality, scheduling ratio, throughput and service priority.

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