Uplink configuration for carrier aggregation

Abstract

Example embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to uplink configuration for carrier aggregation. A method comprises receiving, from a network device, configuration information for switching between a first carrier in an uplink band and a second carrier in the uplink band, the first carrier and the second carrier being non-contiguous in frequency domain; and performing uplink transmission to the network device by switching, based on the configuration information, between the first carrier and the second carrier.

Description

UPLINK CONFIGURATION FOR CARRIER AGGREGATIONCROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application claims priority from, and the benefit of, India Patent Application No.202541030098, filed March 28, 2025, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.FIELD

[0002] Various example embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the field of telecommunication and in particular, to methods, devices, apparatuses and computer readable storage medium for uplink configuration for carrier aggregation.BACKGROUND

[0003] A communication network may serve as a facility that enables communications between two or more communication devices or provides communication devices access to a data network. A mobile or wireless communication network is one example of a communication network. The communication network may operate in accordance with standards such as those provided by Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) or European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI). Examples of standards provided by 3GPP are the so-called 3GPP standards for cellular technology generations, such as 3GPP standards for 4G technology, 5G technology, 6G technology etc.SUMMARY

[0004] In a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a first apparatus. The first apparatus comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first apparatus at least to: receive, from a network device, configuration information for switching between a first carrier in an uplink band and a second carrier in the uplink band, the first carrier and the second carrier being non-contiguous in frequency domain; and perform uplink transmission to the network device by switching, based on the configuration information, between the first carrier and the second carrier.

[0005] In a second aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a second apparatus. The second apparatus comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second apparatus at least to: transmit, to at least one terminal device, configuration information for switching between a first carrier in an uplink band and a second carrier in the uplink band, the first carrier and the second carrier being noncontiguous in frequency; and perform uplink receptions from the at least one terminal device based on the configuration information.

[0006] In a third aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method. The method comprises: receiving, from a network device, configuration information for switching between a first carrier in an uplink band and a second carrier in the uplink band, the first carrier and the second carrier being non-contiguous in frequency domain; and performing uplink transmission to the network device by switching, based on the configuration information, between the first carrier and the second carrier.

[0007] In a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method. The method comprises: transmitting, to at least one terminal device, configuration information for switching between a first carrier in an uplink band and a second carrier in the uplink band, the first carrier and the second carrier being non-contiguous in frequency; and performing uplink receptions from the at least one terminal device based on the configuration information.

[0008] In a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a first apparatus. The first apparatus comprises means for receiving, from a network device, configuration information for switching between a first carrier in an uplink band and a second carrier in the uplink band, the first carrier and the second carrier being non-contiguous in frequency domain; and means for performing uplink transmission to the network device by switching, based on the configuration information, between the first carrier and the second carrier.

[0009] In a sixth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a second apparatus. The second apparatus comprises means for transmitting, to at least one terminal device, configuration information for switching between a first carrier in an uplink band and a second carrier in the uplink band, the first carrier and the second carrier being non-contiguous in frequency; and means for performing uplink receptions from the at least one terminal device based on the configuration information.

[0010] In a seventh aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer readable medium. The computer readable medium comprises instructions stored thereon for causing an apparatus to perform at least the method according to the third aspect.

[0011] In an eighth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer readable medium. The computer readable medium comprises instructions stored thereon for causing an apparatus to perform at least the method according to the fourth aspect.

[0012] It is to be understood that the Summary section is not intended to identify key or essential features of embodiments of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become easily comprehensible through the following description.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] Some example embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanyingdrawings, where:

[0014] FIG. 1 illustrates an example communication environment in which example embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented;

[0015] FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic diagram of example fragmented carriers;

[0016] FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic diagram of relaxation to the reference sensitivity in the noncontiguous intra-band CA configuration;

[0017] FIG. 4 illustrates a schematic diagram of example positions of uplink carrier for FDD;

[0018] FIG. 5 illustrates a schematic diagram of some other example positions of uplink carrier for frequency division duplexing (FDD);

[0019] FIG. 6 illustrates an example signaling flow for uplink transmissions by switching between different carriers in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0020] FIG. 7 illustrates a schematic diagram of an example switching pattern in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0021] FIG. 8 illustrates an example signaling flow for uplink transmissions by adjusting a transmission parameter in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0022] FIG. 9 illustrates a schematic diagram of an example switching pattern for full duty cycle in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure

[0023] FIG. 10 illustrates a schematic diagram of an example switching pattern for two terminal devices in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0024] FIG. 11 illustrates a signalling flow of an example process for carrier switching in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0025] FIG.12 illustrates a signalling flow of an example process for carrier switch based on UE implementation in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure

[0026] FIG. 13 illustrates a schematic diagram of an example carrier configuration for two UEs in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0027] FIG. 14A illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at a first apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0028] FIG. 14B illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at a second apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0029] FIG. 15A illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at a first apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0030] FIG. 15B illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at a second apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0031] FIG. 16 illustrates a simplified block diagram of a device that is suitable for implementingexample embodiments of the present disclosure; and

[0032] FIG. 17 illustrates a block diagram of an example computer readable medium in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0033] Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals represent the same or similar element.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034] Principle of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some example embodiments. It is to be understood that these embodiments are described only for the purpose of illustration and help those skilled in the art to understand and implement the present disclosure, without suggesting any limitation as to the scope of the disclosure. Embodiments described herein can be implemented in various manners other than the ones described below.

[0035] In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skills in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

[0036] References in the present disclosure to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “an example embodiment,” and the like indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but it is not necessary that every embodiment includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described.

[0037] It shall be understood that although the terms “first,” “second,”..., etc. in front of noun(s) and the like may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another and they do not limit the order of the noun(s). For example, a first element could be termed a second element, and similarly, a second element could be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of example embodiments. As used herein, the term “and / or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

[0038] As used herein, “at least one of the following: ” and “at least one of ” and similar wording, where the list of two or more elements are joined by “and” or “or”, mean at least any one of the elements, or at least any two or more of the elements, or at least all the elements.

[0039] As used herein, unless stated explicitly, performing a step “in response to A” does notindicate that the step is performed immediately after “A” occurs and one or more intervening steps may be included.

[0040] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”, “comprising”, “has”, “having”, “includes” and / or “including”, when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, elements, and / or components etc., but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components and / or combinations thereof.

[0041] As used in this application, the term “circuitry” may refer to one or more or all of the following:(a) hardware-only circuit implementations (such as implementations in only analog and / or digital circuitry) and(b) combinations of hardware circuits and software, such as (as applicable):(i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuit(s) with software / firmware and(ii) any portions of hardware processor(s) with software (including digital signal processor(s)), software, and memory(ies) that work together to cause an apparatus, such as a mobile phone or server, to perform various functions) and (c) hardware circuit(s) and or processor(s), such as a microprocessor(s) or a portion of a microprocessor(s), that requires software (e.g., firmware) for operation, but the software may not be present when it is not needed for operation.

[0042] This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of this term in this application, including in any claims. As a further example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of merely a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware. The term circuitry also covers, for example and if applicable to the particular claim element, a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device or a similar integrated circuit in server, a cellular network device, or other computing or network device.

[0043] As used herein, the term “communication network” refers to a network following any suitable communication standards, such as New Radio (NR), Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA), Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-loT) and so on. Furthermore, the communications between a terminal device and a network device in the communication network may be performed according to any suitable generation communication protocols, including, but not limited to, the first generation (1G),the second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, the third generation (3G), the fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, the fifth generation (5G), 5.5G, the sixth generation (6G) communication protocols, and / or any other protocols either currently known or to be developed in the future. Embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied in various communication systems. Given the rapid development in communications, there will of course also be future type communication technologies and systems with which the present disclosure may be embodied. It should not be seen as limiting the scope of the present disclosure to only the aforementioned system.

[0044] As used herein, the term “network device” refers to a node in a communication network via which a terminal device accesses the network and receives services therefrom. The network device may refer to a base station (BS) or an access point (AP), for example, a node B (NodeB or NB), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB), an NR NB (also referred to as a gNB), a Remote Radio Unit (RRU), a radio header (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), a relay, an Integrated Access and Backhaul (I AB) node, a low power node such as a femto, a pico, a non-terrestrial network (NTN) or non-ground network device such as a satellite network device, a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite and a geosynchronous earth orbit (GEO) satellite, an aircraft network device, and so forth, depending on the applied terminology and technology. In some example embodiments, radio access network (RAN) split architecture comprises a Centralized Unit (CU) and a Distributed Unit (DU) at an IAB donor node. An IAB node comprises a Mobile Terminal (IAB-MT) part that behaves like a UE toward the parent node, and a DU part of an IAB node behaves like a base station toward the next-hop IAB node.

[0045] The term “terminal device” refers to any end device that may be capable of wireless communication. By way of example rather than limitation, a terminal device may also be referred to as a communication device, user equipment (UE), a Subscriber Station (SS), a Portable Subscriber Station, a Mobile Station (MS), or an Access Terminal (AT). The terminal device may include, but not limited to, a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, a tablet, a wearable terminal device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), portable computers, desktop computer, image capture terminal devices such as digital cameras, gaming terminal devices, music storage and playback appliances, vehicle-mounted wireless terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), USB dongles, smart devices, wireless customer-premises equipment (CPE), an Internet of Things (loT) device, a watch or other wearable, a head-mounted display (HMD), a vehicle, a drone, a medical device and applications (e.g., remote surgery), an industrial device and applications (e.g., a robot and / or other wireless devices operating in an industrial and / or an automated processing chain contexts), a consumer electronics device, a device operating on commercial and / or industrial wireless networks, and the like. The terminal device may also correspond to a Mobile Termination (MT) part ofan IAB node (e.g., a relay node). In the following description, the terms “terminal device”, “communication device”, “terminal”, “user equipment” and “UE” may be used interchangeably.

[0046] As used herein, the term “resource,” “transmission resource,” “resource block,” “physical resource block” (PRB), “uplink resource,” or “downlink resource” may refer to any resource for performing a communication, for example, a communication between a terminal device and a network device, such as a resource in time domain, a resource in frequency domain, a resource in space domain, a resource in code domain, or any other combination of the time, frequency, space and / or code domain resource enabling a communication, and the like. In the following, unless explicitly stated, a resource in both frequency domain and time domain will be used as an example of a transmission resource for describing some example embodiments of the present disclosure. It is noted that example embodiments of the present disclosure are equally applicable to other resources in other domains.

[0047] FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of an example communication environment 100 in which example embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented. In the communication environment 100, a plurality of communication devices, including a terminal device 110 and a network device 120, may communicate with each other.

[0048] In the example of FIG. 1, the terminal device 110 may be a UE and the network device 120 may be a base station serving the UE. The network device 120 operates in a radio access network (RAN) and thus is also referred to as a RAN network device.

[0049] It is to be understood that the number of devices and their connections shown in FIG. 1 are only for the purpose of illustration without suggesting any limitation. The communication environment 100 may include any suitable number of devices configured to implement example embodiments of the present disclosure. It is noted that although illustrated as a network device, the network device 120 may be another device than a network device. Although illustrated as a terminal device, the terminal device 110 may be another device than a terminal device.

[0050] In the following, for the purpose of illustration, some example embodiments are described with a terminal device 110 operating as a UE and a network device 120 operating as a base station, e.g., gNB. However, in some example embodiments, operations described in connection with a terminal device may be implemented at a network device or other device, and operations described in connection with a network device may be implemented at a terminal device or other device.

[0051] In some example embodiments, a communication direction from the network device 120 to the terminal device 110 is referred to as a downlink (DL), while a communication direction from the terminal device 110 to the network device 120 is referred to as an uplink (UL). In DL, the network device 120 is a transmitting (TX) device (or a transmitter) and the terminal device 110 is a receiving (RX) device (or a receiver). In UL, the terminal device 110 is a TX device (or a transmitter) and thenetwork device 120 is an RX device (or a receiver).

[0052] Communications in the communication environment 100 may be implemented according to any proper communication protocol(s), comprising, but not limited to, cellular communication protocols, wireless local network communication protocols such as Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 and the like, and / or any other protocols currently known or to be developed in the future. Moreover, the communication may utilize any proper wireless communication technology, comprising but not limited to: Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Duplex (FDD), Time Division Duplex (TDD), Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple (OFDM), Discrete Fourier Transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) and / or any other technologies currently known or to be developed in the future.

[0053] Fragmented carriers are essentially non-contiguous intra-band carrier aggregation (NC IB CA). Fragmented CA relates to a UE with a hardware configuration that enables reception of multiple fragmented intra-band carriers with a single RX radio frequency (RF) chain. FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic diagram 200 of example fragmented carriers. In FIG. 2, each block represents a 5 MHz wide spectrum segment. Blocks with the same pattern indicate that these spectrum segments are allocated to the same operator. FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic diagram 300 of relaxation to the reference sensitivity in the non-contiguous intra-band CA configuration. In FIG. 3, ARIBNC refers to the relaxation to the reference sensitivity in the non-contiguous intra-band CA configuration. As can be seen in FIG. 3, the duplex filter fails to sufficiently attenuate or isolate the uplink carrier from within the downlink carrier SCC.

[0054] FIG. 4 illustrates a schematic diagram 400 of example positions of uplink carrier for FDD. FIG. 5 illustrates a schematic diagram 500 of some other example positions of uplink carrier for FDD. Since the uplink carrier of the fragmented CA operation may be placed inside the band of fragmented operation, the PCC uplink may be placed in either of carriers (410, 420, 530, 540) illustrated in FIG.4 and FIG. 5. In FIG. 4, the UL band is located on the lower side of the spectrum, and the DL band is located on the upper side of the spectrum. The distance between the CC1 410 and the downlink band is greater than the distance between the CC2420 and the downlink band (may further be referred to as the CC1 410 “facing away” the downlink band, and the CC2420 “facing” the downlink band). If the uplink carrier is placed in the CC2420, it may create the highest interference of the carriers in downlink band. In FIG. 5, the UL band is located on the upper side of the spectrum, and the DL band is located on the lower side of the spectrum. The distance between the CC2540 and the downlink band is greater than the distance between the CC1 530 and the downlink band (i.e., the CC2 540 “facing away” the downlink band, and the CC1 530 “facing” the downlink band). If the uplink carrier is placed in the CC1530, it may create the highest interference of the carriers in downlink band.

[0055] To mitigate the interference, the network (NW) may configure the uplink carrier in the carrier “facing away” from the downlink band. However, this may lead to congestion in the uplink band if the carrier allocated for the uplink transmission has the least bandwidth. For example, the NW may configure the uplink carrier in the CC2 540, and this may lead to communication congestion since the CC2 540 has the least bandwidth.

[0056] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide solutions for uplink configuration to mitigate uplink congestion in fragmented CA. In the present disclosure, uplink transmitter switching (ULTxSwitching) in non-contiguous intra-band uplink carrier aggregation (NCULCA) may be used to mitigate congestion of the uplink carrier in the fragmented CA configuration that the network has configured at the UE for minimizing the receiver desensitization from the uplink transmitter of the UE.

[0057] By using ULTxSwitching between the non-contiguous intra-band uplink carriers, the NW may offload the carrier “facing” the downlink band and may configure the UE with any switching pattern of the uplink carriers relative to the load of the preferred primary uplink carrier.

[0058] NCULCA may be supported at a very limited level (should further support dual power amplifier architecture (dual PA-Architecture)) of the example bands in FIG. 2. NCULCA may only be supported in CA_n26(2A) among all the bands covered by the fragmented CA as shown in Table 1 by looking through the uplink CA column.Table 10059] For the NCULCA, a drawback lies in that it has large maximum power reduction (MPR). This shows that the output power reduction when approaching the maximum output power is allowed a reduction of 9dB to 15dB to avoid impact of UE uplink intermodulation products. The MPR refers to the maximum output power reduction for intra-band non-contiguous CA power class 3 for UEs indicating support for the IE dualPA-Architecture. The allowed maximum output power reduction is defined as MPR = MA, where MA is defined as follows: MA =15 for 0<B<1.08; MA = 14.5 for 1.08<B<2.16; MA = 13.5 for 2.16<B<3.24; MA = 12.5 for 3.24<B< 5.04; MA = 11.5 for 5.04<B<10.08; MA = 10.5 for 10.08<B<16.38; MA = 10 for 16.38<B<21.78; MA = 9 for B>21.78.

[0060] For the fragmented CA, the difference in power spectral density between the downlink carriers has been defined. This difference may refer to the up to 6 decibels (dB) imbalance in the DL received power spectral density between the two non-contiguous CCs. This imbalance may further cause a difference in uplink power control, adding 6dB to the already found 9-15dB for the NCULCA operation, leaving NCULCA pointless for fragmented CA.

[0061] This may imply that fragmented CA may select a carrier for the PCC, implying that all UEs in the cell utilizes that PCC. To potentially reduce Rx desensitization at the UE, the PCC may be positioned in a direction that is away from the DL band, which may lead to potential congestion in this uplink carrier. However, in the fragmented CA, the requirements are based on the PCC facing the DL band, indicating that this may be a viable configuration for the uplink.

[0062] In accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided a solution for uplink configuration for carrier aggregation. A terminal device receives, from a network device, configuration information for switching between a first carrier in an uplink band and a second carrier in the uplink band. The first carrier and the second carrier are non-contiguous in frequency domain. The terminal device performs uplink transmissions to the network device by switching, based on the configuration information, between the first carrier and the second carrier. In this way, uplink congestion in fragmented CA may be mitigated.

[0063] Example embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0064] FIG. 6 illustrates an example signaling flow 600 for uplink transmissions by switching between different carriers in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the signaling flow 600 will be discussed with reference to FIG. 1. Asshown in FIG. 6, the signaling flow 600 involves the terminal device 110, and the network device 120. Although it is illustrated in FIG. 6 that there is one terminal device 110, it should be understood that FIG. 6 may include other terminal devices or network devices.

[0065] In some example embodiments, for example, the terminal device 110 may be in radio resource control (RRC) connected state. The terminal device 110 may transmit (601) capability information indicative of support for switching between non-contiguous carriers in the uplink band to the network device 120. The network device 120 may receive (603) the capability information from the terminal device 110.

[0066] The capability information may indicate corresponding capability supported by the terminal device 110. In some cases, the capability information may include an indication indicative of support for non-contiguous uplink carrier aggregation. For example, the capability information may include information indicating that the terminal device 110 supports NCULCA. Alternatively, or additionally, the capability information may include an indication indicative of a capability of transmitter switching. For example, the capability information may include information indicating that the terminal device 110 supports ULTxSwitching. The capability information may further include other capabilities supported by the terminal device 110, which is not limited to in the present disclosure.

[0067] In some example embodiments, the terminal device 110 may transmit a measurement report to the network device 120. The measurement report may include at least one signal quality obtained by measuring at least one reference signal. As an example, the measurement report may include relevant metrics such as reference signal receiving power (RSRP), receive signal strength indicator (RSSI), channel qualify indicator (CQI) etc.

[0068] In addition to the terminal device 110, the network device 120 may receive capability information from a plurality of terminal devices. The capability information of a specific terminal device among the plurality of terminal devices may indicate whether the specific terminal device supports switching between non-contiguous carriers or whether it has the capability of transmitter switching. Additionally, the network device 120 may receive measurement reports from the plurality of terminal devices. A measurement report of a specific terminal device among the plurality of terminal devices may include at least one signal quality obtained by measuring at least one reference signal, such as the RSRP, the RSSI, or the CQI of the specific terminal device.

[0069] In some example embodiments, based on the measurement reports from the plurality of terminal devices and their capability information, the network device 120 may select at least one terminal device from the plurality of terminal devices, and transmit configuration information for switching between non-contiguous carriers to the at least one terminal device. As an example, if the network device 120 determines that the plurality of terminal devices are performing or performs uplinktransmissions on a carrier (e.g., carrier A), and communication congestion occurs on the carrier A, the network device 120 may select at least one terminal device which supports switching between non-contiguous carriers or has the capability of transmitter switching, and configure the at least one terminal device to perform uplink transmission e.g., on a further carrier (e.g., carrier B) which is noncontiguous with the carrier, so as to relieve the congestion on the carrier A.

[0070] For example, if the network device 120 determines that the uplink carrier with the serving cell is approaching congestion, and there is at least one terminal device have sufficiently low pathloss, sufficiently high-power headroom, or sufficiently good RX quality metrics, the network device 120 may grant the at least one terminal device with a pattern for switching between non-contiguous carriers (also referred to as a pattern for switched operation, or a switching pattern), to relieve the congestion in the primary serving cell.

[0071] Based on the capability information and the measurement report of the terminal device 110, the network device 120 knows that the terminal device 110 supports switching between noncontiguous carriers or it has the capability of UL transmitter switching. The network device 120 transmits (605) the configuration information for switching between a first carrier in an uplink band and a second carrier in the uplink band to terminal device 110. The terminal device 110 receives (607) the configuration information from the network device 120. Based on the configuration information, the terminal device 110 performs (609) uplink transmissions to the network device 120 by switching between the first carrier and the second carrier. The network device 120 performs (611) uplink receptions from the terminal device 110 based on the configuration information.

[0072] The first carrier and the second carrier may be in the same uplink band, and is noncontiguous in frequency. The first carrier in the uplink band may also be referred to as the first UL carrier. The second carrier in the uplink band may also be referred to as the second UL carrier. The first carrier may be a PCC, or a SCC. The second carrier may be a PCC, or SCC. In some example embodiments, the distance between the first carrier and a downlink band may be greater than a distance between the second carrier and the downlink band. In other words, the first carrier may “face away” from the downlink band, and the second carrier may “face” the downlink band.

[0073] In some example embodiments, the output power or the pathloss of the terminal device may be low. In addition to switching between the first carrier and the second carrier, the network device 120 may further configure different transmission powers on the first carrier and the second carrier. For example, the output power for the uplink transmission on the first carrier may be greater than the output power for the uplink transmission on the second carrier. In this way, the network device 120 may balance the load between the carriers more efficiently, and better manage the frequency spectrum, ensuring optimal use of available resources.

[0074] In some example embodiments, the network device 120 may configure different time durations on the first carrier and the second carrier. For example, a first time duration for the terminal device 110 to perform the uplink transmission on the first carrier may be different from a second time duration for the terminal device 110 to perform the uplink transmission on the second carrier. In some cases, the first time duration may be longer than the second time duration. In this way, the congestion on the first carrier may be alleviated, and by configuring different transmission durations, the network device 120 may dynamically adjust resource allocation based on the load and requirements of each carrier.

[0075] In some example embodiments, the configuration information may indicate at least one switching pattern for switching in time domain between the first carrier and the second carrier. As an example, the network device 120 may configure the terminal device 110 to switch between the first carrier and the second carrier in time domain. However, if the terminal device 110 moves to an area where another carrier provides better coverage or performance, the network device 120 may configure another switching pattern.

[0076] FIG. 7 illustrates a schematic diagram 700 of an example switching pattern in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. As illustrated in FIG. 7, in 701, the UL band is located on the lower side of the spectrum, and the DL band is located on the upper side of the spectrum. The distance between the CC1 710 and the DL band is greater than the distance between the CC2 720 and the DL band. The CC1 710 may be referred to as the first carrier, and the CC2 720 may be referred to as second carrier. The terminal device 110 performs uplink transmission on the CC1 710. If the communication congestion occurs on the CC1 710, the network device 120 may configure or grant the terminal device 110 to perform uplink transmission on the CC2720. For example, the network device 120 may transmit the configuration information to the terminal device 110, to indicate the terminal device 110 to perform uplink transmission by switching between the CC2 720 and the CC1 710.

[0077] In 702, the UL band is located on the upper side of the spectrum, and the DL band is located on the lower side of the spectrum. The distance between the CC2740 and the DL band is greater than the distance between the CC1 730 and the DL band. The terminal device 110 performs uplink transmission on the CC2 740. If the communication congestion occurs on the CC2 740, the network device 120 may transmit the configuration information to the terminal device 110, to indicate the terminal device 110 to perform uplink transmission by switching between the CC2 740 and the CC1 730.

[0078] In some example embodiments, if there are more than one terminal device (e.g., a first terminal device and a second terminal device) supports switching between non-contiguous carriers orhas the capability of transmitter switching, the network device 120 may configure different switching patterns for the more than one terminal device. For example, the switching pattern for the first terminal device may be different from the switching pattern for the second terminal device of the at least one terminal device. In some cases, different switching patterns may vary in terms of the timing and manner of using the carriers. Embodiments of the present disclosure do not limit it thereto. For example, the first time period for the first terminal device to perform the uplink transmission on the first carrier may be different from a second time period for the second terminal device to perform the uplink transmission on the first carrier. For example, the network device 120 may configure the first terminal device to use the second carrier during the first time period, while the second terminal device may be configured to use the second carrier during the second time period. In this way, the network may operate more efficiently, and provide better service quality.

[0079] In the present disclosure, the network device 120 may configure the terminal device 110 with lesser pathloss (thereby less output power) and assigned a switched scheme or operation by switching between non-contiguous carriers in the uplink band, e.g., allow the terminal device 110 to use the carrier “facing away” from the DL band. Since the uplink activity in the uplink carrier facing the DL band may not be causing Rx desensitization, as the terminal device 110 is not operating at maximum output power range (18dBm to 23dBm). The terminal device 110 may maintain the PCC link at the preferred uplink carrier, the uplink bandwidth of the carrier may be offloaded. Thereby, degradation of sensitivity in fragmented CA due to PCC assignment in fragmented band may be mitigated.

[0080] In some embodiments, in addition to configuring the terminal device 110 to switch between the first carrier and the second carrier, the network device 120 may further configure the terminal device 110 to adjust its transmission parameter on the first carrier which “facing away” from the DL band. FIG. 8 illustrates an example signaling flow 800 for uplink transmissions by adjusting a transmission parameter in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the signaling flow 800 will be discussed with reference to FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 8, the signaling flow 800 involves the terminal device 110, and the network device 120. Although it is illustrated in FIG. 8 that there is one terminal device 110, it should be understood that FIG. 8 may include other terminal devices or network devices.

[0081] In some example embodiments, the terminal device 110 may transmit (801) capability information indicative of support for switching between non-contiguous carriers in the uplink band to the network device 120. The network device 120 may receive (803) the capability information from the terminal device 110. The capability information may indicate corresponding capability supported by the terminal device 110, such as an indication indicative of support for switching between noncontiguous carriers in the uplink band, or an indication indicative of a capability of transmitter switching.In some example embodiments, the capability information may further include an indication indicative of support for a dual power amplifier architecture. For example, the terminal device 110 may report the network device 120 that it has addition capabilities of dualPA-Architecture. The terminal device 110 may further transmit a measurement report to the network device 120. For details, reference may be made to the above embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0082] In addition to the terminal device 110, the network device 120 may receive capability information and / or measurement report from a plurality of terminal devices. Based on capability information and / or measurement report, the network device 120 may select at least one terminal device from the plurality of terminal devices, and transmit configuration information for switching between non-contiguous carriers to the at least one terminal device. For example, the terminal device 110 is one of the at least one terminal device which supports switching between non-contiguous carriers in the uplink band and has dualPA-Architecture, etc.

[0083] The network device 120 transmits (805) the configuration information for switching between a first carrier in an uplink band and a second carrier in the uplink band to terminal device 110. The distance between the first carrier and the downlink band is greater than the distance between the second carrier and the downlink band. In some cases, the configuration information may indicate a switching pattern for switching in time domain between the first carrier and the second carrier.

[0084] The terminal device 110 receives (807) the configuration information from the network device 120. Based on the configuration information, the terminal device 110 adjusts (809) the transmission parameter for an uplink transmission on the first carrier. The terminal device 110 performs (811) uplink transmissions to the network device 120 by switching between the first carrier and the second carrier. The terminal device 110 performs (811) the uplink transmission on the first carrier based on the adjusted transmission parameter. The network device 120 performs (813) the uplink reception based on the configuration information.

[0085] In some example embodiments, adjusting the transmission parameter may include increasing the output power (also referred to as power boosting) for the uplink transmission on the first carrier. For example, in addition to allowing the terminal device 110 to switch its uplink transmission between the first and second carriers, the network device 120 may configure the terminal device 110 to increase its transmission power for the uplink transmission on the first carrier. In this way, higher uplink crest factor may be created by power boosting, higher MCS may be allowed by higher uplink crest factor. Higher modulation may be allowed by higher MCS, and higher throughput may be allowed by higher modulation. Thus, uplink congestion in the network device 120 may be relieved by the higher throughput.

[0086] In some cases, the first time duration for the terminal device 110 to perform the uplinktransmission on the first carrier may be longer than the second time duration for the terminal device 110 to perform the uplink transmission on the second carrier. For example, if the terminal device 110 has reported its capabilities with an addition of dualPA-Architecture, the network device 120 may configure the terminal device 110 to boost the uplink power in the carrier “facing away” from the DL band (e.g., the first carrier), while limiting the activity in the uplink carrier that “faces: the DL band (e.g., the second carrier), to compensate for the boosting. In some example embodiments, the activity of the uplink carrier “facing” the DL band may not be reduced beyond the active operation that allows all control messages to be transmitted on the primary cell.

[0087] In some example embodiments, the time period for performing uplink transmission on the first carrier and the time period for performing uplink transmission on the second carrier may correspond to a full duty cycle or a non-full duty cycle. There may be an un-even switching pattern in favor of using the carrier “facing away” from the DL band while the duty cycle is 100%. For example, the network device 120 may assign different patterns to the terminal devices such as supporting for switching between non-contiguous carriers in the uplink band and / or supporting for the dual power amplifier architecture, such that the patterns may mix and may be of different “ratios” of carrier occupation.

[0088] FIG. 9 illustrates a schematic diagram 900 of an example switching pattern for full duty cycle in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. As illustrated in FIG. 9, the CC1 910 “faces away” from the DL band, and the CC2920 “faces” the DL band. The output power for the uplink transmission on the CC1 910 may be increased (i.e., power boosting). The time duration for performing the uplink transmission on the CC1 910 is longer than the time duration for performing the uplink transmission on the CC2 920. Moreover, the time period for performing the uplink transmission on the CC1 910 and the time period for performing uplink transmission on the CC2 920 corresponds to the full duty cycle (i.e., the duty cycle is 100%).

[0089] In some example embodiments, if there are more than one terminal device (e.g., a first terminal device and a second terminal device) supports switching between non-contiguous carriers and has addition capability of dualPA-Architecture, the network device 120 may configure different switching patterns and / or different time periods for performing uplink transmission on the first carrier. For details, reference may be made to the above embodiments, which will not be repeated here. FIG.10 illustrates a schematic diagram 1000 of an example switching pattern for two terminal devices in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0090] The schematic diagram 1000 involves a terminal device 1 and a terminal device 2. The terminal device 1 and the terminal device 2 has different switching patterns. For example, the time period that the terminal device 1 performs the uplink transmission on the CC1 may be different fromthat of the terminal device 2. Alternatively or in addition, the time duration for the terminal device 1 to perform the uplink transmission on the CC1 may be different from that of the terminal device 2. For the terminal device 1, it may be seen that, the time period for terminal device 1 to perform the uplink transmission on the CC1 and the time period for terminal device 1 to perform the uplink transmission on the CC2 may correspond to the non-full duty cycle.

[0091] In the present disclosure, the network device 120 may offload the PCC at the terminal device 110 with greater pathloss. Greater pathloss may force up the uplink carrier power of the terminal device 110, and therefore start to affect the downlink carriers of the terminal device 110. For fragmented CA configurations that have the PCC facing the DL band, the larger the distance from the terminal device 110 to the network device 120, the larger the pathloss, which again means a larger impact on the DL performance of the terminal device 110. Reducing the activation time in the carrier “facing” the downlink band may improve the DL performance of the terminal device 110. For example, if the pathloss of the terminal device 110 is greater (or maximum output power), the network device 120 may configure the terminal device 110 the switched scheme or operation with power boosting. For the terminal device 110 supporting NCULCA and having dualPA-architecture, the network device 120 may configure it to output double power (boosting the power) within the same carrier bandwidth. Such boosting may demand much less output power in the duration of the activity in the slot facing the DL band.

[0092] FIG. 11 illustrates a signalling flow of an example process 1100 for carrier switching in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. As illustrated in FIG. 11, the process 1100 involves a UE 1110, a UE 1111 and a network 1120. The UE 1110 and UE 1111 may be an example of the terminal device 110 in FIG. 1 , and the network 1120 may be an example of the network device 120 in FIG. 1. The process 1100 may be an example of the signalling flow 600, or the signalling flow 800.

[0093] In the process 1100, at 1101, the UE 1110 may send UE capability information to the network 1120. The UE 1110 has additional capabilities of supporting CA configurations that include the switched mode operation in the NCULCA operation. For example, the capabilities may include support for NCULCA, ULTxSwitching, and others. The UE 1111 may further transmit UE capability information to the network 1120. However, the UE 1111 do not have the capabilities of supporting CA configurations.

[0094] At 1102, the RRC Reconfiguration occurs identically for the UE 1110 and the UE 1111 in a fragmented CA mode. The UE 1110 completes the radio configuration (at 1103). The UE 1111 further completes the radio configuration.

[0095] At 1104, data traffic of both the UE 1110 and the UE 1111 are ongoing.

[0096] At 1105, the network 1120 may experience higher load from UEs (including the UE 1110 and the UE 1111) and determine that the uplink bandwidth is falling short. The network 1120 determines that the UE 1110 is connected and active. The network 1120 may sort the UEs, and those of good coverage (meaning that they don’t transmit at maximum output power) may be reconfigured. For example, the network 1120 may determine uplink congestion in PCC, and determine UEs of additional or new capability. The network 1120 may determine candidate UEs, and identify UE 1110. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 13, which illustrates a schematic diagram 1300 of an example carrier configuration for two UEs in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. In FIG. 13, the UE A and the UE B are involved. The UE A may be an example of UE 1110, and the UE B may be an example of UE 1111. The UE A has an additional or new capability for supporting carrier switching. While the UE B does not has this additional capability. Thus, the UE A may perform the uplink transmission by switching between the CC1 and the CC2.

[0097] At 1106, the network 1120 may send a reconfiguration message to the UE 1110 inside good coverage. The reconfiguration message may include the configuration of the switched NCULCA according to the pattern description. At 1107, the UE 1110 completes the radio configuration.

[0098] As an AI / ML aspect, the step 1105 may allow for Al application in control and configuration of UE uplink operation based on UE output power levels (pathloss)Zlink-level and network cell congestion, allowing the network to learn the optimum transitions in configurations of the UEs uplink operation based on load and link-level.

[0099] In some embodiments, without the network assistance, the UE 1110 may apply power boosting in the NCULCA configuration. The UE 1110 may further support both NCULCA and ULTxSwitching in fragmented CA mode, but this power boosting may be left for UE implementation.

[0100] Upon receiving the pattern for switching, the UE 1110 may determine whether the maximum output power may be exceeded in relation to the combined duty cycle of PCC and SCC. If the pattern contains inactive uplink slots, the UE 1110 may further increase the power of the active uplink slot at the SCC (facing away from the DL band).

[0101] FIG.12 illustrates a signalling flow of an example process 1200 for carrier switch based on UE implementation in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. As illustrated in FIG. 12, the process 1200 involves the UE 1110, the UE 1111 , and the network 1120.

[0102] The step 1101 to step 1107 may be the same as those in FIG. 11 , details will not be repeated here. At 1208, the UE 1110 may determine NCULCA. The UE 1110 has determined valid duty cycle. The UE 1110 may determine valid duty cycle, and apply power boosting. At 1209, the UE 1110 may transmit medium access control control element (MAC CE) which includes new SCC power headroom to the network 1120 by applying power boosting.

[0103] It may be seen that the UE 1110 may be allowed to make the decision on when to apply the new maximum power on the SCC (single component carrier) vs maintaining maximum power at the level mandated by the UL CA combo.

[0104] FIG. 14A shows a flowchart of an example method 1400A implemented at a first apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 1400A will be described from the perspective of the terminal device 110 in FIG. 1.

[0105] At block 1410, the terminal device 110 receives, from a network device, configuration information for switching between a first carrier in an uplink band and a second carrier in the uplink band, the first carrier and the second carrier being non-contiguous in frequency domain.

[0106] At block 1420, the terminal device 110 performs uplink transmissions to the network device by switching, based on the configuration information, between the first carrier and the second carrier.

[0107] In some example embodiments, a distance between the first carrier and a downlink band is greater than a distance between the second carrier and the downlink band, and an output power for an uplink transmission on the first carrier is greater than an output power for an uplink transmission on the second carrier.

[0108] In some example embodiments, a first time duration for the first apparatus to perform the uplink transmission on the first carrier is different from a second time duration for the first apparatus to perform the uplink transmission on the second carrier.

[0109] In some example embodiments, the first time duration is longerthan the second time duration.

[0110] In some example embodiments, the method 1400A further comprises: transmitting, to the network device, capability information indicative of support for switching between non-contiguous carriers in the uplink band.

[0111] In some example embodiments, the capability information comprises at least one of: an indication indicative of support for non-contiguous uplink carrier aggregation, or an indication indicative of a capability of transmitter switching.

[0112] In some example embodiments, the method 1400A further comprises: transmitting, to the network device, a measurement report comprising at least one signal quality obtained by measuring at least one reference signal, and wherein the configuration information is received based on the measurement report.

[0113] In some example embodiments, the configuration information indicates a switching pattern for switching in time domain between the first carrier and the second carrier.

[0114] FIG. 14B shows a flowchart of an example method 1400B implemented at a second apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purposeof discussion, the method 1400B will be described from the perspective of the network device 120 in FIG. 1.

[0115] At block 1430, the network device 120 transmits, to at least one terminal device, configuration information for switching between a first carrier in an uplink band and a second carrier in the uplink band, the first carrier and the second carrier being non-contiguous in frequency.

[0116] At block 1440, the network device 120 performs uplink receptions from the at least one terminal device based on the configuration information.

[0117] In some example embodiments, a distance between the first carrier and a downlink band is greater than a distance between the second carrier and the downlink band, and a first time duration for a terminal device of the at least one terminal device to perform the uplink transmission on the first carrier is different from a second time duration for the terminal device to perform the uplink transmission on the second carrier.

[0118] In some example embodiments, the first time duration is longerthan the second time duration.

[0119] In some example embodiments, the method 1400B further comprises: receiving, from the at least one terminal device, capability information indicative of support for switching between noncontiguous carriers in the uplink band.

[0120] In some example embodiments, the capability information comprises at least one of: an indication indicative of support for non-contiguous uplink carrier aggregation, or an indication indicative of a capability of transmitter switching.

[0121] In some example embodiments, the method 1400B further comprises: in accordance with a determination of communication congestion on the first carrier, selecting the at least one terminal device from a plurality of terminal devices performing uplink transmissions on the first carrier based on whether the plurality of terminal devices supports switching between non-contiguous carriers in the uplink band.

[0122] In some example embodiments, the method 1400B further comprises: receiving, from a terminal device of the plurality of terminal devices, a measurement report comprising at least one signal quality obtained by measuring at least one reference signal, and wherein the at least one terminal device is selected further based on the respective measurement reports from the plurality of terminal devices.

[0123] In some example embodiments, the configuration information indicates at least one switching pattern for switching in time domain between the first carrier and the second carrier, and wherein a switching pattern for a first terminal device of the at least one terminal device is different from a switching pattern for a second terminal device of the at least one terminal device.

[0124] In some example embodiments, a distance between the first carrier and a downlink band isgreater than a distance between the second carrier and the downlink band, and a first time period for the first terminal device to perform the uplink transmission on the first carrier is different from a second time period for the second terminal device to perform the uplink transmission on the first carrier.

[0125] In some example embodiments, a first apparatus capable of performing any of the method 1400A (for example, the terminal device 110 in FIG. 1) may comprise means for performing the respective operations of the method 1400A. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module. The first apparatus may be implemented as or included in the terminal device 110 in FIG. 1.

[0126] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises means for receiving, from a network device, configuration information for switching between a first carrier in an uplink band and a second carrier in the uplink band, the first carrier and the second carrier being non-contiguous in frequency domain; and means for performing uplink transmission to the network device by switching, based on the configuration information, between the first carrier and the second carrier.

[0127] In some example embodiments, a distance between the first carrier and a downlink band is greater than a distance between the second carrier and the downlink band, and an output power for an uplink transmission on the first carrier is greater than an output power for an uplink transmission on the second carrier.

[0128] In some example embodiments, a first time duration for the first apparatus to perform the uplink transmission on the first carrier is different from a second time duration for the first apparatus to perform the uplink transmission on the second carrier.

[0129] In some example embodiments, the first time duration is longer than the second time duration.

[0130] I n some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for transmitting, to the network device, capability information indicative of support for switching between noncontiguous carriers in the uplink band.

[0131] In some example embodiments, the capability information comprises at least one of: an indication indicative of support for non-contiguous uplink carrier aggregation, or an indication indicative of a capability of transmitter switching.

[0132] I n some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for transmitting, to the network device, a measurement report comprising at least one signal quality obtained by measuring at least one reference signal, and wherein the configuration information is received based on the measurement report.

[0133] In some example embodiments, the configuration information indicates a switching pattern for switching in time domain between the first carrier and the second carrier.

[0134] In some example embodiments, a second apparatus capable of performing any of the method1400B (for example, the network device 120 in FIG. 1) may comprise means for performing the respective operations of the method 1400B. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module. The second apparatus may be implemented as or included in the network device 120 in FIG. 1.

[0135] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus comprises means for transmitting, to at least one terminal device, configuration information for switching between a first carrier in an uplink band and a second carrier in the uplink band, the first carrier and the second carrier being noncontiguous in frequency; and means for performing uplink receptions from the at least one terminal device based on the configuration information.

[0136] In some example embodiments, a distance between the first carrier and a downlink band is greater than a distance between the second carrier and the downlink band, and a first time duration for a terminal device of the at least one terminal device to perform the uplink transmission on the first carrier is different from a second time duration for the terminal device to perform the uplink transmission on the second carrier.

[0137] In some example embodiments, the first time duration is longerthan the second time duration.

[0138] I n some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises: means for receiving, from the at least one terminal device, capability information indicative of support for switching between non-contiguous carriers in the uplink band.

[0139] In some example embodiments, the capability information comprises at least one of: an indication indicative of support for non-contiguous uplink carrier aggregation, or an indication indicative of a capability of transmitter switching.

[0140] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises: means for in accordance with a determination of communication congestion on the first carrier, selecting the at least one terminal device from a plurality of terminal devices performing uplink transmissions on the first carrier based on whether the plurality of terminal devices supports switching between noncontiguous carriers in the uplink band.

[0141] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises: means for receiving, from a terminal device of the plurality of terminal devices, a measurement report comprising at least one signal quality obtained by measuring at least one reference signal, and wherein the at least one terminal device is selected further based on the respective measurement reports from the plurality of terminal devices.

[0142] In some example embodiments, the configuration information indicates at least one switching pattern for switching in time domain between the first carrier and the second carrier, and wherein a switching pattern for a first terminal device of the at least one terminal device is different from aswitching pattern for a second terminal device of the at least one terminal device.

[0143] In some example embodiments, a distance between the first carrier and a downlink band is greater than a distance between the second carrier and the downlink band, and a first time period for the first terminal device to perform the uplink transmission on the first carrier is different from a second time period for the second terminal device to perform the uplink transmission on the first carrier.

[0144] FIG. 15A shows a flowchart of an example method 1500A implemented at a first apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 1500A will be described from the perspective of the terminal device 110 in FIG. 1.

[0145] At block 1510, the terminal device 110 receives, from a network device, configuration information for switching between a first carrier in an uplink band and a second carrier in the uplink band, a distance between the first carrier and a downlink band being greater than a distance between the second carrier and the downlink band.

[0146] At block 1520, the terminal device 110 adjusts, based on the configuration information, a transmission parameter for an uplink transmission on the first carrier.

[0147] At block 1530, the terminal device 110 performs the uplink transmission on the first carrier based on the adjusted transmission parameter.

[0148] In some example embodiments, the method 1500A further comprises: increasing an output power for the uplink transmission on the first carrier.

[0149] In some example embodiments, a first time duration for the first apparatus to perform the uplink transmission on the first carrier is longer than a second time duration for the first apparatus to perform the uplink transmission on the second carrier.

[0150] In some example embodiments, the method 1500A further comprises: transmitting, to the network device, capability information indicative of support for switching between non-contiguous carriers in the uplink band.

[0151] In some example embodiments, the capability information comprises at least one of: an indication indicative of support for non-contiguous uplink carrier aggregation, an indication indicative of a capability of transmitter switching, or an indication indicative of support for a dual power amplifier architecture.

[0152] In some example embodiments, the method 1500A further comprises: transmitting, to the network device, a measurement report comprising at least one signal quality obtained by measuring at least one reference signal, and wherein the configuration information is received based on the measurement report.

[0153] In some example embodiments, the configuration information indicates a switching patternfor switching in time domain between the first carrier and the second carrier.

[0154] In some example embodiments, a time period for performing uplink transmission on the first carrier and a time period for performing uplink transmission on the second carrier corresponds to a non-full duty cycle.

[0155] FIG. 15B shows a flowchart of an example method 1500B implemented at a second apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 1500B will be described from the perspective of the network device 120 in FIG. 1.

[0156] At block 1540, the network device 120 transmits, to at least one terminal device, configuration information for switching between a first carrier in an uplink band and a second carrier in the uplink band, a distance between the first carrier and a downlink band being greater than a distance between the second carrier and the downlink band, wherein the configuration information indicates to adjust a transmission parameter for an uplink transmission on the first carrier.

[0157] At block 1550, the network device 120 performs the uplink reception from the at least one terminal device based on the configuration information.

[0158] In some example embodiments, a first time duration for a terminal device of the at least one terminal device to perform the uplink transmission on the first carrier is longer than a second time duration for the terminal device to perform the uplink transmission on the second carrier.

[0159] In some example embodiments, the capability information comprises at least one of: an indication indicative of support for non-contiguous uplink carrier aggregation, an indication indicative of a capability of transmitter switching, or an indication indicative of support for a dual power amplifier architecture.

[0160] In some example embodiments, the method 1500B further comprises: in accordance with a determination of communication congestion on the first carrier, selecting the at least one terminal device from a plurality of terminal devices performing uplink transmissions on the first carrier based on whether the plurality of terminal devices supports switching between non-contiguous carriers in the uplink band.

[0161] In some example embodiments, the method 1500B further comprises: receiving, from a terminal device of the plurality of terminal devices, a measurement report comprising at least one signal quality obtained by measuring at least one reference signal, and wherein the at least one terminal device is selected further based on the respective measurement reports from the plurality of terminal devices.

[0162] In some example embodiments, the configuration information indicates at least one switching pattern for switching in time domain between the first carrier and the second carrier, and wherein aswitching pattern for a first terminal device of the at least one terminal device is different from a switching pattern for a second terminal device of the at least one terminal device.

[0163] In some example embodiments, a first time period for the first terminal device to perform the uplink transmission on the first carrier is different from a second time period for the second terminal device to perform the uplink transmission on the first carrier.

[0164] In some example embodiments, a time period for performing uplink transmission on the first carrier and a time period for performing uplink transmission on the second carrier corresponds to a non-full duty cycle.

[0165] In some example embodiments, a first apparatus capable of performing any of the method 1500A (for example, the terminal device 110 in FIG. 1) may comprise means for performing the respective operations of the method 1500A. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module. The first apparatus may be implemented as or included in the terminal device 110 in FIG. 1.

[0166] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises means for receiving, from a network device, configuration information for switching between a first carrier in an uplink band and a second carrier in the uplink band, a distance between the first carrier and a downlink band being greater than a distance between the second carrier and the downlink band; means for adjusting, based on the configuration information, a transmission parameter for an uplink transmission on the first carrier; and means for performing the uplink transmission on the first carrier based on the adjusted transmission parameter.

[0167] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for increasing an output power for the uplink transmission on the first carrier.

[0168] In some example embodiments, a first time duration for the first apparatus to perform the uplink transmission on the first carrier is longer than a second time duration for the first apparatus to perform the uplink transmission on the second carrier.

[0169] I n some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for transmitting, to the network device, capability information indicative of support for switching between noncontiguous carriers in the uplink band.

[0170] In some example embodiments, the capability information comprises at least one of: an indication indicative of support for non-contiguous uplink carrier aggregation, an indication indicative of a capability of transmitter switching, or an indication indicative of support for a dual power amplifier architecture.

[0171] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for transmitting, to the network device, a measurement report comprising at least one signal quality obtained bymeasuring at least one reference signal, and wherein the configuration information is received based on the measurement report.

[0172] In some example embodiments, the configuration information indicates a switching pattern for switching in time domain between the first carrier and the second carrier.

[0173] In some example embodiments, a time period for performing uplink transmission on the first carrier and a time period for performing uplink transmission on the second carrier corresponds to a non-full duty cycle.

[0174] In some example embodiments, a second apparatus capable of performing any of the method 1500B (for example, the network device 120 in FIG. 1) may comprise means for performing the respective operations of the method 1500B. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module. The second apparatus may be implemented as or included in the network device 120 in FIG. 1.

[0175] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus comprises means for transmitting, to at least one terminal device, configuration information for switching between a first carrier in an uplink band and a second carrier in the uplink band, a distance between the first carrier and a downlink band being greater than a distance between the second carrier and the downlink band, wherein the configuration information indicates to adjust a transmission parameter for an uplink transmission on the first carrier; and means for performing the uplink reception from the at least one terminal device based on the configuration information.

[0176] In some example embodiments, a first time duration for a terminal device of the at least one terminal device to perform the uplink transmission on the first carrier is longer than a second time duration for the terminal device to perform the uplink transmission on the second carrier.

[0177] In some example embodiments, the capability information comprises at least one of: an indication indicative of support for non-contiguous uplink carrier aggregation, an indication indicative of a capability of transmitter switching, or an indication indicative of support for a dual power amplifier architecture.

[0178] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises: means for in accordance with a determination of communication congestion on the first carrier, selecting the at least one terminal device from a plurality of terminal devices performing uplink transmissions on the first carrier based on whether the plurality of terminal devices supports switching between noncontiguous carriers in the uplink band.

[0179] I n some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises: means for receiving, from a terminal device of the plurality of terminal devices, a measurement report comprising at least one signal quality obtained by measuring at least one reference signal, and wherein the at least oneterminal device is selected further based on the respective measurement reports from the plurality of terminal devices.

[0180] In some example embodiments, the configuration information indicates at least one switching pattern for switching in time domain between the first carrier and the second carrier, and wherein a switching pattern for a first terminal device of the at least one terminal device is different from a switching pattern for a second terminal device of the at least one terminal device.

[0181] In some example embodiments, a first time period for the first terminal device to perform the uplink transmission on the first carrier is different from a second time period for the second terminal device to perform the uplink transmission on the first carrier.

[0182] In some example embodiments, a time period for performing uplink transmission on the first carrier and a time period for performing uplink transmission on the second carrier corresponds to a non-full duty cycle.

[0183] FIG. 16 is a simplified block diagram of a device 1600 that is suitable for implementing example embodiments of the present disclosure. The device 1600 may be provided to implement a communication device, for example, the terminal device 110 or the network device 120 as shown in FIG. 1. As shown, the device 1600 includes one or more processors 1610, one or more memories 1620 coupled to the processor 1610, and one or more communication modules 1640 coupled to the processor 1610.

[0184] The communication module 1640 is for bidirectional communications. The communication module 1640 has one or more communication interfaces to facilitate communication with one or more other modules or devices. The communication interfaces may represent any interface that is necessary for communication with other network elements. In some example embodiments, the communication module 1640 may include at least one antenna.

[0185] The processor 1610 may be of any type suitable to the local technical network and may include one or more of the following: general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs) and processors based on multicore processor architecture, as non-limiting examples. The device 1600 may have multiple processors, such as an application specific integrated circuit chip that is slaved in time to a clock which synchronizes the main processor.

[0186] The memory 1620 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of the non-volatile memories include, but are not limited to, a Read Only Memory (ROM) 1624, an electrically programmable read only memory (EPROM), a flash memory, a hard disk, a compact disc (CD), a digital video disk (DVD), an optical disk, a laser disk, and other magnetic storage and / or optical storage. Examples of the volatile memories include, but are not limited to, arandom-access memory (RAM) 1622 and other volatile memories that will not last in the power-down duration.

[0187] A computer program 1630 includes computer executable instructions that are executed by the associated processor 1610. The instructions of the program 1630 may include instructions for performing operations / acts of some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The program 1630 may be stored in the memory, e.g., the ROM 1624. The processor 1610 may perform any suitable actions and processing by loading the program 1630 into the RAM 1622.

[0188] The example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by means of the program 1630 so that the device 1600 may perform any process of the disclosure as discussed with reference to FIG. 6 to FIG. 15B. The example embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented by hardware or by a combination of software and hardware.

[0189] In some example embodiments, the program 1630 may be tangibly contained in a computer readable medium which may be included in the device 1600 (such as in the memory 1620) or other storage devices that are accessible by the device 1600. The device 1600 may load the program 1630 from the computer readable medium to the RAM 1622 for execution. In some example embodiments, the computer readable medium may include any types of non-transitory storage medium, such as ROM, EPROM, a flash memory, a hard disk, CD, DVD, and the like. The term “non-transitory,” as used herein, is a limitation of the medium itself (i.e. , tangible, not a signal) as opposed to a limitation on data storage persistency (e.g., RAM vs. ROM).

[0190] FIG. 17 shows an example of the computer readable medium 1700 which may be in form of CD, DVD or other optical storage disk. The computer readable medium 1700 has the program 1630 stored thereon.

[0191] Generally, various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, and other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor or other computing device. Although various aspects of embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flowcharts, or using some other pictorial representations, it is to be understood that the block, apparatus, system, technique or method described herein may be implemented in, as non-limiting examples, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

[0192] Some example embodiments of the present disclosure also provide at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a computer readable medium, such as a non-transitory computer readable medium. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions, such asthose included in program modules, being executed in a device on a target physical or virtual processor, to carry out any of the methods as described above. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, or the like that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. The functionality of the program modules may be combined or split between program modules as desired in various embodiments. Machineexecutable instructions for program modules may be executed within a local or distributed device. In a distributed device, program modules may be located in both local and remote storage media.

[0193] Program code for carrying out methods of the present disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. The program code may be provided to a processor or controller of a general-purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus, such that the program code, when executed by the processor or controller, cause the functions / operations specified in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams to be implemented. The program code may execute entirely on a machine, partly on the machine, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the machine and partly on a remote machine or entirely on the remote machine or server.

[0194] In the context of the present disclosure, the computer program code or related data may be carried by any suitable carrier to enable the device, apparatus or processor to perform various processes and operations as described above. Examples of the carrier include a signal, computer readable medium, and the like.

[0195] The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readable medium may include but not limited to an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of the computer readable storage medium would include an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random-access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

[0196] Further, although operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Likewise, although several specific implementation details are contained in the above discussions, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the present disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features that may bespecific to particular embodiments. Unless explicitly stated, certain features that are described in the context of separate embodiments may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, unless explicitly stated, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in a plurality of embodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination.

[0197] Although the present disclosure has been described in languages specific to structural features and / or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the present disclosure defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

1. WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A first apparatus comprising:at least one processor; andat least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first apparatus at least to:receive, from a network device, configuration information for switching between a first carrier in an uplink band and a second carrier in the uplink band, the first carrier and the second carrier being non-contiguous in frequency domain; andperform uplink transmission to the network device by switching, based on the configuration information, between the first carrier and the second carrier.

2. The first apparatus of claim 1 , wherein a distance between the first carrier and a downlink band is greater than a distance between the second carrier and the downlink band, andan output power for an uplink transmission on the first carrier is greater than an output power for an uplink transmission on the second carrier.

3. The first apparatus of claim 2, wherein a first time duration for the first apparatus to perform the uplink transmission on the first carrier is different from a second time duration forthe first apparatus to perform the uplink transmission on the second carrier.

4. The first apparatus of claim 3, wherein the first time duration is longer than the second time duration.

5. The first apparatus of any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the first apparatus is further caused to: transmit, to the network device, capability information indicative of support for switching between non-contiguous carriers in the uplink band.

6. The first apparatus of claim 4, wherein the capability information comprises at least one of: an indication indicative of support for non-contiguous uplink carrier aggregation, oran indication indicative of a capability of transmitter switching.

7. The first apparatus of any of claims 1 to 6, wherein the first apparatus is further caused to: transmit, to the network device, a measurement report comprising at least one signal quality obtainedby measuring at least one reference signal, andwherein the configuration information is received based on the measurement report.

8. The first apparatus of any of claims 1 to 7, wherein the configuration information indicates a switching pattern for switching in time domain between the first carrier and the second carrier.

9. A second apparatus comprising:at least one processor; andat least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second apparatus at least to:transmit, to at least one terminal device, configuration information for switching between a first carrier in an uplink band and a second carrier in the uplink band, the first carrier and the second carrier being non-contiguous in frequency; andperform uplink receptions from the at least one terminal device based on the configuration information.

10. The second apparatus of claim 9, wherein a distance between the first carrier and a downlink band is greater than a distance between the second carrier and the downlink band, anda first time duration for a terminal device of the at least one terminal device to perform the uplink transmission on the first carrier is different from a second time duration for the terminal device to perform the uplink transmission on the second carrier.

11. The second apparatus of claim 10, wherein the first time duration is longer than the second time duration.

12. The second apparatus of any of claims 9 to 11 , wherein the second apparatus is caused to: receive, from the at least one terminal device, capability information indicative of support for switching between non-contiguous carriers in the uplink band.

13. The second apparatus of claim 12, wherein the capability information comprises at least one of: an indication indicative of support for non-contiguous uplink carrier aggregation, oran indication indicative of a capability of transmitter switching.

14. The second apparatus of any of claims 9 to 13, wherein a distance between the first carrier anda downlink band is greater than a distance between the second carrier and the downlink band, and wherein the second apparatus is caused to:in accordance with a determination of communication congestion on the first carrier, select the at least one terminal device from a plurality of terminal devices performing uplink transmissions on the first carrier based on whether the plurality of terminal devices supports switching between non-contiguous carriers in the uplink band.

15. The second apparatus of claim 14, wherein the second apparatus is caused to:receive, from a terminal device of the plurality of terminal devices, a measurement report comprising at least one signal quality obtained by measuring at least one reference signal, andwherein the at least one terminal device is selected further based on the respective measurement reports from the plurality of terminal devices.

16. The second apparatus of any of claims 9 to 15, wherein the configuration information indicates at least one switching pattern for switching in time domain between the first carrier and the second carrier, andwherein a switching pattern for a first terminal device of the at least one terminal device is different from a switching pattern for a second terminal device of the at least one terminal device.

17. The second apparatus of claim 16, wherein a distance between the first carrier and a downlink band is greater than a distance between the second carrier and the downlink band, anda first time period for the first terminal device to perform the uplink transmission on the first carrier is different from a second time period for the second terminal device to perform the uplink transmission on the first carrier.

18. A method comprising:receiving, from a network device, configuration information for switching between a first carrier in an uplink band and a second carrier in the uplink band, the first carrier and the second carrier being non-contiguous in frequency domain; andperforming uplink transmission to the network device by switching, based on the configuration information, between the first carrier and the second carrier.

19. A method comprising:transmitting, to at least one terminal device, configuration information for switching betweena first carrier in an uplink band and a second carrier in the uplink band, the first carrier and the second carrier being non-contiguous in frequency; andperforming uplink receptions from the at least one terminal device based on the configuration information.

20. A first apparatus comprising:means for receiving, from a network device, configuration information for switching between a first carrier in an uplink band and a second carrier in the uplink band, the first carrier and the second carrier being non-contiguous in frequency domain; andmeans for performing uplink transmission to the network device by switching, based on the configuration information, between the first carrier and the second carrier.

21. A second apparatus comprising:means for transmitting, to at least one terminal device, configuration information for switching between a first carrier in an uplink band and a second carrier in the uplink band, the first carrier and the second carrier being non-contiguous in frequency; andmeans for performing uplink receptions from the at least one terminal device based on the configuration information.

22. A computer readable medium comprising instructions stored thereon for causing an apparatus at least to perform the method of claim 18 or the method of claim 19.

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