Reduced capability user equipment access in a cell

Abstract

Techniques are provided for user equipment accessibility (eRedCap UE) with reduced capability for extension. An example method may include an eRedCap UE receiving a system information block one (SIB1) broadcast for a network. The eRedCap UE may determine, based on the indication in the SIB1, that the network supports eRedCap UE accessibility for a cell. The eRedCap UE may camp on the cell based on a determination that the network supports eRedCap UE accessibility for the cell.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates generally to wireless communications, and in particular, to extended reduced capability user equipment accessibility in a cell. Background Art

[0002] Cellular communications may be defined in various standards to enable communication between user equipment and cellular networks. For example, Long Term Evolution (LTE) and fifth generation (5G) networks are defined by wireless standards designed to improve data transmission speeds, reliability, availability, etc. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0003] Figure 1 is an illustration of a reduced capability user equipment (RedCap UE) and an extended reduced capability user equipment (eRedCap UE) in accordance with one or more embodiments.

[0004] Figure 2 is a signaling diagram for determining eRedCAP UE accessibility according to one or more embodiments.

[0005] Figure 3 is an example Abstract Syntax Notation 1 (ASN1) code for cell accessibility according to one or more implementations.

[0006] Figure 4 is an example ASN1 code for cell accessibility according to one or more embodiments.

[0007] Figure 5 is a signaling diagram for determining eRedCap UE accessibility for intra-frequency cell reselection according to one or more embodiments.

[0008] Figure 6 is an example ASN1 code for intra-frequency cell reselection according to one or more embodiments.

[0009] Figure 7 is a signaling diagram for inter-frequency cell reselection for an eRedCap UE according to one or more embodiments.

[0010] Figure 8 is an example ASN1 code for inter-frequency cell reselection according to one or more embodiments.

[0011] Figure 9 is a signaling diagram for exchanging frequencies between base stations for inter-frequency cell reselection according to one or more embodiments.

[0012] Figure 10 A description is provided of carrying IEs on SIB1 broadcasts of corresponding cells according to one or more embodiments.

[0013] Figure 11 is a signaling diagram for a cell that does not support eRedCap UEs according to one or more embodiments.

[0014] Figure 12 is a signaling diagram for a cell that does support eRedCap UEs according to one or more embodiments.

[0015] Figure 13 A process flow for determining eRedCap UE accessibility to a cell according to one or more embodiments.

[0016] Figure 14 An example of a receiving component according to one or more embodiments is illustrated.

[0017] Figure 15 An example of a UE according to one or more embodiments is illustrated.

[0018] Figure 16 An example of a base station according to one or more embodiments is illustrated. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0019] The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numerals may be used to identify the same or similar elements in different figures. In the following description, specific details, such as specific structures, architectures, interfaces, technologies, etc., are set forth for the purpose of illustration and not limitation, so as to provide a thorough understanding of the various aspects of the various embodiments. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art who benefit from this disclosure that the various aspects of the various embodiments may be practiced in other examples that deviate from these specific details. In some cases, descriptions of well-known devices, circuits, and methods are omitted so as not to obscure the description of the various embodiments due to unnecessary details. For the purposes of this document, the phrase "A or B" means (A), (B), or (A and B); and the phrase "based on A" means "based at least in part on A", for example, it can be "based only on A" or it can be "based in part on A".

[0020] The following is a glossary of terms that may be used in this disclosure.

[0021] As used herein, the term "circuit" refers to, is part of, or includes a hardware component such as an electronic circuit, a logic circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group) or memory (shared, dedicated, or group), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable device (FPD) (e.g., a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic device (PLD), a complex PLD (CPLD), a high capacity PLD (HCPLD), a structured ASIC, or a programmable system on a chip (SoC)), or a digital signal processor (DSP), etc., that is configured to provide the described functionality. In some embodiments, the circuit can execute one or more software or firmware programs to provide at least some of the described functionality. The term "circuit" may also refer to a combination of one or more hardware elements (or a combination of circuits used in an electrical or electronic system) and program code for executing the functionality of the program code. In these embodiments, the combination of hardware elements and program code may be referred to as a specific type of circuit.

[0022] As used herein, the term "processor circuit" refers to, is part of, or includes a circuit capable of sequentially and automatically performing a series of arithmetic or logical operations, or recording, storing, or transferring digital data. The term "processor circuit" may refer to an application processor, a baseband processor, a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit, a single-core processor, a dual-core processor, a triple-core processor, a quad-core processor, or any other device capable of executing or otherwise operating computer-executable instructions such as program code, software modules, and / or functional processes.

[0023] As used herein, the term "interface circuitry" refers to circuitry that enables, is part of, or includes circuitry that enables information exchange between two or more components or devices. The term "interface circuitry" may refer to one or more hardware interfaces, such as a bus, an I / O interface, a peripheral component interface, or a network interface card.

[0024] As used herein, the term "user equipment" or "UE" refers to a device that has radio communication capabilities and can represent a remote user of network resources in a communication network. Furthermore, the terms "user equipment" or "UE" may be considered synonymous and may be referred to as a client, mobile phone, mobile device, mobile terminal, user terminal, mobile unit, mobile station, mobile user, subscriber, user, remote station, access agent, user agent, receiver, radio equipment, reconfigurable radio equipment, reconfigurable mobile device, etc. Furthermore, the term "user equipment" or "UE" may include any type of wireless / wired device or any computing device that includes a wireless communication interface.

[0025] As used herein, the term "base station" refers to a device with radio communication capabilities that is a network component of a communication network (or more simply, a network) and can be configured as an access node in the communication network. A UE's access to the communication network can be at least partially managed by a base station, whereby the UE connects to the base station to access the communication network. Depending on the radio access technology (RAT), a base station can be referred to as a gNodeB (gNB), an eNodeB (eNB), an access point, etc.

[0026] As used herein, the term "network" refers to a communication network comprising a set of network nodes configured to provide communication functionality to a plurality of user equipment via one or more base stations. For example, the network may be a public land mobile network (PLMN) that implements one or more communication technologies, including, for example, 5G communication.

[0027] As used herein, the term "computer system" refers to any type of interconnected electronic devices, computing devices, or components thereof. Additionally, the term "computer system" or "system" may refer to various components of a computer that are communicatively coupled to one another. Furthermore, the term "computer system" or "system" may refer to multiple computing devices or multiple computing systems that are communicatively coupled to one another and configured to share computing resources or networked resources.

[0028] As used herein, the term "resource" refers to a physical or virtual device, a physical or virtual component within a computing environment, or a physical or virtual component within a specific device, such as computer equipment, mechanical equipment, memory space, processor / CPU time, processor / CPU utilization, processor and accelerator load, hardware time or utilization, power, input / output operations, ports or network sockets, channel / link allocation, throughput, memory utilization, storage, network, database, and application, or workload units. "Hardware resources" may refer to computing, storage, or network resources provided by physical hardware elements. "Virtualized resources" may refer to computing, storage, or network resources provided by a virtualization infrastructure to an application, device, system, etc. The terms "network resources" or "communication resources" may refer to resources that a computer device / system can access via a communication network. The term "system resources" may refer to any type of shared entity used to provide a service, and may include computing resources or network resources. System resources may be considered a set of coherent functions, network data objects, or services that can be accessed through a server, where such system resources reside on a single host or multiple hosts and can be clearly identified.

[0029] As used herein, the term "channel" refers to any tangible or intangible transmission medium for conveying data or data streams. The term "channel" may be synonymous or equivalent with "communication channel," "data communication channel," "transmission channel," "data transmission channel," "access channel," "data access channel," "link," "data link," "carrier," "radio frequency carrier," or any other similar term representing a path or medium through which data is conveyed. Additionally, as used herein, the term "link" refers to a connection between two devices for sending and receiving information.

[0030] As used herein, the terms "instantiate" and "instantiate" and the like refer to the creation of an instance. "Instance" also refers to a concrete occurrence of an object, which may occur, for example, during the execution of program code.

[0031] The term "connected" may mean that two or more elements at a common communication protocol layer have an established signaling relationship with each other through a communication channel, link, interface, or reference point.

[0032] As used herein, the term "network element" refers to physical or virtualized equipment or infrastructure used to provide wired or wireless communication network services. The term "network element" may be considered synonymous with or referred to as a networked computer, networking hardware, network equipment, network node, or virtualized network function, etc.

[0033] The term "information element" refers to a structural element that contains one or more fields. The term "field" refers to the individual contents of an information element, or a data element that contains the contents. An information element may include one or more additional information elements.

[0034] The term "3GPP access" refers to an access (e.g., radio access technology) specified by the 3GPP standards. These accesses include, but are not limited to, GSM / GPRS, LTE, LTE-A, 5G NR, and / or 6G. Generally speaking, 3GPP access refers to various types of cellular access technologies.

[0035] The term "non-3GPP access" refers to any access (e.g., radio access technology) that is not specified by the 3GPP standards. These accesses include, but are not limited to, WiMAX, CDMA2000, Wi-Fi, WLAN, and / or fixed networks. Non-3GPP accesses can be divided into two categories: "trusted" and "untrusted". Trusted non-3GPP accesses can interact directly with the Evolved Packet Core (EPC) and / or 5G Core (5GC), while untrusted non-3GPP accesses interwork with the EPC / 5GC via network entities (such as Evolved Packet Data Gateways and / or 5G NR Gateways). Generally speaking, non-3GPP access refers to various types of non-cellular access technologies.

[0036] Figure 11 is an illustration of a reduced capability user equipment (RedCap UE) and an extended reduced capability user equipment (eRedCap UE) according to one or more embodiments. A 3GPP Release 17 reduced capability user equipment (RedCap UE) 102 can be configured to have reduced capabilities compared to a UE, including less peak throughput, longer latency, lower reliability, higher power efficiency, less system overhead, or less resource cost. A 3GPP Release 18 extended RedCap UE (eRedCap UE) 104 can be configured to have less capabilities than the RedCap UE 102. The eRedCap UE 104 can have reduced complexity relative to the RedCap UE 102 in frequency range one (FR1). For example, for radio frequency (RF) requirements for FR1 for the eRedCap UE 104, its complexity in terms of radio access network one (RAN1), RAN2, and RAN4 can be lower than that of the RedCap UE 102. As another example, the eRedCap UE 104 can operate using 5 MHz bandwidth for physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) messages (unicast and broadcast) and physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), where uplink (UL) transmission and downlink (DL) transmission require 20 MHz RF. The eRedCap 104 can still use other physical channels and signals with bandwidth part (BWP) and baseband (BB) bandwidth up to 20 MHz maximum RR.

[0037] The eRedCap UE 104 may be configured for peak data rate reduction. For example, there may be a relaxation of the peak data reduction constraint, V 层 Q m f ≥ 4, where relaxation of the constraint may include changing the value from 4 to 1 (e.g., V 层 Q m f≥1). Parameter V 层 , Q m The arguments of and f can be the same as those of RedCap UE 102, where V 层 is the number of multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) layers, Q m The modulation order may be used, and f may be a scaling factor. The eRedCap UE 104 may support both 15kHz subcarrier spacing (SCS) and 30kHz. The existing UE capability framework may be used for the eRedCap UE 104, and changes to the UE capability signaling may be specified if necessary. The default position may be that the UE capabilities applicable to the RedCap UE 102 may be applied to the eRedCap UE 104.

[0038] As illustrated, RedCap UE 102 and eRedCap UE are located in a cell 106 with service provided by a base station 108. As eRedCap UEs transition into the market, some networks may support only RedCap UE 102, only eRedCap UE 104, or both RedCap UE 102 and eRedCap UE 114. In any case, the eRedCap UE 104 needs to be able to determine whether the cell 106 supports eRedCap UE capabilities.

[0039] The embodiments described herein address the aforementioned issues by providing techniques for capability signaling to enable an eRedCap UE 104 to determine whether a cell 106 supports eRedCap UE capabilities and receive assistance with redirection / reselection if the cell 106 does not support eRedCap UE capabilities. The techniques described herein include a system information block (SIB) information element (IE) that can inform a RedCap UE 102 or eRedCap UE 104 of which capabilities are supported. These techniques also include an IE that helps a RedCap UE 102 or eRedCap UE 104 select / reselect the correct serving cell in radio resource control (RRC) idle mode / RRC inactive mode.

[0040] Figure 2 is a signaling diagram 200 for determining eRedCap UE accessibility according to one or more embodiments. At 206, eRedCap UE 202 may receive a SIB1 broadcast for the network from base station 204. SIB1 may include an indication of whether a cell supports eRedCap UE accessibility.

[0041] At 208, the eRedCap UE 202 may determine that the network supports eRedCap UE accessibility for the cell based on the indication in the SIB1. The indication may be the presence of a bit in the field indicating that the network supports eRedCap UE accessibility. The absence of the bit may be an indication that the network does not support eRedCap UE accessibility for the cell. In some cases, the indication may be an indication that the network supports RedCap UE accessibility. In these cases, the eRedCap UE 202 may be configured to assume that support for RedCap UE accessibility implies support for eRedCap UE accessibility.

[0042] In some cases, SIB1 does not include any RedCap UE IE indicating support for RedCap UE accessibility. Instead, SIB1 only includes an indication that eRedCap UE accessibility is supported. In some other cases, this indication is a first indication, and SIB1 also includes a second indication that the RedCap UE camp-on procedure cannot be used for the eRedCap UE. It should be noted that RedCap UEs are expected to ignore the eRedCap extension and, therefore, are not expected to use the eRedCap UE IE.

[0043] In yet other cases, the indication may be a first indication, wherein the SIB1 broadcast includes a second indication indicating accessibility restrictions for RedCap UEs, and wherein the eRedCap UE is configured to comply with the accessibility restrictions. The accessibility restrictions may be based on, for example, a UE receiver chain type, such as a one-receiver chain UE type or a two-receiver chain UE type. For example, the second indication may be used to bar a RedCap UE or an eRedCap UE 202 based on the UE receiver chain type.

[0044] At 210, the eRedCap UE 202 may camp on the cell based on determining that the network supports eRedCap UE accessibility.

[0045] Figure 3 FIG3 is an example Abstract Syntax Notation 1 (ASN1) code 300 for cell accessibility according to one or more embodiments. As shown, the ASN1 code 300 includes a first portion 302 for barring or unbarring a RedCap UE based on the receiver chain type of the RedCap UE. The ASN1 code 300 also includes a second portion 304 for barring or unbarring an eRedCap UE based on the receiver chain type of the eRedCap UE.

[0046] Figure 4 FIG4 is an example ASN1 code 400 for cell accessibility according to one or more embodiments. As shown, the ASNI code 400 includes a first portion 402 for barring or unbarring an eRedCap UE based on the receiver chain type of the eRedCap UE. It should be noted that the ASNI code 400 does not include an IE for barring or unbarring a RedCap UE based on the receiver chain type of the RedCap UE.

[0047] Figure 5FIG5 is a signaling diagram 500 for determining eRedCap UE accessibility for intra-frequency cell reselection according to one or more embodiments. As illustrated, an eRedCap UE 502 can be in operable communication with a base station 504. It will be appreciated that networks supporting RedCap UE accessibility may reuse the same frequency for multiple cells. eRedCap UE features may include continuing to use RedCap UE logic for intra-frequency cell reselection, but with reduced PDSCH / PUSCH, as indicated above. However, in some networks, some cells may be upgraded for eRedCap UE accessibility while others are not.

[0048] At 506, the eRedCap UE 502 may receive a SIB1 broadcast for the network from the base station 504. The SIB1 may include an indication (eg, an IE) regarding the permissibility of intra-frequency cell reselection for the eRedCap UE.

[0049] At 508 , the eRedCap UE 502 may determine whether to search multiple cells on the same frequency of a current cell for intra-frequency cell reselection based on the IE, wherein the eRedCap UE is camped on the current cell that is barred for RedCap UEs.

[0050] In some cases, based on this IE, intra-frequency cell reselection is allowed for the RedCap UE. In these cases, the eRedCap UE 502 can be configured to regard this allowance of intra-frequency cell reselection for the RedCap UE as allowance of intra-frequency cell reselection for the eRedCap UE 502. The eRedCap UE 502 can search for other cells on the same frequency as the current cell.

[0051] In other cases, based on this IE, intra-frequency cell reselection is not allowed for RedCap UEs. In these cases, the eRedCap UE 502 may assume that intra-cell reselection is not allowed for other cells on the same frequency as the current cell for the eRedCap UE. Therefore, the eRedCap UE 502 does not search for other cells on the same frequency as the current cell.

[0052] In still other cases, the IE for intra-frequency cell reselection in SIB1 is a first indication of the permissibility of intra-frequency cell reselection for RedCap UE. In these cases, the eRedCap UE 502 may receive a second indication of the permissibility of intra-frequency cell reselection for the eRedCap UE 502.

[0053] Figure 6FIG. 6 is an example ASN1 code 600 for intra-frequency cell reselection according to one or more embodiments. As shown, the ASN1 code 600 includes a first portion 602 for allowing or not allowing an eRedCap UE to perform intra-frequency cell reselection.

[0054] Figure 7 FIG700 is a signaling diagram for inter-frequency cell reselection for an eRedCap UE according to one or more embodiments. As illustrated, an eRedCap UE 702 can be in operable communication with a base station 704. It should be understood that the network can broadcast an indication for inter-frequency cell reselection (e.g., using SIB4) that includes a list of SIB4 frequencies to be used for the reselection process. The SIB4 broadcast can also include a field indicating whether the SIB4 frequency supports the RedCap UE inter-frequency cell reselection process.

[0055] At 706 , the eRedCap UE 702 may receive a SIB broadcast from the base station 704 including a frequency list for inter-frequency cell reselection.

[0056] At 708, the eRedCap UE 702 may determine to search the frequency list based on the SIB broadcast. In some cases, the frequency list is included in an IE for supporting RedCap UEs, and the eRedCap UE 702 considers each frequency in the frequency list as a candidate frequency for supporting inter-frequency cell reselection of the eRedCap UE 702. The eRedCap UE 702 may then measure the frequency list for inter-frequency cell reselection.

[0057] In other cases, the frequency list is included in an IE for supporting the eRedCap UE 702. The eRedCap UE 702 may consider each frequency in the frequency list as a candidate frequency for supporting the eRedCap UE 702. The eRedCap UE 702 may then measure the frequency list for inter-frequency cell reselection.

[0058] Regardless of whether the IE is directed to RedCap UE or eRedCap UE 702, eRedCap UE 702 may determine whether the candidate frequency actually supports eRedCap UE 702 based on measuring SIB1 associated with the candidate frequency. SIB1 may include an indication of accessibility to support eRedCap UE.

[0059] Figure 8is an example ASN1 code 800 for inter-frequency cell reselection according to one or more embodiments. As shown, the ASN1 code 800 includes a first portion 802 for allowing an eRedCap UE to perform inter-frequency cell reselection.

[0060] Figure 9 FIG900 is a signaling diagram for exchanging frequencies between base stations for inter-frequency cell reselection according to one or more embodiments. As illustrated, a first base station 902 can be in operable communication with a second base station 904. The first base station 902 can provide service from a cell adjacent to a cell receiving service from the second base station 904.

[0061] At 906, a first base station associated with the first cell may send an indication of a first frequency supporting inter-frequency cell reselection for eRedCap UEs to a second base station 904. The sending may be performed using Xn signaling. The first frequency may be associated with the first base station 902.

[0062] At 908, the first base station may receive an indication of a second frequency that supports inter-frequency cell reselection for eRedCap UEs from the second base station 904. The transmission may be performed using Xn signaling. The second frequency may be associated with the second base station 904.

[0063] At 910, the first base station 902 may broadcast an indication of the first frequency and an indication of the second frequency. An eRedCap UE receiving the broadcast may determine that both the first frequency and the second frequency support eRedCap UE inter-frequency cell reselection.

[0064] At 912, the second base station 904 may also broadcast an indication of the first frequency and an indication of the second frequency. The eRedCap UE receiving the broadcast may again determine that both the first frequency and the second frequency support eRedCap UE inter-frequency cell reselection.

[0065] Figure 10 The present invention provides a description of carrying an IE on a SIB1 broadcast of a corresponding cell according to one or more embodiments. The description 1000 indicates that the corresponding cell supports RedCap UE inter-frequency cell reselection. The eRedCap UE may be configured to assume that if the corresponding cell supports RedCap UE inter-frequency cell reselection, then the corresponding cell supports eRedCap UE inter-frequency cell reselection.

[0066] Figure 111 is a signaling diagram for a cell that does not support eRedCap UEs according to one or more embodiments. A New Radio (NR) cell 1102 may transmit SIB1 1104 without 3GPP Release 18 IEs for eRedCap UEs 1106. The NR cell 1102 may support accessibility for 3GPP Release 17 RedCap UEs 1108. Based on meeting access criteria, the 3GPP Release 17 RedCap UE 1108 may participate in a registration process and exchange UE capability information with a core network (CN) 1110. The 3GPP Release 17 RedCap UE 1108 may also be configured by the NR cell 1102 based on the UE's capabilities.

[0067] Figure 12 1 is a signaling diagram for a cell that does support eRedCap UEs according to one or more embodiments. A New Radio (NR) cell 1202 may transmit SIB1 1204 with 3GPP Release 17 IEs for RedCap UEs 1206 and 3GPP Release 18 IEs for eRedCap UEs 1208. The NR cell 1202 may support accessibility for 3GPP Release 17 RedCap UEs 1206 and accessibility for 3GPP Release 18 eRedCap UEs 1208. Based on meeting access criteria, the 3GPP Release 18 eRedCap UE 1208 may participate in a registration process and exchange UE capability information with a core network (CN) 1210. The 3GPP Release 18 eRedCap UE 1208 may also be configured by the NR cell 1202 based on the UE's capabilities.

[0068] Figure 13 A process flow 1300 for determining eRedCap UE accessibility to a cell according to one or more embodiments may include, at 1302, an eRedCap UE receiving a SIB1 broadcast to a network from a base station. The SIB1 may include an indication of whether the cell supports eRedCap UE accessibility.

[0069] At 1304, the method may include: the eRedCap UE determining, based on the indication in the SIB1, that the network supports eRedCap UE accessibility for the cell. The indication may be the presence of a bit in a field indicating that the network supports eRedCap UE accessibility. The absence of the bit may be an indication that the network does not support eRedCap UE accessibility for the cell. In some cases, the indication may be an indication that the network supports RedCap UE accessibility. In these cases, the eRedCap UE may be configured to assume that support for RedCap UE accessibility implies support for eRedCap UE accessibility.

[0070] In some cases, SIB1 does not include any RedCap UE IE indicating support for RedCap UE accessibility. Instead, SIB1 only includes an indication that eRedCap UE accessibility is supported. In some other cases, this indication is a first indication, and SIB1 also includes a second indication that the RedCap UE camp-on procedure cannot be used for the eRedCap UE. It should be noted that RedCap UEs are expected to ignore the eRedCap UE extension and, therefore, are not expected to use the eRedCap UE IE.

[0071] In yet other cases, the indication may be a first indication, wherein the SIB1 broadcast includes a second indication indicating accessibility restrictions for RedCap UEs, and wherein the eRedCap UE is configured to comply with the accessibility restrictions. The accessibility restrictions may be based on, for example, a UE receiver chain type, such as a one-receiver chain UE type or a two-receiver chain UE type. For example, the second indication may be used to bar a RedCap UE or the eRedCap UE based on the UE receiver chain type.

[0072] At 1306 , the method may include the eRedCap UE camping on the cell based on determining that the network supports eRedCap UE accessibility to the cell.

[0073] Figure 14 14. Illustrated is a receiving component 1400 of a UE 1406 according to some embodiments. The receiving component 1400 may include an antenna panel 1404 that includes a plurality of antenna elements. The panel 1404 is shown as having four antenna elements, but other embodiments may include other numbers of antenna elements.

[0074] The antenna panel 1404 may be coupled to an analog beamforming (BF) assembly including a plurality of phase shifters 1408(1) to 1408(4). The phase shifters 1408(1) to 1408(4) may be coupled to a radio frequency (RF) chain 1412. The RF chain 1412 may amplify the received analog RF signal, downconvert the RF signal to baseband, and convert the analog baseband signal into a digital baseband signal that may be provided to a baseband processor for further processing.

[0075] In various embodiments, control circuitry, which may reside in a baseband processor, may provide BF weights (e.g., W1 to W4) (which may represent phase shift values) to phase shifters 1408(1) to 1408(4) to provide receive beams at antenna panel 1404. These BF weights may be determined based on channel-based beamforming.

[0076] Figure 15 UE 1500 according to some embodiments is illustrated. UE 1500 may be similar to Figure 14 UE 1406 and is essentially interchangeable therewith.

[0077] Similar to what is described above with respect to UE 1500, UE 1500 may be any mobile or non-mobile computing device, such as, for example, a mobile phone, a computer, a tablet, an industrial wireless sensor (e.g., a microphone, a carbon dioxide sensor, a pressure sensor, a humidity sensor, a thermometer, a motion sensor, an accelerometer, a laser scanner, a fluid level sensor, an inventory sensor, a voltage / current meter, an actuator, etc.), a video monitoring / surveillance device (e.g., a camera, a video camera, etc.), a wearable device, or a loose IoT device. In some embodiments, the UE may be a reduced capacity UE or an NR light UE.

[0078] UE 1500 may include a processor 1504, an RF interface circuit 1508, a memory / storage 1512, a user interface 1516, a sensor 1520, a driver circuit 1522, a power management integrated circuit (PMIC) 1524, and a battery 1528. The components of UE 1500 may be implemented as integrated circuits (ICs), portions of integrated circuits, discrete electronic devices or other modules, logic components, hardware, software, firmware, or combinations thereof. Figure 15 The block diagram is intended to show a high-level view of some of the components of the UE 1500. However, some of the components shown may be omitted, additional components may be present, and different arrangements of the components shown may occur in other implementations.

[0079] Components of UE 1500 may be coupled to various other components via one or more interconnects 1532, which may represent any type of interface, input / output, bus (local, system, or extension), transmission line, trace, optical connection, etc., that allows various circuit components (on a common or different chip or chipset) to interact with each other.

[0080] The processor 1504 may include processor circuits such as, for example, a baseband processor circuit (BB) 1504A, a central processor unit circuit (CPU) 1504B, and a graphics processor unit circuit (GPU) 1504C. The processor 1504 may include any type of circuit or processor circuit that executes or otherwise operates computer-executable instructions (such as program code, software modules, or functional processes from the memory / storage device 1512) to cause the UE 1500 to perform operations as described herein.

[0081] In some embodiments, the baseband processor circuit 1504A can access the communication protocol stack 1536 in the memory / storage device 1512 to communicate over a 3GPP-compatible network. Generally speaking, the baseband processor circuit 1504A can access the communication protocol stack to perform user plane functions at the PHY layer, MAC layer, RLC layer, PDCP layer, SDAP layer, and PDU layer; and to perform control plane functions at the PHY layer, MAC layer, RLC layer, PDCP layer, RRC layer, and non-access stratum (NAS) layer. In some embodiments, PHY layer operations can additionally / alternatively be performed by components of the RF interface circuit 1508.

[0082] The baseband processor circuit 1504A may generate or process baseband signals or waveforms that carry information in a 3GPP-compliant network. In some embodiments, the waveforms used for NR may be based on cyclic prefix OFDM (CP-OFDM) in the uplink or downlink, and discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-S-OFDM) in the uplink.

[0083] The baseband processor circuit 1504A may also access group information 1524 from the memory / storage 1512 to determine a search space group in which multiple repetitions of the PDCCH may be sent.

[0084] The memory / storage 1512 may include any type of volatile or non-volatile memory that may be distributed throughout the UE 1500. In some embodiments, some of the memory / storage 1512 may be located on the processor 1504 itself (e.g., L1 cache and L2 cache), while other memory / storage 1512 may be external to the processor 1504 but accessible via a memory interface. The memory / storage 1512 may include any suitable volatile or non-volatile memory, such as, but not limited to, dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, solid-state memory, or any other type of memory device technology.

[0085] The RF interface circuit 1508 may include transceiver circuitry and a radio frequency front-end module (RFEM) that allows the UE 1500 to communicate with other devices over a radio access network. The RF interface circuit 1508 may include various components arranged in a transmit path or a receive path. These components may include, for example, switches, mixers, amplifiers, filters, synthesizer circuits, control circuits, and the like.

[0086] In the receive path, the RFEM receives the radiated signal from the air interface via antenna 1524 and proceeds to filter and amplify the signal (using a low-noise amplifier). The signal can be provided to the transceiver's receiver, which downconverts the RF signal to a baseband signal that is provided to the baseband processor of processor 1504.

[0087] In the transmit path, the transmitter of the transceiver up-converts the baseband signal received from the baseband processor and provides an RF signal to the RFEM. The RFEM may amplify the RF signal through a power amplifier before radiating the signal across the air interface via the antenna 1524.

[0088] In various embodiments, the RF interface circuit 1508 may be configured to send / receive signals in a manner compatible with NR access technology.

[0089] Antenna 1524 may include multiple antenna elements, each of which converts electrical signals into radio waves to travel through the air and converts received radio waves into electrical signals. These antenna elements may be arranged into one or more antenna panels. Antenna 1524 may have antenna panels that are omnidirectional, directional, or a combination thereof to achieve beamforming and multiple-input, multiple-output communications. Antenna 1524 may include microstrip antennas, patch antennas, phased array antennas, printed antennas manufactured on the surface of one or more printed circuit boards, etc. Antenna 1524 may have one or more panels designed for specific frequency bands, including those in FR1 or FR2.

[0090] User interface circuitry 1516 includes various input / output (I / O) devices designed to enable a user to interact with UE 1500. User interface 1516 includes input device circuitry and output device circuitry. Input device circuitry includes any physical or virtual component for accepting input, including, in particular, one or more physical or virtual buttons (e.g., a reset button), a physical keyboard, a keypad, a mouse, a trackpad, a touch screen, a microphone, a scanner, or a headset. Output device circuitry includes any physical or virtual component for displaying or otherwise conveying information, such as sensor readings, actuator positions, or other similar information. Output device circuitry may include any number or combination of audio or visual displays, including, in particular, one or more simple visual outputs / indicators (e.g., binary state indicators such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and multi-character visual outputs, or more complex outputs such as a display device or touch screen (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD), an LED display, a quantum dot display, a projector, etc.), where the output, such as characters, graphics, and multimedia objects, is generated or produced by the operation of UE 1500.

[0091] Sensors 1520 may include devices, modules, or subsystems whose purpose is to detect events or changes in their environment and to communicate information about the detected events (sensor data) to some other device, module, subsystem, etc. Examples of such sensors include, among others, inertial measurement units including accelerometers, gyroscopes, or magnetometers; microelectromechanical systems or nanoelectromechanical systems including three-axis accelerometers, three-axis gyroscopes, or magnetometers; fluid level sensors; flow sensors; temperature sensors (e.g., thermistors); pressure sensors; barometric pressure sensors; gravity meters; altimeters; image capture devices (e.g., cameras or lensless apertures); light detection and ranging sensors; proximity sensors (e.g., infrared radiation detectors, etc.); depth sensors; ambient light sensors; ultrasound transceivers; microphones or other similar audio capture devices; and the like.

[0092] The driver circuit 1522 may include software and hardware elements that operate to control specific devices embedded in, attached to, or otherwise communicatively coupled to the UE 1500. The driver circuit 1522 may include various drivers to allow other components to interact with or control various input / output (I / O) devices that may be present in or connected to the UE 1500. For example, the driver circuit 1522 may include a display driver for controlling and enabling access to a display device, a touch screen driver for controlling and enabling access to a touch screen interface, a sensor driver for obtaining sensor readings from the sensor circuit 1520 and controlling and enabling access to the sensor circuit 1520, a driver for obtaining actuator positioning of an electromechanical component or controlling and enabling access to an electromechanical component, a camera driver for controlling and enabling access to an embedded image capture device, and an audio driver for controlling and enabling access to one or more audio devices.

[0093] The PMIC 1524 may manage the power provided to various components of the UE 1500. Specifically, with respect to the processor 1504, the PMIC 1524 may control power source selection, voltage scaling, battery charging, or DC-DC conversion.

[0094] In some embodiments, the PMIC 1524 may control or otherwise be part of various power-saving mechanisms for the UE 1500. For example, if a platform UE is in the RRC_Connected state, in which it remains connected to a RAN node because it expects to receive traffic soon, then after a period of inactivity, the platform UE may enter a state known as discontinuous reception mode (DRX). During this state, the UE 1500 may power down for short intervals, thereby saving power. If there is no data traffic activity for an extended period, the UE 1500 may transition to the RRC_Idle state, in which the UE is disconnected from the network and does not perform operations such as channel quality feedback, handovers, etc. The UE 1500 enters a very low-power state and performs paging, in which the UE periodically wakes up again to listen to the network, and then powers down again. The UE 1500 may not receive data in this state; to receive data, the UE must transition back to the RRC_Connected state. An additional power saving mode can disable the device from the network for a period exceeding the paging interval (from a few seconds to a few hours). During this time, the device is completely unable to connect to the network and can be completely powered down. Any data transmitted during this time will incur significant latency, assuming that latency is acceptable.

[0095] Battery 1528 can power UE 1500, but in some examples, UE 1500 can be installed and deployed in a fixed location and can have a power source coupled to the power grid. Battery 1528 can be a lithium-ion battery and a metal-air battery (such as a zinc-air battery, an aluminum-air battery, a lithium-air battery), etc. In some specific implementations, such as in vehicle-based applications, battery 1528 can be a typical lead-acid automobile battery.

[0096] Figure 16 The gNB node 1600 according to some embodiments is illustrated. The gNB node 1600 may be similar to Figure 1 base stations 164, 166 and are essentially interchangeable with them.

[0097] gNB 1600 may include a processor 1604, RF interface circuitry 1608, core network (CN) interface circuitry 1612, and memory / storage device circuitry 1616.

[0098] The components of gNB 1600 may be coupled to various other components via one or more interconnects 1628.

[0099] The processor 1604, RF interface circuit 1608, memory / storage circuit 1616 (including communication protocol stack 1610), antenna 1624, and interconnect 1628 may be similar to those described with respect to FIG. Figure 14 Like-named elements are shown and described.

[0100] The CN interface circuitry 1612 can provide connectivity to a core network, such as a 4th Generation Core Network (5GC) using a 4GC-compatible network interface protocol (such as the Carrier Ethernet protocol) or some other suitable protocol. Network connectivity can be provided to / from the gNB 1600 via optical fiber or wireless backhaul. The CN interface circuitry 1612 can include one or more dedicated processors or FPGAs for communicating using one or more of the aforementioned protocols. In some implementations, the CN interface circuitry 1612 can include multiple controllers for providing connectivity to other networks using the same or different protocols.

[0101] It is widely acknowledged that the use of personally identifiable information should be subject to privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized to meet or exceed industry or government requirements for maintaining user privacy. Specifically, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of authorized use should be clearly stated to users.

[0102] For one or more embodiments, at least one of the components described in one or more of the preceding figures may be configured to perform one or more operations, techniques, processes, or methods described in the Examples section below. For example, the baseband circuitry described above in conjunction with one or more of the preceding figures may be configured to operate in accordance with one or more of the embodiments described below. For another example, circuitry associated with the UE, base station, network element, etc. described above in conjunction with one or more of the preceding figures may be configured to operate in accordance with one or more of the embodiments described below in the Examples section.

[0103] Example

[0104] In the following sections, additional example implementations are provided.

[0105] Embodiment 1 includes a method performed by an extended reduced capability user equipment (eRedCap UE), the method comprising: receiving a system information block one (SIB1) broadcast for a network; determining, based on an indication in the SIB1, that the network supports eRedCap UE accessibility for a cell; and camping on the cell based on determining that the network supports eRedCap UE accessibility for the cell.

[0106] Embodiment 2 includes the method of embodiment 1, wherein the indication is the presence of a bit in a field indicating that the network supports eRedCap UE accessibility for the cell, and wherein the absence of the bit is an indication that the network does not support eRedCap UE accessibility for the cell.

[0107] Embodiment 3 includes the method of embodiment 1 or 2, wherein the indication is used to indicate that the network supports reduced capability user equipment (RedCap UE) accessibility.

[0108] Embodiment 4 includes the method of any one of embodiments 1 to 3, wherein the SIB1 does not include any RedCap UE information element (IE) indicating support for RedCap UE accessibility.

[0109] Embodiment 5 includes the method of any one of embodiments 1 to 3, wherein the indication is a first indication, and wherein the SIB1 includes a second indication that RedCap UE camp-on procedures cannot be used for the eRedCap UE.

[0110] Embodiment 6 includes the method of any one of embodiments 1 to 3, wherein the eRedCap UE supports RedCap UE features, wherein the indication is a first indication, wherein the SIB1 includes a second indication that the eRedCap UE will not use eRedCap UE information elements (IEs) to support the RedCap UE features.

[0111] Embodiment 7 includes the method of any one of embodiments 1 to 3, wherein the indication is a first indication, wherein the SIB1 broadcast includes a second indication indicating an accessibility restriction for RedCap UEs, and wherein the eRedCap UE is configured to comply with the accessibility restriction.

[0112] Embodiment 8 includes the method of any one of embodiments 1 to 3, wherein the indication is a first indication, wherein the SIB1 broadcast includes a second indication for disabling the eRedCap UE based on a UE receiver chain type.

[0113] Embodiment 9 includes the method of embodiment 7, wherein the UE receiver chain type is a one-receiver chain UE type or a two-receiver chain UE type.

[0114] Embodiment 10 includes a user equipment (UE), comprising: one or more processors; a communication interface; a radio frequency (RF) interface circuit; and a computer-readable medium, wherein the computer-readable medium comprises instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the UE to execute one or more elements described in or related to any one of embodiments 1 to 9.

[0115] Embodiment 11 includes a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a network, cause the network to perform one or more elements described in or related to any one of embodiments 1 to 9.

[0116] Embodiment 12 includes an extended reduced capability user equipment (eRedCap UE), the extended reduced capability user equipment (eRedCap UE) comprising: one or more processors; a communication interface; a radio frequency (RF) interface circuit; and a computer-readable medium, the computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, causes the eRedCap UE to: receive a system information (SIB) broadcast including an information element (IE) for permissibility of intra-frequency cell reselection for reduced capability user equipment (RedCap UE); and determine, based on the IE, whether to search for multiple cells on the same frequency of a current cell for intra-frequency cell reselection.

[0117] Embodiment 13 includes an eRedCap UE according to embodiment 12, wherein based on the IE, intra-frequency cell reselection is allowed for the RedCap UE, wherein the eRedCap UE is configured to regard the allowability of intra-frequency cell reselection for the RedCap UE as the allowability of intra-frequency cell reselection for the eRedCap UE, and wherein the eRedCap UE searches for other cells on the same frequency as the current cell.

[0118] Embodiment 14 includes the eRedCap UE of embodiment 12, wherein intra-frequency cell reselection is not allowed for the RedCap UE based on the IE, and wherein the eRedCap UE considers that intra-cell reselection is not allowed for other cells on the same frequency as the current cell for the eRedCap UE.

[0119] Embodiment 15 includes the eRedCap UE of embodiment 12, wherein the IE for intra-frequency cell reselection is a first indication, and wherein the eRedCap UE receives a second indication of the permissibility of intra-frequency cell reselection for the eRedCap UE.

[0120] Embodiment 16 comprises a method comprising performing one or more elements according to embodiments 12 to 15.

[0121] Embodiment 17 includes a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a network, cause the network to perform one or more elements described in or related to embodiments 12-15.

[0122] Embodiment 18 includes an extended reduced capability user equipment (eRedCap UE), the extended reduced capability user equipment (eRedCap UE) comprising: one or more processors; a communication interface; a radio frequency (RF) interface circuit; and a computer-readable medium, the computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the eRedCap UE to: receive a system information (SIB) broadcast, the system information (SIB) broadcast comprising a frequency list for inter-frequency cell reselection; and determine, based on the SIB broadcast, the frequency list to be searched for inter-frequency cell reselection.

[0123] Embodiment 19 includes the eRedCap UE of embodiment 18, wherein the frequency list is included in an information element (IE) for supporting reduced capability user equipment (RedCap UE), and wherein the eRedCap UE considers each frequency in the frequency list as a candidate frequency for supporting the eRedCap UE, and wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the eRedCap UE to measure the frequency list for inter-frequency cell reselection.

[0124] Embodiment 20 includes an eRedCap UE according to embodiment 18 or 19, wherein the frequency list is included in an information element for supporting the eRedCap UE, wherein the eRedCap UE considers each frequency in the frequency list as a candidate frequency for supporting the eRedCap UE, and wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the eRedCap UE to measure the frequency list for inter-frequency cell reselection.

[0125] Embodiment 21 includes the eRedCap UE of any one of embodiments 18 to 20, wherein the eRedCap UE determines that a frequency in the frequency list supports eRedCap UE accessibility based on a SIB1 broadcast associated with the frequency.

[0126] Embodiment 22 comprises a method comprising performing one or more elements according to embodiments 18 to 21.

[0127] Embodiment 23 includes a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a network, cause the network to perform one or more elements according to embodiments 18 to 21.

[0128] Embodiment 24 includes a first base station comprising: one or more processors; a communication interface; a radio frequency (RF) interface circuit; and a computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the first base station to: send an indication of a first frequency supporting inter-frequency cell reselection for an eRedCap UE to a second base station, and receive an indication of a second frequency supporting inter-frequency cell reselection for the eRedCap UE from the second base station.

[0129] Embodiment 25 includes the first base station of embodiment 24, wherein the first base station sends the indication of the first frequency to the second base station using Xn signaling.

[0130] Embodiment 26 includes the first base station of embodiment 24 or 25, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the first base station to broadcast the indication of the first frequency and the indication of the second frequency.

[0131] Embodiment 27 comprises a method comprising performing one or more elements according to embodiments 24 to 26.

[0132] Embodiment 28 includes a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a network, cause the network to perform one or more elements according to embodiments 24 to 26.

[0133] Unless expressly stated otherwise, any of the embodiments described above may be combined with any other embodiment (or combination of embodiments). The foregoing description of one or more specific implementations 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 the various embodiments.

[0134] Although the above embodiments have been described in considerable detail, numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated. It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to encompass all such variations and modifications.

Claims

1. A method performed by an extended reduced capability user equipment (eRedCap UE), the method comprising: receiving a system information block 1 (SIB1) broadcast for the network; determining, based on the indication in the SIB1, that the network supports eRedCap UE accessibility for the cell; as well as Camping on the cell is based on determining that the network supports eRedCap UE accessibility to the cell.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the indication is the presence of a bit in a field indicating that the network supports eRedCap UE accessibility for the cell, and wherein the absence of the bit is an indication that the network does not support eRedCap UE accessibility for the cell.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the indication is used to indicate that the network supports accessibility of reduced capability user equipment (RedCap UE). 4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the SIB1 does not include any RedCap UE Information Element (IE) indicating support for RedCap UE accessibility. 5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the indication is a first indication, and wherein the SIB1 comprises a second indication that a RedCap UE camp-on procedure cannot be used for the eRedCap UE.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the eRedCap UE supports RedCap UE features, wherein the indication is a first indication, wherein the SIB1 includes a second indication that the eRedCap UE will not use eRedCap UE Information Elements (IEs) to support the RedCap UE features.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the indication is a first indication, wherein the SIB1 broadcast includes a second indication indicating an accessibility restriction for RedCap UEs, and wherein the eRedCap UE is configured to comply with the accessibility restriction.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the indication is a first indication, wherein the SIB1 broadcast includes a second indication for disabling the eRedCap UE based on a UE receiver chain type.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the UE receiver chain type is a one-receiver chain UE type or a two-receiver chain UE type.

10. An extended reduced capability user equipment (eRedCap UE), the extended reduced capability user equipment (eRedCap UE) comprising: one or more processors; Communication interface; Radio frequency (RF) interface circuit; as well as a computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the eRedCap UE to: receiving a system information (SIB) broadcast including an information element (IE) for allowability of intra-frequency cell reselection for reduced capability user equipment (RedCap UE); and Whether to search for multiple cells on the same frequency as the current cell for intra-frequency cell reselection is determined based on the IE.

11. The eRedCap UE according to claim 10, wherein based on the IE, intra-frequency cell reselection is allowed for the RedCap UE, wherein the eRedCap UE is configured to regard the allowability of intra-frequency cell reselection for the RedCap UE as the allowability of intra-frequency cell reselection for the eRedCap UE, and wherein the eRedCap UE searches for other cells on the same frequency as the current cell.

12. The eRedCap UE of claim 10, wherein based on the IE, intra-frequency cell reselection is not allowed for the RedCap UE, and wherein the eRedCap UE considers that intra-cell reselection is not allowed for other cells on the same frequency as the current cell for the eRedCap UE. 13 . The eRedCap UE of claim 10 , wherein the IE for intra-frequency cell reselection is a first indication, and wherein the eRedCap UE receives a second indication regarding the permissibility of the intra-frequency cell reselection for the eRedCap UE.

14. An extended reduced capability user equipment (eRedCap UE), the extended reduced capability user equipment (eRedCap UE) comprising: one or more processors; Communication interface; Radio frequency (RF) interface circuit; as well as a computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the eRedCap UE to: receiving a system information (SIB) broadcast including a frequency list for inter-frequency cell reselection; and The frequency list to be searched for inter-frequency cell reselection is determined based on the SIB broadcast.

15. The eRedCap UE of claim 14, wherein the frequency list is included in an information element (IE) for supporting reduced capability user equipment (RedCap UE), and wherein the eRedCap UE considers each frequency in the frequency list as a candidate frequency for supporting the eRedCap UE, and wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the eRedCap UE to measure the frequency list for inter-frequency cell reselection.

16. The eRedCap UE of claim 14, wherein the frequency list is included in an information element for supporting an eRedCap UE, wherein the eRedCap UE considers each frequency in the frequency list as a candidate frequency for supporting the eRedCap UE, and wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the eRedCap UE to measure the frequency list for inter-frequency cell reselection. 17 . The eRedCap UE of claim 14 , wherein the eRedCap UE determines that the frequency supports eRedCap UE accessibility based on a SIB1 broadcast associated with a frequency in the frequency list.

18. A first base station, comprising: one or more processors; Communication interface; Radio frequency (RF) interface circuit; as well as a computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the first base station to: sending an indication of a first frequency supporting inter-frequency cell reselection for an eRedCap UE to a second base station, An indication of a second frequency supporting inter-frequency cell reselection for the eRedCap UE is received from the second base station.

19. The first base station according to claim 18, wherein the first base station sends the indication of the first frequency to the second base station using Xn signaling.

20. The first base station of claim 18, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the first base station to broadcast the indication of the first frequency and the indication of the second frequency.

Images