How to solve the in-device coexistence problem caused by IMD

Abstract

The apparatus may be configured to detect in-band interference, determine that intermodulation distortion caused the detected in-band interference, determine at least one interfered frequency affected by the intermodulation distortion, and transmit an indication of the at least one interfered frequency affected by the intermodulation distortion to a network. The apparatus may be configured to configure user equipment to provide an indication of the at least one interfered frequency affected by the intermodulation distortion, receive from the user equipment the indication of the at least one interfered frequency affected by the intermodulation distortion, determine a determination regarding whether a network-triggered solution resolves the intermodulation distortion for the user equipment, and transmit a message to the user equipment based at least in part on the determination.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] FIELD The exemplary and non-limiting embodiments relate generally to radio frequency interference, and more particularly to in-device coexistence issues. [Background technology]

[0002] In enhancing radio frequency performance, it is known to measure and detect in-band unwanted signals along with the desired received signal. Summary of the Invention [Means for solving the problem]

[0003] The following summary is intended to be exemplary only and is not intended to limit the scope of the claims.

[0004] According to one aspect, an apparatus includes at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least detect in-band interference, determine that intermodulation distortion caused the detected in-band interference, determine at least one interfered frequency affected by the intermodulation distortion, and transmit an indication of the at least one interfered frequency affected by the intermodulation distortion to a network.

[0005] According to one aspect, a method includes, at a user equipment, detecting in-band interference; determining that intermodulation distortion causes the detected in-band interference; determining at least one interfered frequency affected by the intermodulation distortion; and transmitting an indication of the at least one interfered frequency affected by the intermodulation distortion to a network.

[0006] According to one aspect, an apparatus includes means for detecting in-band interference, determining that intermodulation distortion caused the detected in-band interference, determining at least one interfered frequency affected by the intermodulation distortion, and transmitting an indication of the at least one interfered frequency affected by the intermodulation distortion to a network.

[0007] According to one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium includes program instructions stored on the non-transitory computer-readable medium for at least performing the following: detecting in-band interference; determining that intermodulation distortion caused the detected in-band interference; determining at least one interfered frequency affected by the intermodulation distortion; and transmitting an indication of the at least one interfered frequency affected by the intermodulation distortion to a network.

[0008] According to one aspect, an apparatus includes at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least configure a user equipment to provide an indication of at least one interfered frequency affected by intermodulation distortion; receive from the user equipment the indication of the at least one interfered frequency affected by intermodulation distortion; determine a determination regarding whether a network-triggered solution will resolve the intermodulation distortion for the user equipment; and send a message to the user equipment based at least in part on the determination.

[0009] According to one aspect, a method includes configuring, with a network, user equipment to provide an indication of at least one interfered frequency affected by intermodulation distortion; receiving from the user equipment the indication of the at least one interfered frequency affected by the intermodulation distortion; determining a determination regarding whether a network-triggered solution will resolve the intermodulation distortion for the user equipment; and transmitting a message to the user equipment based at least in part on the determination.

[0010] According to one aspect, an apparatus includes means for configuring a user equipment to provide an indication of at least one interfered frequency affected by intermodulation distortion; receiving from the user equipment the indication of the at least one interfered frequency affected by intermodulation distortion; determining a determination regarding whether a network-triggered solution will resolve the intermodulation distortion for the user equipment; and transmitting a message to the user equipment based at least in part on the determination.

[0011] According to one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium includes program instructions stored on the non-transitory computer-readable medium for at least performing the following: configuring user equipment to provide an indication of at least one interfered frequency affected by intermodulation distortion; receiving from the user equipment the indication of the at least one interfered frequency affected by intermodulation distortion; determining a determination regarding whether a network-triggered solution will resolve the intermodulation distortion for the user equipment; and transmitting a message to the user equipment based at least in part on the determination.

[0012] According to some aspects, the subject matter of the independent claims is provided. Some further aspects are defined in the dependent claims.

[0013] The foregoing aspects and other features are explained in the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of one possible, non-limiting, example system in which the example embodiments may be practiced. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 illustrates features described herein. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 illustrates features described herein. [Figure 4] 1 is a flowchart illustrating the steps described herein. [Figure 5] 1 is a flowchart illustrating the steps described herein. [Figure 6] FIG. 1 illustrates features described herein. [Figure 7] FIG. 1 illustrates features described herein. [Figure 8] FIG. 1 illustrates features described herein. [Figure 9] FIG. 1 illustrates features described herein. [Figure 10] 1 is a flowchart illustrating the steps described herein. [Figure 11] 1 is a flowchart illustrating the steps described herein. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0015] The following abbreviations that may be found in the specification and / or drawings are defined as follows:

[0016] 3GPP 3rd Generation Partnership Project 5G (5th Generation) 5GC 5G Core Network ACLR Adjacent Channel Leakage Power Ratio AMF Access and Mobility Management Functions CA Carrier Aggregation cRAN Cloud Radio Access Network CU Central Unit dB decibel dBm decibel milliwatt DU Distributed Unit eNB (or eNodeB) Evolved Node B (e.g., LTE base station) EN-DC E-UTRA-NR dual connectivity A node that provides NR user plane and control plane protocol termination for en-gNB or En-gNB UE and acts as a secondary node in the EN-DC E-UTRA Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access, i.e. LTE radio access technology gNB (or gNodeB) A base station for 5G / NR, i.e., a node that provides NR user plane and control plane protocol termination for UEs and is connected to 5GC via the NG interface. HW Hardware IDC In-Device Coexistence I / F interface IF Intermediate Frequency IIP3 Third-order input intercept point IMD Intermodulation Distortion ISM band Industrial Science and Medical band L1 Layer 1 LNA Low Noise Amplifier LTE Long Term Evolution MAC Media Access Control MME Mobility Management Entity NF Noise Figure ng or NG New Generation ng-eNB or NG-eNB New Generation eNB NR new radio N / W or NW Network OIP3 Third-order output intercept point OoB Out of Band O-RAN Open Radio Access Network PDCP Packet Data Convergence Protocol PHY physical layer RAN Radio Access Network RF radio frequency RLC Radio Link Control RRC Radio Resource Control RRH Remote Radio Head RS reference signal RSRP reference signal received power RSRQ Reference Signal Received Quality RSSI Received Signal Strength Indicator RU Wireless Unit Rx Receiver SDAP Service Data Adaptation Protocol SGW Serving Gateway SIC Self-Interference Cancellation SINR Signal to Interference and Noise Ratio SMF Session Management Facility Tx transmitter UE User Equipment (e.g., wireless, typically mobile device) UPF User Plane Function VNR Virtualized Network Functions

[0017] Referring to FIG. 1, this figure illustrates a block diagram of one possible, non-limiting example in which the examples may be practiced. Shown is a user equipment (UE) 110, a radio access network (RAN) node 170, and a network element 190. In the example of FIG. 1, the user equipment (UE) 110 is in wireless communication with a wireless network 100. The UE is a wireless device that can access the wireless network 100. The UE 110 includes one or more processors 120, one or more memories 125, and one or more transceivers 130 interconnected through one or more buses 127. Each of the one or more transceivers 130 includes a receiver Rx 132 and a transmitter Tx 133. The one or more buses 127 may be address, data, or control buses and may include any interconnection mechanism, such as a series of wires on a motherboard or integrated circuit, optical fiber, or other optical communication equipment. A "circuit" may include dedicated hardware or hardware associated with software executables thereon. The one or more transceivers 130 are connected to one or more antennas 128. The one or more memories 125 include computer program code 123. The UE 110 includes a module 140 including one or both of components 140-1 and / or 140-2, which may be implemented in many manners. The module 140 may be implemented in hardware as module 140-1, such as implemented as part of one or more processors 120. The module 140-1 may also be implemented as an integrated circuit or through other hardware, such as a programmable gate array. In another example, the module 140 may be implemented as module 140-2, which is implemented as computer program code 123 and executed by the one or more processors 120. For example, the one or more memories 125 and the computer program code 123 may be configured to cause the user equipment 110, using the one or more processors 120, to perform one or more of the operations described herein. The UE 110 communicates with the RAN node 170 via a wireless link 111 .

[0018] The RAN node 170 in this example is a base station that provides access to the wireless network 100 by wireless devices such as the UE 110. The RAN node 170 may be, for example, a base station for 5G, also known as New Radio (NR). In 5G, the RAN node 170 may be an NG-RAN node, which is defined as a gNB or ng-eNB. The gNB is a node that provides NR user plane and control plane protocol termination for the UE and is connected to the 5GC (e.g., network element 190) via an NG interface. The ng-eNB is a node that provides E-UTRA user plane and control plane protocol termination for the UE and is connected to the 5GC via an NG interface. The NG-RAN node may include multiple gNBs, which may also include a central unit (CU) (gNB-CU) 196 and distributed units (DUs) (gNB-DUs), of which DU 195 is shown. It should be noted that the DU may include a radio unit (RU) or may be coupled to and control the radio unit. The gNB-CU is a logical node that hosts the gNB's RRC, SDAP, and PDCP protocols or the en-gNB's RRC and PDCP protocols, which control the operation of one or more gNB-DUs. The gNB-CU terminates the F1 interface connected to the gNB-DU. The F1 interface is indicated by reference numeral 198, which also indicates a link between a remote element of the RAN node 170 and a centralized element of the RAN node 170, such as between the gNB-CU 196 and the gNB-DU 195. The gNB-DU is a logical node that hosts the RLC, MAC, and PHY layers of the gNB or en-gNB, and its operation is partially controlled by the gNB-CU. One gNB-CU supports one or more cells. A cell is supported by only one gNB-DU. The gNB-DU terminates the F1 interface connected to the gNB-CU.It should be noted that while the DU 195 is considered to include the transceiver 160, for example as part of an RU, some instances of this may have the transceiver 160 as part of a separate RU, for example under the control of and connected to the DU 195. The RAN node 170 may also be an eNB (Evolved NodeB) base station for LTE (Long Term Evolution), or any other suitable base station, access point, access node, or node.

[0019] The RAN node 170 includes one or more processors 152, one or more memories 155, one or more network interfaces (N / WI / F) 161, and one or more transceivers 160, interconnected through one or more buses 157. Each of the one or more transceivers 160 includes a receiver Rx 162 and a transmitter Tx 163. The one or more transceivers 160 are connected to one or more antennas 158. The one or more memories 155 include computer program code 153. The CU 196 may include the processor 152, the memory 155, and the network interface 161. Note that the DU 195 may also include its own memory / memories and processors, and / or other hardware, which are not shown.

[0020] The RAN node 170 includes a module 150 including one or both of components 150-1 and / or 150-2, which may be implemented in many ways. The module 150 may be implemented in hardware as module 150-1, such as implemented as part of one or more processors 152. The module 150-1 may also be implemented as an integrated circuit or through other hardware such as a programmable gate array. In another example, the module 150 may be implemented as module 150-2, which is implemented as computer program code 153 and executed by the one or more processors 152. For example, the one or more memories 155 and the computer program code 153 are configured to cause the RAN node 170 to perform one or more of the operations described herein using the one or more processors 152. It should be noted that the functionality of the module 150 may be distributed, such as distributed between the DU 195 and the CU 196, or may be implemented solely in the DU 195.

[0021] One or more network interfaces 161 communicate over a network, such as via links 176 and 131. Two or more gNBs 170 may communicate, for example, using link 176. Link 176 may be wired or wireless, or both, and may implement, for example, an Xn interface for 5G, an X2 interface for LTE, or other suitable interface for other standards.

[0022] The one or more buses 157 may be address, data, or control buses and may include any interconnection mechanism, such as a set of wires on a motherboard or integrated circuit, optical fiber or other optical communication equipment, wireless channels, etc. For example, the one or more transceivers 160 may be implemented as a remote radio head (RRH) 195 for LTE or a distributed unit (DU) 195 for a gNB implementation for 5G, where other elements of the RAN node 170 are perhaps in a different physical location than the RRH / DU, and the one or more buses 157 may be implemented in part, for example, as optical fiber cables or other suitable network connections for connecting other elements of the RAN node 170 (e.g., a central unit (CU), gNB-CU) to the RRH / DU 195. Reference numeral 198 also indicates those suitable network links.

[0023] Note that while the description herein indicates that a "cell" performs a function, it should be clear that the equipment forming the cell performs the function. A cell constitutes part of a base station. That is, there may be multiple cells per base station. For example, there may be three cells for a single carrier frequency and associated bandwidth, each covering one-third of a 360-degree area, such that the coverage area of ​​a single base station covers approximately an ellipse or circle. Furthermore, each cell may correspond to a single carrier, or the base station may use multiple carriers. Thus, if there are three 120-degree cells and two carriers per carrier, the base station has a total of six cells.

[0024] The wireless network 100 may include one or more network elements 190, which may include core network functions that provide connectivity to additional networks, such as telephone networks and / or data communication networks (e.g., the Internet), via one or more links 181. Such core network functions for 5G may include an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) and / or a User Plane Function (UPF) and / or a Session Management Function (SMF). Such core network functions for LTE may include an MME (Mobility Management Entity) / SGW (Serving Gateway) function. Note that these are merely example functions that may be supported by the network element 190, and both 5G and LTE functions may be supported. The RAN node 170 is coupled to the network element 190 via a link 131. The link 131 may be implemented, for example, as an NG interface for 5G or an S1 interface for LTE, or other suitable interface for other standards. Network element 190 includes one or more processors 175, one or more memories 171, and one or more network interfaces (N / WI / F) 180 interconnected through one or more buses 185. The one or more memories 171 include computer program code 173. The one or more memories 171 and the computer program code 173 are configured, using the one or more processors 175, to cause network element 190 to perform one or more operations.

[0025] The wireless network 100 may implement network virtualization, which is the process of combining hardware and software network resources and network functions into a single software-based management entity, a virtual network. Network virtualization involves platform virtualization, often combined with resource virtualization. Network virtualization is categorized as either external, combining many networks or portions of networks into virtual units, or internal, providing network-like functionality to software containers on a single system. For example, a network may be deployed in a telecloud using virtualized network functions (VNFs) running on datacenter servers, for example. For example, network core functions and / or radio access network functions (e.g., CloudRAN, O-RAN, edge cloud) may be virtualized. It should be noted that the virtualized entities resulting from network virtualization are still implemented at some level using hardware, such as processor 152 or 175 and memory 155 and 171, and that such virtualized entities produce technical effects.

[0026] It should also be noted that the operations of the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may be performed by multiple cooperating devices (e.g., cRANs).

[0027] The computer-readable memories 125, 155, and 171 may be of any type suitable for the local technology environment and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as semiconductor-based memory devices, flash memory, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory, and removable memory. The computer-readable memories 125, 155, and 171 may be means for performing storage functions. The processors 120, 152, and 175 may be of any type suitable for the local technology environment and may include, by way of non-limiting example, one or more of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), and a processor based on a multi-core processor architecture. The processors 120, 152, and 175 may be means for performing functions such as controlling the UE 110, the RAN node 170, and other functions described herein.

[0028] In general, various embodiments of user equipment 110 may include, but are not limited to, cellular telephones such as smartphones, tablets, personal digital assistants (PDAs) with wireless communication capabilities, portable computers with wireless communication capabilities, image capture devices such as digital cameras with wireless communication capabilities, gaming devices with wireless communication capabilities, music storage and playback appliances with wireless communication capabilities, Internet appliances that enable wireless Internet access and browsing, tablets with wireless communication capabilities, and portable units or terminals incorporating combinations of such functionality.

[0029] Having thus introduced a suitable, but non-limiting, technical context for the practice of exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, the exemplary embodiments will now be more particularly described.

[0030] The features described herein generally relate to receiver interference detection and correction. UE radio frequency (RF) performance, related to robustness against interference (e.g., generated due to intermodulation), is tested according to 3GPP at an unwanted signal level of -46 dBm, while the desired signal for some bands is set to approximately -91 dBm. Therefore, legacy devices cannot be expected to function properly if adjacent signal power exceeds -46 dBm within a few dB. Other 3GPP requirements seem to suggest that linearity can be expected when a signal level of -25 dBm is present at the receiver, but if the nature of such signals can result in third-order intermodulation products, the expected degradation may be higher, for example, than 60 dB.

[0031] In this disclosure, the terms “desired signal,” “desired received signal,” “used channel,” “desired frequency spectrum,” “desired spectrum,” “desired frequency,” and “desired band” are used to refer to a frequency band and / or time and / or frequency resources that a UE is configured to use for reception. These terms may be used interchangeably in this disclosure.

[0032] In this disclosure, the terms "unwanted signal," "adjacent signal," "aggressor signal," "adjacent spectrum," "adjacent frequency," "interfering frequency," "out-of-band spectrum," and "aggressor" are used to refer to signals, frequency bands, and / or time and / or frequency resources outside of a desired signal frequency spectrum that have an impact on UE reception. These terms may be used interchangeably in this disclosure.

[0033] In this disclosure, the terms "interference," "noise," and "distortion" are used to refer to the effect of unwanted signals on a desired signal. These terms may be used interchangeably in this disclosure.

[0034] In this disclosure, the term "in-band signal" may refer to any signal that is within the desired received signal frequency band, including the desired signal as well as interference and / or noise (which may be received at the antenna or may be generated as intermodulation products).

[0035] RF components such as mixers and amplifiers typically have a third-order input intercept point (IIP3) that is significantly higher than the compression point. This is reflected in 3GPP test cases, where the maximum desired input level for testing UE receiver linearity tests is approximately -25 dBm, and the unwanted signal level during intermodulation tests is -46 dBm, although the input level is, in one case, very low, at -91 dBm. Referring now to Figure 2, an example of IIP3 and 1 dB compression point is shown.

[0036] The linear response (210) is approximately IP 1dB (230) and OP 1dB The third-order response (250) may increase with a slope of 1 to approximately IIP3 (270) and OIP3 with a slope of 3. The slopes of the linear response (210) and the third-order response (250) intersect at an intercept point, IP3 (240). The compression (280) between the response (210) and the third-order response (250) is due to the increase in the IP 1dB It may occur between (230) and IIP3(270) and may be 1 dB compression.

[0037] RF front-end hardware design compromises between parameters such as linearity, gain, noise figure, and power consumption result in these requirements being obtainable with only a relatively small margin.

[0038] The UE's baseband receiver circuitry measures and detects only in-band signals. For this reason, it cannot determine whether the received in-band noise and distortion is caused by higher-order intermodulation products due to strong RF signals in the adjacent spectrum, in-band noise from co-channel and / or adjacent systems, and / or adjacent channel leakage ratio (ACLR) contributions from transmitters using the adjacent spectrum. Linear reception may not be possible in such cases, and the baseband circuitry and RF driver may not be able to determine whether the RF front-end circuitry is driven in compression, causing gain and noise figure compression, or whether the problem is caused by a strong RF signal in the adjacent spectrum that produces intermodulation distortion (IMD) products that fold directly into the desired band.

[0039] Intra-device coexistence (IDC) requirements mean that interference between -10 dBm and +10 dBm must be accommodated, assuming 15 dB to 25 dB of antenna isolation, which means that IMD products caused by such strong interference can cause desensitization (i.e., antenna / receiver desensitization due to noise, intermodulation products, gain compression, or noise figure compression) of more than 80 dB. There is no obvious way to determine whether such noise or distortion is caused by in-band noise alone or due to intermodulation products caused by strong RF power in the adjacent spectrum.

[0040] Analog tuning and RF isolation measures can be used to address RF isolation, but no intelligent metrics for tuning yet exist. Tuning adaptive antenna systems or analog tunable self-interference cancellation (SIC) HW requires precise knowledge of the root cause of the offending interference.

[0041] In an exemplary embodiment, HW modifications may be implemented / configured. A technical effect of an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure may be to enable differentiation of noise generated in the receiver itself from out-of-band (OoB) aggressors that may generate undesired signals within the receive band as a result of intermodulation products.

[0042] A wideband receiver with high linearity can be achieved by adding an attenuator or RF coupler before the normal receive chain and used in parallel with the normal receiver. The intermodulation requirements [3GPP TS38.101-1 V17.6.0(2022-06)] are measured with an interfering signal having a power level of -46 dBm. Therefore, only signals above approximately -50 dBm (e.g., the IMD threshold) need to be detected. For aggressor signals below approximately -46 dBm that may cause intermodulation, sufficient suppression should naturally occur. Therefore, because only signals above -46 dBm need to be detected, 30 to 40 dB of attenuation can be easily added and switched in some way in hardware. Therefore, a relatively high noise figure can be tolerated for such an auxiliary receive path. This can be implemented as an auxiliary RF path connected to a coupler placed directly at the antenna port. The RF coupler can be connected directly to the antenna port or to the LNA input. The same antenna may be connected to two receivers, when spatial tuning means may be used to suppress interference caused by IMD.

[0043] This may have the technical effect of enabling the system to accurately distinguish between co-channel noise generated by the LNA itself and adjacent channel noise from other systems or nearby aggressors. In this way, the out-of-band spectrum causing the noise may be measured simultaneously with the signal detected or measured in-channel. In this way, the root cause of the co-channel interference may be determined, which may in turn enable the system to select the best and / or optimal means for suppressing it. Intermodulation may be tested with a desired signal level 6 to 9 dB above the REFSENSE requirement; therefore, where good intermodulation performance is desired near a typical sensitivity threshold, potentially strong IMD interferers may be measured below -46 dBm (the IMD threshold).

[0044] Referring now to FIG. 3, a non-limiting example of a wideband linear auxiliary receiver circuit (310) connected to a normal receive chain (305) that may be used in parallel is shown. The desired signal W (315) may not be detectable by baseband if noise and interference are superimposed. The two receivers (305, 310) may be turned on simultaneously or sequentially, depending on the exact hardware implementation and system requirements. The reference signal received signal power level (RSRP) and signal quality (RSRQ) may be determined at the desired / determined channel by measurements against the reference signal. In addition, the received signal strength indicator (RSSI) may be measured as the total received signal level corresponding to all signals in the desired spectrum, including the effects of adjacent frequencies detected in the spectrum that may cause intermodulation using linear receivers (e.g., 345, 350).

[0045] The table may be formed and continuously updated with the following: RSRP, RSRQ, and / or RSSI for the desired channel and interference level and frequency, all as a function of spatial setting or any other cancellation setting, adaptive filters, filter banks, and / or other linearization means.

[0046] In the schematic diagram of Figure 3, a wideband linear auxiliary receiver circuit (310) is shown along with a conventional receiver (305). A coupler (320) may be located as shown, or between the filter (325) and the antenna (330). Because noise figure (NF) may not be critical, a coupling loss of 20 dB to 30 bB may be acceptable, as indicated above. An additional coupler may not be necessary, as it is common to use one for transmit envelope tracking, predistortion, and / or other transmit closed-loop tuning or control means.

[0047] A tunable filter (335) may typically be used before the ADC (340) or other baseband input circuitry and may be implemented as a bandpass or lowpass filter, depending on the exact RF architecture: low IF, zero IF, or direct RF sampling of the RF carrier frequency. Some of the receive selectivity may typically be implemented in this filter, which may also mean that the filter may be adaptable to the various bandwidths the system needs to support. In addition, the filter may need to be tuned to a bandwidth large enough to enable the features described above.

[0048] In one example, if the ADC and baseband (340) used in the auxiliary linear receiver (310) targets the FR2 band, a 400 MHz or 800 MHz bandwidth could be supported. In such a case, the entire spectrum covering 3GPP frequency bands B7, B38, B40, and B41, as well as the 2.4 GHz ISM band, may be monitored.

[0049] The desired signal W (315) may not be detectable by baseband. "UW" (345) refers to a strong undesired signal that results in a strong IMD3 product. In the case of the auxiliary receiver (310), the IMD3 product (350) may not be detectable, and only the two undesired signals (345) may be detectable due to the high noise figure (30 dB in this example) introduced by the high coupling loss. While two-tone intermodulation and IIP3 are shown with respect to FIG. 2, this is not limiting; any number of tones, including but not limited to one tone (IMD1), IMD3, ...IMDn, can potentially cause similar problems. For practical systems, it is expected that fourth or fifth order may be the highest order of intermodulation products that may cause problems.

[0050] FIG. 4 shows a high-level flowchart illustrating an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. At 405, it can be detected whether reception may be affected by nonlinear issues. If RSRP and / or RSSI are relatively high, but the signal quality RSRQ and / or signal-to-interference-and-noise ratio (SINR) is poor / low, this can be considered a clear indication that linearity and potentially IMD issues may exist. This assessment can depend on the UE's receiver implementation and its sensitivity to noise (e.g., receiver characteristics), and therefore can be based on thresholds defined internally in / by the UE. The threshold for the received desired signal is denoted as "Th-wanted." The threshold for the IMD level is denoted as "Th-imd." Note that the labels for these thresholds are not limiting.

[0051] At 410, a wideband linear receiver is enabled and used in parallel with the normal receiving process and can be used to detect and measure spectrum outside of the channel being used.

[0052] At 415, out-of-band signal levels may be detected to determine whether they are strong enough to cause intermodulation problems. This may be done based on an "IMD threshold" parameter / value. If not, the source contributing to the low SINR / RSRQ may be co-channel noise from the network or adjacent power from nearby transmitters or "in-device" transmitters using the ISM band. In other words, an interfering signal below the IMD threshold may indicate that the interfering signal level is relatively low and therefore there is no or only a slight linearity problem. Therefore, the only solution may be to facilitate a handover to different resources in the time and / or frequency domain at 420. This may be done by sending an "affectedCarrierFreqList" parameter [36.331, Chapter 5.6.9.3] to the NW, which may or may not respond by handing over the UE to different resources in the time or frequency domain, or some other possible solution.

[0053] At 425, combinations of spectral components / signals that can cause in-band interference can be calculated. Based on these calculated combinations, updates can be applied to a newly defined parameter, IMDaffectedCarrierFreqList. This parameter can include a list of combinations of interfering signals and victim frequencies that can produce intermodulation products that result in poor co-channel performance. For example, IMDaffectedCarrierFreqList can be configured to indicate resources that specifically contribute to IMD issues, and thus IMDaffectedCarrierFreqList can be at least partially different from affectedCarrierFreqList. This means that carriers affected by IMD may differ from normally affected carriers and require different mitigation measures. The IMDaffectedCarrierFreqList parameter can be transmitted to the NW. Messages such as the InDeviceCoexIndication message (introduced in E-UTRAN and potentially introduced in NR (r18)) can be modified to include the IMDaffectedCarrierFreqList parameter.

[0054] An example of the proposed format of the new parameter, IMDaffectedCarrierFreqList, is given below: Note that the number of frequencies may be more than two in order to cover higher order intermodulation products.

[0055] IMDaffectedCarrierFreqList= Used_bandwidth(Victim carrier frequency 1 (victim), IMD11 frequency, IMD21 frequency)....(Victim carrier frequency N (victim), IMD1N frequency, IMD2N frequency) Frequency resolution for reported frequencies = Used_bandwidth The frequency can be any part of the spectrum, including the ISM band, and the interfered frequency can also be in the ISM band. The key is that moving either the desired or any of the interferer frequencies can have the technical effect of solving the IMD problem.

[0056] At 430, for example, in the NW, it may be determined whether the aggressor spectral components causing in-band interference are at least partially inside the 3GPP licensed spectrum. If they are inside the 3GPP licensed spectrum, at 435, the network may evaluate whether a possible solution can be provided considering both the aggressor and the desired signal. In an exemplary embodiment, several different possible solutions may be determined by the network in response to the IMDaffectedCarrierFreqList (e.g., moving one of the carriers and / or other possible responses / solutions). If a solution from the network is determined to be possible, at 440, the NW may be able to resolve the problem by, for example, switching the UE's active BWP to another intra-frequency BWP in the same cell, reconfiguring the UE's BWP (e.g., the UE may be instructed to switch on the BWP), or triggering an inter-frequency cell handover (e.g., moving the desired signal by handover), or one of the aggressors may be moved by the network. The NW may initiate the movement of the aggressor or aggressor signal itself. For example, the NW may move the aggressor or aggressor signal to another, at least partially different, carrier or frequency band. Alternatively, the NW may move the aggressor or aggressor signal per the request of the UE. Moving the aggressor may include removing the aggressor or aggressor signal from its operating carrier or frequency band. An example of removal is switching off the aggressor or aggressor signal. In an exemplary embodiment in which carrier aggregation is used, to solve the problem, the NW may decide to trigger one or more of the following: the SCell of the UE may be deactivated, the BWP of the SCell may be changed, the SCell may be changed, and / or the SCell may be removed. In this way, the network may solve the problem.If it is determined that a solution from the network is not possible, then at 455 the network may notify the UE that a NW solution is not available.

[0057] If the aggressor spectral component causing the in-band interference is not inside the 3GPP licensed spectrum (i.e., not under the control of the network), the network may evaluate 445 whether to move the desired signal by handover to resolve the problem. At 455, the NW may notify the UE that a solution is not possible by the network, for example, in a new RRCReconfiguration message. In this case, at 460, the UE may tune its RF front end to resolve the problem. For example, the "problem" may be the result of IMD, such as noise, interference, and / or desense. RF front end tuning may be initiated to resolve the problem if the UE is capable of doing so, or the UE application processor may request that the aggressor be moved (e.g., move the Wi-Fi channel).

[0058] At 450, if handover of the desired signal is possible, handover may be triggered by the network.

[0059] Some or all of the steps of FIG. 4 may be repeated as necessary.

[0060] The power levels defined above may be UE specific and should not be interpreted as if the same absolute levels are the same for all UEs, as UE designs may perform better or worse than suggested above. This relates to Th-wanted, Th-imd, and IMD thresholds. In an exemplary embodiment, these parameters may be band and / or frequency dependent.

[0061] In an exemplary embodiment, a UE may include the proposed HW modifications / configurations, which may have the technical effect of enabling the UE to detect unwanted frequencies, which may generate noise in the UE's receiver in the form of intermodulation products with other unwanted signals and / or desired received signals.

[0062] In an exemplary embodiment, the UE may generate a list of problematic frequencies and provide this information to the network to enable the NW to resolve the problem by filtering out unwanted signals (if it is under 3GPP control) and / or shifting the frequency of the desired signal (using intra-band or inter-band HO).

[0063] In an exemplary embodiment, new signaling may be introduced for information exchange between the UE and the network node.

[0064] Referring now to FIG. 5, an example of RRC communication is shown, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. At 515, the UE (505) may be configured with HW including, but not limited to, a linear WB receiver added in parallel to the "normal" receiver described above (i.e., a receiver sufficient to receive the intended 3GPP band), or may be programmed to perform processing to achieve the same results as the parallel receiver described. At 520, the UE (505) may have further defined thresholds for the received signal, acceptable IMD, and / or other necessary thresholds. These thresholds may be used for evaluation of problematic noise caused by IMD at the receiver. In an exemplary embodiment, the thresholds may be UE-specific and may depend on the implementation of the UE's receiver. In an exemplary embodiment, the thresholds may vary based on the carrier frequency of the desired signal. In an exemplary embodiment, the thresholds may be dynamically changed based on radio channel conditions observed by the UE.

[0065] At 525, the UE 505 may be in an RRC_CONNECTED state with a network node (e.g., gNB) 510 and may have received an RRC configuration at 530. The network node may be configured to provide an IDC configuration, which may be in addition to the Rel-18 5G-NR RRC configuration.

[0066] At 535, the UE (505) may determine a list of problematic frequencies in terms of noise generated in the receive band due to IMD.

[0067] At 540, an RRC message, InDeviceCoexIndication, may be added (e.g., in 5G-NR) with a parameter called, by way of example, IMDaffectedCarrierFreqList. In an exemplary embodiment, the UE may use this new message and parameter to notify the network node about the problematic frequencies. This parameter may be at least partially different from affectedCarrierFreqList. IMDaffectedCarrierFreqList may allow the gNB to determine a different solution than affectedCarrierFreqList.

[0068] Two alternative cases 545 and 560, shown by dashed lines in FIG. 5, may occur. In the first case (545), the network (510) may be able to resolve the problem, for example, by selecting another cell with a different carrier frequency, may prepare a target cell with a different frequency (550), or may send an HO command to the UE, for example, as part of an RRCReconfiguration message with synchronization (555). Additionally or alternatively, the problem may be resolved by switching the UE's active BWP to another intra-frequency BWP in the same cell, reconfiguring the UE's BWP, deactivating the UE's SCell, changing the SCell's BWP, changing the SCell's SCell, and / or removing the SCell. Additionally or alternatively, if the out-of-band aggressor is from a 3GPP application, the NW may be able to resolve the IDC problem by removing the aggressor (not shown in FIG. 5). In an exemplary embodiment, the NW may choose a solution from multiple available solutions in light of the received IMDaffectedCarrierFreqList. One solution or a combination of solutions may be selected.

[0069] In the second case (560), the network node (510) may not succeed in resolving the problem by removing the aggressor or finding a suitable target cell for HO and may notify the UE about the inability to resolve the problem (565). In an exemplary embodiment, the NW may notify the UE with an RRCReconfiguration message with a new flag added or a newly introduced message for the purpose. In an exemplary embodiment, some UEs may be able to (at least partially) resolve the problem on their own. If the UE has this capability, the UE may perform its own solution (e.g., RF tuning) (570), which may improve performance but not completely eliminate the problem.

[0070] A technical effect of an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure may be that the IMD3 products are reduced by 20 dB, and in that case the IIP3 point increases by 10 dB, as shown in FIG. 2. For practical two-tone intermodulation performance over a large dynamic range, the slope may change, becoming higher or lower, as higher order intermodulation products may begin to dominate and become stronger than third order intermodulation products. Different RF hardware embodiments that may be used to support the signaling and system aspects described above are described below. Many further different hardware embodiments may be used to support this, and the ideas described here are not limited to the RF HW embodiments listed below.

[0071] Referring now to Figure 6, an alternative hardware embodiment to Figure 3 is shown. In the example of Figure 6, the coupler (610) may be located directly at the antenna port (620). In an exemplary embodiment, the auxiliary receive path (630) may be internal to the system. In an exemplary embodiment, the auxiliary receive path (630) may also be a 5G mm wave path that natively supports a larger bandwidth and may therefore be suitable since a larger bandwidth can be measured in FR1, potentially covering several 3GPP bands.

[0072] Referring now to Figure 7, a hardware embodiment similar to that of Figure 6 is shown, with additional information included. For simplicity, overlapping features will not be described again. Using the numbers shown in Figure 7 (710: IP3: +26 dBm, Gain: -14 dB, NF: 15; 720: IP3: +6 dBm, Gain: 12 dB, NF: 1.5; 730: IP3: +6 dBm, Gain: 12 dB, NF: 1.5; 740: IP3: +26 dBm, Gain: -14 dB, NF: 15), the cascaded IIP3 for the AUX path (310) may be calculated to be 35 dB dBm and NF = 36 dB, while the IIP3 of the normal path (305) may be calculated to be 5.4 dBm and NF = 6.3.

[0073] Referring now to FIG. 8 , an example of programmable linearity obtained by switching an attenuator (810) into the chain instead of a low-noise amplifier (LNA) (820) is shown. When the LNA (820) is turned on, the performance of the cascaded connection may be, for example, IIP3=6.3 dBm and noise figure=6.3. For the LNA (820), the gain may be 12 dBm and the NF may be 1.5. When the attenuator (810) is switched in, the performance of the cascaded connection may be, for example, IIP3=36 dBm and noise figure=46 dB. A technical effect of this exemplary embodiment may be that the desired signal and the unwanted signal can only be measured sequentially, not simultaneously. This solution may result in a relatively high noise figure compared to some other solutions.

[0074] 9, another example of cascaded performance is shown. In this example, the resulting cascaded performance for the RF FE may result in NF varying from 2.3 dB to 7.3 dB and IIP3 varying from -6.4 dBm to +5.4 dBm. Feedback receivers, which are inherent in all RF front ends and are typically used in various closed-loop control systems, primarily for transmit circuits, may be used for the purposes described herein.

[0075] A technical effect of the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may be that up to three or more solutions may be used to help mitigate an interference problem, rather than just one.

[0076] 10 illustrates potential steps of an example method 1000. The example method 1000 may include detecting in-band interference 1010, determining that intermodulation distortion caused the detected in-band interference 1020, determining at least one interfered frequency affected by the intermodulation distortion 1030, and transmitting an indication of the at least one interfered frequency affected by the intermodulation distortion to a network 1040. The example method 1000 may be performed, for example, in user equipment.

[0077] 11 shows potential steps of an example method 1100. The example method 1100 may include configuring a user equipment to provide an indication of at least one interfered frequency affected by the intermodulation distortion 1110, receiving from the user equipment the indication of the at least one interfered frequency affected by the intermodulation distortion 1120, determining a decision regarding whether a network-triggered solution will resolve the intermodulation distortion for the user equipment 1130, and transmitting a message to the user equipment based at least in part on the determination 1140. The example method 1100 may be performed in a network node such as, for example, a base station, an eNB, and / or a gNB.

[0078] According to one exemplary embodiment, an apparatus may include at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least detect in-band interference, determine that intermodulation distortion caused the detected in-band interference, determine at least one interfered frequency affected by the intermodulation distortion, and transmit an indication of the at least one interfered frequency affected by the intermodulation distortion to a network.

[0079] Detecting in-band interference may include an example apparatus being configured to determine that at least one of a reference signal received power or a received signal strength indicator exceeds a first threshold and determine that at least one of a reference signal received quality or a signal-to-interference-and-noise ratio is less than a second threshold.

[0080] The example device may be further configured to determine at least one of the first threshold or the second threshold based on a characteristic of the device.

[0081] Determining that intermodulation distortion caused the detected in-band interference may include the exemplary apparatus being further configured to determine that the level of the intermodulation distortion exceeds a third threshold.

[0082] An indication of at least one interfered frequency affected by intermodulation distortion may be transmitted as part of an intra-device coexistence indication message.

[0083] The indication of the at least one interfered frequency affected by the intermodulation distortion may include a carrier frequency list parameter affected by the intermodulation distortion.

[0084] The exemplary apparatus may be further configured to determine at least one combination of signals that causes intermodulation distortion, wherein the at least one combination of signals includes at least one of at least one desired signal or at least one aggressor signal, and transmit an indication of the at least one combination of signals to a network.

[0085] At least one of the at least one desired signal or the at least one aggressor signal may include at least a portion of an industrial, scientific, and medical band.

[0086] The exemplary apparatus may be further configured to receive a message from the network, where the message may include one of an indication that the intra-device coexistence problem is not resolved in the network, an indication to switch active bandwidth portions, a reconfiguration for the active bandwidth portions, a reconfiguration for the serving cell, or a handover configuration.

[0087] The message may include a radio resource control reconfiguration message.

[0088] The exemplary apparatus may be further configured to perform radio frequency front-end tuning in response to receiving a message including an indication that a coexistence problem is not resolved in the network.

[0089] The detected in-band interference may further include at least one of in-band noise or noise that is a result of intermodulation products from at least one out-of-band interference source.

[0090] According to one aspect, an exemplary method may be provided that includes, at a user equipment, detecting in-band interference; determining that intermodulation distortion causes the detected in-band interference; determining at least one interfered frequency affected by the intermodulation distortion; and transmitting an indication of the at least one interfered frequency affected by the intermodulation distortion to a network.

[0091] Detecting in-band interference may include determining that at least one of a reference signal received power or a received signal strength indicator exceeds a first threshold, and determining that at least one of a reference signal received quality or a signal-to-interference-and-noise ratio is less than a second threshold.

[0092] The example method may further include determining at least one of the first threshold or the second threshold based on a characteristic of the user equipment.

[0093] Determining that intermodulation distortion caused the detected in-band interference may include determining that the level of the intermodulation distortion exceeds a third threshold.

[0094] An indication of at least one interfered frequency affected by intermodulation distortion may be transmitted as part of an intra-device coexistence indication message.

[0095] The indication of the at least one interfered frequency affected by the intermodulation distortion may include a carrier frequency list parameter affected by the intermodulation distortion.

[0096] The exemplary method may further include determining at least one combination of signals that causes intermodulation distortion, wherein the at least one combination of signals includes at least one of at least one desired signal or at least one aggressor signal, and transmitting an indication of the at least one combination of signals to the network.

[0097] At least one of the at least one desired signal or the at least one aggressor signal may include at least a portion of an industrial, scientific, and medical band.

[0098] The exemplary method may further include receiving a message from the network, where the message may include one of an indication that the intra-device coexistence problem is not resolved in the network, an indication to switch active bandwidth portions, a reconfiguration for the active bandwidth portions, a reconfiguration for the serving cell, or a handover configuration.

[0099] The message may include a radio resource control reconfiguration message.

[0100] The example method may further include performing radio frequency front-end tuning in response to receiving a message including an indication that the coexistence problem is not resolved in the network.

[0101] The detected in-band interference may further include at least one of in-band noise or noise that is a result of intermodulation products from at least one out-of-band interference source.

[0102] According to one exemplary embodiment, an apparatus may include, at a user equipment, circuitry configured to detect in-band interference; circuitry configured to determine that intermodulation distortion caused the detected in-band interference; circuitry configured to determine at least one interfered frequency affected by the intermodulation distortion; and circuitry configured to transmit an indication of the at least one interfered frequency affected by the intermodulation distortion to a network.

[0103] According to one exemplary embodiment, an apparatus may include a processing circuit and a memory circuit containing computer program code, the memory circuit and the computer program code configured to enable, using the processing circuit, the apparatus to detect in-band interference, determine that intermodulation distortion caused the detected in-band interference, determine at least one interfered frequency affected by the intermodulation distortion, and transmit an indication of the at least one interfered frequency affected by the intermodulation distortion to a network.

[0104] As used in this application, the term “circuitry” may refer to one or more or all of the following: (a) hardware-only circuit implementations (such as implementations with only analog and / or digital circuitry), and (b) combinations of hardware circuitry and software, such as (where applicable): (i) combinations of analog and / or digital hardware circuitry with software / firmware, and (ii) any portion of a hardware processor (including a digital signal processor) with software, software, and memory that work together to cause a device such as a cell phone or server to perform various functions, and (c) hardware circuits and / or processors, such as microprocessors or portions of microprocessors, that require software (e.g., firmware) for operation but where the software is not necessary for operation, the definition of circuitry applies to all uses of the term in this application, including in any claims. As a further example, as used herein, the term circuitry also encompasses implementations of merely a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors), or portions of a hardware circuit or processor, and its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware. The term circuit also encompasses, for example, and where applicable to particular claim elements, a baseband or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device, or a similar integrated circuit in a server, cellular network device, or other computing or network device.

[0105] According to one exemplary embodiment, an apparatus may include means for detecting in-band interference, determining that intermodulation distortion caused the detected in-band interference, determining at least one interfered frequency affected by the intermodulation distortion, and transmitting an indication of the at least one interfered frequency affected by the intermodulation distortion to a network.

[0106] The means configured to detect in-band interference may include means configured to determine that at least one of a reference signal received power or a received signal strength indicator exceeds a first threshold, and determine that at least one of a reference signal received quality or a signal to interference and noise ratio is less than a second threshold.

[0107] The means may be further configured to perform determining at least one of the first threshold or the second threshold based on a characteristic of the device.

[0108] The means configured to determine that intermodulation distortion causes the detected in-band interference may include means configured to determine that a level of the intermodulation distortion exceeds a third threshold.

[0109] An indication of at least one interfered frequency affected by intermodulation distortion may be transmitted as part of an intra-device coexistence indication message.

[0110] The indication of the at least one interfered frequency affected by the intermodulation distortion may include a carrier frequency list parameter affected by the intermodulation distortion.

[0111] The means may be further configured to determine at least one combination of signals that causes intermodulation distortion, where the at least one combination of signals may include at least one of at least one desired signal or at least one aggressor signal, and to transmit an indication of the at least one combination of signals to the network.

[0112] At least one of the at least one desired signal or the at least one aggressor signal may include at least a portion of an industrial, scientific, and medical band.

[0113] The means may be further configured to receive a message from the network, and the message may include one of an indication that the intra-device coexistence problem is not resolved in the network, an indication to switch the active bandwidth portion, a reconfiguration for the active bandwidth portion, a reconfiguration for the serving cell, or a handover configuration.

[0114] The message may include a radio resource control reconfiguration message.

[0115] The means may be further configured to perform radio frequency front-end tuning in response to receiving a message including an indication that a coexistence problem is not resolved in the network.

[0116] The detected in-band interference may further include at least one of in-band noise or noise that is a result of intermodulation products from at least one out-of-band interference source.

[0117] A processor, memory, and / or exemplary algorithms (which may be encoded as instructions, programs, or code) may be provided as exemplary means for providing or causing the performance of operations.

[0118] According to one exemplary embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readable medium includes instructions stored on the non-transitory computer-readable medium that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to detect in-band interference, determine that intermodulation distortion caused the detected in-band interference, determine at least one interfered frequency affected by the intermodulation distortion, and transmit an indication of the at least one interfered frequency affected by the intermodulation distortion to a network.

[0119] According to another exemplary embodiment, a machine-readable non-transitory program storage device may be provided that tangibly embodies instructions executable by the machine to perform operations including detecting in-band interference, determining that intermodulation distortion caused the detected in-band interference, determining at least one interfered frequency affected by the intermodulation distortion, and transmitting an indication of the at least one interfered frequency affected by the intermodulation distortion to a network.

[0120] According to another exemplary embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readable medium includes program instructions stored on the non-transitory computer-readable medium for at least performing the following: detecting in-band interference; determining that intermodulation distortion caused the detected in-band interference; determining at least one interfered frequency affected by the intermodulation distortion; and transmitting an indication of the at least one interfered frequency affected by the intermodulation distortion to a network.

[0121] According to another exemplary embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readable medium includes instructions that, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to at least detect in-band interference, determine that intermodulation distortion caused the detected in-band interference, determine at least one interfered frequency affected by the intermodulation distortion, and transmit an indication of the at least one interfered frequency affected by the intermodulation distortion to a network.

[0122] The computer-implemented system includes at least one processor and at least one non-transitory memory that stores instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the system to at least detect in-band interference, determine that intermodulation distortion caused the detected in-band interference, determine at least one interfered frequency affected by the intermodulation distortion, and transmit an indication of the at least one interfered frequency affected by the intermodulation distortion to a network.

[0123] The computer-implemented system includes means for detecting in-band interference, means for determining that intermodulation distortion caused the detected in-band interference, means for determining at least one interfered frequency affected by the intermodulation distortion, and means for transmitting an indication of the at least one interfered frequency affected by the intermodulation distortion to a network.

[0124] According to one exemplary embodiment, an apparatus may include at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least configure a user equipment to provide an indication of at least one interfered frequency affected by intermodulation distortion; receive from the user equipment the indication of the at least one interfered frequency affected by intermodulation distortion; determine a determination regarding whether a network-triggered solution will resolve the intermodulation distortion for the user equipment; and send a message to the user equipment based at least in part on the determination.

[0125] The message may include at least one of an indication that the intra-device coexistence problem is not resolved by a network-triggered solution, an indication to switch the active bandwidth portion of the user equipment, a reconfiguration of the active bandwidth portion of the user equipment, a reconfiguration of the serving cell of the user equipment, or a handover configuration for the user equipment.

[0126] The exemplary apparatus may be further configured to perform a handover of the user equipment from the source serving cell to the target cell.

[0127] The exemplary apparatus may be further configured to receive an indication from the user equipment of at least one combination of signals that caused the intermodulation distortion, where the at least one combination of signals may include at least one of at least one desired signal or at least one aggressor signal.

[0128] The exemplary apparatus may be further configured to determine that at least one aggressor signal may be within the licensed spectrum.

[0129] The exemplary apparatus may be further configured to determine a network-triggered solution to resolve the intermodulation distortion for the user equipment, and the network-triggered solution may include at least one of handing over the user equipment to another cell, switching an active bandwidth portion of the user equipment, reconfiguring an active bandwidth portion of the user equipment, reconfiguring a serving cell for the user equipment, or moving at least one aggressor.

[0130] The exemplary apparatus may be further configured to trigger at least one of a handover of the user equipment to another cell, a switch of the active bandwidth portion of the user equipment, a reconfiguration of the active bandwidth portion of the user equipment, a reconfiguration of the serving cell of the user equipment, or a movement of at least one aggressor.

[0131] The exemplary apparatus may be further configured to determine that the at least one aggressor signal is outside the licensed spectrum.

[0132] The exemplary apparatus may be further configured to determine a network-triggered solution to resolve the intermodulation distortion for the user equipment, and the network-triggered solution may include at least one of handing over the user equipment to another cell, switching an active bandwidth portion of the user equipment, reconfiguring an active bandwidth portion of the user equipment, or reconfiguring a serving cell for the user equipment.

[0133] The exemplary apparatus may be further configured to trigger at least one of a handover of the user equipment to another cell, a switch of the active bandwidth portion of the user equipment, a reconfiguration of the active bandwidth portion of the user equipment, or a reconfiguration of the serving cell of the user equipment.

[0134] The exemplary apparatus may be further configured to determine that the network-triggered solution does not resolve the intermodulation distortion for the user equipment, and the message may include an indication that the in-device coexistence problem is not resolved for the user equipment.

[0135] The message may include a radio resource control reconfiguration message.

[0136] According to one aspect, an exemplary method may be provided that includes configuring, with a network, user equipment to provide an indication of at least one interfered frequency affected by intermodulation distortion; receiving from the user equipment the indication of the at least one interfered frequency affected by the intermodulation distortion; determining a determination regarding whether a network-triggered solution will resolve the intermodulation distortion for the user equipment; and transmitting a message to the user equipment based at least in part on the determination.

[0137] The message may include at least one of an indication that the intra-device coexistence problem is not resolved by a network-triggered solution, an indication to switch the active bandwidth portion of the user equipment, a reconfiguration of the active bandwidth portion of the user equipment, a reconfiguration of the serving cell of the user equipment, or a handover configuration for the user equipment.

[0138] The example method may further include performing a handover of the user equipment from the source serving cell to the target cell.

[0139] The exemplary method further includes receiving an indication from the user equipment of at least one combination of signals that caused the intermodulation distortion, where the at least one combination of signals may include at least one of at least one desired signal or at least one aggressor signal.

[0140] The example method may further include determining that at least one aggressor signal may be within the licensed spectrum.

[0141] The exemplary method may further include determining a network-triggered solution to resolve the intermodulation distortion for the user equipment, and the network-triggered solution may include at least one of handing over the user equipment to another cell, switching an active bandwidth portion of the user equipment, reconfiguring an active bandwidth portion of the user equipment, reconfiguring a serving cell for the user equipment, or moving at least one aggressor.

[0142] The exemplary method may further include triggering at least one of a handover of the user equipment to another cell, a switch of an active bandwidth portion of the user equipment, a reconfiguration of an active bandwidth portion of the user equipment, a reconfiguration of a serving cell of the user equipment, or a movement of at least one aggressor.

[0143] The example method may further include determining that the at least one aggressor signal may be outside the licensed spectrum.

[0144] The exemplary method may further include determining a network-triggered solution to resolve the intermodulation distortion for the user equipment, and the network-triggered solution may include at least one of handing over the user equipment to another cell, switching an active bandwidth portion of the user equipment, reconfiguring an active bandwidth portion of the user equipment, or reconfiguring a serving cell for the user equipment.

[0145] The exemplary method may further include triggering at least one of a handover of the user equipment to another cell, a switch of the active bandwidth portion of the user equipment, a reconfiguration of the active bandwidth portion of the user equipment, or a reconfiguration of the serving cell of the user equipment.

[0146] The example method may further include determining that the network-triggered solution does not resolve the intermodulation distortion for the user equipment, and the message may include an indication that the in-device coexistence problem is not resolved for the user equipment.

[0147] The message may include a radio resource control reconfiguration message.

[0148] According to one exemplary embodiment, an apparatus may include circuitry configured to configure user equipment to provide, with a network, an indication of at least one interfered frequency affected by the intermodulation distortion; circuitry configured to receive from the user equipment the indication of the at least one interfered frequency affected by the intermodulation distortion; circuitry configured to determine a determination regarding whether a network-triggered solution will resolve the intermodulation distortion for the user equipment; and circuitry configured to send a message to the user equipment based at least in part on the determination.

[0149] According to one exemplary embodiment, an apparatus may include a processing circuit and a memory circuit containing computer program code, the memory circuit and the computer program code configured to enable, using the processing circuit, the apparatus to configure user equipment to provide an indication of at least one interfered frequency affected by intermodulation distortion, receive from the user equipment the indication of the at least one interfered frequency affected by intermodulation distortion, determine a decision regarding whether a network trigger solution resolves the intermodulation distortion for the user equipment, and send a message to the user equipment based at least in part on the decision.

[0150] According to one exemplary embodiment, an apparatus may include means for configuring user equipment to provide an indication of at least one interfered frequency affected by the intermodulation distortion; receiving from the user equipment the indication of the at least one interfered frequency affected by the intermodulation distortion; determining a determination regarding whether a network-triggered solution resolves the intermodulation distortion for the user equipment; and sending a message to the user equipment based at least in part on the determination.

[0151] The message may include at least one of an indication that the intra-device coexistence problem is not resolved with a network-triggered solution, an indication to switch the active bandwidth portion of the user equipment, a reconfiguration of the active bandwidth portion of the user equipment, a reconfiguration of the serving cell of the user equipment, or a handover configuration for the user equipment.

[0152] The means may be further configured to perform a handover of the user equipment from the source serving cell to the target cell.

[0153] The means may be further configured to perform receiving an indication from the user equipment of at least one combination of signals that causes intermodulation distortion, wherein the at least one combination of signals may include at least one of at least one desired signal or at least one aggressor signal.

[0154] The means may be further configured to perform determining that at least one aggressor signal may be within the licensed spectrum.

[0155] The means may be further configured to perform determining a network-triggered solution to resolve the intermodulation distortion for the user equipment, and the network-triggered solution may include at least one of handing over the user equipment to another cell, switching an active bandwidth portion of the user equipment, reconfiguring an active bandwidth portion of the user equipment, reconfiguring a serving cell for the user equipment, or moving at least one aggressor.

[0156] The means may be further configured to trigger at least one of a handover of the user equipment to another cell, a switching of an active bandwidth portion of the user equipment, a reconfiguration of an active bandwidth portion of the user equipment, a reconfiguration of a serving cell of the user equipment, or a movement of at least one aggressor.

[0157] The means may be further configured to perform determining that the at least one aggressor signal may be outside the licensed spectrum.

[0158] The means may be further configured to perform determining a network-triggered solution to resolve the intermodulation distortion for the user equipment, and the network-triggered solution may include at least one of handing over the user equipment to another cell, switching an active bandwidth portion of the user equipment, reconfiguring an active bandwidth portion of the user equipment, or reconfiguring a serving cell for the user equipment.

[0159] The means may be further configured to trigger at least one of a handover of the user equipment to another cell, a switching of an active bandwidth portion of the user equipment, a reconfiguration of an active bandwidth portion of the user equipment, or a reconfiguration of a serving cell of the user equipment.

[0160] The means may be further configured to perform determining that a network-triggered solution does not resolve the intermodulation distortion for the user equipment, and the message may include an indication that the in-device coexistence problem is not resolved for the user equipment.

[0161] The message may include a radio resource control reconfiguration message.

[0162] According to one exemplary embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readable medium includes instructions stored on the non-transitory computer-readable medium that, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to configure user equipment to provide an indication of at least one interfered frequency affected by intermodulation distortion; receive from the user equipment the indication of the at least one interfered frequency affected by intermodulation distortion; determine a determination regarding whether a network-triggered solution will resolve the intermodulation distortion for the user equipment; and transmit a message to the user equipment based at least in part on the determination.

[0163] According to another example embodiment, a machine-readable non-transitory program storage device tangibly embodying instructions executable by the machine to perform operations may be provided, the operations including configuring user equipment to provide an indication of at least one interfered frequency affected by intermodulation distortion; receiving from the user equipment the indication of the at least one interfered frequency affected by intermodulation distortion; determining a determination regarding whether a network-triggered solution will resolve the intermodulation distortion for the user equipment; and transmitting a message to the user equipment based at least in part on the determination.

[0164] According to another example embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readable medium includes instructions that, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to at least configure user equipment to provide an indication of at least one interfered frequency affected by intermodulation distortion; receive from the user equipment the indication of the at least one interfered frequency affected by intermodulation distortion; determine a determination regarding whether a network-triggered solution will resolve the intermodulation distortion for the user equipment; and send a message to the user equipment based at least in part on the determination.

[0165] According to another example embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readable medium includes program instructions stored on the non-transitory computer-readable medium for at least performing the following: configuring user equipment to provide an indication of at least one interfered frequency affected by intermodulation distortion; receiving from the user equipment the indication of the at least one interfered frequency affected by intermodulation distortion; determining a determination regarding whether a network-triggered solution will resolve the intermodulation distortion for the user equipment; and transmitting a message to the user equipment based at least in part on the determination.

[0166] The computer-implemented system includes at least one processor and at least one non-transitory memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the system to at least: configure user equipment to provide an indication of at least one interfered frequency affected by intermodulation distortion; receive from the user equipment the indication of the at least one interfered frequency affected by intermodulation distortion; determine a determination regarding whether a network-triggered solution will resolve the intermodulation distortion for the user equipment; and send a message to the user equipment based at least in part on the determination.

[0167] The computer-implemented system includes means for configuring user equipment to provide an indication of at least one interfered frequency affected by intermodulation distortion; means for receiving from the user equipment the indication of the at least one interfered frequency affected by intermodulation distortion; means for determining a decision as to whether a network-triggered solution will resolve the intermodulation distortion for the user equipment; and means for sending a message to the user equipment based at least in part on the decision.

[0168] The term "non-transitory" as used herein is not a limitation on data storage permanence (eg, RAM vs. ROM), but rather a limitation on the medium itself (ie, tangible, not a signal).

[0169] It should be understood that the foregoing description is merely illustrative. Various alternatives and modifications may be devised by those skilled in the art. For example, the features recited in the various dependent claims may be combined with each other in any suitable combination. In addition, features from different embodiments described above may be selectively combined to form new embodiments. Accordingly, the description is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications, and variations that fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. 1. An apparatus comprising: at least one processor; at least one memory, which when executed by at least one processor, provides the apparatus with at least: Detecting in-band interference; determining that intermodulation distortion caused the detected in-band interference; determining at least one interfered frequency affected by intermodulation distortion; transmitting to the network an indication of at least one interfered frequency affected by intermodulation distortion; at least one memory storing instructions to cause the An apparatus comprising:

2. When detecting in-band interference is performed by at least one processor, the apparatus determining that at least one of a reference signal received power or a received signal strength indicator exceeds a first threshold; determining that at least one of a reference signal reception quality or a signal to interference and noise ratio is less than a second threshold; 10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one memory stores instructions to:

3. 3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the at least one memory stores instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to determine at least one of the first threshold or the second threshold based on characteristics of the apparatus.

4. 4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one memory stores instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to determine that a level of intermodulation distortion has caused the detected in-band interference to exceed a third threshold.

5. 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the indication of at least one interfered frequency affected by intermodulation distortion is transmitted as part of an intra-device coexistence indication message.

6. 6. Apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the indication of at least one interfered frequency affected by intermodulation distortion comprises a carrier frequency list parameter affected by intermodulation distortion.

7. When executed by at least one processor, the apparatus: determining at least one combination of signals that caused intermodulation distortion, the at least one combination of signals comprising: At least one desired signal, or At least one aggressor signal and transmitting an indication of at least one combination of signals to the network; 7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one memory stores instructions to cause the apparatus to:

8. 8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein at least one of the at least one desired signal or the at least one aggressor signal comprises at least a portion of an industrial, scientific, and medical band.

9. At least one memory stores instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the device to receive a message from a network, the message comprising: An indication that the intra-device coexistence problem is not resolved in the network; an indication for switching active bandwidth portions; Reconfiguration of the active bandwidth portion; Reconfiguration of the serving cell, or handover configuration, 9. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising one of:

10. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the message comprises a radio resource control reconfiguration message.

11. 11. The apparatus of claim 9 or 10, wherein at least one memory stores instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform radio frequency front end tuning in response to receiving a message including an indication that a coexistence issue is not resolved in the network.

12. Detected in-band interference is In-band noise, or noise resulting from intermodulation products from at least one out-of-band interference source; The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising at least one of:

13. 1. A method comprising: detecting in-band interference at a user equipment; determining that intermodulation distortion caused the detected in-band interference; determining at least one interfered frequency affected by intermodulation distortion; transmitting to the network an indication of at least one interfered frequency affected by intermodulation distortion; A method comprising:

14. In-band interference detection determining that at least one of a reference signal received power or a received signal strength indicator exceeds a first threshold; determining that at least one of a reference signal reception quality or a signal to interference and noise ratio is less than a second threshold; 14. The method of claim 13, comprising:

15. The method of claim 14 , further comprising determining at least one of the first threshold or the second threshold based on a characteristic of the user equipment.

16. Determining that intermodulation distortion caused the detected in-band interference 16. A method according to any one of claims 13 to 15, comprising determining that the level of intermodulation distortion exceeds a third threshold.

17. 17. The method of claim 13, wherein the indication of at least one interfered frequency affected by intermodulation distortion is transmitted as part of an intra-device coexistence indication message.

18. 18. A method according to any one of claims 13 to 17, wherein the indication of at least one interfered frequency affected by intermodulation distortion comprises a carrier frequency list parameter affected by intermodulation distortion.

19. determining at least one combination of signals that caused intermodulation distortion, the at least one combination of signals comprising: At least one desired signal, or At least one aggressor signal and transmitting an indication of at least one combination of signals to the network; 19. The method of any of claims 13 to 18, further comprising:

20. 20. The method of claim 19, wherein at least one of the at least one desired signal or the at least one aggressor signal comprises at least a portion of an industrial, scientific, and medical band.

21. receiving a message from the network, the message comprising: An indication that the intra-device coexistence problem is not resolved in the network; an indication for switching active bandwidth portions; Reconfiguration of the active bandwidth portion; Reconfiguration of the serving cell, or handover configuration, 21. The method of any of claims 13 to 20, comprising one of:

22. 22. The method of claim 21, wherein the message comprises a radio resource control reconfiguration message.

23. 23. The method of claim 21 or 22, further comprising performing radio frequency front-end tuning in response to receiving a message including an indication that a coexistence problem is not resolved in the network.

24. Detected in-band interference is In-band noise, or noise resulting from intermodulation products from at least one out-of-band interference source; 24. The method of any of claims 13 to 23, further comprising at least one of:

25. 1. An apparatus comprising: Detecting in-band interference; determining that intermodulation distortion caused the detected in-band interference; determining at least one interfered frequency affected by intermodulation distortion; transmitting to the network an indication of at least one interfered frequency affected by intermodulation distortion; An apparatus comprising: means for performing

26. a means configured to perform in-band interference detection, determining that at least one of a reference signal received power or a received signal strength indicator exceeds a first threshold; determining that at least one of a reference signal reception quality or a signal to interference and noise ratio is less than a second threshold; 26. The apparatus of claim 25, comprising means configured to perform:

27. The means is, 27. The device of claim 26, further configured to perform determining at least one of the first threshold or the second threshold based on a characteristic of the device.

28. a means configured to perform determining that intermodulation distortion caused the detected in-band interference, 28. Apparatus according to any of claims 25 to 27, comprising means configured to perform determining that the level of intermodulation distortion exceeds a third threshold.

29. 29. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the indication of at least one interfered frequency affected by intermodulation distortion is transmitted as part of an intra-device coexistence indication message.

30. 30. Apparatus according to any of claims 25 to 29, wherein the indication of at least one interfered frequency affected by intermodulation distortion comprises a carrier frequency list parameter affected by intermodulation distortion.

31. The means is, determining at least one combination of signals that caused intermodulation distortion, the at least one combination of signals comprising: At least one desired signal, or At least one aggressor signal and transmitting an indication of at least one combination of signals to the network; 31. The apparatus of any of claims 25 to 30, further configured to perform:

32. 32. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein at least one of the at least one desired signal or the at least one aggressor signal comprises at least a portion of an industrial, scientific, and medical band.

33. The means is, and further configured to receive a message from the network, the message comprising: An indication that the intra-device coexistence problem is not resolved in the network; an indication for switching active bandwidth portions; Reconfiguration of the active bandwidth portion; Reconfiguration of the serving cell, or handover configuration, 33. The apparatus of any of claims 25 to 32, comprising one of:

34. 34. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the message comprises a radio resource control reconfiguration message.

35. 35. The apparatus of claim 33 or 34, wherein the means is further configured to perform radio frequency front end tuning in response to receiving a message including an indication that a coexistence problem is not resolved in the network.

36. Detected in-band interference is In-band noise, or noise resulting from intermodulation products from at least one out-of-band interference source; 36. The apparatus of any of claims 25 to 35, further comprising at least one of:

37. A non-transitory computer-readable medium, comprising: detecting in-band interference; determining that intermodulation distortion caused the detected in-band interference; determining at least one interfered frequency affected by intermodulation distortion; transmitting to the network an indication of at least one interfered frequency affected by intermodulation distortion; A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising program instructions stored thereon for performing at least the following:

38. A computer program comprising instructions stored on the computer program for carrying out the method of any one of claims 13 to 24.

39. 1. An apparatus comprising: at least one processor; at least one memory, which when executed by at least one processor, provides the apparatus with at least: configuring a user equipment to provide an indication of at least one interfered frequency affected by intermodulation distortion; receiving an indication from a user equipment of at least one interfered frequency affected by intermodulation distortion; determining whether a network-triggered solution resolves the intermodulation distortion for the user equipment; transmitting a message to the user equipment based at least in part on the determination; at least one memory storing instructions to cause the An apparatus comprising:

40. The message is, An indication that the intra-device coexistence problem is not resolved by a network-triggered solution; an indication to switch active bandwidth portions of the user equipment; Reconfiguration of the active bandwidth portion of the user equipment; Reconfiguration of the user equipment's serving cell, or handover configuration for user equipment; 40. The apparatus of claim 39, comprising at least one of:

41. At least one memory stores instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to receive an indication from user equipment of at least one combination of signals that caused intermodulation distortion, the at least one combination of signals comprising: At least one desired signal, or At least one aggressor signal 41. The apparatus of claim 39 or 40, comprising at least one of:

42. 42. The apparatus of claim 41, wherein the at least one memory stores instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to determine that at least one aggressor signal is within the licensed spectrum.

43. At least one memory stores instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to determine a network-triggered solution to resolve intermodulation distortion for the user equipment, the network-triggered solution comprising: handover of the user equipment to another cell; Switching between active bandwidth portions of user equipment; Reconfiguring the active bandwidth portion of the user equipment; a reconfiguration of the user equipment's serving cell, or movement of at least one aggressor signal; 43. Apparatus according to any of claims 39 to 42, comprising at least one of:

44. When executed by at least one processor, the apparatus: handover of the user equipment to another cell; Switching between active bandwidth portions of user equipment; Reconfiguring the active bandwidth portion of the user equipment; a reconfiguration of the user equipment's serving cell, or movement of at least one aggressor signal; 44. The apparatus of claim 43, wherein the at least one memory stores instructions to trigger at least one of:

45. 42. The apparatus of claim 41, wherein the at least one memory stores instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to determine that at least one aggressor signal is outside of a licensed spectrum.

46. At least one memory stores instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to determine a network-triggered solution to resolve intermodulation distortion for the user equipment, the network-triggered solution comprising: handover of the user equipment to another cell; Switching between active bandwidth portions of user equipment; Reconfiguration of the active bandwidth portion of the user equipment; or Reconfiguration of the serving cell of the user equipment; 46. ​​The apparatus of claim 45, comprising at least one of:

47. When executed by at least one processor, the apparatus: handover of the user equipment to another cell; Switching between active bandwidth portions of user equipment; Reconfiguration of the active bandwidth portion of the user equipment; or Reconfiguration of the serving cell of the user equipment; 47. The apparatus of claim 46, wherein the at least one memory stores instructions to trigger at least one of:

48. 1. A method comprising: configuring, at the network, user equipment to provide an indication of at least one interfered frequency affected by intermodulation distortion; receiving an indication from a user equipment of at least one interfered frequency affected by intermodulation distortion; determining whether a network-triggered solution resolves the intermodulation distortion for the user equipment; transmitting a message to the user equipment based at least in part on the determination; A method comprising:

49. 1. An apparatus comprising: configuring a user equipment to provide an indication of at least one interfered frequency affected by intermodulation distortion; receiving an indication from a user equipment of at least one interfered frequency affected by intermodulation distortion; determining whether a network-triggered solution resolves the intermodulation distortion for the user equipment; transmitting a message to the user equipment based at least in part on the determination; An apparatus comprising: means for performing

50. A non-transitory computer-readable medium, comprising: configuring the user equipment to provide an indication of at least one interfered frequency affected by intermodulation distortion; receiving, from a user equipment, an indication of at least one interfered frequency affected by intermodulation distortion; determining whether a network-triggered solution resolves the intermodulation distortion for the user equipment; causing a message to be transmitted to the user equipment based at least in part on the determination; A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising program instructions stored thereon for performing at least the following:

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