Terminal, system and method for performing dynamic handover procedure

Abstract

A terminal may include a receiver configured to receive an information parameter indicating a dynamic handover of a primary cell from a source cell to a target cell. The information parameter may be received in a specific downlink control information (DCI) format. The terminal may include a processor configured to determine an application delay indicating a start time of the dynamic handover. The processor may use the target cell as the primary cell at the start time.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to wireless devices and wireless networks, including devices, circuits, and methods for performing dynamic handover procedures. Background Art

[0002] The use of wireless communication systems is growing rapidly. In recent years, wireless devices such as smart phones and tablet computers have become increasingly sophisticated. In addition to supporting phone calls, many mobile devices now also provide access to the Internet, email, text messaging, and navigation using the Global Positioning System (GPS), and are capable of operating complex applications that utilize these functions. Additionally, there are many different wireless communication technologies and wireless communication standards. Some examples of wireless communication standards include GSM, UMTS (e.g., associated with the WCDMA or TD-SCDMA air interfaces), LTE, Advanced LTE (LTE-A), HSPA, 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (e.g., 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), IEEE 802.11 (WLAN or Wi-Fi), and Bluetooth TM and so on.

[0003] The introduction of an increasing number of features and functions in wireless communication devices has also created a continuing need for improved wireless communication and improved wireless communication devices. To increase coverage and better serve the increasing demands and scope of the intended uses of wireless communication, in addition to the above communication standards, there are also wireless communication technologies under development, including fifth generation (5G) standards and New Radio (NR) communication technologies. Therefore, there is a need to improve the areas that support such development and design. Summary of the Invention

[0004] According to one or more embodiments, a terminal includes a receiver configured to receive information parameters indicating a dynamic handover of a primary cell from a source cell to a target cell. The information parameters are received in a specific downlink control information (DCI) format. The terminal includes a processor configured to determine an application delay indicating a start time of the dynamic handover. The processor uses the target cell as the primary cell at the start time.

[0005] The techniques described herein can be implemented in and / or used with a variety of different types of devices, including but not limited to any one of cellular phones, wireless devices, tablet computers, wearable computing devices, portable media players, and various other computing devices.

[0006] The present invention content aims to provide a brief overview of some of the topics described in this document. Therefore, it should be understood that the above features are only examples and should not be construed as narrowing the scope or essence of the topics described herein in any way. Other features, aspects, and advantages of the topics described herein will become apparent from the following detailed description, drawings, and claims. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0007] A better understanding of the subject matter can be obtained when considering the following detailed description of various aspects in conjunction with the following drawings:

[0008] Figure 1 An example wireless communication system according to some aspects is illustrated.

[0009] Figure 2 An example block diagram of a UE according to some aspects is illustrated.

[0010] Figure 3 An example block diagram of a BS according to some aspects is illustrated.

[0011] Figure 4 An example block diagram of wireless communication circuitry according to some aspects is illustrated.

[0012] Figure 5 A diagram illustrating an example of signaling format techniques during a dynamic handover process according to some aspects.

[0013] Figure 6 A diagram illustrating an example of signaling format techniques during a dynamic handover process according to some aspects.

[0014] Figure 7A and Figure 7B A diagram illustrating an example of signaling techniques including an acknowledgment signal during a dynamic handover process according to some aspects.

[0015] Figure 8A and Figure 8B A diagram illustrating an example of signaling techniques including a state change on a source cell during a handover process according to some aspects.

[0016] Figure 9 A flowchart detailing a method for performing a dynamic handover process according to some aspects.

[0017] Although the features described herein may be subject to various modifications and alternative forms, specific aspects thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and described in detail herein. However, it should be understood that the drawings and their detailed description are not intended to be limiting to the specific forms disclosed, but rather are intended to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the subject matter as defined by the appended claims. Detailed Description

[0018] Enhancements to network energy savings in mobile services and mobile devices need to be studied. The evolution of 5G and New Radio (NR) standards requires continuous improvement in energy network efficiency and energy savings for User Equipment (UE) devices and Base Station (BS) devices. Improvements are needed in both the transmission process and the reception process.

[0019] In one or more embodiments described herein, efficient operation of dynamic and / or semi-static receive / transmit changes in wireless communication is improved. Additionally, these communications are improved by providing a more fine-grained adaptation of transmit and / or receive in one or more of the network energy saving techniques in the time domain, frequency domain, spatial domain, and power domain. These communications between UE devices and BS devices are improved. In some embodiments, improvements in the BS device include potential support / feedback from the UE device and potential UE device assistance information (i.e., in layer 1 applications and / or layer 2 applications). Additionally, improvements can be made in the information exchange / coordination process on the network interface (i.e., in layer 3 applications).

[0020] In some embodiments, the mechanism for performing dynamic handover of the primary cell is improved by: signaling details for indicating the dynamic handover of the primary cell; confirming the dynamic indication, configuring application latency, and determining whether the SCell is placed in a dormant or deactivated state after the handover process is executed.

[0021] According to one or more embodiments, a UE device or terminal communicating with other terminals (other wireless communication devices, network devices, UE devices, and / or BS devices) may perform radio transmission including existing energy saving mechanisms and techniques. In some embodiments, the term "primary cell" may be any SpCell (i.e., special cell), which may be the Primary Cell (PCell) or PSCell of a Secondary Cell Group (SCG) in the context of 5G NR dual connectivity. Additionally, the term "source cell" may refer to the primary cell before handover, and the term "target cell" may refer to the primary cell after the handover process. In these embodiments, the dynamic indication indicates that the UE device is switching from a first cell to a second cell. In these cases, the first cell may be the source cell, and the second cell may be the target cell. The source cell and the target cell may be referred to as the "source primary cell" and the "target primary cell", respectively.

[0022] The following is a glossary of terms that may be used in this disclosure:

[0023] Memory medium – Any of various types of non-transitory memory devices or storage devices. The term “memory medium” is intended to include installation media (e.g., CD-ROM, floppy disk, or magnetic tape devices; computer system memory or random access memory such as DRAM, DDR RAM, SRAM, EDO RAM, Rambus RAM), non-volatile memory such as Flash, magnetic media (e.g., hard disk drive or optical storage device; registers or other similar types of memory elements). The memory medium may also include other types of non-transitory memory or combinations thereof. Further, the memory medium may be located in a first computer system that executes a program, or may be located in a different second computer system that is connected to the first computer system via a network (such as the Internet). In the latter instance, the second computer system may provide program instructions to the first computer for execution. The term “memory medium” may include two or more memory media that may reside at different locations (e.g., in different computer systems connected via a network). The memory medium may store program instructions (e.g., embodied as a computer program) that may be executed by one or more processors.

[0024] Carrier medium – The memory medium as described above and physical transmission media such as buses, networks, and / or other physical transmission media that convey signals (such as electrical, electromagnetic, or digital signals).

[0025] Programmable hardware element - Includes various hardware devices that include a plurality of programmable functional blocks connected via programmable interconnects. Examples include FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), PLD (Programmable Logic Device), FPOA (Field Programmable Object Array), and CPLD (Complex PLD). The range of programmable functional blocks can range from fine-grained (combinational logic or look-up table) to coarse-grained (arithmetic logic unit or processor core). Programmable hardware elements may also be referred to as “configurable logic components”.

[0026] User Equipment (UE) (also referred to as “user device”, “UE device”, or “terminal”) – Any of various types of computer systems or devices that are mobile or portable and perform wireless communication. Examples of UE devices include mobile phones or smart phones (e.g., iPhone TM , Android TM -based phones), portable gaming devices (e.g., Nintendo Switch TM , Nintendo DS TM , PlayStation Vita TM , PlayStation Portable TM , Gameboy Advance TM, iPhone TM ), laptop computers, wearable devices (e.g., smartwatches, smart glasses), PDAs, portable Internet devices, music players, data storage devices, other handheld devices, in-vehicle infotainment (IVI), in-car entertainment (ICE) devices, instrument clusters, head-up display (HUD) devices, on-board diagnostic (OBD) devices, dashboard mobile equipment (DME), mobile data terminals (MDT), electronic engine management systems (EEMS), electronic / engine control units (ECU), electronic / engine control modules (ECM), embedded systems, microcontrollers, control modules, engine management systems (EMS), networked or “smart” home appliances, machine type communication (MTC) devices, machine-to-machine (M2M) and Internet of Things (IoT) devices, etc. Generally speaking, the term “UE” or “UE device” or “terminal” or “user equipment” can be broadly defined to cover any electronic, computing, and / or telecommunications device (or combination of devices) that is easily transportable by a user (or vehicle) and capable of wireless communication.

[0027] Wireless device – any of various types of computer systems or devices that perform wireless communication. A wireless device can be portable (or mobile), or it can be stationary or fixed in place. A UE is an example of a wireless device.

[0028] Communication device – any of various types of computer systems or devices that perform communication, where the communication can be wired or wireless. A communication device can be portable (or mobile), or it can be stationary or fixed in place. A wireless device is an example of a communication device. A UE is another example of a communication device.

[0029] Base Station – The term "base station", "radio base station", or "radio station" has the full scope of its ordinary meaning and includes at least a radio communication station that is installed at a fixed location and is used to communicate as part of a wireless telephone system or radio system. For example, if a base station is implemented in the context of LTE, it may alternatively be referred to as an "eNodeB" or "eNB". If a base station is implemented in the context of 5G NR, it may alternatively be referred to as a "gNodeB" or "gNB". Although certain aspects are described in the context of LTE or 5G NR, references to "eNB", "gNB", "nodeB", "base station", and "NB", etc. may also refer to one or more radio nodes that serve a cell to provide a wireless connection between a user equipment and a generally wider network, and the concepts discussed are not limited to any particular radio technology. Although certain aspects are described in the context of LTE or 5G NR, references to "eNB", "gNB", "nodeB", "base station", and "NB", etc. are not intended to limit the concepts discussed herein to any particular radio technology, and the concepts discussed may apply to any wireless system.

[0030] Node – The term "node" or "radio node" as used herein may refer to one or more devices associated with a cell that provides a wireless connection between a user equipment and a generally wired network.

[0031] Processing Element (or Processor) – refers to various elements or combinations of elements that are capable of performing functions in a device such as a user equipment or a cellular network device. Processing elements may include, for example: a processor and associated memory, portions of or circuits for individual processor cores, entire processor cores, separate processors, processor arrays, circuits such as application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), programmable hardware elements such as field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and any of various combinations of the above.

[0032] Channel - A medium used to convey information from a transmitter to a receiver. It should be noted that since the characteristics of the term "channel" may vary according to different wireless protocols, the term "channel" as used herein may be considered to be used in a manner that conforms to the standards of the type of device to which the term usage refers. In some standards, the channel width may be variable (e.g., depending on device capabilities and frequency band conditions, etc.). For example, LTE may support an expandable channel bandwidth from 1.4 MHz to 20 MHz. WLAN channels can be 22 MHz wide, while Bluetooth channels can be 1 MHz wide. Other protocols and standards may include different definitions of channels. In addition, some standards may define and use multiple types of channels (e.g., different channels for uplink or downlink and / or different channels for different purposes such as data and control information, etc.).

[0033] Band - The term "band" has the full range of its ordinary meaning and includes at least a portion of the spectrum (e.g., radio frequency spectrum) in which channels are used or set aside for the same purpose.

[0034] Configured to - Various components can be described as "configured to" perform one or more tasks. In such contexts, "configured to" is a broad statement generally meaning "having" the "structure" to perform one or more tasks during operation. Thus, even when the component is not currently performing the task, the component can be configured to perform the task (e.g., a set of electrical conductors can be configured to electrically connect a module to another module even when the two modules are not connected). In some contexts, "configured to" can be a broad statement generally meaning "having" the "circuitry" to perform one or more tasks during operation. Thus, even when the component is not currently powered on, the component can be configured to perform the task. Generally, the circuitry forming the structure corresponding to "configured to" can include hardware circuitry.

[0035] For ease of description, various components can be described as performing one or more tasks. Such descriptions should be interpreted as including the phrase "configured to". Components described as configured to perform one or more tasks are expressly intended not to invoke the interpretation of 35 U.S.C. § 112(f) for that component.

[0036] Example wireless communication system

[0037] Turning now to Figure 1 , a simplified example of a wireless communication system in accordance with some aspects is illustrated. Note that Figure 1 the system of is only a non - limiting example of possible systems, and the features of the present disclosure can be implemented in any of a variety of systems as needed.

[0038] As shown, an example wireless communication system includes a base station 102A that communicates with one or more user equipment 106A, 106B through 106Z via a transmission medium. Each of the user equipment can be referred to herein as a "user equipment" (UE). Thus, the user equipment 106 is referred to as a UE or a UE device.

[0039] The base station (BS) 102A can be a transceiver base station (BTS) or a cell site (e.g., a "cellular base station") and can include hardware enabling wireless communication with the UEs 106A through 106Z.

[0040] The communication area (or coverage area) of a base station can be referred to as a "cell". The base station 102A and the UE 106 can be configured to communicate via a transmission medium using any one of various radio access technologies (RATs), which are also referred to as wireless communication technologies or telecommunication standards, such as GSM, UMTS (associated with, for example, the WCDMA or TD-SCDMA air interface), LTE, LTE-A, 5G NR, HSPA, 3GPP2 CDMA2000. Note that if the base station 102A is implemented in the context of LTE, the base station can alternatively be referred to as an "eNodeB" or "eNB". Note that if the base station 102A is implemented in the context of 5G NR, the base station can alternatively be referred to as a "gNodeB" or "gNB".

[0041] In some aspects, the UE 106 can be an IoT UE, which can include a network access layer designed for low-power IoT applications that utilize short-term UE connections. The IoT UE can utilize technologies such as M2M or MTC to exchange data with an MTC server or device via a public land mobile network (PLMN), proximity services (ProSe), or device-to-device (D2D) communication, a sensor network, or an IoT network. The M2M or MTC data exchange can be machine-initiated data exchange. The IoT network describes interconnected IoT UEs, which can include uniquely identifiable embedded computing devices (within the Internet infrastructure) with short-lived connections. As an example, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) can utilize the ProSe feature using the SL interface to communicate directly between devices. The IoT UE can also execute background applications (e.g., keep-alive messages, status updates, etc.) to facilitate the connection to the IoT network.

[0042] As shown, the UEs 106 (such as UE 106A and UE 106B) can directly exchange communication data via the SL interface 108. The SL interface 108 can be a PC5 interface, which includes one or more physical channels, including but not limited to the physical side-link shared channel (PSSCH), the physical side-link control channel (PSCCH), the physical side-link broadcast channel (PSBCH), and the physical side-link feedback channel (PSFCH).

[0043] In a V2X scenario, one or more of the base stations 102 may be or act as a roadside unit (RSU). The term RSU may refer to any transportation infrastructure entity for V2X communication. The RSU may be implemented in or by a suitable radio node or a stationary (or relatively stationary) UE, where the RSU implemented in or by the UE may be referred to as a "UE-type RSU", the RSU implemented in or by the eNB may be referred to as an "eNB-type RSU", the RSU implemented in or by the gNB may be referred to as a "gNB-type RSU", and so on. In one example, the RSU is a computing device coupled to a radio frequency circuit located on the roadside, and the computing device provides connectivity support to passing vehicle UEs (vUEs). The RSU may also include an internal data storage circuit for storing intersection map geometries, traffic statistics, media, and applications / software for sensing and controlling ongoing vehicle and pedestrian traffic. The RSU may operate on the 5.9 GHz intelligent transportation system (ITS) band to provide extremely low-latency communication required for high-speed events, such as collision avoidance and traffic warnings. Additionally or alternatively, the RSU may operate on the cellular V2X band to provide the aforementioned low-latency communication and other cellular communication services. Additionally or alternatively, the RSU may operate as a Wi-Fi hotspot (2.4 GHz band) and / or provide connectivity to one or more cellular networks to provide uplink and downlink communication. Some or all of the radio frequency circuits in the computing device and the RSU may be encapsulated in a weatherpr23 package suitable for outdoor installation and may include a network interface controller to provide a wired connection (e.g., Ethernet) to a traffic signal controller and / or a backhaul network.

[0044] As shown, the base station 102A may also be equipped to communicate with the network 100 (e.g., the core network of a cellular service provider, a telecommunications network (such as a public switched telephone network (PSTN) and / or the Internet), and various possibilities). Thus, the base station 102A may facilitate communication between user devices and / or between user devices and the network 100. Specifically, the cellular base station 102A may provide the UE 106 with various telecommunications capabilities, such as voice, SMS, and / or data services.

[0045] The base station 102A and other similar base stations operating according to the same or different cellular communication standards (such as the base stations 102B to 102N) may thus be provided as a network of cells that may provide continuous or nearly continuous overlapping services to the UEs 106A to 106Z and similar devices over a geographical area via one or more cellular communication standards.

[0046] Thus, although the base station 102A may act asFigure 1 The "serving cell" of the illustrated UEs 106A through 106Z, but each UE 106 may also be capable of receiving signals (and potentially being within their communication range) from one or more other cells, which may be provided by base stations 102B through 102Z and / or any other base stations, and such one or more other cells may be referred to as "neighboring cells". Such cells may also be capable of facilitating communication between user devices and / or between user devices and the network 100. Such cells may include "macro" cells, "micro" cells, "pico" cells, and / or any other various granularities of cells providing service area sizes. For example, in Figure 1 the illustrated base stations 102A and 102B may be macro cells, while base station 102Z may be a micro cell. Other configurations are possible.

[0047] In some aspects, base station 102A may be a next-generation base station (e.g., a 5G New Radio (5GNR) base station or "gNB"). In some aspects, the gNB may be connected to a legacy Evolved Packet Core (EPC) network and / or connected to an NR Core (NRC) / 5G Core (5GC) network. Additionally, a gNB cell may include one or more Transmission and Reception Points (TRPs). Additionally, a UE capable of operating according to 5GNR may be connected to one or more TRPs within one or more gNBs. For example, base station 102A and one or more other base stations 102 may support joint transmission such that UE 106 may be capable of receiving transmissions from multiple base stations (and / or multiple TRPs provided by the same base station). For example, as Figure 1 illustrated, both base station 102A and base station 102C are shown serving UE 106A.

[0048] Note that UE 106 may be capable of communicating using multiple wireless communication standards. For example, in addition to at least one of the cellular communication protocols discussed in the above definitions, UE 106 may also be configured to communicate using wireless networking (e.g., Wi-Fi) and / or peer-to-peer wireless communication protocols (e.g., Bluetooth and Wi-Fi Direct, etc.). Optionally or alternatively, if needed, UE 106 may be configured to communicate using one or more Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) (e.g., GPS or GLONASS), one or more mobile television broadcast standards (e.g., ATSC-M / H), and / or any other wireless communication protocol. Other combinations of wireless communication standards (including more than two wireless communication standards) are also possible.

[0049] In one or more embodiments, UE 106 may be a device with cellular communication capabilities, such as a mobile phone, a handheld device, a computer, a laptop, a tablet, a smartwatch, or other wearable device or virtually any type of wireless device.

[0050] The UE 106 may include a processor (processing element) configured to execute program instructions stored in a memory. The UE 106 may perform any of the method aspects described herein by executing such stored instructions. Alternatively or in addition, the UE 106 may include programmable hardware elements such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), an integrated circuit, and / or any of various other possible hardware components configured to perform (e.g., individually or in combination) any of the method aspects described herein or any part of any of the method aspects described herein.

[0051] The UE 106 may include one or more antennas for communicating using one or more wireless communication protocols or technologies. In some aspects, the UE 106 may be configured to communicate using, for example, NR or LTE using at least some shared radio components. As an additional possibility, the UE 106 may be configured to communicate using CDMA2000 (1xRTT / 1xEV-DO / HRPD / eHRPD) or LTE using a single shared radio component and / or GSM or LTE using a single shared radio component. The shared radio component may be coupled to a single antenna or may be coupled to multiple antennas (e.g., for a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) configuration) for performing wireless communication. Generally, the radio component may include any combination of a baseband processor, analog RF signal processing circuitry (e.g., including filters, mixers, oscillators, and amplifiers, etc.), or digital processing circuitry (e.g., for digital modulation and other digital processing). Similarly, the radio component may use the foregoing hardware to implement one or more receive chains and transmit chains. For example, the UE 106 may share one or more portions of a receive chain and / or a transmit chain among multiple wireless communication technologies such as those discussed above.

[0052] In some aspects, the UE 106 may include separate transmit chains and / or receive chains (e.g., including separate antennas and other radio components) for each wireless communication protocol it is configured to communicate with. As another possibility, the UE 106 may include one or more radio components shared among multiple wireless communication protocols and one or more radio components uniquely used by a single wireless communication protocol. For example, the UE 106 may include shared radio components for communicating using either LTE or 5G NR (or either LTE or 1xRTT, or either LTE or GSM, and various possibilities), and separate radio components for communicating using each of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Other configurations are possible.

[0053] In some aspects, the downlink resource grid can be used for downlink transmission from any of the base stations in base station 102 to UE 106, and uplink transmission can utilize similar techniques. The grid can be a time-frequency grid, referred to as a resource grid or a time-frequency resource grid, which is the physical resources in the downlink for each time slot. For an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) system, such a time-frequency plane representation is a common practice, which makes radio resource selection intuitive. Each column and each row of the resource grid corresponds to an OFDM symbol and an OFDM subcarrier, respectively. The duration of the resource grid in the time domain corresponds to one time slot in the radio frame. The smallest time-frequency unit in the resource grid is represented as a resource element. Each resource grid can include a plurality of resource blocks, which describe the mapping of a specific physical channel to resource elements. Each resource block includes a set of resource elements. Such resource blocks are used to convey several different physical downlink channels.

[0054] The physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) can carry user data and higher layer signaling to UE 106. The physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) can carry information such as the transmission format and resource allocation related to the PDSCH channel. It can also notify UE 106 of the transmission format, resource allocation, and HARQ (hybrid automatic repeat request) information related to the uplink shared channel. Generally, downlink scheduling (assigning control and shared channel resource blocks to UEs in the cell) can be performed at any of the base stations in base station 102 based on the channel quality information fed back from any of the UEs in UE 106. Downlink resource allocation information can be transmitted on the PDCCH used for (e.g., assigned to) each UE in the UE.

[0055] The PDCCH can use control channel elements (CCEs) to convey control information. Before being mapped to resource elements, the PDCCH complex-valued symbols can first be organized into quadruples, and then can be arranged using a sub-block interleaver for rate matching. One or more of these CCEs can be used to transmit each PDCCH, where each CCE can correspond to a set of nine four physical resource elements, referred to as a resource element group (REG). Four quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) symbols can be mapped to each REG. Depending on the size of the downlink control information (DCI) and the channel conditions, one or more CCEs can be used to transmit the PDCCH. There can be four or more different PDCCH formats defined in LTE with different numbers of CCEs (e.g., aggregation levels, L = 1, 2, 4, or 8).

[0056] L1 group common signaling for primary cell handover

[0057] As described above, in some embodiments described herein, energy conservation is enhanced during network communication. Specifically, energy conservation is enhanced in the communication exchange between base station 102 and UE 106. In some embodiments, transmission and reception between base station 102 and UE 106 are improved by dynamically and / or semi-statically implementing more efficient operation and more fine-grained adaptation of transmission and / or reception in one or more network energy conservation techniques in the network energy conservation technology.

[0058] In the dynamic cell handover process described herein, one of the UEs 106 uses a specific DCI format optimized to increase energy conservation to replace the primary cell. When performing the dynamic cell handover process, the source cell is determined to be an active source cell, a deactivated source cell, or a dormant cell. From the perspective of the UE performing the dynamic cell handover process, activation, deactivation, and / or dormancy are all states of the source cell. If the information parameter indicates that the source cell is to be transformed into a secondary cell (SCell) to generate or relay signaling between base station 102 and UE 106, the source cell may remain an active source cell. If the information parameter indicates a change in the source cell from generating or relaying signaling between base station 102 and UE 106, the source cell may become a deactivated source cell. If the information parameter indicates that the source cell may remain in the dormant state, the source cell may be considered dormant. In the dormant state, the source cell may stop monitoring operations for the UE, but continue to perform CSI measurements, automatic gain control (AGC), and beam management (if configured). Information parameters indicating the activation state, deactivation state, and / or dormant state may be provided via radio resource control (RRC) signaling or medium access control (MAC)-control element (CE) from network 100.

[0059] In one or more embodiments, by way of non-limiting example, UE 106A may include a receiver configured to receive information parameters from one of base stations 102. The information parameters may indicate a dynamic handover of the primary cell from a source cell in UE 106B to a target cell in one of UEs 106C - 106Z. The information parameters may be received in a specific DCI format. The specific DCI format may be an existing DCI format or a format adapted to the specific implementation, as will be described with reference to Figure 5 and Figure 6 described. Upon receiving the information parameters, UE 106A may determine an application delay (which indicates the start time of the dynamic handover), perform the dynamic handover at the start time, and identify the source cell as a deactivated cell or a dormant cell.

[0060] In some embodiments, the first DCI format includes multiple information blocks carrying information related to the primary cell handover for UE 106A and at least one additional primary cell handover for another UE 106. In this case, multiple UEs are commanded to perform dynamic handover of the primary cell. The second DCI format may include one information block carrying information related to the primary cell handover for UE 106A.

[0061] Each information block in the DCI may include a primary cell index providing an identification of the source cell and / or the target cell, a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resource indication for confirming that the information parameter is received by UE 106A, a time offset for transmission on the PUCCH for indicating that UE 106 continuously performs the dynamic handover process, and / or an indication of the application delay.

[0062] The dynamic cell handover process described herein may additionally be performed using the information elements and / or signaling described in 3GPP TS 38.212, TS 38.214, TS 38.215, TS 38.321, and TS 38.331.

[0063] Example communication device

[0064] Figure 2 An example simplified block diagram of a communication device 106 is illustrated according to some aspects. Note that Figure 2 The block diagram of the communication device is only one example of a possible communication device. According to various aspects, in addition to other devices, the communication device 106 may be a UE device or terminal, a mobile device or mobile station, a wireless device or wireless station, a desktop computer or computing device, a mobile computing device (e.g., a laptop, notebook, or portable computing device), a tablet computer, and / or a combination of devices. As shown, the communication device 106 may include a set of components 200 configured to perform core functions. For example, the set of components may be implemented as a system-on-chip (SOC) that may include portions for various purposes. Alternatively, the set of components 200 may be implemented as separate components or groups of components for various purposes. The set of components 200 may be (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to various other circuits of the communication device 106.

[0065] For example, the communication device 106 may include various types of memories (e.g., including NAND flash memory 210), input / output interfaces such as connector I / F 220 (e.g., for connecting to a computer system; a docking station; a charging station; input devices such as a microphone, a camera, a keyboard; output devices such as a speaker; etc.), a display 260 that may be integrated with or external to the communication device 106, and wireless communication circuitry 230 (e.g., for LTE, LTE-A, NR, UMTS, GSM, CDMA2000, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, NFC, GPS, etc.). In some aspects, the communication device 106 may include wired communication circuitry (not shown), such as a network interface card (e.g., for Ethernet connection).

[0066] The wireless communication circuitry 230 may be (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to one or more antennas, such as antenna 235 as shown in the figure. The wireless communication circuitry 230 may include cellular communication circuitry and / or mid- to short-range wireless communication circuitry, and may include multiple receive chains and / or multiple transmit chains for receiving and / or transmitting multiple spatial streams, such as in a MIMO configuration.

[0067] In some aspects, as further described below, the cellular communication circuitry 230 may include one or more receive chains for multiple radio access technologies (RATs) (including and / or coupled to (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) dedicated processors and / or radio components) (e.g., a first receive chain for LTE and a second receive chain for 5G NR). Additionally, in some aspects, the cellular communication circuitry 230 may include a single transmit chain that may switch between radio components dedicated to a particular RAT. For example, a first radio component may be dedicated to a first RAT (e.g., LTE) and may communicate with a dedicated receive chain and a transmit chain shared with a second radio component. The second radio component may be dedicated to a second RAT (e.g., 5G NR) and may communicate with a dedicated receive chain and the shared transmit chain. In some aspects, the second RAT is capable of operating at millimeter-wave frequencies. Since the operating frequency of a millimeter-wave system is higher than the typical frequency in an LTE system, signals in the millimeter-wave frequency range are severely attenuated due to environmental factors. To help address this attenuation issue, millimeter-wave systems typically utilize beamforming and include more antennas compared to LTE systems. These antennas may be organized into antenna arrays or panels composed of individual antenna elements. These antenna arrays may be coupled to radio links.

[0068] The communication device 106 may also include one or more user interface elements and / or be configured to be used with one or more user interface elements.

[0069] The communication device 106 may also include one or more smart cards 245 (such as one or more universal integrated circuit cards (UICCs) 245), and the one or more smart cards include subscriber identity module (SIM) functionality.

[0070] As shown, the SOC 200 may include a processor 202 and a display circuit 204. The processor may execute program instructions of the communication device 106, and the display circuit may perform graphics processing and provide a display signal to the display 260. The processor 202 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 240, and the memory management unit may be configured to receive addresses from the processor 202 and convert these addresses into locations in a memory (such as the memory 206, read-only memory (ROM) 250, NAND flash memory 210); and / or be coupled to other circuits or devices, such as the display circuit 204, wireless communication circuit 230, connector I / F 220, and / or the display 260. The MMU 240 may be configured to perform memory protection and page table translation or setup. In some aspects, the MMU 240 may be included as part of the processor 202.

[0071] As described above, the communication device 106 may be configured to communicate using wireless and / or wired communication circuits. As described herein, the communication device 106 may include hardware and software components for implementing any of the various features and technologies described herein. The processor 202 of the communication device 106 may be configured to implement part or all of the features described herein (such as by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium). Alternatively (or in addition), the processor 202 may be configured as a programmable hardware element, such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). Alternatively (or in addition), in combination with one or more of the other components 200, 204, 206, 210, 220, 230, 240, 245, 250, 260, the processor 202 of the communication device 106 may be configured to implement part or all of the features described herein.

[0072] In addition, as described herein, the processor 202 may include one or more processing elements. Thus, the processor 202 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of the processor 202. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuits (such as a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of the processor 202.

[0073] In addition, as described herein, the wireless communication circuit 230 may include one or more processing elements. In other words, one or more processing elements may be included in the wireless communication circuit 230. Accordingly, the wireless communication circuit 230 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of the wireless communication circuit 230. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuits (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of the wireless communication circuit 230.

[0074] Example base station

[0075] Figure 3 An example block diagram of a base station 102 in accordance with some aspects is illustrated. Note that Figure 3 the base station shown is a non-limiting example of a possible base station. As shown, the base station 102 may include a processor 304 that may execute program instructions for the base station 102. The processor 304 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 340 that may be configured to receive addresses from the processor 304 and translate those addresses into locations in a memory (e.g., memory 360 and read-only memory (ROM) 350); or coupled to other circuits or devices.

[0076] The base station 102 may include at least one network port 370. The network port 370 may be configured to couple to a telephone network and provide access to a plurality of devices (such as UE device 106) to the telephone network as described above in Figure 1 .

[0077] The network port 370 (or an additional network port) may also be configured to or alternatively be configured to couple to a cellular network, such as a core network of a cellular service provider. The core network may provide mobility-related services and / or other services to a plurality of devices (such as UE device 106). In some cases, the network port 370 may be coupled to the telephone network via the core network, and / or the core network may provide the telephone network (e.g., in addition to other UE devices served by the cellular service provider).

[0078] In some aspects, the base station 102 may be a next-generation base station (e.g., a 5G New Radio (5GNR) base station or “gNB”). In such aspects, the base station 102 may be connected to a legacy evolved packet core (EPC) network and / or connected to an NR core (NRC) / 5G core (5GC) network. In addition, the base station 102 may be regarded as a 5G NR cell and may include one or more transmission and reception points (TRPs). In addition, a UE capable of operating according to 5G NR may be connected to one or more TRPs within one or more gNBs.

[0079] Base station 102 may include at least one antenna 334 and may include multiple antennas. At least one antenna 334 may be configured to operate as a wireless transceiver and may also be configured to communicate with UE device 106 via radio component 330. Antenna 334 communicates with radio component 330 via communication link 332. Communication link 332 may be a receive link, a transmit link, or both. Radio component 330 may be configured to communicate via various wireless communication standards, which include 5G NR, LTE, LTE-A, GSM, UMTS, CDMA2000, and Wi-Fi, among others.

[0080] Base station 102 may be configured to perform wireless communication using multiple wireless communication standards. In some instances, base station 102 may include multiple radio components, which may enable base station 102 to communicate according to multiple wireless communication technologies. For example, as one possibility, base station 102 may include an LTE radio component for performing communication according to LTE and a 5G NR radio component for performing communication according to 5G NR. In this case, base station 102 may be able to operate as both an LTE base station and a 5G NR base station. When base station 102 supports millimeter wave, the 5G NR radio component may be coupled to one or more millimeter wave antenna arrays or panels. As another possibility, base station 102 may include a multi-mode radio component capable of performing communication according to any one of multiple wireless communication technologies (such as 5G NR and LTE, 5G NR and Wi-Fi, LTE and Wi-Fi, LTE and UMTS, LTE and CDMA2000, UMTS and GSM, etc.).

[0081] In addition, BS102 may include hardware and software components for implementing or supporting the embodiments of the features described herein. The processor 304 of base station 102 may be configured to implement or support the implementation of part or all of the methods described herein (e.g., by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium). Alternatively, processor 304 may be configured as a programmable hardware element (such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA)), or an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or a combination thereof. Alternatively (or in addition), in combination with one or more of the other components 330, 332, 334, 340, 350, 360, 370, the processor 304 of BS102 may be configured to implement or support the implementation of some or all of the features described herein.

[0082] In addition, as described herein, processor 304 may include one or more processing elements. Accordingly, processor 304 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of processor 304. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuits (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of processor 304.

[0083] In addition, as described herein, radio component 330 may include one or more processing elements. Accordingly, radio component 330 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of radio component 330. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuits (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of radio component 330.

[0084] Example cellular communication circuit

[0085] Figure 4 An example simplified block diagram of a cellular communication circuit in accordance with some aspects is illustrated. Note that Figure 4 the block diagram of the cellular communication circuit is only one example of a possible cellular communication circuit; other circuits, such as a circuit including or coupled to sufficient antennas for different RATs to perform uplink activities using separate antennas, or a circuit including or coupled to fewer antennas (e.g., antennas that may be shared among multiple RATs) are also possible. In accordance with some aspects, cellular communication circuit 230 may be included in a communication device (such as communication device 106 described above). As described above, in addition to other devices, communication device 106 may be a UE device, a mobile device or mobile station, a wireless device or wireless station, a desktop computer or computing device, a mobile computing device (e.g., a laptop, notebook or portable computing device), a tablet computer, and / or a combination of devices.

[0086] Cellular communication circuit 230 may be (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to one or more antennas, such as antennas 235a, 235b, and 236 as shown. In some aspects, cellular communication circuit 230 may include dedicated receive chains for multiple RATs (including and / or coupled to (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) dedicated processors and / or radio components) (e.g., a first receive chain for LTE and a second receive chain for 5G NR). For example, as Figure 4 shown, cellular communication circuit 230 may include a first modem 410 and a second modem 420. First modem 410 may be configured to communicate according to a first RAT (e.g., such as LTE or LTE-A), and second modem 420 may be configured to communicate according to a second RAT (e.g., such as 5G NR).

[0087] As shown in the figure, the first modem 410 may include one or more processors 412 and a memory 416 that communicates with the processors 412. The modem 410 may communicate with a radio frequency (RF) front end 430. The RF front end 430 may include circuitry for transmitting and receiving radio signals. For example, the RF front end 430 may include a receive circuit (RX) 432 and a transmit circuit (TX) 434. In some aspects, the receive circuit 432 may communicate with a downlink (DL) front end 450, which may include circuitry for receiving radio signals via antenna 235a.

[0088] Similarly, the second modem 420 may include one or more processors 422 and a memory 426 that communicates with the processors 422. The modem 420 may communicate with an RF front end 440. The RF front end 440 may include circuitry for transmitting and receiving radio signals. For example, the RF front end 440 may include a receive circuit 442 and a transmit circuit 444. In some aspects, the receive circuit 442 may communicate with a DL front end 460, which may include circuitry for receiving radio signals via antenna 235b.

[0089] In some aspects, a switch 470 may couple the transmit circuit 434 to an uplink (UL) front end 472. Additionally, the switch 470 may couple the transmit circuit 444 to the UL front end 472. The UL front end 472 may include circuitry for transmitting radio signals via antenna 236. Thus, when the cellular communication circuit 230 receives an instruction to transmit according to a first RAT (e.g., as supported by the first modem 410), the switch 470 may be switched to a first state that allows the first modem 410 to transmit signals according to the first RAT (e.g., via a transmit chain including the transmit circuit 434 and the UL front end 472). Similarly, when the cellular communication circuit 230 receives an instruction to transmit according to a second RAT (e.g., as supported by the second modem 420), the switch 470 may be switched to a second state that allows the second modem 420 to transmit signals according to the second RAT (e.g., via a transmit chain including the transmit circuit 444 and the UL front end 472).

[0090] As described herein, the first modem 410 and / or the second modem 420 may include hardware and software components for implementing any of the various features and techniques described herein. For example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium), the processors 412, 422 may be configured to implement some or all of the features described herein. Alternatively (or additionally), the processors 412, 422 may be configured as programmable hardware elements, such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or as an ASIC (application specific integrated circuit). Alternatively (or additionally), in combination with one or more of the other components 430, 432, 434, 440, 442, 444, 450, 470, 472, 235, and 236, the processors 412, 422 may be configured to implement some or all of the features described herein.

[0091] In addition, as described herein, the processors 412, 422 may include one or more processing elements. Thus, the processors 412, 422 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of the processors 412, 422. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of the processors 412, 422.

[0092] In some aspects, the cellular communication circuitry 230 may include only one transmit / receive chain. For example, the cellular communication circuitry 230 may not include the modem 420, the RF front end 440, the DL front end 460, and / or the antenna 235b. As another example, the cellular communication circuitry 230 may not include the modem 410, the RF front end 430, the DL front end 450, and / or the antenna 235a. In some aspects, the cellular communication circuitry 230 may also not include the switch 470, and the RF front end 430 or the RF front end 440 may communicate with the UL front end 472, e.g., directly.

[0093] Turning to Figure 5 , illustration 500 shows a primary cell handover indication for one or more terminals (i.e., UE106) carried in a common DCI 510. The DCI 510 is shown as including a plurality of blocks 520-560, which include a plurality of information parameters. Padding bits may be appended at the end of the DCI to achieve a specific DCI size. In some embodiments, the DCI 510 may be a specific DCI format including a plurality of blocks 520-560 of information. Each block may include information related to the primary cell handover for the corresponding terminal.

[0094] In some embodiments, a specific DCI format may be configured on one or more serving cells for a terminal. The specific DCI format may include the overall structure and content definitions from the information elements described in reference 3GPP TS 38.212.

[0095] The specific DCI may include a format specifically adapted for dynamic primary cell handover. In this format, the terminal may be configured with a block that includes the corresponding radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) value for the DCI, the DCI size, the search space set configuration for monitoring the DCI, and the starting location of the block within the DCI. The RNTI may be used to distinguish / identify connected terminals in the serving cell, a specific radio channel, a group of terminals in a paging scenario, a group of terminals for which power control is issued by the base station or another terminal, system information sent for all terminals in a broadcast signal, and / or a group of terminals for monitoring the DCI for dynamic primary handover here. If not specifically configured, the DCI size may be the same as the DCI size of format 1_0 monitored in the common search space in the same serving cell. The existing search space set configuration structure may be reused to configure the search space set.

[0096] The specific DCI may include a format that is a modified version of an existing DCI. The modified version may incorporate one or more of the existing group common DCI formats described in 3GPP TS 38.212. For example, if the primary cell handover indication is incorporated into DCI format 2_2 (i.e., for the transmission of TPC commands for the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) and physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH)), each block in the DCI may be a conventional block carrying a transmission power control (TPC) command for the PUSCH or PUCCH for the UE, or a block carrying information related to the primary cell handover for the terminal. In some embodiments, the conventional block carrying the TPC command for the PUSCH or PUCCH and the block carrying information related to the primary cell handover for the same terminal may be carried in the same DCI, with different starting locations in the DCI.

[0097] In the foregoing example using DCI format 2_2, the terminal may reuse the configuration of the existing DCI format (such as RNTI, DCI size, and search space set configuration) to determine when and where to monitor the DCI. In addition, the terminal may be configured with the starting location of the block within the DCI to monitor the primary cell handover indication.

[0098] If multiple existing DCI formats are supported to carry the primary cell handover indication, the terminal may be configured with a separate DCI format among the available existing DCI formats.

[0099] In one or more embodiments, the terminal may be configured to monitor DCI on one or more serving cells. If a serving cell becomes dormant or deactivated, the terminal may not monitor DCI on the serving cell, thus following existing terminal behavior. In some embodiments, the terminal may be configured with one or more search space sets for monitoring DCI on all candidate cells for primary cell handover. In this regard, the terminal may monitor DCI on the current primary cell and may not monitor DCI on all other candidate cells.

[0100] In Figure 6 , illustration 600 includes example content of block 605A of DCI formats 605A and 605B. In DCI format 605A, blocks 610 - 640 may be configured according to any one of the specific DCI formats described with reference to Figure 5 Box 605B may represent the content in one of blocks 610 - 640. For example, block 620 may carry a primary cell handover indication for the terminal. Block 620 may include a target primary cell index 650, a PUCCH resource indication 660 for HARQ - ACK for the indication, a HARQ - ACK offset 670 for the indication, an application delay 680 indication, and an SCell deactivation or dormancy activation 690 indication.

[0101] In one or more embodiments, the target primary cell index 650 is the index of the target primary cell. If the index is the same as the current primary cell, the terminal takes no action; otherwise, the terminal switches the primary cell to the cell corresponding to the indicated index. In some embodiments, the primary cell index may not always be 0 (i.e., in traditional systems, the index of the primary cell may always be 0).

[0102] In one or more embodiments, the supported primary cell index may generally be a non - zero index for the primary cell. In this regard, the primary cell index may include adding an explicit indication for the primary cell in the serving cell configuration and removing some implicit assumptions that cell index 0 always corresponds to the primary cell. In some embodiments, the supported primary cell index may be a non - zero index for the primary cell only for a short transition period. In this regard, if a dynamic DCI indicates a primary cell handover to a cell with a non - zero index, high - layer signaling (i.e., RRC signaling or MAC CE) is used to re - assign the cell indices for both the source primary cell and the target primary cell such that the target primary cell has index 0.

[0103] In one or more embodiments, the primary cell index change occurs together with a primary cell handover, and the serving primary cell always has index 0. Each candidate for the primary cell can be configured with a non-zero cell index. In this case, if the candidate cell becomes the primary cell, it can use index 0; otherwise it can use the configured non-zero cell index. Additionally, in this case, explicit configuration is necessary to indicate the primary cell at the initial configuration.

[0104] The non-zero cell index can be explicitly indicated inside block 620. After the handover, the target primary cell can have index 0, and the source primary cell can use the indicated cell index. Additionally, the source primary cell and the target primary cell can also switch the cell index together with the primary cell handover.

[0105] Go to Figure 7A and Figure 7B Signal diagrams 700A and 700B illustrate a plurality of signal exchanges during the process of providing a dynamic cell handover command to terminal 710. In signal diagrams 700A and 700B, source cell 720 and target cell 730 are connected to terminal 710 via an established system information. In Figure 7A and Figure 7B example, the transmitter in terminal 710 can be configured to send an indication of acknowledging receipt of information parameters via DL data / control information 750 received from source cell 720 or DL data / control information 760 received from target cell 730 to the source cell or the target cell. The indication of acknowledging receipt of information parameters can be sent in the PUCCH configured for the source cell as shown in Figure 7A or in the PUCCH configured for the target cell as shown in Figure 7B .

[0106] In Figure 7A and Figure 7B example, terminal 710, source cell 720, and target cell 730 establish system information 740 (i.e., separately labeled as 740A and 740B in Figure 7A and Figure 7B respectively), where source cell 720 or target cell 730 indicates a specific resource allocation to terminal 710. System information 740 can include information for configuring data / control transmission between terminal 710 and multiple primary cells. For example, system information 740 can indicate that one of source cell 720 and target cell is configured to send DCI indicating a dynamic cell handover.

[0107] Additionally, source cell 720 and / or target cell 730 can refer to Figure 5 and / or Figure 6One of the discussed formats provides DCI transmission to the terminal 710. In some embodiments, the source cell 720 transmits DL data / control information 750 to the terminal 710. In other embodiments, the target cell 730 transmits DL data / control information 760 to the terminal 710. In some other embodiments ( Figure 7A or Figure 7B not shown), a cell other than the source cell 720 or the target cell 730 transmits DL data / control information 760 to the terminal 710. Regardless of whether the terminal 710 receives DL data / control information 750 or DL data / control information 760, the terminal receives a specific resource allocation to configure the PUCCH.

[0108] In Figure 7A , the terminal 710, the source cell 720, and the target cell 730 establish system information 740A. In addition, the DL data / control information 750 from the source cell 720 and / or the DL data / control information 760 from the target cell 730 may provide the terminal with a configuration for selecting PUCCH resources in the PUCCH source set, as shown in block 770A. After the terminal 710 selects the resources for the PUCCH, the terminal 710 provides an ACK / NACK (PUCCH) signal 780A.

[0109] In Figure 7B , the terminal 710, the source cell 720, and the target cell 730 establish system information 740B. In addition, the DL data / control information 750 from the source cell 720 and / or the DL data / control information 760 from the target cell 730 may provide the terminal with a configuration for selecting PUCCH resources in the PUCCH target set, as shown in block 770B. After the terminal 710 selects the resources for the PUCCH, the terminal 710 provides an ACK / NACK (PUCCH) signal 780B.

[0110] In one or more embodiments, Figure 7A and Figure 7B example prevents the missed detection of the primary cell handover indication at the terminal 710. In this regard, the confirmation indication prevents different understandings of the primary cell handover process between any base station communicating with the source cell 720 and the target cell 730 and the terminal 710. As Figure 7A and Figure 7BAs shown, physical layer signaling (i.e., HARQ-ACK on PUCCH) can be used to send acknowledgments. As shown above, the acknowledgment indication can be sent on the PUCCH in the source cell 720 or on the PUCCH in the target cell. In these cases, the terminal can be configured with or indicated with PUCCH resources and time offsets for HARQ-ACK. In addition, the PUCCH resources can be configured or indicated via the PUCCH resource index. In some embodiments, the PUCCH resources or time offsets for HARQ-ACK can be (pre)-configured, predefined in the specification, semi-statically configured via RRC signaling, or dynamically indicated in the DCI as part of the block information carrying the primary cell handover indication, as Figure 5 and Figure 6 shown.

[0111] Application delay

[0112] In one or more embodiments, the terminal 720 can be configured with a set of candidate cells for primary cell dynamic handover. The target cell 730 can be restricted to the active serving cell, or the active and non-dormant serving cell. In some embodiments, there may be no such restriction at all, but the application delay can depend on the state of the target primary cell, as explained below.

[0113] The application delay can define the start time when the terminal 710 uses the target cell 730 as the primary cell. The application delay can be used by the terminal 710 to prepare and complete the primary cell handover process. The reference time for the application delay can be the time of sending the group common DCI or the time of sending the acknowledgment. In some embodiments, the application delay can be defined as an offset relative to the reference time. The unit can be the number of symbols / slots or absolute time, such as milliseconds.

[0114] In some embodiments, the application delay can depend on the subcarrier spacing (SCS). SCS is an entity that connects to the 3GPP network to communicate with terminals for machine type communication (MTC) in the home public land mobile network (HPLMN). SCS provides capabilities used by one or more MTC applications or MTC types. The terminal can host one or more MTC applications. In addition, the application delay can be FR1-related or FR2-related. FR1 defines the frequency bands in the spectrum below 6 GHz (i.e., the maximum value is at approximately 7125 MHz), and FR2 defines the frequency bands in the millimeter wave spectrum. Since the carrier frequency in FR2 is higher, FR2 has a higher maximum bandwidth. The bandwidth includes 5 MHz - 100 MHz (FR1) and 50 MHz / 100 MHz / 200 MHz / 400 MHz (FR2).

[0115] The application delay can be (pre)-configured or predefined in the standard specification. Additionally, the application delay can be reported by the terminal via UE capability reporting. In some embodiments, the application delay can vary depending on whether the target cell 730 is active, inactive, or in a dormant state. Gaps can be defined during which the terminal does not perform any transmission or reception on the source cell 720 or the target cell 730.

[0116] Go to Figure 8A and Figure 8B , Signal diagrams 800A and 800B illustrate multiple signal exchanges during the process of providing a dynamic cell handover command to the terminal 810. In signal diagrams 800A and 800B, the source cell 820 and the target cell 830 are connected to the terminal 810 via the established system information. In Figure 8A and Figure 8B 's example, the processor in the terminal 810 can configure the terminal 810 to perform a cell handover process, as shown in box 850A of Figure 8A and box 850B of Figure 8B .

[0117] In Figure 8A and Figure 8B 's example, the terminal 810, the source cell 820, and the target cell 830 establish system information 840 (i.e., separately labeled as 840A and 840B in Figure 8A and Figure 8B respectively), where the source cell 820 or the target cell 830 indicates a specific resource allocation to the terminal 810. The system information 840 can include information for configuring data / control transmission between the terminal 810 and multiple candidate primary cells. For example, the system information 840 can indicate that one of the source cell 820 and the target cell is configured to transmit DCI indicating a dynamic cell handover. Additionally, the terminal 810 can be configured to perform a cell handover process 860 (i.e., separately labeled as 860A and 860B in Figure 8A and Figure 8B respectively). Follow the configuration in the established system information 840.

[0118] In Figure 8A , the terminal 810, the source cell 820, and the target cell 830 establish system information 840A. Additionally, the terminal 810 is configured to perform a cell handover process, as shown in box 850A. In box 870A, after the cell handover process is completed, from the perspective of the terminal 810, the source cell 820 is considered a deactivated cell.

[0119] In Figure 8BIn [the scenario], the terminal 810, the source cell 820, and the target cell 830 establish the system information 840B. In addition, the terminal 810 is configured to perform a cell handover process, as shown in block 850B. In block 870B, after the cell handover process is completed, from the perspective of the terminal 810, the source cell 820 is considered a dormant cell.

[0120] In one or more embodiments, after the primary cell is handed over, the source primary cell may be deactivated or put the source primary cell into dormancy, so that power savings can be increased from the perspective of the base station. In Figure 8A an embodiment of the example of [the scenario], the source cell 820 may be deactivated after the primary cell handover. In Figure 8A In another embodiment of the example of [the scenario], the status of the source cell 820 may be dynamically indicated. One bit in the SCell deactivation indication field may be used to provide the dynamic indication, as part of the block information carrying the reference Figure 5 and Figure 6 the primary cell handover indication discussed.

[0121] In one or more embodiments, when the source primary cell is put into dormancy, the handover process may define whether the source cell 820 enters dormancy after the primary cell handover. In Figure 8B an embodiment of the example of [the scenario], the source cell 820 may be put into dormancy after the primary cell handover. In Figure 8B In another embodiment of the example of [the scenario], the status of the source cell 820 may be dynamically indicated. One bit in the SCell dormancy indication field may be used to provide the dynamic indication, as part of the block information carrying the reference Figure 5 and Figure 6 the primary cell handover indication discussed.

[0122] In some embodiments, the terminal 810 may reuse the same method as in the SCell dormancy indication field in DCI format 2_6, where SCell dormancy is indicated for all cells in the configured dormant cell group, one bit per dormant cell group. In this regard, the definition of the dormant cell group may be extended to include the primary cell and all primary cell candidates, because the primary cell can be dynamically switched in the manner configured in Figures 5 to 7B [the scenario], and each primary cell candidate in the primary cell candidates may become an SCell depending on the application.

[0123] Figure 9Illustrates a flowchart of performing method 900 in a series of blocks. According to one or more embodiments, method 900 may be performed by a terminal that transmits or receives communication with one or more cells in a cell group. At 910, the flowchart begins with the terminal being configured to receive information parameters indicating a dynamic handover of a primary cell from a source cell to a target cell. As described above, the information parameters may be received in a specific DCI format. The DCI format may be one of the DCI formats referred to Figure 5 or Figure 6 in the described DCI formats. Additionally, the DCI format may be modified to include information elements and signaling discussed in 3GPP TS 38.212.

[0124] At 920, the flowchart continues with the terminal being configured to determine an application delay that indicates the start time of the dynamic handover. In some embodiments, the application delay may be defined as an offset relative to a reference time. The unit may be the number of symbols / slots or an absolute time such as milliseconds. As described above, the application delay may define the start time when terminal 710 operates using target cell 730 as the primary cell. The application delay may be used by terminal 710 to perform the primary cell handover procedure.

[0125] At 930, the flowchart continues with the terminal being configured to perform the dynamic handover at the start time. As described above, the start time may be calculated to allow transmission / reception after / before the reference time. The reference time for the application delay may be the time of transmitting group common DCI or the time of transmitting an acknowledgement.

[0126] The flowchart ends at 940, where the terminal identifies the source cell as a deactivated cell or a dormant cell. As Figure 8A and Figure 8B shown, terminal 810 may be configured to identify the source cell as a deactivated cell or a dormant cell to increase overall energy savings in the network.

[0127] The use of the connectivity term "and / or" is intended to represent all possible alternative forms of the conjunctions "and" and "or". For example, the statement "configuration of A and / or B" includes the meanings of the statements "configuration of A and B" and "configuration of A or B".

[0128] It is well known that the use of personally identifiable information should follow privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or government requirements for maintaining user privacy. Specifically, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of inadvertent or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of the authorized use should be clearly explained to the user.

[0129] Aspects of the present disclosure can be implemented in any of a variety of forms. For example, some aspects can be implemented as a computer-implemented method, a computer-readable memory medium, or a computer system. Other aspects can be implemented using one or more custom-designed hardware devices such as an ASIC. Still other aspects can be implemented using one or more programmable hardware elements such as an FPGA.

[0130] In some aspects, a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium can be configured such that it stores program instructions and / or data, where the program instructions, when executed by a computer system, cause the computer system to perform a method (e.g., any of the method aspects described herein, or any combination of the method aspects described herein, or any subset of any of the method aspects described herein, or any combination of such subsets).

[0131] In some aspects, a device (e.g., UE 106, BS 102) can be configured to include a processor (or a set of processors) and a memory medium, where the memory medium stores program instructions, where the processor is configured to read and execute the program instructions from the memory medium, where the program instructions are executable to implement any of the various method aspects described herein (or any combination of the method aspects described herein, or any subset of any of the method aspects described herein, or any combination of such subsets). The device can be implemented in any of a variety of forms.

[0132] Although the above aspects have been described in considerable detail, many variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully understood. It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to cover all such variations and modifications.

Claims

1. A terminal, the terminal comprises: a receiver configured to receive information parameters indicating a dynamic handover of a primary cell from a source cell to a target cell, the information parameters being received in a specific downlink control information (DCI) format; and a processor configured to: determine an application delay indicating a start time of the dynamic handover, and use the target cell as the primary cell at the start time.

2. The terminal according to claim 1, wherein: A first DCI format includes a plurality of information blocks carrying information related to a primary cell handover for the terminal and at least one additional primary cell handover for another terminal.

3. The terminal according to claim 2, wherein: A second DCI format includes one information block carrying information related to the primary cell handover for the terminal and at least one information block for purposes other than the primary cell handover for the terminal.

4. The terminal according to claim 1, wherein: The information block includes at least one or more of the following: a primary cell index, a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resource for sending an indication confirming receipt of the information parameters, a time offset for transmission of the PUCCH resource, or an indication of the application delay.

5. The terminal according to claim 4, wherein: The primary cell index includes a non - zero index or a zero index.

6. The terminal according to claim 1, the terminal further comprises: a transmitter configured to send an indication confirming receipt of the information parameters to the source cell or the target cell.

7. The terminal according to claim 6, wherein: The indication confirming receipt of the information parameters is sent in a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) configured for the source cell or a PUCCH configured for the target cell.

8. The terminal according to claim 1, wherein: After the dynamic handover, the source cell is identified as a deactivated cell or a dormant cell by indication parameters in the specific DCI format.

9. The terminal according to claim 1, wherein: The specific DCI format is a group common DCI format.

10. The terminal according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to: After the primary cell handover, identify the source cell as a deactivated cell or a dormant cell.

11. A method, the method being substantially described as herein with reference to each figure or any combination of figures included herein or with reference to each paragraph or any combination of paragraphs in the detailed description or according to any of the terminals according to claims 1 to 10.

12. A wireless device configured to perform any action or combination of actions substantially described herein in the detailed description or according to any of the terminals according to claims 1 to 10 included in the wireless device.

13. A wireless station configured to perform any action or combination of actions substantially described herein in the detailed description or any of the terminals according to claims 1 to 10.

14. A non - volatile computer - readable medium storing instructions that, when executed, cause any of the terminals to perform any action or combination of actions substantially described herein in the detailed description or any of the terminals according to claims 1 to 10.

15. An integrated circuit configured to perform any action or combination of actions substantially described herein in the detailed description or any of the terminals according to claims 1 to 10.

16. A method comprising any action or combination of actions substantially described herein in the detailed description or any of the terminals according to claims 1 to 10.

17. A method substantially described herein with reference to each or any combination of the figures included herein or with reference to each or any combination of the paragraphs in the detailed description or any of the terminals according to claims 1 to 10.

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