Auxiliary cell link recovery request transmission

Abstract

The invention relates to secondary cell link recovery request transmission. Embodiments of apparatus, systems, and methods are provided herein for a user equipment device (UE) to transmit an indication of link failure on a secondary cell. The indication may be transmitted on a resource selected based on one or more conditions. One or more priority rules may be used to resolve collisions. After the link failure and before receiving an indication of the selected beam from the network, the UE may further assume one or more beams to be used for communication with the secondary cell.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of invention patent application 201910920468.5, filed on September 27, 2019, and entitled “Secondary Cell Link Recovery Request Transmission”. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to wireless devices, and more particularly to apparatus, systems, and methods for assisting cell link recovery. Background Art

[0003] The use of wireless communication systems is growing rapidly. Wireless devices, especially wireless user equipment (UE) devices, have become widespread. In addition, there are various applications (or applications) hosted on UEs that perform or rely on wireless communication, such as applications that provide messaging, email, browsing, video streaming, short videos, voice streaming, real-time games or other various online services.

[0004] In some cases, the link between the secondary cell (SCell) and the UE may be lost. Restoring the SCell link may take time and / or conflict with other priorities. Therefore, improvements are desired in the art. Summary of the invention

[0005] The present invention discloses techniques, devices, systems and methods for a user equipment (UE) device to restore a link with a secondary cell (SCell). In some embodiments, after detecting a SCell link failure, the UE may determine one or more conditions. Based on the one or more conditions, the UE may select time and frequency resources to transmit an indication of the SCell link failure to the network. In addition, before receiving a beam indication from the network, the UE may select an uplink and / or downlink beam to be used.

[0006] 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 interpreted 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

[0007] A better understanding of the disclosed embodiments of the present invention may be obtained when the following detailed description is considered in conjunction with the following drawings, in which:

[0008] Figure 1 illustrating an exemplary wireless communication system according to some embodiments;

[0009] Figure 2 illustrates a base station (BS) in communication with a user equipment (UE) device according to some embodiments;

[0010] Figure 3 An exemplary block diagram of a UE according to some embodiments is shown;

[0011] Figure 4 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a BS according to some embodiments;

[0012] Figure 5 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a cellular communication circuit according to some embodiments;

[0013] Figure 6 and Figure 7 illustrates an example of a 5G NR base station (gNB) according to some embodiments;

[0014] Figure 8 is a communication diagram illustrating SCell link recovery messages according to some embodiments;

[0015] Fig. 9 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method for secondary cell (SCell) link recovery according to some embodiments;

[0016] Fig.10 and Fig.11 is a timeline of SCell link recovery message opportunities according to some implementation schemes;

[0017] Fig.12 is a communication diagram illustrating SCell link recovery messages using random access according to some embodiments;

[0018] Fig.13 illustrates a potential collision with an SCell link recovery message according to some embodiments; and

[0019] Fig.14 is a timeline for SCell link recovery messages and beam selection according to some implementations.

[0020] Although the present invention is 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 the invention to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the purpose is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternative forms falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] Acronyms

[0022] The following acronyms may be used in this patent application:

[0023] UE: User Equipment

[0024] BS: Base Station

[0025] ENB: eNodeB (base station)

[0026] LTE: Long Term Evolution

[0027] UMTS: Universal Mobile Telecommunications System

[0028] RAT: Radio Access Technology

[0029] RAN: Radio Access Network

[0030] E-UTRAN: Evolved UMTS Terrestrial RAN

[0031] CN: Core Network

[0032] EPC: Evolved Packet Core

[0033] MME: Mobility Management Entity

[0034] HSS: Home Subscriber Server

[0035] SGW: Serving Gateway

[0036] PS: Packet Switching

[0037] CS: Circuit Switched

[0038] EPS: Evolved Packet Switching System

[0039] RRC: Radio Resource Control

[0040] IE: Information Element

[0041] the term

[0042] The following is a glossary of terms used in this disclosure:

[0043] 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 their combination. 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., expressed as a computer program) that may be executed by one or more processors.

[0044] 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.

[0045] Programmable hardware elements - include various hardware devices that include multiple programmable function blocks connected via programmable interconnects. Examples include FPGAs (field programmable gate arrays), PLDs (programmable logic devices), FPOAs (field programmable object arrays), and CPLDs (complex PLDs). Programmable function blocks can vary from fine-grained (combinational logic units or lookup tables) to coarse-grained (arithmetic logic units or processor cores). Programmable hardware elements may also be referred to as "configurable logic units."

[0046] 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.

[0047] User Equipment (UE) (or "UE device") - any of various types of computer system 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 Android TMphones), portable gaming devices (e.g., Nintendo DS TM , PlayStation Portable TM 、Gameboy Advance TM , iPhone TM ), laptop computers, wearable devices (e.g., smart watches, smart glasses), PDAs, portable Internet devices, music players, data storage devices or other handheld devices, etc. In general, the term "UE" or "UE device" can be broadly defined to cover any electronic device, computing device, and / or telecommunication device (or combination of devices) that is easily transportable by a user and capable of wireless communication.

[0048] Wireless Device - Any of various types of computer system 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.

[0049] Communication device - any of various types of computer systems or devices that perform communications, where the communications 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 one example of a communication device. A UE is another example of a communication device.

[0050] 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.

[0051] Processing element - refers to various elements or combinations of elements that are capable of performing functions in a device such as user equipment or a cellular network device. Processing elements may include, for example: a processor and associated memory, portions or circuits of individual processor cores, entire processor cores, processor arrays, circuits such as ASICs (application specific integrated circuits), programmable hardware elements such as field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and any of the above various combinations.

[0052] 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 herein 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 1.4 MHz to 20 MHz. In contrast, a WLAN channel may be 22 MHz wide, while a Bluetooth channel may be 1 MHz 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.

[0053] 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.

[0054] Automatic-refers to an action or operation 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 requiring user input to directly specify or perform the action or operation. Thus, the term "automatic" 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 check boxes, radio selections, etc.) is manually filling out the form, even though the computer system must update the form in response to user actions. 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 requiring any user input to specify 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.

[0055] Approximately - refers to a value that is close to a correct or exact value. For example, approximately can refer to a value that is within 1% to 10% of an exact (or desired) value. However, it should be noted that the actual threshold value (or tolerance) may depend on the application. For example, in some embodiments, "approximately" may mean within 0.1% of some specified value or desired value, while in various other embodiments, the threshold value may be, for example, 2%, 3%, 5%, etc., depending on the expectations or requirements of a particular application.

[0056] Concurrency - refers to parallel execution or implementation, where tasks, processes, or programs are executed in an at least partially overlapping manner. For example, concurrency can be achieved using "strong" or strict parallelism, where tasks are executed (at least partially) in parallel on respective computing elements, or using "weak parallelism", where tasks are executed in an interleaved manner (e.g., by time multiplexing of execution threads).

[0057] 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 environments, "configured to" can be a broad statement that generally means "having a circuit system 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, circuits that form the structure corresponding to "configured to" may include hardware circuits.

[0058] 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 not to invoke 35 U.S.C. §112(f) interpretation of that component.

[0059] Figure 1 and Figure 2 —Communications system

[0060] Figure 1 A simplified exemplary wireless communication system according to some embodiments is shown. Note that Figure 1 The system is only one example of a possible system, and features of the present disclosure may be implemented in any of a variety of systems as desired.

[0061] As shown, the exemplary wireless communication system includes a base station 102, which communicates with one or more user devices 106A, 106B, etc. to 106N via a transmission medium. Each of the user devices may be referred to herein as a "user device (UE)". Therefore, the user device 106 is referred to as a UE or UE device.

[0062] Base station (BS) 102 may be a base transceiver station (BTS) or a cell site ("cellular base station"), and may include hardware that enables wireless communications with UEs 106A-106N.

[0063] The communication area (or coverage area) of a base station may be referred to as a "cell". The base station 102 and the UE 106 may be configured to communicate over a transmission medium using any of a variety of radio access technologies (RATs), also referred to as wireless communication technologies or telecommunication standards, such as GSM, UMTS (associated with, for example, WCDMA or TD-SCDMA air interfaces), LTE, Advanced LTE (LTE-A), 5G New Radio (5G NR), HSPA, 3GPP2CDMA2000 (e.g., 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), etc. It should be noted that if the base station 102 is implemented in the context of LTE, it may alternatively be referred to as an "eNodeB" or "eNB". It should be noted that if the base station 102 is implemented in the context of 5G NR, it may alternatively be referred to as a "gNodeB" or "gNB".

[0064] As shown, base station 102 may also be configured to communicate with 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, base station 102 may facilitate communications between user devices and / or between user devices and network 100. In particular, cellular base station 102 may provide UE 106 with various communication capabilities, such as voice, SMS, and / or data services.

[0065] Base station 102 and other similar base stations operating according to the same or different cellular communication standards may thus provide a network of cells that can provide continuous or nearly continuous overlapping service to UEs 106A-N and similar devices over a geographic area via one or more cellular communication standards.

[0066] Thus, although base station 102 may function as Figure 1106A-N, but each UE 106 may also be able to receive signals from (and possibly be within communication range of) one or more other cells (possibly provided by other base stations 102B-N), which may be referred to as "neighboring cells". Such cells may also be able to facilitate 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 various other granularity that provide service area sizes. Other configurations are also possible.

[0067] In some embodiments, base station 102 may be a next generation base station, e.g., a 5G New Radio (5G NR) base station or "gNB". In some embodiments, a gNB may be connected to a legacy evolved packet core (EPC) network and / or to an NR core (NRC) network. In addition, a gNB cell may include one or more transition and reception points (TRPs). Additionally, a UE capable of operating in accordance with 5G NR may be connected to one or more TRPs within one or more gNBs.

[0068] It should be noted that the UE 106 may be capable of communicating using multiple wireless communication standards. For example, in addition to at least one cellular communication protocol (e.g., GSM, UMTS (associated with, for example, WCDMA or TD-SCDMA air interface), LTE, LTE-A, 5G NR, HSPA, 3GPP2CDMA2000 (e.g., 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), etc.), the UE 106 may be configured to communicate using wireless networking (e.g., Wi-Fi) and / or peer-to-peer wireless communication protocols (e.g., Bluetooth, Wi-Fi peer-to-peer, etc.). If desired, the UE 106 may also or alternatively be configured to communicate using one or more global navigation satellite systems (GNSS, such as GPS or GLONASS), one or more mobile television broadcast standards (e.g., ATSC-M / H), and / or any other wireless communication protocols. Other combinations of wireless communication standards (including more than two wireless communication standards) are also possible.

[0069] Figure 2 A user equipment 106 (e.g., one of devices 106A-106N) is shown in accordance with some embodiments in communication with base station 102. UE 106 may be a device with cellular communication capabilities, such as a mobile phone, handheld device, computer or tablet computer, or virtually any type of wireless device.

[0070] UE 106 may include a processor configured to execute program instructions stored in a memory. UE 106 may perform any of the method implementations described herein by executing such stored instructions. Alternatively or in addition, UE 106 may include a programmable hardware element, such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array) configured to perform any of the method implementations described herein or any part of any of the method implementations described herein.

[0071] UE 106 may include one or more antennas for communicating using one or more wireless communication protocols or technologies. In some embodiments, UE 106 may be configured to communicate using, for example, CDMA2000 (1xRTT / 1xEV-DO / HRPD / eHRPD) or LTE using a single shared radio component and / or 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 or "MIMO") for performing wireless communications. Typically, the radio component may include any combination of a baseband processor, an analog 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 parts of a receive chain and / or transmit chain between multiple wireless communication technologies such as those discussed above.

[0072] In some embodiments, UE 106 may include any number of antennas and may be configured to use the antennas to transmit and / or receive directional wireless signals (e.g., beams). Similarly, BS 102 may also include any number of antennas and may be configured to use the antennas to transmit and / or receive directional wireless signals (e.g., beams). In order to receive and / or transmit such directional signals, the antennas of UE 106 and / or BS 102 may be configured to apply different "weights" to different antennas. The process of applying these different weights may be referred to as "precoding".

[0073] In some embodiments, UE 106 may include a separate transmit chain and / or receive chain (e.g., including a separate antenna and other radio components) for each wireless communication protocol configured to communicate with it. 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 any one of LTE or 5GNR (or LTE or 1xRTT, or LTE or GSM), and a separate radio component for communicating using each of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Other configurations are also possible.

[0074] Figure 3 -UE Block Diagram

[0075] Figure 3 An exemplary simplified block diagram of a communication device 106 according to some embodiments is shown. Note that Figure 3 The block diagram of the communication device is only an example of a possible communication device. According to the embodiment, in addition to other devices, the communication device 106 can be a user device (UE) equipment, a mobile device or mobile station, a wireless device or wireless station, a desktop computer or computing device, a mobile computing device (such as a laptop, a notebook or a portable computing device), a tablet computer and / or a combination of devices. As shown in the figure, the communication device 106 may include a group of components 300 configured to perform core functions. For example, the group of components can be implemented as a system on a chip (SOC), which may include parts for various purposes. Alternatively, the group of components 300 can be implemented as a separate component or a group of components for various purposes. This group of components 300 can be (for example, communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to various other circuits of the communication device 106.

[0076] For example, the communication device 106 may include various types of memory (e.g., including NAND flash memory 310), input / output interfaces such as a connector I / F 320 (e.g., for connecting to a computer system; a docking station; a charging station; an input device such as a microphone, a camera, a keyboard; an output device such as a speaker; etc.), a display 360 that may be integrated with the communication device 106 or external to the communication device 106, and cellular communication circuits 330 such as for 5G NR, LTE, GSM, etc., and short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuits 329 (e.g., Bluetooth TM and WLAN circuitry). In some embodiments, the communication device 106 may include wired communication circuitry (not shown), such as, for example, a network interface card for Ethernet.

[0077] Cellular communication circuitry 330 may be (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to one or more antennas, such as, for example, antennas 335 and 336, as shown. Short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuitry 329 may also be (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to one or more antennas, such as, for example, antennas 337 and 338, as shown. Alternatively, short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuitry 329 may be (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to antennas 335 and 336 in addition to or in lieu of being (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to antennas 337 and 338. Short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuitry 329 and / or cellular communication circuitry 330 may include multiple receive chains and / or multiple transmit chains for receiving and / or transmitting multiple spatial streams, such as in a multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) configuration.

[0078] In some embodiments, as further described below, the cellular communication circuit system 330 may include dedicated receive chains (which include and / or are (e.g., communicatively, directly or indirectly) coupled to a dedicated processor and / or radio component) for multiple RATs (e.g., a first receive chain for LTE and a second receive chain for 5G NR). In addition, in some embodiments, the cellular communication circuit system 330 may include a single transmit chain that can switch between radio components dedicated to specific RATs. For example, a first radio component may be dedicated to a first RAT, such as LTE, and may communicate with a dedicated receive chain and a transmit chain shared with an additional radio component, such as a second radio component that may be dedicated to a second RAT (e.g., 5G NR) and may communicate with the dedicated receive chain as well as the shared transmit chain.

[0079] The communication device 106 may also include and / or be configured for use with one or more user interface elements. The user interface elements may include various elements such as a display 360 (which may be a touch screen display), a keyboard (which may be a separate keyboard or may be implemented as part of a touch screen display), a mouse, a microphone and / or speakers, one or more cameras, one or more buttons, and / or any of a variety of other elements capable of providing information to a user and / or receiving or interpreting user input.

[0080] The communication device 106 may also include one or more smart cards 345 having SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) functionality, such as one or more UICC cards (one or more Universal Integrated Circuit Cards) 345 .

[0081] As shown, the SOC 300 may include one or more processors 302 that may execute program instructions for the communication device 106 and a display circuit 304 that may perform graphics processing and provide display signals to a display 360. The one or more processors 302 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 340 (the MMU 340 may be configured to receive addresses from the one or more processors 302 and convert those addresses to locations in a memory (e.g., a memory 306, a read-only memory (ROM) 350, a NAND flash memory 310)) and / or to other circuits or devices (such as the display circuit 304, the short-range wireless communication circuit 229, the cellular communication circuit 330, the connector I / F 320, and / or the display 360). The MMU 340 may be configured to perform memory protection and page table translation or setup. In some embodiments, the MMU 340 may be included as part of the one or more processors 302.

[0082] As described above, the communication device 106 may be configured to communicate using wireless and / or wired communication circuits. The communication device 106 may be configured to transmit a request to attach to a first network node operating according to a first RAT, and to transmit an indication that the wireless device can maintain a substantially concurrent connection with the first network node and a second network node operating according to a second RAT. The wireless device may also be configured to transmit a request to attach to a second network node. The request may include an indication that the wireless device can maintain a substantially concurrent connection with the first network node and the second network node. In addition, the wireless device may be configured to receive an indication that a dual connection (DC) with the first network node and the second network node has been established.

[0083] As described herein, the communication device 106 may include hardware and software components for implementing features of using multiplexing to perform transmissions according to multiple radio access technologies in the same frequency carrier (e.g., and / or multi-frequency carriers) and various other technologies described herein. The processor 302 of the communication device 106 may be configured to implement some or all of the features described herein, for example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively (or additionally), the processor 302 may be configured as a programmable hardware element, such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array), or as an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit). Alternatively (or additionally), in combination with one or more of the other components 300, 304, 306, 310, 320, 329, 330, 340, 345, 350, 360, the processor 302 of the communication device 106 may be configured to implement some or all of the features described herein.

[0084] Furthermore, as described herein, processor 302 may include one or more processing elements. Thus, processor 302 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of processor 302. Furthermore, each integrated circuit may include circuits (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of one or more processors 302.

[0085] In addition, as described herein, the cellular communication circuit 330 and the short-range wireless communication circuit 329 may each include one or more processing elements and / or processors. In other words, one or more processing elements / processors may be included in the cellular communication circuit 330, and similarly, one or more processing elements / processors may be included in the short-range wireless communication circuit 329. Therefore, the cellular communication circuit 330 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of the cellular communication circuit 330. In addition, each integrated circuit may include a circuit (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of the cellular communication circuit 330. Similarly, the short-range wireless communication circuit 329 may include one or more ICs configured to perform the functions of the short-range wireless communication circuit 329. In addition, each integrated circuit may include a circuit (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of the short-range wireless communication circuit 329.

[0086] Figure 4 -Block diagram of a base station

[0087] Figure 4 An exemplary block diagram of a base station 102 according to some embodiments is shown. Note that Figure 4 The base station of is only one example of a possible base station. As shown, the base station 102 may include one or more processors 404 that may execute program instructions for the base station 102. The one or more processors 404 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 440 (which may be configured to receive addresses from the one or more processors 404 and convert these addresses to locations in memory (e.g., memory 460 and read-only memory (ROM) 450)) or to other circuits or devices.

[0088] 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.

[0089] The network port 470 (or an additional network port) may be further configured or alternatively 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).

[0090] In some embodiments, base station 102 may be a next generation base station, e.g., a 5G New Radio (5G NR) base station or "gNB". In such embodiments, base station 102 may be connected to a legacy Evolved Packet Core (EPC) network and / or to an NR Core (NRC) network. Furthermore, base station 102 may be considered a 5G NR cell and may include one or more transition and reception points (TRPs). Furthermore, a UE capable of operating in accordance with 5G NR may be connected to one or more TRPs within one or more gNBs.

[0091] The base station 102 may include at least one antenna 434 and possibly multiple antennas. The radio 430 and at least one antenna 434 may be configured to function as a wireless transceiver and may be further configured to communicate with the UE device 106. The antenna 434 may communicate with the radio 430 via a communication chain 432. The communication chain 432 may be a receive chain, a transmit chain, or both. The radio 430 may be configured to communicate via various wireless communication standards, including but not limited to 5G NR, LTE, LTE-A, GSM, UMTS, CDMA2000, Wi-Fi, and the like.

[0092] Base station 102 may be configured to perform wireless communications using multiple wireless communication standards. In some cases, base station 102 may include multiple radio components 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 component for performing communications according to LTE and a 5G NR radio component for performing communications according to 5G NR. In this case, base station 102 may be able to operate as both an LTE base station and a 5G NR base station. 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., 5G NR and Wi-Fi, LTE and Wi-Fi, LTE and UMTS, LTE and CDMA2000, UMTS and GSM, etc.).

[0093] As further described later herein, BS102 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 additionally), in combination with one or more of the other components 430, 432, 434, 440, 450, 460, 470, the processor 404 of the BS102 may be configured to implement or support a portion or all of the implementation of the features described herein.

[0094] Furthermore, as described herein, the one or more processors 404 may include one or more processing elements. Thus, the one or more processors 404 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of the one or more processors 404. Furthermore, each integrated circuit may include circuits (e.g., first circuits, second circuits, etc.) configured to perform the functions of the one or more processors 404.

[0095] Additionally, as described herein, radio 430 may include one or more processing elements. Thus, radio 430 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of radio 430. Additionally, each integrated circuit may include circuits (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of radio 430.

[0096] Figure 5 -Block diagram of cellular communication circuit

[0097] Figure 5 An exemplary simplified block diagram of a cellular communication circuit according to some embodiments is shown. Note that Figure 5 The block diagram of the cellular communication circuitry of is only one example of possible cellular communication circuitry; other circuits, such as circuitry that includes or is coupled to sufficient antennas for different RATs to perform uplink activities using separate antennas, are also possible. According to an embodiment, the cellular communication circuitry 330 may be included in a communication device such as the communication device 106 described above. As described above, the communication device 106 may be a user equipment (UE) device, a mobile device or mobile station, a wireless device or wireless station, a desktop computer or computing device, a mobile computing device (e.g., a laptop, notebook, or portable computing device), a tablet computer, and / or a combination of devices, among other devices.

[0098] Cellular communication circuitry 330 may be (eg, communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to one or more antennas, such as ( Figure 3 In some embodiments, the cellular communication circuit system 330 may include dedicated receive chains (which include and / or are (e.g., communicatively, directly or indirectly) coupled to dedicated processors and / or radio components) for multiple RATs (e.g., a first receive chain for LTE and a second receive chain for 5G NR). For example, Figure 5 As shown, cellular communication circuitry 330 may include modem 510 and modem 520. Modem 510 may be configured for communication according to a first RAT, such as, for example, LTE or LTE-A, and modem 520 may be configured for communication according to a second RAT, such as, for example, 5GNR.

[0099] As shown, the modem 510 may include one or more processors 512 and a memory 516 in communication with the processor 512. The modem 510 may communicate with a radio frequency (RF) front end 530. The RF front end 530 may include circuits for transmitting and receiving radio signals. For example, the RF front end 530 may include a receiving circuit (RX) 532 and a transmitting circuit (TX) 534. In some embodiments, the receiving circuit 532 may communicate with a downlink (DL) front end 550, which may include circuits for receiving radio signals via an antenna 335a.

[0100] Similarly, the modem 520 may include one or more processors 522 and a memory 526 in communication with the processor 522. The modem 520 may communicate with the RF front end 540. The RF front end 540 may include circuits for transmitting and receiving radio signals. For example, the RF front end 540 may include a receiving circuit 542 and a transmitting circuit 544. In some embodiments, the receiving circuit 542 may communicate with the DL front end 560, which may include circuits for receiving radio signals via the antenna 335b.

[0101] In some embodiments, the switch (e.g., and / or a combiner, multiplexer, etc.) 570 may couple the transmit circuit 534 to an uplink (UL) front end 572. In addition, the switch 570 may couple the transmit circuit 544 to the UL front end 572. The UL front end 572 may include circuitry for transmitting radio signals via the antenna 336. Thus, when the cellular communication circuit 330 receives an instruction to transmit according to a first RAT (e.g., via a transmit chain including the transmit circuit 534 and the UL front end 572) supported by the modem 510, the switch 570 may be switched to a first state that allows the modem 510 to transmit signals according to the first RAT (e.g., via a transmit chain including the transmit circuit 534 and the UL front end 572). Similarly, when the cellular communication circuit 330 receives an instruction to transmit according to a second RAT (e.g., via a transmit chain including the transmit circuit 544 and the UL front end 572) supported by the modem 520, the switch 570 may be switched to a second state that allows the modem 520 to transmit signals according to the second RAT (e.g., via a transmit chain including the transmit circuit 544 and the UL front end 572).

[0102] In some embodiments, modems 510 and modems 520 may be configured to transmit simultaneously, receive simultaneously, and / or transmit and receive simultaneously. Thus, when cellular communication circuitry 330 receives instructions to transmit according to both a first RAT (e.g., supported via modem 510) and a second RAT (e.g., supported via modem 520), combiner 570 may be switched to a third state that allows modems 510 and 520 to transmit signals according to the first RAT and the second RAT (e.g., via transmit circuitry 534 and 544 and transmit circuitry of UL front end 572). In other words, the modems may coordinate communication activities, and each modem may perform transmit and / or receive functions at any time as needed.

[0103] In some embodiments, the cellular communication circuit 330 may be configured to transmit, via the first modem, a request to attach to a first network node operating according to a first RAT when the switch is in the first state, and to transmit, via the first modem, an indication that the wireless device is capable of maintaining substantially concurrent connections with the first network node and a second network node operating according to a second RAT when the switch is in the first state. The wireless device may also be configured to transmit, via the second radio component, a request to attach to the second network node when the switch is in the second state. The request may include an indication that the wireless device is capable of maintaining substantially concurrent connections with the first network node and the second network node. In addition, the wireless device may be configured to receive, via the first radio component, an indication that dual connections with the first network node and the second network node have been established.

[0104] As described herein, the modem 510 may include hardware and software components for implementing features of using multiplexing to perform transmissions according to multiple radio access technologies in the same frequency carrier and various other technologies described herein. The processor 512 may be configured to implement some or all of the features described herein, for example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively (or additionally), the processor 512 may be configured as a programmable hardware element, such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array), or as an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit). Alternatively (or additionally), in combination with one or more of the other components 530, 532, 534, 550, 570, 572, 335, and 336, the processor 512 may be configured to implement some or all of the features described herein.

[0105] In some embodiments, processors 512, 522, etc. may be configured to implement or support some or all 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, processors 512, 522, etc. may be configured as programmable hardware elements such as FPGAs or as ASICs or a combination thereof. In addition, as described herein, processors 512, 522, etc. may include one or more processing elements. Therefore, processors 512, 522, etc. may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of processors 512, 522, etc. In addition, each integrated circuit may include a circuit (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of processors 512, 522, etc.

[0106] As described herein, the modem 520 may include hardware and software components for implementing features of using multiplexing to perform transmissions according to multiple radio access technologies in the same frequency carrier and various other technologies described herein. The processor 522 may be configured to implement some or all of the features described herein, for example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively (or additionally), the processor 522 may be configured as a programmable hardware element, such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array), or as an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit). Alternatively (or additionally), in combination with one or more of the other components 540, 542, 544, 550, 570, 572, 335, and 336, the processor 522 may be configured to implement some or all of the features described herein.

[0107] Figure 6 to Figure 7 -5G NR architecture

[0108] In some implementations, fifth generation (5G) wireless communications will initially be deployed in parallel with other wireless communications standards (e.g., LTE). Figure 6 6 shows a possible standalone (SA) implementation of a Next Generation Core (NGC) network 606 and a 5G NR base station (e.g., gNB 604), dual connectivity between LTE and 5G New Radio (5G NR or NR), such as according to Figure 7 The exemplary non-standalone (NSA) architecture shown has been specified as part of the initial deployment of NR. Figure 7 As shown, the evolved packet core (EPC) network 600 may continue to communicate with the current LTE base station (e.g., eNB 602). In addition, the eNB 602 may communicate with the 5G NR base station (e.g., gNB 604), and data may be transferred between the EPC network 600 and the gNB 604. In some cases, the gNB 604 may also have at least a user plane reference point with the EPC network 600. Thus, the EPC network 600 may be used (or reused), and the gNB 604 may act as additional capacity for the UE, for example, to provide increased downlink throughput for the UE. In other words, LTE may be used for control plane signaling, and NR may be used for user plane signaling. Thus, LTE may be used to establish a connection with the network, and NR may be used for data services. It should be understood that many other non-independent architecture variants are possible.

[0109] SCell link recovery

[0110] Modern wireless communication systems (e.g., cellular systems such as 5G NR) may allow a UE to be connected to multiple cells simultaneously. For example, a UE may be connected to a primary cell (PCell) and one or more secondary cells (SCells). The PCell may handle control communications between the network and the UE for one or more SCells. The PCell and one or more SCells may operate according to the same or different RATs. For example, in other possible combinations, the PCell may operate according to LTE and one or more SCells may operate according to NR, or vice versa. The PCell and one or more SCells may be provided by the same or different BSs 102.

[0111] In some cases, the UE may lose the link with one or more cells (e.g., causing it to be disconnected). For example, in response to one or more measurements of the radio conditions of the link falling below one or more corresponding thresholds, the UE may declare a link failure. The link failure may be a beam failure, for example, the UE and the BS may need to select a new directional beam for uplink (UL) communication and / or downlink (DL) communication. For example, based on a change in the orientation of the UE relative to the BS, the UE may need to use a different beam for transmission and / or reception. It should be understood that in response to a link failure, either or both of the UE and / or the BS may need to update the beam selection. Similarly, it may be the case that a link failure may cause the UE to switch to one or more different cells.

[0112] In NR, it has been agreed that for SCell Link Recovery (LR), e.g. after the UE declares link failure with the SCell, the UE shall send a Link Recovery Request (LRQ) using the PCell in two steps, e.g. Figure 8 As shown. In a first step, the UE may send a scheduling request (SR)-like message on a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) for link recovery (LR) to inform the BS (e.g., gNB) of a beam (e.g., link) failure. The PUCCH-LR may be transmitted using a predetermined time and frequency resource designated for this purpose. In some embodiments, the UE may determine an opportunity to transmit a link failure indication prior to such a PUCCH-LR opportunity. In some embodiments, the UE may use one or more methods to resolve conflicts (e.g., collisions) between the LR message and one or more other scheduling messages.

[0113] In the second step, the UE may report the failed serving cell index and the new beam index. In some embodiments, the UE may wish to perform one or more UL and / or DL ​​communications before receiving an indication from the BS that the UL and / or DL ​​beams should be used. The UE may use the beam indicated in the report of the second step before receiving such an indication from the BS.

[0114] Fig. 9 is a flow chart illustrating exemplary aspects of LR messaging. Fig. 9 The technology allows the UE to efficiently transmit LR messages to the network and select a beam for communication before receiving a beam indication from the network. Fig. 9Aspects of the method of may be implemented by a UE 106 in communication with a BS 102 as shown in the figures and described with respect to the figures, or more generally in other devices in combination with any of the computer circuits, systems, devices, elements or components shown in the figures, as desired. For example, a processor (or multiple processors) of a UE (e.g., one or more processors 302, one or more processors associated with communication circuits 329 or 330 such as processors 512 and / or 522, etc.), a base station (e.g., one or more processors 404, or a processor associated with a radio component 430 and / or a communication link 432, among various possibilities), or a network element (e.g., any component of an NGC 606, an EPC 600, etc.) may cause the UE or one or more base stations to perform some or all of the elements of the method shown. For example, a baseband processor or an application processor of a UE may cause the UE to perform some or all of the elements of the method shown. It should be noted that, although at least some elements of the method are described in a manner involving the use of communication technologies and / or features associated with 3GPP specification documents, such description is not intended to limit the present disclosure, and aspects of the method may be used in any suitable wireless communication system as required. 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 required. As shown, the method may operate as follows.

[0115] According to some embodiments, UE 106 may establish a connection with BS 102 (902). The connection may be or include, for example, a cellular connection operating according to one or more wireless standards. The connection may include a link with a PCell and one or more SCells. The PCell and one or more SCells may be provided by any number of BSs (e.g., one or more BS 102). The UE and one or more BSs may, for example, exchange data and / or control information in the uplink (UL) and / or downlink (DL) directions. The PCell and one or more SCells may operate according to the same or different wireless standards. For example, in various possibilities, one or more of the cells may operate according to LTE and / or NR. For example, the PCell may use LTE and the SCell may use NR, or vice versa, or in various possibilities, both the PCell and the SCell may use NR.

[0116] The UE and / or BS may perform various measurements on various links (e.g., PCell and / or one or more SCells). These measurements may include any radio link measurements, such as signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), signal-to-interference-to-noise ratio (SINR), reference signal received power (RSRP), reference information received quality (RSRQ), received signal strength indication (RSSI), channel quality indication (CQI), channel state information (CSI), block error rate (BLER), bit error rate (BER), channel impulse response (CIR), channel error response (CER), etc. The UE and / or BS may maintain a history of measurement values. The UE / BS may compare the measurement value or a metric calculated based on the measured value with one or more thresholds. In such comparisons, the UE / BS may use various parameters, for example, for hysteresis. The measurement results, thresholds and / or parameters may be configured by the BS (e.g., by the network) and / or by the UE. The UE and / or BS may report measurement values ​​(e.g., directly and / or as channel quality indication (CQI), channel state information (CSI), etc.), comparison results, etc. to each other and / or to the network at any time.

[0117] According to some embodiments, the UE 106 may determine a link failure of a link, such as with the SCell (904). The link failure may be based on one or more measurements that fall below a corresponding threshold, such as indicating that a link (e.g., a current beam of a link) has become unavailable. For example, the link failure of the SCell may be a beam failure of the SCell. The UE 106 may or may not determine failures of other links (e.g., other SCs, PCells, etc.). For example, the link to the PCell may remain available.

[0118] According to some embodiments, UE 106 may determine a condition (906).

[0119] As described above, it may be beneficial for the UE to transmit an indication of an SCell link failure prior to (e.g., or more generally, outside of) a scheduled opportunity to transmit a link recovery message (e.g., PUCCH-LR). This may allow the UE to skip PUCCH-LR and save overhead and reduce latency. For example, if the BS receives a media access control (MAC) control element (CE) for LR, the BS may identify the failed serving cell index (e.g., provided by the UE in a MAC CE and / or identifying the SCell with the link failure) so that it may identify the beam failure event. For example, if Fig.10 As shown, the UE may declare link failure at a first time, transmit a MAC CE for LR at a second time (eg, a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) opportunity, among other possibilities), and skip the PUCCH-LR opportunity at a third time.

[0120] According to some embodiments, the UE may determine conditions under which it may perform early transmission of a link failure indication, such as Fig.11 For example, in response to detecting one or more of the following conditions, the UE may skip PUCCH-LR transmission.

[0121] Condition 1: The UE may receive an UL grant after it declares a link failure and before the next opportunity of PUCCH-LR. Therefore, the UE may determine to transmit an indication of the link failure on the resources allocated by the UL grant (e.g., PUCCH and / or PUSCH resources). The resources allocated by the UL grant may be before or concurrent with the next opportunity of PUCCH-LR. In some embodiments, the resources configured by the UL grant may be after the next opportunity of PUCCH-LR.

[0122] Condition 2: The UE may be configured with transmissions based on a configuration grant, for example, for PUSCH and / or PUCCH resources. For example, a configuration grant may allocate resources for periodic and / or continuous transmissions, such as channel state information (CSI). A portion of the resources allocated by the configuration grant may be before or concurrent with the next opportunity for PUCCH-LR. In some embodiments, a portion of the resources allocated by the configuration grant may be after the next opportunity for PUCCH-LR.

[0123] Condition 3: The UE may be configured with a 2-step random access channel (RACH) procedure. For example, the UE may determine that an opportunity to perform a 2-step random access (e.g., RACH) is available. The 2-step RACH opportunity may be before or at the same time as the next opportunity for PUCCH-LR. In some embodiments, the 2-step RACH opportunity may be after the next opportunity for PUCCH-LR. Therefore, the random access request may be used to indicate a link failure of the SCell.

[0124] In some embodiments, an additional condition to condition 2 and / or 3 may be that resources allocated by the configuration grant or designated for the 2-step RACH opportunity occur before the next opportunity (e.g., PUCCH-LR opportunity) specifically configured for the link recovery message. For example, an additional condition may be that there is a PUSCH opportunity for the configuration grant or UL grant after the UE declares beam failure and before the next opportunity for PUCCH-LR. In other words, early transmission and skipping of the PUCCH-LR opportunity is only achieved if the PUSCH opportunity or 2-step RACH opportunity is not later than the next opportunity for PUCCH-LR.

[0125] In some embodiments, even if one or more of conditions 1-3 are true, the UE may choose not to perform an early transmission, but may wait for a PUCCH-LR opportunity. Among other possibilities, the UE may choose to wait for a PUCCH-LR opportunity if the periodicity of the configuration grant (e.g., in the context of condition 2) is sufficiently long (e.g., where skipping the intended transmission of the configuration grant may result in long delays and frustration for this purpose).

[0126] In various embodiments, the opportunity for transmitting a link failure indication (e.g., based on any of conditions 1-3) may be performed on any of various cells. In some embodiments, conditions 1-3 may be further limited based on the type and / or identity of the cell on which the opportunity is found. In some embodiments, conditions 1-3 may be limited to the case where the serving cell (e.g., the cell on which there is an opportunity to transmit a link failure indication) is the same as the cell on which there is a PUCCH-LR opportunity. In some embodiments, conditions 1-3 may be limited to the case where the serving cell is the same as the cell on which there is a PUCCH-LR opportunity or any other serving cell (e.g., PCell or any SCell). In some embodiments, conditions 1-3 may be limited to the case where the serving cell is the same as the cell on which there is a PUCCH-LR opportunity or another serving cell that does not include the failed serving cell (e.g., PCell or any SCell other than the SCell on which the link failure occurred).

[0127] In some embodiments, the UE may detect that it is not configured for any PUCCH-LR resources (e.g., the fourth condition). Therefore, according to some embodiments, the UE may fall back to using contention-based PRACH to request resources for transmitting MAC CE for LR, such as Fig.12 As shown. In response to detecting a link failure of an SCell and further determining that the UE is not configured with a PUCCH-LR opportunity (e.g., at all or within a threshold amount of time), the UE may transmit a contention-based (CB) PRACH to the network. Among various possibilities, the CB PRACH may be transmitted on the PCell, on the SCell where the link failure occurred, or on another SCell. The network may transmit a random access response (RAR). The RAR may include a cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI). In response to the RAR, the UE may, for example, use the C-RNTI to transmit a MAC CE for LR. In response to the MAC CE, the network may transmit a contention resolution to the UE. The contention resolution may indicate a new beam (or one or more beams) for UL and / or DL ​​communications on the failed SCell. The contention resolution may also include one or more UL and / or DL ​​authorizations.

[0128] In some embodiments, the UE may detect one or more collisions or conflicts with the PUCCH-LR and one or more other UL transmissions (e.g., or configured transmission opportunities). Fig.13 As shown, according to some embodiments, such collision may include using any of various transmission (Tx) beams on any of various cells for UL transmission. Therefore, the UE may determine the conditions that inform the decision of how to transmit PUCCH-LR when PUCCH-LR collides with other signals in the same cell or different cells. For example, the UE may be able to use only one Tx beam to transmit UL signals in a transmission event, so it may be necessary to determine how to handle the situation when PUCCH-LR and other signals with different beams are multiplexed (e.g., in frequency division multiplexing (FDM)). For example, in the case shown, the UE may need to select one of PUCCH-LR using Tx beam 1 on PCell, PUSCH using Tx beam 2 on the first SCell, or SRS using Tx beam 3 on the second SCell. In other words, when PUCCH-LR collides with one or more other UL signals, the UE may use priority rules to determine which signal to discard. For example, based on the priority rules, the UE may determine to transmit PUCCH-LR or another UL signal, but not both (at least not transmit when colliding). Thus, to implement such a priority rule, the UE may determine which (eg, if any) other UL transmission collides with the PUCCH-LR opportunity, and on which cell or cells the other transmission is configured.

[0129] In an example where PUCCH-LR collides with another UL signal on a different serving cell, an exemplary priority rule may be expressed as: PRACH has a higher priority than PUCCH-LR, PUCCH-LR may have a higher priority than other PUCCH communications, and other PUCCH communications may have a higher priority than reference signals (e.g., sounding reference signals (SRS)). In other words: PRACH>PUCCH-LR>PUCCH for any other purpose (e.g., such as scheduling request (SR), hybrid acknowledgement request (HARQ) acknowledgement (ACK), CSI, etc.)>SRS. It should be understood that such priority rules are merely exemplary and other priority rules may be used as needed.

[0130] In an example where PUCCH-LR collides with another uplink signal in the same serving cell, the following priority rules may be used, among various possibilities. In the first case where PUCCH-LR collides with PRACH, the UE may transmit PRACH. In some embodiments, in the first case, the UE may determine to transmit PUCCH-LR, for example, according to an alternative priority rule. In the second case where PUCCH-LR collides with PUSCH, the UE may use, for example, PUSCH resources to transmit a MAC CE for LR, and may skip the transmission of PUCCH-LR. In the third case where PUCCH-LR collides with PUCCH for another purpose, the UE may discard another PUCCH in order to transmit PUCCH-LR. It should be understood that other priority rules may be used as needed. In some embodiments, if other resources for indicating link failure are available (e.g., according to conditions 1-3 discussed above), PUCCH-LR may be considered as low priority, and one of the above exemplary priority rules may be modified to, for example, reduce the priority of PUCCH-LR relative to the collision transmission type.

[0131] According to some embodiments, UE 106 may transmit an indication of a link failure to BS 102 (908). The indication of the link failure may be transmitted on a time and frequency resource selected based on the conditions and priority rules described above (e.g., with respect to 906). For example, if any of conditions 1-3 apply, the UE may transmit an indication of a link failure on available resources before the PUCCH-LR resources, and may skip the transmission of the PUCCH-LR in various possibilities. As another example, (e.g., in the case where no previous transmission opportunity is identified), the UE may determine to transmit the PUCCH-LR instead of transmitting a lower priority UL transmission that collides with the PUCCH-LR transmission opportunity.

[0132] In some embodiments, the indication of a link failure may include, for example, a recommended UL and / or DL ​​beam for further communication with the SCell on which the link failure occurred. Such a recommended UL and / or DL ​​beam may be determined based on measurements of one or more beams, based on the movement of the UE, and / or other factors.

[0133] According to some embodiments, the network may transmit and the UE may receive a response to the indication of the link failure (910). The response may be or include an acknowledgment (ACK). The response may include, for example, UL and / or DL ​​resource assignments for the SCell and / or other cells on which the link failure occurred. Among various possibilities, the response may be transmitted on the PCell. In some embodiments, the response may not include an indication of the selected UL and / or DL ​​beams used with the failed serving cell (e.g., the SCell on which the link failure occurred). In other words, the response may not respond to any indication of the recommended beam included in the link failure indication (e.g., in 908) by the UE.

[0134] According to some embodiments, UE 106 may select one or more beams for UL and / or DL ​​communication with BS 102, e.g., for communication on the SCell on which the link failure occurred (912). In some embodiments, this selection may occur without (e.g., before) receiving an indication from the network of the beam to be used after the link failure, e.g., Fig.14As shown. Selecting a beam without waiting for an indication of the beam selected by the network may allow the UE to continue communicating with less delay (e.g., without waiting to receive an indication of the beam selected by the network). As shown, the UE may transmit an indication of a link failure (e.g., in various possibilities, a MAC CE for LR) (e.g., as in 908) and may receive a response from the network (e.g., as in 910). Based on the response (e.g., and / or based on UL / DL authorization, configuration authorization, etc.), the UE may determine that UL and / or DL ​​transmissions have been scheduled on the SCell on which the link failure occurred before receiving any UL and / or DL ​​beam indications for the SCell on which the link failure occurred from the network. Therefore, the UE may select a UL and / or DL ​​beam before receiving such an indication. In other words, the UE may make a quasi-co-location (QCL) assumption on the DL signal and / or a spatial relationship information assumption on the UL channel after transmitting a link failure indication and receiving a response. For example, when LR is successfully completed, the previous beam (e.g., on which the link failure occurred) may not be eligible for communication (e.g., due to a beam / link failure). Thus, if at least a threshold amount of time has elapsed since responding to a link failure indication (e.g., in 910), the UE may assume that the beam recommended in the UE's link failure indication (e.g., in 908) may be used. The threshold amount of time may be expressed as a number of time slots K. For example, after receiving a response to a MAC CE for an LR and K or more time slots before a beam indication for a corresponding channel (e.g., a beam), the UE uses the beam identified in the link failure indication (e.g., or the corresponding UL and DL beams, if identified separately) to transmit any UL channels and / or receive any DL channels on the SCell on which the link failure occurred. In various possibilities, one or more UL channels / transmissions may include PUCCH and / or SRS, and / or PUSCH. In various possibilities, the DL channels / transmissions may include PDCCH and / or PDSCH. In some embodiments, the UE may apply the assumption that the indicated one or more beams will only be used for one or more UL and / or DL ​​channels in the failed serving cell (e.g., only on the SCell on which the link failure occurred). In other embodiments, the UE may use such an assumption for one or more UL and / or DL ​​channels in all serving cells in the same frequency band as the failed serving cell (e.g., potentially including the PCell and / or one or more additional cells). Thus, the UE may continue further communications to / from the failed serving cell (e.g., and / or other cells) using the suggested (e.g., assumed) UL and / or DL ​​beams without delay.

[0135] In some embodiments, K may be based on UE capabilities, for example, the minimum amount of time in which a UE can change from one beam to another. In some embodiments, K may be configured by the network, for example using radio resource control (RRC) signaling. In some embodiments, among various possibilities, K may be predefined, for example, by a standard document, for example, K=4.

[0136] In some embodiments, the UE may further receive from the network an indication of UL and / or DL ​​beams selected by the network for use with the SCell on which the link failure occurred (e.g., and potentially, all serving cells in the same frequency band as the failed serving cell). The UL and / or DL ​​beams selected by the network may be the same as or different from the one or more beams suggested by the UE (e.g., in 908). Thus, if the one or more beams are different from the one or more beams suggested (e.g., in 908) and used (e.g., in 912), the UE may switch to the one or more beams selected by the network (e.g., for further UL and / or DL ​​communications with the failed serving cell and / or other serving cells operating in the same frequency band as the failed serving cell).

[0137] Additional information and examples

[0138] In some embodiments, Fig. 9 The techniques described herein may be used to handle failures of multiple SCells at the same or similar time. For example, the indication of a link failure may identify the multiple SCells, for example, by their respective cell indices. Similarly, prior to receiving a corresponding beam indication from the network, transmissions to / from the multiple SCells may use beams indicated in a beam indication transmitted to the network.

[0139] The 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.

[0140] 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 method embodiments described herein, or any combination of such subsets.

[0141] In some embodiments, the device (e.g., UE) 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 method implementations described herein, or any combination of such subsets). The device may be implemented in any of various forms.

[0142] 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.

[0143] 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 user equipment device UE, the UE comprising: Radio components; as well as a processor operatively coupled to the radio component and configured to cause the UE to: Determine a failure of a link to the secondary cell SCell; receiving a configuration for a first opportunity to send a link recovery message on a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH); and A Medium Access Control Element (MAC CE) is sent on a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) and before the first opportunity, the MAC CE comprising an indication of the failure of the link to the SCell.

2. The UE according to claim 1, wherein the MAC CE is sent on resources allocated by an uplink grant. 3 . The UE of claim 1 , wherein the MAC CE is sent on resources allocated by a configuration grant. The UE according to claim 1 , wherein the MAC CE includes a serving cell index. The UE according to claim 4 , wherein the serving cell index identifies the SCell. The UE according to claim 1 , wherein the link recovery message is not sent at the first opportunity. 7 . The UE of claim 6 , wherein in response to sending the MAC CE before the first opportunity, the link recovery message is not sent at the first opportunity.

8. An apparatus for wireless communication, the apparatus comprising: A processor configured to, when executing instructions stored in the memory, perform operations including: Determine a failure of a link to the secondary cell SCell; receiving a configuration for a first opportunity to send a link recovery message on a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH); and A Medium Access Control Element (MAC CE) is sent on a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) and before the first opportunity, the MAC CE comprising an indication of the failure of the link to the SCell.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the MAC CE is sent on resources allocated by an uplink grant.

10. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the MAC CE is sent on resources allocated by a configuration grant. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the MAC CE comprises a serving cell index. The apparatus according to claim 11 , wherein the serving cell index identifies the SCell.

13. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the link recovery message is not sent at the first opportunity.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein in response to sending the MAC CE before the first opportunity, the link recovery message is not sent at the first opportunity.

15. A method for wireless communication, the method comprising: Determine a failure of a link to the secondary cell SCell; receiving a configuration for a first opportunity to send a link recovery message on a physical uplink control channel, PUCCH; as well as A Medium Access Control Element (MAC CE) is sent on a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) and before the first opportunity, the MAC CE comprising an indication of the failure of the link to the SCell.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the MAC CE is sent on resources allocated by an uplink grant.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the MAC CE is sent on resources allocated by a configuration grant. The method of claim 15 , wherein the MAC CE includes a serving cell index. The method according to claim 18 , wherein the serving cell index identifies the SCell.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein the link recovery message is not sent at the first opportunity.

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