Radio access technology (RAT) spectrum converter

Abstract

Systems and methods described herein may introduce an intermediary between a radio access network using a first spectrum and a user equipment using a second spectrum. The intermediary device may process a communication signal from the first spectrum or the second spectrum into a format usable by the other of the first spectrum or the second spectrum. The intermediary device may be referred to as a multi-radio access technology (multi-RAT) converter.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This patent application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 408,314, filed on September 20, 2022, entitled “Radio Access Technology (RAT) Spectrum Translator,” the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes. Background Art

[0003] The present disclosure relates generally to wireless communications, and more particularly to enhanced data communications between wireless communication devices.

[0004] In an electronic device, a transmitter and a receiver may each be coupled to one or more antennas to enable the electronic device to send and receive wireless signals. These wireless signals are transmitted according to a frequency band allocated by a network operator. Currently, 5th Generation (5G) / New Radio (NR) and earlier technologies are deployed. It may be desirable to increase bandwidth to meet the increased demand for relatively high data loss applications (such as virtual reality applications, augmented reality applications, machine learning applications, etc.). However, some systems deployed in the current 5G spectrum (e.g., frequency range 1 (FR1) and frequency range 2 (FR2)) may not utilize the full data rates and connectivity available for 5G NR network devices. For example, a 5G NR enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) network can provide higher data rates and connectivity that current technologies cannot use in cell edge and indoor use cases. Summary of the invention

[0005] The following describes a summary of certain embodiments disclosed herein. It should be understood that these aspects are presented only to provide the reader with a concise summary of these specific embodiments, and these aspects are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. In fact, the present disclosure may encompass a number of aspects that may not be described below.

[0006] In one embodiment, an electronic device includes a receiver and a transmitter. The electronic device may also include a processing circuit coupled to the receiver and the transmitter. The processing circuit may receive a signal having a first frequency in a first spectrum from a base station at the receiver. The processing circuit may convert the signal from the first frequency to a second frequency in a second spectrum. The processing circuit may use the transmitter to send a signal having a second frequency to a user equipment.

[0007] In some cases, the first spectrum includes frequencies between 0.40 gigahertz (GHz) and 7.2 GHz, and the second spectrum includes frequencies between 24 gigahertz and 52.6 GHz. The second spectrum may include frequencies different from the first spectrum. The first spectrum may include frequencies between 4 gigahertz (GHz) and 7 GHz, and / or the second spectrum may include frequencies between 100 GHz and 1000 GHz.

[0008] In some cases, the processing circuit may convert the signal from a first frequency to a second frequency by performing analog-to-digital conversion, a cyclic prefix (CP) removal operation, a demodulation operation, a modulation operation, a baseband digital processing operation, a reference signal addition operation, a channel decoding operation, or any combination thereof. In some cases, the processing circuit may convert the signal from a first frequency to a second frequency at least in part by removing a first cyclic prefix (CP) of the signal to generate a first signal, transforming the first signal to a second frequency to generate a second signal, adding a second cyclic prefix to the second signal based on a second spectrum to generate a third signal, and converting the third signal to an analog signal to generate a signal having a second frequency. In these cases, transforming the first signal to a second frequency may include changing a carrier frequency of the first signal from a first frequency to a second frequency when generating the second signal, wherein the second spectrum is communicated based on a frequency multiplexing operation. In addition, sometimes in these cases, the processing circuit may demodulate the first signal before transforming the first signal to the second frequency. In some cases, the processing circuit may add a reference signal to the signal having the second frequency before transmitting. In some cases, the processing circuitry may convert a signal, including the signal, from a first number of layers to a second number of layers corresponding to a second spectrum before transmitting to the user equipment, and wherein the corresponding layer may be a data channel that is spatially separated from other layers used to transmit other signals in the plurality of signals.

[0009] In another embodiment, a method may include receiving an input signal from a base station via a converter device via a first spectrum. The converter device may intercept communications between the base station and user equipment. The method may include generating an output signal capable of being communicated on a second spectrum based on the input signal via the converter device. The method may also include sending the output signal to the user equipment via the second spectrum via the converter device. In another embodiment, a system includes: a first device that uses a first spectrum; a second device that uses a second spectrum; and an intermediate device that is coupled to the first device and the second device. The intermediate device receives a message from the first device via the first spectrum, processes the message from the first device to generate a processed message, and sends the processed message to the second device via the second spectrum.

[0010] The method may sometimes include receiving an input signal via an antenna via a converter device, converting the input signal to a bit domain via the converter device to generate a digital signal; removing a cyclic prefix associated with the digital signal via the converter device to generate an intermediate signal; demodulating the intermediate signal via the converter device to generate a second intermediate signal; and converting the second intermediate signal between a first spectrum and a second spectrum via the converter device to generate an output signal capable of being communicated on the second spectrum. In addition, the method may also include: adding a reference signal associated with the second spectrum to the output signal via the converter device before sending via the second spectrum. In some cases, the method of generating an output signal via a converter device may include: generating an output signal capable of being communicated on the second spectrum via the converter device based on the input signal and a conversion from a spatial diversity data format to a frequency diversity data format. In some cases, the method of generating an output signal via a converter device may include converting between a spatial multiplexing data format and a time multiplexing data format.

[0011] In another embodiment, a system may include a first device using a first spectrum. The system may include a second device using a second spectrum. The system may include an intermediate device coupled to the first device and the second device. The intermediate device may receive an input signal having a first frequency of the first spectrum from the first device. The intermediate device may generate a second signal having a second frequency of the second spectrum from the first device. In addition, the intermediate device may send the second signal to the second device.

[0012] In some cases, the intermediate device may receive the input signal via eight antennas and may send the output signal via four antennas. In some cases, the second spectrum may include frequencies higher than the first spectrum. In some cases, the intermediate device may generate a second signal having a second frequency based on adjusting the input signal to have a frequency diversity data format. In some cases, the second device may receive the second signal having a second frequency of the second spectrum, and generate a down-converted signal having a first frequency of the first spectrum based on the second signal.

[0013] With respect to various aspects of the present disclosure, there may be various improvements to the above-mentioned features. Other features may also be incorporated into these various aspects. These improvements and additional features may exist individually or in any combination. For example, the various features discussed below with respect to one or more embodiments in the illustrated embodiments may be incorporated into any of the above-mentioned aspects of the present disclosure individually or in any combination. The brief summary presented above is intended only to familiarize the reader with certain aspects and contexts of the embodiments of the present disclosure, without limiting the claimed subject matter. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] Various aspects of the present disclosure may be better understood upon reading the following detailed description and referring to the drawings described below, in which like reference numerals refer to like parts.

[0015] Figure 1 is a block diagram of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0016] Figure 2 According to the embodiments of the present disclosure Figure 1 Functional diagram of electronic equipment;

[0017] Figure 3 According to the embodiments of the present disclosure Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a transmitter of an electronic device;

[0018] Figure 4 According to the embodiments of the present disclosure Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a receiver of an electronic device;

[0019] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the communication system comprising a wireless communication network supported by a base station and communicatively coupled to the wireless communication network; Figure 1 User equipment;

[0020] Figure 6 is an implementation according to the embodiments of the present disclosure for Figure 1 A block diagram of a first example system of a multi-radio access technology (multi-RAT) converter for an electronic device;

[0021] Figure 7 According to the embodiments of the present disclosure Figure 6 A diagram of an example transition between a first RAT to a second RAT is shown;

[0022] Figure 8 According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, Figure 1 Multiple electronic devices Figure 6 Block diagram of a multi-RAT converter;

[0023] 9A to 9C is a timing diagram illustrating a transformation from spatial multiplexing to time or frequency multiplexing according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0024] Fig.10 is an example of an embodiment according to the present disclosure. Figure 6 A block diagram of a plurality of multi-RAT converters for converting from spatial multiplexing of a first RAT to spatial multiplexing of a second RAT;

[0025] FIG. 11A to FIG. 11C is an example of an embodiment according to the present disclosure Figure 6A timing diagram of a transition of a transmission of a multi-RAT converter from a single transmission to a transmission with time or frequency diversity;

[0026] Fig.12 is an example of an embodiment according to the present disclosure. Figure 6 A block diagram of a plurality of multi-RAT converters for converting a single transmission into spatial diversity;

[0027] Fig.13 is an example of an embodiment according to the present disclosure Figure 6 A block diagram of the operation of a multi-RAT converter;

[0028] Fig.14 is a method of removing the cyclic prefix (CP) before transforming according to an embodiment of the present disclosure Figure 6 A block diagram of a first example multi-RAT converter;

[0029] Fig.15 is a method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure corresponding to Fig.14 A block diagram of a first example electronic device of a multi-RAT converter based on Fig.14 removing the CP from the transmission based on the second RAT parameters of the multi-RAT converter and demodulating the transmission based on the first RAT parameters after removing the CP;

[0030] Fig.16 According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, Fig.14 Multi-RAT converter and Fig.15 A block diagram of a system of electronic equipment;

[0031] Fig.17 According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, CP is removed before transformation and demodulation is performed. Figure 6 A block diagram of a second example multi-RAT converter;

[0032] Fig.18 is a method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure corresponding to Fig.17 a block diagram of a second example electronic device of a multi-RAT converter, wherein the electronic device both removes CP and performs demodulation based on a second RAT parameter before performing an inverse transform based on a first RAT parameter;

[0033] Fig.19 According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, Fig.17 Multi-RAT converter and Fig.18 A block diagram of a system of electronic equipment;

[0034] Fig. 20 is a method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure corresponding to Fig.19A block diagram of an example electronic device for receiving different portions of a transmission in different time slots (e.g., time multiplexing) of a system of;

[0035] Fig.21 According to the embodiments of the present disclosure Figure 6 A block diagram of a third example multi-RAT converter of FIG. 1 , which removes the CP and performs demodulation before conversion and adds a reference signal corresponding to the second RAT after conversion;

[0036] Fig. 22 is a method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure corresponding to Fig.21 A block diagram of a third example electronic device of a multi-RAT converter, wherein the electronic device removes a reference signal, a CP and performs demodulation based on a second RAT parameter before inverse conversion;

[0037] Fig.23 According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, Fig.21 Multi-RAT converter and Fig. 22 A block diagram of a system of electronic equipment, and Fig.21 The multi-RAT converter has eight receiver antennas and four transmitter antennas, while Fig. 22 The electronic device has four receiver antennas;

[0038] Fig.24 is an example of an embodiment according to the present disclosure Fig.23 a block diagram of a first example of an electronic device of a system, wherein the electronic device separately performs first RAT channel estimation, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) equalization and demodulation on two sets of 4-layer data, and combines LLR results for the two sets;

[0039] Fig.25 is an example of an embodiment according to the present disclosure Fig.23 A block diagram of a second example of an electronic device of a system, wherein the electronic device inversely transforms two sets of 4-layer data into a set of 8-layer data and continues to further process the 8-layer data;

[0040] Fig.26 According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, channel estimation and MIMO equalization are added based on the first RAT parameters before transformation Figure 6 A block diagram of a fourth example multi-RAT converter;

[0041] Fig. 27 is a method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure corresponding to Fig.26 a block diagram of a fourth example electronic device of a multi-RAT converter of FIG. 1 , wherein the electronic device performs channel estimation and MIMO equalization based on second RAT parameters before inverse transformation;

[0042] Fig.28 According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, channel decoding is performed based on a first RAT parameter before transformation and channel coding is performed based on a second RAT parameter after transformation Figure 6 A block diagram of a fifth example multi-RAT converter;

[0043] Fig.29 is a method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure corresponding to Fig.28 a block diagram of a fifth example electronic device of a multi-RAT converter, wherein the electronic device performs channel decoding before inverse conversion based on a second RAT parameter;

[0044] Fig.30 is a timing diagram of different timing slots associated with physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) scheduling on resource subsets according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0045] Fig.31 According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, Fig.30 A flowchart of a method for time synchronization operation of a time slot configuration;

[0046] Fig.32 is a timing diagram of different timing slots associated with a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback schedule according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

[0047] Fig.33 According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, Fig.32 Flow chart of a method of HARQ feedback operation. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0048] One or more specific embodiments will be described below. In order to provide a brief description of these embodiments, not all features of an actual implementation are described in this specification. It should be understood that in the development of any such actual implementation, as in any engineering or design project, decisions specific to many implementations must be made to achieve the developer's specific goals, such as compliance with system-related and business-related constraints that may vary from one implementation to another. In addition, it should be understood that such development work may be complex and time-consuming, but it will still be a routine task of design, processing and manufacturing for those of ordinary skill in the art who benefit from this disclosure.

[0049] When introducing the elements of various embodiments of the present disclosure, the articles "one", "an" and "the" are intended to mean one or more elements present in the elements. The terms "include", "comprise" and "have" are intended to be inclusive, and mean that there may be additional elements other than the listed elements. Additionally, it should be understood that the reference to "one embodiment" or "embodiment" of the present disclosure is not intended to be interpreted as excluding the existence of additional embodiments that also incorporate the described features. In addition, specific features, structures or characteristics can be combined in any appropriate manner in one or more embodiments. The use of the terms "roughly", "close to", "about", "close to" and / or "substantially" should be understood to mean including close to a target (e.g., design, value and amount), such as within the limits of any suitable or conceivable error (e.g., within 0.1% of a target, within 1% of a target, within 5% of a target, within 10% of a target, within 25% of a target, etc.). Furthermore, it should be understood that any exact value, number, measurement, etc. provided herein is contemplated to include approximations of such exact value, number, measurement, etc. (e.g., within a suitable or contemplated error margin). Additionally, the term "set" may include one or more. That is, a set may include a single set of one member, but a set may also include sets of multiple members.

[0050] The present disclosure relates to a communication system that uses a portion of the radio spectrum of the 5th generation (5G) / new radio (NR) specification and a portion of the radio spectrum corresponding to the sub-terahertz (THz) spectrum that may be part of the 6th generation (6G) specification. Current radio frequency (RF) technology may use the 4th generation (4G) / long term evolution (LTE) spectrum and / or the 5th generation (5G) / new radio (NR) spectrum. However, it is increasingly desirable to extend RF technology to the sub-terahertz (THz) spectrum for accessing higher bandwidths. Sub-THz spectrum, such as frequencies between 100 GHz and 300 GHz (e.g., between 130 GHz and 150 GHz), includes potential 6th generation (6G) bands for high data rate beamforming access and sensing applications. With these evolutions in wireless communications, it is expected that the data rates used on these various networks may continue to increase relative to the data rates used today. Therefore, it is increasingly desirable to have RF systems that can effectively communicate on higher bandwidth spectrum with strict link budgets to meet growing needs. Sub-THz spectrum may have higher frequencies relative to typical 5G NR frequencies and may therefore be inherently incompatible with communicating using higher frequencies. Therefore, systems deployed in current 5G spectrum (e.g., FR1 and FR2) may not be universally applicable in other spectrums used to accommodate higher bandwidth requirements. Furthermore, signals communicated using higher frequencies may not be processed by existing radio technologies deployed today without adjusting processing operations and increasing the frequency compatibility of the system.

[0051] In further detail, enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) may be a use case for 5G NR and may be associated with specifications that define relatively high data rate and connectivity operating specifications. For example, the International Telecommunication Union Specifications were developed that define that 5G will achieve 9 downlink (DL) spectral efficiencies (bits / second / Hertz (Hz) / transmit receive point (TRxP)) for indoor scenarios and 7.8 bits / second / Hz / TRxP average DL spectral efficiency for urban scenarios, respectively. However, with current technology, such spectral efficiencies (e.g., data rates) may be difficult to reach, and may be even more difficult in situations like cell edge use cases and indoor use cases where the communication network characteristics may be less than ideal. For example, the length of time that the signal flies and / or the signal is sent through the solid walls of a building may increase the likelihood of distortion, which may degrade the signal quality at the edge of the network cell. Some studies (e.g., the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) R17 coverage enhancement study of the TR38.830 specification) may target a 10 megabits per second (Mbps) DL data rate for FR1 urban scenarios with an inter-site distance (ISD) of 500 meters (m) and a 25Mbps DL data rate for FR2 urban scenarios with an ISD of 200m. This target means that currently achieved 5G data rates are still below these values. Compared to FR1, FR2 may be characterized by potentially wider channel bandwidth (eg, 400 MHz for FR2 versus 100 MHz for FR1), while also having harsher propagation conditions.

[0052] One of the main reasons for the low data rates of current 5G NR implementations is the high outdoor-to-indoor (O2I) penetration loss, especially for high frequency bands. According to TR38.901, the O2I penetration loss can be as high as 33 decibels (dB) and 43dB for 4GHz and 28GHz frequencies, respectively. The actual penetration loss in the real world may be even higher, depending on the building materials through which the signal is to be conducted. High O2I penetration loss makes the data rate requirements more difficult to meet for indoor use cases.

[0053] To improve the performance for cell-edge and indoor use cases, two systems have been proposed: network densification systems and relay-based systems.

[0054] In a network densification system, small cells can be deployed at higher frequency bands, which can improve system capacity and connectivity to some extent. However, as the frequency increases, the number of small cells actually deployed in the network increases. Therefore, the system may be expensive and relatively difficult to scale. In addition, in scenarios of dense cells and / or small cells, inter-cell interference may degrade overall system performance.

[0055] In a relay-based system, there may be two example methods: amplify and forward (AF) relay and decode and forward (DF) relay. AF relay may include a repeater; and DF relay may include a regenerative relay, which brings performance robustness at the expense of increased complexity. The use of DF relay will require channel coding and decoding, while having improved performance relative to AF relay. In addition, the two relay categories can consider that the communication between the base station (e.g., network access node) and the relay and between the relay and the user equipment is at the same frequency (e.g., FR1, FR2). FR1-based relays can achieve relatively good network coverage, while the expected data rate cannot be fully met due to limited bandwidth. On the other hand, despite the large available spectrum, FR2-based relays may suffer from poor propagation conditions and penetration losses, which may result in poor network coverage experienced by user equipment.

[0056] When reaching the achievable data rate for a single user, the 5G NR standard can support up to a specific number of downlink (DL) layers per user equipment (UE), for example, up to 8 DL layers per UE. Each downlink layer can correspond to a receive (RX) antenna at the UE. These RX antenna specifications can represent design constraints when the UE is equipped with a relatively small number of RX antennas (for example, the UE can have 4 RX antennas, but should have 8 RX antennas to comply with the 5G NR standard or be compatible with the 5G NR system). The smaller number of antennas may be due to limited device size (for example, some UE designs may be challenging to deploy more antennas). Therefore, the number of transmit layers supported by each UE can be constrained by the UE rather than network-side circuits such as the base station (BS).

[0057] Based on 5G, it is expected that the upcoming 6G will continue to evolve to support more demanding use cases, such as augmented reality and holographic communication operations, and therefore the required data rates are expected to be even higher. In addition to the 5G spectrum (e.g., FR1 and FR2), 6G can be extended to sub-THz bands (e.g., frequencies between 100 GHz and 300 GHz, frequencies between 100 GHz and 1000 GHz). Compared with FR2, sub-THz bands can access larger spectrums while being more constrained in their link budgets. Therefore, it may be expected to effectively utilize higher frequency bands (e.g., FR2 or sub-THz) with appropriate designs that realize the practical benefits of higher frequency bands.

[0058] With this in mind, the systems and methods discussed herein can enable 5G RF systems to use both 5G NR spectrum and 6G / sub-THz spectrum, even when faced with cell edge conditions and / or indoor use cases. These systems and methods discussed herein relate to an architecture that enables sub-THz signals to be down-converted to a lower frequency before being further processed by a communication network (e.g., a base station, other network nodes). The lower frequency may be a frequency less than the sub-THz frequency range but greater than a baseband frequency associated with the communication network, wherein the baseband frequency is used to modulate a carrier signal to convey data. The conversion operation may be performed by a multi-RAT converter. The architecture described herein may use FR1 frequencies (e.g., between 0.41 GHz and 7.125 GHz, between 4 GHz and 8 GHz, between 4.1 GHz and 7.125 GHz) as lower frequencies together with slot-level coordination with the 5G spectrum. In some cases, the channel raster of the sub-THz spectrum used may be substantially equivalent to 140 GHz with a 10 GHz bandwidth. The architecture described herein may also use FR2 frequencies (e.g., between 24.25 gigahertz (GHz) and 52.6 GHz, between 27 GHz and 40 GHz, between 27 GHz and 29 GHz, between 24.25 GHz and 52.6 GHz, between 27.5 GHZ and 28.5 GHz, 38.5 GHz, and 39.5 GHz), such as when the user equipment implements a heterodyne architecture that processes both 6G sub-THz spectrum signals and 5G NR FR2 spectrum signals.

[0059] By using the architecture systems and methods described herein, existing systems and methods can achieve higher data bandwidths. This creates the further advantage of circuits that do not have to be redesigned and manufactured to access higher frequencies, which can reduce the deployment costs and time frames associated with bringing high-bandwidth, sub-THz RF communication systems to market. In fact, existing FR2 silicon can be utilized, which can reduce the overall complexity of sub-THz access systems and make such technology attractive for application in mobile devices.

[0060] In further detail, the present disclosure covers implementation details related to 5G NR and 6G dual communication systems (such as 5GNR and 6G UE heterodyne architectures). Several embodiments related to multiple radio access technology (RAT) converter devices (multi-RAT converters) are discussed. The multi-RAT converter can be coupled between a network-side device and a UE device to convert between a lower frequency band (e.g., FR1 or other 5G frequency bands) and a higher frequency band (e.g., FR2 and / or 6G / sub-THz frequency band). The multi-RAT converter can be a network-agnostic system, such as a microcell, which is deployed to facilitate communication between a UE device and a communication network. A landlord, building operator, or other working group can install a multi-RAT converter to facilitate the handover between two different networks (e.g., 5G to 6G communication) locally, and the multi-RAT converter can be considered as a radio extension unit of a UE device. However, in some embodiments, the multi-RAT converter can be deployed by a radio network operator (e.g., extended to network control over time). In either case, the multi-RAT changer may be deployed and communicate with the UE device without a SIM card.

[0061] One embodiment may include multi-RAT assisted downlink (DL) transmissions that operate based on frequency reuse and / or spatial reuse. Frequency reuse is the process of dividing bandwidth into a series of non-overlapping frequency bands. Here, data transmission is described as being divided into different numbers of data layers to perform frequency reuse. Spatial reuse may involve different parts of data transmissions that are transmitted in spatially separated independent channels. A second embodiment may include multi-RAT converters and end-user processing. A third embodiment may include the transmission of a reference signal (RS) corresponding to a second RAT. (For example, wherein a first RAT can be used to communicate between a BS and a multi-RAT converter, and wherein a second RAT can be used to communicate between a multi-RAT converter and an electronic device). A fourth embodiment may include synchronization of multi-RAT converters. A fifth embodiment may include feedback scheduling in multi-RAT assisted DL transmissions. It should be noted that the examples of the embodiments described herein may be used alone or in various combinations with other embodiments. For example, a fifth embodiment of feedback scheduling may be used in combination with a third embodiment of transmitting a second hop RS. Other combinations may also be suitable.

[0062] Considering the foregoing, Figure 11 is a block diagram of an electronic device 10 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The electronic device 10 may include, among other things, one or more processors 12 (collectively referred to herein as a single processor for convenience, which may be implemented in any suitable form of processing circuitry), a memory 14, a non-volatile storage device 16, a display 18, an input structure 22, an input / output (I / O) interface 24, a network interface 26, and a power supply 29. Figure 1 The various functional blocks shown may include hardware elements (including circuits), software elements (including machine executable instructions), or a combination of hardware and software elements (which may be referred to as logical components). Processor 12, memory 14, non-volatile storage device 16, display 18, input structure 22, input / output (I / O) interface 24, network interface 26, and / or power supply 29 may each be communicatively coupled to each other directly (e.g., not through or via another component, not through a communication bus, not through a network) or indirectly (e.g., through or via another component, a communication bus, a network) to send and / or receive signals between each other. It should be noted that Figure 1 This is merely one example of a particular implementation and is intended to illustrate the types of components that may be present in electronic device 10 .

[0063] By way of example, electronic device 10 may include any suitable computing device, including a desktop or laptop computer (e.g., a computer such as the one available from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, California). Pro, MacBook mini or Mac ), a portable electronic device or a handheld electronic device such as a wireless electronic device or a smart phone (e.g., in the form of a computer available from Apple Inc. in Cupertino, California models), tablet computers (e.g., in the form of models), wearable electronic devices (e.g., in the form of Apple of the form) and other similar devices. It should be noted that Figure 1 The processor 12 and other related items in the embodiment may be embodied in whole or in part as software, hardware, or both. Figure 1The processor 12 and other related items in the electronic device 10 may be a single contained processing module, or may be fully or partially incorporated into any of the other elements within the electronic device 10. The processor 12 may be implemented using a combination of a general-purpose microprocessor, a microcontroller, a digital signal processor (DSP), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic device (PLD), a controller, a state machine, a gated logic, a discrete hardware component, a dedicated hardware finite state machine, or any other suitable entity that can perform calculations or other manipulations of information. The processor 12 may include one or more application processors, one or more baseband processors, or both, and perform various functions described herein.

[0064] exist Figure 1 In the electronic device 10, the processor 12 may be operably coupled to the memory 14 and the non-volatile storage device 16 to execute various algorithms. Such programs or instructions executed by the processor 12 may be stored in any suitable article including one or more tangible computer-readable media. The tangible computer-readable medium may include the memory 14 and / or the non-volatile storage device 16, individually or collectively, to store instructions or routines. The memory 14 and the non-volatile storage device 16 may include any suitable article for storing data and executable instructions, such as random access memory, read-only memory, rewritable flash memory, hard drive, and optical disk. In addition, the program encoded on such a computer program product (e.g., an operating system) may also include instructions that can be executed by the processor 12 to enable the electronic device 10 to provide various functions.

[0065] In certain embodiments, display 18 may facilitate a user viewing images generated on electronic device 10. In some embodiments, display 18 may include a touch screen that may facilitate a user interacting with a user interface of electronic device 10. Furthermore, it should be understood that in some embodiments, display 18 may include one or more liquid crystal displays (LCDs), light emitting diode (LED) displays, organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays, active matrix organic light emitting diode (AMOLED) displays, or some combination of these and / or other display technologies.

[0066] The input structures 22 of the electronic device 10 may enable a user to interact with the electronic device 10 (e.g., pressing a button to increase or decrease a volume level). As with the network interface 26, the I / O interface 24 may enable the electronic device 10 to interact with a variety of other electronic devices. In some embodiments, the I / O interface 24 may include an I / O port for a hardwired connection for charging and / or content manipulation using a standard connector and protocol such as the Lightning connector provided by Apple Inc. of Cupertino, California, a universal serial bus (USB), or other similar connectors and protocols. The network interface 26 may include, for example, one or more interfaces for a personal area network (PAN), such as an ultra-wideband (UWB) or Network; Local Area Network (LAN) or Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), such as one of the IEEE 802.11x family of protocols (e.g. ) networks; and / or wide area networks (WANs), such as any standards associated with the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including, for example, 3rd Generation (3G) cellular networks, Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), 4th Generation (4G) cellular networks, Long Term Evolution (LET), and / or 4G cellular networks. Cellular network, Long Term Evolution Licensed Assisted Access (LTE-LAA) cellular network, 5th generation (5G) cellular network and / or new radio (NR) cellular network, 6th generation (6G) or super 6G cellular network, satellite network, non-terrestrial network, etc. In particular, the network interface 26 may include, for example, one or more interfaces of cellular communication standards of the 5G specification including a millimeter wave (mmWave) frequency range (e.g., 24.25 gigahertz (GHz) to 300 GHz) for using a frequency range defined and / or implementing for wireless communication. The network interface 26 of the electronic device 10 may allow communication through the aforementioned networks (e.g., 5G, Wi-Fi, LTE-LAA, etc.).

[0067] The network interface 26 may also include, for example, one or more interfaces for: a broadband fixed wireless access network (eg, ), mobile broadband wireless network (mobile ), asynchronous digital subscriber line (e.g., ADSL, VDSL), digital video terrestrial broadcasting Network and its extension DVB handheld devices Networks, ultra-wideband (UWB) networks, alternating current (AC) power lines, etc.

[0068] As shown, the network interface 26 may include a transceiver 30. In some embodiments, all or part of the transceiver 30 may be disposed within the processor 12. The transceiver 30 may support sending and receiving various wireless signals via one or more antennas, and thus may include a transmitter and a receiver. The power supply 29 of the electronic device 10 may include any suitable power source, such as a rechargeable lithium polymer (Li-poly) battery and / or an alternating current (AC) power converter.

[0069] Figure 2 According to the embodiments of the present disclosure Figure 1 1 is a functional diagram of an electronic device 10. As shown, the processor 12, memory 14, transceiver 30, transmitter 52, receiver 54 and / or antenna 55 (shown as 55A-55N, collectively referred to as antenna 55) can be communicatively coupled to each other directly or indirectly (e.g., through or via another component, a communication bus, a network) to send and / or receive signals between each other.

[0070] The electronic device 10 may include a transmitter 52 and / or a receiver 54, both of which enable, for example, a network (e.g., including a base station or access point) or a direct connection to send and receive signals between the electronic device 10 and an external device. As shown, the transmitter 52 and the receiver 54 may be combined into a transceiver 30. The electronic device 10 may also have one or more antennas 55A-55N electrically coupled to the transceiver 30. The antennas 55A-55N may be configured in an omnidirectional or directional configuration, such as a single beam, a dual beam, or a multi-beam arrangement. Each antenna 55 may be associated with one or more beams and various configurations. In some embodiments, multiple antennas in the antennas 55A-55N of the antenna group or module may be communicatively coupled to the corresponding transceiver 30, and each may emit a radio frequency signal that may be constructively and / or destructively combined to form a beam. The electronic device 10 may include multiple transmitters, multiple receivers, multiple transceivers, and / or multiple antennas suitable for various communication standards. In some embodiments, transmitter 52 and receiver 54 may send and receive information via other wired or wired systems or devices.

[0071] As illustrated, the various components of the electronic device 10 may be coupled together via a bus system 56. The bus system 56 may include, for example, a data bus and, in addition to the data bus, a power bus, a control signal bus, and a status signal bus. The components of the electronic device 10 may be coupled together or accept or provide input to each other using some other mechanism.

[0072] Figure 3is a schematic diagram of a transmitter 52 (e.g., a transmitting circuit) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown, the transmitter 52 can receive outgoing data 60 to be transmitted via one or more antennas 55 in the form of a digital signal. A digital-to-analog converter (DAC) 62 of the transmitter 52 can convert the digital signal into an analog signal, and a modulator 64 can combine the converted analog signal with a carrier signal to generate a radio wave. A power amplifier (PA) 66 receives the modulated signal from the modulator 64. The power amplifier 66 can amplify the modulated signal to a suitable level to drive the transmission of the signal via one or more antennas 55. The filter 68 (e.g., filter circuit and / or software) of the transmitter 52 can then remove undesirable noise from the amplified signal to generate a transmit signal 70 to be transmitted via one or more antennas 55. The filter 68 can include any suitable one or more filters that remove undesirable noise from the amplified signal, such as a bandpass filter, a bandstop filter, a low-pass filter, a high-pass filter, and / or a decimation filter.

[0073] The power amplifier 66 and / or the filter 68 may be referred to as part of a radio frequency front end (RFFE) 69 and more specifically a transmit front end (TXFE) of the electronic device 10. Additionally, the transmitter 52 may include any suitable additional components not shown, or may not include some of the components shown, so that the transmitter 52 can transmit the outgoing data 60 via one or more antennas 55. For example, the transmitter 52 may include a mixer and / or a digital upconverter. As another example, if the power amplifier 66 outputs the amplified signal within or approximately within the desired frequency range (so that filtering the amplified signal may not be necessary), the transmitter 52 may not include the filter 68.

[0074] Figure 4 60 is a schematic diagram of a receiver 54 (e.g., receiving circuit) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown, the receiver 54 is capable of receiving a received signal 80 from one or more antennas 55 in the form of an analog signal. A low noise amplifier (LNA) 82 may amplify the received analog signal to a suitable level for processing by the receiver 54. A filter 84 (e.g., a filter circuit and / or software) may remove unwanted noise such as cross-channel interference from the received signal. The filter 84 may also remove additional signals received by one or more antennas 55 at a frequency different from the desired signal. The filter 84 may include any one or more suitable filters for removing unwanted noise or signals from the received signal, such as a bandpass filter, a bandstop filter, a low-pass filter, a high-pass filter, and / or a decimation filter. The low noise amplifier 82 and / or the filter 84 may be referred to as part of the RFFE 69, and more specifically, as a receiver front end (RXFE) of the electronic device 10.

[0075] The demodulator 86 may remove the RF envelope from the filtered signal and / or extract the demodulated signal from the filtered signal for processing. The analog-to-digital converter (ADC) 88 may receive the demodulated analog signal and convert the signal into a digital signal of the incoming data 90 for further processing by the electronic device 10. The digital signal can represent the incoming data 90 in a format used by one or more components in the digital domain, and can be generated based on one or more analog signals received via the antenna 55 that can represent the incoming data in a format in the analog domain. Additionally, the receiver 54 may include any suitable additional components not shown, or may not include some of the components shown, so that the receiver 54 can receive the received signal 80 via one or more antennas 55. For example, the receiver 54 may include a mixer and / or a digital down converter.

[0076] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of a communication system 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the communication system including a wireless communication network 102 communicatively coupled to a wireless communication network 102 supported by base stations 104A, 104B (collectively referred to as 104). Figure 1 In particular, the base station 104 may include a next generation NodeB (gNodeB or gNB) base station and may provide 5G NR coverage to the electronic device 10 via the wireless communication network 102. The base station 104 may include any suitable electronic device that facilitates, supports and / or implements the network 102, such as a communication hub or node. In some embodiments, the base station 104 may include an evolved NodeB (eNodeB) base station and may provide 4G / LTE coverage to the electronic device 10 via the wireless communication network 102. Each of the base stations 104 may include Figure 1 and Figure 2 At least some of the components of the electronic device 10 shown include one or more processors 12, memory 14, storage 16, transceiver 30, transmitter 52, receiver 54, and Figure 4 The associated circuit is shown.

[0077] It should be understood that although the present disclosure may use 5G NR as an example specification or standard, the embodiments disclosed herein may be applicable to other suitable specifications or standards (e.g., such as 4G / LTE specifications, 6G specifications, specifications beyond 6G, specifications operating in the sub-THz frequency range, etc.). In addition, the network 102 may include any suitable number of base stations 104 (e.g., one or more base stations 104, four or more base stations 104, ten or more base stations 104, etc.).

[0078] See now Figure 6 , Figure 61 is a block diagram of a first example system 120A that implements the multi-RAT converter 122 discussed above. The system 120A may use the multi-RAT converter 122 to convert communication signals between one or more radio access technologies, such as between a first radio access technology (first RAT) and a second radio access technology (second RAT). Different radio access technologies or networks may correspond to radio frequency signals having different frequency bands, layers, subcarrier spacing, modulation, coding rates, waveforms, etc., and thus the multi-RAT converter 122 may intermediately process communications transmitted according to different characteristics and enable a base station 104 of the first network to communicate with an electronic device 10 that can be configured to communicate on a second network.

[0079] For example, the first RAT may correspond to a relatively lower frequency band (e.g., 5G NRFR1) (e.g., transmitting and / or receiving radio frequency signals having a relatively lower frequency band), and the second RAT may correspond to a relatively higher frequency band (e.g., FR2, mmW, THz, sub-THz) (e.g., transmitting and / or receiving radio frequency signals having a relatively higher frequency band). The example electronic device 10 (e.g., user equipment (UE)) may be operated to transmit and / or receive using signals on a relatively higher frequency band (e.g., sub-THz cellular signals). In some embodiments, the electronic device 10 may use both sub-THz antenna panels and FR2 antenna panels. Each antenna panel may include one or more antennas 55 that may form a beam for transmitting or receiving radio frequency signals.

[0080] In further detail, the multi-RAT converter 122 may be coupled between one or more network-side devices and one or more electronic devices 10 (e.g., user-side devices, user equipment (UE)) to convert communication signals between lower frequency bands (e.g., FR1 or other 5G bands) and higher frequency bands (e.g., FR2 and / or 6G / sub-THz bands). For example, the multi-RAT converter 122 may change one or more characteristics of the corresponding communication signal when converting from one spectrum to another. The multi-RAT converter 122 may assist in downlink (DL) transmission operations and / or uplink (UL) transmission operations. DL operations and / or UL operations may operate based on frequency multiplexing and / or spatial multiplexing. It should be understood that although the disclosed embodiments are discussed with respect to assisting DL operations, they may be similarly applied in reverse order to UL operations in additional or alternative embodiments.

[0081] The multi-RAT converter 122 may be a new type of entity relative to an existing or previous communication network system. In fact, the multi-RAT converter 122 may be network operator agnostic. The multi-RAT converter 122 may assist in data transmission between a network side device and a user equipment electronic device 10. Data transmission may include downlink communication transmission transmitted from a base station 104 (e.g., a radio access node) to an electronic device 10. Data transmission between a base station 104 and an electronic device 10 may involve two "hops" of an end-to-end communication link, wherein the first hop (corresponding to a first communication link) is between the base station 104 and the multi-RAT converter 122, and the second hop (corresponding to a second communication link) occurs between the multi-RAT converter 122 and the electronic device 10. Different communication links 124, 126 may use different radio access technologies (RATs) 128, 130 (e.g., different radio spectrums). In particular, the two communication links 124, 126 may use different frequency bands, network resources, and / or different parameters corresponding to their respective RATs 128, 130 for communication. For example, the first communication link 124 may use a relatively lower frequency band (e.g., the first RAT 128 of NR FR1), while the second communication link 126 may use a higher frequency band (e.g., the second RAT 130 of NR FR2, mmW, THz, 6G, or sub-THz).

[0082] In detail, Figure 7 An example transition from a first RAT 128 to a second RAT 130 is illustrated in FIG. Figure 7 yes Figure 6 A diagram of an example transition of signals between a first RAT 128 and a second RAT 130 is shown. Figure 7The illustration shows how the multi-RAT converter 122 can convert signals between the first RAT 128 and the second RAT 130, at least in part, by changing the number of layers 140, subcarrier spacing (SCS) parameters 142, modulation parameters 144, coding rate parameters 146, and / or waveform representations 148, etc., between the different RATs (e.g., represented by insets 150 and 152). For example, the multi-RAT converter 122 can change the waveform representation 148 from an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) modulation format to a single carrier modulation format, change the coding rate parameter 146 from 0.75 to 0.5, change the modulation parameter 144 from 256 quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) to 16QAM (where QAM is an amplitude modulation process that conveys an analog message signal by modulating the amplitude of an associated carrier using parameters), change the SCS parameter 142 from 30 kilohertz (kHz) to 120 KHz, and change the number of layers 140 from 8 to 4. One or more of the multi-RAT translators 122 may perform a translation operation to change a signal conforming to the first RAT 128 to a signal conforming to the second RAT 130 .

[0083] Note that f0 and f1 refer to the center frequencies of the respective RATs. In some cases, f0 and f1 remain at the same frequency before and after the transition between the first RAT 128 and the second RAT 130. One reason this may be desirable is that circuitry of the electronic device 10 and / or the network (e.g., the base station 104) may not need to be recalibrated to the new center frequency. However, in some cases, the frequency value changes between f0 and f1, such as in frequency diversity operation and / or in frequency reuse operation, and thus circuitry of the electronic device 10 and / or the network (e.g., the base station 104) may be appropriately shifted to different frequencies to accommodate the change between f0 and f1 (e.g., based on control signal instructions or timing interval monitoring).

[0084] although Figure 6 A single electronic device 10 is illustrated as communicating with a plurality of multi-RAT translators 122, but it should be noted that any suitable number of electronic devices 10 may communicate with any suitable number of multi-RAT translators 122, which may be used to convert between any suitable number of RATs. Figure 8 1 is a block diagram illustrating that multiple electronic devices 10 may be assisted by multiple multi-RAT converters 122. Communications to and / or from one or more of the electronic devices 10 may be converted and processed by one or more of the multi-RAT converters 122. In this case, the first communication link 124 may include multi-user, multiple-input, and multiple-output (MU-MIMO) transmissions between the base station 104 and the multi-RAT converter 122.

[0085] The multi-RAT converter 122 or a group of multiple multi-RAT converters 122 may have more antennas (and processing circuits), and therefore have more ability to transmit or receive larger bandwidth or wider variety of data sets compared to the electronic device 10 (e.g., end-user user equipment such as a mobile phone). As described above, some models of electronic devices 10 can receive a maximum number of layers corresponding to the total number of antennas of the electronic device 10, which may be constrained by the desired occupied area of ​​the RF circuit within the electronic device 10. For example, since the number of antennas 55 is limited to four antennas 55, the corresponding electronic device 10 can receive up to four downlinks via four layers. One benefit of using a multi-RAT converter 122 may be that the number of antennas that can be equipped with it is more flexible relative to the number of antennas of the electronic device 10. In addition, even if a single multi-RAT converter 122 has four RX antennas 55 like the electronic device 10, the joint use of multiple multi-RAT converters 122 to assist in communication to the electronic device 10 can also functionally increase the number of RX antennas 55 at the multi-RAT converter 122, and therefore the number of DL transmission layers can be increased, thereby granting relatively more flexibility in deployment.

[0086] Compared with other systems, there may be additional benefits in using the proposed DL multi-RAT converter 122. First, the multi-RAT converter 122 may not terminate the data plane, which may improve the connectivity between the first RAT 128 and the second RAT 130. Second, the multi-RAT converter 122 may not use a SIM card and / or may be transparent to the base station 104. Third, the multi-RAT converter 122 may be installed in a fixed location (e.g., a wall of a building or a wall of a room in a building), a vehicle, and / or may be portable. In addition, the multi-RAT converter 122 can be used to assist data transmission independently of the first RAT 128 operator that adapts to the use of the multi-RAT converter 122. In fact, the control channel (e.g., physical downlink control channel (PDCCH)) message can continue to be directly (e.g., via FR1 RAT) transmitted to the electronic device 10 and received by the electronic device, which can enable the current method for network registration of the electronic device 10 to remain unchanged and compatible with the multi-RAT converter 122.

[0087] The multi-RAT converter 122 can change the data transmission characteristics to step up or step down between RATs. This may involve changing the signal based on the different number of antennas and / or transmission characteristics associated with different RATs, as further described in 9A to 9C as well as Fig.10 As described.

[0088] In detail, 9A to 9CIt is a timing diagram illustrating the transformation of spatial multiplexing to time or frequency multiplexing (e.g., spatial multiplexing data format, frequency multiplexing data format, time multiplexing data format). Spatial multiplexing can help improve the data rate and / or data throughput in a network by increasing the number of layers used to send data. In particular, frequency multiplexing is the process of dividing the bandwidth into a series of non-overlapping frequency bands. Here, data transmission is described as being divided into different numbers of data layers sent at different carrier frequencies to perform frequency multiplexing. Spatial multiplexing may involve different parts (e.g., different layers) of data transmission being sent in spatially separated independent channels. In practice, the corresponding layers are data channels that are spatially separated from other layers of other data signals used to send communications. Time multiplexing is the process by which data transmission is divided into different parts that are sent at non-overlapping times.

[0089] The base station 104 may determine the number of layers (M layers 170) used to transmit data via the first communication link 124. The M layers 170 refer to the number of MIMO layers used by the base station 104 to transmit data packets via the communication link 124, and thus correspond to the MIMO layers received by the multi-RAT converter 122 to be converted to be transmitted to the electronic device 10 as M1 data streams 172 and M2 data streams 174. In this way, the processing performed by the multi-RAT converter 122 may use one layer, but may be based on data received by multiple antennas of the multi-RAT converter 122. As will be understood, the multi-RAT converter 122 may deliver the M layer 170 data to the electronic device 10 with varying amounts of processing. The multi-RAT converter 122 may convert the M layer 170 into separate transmissions of the M1 data stream 172 and the M2 data stream 174 in the second communication link 126, wherein the number of the M1 data streams 172 may be less than the number of the M layers 170, and wherein the number of the M2 data streams 174 may be less than the number of the M layers 170.

[0090] For example, the base station 104 may include 192 antennas (e.g., a first number of antennas), while the electronic device 10 may include four antennas (e.g., a second lower number of antennas), and the multi-RAT converter 122 may include eight antennas. Thus, the multi-RAT converter 122 may use its eight antennas to intercept transmissions to the electronic device 10 and down-convert the M layer 170 to a format compatible with the electronic device 10. The processing performed by the multi-RAT converter 122 may be configurable to be compatible with a variety of systems, including being configurable in terms of time transmission, carrier frequency, resource blocks, spatial configuration, etc. Thus, the M layer 170 may perform some reconfiguration and / or processing to generate the M1 data stream 172 and / or M2 data stream 174 that are transmitted respectively.

[0091] To help explain, Fig.9A1 is a timing diagram illustrating the conversion of spatial multiplexing to time multiplexing. In practice, one or more multi-RAT converters 122 can convert the data of the first communication link 124, M layer 170 into the time multiplexed data streams, M1 data stream 172 and M2 data stream 174 of the second communication link 126. The M1 data stream 172 and the M2 data stream 174 can use substantially overlapping carrier frequencies and thus will be changed over time (e.g., axis 176) rather than carrier frequency (e.g., as shown in FIG. Fig. 9B shown) separation.

[0092] Fig. 9B and Fig. 9C 1 is a timing diagram illustrating the conversion of spatial multiplexing to frequency multiplexing. One or more multi-RAT converters 122 may convert the M layer 170 into a frequency multiplexed M1 data stream 172 and an M2 data stream 174. Fig. 9B In , the M1 data stream 172 and the M2 data stream 174 may be separated on different carrier frequencies (eg, f1 is different from f2) via frequency multiplexing. Fig. 9C In , the multi-RAT converter 122 separates the M1 data stream 172 and the M2 data stream 174 onto different resource blocks (RBs), and thus separates the data streams based on RB multiplexing. Fig. 9C In the embodiment of the present invention, the M1 data stream 172 and the M2 data stream 174 can have the same carrier frequency and can be transmitted at at least partially overlapping times, but remain separated due to different RB allocations.

[0093] Fig.10 1 is a block diagram illustrating a spatial multiplexing transformation according to a plurality of transformers. In practice, a plurality of multi-RAT transformers 122A, 122B may transform data of a first RAT 128 into a plurality of data streams of a second RAT 130. This may enable the antenna of the corresponding RAT transformer 122 to receive a signal from a base station 104 via the first RAT 128 and transform it to different data streams 172, 174 to achieve spatial multiplexing of the second RAT 130. Different multi-RAT transformers 122A, 122B process the M layer 170 on the first communication link 124 (e.g., the first RAT 128) to generate an M1 data stream 172 and an M2 data stream 174, thereby achieving separation between the M1 data stream 172 and the M2 data stream 174, respectively. Once generated, the M1 data stream 172 and the M2 data stream 174 are respectively communicated to the electronic device 10 on the second communication link 126 (e.g., the second RAT 130).

[0094] exist 9A to 9C as well as Fig.10In each of the examples of FIG. 1 , the multi-RAT converter 122 is processing the same number of M layers 170 into different data streams (e.g., M1 data stream 172 and M2 data stream 174) having a reduced number of layers. In this manner, the different data streams sent from the multi-RAT converter 122 may have different data relative to each other, but have a subset of data / signal reformatted relative to the M layers 170. This is different from FIG. 11A to FIG. 11C as well as Fig.12 In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, these figures illustrate a case where the multi-RAT translator 122 may generate separate data streams having the same data (referred to as diversity).

[0095] See now FIG. 11A to FIG. 11C as well as Fig.12 , the multi-RAT converter 122 may be based on time diversity (eg, Fig.11A ) and / or frequency diversity (e.g., Fig. 11B , Fig. 11C ) and / or spatial diversity (e.g., Fig.12 ) (eg, spatial diversity data format, frequency diversity data format, time diversity data format) to transform the M layer 170 into the M layers 190, 192. Diversity transformation can provide diversity gain and can improve reliability by repeating the transmitted data.

[0096] Fig.11A 1 is a timing diagram illustrating the use of time diversity to transform the transmission. One or more multi-RAT converters 122 can transform the M layer 170 of the first communication link 124 into the same data stream separated based on time diversity (for example, M layer 190 and M layer 192 have the same data as M layer 170). In fact, one or more multi-RAT converters 122 can generate two transmissions of M layers 190, 192, and can come from a single multi-RAT converter 122 or multiple multi-RAT converters 122. The two transmissions of M layers 190, 192 can be separated over time via time diversity. It should be noted that the number of layers does not change between the first RAT 128 data transmission via the first communication link 124 and the second RAT 130 data transmission via the second communication link 126.

[0097] Fig. 11B and Fig. 11C190 and 192. The multi-RAT converter 122 may convert the data stream of the first communication link 124 into the same data stream separated based on frequency diversity (e.g., M layer 190 and M layer 192). In fact, the one or more multi-RAT converters 122 may generate two transmissions of the M layer (e.g., M layer 190 and M layer 192), and may come from a single multi-RAT converter 122 or multiple multi-RAT converters 122. For example, the M layer 190 and the M layer 192 may have the same or substantially similar transmitted data while having different carrier frequencies. The two transmissions of the M layers 190, 192 may have different carrier frequencies, and thus implement Fig. 11B However, in Fig. 11C In the embodiment of the present invention, the M layers 190, 192 may have the same carrier frequency and be allocated different resource blocks (RBs) to achieve frequency diversity. Note that the number of layers may not change between the first RAT 128 transmission and the second RAT 130 transmission.

[0098] Fig.12 1 is a block diagram illustrating the use of spatial diversity to transform transmission. Different multi-RAT converters 122A, 122B process the M layer 170 on the first communication link 124 (e.g., the first RAT 128) to generate M layer 190 and M layer 192, respectively, to achieve spatial diversity. Despite having duplicate data, M layer 190 and M layer 192 are sent to the electronic device 10 at least partially overlapping times (e.g., concurrently or simultaneously) and separately. Once generated, M layer 190 and M layer 192 are communicated to the electronic device 10 on the second communication link 126 (e.g., the second RAT 130), respectively.

[0099] Reference is now made to example implementations of the multi-RAT translator 122 and the electronic device 10 . Fig.13 An example multi-RAT translator 122 is illustrated, showing example operations performed when translating DL transmissions. Fig.14 and Fig.15 A first system implementation of an example multi-RAT converter 122 based on removing a cyclic prefix (CP) before conversion is illustrated, wherein Fig.16 is an example of the first system. Fig.17 and Fig.18 A second system implementation based on a second example multi-RAT converter 122 that removes CP and performs demodulation before conversion is illustrated, wherein Fig.19 and Fig. 20 is a corresponding example of the second system. Fig.21 and Fig. 22A third system implementation based on a third example multi-RAT converter 122 is illustrated, which removes the CP and performs demodulation before conversion and adds a reference signal corresponding to the second RAT 130 after conversion, wherein Figure 23 to Figure 25 is an example of a third system (e.g., Fig.24 is a first example electronic device 10 that demodulates and processes 4 layers of data individually before combining near the end, while Fig.25 is a second example electronic device 10) that combines two 4-layer data sets into one 8-layer data set before demodulation and processing. Fig.26 and Fig. 27 A fourth system implementation is illustrated based on a fourth example multi-RAT translator 122 that adds channel estimation and MIMO equalization based on the first RAT 128 parameters prior to translation. Fig.28 and Fig.29 A fifth system implementation based on a fifth example multi-RAT converter 122 is illustrated, which performs channel decoding based on the first RAT 128 parameters before conversion and performs channel coding based on the second RAT 130 parameters after conversion. It is noted that a single multi-RAT converter 122 and / or multiple multi-RAT converters 122 can communicate between the base station 104 and the electronic device 10 as described herein. Moreover, additional or fewer components may be included in any of the base station 104, the electronic device 10, and / or the multi-RAT converter 122 described herein. For example, in Figures 14 to 29 In each of the systems described in the examples, the example multi-RAT converter 122 and / or the example electronic device 10 may include a receiver 54, a transmitter 52, an ADC 88, a DAC 62, and other components that are not specifically illustrated, although they are used to perform the operations actually illustrated in the corresponding figures. It should also be noted that these examples are described in terms of downlink (DL) operations initiated at the base station 104 and sent to the electronic device 10. However, similar systems can be used for uplink (UL) operations initiated at the electronic device 10 and sent to the base station 104, as long as the RX-TX direction of the data and processing flow is reversed. That is, the multi-RAT converter 122 may include a receiver 54 capable of receiving data on the second RAT 130, a processing circuit that converts the signal from the second RAT 130 to the first RAT 128, and a transmitter 52 that sends the converted signal on the first RAT 128. This can be extrapolated and applied to other examples and intermediate circuits described herein.

[0100] In each of the examples described herein, the transition controller 222 may perform different operations to convert data from the first RAT 128 to the second RAT 130 depending on the application and the configuration of the first RAT 128 and the second RAT 130. For example, the transition from the first RAT 128 to the second RAT 130 may include transitioning between RATs configured for spatial multiplexing to time multiplexing (e.g., different time slots), frequency multiplexing (e.g., different carrier frequencies), spatial diversity, time diversity, and / or frequency diversity.

[0101] See now Fig.13 , Fig.13 2 is a block diagram of an example multi-RAT converter 122, which illustrates example operations performed when converting DL transmissions, which may include additional or alternative components to those illustrated. Each multi-RAT converter 122 (e.g., DL multi-RAT converter 122) may receive an RF signal from a base station 104 via an antenna 55 using parameters that conform to a first RAT 128 (e.g., FR1). The signal from the antenna 55 (e.g., an input signal) may be received by a receiver 54 (operation of block 214). The processor 12 and / or the control circuit of the receiver 54 may convert data received from the first RAT 128 to a second RAT 130 (operation of block 216). Sometimes, intermediate signals are generated when preparing an input signal for conversion, during conversion, and when preparing a converted signal to be sent as an output signal. The transmitter 52 may send the converted data (e.g., an output signal) in the second RAT 130 to the electronic device 10 (operation of block 218). Note that when operational blocks are illustrated in the figures, these described operations may be performed by one or more parts (such as the processor 12, the receiver 54 and / or the transmitter 52) of the electronic device 10 and / or the multi-RAT converter 122 (eg, another electronic device 10).

[0102] Thus, with the assistance of the multi-RAT translator 122, the electronic device 10 may receive and process data of the second RAT 130 at a higher frequency band, which may be based on the second RAT 130 parameters. The electronic device 10 may inversely translate and process data of the first RAT 128 at a lower frequency band (e.g., FR1), which may be based on the first RAT 128 parameters.

[0103] The multi-RAT translator 122 may include any suitable circuitry for translating between one or more RATs. Although any suitable circuitry may be used to implement the multi-RAT translator 122, five example system implementations are described herein.

[0104] For the first example implementation, Fig.142 is a block diagram of a first example multi-RAT converter 122 that removes the CP before conversion, and is illustrated with operation blocks corresponding to the operation of the components of the multi-RAT converter 122. The multi-RAT converter 122 may receive the transmitted signal 70A (of the first RAT 128) (operation of block 230) and may perform analog-to-digital conversion of the transmitted signal 70A to generate data (operation of block 232). When there is no OFDM demodulation operation, the multi-RAT converter 122 may process the data in the time domain until a cyclic prefix (CP) removal operation is performed (operation of block 234). Once the data has been digitally converted, the multi-RAT converter 122 (via the processor 12) may process the data in the bit domain. A CP remover or other suitable processing circuitry may remove the CP and otherwise prepare the data for conversion.

[0105] The multi-RAT converter 122 may convert (e.g., reconfigure) the data to be compatible with the second communication link 126 configuration (operation of block 236). For example, the sampling rate of the second communication link 126 may be greater than the sampling rate of the first communication link 124. In fact, if both communication links 124, 126 use OFDM with a 30 kHz subcarrier spacing (SCS) for the first communication link 124 and a 120 kHz SCS for the second communication link 126, the sampling rate of the second communication link 126 may be four times the sampling rate of the first communication link 124.

[0106] After the conversion, the multi-RAT converter 122 may add the CP for the second RAT 130 back to the converted data (operation of block 238). At operation of block 240, the modified data may be digital-to-analog converted (e.g., via DAC 62). Once converted, the converted analog signal may be transmitted as the transmit signal 70B of the second RAT 130 (e.g., via transmitter 52) (operation of 242).

[0107] Fig.15 The example corresponding to Fig.14 An example electronic device 10 of a multi-RAT translator 122 is shown. Fig.15 is a block diagram of an example electronic device 10 corresponding to user equipment that receives a signal from Fig.14The electronic device 10 may receive the transmitted signal 70B from the multi-RAT translator 122 via the receiver 54 (operation of block 250) and perform analog-to-digital conversion of the transmitted signal 70B via the ADC 88 (operation of block 252). The electronic device 10 may remove the CP from the transmitted signal 70B (now a digital signal) in the bit domain (operation of block 254) before transmitting the modified transmitted signal to the demodulator 86 for processing as first RAT 128 data (operation of block 256). The electronic device 10 may inversely transform the demodulated data to generate data conforming to the first RAT 128 (operation of block 258). At block 260, further RX processing may be performed, such as channel estimation, demodulation, channel decoding using the first RAT 128 parameters, etc., to prepare the incoming data 90 for use by other systems of the electronic device 10. After performing the further RX processing, the electronic device 10 (e.g., via the processor 12) may send the resulting signal to another circuit of the electronic device 10 as the incoming data 90 compatible with the first RAT 128. Note that the incoming data 90 may be compatible with the first RAT 128. Fig.14 The data transformed at the operation of block 236 is the same or substantially similar.

[0108] Describe in more detail Fig.14 and Fig.15 , Fig.16 yes Fig.14 and Fig.15 A block diagram of an example implementation of the system and method of Fig.16 some components of, and therefore rely on, the previous description.

[0109] The base station 104 may transmit the signal 70 via the first communication link 124 of the first RAT 128. Here, the base station 104 may use a 30 kHz SCS and f s 8 layers of data are transmitted using NR FR1 OFDM with a sampling rate of . Since the base station 104 transmits eight layers, the two multi-RAT converters 122A and 122B can each intercept four layers of the total eight layers transmitted to the electronic device 10 (e.g., four layers to the multi-RAT converter 122A and the remaining four layers to the multi-RAT converter 122B are the transmitted signal 70A). The electronic device 10 may include four RX antennas 55. Each multi-RAT converter 122A and 122B may include four RX antennas and four TX antennas (or one or more antennas for both receiving and transmitting).

[0110] The multi-RAT converters 122A, 122B may convert from spatial multiplexing to frequency multiplexing.

[0111] Both the multi-RAT converters 122A, 122B may receive the eight-layer data and down-convert and / or process it using the first RAT 128 compatible parameters (operation of block 270). The operations of block 270 may correspond to and / or include the operations of block 230. The multi-RAT converters 122A, 122B may perform analog-to-digital conversion (operation of block 272) based on the signal resulting from the operations of block 270. Between the operations of blocks 274 and 276, both the multi-RAT converters 122A, 122B may convert the data from block 274 to the second RAT 130 in preparation for transmission on the second communication link 126. The multi-RAT converters 122A, 122B may do so using the processed received data and the second RAT 130 compatible parameters (e.g., with 4*f s The multi-RAT converters 122A, 122B may both use the first RAT 128 characteristics of OFDM with 5G NR FR1 30kHz SCS and may use the second RAT 130 characteristics of 5G NR FR2 120kHz SCS. Other suitable ranges for SCS may be used, such as a frequency range of 20kHz to 40kHz and / or 110kHz to 130kHz.

[0112] After performing any conversion between the operations of block 274 and block 276, the multi-RAT converter 122A, 122B may add the FR2 CP as the second RAT 130 CP. At the operation of block 278, the multi-RAT converter 122A, 122B may use 4*f s The multi-RAT translator 122A may transmit the second RAT 130 compatible data as the M1 data stream 172 to the electronic device 10 at a carrier frequency f1 (operation of block 280) at at least partially overlapping times (e.g., simultaneously, substantially simultaneously), and the multi-RAT translator 122B may transmit the second RAT 130 compatible data as the M2 data stream 174 to the electronic device 10 at a carrier frequency f2 (operation of block 280).

[0113] After receiving and down-converting the signals at the two carrier frequencies f1 and f2 (operation of block 282), the electronic device 10 may use 4*f sThe received analog signal may be converted to a digital signal at a sampling rate of (block 284). The electronic device 10 may then remove one or more CPs from the resulting digital signal (block 286). The electronic device 10 may perform FR1 OFDM demodulation on the processed signal from the operation of block 286 (block 288). The electronic device 10 may perform an inverse transform from frequency multiplexing to spatial multiplexing compatible with the first RAT 128 (e.g., from two 4-layer data to one 8-layer data) (block 290). The electronic device 10 may perform channel estimation, MIMO equalization, demodulation, channel decoding, and / or other processing operations using FR1 parameters compatible with the first RAT 128 (block 292). Channel estimation is used to estimate an equivalent two-hop cascaded channel (e.g., base station 104 to multi-RAT converter 122 to electronic device 10). Electronic device 10 processing may occur based on both the M1 data stream 172 and the M2 data stream 174. The resulting data may be sent to other components of the electronic device 10 (eg, circuitry disposed outside or external to the RF front end that may perform some or all of the operations of blocks 282 through 292).

[0114] Please note that for Figures 17 to 29 , some components and operations are different from those Figures 1 to 16 Those components and operations described are the same or substantially similar. Therefore, this similar description may not be repeated but is cited in this article.

[0115] See now Fig.17 , Fig.17 2 is a block diagram of a second example multi-RAT converter 122 that removes CP and performs demodulation before conversion. The multi-RAT converter 122 may receive the transmitted signal 70A via the first RAT 128 and may convert the transmitted signal 70A to a digital signal (operations of blocks 230 and 232). Processing operations may occur in the frequency domain until OFDM demodulation and CP removal operations (operations of block 310).

[0116] The multi-RAT converter 122 and Fig.15, in which example the transmit signal 70A is being demodulated. Therefore, a demodulation operation is included at box 310. The TX baseband digital processing operation for the second RAT 130 signal (operation of box 312) may be based on the modulated symbols (e.g., no bit domain processing or channel decoding at the multi-RAT converter 122). The operation of box 312 may include pre-decoding, resource mapping, OFDM modulation, adding CP, etc. Note that the TX baseband digital processing of box 242, the digital-to-analog conversion operation of box 240, and the sending of the second RAT 130 transmit signal 70B (operation of box 242) are based on the second RAT 130 parameters. For the second communication link 126, no new reference signal may be added. Once the processing is completed, the transformed signal may be sent to the electronic device 10 as the second RAT 130 transmit signal 70B via the transmitter 52 (operation of box 242). Accordingly, Fig.18 It is shown in Fig.17 End user handling of this option.

[0117] Fig.18 The example corresponding to Fig.17 An example electronic device 10 of a multi-RAT translator 122 is shown in which the electronic device 10 can both remove CP and perform demodulation based on second RAT 130 parameters before performing an inverse transform based on first RAT 128 parameters. Fig.18 is the ability to receive Fig.17 The operation of the example electronic device may be substantially similar to that of a user equipment 10 that is configured to convert signals of a multi-RAT converter 122. Fig.15 operation, but with some differences.

[0118] One difference is that the electronic device 10 may perform channel estimation, MIMO equalization, and demodulation operations (operations of block 320) to "reverse out" the processing added by the multi-RAT converter 122 to the original first RAT 128 transmit signal 70A. In this way, the operations performed by the electronic device 10 to reverse the transformation made by the multi-RAT converter 122 may be the same but opposite of those performed to transform the first RAT 128 signal to the second RAT 130 signal. Note that channel estimation (operations of block 320) can be used to estimate an equivalent two-hop cascaded channel (e.g., BS to multi-RAT converter 122 to end user). Note that in some cases, the order of the operations of channel estimation, MIMO equalization, demodulation, and / or inverse transformation may be changed to suit the system.

[0119] Another difference may be that channel decoding (operation of block 322) is performed after the inverse transform operation of block 258. Yet another difference is that the demodulation operation of block 256 may be performed according to second RAT 130 parameters (e.g., as indicated by the layout in "Step 1: Receive Processing of Second RAT 130 Data") as opposed to first RAT 128 parameters.

[0120] Describe in more detail Fig.17 and Fig.18 , Fig.19 yes Fig.17 and Fig.18 A block diagram of an example implementation of the system and method of Fig.19 some components of, and therefore rely on, the previous description.

[0121] Compare Fig.19 and Fig.16 , the examples are similar, but have some differences. As in Fig.16 In the example of FIG. 1 , the first RAT 128 corresponds to using OFDM, 30 KHz SCS and f s NR FR1 network with eight layers of data at a sampling rate of Fig.16 In the example of FIG. 1 , the second RAT 130 corresponds to using OFDM, 120 KHz SCS and 4*f s NR FR2 network with four layers of data at the sampling rate of . However, Fig.19 The multi-RAT converters 122A, 122B may be used with Fig.16 The operations of block 330 may correspond to the operations of block 310, and the operations of blocks 236 and 312 may be performed in the same manner as those described in FIG. 310 (as opposed to spatial multiplexing to frequency multiplexing) and add the FR1 CP removal and OFDM demodulation operations of block 330 to transform from spatial multiplexing to time multiplexing. Fig.19 is performed in the example without being specifically illustrated.

[0122] Once the processing is complete, the multi-RAT translator 122A may transmit the second RAT 130 compatible data as an M1 data stream 172 at carrier frequency f1 to the electronic device 10. At non-overlapping times, the multi-RAT translator 122B transmits the second RAT 130 compatible data as an M2 data stream 174 at carrier frequency f1 to the electronic device 10. Transmitting at different times enables time multiplexing.

[0123] The base station 104 may transmit eight layers to the electronic device 10, and thus the two multi-RAT translators 122A, 122B may each intercept four layers of the total eight layers transmitted to the electronic device 10 (e.g., four layers to the multi-RAT translator 122A and the remaining four layers to the multi-RAT translator 122B are the transmitted signal 70A). The base station 104 may use a 30 kHz SCS and f s The two DL multi-RAT converters 122 may receive the eight-layer data at time slot t0 and process the received data using the first RAT 128 parameters. The two DL multi-RAT converters 122 may use, at least in part, the processed received data and the second RAT 130 parameters (e.g., FR2 data and the NR FR1 OFDM corresponding to the sampling rate of 4*f s The FR2 OFDM parameters) are used to prepare the second communication link 126 for transmission.

[0124] The electronic device 10 may include four RX antennas 55, and each multi-RAT converter 122A, 122B may include four RX antennas and four TX antennas (or one or more antennas that perform both RX and TX). The multi-RAT converter 122 may send the corresponding signals with offset durations (t2-t1) to provide time multiplexing. In fact, the first multi-RAT converter 122 may send four layers of data to the electronic device 10 at the first RAT 128 time slot t1, and the second multi-RAT converter 122 may send other four layers of data to the electronic device 10 at the second RAT 130 time slot t2. In this way, the conversion at the two multi-RAT converters 122 can be achieved from spatial multiplexing to time multiplexing. The electronic device 10 generates the processed incoming data 90 based on the received transmission signal 70B received in different time slots t2 and t1, which can achieve synchronization of data transmission regardless of the fact that the transmitted data is divided into different parts that are transmitted at different times.

[0125] In detail, Fig. 20 Different parts of a transmission are received in different time slots (e.g., time multiplexing) Fig.19 340 and 342. The electronic device 10 is a block diagram of an electronic device 10 of FIG. 340. In practice, the electronic device 10 receives the transmit signal 70B via the second RAT 130 at the first time slot t1 (operation of block 340), and receives the transmit signal 70B via the second RAT 130 at the first time slot t2 (operation of block 342). These receptions may occur at different times (e.g., t1 and t2). The operations of blocks 340, 342 correspond to the reception operations of block 250, but are performed at different times rather than simultaneously for the corresponding time slots.

[0126] After receiving the transmitted signal 70B of the first time slot t1 at block 340, the electronic device 10 may perform second RAT 130 reception processing (operation of block 344), which involves down-conversion of the received signal from the second RAT 130 (e.g., FR2) (operation of block 346), s The ADC operation of the sampling rate (operation of block 284) and the CP removal operation (operation of block 286) of block 346 may involve Fig.16 Similar to the operations of blocks 340 and 344 for time slot t1, while reception and processing of data for time slot t2 occurs (operations of blocks 342 and 344), the processed data may be buffered (operation of block 348) and collected (operation of block 350).

[0127] Once both the data for time slot t1 and the data for time slot t2 are collected (at block 350), the electronic device 10 may perform a demodulation operation (operation of block 288). The demodulated data may then be processed to transform from time multiplexing to spatial multiplexing (operation of block 290), such as transforming two 4-layer data into one 8-layer data. The transformed data may then be processed by the operation of block 292. That is, the transformed data may use the parameters of the first RAT 128 for channel estimation, MIMO equalization, demodulation, and / or channel decoding.

[0128] Yet another example multi-RAT converter 122 is now described in detail. Fig.21 is a block diagram of another example multi-RAT converter 122 that removes the CP and performs demodulation before conversion and adds a reference signal corresponding to the second RAT after conversion. Fig. 22 is corresponding to Fig.21 1 is a block diagram of another example electronic device 10 of a multi-RAT converter 122, wherein the electronic device removes the reference signal, CP and performs demodulation based on the second RAT 130 parameters before inverse conversion. For ease of explanation, Fig.21 and Fig. 22 Describe together.

[0129] In this example, relative to Figures 13 to 20 , an additional reference signal (RS) for the second RAT 130 is added ( Fig.21 Adding a reference signal for the second RAT 130 enables the electronic device 10 to estimate the communication links (e.g., communication links 124, 126) separately when performing channel estimation and associated operations. This is different from the previous example where each RAT uses the same waveform modulation (e.g., Fig.16 and Fig.19In contrast, in the example where both RATs use OFDM, separate estimates may enable each RAT to use a different waveform modulation (e.g., the first RAT 128 uses OFDM, while the second RAT 130 uses single carrier frequency modulation). To accommodate different waveform modulations, Fig. 22 The electronic device 10 performs a first set of channel estimation, MIMO equalization and / or demodulation operations for the second RAT 130 (operations of block 372) and a second set of channel estimation, MIMO equalization and / or demodulation operations for the first RAT 128 (operations of block 374). The signal resulting from the first set of operations at block 372 can be used to perform the second set of operations at block 374. Note that in some cases, the order of the operations of blocks 258 and 374 is swapped.

[0130] To further describe in detail Fig.21 and Fig. 22 , Fig.23 is corresponding to Fig.21 and Fig. 22 A block diagram of an example system and method of a system and method, wherein Fig.21 The multi-RAT converter 122 has eight receiver antennas and four transmitter antennas, and Fig. 22 The electronic device 10 has four receiver antennas. Fig.21 In the embodiment of the present invention, the base station 104 can send eight layers to the electronic device 10, and the multi-RAT converter 122 can convert the signal from spatial multiplexing to frequency multiplexing. The electronic device 10 can have four RX antennas 55 (e.g., Y RX antennas 55), and the multi-RAT converter 122 can have eight RX antennas (e.g., 2*Y RX antennas 55) and four TX antennas 55 (e.g., Y TX antennas 55). Both RATs can use OFDM. The first RAT 128 can use 5G NR FR1 30kHz SCS, and the second RAT 130 can use FR2 120kHz SCS.

[0131] In this example, the base station 104 transmits the first RAT 128 transmit signal 70A using 8 layers. The multi-RAT converter 122 intercepts the first RAT 128 transmit signal 70A (operations of blocks 230 and 232) and converts it to four layers of data (operations of blocks 310 and 236) by increasing the number of resource blocks (RBs) used, adds a new RS for the second RAT 130 (operations of block 360), and prepares for the second communication link 126 transmission on FR2 (operations of blocks 380, 382, ​​240, and 242). At blocks 380 and 382, ​​the electronic device 10 may perform pre-coding operations, resource mapping, OFDM modification, and adding CPs via the processor 12. In this way, a conversion from spatial multiplexing to frequency multiplexing is performed, as represented by illustration 384, which illustrates how different RBs and layers of the same carrier frequency for the first RAT 128 are converted to the second RAT 130.

[0132] Fig.24 and Fig.25 Detailed description of the Figure 21 to Figure 23 The system and method are used in conjunction with two possible example electronic devices 10. In fact, Fig.24 is an example Fig. 22 and Fig.23 , wherein the electronic device performs first RAT channel estimation, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) equalization and demodulation on two sets of 4-layer data separately, and combines the LLR results for the two sets. Here, the electronic device 10 can transform the second RAT 130 transmission signal 70B based on resource demapping and log-likelihood ratio (LLR) results and other operations.

[0133] The electronic device 10 may receive the second RAT 130 transmit signal 70B at the antenna 55 in association with the operation of block 250. The electronic device 10 may perform analog-to-digital conversion on the received transmit signal 70B (operation of block 252). The processor 12 or other suitable circuitry of the electronic device 10 may remove the CP from the received transmit signal 70B and demodulate the OFDM (operation of block 310). Using the processed signal from block 310, the processor 12 may perform FR2 resource demapping, channel estimation, and / or MIMO equalization (operation of block 390). Channel estimation may be performed separately for the second communication link 126 and the first communication link 124. Using the results from the operation of block 390, the processor 12 of the electronic device 10 may perform FR1 channel estimation, MIMO equalization, and demodulation on two sets of four-layer data (e.g., data streams) separately (operation of block 392). The electronic device 10 and / or processor 12 may combine the LLR results for the two sets of four data streams (operation of block 394) before passing the signal to channel decoding (operation of block 396). After channel decoding, the electronic device 10 may send the processed incoming data 90 via the processor 12 for use by downstream circuits external to the processor 12 and / or an RF front end that performs processing operations.

[0134] Fig.25 is an example Fig. 22 and Fig.23 1 is a block diagram of a second example of an electronic device 10 in which the electronic device inversely transforms two sets of 4-layer data into one set of 8-layer data and continues to further process the 8-layer data. In this example, the electronic device 10 can be used with Fig.24 The electronic device 10 receives and processes the second RAT 130 transmit signal 70B in the same or similar manner as done by FR2 resource demapping and associated operations (e.g., blocks 250, 252, 310, and 390). The electronic device 10 may inversely transform from one set of eight layers of data to two sets of four layers of data (operation of block 402). The electronic device 10 may perform channel estimation, MIM equalization, and demodulation for eight layers on the transformed data from block 402 (operation of block 404). Channel estimation may be performed separately for the second communication link 126 and the first communication link 124. After this processing, the electronic device 10 may perform a channel decoding operation of block 396. After channel decoding, the electronic device 10 may send the processed incoming data 90 via the processor 12 for use by downstream circuits external to the processor 12 and / or the RF front end performing the processing operations.

[0135] Yet another example multi-RAT converter 122 is now described in detail. Fig.26 is a block diagram of another example multi-RAT converter 122 that adds channel estimation and MIMO equalization based on first RAT 128 parameters prior to conversion, and Fig. 27 4 is a block diagram of a corresponding electronic device 10, which is referenced together for ease of disclosure, wherein the electronic device 10 performs channel estimation and MIMO equalization based on the second RAT 130 parameters before inverse transformation. Similar to other examples, the first RAT 128 transmit signal 70A is received and processed by similar operations of blocks 230, 232, and 310. Once processed, the multi-RAT converter 122 may perform the channel estimation and MIMO equalization operations of block 410. The multi-RAT converter 122 then further transforms and processes the transformed signal for transmission to the electronic device 10 (operations of blocks 236, 360, 312, and 242).

[0136] The electronic device 10 may receive and process the second RAT 130 transmit signal 70B from the multi-RAT translator 122 (operations of blocks 250, 252, 370, 372, and 258). Once translated, the electronic device 10 may perform demodulation (operation of block 420) and channel decoding (operation of block 322) for the first RAT 128 data. After channel decoding, the electronic device 10 may transmit the processed incoming data 90 via the processor 12 for use by downstream circuitry external to the processor 12 and / or an RF front end performing processing operations.

[0137] In yet another example, the order of demodulation and inverse transformation is exchanged on the electronic device 10 side. Fig.28 is a block diagram of another example multi-RAT converter 122 that performs channel decoding based on first RAT 128 parameters before conversion and performs channel coding based on second RAT 130 parameters after conversion, and Fig.291 is a block diagram of a corresponding electronic device 10, which is referenced together herein for ease of disclosure, wherein the electronic device 10 performs channel decoding prior to an inverse transform based on the second RAT 130 parameters. The receive processing operations of this configuration may involve processing the received first RAT 128 transmit signal 70A until channel decoding is performed in the bit domain (e.g., blocks 230, 232, 430). The multi-RAT converter 122 may perform channel decoding on the processed first RAT 128 signals received from block 430 (operation of block 432). These resulting signals may be transformed into the second RAT 130 (operation of block 236). After the transformation, the multi-RAT converter 122 may perform TX baseband processing (operation of 434). TX baseband processing may be associated with signals that are ready to be transmitted via the second RAT 130. The TX baseband processing may start from the bit domain and go through the entire TX processing chain, including baseband digital processing operations of adding reference signals and / or performing channel decoding (e.g., encoding operations), modulation, pre-coding, resource mapping, adding second RAT 130 RS, OFDM modulation, etc., to generate a signal in the second RAT 130 domain and suitable for transmission via the second RAT 130. The multi-RAT converter 122 then further converts and processes the converted signal for transmission to the electronic device 10 (operations of blocks 240 and 242).

[0138] The electronic device 10 may receive the second RAT 130 transmit signal 70B and perform processing operations (operations of blocks 250, 252, and 370) based on the second RAT 130 parameters. The processed bits (e.g., post-ADC operations of block 252) may be further processed via physical layer processing operations such as transmit error identification operations (e.g., cyclic redundancy check (CRC)), delivered to the MAC layer, etc. Both processing and inverse transform operations (operations of blocks 436 and 258) may be performed in the bit domain.

[0139] It should be noted that the RX processing operations of the electronic device 10 may correspond to the reverse processing operations associated with the RX baseband processing operations. The RX processing operations may include channel decoding, removing reference signals, etc. to process the received RF signals into signals that can be used by the circuits and software of the electronic device 10 (e.g., user equipment).

[0140] Please note that Fig.28 and Fig.29 The example of may be the relatively most complex implementation of the DL multi-RAT converter 122 among the five options. Regardless of the complexity, it may be desirable to implement Fig.26 The multi-RAT converter 122 of FIG. 1 may provide system robustness because the channel decoding / encoding process is performed at the multi-RAT converter 122 .

[0141] Keeping the foregoing in mind, the examples described previously have focused on the transformation to multiplexing gain. Following the same principles, the transformation to diversity gain can also be achieved. Furthermore, the transformation can be a combination of multiplexing gain and diversity gain.

[0142] In the above system, the electronic device 10 can process and / or decode the data received from the multi-RAT converter 122. In some cases, the electronic device 10 can process and / or decode the data received from both the multi-RAT converter 122 and the base station 104. It should be noted that when the base station 104 sends data to the multi-RAT converter 122 in the first communication link 124, the electronic device 10 can also receive the data according to the propagation conditions. In this case, the electronic device 10 can combine the data received from both the base station 104 and the multi-RAT converter 122, and further improve its decoding performance.

[0143] for Figures 19 to 25 (e.g., option 3), Fig.26 and Fig. 27 (e.g., option 4) and Fig.28 and Fig.29 (eg, Option 5), the multi-RAT converter 122 may add a second communication link 126RS, which can be used to enable the electronic device 10 to perform channel estimation on the second communication link 126 when receiving a signal. There may be different ways (eg, Fig.30 and / or Fig.32 (shown) from Figures 19 to 25 (e.g., option 3), Fig.26 and Fig. 27 (e.g., option 4) and Fig.28 and Fig.29 The multi-RAT translator 122 (eg, Option 5) or one or more of the other multi-RAT translators 122 described herein transmits the RS.

[0144] For example, Fig.30 is a timing diagram of different timing slots associated with a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) scheduling (eg, represented via axis 200) on a subset of resources. Fig.30 It illustrates how additional time, frequency and / or code domain resources may be used to carry the second communication link 126 RS. Fig.31 It is available Fig.30 Flow chart of a method for time synchronization operation of time slot configuration.

[0145] In the second example, Fig.32 is a timing diagram of different timing slots associated with a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback schedule (eg, represented via axis 200), and Fig.33 is to use Fig.32Flow chart of a method of HARQ feedback operation. Fig.32 It illustrates how some of the second RAT 130 resources carrying first communication link 124 data (eg, data received at the multi-RAT translator 122) are punctured after translation to transmit the second communication link 126 RS.

[0146] Figure 30 to Figure 33 PDCCH and physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) scheduling may each be used (e.g., using a downlink control indicator (DCI) of slot 0 and k0). In 5G NR, k0 may be defined as the slot offset between the DL slot (e.g., slot 0 or before slot 0) that transmits the PDCCH for DL ​​scheduling (e.g., including DCI) and the DL slot (e.g., slot 2 here) that schedules the associated PDSCH data. In 5G NR, the value of k0 may be relatively flexible (e.g., a PDCCH message and its associated PDSCH message may not necessarily be sent in the same DL slot, e.g., here a PDDCH is sent before slot 0 and an associated PDSCH message is received at slot 2). In addition, the currently used k0 value may be dynamically indicated in the DCI carried by the PDCCH message. Fig.30 and Fig.32 In this example, k0 is equal to two time slots.

[0147] As described above, the multi-RAT converter 122 can be used to assist in data transmission. In practice, PDCCH decoding can be performed at the electronic device 10 and can be blind to the multi-RAT converter 122. The multi-RAT converter 122 is time synchronized and operates at Fig.31 Described in detail in.

[0148] Fig.31 The time synchronization operation of the method 450 may be performed between the base station 104 and the electronic device 10. As described herein, the method 450 is performed by both the base station 104 and the electronic device and may be based on a signal communicated via the multi-RAT converter 122. Note that in a given implementation, different parts of the method 450 may be performed by the base station 104, the electronic device 10, and the multi-RAT converter 122, wherein the method 450 together enables synchronization of operations between the base station 104, the electronic device, and the multi-RAT converter 122, even when the PDCCH decoding is blind to the multi-RAT converter 122. Note that the operations shown via the method 450 may include different or additional operations. In addition, the operations of the method 450 may be performed by any suitable device and / or in any suitable order. The method 450 may jointly use local synchronization operations controlled by the electronic device 10 and performed via the multi-RAT converter 122.

[0149] Using the method 450, the base station 104 may first transmit a PDCCH message with k0 greater than 0 to the electronic device 10 (operation of block 452). The PDCCH message may imply that the DL data and its associated control information are not transmitted in the same time slot. Based on the indication of k0 received from the base station 104 via the PDCCH message, the electronic device 10 may determine the time shift T δ And it can be signaled to the multi-RAT translator 122 (operation of block 454). The time shift T δ Reflected by the number of time slots / symbols or the absolute duration. δ , the multi-RAT converter 122 can know when to start receiving DL data from the base station 104 and when to execute local control operation algorithms (e.g., CP-based or RS-based synchronization schemes), such as positioning the associated fast Fourier transform (FFT) window and positioning the DL data samples in the time domain (operation of block 456).

[0150] Regarding frequency synchronization, the multi-RAT translator 122 may use various master-slave synchronization algorithms to synchronize with the electronic device 10, which may be assumed to be synchronized with the base station 104. In this manner, the multi-RAT translator 122 may also synchronize with the base station 104.

[0151] Fig.32 and Fig.33 Operations associated with receiving HARQ feedback in a DL transmission assisted by a multi-RAT converter 122 may be illustrated. 5G NR HARQ feedback scheduling may use a k1 parameter. In 5G NR, k1 may be a time slot offset between a DL time slot in which data is scheduled on a PDSCH message and a UL time slot in which an ACK / NACK feedback message for the PDSCH message needs to be transmitted. In addition, the currently used k1 value is dynamically indicated in the DCI carried by the PDCCH message. Fig.32 In this example, k1 is equal to three time slots, and k0 is equal to two time slots. Fig.32 As shown, time slot 5 may acknowledge the associated PDSCH message transmission corresponding to time slot 2 via an acknowledgement feedback (ACK / NACK) message.

[0152] The HARQ ACK / NACK feedback message may be transmitted directly from the electronic device 10 to the base station 104 10 bypassing the multi-RAT converter 122, which may simplify the protocol for multi-RAT assisted DL transmissions. The ACK / NACK feedback message may be transmitted via the FR1 spectrum without being converted to a different spectrum via the multi-RAT converter 122. More specifically, after the electronic device 10 receives and decodes data from the DL multi-RAT converter 122, it may transmit an ACK / NACK feedback message back to the base station 104 at the UL time slot indicated by the k1 (e.g., time slot 2) received in the PDCCH DCI message (to be received by the base station 104 via time slot 5). In order to ensure that the electronic device 10 will have sufficient time to receive and decode the data transmitted from the multi-RAT converter 122, the electronic device may signal to the base station 104 that the k1 value that the electronic device has predicted is the minimum k1 value that may be used to provide an appropriate amount of time to receive and decode the data based on the network configuration.

[0153] Fig.33 A flowchart of the method 470 is provided with Fig.32 The illustrated system and method. As described herein, method 470 is performed by both the base station 104 and the electronic device 10, and can be based on a signal communicated via the multi-RAT converter 122. Note that in a given specific implementation, different parts of method 470 can be performed by the base station 104, the electronic device 10, and the multi-RAT converter 122, wherein method 470 together enables synchronization of operations between the base station 104, the electronic device 10, and the multi-RAT converter 122. Note that the operations shown may include different or additional operations. In addition, these operations may be performed by any suitable device and / or in any suitable order. Method 470 can jointly use local synchronization operations controlled by the electronic device 10 and performed via the multi-RAT converter 122.

[0154] exist Fig.31In the method, the end-user electronic device 10 may signal the base station 104 of the minimum k1 that can be used and still meet the timing configuration of the communication network (e.g., 5G NR) (operation of box 472). In response, the base station 104 may transmit a PDCCH message including an appropriate k1 determined based on an indication of the minimum k1 from the end-user electronic device 10 (operation of box 474). The end-user electronic device 10 may receive an indication of the appropriate k1 in the PDCCH message. Based on the PDCCH message, the end-user electronic device 10 may receive data from the multi-RAT converter 122 and decode it (operation of box 476). After receiving the transmission, the end-user electronic device 10 may generate an ACK / NACK message feedback at the UL time slot indicated by the appropriate k1 in the PDCCH message and send it to the base station 104, thereby signaling the completed communication with the multi-RAT converter 122 (operation of box 478).

[0155] The system and method of the present disclosure propose a new type of communication network entity-multi-RAT converter. Multi-RAT converters can assist DL data transmission between end-user electronic devices and base stations / network side devices. A system using a multi-RAT converter may include two hops of an end-to-end link, wherein a first communication link is between a base station and a multi-RAT converter, and wherein a second communication link is between a multi-RAT converter and an end-user electronic device. Different hops can use different RATs to implement the conversion of signals conveyed between a base station and an electronic device. In particular, two hops can use different frequency bands. The first communication link can use a relatively low frequency band, while the second communication link can use a relatively high frequency band. In addition, various possible specific implementations of multi-RAT converters and their corresponding end-user processing are discussed herein. The proposed DL multi-RAT converter can effectively utilize higher frequency bands (e.g., FR2 or sub-THz) to achieve higher data rates, improved reliability, and extended coverage, especially for indoor users. In addition, the implementation complexity of the multi-RAT converter can be relatively low, which can reduce the implementation and deployment costs associated with integrating different spectrums into wireless communication networks.

[0156] With the foregoing in mind, the systems and methods described herein may include sub-THz integrated circuits and antenna systems that can interface with both the 6G spectrum and the 5G NR spectrum. The quality of these communications can be further improved by appropriate communication coordination between timing slots allocated for corresponding 6G reception operations, 6G transmission operations, 6G sensing operations, 5G NR reception operations, and 5G NR transmission operations, or a combination thereof. By using the systems and methods described herein, some existing circuit designs, such as MLB traces, silicon dies and manufacturing processes, flexible cables, etc., can be reused and applied to 6G-enabled systems. In this way, both the second front-end circuit and the first front-end circuit can operate based on signals received via a shared flexible cable. This reuse can reduce the cost and complexity of introducing this new technology to the market. In addition, sharing these systems with 5G NR operations and 6G operations can be relatively simpler than other 6G systems under development that have a smaller footprint, where having a small footprint is a relatively large advantage in the portable electronic technology market.

[0157] In one embodiment, an electronic device includes: a receiver; a transmitter; and a processing circuit coupled to the receiver and the transmitter. The processing circuit is configured to: receive, at the receiver, a first signal having a first frequency in a first spectrum from a base station; determine a time shift based on the first signal; and send an indication of the time shift to a converter device at the transmitter using a second signal having a second frequency in a second spectrum.

[0158] The processing circuit may be configured to, after sending the indication of the time shift at the transmitter to the transformer device, receive at the receiver a third signal from the transformer device corresponding to the communication from the base station.

[0159] The first signal may include an indication of a timeslot count corresponding to when the base station is configured to downlink data via the first spectrum.

[0160] The processing circuit may be configured to: determine a time shift based on the indication of the slot count; and receive downlink data from the base station via the second spectrum based on the time shift.

[0161] The processing circuit may be configured to: generate one or more fourth signals configured to align the frequency of the transducer device with the second frequency in the second spectrum; and transmit the one or more fourth signals to the transducer device at the transmitter.

[0162] The processing circuit may be configured to: receive, at the receiver, one or more fifth signals from the base station; and align the receiver to the second frequency based on the one or more fifth signals.

[0163] The first frequency spectrum may include frequencies between 0.41 gigahertz (GHz) and 7.125 GHz, and wherein the second frequency spectrum includes frequencies between 24 gigahertz and 52.6 GHz.

[0164] The first signal may include a downlink control indication defining a time shift.

[0165] The first signal may include a Physical Downlink Control Channel message.

[0166] In another embodiment, a system includes: a first device configured to use a first spectrum; a second device configured to use a second spectrum; and an intermediate device communicatively coupled to the first device and the second device. The intermediate device is configured to synchronize to timing used by the first device on the first spectrum based on one or more signals received from the second device via the second spectrum.

[0167] The second device may be configured to: determine a minimum duration between downlink data that the second device is configured to process; send an indication of the minimum duration to the first device using the first spectrum; receive an indication of a selected duration from the first device, the selected duration being not less than the minimum duration and defining downlink timing to be used by the first device; send an indication of the selected duration to the intermediate device via the second spectrum; and send an acknowledgment signal to the first device based on the selected duration. The one or more signals may include an indication of the selected duration.

[0168] The first device may be configured to: receive an indication of a minimum duration from the second device; select a duration based on one or more parameters of the first spectrum and the minimum duration; send an indication of the selected duration to the second device; receive a confirmation signal from the second device; and send an input signal having a first frequency of the first spectrum.

[0169] The intermediate device may be configured to receive an indication of a selected duration from the second device via the second spectrum; receive an input signal from the first device via the first spectrum based on the selected duration; generate an output signal having a second frequency of the second spectrum based on the input signal; and send the output signal to the second device via the second spectrum.

[0170] The second device may be configured to: receive an initialization signal having a first frequency in a first spectrum from the first device; determine a time shift based on the initialization signal; and send an indication of the time shift to the converter device using a signal having a second frequency in a second spectrum.

[0171] The initialization signal may include a downlink control indication defining a time shift.

[0172] In another embodiment, a method of operating user equipment to synchronize to a communication network includes: receiving a first message from the communication network at a receiver, the first message including an indication of a time slot schedule; generating an indication of a time shift based on the indication of the time slot schedule, the indication of the time shift corresponding to when a multi-radio access technology (RAT) converter expects to receive downlink communications from the communication network; and sending the indication of the time shift to the RAT converter at a transmitter.

[0173] Receiving the first message may include receiving, at the receiver, a downlink control indication defining a time slot schedule from a communication network having a first frequency in a first spectrum.

[0174] The method may include receiving a first message. The first message may include a first time slot indication and a second time slot indication.

[0175] The method may include receiving a first message. The first message may include a first time slot indication and a second time slot indication different from the first time slot indication.

[0176] The method may include generating a feedback confirmation signal based on the first message; and transmitting, at a transmitter, the feedback confirmation signal to a communication network in an uplink time period based on an indication of a time slot scheduling.

[0177] The specific embodiments described above have been shown by way of example, and it should be understood that these embodiments are susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms. It should also be understood that the claims are not intended to be limited to the specific forms disclosed, but are intended to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives that fall within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

[0178] The technology presented and claimed herein is cited and applied to specific examples of a physical and practical nature that significantly improves the art and is therefore not abstract, intangible, or purely theoretical. In addition, if any claim appended at the end of this specification contains one or more elements designated as "means for [performing] [the function] ..." or "steps for [performing] [the function] ...", it is intended that such elements should be interpreted in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f). However, for any claim containing elements designated in any other manner, it is intended that such elements should not be interpreted in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 112(f).

[0179] It is understood that the use of personally identifiable information should be subject to privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized to meet or exceed industry or government requirements for maintaining user privacy. In particular, 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.

Claims

1. An electronic device, comprising: Receiver; Transmitter; and a processing circuit coupled to the receiver and the transmitter, the processing circuit being configured to: receiving at the receiver a signal having a first frequency in a first spectrum from a base station; converting the signal from the first frequency to a second frequency in a second spectrum; and The signal having the second frequency is transmitted to user equipment using the transmitter.

2. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the first frequency spectrum comprises frequencies between 0.41 gigahertz (GHz) and 7.125 GHz, and wherein the second frequency spectrum comprises frequencies between 24 GHz and 52.6 GHz. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the second frequency spectrum comprises different frequencies than the first frequency spectrum.

4. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the first frequency spectrum comprises frequencies between 0.41 gigahertz (GHz) and 7.125 GHz, and wherein the second frequency spectrum comprises frequencies between 100 GHz and 1000 GHz.

5. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuit is configured to convert the signal from the first frequency to the second frequency by performing an analog-to-digital conversion, a cyclic prefix (CP) removal operation, a demodulation operation, a modulation operation, a baseband digital processing operation, a reference signal addition operation, a channel decoding operation, or any combination thereof.

6. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuit is configured to convert the signal from the first frequency to the second frequency at least in part by: removing a first cyclic prefix (CP) of the signal to generate a first signal; converting the first signal from the first frequency to the second frequency to generate a second signal; and The second signal is converted into an analog signal to generate the signal having the second frequency.

7. The electronic device of claim 6, wherein the processing circuit is configured to transform the first signal from the first frequency to the second frequency by changing a carrier frequency of the first signal from the first frequency to the second frequency, the second spectrum corresponding to a frequency multiplexing operation. 8 . The electronic device of claim 6 , wherein the processing circuit is configured to demodulate the first signal before converting the first signal to the second frequency.

9. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the processing circuit is configured to add a reference signal to the signal having the second frequency prior to transmission.

10. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the processing circuit is configured to convert a plurality of signals including the signal from a first number of layers to a second number of layers corresponding to the second spectrum before transmitting to the user equipment.

11. A method comprising: receiving an input signal from a base station via a first spectrum via a translator device configured to intercept communications between the base station and user equipment; generating, via the transformer device, an output signal communicable over a second frequency spectrum based on the input signal; as well as The output signal is sent via the converter device to the user equipment via the second spectrum.

12. The method according to claim 11, comprising: receiving the input signal via an antenna via the converter device; converting the input signal to a digital domain via the converter device to generate a digital signal; removing, via the transformer device, a cyclic prefix associated with the digital signal to generate an intermediate signal; demodulating the intermediate signal via the converter device to generate a second intermediate signal; as well as The second intermediate signal is transformed between the first frequency spectrum and the second frequency spectrum via the transformer device to generate the output signal communicable over the second frequency spectrum.

13. The method according to claim 12, comprising: A reference signal associated with the second spectrum is added to the output signal via the converter device before being transmitted via the second spectrum.

14. The method of claim 11 , wherein generating the output signal via the converter device comprises: The output signal communicable over the second frequency spectrum is generated via the converter device based on the input signal and conversion from a spatial diversity data format to a frequency diversity data format.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein generating the output signal via the transformer device comprises converting between a spatially multiplexed data format and a time multiplexed data format.

16. A system, comprising: a first device configured to use a first spectrum; a second device configured to use a second spectrum; and an intermediate device, the intermediate device being coupled to the first device and the second device, the intermediate device being configured to: receiving, from the first device, a first signal having a first frequency of the first spectrum; generating, from the first device, a second signal having a second frequency of the second spectrum based on the first signal; as well as The second signal is sent to the second device.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the second device is configured to use the second spectrum and the first spectrum.

18. The system of claim 16, wherein the second frequency spectrum includes higher frequencies than the first frequency spectrum.

19. The system of claim 16, wherein the intermediate device is configured to generate the second signal having the second frequency based on adapting the first signal to have a frequency diversity data format.

20. The system of claim 16, wherein the second device is configured to: receiving the second signal having the second frequency of the second spectrum; and A down-converted signal having the first frequency of the first spectrum is generated based on the second signal.

21. An electronic device, comprising: Receiver; Transmitter; and a processing circuit coupled to the receiver and the transmitter, the processing circuit being configured to: receiving, at the receiver, a first signal having a first frequency in a first spectrum from a base station; determining a time shift based on the first signal; and An indication of the time shift is sent at the transmitter to a converter device using a second signal having a second frequency in a second spectrum.

22. The electronic device of claim 21, wherein the processing circuit is configured to receive a third signal from the translator device at the receiver corresponding to the communication from the base station after sending the indication of the time shift to the translator device at the transmitter.

23. The electronic device of claim 21, wherein the first signal comprises an indication of a timeslot count corresponding to when the base station is configured to downlink data via the first spectrum.

24. The electronic device of claim 23, wherein the processing circuit is configured to: determining the time shift based on the indication of the time slot count; and The downlink data is received from the base station via the second spectrum based on the time shift.

25. The electronic device of claim 23, wherein the processing circuit is configured to: generating one or more fourth signals configured to align a frequency of the transducer device with the second frequency in the second spectrum; and The one or more fourth signals are sent at the transmitter to the converter device.

26. The electronic device of claim 23, wherein the processing circuit is configured to: receiving, at the receiver, one or more fifth signals from the base station; and The receiver is aligned to the second frequency based on the one or more fifth signals.

27. The electronic device of claim 21, wherein the first frequency spectrum comprises frequencies between 0.41 gigahertz (GHz) and 7.125 GHz, and wherein the second frequency spectrum comprises frequencies between 24 GHz and 52.6 GHz.

28. The electronic device of claim 21, wherein the first signal comprises a downlink control indication defining the time shift.

29. The electronic device of claim 21, wherein the first signal comprises a physical downlink control channel message.

30. A system, comprising: a first device configured to use a first spectrum; a second device configured to use a second spectrum; and An intermediate device, communicatively coupled to the first device and the second device, configured to synchronize to timing used by the first device on the first spectrum based on one or more signals received from the second device via the second spectrum.

31. The system of claim 30, wherein the second device is configured to: determining a minimum duration between downlink data that the second device is configured to process; sending an indication of the minimum duration to the first device using the first spectrum; receiving an indication of a selected duration from the first device, the selected duration being not less than the minimum duration and defining downlink timing to be used by the first device; transmitting the indication of the selected duration to the intermediate device via the second spectrum, wherein the one or more signals include the indication of the selected duration; and An acknowledgement signal is sent to the first device based on the selected duration.

32. The system of claim 31 , wherein the first device is configured to: receiving the indication of the minimum duration from the second device; selecting a duration based on one or more parameters of the first spectrum and the minimum duration; sending the indication of the selected duration to the second device; receiving the confirmation signal from the second device; and An input signal having a first frequency of the first frequency spectrum is transmitted.

33. The system of claim 32, wherein the intermediate device is configured to: receiving the indication of the selected duration from the second device via the second spectrum; receiving the input signal from the first device via the first spectrum based on the selected duration; generating an output signal having a second frequency of the second spectrum based on the input signal; and The output signal is sent to the second device via the second spectrum.

34. The system of claim 30, wherein the second device is configured to: receiving an initialization signal having a first frequency in the first spectrum from the first device; determining a time shift based on the initialization signal; and An indication of the time shift is sent to a converter device using a signal having a second frequency in the second spectrum.

35. The system of claim 34, wherein the initialization signal comprises a downlink control indication defining the time shift.

36. A method of operating user equipment to synchronize with a communication network, the method comprising: receiving, at a receiver, a first message from the communication network, the first message comprising an indication of a time slot schedule; generating an indication of a time shift based on the indication of the time slot schedule, the indication of the time shift corresponding to when a multi-radio access technology (RAT) changer expects to receive downlink communications from the communications network; and The indication of the time shift is sent at a transmitter to the RAT changer.

37. The method of claim 36, wherein receiving the first message comprises receiving, at the receiver, a downlink control indication defining the time slot schedule from the communication network having a first frequency in a first spectrum.

38. The method of claim 36, comprising: The first message is received, the first message comprising a first time slot indication and a second time slot indication.

39. The method of claim 36, comprising: The first message is received, the first message comprising a first time slot indication and a second time slot indication different from the first time slot indication.

40. The method of claim 36, comprising: generating a feedback confirmation signal based on the first message; as well as The feedback confirmation signal is sent at the transmitter to the communication network during an uplink time period based on the indication of the time slot scheduling.

41. A system, comprising: a first device configured to use a first spectrum; a second device configured to use a second spectrum; and A third device is communicatively coupled to the first device and the second device, the third device being configured to perform a frequency transformation on one or more signals received from the first device via the first spectrum before transmitting the one or more transformed signals to the second device via the second spectrum.

42. The system of claim 41, wherein the third device comprises a first network interface and the second device comprises a second network interface, the first network interface being communicatively coupled to the second network interface via a personal area network (PAN).

43. The system of claim 41, wherein the third device is configured to perform the frequency conversion at least in part by: receiving the one or more signals from the first device via the first spectrum; and The one or more signals are converted from a first carrier frequency of the first spectrum to a second carrier frequency of the second spectrum.

44. The system of claim 41, wherein the first device comprises a base station and the second device comprises user equipment.

45. The system of claim 44, wherein the user equipment is configured to communicate on the first spectrum and the second spectrum.

46. ​​The system of claim 41, wherein the third device corresponds to a multi-radio access technology (RAT) changer.

47. The system of claim 41, wherein the third device is configured to: receiving an input signal from the first device via the first spectrum; generating an output signal communicable over the second spectrum based on the input signal; and The output signal is sent to the second device via the second spectrum.

48. The system of claim 41, wherein the second device is configured to send an indication of control information to the third device without sending the indication of the control information to the first device.

49. The system of claim 41, wherein the third device comprises a radio extension unit of the second device.

50. A method comprising: receiving, at a cooperating device configured to receive communications between a base station and user equipment, an input signal from the base station via a first frequency; generating, at the cooperating device, an output signal communicable at a second frequency based on a frequency transformation of the input signal; as well as The output signal is sent via the cooperating device to the user equipment via the second frequency.

51. The method of claim 50, comprising: An indication of control information is received from the user equipment via the cooperating device.

52. The method of claim 51, comprising: The frequency transformation is adjusted via the cooperating device based on the indication of control information.

53. The method of claim 50, comprising: enabling, via the cooperating device, sharing of antenna capabilities among a plurality of cooperating devices including the cooperating device; as well as The input signal from the base station is received via the cooperating device in parallel with one or more cooperating devices of the plurality of cooperating devices receiving one or more additional input signals from the base station.

54. The method of claim 50, comprising: The output signal is sent to the user equipment via the cooperating device based on a personal area network (PAN) associated with a network interface of the user equipment.

55. The method of claim 50, comprising: The frequency transform is performed on the input signal via the cooperating device at least in part by transforming one or more signals from a first frequency spectrum associated with the first frequency to a second frequency spectrum associated with the second frequency.

56. A system, comprising: a first device configured to use a first spectrum; and A second device is communicatively coupled to the first device, the second device being configured to forward one or more signals received via a second spectrum to the first device via the first spectrum.

57. The system of claim 56, wherein the second device is configured to transform one or more frequencies of the one or more signals to generate one or more transformed signals in the first spectrum and to send the one or more transformed signals to the first device.

58. The system of claim 56, wherein the second device is configured to share antenna capabilities with one or more additional devices, the one or more additional devices being configurable to communicatively couple with the first device and the second device.

59. The system of claim 56, wherein the second device is configurable to function as an extension of the first device.

60. The system of claim 156, wherein the first frequency spectrum and the second frequency spectrum correspond to different frequency ranges between 24.25 gigahertz (GHz) and 52.6 gigahertz (GHz).

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