Method and apparatus for handover procedure

Abstract

Provided is a method for a user equipment (UE), the method including: performing HO of a target primary cell (PCell) and addition of the target PSCell based on a command for handover (HO) with a primary secondary cell (PSCell); adjusting a radio frequency (RF) for the HO of the target PCell according to a reference signal (RS) occasion for the HO of the target PCell; and adjusting the RF for the addition of the target PSCell according to the RS occasion for the addition of the target PSCell.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present application relates generally to wireless communication systems, and more particularly to User Equipment (UE) Radio Frequency (RF) coordination during handover (HO) to a Primary Secondary Cell (PSCell). [Background technology]

[0002] Wireless mobile communication technologies use various standards and protocols to transmit data between base stations and wireless mobile devices. Standards and protocols for wireless communication systems may include, but are not limited to, 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE), 5th Generation (5G) 3GPP New Radio (NR) standards, and technologies beyond 5G. In a 5th Generation (5G) wireless radio access network (RAN), a base station may include a RAN node, such as a 5G node, a New Radio (NR) node, or a gNodeB (gNB), which communicates with wireless communication devices, also known as user equipment (UE). Summary of the Invention

[0003] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a method for a user equipment (UE), comprising: performing HO of a target primary cell (PCell) and addition of a target PSCell based on a command for handover (HO) with a primary secondary cell (PSCell); adjusting a radio frequency (RF) for the HO of the target PCell according to a reference signal (RS) occasion for the HO of the target PCell; and adjusting the RF for the addition of the target PSCell according to the RS occasion for the addition of the target PSCell.

[0004] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an apparatus for a user equipment (UE), comprising one or more processors configured to perform the steps of the method described above.

[0005] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer readable medium having stored thereon a computer program which, when executed by one or more processors, causes an apparatus to perform the steps of the method described above.

[0006] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an apparatus for a communication device, comprising means for performing the steps of the method described above.

[0007] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a computer program product comprises a computer program which, when executed by one or more processors, causes an apparatus to perform the steps of the method described above. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] Features and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, features of the disclosure.

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system including a base station and user equipment (UE) in accordance with some embodiments. [Diagram 2] 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example method for a UE, according to some embodiments. [Diagram 3] 1 illustrates RF tuning of a UE in a sequential process according to some embodiments. [Figure 4A] 1 illustrates UE RF tuning in parallel processing according to one embodiment. [Figure 4B] 1 illustrates UE RF tuning in parallel processing according to one embodiment. [Figure 4C] 1 illustrates UE RF tuning in parallel processing according to one embodiment. [Figure 5A] 13 illustrates UE RF tuning in parallel processing according to another embodiment. [Figure 5B] 13 illustrates UE RF tuning in parallel processing according to another embodiment. [Figure 6A] 13 illustrates UE RF tuning in parallel processing according to yet another embodiment. [Figure 6B] 13 illustrates UE RF tuning in parallel processing according to yet another embodiment. [Figure 7] 1 illustrates a communications device (eg, a UE or a base station) according to some embodiments. [Figure 8] 1 illustrates an example interface of a baseband circuit according to some embodiments. [Figure 9] 1 illustrates components according to some embodiments. [Figure 10] 1 illustrates an architecture of a wireless network according to some embodiments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] In this disclosure, a "base station" may include an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) Node B (also commonly referred to as an evolved Node B, enhanced Node B, eNodeB, or eNB) and / or a Radio Network Controller (RNC), and / or a RAN node, such as a 5G node, a New Radio (NR) node, or a gNode B (gNB), that communicates with wireless communication devices, also known as user equipment (UE). Although some examples may be described with reference to either an E-UTRAN Node B, an eNB, an RNC, and / or a gNB, such devices may be substituted for any type of base station.

[0011] In the related art, the interruption for HO with a PSCell depends on the UE implementation of radio frequency adjustment, e.g., radio frequency tuning / retuning, bandwidth (BW) change, etc. During HO with PSCell addition / change, both HO and PSCell addition / change are performed by the UE, and the UE needs to coordinate the RF tuning for both to minimize performance loss.

[0012] To this end, the present disclosure provides UE RF coordination during HO with a PSCell. Various aspects of the present disclosure are described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0013] 1 is a block diagram of a system including a base station and a user equipment (UE) according to some embodiments. FIG 1 illustrates a wireless network 100 according to some embodiments. The wireless network 100 includes a UE 101 and a base station 150 connected via an air interface 190.

[0014] The UE 101 and any other UEs in the system may be, for example, a laptop computer, a smartphone, a tablet computer, a printer, a machine type device such as a smart meter or a dedicated device for healthcare monitoring, a remote security monitor, an intelligent transportation system, or any other wireless device with or without a user interface. The base station 150 may provide the UE 101 with network connectivity to a wider network (not shown) via an air interface 190 within a base station coverage area provided by the base station 150. In some embodiments, such a wider network may be a wide area network operated by a cellular network provider or may be the Internet. Each base station coverage area associated with a base station 150 is supported by an antenna integrated with the base station 150. The coverage area is divided into multiple sectors associated with a particular antenna. Such sectors may be physically associated with a fixed antenna or may be assigned to a physical area with tunable antennas or antenna settings that can be adjusted in a beamforming process used to direct signals to a particular sector. One embodiment of the base station 150 , for example, includes three sectors, each covering an area of ​​120 degrees, with an array of antennas aimed at each sector to provide 360 ​​degree coverage around the base station 150 .

[0015] The UE 101 includes a control circuit 105 coupled to a transmit circuit 110 and a receive circuit 115. The transmit circuit 110 and the receive circuit 115 may each be coupled to one or more antennas. The control circuit 105 may be adapted to perform operations related to MTC. In some embodiments, the control circuit 105 of the UE 101 may perform calculations or initiate measurements associated with the air interface 190 to determine a channel quality of an available connection to the base station 150. These calculations may be performed in conjunction with the control circuit 155 of the base station 150. The transmit circuit 110 and the receive circuit 115 may be adapted to transmit and receive data, respectively. The control circuit 105 may be adapted or configured to perform various operations, such as those described elsewhere in this disclosure related to the UE. The transmit circuit 110 may transmit multiple multiplexed uplink physical channels. The multiple uplink physical channels may be multiplexed by time division multiplexing (TDM) or frequency division multiplexing (FDM). The transmit circuitry 110 may be configured to receive block data from the control circuitry 105 for transmission over the air interface 190. Similarly, the receive circuitry 115 may receive multiple multiplexed downlink physical channels from the air interface 190 and relay the physical channels to the control circuitry 105. The uplink and downlink physical channels may be multiplexed according to TDM or FDM. The transmit circuitry 110 and receive circuitry 115 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.

[0016] 1 also illustrates a base station 150 according to some embodiments. The base station 150 circuitry may include control circuitry 155 coupled to transmit circuitry 160 and receive circuitry 165. The transmit circuitry 160 and receive circuitry 165 may each be coupled to one or more antennas that may be used to facilitate communication over an air interface 190.

[0017] The control circuitry 155 may be adapted to perform operations associated with MTC. The transmit circuitry 160 and the receive circuitry 165 may be adapted to transmit and receive data, respectively, within a narrow system bandwidth that is narrower than a standard bandwidth structured for person-to-person communications. In some embodiments, for example, the transmit bandwidth may be set at or near 1.4 MHz. In some embodiments, other bandwidths may be used. The control circuitry 155 may perform various operations as described elsewhere in this disclosure in connection with the base station.

[0018] Within a narrow system bandwidth, the transmission circuitry 160 can transmit multiple multiplexed downlink physical channels. The multiple downlink physical channels may be multiplexed according to TDM or FDM. The transmission circuitry 160 may transmit the multiple multiplexed downlink physical channels in a downlink superframe consisting of multiple downlink subframes.

[0019] Within a narrow system bandwidth, the receiver circuit 165 may receive multiple multiplexed uplink physical channels. The multiple uplink physical channels may be multiplexed according to TDM or FDM. The receiver circuit 165 may receive the multiple multiplexed uplink physical channels in an uplink superframe that is composed of multiple uplink subframes.

[0020] As described further below, the control circuits 105 and 155 may be involved in measuring channel quality for the air interface 190. The channel quality may be based, for example, on physical obstacles between the UE 101 and the base station 150, electromagnetic signal interference from other sources, reflected or indirect paths between the UE 101 and the base station 150, or other such sources of signal noise. Based on the channel quality, a block of data may be scheduled to be retransmitted multiple times such that the transmit circuitry 110 may transmit copies of the same data multiple times and the receive circuitry 115 may receive multiple copies of the same data multiple times.

[0021] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example method for a UE, according to some embodiments.

[0022] As shown in method 200 of FIG. 2, a UE may perform HO of a target primary cell (PCell) and addition of the target PSCell based on a command for handover (HO) with a primary secondary cell (PSCell) (201). The UE may adjust a radio frequency (RF) for the HO of the target PCell according to a reference signal (RS) occasion for the HO of the target PCell (202), and adjust an RF for the addition of the target PSCell according to an RS occasion for the addition of the target PSCell (203).

[0023] It should be noted that the PSCell addition / modification described in this disclosure may refer to either the addition of a PSCell or the modification of a PSCell. The expression "addition" of a PSCell, when used alone in this disclosure, is also intended to encompass other scenarios, i.e., "modification" of a PSCell.

[0024] In some embodiments, the UE may be the UE 101 described in Figure 1. The UE may receive a command for HO from the network side, for example from a source PCell.

[0025] In some embodiments, the command may be a Radio Resource Control (RRC) command for HO with the PSCell (hereinafter also referred to as "HO command"), in which the UE receiving the command may initiate HO of the target PCell after a predetermined delay time has elapsed.

[0026] In some embodiments, the HO of the target PCell (hereinafter also referred to as "PCell HO") and the addition of the target PSCell (hereinafter also referred to as "PSCell addition") may be performed consecutively. The PSCell addition may be performed once the RACH of the PCell HO is completed.

[0027] In this case, the UE may avoid adjusting the RF for PSCell addition (203) during the PCell HO to keep the PCell HO procedure unaffected. This means that the UE may adjust the RF for PSCell addition (203) only after the PCell HO is completed. Further details are described below with reference to FIG. 3.

[0028] In some embodiments, PCell HO and PSCell addition may be performed in parallel. PSCell addition may be performed in parallel with the HO RACH after the HO command is decoded.

[0029] In this case, the UE may adjust the RF for PCell HO during the PCell HO period (202), and may adjust the RF for PSCell addition during the PSCell addition period (203). Further details are described below with reference to Figures 4A to 4C, 5A, 5B, and 6A and 6B.

[0030] In some embodiments, the RS occasion may be a synchronization signal block (SSB) or a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) or a RACH (or other channel) occasion. The RS occasion for PCell HO and the RS occasion for PSCell addition may refer to a downlink (DL), i.e., a DL RS occasion.

[0031] In some embodiments, the UE may adjust (202) the RF for the target PCell HO to perform at least one of tuning or retuning RF chains, powering on RF chains, and expanding RF coverage in the frequency domain to include RS occasions for the target PCell.

[0032] Similarly, the UE may adjust (203) the RF for the addition of the target PSCell and perform at least one of tuning or retuning RF chains, powering on RF chains, and expanding RF coverage in the frequency domain to include RS occasions for the target PSCell.

[0033] According to the present disclosure, RF tuning for PCell HO and RF tuning for PSCell addition are controlled through the timing of the respective RS occasions, so that interruptions during PCell HO can be avoided or minimized.

[0034] FIG. 3 illustrates UE RF tuning in a sequential process according to some embodiments.

[0035] 3, the PCell HO 305 and the PSCell Addition 310 may be performed consecutively. The PSCell Addition 310 may be performed when the UE completes the PCell HO 305, i.e., when the RACH of the PCell HO 305 is completed. In other words, the UE may start the PSCell Addition 310 when the UE completes the PCell HO 305.

[0036] Therefore, the duration of PCell HO 305 ranges from when the UE starts PCell HO 305 to when the UE starts PSCell addition 310. The duration of PSCell addition ranges from when the UE starts PSCell addition 310 to when the UE transmits a RACH preamble to the PSCell (msg1).

[0037] The UE may receive a HO command 315 from the network side, for example, from a source PCell. Upon receiving the HO command 315, the UE may initiate the PCell HO 305 after a delay time TRRC_PROCEDURE_DELAY 320 has elapsed.

[0038] Due to the fact that there may be several RS occasions for PCell synchronization or tracking during the period of PCell HO 305, performing RF tuning for PSCell addition 310 will interrupt the reception or transmission of such RS occasions. The RS occasions may be, for example, synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) or channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS) or RACH (or other channel) occasions.

[0039] According to the present disclosure, the UE may avoid adjusting the RF for the PSCell addition 310 during the PCell HO 305. That is, the UE may adjust the RF for the PSCell addition 310 only after the PCell HO 305 is completed. Here, the completion time of the PCell HO 305 may be, for example, a PCell RACH timing or a PCell random access response (RAR) reception timing.

[0040] In this manner, RS occasions during PCell HO305 may not be affected.

[0041] In some embodiments, the UE may tune the RF for the PSCell addition 310 before the first available RS occasion 325-1 for the PSCell addition 310. For example, the RS occasion for the PCell HO and the RS occasion for the PSCell addition may refer to a downlink (DL), i.e., a DL RS occasion.

[0042] As shown in FIG. 3, the UE can tune the RF for the PSCell addition 310 within a time range from when the UE starts the PSCell addition 310 to the time of the first DL RS occasion 325-1.

[0043] Therefore, the interruption may be limited to the time range from the start of the PSCell addition 310 (ie, the time of completion of the PCell HO 305) to the first available DL RS occasion 325-1 for the PSCell addition.

[0044] In some embodiments, the UE may tune the RF for the PSCell addition 310 prior to the RACH transmission of the PSCell for which the predetermined number of RS occasions for the PSCell addition 310 have been measured.

[0045] It should be understood that for purposes of illustration, two DL RS occasions 325-1 and 325-2 are shown in Figure 3. However, there may be more or fewer DL RS occasions than shown in Figure 3. A RACH transmission for a PSCell may occur when a predetermined number of RS occasions for PSCell addition 310 have been measured.

[0046] Therefore, the interruption may be limited to the time range from the start of the PSCell addition 310 (i.e., the time when the PCell HO 305 is completed) to the RACH transmission of the PSCell.

[0047] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, when the sequential processes of PCell HO and PSCell addition are performed, the UE may adjust the RF for PSCell addition only after the PCell HO is completed, and thus, the RS occasion during the PCell HO may not be affected.

[0048] 4A-4C illustrate UE RF tuning in parallel processing according to one embodiment.

[0049] As shown in Figures 4A to 4C, PCell HO 405 and PSCell Addition 410 may be performed in parallel. This means that PSCell Addition 410 is performed in parallel with PCell HO 405 at the time when HO command 415 is decoded, i.e., after the delay time TRRC_PROCEDURE_DELAY 420 has elapsed. That is, the time when the UE starts PCell HO 405 is the same as the time when the UE starts PSCell Addition 410. In this case, the UE adjusts the RF for PCell HO 405 during the PCell HO 405 period, and adjusts the RF for PSCell Addition 410 during the PSCell Addition 410 period.

[0050] In some embodiments, RF tuning of PCell HO 405 may be independent of RF tuning of PSCell Add 410. This may result in various scenarios. Figure 4A illustrates a scenario where the duration of PCell HO 405 is longer than the duration of PSCell Add 410, and Figures 4B and 4C illustrate scenarios where the duration of PCell HO 405 is shorter than the duration of PSCell Add 410. Below, the two scenarios are described respectively, and the description of the same features as in Figure 3 is omitted.

[0051] PSCell Addition 410 Longer PCell HO405 As shown in FIG. 4A, the UE may tune the RF for the PSCell Add 410 during the PSCell Add 410 period prior to the first available RS occasion 425 for the PSCell Add 410. Thus, RF tuning based interruptions from the PSCell Add 410 may be placed within the PCell HO 405 period. In other words, the duration that the UE tunes the RF for the PSCell Add 410 in the PSCell Add 410 timeline may be reflected in the PCell HO 405 timeline, which is shown by two dotted lines with empty blocks in FIG. 4A-4C). Such reflections may or may not affect the PCell HO 405.

[0052] On the other hand, when the duration for which the UE tunes the RF 430 for the PSCell addition 410 collides with at least one RS occasion for the PCell HO 405, causing the at least one RS occasion for the PCell HO 405 to be interrupted, the duration of the PCell HO 405 may be extended, which means that the RF tuning 430 for the PSCell addition 410 caused at least one RS occasion loss for the PCell HO 405. In some embodiments, the duration of the PCell HO 405 may be extended for at least one RS occasion.

[0053] On the other hand, when the RS occasion for the PCell HO 405 is not interrupted by the RF tuning 430 for the PSCell addition 410, the duration of the PCell HO 405 may not be extended.

[0054] PCell HO405, shorter than PSCell 410 The scenario shown in FIG. 4B is similar to the scenario shown in FIG. 4A, where the RF coordination based discontinuance from the PSCell addition 410 may fall within the duration of the PCell HO 405.

[0055] 4A, if the duration for which the UE tunes the RF 430 for the PSCell addition 410 conflicts with at least one RS occasion for the PCell HO 405 such that at least one RS occasion for the PCell HO 405 is interrupted, the duration of the PCell HO 405 may be extended. If the RF tuning 430 for the PSCell addition 410 does not interrupt an RS occasion for the PCell HO 405, the duration of the PCell HO 405 may not be extended.

[0056] In contrast, as shown in FIG. 4C , the UE may tune the RF 430 for the PSCell addition 410 after the PCell HO 405 is completed. In this case, the UE suspends data and / or control channels on the target PCell for the duration that the UE tunes the RF 430 for the PSCell addition 410.

[0057] That is, RF coordination based interruptions from the PSCell Add 410 may be located outside the period of the PCell HO 405. In this case, such interruptions are considered as data and / or control interruptions on the PCell.

[0058] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, when parallel processing of PCell HO and PSCell addition is performed, the UE may adjust the RF for PCell HO during the PCell HO period and adjust the RF for PSCell addition during the PSCell addition period, in this way, interruption during the PCell HO period can be avoided or minimized.

[0059] 5A and 5B illustrate UE RF tuning in parallel processing according to another embodiment.

[0060] 5A and 5B, PCell HO 505 and PSCell Addition 510 may be performed in parallel, and the UE may adjust the RF for PCell HO 505 during PCell HO 505, and may adjust the RF for PSCell Addition 510 during PSCell Addition 510. As described with reference to FIGS. 4A to 4C, PSCell Addition 510 is performed in parallel with PCell HO 505 at the time HO command 515 is decoded, i.e., after the delay time TRRC_PROCEDURE_DELAY 520 has elapsed.

[0061] Furthermore, the UE may align and adjust the RF for HO of the target PCell and the RF for adding the target PSCell in the time domain. As shown in Figures 5A and 5B, the block labeled "RF Adjustment 530 for PSCell Addition 510" is aligned with the block labeled "RF Adjustment 535 for PCell HO 505."

[0062] 5A illustrates a scenario in which the duration of PCell HO 505 is shorter than the duration of PSCell Add 510, and FIG. 5B illustrates a scenario in which the duration of PCell HO 505 is longer than the duration of PSCell Add 510. Nevertheless, regardless of whether the duration of PCell HO 505 is longer or shorter than the duration of PSCell Add 510, the UE may adjust the RF units between the PCell carrier and the PSCell carrier to align the RF tuning in the time domain.

[0063] In some embodiments, the UE may simultaneously tune the RF for PCell HO 505 and the RF for PSCell addition 510 prior to the earlier of the first available RS occasion for HO of the target PCell and the first available RS occasion for addition of the target PSCell.

[0064] As shown in Figures 5A and 5B, the block marked "First available DL RS Occasion 540 for PCell HO 505" is earlier than the block marked "First available DL RS Occasion 525 for PSCell Add 510," so the blocks marked "RF Tuning 530 for PSCell Add 510" and "RF Tuning 535 for PCell HO 505" are aligned in the time domain before the block marked "First available DL RS Occasion 540 for PCell HO 505."

[0065] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, neither the duration of PCell HO nor the duration of PSCell addition is extended. Furthermore, after PCell HO, data / control channels on the PCell can be suspended freely from the PSCell addition.

[0066] 6A and 6B illustrate UE RF tuning in parallel processing according to yet another embodiment.

[0067] As shown in Figures 6A and 6B, PCell HO 605 and PSCell Add 610 may be performed in parallel, with the UE adjusting the RF for PCell HO 605 during PCell HO 605 and adjusting the RF for PSCell Add 610 during PSCell Add 610. Similar to what was described with reference to Figures 5A and 5B, PSCell Add 610 is performed in parallel with PCell HO 605 once the HO command 615 is decoded, i.e., after a delay time TRRC_PROCEDURE_DELAY 620 has elapsed. Notably, the target PCell and PSCell are intraband dual connectivity (DC) (shared automatic gain control (AGC)).

[0068] Furthermore, the UE may align and adjust the RF for HO of the target PCell and the RF for adding the target PSCell in the time domain. As shown in Figures 6A and 6B, the block labeled "RF Adjustment 630 for PSCell Addition 610" is aligned with the block labeled "RF Adjustment 635 for PCell HO 605."

[0069] 6A illustrates a scenario in which the duration of PCell HO 605 is shorter than the duration of PSCell Add 610, and FIG. 6B illustrates a scenario in which the duration of PCell HO 605 is longer than the duration of PSCell Add 610. Nevertheless, regardless of whether the duration of PCell HO 605 is longer or shorter than the duration of PSCell Add 610, the UE may adjust the RF units between the PCell carrier and the PSCell carrier to align the RF tuning in the time domain.

[0070] In some embodiments, the UE simultaneously tunes the RF for PCell HO 605 and the RF for PSCell Add 610 prior to a point in time that is a first overlap between the RS occasion 640 for PCell HO 605 and the RS occasion 625 for PSCell Add 610 in the time domain.

[0071] As shown in Figures 6A and 6B, the block labeled "DL RS Occasion 625 for PSCell Addition 610" and the block labeled "DL RS Occasion 640 for PCell HO 605" overlap first in the time domain, so the block labeled "RF Adjustment 630 for PSCell Addition 610" and the block labeled "RF Adjustment 635 for PCell HO 605" are aligned in the time domain before the two blocks.

[0072] In the scenario shown in FIG. 6A, if the RS period of the target PCell is smaller than the RS period of the target PSCell, the UE uses the common RS for AGC settling, and accordingly the period of PCell HO605 may be extended since the common RS period is used to determine the period of PCell HO605.

[0073] In the scenario shown in FIG. 6B, if the RS period of the target PSCell is smaller than the RS period of the target PCell, the UE uses the common RS for AGC settling, and therefore the period of PSCell addition 610 may be extended since the common RS period is used to determine the period of PSCell addition 610.

[0074] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, interruptions during PCell HO may be avoided or minimized.

[0075] FIG. 7 illustrates a communications device (e.g., a UE or a base station) according to some embodiments. FIG. 7 illustrates example components of a device 700 according to some embodiments. In some embodiments, the device 700 may include at least an application circuit 702, a baseband circuit 704, a radio frequency (RF) circuit (shown as RF circuit 720), a front-end module (FEM) circuit (shown as FEM circuit 730), one or more antennas 732, and a power management circuit (PMC) (shown as PMC 734) coupled together as shown. The illustrated components of the device 700 may be included in a UE or a RAN node. In some embodiments, the device 700 may include fewer elements (e.g., a RAN node may not utilize the application circuit 702 and may instead include a processor / controller for processing IP data received from an EPC). In some embodiments, the device 700 may include additional elements, such as, for example, memory / storage, a display, a camera, a sensor, or an input / output (I / O) interface. In other embodiments, the components described below may be included in two or more devices (e.g., the above circuitry may be included separately in two or more devices for a Cloud-RAN (C-RAN) implementation).

[0076] The application circuitry 702 may include one or more application processors. For example, the application circuitry 702 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The processor(s) may include any combination of general-purpose and special-purpose processors (e.g., graphics processors, application processors, etc.). The processor may be coupled to or may include memory / storage and may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory / storage to enable various applications or operating systems to run on the device 700. In some embodiments, the processor of the application circuitry 702 may process IP data packets received from an EPC.

[0077] The baseband circuitry 704 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The baseband circuitry 704 may include one or more baseband processors or control logic to process baseband signals received from a receive signal path of the RF circuitry 720 and generate baseband signals for a transmit signal path of the RF circuitry 720. The baseband circuitry 704 may interface with the application circuitry 702 for generating and processing the baseband signals and for controlling the operation of the RF circuitry 720. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 704 may include a third generation (3G) baseband processor (3G baseband processor 706), a fourth generation (4G) baseband processor (4G baseband processor 708), a fifth generation (5G) baseband processor (5G baseband processor 710), or other baseband processor(s) 712 of other existing generations, developing, or future generations (e.g., second generation (2G), sixth generation (6G), etc.). The baseband circuitry 704 (e.g., one or more of the baseband processors) can handle various radio control functions that enable communication with one or more wireless networks via the RF circuitry 720. In other embodiments, some or all of the illustrated baseband processor functions may be included in modules stored in memory 718 and executed via a central processing unit (CPU 714). Radio control functions may include, but are not limited to, signal modulation / demodulation, encoding / decoding, radio frequency shifting, and the like. In some embodiments, the modulation / demodulation circuitry of the baseband circuitry 704 may include fast Fourier transform (FFT), precoding, or constellation mapping / demapping functions. In some embodiments, the encoding / decoding circuitry of the baseband circuitry 704 may include convolution, tail-biting convolution, turbo, Viterbi, or low-density parity check (LDPC) encoder / decoder functions. The embodiments of the modulation / demodulation and encoder / decoder functions are not limited to these examples and may include other suitable functions in other embodiments.

[0078] In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 704 may include one or more digital signal processors (DSPs), such as audio DSPs 716. The one or more audio DSPs 716 may include elements for compression / decompression and echo cancellation, and in other embodiments may include other suitable processing elements. The components of the baseband circuitry may in some embodiments be suitably combined in a single chip, a single chipset, or may be located on the same circuit board. In some embodiments, some or all of the components of the baseband circuitry 704 and the application circuitry 702 may be implemented together, for example, on a system on a chip (SOC).

[0079] In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 704 may provide communications compatible with one or more wireless technologies. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 704 may support communications with an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (EUTRAN) or other Wireless Metropolitan Area Network (WMAN), or a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), or a Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN). An embodiment in which the baseband circuitry 704 is configured to support wireless communications of two or more wireless protocols may be referred to as a multimode baseband circuit.

[0080] The RF circuitry 720 can enable communication with a wireless network using modulated electromagnetic radiation over a non-solid medium. In various embodiments, the RF circuitry 720 may include switches, filters, amplifiers, etc. to facilitate communication with the wireless network. The RF circuitry 720 can include a receive signal path, which can include circuitry for downconverting RF signals received from the FEM circuitry 730 and providing a baseband signal to the baseband circuitry 704. The RF circuitry 720 can also include a transmit signal path, which can include circuitry for upconverting baseband signals provided by the baseband circuitry 704 and providing an RF output signal to the FEM circuitry 730 for transmission. In some embodiments, the receive signal path of the RF circuitry 720 can include a mixer circuitry 722, an amplifier circuitry 724, and a filter circuitry 726. In some embodiments, the transmit signal path of the RF circuitry 720 can include a filter circuitry 726 and a mixer circuitry 722. The RF circuitry 720 can also include a combiner circuitry 728 for combining frequencies used by the mixer circuitry 722 of the receive signal path and the transmit signal path. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 722 in the receive signal path may be configured to downconvert the RF signal received from the FEM circuit 730 based on a synthesis frequency provided by the synthesizer circuit 728. The amplifier circuit 724 may be configured to amplify the downconverted signal, and the filter circuit 726 may be a low pass filter (LPF) or a band pass filter (BPF) configured to remove unwanted signals from the downconverted signal to generate an output baseband signal. The output baseband signal may be provided to the baseband circuit 704 for further processing. In some embodiments, the output baseband signal may be a zero frequency baseband signal, although this is not required. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 722 in the receive signal path may include a passive mixer, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[0081] In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 722 of the transmit signal path may be configured to upconvert an input baseband signal based on a synthesis frequency provided by the synthesizer circuit 728 to generate an RF output signal for the FEM circuit 730. The baseband signal may be provided by the baseband circuit 704 and may be filtered by the filter circuit 726.

[0082] In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 722 in the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 722 in the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for quadrature downconversion and upconversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 722 in the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 722 in the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for image rejection (e.g., Hartley image rejection). In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 722 in the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 722 in the transmit signal path may be arranged for direct downconversion and direct upconversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 722 in the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 722 in the transmit signal path may be configured for superheterodyne operation.

[0083] In some embodiments, the output baseband signal and the input baseband signal may be analog baseband signals, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. In some alternative embodiments, the output baseband signal and the input baseband signal may be digital baseband signals. In these alternative embodiments, the RF circuitry 720 may include analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and digital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuitry, and the baseband circuitry 704 may include a digital baseband interface for communicating with the RF circuitry 720.

[0084] In some dual-mode embodiments, separate radio IC circuitry may be provided for processing signals in each spectrum, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[0085] In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuit 728 may be a fractional-N synthesizer or a fractional-N / N+1 synthesizer, although other types of frequency synthesizers may be suitable and the scope of the present embodiments is not limited in this respect. For example, the synthesizer circuit 728 may be a delta-sigma synthesizer, a frequency multiplier, or a synthesizer that includes a phase-locked loop with a frequency divider.

[0086] The combiner circuit 728 may be configured to combine output frequencies used by the mixer circuit 722 of the RF circuit 720 based on a frequency input and a divider control input. In some embodiments, the combiner circuit 728 may be a fractional N / N+1 combiner.

[0087] In some embodiments, the frequency input may be provided by a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO), but this is not required. The divider control input may be provided by either the baseband circuitry 704 or the application circuitry 702 (such as an application processor) depending on the desired output frequency. In some embodiments, the divider control input (e.g., N) may be determined from a lookup table based on the channel indicated by the application circuitry 702.

[0088] The synthesizer circuit 728 of the RF circuit 720 may include a divider, a delay-locked loop (DLL), a multiplexer, and a phase accumulator. In some embodiments, the divider may be a dual modulus divider (DMD) and the phase accumulator may be a digital phase accumulator (DPA). In some embodiments, the DMD may be configured to divide the input signal by either N or N+1 (e.g., based on the implementation) to provide a fractional division ratio. In some exemplary embodiments, the DLL may include a cascaded tunable delay element, a phase detector, a charge pump, and a set of D-type flip-flops. In these embodiments, the delay elements may be configured to divide the VCO period into Nd equal-phase packets, where Nd is the number of delay elements in the delay line. In this manner, the DLL provides negative feedback to help ensure that the total delay through the delay line is one VCO cycle.

[0089] In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuit 728 may be configured to generate the carrier frequency as an output frequency, while in other embodiments the output frequency may be a multiple of the carrier frequency (e.g., twice the carrier frequency, four times the carrier frequency) and may be used in conjunction with a quadrature generator and divider circuit to generate multiple signals at the carrier frequency with different phases relative to each other. In some embodiments, the output frequency is the LO frequency (f LO ) In some embodiments, the RF circuitry 720 may include an IQ / polarity converter.

[0090] FEM circuitry 730 may include a receive signal path, which may include circuitry configured to operate on RF signals received from one or more antennas 732, amplify the received signals, and provide an amplified version of the received signals to RF circuitry 720 for further processing. FEM circuitry 730 may also include a transmit signal path, which may include circuitry configured to amplify signals for transmission provided by RF circuitry 720 for transmission by one or more of the one or more antennas 732. In various embodiments, amplification through the transmit or receive signal path may occur only in RF circuitry 720, only in FEM circuitry 730, or in both RF circuitry 720 and FEM circuitry 730.

[0091] In some embodiments, the FEM circuitry 730 may include a TX / RX switch for switching between transmit and receive mode operation. The FEM circuitry 730 may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the FEM circuitry 730 may include an LNA for amplifying a received RF signal and providing the amplified received RF signal as an output (e.g., to the RF circuitry 720). The transmit signal path of the FEM circuitry 730 may include a power amplifier (PA) for amplifying an input RF signal (e.g., provided by the RF circuitry 720) and one or more filters for generating an RF signal for subsequent transmission (e.g., by one or more of the one or more antennas 732).

[0092] In some embodiments, the PMC 734 can manage the power provided to the baseband circuitry 704. In particular, the PMC 734 can control power source selection, voltage scaling, battery charging, or DC-DC conversion. The PMC 734 may often be included when the device 700 can be powered by a battery, for example, when the device 700 is included in an EGE. The PMC 734 can increase power conversion efficiency while providing desirable packaging size and heat dissipation characteristics.

[0093] 7 shows the PMC 734 coupled only to the baseband circuitry 704. However, in other embodiments, the PMC 734 may additionally or alternatively be coupled to other components, such as, but not limited to, the application circuitry 702, the RF circuitry 720, or the FEM circuitry 730, to perform similar power management operations.

[0094] In some embodiments, the PMC 734 may control or otherwise be a part of various power saving mechanisms of the device 700. For example, when the platform 700 is in an RRC connected state (still connected to a RAN node when traffic is expected to be received shortly), the device may enter a state known as discontinuous reception mode (DRX) after a period of inactivity. During this state, the device 700 may power down for short intervals, thereby conserving power.

[0095] If there is no data traffic activity for an extended period of time, the device 700 may transition to an RRC_Idle state, where it disconnects from the network and does not perform operations such as channel quality feedback, handover, etc. The device 700 goes into a very low power state, performs paging, where it again periodically wakes up to listen to the network, and then powers down again. The device 700 cannot receive data in this state, and must transition back to the RRC_Connected state to receive data.

[0096] In a further power saving mode, the device may be allowed to be unavailable from the network for periods longer than the paging interval (which can range from a few seconds to a few hours). During this time, the device may be completely unable to reach the network and may be completely powered down. Any data transmitted during this time will be significantly delayed, but the delay is deemed acceptable.

[0097] The processor of the application circuitry 702 and the processor of the baseband circuitry 704 may be used to execute elements of one or more instances of a protocol stack. For example, the processor of the baseband circuitry 704 may be used alone or in combination to execute functions of layer 3, layer 2, or layer 1, while the processor of the application circuitry 702 may further execute functions of layer 4 (e.g., a transmission communication protocol (TCP) layer and a user datagram protocol (UDP) layer) utilizing data (e.g., packet data) received from these layers. As referred to herein, layer 3 may include a radio resource control (RRC) layer, which is described in further detail below. As referred to herein, layer 2 may include a media access control (MAC) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, and a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, which are described in further detail below. As referred to herein, layer 1 may include a physical (PHY) layer of a UE / RAN node, which is described in further detail below.

[0098] 8 illustrates an example interface 800 of a baseband circuit according to some embodiments. As discussed above, the baseband circuit 704 of FIG. 5 may include a 3G baseband processor 706, a 4G baseband processor 708, a 5G baseband processor 710, other baseband processor(s) 712, a CPU 714, and memory 718 utilized by these processors. As illustrated, each of the processors may include a separate memory interface 802 for transmitting / receiving data to / from the memory 718.

[0099] The baseband circuitry 704 may further include one or more interfaces for communicatively coupling to other circuits / devices, such as a memory interface 804 (e.g., an interface for sending / receiving data to / from a memory external to the baseband circuitry 704), an application circuit interface 806 (e.g., an interface for sending / receiving data to / from the application circuitry 702 of FIG. 7), an RF circuit interface 808 (e.g., an interface for sending / receiving data to / from the RF circuitry 720 of FIG. 7), a wireless hardware connection interface 810 (e.g., an interface for sending / receiving data to / from near field communication (NFC) components, Bluetooth® components (e.g., Bluetooth® Low Energy), Wi-Fi® components, and other communication components), and a power management interface 812 (e.g., an interface for sending / receiving power or control signals to / from the PMC 734).

[0100] 9 is a block diagram illustrating a component 900 that can read instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium) and perform any one or more of the methods discussed herein, according to some example embodiments. Specifically, FIG. 9 illustrates a diagrammatic representation of hardware resources 902, which may include one or more processors 912 (or processor cores), one or more memory / storage devices 918, and one or more communication resources 920, each of which may be communicatively coupled via a bus 922. In embodiments in which node virtualization (e.g., NFV) is utilized, a hypervisor 904 may be executed to provide an execution environment for one or more network slices / sub-slices that utilize the hardware resources 902.

[0101] Processor 912 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processor, a complex instruction set computing (CISC) processor, a graphics processing unit (GPU), a digital signal processor (DSP) such as a baseband processor, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), another processor, or any suitable combination thereof) may include, for example, processor 914 and processor 916.

[0102] The memory / storage device(s) 918 may include main memory, disk storage, or any suitable combination thereof. The memory / storage device(s) 918 may include any type of 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 storage, etc.

[0103] Communications resources 920 may include interconnect or network interface components or other suitable devices for communicating with one or more peripherals 906 or one or more databases 908 over network 910. For example, communications resources 920 may include wired communications components (e.g., for coupling via a Universal Serial Bus (USB)), cellular communications components, NFC components, Bluetooth® components (e.g., Bluetooth® Low Energy), Wi-Fi® components, and other communications components.

[0104] The instructions 924 may include software, programs, applications, applets, apps, or other executable code to cause at least one of the processors 912 to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein. The instructions 924 may reside, completely or partially, within at least one of the processors 912 (e.g., in a cache memory of the processor), the memory / storage device 918, or any suitable combination thereof. Additionally, any portion of the instructions 924 may be transferred to the hardware resources 902 from any combination of the peripherals 906 or the database 908. Thus, the memory of the processor 912, the memory / storage device 918, the peripherals 906, and the database 908 are examples of computer-readable and machine-readable media.

[0105] For one or more embodiments, at least one of the components described in one or more of the preceding figures may be configured to perform one or more of the operations, techniques, processes, and / or methods as described in the example section below. For example, the baseband circuitry described above in connection with one or more of the preceding figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples described below. As another example, circuitry associated with a UE, base station, network element, etc. as described above in connection with one or more of the preceding figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples described below in the example section.

[0106] 10 illustrates an architecture of a system 1000 of a network according to some embodiments. The following description is provided for an exemplary system 1000 operating in conjunction with an LTE system standard, and a 5G or NR system standard, as provided by 3GPP technical specifications. However, the exemplary embodiments are not limited in this respect, and the described embodiments may be applied to other networks that would benefit from the principles described herein, such as future 3GPP systems (e.g., sixth generation (6G) systems).

[0107] 10, the system 1000 includes a UE 1001a and a UE 1001b (collectively referred to as "UEs 1001" or "UE 1001"). The UE 1001a and / or the UE 1001b may correspond to the UEs mentioned above.

[0108] In this example, UE 1001 is illustrated as a smartphone (e.g., a handheld touchscreen mobile computing device capable of connecting to one or more cellular networks), but may include any mobile or non-mobile computing device, such as a consumer electronics device, a cellular phone, a smartphone, a feature phone, a tablet computer, a wearable computing device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a pager, a wireless handset, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, an in-vehicle infotainment (IVI), an in-vehicle entertainment (ICE) device, an instrument cluster (IC), a head-up display (HUD) device, an in-vehicle diagnostics (OBD) device, a dash-top mobile equipment (DME), a mobile data terminal (MDT), an electronic engine management system (EEMS), an electronic / engine control unit (ECU), an electronic engine / engine control module (ECM), an embedded system, a microcontroller, a control module, an engine management system (EMS), a networked or "smart" appliance, an MTC device, an M2M, an IoT device, or the like.

[0109] In some embodiments, any of the UEs 1001 may be an IoT UE, which may have a network access layer designed for low-power IoT applications utilizing short-lived UE connections. The IoT UE may utilize technologies such as M2M or MTC to exchange data with MTC servers or devices over PLMN, ProSe or D2D communications, sensor networks, or IoT networks. M2M or MTC data exchanges may be machine-initiated exchanges of data. An IoT network refers to IoT UEs connecting with each other, which may include uniquely identifiable embedded computing devices (within the Internet infrastructure) over short-lived connections. The IoT UE may run background applications (e.g., keep-alive messages, status updates, etc.) to facilitate IoT network connectivity.

[0110] The UE 1001 may be configured to be connected to the RAN 1010 by, for example, a communicative connection. In an embodiment, the RAN 1010 may be an NG RAN or a 5G RAN, an E-UTRAN, or a legacy RAN such as a UTRAN or a GERAN. As used herein, the term "NG RAN" or the like may refer to a RAN 1010 operating in an NR or 5G system 1000, and the term "E-UTRAN" or the like may refer to a RAN 1010 operating in an LTE or 4G system 1000. The UE 1001 utilizes connection (or channel) 1003 and connection 1004, respectively, each of which comprises a physical communication interface or layer (described in more detail below).

[0111] In this example, the connections 1003 and 1004 are shown as air interfaces for enabling a communicative coupling and may correspond to a cellular communication protocol, such as a GSM protocol, a CDMA network protocol, a PTT protocol, a POC protocol, a UMTS protocol, a 3GPP LTE protocol, a 5G protocol, a NR protocol, and / or any of the other communication protocols discussed herein. In this embodiment, the UE 1001 may further directly exchange communication data via a ProSe interface 1005. The ProSe interface 1005 may alternatively be referred to as an SL interface 1005 and may include one or more logical channels, including but not limited to a PSCCH, a PSSCH, a PSDCH, and a PSBCH.

[0112] The UE 1001b is shown configured to access the AP 1006 (also referred to as "WLAN node 1006", "WLAN 1006", "WLAN terminal 1006", "WT 1006", etc.) via a connection 1007. The connection 1007 may include a local wireless connection, such as a connection conforming to any IEEE 802.11 protocol, and the AP 1006 may comprise a Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) router. In this example, the AP 1006 is shown connected to the Internet without connecting to a core network of a wireless system (described in more detail below). In various embodiments, the UE 1001b, the RAN 1010, and the AP 1006 may be configured to utilize LWA and / or LWIP operations. LWA operations may involve the UE 1001b in an RRC connection configured with the RAN nodes 1011a-1011b to utilize LTE and WLAN radio resources. LWIP operations may include UE 1001b using WLAN radio resources (e.g., connection 1007) via IPsec protocol tunneling to authenticate and encrypt packets (e.g., IP packets) sent over connection 1007. IPsec tunneling may include encapsulating the entire original IP packet and adding a new packet header, thereby protecting the original header of the IP packet.

[0113] The RAN 1010 may include one or more AN or RAN nodes 1011a and 1011b (collectively referred to as "RAN nodes 1011" or "RAN nodes 1011") that enable the connections 1003 and 1004. As used herein, the terms "access node", "access point", etc. may refer to equipment that provides wireless baseband functionality for data and / or voice connections between a network and one or more users. These access nodes may be referred to as BSs, gNBs, RAN nodes, eNBs, NodeBs, RSUs, TRxPs, TRPs, etc., and may include ground stations (e.g., terrestrial access points) or satellite stations that provide coverage within a geographic area (e.g., a cell). As used herein, the terms "NG RAN node" etc. may refer to a RAN node 1011 operating in an NR or 5G system 1000 (e.g., gNB), and the terms "E-UTRAN node" etc. may refer to a RAN node 1011 operating in an LTE or 4G system 1000 (e.g., eNB). According to various implementations, the RAN node 1011 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 to provide a femtocell, picocell, or other similar cell having a smaller coverage area, smaller user capacity, or higher bandwidth compared to a macrocell.

[0114] In some implementations, all or part of the RAN node 1011 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 those implementations, the CRAN or vBBUP may implement a RAN functionality split, such as a PDCP split, where the RRC and PDCP layers are operated by the CRAN / vBBUP and other L2 protocol entities are operated by individual RAN nodes 1011, a MAC / PHY split, where the RRC, PDCP, RLC, and MAC layers are operated by the CRAN / vBBUP and the PHY layer is operated by individual RAN nodes 1011, or a "lower PHY" split, where the RRC, PDCP, RLC, MAC layers, and the upper part of the PHY layer are operated by the CRAN / vBBUP and the lower part of the PHY layer is operated by individual RAN nodes 1011. This virtualized framework allows freed processor cores of the RAN node 1011 to run other virtualized applications. In some implementations, the individual RAN nodes 1011 may represent individual gNB-DUs connected to a gNB-CU via individual FI interfaces (not shown in FIG. 10). In these implementations, the gNB-DUs may include one or more remote radio heads or RFEMs, and the gNB-CU may be operated by a server located within the RAN 1010 (not shown) or by a server pool in a manner similar to CRAN / vBBUP. Additionally or alternatively, one or more of the RAN nodes 1011 may be Next Generation eNBs (ng-eNBs), which are RAN nodes that provide E-UTRA user plane and control plane protocol terminals towards the UE 1001 and connect to the 5G Core (5GC) via an NG interface.

[0115] In a V2X scenario, one or more of the RAN nodes 1011 may be or play the role of an RSU. The term "Road Side Unit" or "RSU" may refer to any traffic infrastructure entity used for V2X communications. The RSU may be implemented in or by a suitable RAN node or a stationary (or relatively stationary) UE, and 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. In one example, an RSU is a computational device connected to radio frequency circuits located on the roadside that provide connectivity support to passing vehicle UEs 1001 (vUEs 1001). The RSU may also include internal data storage circuitry for storing intersection map geometry, traffic statistics, media, and applications / software for detecting and controlling ongoing vehicular and pedestrian traffic. The RSU may operate in the 5.9 GHz Direct Short Range Communication (DSRC) band to provide very low latency communications necessary for high speed events such as collision avoidance, traffic warnings, etc. Additionally or alternatively, the RSU may operate in the cellular V2X band to provide the aforementioned low latency communications as well as other cellular communication services. Additionally or alternatively, the RSU may operate as a Wi-Fi hotspot (2.4 GHz band) and / or provide connectivity to one or more cellular networks to provide uplink and downlink communications. Some or all of the computing device(s) and the radio frequency circuitry of the RSU may be packaged in a weatherproof enclosure suitable for outdoor installation and may include a network interface controller to provide a wired connection (e.g., Ethernet) to a traffic signal controller and / or a backhaul network.

[0116] Any of the RAN nodes 1011 may terminate the air interface protocols and be the first point of contact for the UE 1001. In some embodiments, any of the RAN nodes 1011 may perform various logical functions for the RAN 1010, including, but not limited to, a Radio Network Controller (RNC), such as radio bearer management, uplink and downlink dynamic radio resource management and data packet scheduling, and mobility management.

[0117] According to some embodiments, the UEs 1001 may be configured to communicate with either one another or the RAN nodes 1011 using OFDM communication signals over multi-carrier communication channels according to various communication technologies, such as, but not limited to, an OFDMA communication technology (e.g., for downlink communications) or an SC-FDMA communication technology (e.g., for uplink and ProSe or sidelink communications), and the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. An OFDM signal may include multiple orthogonal subcarriers.

[0118] In some embodiments, a downlink resource grid can be used for downlink transmissions from any of the RAN nodes 1011 to the UE 1001, while uplink transmissions can utilize similar techniques. The grid can be a time-frequency grid, called a resource grid or time-frequency resource grid, which is the physical resources of the downlink in each slot. Such a time-frequency plane representation is common in OFDM systems, making the allocation of radio resources intuitive. Each column and each row of the resource grid corresponds to one OFDM symbol and one OFDM subcarrier, respectively. The duration of the resource grid in the time domain corresponds to one slot in a radio frame. The smallest time-frequency unit of the resource grid is denoted as a resource element. Each resource grid contains a number of resource blocks, which represent the mapping of a particular physical channel to resource elements. Each resource block contains a set of resource elements, which in the frequency domain can represent the smallest amount of resources that can currently be allocated. There are several different physical downlink channels that are conveyed using such resource blocks.

[0119] According to various embodiments, the UE 1001 and the RAN node 1011 communicate (e.g., transmit and receive) data over licensed media (also referred to as "licensed spectrum" and / or "licensed band") and unlicensed shared media (also referred to as "unlicensed spectrum" and / or "unlicensed band"). The licensed spectrum may include channels operating in a frequency range from about 400 MHz to about 3.8 GHz, and the unlicensed spectrum may include the 5 GHz band.

[0120] To operate in the unlicensed spectrum, the UE 1001 and the RAN node 1011 may operate using LAA, eLAA, and / or feLAA mechanisms. In these implementations, the UE 1001 and the RAN node 1011 may perform one or more known medium sensing and / or carrier sensing operations to determine whether one or more channels in the unlicensed spectrum are unavailable or otherwise occupied prior to transmitting in the unlicensed spectrum. The medium / carrier sensing operations may be performed according to a Listen Before Talk (LBT) protocol.

[0121] LBT is a mechanism whereby a device (e.g., UE 1001, RAN node 1011, etc.) senses the medium (e.g., channel or carrier frequency) and transmits when it senses the medium as idle (or senses that a particular channel in the medium is unoccupied). The medium sensing operation may include CCA utilizing at least ED to determine the presence or absence of other signals on the channel to determine if the channel is occupied or free. This LBT mechanism allows cellular / LAA networks to coexist with current occupied systems and with other LAA networks in unlicensed spectrum. The ED may include sensing RF energy over the intended transmission band for a period of time and comparing the sensed RF energy to a predefined or configured threshold.

[0122] Typically, the current occupant system in the 5 GHz band is a WLAN based on IEEE 802.11 technology. WLAN adopts a contention-based channel access mechanism called CSMA / CA. Here, when a WLAN node (e.g., a mobile station (MS), such as UE 1001, AP 1006, etc.) intends to transmit, the WLAN node may first perform CCA before transmitting. Furthermore, a back-off mechanism is used to avoid collisions in the situation where two or more WLAN nodes simultaneously sense the channel as idle and transmit. The back-off mechanism may be a randomly drawn counter in the CWS, which is exponentially increased upon occurrence of a collision and reset to a minimum value upon successful transmission. The LBT mechanism designed for LAA is somewhat similar to CSMA / CA in WLAN. In some implementations, an LBT procedure for a DL or UL transmission burst containing a PDSCH or PUSCH transmission, respectively, can have an LAA contention window that is variable in length between X and Y ECCA slots, where X and Y are the minimum and maximum CWS for LAA. In one example, the minimum CWS for an LAA transmission may be 9 microseconds (ps), although the size of the CWS and MCOT (e.g., transmission burst) may be based on government regulatory requirements.

[0123] The LAA mechanism is built on the CA technology of the LTE-Advanced system. In CA, each aggregated carrier is called a CC. A CC can have a bandwidth of 1.4, 3, 5, 10, 15, or 20 MHz, and can aggregate up to 5 CCs, so the maximum aggregated bandwidth is 100 MHz. In an FDD system, the number of aggregated carriers can be different for DL ​​and UL, and the number of UL CCs is equal to or less than the number of DL component carriers. In some cases, individual CCs can have different bandwidths from other CCs. In a TDD system, the number of CCs and the bandwidth of each CC are usually the same for DL ​​and UL.

[0124] CA also includes individual serving cells providing individual CCs. For example, the coverage of serving cells may differ because CCs in different frequency bands experience different path losses. A primary serving cell or PCell may provide PCCs for both UL and DL and handle RRC and NAS related activities. Other serving cells are called SCells, and each SCell may provide separate SCCs for both UL and DL. SCCs may be added and removed as needed, but changing the PCC may require the UE 1001 to undergo handover. In LAA, eLAA, and feLAA, some or all of the SCells may operate in unlicensed bands (called "LAA SCells"), and the LAA SCells are backed by a PCell operating in licensed bands. When a UE is configured with two or more LAA SCells, the UE may receive UL grants on the configured LAA SCells indicating different PUSCH starting positions in the same subframe.

[0125] The PDSCH carries user data and higher layer signaling to the UEs 1001. The PDCCH carries, among other things, information regarding transport formats and resource allocations related to the PDSCH channel. It may also inform the UEs 1001 about transmission formats, resource allocations, and HARQ information for the uplink shared channel. Typically, downlink scheduling (allocating control and shared channel resource blocks to the UEs 1001b in the cell) may be performed in any of the RAN nodes 1011 based on channel quality information fed back from any of the UEs 1001. The downlink resource allocation information may be transmitted on the PDCCHs used (e.g., assigned) for each of the UEs 1001.

[0126] The PDCCH conveys control information using control channel elements (CCEs). Before being mapped to resource elements, the PDCCH complex-valued symbols may first be organized into quadruplets and then permuted using a sub-block interleaver for rate matching. Each PDCCH may be transmitted using one or more of these CCEs, and each CCE may correspond to six physical resource element groups (REGs). Each REG includes one resource block within one OFDM symbol. The PDCCH may be transmitted using one or more CCEs depending on the size of the downlink control information (DCI) and the channel conditions. Different numbers of CCEs (e.g., aggregation levels, L=1, 2, 4, 8 or 16) may be used for the transmission of the PDCCH.

[0127] Some embodiments may use a concept for resource allocation for control channel information that is an extension of the concept above. For example, some embodiments may utilize an EPDCCH that uses PDSCH resources for control information transmission. The EPDCCH may be transmitted using one or more ECCEs. As above, each ECCE may correspond to nine sets of four physical resource elements known as EREGs. An ECCE may have other numbers of EREGs in some situations.

[0128] The RAN nodes 1011 may be configured to communicate with each other via the interface 1012. In an embodiment where the system 1000 is an LTE system (e.g., where the CN 1020 is an EPC), the interface 1012 may be an X2 interface 1012. The X2 interface may be defined between two or more RAN nodes 1011 (e.g., two or more eNBs) that connect to the EPC 1020 and / or between two eNBs that connect to the EPC 1020. In some implementations, the X2 interface may include an X2 user plane interface (X2-U) and an X2 control plane interface (X2-C). The X2-U may provide a flow control mechanism for user data packets forwarded over the X2 interface and may be used to communicate information regarding the distribution of user data between the eNBs. For example, the X2 may provide specific sequence number information of user data transferred from the MeNB to the SeNB, information regarding successful in-order delivery of PDCP PDUs from the SeNB to the UE 1001 for user data, information regarding PDCP PDUs not delivered to the UE 1001, information regarding the current minimum desired buffer size at the SeNB for transmitting user data to the UE, etc. The X2-C may provide intra-LTE access mobility functions, load management functions, including context transfer from a source eNB to a target eNB, user plane transport control, etc. In an embodiment where the system 1000 is a 5G or NR system (e.g., where the CN 1020 is a 5GC), the interface 1012 may be an Xn interface 1012. The Xn interface is defined between two or more RAN nodes 1011 (e.g., two or more gNBs, etc.) that connect to the 5GC 1020, between a RAN node 1011 (e.g., a gNB) and an eNB that connect to the 5GC 1020, and / or between two eNBs that connect to the 5GC 1020. In some implementations, the Xn interface may include an Xn user plane (Xn-U) interface and an Xn control plane (Xn-C) interface. Xn-U may provide non-guaranteed delivery of user plane PDUs and support / provide data forwarding and flow control functions.Xn-C may provide mobility support for the UE 1001 in connected mode (e.g., CM-CONNECTED), including management and error handling functions, functions to manage the Xn-C interface, and functions to manage UE mobility in connected mode between one or more RAN nodes 1011. Mobility support may include context transfer from the old (source) serving RAN node 1011 to the new (target) serving RAN node 1011, and control of user plane tunnels between the old (source) serving RAN node 1011 and the new (target) serving RAN node 1011. To carry user plane PDUs, the protocol stack of Xn-U may include a transport network layer built on an Internet Protocol (IP) transport layer, and a GTP-U layer on top of UDP and / or IP layer(s). The Xn-C protocol stack may include an application layer signaling protocol (called Xn Application Protocol (Xn-AP)) and a transport network layer built on SCTP. SCTP may sit above the IP layer and provide guaranteed delivery of application layer messages. At the transport IP layer, point-to-point transmission is used to deliver signaling PDUs. In other implementations, the Xn-U protocol stack and / or the Xn-C protocol stack may be the same as or similar to the user plane and / or control plane protocol stack(s) shown and described herein.

[0129] The RAN 1010 is shown communicatively coupled to a core network, in this embodiment a core network (CN) 1020. The CN 1020 may comprise a number of network elements 1022 configured to provide various data and telecommunication services to customers / subscribers (e.g., user UE 1001) connected to the CN 1020 via the RAN 1010. The components of the CN 1020 may be implemented in a single physical node or separate physical nodes, including components for reading and executing instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium). In some embodiments, NFV may be utilized to virtualize any or all of the network node functions described above via executable instructions stored on one or more computer-readable storage media (described in more detail below). A logical instantiation of the CN 1020 may be referred to as a network slice, and a logical instantiation of a portion of the CN 1020 may be referred to as a network sub-slice. The NFV architecture and infrastructure may be used to virtualize one or more network functions on physical resources including a combination of industry-standard server hardware, storage hardware, or switches, or may be performed by dedicated hardware. In other words, an NFV system may be used to execute a virtual or reconfigurable implementation of one or more EPC components / functions.

[0130] In general, the application server 1030 may be an element that provides applications that use IP bearer resources with the core network (e.g., UMTS PS domain, LTE PS data services, etc.). The application server 1030 may also be configured to support one or more communication services (e.g., VoIP sessions, PTT sessions, group communication sessions, social networking services, etc.) for the UE 1001 via the EPC 1020.

[0131] In an embodiment, the CN 1020 may be a 5GC (e.g., referred to as "5GC 1020"), and the RAN 1010 may be connected to the CN 1020 via an NG interface 1013. In an embodiment, the NG interface 1013 may be divided into two parts: an NG User Plane (NG-U) interface 1014, which carries traffic data between the RAN node 1011 and the UPF, and an SI Control Plane (NG-C) interface 1015, which is a signaling interface between the RAN node 1011 and the AMF.

[0132] In an embodiment, the CN 1020 may be a 5G CN (referred to as "5GC 1020"), and in other embodiments, the CN 1020 may be an EPC. When the CN 1020 is an EPC (referred to as "EPC 1020"), the RAN 1010 may be connected to the CN 1020 via an SI interface 1013. In an embodiment, the SI interface 1013 may be split into two parts: an SI user plane (S1-U) interface 1014 that carries traffic data between the RAN node 1011 and the S-GW, and an S1-MME interface 1015 that is a signaling interface between the RAN node 1011 and the MME.

[0133] Additional Examples For one or more embodiments, at least one of the components described in one or more of the preceding figures may be configured to perform one or more of the operations, techniques, processes, and / or methods as described in the example section below. For example, the baseband circuitry described above in connection with one or more of the preceding figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples described below. As another example, circuitry associated with a UE, base station, network element, etc. as described above in connection with one or more of the preceding figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples described below in the example section.

[0134] The following examples relate to further embodiments.

[0135] Example 1 is a method for a user equipment (UE), the method including: performing HO of a target primary cell (PCell) and addition of the target PSCell based on a command for handover (HO) with a primary secondary cell (PSCell); adjusting a radio frequency (RF) for the HO of the target PCell according to a reference signal (RS) occasion for the HO of the target PCell; and adjusting the RF for the addition of the target PSCell according to the RS occasion for the addition of the target PSCell.

[0136] Example 2 is the method according to Example 1, in which HO of the target PCell and addition of the target PSCell are performed sequentially, and the UE adjusts RF for the addition of the target PSCell after HO of the target PCell is completed.

[0137] Example 3 is the method according to Example 2, in which the UE adjusts the RF for the addition of the target PSCell before a first available RS occasion for the addition of the target PSCell.

[0138] Example 4 is a method according to Example 2, in which the UE adjusts the RF for the addition of the target PSCell before a random access channel (RACH) transmission of the target PSCell for which a predetermined number of RS occasions for the addition of the target PSCell have been measured.

[0139] Example 5 is a method described in Example 1, in which the HO of the target PCell and the addition of the target PSCell are performed in parallel, and the UE adjusts the RF for the HO of the target PCell during the period of the HO of the target PCell and adjusts the RF for the addition of the target PSCell during the period of the addition of the target PSCell.

[0140] Example 6 is a method according to Example 5, in which the UE adjusts the RF for the addition of the target PSCell during the period of addition of the target PSCell after the command for HO is processed and before the first available RS occasion for the addition of the target PSCell.

[0141] Example 7 is the method described in Example 6, in which the period of HO of the target PCell is extended when the duration for which the UE adjusts the RF for the addition of the target PSCell conflicts with at least one RS occasion for HO of the target PCell, such that the at least one RS occasion for HO of the target PCell is interrupted.

[0142] Example 8 is the method according to example 7, in which a duration of HO of the target PCell is extended for at least one RS occasion.

[0143] Example 9 is the method according to Example 6, in which the duration of HO of the target PCell is not extended if the RS occasion for HO of the target PCell is not interrupted by RF adjustment for the addition of the target PSCell.

[0144] Example 10 is the method described in Example 6, in which, after HO of the target PCell is completed, when the UE adjusts the RF for adding the target PSCell, the UE suspends the data channel and / or the control channel on the target PCell for the duration during which the UE adjusts the RF for adding the target PSCell.

[0145] Example 11 is the method according to Example 5, in which the UE aligns and adjusts the RF for HO of the target PCell and the RF for adding the target PSCell in the time domain.

[0146] Example 12 is a method according to Example 11, in which the UE simultaneously adjusts the RF for HO of the target PCell and the RF for adding the target PSCell before the earlier of the first available RS occasion for HO of the target PCell after the command for HO is processed and the first available RS occasion for adding the target PSCell.

[0147] Example 13 is a method according to Example 11, in which the UE simultaneously adjusts the RF for HO of the target PCell and the RF for adding the target PSCell before the time when the RS occasion for HO of the target PCell and the RS occasion for adding the target PSCell are the first overlap in the time domain.

[0148] Example 14 is a method as described in Example 1, in which the UE adjusts the RF for HO of the target PCell to include RS occasions for the target PCell, and performs at least one of tuning or retuning the RF chains, powering on the RF chains, and expanding the RF coverage in the frequency domain, and the UE adjusts the RF for addition of the target PSCell to include RS occasions for the target PSCell, and performs at least one of tuning or retuning the RF chains, powering on the RF chains, and expanding the RF coverage in the frequency domain.

[0149] Example 15 is an apparatus for a user equipment (UE), the apparatus comprising one or more processors configured to execute steps of the method according to any one of Examples 1 to 14.

[0150] Example 16 is a computer-readable medium storing a computer program that, when executed by one or more processors, causes an apparatus to perform the steps of the method according to any one of Examples 1 to 14.

[0151] Example 17 is an apparatus for a communication device, comprising means for performing the steps of the method according to any one of Examples 1 to 14.

[0152] Example 18 is a computer program product comprising a computer program that, when executed by one or more processors, causes an apparatus to perform the steps of the method according to any of Examples 1 to 14.

[0153] Any of the above-described examples can 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 forms disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings or may be acquired from practice of various embodiments.

[0154] It should be appreciated that the systems described herein include descriptions of specific embodiments. These embodiments may be combined into a single system, partially combined into other systems, split into multiple systems, or otherwise split or combined. In addition, it is contemplated that parameters / attributes / aspects / etc. of one embodiment may be used in another embodiment. It is appreciated that parameters / attributes / aspects / etc. are described in one or more embodiments for clarity only, and that parameters / attributes / aspects / etc. may be combined or substituted with parameters / attributes / etc. of another embodiment, unless specifically disclaimed herein.

[0155] It is understood that use of personally identifiable information should comply with privacy policies and practices generally recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or governmental 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.

[0156] Although the foregoing has been described in some detail for clarity, it will be apparent that certain changes and modifications can be made without departing from the principles thereof. It should be noted that there are many alternative ways of implementing both the processes and the apparatus described herein. Thus, the present embodiments should be considered as illustrative and not restrictive, and the description should not be limited to the details given herein, but may be modified within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. One or more computer-readable media having instructions that, when executed, cause one or more processors to: receiving a command to perform a handover (HO) to a primary secondary cell (PSCell); Based on the receipt of the command, performing a primary cell (PCell) HO within a first time period from the receipt of the command; Based on the receipt of the command, performing a PSCell addition or modification within a second period from the receipt of the command; 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the first period at least partially overlaps with the second period, the first period including a first RF adjustment period for adjusting a first radio frequency (RF) for the PCell HO, and the second period including a second RF adjustment period for adjusting a second RF for the PSCell addition or change, the second RF adjustment period being aligned with the first RF adjustment period in the time domain.

2. 2. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors adjust the first RF and the second RF before a Reference Signal (RS) occasion for the PCell HO that occurs within the first period and before an RS occasion for the PSCell addition or modification that occurs within the second period.

3. 2. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors tune the first RF and the second RF before a time point that is an initial overlap, in the time domain, between a reference signal (RS) occasion for the PCell HO and an RS occasion for the PSCell addition or modification.

4. The instructions, when executed, further cause the one or more processors to: Adjusting the second RF to perform the PSCell addition or modification; measuring one or more reference signal (RS) occasions associated with a target PSCell after adjusting the second RF; 10. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 1, causing a Random Access Channel (RACH) transmission to be sent to the target PSCell after measuring the one or more RS occasions.

5. To measure the one or more RS occasions, the one or more processors: The one or more computer-readable media of claim 4 , measuring a synchronization signal block transmitted by the target PSCell in the one or more RS occasions.

6. The instructions, when executed, further cause the one or more processors to: Tuning the first RF to perform the PCell HO; measuring one or more reference signal (RS) occasions associated with a target PCell after adjusting the first RF; The one or more computer-readable media of claim 1 , completing a PCell HO based on measurements of the one or more RS occasions.

7. To measure the one or more RS occasions, the one or more processors: The one or more computer-readable media of claim 6 , measuring a synchronization signal block transmitted by the target PCell in the one or more RS occasions.

8. A method comprising: receiving a command to handover (HO) to a primary secondary cell (PSCell); Based on receiving the command, performing a primary cell (PCell) HO within a first time period from receiving the command; and performing a PSCell addition or modification within a second period of time from the receipt of the command based on the receipt of the command; 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the first period at least partially overlaps with the second period, the first period includes a first radio frequency (RF) adjustment period for adjusting a first RF for the PCell HO, and the second period includes a second RF adjustment period for adjusting a second RF for the PSCell addition or change, and the second RF adjustment period is aligned with the first RF adjustment period in the time domain.

9. 9. The method of claim 8, further comprising: adjusting the first RF and the second RF before a Reference Signal (RS) occasion for the PCell HO occurs within the first time period and before an RS occasion for the PSCell addition or modification occurs within the second time period.

10. 10. The method of claim 8, further comprising: adjusting the first RF and the second RF before a time point that is an initial overlap between a reference signal (RS) occasion for the PCell HO and an RS occasion for the PSCell addition or modification in the time domain.

11. Adjusting the second RF to perform the PSCell addition or modification; measuring one or more reference signal (RS) occasions associated with a target PSCell after adjusting the second RF; 10. The method of claim 8, further comprising: transmitting a Random Access Channel (RACH) transmission to the target PSCell after measuring the one or more RS occasions.

12. Measuring the one or more RS occasions The method of claim 11 , comprising measuring a synchronization signal block transmitted by the target PSCell in the one or more RS occasions.

13. Adjusting the first RF to perform the PCell HO; measuring one or more reference signal (RS) occasions associated with a target PCell after adjusting the first RF; The method of claim 8 , further comprising: completing the PCell HO based on measurements of the one or more RS occasions.

14. Measuring the one or more RS occasions The method of claim 13 , comprising measuring a synchronization signal block transmitted by the target PCell in the one or more RS occasions.

15. An interface circuit; a processing circuit coupled to the interface circuit; a user equipment comprising: receiving a command to perform a handover (HO) to a primary secondary cell (PSCell); Based on the receipt of the command, perform a primary cell (PCell) HO within a first time period from the receipt of the command; Based on the receipt of the command, performing a PSCell addition or modification within a second period from the receipt of the command; 11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the first period at least partially overlaps with the second period, the first period including a first radio frequency (RF) adjustment period for adjusting a first RF for the PCell HO, the second period including a second RF adjustment period for adjusting a second RF for the PSCell addition or change, and the second RF adjustment period is aligned with the first RF adjustment period in the time domain.

16. 16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the processing circuitry tunes the first RF and the second RF before a Reference Signal (RS) occasion for the PCell HO that occurs within the first period and before an RS occasion for the PSCell addition or modification that occurs within the second period.

17. 16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the processing circuitry tunes the first RF and the second RF before a time point that is an initial overlap in the time domain between a reference signal (RS) occasion for the PCell HO and an RS occasion for the PSCell addition or modification.

18. The processing circuitry further comprises: Tuning the second RF to perform the PSCell addition or modification; measuring one or more reference signal (RS) occasions associated with a target PSCell after adjusting the second RF; The apparatus of claim 15, further comprising: transmitting a random access channel (RACH) transmission to the target PSCell after measuring the one or more RS occasions.

19. To measure the one or more RS occasions, the processing circuitry further comprises: The apparatus of claim 18 , further comprising: a first RS instance for measuring a synchronization signal block transmitted by the target PSCell in the one or more RS occasions.

20. The processing circuitry further comprises: Tuning the first RF to perform the PCell HO; measuring one or more reference signal (RS) occasions associated with a target PCell after adjusting the first RF; The apparatus of claim 18 , further comprising: completing a PCell HO based on measurements of the one or more RS occasions.

21. To measure the one or more RS occasions, the processing circuitry further comprises: The apparatus of claim 20 , further comprising: a first RS-based hopping unit configured to hop between adjacent nodes of a target PCell and the target PCell;

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