Antenna switching scheduling

Abstract

To provide a method, a system, and a device for wireless communication.SOLUTION: Multi-antenna user equipment (UE) may communicate with a base station using a first antenna, determine to switch from the first antenna to a second antenna for communicating with the base station, determine a silence window during which communication with the base station is interrupted, schedule a switch from the first antenna to the second antenna to occur during the silence window, and switch from the first antenna to the second antenna during the silence window.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Claim of Priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 This patent application claims the benefit of priority of U.S. Provisional Application No. 16 / 557,783, filed on Aug. 30, 2019, entitled “ANTENNA SWITCH SCHEDULING,” which is assigned to the assignee of this application and is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

[0002] The following generally relates to wireless communications and, more particularly, to scheduling of antenna switching in a multi-antenna user equipment (UE).

Background Art

[0003] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content, such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, and the like. These systems may be capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources, such as time, frequency, and power. Examples of such multi-connectivity systems include fourth generation (4G) systems such as E-UTRA, Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, or LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) systems, and fifth generation (5G) systems that may be referred to as New Radio (NR) systems. These systems may employ techniques such as code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), or discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-S-OFDM). A wireless multi-connectivity communication system may include several base stations or network access nodes that each simultaneously support communication for a plurality of communication devices, also known as user equipment (UE).

[0004] Generally, base stations and UEs communicate via transmission over forward and reverse links. The forward link (or downlink) refers to the communication link from the base station to the UE, and the reverse link (or uplink) refers to the communication link from the UE to the base station. Forward and / or reverse links can be established via single-input single-output (SISO), multiple-input single-output (MISO), or multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems. In devices utilizing multiple antennas, algorithms may exist for switching antennas to achieve desired performance (for example, to switch from using an antenna that may be shielded by the device's orientation). Furthermore, some UEs may be configured to communicate with base stations using multiple-source radio access technologies, such as E-UTRA New Radio-Dual Connectivity (EN-DC) mode. [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0005] The techniques described relate to improved methods, systems, devices, or apparatus for supporting antenna switching scheduling in multi-antenna user equipment (UE). [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A method for wireless communication in a multi-antenna UE is described. The method may include the steps of: communicating with a base station using a first antenna; deciding to switch from the first antenna to a second antenna in order to communicate with the base station; determining a silence window in which communication with the base station will be interrupted; scheduling the switch from the first antenna to the second antenna to occur during the silence window; and switching from the first antenna to the second antenna during the silence window.

[0007] A multi-antenna UE is described. The UE may include a first antenna, a second antenna, a processor, memory coupled to the processor, and instructions stored in the memory. The instructions may be executable by the processor to cause the UE to communicate with a base station using the first antenna, to decide to switch from the first antenna to the second antenna to communicate with the base station, to determine a silence window during which communication with the base station is interrupted, to schedule the switch from the first antenna to the second antenna to occur during the silence window, and to cause the switch from the first antenna to the second antenna during the silence window.

[0008] An apparatus for wireless communication is described. The apparatus may include means for communicating with a base station using a first antenna, means for deciding to switch from the first antenna to a second antenna for communication with the base station, means for determining a silence window during which communication with the base station is interrupted, means for scheduling the switch from the first antenna to the second antenna to occur during the silence window, and means for switching from the first antenna to the second antenna during the silence window.

[0009] A non-temporary computer-readable medium for storing code for wireless communication is described. The code may include instructions executable by a processor to communicate with a base station using a first antenna, to decide to switch from the first antenna to a second antenna to communicate with the base station, to determine a silence window during which communication with the base station is interrupted, to schedule the switch from the first antenna to the second antenna to occur during the silence window, and to switch from the first antenna to the second antenna during the silence window. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0010] [Figure 1]This figure shows an example of a system for wireless communications that supports antenna switching scheduling in a multi-antenna user equipment (UE) according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] This is a block diagram of a portion of a multi-antenna UE that supports antenna switching scheduling according to an aspect of this disclosure. [Figure 3] This is a block diagram of a portion of a multi-antenna UE that supports scheduling of multi-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna switching according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 4] This is a time-series diagram illustrating the operation of the UE in antenna switching scheduling according to the embodiments of this disclosure. [Figure 5] This is a time-series diagram illustrating the operation of the UE in antenna switching scheduling according to the embodiments of this disclosure. [Figure 6] This is a time-series diagram illustrating the operation of the UE in antenna switching scheduling according to the embodiments of this disclosure. [Figure 7] This is a time-series diagram illustrating the operation of the UE in antenna switching scheduling according to the embodiments of this disclosure. [Figure 8] This is a time-series diagram illustrating the operation of the UE in antenna switching scheduling according to the embodiments of this disclosure. [Figure 9] This is a block diagram of a device that supports antenna switching scheduling according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 10] This is a block diagram of a system including a multi-antenna UE that supports antenna switching scheduling, according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 11] This figure shows a method for scheduling antenna switching in a multi-antenna UE according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 12] This figure shows a method for scheduling antenna switching in a multi-antenna UE according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0011] Various aspects of this disclosure provide techniques for scheduling antenna switching in multi-antenna user equipment (UE). In one aspect, the UE may decide to switch from a first antenna to a second antenna when communicating with a base station. Switching from one antenna to another may involve a communication interruption to avoid damage to components of the UE (e.g., front-end components such as power amplifiers) and / or to change the configuration of components (e.g., antenna switching diversity (ASDIV) configuration). Interrupting communication during a connection with a base station may result in communication delays and / or failures. In some aspects, the UE may decide whether an approaching silence window is available and may schedule the antenna switch to occur during the silence window. In some aspects, scheduling antenna switching can reduce connection failures or losses due to transmission and / or reception interruptions or gaps.

[0012] First, aspects of this disclosure will be described in the context of wireless communication systems. These aspects will be further illustrated and described with reference to device diagrams, time-series diagrams, system diagrams, and flowcharts relating to antenna switching scheduling in a multi-antenna UE.

[0013] Figure 1 shows an example of a wireless communication system 100 that supports antenna switching scheduling in a multi-antenna UE according to various aspects of the present disclosure. The wireless communication system 100 includes a base station 105, an UE 115, and a core network 130. In some aspects, the wireless communication system 100 may be a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network, an LTE Advanced (LTE-A) network, or a New Radio (NR) network. In some cases, the wireless communication system 100 may support extended broadband communication, ultra-high reliability (e.g., mission-critical) communication, low-latency communication, or communication with low-cost, low-complexity devices.

[0014] Base station 105 may communicate wirelessly with UE 115 via one or more base station antennas. The base station 105 described herein may include, or may be referred to by, several other appropriate terms, such as transceiver base station, radio base station, access point, radio transceiver, NodeB, eNodeB (eNB), next-generation NodeB or giga-NodeB (any of which may be called gNB), Home NodeB, Home eNodeB, or several other appropriate terms. The wireless communication system 100 may include different types of base stations 105 (e.g., macrocell base stations or smallcell base stations). UE 115 described herein may be able to communicate with various types of base stations 105 and network equipment, including macro eNBs, smallcell eNBs, gNBs, relay base stations, and the like.

[0015] Each base station 105 may be associated with a specific geographical coverage area 110 that supports communication with various UEs 115. Each base station 105 may provide communication coverage to its respective geographical coverage area 110 via a communication link 125, and the communication link 125 between the base station 105 and the UE 115 may utilize one or more carriers. The communication link 125 shown in the wireless communication system 100 may include uplink transmissions from the UE 115 to the base station 105 or downlink transmissions from the base station 105 to the UE 115. Downlink transmissions are sometimes called forward link transmissions, and uplink transmissions are sometimes called reverse link transmissions.

[0016] A geographical coverage area 110 for a base station 105 may be divided into sectors that constitute only a portion of the geographical coverage area 110, and each sector may be associated with a cell. In some embodiments, each base station 105 may provide communication coverage for macrocells, small cells, hotspots, or other types of cells, or various combinations thereof. In some embodiments, the base station 105 may be mobile and therefore provide communication coverage to a moving geographical coverage area 110. In some embodiments, different geographical coverage areas 110 associated with different technologies may overlap, and overlapping geographical coverage areas 110 associated with different technologies may be supported by the same base station 105 or by different base stations 105. The wireless communication system 100 may include, for example, heterogeneous LTE / LTE-A or NR networks in which different types of base stations 105 provide coverage for various geographical coverage areas 110.

[0017] The term "cell" refers to a logical communication entity used for communication with a base station 105 (e.g., via a carrier), and may be associated with an identifier (e.g., a physical cell identifier (PCID), a virtual cell identifier (VCID)) for distinguishing adjacent cells operating via the same or different carriers. In some aspects, a carrier may support multiple cells, and different cells may be configured according to different protocol types (e.g., machine type communication (MTC), narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), or others) that provide access for different types of devices. In some cases, the term "cell" may refer to a portion of a geographic coverage area 110 (e.g., a sector) over which the logical entity operates.

[0018] UEs 115 may be distributed throughout the wireless communication system 100, and each UE 115 can be fixed or mobile. UEs 115 may also be referred to by other suitable terms such as mobile devices, wireless devices, remote devices, handheld devices, or subscriber devices, and the term "device" may also be referred to as a unit, station, terminal, or client. UEs 115 may also be personal electronic devices such as mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), tablet computers, laptop computers, or personal computers. In some examples, UEs 115 may also refer to wireless local loop (WLL) stations, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, any Internet of Everything (IoE) device, or MTC devices, etc., which may be implemented in various articles such as appliances, vehicles, meters, etc.

[0019] Some UEs 115, such as MTC devices or IoT devices, may be low-cost or low-complexity devices and may provide automated communication between machines (e.g., via machine-to-machine (M2M) communication). M2M communication or MTC may refer to a data communication technology that enables devices to communicate with each other or with the base station 105 without human intervention. In some aspects, M2M communication or MTC may include communication from a device that incorporates sensors or meters to measure or obtain information and relay that information to a central server or application program that can utilize the information, or present the information to a human who can interact with the program or application. Some UEs 115 may be designed to collect information or enable automated behavior of machines. Examples of applications of MTC devices include smart metering, inventory monitoring, water level monitoring, equipment monitoring, healthcare monitoring, wildlife monitoring, weather and geological event monitoring, fleet management and tracking, remote security detection, physical access control, and transaction-based business billing.

[0020] Some UEs 115 may be configured to utilize an operation mode that reduces power consumption, such as half-duplex communication (e.g., a mode that supports unidirectional communication via transmission or reception but does not support transmission and reception simultaneously). In some aspects, half-duplex communication may be performed at a reduced peak rate. Other power-saving techniques for UEs 115 include entering a power-saving "deep sleep" mode when not actively involved in communication or operating via a limited bandwidth (e.g., in accordance with narrowband communication). In some cases, UEs 115 may be designed to support critical functions (e.g., mission-critical functions), and the wireless communication system 100 may be configured to provide ultra-high reliability communication for these functions.

[0021] In some cases, a UE115 may also be able to communicate directly with other UE115s (for example, using a peer-to-peer (P2P) protocol or a device-to-device (D2D) protocol). One or more of the groups of UE115s utilizing D2D communication may be within the geographical coverage area 110 of base station 105. Other UE115s in such groups may be outside the geographical coverage area 110 of base station 105, or otherwise unable to receive transmissions from base station 105. In some cases, a group of UE115s communicating via D2D communication may utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system where each UE115 transmits to any other UE115 in the group. In some cases, base station 105 facilitates the scheduling of resources for D2D communication. In other cases, D2D communication takes place between UE115s without the involvement of base station 105.

[0022] The base stations 105 can communicate with the core network 130 and with each other. In some embodiments, the base stations 105 can interface with the core network 130 via the backhaul link 132 (e.g., via S1 or other interfaces). The base stations 105 can communicate with each other via the backhaul link 134 (e.g., via X2 or other interfaces), either directly (e.g., directly between base stations 105) or indirectly (e.g., via the core network 130).

[0023] The core network 130 may provide user authentication, access permission, tracking, Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity, and other access, routing, or mobility functions. The core network 130 may also be an evolved packet core (EPC), which may include at least one mobility management entity (MME), at least one serving gateway (S-GW), and at least one packet data network (PDN) gateway (P-GW). The MME may manage non-access layer (e.g., control plane) functions, such as mobility, authentication, and bearer management for UE 115 serviced by base station 105 associated with the EPC. User IP packets may be forwarded through an S-GW which may itself be connected to a P-GW. The P-GW may provide IP address allocation and other functions. The P-GW may be connected to a network operator's IP services. Operator IP services may include access to the Internet, intranet, IP multimedia subsystem (IMS), or packet-switched (PS) streaming services.

[0024] At least some of the network devices, such as base station 105, may include sub-components such as access network entities, which may be examples of access node controllers (ANCs). Each access network entity may communicate with UE 115 through several other access network transmission entities, which may be called radio heads, smart radio heads, or transmit / receive points (TRPs). In some configurations, the various functions of each access network entity or base station 105 may be distributed across various network devices (e.g., radio heads and access network controllers) or integrated into a single network device (e.g., base station 105).

[0025] The wireless communication system 100 may operate using one or more frequency bands, typically in the range of 300 MHz to 300 GHz. Generally, the 300 MHz to 3 GHz range is known as the ultra-high frequency (UHF) range or decimeter band, because the wavelengths range from approximately 1 decimeter to 1 meter. UHF waves may be shielded or redirected by building and environmental characteristics. However, these waves can penetrate structures well enough to serve a UE 115 where a macrocell is located indoors. Transmitting UHF waves may be associated with smaller antennas and shorter distances (e.g., less than 100 km) compared to transmitting using lower frequencies and longer waves in the shortwave (HF) or very high frequency (VHF) portion of the spectrum below 300 MHz.

[0026] The wireless communication system 100 may also operate in the very high frequency (SHF) range, using a frequency band from 3 GHz to 30 GHz, also known as the centimeter band. The SHF range includes bands such as the 5 GHz industrial scientific and medical (ISM) band, which may be opportunistically used by devices that can tolerate interference from other users.

[0027] The wireless communication system 100 may also operate in the extremely high frequency (EHF) region of the spectrum (e.g., 30 GHz to 300 GHz), also known as the millimeter band. In some embodiments, the wireless communication system 100 may support millimeter-wave (mmW) communication between the UE 115 and the base station 105, where the EHF antennas of each device may be even smaller and more closely spaced than UHF antennas. In some cases, this may facilitate the use of antenna arrays within the UE 115 (e.g., for multi-input multiple-power (MIMO) operations such as spatial multiplexing or directional beamforming). However, propagation of EHF transmissions is subject to greater atmospheric attenuation than SHF or UHF transmissions, and the range may be shorter. The techniques disclosed herein may be employed across transmissions using one or more different frequency domains, and the specified use of bands across these frequency domains may vary by country or regulatory body.

[0028] In some embodiments, the wireless communication system 100 may utilize both licensed and unlicensed radio frequency spectrum bands. For example, the wireless communication system 100 may employ LTE License Assisted Access (LTE-LAA) or LTE-Unlicensed (LTE-U) radio access technology, or NR technology, in unlicensed bands such as the 5GHz ISM band. When operating in unlicensed radio frequency spectrum bands, wireless devices such as base stations 105 and UE 115 may employ listen-before-talk (LBT) procedures to ensure that the frequency channel is clear before transmitting data. In some cases, operation in the unlicensed band may be based on a CA configuration in conjunction with a CC operating in the licensed band. Operation in the unlicensed spectrum may include downlink transmission, uplink transmission, peer-to-peer transmission, or a combination thereof. Duplexing in the unlicensed spectrum may be based on frequency division duplexing (FDD), time division duplexing (TDD), or a combination of both.

[0029] In some cases, the antennas of base station 105 or UE 115 may be located within one or more antennas or antenna arrays that may support MIMO operations such as spatial multiplexing, or transmit or receive beamforming. For example, one or more base station antennas or antenna arrays may be placed together in an antenna assembly such as an antenna tower. In some cases, the antennas or antenna arrays associated with base station 105 may be located in diverse geographical locations. Base station 105 may have an antenna array with several rows and columns of antenna ports that base station 105 may use to support beamforming for communication with UE 115. Similarly, UE 115 may have one or more antenna arrays that may support various MIMO or beamforming operations.

[0030] A MIMO wireless system uses a transmission scheme between a transmitting device (e.g., base station 105) and a receiving device (e.g., UE115), where both the transmitting and receiving devices have multiple antennas. MIMO communication may employ multipath signal propagation, sometimes called spatial multiplexing, to increase the utilization of the radio frequency spectral band by transmitting or receiving different signals over different spatial paths. Different signals may be transmitted by the transmitting device over, for example, different antennas or different combinations of antennas. Similarly, different signals may be received by the receiving device over different antennas or different combinations of antennas. Each of the different signals may be called a separate spatial stream, and different antennas or different combinations of antennas in a given device (e.g., orthogonal resources of the device associated with a spatial dimension) may be called a spatial layer.

[0031] Beamforming, sometimes called spatial filtering, directional transmission, or directional reception, is a signal processing technique sometimes used in a transmitting or receiving device (e.g., base station 105 or UE115) to shape or steer an antenna beam (e.g., a transmit beam or a receive beam) along a certain direction between the transmitting and receiving devices. Beamforming can be achieved by combining signals communicated through the antenna elements of an antenna array such that signals propagating in a particular orientation relative to the antenna array are subjected to constructive interference, while other signals are subjected to destructive interference. Coordination of signals communicated through antenna elements may include the transmitting or receiving device applying some phase offset, timing lead / delay, or amplitude adjustment to the signals carried through each of the antenna elements associated with the device. The adjustment associated with each antenna element may be defined by a beamforming weight set associated with a particular orientation (e.g., relative to the antenna array of the transmitting or receiving device, or to some other orientation).

[0032] In one embodiment, base station 105 may use multiple antennas or antenna arrays to perform beamforming operations for directional communication with UE 115. For example, a signal may be transmitted multiple times in different directions, which may include the signal being transmitted according to different beamforming weight sets associated with different transmission directions. A receiving device (e.g., UE 115, which may be an example of an mmW receiving device) may attempt multiple receive beams when receiving various signals from base station 105, such as synchronization signals or other control signals. For example, a receiving device may attempt multiple receive directions by receiving through different antenna subarrays, by processing signals received according to different antenna subarrays, by receiving according to different receive beamforming weight sets applied to signals received at multiple antenna elements of an antenna array, or by processing signals received according to different receive beamforming weight sets applied to signals received at multiple antenna elements of an antenna array, any of which may be referred to as “listening” according to different receive beams or receive directions.

[0033] In some cases, the wireless communication system 100 may be a packet-based network operating according to a layered protocol stack. In the user plane, communication at the bearer or Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer may be IP-based. The Radio Link Control (RLC) layer may, in some cases, perform packet segmentation and reassembly for communication over logical channels. The Medium Access Control (MAC) layer may perform priority processing and multiplexing of logical channels to transport channels. The MAC layer may also use Hybrid Automatic Retransmission Requests (HARQ) to improve link efficiency by performing retransmissions at the MAC layer. In the control plane, the Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol layer may establish, configure, and maintain RRC connections between the UE 115 and the base station 105 or core network 130, supporting radio bearers for user plane data. In the Physical (PHY) layer, transport channels may be mapped to physical channels.

[0034] In some cases, the UE 115 and base station 105 may support data retransmission to increase the likelihood of successful data reception. HARQ feedback is one technique that increases the likelihood of data being accurately received over the communication link 125. HARQ may include a combination of error detection (e.g., using cyclic redundancy check (CRC)), forward error correction (FEC), and retransmission (e.g., automatic retransmission request (ARQ)). HARQ can improve throughput at the MAC layer in poor radio conditions (e.g., signal-to-noise conditions). In some cases, wireless devices may support same-slot HARQ feedback, in which the device may provide HARQ feedback in a given slot for data received in a previous symbol within that slot. In other cases, the device may provide HARQ feedback in a subsequent slot or according to some other time interval.

[0035] Time intervals in LTE or NR may be expressed as multiples of a basic time unit, which may refer to a sampling period of, for example, Ts = 1 / 30,720,000 seconds. Time intervals of communication resources may be organized according to radio frames, each having a time length of 10 milliseconds (Tf = 307200 * Ts). Radio frames may be identified by a system frame number (SFN) ranging from 0 to 1023. Each frame may contain 10 subframes numbered from 0 to 9, each having a time length of 1 millisecond. A subframe may be further divided into two slots, each having a time length of 0.5 milliseconds, and each slot may contain 6 or 7 modulation symbol periods (for example, depending on the length of the cyclic prefix prepared for each symbol period). Excluding the cyclic prefix, each symbol period may contain 2048 sampling periods. In some cases, a subframe may also be the smallest scheduling unit of the wireless communication system 100 and may be called a transmit time interval (TTI). In other cases, the minimum scheduling unit of the wireless communication system 100 may be shorter than a subframe, or may be dynamically selected (for example, in a burst of shortened TTI (sTTI) or in a selected component carrier using sTTI).

[0036] In some wireless communication systems, a slot may be further divided into multiple minislots, each containing one or more symbols, and in some cases, the symbols or minislots of a minislot may be the smallest unit of scheduling. Each symbol may have a time length that varies depending, for example, on the subcarrier interval or the frequency band of operation. Some wireless communication systems may implement slot aggregation, in which multiple slots or minislots can be aggregated together for communication between the UE 115 and the base station 105.

[0037] A resource element may consist of one symbol period (e.g., the duration of one modulation symbol) and one subcarrier (e.g., a frequency range of 15 kHz). A resource block may contain 12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain (e.g., collectively forming a "carrier"), and for each orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol with a normal cyclic prefix, it may contain 7 consecutive OFDM symbol periods in the time domain (1 slot), or a total of 84 resource elements spanning the frequency and time domains. The number of bits carried by each resource element may depend on the modulation scheme (the configuration of the modulation symbols that may be applied during each symbol period). Therefore, the more resource elements the UE115 receives, and the higher the modulation scheme (e.g., the greater the number of bits that can be represented by the modulation symbols according to a given modulation scheme), the higher the data rate for the UE115 can be. In MIMO systems, wireless communication resources may refer to a combination of radio frequency spectrum band resources, temporal resources, and spatial resources (e.g., spatial layers), and the use of multiple spatial layers may further increase the data rate for communication with the UE115.

[0038] The term "carrier" refers to a set of radio frequency spectrum resources having a defined organizational structure for supporting uplink or downlink communication over communication link 125. For example, the carrier of communication link 125 may include a portion of the radio frequency spectrum band, which may also be called a frequency channel. In some embodiments, the carrier may consist of multiple subcarriers (e.g., waveform signals of multiple different frequencies). The carrier may be organized to include multiple physical channels, each of which may carry user data, control information, or other signaling.

[0039] The organizational structure of a carrier may differ for different radio access technologies (e.g., LTE, LTE-A, NR, etc.). For example, communications over a carrier may be organized according to TTI or slots, each of which may include user data as well as control information or signaling to support the decoding of user data. A carrier may also include dedicated acquisition signaling (e.g., synchronization signals or system information) and control signaling to coordinate operations with respect to the carrier. In some embodiments (e.g., in a carrier aggregation configuration), a carrier may also have acquisition or control signaling to coordinate operations with respect to other carriers.

[0040] Physical channels may be multiplexed on the carrier according to various techniques. Physical control channels and physical data channels may be multiplexed on the downlink carrier using, for example, time-division multiplexing (TDM), frequency-division multiplexing (FDM), or hybrid TDM-FDM techniques. In some embodiments, control information transmitted in the physical control channel may be distributed in a cascaded manner between different control domains (for example, between a common control domain or common search space and one or more UE-specific control domains or UE-specific search spaces).

[0041] A carrier may be associated with a specific bandwidth in the radio frequency spectrum, and in some embodiments, the carrier bandwidth may be referred to as the carrier or “system bandwidth” of the wireless communication system 100. For example, the carrier bandwidth may be one of several predetermined bandwidths (e.g., 1.4, 3, 5, 10, 15, or 20 MHz) for the carrier of a particular radio access technology. In some embodiments, the system bandwidth may refer to the smallest unit of bandwidth for scheduling communication between the base station 105 and the UE 115. In other embodiments, the base station 105 or the UE 115 may also support communication over a carrier with a bandwidth narrower than the system bandwidth. In such embodiments, the system bandwidth may be referred to as the “broadband” bandwidth, and the narrower bandwidth may be referred to as the “narrowband” bandwidth. In some embodiments of the wireless communication system 100, broadband communication may be performed according to a 20 MHz carrier bandwidth, and narrowband communication may be performed according to a 1.4 MHz carrier bandwidth.

[0042] Devices of the wireless communication system 100 (e.g., base stations or UE 115) may have a hardware configuration that supports communication over a specific carrier bandwidth, or may be configured to support communication over one of a set of carrier bandwidths. For example, base station 105 or UE 115 may perform some communication according to the system bandwidth (e.g., broadband communication) or some communication according to a narrower bandwidth (e.g., narrowband communication). In some embodiments, the wireless communication system 100 may include base stations 105 and / or UEs that can support simultaneous communication over two or more carriers associated with different bandwidths.

[0043] The wireless communication system 100 may support communication with the UE 115 over multiple cells or carriers, a function sometimes called carrier aggregation (CA) or multi-carrier operation. The UE 115 may be configured with multiple downlink CCs and one or more uplink CCs according to the carrier aggregation configuration. Carrier aggregation may be used with both FDD component carriers and TDD component carriers.

[0044] In some cases, the wireless communication system 100 may utilize an extended component carrier (eCC). The eCC may be characterized by one or more features, including a wider carrier or frequency channel bandwidth, a shorter symbol time length, a shorter TTI time length, or a modified control channel configuration. In some cases, the eCC may be associated with a carrier aggregation configuration or a dual connectivity configuration (for example, when multiple serving cells have suboptimal or non-ideal backhaul links). The eCC may also be configured for use in an unlicensed spectrum or a shared spectrum (for example, when two or more operators are permitted to use the spectrum). An eCC characterized by a wide carrier bandwidth may include one or more segments that are not available for monitoring the entire carrier bandwidth or that can be utilized by a UE 115 configured otherwise to use a limited carrier bandwidth (for example, to conserve power).

[0045] In some cases, eCC may utilize a different symbol time length than other CCs, which may include the use of a shortened symbol time length compared to the symbol time lengths of other CCs. A shorter symbol time length may be associated with an increased spacing between adjacent subcarriers. A device such as UE115 or base station 105 utilizing eCC may transmit a broadband signal (according to a frequency channel or carrier bandwidth such as 20, 40, 60, or 80 MHz) with a shortened symbol time length (e.g., 16.67 microseconds). The TTI in eCC may consist of one or more symbol periods. In some cases, the TTI length (i.e., the number of symbol periods in the TTI) may be variable.

[0046] Wireless communication systems, such as NR systems, may, in particular, utilize combinations of licensed, shared, and unlicensed spectrum bands. Flexibility in eCC symbol duration and subcarrier spacing can enable the use of eCC across multiple spectrums. In some embodiments, NR shared spectrum can enhance spectrum utilization and spectral efficiency, particularly through dynamic vertical sharing (e.g., across frequency) and horizontal sharing (e.g., over time) of resources.

[0047] In some cases, UE115 may be configured with multiple antennas for communicating with base station 105. In one embodiment, UE115 may use a first antenna to communicate with base station 105 while a second antenna of UE115 is not in use. UE115 may decide to switch to using a second antenna instead of a first antenna for communicating with base station 105. UE115 may mechanically schedule the switch from the first antenna to the second antenna to coincide with a silence window during which communication with base station 105 is interrupted. In another embodiment, UE115 may communicate with base station 105 using multiple antennas simultaneously (for example, in downlink MIMO (DL-MIMO) and / or uplink MIMO (UL-MIMO)) while other antennas of UE115 are not in use. UE115 may decide to switch from an antenna being used to an unused antenna for communicating with base station 105, and this switch may be mechanically scheduled to occur during a silence window. Further explanation of the antenna switching schedule is provided below.

[0048] Figure 2 shows a block diagram of various components of UE115 that support antenna switching scheduling according to various aspects of the present disclosure. Figure 2 is one exemplary configuration of UE115, and other multi-antenna configurations of UE115 are intended to be within the scope of the present disclosure. In one aspect, UE115 utilizes ASDIV. UE115 includes a first antenna (ANT1) 205a and a second antenna (ANT2) 205b coupled to a switching component 215. In one aspect, the first antenna 205a and the second antenna 205b may be located in different areas of UE115 (for example, one in the lower area of ​​UE115 and one in the upper area of ​​UE115). Although two antennas are illustrated, those skilled in the art will recognize that more than two antennas may be implemented. Switch 215 is operable to couple and disconnect the first antenna 205a and the second antenna 205b to other components of UE115. Although switch 215 is represented by a single block in Figure 2, switch 215 may include multiple switches and / or components.

[0049] The filter component 220 may be coupled to the switch 215 and configured to pass signals of a selected frequency. Although the filter 220 is represented by a single block in Figure 2, the filter 220 may include multiple filters and / or components. The filter 220 may be coupled to the transmit (TX) chain 225, which includes one or more power amplifiers 230 and other signal conditioning components / circuits (e.g., mixers, amplifiers, filters) 235. The filter 220 may also be coupled to the receive (RX) chain 240, which includes one or more low-noise amplifiers (LNAs) 245 and other signal conditioning components / circuits (e.g., automatic gain control (AGC), mixers, amplifiers, filters) 250. The LNAs 245 may include an integrated AGC function. The transmit chain 225 and the receive chain 240 are coupled to one or more processors 255 (e.g., modems). The processor 255 may be coupled to the switch 215 (represented by control lines 260) and control switching operations for selecting antennas for communication with the base station 105.

[0050] In one embodiment, the UE115 may be configured to operate in a multi-connectivity mode (e.g., E-UTRA New Radio - Dual Connectivity (EN-DC) mode) in which one or both antennas 205a, 205b are configured to transmit and / or receive signals corresponding to multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In multi-connectivity mode, the UE115 may share a switch 215 among the RATs, and the RATs may either share other front-end components (e.g., filters, amplifiers, mixers) or have separate front-end components or chains. In another embodiment, the UE115 may be configured to operate in carrier aggregation (CA) mode using multiple carriers. In CA mode, the UE115 may share a switch 215 among the carriers, and the carriers may either share other front-end components (e.g., filters, amplifiers, mixers) or have separate front-end components or chains.

[0051] The processor 255 may employ any number of different methods to determine which antenna to use for transmission and / or reception. In one embodiment, the processor 255 may use communication metrics corresponding to downlink signal conditions, uplink signal conditions, or a combination thereof to determine which antenna to use. In one embodiment, the processor 225 may use received signal strength metrics (e.g., received signal strength indicator (RSSI), reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), or other signal-to-noise (SNR) metrics). In one embodiment, the processor 225 may use UL transmit metrics such as maximum transmit power limit (MTPL), power headroom (which may vary based on the modulation and coding scheme (MCS)), and specific absorption rate (SAR) backoff metrics. In one embodiment, the processor 255 may use communication metrics filtered over time (e.g., time-averaged metrics). In one embodiment, the processor 255 may decide to switch from one antenna to another when the difference between the RSRPs (RSRPDelta) of the antennas is greater than a threshold (e.g., 3 dB), when the average RSRPDelta is greater than a threshold, and / or when the MTPL is reached for a certain percentage of the time.

[0052] ASDIV may involve interrupting the current transmission on the transmit chain 225 and / or interrupting or disabling components of the receive chain 240 during antenna switching (for example, from the first antenna 205a to the second antenna 205b). Transmission on the transmit chain 225 may need to be cleared or interrupted to avoid damage to one or more components, such as the power amplifier 230. Components of the receive chain 240, such as the LNA 245 and AGC components, may need to be interrupted or disabled to change the settings or offsets of the AGC and digitally controlled variable gain amplifier (DVGA) to accommodate the changing ASDIV configuration settings. In one embodiment, the processor 255 determines whether a silence window exists in communication with the base station 105 and whether it should wait for the silence window to switch antennas.

[0053] Figure 3 shows block diagrams of various parts of UE115 that support antenna switching scheduling for MIMO (e.g., DL-MIMO, UL-MIMO) applications according to various aspects of the present disclosure. Figure 3 is one exemplary configuration of UE115, and other multi-antenna configurations of UE115 are intended to be within the scope of the present disclosure. UE115 includes a first antenna (ANT1) 305a, a second antenna (ANT2) 305b, a third antenna (ANT3) 305c, and a fourth antenna (ANT4) 305d, coupled to a switching component 315. Although four antennas are illustrated, those skilled in the art will recognize that more than four antennas may be implemented. In one embodiment, the antennas may be located in different areas of UE115. Switch 315 is operable to couple the first antenna 305a, the second antenna 305b, the third antenna 305c, and the fourth antenna 305d to other components of UE115. Although switch 315 is represented by a single block in Figure 3, switch 315 may include multiple switches or components.

[0054] In MIMO applications, multiple antennas 305a-305d may transmit and / or receive simultaneously. For example, in UL-MIMO, a signal for transmission on the first path (or chain) 320 may be directed to the first antenna among antennas 305a-305d, and a signal for transmission on the second path (or chain) 330 may be directed to the second antenna among antennas 305a-305d. In the DL-MIMO example, a signal received by the first antenna among antennas 305a-305d may be directed to the first path 320, and a signal received by the second antenna among antennas 305a-305d may be directed to the second path 330. The first path 320 and the second path 330 may include various components that are part of the transmit and / or receive chain.

[0055] The UE115 may include one or more processors 355 coupled to the routes 320, 330 and switch 315 via control lines 360 to control the routing of routes 320, 330 to various antennas 305a-305d. The processors 355 may determine metrics associated with each antenna 305a-305d (as illustrated with reference to Figure 2) and select antennas for each route 320, 330 based on the metrics. The processors 355 may also decide to redirect routes 320 and / or 330 to different antennas based on the metrics. The processors 355 may also decide to independently switch antennas for each route 320, 330. For example, route 320 may be directed to the first antenna 305a, route 330 may be directed to the second antenna 305b, and the processor 355 may decide to redirect route 320 to the third antenna 305c, while route 330 remains directed to the second antenna 305b. In one embodiment, the processor 355 decides whether a silence window exists in communication with the base station 105 and whether to wait for the silence window to switch antennas for one or both routes 320, 330.

[0056] The UE115 in Figure 3 may be configured to operate in a multi-connectivity mode (e.g., EN-DC mode) in which one or more of the antennas 305a to 305d are configured to transmit and / or receive signals corresponding to multiple RATs. In multi-connectivity mode, the UE115 may share a switch 315 among the RATs, and the RATs may either share other front-end components (e.g., filters, amplifiers, mixers) or have separate front-end components or chains. The UE115 in Figure 3 may be configured to operate in CA mode in which one or more of the antennas 305a to 305d are configured to transmit and / or receive signals corresponding to multiple carriers.

[0057] Figure 4 shows a time series diagram 400 of the operation of UE115 supporting antenna switching scheduling according to an aspect of this disclosure. Time series 400 is one aspect of the operation that may be performed by UE115. Other operations and other sequences of operations according to this disclosure may be performed by UE115. The operations illustrated in time series 400 may be performed and / or executed by processors (e.g., processor 255, processor 355) and switches (e.g., switch 215, switch 315).

[0058] At t1, UE115 detects the switching condition by deciding to switch communication from the first antenna to the second antenna. For example, the first antenna used to communicate with base station 105 may experience degraded channel conditions (e.g., degraded channel conditions due to shielding by the user's hand or head). The second antenna, not used for communication, may have better channel conditions than the first antenna (e.g., the second antenna may be in a different location on UE115 and may not be shielded, or may be shielded less than the first antenna). In some embodiments, UE115 may determine communication metrics associated with the antenna (e.g., DL and / or UL metrics) to determine whether to switch from the first antenna to the second antenna for communication with base station 105. In one embodiment, UE115 may use a combination of DL and UL metrics to detect the switching condition.

[0059] Several exemplary communication metrics are illustrated with reference to Figure 2. In one embodiment, the UE115 may determine RSRP metrics for the first and second antennas. The switching condition may correspond to an RSRPDelta (or average RSRPDelta) exceeding a threshold. In another embodiment, the UE115 may determine whether the MTPL for the first antenna has been reached for a period of a threshold percentage and use this determination in combination with the RSRP determination to detect the switching condition. In some embodiments, the UE115 may periodically evaluate communication metrics to determine whether to switch antennas and ASDIV configurations. As an example, the UE115 may evaluate communication metrics every 640ms.

[0060] At time t2, UE115 determines whether a silence window 405 appears and whether to schedule an antenna switch to occur during the silence window 405. In Figure 4, t2 is illustrated as occurring at some time after t1 (switch detection). However, the operation of t2 may occur immediately after or simultaneously with the detection of the switch condition. The silence window 405 may correspond to various different types of time durations during which communication between UE115 and base station 105 is interrupted. For example, the silence window 405 may correspond to measurement interval time durations, connection mode discontinuous receive (CDRX) or discontinuous transmit (DTX) off (e.g., sleep) state time durations, and / or silence intervals in voice communication. In some embodiments, UE115 may be configured to operate in multi-connectivity mode or CA mode, and the silence window 405 may correspond to time durations during which communication with base station 105 is interrupted for multiple RATs or multiple carriers. The silence window can be determined using a variety of techniques, including analysis of control information or parameters that are determined by the UE115 or signaled to the UE115 from the network.

[0061] In some scenarios, the channel conditions of the first antenna used for communication with base station 105 may degrade to such an extent that UE 115 may decide to switch to the second antenna without waiting for the silence window 405. For example, the channel conditions for the first antenna may be such that UE 115 may lose connection with base station 105 before the silence window 405 appears. UE 115 may use communication metrics (e.g., DL and / or UL metrics) to decide whether to wait for the silence window 405 before switching antennas. In one embodiment, UE 115 may compare the communication metrics to a first threshold at t1 to decide whether to switch antennas, and may compare the communication metrics to a second threshold at t2 to decide whether to wait for the silence window 405 before switching antennas. In one embodiment, the communication metric may correspond to RSRPDelta, the first threshold may correspond to a first dB level (e.g., 3 dB), and the second threshold may correspond to a second dB level greater than the first dB level (e.g., 2 dB greater than the first dB level, i.e., 5 dB). If RSRPDelta exceeds the first threshold but not the second threshold, UE115 may decide to switch antennas and wait for the silence window 405 to switch. If RSRPDelta exceeds both the first and second thresholds, UE115 may switch antennas without waiting for the silence window 405 to switch antennas.

[0062] UE115 may also consider the length of time between the detection of the switchover condition and the start of the silence window (e.g., from t1 to t3) to determine whether to wait for the silence window 405 for the switchover. If the length of time between t1 and t3 exceeds a threshold time, UE115 may decide to switch before the silence window 405. UE115 may use a combination of communication metrics and time metrics to determine whether to wait for the silence window 405 for the switchover. In one embodiment, UE115 may compare communication metrics to thresholds (e.g., a first threshold and a second threshold) and compare the time to the next silence window 405 to determine whether to wait for the silence window 405 for the switchover.

[0063] The switch from the first antenna to the second antenna does not have to occur instantaneously. Instead, various settings and / or offsets may need to change during the preparation for the switch, and signals to the components may need to be interrupted, which may take some time. The length of time from the start of the switch (e.g., signal interruption, start of setting changes) to the completion of the antenna switch may be called the switch time length. UE115 may compare the silence time length corresponding to the length of time in the silence window 405 (e.g., the length of time between t3 and t6) with the switch time length to determine whether the silence time length of the silence window 405 is long enough to accommodate the switch (e.g., whether the silence time length is greater than or equal to the switch time length). If the silence time length is greater than or equal to the switch time length, UE115 may schedule the switch to occur during the silence time length.

[0064] As shown in Figure 4, UE115 decides to schedule the antenna switch to occur during a silence window 405, which begins at t3 and ends at t6. UE115 begins switching from the first antenna to the second antenna at t4 and ends the switch at t5. Although t4 is shown in Figure 4 as occurring after t3, t4 may occur simultaneously with t3. That is, UE115 may begin the antenna switch at the beginning of the silence window 405.

[0065] Figure 5 shows a time series diagram 500 of the operation of UE115 supporting antenna switching scheduling according to an aspect of this disclosure. Time series 500 is one aspect of the operation that may be performed by UE115. Other operations and other sequences of operations according to this disclosure may be performed by UE115. The operations illustrated in time series 500 may be performed and / or executed by processors (e.g., processor 255, processor 355) and switches (e.g., switch 215, switch 315).

[0066] In Figure 5, the silence window (for example, as described with reference to Figure 4) corresponds to measurement intervals such as intervals 505a, 505b, and 505c. In some embodiments, intervals 505a–505c may correspond to measurement intervals per UE. Intervals 505a–505c may occur regularly, such as every 40ms, every 80ms, every 160ms, or at other periodic intervals. In multi-connectivity scenarios such as EN-DC, or CA scenarios, the measurement intervals may correspond to common measurement intervals for multiple RATs or multiple carriers (e.g., shared measurement intervals). At t1, UE 115 detects the switching condition by deciding to switch communication from the first antenna to the second antenna. As shown in Figure 5, t1 occurs after the first interval 505a.

[0067] At t2, UE115 determines whether a second interval 505b occurs and whether to schedule an antenna switch to occur during the second interval 505b. To determine whether to schedule an antenna switch during the second interval 505b, UE115 may analyze various factors (as illustrated, for example, with reference to Figure 4), such as communication metrics, silence duration (e.g., duration of interval 505b), switch duration, and the length of time between switch detection and the start of the second interval 505b.

[0068] As shown in Figure 5, UE115 decides to schedule the antenna switch to occur during a second interval 505b, which begins at t3 and ends at t6. UE115 begins switching from the first antenna to the second antenna at t4 and ends the switch at t5. Although t4 is shown in Figure 5 as occurring after t3, t4 may occur simultaneously with t3. That is, UE115 may begin the antenna switch at the beginning of the second interval 505b. The antenna switch during the second interval 505b may involve changing the ASDIV configuration. In some embodiments, before the second interval 505b, the ASDIV configuration may be the first configuration (e.g., ASDIV config-0), and after the second interval 505b, the ASDIV configuration may be the second configuration (e.g., ASDIV config-1). Changes to the ASDIV configuration may be scheduled to occur during the second interval 505b, which may prevent other changes or measurements from occurring during the second interval 505b.

[0069] Figure 6 shows a time series diagram 600 of the operation of UE115 supporting antenna switching scheduling according to an aspect of this disclosure. Time series 600 is one aspect of the operation that may be performed by UE115. Other operations and other sequences of operations according to this disclosure may be performed by UE115. The operations illustrated in time series 600 may be performed and / or executed by processors (e.g., processor 255, processor 355) and switches (e.g., switch 215, switch 315).

[0070] In Figure 6, the silence window (for example, as described with reference to Figure 4) corresponds to the DRX and / or DTX (e.g., CDRX) OFF or sleep time length 605 in the DRX cycle. The DRX OFF time length 605 may occur periodically according to the DRX cycle, or it may occur after the DRX ON or wake time length 610a. As shown in Figure 6, the DRX cycle spans from t1 to t7, the ON time length 610a spans from t1 to t4, and the OFF time length 605 spans from t4 to t7. At t2, the UE115 detects the switching condition by deciding to switch communication from the first antenna to the second antenna. As shown in Figure 6, t2 occurs during the ON time length 610a.

[0071] At t3, UE115 determines whether to schedule the antenna switchover to occur during the OFF time duration 605. To determine whether to schedule the antenna switchover during the OFF time duration 605, UE115 may analyze various factors (as illustrated, for example, with reference to Figure 4), such as communication metrics, silence duration (e.g., the length of the OFF time duration 605), switchover duration, and the length of time between the detection of the switchover and the start of the OFF time duration 605. In one embodiment, UE115 may schedule the antenna switchover to occur during the OFF time duration 605 if the time between the detection of the switchover condition and the start of the OFF time duration 605 is 100ms or less.

[0072] As shown in Figure 6, UE115 decides to schedule the antenna switchover to occur during the OFF time period 605. UE115 begins switching from the first antenna to the second antenna at t5 and finishes the switchover at t6. Although t5 is shown in Figure 6 as occurring after t4 (the start of the OFF time period 605), t5 may occur simultaneously with t4. That is, UE115 may begin the antenna switchover at the beginning of the OFF time period 605. Once UE115 has finished the antenna switchover at t6, UE115 may sleep for the remainder of the OFF time period 605. The antenna switchover during the OFF time period 605 may include changing the ASDIV configuration. In one embodiment, during the ON time period 610a, the ASDIV configuration may be a first configuration (e.g., ASDIV config-0), and during the ON time period 610b, the ASDIV configuration may be a second configuration (e.g., ASDIV config-1).

[0073] Figure 7 shows a time series diagram 700 of the operation of UE115 supporting antenna switching scheduling in multi-connectivity mode according to an aspect of this disclosure. Time series 700 is one aspect of the operation that may be performed by UE115. Other operations and other sequences of operations according to this disclosure may be performed by UE115. The operations illustrated in time series 700 may be performed and / or carried out by processors (e.g., processor 255, processor 355) and switches (e.g., switch 215, switch 315).

[0074] In Figure 7, the silence window 702 corresponds to the overlapping portion of the DRX OFF time length 705a of the first RAT (RAT1) and the DRX OFF time length 705b of the second RAT (RAT2). In multi-connectivity modes such as EN-DC mode, the DRX cycles of different RATs may not be time-synchronized and may have different ON and / or OFF time lengths. The UE115 can determine the DRX cycle information for each RAT and, based on this information, identify the portion of the DRX OFF time length that overlaps in time.

[0075] At t1, UE115 detects the switching condition by deciding to switch communication from the first antenna to the second antenna. At t2, UE115 decides whether to schedule the antenna switch to occur during a silence window 702, which corresponds to the overlapping portion of the OFF time lengths 705a and 705b. To decide whether to schedule the antenna switch during the silence window 702, UE115 may analyze various factors (as illustrated, for example, with reference to Figure 4), such as communication metrics, silence time length (e.g., the length of the silence window 702), switching time length, and the length of time between the detection of the switch and the start of the silence window 702. In one embodiment, UE115 may schedule the antenna switch to occur during the silence window 702 if the time between the detection of the switching condition and the start of the silence window 702 is 100ms or less.

[0076] As shown in Figure 7, UE115 decides to schedule the antenna switchover to occur during the silence window 702. UE115 begins switching from the first antenna to the second antenna at t4 and finishes the switchover at t5. Although t4 is shown in Figure 7 as occurring after t3 (the start of the silence window 702), t4 may occur simultaneously with t3. That is, UE115 may begin the antenna switchover at the beginning of the silence window 702. Once UE115 has finished the antenna switchover at t5, UE115 may sleep for the remainder of the silence window 702 (for example, until t6).

[0077] Figure 8 shows a time series diagram 800 of the operation of UE115 supporting antenna switching scheduling according to an aspect of this disclosure. Time series 800 is one aspect of the operation that may be performed by UE115. Other operations and other sequences of operations according to this disclosure may be performed by UE115. The operations illustrated in time series 800 may be performed and / or executed by processors (e.g., processor 255, processor 355) and switches (e.g., switch 215, switch 315).

[0078] In Figure 8, the silence window corresponds to a silence interval 805 that may occur in a voice-type service or a voice-related service. During a voice-related service, the voice activity factor may correspond to the average time that voice is being communicated between users. In one embodiment, the voice activity factor may be approximately 40%. During inactivity, the voice vocoder may send a silence indicator descriptor (SID) vocoder packet 810a at the beginning of the silence opportunity, and may send other SID packets (e.g., packet 810b) at selected intervals (e.g., every 160 ms). The silence interval 805 may correspond to the time between SID packets 810a and 810b.

[0079] At t0, UE115 may determine that the active service is a voice-related service. At t1, UE115 may determine (for example, through a voice activity detection algorithm) that the conditions for entering a voice silence period or opportunity have been met, and may begin transmitting SID packets 810a at t3. Although t3 is shown in Figure 8 as occurring after t1, t3 may occur simultaneously with t1. That is, SID packets 810a may be transmitted as soon as the voice activity detection algorithm detects silence.

[0080] At t2, UE115 detects the switching condition by deciding to switch communication from the first antenna to the second antenna. At t2, UE115 decides whether to schedule the antenna switch to occur during a silence interval 805. To decide whether to schedule the antenna switch during a silence interval 805, UE115 may analyze various factors (as illustrated, for example, with reference to Figure 4), such as communication metrics, silence duration (e.g., duration of the silence interval 805), switching duration, and the length of time between the detection of the switch and the start of the silence interval 805. Although t2 is shown as occurring after t1, UE115 may detect the switching condition simultaneously with or before the detection of voice silence. In one embodiment, UE115 may detect the switching condition before the detection of voice silence and wait for a selected period to detect voice silence. If voice silence is not detected within the selected period, UE115 may initiate the antenna switch. If silence in the audio is detected within the selected period, the UE115 may decide to schedule an antenna switch to occur during the silence interval 805.

[0081] As shown in Figure 8, UE115 decides to schedule the antenna switchover to occur during the silence interval 805. UE115 begins switching from the first antenna to the second antenna at t5 and completes the switchover at t6, before the communication of the next SID packet 810b at t7. Although t5 is shown in Figure 8 as occurring after t4 (the end of SID packet 810a), t5 may occur simultaneously with t4. That is, UE115 may begin the antenna switchover immediately after the communication of SID packet 810a.

[0082] Figure 9 shows a block diagram 900 of a wireless device 905 that supports antenna switching scheduling in a multi-antenna UE according to an aspect of the present disclosure. The wireless device 905 may be an example of an aspect of a user equipment (UE) 115 as described herein. The wireless device 905 may include a receiver 910, a UE communications manager 915, and a transmitter 920. The wireless device 905 may also include a processor. Each of these components may communicate with each other (for example, via one or more buses) or be coupled.

[0083] The receiver 910 may receive information such as packets, user data, or control information associated with various information channels (e.g., control channel, data channel, etc.). The information may be passed to other components of the device. The receiver 910 may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas. The receiver 910 may be an example of the components described with reference to Figures 2 and 3, as well as an example of the transceiver 1035 described with reference to Figure 10.

[0084] At least some of the UE communication manager 915 and / or its various subordinate components may be implemented in hardware, software executed by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software executed by a processor, at least some of the functions of the UE communication manager 915 and / or its various subordinate components may be performed by a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. At least some of the UE communication manager 915 and / or its various subordinate components may be physically located in various locations, including distributed so that some of the functions are implemented in different physical locations by one or more physical devices. In some embodiments, at least some of the UE communication manager 915 and / or its various subordinate components may be distinct components according to various embodiments of this disclosure. In other examples, the UE communications manager 915 and / or at least some of its various subordinate components may be combined with one or more other hardware components, including, but not limited to, I / O components, transceivers, network servers, other computing devices, one or more other components described in this disclosure, or combinations thereof in various aspects of this disclosure. The UE communications manager 915 may be an example of an embodiment of the UE communications manager 1015 described with reference to Figure 10, the processor 255 described with reference to Figure 2, and / or the processor 355 described with reference to Figure 3.

[0085] The UE communications manager 915 may determine whether to switch from the first antenna to the second antenna in order to communicate with the base station (e.g., transmit and / or receive), whether a silence window will occur, whether to wait for the silence window to perform the antenna switch, and may perform the antenna switch as described herein.

[0086] The transmitter 920 may transmit signals generated by other components of the device. In some embodiments, the transmitter 920 may be placed alongside the receiver 910 in the transceiver module. The transmitter 920 may be an example of the components described with reference to Figures 2 and 3, as well as an example of the transceiver 1035 described with reference to Figure 10. The transmitter 920 may utilize a single antenna or a set of antennas.

[0087] Figure 10 shows a diagram of a system 1000 including a device 1005 that supports scheduling antenna switching in a multi-antenna UE according to an aspect of the present disclosure. Device 1005 may be, or include, a wireless device 905 as described herein, or an example of a component of UE 115. Device 1005 may include components for bidirectional voice and data communication, including components for transmitting and receiving communications, including a UE communications manager 1015, a processor 1020, memory 1025, software 1030, a transceiver 1035, an antenna 1040, and an I / O controller 1045. These components may communicate electronically with each other or be coupled via one or more buses (e.g., bus 1010). Device 1005 may communicate wirelessly with one or more base stations 105.

[0088] The processor 1020 may include intelligent hardware devices (e.g., general-purpose processors, DSPs, central processing units (CPUs), microcontrollers, ASICs, FPGAs, programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic components, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof). In some cases, the processor 1020 may be configured to operate a memory array using a memory controller. In other cases, the memory controller may be integrated into the processor 1020. The processor 1020 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in memory to perform various functions (e.g., functions or tasks that support scheduling antenna switching in a multi-antenna UE).

[0089] Memory 1025 may include random access memory (RAM) and read-only memory (ROM). Memory 1025 may store computer-readable computer executable software 1030, which, when executed, contains instructions that cause the processor to perform various functions described herein. In some cases, memory 1025 may include a basic input / output system (BIOS) which may control basic hardware or software operations, such as, among other things, interactions with peripheral components or peripheral devices.

[0090] The software 1030 may include code for implementing aspects of this disclosure, including code for supporting the scheduling of antenna switching in a multi-antenna UE. The software 1030 may be stored in a non-temporary computer-readable medium such as system memory or other memory. In some cases, the software 1030 may not be directly executable by the processor, but (for example, once compiled and executed) it can cause the computer to perform the functions described herein.

[0091] The transceiver 1035 may communicate bidirectionally via one or more antennas, wired links, or wireless links, as described above. In some embodiments, the transceiver 1035 may represent a wireless transceiver and communicate bidirectionally with another wireless transceiver. The transceiver 1035 may also include a modem for modulating packets, feeding the modulated packets to an antenna for transmission, and demodulating packets from signals received from the antenna.

[0092] The device may have more than one antenna 1040, and the antenna 1040 may be capable of transmitting or receiving multiple wireless transmissions simultaneously. Figures 2 and 3 include some examples of components or parts that may be included in the transceiver 1035.

[0093] The I / O controller 1045 can manage input and output signals for device 1005. The I / O controller 1045 can also manage peripheral devices not integrated into device 1005. In some cases, the I / O controller 1045 may represent a physical connection or port to an external peripheral device. In some cases, the I / O controller 1045 may utilize an operating system such as iOS®, ANDROID®, MS-DOS®, MS-WINDOWS®, OS / 2®, UNIX®, LINUX®, or another known operating system. In other cases, the I / O controller 1045 may represent or interact with a modem, keyboard, mouse, touchscreen, or similar device. In some cases, the I / O controller 1045 may be implemented as part of a processor. In some cases, a user may interact with device 1005 via the I / O controller 1045 or via hardware components controlled by the I / O controller 1045.

[0094] Figure 11 shows a flowchart illustrating a method 1100 for scheduling antenna switching in a multi-antenna UE according to an aspect of this disclosure. The operation of method 1100 may be carried out by the UE 115 or its components, as described herein. In some aspects, the operation of method 1100 may be carried out by a UE communications manager, as described with reference to Figures 9 and 10, and / or a processor, as described with reference to Figures 2 and 3. In some aspects, the UE 115 may execute a set of code for controlling the functional elements of the device to perform the functions described below. In addition or alternatively, the UE 115 may perform aspects of the functions described below using dedicated hardware.

[0095] In block 1105, UE 115 can communicate with base station 105 using the first antenna (for example, by transmitting and / or receiving signals). The operation of block 1105 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, the operation of block 1105 may be performed by transceivers, receivers, transmitters, processors, and / or UE communications managers, as described herein.

[0096] In block 1110, UE 115 may decide to switch from the first antenna to the second antenna in order to communicate with base station 105. The operation of block 1110 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, the mode of operation of block 1110 may be performed by the UE communications manager and / or processor as described herein.

[0097] In block 1115, UE 115 may determine whether a silence window occurs in which communication with base station 105 is interrupted. The operation of block 1115 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, the operation of block 1115 may be performed by the UE communication manager and / or processor, as described herein.

[0098] In block 1120, UE 115 may schedule a switch from the first antenna to the second antenna to occur during a silence window. The operation of block 1120 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, the operation of block 1120 may be performed by the UE communications manager and / or processor as described herein. In one embodiment, the operation of block 1120 may be performed according to method 1200 described with reference to Figure 12.

[0099] In block 1125, UE 115 may switch from the first antenna to the second antenna during the silence window. The operation of block 1125 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, the operation of block 1125 may be performed by a UE communications manager, processor, transceiver, receiver, and / or transmitter, as described herein.

[0100] Figure 12 shows a flowchart illustrating a method 1200 for scheduling antenna switching in a multi-antenna UE according to an aspect of this disclosure. The operation of method 1200 may be performed by the UE 115 or its components, as described herein. In some aspects, the operation of method 1200 may be performed by the UE communications manager or processor of the UE 115, as described herein. In some aspects, the UE 115 may execute a set of code to control the functional elements of the device to perform the functions described below. In addition or alternatively, the UE 115 may use dedicated hardware to perform aspects of the functions described below.

[0101] In block 1205, UE 115 determines whether the communication metrics associated with its multiple antennas exceed a first threshold, and exceeding the first threshold triggers an ASDIV switch. The operation of block 1205 may be performed according to the methods described herein. The modes of communication metrics (e.g., RSRPDelta, MPTL) and thresholds (e.g., 3dB) are described above. In some examples, the modes of operation of block 1205 may be performed by the UE communication manager and / or processor as described herein.

[0102] If the communication metrics do not exceed the first threshold in block 1205, UE 115 terminates method 1200 in block 1210. UE 115 may repeat the method periodically, such as every 640 ms. If the communication metrics meet or exceed the first threshold in block 1205, UE 115 compares the communication metrics with a second threshold greater than the first threshold in block 1215. In some examples, the behavior of block 1215 may be performed by the UE communication manager and / or processor, as described herein.

[0103] If the communication metrics in block 1215 meet or exceed a second threshold, UE 115 initiates antenna switching in block 1220 without waiting for a silence window. Meeting or exceeding the second threshold may indicate that if UE 115 waits for a silence window to perform antenna switching, UE 115 may lose connection with base station 105. In some examples, the mode of operation in block 1220 may be performed by a UE communication manager, processor, transceiver, receiver, and / or transmitter, as described herein.

[0104] If the communication metrics in block 1215 do not meet or exceed the second threshold, UE 115 in block 1225 compares the amount of time until a silence window occurs with a time threshold, and compares the duration of the silence window (e.g., silence duration) with the duration of antenna switching (e.g., switching duration). The operation of block 1225 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, the mode of operation of block 1225 may be performed by the UE communication manager and / or processor as described herein.

[0105] In block 1225, if the time until the silence window is met or exceeds the time threshold or the time length of the silence window, or if the time length of the silence window is less than the antenna switching time, UE 115 initiates antenna switching in block 1220 without waiting for the silence window. If the time until the silence window is less than the time threshold and the time length of the silence window is greater than or equal to the antenna switching time, UE 115 waits for the silence window in block 1230 to switch the antenna. The operation of block 1230 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, the mode of operation of block 1230 may be performed by the UE communications manager and / or processor as described herein.

[0106] In block 1235, UE 115 switches from the first antenna to the second antenna during the silence window. In some examples, the operation of block 1235 may be performed by a UE communications manager, processor, transceiver, receiver, and / or transmitter, as described herein.

[0107] The techniques described herein may be used for a variety of wireless communication systems, including code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), single-carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA), and other systems. CDMA systems may implement radio technologies such as CDMA2000 and Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA). CDMA2000 covers the IS-2000, IS-95, and IS-856 standards. The IS-2000 release is commonly referred to as CDMA2000 1X, 1X, etc. IS-856 (TIA-856) is commonly referred to as CDMA2000 1xEV-DO, High-Speed ​​Packet Data (HRPD), etc. UTRA includes broadband CDMA (WCDMA®) and other variations of CDMA. The TDMA system may implement wireless technologies such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM).

[0108] OFDMA systems may implement radio technologies such as Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), Evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, and Flash-OFDM. UTRA and E-UTRA are part of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS). LTE and LTE-A are releases of UMTS that use E-UTRA. UTRA, E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE, LTE-A, NR, and GSM are described in documents from an organization called the "Third Generation Partnership Project" (3GPP®). CDMA2000 and UMB are described in documents from an organization called the "Third Generation Partnership Project 2" (3GPP® 2). The techniques described herein may be used with the systems and radio technologies mentioned above, as well as with other systems and radio technologies. While embodiments of LTE or NR systems may be described as examples, and the terms LTE or NR may be used extensively in the description, the techniques described herein are applicable to applications other than LTE or NR.

[0109] Macrocells generally cover relatively large geographical areas (e.g., a radius of several kilometers) and can enable unrestricted access by UE115s subscribed to a network provider's service. Small cells may be associated with lower-power base stations 105 compared to macrocells, and small cells may operate in the same or different frequency bands as macrocells (e.g., licensed, unlicensed, etc.). Small cells may include picocells, femtocells, and microcells depending on the various aspects. Picocells can, for example, cover small geographical areas and can enable unrestricted access by UE115s subscribed to a network provider's service. Femtocells can also cover small geographical areas (e.g., a home) and can provide restricted access by UE115s associated with femtocells (e.g., UE115s in a limited subscriber group (CSG), UE115s for users in a home, etc.). eNBs for macrocells are sometimes called macro eNBs. Small cell eNBs may also be called small cell eNBs, pico eNBs, femto eNBs, or home eNBs. An eNB can support one or more cells (e.g., two, three, four, etc.) and can also support communication using one or more component carriers.

[0110] The wireless communication system 100 or system described herein may support synchronous or asynchronous operation. In synchronous operation, base stations 105 may have similar frame timings, and transmissions from different base stations 105 may be approximately synchronized in time. In asynchronous operation, base stations 105 may have different frame timings, and transmissions from different base stations 105 may not be synchronized in time. The techniques described herein may be used for either synchronous or asynchronous operation.

[0111] The information and signals described herein may be represented using a wide variety of technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be mentioned throughout the above description may be represented by voltage, electric current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, light fields or optical particles, or any combination thereof.

[0112] The various exemplary blocks and modules described in this disclosure may be implemented or run using general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) or other programmable logic devices (PLDs), discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but alternatively, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices (e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors working with a DSP core, or any other such configuration).

[0113] The functions described herein may be implemented in hardware, software executed by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software executed by a processor, the functions may be stored on or transmitted via a computer-readable medium as one or more instructions or codes. Other embodiments and implementations are within the scope of this disclosure and the accompanying claims. For example, depending on the nature of the software, the functions described above may be implemented using software executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hardwiring, or any combination thereof. Features implementing the functions may also be physically located in various locations, including being distributed so that parts of the functions are implemented in different physical locations.

[0114] Computer-readable media include both non-temporary computer storage media and communication media, including any media that enables the transfer of computer programs from one location to another. Non-temporary storage media may be any available media that may be accessed by a general-purpose computer or a dedicated computer. Examples, but not limited to, non-temporary computer-readable media may include random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, compact disk (CD)ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other non-temporary media that may be used to carry or store desired program code means in the form of instructions or data structures, and which may be accessed by a general-purpose computer or a dedicated computer or a general-purpose processor or a dedicated processor. Any connection is also appropriately referred to as computer-readable media. For example, if software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of media. As used herein, disk and disc include CD, LaserDisc®, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk, and Blu-ray disc, where disk typically reproduces data magnetically and disc optically using a laser. Any combination of the above is also included in the scope of computer-readable media.

[0115] When used herein, including in the claims, “or” in an enumeration of items (for example, an enumeration of items ending with a phrase such as “at least one of” or “one or more of”) indicates an inclusive enumeration, such as the enumeration “at least one of A, B, or C” meaning A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C). Also, the phrase “based on” as used herein should not be construed as a reference to a closed set of conditions. For example, an exemplary step described as “based on condition A” could be based on both condition A and condition B without departing from the scope of this disclosure. In other words, when used herein, the phrase “based on” shall be construed in the same way as the phrase “at least partially based on.”

[0116] In the attached diagrams, similar components or features may have the same reference label. Furthermore, various components of the same type may be distinguished by following the reference label with a dash and a second label that distinguishes similar components. Where only the first reference label is used herein, the description is applicable to any of the similar components having the same first reference label, regardless of the second reference label or any other subsequent reference labels.

[0117] The descriptions provided herein with respect to the accompanying drawings describe exemplary configurations and do not represent all examples that may be implemented or that fall within the scope of the claims. The term “exemplary” as used herein means “acting as an example, case, or illustration,” and does not mean “preferred” or “advantageous over other examples.” Detailed descriptions include specific details to facilitate understanding of the techniques described. However, these techniques may be practiced without these specific details. In some cases, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form to avoid obscuring the concepts of the examples described.

[0118] The description herein is provided to enable those skilled in the art to create or use this disclosure. Various modifications of this disclosure will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other modifications without departing from the scope of this disclosure. Accordingly, this disclosure is not limited to the embodiments and designs described herein, but should be given the broadest scope that conforms to the principles and novel features disclosed herein. [Explanation of symbols]

[0119] 100 Wireless Communication Systems 105 Base station 110 Geographic Coverage Areas 115 UE 125 Communication Link 130 Core Network 132 Backhaul Link 134 Backhaul Link 205 Antenna 205a First antenna 205b Second antenna 215 Switches, switching components 220 filters, filter components 225 Transmission Chain 230 Power Amplifier 235 Signal Regulation Components / Circuits 240 Receiving Chain 245 Low-noise amplifier 250 Signal Regulation Components / Circuits 255 processors 305 Antenna 305a First antenna 305b Second antenna 305c Third Antenna 305d Fourth Antenna 315 Switches, switching components 320 First route 330 Second route 355 Processors 360 control lines 405 Silence Window 505 interval 505a spacing 505b interval 505c spacing 605 OFF time length 610a ON time length 610b ON time length 702 Silence Window 705a DRX OFF time length 705b DRX OFF time length 805 Silence interval 810a SID packet 810b SID packet 905 Wireless Devices 910 Receiver 915 UE Communications Manager 920 Transmitter 1005 devices 1010 Bus 1015 UE Communications Manager 1020 processor 1025 memory 1030 Software 1035 Transceiver 1040 Antenna 1045 I / O Controller

Claims

1. A method for wireless communication in multi-antenna user equipment (UE), The steps include communicating with a network device using a first antenna, A step of evaluating communication metrics used to determine whether to switch from the first antenna to the second antenna, The steps include comparing the aforementioned communication metrics with a threshold, The steps include determining to switch from the first antenna to the second antenna in order to communicate with the network device, at least in part on comparing the communication metrics with the threshold, A step of determining a switching time length corresponding to the length of time required to switch from the first antenna to the second antenna in order to communicate with the network device, The steps include determining a silence window in which communication with the aforementioned network device is interrupted, The steps include determining the length of silence time corresponding to the length of the silence window, The steps include comparing the switching time length with the silence time length, In response to the silence time being equal to or greater than the switching time, the steps include switching from the first antenna to the second antenna during the silence window. A method that includes [a certain feature].

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the communication metrics include a combination of downlink communication metrics and uplink communication metrics.

3. The communication metrics include the difference between the reference signal received power of the first antenna and the reference signal received power of the second antenna, and the method is A step of comparing the difference with the threshold, The steps include: deciding to switch from the first antenna to the second antenna in response to the difference exceeding the threshold; The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of communicating with the network device in carrier aggregation mode via the first antenna and the second antenna.

5. The system further comprises the step of scheduling a switch from the first antenna to the second antenna to occur during the silence window, in response to the silence duration being greater than or equal to the switching duration. The method according to claim 1, wherein the decision to switch from the first antenna to the second antenna and the scheduling of the switch to occur during the silence window occur simultaneously.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the silence window corresponds to a measurement interval.

7. A device for wireless communication, The first antenna and, The second antenna, Processor and The memory coupled to the aforementioned processor, Instructions stored in the aforementioned memory and The device is equipped with such that when the instruction is executed by the processor, the device is configured to The first antenna is used to communicate with the network device. Evaluate the communication metrics used to determine whether to switch from the first antenna to the second antenna. The aforementioned communication metrics are compared with a threshold, Based at least in part on comparing the communication metrics with the threshold, a decision is made to switch from the first antenna to the second antenna in order to communicate with the network device. Determine the switching time length corresponding to the length of time required to switch from the first antenna to the second antenna in order to communicate with the network device. Determine the silence window during which communication with the aforementioned network device is interrupted. Determine the silence duration corresponding to the length of the silence window. The switching time length is compared with the silence time length. In response to the silence duration being greater than or equal to the switching duration, the system switches from the first antenna to the second antenna during the silence window. A device capable of operating in such a manner.

8. The apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising one or more switches coupled to the first antenna and the second antenna.

9. Filters and, Amplifier and Mixer and The apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising, wherein one or more switches are operable to couple the first antenna and the second antenna to the filter, the amplifier, and the mixer.

10. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the one or more switches, the filter, the amplifier, and the mixer are shared between a first radio access technology (RAT) and a second RAT.

11. The device is configured to communicate in carrier aggregation mode, which includes multiple carriers. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the one or more switches, the filter, the amplifier, and the mixer are shared among the plurality of carriers.

12. The apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising an antenna array for millimeter-wave communication, wherein the antenna array comprises the first antenna and the second antenna.

13. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the communication metrics include a combination of downlink communication metrics and uplink communication metrics.

14. The communication metrics include the difference between the reference signal received power of the first antenna and the reference signal received power of the second antenna. When the aforementioned instruction is executed by the processor, the device will: The difference is compared with the threshold, In response to the difference exceeding the threshold, a decision is made to switch from the first antenna to the second antenna. The apparatus according to claim 7, which is executable in this manner.

15. When the aforementioned instruction is executed by the processor, the device will: The network device is made to communicate in carrier aggregation mode via the first and second antennas. The apparatus according to claim 7, which is executable in this manner.

16. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the silence window corresponds to a measurement interval.

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