Intelligent mechanism to manage thermal shock in 5G NR

Abstract

The invention relates to an intelligent mechanism for managing thermal shock in 5G NR. The present disclosure relates to methods and devices for mitigating overheating in a user equipment device (UE). The UE is configured to communicate over each of LTE and 5G NR, and may be configured to communicate over each of 6 GHz or less and millimeter wave (mmW) bands over 5G NR. The UE is configured to establish an ENDC connection with the eNB and one or more gNBs. The UE implements intelligent transmission modifications and cell measurement adjustments to mitigate overheat and reduce battery consumption.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of the invention patent application with application number 202080083148.X, filed on December 15, 2020, and invention name “Intelligent Mechanism for Managing Thermal Shock in 5GNR”. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to wireless communications, including methods, systems, and apparatus for mitigating overheating in dual radio access technology wireless devices.

[0003] Related technical description

[0004] The use of wireless communication systems is growing rapidly. In addition, wireless communication technology has evolved from voice communications only to also include the transmission of data such as the Internet and multimedia content.

[0005] Mobile electronic devices may take the form of smart phones or tablets that users typically carry. Wearable devices (also referred to as accessory devices) are a newer form of mobile electronic devices, an example of which is a smart watch. In addition, low-cost, low-complexity wireless devices intended for static or dynamic deployment are also increasing rapidly as part of the development of the "Internet of Things". In other words, the complexity, capabilities, traffic patterns and other feature ranges of the required devices are becoming more and more extensive. In general, it is expected to recognize and provide improved support for a wide range of required wireless communication characteristics. For example, the design of wireless networks may increasingly include carrier aggregation (CA). During a CA communication session, a wireless device may communicate with each of a primary cell (PCell) and one or more secondary cells (SCells). The introduction of multiple active cells, and particularly cells operating at higher frequencies, such as millimeter wave (mmW) cells, may increase the risk of overheating of wireless devices. Therefore, improvements in this area are expected. Summary of the invention

[0006] Embodiments of systems, apparatus, and methods are presented herein, inter alia, for mitigating overheating in a wireless device configured to communicate over both Long Term Evolution (LTE) and 5th Generation New Radio (5G NR) in a carrier aggregation scenario.

[0007] In some embodiments, a user equipment device (UE) establishes a connection with a primary cell (PCell) and one or more secondary cells (SCells). The primary cell can be an LTE eNB, and the one or more secondary cells can be 5G NR gNBs. The SCells can be operated according to the sub-6GHz (Sub6) or millimeter wave (mmW) frequency range. Long-term transmissions by the UE on the mmW frequency range may cause the UE to overheat, and various embodiments herein describe methods and devices for mitigating overheating in 5G-enabled devices.

[0008] The techniques described herein may be implemented in and / or used with a number of different types of devices, including, but not limited to, cellular telephones, tablet computers, accessories and / or wearable computing devices, portable media players, cellular base stations and other cellular network infrastructure equipment, servers, and any of a variety of other computing devices.

[0009] This disclosure is intended to provide a brief overview of some of the topics described in this document. Therefore, it should be understood that the above features are only examples and should not be construed as narrowing the scope or essence of the topics described herein in any way. Other features, aspects, and advantages of the topics described herein will become apparent through the following detailed description, drawings, and claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] A better understanding of the present subject matter may be obtained when the following detailed description of the embodiments is considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0011] Figure 1 An exemplary (and simplified) wireless communication system according to some embodiments is shown;

[0012] Figure 2 illustrates a base station (BS) in communication with a user equipment (UE) device according to some embodiments;

[0013] Figure 3 shows an exemplary block diagram of a UE according to some embodiments;

[0014] Figure 4 shows an exemplary block diagram of a BS according to some embodiments;

[0015] FIG. 5A to FIG. 5B is a schematic diagram of non-standalone (NSA) and standalone (SA) communication configurations according to some embodiments;

[0016] Figure 6 shows an exemplary graph of temperature of a UE over time superimposed on transmit power according to some embodiments;

[0017] Figure 7 shows a transmit power duty cycle for implementing a back-off mode according to some embodiments;

[0018] Figure 8 illustrates allocation of high priority data and 5G communications during normal mode during transmit power duty cycle according to some embodiments;

[0019] 9A to 9Cshows three different duty cycles for implementing a back-off mode depending on the degree of thermal mitigation according to some embodiments;

[0020] Fig.10 is a schematic diagram illustrating a 5G transmission power budget according to some embodiments;

[0021] Fig.11 illustrates periodic alternation between a normal mode and a transmit power off mode according to some embodiments;

[0022] Fig.12 is a flow chart illustrating a method for implementing a transmit power back-off mode for thermal mitigation according to some embodiments;

[0023] Fig.13 is a communication flow diagram illustrating a method for a UE to drop a 5G gNB and communicate only over LTE in some embodiments;

[0024] Fig.14 is a flow chart illustrating a method for a UE to reduce the number of active SCells communicating with the UE according to some embodiments;

[0025] Fig.15 is a flow chart illustrating a method for performing selective NR cell measurement pruning according to some embodiments;

[0026] Fig.16 is a communication flow diagram illustrating a method for a UE to reduce a maximum number of active component carriers according to some embodiments;

[0027] FIG. 17A to FIG. 17B illustrates a UE moving between two different coverage scenarios according to some embodiments;

[0028] Fig.18 is a flow chart illustrating a method for a UE to perform cell measurements in an ENDC coverage scenario according to some embodiments;

[0029] Fig.19 is a flow chart illustrating a method for a UE to perform cell measurements in an ENDC coverage scenario while in a radio resource control (RRC) idle or connected mode according to some embodiments;

[0030] Fig. 20 is a flow chart illustrating a method for performing an SCG fail-start procedure according to some embodiments; and

[0031] Fig.21 Multiple trigger conditions for starting a timer to perform a secondary cell group (SCG) failure start procedure are shown according to some embodiments.

[0032] Although the features described herein are susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and described in detail herein. However, it should be understood that the drawings and detailed description thereof are not intended to limit this document to the specific forms disclosed, but on the contrary, their purpose is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives that fall within the spirit and scope of the subject matter as defined by the appended claims. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0033] Acronyms

[0034] The following acronyms are used in this disclosure.

[0035] 3GPP: Third Generation Partnership Project

[0036] 3GPP2: Third Generation Partnership Project 2

[0037] RAN: Radio Access Network

[0038] GSM: Global System for Mobile Communications

[0039] UMTS: Universal Mobile Telecommunications System

[0040] UTRAN: UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network or Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network

[0041] UE: User Equipment

[0042] LTE: Long Term Evolution

[0043] NR: New Radio

[0044] E-UTRAN: Evolved UMTS Radio Access Network or Evolved Universal Radio Access Network

[0045] RRC: Radio Resource Control

[0046] RLC: Radio Link Control

[0047] MAC: Media Access Control

[0048] PDCP: Packet Data Convergence Protocol

[0049] RF: Radio Frequency

[0050] DL: Downlink

[0051] UL: Uplink

[0052] NW: Network

[0053] BS: Base Station

[0054] MME: Mobility Management Entity

[0055] AMF: Access Management Function

[0056] AS: Access layer

[0057] NAS: Non-Access Stratum

[0058] RAT: Radio Access Technology

[0059] PLMN: Public Land Mobile Network

[0060] LAA: License Assisted Access

[0061] CA: Carrier Aggregation

[0062] RX: Receiver

[0063] PDCCH: Physical Downlink Control Channel

[0064] PDSCH: Physical Downlink Shared Channel

[0065] PRB: Physical Resource Block

[0066] DCI: Downlink Control Information

[0067] SNR: Signal to Noise Ratio

[0068] RSRP: Reference Signal Received Power

[0069] SF: Subframe

[0070] the term

[0071] The following is a glossary of terms used in this disclosure:

[0072] Memory medium - any of various types of non-transitory memory devices or storage devices. The term "memory medium" is intended to include installation media, such as CD-ROM, floppy disk or tape devices; computer system memory or random access memory such as DRAM, DDR RAM, SRAM, EDO RAM, Rambus RAM, etc.; non-volatile memory such as flash memory, magnetic media, for example, hard disk drive or optical storage device; registers or other similar types of memory elements, etc. The memory medium may also include other types of non-transitory memory or a combination thereof. In addition, the memory medium may be located in the first computer system executing the program, or may be located in a different second computer system connected to the first computer system via a network such as the Internet. In the latter case, the second computer system may provide program instructions to the first computer for execution. The term "memory medium" may include two or more memory media that may reside in different locations in different computer systems connected, for example, via a network. The memory medium may store program instructions (e.g., in the form of a computer program) that may be executed by one or more processors.

[0073] Carrier Medium—storage media as described above, and physical transmission media such as a bus, network, and / or other physical transmission media that transport signals such as electrical, electromagnetic or digital signals.

[0074] Programmable hardware element - includes various hardware devices that include multiple programmable function blocks connected via programmable interconnects. Examples include FPGA (field programmable gate array), PLD (programmable logic device), FPOA (field programmable object array), and CPLD (complex PLD). Programmable function blocks can vary from fine-grained (combinational logic unit or lookup table) to coarse-grained (arithmetic logic unit or processor core). Programmable hardware elements may also be referred to as "configurable logic units".

[0075] Computer System—Any of various types of computing or processing systems, including a personal computer system (PC), a mainframe computer system, a workstation, a network appliance, an Internet appliance, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a television system, a grid computing system, or other devices or combinations of devices. In general, the term "computer system" can be broadly defined to encompass any device (or combination of devices) having at least one processor that executes instructions from a memory medium.

[0076] User Equipment (UE) (or "UE device") - any of various types of computer systems or devices that are mobile or portable and that perform wireless communications. Examples of UE devices include mobile phones or smart phones (e.g., iPhone TM , based on AndroidTM phones), portable gaming devices (e.g., Nintendo DS TM , PlayStation Portable TM 、Gameboy Advance TM , iPhone TM ), wearable devices (e.g., smart watches, smart glasses), laptops, PDAs, portable network devices, music players, data storage devices, or other handheld devices, etc. In general, the term "UE" or "UE device" can be broadly defined to include any electronic, computing, and / or telecommunication device (or combination of devices) that is easily transportable by a user and capable of wireless communication.

[0077] Wireless Device—Any of various types of computer systems or devices that perform wireless communications. A wireless device may be portable (or mobile), or may be stationary or fixed at a certain location. A UE is an example of a wireless device.

[0078] Communication device - any of various types of computer systems or devices that perform communication, where the communication may be wired or wireless. A communication device may be portable (or mobile), or may be stationary or fixed at a location. A wireless device is an example of a communication device. A UE is another example of a communication device.

[0079] Base Station—The term “base station” has the full breadth of its ordinary meaning and includes at least a wireless communication station that is installed at a fixed location and used to communicate as part of a wireless telephone system or radio system.

[0080] Processing Element - refers to various elements or combinations of elements. Processing elements include, for example, circuits such as ASICs (application specific integrated circuits), portions or circuits of individual processor cores, entire processor cores, individual processors, programmable hardware devices such as field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and / or larger portions of systems including multiple processors.

[0081] Channel - a medium used to transmit information from a sender (transmitter) to a receiver. It should be noted that since the characteristics of the term "channel" may vary according to different wireless protocols, the term "channel" used in the present invention may be considered to be used in a manner that conforms to the standards of the type of device to which the term is used. In some standards, the channel width may be variable (e.g., depending on device capabilities, frequency band conditions, etc.). For example, LTE may support scalable channel bandwidths of 1.4MHz to 20MHz. In contrast, a WLAN channel may be 22MHz wide, while a Bluetooth channel may be 1Mhz wide. Other protocols and standards may include different definitions of channels. In addition, some standards may define and use multiple types of channels, such as different channels for uplink or downlink and / or different channels for different purposes such as data, control information, etc.

[0082] Frequency band—The term “frequency band” has the full breadth of its ordinary meaning and includes at least a segment of the spectrum (eg, radio frequency spectrum) in which channels are used or set aside for the same purpose.

[0083] Automatic—refers to an action or operation being performed by a computer system (e.g., software executed by a computer system) or a device (e.g., a circuit, a programmable hardware element, an ASIC, etc.) without the action or operation being directly specified or performed by a user input. Thus, the term "automatically" is in contrast to an operation being manually performed or specified by a user, where the user provides input to directly perform the operation. An automatic process may be initiated by input provided by a user, but subsequent actions performed "automatically" are not specified by the user, i.e., are not performed "manually," where the user specifies each action to be performed. For example, a user filling out an electronic form by selecting each field and providing input specifying information (e.g., by typing in information, selecting checkboxes, radio selections, etc.) is manually filling out the form, even though the computer system must update the form in response to the user action. The form may be automatically filled out by a computer system, where the computer system (e.g., software executed on the computer system) analyzes the fields of the form and fills out the form without any user input specifying the answers to the fields. As indicated above, a user may invoke automatic filling out of a form, but not participate in the actual filling out of the form (e.g., the user does not manually specify the answers to the fields but rather they are automatically completed). This specification provides various examples of operations that are automatically performed in response to actions taken by a user.

[0084] Configured to - Various components may be described as being "configured to" perform one or more tasks. In such environments, "configured to" is a broad statement that generally means "having a structure" that performs one or more tasks during operation. Thus, a component can be configured to perform a task even when the component is not currently performing the task (e.g., a set of electrical conductors can be configured to electrically connect a module to another module even when the two modules are not connected). In some contexts, "configured to" can be a broad statement that generally means "having a structure" that performs one or more tasks during operation. Thus, the component can be configured to perform a task even when the component is not currently turned on. Typically, the circuitry that forms the structure corresponding to "configured to" may include hardware circuitry.

[0085] For ease of description, various components may be described as performing one or more tasks. Such descriptions should be interpreted as including the phrase "configured to". The description of a component being configured to perform one or more tasks is expressly intended to not invoke the interpretation of the sixth paragraph of Section 112 of Title 35 of the United States Code on that component.

[0086] Figure 1 to Figure 2 —Communications systems

[0087] Figure 1 An exemplary (and simplified) wireless communication system is shown that can implement various aspects of the present disclosure according to some embodiments. For example, Figure 1 Any or all of the wireless devices shown may be configured to perform signal detection as described herein, for example, according to one or more of the methods described herein. Figure 1 The system is only one example of a possible system, and the embodiment may be implemented in any of a variety of systems as desired.

[0088] As shown, the exemplary wireless communication system includes a base station 102A, which communicates with one or more user equipment 106A, user equipment 106B, etc. to user equipment 106N through a transmission medium. Each user equipment may be referred to as a "user equipment" (UE) in this article. Therefore, user equipment 106 is referred to as UE or UE device.

[0089] The base station 102A may be a base transceiver station (BTS) or a cell site and may include hardware and / or software to enable wireless communications with the UEs 106A to 106N. The base station 102A may also be equipped to communicate with a network 100 (e.g., a core network of a cellular service provider, a telecommunications network such as a public switched telephone network (PSTN), and / or the Internet, among other possibilities). Thus, the base station 102A may facilitate communications between user devices and / or between user devices and the network 100.

[0090] The communication area (or coverage area) of a base station may be referred to as a “cell.” The base station 102A and the UE 106 may be configured to communicate via a transmission medium using any of a variety of radio access technologies (RATs), which are also referred to as wireless communication technologies or telecommunication standards, such as GSM, UMTS (WCDMA, TD-SCDMA), LTE, Advanced LTE (LTE-A), 5G NR, 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (e.g., 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), Wi-Fi, WiMAX, etc.

[0091] Base station 102A and other similar base stations (such as base stations 102B...102N) operating according to the same or different cellular communication standards can therefore be provided as a network of cells that can provide continuous or nearly continuous overlapping service to UE 106A-N and similar devices over a geographic area via one or more cellular communication standards.

[0092] Thus, although base station 102A may function as Figure 1 106A-N, each UE 106 may also be capable of receiving signals from (and possibly within communication range of) one or more other cells (which may be provided by base stations 102B-N and / or any other base stations), which may be referred to as "neighboring cells." Such cells may also be capable of facilitating communications between user devices and / or between user devices and network 100. Such cells may include "macro" cells, "micro" cells, "pico" cells, and / or cells of any other variety of granularity of service area size. For example, in Figure 1 The base stations 102A-102B shown in FIG. 1 may be macro cells, while the base station 102N may be a micro cell. Other configurations are also possible.

[0093] Note that the UE 106 is capable of communicating using multiple wireless communication standards. For example, the UE 106 may be configured to communicate using two or more of GSM, UMTS, CDMA2000, WiMAX, LTE, LTE-A, 5GNR, WLAN, Bluetooth, one or more global navigation satellite systems (GNSS, such as GPS or GLONASS), one and / or more mobile television broadcast standards (e.g., ATSC-M / H or DVB-H), etc. Other combinations of wireless communication standards (including more than two wireless communication standards) are also possible.

[0094] Figure 2A user equipment 106 (e.g., one of devices 106A to 106N) is shown in communication with a base station 102 (e.g., one of base stations 102A to 102N) according to some embodiments. UE 106 may be a device with cellular communication capabilities, such as a mobile phone, a handheld device, a wearable device, a computer or tablet, or substantially any type of wireless device.

[0095] UE 106 may include a processor configured to execute program instructions stored in a memory. UE 106 may perform any of the method embodiments described herein by executing such stored instructions. Alternatively or in addition, UE 106 may include a programmable hardware element, such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA) configured to perform any of the method embodiments described herein or any portion of any of the method embodiments described herein.

[0096] As described above, the UE 106 can be configured to communicate using any of a plurality of RATs. For example, the UE 106 can be configured to communicate using two or more of GSM, CDMA2000, UMTS, LTE, LTE-A, NR, WLAN, or GNSS. Other combinations of wireless communication technologies are also possible.

[0097] UE 106 may include one or more antennas for communicating using one or more wireless communication protocols or technologies. In one embodiment, UE 106 may be configured to communicate using CDMA2000 (1xRTT / 1xEV-DO / HRPD / eHRPD) or LTE using a single shared radio component and / or any of GSM or LTE using a single shared radio component. The shared radio component may be coupled to a single antenna, or may be coupled to multiple antennas (e.g., for multiple input multiple output (MIMO) communication) for performing wireless communications. Typically, the radio component may include any combination of a baseband processor, an analog radio frequency (RF) signal processing circuit (e.g., including filters, mixers, oscillators, amplifiers, etc.), or a digital processing circuit (e.g., for digital modulation and other digital processing). Similarly, the radio component may use the aforementioned hardware to implement one or more receive chains and transmit chains. For example, UE 106 may share one or more portions of a receive chain and / or transmit chain between multiple wireless communication technologies such as those discussed above.

[0098] In some embodiments, UE 106 may include a separate transmit chain and / or receive chain (e.g., including separate RF components and / or digital radio components) for each wireless communication protocol that it is configured to communicate with. As another possibility, UE 106 may include one or more radio components shared between multiple wireless communication protocols, and one or more radio components used uniquely by a single wireless communication protocol. For example, UE 106 may include a shared radio component for communicating using either LTE or 1xRTT (or LTE or GSM), and an independent radio component for communicating using each of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Other configurations are also possible.

[0099] UE 106 and / or BS 102 may be configured to perform carrier aggregation (CA). For example, BS 102 may communicate with UE 106 using carriers employing any combination of RATs. As one possibility, UE 106 and BS 102 may employ licensed assisted access (LAA) technology, and may therefore aggregate licensed and unlicensed spectrum for communication. According to various embodiments, carrier aggregation may employ a primary cell (PCell) and one or more secondary cells (SCells), which may be collocated within a single base station tower, or may be allocated on a first BS and one or more neighboring BSs.

[0100] Figure 3 —Block diagram of UE equipment

[0101] Figure 3 A possible block diagram of a UE device 106 is shown. As shown, the UE device 106 may include a system on chip (SOC) 300, which may include parts for various purposes. For example, as shown, the SOC 300 may include a processor 302, which may execute program instructions for the UE device 106, and a display circuit 304, which may perform graphics processing and provide display signals to a display 360. The SOC 300 may also include a motion sensing circuit 370, which may detect the motion of the UE 106, for example, using a gyroscope, an accelerometer, and / or any of various other motion sensing components. The one or more processors 302 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 340, which may be configured to receive addresses from the one or more processors 302 and convert these addresses to locations in a memory (e.g., a memory 306 and a read-only memory (ROM) 350, a flash memory 310). The MMU 340 may be configured to perform memory protection and page table translation or setup. In some embodiments, MMU 340 may be included as part of processor 302 .

[0102] As shown, SOC 300 may be coupled to various other circuits of UE 106. For example, UE 106 may include various types of memory (e.g., including NAND flash memory 310), a connector interface 320 (e.g., for coupling to a computer system, a docking station, a charging station, etc.), a display 360, and wireless communication circuitry 330 (e.g., for LTE, LTE-A, NR, CDMA2000, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, NFC, GPS, etc.).

[0103] The UE device 106 may include at least one antenna, and in some embodiments, may include multiple antennas 335a and 335b (and / or other additional antennas) for performing wireless communications with base stations and / or other devices. For example, the UE device 106 may use antennas 335a and 335b to perform wireless communications. As described above, the UE device 106 may be configured to use multiple wireless communication standards or radio access technologies (RATs) for wireless communications in some embodiments.

[0104] Wireless communication circuitry 330 may include Wi-Fi logic 332, cellular modem 334, and Bluetooth logic 336. Wi-Fi logic 332 is used to enable UE device 106 to perform Wi-Fi communications over an 802.11 network. Bluetooth logic 336 is used to enable UE device 106 to perform Bluetooth communications. Cellular modem 334 may be a lower power cellular modem capable of performing cellular communications according to one or more cellular communication technologies (e.g., LTE, 5G NR, GSM, etc.).

[0105] As described herein, the UE 106 may include hardware components and software components for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, one or more components of the wireless communication circuit 330 (e.g., the cellular modem 334) of the UE device 106 may be configured as a processor that executes program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium), a processor configured as an FPGA (field programmable gate array), and / or using dedicated hardware components that may include an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit) to implement part or all of the methods described herein.

[0106] Figure 4 —Block diagram of a base station (BS)

[0107] Figure 4 An exemplary block diagram of a base station 102 according to some embodiments is shown. Note that Figure 4The base station of is only one example of a possible base station. As shown, the base station 102 may include a processor 404 that may execute program instructions for the base station 102. The processor 404 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 440 or other circuit or device, which may be configured to receive addresses from the processor 404 and convert these addresses to locations in memory (e.g., memory 460 and read-only memory (ROM) 450).

[0108] Base station 102 may include at least one network port 470. Network port 470 may be configured to couple to a telephone network and provide access to the telephone network described above. Figure 1 and Figure 2 Multiple devices of the telephone network described in, such as UE device 106.

[0109] The network port 470 (or an additional network port) may also or alternatively be configured to couple to a cellular network, such as a core network of a cellular service provider. The core network may provide mobility-related services and / or other services to multiple devices, such as the UE device 106. In some cases, the network port 470 may be coupled to a telephone network via the core network, and / or the core network may provide a telephone network (e.g., in other UE devices served by the cellular service provider).

[0110] The base station 102 may include at least one antenna 434 and possibly multiple antennas. The antenna 434 may be configured to operate as a wireless transceiver and may be further configured to communicate with the UE device 106 via the radio component 430 (or multiple radio components 430). The antenna 434 communicates with the radio component 430 via a communication chain 432. The communication chain 432 may be a receive chain, a transmit chain, or both. The radio component 430 may be configured to communicate via various wireless communication standards, including but not limited to LTE, LTE-A, NR, GSM, UMTS, CDMA2000, Wi-Fi, etc.

[0111] Base station 102 may be configured to perform wireless communications using multiple wireless communication standards. In some cases, base station 102 may include multiple radios that enable base station 102 to communicate according to multiple wireless communication technologies. For example, as one possibility, base station 102 may include an LTE radio for performing communications according to LTE and a Wi-Fi radio for performing communications according to Wi-Fi. In such cases, base station 102 may be able to operate as both an LTE base station and a Wi-Fi access point. As another possibility, base station 102 may include a multimode radio component capable of performing communications according to any one of multiple wireless communication technologies (e.g., LTE and Wi-Fi, LTE and UMTS, LTE and CDMA2000, LTE and 5GNR, UMTS and GSM, etc.). BS 102 may provide one or more communication technologies and / or one or more public land mobile networks (PLMNs) One or more cells. According to some embodiments, BS 102 may provide multiple cells that may be organized, grouped or configured into one or more cell sets. According to some embodiments, one or more cell sets provided by BS 102 may also include cells provided by one or more additional base stations.

[0112] As further described later herein, the base station 102 may include hardware and software components for implementing or supporting the implementation of the features described herein. The processor 404 of the base station 102 may be configured to implement or support a portion or all of the implementation of the methods described herein, for example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively, the processor 404 may be configured as a programmable hardware element such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array), or as an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit) or a combination thereof. Alternatively (or in addition thereto), in combination with one or more of the other components 430, 432, 434, 440, 450, 460, 470, the processor 404 of the base station 102 may be configured to implement or support a portion or all of the implementation of the features described herein. BS102 may be configured to perform carrier aggregation (CA).

[0113] According to various implementations, BS 102 may be an eNodeB (eNB) or a gNodeB (gNB).

[0114] FIG. 5A to FIG. 5B —ENDC and standalone deployment

[0115] In some embodiments, a UE device may operate in an area with an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (EUTRA) New Radio (NR) dual connectivity (ENDC) deployment, where the UE is connected to both an NRgNB and an LTE eNB in ​​a non-standalone (NSA) deployment, and where both the gNB and the eNB are connected to an Evolved Packet Core (EPC), such as Figure 5A Alternatively, the UE device may be configured as follows: Figure 5B The embodiment of the present invention is to operate in an area of ​​NR standalone (SA) deployment shown, where the UE is connected to the next generation converged network (NGCN) via the gNB. The embodiments of the present invention describe various methods and devices for mitigating thermal shock, extending battery life, and achieving other benefits in these and other environments.

[0116] Carrier Aggregation

[0117] 5G New Radio (NR) and LTE, as well as other wireless networks, may include carrier aggregation (CA), enabling a user equipment device (UE), such as UE 106, to communicate with multiple cells over different bandwidths to increase overall throughput. CA techniques may allow for increased throughput or performance by efficiently using the spectrum / frequency resources available to the network.

[0118] In general, a UE may establish a connection with the network through a primary cell (PCell) and may subsequently establish a secondary connection with one or more secondary cells (SCells) to increase throughput. According to various embodiments, the PCell and one or more SCells may be collocated, or they may be instantiated as different base stations. According to various embodiments, the PCell and one or more SCells may operate according to the same RAT (e.g., 5G NR) or different RATs (e.g., LTE and 5G NR). In an exemplary embodiment, the PCell is an LTE cell (such as an eNB) referred to as a primary cell group (MCG), which acts as an anchor cell and on which initial signaling is established, and the SCell is a 5G NR cell (such as a gNB) referred to as a secondary cell group (SCG). The 5G SCell may be added after the UE connects to the PCell, either blindly or based on the UE's 5G cell measurements. Data may then be transmitted according to the configuration on the 5G cell. This configuration may be referred to as a non-standalone (NSA) configuration with LTE anchoring, and in Figure 5A It is schematically shown in FIG.

[0119] Different UEs may have different capabilities with respect to CA. For example, some UEs may be able to perform CA with certain combinations of frequency ranges, but not with other combinations of frequency ranges. Similarly, different cells, different regions, or different networks may use various combinations of frequency ranges for CA. For example, a given PLMN may have authorization to use frequency ranges in one region that are different from another region.

[0120] 5G New Radio (5G NR) is designed to support a wide range of use cases requiring Ultra-Reliable Low Latency (URLLC - 1ms round trip delay tolerance), Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB - approximately 20Gbps downlink throughput) and Massive Internet of Things (MIOT - support for thousands of devices within a cell), among other possibilities.

[0121] In some implementations, the sub-6 GHz (Sub6) frequency range (i.e., frequency range below 6 GHz) as well as the millimeter wave frequency range (mmW) may be deployed by one or more gNBs. For mmW deployments, the bandwidth may be much larger than the sub-6 GHz frequency range (e.g., mmW bandwidth may be 50 MHz, 100 MHz, 200 MHz, or 400 MHz, among other possibilities). The Sub6 range is sometimes referred to as "FR1," while the mmW range is sometimes referred to as "FR2." In some embodiments, the UE may need to utilize a dedicated radio frequency (RF) module to be able to scan and / or measure these wider bandwidths, which may consume more power than scanning and / or measurements performed via LTE or via Sub6. Therefore, battery usage may be increased when 5G mmW is used. Additionally, for beam management, power consumption may be higher because more elements in these RF modules are active.

[0122] It is expected that NR field deployments for both Sub6 and mmW frequencies may have overlapping coverage. In these implementations, if the remaining battery life of the UE is below a certain threshold, the UE may be expected to save battery power and intelligently make measurement reporting decisions that may trigger the network to add NR cells.

[0123] For non-standalone (NSA) ENDC deployments, due to the increase in thermal heating in the device during an active data session, some embodiments herein describe measures that may be taken to control heat to avoid brownout conditions. In previously implemented radio access technologies (RATs), an active session may involve only one technology, such as LTE or WCDMA. In contrast, ENDC deployments may involve using both the LTE and 5G modems of a UE simultaneously, active for a single data session. Therefore, it may be desirable to evaluate data about each technology and make intelligent decisions to identify where and when modem power can be backed off to mitigate heating without adversely affecting the data session or user experience.

[0124] Fallback mode

[0125] In some embodiments, when the temperature of the UE exceeds a certain threshold, one or more precautions may be taken to mitigate the increased temperature and prevent damage to the device. For example, in some embodiments, transmit power backoff may be implemented, which reduces the transmit power of the cellular technology compared to normal mode operation. However, if the UE is under limited link budget conditions, the lower transmit power may result in connection loss or transmission failure. For example, Figure 6 An exemplary graph of the temperature of a UE over time superimposed on the transmit power according to some prior implementations is shown. As shown, when the temperature exceeds a temperature threshold, a transmit power backoff is implemented to reduce the transmit power and mitigate the temperature increase. However, Figure 6 The specific implementation shown may result in connection loss and / or transmission failure. The embodiments herein propose implementing a periodic back-off mode to achieve the desired temperature reduction, where the risk of connection loss and transmission failure is less.

[0126] For example, in some embodiments, a transmission power duty cycle is introduced to periodically switch between normal mode and fallback mode, such as Figure 7 As shown, the UE may periodically alternate between transmitting at maximum transmit power and transmitting at reduced transmit power.

[0127] In some embodiments, in normal mode, the UE can transmit at maximum power to ensure that the link works for high priority data and maintains signaling. In contrast, during fallback mode, the UE can transmit at a lower transmission power and transmit lower priority data. In other words, the UE can prioritize the transmission of high priority data and signaling during the normal mode operation period, and the UE can prioritize the transmission of lower priority data during the fallback mode operation period. Advantageously, periodic operation in normal mode can provide high transmission power for high priority data and signaling to prevent connection loss while still experiencing thermal mitigation of fallback mode. In some embodiments, the expected quality of service (QoS) of the data (e.g., high or low priority) can be handled by the Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP).

[0128] In some embodiments, the UE may operate in an ENDC deployment and may be connected to both an LTE MCG and a 5G SCG. In these embodiments, the UE may prioritize transmitting data to the NR SCG during normal mode and may transmit data to the LTE MCG during fallback mode. For example, the UE may locally bias the updated UL-DataSplitThreshold parameter to bias transmissions to LTE during fallback mode, thereby causing the UE to prioritize data on the LTE MCG. In some embodiments, the UE may send a buffer status report (BSR) to indicate to the network which data it wants to send. In other words, in some embodiments, when determining whether to send data during normal mode or fallback mode, the UE may consider the priority of the data and one or both of the RATs associated with the data (e.g., 5G or non-5G). This is Figure 8 , which shows that high priority data and 5G communications are transmitted during normal mode, while remaining data (e.g., low priority data and non-5G communications) are transmitted during fallback mode. In some embodiments, if there are remaining unused radio resources during normal mode after all high priority data and 5G communications have been transmitted, the remaining unused radio resources can be used for at least a portion of any remaining data to be sent.

[0129] In some embodiments, the UE temperature may be continuously monitored, and the duty cycle of alternating between normal mode and fallback mode may be adjusted depending on how much thermal relief is needed. 9A to 9C As shown, three different duty cycles may be employed depending on the degree of thermal relief desired. Specifically, for low thermal relief (e.g., when the temperature is only slightly above a temperature threshold, and / or when the temperature increases slowly or even decreases moderately), the UE may spend more time in normal mode than in fallback mode. For normal thermal relief (when the temperature is higher than that for low thermal relief and / or it increases more rapidly), the UE may spend an equal (or approximately equal) amount of time in normal mode and fallback mode. Finally, if high thermal relief is desired (e.g., if the temperature is dangerously high, and / or increases at a dangerously fast rate), the UE may spend more time in fallback mode than in normal mode.

[0130] In some embodiments, the UE may implement a total available power budget such that for a given time window, the UE has an allowable power budget for 5G transmissions. Fig.10Schematically illustrated in FIG, where the UE transmits 5G high priority data in a first time period until the available 5G power budget is exhausted, whereupon the UE switches to transmit the high priority data over a non-5G data bearer (e.g., it may transmit data to the eNB over LTE). For example, when the total power budget for 5G is exhausted, the UE may notify the network of the SCG failure, so it may migrate to a high priority data bearer on non-5G.

[0131] In some embodiments, the UE may alternate between normal mode operation and shutting down all transmit power when high thermal relief is desired. Fig.11 , where the device periodically alternates between normal mode operation and a transmit power off mode, where the UE avoids performing any transmissions. In these embodiments, the UE may determine the transmit power on duration based on the amount of high priority data and signaling to be transmitted, and may prioritize the high priority data and signaling for transmission during normal mode operation.

[0132] Fig.12 —Flowchart for implementing fallback mode

[0133] Fig.12 is a flow chart illustrating a method for implementing a transmit power back-off mode for thermal mitigation according to some embodiments. Fig.12 Various aspects of the method of can be implemented by a wireless device such as UE 106, which is in communication with one or more base stations (e.g., BS 102) as shown in the figures and as described with respect to the figures, or more generally, as desired, in combination with any of the computer systems or devices shown in the figures and other circuits, systems, devices, elements or components shown in the figures and other devices. For example, one or more processors (or processing elements) of the UE (e.g., processor 302, baseband processor, processor associated with communication circuit (e.g., 330), etc., and various possibilities) can cause the UE to perform some or all of the elements of the method shown. Similarly, processor 404, baseband processor, processor associated with communication circuit (e.g., 430, 432), etc., and various possibilities can cause the BS to perform some or all of the elements of the method shown.

[0134] In various embodiments, some of the method elements shown in the method elements can be performed simultaneously in an order different from the order shown, can be replaced by other method elements, or can be omitted. Additional method elements can also be performed as needed. As shown in the figure, the method can be operated as follows.

[0135] At 1202, it is determined that the temperature of the UE has risen above a first threshold temperature. For example, the UE may be equipped with one or more temperature sensors that are configured to periodically or continuously measure the temperature of one or more components of the UE. In some embodiments, the temperature sensors may be configured to measure components of the UE that typically experience the greatest degree of heating from performing cellular transmissions, such as radio components and / or processors of the UE.

[0136] At 1204, based at least in part on determining that the temperature of the UE has risen above a first threshold temperature, the UE periodically alternates between operation in a standard mode and a fallback mode. The UE is configured to transmit at a normal transmit power when in the standard mode, and the UE is configured to transmit at a reduced transmit power when in the fallback mode.

[0137] In some embodiments, a duty cycle for alternating between standard mode and fallback mode is determined based at least in part on the number of degrees that the temperature of the UE has risen above a first threshold temperature. For example, the duty cycle may be selected so that the UE spends more time in fallback mode for a higher temperature of the UE than for a lower temperature of the UE. Alternatively or in addition, the duty cycle for alternating between standard mode and fallback mode may be determined based at least in part on the rate of increase of the temperature of the UE. For example, the duty cycle may be selected so that the UE spends more time in fallback mode for a faster rate of increase of the temperature of the UE than for a lower rate of increase of the temperature of the UE. In some embodiments, the duty cycle may be determined using a weighted consideration of both the absolute temperature of the UE and the rate of increase of the temperature.

[0138] In some embodiments, high priority data is preferentially transmitted when operating in standard mode, and low priority data is preferentially transmitted when operating in fallback mode. High priority data may include one or more of real-time video streams, voice calls, and / or control signaling. In contrast, low priority data may include one or more of transmission control protocol (TCP) data, user datagram protocol (UDP) data, and / or buffered video streams.

[0139] In some embodiments, the UE may have established an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (EUTRA) New Radio (NR) dual connectivity (ENDC) connection with an eNB and at least one gNB. In these embodiments, the UE may be configured to prioritize communication with the eNB over a Long Term Evolution (LTE) radio access technology (RAT) when operating in fallback mode, and the UE may be configured to prioritize communication with the gNB over a 5th Generation New Radio (5G NR) RAT when operating in normal mode.

[0140] In some embodiments, the UE may have a transmit power budget associated with the 5G NR RAT, wherein there is a maximum transmit power budget that the UE is allowed to use in a given time window of predetermined duration. In these embodiments, the UE may determine that the transmit power budget associated with the 5G NR RAT has been exhausted. Based at least in part on determining that the transmit power budget associated with the 5G NR RAT has been exhausted, the UE may switch to communicating with the eNB via the LTE RAT for the remainder of the time window when operating in normal mode.

[0141] In some embodiments, the UE may determine that the temperature of the UE has risen above a second threshold temperature, wherein the second threshold temperature is higher than the first threshold temperature. Based at least in part on determining that the temperature of the UE has risen above the second threshold temperature, the UE may periodically alternate between operation in a standard mode and a transmit power off mode, wherein the UE is configured to avoid performing any transmissions during the transmit power off mode.

[0142] Fig.13 —Protocol for stopping 5G transmissions

[0143] Fig.13 is a communication flow diagram illustrating a method for a UE to discard a 5G gNB and communicate only over LTE in some embodiments. For example, a UE operating in an ENDC deployment may decide to discard the 5G gNB as an SCG and may decide to communicate only with the eNB MCG over LTE. To achieve this, the following protocol may be implemented, among other possibilities. At 1306, the UE may request a radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration from the network. Subsequently, at 1308, the UE may send a "SCGFailureInformation" message to the network via the gNB. This may allow the UE to fall back to LTE operation with the eNB, and it may no longer consume power when monitoring 5G cells.

[0144] In some embodiments, upon initiating the process of stopping communication with the gNB, the UE may suspend SCG transmissions for all signaling radio bearers (SRBs) and data radio bearers (DRBs); reset the SCG-MAC; stop the T304 timer if it is running; and if the UE is operating in EN-DC, initiate transmission of a SCGFailureInformationNR message and set the failure type to due to expiration of the T310 timer.

[0145] Reduced 5G measurements for ENDC deployment

[0146] In previous implementations, when the UE's application processor (AP) is asleep, the UE's baseband processor (BB) may wake up the AP only when there is an incoming Internet Protocol (IP) packet targeting a known port number (e.g., the known port number may be a plurality of port numbers known by the UE to be associated with the AP). This may avoid waking up the AP unnecessarily when the BB receives a packet that is not associated with the AP. However, in NR deployments, the NR SCG bearer may be configured immediately after the UE enters the RRC connected state based on the NR measurements reported by the UE. In these implementations, once the NR SCG bearer is configured, the BB may wake up the AP in order to update the user interface (UI) icon to display "5G". In these cases, if the incoming downlink IP packet belongs to an unknown port number, the packet may not be associated with the AP. However, since the NR SCG is configured in this case, the BB may still wake up the AP to update the UI icon, resulting in unnecessary power consumption.

[0147] To address these and other issues, in some embodiments, the AP may avoid performing NR cell measurements when the AP is asleep and the BB initiates a radio connection for incoming paging or BB-centric traffic (e.g., subscriber identity module (SIM) traffic). Additionally or alternatively, based on the UE's temperature, the UE may determine whether it should operate NR / ENDC in the Sub6 or mmW frequency range. For example, if the temperature is high enough that mmW operation is not desirable, the UE may avoid performing any mmW cell measurements and only perform Sub6 cell measurements, so that ENDC bearers are added only for Sub6.

[0148] Prune cell measurements based on ongoing active traffic

[0149] In some embodiments, before establishing an RRC connection, the UE may decide whether to prune NR measurements. In some embodiments, if the UE's display is off or in an idle state, and / or if there is a low level of ongoing data transfer and / or a low level of traffic class, the UE may prune (i.e., avoid performing) both Sub6 and mmW measurements. If a medium level of data transfer / traffic class is ongoing, the UE may only prune mmW measurements. Conversely, if a high level of data transfer / traffic class is ongoing (e.g., if there are multiple traffic classes and / or a large amount of ongoing data), the UE may perform both Sub6 and mmW measurements normally.

[0150] In some embodiments, if the UE is in a high mobility state, and further if the UE encounters multiple beam failures over a short period of time (e.g., if the number of beam failures is greater than a threshold "y" number of beam failures over a predetermined period of "x" seconds), the UE may prune mmW measurements for a specific duration while the UE is in a high mobility state. In some embodiments, the UE may continue to measure NR frequencies, rather than pruning the measurements completely, but the RRC layer may not report NR measurement reports unless a high priority traffic class (e.g., an application launching high priority data) is active. Advantageously, in these embodiments, measurements are readily available and can be sent to the NW immediately when needed. For example, this can reduce the latency of adding an NR SCG from seconds to milliseconds.

[0151] In a previous implementation, if a UE enables an application that utilizes high data usage for an extended duration (e.g., video streaming usage), the UE may report mmW measurements for multiple gNBs and / or multiple component carriers (CCs), and the NW may add mmW multiple component carriers to serve the UE, potentially causing the heat sink to be hit more quickly. To address these and other issues, the UE may limit its mmW measurement reports to a small number of CCs (e.g., 1 or 2, depending on the data requirements of the active application), causing the NW to add a smaller number of mmW cells, thereby providing higher NR throughput and reducing the chance of hitting the heat sink due to prolonged application usage. In other words, if the UE detects the activation of a long-duration high-throughput data application, the UE may limit the number of mmW measurements to a small predetermined number to meet the throughput requirements while mitigating the risk of overheating. In some embodiments, the particular frequency selected by the UE to perform mmW measurements may be determined based on one or more considerations, including but not limited to the results of previous mmW measurements; past heuristics such as PHY, L2, and beam characteristics; the number of times a particular mmW frequency appeared in a previous Scell / PSCell list (e.g., a PSCell list may be considered a higher priority); or presence in a table of information about recently occupied cells, such as a most recently used (MRU) table, among other possibilities.

[0152] Selective disabling of specific NR SCells

[0153] In some embodiments, due to the band and / or frequency of operation of a particular NR gNB SCell, it may be associated with higher thermal issues. Based on the block error rate (BLER) and / or signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR), the UE can detect which SCell has worse performance. In current implementations, the overheat indication can cause the UE to reduce the number of active CCs, reduce the aggregate bandwidth, and / or reduce the number of active multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) layers. To improve these implementations, in some embodiments, the UE can indicate to the network which SCell identifier (ID) it prefers to discard first in the event of an overheat scenario. In various embodiments, the UE can indicate a single cell ID or a discard priority list including multiple SCell IDs in order (e.g., {ID1, ID2, ID3}), which indicates the order in which the SCells are discarded (e.g., the SCell associated with ID1 is discarded first, followed by the SCell associated with ID2, and finally ID3).

[0154] Report on Selective CA Combinations for Reducing Heat Shock

[0155] When operating in NSA or SA mode, the UE may employ carrier aggregation (CA) on one or more NR SCGs. The number of SCell CCs added to the PCell may depend on the total channel bandwidth (TCB) supported by the UE. For example, if the UE supports a maximum channel bandwidth of 800 MHz, the UE may allocate 800 MHz between the MCG and SCG as follows:

[0156] Serving cell = 200MHz

[0157] Component carrier 1 = 200 MHz

[0158] Component carrier 2 = 200 MHz

[0159] Component carrier 3 = 100 MHz

[0160] Component carrier 4 = 50MHz

[0161] Component carrier 5 = 50 MHz

[0162] In the above examples, there may be situations where the UE is expected to reduce the number of CCs. However, when in RRC connected mode, the decision to add or release SCells is usually made by the NW. Therefore, in some embodiments, the UE may adopt an alternative mechanism to reduce the number of active SCell CCs. For example, in some embodiments, if the UE wants to release one or more SCells, the UE may report its supported reduced maximum channel bandwidth (MCB) to the network via a UE capability change message.

[0163] Fig.14is a flow chart illustrating a method for a UE to reduce the number of active SCells communicating with the UE according to some embodiments. Fig.14 Various aspects of the method of can be implemented by a wireless device such as UE 106, which is in communication with one or more base stations (e.g., BS 102) as shown in the figures and as described with respect to the figures, or more generally, as desired, in combination with any of the computer systems or devices shown in the figures and other circuits, systems, devices, elements or components shown in the figures and other devices. For example, one or more processors (or processing elements) of the UE (e.g., processor 302, baseband processor, processor associated with communication circuit (e.g., 330), etc., and various possibilities) can cause the UE to perform some or all of the elements of the method shown. Similarly, processor 404, baseband processor, processor associated with communication circuit (e.g., 430, 432), etc., and various possibilities can cause the BS to perform some or all of the elements of the method shown.

[0164] In various embodiments, some of the method elements shown may be performed simultaneously in an order different from the order shown, may be replaced by other method elements, or may be omitted. Additional method elements may also be performed as needed. As shown in the figure, the communication process for releasing one or more SCells may be performed as follows.

[0165] At 1402, the UE may camp on multiple SCells and may set the maximum channel bandwidth supported by the UE for both uplink (UL) and downlink (DL). In some embodiments, the SCell may be a 5G gNB.

[0166] At 1404, the UE may be in an RRC connected state with multiple SCells configured for communication and active in one or both of the UL and DL.

[0167] At 1406, based on certain triggering conditions, the UE may decide to release some SCells. The UE may decide to reduce the number of active SCells for a variety of reasons, including but not limited to battery conservation, low battery, high BLER, frequent RLF, and / or thermal mitigation. If the triggering condition does not exist, the UE may continue normal operation at 1408.

[0168] At 1410, if a triggering condition exists, the UE may send a tracking area update request to the network with the "UE radio capability information update required" information element (IE) enabled. In response, the network may query the UE for new / updated UE capability information. Finally, the UE may explicitly advertise a lower MCB than its actual MCB so that the NW will configure the UE with a smaller subset of CCs. In addition or alternatively, the UE may advertise a specific subset of CA combinations that have low thermal impact but can provide high throughput. For example, CA_1A_3A_5A and CA_25A_12A_66A may have the same aggregate bandwidth and number of CCs, however CA_1A_3A_5A may have a lower thermal impact. Therefore, the UE may avoid advertising CA_25A_12A_66A and may advertise CA_1A_3A_5A.

[0169] Selective measurement pruning based on active bandwidth fraction

[0170] In some embodiments, thermal conditions may cause a UE in a desired ENDC connection to disable its LTE and / or its NR radio to reduce temperature in the device. In these embodiments, the UE may consider both the frequency range used in the ENDC connection and the bandwidth of the active bandwidth part (BWP) when determining whether and how to prune cell measurements.

[0171] For example, in various scenarios, the UE may determine that its temperature has risen above a threshold so that the temperature mitigation process may be implemented as follows. First, when the UE is communicating with both an LTE eNB and a Sub6 gNB, if the NR active BWP is greater than a threshold bandwidth (e.g., 20MHz), the UE may push UL traffic to LTE and monitor thermal conditions. If the temperature continues to increase for a predetermined number of minutes (or seconds), the UE may disable NR by sending SCGFailureInformation and pruning additional NR cell measurements. Alternatively, when the UE is communicating with both an LTE eNB and a mmW gNB, if the NR active BWP is greater than a threshold bandwidth, the UE may immediately disable NR by sending SCGFailureInformation and pruning future NR cell measurements.

[0172] Alternatively, when the UE communicates with both LTE eNB and Sub6 gNB, and the NR active BWP is less than the threshold bandwidth, the UE may continue both UL and DL traffic with LTE and NR. When the UE communicates with both LTE eNB and mWW gNB, and the NR active BWP is less than the threshold bandwidth, the UL traffic may be pushed to the MCG (e.g., by sending a BSR 0 message to the mmW gNB) and the DL traffic may follow the NW scheduling.

[0173] Although the examples given above specify a threshold BW of 20 MHz, other threshold BWs may be used as desired. However, 20 MHz as the threshold BW may exhibit some benefits. For example, 20 MHz is the maximum bandwidth for LTE communications, so that 20 MHz may be used as an estimate of the bandwidth above which NR communications begin to exhibit significantly more battery consumption and / or heat generation than LTE communications. Therefore, for NR communications with bandwidths exceeding 20 MHz, the thermal mitigation of offloading communications to LTE may become more significant.

[0174] In other embodiments, the UE may utilize UE assistance information to iteratively reduce the BW of NR communications to 20 MHz instead of pruning NR cell measurements in the ENDC communication environment when thermal mitigation is initiated. Once the NR BW reaches 20 MHz, the UE may continue to iteratively reduce the BW of the LTE PCC. Alternatively or in addition, the UE may change the active BWP.

[0175] Divert traffic according to UL limits

[0176] In some embodiments, a UE in an ENDC coverage scenario may split traffic between LTE and NRRAT based on uplink (UL) conditions. For example, in some embodiments, if LTE coverage is UL limited and NR is in good coverage, the UE may send a BSR "0" message to the LTE eNB and move all UL traffic to the NR gNB. Advantageously, this may reduce active transmit power and mitigate thermal heating. Alternatively, if NR is in UL limited coverage and LTE is in good coverage, the UE may send a BSR "0" message to the NR gNB and move all UL traffic to the LTE eNB.

[0177] If both LTE and NR are UL limited, the UE may disable NR by sending a SCGFailureInformation message. In addition, if the UL traffic is not critical UL traffic (e.g., if it is below a threshold level of priority), the UE may delay UL traffic over LTE until thermal conditions improve. Alternatively, if both LTE and NR are UL limited, the UE may enable a supplementary UL (SUL) channel and may move all UL traffic to the SUL channel.

[0178] Fig.15 —Selective measurement pruning during high priority data sessions

[0179] In some embodiments, a UE in an NSA deployment (eg, ENDC scenario) may have an ongoing high priority data transfer with high quality of service (QoS) requirements, such as a Voice over LTE (VoLTE) call. Fig.15is a flowchart illustrating a method for performing selective NR cell measurement pruning in this or other scenarios according to some embodiments. Fig.15 Various aspects of the method of can be implemented by a wireless device such as UE 106, which is in communication with one or more base stations (e.g., BS 102) as shown in the figures and as described with respect to the figures, or more generally, as desired, in combination with any of the computer systems or devices shown in the figures and other circuits, systems, devices, elements or components shown in the figures and other devices. For example, one or more processors (or processing elements) of the UE (e.g., processor 302, baseband processor, processor associated with communication circuit (e.g., 330), etc., and various possibilities) can cause the UE to perform some or all of the elements of the method shown. Similarly, processor 404, baseband processor, processor associated with communication circuit (e.g., 430, 432), etc., and various possibilities can cause the BS to perform some or all of the elements of the method shown.

[0180] In various embodiments, some of the method elements shown in the method elements can be performed simultaneously in an order different from the order shown, can be replaced by other method elements, or can be omitted. Additional method elements can also be performed as needed. As shown in the figure, the method can be operated as follows.

[0181] At 1502, a UE supporting ENDC camps on an LTE eNB. The NW may support NR ENDC from the UE's location, which may be enabled via system information block 2 (SIB-2) uplink information (ULI).

[0182] At 1504, the UE may determine whether there is an ongoing high priority data session, such as a VoLTE call, with high QoS requirements (e.g., a QoS class identifier (QCI) of 1-4). If a high QoS session is not ongoing, the UE may resume normal operation at step 1506.

[0183] At 1508, if a high QoS session is ongoing, the UE may determine whether both LTE and NR are currently active on the device (e.g., the UE may determine whether it has active connections with both the eNB and gNB associated with the ENDC deployment). If both LTE and NR are not currently active on the device, the UE may revert to normal operation at step 1506.

[0184] At 1510, if both LTE and NR are currently active, the UE may determine whether all UL data is transmitted to the MCG (e.g., on the LTE eNB). If it is determined that UL data is not being performed on the MCG, at step 1512, the UE may send a BSR 0 message to the NR gNB to avoid any UL traffic on the NR gNB, and the UE may then proceed to step 1514.

[0185] At 1514, if it is determined that all UL data is transmitted to the MCG, the UE may determine whether the temperature of the UE is above a temperature threshold (e.g., 80% of the maximum safe temperature or another threshold). If the temperature does not exceed the threshold, the UE may resume normal operation at step 1506.

[0186] At 1516, if it is determined that the temperature exceeds the temperature threshold, the UE may implement an NR cell measurement pruning procedure. For example, the UE may disable the connection with the NR gNB by sending a "SCGFailureInformation" message to the network. In the SCGFailureInformation message, the UE may not include a measurement result frequency list ("measResultFreqList") or a measurement result secondary cell group (SCG) failure ("measResultSCG-Failure") information element (IE). Advantageously, this may prevent the network from reconfiguring the NR connection. In addition, the UE may avoid making further NR cell measurements until the high priority data session ends and / or until the thermal conditions improve (e.g., the temperature drops below the threshold, or a predetermined number of degrees below the threshold).

[0187] Disabling NR in SA deployment

[0188] In some embodiments, the UE may communicate with the 5G gNB in ​​a standalone (SA) connection instead of also connecting to the LTE eNB. In these embodiments, various techniques may be implemented to mitigate overheating. For example, Fig.16 As shown, the UE may send a UEAssistanceInformation message to the gNB to reduce the maximum number of CCs for the connection, reduce the maximum aggregate BW in the combination of downlink (DL) and uplink (UL) for both Sub6 and mmW, and / or reduce the maximum number of MIMO layers in DL and UL.

[0189] Alternatively, in some deployments, the network may not support the UEAssistanceInformation message and an alternative approach may be employed. As an example, if the UE is experiencing overheating and the serving cell (e.g., MCG) is a Sub6 gNB, the UE may perform inter-RAT B1 and / or B2 measurements. For example, the B1 measurement may determine whether an inter-RAT neighboring cell (e.g., LTE cell) has a signal strength that exceeds a threshold, while the B2 measurement may determine both whether the serving cell has become worse in signal strength than a first threshold and whether the inter-RAT neighboring cell has become stronger in signal strength than a second threshold. In these embodiments, if during the B1 and / or B2 inter-RAT measurements, the UE discovers a qualified LTE cell that is not in the same frequency range as the Sub6 gNB cell, the UE may disable NR and move to the LTE cell. Alternatively, if the B1 and / or B2 measurements find a qualified LTE cell in the same frequency range as the Sub6 gNB, and the signal strength difference (e.g., received signal to received power, RSRP, ratio, or another measure of signal strength) between the serving gNB cell and the LTE cell is less than a threshold (e.g., within 3dBm-5dBm), the UE may remain camped on the gNB and refrain from measuring LTE for a predetermined number of seconds.

[0190] In other embodiments, if the UE experiences overheating while camping on a mmW gNB, upon finding that the LTE cell satisfies B1 or B2 measurements, the UE may always disable NR and move to the LTE cell until the thermal conditions improve.

[0191] FIG. 17A to FIG. 17B —Changes in coverage scenarios

[0192] FIG. 17A to FIG. 17B A UE moving between two different coverage scenarios according to some embodiments is shown. Specifically, Fig.17A A UE is shown moving in the direction of the coverage boundary of the LTE cell and the Sub6 NR cell. Fig. 17B A UE is shown within the coverage of an LTE cell and a Sub6 NR cell and moving toward an NR mmW cell (e.g., NR mmW cell #1). In this coverage scenario, as an example, the UE may be connected to the LTE cell as an MCG and may or may not be connected to the Sub6 NR cell as an SCG.

[0193] Figure 18 to Figure 19 — Flowchart for performing cell measurements in ENDC

[0194] Fig.18 is a flow chart illustrating a method for a UE to perform cell measurements in an ENDC coverage scenario according to some embodiments. Specifically, Fig.18A method is shown in which the UE may prioritize Sub6 NR cells over mmW NR cells if certain criteria are met. At 1902, the UE determines whether it is connected to an LTE cell and is in an RRC connected state. If not, the UE continues normal operation at 1904. At 1906, the UE may determine whether the NR measurement is configured by the network, and at 1910, it may determine whether there are available Sub6 and mmW frequency NR cells configured to perform the measurement. If either determination is negative, the UE continues normal operation at 1908 or 1912, respectively. At 1914, the available NR cells may be sorted based on their signal strength (e.g., their RSRP and / or SNR), and at 1916, it may be determined whether the remaining UE battery life is below a threshold level, such as 30%, 50%, or another threshold. If the battery life is below the threshold level, then at 1920, the UE may determine whether there is an available Sub6 cell with a signal strength within a predetermined decibel number (e.g., 3 dB) for the mmW cell with the highest signal strength, and if so, determine whether the signal strength of the Sub6 cell is greater than a hysteresis level. If no available Sub6 cell is within the predetermined decibel number of the mmW cell, the UE continues normal operation at 1924.

[0195] If the battery life is not below the threshold level, then at 1918, the UE may check whether the UE is in a locked state, its display is off, and / or it is not currently being used as a WLAN hotspot. If not, the UE continues normal operation at 1920. If one or more of these conditions are met, then at 1920, the UE may also continue to check for available Sub6 cells within a threshold difference in signal strength from the strongest available mmW cell.

[0196] If the Sub6 cell is within a predetermined difference in signal strength from the strongest mmW cell, then at 1922 the UE prioritizes the Sub6 cell over the mmW cell and reports measurements on the Sub6 cell. In some embodiments, hysteresis may be employed where the cell Sub6 is not prioritized unless it has a signal strength greater than a hysteresis value such as -100 dBm. Once the battery level returns above the threshold, this feature may be disabled and normal reporting operations may follow.

[0197] In some embodiments, after prioritizing the Sub6 cell, it may be determined that an application has been initiated on the UE utilizing high data throughput. At least in part in response to determining that an application has been initiated on the UE utilizing high data throughput, the UE may establish an ENDC connection with the eNB and the mmW NR cell to perform the high data throughput.

[0198] Fig.19 is similar to Fig.18, which additionally considers an implementation where the UE is in an ENDC scenario and is connected to a Sub6 serving NR cell as well as an LTE cell in RRC idle or connected mode. Fig.19 In the example, if the battery level of the UE is below a threshold and / or if the UE is in a locked state, the UE may determine not to report measurements on the mmW cell even if it has a higher signal strength than the camped Sub6 cell. More specifically, Fig.19 This can be done as follows.

[0199] At 2002, the UE determines whether it is in an ENDC connection with a Sub6 NR cell in an RRC idle or connected state. If not, the UE continues normal operation at 2004. At 2006, the UE may determine whether there are available Sub6 and mmW frequency NR cells configured for performing measurements. If not, the UE continues normal operation at 2008. At 2010, the available NR cells may be sorted based on their signal strength (e.g., their RSRP and / or SNR), and at 2012, it may be determined whether the remaining UE battery life is below a threshold level, such as 30%, 50%, or another threshold. If the battery life is below the threshold level, at 2018, the UE may determine whether there are available Sub6 cells (including serving Sub6 cells) with a signal strength within a predetermined number of decibels (e.g., 3 dB) for the mmW cell with the highest signal strength, and if so, determine whether the signal strength of the Sub6 cell is greater than a hysteresis level (e.g., -100 dBm or another threshold). If no available Sub6 cell is within the predetermined decibel number of the mmW cell, the UE continues normal operation at 2022 .

[0200] If the battery life is not below the threshold level, then at 2014, the UE may check whether the UE is in a locked state, its display is off, and / or it is not currently being used as a WLAN hotspot. If not, the UE continues normal operation at 2016. If one or more of these conditions are met, then at 2018, the UE may also continue to check for available Sub6 cells within a threshold difference in signal strength from the strongest available mmW cell.

[0201] If the Sub6 cell is within a predetermined difference of the signal strength of the strongest mmW cell and the signal strength of the Sub6 cell is greater than the hysteresis level, then at 2020, the UE may report measurements of the Sub6 cell instead of the mmW cell with the best signal strength. In addition, the UE may not report the event that triggered the handover to the mmW cell to the serving gNB (i.e., the serving Sub6 cell). In some embodiments, hysteresis may be employed without prioritizing the cell Sub6 unless it has a signal strength greater than a hysteresis value such as -100dBm. Once the battery level returns above the threshold, this feature may be disabled and normal reporting operations may follow.

[0202] Fig. 20 — Flowchart for implementing the SCG fault start process

[0203] Fig. 20 is a flow chart illustrating a method for implementing an SCG fault start process according to some embodiments.

[0204] Various aspects of the method of FIG. 5 may be implemented by a wireless device such as UE 106, which communicates with one or more base stations (e.g., BS 102) as shown in the drawings and as described with respect to the drawings, or more generally, as desired, in combination with any of the computer systems or devices shown in the drawings and other circuits, systems, devices, elements or components shown in the drawings, and other devices. For example, one or more processors (or processing elements) of the UE (e.g., processor 302, baseband processor, processor associated with communication circuit (e.g., 330), etc., and various possibilities) may cause the UE to perform some or all of the illustrated method elements. Similarly, processor 404, baseband processor, processor associated with communication circuit (e.g., 430, 432), etc., and various possibilities may cause the BS to perform some or all of the illustrated method elements.

[0205] In various embodiments, some of the method elements shown in the method elements can be performed simultaneously in an order different from the order shown, can be replaced by other method elements, or can be omitted. Additional method elements can also be performed as needed. As shown in the figure, the method can be operated as follows.

[0206] At 2202, a UE device supporting 5G-NSA mmW is turned on.

[0207] At 2402, it is determined whether the UE is in LTE cell coverage.

[0208] At 2404, if it is determined that the UE is not in LTE cell coverage, the UE may continue standard operations.

[0209] At 2406, based on determining that the UE is in LTE cell coverage, the UE may determine whether it is in an LTE RRC connected state and whether information related to the SCG with mmW SCell has been received from the network. If not, the UE may continue normal operation at step 2408.

[0210] If a positive determination is made at step 2406, then at step 2410, the UE may determine whether any triggering conditions have been met. If not, the UE continues normal operation at 2412. A list of triggering conditions is provided in Fig.21 , which may include the user locking the UE (2104); the UE moving at a speed above a predetermined threshold speed (e.g., corresponding to the speed of traveling in a vehicle) (2106); whether the device is connected to WiFi (2108); whether the device is connected via Bluetooth TM connected to a vehicle (2110); whether a gradual drop in mmW received signal power, or an increase in path loss has been detected (2112); or whether the device is below a threshold level of remaining battery life (2114).

[0211] If the trigger condition is met, the UE may start a timer at step 2414. When the timer expires at step 2416, the UE may perform an SCG failure initiation procedure at step 2418, and may report the SCG failure to the network at step 2420. In response to the occurrence of the trigger condition, steps 2418 and 2420 may be used to detach the UE from the mmW cell.

[0212] At 2422, if the UE detects a reversal of the trigger condition (i.e., if the trigger condition at 2410 is that the UE is locked, the reversal of the trigger condition may include detecting that the UE has subsequently been unlocked), the UE may report the LTE to NR measurements as configured by the network at step 2424 and continue normal operation.

[0213] Traffic-dependent antenna switching

[0214] In some embodiments, particularly when the UE is engaged in sustained peak throughput of data transmission and / or reception, the UE may monitor the rate of change of the UE's temperature over time. In these embodiments, if the rate of change of temperature is greater than a predetermined value, the UE may switch to a different antenna module with a worse signal strength than the optimal antenna module. This may artificially reduce the data rate, but may help maintain or reduce the temperature. In addition or alternatively, the dynamic range of the analog-to-digital converter (ADC) may be adjusted to reduce thermal shock at the expense of reduced performance. Advantageously, these methods may allow the UE to communicate over a 5G network for a longer duration without overheating.

[0215] Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) Backoff

[0216] In some embodiments, the UE may be configured to implement a specific absorption rate (SAR) backoff feature, wherein the UE may be configured to detect the grip orientation of the UE and / or detect the proximity of the UE to the user's hand and / or ear. When the UE is sufficiently close to a specific body part of the user (e.g., when the UE is placed against the user's ear), the SAR backoff feature may limit the UE's transmission (Tx) power for one or more frequency ranges to prevent excessive radiation exposure to the user and / or to comply with applicable laws and regulations. For example, a UE supporting mmW or higher frequency transmissions may be configured to limit its Tx power for these frequencies under certain user grip conditions to meet SAR limits and / or regulations. In some embodiments, the SAR limit may be layered, wherein a first reduced Tx power limit is set when the device is held in the hand, and a second (e.g., more stringent) Tx power limit is set when the device is held close to the user's head. In some embodiments, a more stringent Tx power limit may include completely disabling mmW transmissions. In addition, in some embodiments, the Tx limits imposed by SAR regulations may vary according to frequency. For example, transmissions at higher frequencies (e.g., above 30 GHz) such as those expected to be used by 5G NR may be subject to stricter transmit power limits during certain holding orientations compared to lower frequencies because higher frequencies may potentially present greater health risks to users.

[0217] The following numbered paragraphs describe additional embodiments.

[0218] In some embodiments, a user equipment device (UE) includes a radio component and a processor capable of being operably coupled to the radio component. The UE is configured to receive a notification to initiate communication with a remote device through a baseband processor (BB) of the UE. The UE is further configured to wake up an application processor (AP) of the UE from sleep at least in part in response to receiving the notification. The UE is further configured to determine that the communication with the remote device is not associated with a 5th generation new air interface (5G NR) radio access technology (RAT). Based at least in part on determining that the communication with the remote device is not associated with a 5G NR RAT, the UE is further configured to avoid performing a first measurement associated with the 5G NR RAT.

[0219] In some embodiments, the UE is further configured to determine that the temperature of the UE is above a threshold, wherein the first measurement is not performed based at least in part on the determination that the temperature of the UE is above the threshold, wherein the first measurement includes a millimeter wave (mmWave) frequency measurement. In these embodiments, the UE is further configured to perform a second measurement associated with the 5G NR RAT in the sub-6 GHz frequency range.

[0220] In some embodiments, the UE is configured to determine whether a level of data transmission to be performed by the UE is below a first threshold, and to avoid performing millimeter wave (mmWave) frequency radio measurements associated with the 5G NR RAT based at least in part on determining that the level of data transmission to be performed by the UE is below the first threshold.

[0221] In some embodiments, the UE is further configured to determine that the UE is in a high mobility state, and to not perform the first measurement based at least in part on determining that the UE is in the high mobility state.

[0222] In some embodiments, the UE is further configured to determine that the level of data transmission to be performed by the UE is below a second threshold, wherein the second threshold is less than the first threshold. In these embodiments, the UE is further configured to avoid performing radio measurements of frequencies below 6 GHz associated with the 5G NR RAT based at least in part on determining that the level of data transmission to be performed by the UE is below the second threshold.

[0223] In some embodiments, the UE is further configured to determine that a display of the UE is turned off, and to avoid performing radio measurements of frequencies below 6 GHz associated with the 5G NR RAT based at least in part on determining that the display of the UE is turned off.

[0224] In some embodiments, the UE is configured to establish a connection with a network via multiple secondary cells (SCells) associated with a 5G NR RAT, perform signal quality measurements on each of the multiple SCells, and transmit to the network a discard priority list indicating a preference for discarding at least a first SCell of the multiple SCells, wherein the discard priority list is determined at least in part based on results of the signal quality measurements.

[0225] In some implementations, the discard priority list includes a ranked order of preference for discarding each of the plurality of SCells.

[0226] In some embodiments, the UE is configured to establish a connection with a network via multiple SCells associated with a 5G NR RAT, wherein the connection utilizes a first bandwidth, determine that a reduced bandwidth condition has occurred; at least in part in response to determining that a reduced bandwidth condition has occurred; transmit updated UE capability information to the network, wherein the updated UE capability information specifies the ability to communicate with the network utilizing a second bandwidth, wherein the second bandwidth is less than the first bandwidth; and at least in part in response to transmitting the updated UE capability information to the network, receive an indication from the network to remove one or more of the multiple SCells from the connection.

[0227] In some embodiments, the reduced bandwidth condition includes one or more of the following: the battery level of the UE drops below a battery level threshold; the temperature of the UE rises above a temperature threshold; the block error rate (BLER) associated with the connection rises above a BLER threshold; or the frequency of radio link failures rises above a radio link failure threshold.

[0228] In some embodiments, the UE is configured to establish an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (EUTRA) New Radio (NR) dual connectivity (ENDC) connection with an eNB and one or more gNBs; determine that a temperature of the UE has risen above a temperature threshold; determine whether an active bandwidth part (BWP) for the ENDC connection is greater than a bandwidth threshold; and based at least in part on determining that the active BWP is greater than the bandwidth threshold, disable the connection with the one or more gNBs and convert the ENDC connection to an independent connection with the eNB.

[0229] In some embodiments, the BWP threshold is 20 MHz.

[0230] In some embodiments, the UE is configured to establish an ENDC connection with the network through the eNB and the gNB; determine that the eNB is experiencing poor uplink coverage; and based at least in part on determining that the eNB is experiencing poor uplink coverage, transmit a buffer status report (BSR) to the network to move all data traffic associated with the connection to the gNB.

[0231] In some embodiments, the UE is configured to establish an ENDC connection with the network through the eNB and the gNB; determine that the gNB is experiencing poor uplink coverage; and based at least in part on determining that the gNB is experiencing poor uplink coverage, transmit a buffer status report (BSR) to the network to move all data traffic associated with the connection to the eNB.

[0232] In some embodiments, the UE is configured to establish an ENDC connection with the network through the eNB and the gNB; determine that both the eNB and the gNB are experiencing poor uplink coverage; and based at least in part on determining that the eNB and the gNB are experiencing poor uplink coverage, enable a supplemental uplink (SUL) channel and move all data traffic associated with the connection to the SUL channel.

[0233] In some embodiments, the UE is configured to establish an ENDC connection with the network through the eNB and the gNB; initiate a high priority data session with the network through the ENDC connection; determine that the temperature of the UE exceeds a temperature threshold; and at least in part in response to determining that the temperature of the UE exceeds the temperature threshold, disable the connection with the gNB and continue the high priority data session with the eNB.

[0234] In some embodiments, disabling the connection with the gNB includes transmitting a SCGFailureInformation message to the gNB.

[0235] In some embodiments, the SCGFailureInformation message does not include a measurement result frequency list information element or a measurement result secondary cell group (SCG) failure information element.

[0236] In some embodiments, the UE is further configured to, after disabling the connection with the gNB, refrain from performing cell measurements on the gNB until a high priority data session is completed or the temperature of the UE drops below a temperature threshold.

[0237] In some embodiments, the UE is configured to establish a standalone (SA) connection with the network through the gNB; perform inter-radio access technology (inter-RAT) cell measurements on the eNB; and determine whether the eNB operates in a frequency range that overlaps with the SA connection through the gNB. Based on determining that the eNB is not operating in the overlapping frequency range, the UE is further configured to disable the connection with the gNB and establish a connection with the eNB.

[0238] In some embodiments, the UE is further configured to determine whether the difference between the signal strength of the eNB and the signal strength of the gNB is less than a predetermined amount based on determining that the eNB operates in an overlapping frequency range. In these embodiments, based at least in part on determining that the difference between the signal strength of the eNB and the signal strength of the gNB is less than the predetermined amount, the UE is further configured to continue the SA connection with the network through the gNB and refrain from performing further inter-RAT cell measurements on the eNB for a predetermined time period.

[0239] In some embodiments, the SA connection through the gNB operates in the sub-6 GHz frequency range.

[0240] In some embodiments, the SA connection through the gNB operates in the mmWave frequency range.

[0241] In some embodiments, the UE is configured to establish a connection with an eNB that supports ENDC; determine that each of a first gNB operating in a sub-6 GHz frequency band and a second gNB operating in a millimeter wave frequency band is available; and determine a signal strength of each of the first gNB and the second gNB, wherein the signal strength of the second gNB is stronger than the signal strength of the first gNB. Based at least in part on determining that the signal strength of the first gNB is within a predetermined decibel range of the signal strength of the second gNB, the UE is further configured to establish the ENDC connection with the eNB and the first gNB.

[0242] In some embodiments, the UE is further configured to establish an ENDC connection with the eNB and the second gNB based at least in part on determining that the signal strength of the first gNB is not within a predetermined decibel range of the signal strength of the second gNB.

[0243] In some embodiments, establishing an ENDC connection with the eNB and the first gNB is also performed based at least in part on determining that a remaining battery level of the UE is below a predetermined threshold.

[0244] In some embodiments, establishing an ENDC connection with the eNB and the first gNB is also performed based at least in part on determining that a display of the UE is turned off.

[0245] In some embodiments, the connection with the eNB is in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) Idle or Connected state.

[0246] In some embodiments, the UE is further configured to determine that the UE is acting as a wireless local area network (WLAN) hotspot; and establish an ENDC connection with the eNB and the second gNB instead of with the eNB and the first gNB based at least in part on determining that the UE is acting as a WLAN hotspot.

[0247] In some embodiments, the UE is further configured to start a timer when establishing an ENDC connection with the eNB and the first gNB; and to establish an ENDC connection with the eNB and the second gNB when the timer expires.

[0248] In some embodiments, the UE is further configured to determine that an application has been initiated on the UE that utilizes high data throughput; and at least in part in response to determining that an application has been initiated on the UE that utilizes high data throughput, establish an ENDC connection with the eNB and a second gNB to perform the high data throughput.

[0249] In some embodiments, the UE is configured to perform wireless communications with a network using a millimeter wave frequency band through a gNB; determine that the UE is within a first predetermined range of a user; and limit wireless communications with the network using the millimeter wave frequency band based at least in part on determining that the UE is within the first predetermined range of the user.

[0250] In some embodiments, determining that the UE is within a first predetermined range of the user includes one or more of the following: utilizing a facial recognition function of the UE to determine the distance to the user's face; or utilizing a grasp detection function of the UE to determine whether the user is currently holding the UE.

[0251] In some embodiments, the UE is further configured to determine that the UE is within a second predetermined range of the user, wherein the second predetermined range is smaller than the first predetermined range; and disable wireless communication with the network using the millimeter wave band based at least in part on determining that the UE is within the second predetermined range of the user.

[0252] In addition to the exemplary embodiments described above, more embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in any of a variety of forms. For example, some embodiments may be implemented as computer-implemented methods, computer-readable storage media, or computer systems. Other embodiments may be implemented using one or more custom-designed hardware devices such as ASICs. Other embodiments may be implemented using one or more programmable hardware elements such as FPGAs.

[0253] In some embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium may be configured such that it stores program instructions and / or data, wherein if the program instructions are executed by a computer system, the computer system is caused to perform a method, such as any one of the method embodiments described herein, or any combination of the method embodiments described herein, or any subset of any of the method embodiments described herein or any combination of such subsets.

[0254] In some embodiments, a device (e.g., UE 106) may be configured to include a processor (or a group of processors) and a memory medium, wherein the memory medium stores program instructions, wherein the processor is configured to read and execute the program instructions from the memory medium, wherein the program instructions are executable to implement any of the various method implementations described herein (or any combination of the method implementations described herein, or any subset of any of the method implementations described herein, or any combination of such subsets). The device may be implemented in any of various forms.

[0255] In some embodiments, the network device (e.g., BS102) may be configured to include a processor (or a group of processors) and a memory medium, wherein the memory medium stores program instructions, wherein the processor is configured to read and execute the program instructions from the memory medium, wherein the program instructions are executable to implement any of the various method implementation schemes described herein (or any combination of the method implementation schemes described herein, or any subset of any method implementation schemes described herein, or any combination of such subsets). The network device may be implemented in any of various forms.

[0256] 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.

[0257] Although the above embodiments have been described in considerable detail, numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated. It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to encompass all such variations and modifications.

Claims

1. A method, comprising: establishing an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (EUTRA) New Radio (NR) Dual Connectivity (ENDC) connection with a network, wherein the ENDC connection includes connections involving an evolved Node B (eNB) and a gNode B (gNB); initiating a data session with the network via the ENDC connection; determining, based on at least one of a block error rate (BLER) or a signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR), that one or more cells associated with the ENDC connection and corresponding to the gNB have degraded performance; and indicating a preference to discard the one or more cells and to continue the data session using the eNB; Wherein indicating the preference to discard the one or more cells comprises sending a discard priority list to the network.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the BLER and SINR are signal quality measurements, and the one or more cells are secondary cells (SCells) of the gNB, and wherein the method further comprises: performing the signal quality measurement on the one or more SCells, Wherein the discard priority list is determined based at least in part on the signal quality measurement.

3. The method according to claim 1, Wherein the preference indicating discarding the one or more cells associated with the ENDC connection corresponding to the gNB includes a single cell identifier (ID) indicating a secondary cell (SCell) of the gNB that is preferred to be discarded first by a user equipment (UE).

4. The method according to claim 1, The eNB includes a primary cell (PCell), and The one or more cells associated with the ENDC connection corresponding to the gNB include a secondary cell (SCell).

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: Determining that the user equipment (UE) meets an overheat condition, Wherein the preference indicating discarding the one or more cells associated with the ENDC connection corresponding to the gNB is based at least in part on the determination that the UE satisfies an overheat condition.

6. The method according to claim 5, further comprising: Prohibit performing cell measurements associated with the gNB until the data session is completed or the UE no longer satisfies the overheat condition.

7. The method according to claim 1, The discard priority list includes a ranking of preferences for discarding multiple secondary cells (SCells) of the gNB.

8. A device, comprising: A processor configured to, when executing instructions stored in the memory, perform operations including: establishing an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (EUTRA) New Radio (NR) Dual Connectivity (ENDC) connection with a network, wherein the ENDC connection includes connections involving an evolved Node B (eNB) and a gNode B (gNB); initiating a data session with the network via the ENDC connection; determining, based on at least one of a block error rate (BLER) or a signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR), that one or more cells associated with the ENDC connection and corresponding to the gNB have degraded performance; and indicating a preference to discard the one or more cells and to continue the data session using the eNB; Wherein indicating the preference to discard the one or more cells comprises sending a discard priority list to the network.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the BLER and SINR are signal quality measurements, and the one or more cells are secondary cells (SCells) of the gNB, and wherein the operations further comprise: performing the signal quality measurement on the one or more SCells, Wherein the discard priority list is determined based at least in part on the signal quality measurement.

10. The device according to claim 8, Wherein the preference indicating discarding the one or more cells associated with the ENDC connection corresponding to the gNB includes a single cell identifier (ID) indicating a secondary cell (SCell) of the gNB that is preferred to be discarded first by a user equipment (UE).

11. The device according to claim 8, The eNB includes a primary cell (PCell), and The one or more cells associated with the ENDC connection corresponding to the gNB include a secondary cell (SCell).

12. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise: Determining that the user equipment (UE) meets an overheat condition, Wherein the preference indicating discarding the one or more cells associated with the ENDC connection corresponding to the gNB is based at least in part on the determination that the UE satisfies the overheat condition.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the operations further comprise: Prohibit performing cell measurements associated with the gNB until the data session is completed or the UE no longer satisfies the overheat condition.

14. The device according to claim 8, The discard priority list includes a ranking of preferences for discarding multiple secondary cells (SCells) of the gNB.

15. The apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising: A radio is operably coupled to the processor.

16. A baseband processor comprising a memory storing instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to perform operations comprising: establishing an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (EUTRA) New Radio (NR) Dual Connectivity (ENDC) connection with a network, wherein the ENDC connection includes connections involving an evolved Node B (eNB) and a gNode B (gNB); initiating a data session with the network via the ENDC connection; determining, based on at least one of a block error rate (BLER) or a signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR), that one or more cells associated with the ENDC connection and corresponding to the gNB have degraded performance; and indicating a preference to discard the one or more cells and to continue the data session using the eNB; Wherein indicating the preference to discard the one or more cells comprises sending a discard priority list to the network.

17. The baseband processor of claim 16, wherein the BLER and SINR are signal quality measurements, and the one or more cells are secondary cells (SCells) of the gNB, and wherein the operations further comprise: performing the signal quality measurement on the one or more SCells, Wherein the discard priority list is determined based at least in part on the signal quality measurement.

18. The baseband processor according to claim 16, Wherein the preference indicating discarding the one or more cells associated with the ENDC connection corresponding to the gNB includes a single cell identifier (ID) indicating a secondary cell (SCell) of the gNB that is preferred to be discarded first by a user equipment (UE).

19. The baseband processor of claim 16, wherein the operations further comprise: Determining that the user equipment (UE) meets an overheat condition, Wherein the preference indicating discarding the one or more cells associated with the ENDC connection corresponding to the gNB is based at least in part on the determination that the UE satisfies the overheat condition.

20. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing program instructions, the program instructions being executable by one or more processors of a user equipment (UE) to cause the UE to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

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