Power Headroom Reporting Enhancements

Abstract

A method, system, and computer-readable medium are disclosed for performing operations including determining, by user equipment, to change the power class of the UE and, in response, generating a power headroom report that is reported to a base station serving the UE.

Description

[Background technology]

[0001] Wireless communication networks provide an integrated communications platform and telecommunications services to wireless user devices. Exemplary telecommunications services include telephony, data (e.g., voice, audio, and / or video data), messaging, and / or other services. Wireless communication networks have radio access nodes that exchange wireless signals with wireless user devices using radio network protocols, such as those described in various telecommunications standards promulgated by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). Exemplary wireless communication networks include time division multiple access (TDMA) networks, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) networks, orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) networks, long term evolution (LTE), and fifth generation new radio (5G NR). Wireless communication networks facilitate mobile broadband services using technologies such as OFDM, multiple input multiple output (MIMO), advanced channel coding, massive MIMO, beamforming, and / or other features. Summary of the Invention

[0002] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a method performed by a user equipment (UE) served by a base station includes determining to change a power class of the UE and, in response, generating a power headroom report that is reported to the base station.

[0003] Other versions include corresponding systems, apparatus, and computer programs for performing the actions of the methods defined by instructions encoded on a computer-readable storage device. These and other versions may optionally include one or more of the following features.

[0004] In some implementations, determining to change the power class includes determining to change the power class based on at least one of: (i) a regulatory requirement; (ii) a number of active component carriers; and (iii) a percentage of uplink symbols transmitted in an evaluation period.

[0005] In some implementations, generating the power headroom report includes including, in the power headroom report, an indication of a change in power due to a change in power class.

[0006] In some implementations, the change in power is equal to 0, 3, or 6 decibel milliwatts (dBm).

[0007] In some implementations, the power headroom report includes a 2-bit field for signaling an indication of a change in power.

[0008] In some implementations, the indication of the change in power indicates a valid combined value of the P-MPR and the change in power.

[0009] In some implementations, the indication of the change in power indicates a pair of the P-MPR and the change in power value.

[0010] In some implementations, the indication of the change in power is an index value in a predefined table of change in power values.

[0011] In some implementations, the power headroom report further includes one reserved bit, and the indication of the change in power is partially signaled in the one reserved bit.

[0012] In some implementations, the power headroom report includes one reserved bit for signaling an indication of a change in power.

[0013] In some implementations, the power headroom report includes a single-entry power headroom medium access control (MAC) control element (CE).

[0014] In some implementations, the power headroom report includes a multiple-entry power headroom (PHR) medium access control (MAC) control element (CE).

[0015] In some implementations, the multi-entry PHR MAC CE includes a one-bit flag to signal whether the maximum UE power is signaled in the multi-entry PHR MAC CE.

[0016] In some implementations, a 1-bit flag signals that the maximum UE power is not signaled in the multi-entry PHR MAC CE, and an indication of the power change due to a change in power class is signaled in up to 8 bits of the multi-entry PHR MAC CE.

[0017] In some implementations, a one-bit flag signals that the maximum UE power is signaled in the multi-entry PHR MAC CE, and an indication of the change in power due to a change in power class is signaled in two bits of the multi-entry PHR MAC CE.

[0018] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a method performed by a base station includes receiving a power headroom report from a user equipment (UE) served by the base station; and determining a change in a power class of the UE based on the power headroom report; Includes.

[0019] Other versions include corresponding systems, apparatus, and computer programs for performing the actions of the methods defined by instructions encoded on a computer-readable storage device. These and other versions may optionally include one or more of the following features.

[0020] In some implementations, the method further includes determining, from the power headroom report, an indication of a change in power due to a change in power class.

[0021] In some implementations, the indication of the change in power is an index value in a pre-defined table of power change values.

[0022] In some implementations, the power headroom report includes a single-entry or multiple-entry power headroom (PHR) medium access control (MAC) control element (CE).

[0023] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a method performed by a UE served by a base station includes determining to report available power headroom for a downlink dedicated component carrier and, in response, generating a power headroom report including the available power headroom.

[0024] Other versions include corresponding systems, apparatus, and computer programs for performing the actions of the methods defined by instructions encoded on a computer-readable storage device. These and other versions may optionally include one or more of the following features.

[0025] In some implementations, the power headroom report is a single-entry power headroom (PHR) medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) or a multi-entry PHR MAC CE.

[0026] In some implementations, the power headroom report is triggered in response to at least one of: (i) a change in the UE's power class on a configured UL CC; (ii) the UE desiring to propose an update to the set of configured UL CC(s); or (iii) the expiration of a periodic timer.

[0027] The details of one or more embodiments of these systems and methods are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, objects, and advantages of these systems and methods will become apparent from the description, drawings, and claims. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0028] [Figure 1A] 1 illustrates a single-entry power headroom reporting (PHR) medium access control (MAC) control element (CE).

[0029] [Figure 1B] A table mapping reported P-MPR values ​​to measured quantity values ​​is provided.

[0030] [Figure 2] 1 illustrates an exemplary wireless network, according to some implementations.

[0031] [Figure 3] 1 illustrates an exemplary multi-entry PHR MAC-CE according to some implementations.

[0032] [Figure 4A] 1 shows a flowchart of an exemplary method, according to some implementations.

[0033] [Figure 4B] 1 shows a flowchart of another exemplary method, according to some implementations.

[0034] [Figure 4C] 10 shows a flowchart of yet another exemplary method, according to some implementations.

[0035] [Figure 5] 1 illustrates an exemplary user equipment (UE) according to some implementations.

[0036] [Figure 6]1 illustrates an exemplary access node according to some implementations. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0037] In a wireless communication system, a user equipment (UE) can transmit a power headroom report (PHR) to a serving base station. The PHR indicates the amount of transmit power available for use by the UE (in addition to the power currently being used by the UE). The PHR also indicates the UE configured maximum output power (P CMAX,f,c ) to the serving base station. The PHR may be transmitted in a dedicated Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE). The MAC CE may be a single-entry PHR MAC CE or a multi-entry PHR MAC CE. The UE uses a multi-entry PHR MAC CE when operating in Multi-RAT Dual Connectivity (MR-DC) or uplink (UL) carrier aggregation (CA). The wireless configuration system may configure the UE to transmit the PHR in several scenarios, such as when a specific timer expires.

[0038] 1A shows a single-entry PHR MAC CE 100. As shown in FIG. 1A, the single-entry PHR MAC CE 100 includes two octets (8 bits each). The single-entry PHR MAC CE 100 includes a 1-bit "P" field, a 1-bit reserved ("R") field, a 6-bit power headroom (PH) field, a 2-bit maximum power exposure (MPE) field, and a 6-bit P CMAX The PH field is a 6-bit field that indicates the PH level. CMAX The field is the P field used to calculate the preceding PH field. CMAX,f,c The value of the configured maximum output power P CMAX,f,c is set within the following bounds:

number

[0039] The MPE field contains a power management maximum power reduction (P-MPR) value. Note that in existing technical specifications, a UE is configured to use the MPE field only in frequency range 2 (FR2) and not for FR1. The P field indicates whether the P-MPR is reported in the MPE field. For example, a P field set to 1 indicates that the MPE field contains a P-MPR, and a P field set to 0 indicates that the MPE field does not contain a P-MPR.

[0040] Figure 1B shows a table 120 that maps reported P-MPR values ​​to values ​​of the measured quantity. As shown in Figure 1B, because the MPE field is two bits, there are four possible P-MPR values, each corresponding to a distinct measured quantity value. Table 120 corresponds to Table 10.1.26.1-1 of 3GPP TS 38.133. Note that PHR reporting is described in more detail in 3GPP TSs 38.101, 38.133, 38.321, and 38.213.

[0041] Recently, the industry has introduced high-power user equipment (HPUE), which are devices that can operate using a maximum transmit power greater than the default power defined by 3GPP. Currently, the default power class, called "Power Class 3" (PC3), has a maximum transmit power level of 23 decibel milliwatts (dBm) or less. Some HPUEs can operate using a maximum transmit power of 26 dBm, corresponding to "Power Class 2" (PC2). These HPUEs can operate using either PC3 or PC2 and can switch between different classes for various reasons. Other HPUEs can also operate using a maximum transmit power of 29 dBm, corresponding to "Power Class 1.5" (PC1.5). These HPUEs can operate using either PC3 or PC1.5. Some of these HPUEs can also operate using PC2.

[0042] Currently, a UE can change its power class for various reasons. One of these reasons is a decision based on the percentage of uplink symbols transmitted in a certain evaluation period (one or more radio frames). However, this evaluation period is up to the UE implementation, and therefore, the wireless network may not be aware of the evaluation period. One consequence of the wireless network not knowing the evaluation period is that the network does not know when the UE changes its power class based on the evaluation period. Although the wireless network can later determine that the UE's maximum transmit power has changed (e.g., from a received PHR), the wireless network cannot determine whether the power changed because the UE changed its power class or for some other reason (e.g., path loss). Furthermore, existing wireless networks do not have any mechanism for reporting a change in a UE's power class, whether the change is based on an evaluation period or some other reason (e.g., regulatory requirements). As a result, the wireless network can adjust its operating configuration to respond to the change in the UE's power class. This can lead to inefficiencies in operating the wireless network.

[0043] Among other things, this disclosure describes methods and systems for indicating a power class change of a UE to a base station of a wireless network. As described in more detail below, the disclosed methods and systems configure the UE to send a PHR in response to a power class change. Additionally, the disclosed methods and systems provide information indicative of a change in power due to the power class change (ΔP PowerClass ) to configure the UE.

[0044] 2 illustrates a wireless network 200 according to some implementations. The wireless network 200 includes a UE 202 and a base station 204 connected via one or more channels 206A, 206B over an air interface 208. The UE 202 and the base station 204 communicate using a system that supports control for managing the UE 202's access to the network via the base station 204.

[0045] In some implementations, wireless network 200 may be a non-standalone (NSA) network incorporating Long Term Evolution (LTE) and Fifth Generation (5G) New Radio (NR) communication standards defined by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) technical specifications. For example, wireless network 200 may be an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA)-NR Dual Connectivity (EN-DC) network or an NR-EUTRA Dual Connectivity (NE-DC) network. However, wireless network 200 may also be a standalone (SA) network incorporating only 5G NR. Additionally, other types of communication standards are possible, including future 3GPP systems (e.g., sixth-generation (6G)) systems, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 technologies (e.g., IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, IEEE 802.11-2007, IEEE 802.11n, IEEE 802.11-2012, IEEE 802.11ac, or other current or future-developed IEEE 802.11 technologies), IEEE 802.16 protocols (e.g., WMAN, WiMAX, etc.), etc. Although aspects may be described herein using terminology generally associated with 5G NR, aspects of the present disclosure may apply to other systems, such as systems subsequent to 3G, 4G, and / or 5G (e.g., 6G).

[0046] In wireless network 200, UE 202 and any other UEs in the system may be, for example, laptop computers, smartphones, tablet computers, machine-type devices such as smart meters or dedicated devices for healthcare, intelligent transportation systems, or any other wireless devices with or without a user interface. In network 200, base stations 204 provide UE 202 with network connectivity to a wider network (not shown). This UE 202 connectivity is provided via an air interface 208 within a base station service area provided by base station 204. In some implementations, such a wider network may be a wide area network operated by a cellular network provider or may be the Internet. Each base station service area associated with a base station 204 is supported by an antenna integrated with the base station 204. The service area is divided into multiple sectors associated with specific antennas. Such sectors may be physically associated with fixed antennas or may be assigned to a physical area using adjustable antennas or antenna settings in a beamforming process used to direct signals to specific sectors.

[0047] The UE 202 includes a control circuit 210 coupled to a transmit circuit 212 and a receive circuit 214. The transmit circuit 212 and the receive circuit 214 may each be coupled to one or more antennas. The control circuit 210 may include various combinations of application-specific and baseband circuitry. The transmit circuit 212 and the receive circuit 214 may be adapted to transmit and receive data, respectively, and may include radio frequency (RF) circuitry or front-end module (FEM) circuitry.

[0048] In various implementations, aspects of the transmit circuitry 212, receive circuitry 214, and control circuitry 210 may be integrated in various ways to implement the operations described herein. The control circuitry 210 may be adapted or configured to perform various operations, such as those described elsewhere in this disclosure in connection with a UE.

[0049] The transmit circuitry 212 may perform various operations described herein. Additionally, the transmit circuitry 212 may transmit multiple multiplexed uplink physical channels. The multiple uplink physical channels may be multiplexed using time division multiplexing (TDM) or frequency division multiplexing (FDM) along with carrier aggregation. The transmit circuitry 212 may be configured to receive block data from the control circuitry 210 for transmission over the air interface 208.

[0050] The receive circuitry 214 may perform various operations described herein. Additionally, the receive circuitry 214 may receive multiple multiplexed downlink (DL) physical channels from the air interface 208 and relay the physical channels to the control circuitry 210. The multiple downlink physical channels may be multiplexed using TDM or FDM with carrier aggregation. The transmit circuitry 212 and the receive circuitry 214 may transmit and receive both control data and content data (e.g., messages, images, videos, etc.) structured within data blocks carried by the physical channels.

[0051] 2 also shows a base station 204. In implementations, the base station 204 may be an NG radio access network (RAN) or 5G RAN, an E-UTRAN, a non-terrestrial cell, or a legacy RAN such as UTRAN or GERAN. As used herein, terms such as "NG RAN" may refer to a base station 204 operating in an NR or 5G wireless network 200, and terms such as "E-UTRAN" may refer to a base station 204 operating in an LTE or 4G wireless network 200. The UE 202 utilizes connections (or channels) 206A, 206B, each of which includes a physical communication interface or layer.

[0052] The base station 204 circuitry may include control circuitry 216 coupled to transmit circuitry 218 and receive circuitry 220. The transmit circuitry 218 and receive circuitry 220 may each be coupled to one or more antennas that may be used to facilitate communication over the air interface 208. The transmit circuitry 218 and receive circuitry 220 may be adapted to transmit and receive data, respectively, to any UE connected to the base station 204. The transmit circuitry 218 may transmit a downlink physical channel that includes multiple downlink subframes. The receive circuitry 220 may receive multiple uplink physical channels from various UEs, including the UE 202.

[0053] In FIG. 2 , one or more channels 206A, 206B are depicted as air interfaces enabling communicative coupling and may conform to a cellular communication protocol such as a GSM protocol, a CDMA network protocol, a UMTS protocol, a 3GPP LTE protocol, an Advanced Long Term Evolution (LTE-A) protocol, an LTE-based access to unlicensed spectrum (LTE-U), a 5G protocol, an NR protocol, an NR-based access to unlicensed spectrum (NR-U) protocol, and / or any of the other communication protocols described herein. In implementations, the UE 202 may directly exchange communication data over the ProSe interface. The ProSe interface may alternatively be referred to as a sidelink (SL) interface and may include one or more logical channels, including, but not limited to, a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH), a physical sidelink discovery channel (PSDCH), and a physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH).

[0054] In some implementations, the UE 202 is configured to trigger an aperiodic PHR in response to detecting a power class change. The UE 202 can change its power class to meet regulatory requirements (e.g., specific absorption rate [SAR]) in response to a change in the number of active component carriers (CCs) in the CA / DC and / or based on the percentage of uplink symbols transmitted in an evaluation period. The SAR requirement regulates the amount of RF energy absorbed by a user when operating the UE 202 and is specified by a regulatory entity (e.g., the Federal Communications Commission [FCC], the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization [CENELEC], etc.). In some examples, the UE 202 is configured to trigger a PHR in response to any power class change. In other examples, the UE 202 is configured to trigger a PHR in response to a power class change resulting from a specified event (e.g., a change to meet regulatory requirements, etc.).

[0055] In some implementations, the UE 202 is configured to trigger a single-entry PHR MAC-CE or a multi-entry PHR MAC-CE. The UE 202 can trigger a multi-entry PHR MAC-CE in scenarios where the UE 202 is operating in MR-DC or UL CA.

[0056] In some implementations, the UE 202 includes in the triggered PHR an indication of the power change resulting from the power class change, ΔP PowerClass . ΔP PowerClass can have values ​​of {6, 3, 0} dB, and therefore the indication can indicate one of these values. The UE 202 can include the indication in either a single-entry PHR MAC-CE or a multiple-entry PHR MAC-CE depending on the PHR that is triggered.

[0057] In some implementations, the UE 202 is configured with one or more approaches for reporting the indication in a single-entry PHR MAC-CE ("single-entry approaches"). In a first single-entry approach, the UE 202 reports the indication using the P field and the MPE field of the single-entry PHR MAC-CE. The UE 202 can be configured with at least one of two options for implementing the first single-entry approach.

[0058] In the first option, the UE 202 may store in the MPE field a valid combination P-MPR+ΔP PowerClass Include an index to the level (in dB). Under this option, the UE 202 is configured to use an updated version of table 120 of FIG. 1B. Instead of mapping the value of the MPE field to P-MPR as in table 120, the updated table maps the value of the MPE field to P-MPR+ΔP PowerClass Alternatively, the UE 202 may map the value of the MPE field to P-MPR+ΔP PowerClass As previously explained, table 120 is only applicable to FR2 in current wireless systems. Therefore, UE 202 may be configured to use a table for FR1 similar to the table created for FR2. In a second option for implementing the first single-entry approach, UE 202 may use the MPE field to calculate the (P-MPR, ΔP) in dB. PowerClass ) level pair. In this approach, PowerClass ) A table mapping level index value pairs is defined for FR1 and FR2.

[0059] In some implementations, the number of rows (i.e., the number of possible indexes) in the created table in both options may be 4 or 8 (or a number between 4 and 8). If the created table contains more than four rows, the reserved (R) bit in the PHR is also used to signal the indication. The reserved bit and the MPE field provide a total of 3 bits for signaling the indication, so the UE 202 can signal up to 8 indexes. In some examples, one or more rows in a particular table may be used to signal the P-MPR, or ΔP PowerClass can only be mapped to a pair of values ​​or valid combinations.

[0060] In a second, single-entry approach, the UE 202 uses a reserved bit (R) to signal an indication of a power change. In this approach, setting R to 0 indicates that the power change due to the power class change is 0 dBm, and setting R to 1 indicates that the power change is not 0 (i.e., 3 or 6 dBm). If the UE 202 sets R to 1, the wireless network 200 can determine whether the power change is 3 dBm or 6 dBm upon receiving the PHR. In some examples, the wireless network 200 can determine whether the power change is 3 dBm or 6 dBm based on the power class (PHR) of the UE 202. PowerClass For example, if the UE 202 is PC2, the wireless network may determine that the power change is 3 dBm.

[0061] In some implementations, the UE 202 may use ΔP PowerClass Report ΔP PowerClassThe number of bits available for reporting depends on whether one of these entries is a PHR Type 1 for a serving cell with an UL configured based on actual PUSCH transmissions or a PHR Type 1 for a serving cell with an UL configured based on reference / virtual PUSCH transmissions. If the PHR Type 1 is for a serving cell with an UL configured based on actual PUSCH transmissions, the number of available bits is 2. And if the PHR Type 1 is for a serving cell with an UL configured based on reference / virtual PUSCH transmissions, the number of available bits is 8.

[0062] 3 illustrates an exemplary multi-entry PHR MAC-CE 300 according to some implementations. Each octet pair in the MAC-CE 300 corresponds to a serving cell or component carrier included in the report. That is, each octet pair is a single entry in the multi-entry PHR MAC-CE 300. For example, octet pair 302 corresponds to a primary cell (PCell) included in the report. Each octet pair is similar to the single-entry PHR MAC-CE 100 of FIG. 1A. Specifically, each octet pair includes a PH field, a "P" field, an MPE field, and a P CMAX However, the reserved bits of the MAC-CE 100 are replaced by a "V" field. This field indicates whether the PH result is based on an actual PUSCH transmission or a reference / virtual PUSCH transmission. For example, V is set to 0 for a PH result that is based on an actual PUSCH transmission and is set to 1 for a PH result that is based on a reference / virtual PUSCH transmission. The V field is used to CMAX It also indicates whether the value is contained in the corresponding octet. CMAX The value is included only if the PH result is based on an actual PUSCH transmission.

[0063] In some implementations, if the value of V for a particular octet pair is 0, then P-MPR and ΔP PowerClassCA (The corresponding P CMAXIn these implementations, the UE 202 may implement a similar approach to the first single-entry approach. Specifically, the UE 202 may implement a combined effective P-MPR+ΔP PowerClass The MPE field can be used to contain an indication of the level (option 1), or (P-MPR, ΔP PowerClass ) level pair (option 2). However, in these implementations, the table size is limited to 4 rows (because the reserved bits are no longer available, limiting the available bit size to 2).

[0064] In some implementations, if the value of V for a particular octet pair is 1, the second octet in the pair is P-MPR and ΔP PowerClassCA For example, in octet pair 302, the second octet 304 may be used to indicate P-MPR and ΔP PowerClassCA When V is set to 1, P cmax Since ΔP is not reported, the entire octet is available. In these implementations, the UE 202 may implement an approach similar to the first single-entry approach. Specifically, the UE 202 may report the effective combined P-MPR+ΔP PowerClass The MPE field can be used to contain an indication of the level (option 1), or (P-MPR, ΔP PowerClass ) The MPE field can be used to indicate the level pair (option 2). However, in these implementations, the table size can be larger than 8 rows (since the number of available bits is 8).

[0065] This disclosure also describes systems and methods that allow a UE 202 to assist a base station 204 in selecting a band combination and / or a preferred UL CC. Typically, in a CA scenario, the UE is configured with more CCs in DL-CA, and only a few of these CCs may be used for UL (in UL-CA or even non-CA mode). Under some conditions, such as SAR regulatory requirements, the UE may know better than the wireless network which CC is better to configure for UL.

[0066] In some implementations, the UE 202 is configured to signal information indicating the CC to be used for the UL to the base station 204. In some implementations, the UE 202 is configured to report a PHR MAC CE to indicate the available power headroom for a DL-only CC (e.g., a CC not configured for the UL). In a first option, the report is based on a single-entry PHR MAC-CE having one or more octets carrying the following information: (i) log2(N) bits to indicate the ServCellIndex of the DL-only CC with the best available power for UL transmission, where N represents the number of DL-only CCs, and (ii) M bits (e.g., M=6) to indicate the PH (Type 1) for the corresponding DL-only CC. In a second option, the report is based on a multi-entry PHR MAC-CE having one or more octets carrying an individual PH for each of the DL-only CCs. Note that in both options, the report is based on a virtual / reference PUSCH, considering that the corresponding CC is not configured for the UL. Therefore, the P CMAX The fields and MPE fields are available to be used for reporting.

[0067] In some implementations, the UE 202 is configured to trigger a downlink CC PHR in response to observing a change in the UE's power class on a configured UL CC, in response to deciding to provide an update to the set of configured UL CC(s), and / or periodically.

[0068] 4A shows a flowchart of an example method 400 according to some implementations. For clarity of presentation, the following description generally describes the method 400 in the context of other figures in this description. For example, the method 400 may be performed by the UE 202 of FIG. 2. It will be understood that the method 400 may be performed by, for example, any suitable system, environment, software, hardware, or combination of systems, environments, software, and hardware, as desired. In some implementations, various steps of the method 400 may be performed in parallel, in combination, in a loop, or in any order.

[0069] In step 402, the method 400 includes determining to change the power class of the UE.

[0070] In step 404, the method 400 includes generating a power headroom report accordingly to be reported to the base station.

[0071] In some implementations, determining to change the power class includes determining to change the power class based on at least one of: (i) a regulatory requirement; (ii) a number of active component carriers; and (iii) a percentage of uplink symbols transmitted in an evaluation period.

[0072] In some implementations, generating the power headroom report includes including an indication of a change in power due to a change in power class in the power headroom report.

[0073] In some implementations, the change in power is equal to 0, 3, or 6 decibel milliwatts (dBm).

[0074] In some implementations, the power headroom report includes a 2-bit field for signaling an indication of a change in power.

[0075] In some implementations, the indication of the change in power further indicates a power management maximum power reduction (P-MPR) value.

[0076] In some implementations, the indication of the change in power is an index value in a predefined table of change in power values.

[0077] In some implementations, the power headroom report further includes one reserved bit, and the indication of the change in power is partially signaled in the one reserved bit.

[0078] In some implementations, the power headroom report includes one reserved bit for signaling an indication of a change in power.

[0079] In some implementations, the power headroom report includes a single-entry power headroom medium access control (MAC) control element (CE).

[0080] In some implementations, the power headroom report includes a multiple-entry power headroom (PHR) medium access control (MAC) control element (CE).

[0081] In some implementations, the multi-entry PHR MAC CE includes a one-bit flag to signal whether the maximum UE power is signaled in the multi-entry PHR MAC CE.

[0082] In some implementations, a 1-bit flag signals that the maximum UE power is not signaled in the multi-entry PHR MAC CE, and an indication of the power change due to a change in power class is signaled in up to 8 bits of the multi-entry PHR MAC CE.

[0083] In some implementations, a one-bit flag signals that the maximum UE power is signaled in the multi-entry PHR MAC CE, and an indication of the change in power due to a change in power class is signaled in two bits of the multi-entry PHR MAC CE.

[0084] 4B shows a flowchart of an example method 410 according to some implementations. For clarity of presentation, the following description generally describes the method 410 in the context of other figures in this description. For example, the method 410 may be performed by the base station 204 of FIG. 2. It will be understood that the method 410 can be performed by, for example, any suitable system, environment, software, hardware, or combination of systems, environments, software, and hardware, as desired. In some implementations, various steps of the method 410 may be performed in parallel, in combination, in a loop, or in any order.

[0085] At step 412, the method 410 includes receiving a power headroom report from a user equipment (UE) served by the base station.

[0086] At step 414, the method 410 includes determining a change in power class for the UE based on the power headroom report.

[0087] Some implementations include determining from the power headroom report an indication of the change in power due to the change in power class.

[0088] In some implementations, the indication of the change in power is an index value in a predefined table of change in power values.

[0089] In some implementations, the power headroom report includes a single-entry or multiple-entry power headroom (PHR) medium access control (MAC) control element (CE).

[0090] 4C shows a flowchart of an example method 420 according to some implementations. For clarity of presentation, the following description generally describes the method 420 in the context of other figures in this description. For example, the method 420 may be performed by the UE 202 of FIG. 2. It will be understood that the method 420 may be performed by, for example, any suitable system, environment, software, hardware, or combination of systems, environments, software, and hardware, as desired. In some implementations, various steps of the method 420 may be performed in parallel, in combination, in a loop, or in any order.

[0091] At step 422, the method 420 includes determining to report available power headroom for a downlink dedicated component carrier;

[0092] In step 424, the method 420 includes generating a power headroom report including the available power headroom accordingly.

[0093] In some implementations, the power headroom report is a single-entry power headroom (PHR) medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) or a multi-entry PHR MAC CE.

[0094] In some implementations, the power headroom report is triggered in response to at least one of: (i) a change in the UE's power class on a configured UL CC; (ii) the UE desiring to propose an update to the set of configured UL CC(s); or (iii) the expiration of a periodic timer.

[0095] 5 illustrates an exemplary UE 500, according to some implementations. The UE 500 may be similar to and substantially interchangeable with the UE 202 of FIG.

[0096] The UE 500 may be any mobile or non-mobile computing device, such as a mobile phone, a computer, a tablet, an industrial wireless sensor (e.g., a microphone, a pressure sensor, a thermometer, a motion sensor, an accelerometer, an inventory sensor, a voltage / current meter, etc.), a video device (e.g., a camera, a video camera, etc.), a wearable device (e.g., a smart watch), a relaxed-IoT device, etc.

[0097] The UE 500 may include a processor 502, an RF interface circuit 504, memory / storage 506, a user interface 508, sensors 510, driver circuitry 512, a power management integrated circuit (PMIC) 514, one or more antenna(s) 516, and a battery 518. The components of the UE 500 may be implemented as an integrated circuit (IC), portions thereof, discrete electronic devices, or other modules, logic, hardware, software, firmware, or combinations thereof. The block diagram of FIG. 5 is intended to provide a schematic view of some of the components of the UE 500. However, some of the components shown may be omitted, additional components may be present, and different arrangements of the components shown may occur in other embodiments.

[0098] The components of the UE 500 may be coupled to various other components via one or more interconnects 520, which may represent any type of interface, input / output, bus (local, system, or expansion), transmission line, trace, optical connection, etc. that may allow various circuit components (on a common or different chips or chipsets) to interact with one another.

[0099] The processor 502 may include processor circuitry such as, for example, a baseband processor circuit (BB) 522A, a central processor unit (CPU) 522B, and a graphics processor unit (GPU) 522C. The processor 502 may include any type of circuitry or processor circuitry that executes or otherwise operates computer-executable instructions, such as program code, software modules, or functional processes from memory / storage 506 to cause the UE 500 to perform the operations described herein.

[0100] In some implementations, one or more of the processors 502 are configured to determine to change a power class of the UE. Further, one or more of the processors 502 are configured to generate a power headroom report to be reported to a base station. In some implementations, one or more of the processors 502 are configured to determine to report an available power headroom for a downlink dedicated component carrier. Further, one or more of the processors 502 are configured to generate a power headroom report including the available power headroom accordingly.

[0101] In some implementations, the baseband processor circuit 522A may access a communications protocol stack 524 in the memory / storage 506 to communicate over a 3GPP-compliant network. Generally, the baseband processor circuit 522A may access the communications protocol stack to perform user plane functions at the physical (PHY) layer, medium access control (MAC) layer, radio link control (RLC) layer, packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer, and PDU layer, and control plane functions at the PHY layer, MAC layer, RLC layer, PDCP layer, RRC layer, and non-access layer. In some implementations, PHY layer operations may additionally or alternatively be performed by components of the RF interface circuit 504. The baseband processor circuit 522A may generate or process baseband signals or waveforms that carry information within a 3GPP-compliant network. In some implementations, waveforms for NR may be based on cyclic prefix orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) "CP-OFDM" in the uplink or downlink and discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM "DFT-S-OFDM" in the uplink.

[0102] The memory / storage 506 may include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media (e.g., communication protocol stack 524) that include instructions that may be executed by one or more of the processors 502 to cause the UE 500 to perform various operations described herein. The memory / storage 506 includes any type of volatile or non-volatile memory that may be distributed throughout the UE 500. In some implementations, some of the memory / storage 506 may be located within the processor 502 itself (e.g., L1 and L2 caches), while other memory / storage 506 is external to the processor 502 but accessible via a memory interface. The memory / storage 506 may include any suitable volatile or non-volatile memory, such as, but not limited to, dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, solid state memory, or any other type of memory device technology.

[0103] The RF interface circuitry 504 may include transceiver circuitry and a radio frequency front module (RFEM) that enable the UE 500 to communicate with other devices over a radio access network. The RF interface circuitry 504 may include various elements disposed in the transmit or receive paths. These elements may include, for example, switches, mixers, amplifiers, filters, combiner circuits, control circuits, etc.

[0104] In the receive path, the RFEM receives radiated signals from the air interface via antenna 516 and may filter and amplify the signals (using a low noise amplifier). The signals may be provided to a receiver in the transceiver, which downconverts the RF signals to baseband signals, which are provided to a baseband processor in processor 502.

[0105] In the transmit path, the transmitter of the transceiver upconverts baseband signals received from the baseband processor and provides an RF signal to the RFEM, which may amplify the RF signal through a power amplifier before the signal is radiated over the air interface via the antenna 516. In various implementations, the RF interface circuitry 504 may be configured to transmit and receive signals to comply with NR access technologies.

[0106] The antenna 516 may include antenna elements that convert electrical signals into radio waves that travel through the air and convert received radio waves into electrical signals. The antenna elements may be arranged in one or more antenna panels. The antenna 516 may have antenna panels that are omnidirectional, directional, or a combination thereof to enable beamforming and multiple-input, multiple-output communications. The antenna 516 may include microstrip antennas, printed antennas fabricated on the surface of one or more printed circuit boards, patch antennas, phased array antennas, etc. The antenna 516 may have one or more panels designed for a specific frequency band, including bands in FR1 or FR2.

[0107] The user interface 508 includes various input / output (I / O) devices designed to enable user interaction with the UE 500. The user interface 508 includes input device circuitry and output device circuitry. The input device circuitry includes any physical or virtual means for accepting input, including, among other things, one or more physical or virtual buttons (e.g., a reset button), a physical keyboard, a keypad, a mouse, a touchpad, a touchscreen, a microphone, a scanner, a headset, etc. The output device circuitry includes any physical or virtual means for displaying or otherwise communicating information, such as a sensor reading, an actuator position(s), or other similar information. The output device circuitry may include, among other things, any number or combination of audio or visual displays, including one or more simple visual outputs / indicators (e.g., binary status indicators such as light-emitting diodes "LEDs" and multi-character visual outputs), or more complex outputs such as display devices or touchscreens (e.g., liquid crystal displays "LCDs," LED displays, quantum dot displays, projectors, etc.), where output, such as text, graphics, multimedia objects, etc., is generated or created from the operation of the UE 500.

[0108] The sensors 510 may include devices, modules, or subsystems designed to detect events or changes in their environment and transmit information about the detected events (sensor data) to some other device, module, subsystem, etc. Examples of such sensors include, among others, inertial measurement units including accelerometers, gyroscopes, or magnetometers, microelectromechanical or nanoelectromechanical systems including 3-axis accelerometers, 3-axis gyroscopes, or magnetometers, level sensors, temperature sensors (e.g., thermistors), pressure sensors, image capture devices (e.g., cameras or lensless apertures), light detection and ranging sensors; proximity sensors (e.g., infrared detectors, etc.); depth sensors; ambient light sensors; ultrasonic transceivers; microphones or other similar audio capture devices; and the like.

[0109] The driver circuitry 512 may include software and hardware elements that operate to control particular devices embedded in, attached to, or otherwise communicatively coupled to the UE 500. The driver circuitry 512 may include individual drivers that enable other components to interact with or control various input / output (I / O) devices that may be present in or connected to the UE 500. For example, the driver circuitry 512 may include a display driver for controlling and allowing access to a display device, a touchscreen driver for controlling and allowing access to a touchscreen interface, a sensor driver for obtaining sensor readings of the sensors 510 and controlling and allowing access to the sensors 510, a driver for obtaining actuator positions of or controlling and allowing access to electromechanical components, a camera driver for controlling and allowing access to an embedded image capture device, and an audio driver for controlling and allowing access to one or more audio devices.

[0110] The PMIC 514 may manage the power provided to various components of the UE 500. In particular, with respect to the processor 502, the PMIC 514 may control power source selection, voltage scaling, battery charging, or DC-DC conversion.

[0111] In some implementations, the PMIC 514 may control or otherwise be a part of various power saving mechanisms of the UE 500. The battery 518 may power the UE 500, although in some examples, the UE 500 may be mounted and deployed at a fixed location and may have a power source coupled to a power grid. The battery 518 may be a lithium-ion battery, a metal-air battery such as a zinc-air battery, an aluminum-air battery, a lithium-air battery, or the like. In some implementations, such as in vehicle-based applications, the battery 518 may be a typical automotive lead-acid battery.

[0112] 6 illustrates an exemplary access node 600 (e.g., a base station or a gNB) according to some implementations. The access node 600 may be similar to, and substantially interchangeable with, the base station 204. The access node 600 may include a processor 602, RF interface circuitry 604, a core network (CN) interface circuitry 606, memory / storage circuitry 608, and one or more antenna(s) 610.

[0113] The components of the access node 600 may be coupled to various other components via one or more interconnects 612. The processor 602, RF interface circuitry 604, memory / storage circuitry 608 (including communication protocol stack 614), antenna 610, and interconnect 612 may be similar to the like-named elements shown and described with respect to Figure 5. For example, the processor 602 may include processor circuits such as a baseband processor circuit (BB) 616A, a central processing unit circuit (CPU) 616B, and a graphics processing unit circuit (GPU) 616C.

[0114] In some implementations, one or more of the processors 602 are configured to determine to report an available power headroom for a downlink dedicated component carrier, and further, one or more of the processors 602 are configured to generate a power headroom report including the available power headroom.

[0115] The CN interface circuitry 606 may provide connectivity to a core network, e.g., a 5th Generation Core network (5GC), using a 5GC-compliant network interface protocol, such as a Carrier Ethernet protocol or some other suitable protocol. Network connectivity may be provided to / from the access node 600 via optical fiber or wireless backhaul. The CN interface circuitry 606 may include one or more dedicated processors or FPGAs for communicating using one or more of the aforementioned protocols. In some implementations, the CN interface circuitry 606 may include multiple controllers to provide connectivity to other networks using the same or different protocols.

[0116] As used herein, terms such as "access node," "access point," and the like may describe equipment that provides wireless baseband functionality for data and / or voice connectivity between a network and one or more users. These access nodes may be referred to as BSs, gNBs, RAN nodes, eNBs, NodeBs, RSUs, TRxPs, or TRPs, and may include terrestrial stations (e.g., terrestrial access points) or satellite stations that provide coverage within a geographic area (e.g., a cell). As used herein, terms such as "NG RAN node" may refer to an access node 600 operating in an NR or 5G system (e.g., gNB), and terms such as "E-UTRAN node" may refer to an access node 600 operating in an LTE or 4G system (e.g., eNB). According to various implementations, the access node 600 may be implemented as one or more of dedicated physical devices, such as a macrocell base station, and / or a low power (LP) base station for providing a femtocell, picocell, or other similar cell having a smaller coverage area, lower user capacity, or higher bandwidth compared to a macrocell.

[0117] In some implementations, all or a portion of the access node 600 may be implemented as one or more software entities running on a server computer as part of a virtual network, which may be referred to as a CRAN and / or a virtual baseband unit pool (vBBUP). In a V2X scenario, the access node 600 may be or operate as a “roadside unit.” The term “roadside unit” or “RSU” may refer to any transportation infrastructure entity used for V2X communications. The RSU may be implemented in or by an appropriate RAN node or a stationary (or relatively stationary) UE; an RSU implemented in or by a UE may be referred to as a “UE-type RSU,” an RSU implemented in or by an eNB may be referred to as an “eNB-type RSU,” an RSU implemented in or by a gNB may be referred to as a “gNB-type RSU,” etc.

[0118] In the description herein, for convenience, various components may be described as performing a task or tasks. Such descriptions should be construed to include the phrase "configured to." It is expressly intended that a description of a component being configured to perform one or more tasks does not invoke 35 U.S.C. 112(f) interpretation with respect to that component.

[0119] Any of the above examples may be combined with any other example (or combination of examples) unless otherwise stated. The foregoing description of one or more implementations provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of the embodiments to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings or may be acquired from practice of various embodiments.

[0120] Although the above embodiments have been described in considerable detail, numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated, and it is intended that the following claims be interpreted to embrace all such variations and modifications.

[0121] It is understood that use of personally identifiable information should comply with generally recognized privacy policies and practices that meet or exceed industry or government requirements for maintaining user privacy. In particular, personally identifiable information data should be managed and handled in a manner that minimizes the risk of unintended or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of permitted uses should be clearly indicated to users.

Claims

1. 1. A method implemented by a user equipment (UE) served by a base station, the method comprising: determining to change a power class of the UE; generating a power headroom report accordingly, which is reported to the base station; A method comprising:

2. determining to change the power class includes:

10. The method of claim 1, comprising determining to change the power class based on at least one of: (i) a regulatory requirement; (ii) a number of active component carriers; and (iii) a percentage of uplink symbols transmitted in an evaluation period.

3. generating the power headroom report The method of claim 1 , comprising including in the power headroom report an indication of a change in power due to the change in power class.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the change in power is equal to 0, 3, or 6 decibel milliwatts (dBm).

5. The method of claim 3 , wherein the power headroom report comprises a two-bit field for signaling the indication of the change in power.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the indication of the change in power further indicates a power management maximum power reduction (P-MPR) value.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the indication of the change in power indicates a valid combined value of the P-MPR and the change in power.

8. The method of claim 6 , wherein the indication of the change in power indicates a pair of a P-MPR and a change in power value.

9. The method of claim 5 , wherein the indication of the change in power is an index value in a predetermined table of change in power values.

10. 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the power headroom report further comprises one reserved bit, and the indication of the change in power is signaled in part in the one reserved bit.

11. The method of claim 3 , wherein the power headroom report comprises one bit reserved for signaling the indication of the change in power.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the power headroom report comprises a single-entry power headroom medium access control (MAC) control element (CE).

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the power headroom report comprises a multiple-entry power headroom (PHR) medium access control (MAC) control element (CE).

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the multi-entry PHR MAC CE comprises a one-bit flag for signaling whether a maximum UE power is signaled in the multi-entry PHR MAC CE.

15. 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the 1-bit flag signals that the maximum UE power is not signaled in the multi-entry PHR MAC CE, and an indication of a change in power due to a change in power class is signaled in up to 8 bits of the multi-entry PHR MAC CE.

16. 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the one-bit flag signals that the maximum UE power is signaled in the multi-entry PHR MAC CE, and an indication of a change in power due to a change in power class is signaled in two bits of the multi-entry PHR MAC CE.

17. 1. A method performed by a base station, the method comprising: receiving a power headroom report from a user equipment (UE) served by the base station; determining a change in power class of the UE based on the power headroom report; A method comprising:

18. determining from the power headroom report an indication of a change in power due to the change in power class; 18. The method of claim 17, comprising:

19. 20. The method of claim 18, wherein the indication of the change in power is an index value in a predetermined table of change in power values.

20. 20. The method of claim 17, wherein the power headroom report is a single-entry or multiple-entry power headroom (PHR) medium access control (MAC) control element (CE).

21. 1. A method implemented by a user equipment (UE) served by a base station, the method comprising: determining to report an available power headroom for a downlink dedicated component carrier; generating a power headroom report in response thereto, the power headroom report including the available power headroom; A method comprising:

22. 22. The method of claim 21, wherein the power headroom report is a single-entry power headroom (PHR) medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) or a multiple-entry PHR MAC CE.

23. 22. The method of claim 21, wherein the power headroom reporting is triggered in response to at least one of: (i) a change in a power class of a UE on a configured UL CC; (ii) the UE desiring to propose an update to the set of configured UL CC(s); or (iii) expiration of a periodic timer.

24. 24. A non-transitory computer storage medium encoded with instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 23.

25. 24. A system comprising one or more computers and one or more storage devices storing instructions operable, when executed by the one or more computers, to cause the one or more computers to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 23.

Images