Electronic apparatus controlling uplink throughput in over-temperature state and operating method of electronic apparatus

Abstract

An electronic apparatus, according to one embodiment, may: determine whether the electronic apparatus is in an over-temperature state, on the basis of a sensing value of a temperature sensor, while UL MIMO communication of a first MCS level is being performed; if it is determined that the electronic apparatus is in an over-temperature state, reduce transmission power of each of antennas; compare a first UL throughput and a reference throughput of UL MIMO communication of a second MCS level received from a base station; if the reference throughput is equal to or greater than the first UL throughput, deactivate a transmission path of an antenna having a high transmission power among the antennas; and increase the reduced transmission power of the remaining antennas except for the antenna having a high transmission power among the antennas.

Description

Electronic device for controlling uplink throughput in an overtemperature condition and method for operating the same

[0001] Various embodiments relate to an electronic device for controlling uplink throughput in an overtemperature condition and a method of operating the same.

[0002] In LTE (long term evolution), uplink (UL) MIMO can support multiple layers. For example, LTE UL 2x2 MIMO can support two layers. In LTE UL 2x2 MIMO, the base station can set different modulation and coding scheme (MCS) levels for each of the two layers. In LTE UL 2x2 MIMO, the MCS levels for each layer can be set differently, so that adjusting the transmit power of one layer may not affect the MCS level of another layer. In LTE UL 2x2 MIMO, if an electronic device experiences an overtemperature condition, the electronic device can back off the transmit power of one layer to alleviate the overtemperature condition. The MCS level of the layer whose transmit power is backed off may be set differently from the MCS level of the other layer. In LTE UL, the electronic device can resolve the overtemperature condition while minimizing the reduction in LTE UL throughput.

[0003] For NR UL MIMO, one MCS level can be set for layers 1 to 4, and one MCS level or two different MCS levels can be set for layers 5 to 8. For NR UL 2X2 MIMO supporting two layers, the two layers can have the same MCS level. In NR UL 2X2 MIMO, if an electronic device in an over-temperature condition simply reduces the number of layers for heat generation control, a loss in UL throughput may occur. In NR UL 2X2 MIMO, a technique may be required to adjust the transmit power of each of the two layers while minimizing the decrease in NR UL throughput for an electronic device in an over-temperature condition.

[0004] According to one embodiment, in NR UL MIMO (e.g., NR UL 2Х2 MIMO), when the electronic device is in an overtemperature condition, an electronic device can be provided that can maintain NR UL MIMO as much as possible (or minimize reduction in NR UL throughput) while reducing the heat of the electronic device without simply reducing the number of transmit layers.

[0005] An electronic device according to an embodiment may include antennas, a temperature sensor, a memory storing instructions, and at least one processor including a processing circuit. The instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, may cause the electronic device to perform the following operations: determining whether the electronic device is in an overtemperature state based on a sensing value of the temperature sensor while performing UL MIMO communication of a first MCS level; reducing transmission power of each of the antennas when the electronic device determines that the electronic device is in the overtemperature state; comparing a first UL throughput and a reference throughput of UL MIMO communication of a second MCS level received from a base station; disabling a transmission path of an antenna having a high transmission power among the antennas when the reference throughput is equal to or greater than the first UL throughput; and increasing reduced transmission power of the remaining antennas except for the antenna having the high transmission power among the antennas. The reference throughput may be determined, for example, based on the UL throughput of a UL MIMO communication performed by the electronic device after the modulation scheme is changed from a first modulation scheme (e.g., 256QAM) to a second modulation scheme (e.g., 64QAM), or based on the UL throughput of a UL MIMO communication performed by the electronic device after detecting an overtemperature condition (e.g., a UL MIMO communication performed at a specific MCS level (e.g., an MCS level of 64QAM)).

[0006] An electronic device according to an embodiment may include antennas, a temperature sensor, a memory storing instructions, and at least one processor including a processing circuit. The instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, may cause the electronic device to perform the following operations: determining whether the electronic device is in an overtemperature state based on a sensing value of the temperature sensor while UL MIMO communication of a first MCS level is performed through transmission layers corresponding to the antennas; reducing transmission power of each of the transmission layers when the electronic device determines that the electronic device is in the overtemperature state; comparing a first UL throughput and a reference throughput of UL MIMO communication of a second MCS level received from a base station; reducing the number of the transmission layers when the reference throughput is greater than or equal to the first UL throughput; and increasing the reduced transmission power of a remaining transmission layer.

[0007] According to an embodiment, a method for operating an electronic device may include: determining whether the electronic device is in an overtemperature state based on a sensing value of one or more temperature sensors of the electronic device while performing UL MIMO communication of a first MCS level; reducing transmission power of each of antennas of the electronic device when the electronic device is determined to be in the overtemperature state; receiving a second MCS level from a base station; comparing a first UL throughput and a reference throughput of the received UL MIMO communication of the second MCS level; disabling a transmission path of an antenna having a high transmission power among the antennas when the reference throughput is equal to or greater than the first UL throughput; and increasing reduced transmission power of the remaining antennas except for the antenna having the high transmission power among the antennas.

[0008] According to one embodiment, when an electronic device is in an overtemperature state in NR UL MIMO, the electronic device can maintain NR UL MIMO as much as possible without simply reducing the number of transmission layers, thereby performing communication in a direction that can obtain a gain in UL throughput.

[0009] FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of an electronic device within a network environment according to one embodiment.

[0010] FIGS. 2A and 2B are block diagrams of an electronic device in a network environment including a plurality of cellular networks according to one embodiment.

[0011] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of UL MIMO communication of an electronic device according to one embodiment.

[0012] FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of an electronic device according to one embodiment.

[0013] FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a method of operating an electronic device according to one embodiment.

[0014] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of UL MIMO communication of an electronic device according to one embodiment.

[0015] FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of UL communication of an electronic device according to one embodiment.

[0016] FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a method of operating an electronic device according to one embodiment.

[0017] FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a method of operating an electronic device according to one embodiment.

[0018] Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. In the description with reference to the attached drawings, identical components are assigned the same reference numerals regardless of the drawing numbers, and redundant descriptions thereof will be omitted.

[0019] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an electronic device (101) within a network environment (100) according to an embodiment. Referring to FIG. 1, in the network environment (100), the electronic device (101) may communicate with the electronic device (102) via a first network (198) (e.g., a short-range wireless communication network), or may communicate with at least one of the electronic device (104) and the server (108) via a second network (199) (e.g., a long-range wireless communication network). According to an embodiment, the electronic device (101) may communicate with the electronic device (104) via the server (108). According to one embodiment, the electronic device (101) may include a processor (120), a memory (130), an input module (150), an audio output module (155), a display module (160), an audio module (170), a sensor module (176), an interface (177), a connection terminal (178), a haptic module (179), a camera module (180), a power management module (188), a battery (189), a communication module (190), a subscriber identification module (196), or an antenna module (197). In some embodiments, the electronic device (101) may omit at least one of these components (e.g., the connection terminal (178)), or may have one or more other components added. In some embodiments, some of these components (e.g., the sensor module (176), the camera module (180), or the antenna module (197)) may be integrated into one component (e.g., the display module (160)).

[0020] The processor (120) may, for example, execute software (e.g., a program (140)) to control at least one other component (e.g., a hardware or software component) of the electronic device (101) connected to the processor (120) and perform various data processing or operations. According to one embodiment, as at least a part of the data processing or operations, the processor (120) may store commands or data received from other components (e.g., a sensor module (176) or a communication module (190)) in a volatile memory (132), process the commands or data stored in the volatile memory (132), and store result data in a non-volatile memory (134). According to one embodiment, the processor (120) may include a main processor (121) (e.g., a central processing unit or an application processor) or an auxiliary processor (123) (e.g., a graphics processing unit, a neural processing unit (NPU), an image signal processor, a sensor hub processor, or a communication processor) that can operate independently or together with the main processor (121). For example, when the electronic device (101) includes the main processor (121) and the auxiliary processor (123), the auxiliary processor (123) may be configured to use less power than the main processor (121) or to be specialized for a given function. The auxiliary processor (123) may be implemented separately from the main processor (121) or as a part thereof.

[0021] The auxiliary processor (123) may control at least a portion of functions or states associated with at least one component (e.g., a display module (160), a sensor module (176), or a communication module (190)) of the electronic device (101), for example, on behalf of the main processor (121) while the main processor (121) is in an inactive (e.g., sleep) state, or together with the main processor (121) while the main processor (121) is in an active (e.g., application execution) state. In one embodiment, the auxiliary processor (123) (e.g., an image signal processor or a communication processor) may be implemented as a part of another functionally related component (e.g., a camera module (180) or a communication module (190)). In one embodiment, the auxiliary processor (123) (e.g., a neural network processing unit) may include a hardware structure specialized for processing artificial intelligence models. The artificial intelligence models may be generated through machine learning. This learning can be performed, for example, on the electronic device (101) itself where the artificial intelligence model is executed, or can be performed through a separate server (e.g., server (108)). The learning algorithm can include, for example, supervised learning, unsupervised learning, semi-supervised learning, or reinforcement learning, but is not limited to the examples described above. The artificial intelligence model can include multiple artificial neural network layers.The artificial neural network may be one of a deep neural network (DNN), a convolutional neural network (CNN), a recurrent neural network (RNN), a restricted Boltzmann machine (RBM), a deep belief network (DBN), a bidirectional recurrent deep neural network (BRDNN), a deep Q-network, or a combination of two or more of the above, but is not limited to the examples described above. In addition to, or alternatively to, a hardware structure, an artificial intelligence model may include a software structure.

[0022] The memory (130) can store various data used by at least one component (e.g., processor (120) or sensor module (176)) of the electronic device (101). The data can include, for example, software (e.g., program (140)) and input data or output data for commands related thereto. The memory (130) can include volatile memory (132) or non-volatile memory (134).

[0023] The program (140) may be stored as software in the memory (130) and may include, for example, an operating system (142), middleware (144), or an application (146).

[0024] The input module (150) can receive commands or data to be used in a component of the electronic device (101) (e.g., a processor (120)) from an external source (e.g., a user) of the electronic device (101). The input module (150) can include, for example, a microphone, a mouse, a keyboard, a key (e.g., a button), or a digital pen (e.g., a stylus pen).

[0025] The audio output module (155) can output audio signals to the outside of the electronic device (101). The audio output module (155) can include, for example, a speaker or a receiver. The speaker can be used for general purposes, such as multimedia playback or recording playback. The receiver can be used to receive incoming calls. In one embodiment, the receiver can be implemented separately from the speaker or as part of the speaker.

[0026] The display module (160) can visually provide information to an external party (e.g., a user) of the electronic device (101). The display module (160) may include, for example, a display, a holographic device, or a projector and a control circuit for controlling the device. According to one embodiment, the display module (160) may include a touch sensor configured to detect a touch, or a pressure sensor configured to measure the intensity of a force generated by the touch.

[0027] The audio module (170) can convert sound into an electrical signal, or vice versa, convert an electrical signal into sound. According to one embodiment, the audio module (170) can acquire sound through the input module (150), output sound through the sound output module (155), or an external electronic device (e.g., electronic device (102)) (e.g., speaker or headphone) directly or wirelessly connected to the electronic device (101).

[0028] The sensor module (176) can detect the operating status (e.g., power or temperature) of the electronic device (101) or the external environmental status (e.g., user status) and generate an electrical signal or data value corresponding to the detected status. According to one embodiment, the sensor module (176) can include, for example, a gesture sensor, a gyro sensor, a barometric pressure sensor, a magnetic sensor, an acceleration sensor, a grip sensor, a proximity sensor, a color sensor, an IR (infrared) sensor, a biometric sensor, a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, or an illuminance sensor.

[0029] The interface (177) may support one or more designated protocols that may be used to directly or wirelessly connect the electronic device (101) with an external electronic device (e.g., the electronic device (102)). In one embodiment, the interface (177) may include, for example, a high definition multimedia interface (HDMI), a universal serial bus (USB) interface, an SD card interface, or an audio interface.

[0030] The connection terminal (178) may include a connector through which the electronic device (101) may be physically connected to an external electronic device (e.g., electronic device (102)). According to one embodiment, the connection terminal (178) may include, for example, an HDMI connector, a USB connector, an SD card connector, or an audio connector (e.g., a headphone connector).

[0031] The haptic module (179) can convert electrical signals into mechanical stimuli (e.g., vibration or movement) or electrical stimuli that a user can perceive through tactile or kinesthetic sensations. According to one embodiment, the haptic module (179) can include, for example, a motor, a piezoelectric element, or an electrical stimulation device.

[0032] The camera module (180) can capture still images and videos. According to one embodiment, the camera module (180) may include one or more lenses, image sensors, image signal processors, or flashes.

[0033] The power management module (188) can manage power supplied to the electronic device (101). According to one embodiment, the power management module (188) can be implemented as, for example, at least a part of a power management integrated circuit (PMIC).

[0034] A battery (189) may power at least one component of the electronic device (101). In one embodiment, the battery (189) may include, for example, a non-rechargeable primary battery, a rechargeable secondary battery, or a fuel cell.

[0035] The communication module (190) may support the establishment of a direct (e.g., wired) communication channel or a wireless communication channel between the electronic device (101) and an external electronic device (e.g., electronic device (102), electronic device (104), or server (108)), and the performance of communication through the established communication channel. The communication module (190) may operate independently from the processor (120) (e.g., application processor) and may include one or more communication processors that support direct (e.g., wired) communication or wireless communication. According to one embodiment, the communication module (190) may include a wireless communication module (192) (e.g., a cellular communication module, a short-range wireless communication module, or a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) communication module) or a wired communication module (194) (e.g., a local area network (LAN) communication module, or a power line communication module). Among these communication modules, the corresponding communication module can communicate with an external electronic device (104) via a first network (198) (e.g., a short-range communication network such as Bluetooth, wireless fidelity (WiFi) direct, or infrared data association (IrDA)) or a second network (199) (e.g., a long-range communication network such as a legacy cellular network, a 5G network, a next-generation communication network, the Internet, or a computer network (e.g., a LAN or WAN)). These various types of communication modules can be integrated into a single component (e.g., a single chip) or implemented as multiple separate components (e.g., multiple chips). The wireless communication module (192) can verify or authenticate the electronic device (101) within a communication network such as the first network (198) or the second network (199) by using subscriber information (e.g., an international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI)) stored in the subscriber identification module (196).

[0036] The wireless communication module (192) can support 5G networks and next-generation communication technologies following the 4G network, such as NR access technology (new radio access technology). The NR access technology can support high-speed transmission of high-capacity data (eMBB (enhanced mobile broadband)), minimization of terminal power and connection of multiple terminals (mMTC (massive machine type communications)), or high reliability and low latency (URLLC (ultra-reliable and low-latency communications)). The wireless communication module (192) can support, for example, a high-frequency band (e.g., mmWave band) to achieve a high data transmission rate. The wireless communication module (192) can support various technologies for securing performance in a high-frequency band, such as beamforming, massive multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO), full dimensional MIMO (FD-MIMO), array antenna, analog beam-forming, or large scale antenna. The wireless communication module (192) can support various requirements specified in the electronic device (101), an external electronic device (e.g., the electronic device (104)), or a network system (e.g., the second network (199)). According to one embodiment, the wireless communication module (192) can support a peak data rate (e.g., 20 Gbps or more) for eMBB realization, a loss coverage (e.g., 164 dB or less) for mMTC realization, or a U-plane latency (e.g., 0.5 ms or less for downlink (DL) and uplink (UL), or 1 ms or less for round trip) for URLLC realization.

[0037] The antenna module (197) can transmit or receive signals or power to or from an external device (e.g., an external electronic device). In one embodiment, the antenna module (197) may include an antenna including a radiator formed of a conductor or a conductive pattern formed on a substrate (e.g., a PCB). In one embodiment, the antenna module (197) may include a plurality of antennas (e.g., an array antenna). In this case, at least one antenna suitable for a communication method used in a communication network, such as the first network (198) or the second network (199), may be selected from the plurality of antennas, for example, by the communication module (190). A signal or power may be transmitted or received between the communication module (190) and an external electronic device via the at least one selected antenna. In some embodiments, in addition to the radiator, another component (e.g., a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC)) may be additionally formed as a part of the antenna module (197).

[0038] According to various embodiments, the antenna module (197) may form a mmWave antenna module. According to one embodiment, the mmWave antenna module may include a printed circuit board, an RFIC disposed on or adjacent a first side (e.g., a bottom side) of the printed circuit board and capable of supporting a designated high-frequency band (e.g., a mmWave band), and a plurality of antennas (e.g., an array antenna) disposed on or adjacent a second side (e.g., a top side or a side side) of the printed circuit board and capable of transmitting or receiving signals in the designated high-frequency band.

[0039] At least some of the above components can be interconnected and exchange signals (e.g., commands or data) with each other via a communication method between peripheral devices (e.g., a bus, GPIO (general purpose input and output), SPI (serial peripheral interface), or MIPI (mobile industry processor interface)).

[0040] According to one embodiment, commands or data may be transmitted or received between the electronic device (101) and an external electronic device (104) via a server (108) connected to a second network (199). Each of the external electronic devices (102 or 104) may be the same or a different type of device as the electronic device (101). According to one embodiment, all or part of the operations executed in the electronic device (101) may be executed in one or more of the external electronic devices (102, 104, or 108). For example, when the electronic device (101) is to perform a certain function or service automatically or in response to a request from a user or another device, the electronic device (101) may, instead of or in addition to executing the function or service itself, request one or more external electronic devices to perform the function or at least a part of the service. One or more external electronic devices that receive the request may execute at least a portion of the requested function or service, or an additional function or service related to the request, and transmit the result of the execution to the electronic device (101). The electronic device (101) may process the result as is or additionally and provide it as at least a portion of a response to the request. For this purpose, cloud computing, distributed computing, mobile edge computing (MEC), or client-server computing technology may be used, for example. The electronic device (101) may provide an ultra-low latency service by using distributed computing or mobile edge computing, for example. In another embodiment, the external electronic device (104) may include an Internet of Things (IoT) device. The server (108) may be an intelligent server utilizing machine learning and / or a neural network. According to one embodiment, the external electronic device (104) or the server (108) may be included in the second network (199).The electronic device (101) can be applied to intelligent services (e.g., smart home, smart city, smart car, or healthcare) based on 5G communication technology and IoT-related technology.

[0041] Electronic devices according to the various embodiments disclosed in this document may take various forms. Electronic devices may include, for example, portable communication devices (e.g., smartphones), computer devices, portable multimedia devices, portable medical devices, cameras, wearable devices, or home appliances. Electronic devices according to the embodiments of this document are not limited to the aforementioned devices.

[0042] The various embodiments of this document and the terminology used therein are not intended to limit the technical features described in this document to specific embodiments, but should be understood to include various modifications, equivalents, or substitutes of the embodiments. In connection with the description of the drawings, similar reference numerals may be used for similar or related components. The singular form of a noun corresponding to an item may include one or more of the items, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In this document, each of the phrases "A or B", "at least one of A and B", "at least one of A or B", "A, B, or C", "at least one of A, B, and C", and "at least one of A, B, or C" can include any one of the items listed together in the corresponding phrase among those phrases, or all possible combinations thereof. Terms such as "first," "second," or "first" or "second" may be used merely to distinguish one component from another, and do not limit the components in any other respect (e.g., importance or order). When a component (e.g., a first component) is referred to as "coupled" or "connected" to another component (e.g., a second component), with or without the terms "functionally" or "communicatively," it means that the component can be connected to the other component directly (e.g., wired), wirelessly, or through a third component.

[0043] The term "module" used in various embodiments of this document may include a unit implemented in hardware, software, or firmware, and may be used interchangeably with terms such as logic, logic block, component, or circuit. A module may be an integral component, or a minimum unit or part of such a component that performs one or more functions. For example, according to one embodiment, a module may be implemented in the form of an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC).

[0044] Various embodiments of the present document may be implemented as software (e.g., a program (140)) including one or more instructions stored in a storage medium (e.g., an internal memory (136) or an external memory (138)) readable by a machine (e.g., an electronic device (101)). For example, a processor (e.g., a processor (120)) of the machine (e.g., an electronic device (101)) may call at least one instruction among the one or more instructions stored from the storage medium and execute it. This enables the machine to operate to perform at least one function according to the at least one called instruction. The one or more instructions may include code generated by a compiler or code executable by an interpreter. The machine-readable storage medium may be provided in the form of a non-transitory storage medium. Here, 'non-transitory' simply means that the storage medium is a tangible device and does not contain signals (e.g., electromagnetic waves), and the term does not distinguish between cases where data is stored semi-permanently or temporarily on the storage medium.

[0045] According to one embodiment, the method according to various embodiments disclosed in this document may be provided as included in a computer program product. The computer program product may be traded as a product between a seller and a buyer. The computer program product may be distributed in the form of a machine-readable storage medium (e.g., compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM)), or may be distributed online (e.g., downloaded or uploaded) through an application store (e.g., Play Store™) or directly between two user devices (e.g., smart phones). In the case of online distribution, at least a portion of the computer program product may be temporarily stored or temporarily generated in a machine-readable storage medium, such as the memory of a manufacturer's server, an application store's server, or an intermediary server.

[0046] According to various embodiments, each component (e.g., a module or a program) of the above-described components may include one or more entities, and some of the entities may be separated and placed in other components. According to various embodiments, one or more components or operations of the aforementioned components may be omitted, or one or more other components or operations may be added. Alternatively or additionally, a plurality of components (e.g., a module or a program) may be integrated into a single component. In such a case, the integrated component may perform one or more functions of each of the plurality of components identically or similarly to those performed by the corresponding component among the plurality of components prior to the integration. According to various embodiments, the operations performed by a module, program, or other component may be executed sequentially, in parallel, iteratively, or heuristically, or one or more of the operations may be executed in a different order, omitted, or one or more other operations may be added.

[0047]

[0048] FIGS. 2A and 2B are block diagrams of an electronic device (101) in a network environment (200) including a plurality of cellular networks according to one embodiment.

[0049] Referring to FIG. 2A, the electronic device (101) may include a processor (210) (e.g., the processor (120) of FIG. 1 or a communication processor), a first radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC) (222), a second RFIC (224), a first radio frequency front end (RFFE) (232), a second RFFE (234), a first antenna module (242), a second antenna module (244), and a third antenna module (246). The second network (199) may include a first cellular network (292) (e.g., a legacy network) and a second cellular network (294) (e.g., a 5G network). The electronic device (101) may further include at least one component among the components described in FIG. 1, and the second network (199) may further include at least one other network. In one embodiment, the second RFIC (224) may be omitted or included as part of the third RFIC (226).

[0050] According to one embodiment, the first RFIC (222), the second RFIC (224), the first RFFE (232), and the second RFFE (234) of FIG. 2A may be included in a communication module (190) (e.g., a wireless communication module (192)) of FIG. 1, and the first antenna module (242), the second antenna module (244), and the third antenna module (246) of FIG. 2A may be included in an antenna module (197) of FIG. 1.

[0051] According to one embodiment, the processor (210) may support establishment of a communication channel in a band to be used for wireless communication with a first cellular network (292), and legacy network communication through the established communication channel. The first cellular network (292) may be, for example, a legacy network including a second generation (2G), 3G, 4G, or long term evolution (LTE) network. The processor (210) may support establishment of a communication channel corresponding to a first band (e.g., about 6 GHz to about 60 GHz) (or a frequency range (FR)2 of the 5G standard (e.g., 24.25 GHz to 52.6 GHz)) among the bands to be used for wireless communication with a second cellular network (294), and 5G network communication through the established communication channel. The second cellular network (294) may be a 5G network defined by 3GPP. The processor (210) can establish a communication channel corresponding to a second band (e.g., about 6 GHz or less) (or FR1 of the 5G standard (e.g., 410 MHz to 7.125 GHz)) among the bands to be used for wireless communication with the second cellular network (294), and support 5G network communication through the established communication channel.

[0052] According to one embodiment, the first RFIC (222) may, upon transmission, convert a baseband signal generated by the processor (210) into a radio frequency (RF) signal in a frequency band (e.g., about 700 MHz to about 3 GHz) used by the first cellular network (292). Upon reception, the RF signal may be received or acquired from the first cellular network (292) via the first antenna module (242) and preprocessed via the first RFFE (232). The first RFIC (222) may convert the preprocessed RF signal into a baseband signal so that it may be processed by the processor (210).

[0053] According to one embodiment, the first RFIC (222) may, upon transmission, convert a baseband signal generated by the processor (210) into an RF signal (hereinafter, a 5G Sub6 RF signal) of a Sub6 band (e.g., about 6 GHz or less) used in the second cellular network (294). Upon reception, the 5G Sub6 RF signal may be received or acquired from the second cellular network (294) via the second antenna module (244) and preprocessed via the second RFFE (234). The first RFIC (222) may convert the preprocessed 5G Sub6 RF signal into a baseband signal so that it may be processed by the processor (210).

[0054] According to one embodiment, the third RFIC (226) may convert the baseband signal generated by the processor (210) into an RF signal (hereinafter, 5G Above6 RF signal) of a 5G Above6 band (e.g., about 6 GHz to about 60 GHz) to be used in the second cellular network (294). Upon reception, the 5G Above6 RF signal may be received or acquired from the second cellular network (294) via the third antenna module (246) (e.g., antenna (248)) and preprocessed via the third RFFE (236). The third RFIC (226) may convert the preprocessed 5G Above6 RF signal into a baseband signal so that it can be processed by the processor (210). According to one embodiment, the third RFFE (236) may be formed as a part of the third RFIC (226).

[0055] According to one embodiment, the electronic device (101) may include a second RFIC (224) separately from or at least as a part of the third RFIC (226). In this case, the second RFIC (224) may convert a baseband signal generated by the processor (210) into an RF signal (hereinafter, referred to as an IF signal) of an intermediate frequency band (e.g., about 9 GHz to about 11 GHz) and transmit the IF signal to the third RFIC (226). The third RFIC (226) may convert the IF signal into a 5G Above6 RF signal. Upon reception, the 5G Above6 RF signal may be received or acquired from the second cellular network (294) via the third antenna module (246) (e.g., antenna (248)) and converted into an IF signal by the third RFIC (226). The second RFIC (224) can convert the IF signal into a baseband signal so that the processor (210) can process it.

[0056] According to one embodiment, at least one antenna module of the first antenna module (242) or the second antenna module (244) may be omitted or combined with another antenna module to process RF signals of corresponding multiple bands.

[0057] According to one embodiment, the third RFIC (226) and the antenna (248) may be disposed on the same substrate to form a third antenna module (246). For example, the processor (120) may be disposed on a first substrate (e.g., main PCB). In this case, the third RFIC (226) may be disposed on a portion (e.g., bottom surface) of a second substrate (e.g., sub PCB) separate from the first substrate, and the antenna (248) may be disposed on another portion (e.g., top surface) of the second substrate (e.g., sub PCB), thereby forming the third antenna module (246). By disposing the third RFIC (226) and the antenna (248) on the same substrate, it is possible to reduce the length of the transmission line therebetween. This can reduce, for example, the loss (e.g., attenuation) of signals in the high-frequency band (e.g., about 6 GHz to about 60 GHz) used in 5G network communications due to transmission line transmission. As a result, the electronic device (101) can improve the quality or speed of communication with the second cellular network (294) (e.g., the 5G network).

[0058] According to one embodiment, the antenna (248) may be formed as an antenna array including a plurality of antenna elements that may be used for beamforming. In this case, the third RFIC (226) may include a plurality of phase shifters (238) corresponding to the plurality of antenna elements, for example, as part of the third RFFE (236). Upon transmission, each of the plurality of phase shifters (238) may shift the phase of a 5G Above6 RF signal to be transmitted to an external source (e.g., a base station of a 5G network) of the electronic device (101) via its corresponding antenna element. Upon reception, each of the plurality of phase shifters (238) may shift the phase of a 5G Above6 RF signal received from an external source (e.g., a base station of a 5G network) via its corresponding antenna element to the same or substantially the same phase. This enables transmission or reception via beamforming between the electronic device (101) and the external source.

[0059] The second cellular network (294) may operate independently of the first cellular network (292) (e.g., Stand-Alone (SA)) or may be connected to it (e.g., Non-Stand Alone (NSA)). For example, a 5G network may only have an access network (e.g., a 5G radio access network (RAN) or next generation RAN (NG RAN)) and no core network (e.g., next generation core (NGC)). In this case, the electronic device (101) may access an external network (e.g., the Internet) under the control of a core network (e.g., evolved packed core (EPC)) of a legacy network after accessing the access network of the 5G network. Protocol information for communication with the legacy network (e.g., LTE protocol information) or protocol information for communication with the 5G network (e.g., New Radio (NR) protocol information) may be stored in a memory (e.g., memory (130) of FIG. 1) and accessed by the processor (210).

[0060] In the example illustrated in FIG. 2a, the first RFIC (222) can support both the frequency band used for the first cellular network (292) and the Sub6 band. This is not limited thereto, and separate RFICs can each support the frequency band used for the first cellular network (292) and the Sub6 band, as in the example illustrated in FIG. 2b. In the example illustrated in FIG. 2b, the first-1 RFIC (222-1) can, upon transmission, convert a baseband signal generated by the processor (210) into an RF signal of a frequency band used for the first cellular network (292). Upon reception, the RF signal can be received or acquired from the first cellular network (292) via the first antenna module (242) and preprocessed via the first RFFE (232). The first-first RFIC (222-1) can convert the preprocessed RF signal into a baseband signal so that it can be processed by the processor (210). The first-second RFIC (222-2) can, upon transmission, convert the baseband signal generated by the processor (210) into a 5G Sub6 RF signal. Upon reception, the 5G Sub6 RF signal can be received or acquired from the second cellular network (294) via the second antenna module (244) and preprocessed via the second RFFE (234). The first-second RFIC (222-2) can convert the preprocessed 5G Sub6 RF signal into a baseband signal so that it can be processed by the processor (210).

[0061]

[0062] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of UL MIMO communication of an electronic device according to one embodiment.

[0063] According to one embodiment, the electronic device (301) can perform M×N UL MIMO communication (e.g., NR M×N UL MIMO communication) with a base station (321) (e.g., NR base station). The NR M×N UL MIMO communication can represent, for example, M×N UL MIMO communication of an NR frequency band (e.g., FR1 or FR2). M can represent the number of antennas (e.g., NR antennas) of a transmitting device (e.g., electronic device (301)), and N can represent the number of antennas (e.g., NR antennas) of a receiving device (e.g., base station (321)). The operation of the electronic device (301) in 2×2 UL MIMO (e.g., NR 2×2 UL MIMO) will be described with reference to FIG. 3. The embodiments to be described with reference to FIG. 3 can be applied to M×N UL MIMO.

[0064] According to one embodiment, in 2×2 UL MIMO, the electronic device (301) may utilize transmission layers (e.g., a first transmission layer and a second transmission layer). The transmission layer may represent, for example, a path along which the electronic device (301) transmits a signal to the base station (321) (or an independent channel between each of the antennas (311, 312) of the electronic device (301) and each of the antennas (331, 332) of the base station (321). In the example illustrated in FIG. 3, the first transmission layer may represent, for example, a path along which the electronic device (301) transmits a signal to the base station (321) via the antenna (311). The second transmission layer may represent, for example, a path along which the electronic device (301) transmits a signal to the base station (321) via the antenna (312). In case of 4×4 UL MIMO (e.g. NR 4×4 UL MIMO), the number of transmission layers (or transmission paths) can be, for example, 4.

[0065] In the example illustrated in FIG. 3, the electronic device (301) may include a plurality of antennas (311, 312), and the base station (321) may include a plurality of antennas (331, 332).

[0066] According to one embodiment, each of the antennas (311, 312) of the electronic device (301) may be, for example, an NR antenna, and each of the antennas (331, 332) of the base station (321) may be, for example, an NR antenna. An NR antenna may refer to an antenna used to transmit and / or receive a signal in an NR frequency band (e.g., FR1 or FR2), for example. Without being limited thereto, an NR antenna may be configured to transmit and / or receive a signal in an NR band, and may be configured to transmit and / or receive a signal in an LTE band.

[0067] According to one embodiment, the electronic device (301) can transmit a reference signal (e.g., a sounding reference signal (SRS) or a demodulate reference signal (DMRS)) to the base station (321) via at least one of the plurality of antennas (311, 312). The base station (321) can receive the reference signal from the electronic device (301) and estimate a channel between the electronic device (301) and the base station (321) from the received reference signal. For example, the electronic device (301) can transmit the reference signal to the base station (321) via the plurality of antennas (311, 312), and the base station (321) can receive the reference signal from the electronic device (301) via the plurality of antennas (331, 332). The base station (321) can estimate a channel between the antenna (311) of the electronic device (301) and the antenna (331) of the base station (321), and can estimate a channel between the antenna (312) of the electronic device (301) and the antenna (332) of the base station (321). The base station (321) can determine an MCS (modulation and coding scheme) level (or MCS index) for UL MIMO communication (or each of the transmission layers) of the electronic device (301) based on the channel estimation. The base station (321) can transmit DCI (downlink control information) including the determined MCS level to the electronic device (301).

[0068] According to one embodiment, in the case of NR UL MIMO, the base station (321) may determine (or set) the MCS level of each transmission layer to be the same. For example, in the case of NR 2×2 UL MIMO, the base station (321) may determine the MCS level of the first transmission layer and the MCS level of the second transmission layer to be the same.

[0069] According to one embodiment, the electronic device (301) can check a modulation scheme (e.g., 256QAM (quadrature amplitude modulation), 64QAM, 16QAM, QPSK) and an encoding scheme (e.g., LDPC) through an MCS level received from the base station (321). The electronic device (301) can perform a processing operation on data to be transmitted to the base station (321) to generate a baseband signal. The processing operation may include at least one or all of, for example, channel encoding (e.g., channel encoding based on an encoding scheme indicated by the received MCS level), scrambling, modulation (e.g., modulation based on a modulation scheme indicated by the received MCS level), layer mapping, antenna mapping, digital beamforming (e.g., precoding), resource element (RE) mapping, inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) transform, or cyclic prefix (CP) insertion. The electronic device (301) can perform RF conversion on the generated baseband signal to generate a transmission signal (or UL signal) (e.g., a transmission signal in the NR band) for each of the transmission layers.

[0070] According to one embodiment, the electronic device (301) can transmit transmission signals (or UL signals) to the base station (321) via antennas (311, 312) (or transmission layers). For example, as shown in the example in FIG. 3, the electronic device (301) can transmit transmission signal 1 (or UL signal 1) to the base station (321) via the first antenna (311) (or the first transmission layer), and can transmit transmission signal 2 (or UL signal 2) to the base station (321) via the second antenna (312) (or the second transmission layer).

[0071] According to one embodiment, the electronic device (301) can perform UL communication with the base station (321) through one antenna (or one transmission layer). The electronic device (301) can perform SISO (single input single output) UL communication with the base station (321). For example, the electronic device (301) can perform a processing operation on data to be transmitted to the base station (321) to generate a baseband signal, and can perform RF conversion on the generated baseband signal to generate a transmission signal (or UL signal) of an NR band. The electronic device (301) can transmit the transmission signal (or UL signal) to the base station (321) through one of the antennas (311, 312).

[0072] In one embodiment, as the MCS level decreases, the throughput of UL MIMO communication may decrease. Table 1 below shows examples of UL throughput of 2x2 UL MIMO communication at various MCS levels.

[0073] MCS Level Modulation Method 1 TX UL Throughput (Mbps) 2 × 2 UL MIMO Throughput (Mbps) 27 256QAM 121.30 242.626 256QAM 118.07 236.14 25256QAM 114.79 229.58 24256QAM 108.23 216.46 23256QAM 101.67 203.34 22256QAM 96.69 193.38 21256QAM 91.83 183.66 20256QAM 86.85 173.71964QAM 83.59 167.18 1864QAM 78.71 157.42 1764QAM 73.77 147.54 1664QAM 68.8 7137.741564QAM64.001281464QAM59.03118.061364QAM54.12108.241264QAM50.001001164QAM45.0690.121016QAM41.8083.6916QAM39 .3578.7816QAM35.2370.46716QAM31.1662.32616QAM27.8755.74516QAM24.1848.364QPSK19.2738.543QPSK14.3428.682QPSK9.8319.66

[0074] In Table 1 above, 1 TX UL throughput can represent the throughput of UL communication through one transmission layer (or one transmission path). 1 TX UL throughput can correspond to half of 2×2 UL MIMO throughput.

[0075] According to one embodiment, the temperature of the electronic device (301) may increase while the electronic device (301) performs UL MIMO communication (e.g., NR UL MIMO communication) with the base station (321). Factors that increase the temperature of the electronic device (301) may include, for example, the transmission power of the electronic device (301) (e.g., the antennas (311, 312) or transmission layers) and / or the modulation scheme (e.g., 256QAM, 64QAM, 16QAM, QPSK) in the UL MIMO communication of the electronic device (301). Table 2 below shows an example of a relationship between the transmission power of an electronic device (301) in NR Band 1 and the temperature (e.g., surface temperature) of the electronic device (301), and Table 3 below shows an example of a relationship between the modulation scheme in UL MIMO communication of an electronic device (301) in NR Band 1 and the temperature (e.g., surface temperature) of the electronic device (301).

[0076] Transmission Power (dBm)Temperature (℃)035.8236.0436.1636.3836.91037.11237.71439.31640.91842.02041.32141.72243.02344.0

[0077] Modulation methodTemperature (℃)QPSK44.016QAM43.964QAM43.9256QAM47.2

[0078] Referring to Table 2 above, as the transmission power of the electronic device (301) increases, the temperature (e.g., surface temperature) of the electronic device (301) may increase. Referring to Table 3 above, the temperature (e.g., surface temperature) of the electronic device (301) may be the highest when the modulation method is 256QAM.

[0079] According to one embodiment, it may be determined whether the electronic device (301) is in an overtemperature state while performing UL MIMO communication with the base station (321). The overtemperature state may indicate, for example, a state in which the temperature (e.g., surface temperature) of the electronic device (301) is higher than a threshold temperature (e.g., 42°C to 43°C). If the electronic device (301) is in an overtemperature state while performing UL MIMO communication, the transmission power (e.g., transmission power of each of the antennas (311, 321)) may be reduced. The electronic device (301) may reduce the transmission power to lower the MCS level. Accordingly, the electronic device (301) may resolve the overtemperature state while maintaining UL MIMO as much as possible.

[0080] According to one embodiment, the electronic device (301) may reduce the number of transmission layers of the UL MIMO communication when the UL throughput is lower than or equal to the reference throughput while performing the UL MIMO communication at a specific MCS level (e.g., MCS level 9 of Table 1 above). As will be described later, the reference throughput may be determined, for example, based on the UL throughput of the UL MIMO communication performed by the electronic device (301) after the modulation scheme is changed from a first modulation scheme (e.g., 256QAM) to a second modulation scheme (e.g., 64QAM). The reference throughput may be determined, for example, based on the UL throughput of the UL MIMO communication performed by the electronic device (301) after detecting an overtemperature condition (e.g., UL MIMO communication performed at a specific MCS level (e.g., MCS level of 64QAM)). For example, the electronic device (301) may drop a transmission layer (or transmission path) with the highest transmission power among the transmission layers (or transmission paths) of the UL MIMO communication. Here, “drop” may include, for example, the meaning of unuse or deactivation. The electronic device (301) may not use a transmission layer (or transmission path) with the highest transmission power among the transmission layers (or transmission paths) of the UL MIMO communication. The electronic device (301) may increase the transmission power of the remaining transmission layers, and may cause the MCS level to increase as the transmission power is increased.

[0081]

[0082] FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of an electronic device according to one embodiment.

[0083] Referring to FIG. 4, an electronic device (401) according to an embodiment (e.g., the electronic device (101) of FIG. 1, the electronic device (201) of FIGS. 2A and 2B, and the electronic device (301) of FIG. 3) may include at least one processor (410) (e.g., the processor (120) of FIG. 1, the processor (210) of FIGS. 2A and 2B), an RF communication circuit (420), antennas (430) (e.g., the antennas (311, 312) of FIG. 3), at least one temperature sensor (440), and a memory (450) (e.g., the memory (130) of FIG. 1).

[0084] According to one embodiment, the processor (410) may include a first processor (410-1) and / or a second processor (410-2).

[0085] According to one embodiment, the first processor (410-1) may correspond to, for example, the main processor (121), a central processing unit (CPU), or an application processor of FIG. 1. The second processor (410-2) may correspond to, for example, the auxiliary processor (123) or a communication processor of FIG. 1.

[0086] According to one embodiment, the RF communication circuit (420) of FIG. 4 may include, for example, the first RFIC (222) and the second RFFE (234) of FIG. 2a. Depending on the implementation, the RF communication circuit (420) of FIG. 4 may include, for example, the first-second RFIC (222-2) and the second RFFE (234) of FIG. 2b.

[0087] According to one embodiment, the antennas (430) of FIG. 4 may be included in, for example, the second antenna module (244) of FIGS. 2A and 2B. Each of the antennas (430) of FIG. 4 may be an NR antenna.

[0088] According to one embodiment, the memory (450) may store instructions. When executed by the processor (410) (e.g., the first processor (410-1) and / or the second processor (410-2)), the instructions may cause the electronic device (401) to perform at least some or all of the operations (e.g., operations of the processor (410)) to be described with reference to FIG. 4.

[0089] According to one embodiment, the electronic device (401) can perform UL MIMO communication through multiple transmission layers (or transmission paths) of UL MIMO (e.g., NR UL MIMO).

[0090] According to one embodiment, the electronic device (401) may receive an MCS level (e.g., one of the MCS levels in Table 1 above) from a base station (e.g., the base station (321) of FIG. 3). The processor (410) (e.g., the second processor (410-2)) may check a modulation scheme and an encoding scheme from the received MCS level. The processor (410) (e.g., the second processor (410-2)) may perform a processing operation on data to be transmitted to the base station to generate a baseband signal. The processing operation may include at least one or all of, for example, channel encoding (e.g., channel encoding based on a coding scheme indicated by the received MCS level), scrambling, modulation (e.g., modulation based on a modulation scheme indicated by the received MCS level), layer mapping, antenna mapping, digital beamforming (e.g., precoding), RE mapping, IFFT transform, or CP insertion. The processor (410) (e.g., the second processor (410-2)) can transmit the generated baseband signal to the RF communication circuit (420).

[0091] According to one embodiment, the RF communication circuit (420) may perform RF conversion on a baseband signal received from the processor (410) (e.g., the second processor (410-2)) to generate NR band transmission signals (or UL signals). The RF communication circuit (420) may transmit the transmission signals (or UL signals) to the antennas (430). For example, the RF communication circuit (420) may transmit transmission signals of each of the transmission layers of UL MIMO to each of the antennas (430).

[0092] According to one embodiment, each of the antennas (430) can receive each of the transmission signals from the RF communication circuit (420). Each of the antennas (430) can transmit each of the transmission signals to the base station (321) at a given transmission power.

[0093] According to one embodiment, one or more temperature sensors (440) can sense or measure the internal temperature of the electronic device (401) (e.g., the temperature of a component within the electronic device (401). The temperature sensor (440) can sense (or measure) the internal temperature of the electronic device (401) and (periodically) transmit the sensed value (or temperature value) obtained by sensing (or measuring) the internal temperature of the electronic device (401) to the processor (410) (e.g., the first processor (410-1)). For example, the electronic device (401) can include a plurality of temperature sensors, and each of the plurality of temperature sensors can sense or measure the temperature of each of some components within the electronic device (401). The components through which the temperature sensors sense (or measure) the temperature can include, but are not limited to, the processor (410) (e.g., the first processor (410-1) and / or the second processor (410-2)), one or more power amplifiers (PAs) within the RF communication circuit (420). Each of the plurality of temperature sensors can sense (or measure) the temperature of each component within the electronic device (401) and (periodically) transmit the acquired sensing value to the first processor (410-1).

[0094] According to one embodiment, the processor (410) (e.g., the first processor (410-1)) may receive sensing values ​​(or temperature values) from one or more temperature sensors (440) while UL MIMO communication is performed, and may determine whether the electronic device (401) is in an over-temperature state based on the received sensing values. For example, the processor (410) (e.g., the first processor (410-1)) may estimate (or calculate) the temperature (e.g., surface temperature) of the electronic device (401) using the sensing values ​​received from the one or more temperature sensors (440), and may determine whether the estimated temperature exceeds a threshold temperature. The processor (410) (e.g., the first processor (410-1)) may determine that the electronic device (401) is in an over-temperature state when the estimated temperature exceeds the threshold temperature. The processor (410) (e.g., the first processor (410-1)) may determine that the electronic device (401) is not in an overtemperature state if the estimated temperature does not exceed a threshold temperature, and may periodically monitor whether the electronic device (401) is in an overtemperature state based on sensing values ​​received from one or more temperature sensors (440).

[0095] According to one embodiment, when the processor (410) determines that the electronic device (401) is in an overtemperature state, the processor (410) may perform heat generation control so that the overtemperature state of the electronic device (401) can be resolved. For example, when the first processor (410-1) determines that the electronic device (401) is in an overtemperature state, the first processor (410-1) may transmit information indicating that the electronic device (401) is in an overtemperature state to the second processor (410-2). When the second processor (410-2) recognizes that the electronic device (401) is in an overtemperature state based on information received from the first processor (410-1) (e.g., information indicating that the electronic device (401) is in an overtemperature state), the second processor (410-2) may perform heat generation control so that the overtemperature state of the electronic device (401) can be resolved. For example, the second processor (410-2) may control the transmit power of each of the antennas (430) (or transmission layers) to be reduced (e.g., the transmit power is reduced or backed off by a predetermined value). The predetermined value may include, but is not limited to, 1 dB, for example. The second processor (410-2) may instruct the RF communication circuit (420) (or a separate controller) to reduce the transmit power of each of the antennas (430) (or transmission layers). Under the direction of the second processor (410-2), the RF communication circuit (420) (or a separate controller) may reduce the transmit power of each of the antennas (430) (or transmission layers).

[0096] According to one embodiment, when the transmission power of each of the antennas (430) (or transmission layers) decreases, the electronic device (401) can receive a changed MCS level (or a lowered MCS level) from the base station (321).

[0097] In one embodiment, the processor (410) (e.g., the second processor (410-2)) may determine that the electronic device (401) is still in an overtemperature state at the changed MCS level (or the lowered MCS level). The processor (410) (e.g., the second processor (410-2)) may compare the UL throughput of the UL MIMO communication at the changed MCS level (or the lowered MCS level) with a reference throughput.

[0098] According to one embodiment, the processor (410) (e.g., the second processor (410-2)) may control the electronic device (401) to reduce the transmission power of each of the antennas (430) (or transmission layers) when the UL throughput of the UL MIMO communication at the changed MCS level (or the lowered MCS level) is greater than the reference throughput. The processor (410) (e.g., the second processor (410-2)) may reduce the number of transmission layers (or transmission paths) of the UL MIMO communication when the UL throughput of the UL MIMO communication at the changed MCS level (or the lowered MCS level) is less than or equal to the reference throughput, and control the electronic device (401) to increase the transmission power of the remaining transmission layers (or antennas corresponding to the remaining transmission layers). For example, the processor (410) (e.g., the second processor (410-2)) may control the electronic device (401) to not use the transmission layer with the highest transmission power among the transmission layers (or transmission paths) of the 2X2 UL MIMO communication when the UL throughput of the 2X2 UL MIMO communication is lower than or equal to the reference throughput, and may increase the transmission power of the remaining transmission layers. When the UL throughput of the 2X2 UL MIMO communication is lower than or equal to the reference throughput in an overtemperature state, the electronic device (401) may perform UL communication with the base station through the remaining transmission layers rather than performing 2X2 UL MIMO by maintaining a plurality of transmission layers.

[0099]

[0100] FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a method of operating an electronic device according to one embodiment.

[0101] In operation 501, an electronic device (e.g., the electronic device (101) of FIG. 1, the electronic device (201) of FIGS. 2A and 2B, the electronic device (301) of FIG. 3, and the electronic device (401) of FIG. 4) (hereinafter referred to as the electronic device (401)) can perform UL MIMO communication (e.g., 2X2 UL MIMO communication). For example, the electronic device (401) can receive an MCS level (e.g., MCS level 22 of Table 1 above) from a base station (e.g., the base station (321) of FIG. 3). The electronic device (401) can perform a processing operation on data to be transmitted to the base station (321) to generate a baseband signal. The processing operation can include, but is not limited to, modulation according to a modulation scheme (e.g., 256QAM) indicated by the received MCS level. The electronic device (401) can perform RF conversion on the generated baseband signal to generate a transmission signal of each of the transmission layers (e.g., each of the first and second transmission layers of 2X2 UL MIMO). The electronic device (401) can transmit the transmission signals to the base station (321) through antennas (e.g., the antennas (311 and 312) of FIG. 3 and the antennas (430) of FIG. 4). The electronic device (401) can transmit the transmission signal of each transmission layer to the base station (321) through each of the antennas (430).

[0102] In operation 503, the electronic device (401) may determine whether the electronic device (401) is in an overtemperature state. For example, the electronic device (401) (e.g., the first processor (410-1)) may estimate a temperature (e.g., a surface temperature) of the electronic device (401) based on a sensing value of one or more temperature sensors (e.g., one or more temperature sensors (440)) (e.g., a sensing value obtained by one or more temperature sensors (440) measuring an internal temperature of the electronic device (401)) and determine whether the estimated temperature exceeds a threshold temperature. The electronic device (401) may determine that the electronic device (401) is in an overtemperature state if the estimated temperature exceeds the threshold temperature. The electronic device (401) may determine that the electronic device (401) is not in an overtemperature state if the estimated temperature is lower than or equal to the threshold temperature.

[0103] The electronic device (401) may perform operation 503 by periodically monitoring the temperature (e.g., surface temperature) of the electronic device (401) if the electronic device (401) is not in an overtemperature state (operation 503-No).

[0104] The electronic device (401) can check whether the modulation method is the first modulation method (e.g., 256QAM) in operation 505 when the electronic device (401) is in an overtemperature state (operation 503-Yes).

[0105] When the modulation scheme is the first modulation scheme (operation 505 - Yes), the electronic device (401) may reduce the transmission power of each of the antennas (430) (or transmission layers) until it receives an MCS level indicating a second modulation scheme (e.g., 64QAM) from the base station (321) in operation 507. The second modulation scheme may have a modulation order lower than the modulation order of the first modulation scheme. The electronic device (401) may repeatedly perform operations 503, 505, and the transmission power reduction until it receives an MCS level indicating the second modulation scheme (e.g., 64QAM) from the base station (321).

[0106] For example, the electronic device (401) may be in an overtemperature condition while performing UL MIMO communication at a given MCS level (e.g., MCS level 22 of Table 1 above). In the overtemperature condition, the processor (410) (e.g., the second processor (410-2)) may control the transmit power of each of the antennas (430) (or transmit layers) to be repeatedly reduced (e.g., reduced by 1 dB) until an MCS level (e.g., MCS level 19 of Table 1 above) indicating a second modulation scheme (e.g., 64QAM) is received. When the transmit power of each of the antennas (430) (or transmit layers) is reduced, the processor (410) (e.g., the second processor (410-2)) may receive a changed MCS level (or a lower MCS level) (e.g., MCS level 21, MCS level 20 of Table 1 above) from the base station (321). If the electronic device (401) is still in an over-temperature state while performing UL MIMO communication at a changed MCS level (e.g., MCS level 20), the processor (410) (e.g., the second processor (410-2)) may control the transmission power of each of the antennas (430) (or transmission layers) to be reduced. The processor (410) (e.g., the second processor (410-2)) may receive an MCS level (e.g., MCS level 19 of Table 1 above) lower than the given MCS level (e.g., MCS level 20) from the base station (321). The processor (410) (e.g., the second processor (410-2)) may check or recognize that the given MCS level (or the initial MCS level at which the modulation scheme is changed from the first modulation scheme to the second modulation scheme during the UL MIMO communication) (e.g., MCS level 19 of Table 1 above) indicates the second modulation scheme.

[0107] The electronic device (401) can determine the reference throughput in operation 509 if the modulation scheme is not the first modulation scheme (or if the modulation scheme is the second modulation scheme) (operation 505-No).

[0108] According to one embodiment, the electronic device (401) can determine the reference throughput based on the UL throughput of the UL MIMO communication at a given MCS level (or the initial MCS level at which the modulation scheme is changed from the first modulation scheme to the second modulation scheme during the UL MIMO communication) (e.g., MCS level 19 of Table 1 above). For example, the processor (410) (e.g., the second processor (410-2)) can calculate the UL throughput of the 2X2 UL MIMO communication at the given MCS level (e.g., MCS level 19 of Table 1 above) as 167.18 Mbps. The processor (410) (e.g., the second processor (410-2)) can determine the throughput of one of the transmission layers of the 2X2 UL MIMO communication as the reference throughput, or determine a value obtained by adding an offset to the throughput of one transmission layer as the reference throughput. Here, the offset may be a value added to the throughput of one transmission layer, for example, to consider a block error rate (BLER). Half (e.g., 83.59 Mbps) of the UL throughput (e.g., 167.18 Mbps) of the 2X2 UL MIMO communication may correspond to the throughput of one of the transmission layers of the 2X2 UL MIMO communication. The processor (410) (e.g., the second processor (410-2)) may determine half (e.g., 83.59 Mbps) of the UL throughput (e.g., 167.18 Mbps) of the 2X2 UL MIMO communication as the reference throughput, or may determine a value obtained by adding the offset to the half (e.g., 83.59 Mbps) as the reference throughput.

[0109] According to one embodiment, the electronic device (401) may store or record the value of the transmission power of each of the antennas (430) (or transmission layers) when UL MIMO communication is performed (or when the reference throughput is determined) at a given MCS level (e.g., MCS level 19 of Table 1 above). For example, when 2Х2 UL MIMO communication is performed (or when the reference throughput is determined) at MCS level 19, if the transmission power of the first antenna (e.g., antenna (311) of FIG. 3) (or the first transmission layer) is TX power#1 and the transmission power of the second antenna (e.g., antenna (312) of FIG. 3) (or the second transmission layer) is TX power#2, the processor (410) (e.g., the second processor (410-2)) can store or record TX power#1 and TX power#2, respectively, in a memory (e.g., the memory (450)).

[0110] In operation 511, the electronic device (401) may reduce the transmission power of each of the antennas (430) (or transmission layers). In order to lower the temperature of the electronic device (401), the second processor (410-2) may control the transmission power of each of the antennas (430) (or transmission layers) to be reduced (or backed off) by 1 dB. For example, the processor (410) (e.g., the second processor (410-2)) may control the electronic device (401) to reduce the transmission power of the first antenna by 1 dB at TX power#1, and may control the electronic device (401) to reduce the transmission power of the second antenna by 1 dB at TX power#2.

[0111] At a given MCS level (e.g., MCS level 19 in Table 1 above), the electronic device (401) can perform UL MIMO communication with each transmission power reduced by performing operation 511. When the base station (321) receives each of the transmission signals with each reduced transmission power from the electronic device (401), the base station (321) can transmit the changed MCS level (or lower MCS level) (e.g., an MCS level lower than MCS level 19) to the electronic device (401). For example, the electronic device (401) can receive the changed MCS level (e.g., MCS level 18 in Table 1 above) from the base station (321). The electronic device (401) can perform UL MIMO communication at the changed MCS level (e.g., MCS level 18).

[0112] In operation 513, the electronic device (401) may determine whether the throughput (or UL throughput) of the UL MIMO communication at the changed MCS level (e.g., MCS level 18 of Table 1 above) is greater than the reference throughput. For example, the processor (410) (e.g., the second processor (410-2)) may calculate the UL throughput of the UL MIMO communication at the changed MCS level (e.g., MCS level 18 of Table 1 above) as 157.42 Mbps. The second processor (410-2) may determine that the calculated UL throughput (e.g., 157.42 Mbps) is greater than the reference throughput (e.g., 83.59 Mbps or 83.59+offset Mbps).

[0113] If the throughput (or UL throughput) of the UL MIMO communication at the changed MCS level is greater than the reference throughput (operation 513 - Yes), the electronic device (401) may repeatedly perform operations 515, 511, and 513. By repeatedly performing operation 511, the base station (321) may receive each of the transmission signals with lowered transmission power from the electronic device (401). As the transmission power of each of the transmission signals is lowered, the base station (321) may transmit the changed MCS level (or lower MCS level) (e.g., an MCS level lower than or equal to MCS level 17 in Table 1 above) to the electronic device (401).

[0114] By repeatedly performing operations 515, 511, and 513, the electronic device (401) may receive a changed MCS level (or a lower MCS level) (e.g., MCS level 9 in Table 1 above) from the base station (321). The electronic device (401) may perform UL MIMO communication at the changed MCS level (e.g., MCS level 9 in Table 1 above). The electronic device (401) may check whether the UL throughput of the UL MIMO communication at the changed MCS level (e.g., MCS level 9 in Table 1 above) is greater than the reference throughput. For example, the processor (410) (e.g., the second processor (410-2)) may calculate the UL throughput of the UL MIMO communication at the changed MCS level (e.g., MCS level 9 in Table 1 above) as 78.7 Mbps. The processor (410) (e.g., the second processor (410-2)) can check that the calculated throughput (e.g., 78.7 Mbps) is less than the reference throughput (e.g., 83.59 Mbps or 83.59+offset Mbps).

[0115] If the throughput (or UL throughput) of the UL MIMO communication at the changed MCS level (e.g., MCS level 9 of Table 1 above) is less than or equal to the reference throughput (operation 513-No), the electronic device (401) may reduce the number of transmission layers in operation 517. For example, the processor (410) (e.g., the second processor (410-2)) may control the electronic device (401) so that a transmission layer having a high transmission power among the transmission layers of the UL MIMO communication is not used. The processor (410) (e.g., the second processor (410-2)) may deactivate a transmission path having a high transmission power. When the transmission power of the first transmission layer among the first and second transmission layers of the 2Х2 UL MIMO is greater than the transmission power of the second transmission layer, the processor (410) (e.g., the second processor (410-2)) can control the electronic device (401) so that the first transmission layer is not used (or so that the transmission path corresponding to the first transmission layer is deactivated).

[0116] In operation 519, the electronic device (401) may increase the reduced transmission power of the antenna of the remaining transmission layer. For example, the processor (410) (e.g., the second processor (410-2)) may control the electronic device (401) so that the first transmission layer among the first transmission layer and the second transmission layer of the 2X2 UL MIMO is not used, and thus the second transmission layer may remain. The processor (410) (e.g., the second processor (410-2)) may control the electronic device (401) so that the reduced transmission power of the second transmission layer (or the second antenna corresponding to the second transmission layer) is increased to the transmission power value (e.g., TX power#2) of the second transmission layer (or the second antenna) among the stored transmission power values ​​(or the stored transmission power values ​​when the reference throughput is determined) (e.g., the TX power#1 and TX power#2 described above). According to this control, the transmission power of the second transmission layer (or the second antenna) can be increased to TX power#2. The base station (321) can receive the transmission signal with the increased transmission power through the second transmission layer. Since the transmission power of the electronic device (401) has increased, the base station (321) can transmit the changed MCS level (or increased MCS level) (e.g., an MCS level higher than MCS level 10 in Table 1 above) to the electronic device (401). The electronic device (401) can perform UL communication through the second transmission layer at the changed MCS level (or increased MCS level).

[0117] According to one embodiment, the electronic device (401) may repeatedly reduce the transmission power of each of the transmission layers (or antennas) of the UL MIMO communication when the electronic device (401) is in an overtemperature state while performing UL MIMO communication.

[0118] According to one embodiment, even if the transmission power of each of the transmission layers (or antennas) is repeatedly reduced, the electronic device (401) may still be in an overtemperature state. In this case, the electronic device (401) may determine that performing UL communication through a reduced number of transmission layers (e.g., one transmission layer) is more efficient in terms of UL throughput than performing UL MIMO communication through multiple transmission layers by comparing the UL throughput of the UL MIMO communication with the reference throughput. Accordingly, the electronic device (401) may perform UL communication by reducing the number of transmission layers when the UL throughput of the UL MIMO communication is less than the reference throughput.

[0119] According to one embodiment, the instructions, when executed by the processor (410), may cause the electronic device (401) to perform at least some (or all) of the operations described with reference to FIG. 5.

[0120]

[0121] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of UL MIMO communication of an electronic device according to one embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of UL communication of an electronic device according to one embodiment.

[0122] Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, an electronic device (401) according to one embodiment may include a processor (410), an RF communication circuit (420), and antennas (631, 632) (e.g., the antennas (430) of FIG. 4).

[0123] In the examples illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7, the RF communication circuit (420) may include an RFIC (610) (e.g., the first RFIC (222) of FIG. 2A, the first-second RFIC (222-2) of FIG. 2B) and a plurality of RFFEs (621, 622). The RFFE (621) may include a first power amplifier (PA) (621-1), and the RFFE (622) may include a second PA (622-1).

[0124] According to one embodiment, each of RFFE (621) and RFFE (622) may be a separate chip or a separate integrated circuit. Alternatively, RFFE (621) and RFFE (622) may be implemented as a single chip or a single integrated circuit.

[0125] According to one embodiment, each of the antennas (631, 632) may be an NR antenna.

[0126] According to one embodiment, first and second transmission layers (or first and second transmission paths) may be utilized in the 2X2 UL MIMO of FIG. 6. The first transmission layer (or first transmission path) may include, for example, a portion of an RFIC (610), an RFFE (621), and a first antenna (631), and the second transmission layer (or second transmission path) may include, for example, a portion of an RFIC (610), an RFFE (622), and a second antenna (632). The processor (410) (e.g., the second processor (410-2)) may generate a baseband signal (e.g., a baseband signal of the first transmission layer and a baseband signal of the second transmission layer) and transmit the generated baseband signal to the RFIC (610). The RFIC (610) can perform RF conversion on a baseband signal to generate a first RF signal of a first transmission layer (e.g., a first RF signal in an NR band) and a second RF signal of a second transmission layer (e.g., a second RF signal in an NR band). The RFIC (610) can transmit the first RF signal to the RFFE (621) and the second RF signal to the RFFE (622).

[0127] According to one embodiment, the RFFE (621) can amplify the received first RF signal through the first PA (621-1), and the RFFE (622) can amplify the received second RF signal through the second PA (622-1). The RFFE (621) can transmit the amplified first RF signal to the first antenna (631), and the RFFE (622) can transmit the amplified second RF signal to the second antenna (632). The first antenna (631) can transmit the amplified first RF signal as a first transmission signal to the base station (321), and the second antenna (632) can transmit the amplified second RF signal as a second transmission signal to the base station (321).

[0128] According to one embodiment, in operations 507 and 511 of FIG. 5, the processor (410) (e.g., the second processor (410-2)) may control the electronic device (401) to reduce the transmit power of each of the antennas (631, 632) (or transmit layers). For example, the processor (410) (e.g., the second processor (410-2)) may instruct the RF communication circuit (420) (e.g., the RFFEs (621, 622)) to reduce the transmit power of each of the antennas (631, 632) (or transmit layers). The RF communication circuit (420) (e.g., RFFE (621)) can reduce the gain of the first PA (621-1) so that the transmit power of the first antenna (631) is reduced (e.g., 1 dB reduction), and the RF communication circuit (420) (e.g., RFFE (622)) can reduce the gain of the second PA (622-1) so that the transmit power of the second antenna (632) is reduced (e.g., 1 dB reduction). Examples of reducing the transmit power of each of the antennas (631, 632) (or transmit layers) are not limited to the examples described above.

[0129] According to one embodiment, in operation 517 of FIG. 5, the processor (410) (e.g., the second processor (410-2)) may control the electronic device (401) to reduce the number of transmission layers. The processor (410) (e.g., the second processor (410-2)) may control the electronic device (401) to not use a transmission layer having a high transmission power among the transmission layers when the UL throughput of the 2X2 UL MIMO communication at a given MCS level (e.g., MCS level 9 of Table 1 above) is lower than or equal to the reference throughput. In the example illustrated in FIG. 7, the processor (410) (e.g., the second processor (410-2)) may control the electronic device (401) to not use the first transmission layer (or to deactivate the first transmission path) when the transmission power of the first transmission layer is greater than the transmission power of the second transmission layer (or when the transmission power of the first antenna (631) is greater than the transmission power of the second antenna (632). The processor (410) (e.g., the second processor (410-2)) may control the transmission power of the second transmission layer (or the second antenna (632)) to increase. For example, the processor (410) (e.g., the second processor (410-2)) may instruct the RF communication circuit (420) (e.g., the RFFE (622)) to increase the transmit power of the second transmission layer (or the second antenna (632)) to the transmit power of the second transmission layer of the UL MIMO communication (e.g., the TX power#2 described above) when determining the reference throughput. The RF communication circuit (420) (e.g., the RFFE (622)) may adjust (or increase) the gain of the second PA (622-1) so that the transmit power of the second transmission layer (or the second antenna (632)) increases to the transmit power of the second transmission layer of the UL MIMO communication (e.g., the TX power#2 described above) when determining the reference throughput.

[0130] In the example illustrated in FIG. 7, the processor (410) (e.g., the second processor (410-2)) may transmit a baseband signal to the RFIC (610). Since the first transmission layer is not used (or the first transmission path is disabled), the RFIC (610) may perform RF conversion on the baseband signal to generate an RF signal and transmit the RF signal to the RFFE (622). The RFFE (622) may amplify the received RF signal through the second PA (622-1) and transmit the amplified RF signal to the second antenna (632). The second antenna (632) may transmit the amplified RF signal as a transmission signal to the base station (321). The second antenna (632) may transmit the transmission signal to the base station with increased transmission power (e.g., the TX power#2 described above).

[0131]

[0132] FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a method of operating an electronic device according to one embodiment.

[0133] In operation 801, an electronic device (e.g., the electronic device (101) of FIG. 1, the electronic device (201) of FIGS. 2A and 2B, the electronic device (301) of FIG. 3, and the electronic device (401) of FIG. 4) (hereinafter referred to as the electronic device (401)) may perform UL MIMO communication. For example, the electronic device (401) may receive an MCS level (e.g., MCS level 18 of Table 1 above) from a base station (e.g., the base station (321) of FIG. 3). The electronic device (401) may perform a processing operation on data to be transmitted to the base station (321) to generate a baseband signal. The processing operation may include, but is not limited to, modulation according to a modulation scheme (e.g., 64QAM) indicated by the received MCS level. The electronic device (401) may perform RF conversion on the generated baseband signal to generate a transmission signal of each transmission layer. The electronic device (401) can transmit transmission signals to the base station (321) via antennas (e.g., antennas (311, 312) of FIG. 3, antennas (430) of FIG. 4) (or transmission layers). The electronic device (401) can transmit transmission signals of each transmission layer to the base station (321) via each of the antennas (430).

[0134] In operation 803, the electronic device (401) may determine whether the electronic device (401) is in an overtemperature state. For example, the electronic device (401) (e.g., the processor (410)) may estimate a temperature (e.g., a surface temperature) of the electronic device (401) based on a sensing value of one or more temperature sensors (e.g., one or more temperature sensors (440)) (e.g., a sensing value obtained by one or more temperature sensors (440) measuring an internal temperature of the electronic device (401)) and determine whether the estimated temperature exceeds a threshold temperature. The electronic device (401) may determine that the electronic device (401) is in an overtemperature state if the estimated temperature exceeds the threshold temperature. The electronic device (401) may determine that the electronic device (401) is not in an overtemperature state if the estimated temperature is lower than or equal to the threshold temperature.

[0135] The electronic device (401) may periodically monitor the temperature (e.g., surface temperature) of the electronic device (401) to perform operation 803 if the electronic device (401) is not in an overtemperature state (operation 803-No).

[0136] The electronic device (401) may determine the reference throughput in operation 805 when the electronic device (401) is in an overtemperature state (operation 803-Yes).

[0137] According to one embodiment, the electronic device (401) may determine the reference throughput based on the UL throughput of the UL MIMO communication at a given MCS level (e.g., MCS level 18 of Table 1 above). For example, the processor (410) (e.g., the second processor (410-2)) may calculate the UL throughput of the 2X2 UL MIMO communication at a given MCS level (e.g., MCS level 18 of Table 1 above) as 157.42 Mbps. The processor (410) (e.g., the second processor (410-2)) may determine the throughput of one of the transmission layers of the 2X2 UL MIMO communication as the reference throughput, or may determine a value obtained by adding an offset to the throughput of one transmission layer as the reference throughput. Half (e.g., 78.71 Mbps) of the UL throughput (e.g., 157.42 Mbps) of the 2X2 UL MIMO communication may correspond to the throughput of one of the transmission layers of the 2X2 UL MIMO communication. The processor (410) (e.g., the second processor (410-2)) may determine half (e.g., 78.71 Mbps) of the UL throughput (e.g., 157.42 Mbps) of the 2X2 UL MIMO communication as the reference throughput, or may determine a value obtained by adding an offset to the half (e.g., 78.71 Mbps) as the reference throughput.

[0138] According to one embodiment, the electronic device (401) may store or record the transmit power value of each of the antennas (430) (or transmit layers) when UL MIMO communication is performed (or when reference throughput is determined) at a given MCS level (e.g., MCS level 18 of Table 1 above). For example, when 2X2 UL MIMO communication is performed (or when reference throughput is determined) at MCS level 18, if the transmit power of the first antenna (e.g., antenna 311 of FIG. 3) (or first transmit layer) is TX power#3 and the transmit power of the second antenna (e.g., antenna 312 of FIG. 3) (or second transmit layer) is TX power#4, the processor (410) (e.g., second processor (410-2)) may store or record TX power#3 and TX power#4 in the memory, respectively.

[0139] In operation 807, the electronic device (401) may reduce the transmit power of each of the antennas (430) (or transmit layers). In order to lower the temperature of the electronic device (401), the electronic device (401) may reduce (or back off) the transmit power of each of the antennas (430) (or transmit layers) by a certain value (e.g., 1 dB). For example, the processor (410) (e.g., the second processor (410-2)) may control the electronic device (401) to reduce the transmit power of the first antenna by 1 dB at TX power#3, and may control the electronic device (401) to reduce the transmit power of the second antenna by 1 dB at TX power#4.

[0140] At a given MCS level (e.g., MCS level 18 in Table 1 above), the electronic device (401) can perform UL MIMO communication with each transmission power reduced by performing operation 807. When the base station (321) receives each of the transmission signals with each reduced transmission power from the electronic device (401), the base station (321) can transmit the changed MCS level (or lower MCS level) (e.g., an MCS level lower than MCS level 18) to the electronic device (401). For example, the electronic device (401) can receive the changed MCS level (e.g., MCS level 17 in Table 1 above) from the base station (321). The electronic device (401) can perform UL MIMO communication at the changed MCS level (e.g., MCS level 17).

[0141] In operation 809, the electronic device (401) may determine whether the throughput (or UL throughput) of the UL MIMO communication at the changed MCS level (e.g., MCS level 17 of Table 1 above) is greater than the reference throughput. For example, the processor (410) (e.g., the second processor (410-2)) may calculate the UL throughput of the UL MIMO communication at the changed MCS level (e.g., MCS level 17 of Table 1 above) as 147.54 Mbps. The processor (410) (e.g., the second processor (410-2)) may determine that the calculated UL throughput (e.g., 147.54 Mbps) is greater than the reference throughput (e.g., 78.71 Mbps or 78.71+offset Mbps).

[0142] If the throughput (or UL throughput) of the UL MIMO communication at the changed MCS level is greater than the reference throughput (operation 809 - Yes), the electronic device (401) may repeatedly perform operations 811, 807, and 809. By repeatedly performing operation 807, the base station (321) may receive each of the transmission signals with lowered transmission power from the electronic device (401). The base station (321) may transmit the changed MCS level (or lower MCS level) (e.g., an MCS level lower than or equal to MCS level 16 in Table 1 above) to the electronic device (401) as the transmission power of each of the transmission signals is lowered.

[0143] By repeatedly performing operations 811, 807, and 809, the electronic device (401) can receive a changed MCS level (or a lower MCS level) (e.g., MCS level 9 in Table 1 above) from the base station (321). The electronic device (401) can perform UL MIMO communication at the changed MCS level (e.g., MCS level 9 in Table 1 above). The electronic device (401) can check whether the UL throughput of the UL MIMO communication at the changed MCS level (e.g., MCS level 9 in Table 1 above) is greater than the reference throughput. For example, the processor (410) (e.g., the second processor (410-2)) can calculate the UL throughput of the UL MIMO communication at the changed MCS level (e.g., MCS level 9 in Table 1 above) as 78.7 Mbps. The processor (410) (e.g., the second processor (410-2)) can check that the calculated throughput (e.g., 78.7 Mbps) is less than the reference throughput (e.g., 78.71 Mbps or 78.71+offset Mbps).

[0144] If the throughput (or UL throughput) of the UL MIMO communication at the changed MCS level (e.g., MCS level 9 of Table 1 above) is less than or equal to the reference throughput (operation 807-No), the electronic device (401) may reduce the number of transmission layers in operation 813. For example, the processor (410) (e.g., the second processor (410-2)) may control the electronic device (401) so that a transmission layer having a large transmission power among the transmission layers of the UL MIMO communication is not used. If the transmission power of the first transmission layer among the first and second transmission layers of the 2X2 UL MIMO is greater than the transmission power of the second transmission layer, the processor (410) (e.g., the second processor (410-2)) may control the electronic device (401) so that the first transmission layer is not used.

[0145] In operation 815, the electronic device (401) may increase the reduced transmission power of the antenna of the remaining transmission layer. For example, the processor (410) (e.g., the second processor (410-2)) may control the first transmission layer among the first transmission layer and the second transmission layer of the 2X2 UL MIMO not to be used, so that the second transmission layer may remain. The processor (410) (e.g., the second processor (410-2)) may control the electronic device (401) to increase the reduced transmission power of the second transmission layer (or the second antenna corresponding to the second transmission layer) to the transmission power value (e.g., TX power#4) of the second transmission layer (or the second antenna) among the stored transmission power values ​​(or the stored transmission power values ​​when the reference throughput is determined) (e.g., the TX power#3 and TX power#4 described above). According to this control, the transmission power of the second transmission layer (or the second antenna) can be increased to TX power#4. The electronic device (401) can perform UL communication through the second transmission layer at the changed MCS level (e.g., MCS level 9 of Table 1 above). The base station (321) can receive the transmission signal with the increased transmission power through the second transmission layer. The base station (321) can transmit the changed MCS level (or increased MCS level) (e.g., an MCS level higher than MCS level 10 of Table 1 above) to the electronic device (401). The electronic device (401) can perform UL communication through the second transmission layer at the changed MCS level (or increased MCS level).

[0146] According to one embodiment, the instructions, when executed by at least one processor (410), may cause the electronic device (401) to perform at least some (or all) of the operations described through FIG. 8.

[0147]

[0148] FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a method of operating an electronic device according to one embodiment.

[0149] Referring to FIG. 9, in operation 910, an electronic device (e.g., an electronic device (101) of FIG. 1, an electronic device (201) of FIGS. 2A and 2B, an electronic device (301) of FIG. 3, an electronic device (401) of FIG. 4) (hereinafter referred to as an electronic device (401)) may determine whether the electronic device (401) is in an overtemperature state based on a sensing value of one or more temperature sensors (e.g., a temperature sensor (440) of FIG. 4) of the electronic device (401) while UL MIMO communication of a first MCS level is performed. The first MCS level may be, for example, one of the MCS levels of Table 1 above.

[0150] For example, the electronic device (401) can estimate (or calculate) the temperature (e.g., surface temperature) of the electronic device (401) based on the sensing values ​​of one or more temperature sensors, and if the estimated temperature exceeds a threshold temperature, the electronic device (401) can be determined to be in an overtemperature state.

[0151] In operation 920, if the electronic device (401) determines that the electronic device (401) is in an overtemperature state, the electronic device (401) may reduce the transmission power of each of the antennas (e.g., the antennas (430) of FIG. 4) of the electronic device (401). For example, the electronic device (401) may reduce the transmission power of each of the antennas (430) by a predetermined value (e.g., 1 dB). The electronic device (401) may transmit each of the transmission signals to the base station (321) with the reduced transmission power.

[0152] In operation 930, the electronic device (401) may receive a second MCS level from a base station (e.g., base station (321) of FIG. 3). The second MCS level may have a lower level than the first MCS level. For example, when the transmission power of the electronic device (401) is reduced, the base station (321) may change the MCS level to the second MCS level and transmit the second MCS level to the electronic device (401).

[0153] At operation 930, the electronic device (401) can compare the first UL throughput and the reference throughput of the received second MCS level UL MIMO communication.

[0154] In operation 940, the electronic device (401) can disable a transmission path of an antenna with a high transmission power among the antennas (430) when the reference throughput is greater than or equal to the first UL throughput, and can increase the reduced transmission power of the remaining antennas (430) except for the antenna with a high transmission power.

[0155] According to one embodiment, the electronic device (401) can perform UL MIMO communication of a third MCS level before performing UL MIMO communication of a first MCS level. The third MCS level can have, for example, a higher level than the first MCS level. The third MCS level can be, for example, an MCS level initially received by the electronic device (401) from the base station (321). The electronic device (401) can determine whether the electronic device (401) is in an overtemperature state in a first state in which UL MIMO communication of the third MCS level is performed. When the electronic device (401) determines that the electronic device (401) is in an overtemperature state in the first state, the electronic device (401) can store the transmission power values ​​of each of the antennas (430) in the first state (e.g., TX power#1 and TX power#2 described through FIG. 5 or TX power#3 and TX power#4 described through FIG. 8) and reduce the transmission power of each of the antennas (430).

[0156] According to one embodiment, the electronic device (401) may determine the reference throughput based on the second UL throughput of the UL MIMO communication of the third MCS level. For example, the electronic device (401) may determine the reference throughput by calculating the value obtained by dividing the second UL throughput by the number of antennas (430) (e.g., the number of antennas used for UL MIMO communication) (or the number of transmission layers), or may determine the reference throughput by adding an offset to the calculated value.

[0157] According to one embodiment, the electronic device (401) may increase the transmission power of the remaining antennas (e.g., the second antenna (632) of FIG. 7) among the stored transmission power values ​​by excluding the antenna with the large transmission power (e.g., the first antenna (631) of FIG. 7) among the antennas (430).

[0158] According to one embodiment, the electronic device (401) may determine whether the electronic device (401) is in an overtemperature state while performing UL MIMO communication at an MCS level indicating a first modulation scheme (e.g., 256QAM). If the electronic device (401) determines that the electronic device (401) is in an overtemperature state while performing UL MIMO communication at an MCS level indicating the first modulation scheme, the electronic device (401) may repeatedly reduce the transmission power of each of the antennas (430) until receiving from the base station (321) an MCS level indicating a second modulation scheme (e.g., 64QAM) having a lower modulation order than the modulation order of the first modulation scheme.

[0159] According to one embodiment, the instructions, when executed by at least one processor (410), may cause the electronic device (401) to perform at least some (or all) of the operations described through FIG. 9.

[0160] The embodiments described through FIGS. 1 to 8 can be applied to the operating method of the electronic device of FIG. 9.

[0161]

[0162] According to one embodiment, an electronic device (101; 201; 301; 401) may include antennas (430), a temperature sensor (440), a memory (450) for storing instructions, and at least one processor (410) including a processing circuit.

[0163] The above instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, may cause the electronic device to perform: an operation of determining whether the electronic device is in an over-temperature state based on a sensing value of the temperature sensor while performing uplink (UL) MIMO communication of a first MCS level; an operation of reducing the transmission power of each of the antennas when the electronic device determines that the electronic device is in the over-temperature state; an operation of comparing a first UL throughput and a reference throughput of UL MIMO communication of a second MCS level received from a base station (321); an operation of deactivating a transmission path of an antenna having a high transmission power among the antennas when the reference throughput is equal to or greater than the first UL throughput; and an operation of increasing the reduced transmission power of the remaining antennas except for the antenna having the high transmission power among the antennas.

[0164] According to one embodiment, the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, may cause the electronic device to perform: performing UL MIMO communication of a third MCS level before performing UL MIMO communication of the first MCS level; and, when the electronic device is in the overtemperature state in a first state in which UL MIMO communication of the third MCS level is performed, storing a transmission power value of each of the antennas in the first state and reducing the transmission power of each of the antennas.

[0165] According to one embodiment, the second processor may determine the reference throughput based on the second UL throughput of the UL MIMO communication of the third MCS level.

[0166] According to one embodiment, the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, may cause the electronic device to perform an operation of determining a value calculated by dividing the second UL throughput by the number of antennas as the reference throughput or determining the reference throughput by adding an offset to the calculated value.

[0167] According to one embodiment, the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, may cause the electronic device to perform an operation of increasing the reduced transmit power of the remaining of the antennas to a transmit power value of the transmit power value for the remaining of the stored transmit power values.

[0168] According to one embodiment, the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, may cause the electronic device to perform an operation of repeatedly reducing the transmit power of each of the antennas until an MCS level indicating a second modulation scheme having a lower modulation order than the modulation order of the first modulation scheme is received from the base station while the electronic device is in the overtemperature state while performing UL MIMO communication at an MCS level indicating a first modulation scheme.

[0169] According to one embodiment, the first modulation scheme may include 256QAM and the second modulation scheme may include 64QAM.

[0170] In one embodiment, the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, may cause the electronic device to perform an operation of again reducing the transmit power of each of the antennas when the electronic device is in the overtemperature condition while the first UL throughput is greater than the reference throughput.

[0171] According to one embodiment, an electronic device (101; 201; 301; 401) may include antennas (430), a temperature sensor (440), a memory (450) for storing instructions, and at least one processor (410) including a processing circuit.

[0172] The instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, may cause the electronic device to perform: an operation of determining whether the electronic device is in an overtemperature state based on a sensing value of the temperature sensor while uplink (UL) MIMO communication of a first MCS level is performed through transmission layers corresponding to the antennas; an operation of reducing transmission power of each of the transmission layers when the electronic device is determined to be in the overtemperature state; an operation of comparing a first UL throughput and a reference throughput of UL MIMO communication of a second MCS level received from a base station (321); an operation of reducing the number of the transmission layers when the reference throughput is greater than or equal to the first UL throughput; and an operation of increasing the reduced transmission power of a remaining transmission layer.

[0173] According to one embodiment, the operation of reducing the number of the transmission layers may include an operation of reducing the number of the transmission layers by not using a transmission layer having a high transmission power among the transmission layers when the reference throughput is greater than or equal to the first UL throughput.

[0174] According to one embodiment, the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, may cause the electronic device to perform: performing UL MIMO communication of a third MCS level before performing UL MIMO communication of the first MCS level; and, when the electronic device is in the overtemperature state in a first state in which UL MIMO communication of the third MCS level is performed, storing a transmission power value of each of the transmission layers in the first state and reducing the transmission power of each of the transmission layers.

[0175] According to one embodiment, the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, may cause the electronic device to perform an operation of determining the reference throughput based on a second UL throughput of the UL MIMO communication of the third MCS level.

[0176] According to one embodiment, the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, may cause the electronic device to perform an operation of determining a value calculated by dividing the second UL throughput by the number of the transmission layers as the reference throughput or determining the reference throughput by adding an offset to the calculated value.

[0177] According to one embodiment, the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, may cause the electronic device to perform an operation of increasing the reduced transmission power of the remaining transmission layer to a transmission power of a transmission power value for the remaining transmission layer among the stored transmission power values.

[0178] According to one embodiment, the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, may cause the electronic device to perform an operation of repeatedly reducing the transmission power of each of the transmission layers until an MCS level indicating a second modulation scheme having a lower modulation order than the modulation order of the first modulation scheme is received from the base station while the electronic device is in the overtemperature state while performing UL MIMO communication at an MCS level indicating a first modulation scheme.

[0179] According to one embodiment, the first modulation scheme may include 256QAM and the second modulation scheme may include 64QAM.

[0180] In one embodiment, the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, may cause the electronic device to perform an operation of again reducing the transmit power of each of the transmit layers when the electronic device is in the overtemperature state while the first UL throughput is greater than the reference throughput.

[0181] According to one embodiment, an operating method of an electronic device (101; 201; 301; 401) may include: an operation of determining whether the electronic device is in an overtemperature state based on a sensing value of one or more temperature sensors (440) of the electronic device while performing uplink (UL) MIMO communication of a first MCS level; an operation of reducing transmission power of each of antennas (430) of the electronic device when the electronic device is determined to be in the overtemperature state; an operation of receiving a second MCS level from a base station (321); an operation of comparing a first UL throughput and a reference throughput of the received UL MIMO communication of the second MCS level; and an operation of disabling a transmission path of an antenna having a high transmission power among the antennas when the reference throughput is equal to or greater than the first UL throughput, and increasing a reduced transmission power of the remaining antennas except for the antenna having the high transmission power among the antennas.

[0182] According to one embodiment, the operating method may further include: performing UL MIMO communication of a third MCS level before performing UL MIMO communication of the first MCS level; determining whether the electronic device is in the overtemperature state in a first state in which the UL MIMO communication of the third MCS level is performed; and, if it is determined in the first state that the electronic device is in the overtemperature state, storing a transmission power value of each of the antennas in the first state and reducing the transmission power of each of the antennas.

[0183] In one embodiment, the increasing operation may include increasing the reduced transmission power of the remaining of the antennas to a transmission power of the transmission power value for the remaining of the stored transmission power values.

Claims

1. In an electronic device (101; 201; 301; 401), Antennas (430); Temperature sensor (440); Memory (450) for storing commands; and At least one processor (410) including a processing circuit Including, The above instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the electronic device to: An operation for determining whether the electronic device is in an over-temperature state based on the sensing value of the temperature sensor while uplink (UL) MIMO communication of the first MCS level is performed. When the electronic device determines that the above electronic device is in the above overtemperature state, an action is taken to reduce the transmission power of each of the above antennas. An operation of comparing the first UL throughput and the reference throughput of the UL MIMO communication of the second MCS level received from the base station (321). When the above reference throughput is greater than or equal to the first UL throughput, an operation of disabling a transmission path of an antenna having a higher transmission power among the antennas, and An operation for increasing the reduced transmission power of the remaining antennas except for the antenna with the largest transmission power among the above antennas. to perform, Electronic devices.

2. In paragraph 1, The above instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the electronic device to: An operation of performing UL MIMO communication of a third MCS level before performing UL MIMO communication of the first MCS level, and In a first state in which UL MIMO communication of the third MCS level is performed, if the electronic device is in the overtemperature state, an operation of storing the transmission power value of each of the antennas in the first state and reducing the transmission power of each of the antennas to perform, Electronic devices.

3. In paragraph 2, The above instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the electronic device to: An operation for determining the reference throughput based on the second UL throughput of the UL MIMO communication of the third MCS level. to perform, Electronic devices.

4. In paragraph 3, The above instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the electronic device to: An operation of determining the reference throughput by dividing the above second UL throughput by the number of antennas and calculating the value as the reference throughput or by adding an offset to the calculated value. to perform, Electronic devices.

5. In paragraph 2, The above instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the electronic device to: An operation of increasing the reduced transmission power of the remaining among the above antennas to the transmission power of the transmission power value for the remaining among the stored transmission power values. to perform, Electronic devices.

6. In any one of paragraphs 1 to 5, The above instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the electronic device to: An operation of repeatedly reducing the transmission power of each of the antennas until an MCS level indicating a second modulation scheme having a lower modulation order than the modulation order of the first modulation scheme is received from the base station while the electronic device is in the overtemperature state while performing UL MIMO communication at an MCS level indicating a first modulation scheme. to perform, Electronic devices.

7. In any one of paragraphs 1 to 6, The above instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the electronic device to: When the electronic device is in the overtemperature state while the first UL throughput is greater than the reference throughput, the operation of reducing the transmission power of each of the antennas again to perform, Electronic devices.

8. In electronic devices (101; 201; 301; 401), Antennas (430); Temperature sensor (440); Memory (450) for storing commands; and At least one processor (410) including a processing circuit Including, The above instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the electronic device to: An operation of determining whether the electronic device is in an over-temperature state based on the sensing value of the temperature sensor while uplink (UL) MIMO communication of the first MCS level is performed through transmission layers corresponding to the antennas. An action of reducing the transmission power of each of the transmission layers when the electronic device determines that the electronic device is in the overtemperature state; An operation of comparing the first UL throughput and the reference throughput of the UL MIMO communication of the second MCS level received from the base station (321). If the above reference throughput is greater than or equal to the first UL throughput, an operation of reducing the number of transmission layers and increasing the reduced transmission power of the remaining transmission layers. to perform, Electronic devices.

9. In paragraph 8, The operation of reducing the number of the above transmission layers is: An operation for reducing the number of transmission layers by preventing a transmission layer with a high transmission power from being used among the transmission layers when the reference throughput is greater than or equal to the first UL throughput. Including, Electronic devices.

10. In any one of paragraphs 8 to 9, The above instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the electronic device to: An operation of performing UL MIMO communication of a third MCS level before performing UL MIMO communication of the first MCS level; In a first state in which UL MIMO communication of the third MCS level is performed, if the electronic device is in the overtemperature state, an operation of storing the transmission power value of each of the transmission layers in the first state and reducing the transmission power of each of the transmission layers to perform, Electronic devices.

11. In paragraph 10, The above instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the electronic device to: An operation for determining the reference throughput based on the second UL throughput of the UL MIMO communication of the third MCS level. to perform, Electronic devices.

12. In paragraph 11, The above instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the electronic device to: An operation of determining the reference throughput by dividing the above second UL throughput by the number of transmission layers and calculating the value as the reference throughput or by adding an offset to the calculated value. to perform, Electronic devices.

13. In paragraph 10, The above instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the electronic device to: An operation of increasing the reduced transmission power of the remaining transmission layer to the transmission power of the transmission power value for the remaining transmission layer among the stored transmission power values. to perform, Electronic devices.

14. In any one of paragraphs 8 to 13, The above instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the electronic device to: An operation of repeatedly reducing the transmission power of each of the transmission layers until an MCS level indicating a second modulation scheme having a lower modulation order than the modulation order of the first modulation scheme is received from the base station while the electronic device is in the overtemperature state while performing UL MIMO communication at an MCS level indicating a first modulation scheme. to perform, Electronic devices.

15. In any one of paragraphs 8 to 14, The above instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the electronic device to: An operation of reducing the transmission power of each of the transmission layers when the electronic device is in the overtemperature state while the first UL throughput is greater than the reference throughput. to perform, Electronic devices.

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