Method and apparatus for resolving conflicts between time windows of operations related to different networks

Abstract

The invention relates to a method and a device for resolving conflicts between time windows of operations related to different networks. There is provided a wireless device comprising: at least one antenna; at least one radio component, the at least one radio component coupled to the at least one antenna; and a processor coupled to the at least one radio; wherein the processor is configured to: use a repeatedly occurring first time window as a timing to perform one or more first operations associated with a first network; and taking a repeatedly occurring second time window as a timing for performing one or more second operations related to a second network different from the first network, wherein the processor is further configured to: discard an opportunity to perform the one or more first operations within a first time window or discard an opportunity to perform the one or more second operations within a second time window according to at least one shared factor, processing at least one conflict between the first time window as a timing for performing the one or more first operations within the first time window and the second time window as a timing for performing the one or more second operations within the second time window, the at least one shared factor defines a relationship between a number of times discarded to perform the one or more first operations and a number of times discarded to perform the one or more second operations.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application generally relates to a wireless communication system, including a wireless device, a cellular base station, a method, and an apparatus for resolving conflicts between time windows of operations associated with different networks. Background Art

[0002] Wireless mobile communication technologies use various standards and protocols to send data between a base station and a wireless communication device. Wireless communication system standards and protocols may include, for example, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE) (e.g., 4G), 3GPP New Radio (NR) (e.g., 5G), and the IEEE 802.11 standard for wireless local area network (WLAN) (commonly referred to within the industry as ).

[0003] As envisioned by 3GPP, different wireless communication system standards and protocols may use various radio access networks (RANs) to communicate between a base station of the RAN (which may sometimes also be referred to as a RAN node, a network node, or simply a node) and a wireless communication device referred to as a user equipment (UE). 3GPP RAN may include, for example, Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Enhanced Data Rate for GSM Evolution (EDGE) RAN (GERAN), Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN), Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN), and / or Next Generation Radio Access Network (NG-RAN).

[0004] Each RAN may use one or more radio access technologies (RATs) to perform communication between the base station and the UE. For example, GERAN implements GSM and / or EDGE RAT, UTRAN implements Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) RAT or other 3GPP RAT, E-UTRAN implements LTE RAT (which is sometimes simply referred to as LTE), and NG-RAN implements NR RAT (which is sometimes referred to herein as 5G RAT, 5G NR RAT, or simply NR). In some deployments, E-UTRAN may also implement NR RAT. In some deployments, NG-RAN may also implement LTE RAT.

[0005] The base station used by a RAN may correspond to that RAN. An example of an E-UTRAN base station is an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) Node B (commonly also denoted as an Evolved Node B, an Enhanced Node B, an eNodeB, or an eNB). An example of an NG-RAN base station is a Next Generation Node B (sometimes also referred to as a gNodeB or a gNB).

[0006] The RAN, together with external entities via its connection to the core network (CN), provides communication services. For example, E-UTRAN can utilize the evolved packet core (EPC), while NG-RAN can utilize the 5G core network (5GC).

[0007] The frequency bands of 5G NR can be divided into two or more different frequency ranges. For example, frequency range 1 (FR1) can include frequency bands operating at frequencies below 6 GHz, some of which are available for previous standards and can potentially be extended to cover new spectrum products from 410 MHz to 7125 MHz. Frequency range 2 (FR2) can include frequency bands from 24.25 GHz to 52.6 GHz. The frequency bands in the millimeter wave (mmWave) range of FR2 can have a smaller range but potentially higher available bandwidth than the frequency bands in FR1. Those skilled in the art will recognize that these frequency ranges provided by way of example may change over time or by region. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0008] Embodiments relate to devices, methods, apparatuses, computer-readable storage media, and computer program products for wireless communication.

[0009] According to one aspect, a wireless device is provided, the wireless device comprising: at least one antenna; at least one radio component, the at least one radio component being coupled to the at least one antenna; and a processor, the processor being coupled to the at least one radio component; wherein the processor is configured to: take a recurring first time window as an opportunity to perform one or more first operations related to a first network; and take a recurring second time window as an opportunity to perform one or more second operations related to a second network different from the first network, wherein the processor is further configured to: handle at least one conflict between the first time window as an opportunity to perform the one or more first operations within the first time window and the second time window as an opportunity to perform the one or more second operations within the second time window by discarding, at least according to at least one sharing factor, the opportunity to perform the one or more first operations within the first time window or the opportunity to perform the one or more second operations within the second time window, the at least one sharing factor defining a relationship between the number of opportunities to perform the one or more first operations that are discarded and the number of opportunities to perform the one or more second operations that are discarded.

[0010] According to another aspect, there is provided a cellular base station comprising: at least one antenna; at least one radio component coupled to the at least one antenna; and a processor coupled to the at least one radio component; wherein the processor is configured to: send, via the at least one radio component, a radio resource control (RRC) message indicating at least one sharing factor to a wireless device, the radio resource control (RRC) message causing the wireless device to handle at least one conflict between a first time window as an opportunity to perform one or more first operations related to a first network within the first time window and a second time window as an opportunity to perform one or more second operations related to a second network within the second time window by discarding, at least according to the at least one sharing factor, the opportunity to perform the one or more first operations within the first time window or the opportunity to perform the one or more second operations within the second time window, a plurality of the first time windows repeatedly occur as opportunities for the wireless device to perform the one or more first operations, and a plurality of the second time windows repeatedly occur as opportunities for the wireless device to perform the one or more second operations, wherein the at least one sharing factor defines a relationship between the number of discarded opportunities to perform the one or more first operations and the number of discarded opportunities to perform the one or more second operations.

[0011] According to another aspect, there is provided a method for a wireless device, the method comprising: taking a repeatedly occurring first time window as an opportunity to perform one or more first operations related to a first network; and taking a repeatedly occurring second time window as an opportunity to perform one or more second operations related to a second network different from the first network, wherein the method further comprises: handling at least one conflict between the first time window as an opportunity to perform the one or more first operations within the first time window and the second time window as an opportunity to perform the one or more second operations within the second time window by discarding, at least according to at least one sharing factor, the opportunity to perform the one or more first operations within the first time window or the opportunity to perform the one or more second operations within the second time window, the at least one sharing factor defining a relationship between the number of discarded opportunities to perform the one or more first operations and the number of discarded opportunities to perform the one or more second operations.

[0012] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method for a cellular base station, the method comprising: sending, via the at least one radio component, a radio resource control (RRC) message indicating at least one sharing factor to a wireless device, the radio resource control (RRC) message causing the wireless device to handle at least one conflict between a first time window that is an opportunity to perform one or more first operations related to a first network within a first time window and a second time window that is an opportunity to perform one or more second operations related to a second network within a second time window by discarding, at least according to the at least one sharing factor, the opportunity to perform the one or more first operations within the first time window or the opportunity to perform the one or more second operations within the second time window, wherein the plurality of the first time windows repeatedly occur as opportunities for the wireless device to perform the one or more first operations, and the plurality of the second time windows repeatedly occur as opportunities for the wireless device to perform the one or more second operations, and wherein the at least one sharing factor defines a relationship between the number of discarded opportunities to perform the one or more first operations and the number of discarded opportunities to perform the one or more second operations.

[0013] According to another aspect, there is provided an apparatus, the apparatus comprising: a processor configured to cause a wireless device to: take a repeatedly occurring first time window as an opportunity to perform one or more first operations related to a first network; and take a repeatedly occurring second time window as an opportunity to perform one or more second operations related to a second network different from the first network, wherein the processor is further configured to handle at least one conflict between the first time window that is an opportunity to perform the one or more first operations within the first time window and the second time window that is an opportunity to perform the one or more second operations within the second time window by discarding, at least according to at least one sharing factor, the opportunity to perform the one or more first operations within the first time window or the opportunity to perform the one or more second operations within the second time window, and the at least one sharing factor defines a relationship between the number of discarded opportunities to perform the one or more first operations and the number of discarded opportunities to perform the one or more second operations.

[0014] According to another aspect, there is provided a computer-readable storage medium storing program instructions, wherein when the program instructions are executed by a computer system, the computer system is caused to execute the method according to any one of the above aspects.

[0015] According to another aspect, there is provided a computer program product comprising program instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to execute the method according to any one of the above aspects.

[0016] The techniques described herein can be implemented in and / or used with multiple different types of devices, including but not limited to any one of a cellular phone, a tablet computer, a wearable computing device, a portable media player, and various other computing devices.

[0017] This Summary is intended to provide a brief overview of some of the subject matter described in this document. Accordingly, it should be understood that the above features are merely examples and should not be construed in any way as narrowing the scope or essence of the subject matter described herein. Other features, aspects, and advantages of the subject matter described herein will become apparent from the following Detailed Description, the Drawings, and the Claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] To easily identify the discussion of any particular element or act, one or more of the most significant digits in the reference numerals refer to the figure number in which that element was first introduced.

[0019] Figure 1 An example architecture of a wireless communication system in accordance with an embodiment disclosed herein is illustrated.

[0020] Figure 2 A system for performing signaling between a wireless device and a network device in accordance with an embodiment disclosed herein is illustrated.

[0021] Figure 3 An example operational configuration for a UE to connect to two networks is illustrated.

[0022] Figure 4 An example situation is illustrated in which a time window for performing operations related to a first network conflicts with a time window for performing operations related to a second network.

[0023] Figure 5 An example solution for resolving a conflict between a first time window for a first network operation and a second time window for a second network operation in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0024] Figure 6A An example solution for resolving a conflict between a first time window for a first network operation and a second time window for a second network operation including multiple modes in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0025] Figure 6B An example solution for resolving a conflict between a first time window for a first network operation and a second time window for a second network operation including multiple modes in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0026] Figure 7AIllustrates an example RRC message indicating at least one shared factor according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0027] Figure 7B Illustrates an example RRC message indicating at least one shared factor according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0028] Figure 8 Illustrates an example of an aperiodically triggered second time window skip according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0029] Figure 9 Illustrates an example of an increased delay in primary synchronization signal (PSS) / secondary synchronization signal (SSS) detection in FR1 as a type RRM procedure.

[0030] Figure 10 Illustrates an example flowchart of a wireless device according to the present disclosure.

[0031] Figure 11 Illustrates an example flowchart of a network device according to the present disclosure. Detailed Description

[0032] Various embodiments are described with respect to a UE. However, the reference to the UE is provided for illustrative purposes only. Example embodiments can be used with any electronic component that can establish a connection with a network and is configured with hardware, software, and / or firmware for exchanging information and data with the network. Thus, the UE as described herein is used to represent any suitable electronic component.

[0033] Figure 1 Illustrates an example architecture of a wireless communication system 100 according to an embodiment disclosed herein. The following description provided is for an example wireless communication system 100 operating in conjunction with the LTE system standard and / or the 5G or NR system standard provided in 3GPP technical specifications.

[0034] As Figure 1 shown, the wireless communication system 100 includes UEs 102 and 104 (although any number of UEs can be used). In this example, UEs 102 and 104 are illustrated as smartphones (e.g., handheld touchscreen mobile computing devices capable of connecting to one or more cellular networks), but can also include any mobile or non-mobile computing device configured for wireless communication.

[0035] UE 102 and UE 104 may be configured to communicate and couple with RAN 106. In an implementation, RAN 106 may be an NG-RAN, an E-UTRAN, etc. UE 102 and UE 104 utilize connections (or channels) with RAN 106 (shown as connection 108 and connection 110 respectively), where each connection (or channel) includes a physical communication interface. RAN 106 may include one or more base stations that implement connection 108 and connection 110, such as base station 112 and base station 114.

[0036] In this example, connection 108 and connection 110 are air interfaces that implement such communication coupling and may conform to the RAT used by RAN106, such as, for example, LTE and / or NR.

[0037] In some implementations, UE 102 and UE 104 may also directly exchange communication data via sidelink interface 116. UE 104 is shown as being configured to access an access point (shown as AP 118) via connection 120. By way of example, connection 120 may include a local wireless connection, such as a connection conforming to any IEEE 802.11 protocol, where AP 118 may include a router. In this example, AP 118 may be connected to another network (e.g., the Internet) without passing through CN 124.

[0038] In an implementation, UE 102 and UE 104 may be configured to communicate with each other or with base station 112 and / or base station 114 on a multi-carrier communication channel using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) communication signals according to various communication technologies, such as but not limited to orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) communication technology (e.g., for downlink communication) or single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) communication technology (e.g., for uplink and ProSe or sidelink communication), but the scope of the implementation is not limited in this regard. The OFDM signal may include a plurality of orthogonal subcarriers.

[0039] In some embodiments, all or part of base station 112 or base station 114 may be implemented as one or more software entities running on a server computer as part of a virtual network. Additionally, or in other embodiments, base station 112 or base station 114 may be configured to communicate with each other via interface 122. In an embodiment where wireless communication system 100 is an LTE system (e.g., when CN 124 is an EPC), interface 122 may be an X2 interface. The X2 interface may be defined between two or more base stations (e.g., two or more eNBs, etc.) connected to the EPC and / or between two eNBs connected to the EPC. In an embodiment where wireless communication system 100 is an NR system (e.g., when CN 124 is a 5GC), interface 122 may be an Xn interface. The Xn interface is defined between two or more base stations (e.g., two or more gNBs, etc.) connected to the 5GC, between base station 112 (e.g., gNB) connected to the 5GC and an eNB, and / or between two eNBs connected to the 5GC (e.g., CN 124).

[0040] RAN 106 is shown communicatively coupled to CN 124. CN 124 may include one or more network elements 126 configured to provide various data and telecommunications services to customers / subscribers (e.g., users of UEs 102 and 104) connected to CN 124 via RAN 106. The components of CN 124 may be implemented in one physical device or separate physical devices including components for reading and executing instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium).

[0041] In an embodiment, CN 124 may be an EPC, and RAN 106 may be connected to CN 124 via S1 interface 128. In an embodiment, S1 interface 128 may be divided into two parts: an S1 user plane (S1-U) interface that carries traffic data between base station 112 or base station 114 and a serving gateway (S-GW); and an S1-MME interface that is a signaling interface between base station 112 or base station 114 and a mobility management entity (MME).

[0042] In an embodiment, CN 124 can be a 5GC, and RAN 106 can be connected to CN 124 via the NG interface 128. In an embodiment, the NG interface 128 can be divided into two parts: the NG user plane (NG-U) interface, which carries traffic data between the base station 112 or the base station 114 and the user plane function (UPF); and the S1 control plane (NG-C) interface, which is a signaling interface between the base station 112 or the base station 114 and the access and mobility management function (AMF).

[0043] Generally speaking, the application server 130 can be an element that provides an application (e.g., a packet-switched data service) using Internet Protocol (IP) bearer resources for use with CN 124. The application server 130 can also be configured to support one or more communication services (e.g., VoIP sessions, group communication sessions, etc.) for the UEs 102 and 104 via CN 124. The application server 130 can communicate with CN 124 through the IP communication interface 132.

[0044] Figure 2 Illustrated is a system 200 for performing signaling 234 between a wireless device 202 and a network device 218 according to embodiments disclosed herein. The system 200 can be part of a wireless communication system as described herein. The wireless device 202 can be, for example, a UE of a wireless communication system. The network device 218 can be, for example, a base station (e.g., an eNB or a gNB) of a wireless communication system.

[0045] The wireless device 202 can include one or more processors 204. The processor 204 can execute instructions to perform various operations of the wireless device 202 as described herein. The processor 204 can include one or more baseband processors implemented using, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a controller, a field programmable gate array (FPGA) device, another hardware device, a firmware device, or any combination thereof configured to perform the operations described herein.

[0046] The wireless device 202 can include a memory 206. The memory 206 can be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores instructions 208 (which can include, for example, instructions executed by the processor 204). The instructions 208 can also be referred to as program code or a computer program. The memory 206 can also store data used by the processor 204 and results calculated by the processor.

[0047] The wireless device 202 may include one or more transceivers 210, which may include radio frequency (RF) transmitter and / or receiver circuitry that uses an antenna 212 of the wireless device 202 to facilitate signaling (e.g., signaling 234) to and / or from the wireless device 202 and other devices (e.g., network device 218) according to a corresponding RAT.

[0048] The wireless device 202 may include one or more antennas 212 (e.g., one, two, four, or more). For embodiments having multiple antennas 212, the wireless device 202 may utilize spatial diversity of such multiple antennas 212 to transmit and / or receive multiple different data streams on the same time-frequency resource. This behavior may be referred to as, for example, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) behavior (referring to the multiple antennas used at each of the transmitting device and the receiving device to implement this aspect). MIMO transmission by the wireless device 202 may be implemented according to precoding (or digital beamforming) applied at the wireless device 202, which multiplexes data streams across the antennas 212 according to known or assumed channel characteristics such that each data stream is received at an appropriate signal strength and at a desired location in the spatial domain (e.g., the location of the receiver associated with the data stream) relative to the other streams. Certain embodiments may use single-user MIMO (SU-MIMO) methods (where the data streams are all directed to a single receiver) and / or multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO) methods (where individual data streams may be directed to separate (different) receivers at different locations in the spatial domain).

[0049] In certain embodiments having multiple antennas, the wireless device 202 may implement analog beamforming techniques whereby the phases of the signals transmitted by the antennas 212 are adjusted relative to each other such that the (combined) transmission of the antennas 212 may be directed (this is sometimes referred to as beam steering).

[0050] The wireless device 202 may include one or more interfaces 214. The interfaces 214 may be used to provide input to or output from the wireless device 202. For example, the wireless device 202 (UE) may include interfaces 214 such as a microphone, a speaker, a touch screen, and buttons, etc., to allow a user of the UE to provide input to and / or output from the UE. Other interfaces of such a UE may consist of transmitters, receivers, and other circuitry that allows communication between the UE and other devices (e.g., other than the transceivers 210 / antennas 212 already described) and may operate according to known protocols (e.g., and etc.).

[0051] The network device 218 may include one or more processors 220. The processor 220 may execute instructions to perform various operations of the network device 218 as described herein. The processor 204 may include one or more baseband processors implemented using, for example, a CPU, a DSP, an ASIC, a controller, an FPGA device, another hardware device, a firmware device, or any combination thereof configured to perform the operations described herein.

[0052] The network device 218 may include a memory 222. The memory 222 may be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions 224 (which may include, for example, instructions executed by the processor 220). The instructions 224 may also be referred to as program code or a computer program. The memory 222 may also store data used by the processor 220 and results calculated by the processor.

[0053] The network device 218 may include one or more transceivers 226, which may include RF transmitter and / or receiver circuitry that uses the antenna 228 of the network device 218 to facilitate signaling (e.g., signaling 234) to and / or from the network device 218 and other devices (e.g., the wireless device 202) according to a corresponding RAT.

[0054] The network device 218 may include one or more antennas 228 (e.g., one, two, four, or more). In embodiments having multiple antennas 228, the network device 218 may perform MIMO, digital beamforming, analog beamforming, beam control, etc. as already described.

[0055] The network device 218 may include one or more interfaces 230. The interface 230 may be used to provide input to or output from the network device 218. For example, the network device 218 (base station) may include an interface 230 composed of transmitters, receivers, and other circuitry (e.g., in addition to the transceivers 226 / antennas 228 already described) that enable the base station to communicate with other equipment in the core network and / or enable the base station to communicate with external networks, computers, databases, etc. for the purpose of performing operations, managing, and maintaining the base station or other equipment operably connected to the base station.

[0056] The following description will illustrate the concepts of the present disclosure using 5G NR as an example, but it should be understood that the solutions of the present disclosure are applicable to any suitable mobile communication technology (e.g., 6G or any applicable advanced mobile communication technology).

[0057] In the following description, the gNB is sometimes used to represent a control device on the base station side in a wireless communication network. It should be understood that this is for illustrative purposes only and not restrictive. Base stations based on any suitable mobile communication technology are applicable.

[0058] It becomes possible for a UE to connect to multiple networks, for example, to increase connectivity / reliability, enable different user profiles for a single user, etc. For example, a multi-universal subscriber identity module (MUSIM) enables a UE to achieve such enhanced capabilities. A MUSIM UE can host multiple USIMs, which enables connection to two or more different networks. For a UE intended to connect to multiple networks, the UE needs to perform some interactions with the multiple networks, regardless of whether the UE is in an RRC connected state with one of the multiple networks (e.g., the primary network) and in an RRC idle / inactive state with other networks (e.g., secondary networks), or whether the UE is in an RRC connected state with all of the multiple networks. At least some of such interactions are performed within some specific time windows. Such time windows can occur repeatedly (e.g., periodically or aperiodically (e.g., triggered by some conditions / events, etc.)) with a certain starting location (e.g., offset), a certain length, and / or a certain repetition cycle. For example, a time window can be regarded as an opportunity for the UE to perform one or more operations related to a network among the multiple networks.

[0059] For example, for any secondary network among the multiple networks, the UE can perform operations related to the secondary network (such as radio resource management (RRM) measurements, paging reception, system information (e.g., information about positioning in the idle state) reception, etc.) only within a specific time window. For example, such time windows for secondary network operations can occur repeatedly (e.g., periodically or aperiodically). For example, in each time window for secondary network operations, the UE can perform an operation related to the secondary network that is the same as or different from the operation performed in another time window. Such a time window for performing operations related to the secondary network can include a multi-universal subscriber identity module (MUSIM) gap.

[0060] For the remaining time (i.e., during the time period excluding the time window for secondary network operation), the UE may maintain a connection with the primary network. During the period when the UE maintains a connection with the primary network, various types of time windows may be configured for the UE to interact with the primary network, or in other words, perform operations related to the primary network. Such time windows include, for example, the time window for layer 3 operation and the time window for layer 1 operation. For example, the time window for layer 3 operation may be the radio resource management measurement timing configuration (SMTC) based on the synchronization signal block. For example, the time window for layer 1 operation may include the time window for radio link monitoring (RLM), the time window for beam failure detection (BFD), the time window for candidate beam discovery (CBD), the time window for layer 1 reference signal received power (RSRP) measurement (based on the synchronization signal block (SSB) and / or the channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS)), and the time window for layer 1 signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) measurement (based on SSB and / or CSI-RS), etc. For example, each time of such a time window for primary network operation may occur repeatedly (e.g., periodically or aperiodically). For example, in each type of time window for primary network operation, the UE may perform an operation related to the primary network, and the operation may be the same as or different from the operation performed in another time window of the same type.

[0061] Figure 3 An example operation configuration for the UE to connect to two networks (i.e., Network A and Network B) is illustrated. In Figure 3 Under the configuration example, the UE maintains a connection with Network A most of the time, and interacts with Network B within some specific time windows to perform operations related to Network B, such as RRM measurement, paging reception, system information (e.g., information about positioning in the idle state) reception, etc. As explained above, although Figure 3 is not shown, during the period when the UE maintains a connection with Network A, various time windows of the UE may be configured to interact with Network A to perform corresponding operations. It should be noted that although Figure 3 illustrates the case where the UE connects to two networks, the UE may connect to more than two networks. For the sake of simplicity in description, the following describes the present solution by taking the UE connecting to two networks as an example. However, the present solution can also be applied to the case where the UE connects to more than two networks.

[0062] Since each of the time window for primary network operation and the time window for secondary network operation may occur repeatedly with a certain starting position (e.g., offset), a certain length, and / or a certain repetition cycle. Therefore, the time window for primary network operation may conflict with the time window for primary network operation. Figure 4Illustrates an example scenario where the time window for performing operations related to the first network conflicts with the time window for performing operations related to the second network.

[0063] Figure 4 Shows the conflict between specific time windows, namely the SMTC and MUSIM gaps. As is known in the art, the SMTC is a periodically occurring time window during which the UE can perform RRM measurements (e.g., using the primary network, i.e., the first network in the case where the UE is connected to multiple networks). The MUSIM gap is a periodically occurring time window that is specifically configured for the MUSIM UE to perform operations related to the secondary network. As Figure 4 shown, when the SMTC and the MUSIM gap overlap in time, a conflict occurs between the SMTC and the MUSIM gap. In practice, each of the SMTC and the MUSIM gap can be configured with a certain starting position (e.g., offset), a certain length, and / or a certain repetition cycle. Figure 4 Shows an example configuration where the SMTC and the MUSIM gap share the same starting position and the same length but the repetition cycle of the MUSIM gap is twice as long as that of the SMTC. Therefore, in Figure 4 this case, when the SMTC and the MUSIM gap conflict, the two time windows completely overlap. However, more generally, the SMTC and the MUSIM gap may or may not be aligned in terms of starting position, length, and / or repetition cycle. Generally, if two time windows at least partially overlap each other, the two time windows can be considered to conflict with each other.

[0064] It should be noted that although Figure 4 illustrates the case of conflict between the SMTC and the MUSIM gap, conflicts may occur for any other type of time window, e.g., between any layer 3 / layer 1 time window of network A and any time window configured for the secondary network. For the sake of simplicity in illustration, the following describes the present solution by taking the conflict between the SMTC and the MUSIM gap as an example. However, the present solution can also be applied to any conflict between the time windows for the UE to perform operations related to different networks.

[0065] When conflicts occur between the time windows of different networks, the timings for performing operations related to different networks conflict with each other, which may lead to communication failures with one or more of the multiple networks. Therefore, a solution is needed that enables the MUSIM UE to handle such conflicts.

[0066] Generally, the present invention provides a solution in which a UE may use a recurring first time window as an opportunity to perform one or more first operations related to a first network; and may use a recurring second time window as an opportunity to perform one or more second operations related to a second network different from the first network, and the UE may handle at least one conflict between the first time window used as an opportunity to perform one or more first operations within the first time window and the second time window used as an opportunity to perform one or more second operations within the second time window by discarding, at least according to at least one sharing factor, the opportunity to perform one or more first operations within the first time window or the opportunity to perform one or more second operations within the second time window. According to the present disclosure, at least one sharing factor may define a relationship between the number of opportunities to perform one or more first operations that are discarded and the number of opportunities to perform one or more second operations that are discarded. In other words, at least one sharing factor may define a relationship between the number of first time windows skipped and the number of second time windows skipped.

[0067] As described above, there may be different types of first time windows, such as a time window for layer 3 operations and a time window for layer 1 operations. According to a specific implementation, for example, one of the at least one sharing factors may define a relationship between the number of skipped first time windows of a specific type and the number of skipped second time windows. Alternatively, for example, the sharing factor may define, in a unified manner, a relationship between the number of skipped first time windows of any type and the number of skipped second time windows. According to the present disclosure, as will be described in detail below, the second time window may include multiple modes. Therefore, according to a specific implementation, one of the at least one sharing factors may define a relationship between the number of skipped first time windows of a specific type or any type and the number of skipped second time windows of a specific mode. Alternatively, for example, the sharing factor may define, in a unified manner, a relationship between the number of skipped first time windows of a specific type or any type and the number of skipped second time windows of any mode.

[0068] For the sake of simplicity of description, hereinafter, the term "first time window" refers to the time window adopted by the UE as an opportunity to perform one or more first operations related to the first network. The term "second time window" refers to the time window adopted by the UE as an opportunity to perform one or more second operations related to the second network. The term "first operation" refers to an operation related to the first network, and the term "second operation" refers to an operation related to the second network.

[0069] As described above, the present disclosure can also be applied to the case where a UE is connected to more than two networks. In this case, the UE can handle conflicts between time windows of different networks according to at least one sharing factor, and the at least one sharing factor defines a relationship between the number of opportunities to discard the execution of one or more operations associated with a corresponding network.

[0070] For example, the relationship defined by at least one sharing factor can be a ratio relationship between the number of opportunities to discard the execution of one or more first operations and the number of opportunities to discard the execution of one or more second operations. For example, if the UE is connected to two networks, the relationship can define that for every k conflicts between a first time window and a second time window, the wireless device should discard m opportunities to execute one or more first operations and discard n opportunities to execute one or more second operations, where each of m and n is an integer equal to or greater than 0, and k is equal to the sum of n and m. In other words, for every k conflicts between the first time window and the second time window, the UE can skip m first time windows and skip n second time windows.

[0071] In practice, the UE knows in advance the configurations of the first time window and the second time window (e.g., starting position, length, and / or repetition cycle). Therefore, the UE can predict when conflicts between the first time window and the second time window will occur, and handle upcoming conflicts by discarding opportunities to execute the first operation or discarding opportunities to execute the second operation according to the sharing factor that defines the above relationship.

[0072] Figure 5 Illustrates an example solution for resolving conflicts between a first time window for a first network operation and a second time window for a second network operation according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 4 Similarly, Figure 5 Taking the SMTC and MUSIM gap conflicts as an example. However, the present disclosure is applicable to conflicts between any suitable types of time windows of different networks. In Figure 5 this case, the sharing factor can define that the ratio of the number of opportunities to discard the execution of one or more first operations within the SMTC to the number of opportunities to discard the execution of one or more second operations within the MUSIM gap is 1:2. In other words, the sharing factor can define that for every three conflicts between the SMTC and the MUSIM gap, the UE should discard one opportunity to execute one or more first operations (i.e., skip one SMTC) and discard two opportunities to execute one or more second operations (i.e., skip two MUSIM gaps). According to such a sharing factor, as Figure 5As shown, for every three conflicts that occur between the SMTC and the MUSIM gap, two MUSIM gaps and one SMTC are skipped. In other words, for every three conflicts between the SMTC and the MUSIM gap, two opportunities to perform a second operation related to the second network are discarded, and one opportunity to perform a first operation related to the first network is discarded.

[0073] As Figure 5 shown, for the three illustrated conflicts, the first two MUSIM gaps are skipped, and the last SMTC is skipped. However, in practice, the UE can choose any time window to skip as long as the skipped time windows satisfy the relationship defined by the sharing factor. For example, for Figure 5 the three illustrated conflicts, the first MUSIM gap, the last MUSIM gap, and the second SMTC can be skipped. Alternatively, the first SMTC and the last two MUSIM gaps can be skipped. In addition, the UE does not have to follow a uniform pattern to skip the time windows for every k conflicts. For example, in Figure 5 the case of, for the first three conflicts, the UE can skip the first two MUSIM gaps and the last SMTC, and for the next three conflicts, the UE can follow another pattern to skip the time windows, such as skipping the first SMTC and the last two MUSIM gaps. In practice, the UE can determine which time windows of a set of k conflicts will be skipped by itself as long as generally, for every k conflicts between a first time window and a second time window, m time windows related to the first network are skipped, and n time windows related to the second network are skipped, where each of m and n is an integer equal to or greater than 0, and k is equal to the sum of n and m.

[0074] According to the present disclosure, the relationship defined by the sharing factor can be any ratio between the number of opportunities to perform one or more first operations that are discarded and the number of opportunities to perform one or more second operations that are discarded, such as 1:1, 1:2, 1:3, 2:3, etc. Specifically, the relationship can also include a certain absolute prioritization. For example, the sharing factor can indicate that the second time window is always prioritized over the first time window. Thus, in the case of a conflict between the first time window and the second time window, the opportunities to perform one or more first operations may always be discarded. In other words, the UE may always perform the second operation related to the second network and skip the first time window related to the first network in case of a conflict. Another example is that the sharing factor can indicate that the first time window is always prioritized over the second time window. Thus, in the case of a conflict between the first time window and the second time window, the opportunities to perform one or more second operations may always be discarded. In other words, the UE can always perform the first operation related to the first network and skip the second time window related to the second network in case of a conflict.

[0075] According to the present disclosure, a second time window for a UE to perform operations related to a second network may include multiple modes. Each mode of the second time window may be configured with a certain starting location (e.g., offset), a certain length, and / or a certain repetition cycle. According to the present disclosure, the UE may handle a conflict between a first time window and the second time window with various modes by separately or in a unified manner processing the second time window with different modes.

[0076] Specifically, according to a particular implementation of the present disclosure, the UE may handle at least one conflict between the first time window and the second time window according to a plurality of sharing factors, each of which defines a relationship between the number of opportunities to discard performing one or more first operations within the first time window and the number of opportunities to discard performing one or more second operations within the second time window with a specific mode.

[0077] Figure 6A An example solution for resolving a conflict between a first time window for a first network operation and a second time window with multiple modes for a second network operation according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is illustrated. Similar to Figure 4 and Figure 5 Similar, Figure 6A taking the conflict between SMTC and MUSIM gaps as an example. However, the present disclosure is applicable to conflicts between any suitable types of time windows of different networks. As Figure 6A shown, two modes for the second time window are involved. The UE may handle the conflict between the first time window and the second time window with different modes according to two sharing factors, i.e., the first sharing factor defines the relationship between the number of opportunities to discard performing one or more first operations within the first time window (e.g., SMTC as shown in Figure 6A ) and the number of opportunities to discard performing one or more second operations within the second time window with mode 1 (e.g., MUSIM gap with mode 1 as shown in Figure 6A ), and the second sharing factor defines the relationship between the number of opportunities to discard performing one or more first operations within the first time window (e.g., SMTC as shown in Figure 6A ) and the number of opportunities to discard performing one or more second operations within the second time window with mode 2 (e.g., MUSIM gap with mode 2 as shown in Figure 6A ). In other words, the first sharing factor may define the relationship between the number of skipped first time windows and the number of skipped second time windows with mode 1, and the second sharing factor may define the relationship between the number of skipped first time windows and the number of skipped second time windows with mode 2.

[0078] As shown Figure 6A in Figure 6A , the first sharing factor can be defined such that the ratio of the number of opportunities to execute one or more first operations discarded within the SMTC to the number of opportunities to execute one or more second operations discarded within the MUSIM gap with pattern 1 is 1:2. Thus, as shown Figure 6A in Figure 6A , for every three conflicts between the SMTC and the MUSIM gap with pattern 1, two MUSIM gaps with pattern 1 and one SMTC are skipped. As shown Figure 6A in Figure 6A , the second sharing factor can be defined such that the ratio of the number of opportunities to execute one or more first operations discarded within the SMTC to the number of opportunities to execute one or more second operations discarded within the MUSIM gap with pattern 2 is 1:1. Thus, as shown Figure 6A in Figure 6A , for every two conflicts between the SMTC and the MUSIM gap with pattern 2, one MUSIM gap with pattern 2 and one SMTC are skipped.

[0079] In practice, for example, second time windows of different patterns can be configured for the UE to perform different types of second operations. Thus, the value of each of the multiple sharing factors (e.g., representing the ratio of the number of skipped first time windows to the number of skipped second time windows, or the priorities of executing the first operation and the second operation) can depend on the type of one or more second operations to be performed within the second time window with the corresponding pattern. According to the present disclosure, the value of each of the multiple sharing factors can be configured by the gNB or predefined in a fixed manner for each pattern of the second time window (e.g., predefined in the relevant 3GPP specifications)

[0080] For example, the gNB can configure three patterns of the second time window, where the first pattern is for the UE to perform operations related to RRM measurement, the second pattern is for the UE to perform operations related to system information reception, and the third pattern is for the UE to perform operations related to paging reception. For example, different values can be configured / defined for the three patterns based on the severity of the consequences caused by the failure to perform the corresponding operations. For example, for the first pattern (i.e., the pattern related to system information reception), the corresponding sharing factor can be configured / predefined with a value indicating that the execution of the first operation has a higher priority than the execution of the second operation. For another example, for the second pattern or the third pattern (e.g., the pattern related to paging reception or RRM measurement), the corresponding sharing factor can be configured / predefined with a value indicating that the execution of the first operation related to the first network has a lower priority than the execution of the second operation related to the second network.

[0081] According to any specific implementation of the present disclosure, the UE may handle at least one conflict between a first time window and a second time window according to a single sharing factor, where the single sharing factor defines the relationship between the number of opportunities to discard the execution of one or more first operations within the first time window and the number of opportunities to discard the execution of one or more second operations within the second time window with any mode. In this case, different modes of the second time window are considered in a unified manner.

[0082] Figure 6B An example solution for resolving a conflict between a first time window for a first network operation and a second time window with multiple modes for a second network operation according to such a specific implementation of the present disclosure is illustrated. As Figure 6B shown, two modes for the second time window are involved. The UE may handle the conflict between the first time window and the second time window with different modes according to a single sharing factor, where the sharing factor defines the relationship between the number of opportunities to discard the execution of one or more first operations (e.g., SMTC as shown in Figure 6B ) within the first time window and the number of opportunities to discard the execution of one or more second operations (e.g., MUSIM gaps with mode 1 or mode 2 as shown in Figure 6B ) within the second time window with any mode. In other words, the sharing factor may define the relationship between the number of skipped first time windows and the number of skipped second time windows with any mode.

[0083] As Figure 6B shown, the sharing factor may define that the ratio between the number of opportunities to discard the execution of one or more first operations within the SMTC and the number of opportunities to discard the execution of one or more second operations within the MUSIM gap with any mode (i.e., mode 1 or mode 2) is 1:2. Therefore, as Figure 6A shown, for every three conflicts between the SMTC and the MUSIM gap with mode 1 or mode 2, two MUSIM gaps with mode 1 or mode 2 and one SMTC are skipped. That is, as Figure 6B shown, for every three conflicts between the SMTC and the MUSIM gap with any mode, two MUSIM gaps with any mode and one SMTC are skipped.

[0084] At least one sharing factor of the present disclosure has been described in detail above. According to the present disclosure, at least one sharing factor may be indicated by the gNB or may be predefined.

[0085] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, at least one sharing factor may be indicated by a gNB via a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message. According to a specific implementation, the RRC message may include the value of each sharing factor among the at least one sharing factor. For example, the value may be a numerical value reflecting a ratio relationship between the number of opportunities to perform one or more first operations that may be discarded and the number of opportunities to perform one or more second operations that may be discarded. In this case, some special numerical values may be defined to indicate absolute prioritization. For example, a sharing factor with a value of 0 may indicate that the execution of the first operation in the first time window is always prioritized over the execution of the second operation in the second time window. That is, in the case of a conflict between the first time window and the second time window, the opportunities to perform one or more second operations in the second time window are always discarded. Another example, a sharing factor with a very large value (e.g., 100) may indicate that the execution of the second operation in the second time window is always prioritized over the execution of the first operation in the first time window. That is, in the case of a conflict between the first time window and the second time window, the opportunities to perform one or more first operations in the first time window are always discarded. In the case where the second time window is configured with multiple modes, the gNB may configure a specific sharing factor for each mode of the second time window and send an RRC message including the corresponding value of each sharing factor among the multiple sharing factors to the UE.

[0086] According to a preferred specific implementation, the RRC message may include an identifier of each sharing factor among the at least one sharing factor. In this case, the UE may determine the value of each sharing factor among the at least one sharing factor based on a predefined relationship between the identifier of the sharing factor and the corresponding value of the sharing factor. For example, such a relationship may be defined in the relevant 3GPP specifications. For example, identifiers scheme0 to schemeN (N may be an integer greater than 0) may be predefined in the relevant 3GPP specifications. For example, scheme0 may correspond to the case where the execution of the second operation within the second time window is always prioritized over the execution of the first operation within the first time window, schemeN may correspond to the case where the execution of the first operation within the first time window is always prioritized over the execution of the second operation within the second time window, scheme1 may correspond to a ratio of 1:1 between the number of opportunities to perform the first operation that are discarded and the number of opportunities to perform the second operation that are discarded, and scheme2 may correspond to a ratio of 1:2 between the number of opportunities to perform the first operation that are discarded and the number of opportunities to perform the second operation that are discarded, and so on.

[0087] Figure 7A Illustrates an example RRC message indicating at least one sharing factor according to a preferred specific implementation. In Figure 7AIn an example RRC message, three sharing factors are defined for one MUSIM gap with a specific pattern, namely, the sharing factor "musim-SharingwithNetworkAL3-r18" defined to resolve the conflict between the first time window for layer 3 operation and the MUSIM gap with a specific pattern, the sharing factor "musim-SharingwithNetworkARLM-r18" defined to resolve the conflict between the first time window for RLM and the MUSIM gap with a specific pattern, and the sharing factor "musim-SharingwithNetworkAL1-r18" defined to resolve the conflict between the first time window for layer 1 operation and the MUSIM gap with a specific pattern. For each sharing factor, the RRC message includes an identifier selected from scheme0 to schemeN. After receiving such an RRC message, the UE can determine the value of each sharing factor based on, for example, a predefined relationship between the identifier of the sharing factor predefined in the relevant 3GPP specification and the corresponding value of the sharing factor.

[0088] Figure 7B Illustrates another example RRC message indicating at least one sharing factor according to a preferred embodiment. Different from Figure 7A the example of Figure 7A In the example RRC message of Figure 7A three sharing factors are defined in a unified manner for one MUSIM gap with any pattern, namely, the sharing factor "musim-SharingwithNetworkAL3-r18" defined to resolve the conflict between the first time window for layer 3 operation and the MUSIM gap with any pattern, the sharing factor "musim-SharingwithNetworkARLM-r18" defined to resolve the conflict between the first time window for RLM and the MUSIM gap with any pattern, and the sharing factor "musim-SharingwithNetworkAL1-r18" defined to resolve the conflict between the first time window for layer 1 operation and the MUSIM gap with any pattern. Similar to Figure 7A the example of

[0089] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, at least one sharing factor may be predefined, for example, in a relevant 3GPP specification. For example, different sharing factors may be predefined, such as a sharing factor for resolving a conflict between a first time window of each type and a second time window of each mode. For another example, the sharing factor may be predefined with a greater granularity. For example, each sharing factor for resolving a conflict between a first time window of each type and a second time window with any mode may be defined. For another example, the sharing factor may be defined in a more general manner. For example, only a sharing factor indicating that the execution of a second operation is always prioritized over the execution of a first operation may be defined.

[0090] The handling of at least one conflict between a first time window as an opportunity to execute a first operation and a second time window as an opportunity to execute a second operation according to at least one sharing factor has been described in detail above. In some cases, an operation to be executed in a first time window related to a first network may involve some critical processes and should not be affected by any second time window.

[0091] To address such exceptional situations, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the UE may handle at least one conflict by further discarding the opportunity to execute one or more first operations within the first time window or discarding the opportunity to execute one or more second operations within the second time window according to one or more predefined rules. The one or more predefined rules may instruct the UE to discard one or more second operations within the second time window when one or more first operations are related to one or more aperiodic events. For example, one or more aperiodic events may include any one or more of the transmissions of Messages (Msg) 1 to Msg 5 during a random access channel (RACH) procedure, and the first effective channel quality indicator (CQI) feedback in a secondary cell (SCell) activation (e.g., such that the first network knows that the SCell is ready for scheduling), etc. For example, such rules may be predefined in a relevant 3GPP specification.

[0092] To address such exceptional situations, according to another embodiment of the present disclosure, the gNB may aperiodically trigger the skipping of one or more second time windows. Specifically, before the start of a critical process, the gNB may send an instruction to the UE, which instructs that in the event of at least one conflict between the first time window and the second time window, the UE should discard at least one upcoming occasion for performing one or more second operations within at least one second time window. In other words, such an instruction may instruct the UE to discard x upcoming occasions for performing one or more second operations for the next x conflicts between the first time window and the second time window, where x may be an integer equal to or greater than 1. For example, such an instruction may be sent aperiodically and may be sent via any suitable signaling / message such as Downlink Control Information (DCI) or Medium Access Control Control Element (MAC CE). After the instruction, the UE may handle the conflict by discarding at least one of the instructed occasions. For example, the number of at least one upcoming occasion to be discarded may be predefined (e.g., in the relevant 3GPP specifications) or configurable (e.g., indicated via the same or a different signaling / message as the signaling / message used to send the instruction).

[0093] Figure 8 Illustrates an example of aperiodically triggered second time window skipping. Despite this instruction, Figure 8 the UE in Figure 6A basically handles the conflict between SMTC and MUSIM gaps with mode 1 or mode 2 in the same way as Figure 8 In the example of Figure 6A , if a conflict occurs between SMTC and a MUSIM gap, the instruction sent from the gNB may instruct the UE to discard one upcoming occasion for performing a first operation within the MUSIM gap with any mode. Following this instruction, the UE skips the MUSIM gap with mode 1 that conflicts with SMTC and performs the first operation in SMTC instead of skipping SMTC as Figure 6A shown.

[0094] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the eNB may also send (e.g., aperiodically) an instruction to the UE, which instructs that in the event of at least one conflict between the first time window and the second time window, the UE should discard at least one upcoming occasion for performing one or more first operations within at least one first time window to avoid affecting any critical process in the second network. In other words, such an instruction may instruct the UE to discard x upcoming occasions for performing one or more first operations for the next x conflicts between the first time window and the second time window, where x may be an integer equal to or greater than 1.

[0095] According to the present disclosure, conflicts are handled by discarding the opportunity to perform a first operation within a first time window or discarding the opportunity to perform a second operation within a second time window. Therefore, the latency of the first operation / second operation may increase due to the discarded opportunity. For example, the latency for performing an RRM process in a first network may be increased to accommodate the lost opportunity for performing an operation related to the RRM process in the first network due to a conflict.

[0096] According to the present disclosure, for example, in a case where at least one opportunity to perform one or more first operations is discarded due to at least one conflict between a first time window and a second time window, the UE may perform an RRM process according to the increased latency. For example, the increased amount of time may be determined by the UE or the gNB based on the actual situation. In this case, there may be no fixed limit for the latency to be extended.

[0097] For another example, the latency may be increased according to the count of the opportunities to perform one or more first operations discarded due to at least one conflict. In this case, both the UE and the gNB may calculate the length of the extended latency based on the count of the discarded opportunities. Figure 9 An example of the increased latency of the primary synchronization signal (PSS) / secondary synchronization signal (SSS) detection in FR1 as a type of RRM process is illustrated. As Figure 9 shown, the time period for PSS / SSS detection may be increased based on the number of measurement opportunities that are not available for PSS / SSS detection due to a conflict between the SMTC and the MUSIM gap (i.e., the number of opportunities to perform measurements within the SMTC that are discarded).

[0098] The details of the present disclosure have been particularly described above by taking the conflict between the SMTC for a first network operation and the MUSIM gap for a second network operation as an example. However, such an exemplary description should not be considered restrictive. For example, the UE may use the spirit of the present disclosure as described in detail above to handle conflicts between any type of first time window (e.g., any time window for layer 1 operations or any time window for layer 3 operations as described above) and any type of second time window (e.g., any time window configured for a secondary network operation other than the MUSIM gap). In addition, the UE may also use the spirit of the present disclosure as described in detail above to handle conflicts between time windows of more than two networks. For example, the UE may also handle conflicts between time windows of more than two networks according to at least one sharing factor that defines the relationship of the number of skipped time windows of the corresponding networks.

[0099] Figure 10 is a flowchart of an example method 100 for resolving conflicts between time windows of operations related to different networks of a wireless device (e.g., a UE).

[0100] The method starts at S1002.

[0101] At S1004, the wireless device may use a recurring first time window as an opportunity to perform one or more first operations related to a first network.

[0102] At S1006, the wireless device may use a recurring second time window as an opportunity to perform one or more second operations related to a second network different from the first network.

[0103] At S1008, the wireless device may handle at least one conflict between the first time window as an opportunity to perform one or more first operations within the first time window and the second time window as an opportunity to perform one or more second operations within the second time window by discarding, at least according to at least one sharing factor, either the opportunity to perform one or more first operations within the first time window or the opportunity to perform one or more second operations within the second time window. The at least one sharing factor may define a relationship between the number of discarded opportunities to perform one or more first operations and the number of discarded opportunities to perform one or more second operations.

[0104] The method ends at S1010.

[0105] It should be noted that Figure 10 the operations shown are for illustrative purposes only and are not limiting. Specific implementation details of examples of the operations have been described above. The operation flow of the wireless device may include any one or more additional operations as described above. Additionally, the operations need not be performed Figure 10 in the sequence shown. For example, S1004 and S1006 may be performed simultaneously or almost simultaneously, and S1004 and S1006 may be performed consecutively when handling the conflict by performing the operation of S1008.

[0106] Embodiments contemplated herein include an apparatus that includes components for performing one or more elements of a method for resolving conflicts between time windows of operations related to different networks. The apparatus may be, for example, a UE device (such as the wireless device 202 (UE) as described herein).

[0107] Embodiments contemplated herein include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media that include instructions which, when executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform one or more elements of a method for resolving conflicts between time windows of operations related to different networks. The non-transitory computer-readable media may be, for example, the memory of a UE (such as the memory 206 of the wireless device 202 (UE) as described herein).

[0108] Implementations contemplated herein include an apparatus that includes logic components, modules, or circuits for one or more elements of a method for resolving conflicts between time windows for performing operations associated with different networks. The apparatus can be, for example, an apparatus such as a UE (such as wireless device 202 (UE) as described herein).

[0109] Implementations contemplated herein include an apparatus that includes one or more processors and one or more computer-readable media that include instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform one or more elements of a method for resolving conflicts between time windows for performing operations associated with different networks. The apparatus can be, for example, an apparatus such as a UE (such as wireless device 202 (UE) as described herein).

[0110] Implementations contemplated herein include signals described in or related to one or more elements of a method for resolving conflicts between time windows for performing operations associated with different networks.

[0111] Implementations contemplated herein include a computer program or computer program product that includes instructions, where execution of the program by a processor causes the processor to perform one or more elements of a method for resolving conflicts between time windows for performing operations associated with different networks. The processor can be a processor of a UE (such as processor 204 of wireless device 202 (UE) as described herein). The instructions can be, for example, located in the processor and / or on a memory of the UE (such as memory 206 of wireless device 202 (UE) as described herein).

[0112] Figure 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example method 110 for resolving conflicts between time windows for operations associated with different networks (e.g., a gNB of one network in a network).

[0113] The method begins at S1102.

[0114] At S1104, the network device may send an RRC message indicating at least one sharing factor, and the RRC message causes the wireless device to handle at least one conflict between a first time window that is a timing for performing one or more first operations related to a first network within a first time window and a second time window that is a timing for performing one or more second operations related to a second network within a second time window by discarding, at least according to the at least one sharing factor, the timing for performing one or more first operations within the first time window or the timing for performing one or more second operations within the second time window. Multiple first time windows may repeatedly occur as timings for the wireless device to perform one or more first operations, and multiple second time windows may repeatedly occur as timings for the wireless device to perform one or more second operations. The at least one sharing factor may define a relationship between the number of discarded timings for performing one or more first operations and the number of discarded timings for performing one or more second operations.

[0115] The method ends at S1106.

[0116] It should be noted that Figure 10 The operations shown are for illustrative purposes only and are not limiting. Specific implementation details of examples of the operations have been described above. The operation flow of the wireless device may include any one or more additional operations as described above.

[0117] Embodiments contemplated herein include an apparatus that includes components for performing one or more elements of a method for resolving conflicts between time windows of operations related to different networks. The apparatus may be, for example, an apparatus of a base station (such as network device 218 (base station) as described herein).

[0118] Embodiments contemplated herein include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media that include instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform one or more elements of a method for resolving conflicts between time windows of operations related to different networks. The non-transitory computer-readable media may be, for example, a memory of a base station (such as memory 222 of network device 218 (base station) as described herein).

[0119] Embodiments contemplated herein include an apparatus that includes logical components, modules, or circuits for performing one or more elements of a method for resolving conflicts between time windows of operations related to different networks. The apparatus may be, for example, an apparatus of a base station (such as network device 218 (base station) as described herein).

[0120] Embodiments contemplated herein include an apparatus that includes: one or more processors and one or more computer-readable media that include instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform one or more elements of a method for resolving conflicts between time windows for operations associated with different networks. The apparatus can be, for example, an apparatus of a base station (such as network device 218 (base station) as described herein).

[0121] Embodiments contemplated herein include signals described in or related to one or more elements of a method for resolving conflicts between time windows for operations associated with different networks.

[0122] Embodiments contemplated herein include a computer program or computer program product that includes instructions that, when executed by a processing element, cause the processing element to perform one or more elements of a method for resolving conflicts between time windows for operations associated with different networks. The processor can be a processor of a base station (such as processor 220 of network device 218 (base station) as described herein). The instructions can be located, for example, in the processor and / or on a memory of a UE (such as memory 222 of network device 218 (base station) as described herein).

[0123] Various aspects of the present disclosure have been described above. The present disclosure can be implemented in various embodiments.

[0124] For one or more embodiments, at least one component of the components stated in one or more of the foregoing figures can be configured to perform one or more operations, techniques, processes, and / or methods as described herein. For example, a baseband processor as described herein in connection with one or more of the foregoing figures can be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples stated herein. As another example, circuitry associated with a UE, base station, network element, etc. as described above in connection with one or more of the foregoing figures can be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples stated herein.

[0125] Unless otherwise explicitly stated, any of the above embodiments can be combined with any other embodiment (or combination of embodiments). The foregoing description of one or more specific embodiments provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of the embodiments to the precise forms disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings, or may be acquired from practice of various embodiments.

[0126] Embodiments and specific implementations of the systems and methods described herein may include various operations, which may be embodied in machine-executable instructions to be executed by a computer system. The computer system may include one or more general-purpose or special-purpose computers (or other electronic devices). The computer system may include hardware components that include specific logic components for performing operations; or may include a combination of hardware, software, and / or firmware.

[0127] It should be recognized that the systems described herein include descriptions of specific embodiments. These embodiments may be combined into a single system, partially combined into other systems, divided into multiple systems, or otherwise divided or combined. In addition, it is contemplated that the parameters, attributes, aspects, etc. of one embodiment may be used in another embodiment. For clarity, these parameters, attributes, aspects, etc. are described in only one or more embodiments, and it should be recognized that, unless expressly stated herein, these parameters, attributes, aspects, etc. may be combined with or substituted for the parameters, attributes, aspects, etc. of another embodiment.

[0128] As is well known, the use of personally identifiable information should follow privacy policies and practices that are 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] Although the foregoing has been described in considerable detail for purposes of clarity, it will be apparent that certain changes and modifications may be made without departing from the principles of the invention. It should be noted that there are many alternative ways of implementing both the processes and apparatuses described herein. Accordingly, the embodiments of the invention should be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive, and the specification is not limited to the details given herein, but may be modified within the scope and equivalents of the appended claims.

[0130] A solution for resolving conflicts between time windows of operations related to different networks has been described in detail above. With this solution, it is advantageous that the UE can correctly handle conflicts between time windows of different networks. In addition, some exceptional cases are handled specially so that some key processes are not affected by the skipping of time windows caused by conflicts. In addition, the present disclosure may also have any one of the following configurations.

[0131] (1) A wireless device, the wireless device comprising:

[0132] At least one antenna;

[0133] At least one radio component, the at least one radio component being coupled to the at least one antenna; and

[0134] a processor coupled to the at least one radio component;

[0135] wherein the processor is configured to

[0136] take a recurring first time window as an opportunity to perform one or more first operations related to a first network; and

[0137] take a recurring second time window as an opportunity to perform one or more second operations related to a second network different from the first network,

[0138] wherein the processor is further configured to: handle at least one conflict between the first time window as an opportunity to perform the one or more first operations within the first time window and the second time window as an opportunity to perform the one or more second operations within the second time window by discarding, at least according to at least one sharing factor, the opportunity to perform the one or more first operations within the first time window or the opportunity to perform the one or more second operations within the second time window, the at least one sharing factor defining a relationship between the number of discarded opportunities to perform the one or more first operations and the number of discarded opportunities to perform the one or more second operations.

[0139] (2) The wireless device according to (1), wherein

[0140] the processor is further configured to: receive, via the at least one radio component, a radio resource control (RRC) message from a cellular base station indicating the at least one sharing factor.

[0141] (3) The wireless device according to (2), wherein

[0142] - the value of each sharing factor of the at least one sharing factor is included in the RRC message, or

[0143] - the identifier of each sharing factor of the at least one sharing factor is included in the RRC message, and the processor is further configured to: determine the value of each sharing factor of the at least one sharing factor based on a predefined relationship between the identifier of the sharing factor and the corresponding value of the sharing factor.

[0144] (4) The wireless device according to any one of (1) to (3), wherein the relationship defines every k conflicts between a first time window and a second time window, and the wireless device shall discard m opportunities for performing the one or more first operations and n opportunities for performing the one or more second operations, where each of m and n is an integer equal to or greater than 0, and k is equal to the sum of n and m.

[0145] (5) The wireless device according to (4), wherein the relationship further defines the following absolute prioritization:

[0147] - In the case of a conflict between the first time window and the second time window, always discard the opportunities for performing the one or more first operations, and

[0148] - In the case of a conflict between the first time window and the second time window, always discard the opportunities for performing the one or more second operations in the second time window.

[0149] (6) The wireless device according to any one of (1) to (3), wherein the first time window is a time window for layer 3 operations or a time window for layer 1 operations.

[0150] (7) The wireless device according to (6), wherein the time window for layer 3 operations is a radio resource management measurement timing configuration (SMTC) based on a synchronization signal block.

[0151] (8) The wireless device according to (6), wherein the time window for layer 1 operations includes at least any one of the following: a time window for radio link monitoring (RLM), a time window for beam failure detection (BFD), a time window for candidate beam discovery (CBD), a time window for layer 1 reference signal received power (RSRP) measurement, and a time window for layer 1 signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) measurement.

[0152] (9) The wireless device according to (1),

[0153] wherein the second time window includes multiple modes, and

[0154] wherein the processor is further configured to: process the at least one conflict according to a plurality of sharing factors, and each of the plurality of sharing factors defines a relationship between the number of opportunities for performing the one or more first operations discarded within the first time window and the number of opportunities for performing the one or more second operations discarded within the second time window having a specific mode.

[0155] (10) The wireless device according to (9), wherein the value of each of the plurality of sharing factors depends on the type of the one or more second operations to be performed within a second time window having a corresponding mode.

[0156] (11) The wireless device according to (9),

[0157] wherein the second time window includes a plurality of modes, and

[0158] wherein the processor is further configured to: process the at least one conflict according to a single sharing factor that defines a relationship between the number of opportunities to discard performing the one or more first operations within a first time window and the number of opportunities to discard performing the one or more second operations within a second time window having any mode.

[0159] (12) The wireless device according to any one of (9) to (11), wherein the second time window is a multi-universal subscriber identity module (MUSIM) gap.

[0160] (13) The wireless device according to any one of (1) to (3), wherein

[0161] the processor is further configured to: process the at least one conflict by discarding the opportunities to perform the one or more first operations within the first time window or discarding the opportunities to perform the one or more second operations within the second time window according to one or more predefined rules,

[0162] wherein the one or more predefined rules direct the wireless device to discard the one or more second operations within the second time window when the one or more first operations are related to one or more aperiodic events.

[0163] (14) The wireless device according to (13), wherein the one or more aperiodic events include at least any one or more of the following: transmission of messages (Msg) 1 to Msg 5 during a random access channel (RACH) procedure, and a first channel quality indicator (CQI) feedback in a secondary cell (SCell) activation.

[0164] (15) The wireless device according to any one of (1) to (3), wherein the processor is further

[0165] configured to

[0166] Receiving an instruction from a cellular base station via the at least one radio component, the instruction indicating that in the case of at least one conflict between at least one first time window and at least one second time window, at least one upcoming occasion for performing the one or more first operations within the at least one first time window is discarded, or at least one upcoming occasion for performing the one or more second operations within the at least one second time window is discarded, wherein the number of the at least one upcoming occasion to be discarded is predefined or configurable, and

[0167] Processing the at least one conflict by discarding the at least one instructed occasion, wherein the instruction is sent aperiodically.

[0168] (16) The wireless device according to (15), wherein the instruction is sent via downlink control information (DCI) or a media access control control element (MAC CE).

[0169] (17) The wireless device according to any one of (1) to (3), wherein the processor is further configured to: in the case of discarding at least one occasion for performing the one or more first operations due to the at least one conflict, perform a radio resource management (RRM) process according to an increased latency.

[0170] (18) The wireless device according to (17), wherein the latency is increased according to the count of the occasions for performing the one or more first operations discarded due to the at least one conflict.

[0171] (19) The wireless device according to any one of (1) to (3), wherein the at least one sharing factor is predefined.

[0172] (20) A cellular base station, the cellular base station comprising:

[0173] At least one antenna;

[0174] At least one radio component, the at least one radio component being coupled to the at least one antenna; and

[0175] A processor, the processor being coupled to the at least one radio component;

[0176] Wherein the processor is configured to:

[0177] Send a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message indicating at least one sharing factor to the wireless device via the at least one radio component, the Radio Resource Control (RRC) message causing the wireless device to handle at least one conflict between a first time window that is an opportunity to perform one or more first operations related to a first network within a first time window and a second time window that is an opportunity to perform one or more second operations related to a second network within a second time window by discarding, at least according to the at least one sharing factor, the opportunity to perform the one or more first operations within the first time window or the opportunity to perform the one or more second operations within the second time window, wherein multiple of the first time windows repeatedly occur as opportunities for the wireless device to perform the one or more first operations, and multiple of the second time windows repeatedly occur as opportunities for the wireless device to perform the one or more second operations.

[0178] Wherein the at least one sharing factor defines a relationship between the number of discarded opportunities to perform the one or more first operations and the number of discarded opportunities to perform the one or more second operations.

[0179] (21) The cellular base station according to (20), wherein

[0180] - The value of each sharing factor among the at least one sharing factor is included in the RRC message, or

[0181] - The identifier of each sharing factor among the at least one sharing factor is included in the RRC message.

[0182] (22) The cellular base station according to (20),

[0183] Wherein the second time window includes multiple modes, and

[0184] Wherein the processor is configured to:

[0185] Send the RRC message indicating multiple sharing factors to the wireless device via the at least one radio component, each of the multiple sharing factors defining a relationship between the number of discarded opportunities to perform the one or more first operations within a first time window and the number of discarded opportunities to perform the one or more second operations within a second time window having a specific mode.

[0186] (23) The cellular base station according to (20),

[0187] Wherein the second time window includes multiple modes, and

[0188] Wherein the processor is configured to:

[0189] Send the RRC message indicating a single sharing factor to the wireless device via the at least one radio component, where the single sharing factor defines the relationship between the number of discarded opportunities to perform the one or more first operations within a first time window and the number of discarded opportunities to perform the one or more second operations within a second time window having any mode.

[0190] (24) The cellular base station according to any one of (22) or (23), wherein the second time window is a multi-universal subscriber identity module (MUSIM) gap.

[0191] (25) The cellular base station according to any one of (20) or (21), wherein the processor is further

[0192] configured to

[0193] Send an instruction to the wireless device via the at least one radio component, the instruction indicating that the wireless device, in the case of at least one conflict between at least one first time window and at least one second time window, discards at least one upcoming opportunity to perform the one or more first operations within the at least one first time window, or discards at least one upcoming opportunity to perform the one or more second operations within the at least one second time window, where the number of the at least one upcoming opportunity to be discarded is predefined or configurable, and wherein the instruction is sent aperiodically.

[0194] (26) The cellular base station according to (25), wherein the instruction is sent via downlink control information (DCI) or a media access control control element (MAC CE).

[0195] (27) A method for a wireless device, the method comprising:

[0196] Taking a recurring first time window as an opportunity to perform one or more first operations related to a first network; and

[0197] Taking a recurring second time window as an opportunity to perform one or more second operations related to a second network different from the first network,

[0198] The method further includes: handling at least one conflict between a first time window that is an opportunity to perform one or more first operations within a first time window and a second time window that is an opportunity to perform one or more second operations within a second time window by discarding, at least based on at least one sharing factor, the opportunity to perform the one or more first operations within the first time window or the opportunity to perform the one or more second operations within the second time window, where the at least one sharing factor defines a relationship between the number of opportunities to perform the one or more first operations that are discarded and the number of opportunities to perform the one or more second operations that are discarded.

[0199] (28) A method for a cellular base station, the method including:

[0200] Sending, via the at least one radio component, a radio resource control (RRC) message indicating at least one sharing factor, the radio resource control (RRC) message causing the wireless device to handle at least one conflict between a first time window that is an opportunity to perform one or more first operations related to a first network within a first time window and a second time window that is an opportunity to perform one or more second operations related to a second network within a second time window by discarding, at least based on the at least one sharing factor, the opportunity to perform the one or more first operations within the first time window or the opportunity to perform the one or more second operations within the second time window, where multiple first time windows repeatedly occur as opportunities for the wireless device to perform the one or more first operations, and multiple second time windows repeatedly occur as opportunities for the wireless device to perform the one or more second operations,

[0201] where the at least one sharing factor defines a relationship between the number of opportunities to perform the one or more first operations that are discarded and the number of opportunities to perform the one or more second operations that are discarded.

[0202] (29) An apparatus, the apparatus including:

[0203] A processor configured to cause a wireless device to:

[0204] Take a repeatedly occurring first time window as an opportunity to perform one or more first operations related to a first network; and

[0205] Take a repeatedly occurring second time window as an opportunity to perform one or more second operations related to a second network different from the first network,

[0206] The processor is further configured to handle at least one conflict between the first time window as the timing of executing the one or more first operations within the first time window and the second time window as the timing of executing the one or more second operations within the second time window by discarding, at least according to at least one sharing factor, the timing of executing the one or more first operations within the first time window or the timing of executing the one or more second operations within the second time window, where the at least one sharing factor defines a relationship between the number of discarded timings of executing the one or more first operations and the number of discarded timings of executing the one or more second operations.

[0207] (30) A computer-readable storage medium storing program instructions, where when the program instructions are executed by a computer system, the computer system is caused to execute the method according to (27).

[0208] (31) A computer-readable storage medium storing program instructions, where when the program instructions are executed by a computer system, the computer system is caused to execute the method according to (28).

[0209] (32) A computer program product including program instructions, where when the program instructions are executed by a computer, the computer is caused to execute the method according to (27).

[0210] (33) A computer program product including program instructions, where when the program instructions are executed by a computer, the computer is caused to execute the method according to (28).

Claims

1. A wireless device, the wireless device comprises: at least one antenna; at least one radio component, the at least one radio component being coupled to the at least one antenna; and a processor, the processor being coupled to the at least one radio component; wherein the processor is configured to take a recurring first time window as an opportunity to perform one or more first operations related to a first network; and take a recurring second time window as an opportunity to perform one or more second operations related to a second network different from the first network, wherein the processor is further configured to: handle at least one conflict between the first time window as an opportunity to perform the one or more first operations within the first time window and the second time window as an opportunity to perform the one or more second operations within the second time window by discarding, at least according to at least one sharing factor, the opportunity to perform the one or more first operations within the first time window or the opportunity to perform the one or more second operations within the second time window, the at least one sharing factor defining a relationship between the number of discarded opportunities to perform the one or more first operations and the number of discarded opportunities to perform the one or more second operations.

2. The wireless device according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to: receive, via the at least one radio component, a radio resource control (RRC) message from a cellular base station indicating the at least one sharing factor.

3. The wireless device according to claim 2, wherein - the value of each sharing factor among the at least one sharing factor is included in the RRC message, or - the identifier of each sharing factor among the at least one sharing factor is included in the RRC message, and the processor is further configured to: determine the value of each sharing factor among the at least one sharing factor based on a predefined relationship between the identifier of the sharing factor and the corresponding value of the sharing factor.

4. The wireless device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the relationship defines that for every k conflicts between the first time window and the second time window, the wireless device shall discard m opportunities to perform the one or more first operations and n opportunities to perform the one or more second operations, where each of m and n is an integer equal to or greater than 0, and k is equal to the sum of n and m.

5. The wireless device according to claim 4, wherein the relationship further defines the following absolute prioritization: - in the case of a conflict between the first time window and the second time window, always discard the opportunity to perform the one or more first operations, and - in the case of a conflict between the first time window and the second time window, always discard the opportunity to perform the one or more second operations within the second time window.

6. The wireless device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first time window is a time window for layer 3 operations or a time window for layer 1 operations.

7. The wireless device according to claim 6, wherein the time window for layer 3 operation is based on the radio resource management measurement timing configuration (SMTC) of the synchronization signal block.

8. The wireless device according to claim 6, wherein the time window for layer 1 operation includes at least any one of the following: a time window for radio link monitoring (RLM), a time window for beam failure detection (BFD), a time window for candidate beam discovery (CBD), a time window for layer 1 reference signal received power (RSRP) measurement, and a time window for layer 1 signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) measurement.

9. The wireless device according to claim 1, wherein the second time window includes multiple modes, and wherein the processor is further configured to: process the at least one conflict according to a plurality of sharing factors, each of the plurality of sharing factors defining a relationship between the number of opportunities to discard the execution of the one or more first operations within the first time window and the number of opportunities to discard the execution of the one or more second operations within the second time window having a specific mode.

10. The wireless device according to claim 9, wherein the value of each of the plurality of sharing factors depends on the type of the one or more second operations to be executed within the second time window having the corresponding mode.

11. The wireless device according to claim 9, wherein the second time window includes multiple modes, and wherein the processor is further configured to: process the at least one conflict according to a single sharing factor, the single sharing factor defining a relationship between the number of opportunities to discard the execution of the one or more first operations within the first time window and the number of opportunities to discard the execution of the one or more second operations within the second time window having any mode.

12. The wireless device according to any one of claims 9 to 11, wherein the second time window is a multi-Universal Subscriber Identity Module (MUSIM) gap.

13. The wireless device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the processor is further configured to: process the at least one conflict by discarding the opportunities to execute the one or more first operations within the first time window or discarding the opportunities to execute the one or more second operations within the second time window according to one or more predefined rules, wherein the one or more predefined rules indicate that the wireless device discards the one or more second operations within the second time window when the one or more first operations are related to one or more aperiodic events.

14. The wireless device according to claim 13, wherein the one or more aperiodic events include at least any one or more of the following: the transmission of messages (Msg) 1 to Msg 5 during a random access channel (RACH) procedure, and the first effective channel quality indicator (CQI) feedback in a secondary cell (SCell) activation.

15. The wireless device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the processor is further configured to receive instructions from a cellular base station via the at least one radio component, the instructions indicating that, in the event of at least one conflict between at least one first time window and at least one second time window, at least one upcoming opportunity to perform the one or more first operations within the at least one first time window, or at least one upcoming opportunity to perform the one or more second operations within the at least one second time window, is discarded, wherein the number of the at least one upcoming opportunity to be discarded is predefined or configurable, and processing the at least one conflict by discarding the at least one instructed opportunity; wherein the instructions are sent aperiodically.

16. The wireless device according to claim 15, wherein the instructions are sent via downlink control information (DCI) or a media access control control element (MAC CE).

17. The wireless device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the processor is further configured to: in the event of discarding at least one opportunity to perform the one or more first operations due to the at least one conflict, perform a radio resource management (RRM) process according to an increased time delay.

18. The wireless device according to claim 17, wherein the time delay is increased according to the count of the opportunities to perform the one or more first operations discarded due to the at least one conflict.

19. The wireless device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the at least one sharing factor is predefined.

20. A method for a wireless device, the method comprising: taking a recurring first time window as an opportunity to perform one or more first operations related to a first network; and taking a recurring second time window as an opportunity to perform one or more second operations related to a second network different from the first network, wherein the method further comprises: processing at least one conflict between the first time window as an opportunity to perform the one or more first operations within the first time window and the second time window as an opportunity to perform the one or more second operations within the second time window by discarding, at least according to at least one sharing factor, an opportunity to perform the one or more first operations within the first time window or an opportunity to perform the one or more second operations within the second time window, the at least one sharing factor defining a relationship between the number of opportunities to perform the one or more first operations discarded and the number of opportunities to perform the one or more second operations discarded.

21. An apparatus, the apparatus comprising: a processor configured to cause a wireless device to: take a recurring first time window as an opportunity to perform one or more first operations related to a first network; and Use the recurring second time window as the opportunity to perform one or more second operations related to a second network different from the first network, wherein the processor is further configured to handle at least one conflict between the first time window as the opportunity to perform the one or more first operations within the first time window and the second time window as the opportunity to perform the one or more second operations within the second time window by discarding, at least according to at least one sharing factor, the opportunity to perform the one or more first operations within the first time window or the opportunity to perform the one or more second operations within the second time window, and the at least one sharing factor defines the relationship between the number of opportunities to perform the one or more first operations discarded and the number of opportunities to perform the one or more second operations discarded.

22. A computer-readable storage medium storing program instructions, wherein the program instructions, when executed by a computer system, cause the computer system to perform the method according to claim 20.

23. A computer program product comprising program instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the method according to claim 20.

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