Multiplexing PDCCH paging occasion and SS burst
11696254 · 2023-07-04
Assignee
Inventors
Cpc classification
H04L5/0053
ELECTRICITY
H04W68/005
ELECTRICITY
H04L5/0048
ELECTRICITY
International classification
Abstract
According to some embodiments, a method performed by a wireless device for receiving paging occasions and synchronization signals in a carrier frequency band comprises obtaining a first paging occasion configuration and a first synchronization signal configuration and determining that a paging occasion specified by the first paging occasion configuration at least partially overlaps in time with a synchronization signal specified by the first synchronization signal configuration. The method further comprises modifying at least one of the paging occasion configuration for the overlapping paging occasion and the synchronization signal configuration for the overlapping synchronization signal to frequency multiplex the paging occasion and the synchronization signal. The method further comprises receiving the paging occasion and the synchronization signal according to the at least one of the modified paging occasion configuration and modified synchronization signal configuration.
Claims
1. A method performed by a wireless device of receiving paging occasions and synchronization signals in a carrier frequency band, the method comprising: obtaining a first paging occasion configuration and a first synchronization signal configuration; determining that a paging occasion specified by the first paging occasion configuration at least partially overlaps in time with a synchronization signal specified by the first synchronization signal configuration; modifying at least one of the paging occasion configuration for the at least partially overlapping paging occasion, and the synchronization signal configuration for the at least partially overlapping synchronization signal to frequency multiplex the paging occasion and the synchronization signal, wherein modifying the at least one the paging occasion configuration and the synchronization signal configuration comprises modifying a page search space configuration associated with the paging occasion by replacing a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) monitoring configuration associated with the paging occasion with a pattern of the frequency-multiplexed paging occasion and the synchronization signal; and receiving the paging occasion and the synchronization signal in the carrier frequency band according to the at least one of the modified paging occasion configuration and modified synchronization signal configuration.
2. A wireless device capable of receiving paging occasions and synchronization signals in a carrier frequency band, the wireless device comprising processing circuitry operable to: obtain a first paging occasion configuration and a first synchronization signal configuration; determine that a paging occasion specified by the first paging occasion configuration at least partially overlaps in time with a synchronization signal specified by the first synchronization signal configuration; modify at least one of the paging occasion configuration for the at least partially overlapping paging occasion, and the synchronization signal configuration for the at least partially overlapping synchronization signal to frequency multiplex the paging occasion and the synchronization signal, wherein modifying the at least one the paging occasion configuration and the synchronization signal configuration comprises modifying a page search space configuration associated with the paging occasion by replacing a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) monitoring configuration associated with the paging occasion with a pattern of the frequency-multiplexed paging occasion and the synchronization signal; and receive the paging occasion and the synchronization signal in the carrier frequency band according to the at least one of the modified paging occasion configuration and modified synchronization signal configuration.
3. The wireless device of claim 2, the processing circuitry further operable to obtain configuration information indicating that the wireless device should determine whether a paging occasion at least partially overlaps in time with a synchronization signal.
4. The wireless device of claim 3, wherein the obtained configuration information further indicates a frequency multiplexing pattern to use when the wireless device determines that a paging occasion at least partially overlaps in time with a synchronization signal.
5. The wireless device of claim 2, wherein the processing circuitry is operable to modify at least one of the paging occasion configuration and the synchronization signal configuration by modifying at least one of the paging occasion configuration and the synchronization signal configuration according to Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) fifth generation (5G) new radio (NR) CORESET-SSB multiplexing patterns 2 or 3.
6. The wireless device of claim 2, wherein the processing circuitry is operable to determine that the paging occasion at least partially overlaps in time with the synchronization signal by determining that the paging occasion at least partially overlaps in time with the synchronization signal if a network node uses all synchronization signal beams specified by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) fifth generation (5G) new radio (NR) standard specification for the carrier frequency band.
7. The wireless device of claim 2, wherein the processing circuitry is operable to determine that the paging occasion at least partially overlaps in time with the synchronization signal by determining that the paging occasion at least partially overlaps in time with the synchronization signal plus a guard time.
8. The wireless device of claim 2, wherein the processing circuitry is operable to determine that the paging occasion at least partially overlaps in time with the synchronization signal by determining that the paging occasion occurs in the same slot as the synchronization signal.
9. The wireless device of claim 2, wherein the processing circuitry is operable to determine that the paging occasion at least partially overlaps in time with the synchronization signal by determining that at least part of the paging occasion is located in the same radio frame as the synchronization signal.
10. The wireless device of claim 2, wherein the processing circuitry is operable to determine that the paging occasion at least partially overlaps in time with the synchronization signal by determining that at least part of the paging occasion is located in the same radio half frame as the synchronization signal.
11. The wireless device of claim 2, wherein the paging occasion comprises a plurality of monitoring occasions and the processing circuitry is operable to determine that the paging occasion at least partially overlaps in time with the synchronization signal by determining that at least one monitoring occasion of the plurality of monitoring occasions at least partly overlaps in time with the synchronization signal.
12. A method performed by a network node of transmitting paging occasions and synchronization signals in a carrier frequency band, the method comprising: obtaining a first paging occasion configuration and a first synchronization signal configuration; determining that a paging occasion specified by the first paging occasion configuration at least partially overlaps in time with a synchronization signal specified by the first synchronization signal configuration; modifying at least one of the paging occasion configuration for the at least partially overlapping paging occasion, and the synchronization signal configuration for the at least partially overlapping synchronization signal to frequency multiplex the paging occasion and the synchronization signal, wherein modifying the at least one the paging occasion configuration and the synchronization signal configuration comprises modifying a page search space configuration associated with the paging occasion by replacing a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) monitoring configuration associated with the paging occasion with a pattern of the frequency-multiplexed paging occasion and the synchronization signal; and transmitting the paging occasion and the synchronization signal in the carrier frequency band according to the at least one of the modified paging occasion configuration and modified synchronization signal configuration.
13. A network node capable of receiving paging occasions and synchronization signals in a carrier frequency band, the network node comprising processing circuitry operable to: obtain a first paging occasion configuration and a first synchronization signal configuration; determine that a paging occasion specified by the first paging occasion configuration at least partially overlaps in time with a synchronization signal specified by the first synchronization signal configuration; modify at least one of the paging occasion configuration for the at least partially overlapping paging occasion, and the synchronization signal configuration for the at least partially overlapping synchronization signal to frequency multiplex the paging occasion and the synchronization signal, wherein modifying the at least one the paging occasion configuration and the synchronization signal configuration comprises modifying a page search space configuration associated with the paging occasion by replacing a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) monitoring configuration associated with the paging occasion with a pattern of the frequency-multiplexed paging occasion and the synchronization signal; and transmit the paging occasion and the synchronization signal in the carrier frequency band according to the at least one of the modified paging occasion configuration and modified synchronization signal configuration.
14. The network node of claim 13, the processing circuitry further operable to obtain configuration information indicating that the network node should determine whether a paging occasion at least partially overlaps in time with a synchronization signal.
15. The network node of claim 14, wherein the obtained configuration information further indicates a frequency multiplexing pattern to use when the network node determines that a paging occasion at least partially overlaps in time with a synchronization signal.
16. The network node of claim 13, wherein the processing circuitry is operable to modify at least one of the paging occasion configuration and the synchronization signal configuration by modifying at least one of the paging occasion configuration and the synchronization signal configuration according to Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) fifth generation (5G) new radio (NR) CORESET-SSB multiplexing patterns 2 or 3.
17. The network node of claim 13, wherein the processing circuitry is operable to determine that the paging occasion at least partially overlaps in time with the synchronization signal by determining that the paging occasion at least partially overlaps in time with the synchronization signal if a network node uses all synchronization signal beams specified by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) fifth generation (5G) new radio (NR) standard specification for the carrier frequency band.
18. The network node of claim 13, wherein the processing circuitry is operable to determine that the paging occasion at least partially overlaps in time with the synchronization signal by determining that the paging occasion at least partially overlaps in time with the synchronization signal plus a guard time.
19. The network node of claim 13, wherein the processing circuitry is operable to determine that the paging occasion at least partially overlaps in time with the synchronization signal by determining that the paging occasion occurs in the same slot as the synchronization signal.
20. The network node of claim 13, wherein the processing circuitry is operable to determine that the paging occasion at least partially overlaps in time with the synchronization signal by determining that at least part of the paging occasion is located in the same radio frame as the synchronization signal.
21. The network node of claim 13, wherein the processing circuitry is operable to determine that the paging occasion at least partially overlaps in time with the synchronization signal by determining that at least part of the paging occasion is located the same radio half frame as the synchronization signal.
22. The network node of claim 13, wherein the paging occasion comprises a plurality of monitoring occasions and the processing circuitry is operable to determine that the paging occasion at least partially overlaps in time with the synchronization signal by determining that at least one monitoring occasion of the plurality of monitoring occasions at least partly overlaps in time with the synchronization signal.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
(1) For a more complete understanding of the disclosed embodiments and their features and advantages, reference is now made to the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION
(17) As described above, certain challenges currently exist with paging occasions that overlap with synchronization signal (SS) burst sets. Certain aspects of the present disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges. Particular embodiments facilitate a PO coinciding with SS Burst Set and transmitting the paging transmissions (e.g., the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) transmissions) frequency-multiplexed with the SS blocks (SSBs).
(18) Particular embodiments are described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Other embodiments, however, are contained within the scope of the subject matter disclosed herein, the disclosed subject matter should not be construed as limited to only the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art.
(19) To overcome the problem where the paging opportunity/paging transmission configuration means available for the non-default case cannot be used to configure frequency-multiplexed transmission of paging (PDCCH and/or physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH)) and SSB, particular embodiments leverage the CORESET and PDCCH monitoring occasion configurations used for frequency-multiplexing of RMSI and SSB in accordance with CORESET-SSB multiplexing patterns 2 and 3 as specified in chapter 13 of 3GPP TS 38.213.
(20) There are three CORESET-SSB multiplexing patterns for SSB and RMSI transmissions: pattern 1, 2 and 3 (where pattern 2 and 3 are of interest to particular embodiments). The three CORESET-SSB multiplexing patterns are illustrated in
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(22) As used herein, SSB and SS/physical broadcast channel (PDCH) are two terms that may refer to the same signal block. Patterns 2 and 3 are defined for frequency range two (FR2) (i.e., the frequency range 24250-52600 MHz). Pattern 1 may also be used in frequency range one (FR1) (i.e., the frequency range 450-6000 MHz). Patterns 2 and 3 illustrate the SS/PBCH Block multiplexed with the PDSCH in the frequency domain.
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(24) The PDCCH monitoring occasion specifications are based on formulas and tables rather than the regular search space parameters that constitute a search space provided via the system information. 3GPP TS 38.213 describes the PDCCH monitoring occasions for RMSI for CORESET-SSB multiplexing pattern 2 and 3 is as follows.
(25) For the SS/PBCH block and control resource set multiplexing patterns 2 and 3, a UE monitors PDCCH in the Type0-PDCCH common search space over one slot with Type0-PDCCH common search space periodicity equal to the periodicity of SS/PBCH block. For a SS/PBCH block with index i, the UE determines the slot index n.sub.c and SFN.sub.c based on parameter provided by Tables 13-13 through 13-15 (reproduced below).
(26) TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 13-13 PDCCH monitoring occasions for Type0-PDCCH common search space- SS/PBCH block and control resource set multiplexing pattern 2 and {SS/PBCH block, PDCCH} subcarrier spacing {120, 60} kHz PDCCH monitoring occasions First symbol index Index (SFN and slot number) (k = 0, 1, ... 15) 0 SFN.sub.C = SFN.sub.SSB,i 0, 1, 6, 7 for n.sub.C = n.sub.SSB,i i = 4k, i = 4k + 1, i = 4k + 2, i = 4k + 3 1 Reserved 2 Reserved 3 Reserved 4 Reserved 5 Reserved 6 Reserved 7 Reserved 8 Reserved 9 Reserved 10 Reserved 11 Reserved 12 Reserved 13 Reserved 14 Reserved 15 Reserved
(27) TABLE-US-00003 TABLE 13-14 PDCCH monitoring occasions for Type0-PDCCH common search space- SS/PBCH block and control resource set multiplexing pattern 2 and {SS/PBCH block, PDCCH} subcarrier spacing {240, 120} kHz PDCCH monitoring occasions First symbol index Index (SFN and slot number) (k = 0, 1, ..., 7) 0 SFN.sub.C = SFN.sub.SSB,i 0, 1, 2, 3, 0, 1 in i = 8k, n.sub.C = n.sub.SSB,i or i = 8k +1, i = 8k + 2, n.sub.C = n.sub.SSB,i − 1 i = 8k +3, i = 8k + 6, i = 8k + 7 (n.sub.C = n.sub.SSB,i) 12, 13 in i = 8k +4, i = 8k +5 (n.sub.C = n.sub.SSB,i − 1) 1 Reserved 2 Reserved 3 Reserved 4 Reserved 5 Reserved 6 Reserved 7 Reserved 8 Reserved 9 Reserved 10 Reserved 11 Reserved 12 Reserved 13 Reserved 14 Reserved 15 Reserved
(28) TABLE-US-00004 TABLE 13-15 PDCCH monitoring occasions for Type0-PDCCH common search space- SS/PBCH block and control resource set multiplexing pattern 3 and {SS/PBCH block, PDCCH} subcarrier spacing {120, 120} kHz PDCCH monitoring occasions First symbol index Index (SFN and slot number) (k = 0, 1, ... 15) 0 SFN.sub.C = SFN.sub.SSB,i 4, 8, 2, 6 in n.sub.C = n.sub.SSB,i i = 4k, i = 4k +1, i = 4k + 2, i = 4k + 3 1 Reserved 2 Reserved 3 Reserved 4 Reserved 5 Reserved 6 Reserved 7 Reserved 8 Reserved 9 Reserved 10 Reserved 11 Reserved 12 Reserved 13 Reserved 14 Reserved 15 Reserved
(29) Based on the searchSpaceZero parameter (which is a 4-bit index in the form of an INTEGER in the range 0-15 that is included in the leftmost column of the tables) in the PDCCH-ConfigSIB1 information element in the MIB, the UE derives the RMSI PDCCH monitoring occasions from the above tables.
(30) The PDCCH-ConfigSIB1 information element is specified in TS 38.331 as follows:
(31) TABLE-US-00005 -- ASN1START -- TAG-PDCCH-CONFIGSIB1-START PDCCH-ConfigSIB1 : := SEQUENCE { controlResourceSetZero ControlResourceSetZero, searchSpaceZero SearchSpaceZero } -- TAG-PDCCH-CONFIGSIB1-STOP -- ASN1STOP PDCCH-ConfigSIB1 field descriptions controlResourceSetZero Corresponds to the 4 LSB RMSI-PDCCH-Config in TS 38.213, section 13. Determines a common ControlResourceSet (CORESET) of initial downlink BWP. searchSpaceZero Corresponds to 4 MSB of RMSI-PDCCH-Config in TS 38.213, section 13. Determines a common search space of initial downlink BWP
(32) Furthermore, based on the controlResourceSetZero parameter (which is a 4-bit index in the form of an INTEGER in the range 0-15 that is included in the leftmost column of the tables) in the PDCCH-ConfigSIB1 information element in the MIB, the UE derives the CORESET for RMSI for CORESET-SSB multiplexing pattern 2 and 3 from table 13-7, 13-8 and 13-10 in TS 38.213. The tables are reproduced below.
(33) TABLE-US-00006 TABLE 13-7 Set of resource blocks and slot symbols of control resource set for Type0-PDCCH search space when {SS/PBCH block, PDCCH} subcarrier spacing is {120, 60} kHz SS/PBCH block and control resource set Number Number multiplexing of RBs of Symbols Offset Index pattern N.sub.RB.sup.CORESET N.sub.symb.sup.CORESET (RBs) 0 1 48 1 0 1 1 48 1 8 2 1 48 2 0 3 1 48 2 8 4 1 48 3 0 5 1 48 3 8 6 1 96 1 28 7 1 96 2 28 8 2 48 1 −41 if condition A −42 if condition B 9 2 48 1 49 10 2 96 1 −41 if condition A −42 if condition B 11 2 96 1 97 12 Reserved 13 Reserved 14 Reserved 15 Reserved
(34) TABLE-US-00007 TABLE 13-8 Set of resource blocks and slot symbols of control resource set for Type0-PDCCH search space when {SS/PBCH block, PDCCH} subcarrier spacing is {120, 120}kHz SS/PBCH block and control resource set Number Number multiplexing of RBs of Symbols Offset Index pattern N.sub.RB.sup.CORESET N.sub.symb.sup.CORESET (RBs) 0 1 24 2 0 1 1 24 2 4 2 1 48 1 14 3 1 48 2 14 4 3 24 2 −20 if condition A −21 if condition B 5 3 24 2 24 6 3 48 2 −20 if condition A −21 if condition B 7 3 48 2 48 8 Reserved 9 Reserved 10 Reserved 11 Reserved 12 Reserved 13 Reserved 14 Reserved 15 Reserved
(35) TABLE-US-00008 TABLE 13-10 Set of resource blocks and slot symbols of control resource set for Type0-PDCCH search space when {SS/PBCH block, PDCCH} subcarrier spacing is {240, 120} kHz SS/PBCH block and control resource set Number Number multiplexing of RBs of Symbols Offset Index pattern N.sub.RB.sup.CORESET N.sub.symb.sup.CORESET (RBs) 0 1 48 1 0 1 1 48 1 8 2 1 48 2 0 3 1 48 2 8 4 2 24 1 −41 if condition A −42 if condition B 5 2 24 1 25 6 2 24 2 −41 if condition A −42 if condition B 7 2 24 2 25 8 2 48 1 −41 if condition A −42 if condition B 9 2 48 1 49 10 2 48 2 −41 if condition A −42 if condition B 11 2 48 2 49 12 Reserved 13 Reserved 14 Reserved 15 Reserved
(36) In particular embodiments, the specifications of the PDCCH monitoring occasions and CORESET for CORESET-SSB multiplexing pattern 2 and 3 can be reused for paging transmissions in the non-default case, effectively replacing or modifying any pagingSearchSpace configuration provided in the system information, when frequency-multiplexing of paging transmissions and SSB transmissions is desired for a PO. In some embodiments, only the PDCCH monitoring occasion configuration of the pagingSearchSpace is replaced. In some embodiments, both the PDCCH monitoring occasion configuration and the CORESET configuration of the pagingSearchSpace are replaced. In some embodiments, other frequency multiplexing patterns may be used for paging and SSB transmissions.
(37) Particular embodiments include a conditional modification of search space configuration for paging for selected POs, which is an extension and improvement to the regular PF/PO configuration algorithm and search space configuration for paging. The alternative PDCCH monitoring occasion and optional CORESET configuration(s), according to the referenced specification, and in accordance with particular embodiments, may be separately applied for each PO that is to be frequency-multiplexed with an SS Burst Set. That is, the SSB periodicity that is “inherited” into the PDCCH monitoring occasion specifications for CORESET-SSB multiplexing pattern 2 and 3 in TS 38.213 may be ignored for particular embodiments. Instead, the periodicity may be equal to the paging DRX cycle as usual.
(38) The search space configurations for CORESET-SSB multiplexing patterns 2 and 3 in TS 38.213 stipulates that the search space pattern matching a SS Burst Set has a periodicity equal to the SS Burst Set periodicity (i.e., the search space is repeated for every SS Burst Set). The specified periodicity is not relevant for paging, however, where a certain PO has a periodicity equal to the paging DRX cycle, which (with the configurable range according to 3GPP release 15) is greater than the SS Burst Set periodicity.
(39) POs may be distributed where some POs are allocated between SS Burst Sets and others overlap or coincide with SS Burst Sets. In particular embodiments, the POs that are selected for the search space modification, if any, are the POs that are the closest to the SS Burst Sets (e.g., POs that at least partly overlap with SS Burst Sets).
(40) In a particular embodiment, a PO that at least partly overlaps in time with an SS Burst Set has its search space configuration (as configured by the pagingSearchSpace parameters) modified by replacing the PDCCH monitoring configuration with either the PDCCH monitoring occasion configuration for CORESET-SSB multiplexing pattern 2 or the PDCCH monitoring occasion configuration for CORESET-SSB multiplexing pattern 3, or any other suitable frequency multiplexing pattern.
(41) In some embodiments, a PO that at least partly overlaps in time with an SS Burst Set has its search space configuration (as configured by the pagingSearchSpace parameters) modified by replacing the PDCCH monitoring configuration and CORESET configuration with either the PDCCH monitoring occasion and CORESET configurations for CORESET-SSB multiplexing pattern 2 or the PDCCH monitoring occasion and CORESET configurations for CORESET-SSB multiplexing pattern 3, or any other suitable frequency multiplexing pattern.
(42) Some embodiments include other (similar) criteria/conditions for selecting the POs (i.e., POs that should have the pagingSearchSpace modified by replacing the PDCCH monitoring occasion configuration or both the PDCCH monitoring configuration and CORESET configuration with the corresponding configuration(s) for RMSI for CORESET-SSB multiplexing pattern 2 or CORESET-SSB multiplexing pattern 3, or any other suitable frequency multiplexing pattern).
(43) In general, a PO is a candidate for reconfiguration if the PO at least partly overlaps in time with the duration an SS Burst Set. Several examples are given below.
(44) In some embodiments, a PO is a candidate for reconfiguration if the PO at least partly overlaps in time with the duration an SS Burst Set would have if all the possible SSB beams are used, as given by the specified maximum number of SSB beams for the carrier frequency band used in the concerned network deployment. If all the allowed SSB beams are used, this condition is the same as the above described embodiment where a PO at least partly overlaps with an SS Burst Set.
(45) In another example, a PO is a candidate for reconfiguration if the PO at least partly overlaps in time with the duration of the SS Burst Set plus a guard time. The guard time condition may be applied from the end of the PO to the start of the first subsequent SS Burst Set or from the end of the closest preceding SS Burst Set to the PO or both. A possible guard time condition could be, for example, one OFDM symbol. Different guard times may exist before and after the PO. The guard time(s) may be configurable in the system information or may be specified in a standard.
(46) Another example is similar to the example above, but the guard time condition is set in relation to the SS Burst Set duration as it would be if all the possible SSB beams are used, as given by the specified maximum number of SSB beams for the carrier frequency band used in the concerned network deployment. If all the allowed SSB beams are used, this condition becomes the same as the one above.
(47) In some embodiments, a PO is a candidate for reconfiguration if at least one of the PDCCH monitoring occasions of the PO at least partly overlaps in time with an SSB transmission.
(48) In another example, a PO is a candidate for reconfiguration if at least one of the PDCCH monitoring occasions of the PO overlaps in time with a slot containing an SSB (i.e., one of the slot(s) of the SS Burst Set).
(49) The following examples that include overlapping or colliding slots may seem to be redundant but are motivated by the fact that the paging PDCCH transmissions may use different SCS and thus different slot duration (albeit the same number of OFDM symbols per slot) than the SSB transmissions.
(50) In some embodiments, a PO is a candidate for reconfiguration if: the at least one of the PDCCH monitoring occasions of the PO is located in the same slot as at least one SSB transmission; at least one of the PDCCH monitoring occasions of the PO is located in a slot that overlaps in time with a slot containing at least one SSB transmission (i.e. one of the slot(s) of the SS Burst Set); or at least one resource element for a PDCCH candidate of at least one PDCCH monitoring occasion overlaps with respective at least one resource element corresponding to an SSB transmission.
(51) In some embodiments, a PO is a candidate for reconfiguration if the PO is located in a radio frame that contains an SS Burst Set. In other words, POs of a PF (wherein the PF contains at least one PO) that is also an SS Burst Set frame (i.e., a radio frame that contains at least one SS Burst Set) fulfill the unsuitability condition. Using this condition (by itself, not combined with any of the other conditions), the cancellation principle operates on PF level rather than on PO level, i.e. entire PFs may be cancelled when coinciding with SS Burst Set frames.
(52) In another example, a PO is a candidate for reconfiguration if at least one PDCCH monitoring occasion of the PO is located in a radio frame which contains an SS Burst Set.
(53) For frequency-multiplexing of SSB transmissions and PDCCH transmissions (for paging), in particular embodiments, the CORESET used for the PDCCH does not overlap with the PRBs used for SSB transmissions. This can be ensured by configuring the CORESET used for the PDCCH for paging and RMSI (e.g., CORESET0/CORESET #0) so that it does not include any of the PRBs used for SSB transmission.
(54) Another option, according to some embodiments, is to configure an additional CORESET for paging for these cases (i.e., cases of frequency-multiplexing of POs and SS Burst Sets for the non-default case), where the additional CORESET neither overlaps with the RMSI CORESET (e.g., CORESET0/CORESET #0) nor with the PRBs used for SSB transmissions. Thus, two CORESETs may be configured for paging PDCCH: one CORESET for PDCCH transmissions that are time-multiplexed (i.e., not frequency-multiplexed) with SSB transmissions (e.g., CORESET0/CORESET #0) and another CORESET for paging PDCCH transmissions that are frequency-multiplexed with SSB transmissions. The second CORESET is thus dedicated for POs that are frequency-multiplexed with SS Burst Sets. Below is an example of how this second CORESET for paging could be included in the ASN.1 specification of the PDCCH-ConfigCommon information element in TS 38.331 (with the second CORESET for paging denoted controlResourceSetForPagingFrequencyMultiplexedWithSSB):
(55) TABLE-US-00009 -- ASN1START -- TAG-PDCCH-CONFIGCOMMON-START PDCCH-ConfigCommon : := SEQUENCE { controlResourceSetZero ControlResourceSetZero OPTIONAL, -- Cond InitialBWP-Only commonControlResourceSet ControlResourceSet OPTIONAL, -- Need R controlResourceSetForPagingFrequencyMultiplexedWithSSB ControlResourceSet OPTIONAL, searchSpaceZero SearchSpaceZero OPTIONAL, - - Cond InitialBWP-Only commonSearchSpaceList SEQUENCE (SIZE(1..4)) OF SearchSpace OPTIONAL, -- Need R searchSpaceSIB1 SearchSpaceId OPTIONAL, -- Need S searchSpaceOtherSystemInformation SearchSpaceId OPTIONAL, -- Need S pagingSearchSpaceSearch SpaceId OPTIONAL, -- Need S ra-SearchSpaceSearch SpaceId OPTIONAL, -- Need S ... } -- TAG-PDCCH-CONFIGCOMMON-STOP -- ASN1STOP
(56) Particular embodiments may apply to scenarios other than a one-to-one relation between overlapping POs and SS Burst Sets. For example, additional complexity arises when there is not a one-to-one relation between overlapping POs and SS Burst Sets. As one example, if the SS Burst Set periodicity is configured to 5 ms in a network that uses a large number of beams (e.g., for SSB and paging transmission), such as 64 beams (which is the maximum number of beams for carrier frequencies above 6 GHz), a PO may be configured that overlaps with two consecutive SS Burst Sets. For such cases, ambiguity should be removed regarding which of the two SS Burst Sets to frequency multiplex with the PO. Ambiguity-eliminating rules may include any one or more of the following.
(57) One example rule is that a PO overlapping with two consecutive SS Burst Sets is frequency-multiplexed with the first of the two SS Burst Sets. Another option is that the PO is frequency-multiplexed with the second of the two SS Burst Sets. In some embodiments, a PO overlapping with two consecutive SS Burst Sets is frequency-multiplexed with the one of the two SS Burst Sets with which it has the greatest overlap. If the overlaps are equal with the two SS Burst Sets, then the rule is that the PO is frequency-multiplexed with the first of the two SS Burst Sets, or the rule may be that the PO is frequency-multiplexed with the last of the two SS Burst Sets.
(58) Particular embodiments may use any of the above mechanisms. Which one to use may be standardized or may be configured through indication in the system information.
(59) Another example of a scenario other than a one-to-on relation between overlapping POs and SS Burst Sets is if two POs overlap with the same SS Burst Set. According to the rule of the previously described embodiments, the two POs may both be frequency-multiplexed with the same SS Burst Set. At least three options may be used in this scenario.
(60) In a first option, one of the POs is canceled (i.e., unconfigured) and the UEs allocated to a canceled PO are reallocated to other non-canceled POs. This may be done in accordance with the mechanisms described in more detail below. An additional reallocation alternative may be that the UEs of a canceled PO are reallocated to the other PO that overlaps with the same SS Burst Set and which consequently is frequency-multiplexed with the SS Burst Set (in accordance with the above described embodiments).
(61) Particular embodiments may include a rule that unambiguously determines which of the two POs that should be canceled. For example, the first of the two POs is canceled, or the second of the two POs is canceled. As another example, one of the POs with the smallest overlap with the SS Burst Set is canceled. If both POs have equally large overlaps with the SS Burst Set, the ambiguity may be resolved by canceling the first of the two POs or canceling the second of the two POs. In another example, the one of the POs with the largest overlap with the SS Burst Set is canceled.
(62) In a second option, both POs are frequency-multiplexed with the same SS Burst Set and also frequency-multiplexed with each other. In some embodiments, an additional CORESET is configured, and the paging PDCCH transmissions of the two frequency-multiplexed POs are associated with two different non-overlapping CORESETs (see ASN.1 example below). None of the CORESETs include any of the PRBs used for SSB transmissions.
(63) If there is already a dedicated CORESET configured for POs frequency-multiplexed with SS Burst Sets (as discussed above), then the yet additional CORESET to enable two POs to be frequency-multiplexed with the same SS Burst Set is a third CORESET (see ASN.1 example below) used for paging PDCCH transmissions. However, as discussed above, it is also possible that no dedicated CORESET is configured for POs frequency-multiplexed with SS Burst Sets (i.e., the same CORESET is used as for POs time-multiplexed with SS Burst Sets), and the additional CORESET to enable two POs to be frequency-multiplexed with the same SS Burst Set is a second CORESET used for paging PDCCH transmissions.
(64) Irrespective of whether two or three CORESETs are configured for paging PDCCH transmissions, particular embodiments include a rule to determine which of the two POs should be associated with the additional CORESET (that is configured to enable two POs to be frequency-multiplexed with the same SS Burst Set). Options for such an ambiguity-eliminating rule include the following.
(65) The first of the two POs may be associated with the additional CORESET, or the second of the two POs may be associated with the additional CORESET. The one of the POs with the smallest overlap with the SS Burst Set may be associated with the additional CORESET. If both POs have equally large overlaps with the SS Burst Set, the ambiguity may be resolved through associating the first of the two POs with the additional CORESET or associating the second of the two POs with the additional CORESET. As another example, the one of the POs with the largest overlap with the SS Burst Set may be associated with the additional CORESET.
(66) In a third option, both POs are frequency-multiplexed with the same SS Burst Set and are distinguished from each other through different P-RNTIs. In particular embodiments, an additional P-RNTI, in addition to the regular standardized one, may be configured (e.g., specified in a standard specification, configured in the system information, etc.). One of the two POs that are frequency-multiplexed with the same SS Burst Set is associated with the regular P-RNTI and the other of the two POs is associated with the additional P-RNTI.
(67) Particular embodiments include a rule to determine which of the two POs should be associated with the additional P-RNTI. Options for such an ambiguity-eliminating rule include the following.
(68) The first of the two POs may be associated with the additional P-RNTI, or the second of the two POs may be associated with the additional P-RNTI. The one of the POs with the smallest overlap with the SS Burst Set may be associated with the additional P-RNTI. If both POs have equally large overlaps with the SS Burst Set, the ambiguity may be resolved through associating the first of the two POs with the additional P-RNTI or associating the second of the two POs with the additional P-RNTI. As another example, the one of the POs that has the largest overlap with the SS Burst Set may be associated with the additional P-RNTI.
(69) Below is an example of how an additional CORESET for paging to be used for a PO that is frequency-multiplexed with another PO and an SS Burst Set could be included in the ASN.1 specification of the PDCCH-ConfigCommon information element in TS 38.331 (with the CORESET for enabling frequency-multiplexing of a PO with a PO denoted controlResourceSetForPagingWithFrequencyMultiplexedPO). One of the two POs that are frequency-multiplexed with an SS Burst Set uses CORESET0/CORESET #0 (i.e., controlResourceSetZero), and the other one uses the CORESET for enabling frequency-multiplexing of a PO with another PO (i.e., controlResourceSetForPagingWithFrequencyMultiplexedPO).
(70) TABLE-US-00010 -- ASN1START -- TAG-PDCCH-CONFIGCOMMON-START PDCCH-ConfigCommon : := SEQUENCE { controlResourceSetZero ControlResourceSetZero OPTIONAL, -- Cond InitialBWP-Only commonControlResourceSet ControlResourceSet OPTIONAL, -- Need R controlResourceSetForPagingWithFrequencyMultiplexedPO ControlResourceSet OPTIONAL, searchSpaceZero SearchSpaceZero OPTIONAL, - - Cond InitialBWP-Only commonSearchSpaceList SEQUENCE (SIZE(1..4)) OF SearchSpace OPTIONAL, -- Need R searchSpaceSIB1 SearchSpaceId OPTIONAL, -- Need S searchSpaceOtherSystemInformation SearchSpaceId OPTIONAL, -- Need S pagingSearchSpace SearchSpaceId OPTIONAL, -- Need S ra-SearchSpace SearchSpaceId OPTIONAL, -- Need S ... } -- TAG-PDCCH-CONFIGCOMMON-STOP -- ASN1STOP
(71) Below is another example of how an additional CORESET for paging to be used for a PO which is frequency-multiplexed with another PO and an SS Burst Set could be included in the ASN.1 specification of the PDCCH-ConfigCommon IE in TS 38.331 (with the CORESET for enabling frequency-multiplexing of a PO with a PO denoted controlResourceSetForPagingWithFrequencyMultiplexedPO). One of the two POs that are frequency-multiplexed with an SS Burst Set uses the dedicated (additional) CORESET for POs frequency-multiplexed with SS Burst Sets (i.e., controlResourceSetForPagingFrequencyMultiplexedWithSSB as discussed above), and the other one uses the CORESET for enabling frequency-multiplexing of a PO with another PO (i.e., controlResourceSetForPagingWithFrequencyMultiplexedPO).
(72) TABLE-US-00011 -- ASNISTART -- TAG-PDCCH-CONFIGCOMMON-START PDCCH-ConfigCommon : := SEQUENCE { controlResourceSetZero ControlResourceSetZero OPTIONAL, -- Cond InitialBWP-Only commonControlResourceSet ControlResourceSet OPTIONAL, -- Need R controlResourceSetForPagingFrequencyMultiplexedWithSSB ControlResourceSet OPTIONAL, controlResourceSetForPagingWithFrequencyMultiplexedPO ControlResourceSet OPTIONAL, searchSpaceZero SearchSpaceZero OPTIONAL, - - Cond InitialBWP-Only commonSearchSpaceList SEQUENCE (SIZE(1..4)) OF SearchSpace OPTIONAL, -- Need R searchSpaceSIB1 SearchSpaceId OPTIONAL, -- Need S searchSpaceOtherSystemInformation SearchSpaceId OPTIONAL, -- Need S pagingSearchSpace SearchSpaceId OPTIONAL, -- Need S ra-SearchSpace SearchSpaceId OPTIONAL, -- Need S ... } -- TAG-PDCCH-CONFIGCOMMON-STOP -- ASN1STOP
(73) As referenced above, the following lists potential UE-to-PO reallocation mechanisms. One example of a UE-to-PO reallocation algorithm (i.e., an algorithm that reallocates UEs from canceled POs (to which they were allocated based on the regular UE-to-PO allocation algorithm) includes the following steps.
(74) Step one includes removing the canceled POs from the set of POs configured by the regular PF/PO algorithm (i.e., before the PO cancellation rule is applied), so that a reduced set of P POs remain within a paging DRX cycle. Step two include indexing the remaining P POs within a paging DRX cycle by index i, where i=0, 1, . . . P−1. In some embodiments, P may be as small as 1, resulting in a single remaining PO indexed with i=0.
(75) At step 3, a certain UE is reallocated to the one out of the remaining P POs that satisfies i=UE_ID mod P. The parameter UE_ID may be the same as used in the regular PF/PO algorithm, e.g. IMSI mod 1024 or 5G-S-TMSI mod 1024.
(76) Other examples of possible UE-to-PO reallocation algorithms include the following. Some embodiments include reallocating all UEs originally allocated to a cancelled PO to the first subsequent non-cancelled PO. If no non-cancelled PO exists for the remainder of the paging DRX cycle, the UEs are reallocated to the first non-cancelled PO of the paging DRX cycle.
(77) Some embodiments include reallocating all UEs originally allocated to a cancelled PO to the closest preceding non-cancelled PO. If no non-cancelled PO exists prior to the concerned cancelled PO within the paging DRX cycle, the UEs are reallocated to the last non-cancelled PO of the paging DRX cycle.
(78) Some embodiments may use a hash algorithm to reallocate UEs from cancelled POs to other (non-cancelled) POs, e.g. based on an identifier associated with each UE, such as the UE_ID parameter used in the regular PF/PO algorithm and UE-to-PO allocation algorithm. For example, by applying the hash algorithm on the UE identifier, the algorithm outputs the index i of one of the non-cancelled POs, where the non-cancelled POs in a paging DRX cycle are indexed by i (where i=0, 1, . . . P−1).
(79) Some embodiments may standardize multiple options and let each network operator choose which one to apply and indicate this in the system information.
(80) While particular examples and embodiments are described with respect to paging occasions and SSBs, particular embodiments may apply to multiplexing other control channel monitoring occasions. In general, a “control channel occasion” refers to a set of “monitoring occasions” or “control channel monitoring occasions.” The general term “control channel occasion” may thus refer to “paging occasion” as one example, or an occasion in/during which another control channel may be transmitted. Although particular embodiments are described using the term “paging occasion”, this should not be seen as limiting and the particular embodiments apply to other cases where the control channel to be monitored is a control channel other than paging.
(81)
(82) Network 106 may comprise one or more backhaul networks, core networks, IP networks, public switched telephone networks (PSTNs), packet data networks, optical networks, wide-area networks (WANs), local area networks (LANs), wireless local area networks (WLANs), wired networks, wireless networks, metropolitan area networks, and other networks to enable communication between devices.
(83) Network node 160 and WD 110 comprise various components described in more detail below. These components work together to provide network node and/or wireless device functionality, such as providing wireless connections in a wireless network. In different embodiments, the wireless network may comprise any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, base stations, controllers, wireless devices, relay stations, and/or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and/or signals whether via wired or wireless connections.
(84) As used herein, network node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged and/or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a wireless device and/or with other network nodes or equipment in the wireless network to enable and/or provide wireless access to the wireless device and/or to perform other functions (e.g., administration) in the wireless network.
(85) Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs) and NR NodeBs (gNBs)). Base stations may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit power level) and may then also be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations.
(86) A base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. A network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as centralized digital units and/or remote radio units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS). Yet further examples of network nodes include multi-standard radio (MSR) equipment such as MSR BSs, network controllers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, multi-cell/multicast coordination entities (MCEs), core network nodes (e.g., MSCs, MMEs), O&M nodes, OSS nodes, SON nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., E-SMLCs), and/or MDTs.
(87) As another example, a network node may be a virtual network node as described in more detail below. More generally, however, network nodes may represent any suitable device (or group of devices) capable, configured, arranged, and/or operable to enable and/or provide a wireless device with access to the wireless network or to provide some service to a wireless device that has accessed the wireless network.
(88) In
(89) It is to be understood that a network node comprises any suitable combination of hardware and/or software needed to perform the tasks, features, functions and methods disclosed herein. Moreover, while the components of network node 160 are depicted as single boxes located within a larger box, or nested within multiple boxes, in practice, a network node may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component (e.g., device readable medium 180 may comprise multiple separate hard drives as well as multiple RAM modules).
(90) Similarly, network node 160 may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB component and a RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), which may each have their own respective components. In certain scenarios in which network node 160 comprises multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), one or more of the separate components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeB's. In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair, may in some instances be considered a single separate network node.
(91) In some embodiments, network node 160 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate device readable medium 180 for the different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., the same antenna 162 may be shared by the RATs). Network node 160 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 160, such as, for example, GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chip or set of chips and other components within network node 160.
(92) Processing circuitry 170 is configured to perform any determining, calculating, or similar operations (e.g., certain obtaining operations) described herein as being provided by a network node. These operations performed by processing circuitry 170 may include processing information obtained by processing circuitry 170 by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored in the network node, and/or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination.
(93) Processing circuitry 170 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software and/or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other network node 160 components, such as device readable medium 180, network node 160 functionality.
(94) For example, processing circuitry 170 may execute instructions stored in device readable medium 180 or in memory within processing circuitry 170. Such functionality may include providing any of the various wireless features, functions, or benefits discussed herein. In some embodiments, processing circuitry 170 may include a system on a chip (SOC).
(95) In some embodiments, processing circuitry 170 may include one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 172 and baseband processing circuitry 174. In some embodiments, radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 172 and baseband processing circuitry 174 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as radio units and digital units. In alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 172 and baseband processing circuitry 174 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units
(96) In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein as being provided by a network node, base station, eNB or other such network device may be performed by processing circuitry 170 executing instructions stored on device readable medium 180 or memory within processing circuitry 170. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by processing circuitry 170 without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device readable medium, such as in a hard-wired manner. In any of those embodiments, whether executing instructions stored on a device readable storage medium or not, processing circuitry 170 can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to processing circuitry 170 alone or to other components of network node 160 but are enjoyed by network node 160 as a whole, and/or by end users and the wireless network generally.
(97) Device readable medium 180 may comprise any form of volatile or non-volatile computer readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and/or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device readable and/or computer-executable memory devices that store information, data, and/or instructions that may be used by processing circuitry 170. Device readable medium 180 may store any suitable instructions, data or information, including a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, etc. and/or other instructions capable of being executed by processing circuitry 170 and, utilized by network node 160. Device readable medium 180 may be used to store any calculations made by processing circuitry 170 and/or any data received via interface 190. In some embodiments, processing circuitry 170 and device readable medium 180 may be considered to be integrated.
(98) Interface 190 is used in the wired or wireless communication of signaling and/or data between network node 160, network 106, and/or WDs 110. As illustrated, interface 190 comprises port(s)/terminal(s) 194 to send and receive data, for example to and from network 106 over a wired connection. Interface 190 also includes radio front end circuitry 192 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, antenna 162.
(99) Radio front end circuitry 192 comprises filters 198 and amplifiers 196. Radio front end circuitry 192 may be connected to antenna 162 and processing circuitry 170. Radio front end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 162 and processing circuitry 170. Radio front end circuitry 192 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or WDs via a wireless connection. Radio front end circuitry 192 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 198 and/or amplifiers 196. The radio signal may then be transmitted via antenna 162. Similarly, when receiving data, antenna 162 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by radio front end circuitry 192. The digital data may be passed to processing circuitry 170. In other embodiments, the interface may comprise different components and/or different combinations of components.
(100) In certain alternative embodiments, network node 160 may not include separate radio front end circuitry 192, instead, processing circuitry 170 may comprise radio front end circuitry and may be connected to antenna 162 without separate radio front end circuitry 192. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of RF transceiver circuitry 172 may be considered a part of interface 190. In still other embodiments, interface 190 may include one or more ports or terminals 194, radio front end circuitry 192, and RF transceiver circuitry 172, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and interface 190 may communicate with baseband processing circuitry 174, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).
(101) Antenna 162 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and/or receive wireless signals. Antenna 162 may be coupled to radio front end circuitry 190 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and/or signals wirelessly. In some embodiments, antenna 162 may comprise one or more omni-directional, sector or panel antennas operable to transmit/receive radio signals between, for example, 2 GHz and 66 GHz. An omni-directional antenna may be used to transmit/receive radio signals in any direction, a sector antenna may be used to transmit/receive radio signals from devices within a particular area, and a panel antenna may be a line of sight antenna used to transmit/receive radio signals in a relatively straight line. In some instances, the use of more than one antenna may be referred to as MIMO. In certain embodiments, antenna 162 may be separate from network node 160 and may be connectable to network node 160 through an interface or port.
(102) Antenna 162, interface 190, and/or processing circuitry 170 may be configured to perform any receiving operations and/or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data and/or signals may be received from a wireless device, another network node and/or any other network equipment. Similarly, antenna 162, interface 190, and/or processing circuitry 170 may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data and/or signals may be transmitted to a wireless device, another network node and/or any other network equipment.
(103) Power circuitry 187 may comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry and is configured to supply the components of network node 160 with power for performing the functionality described herein. Power circuitry 187 may receive power from power source 186. Power source 186 and/or power circuitry 187 may be configured to provide power to the various components of network node 160 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). Power source 186 may either be included in, or external to, power circuitry 187 and/or network node 160.
(104) For example, network node 160 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet) via an input circuitry or interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry 187. As a further example, power source 186 may comprise a source of power in the form of a battery or battery pack which is connected to, or integrated in, power circuitry 187. The battery may provide backup power should the external power source fail. Other types of power sources, such as photovoltaic devices, may also be used.
(105) Alternative embodiments of network node 160 may include additional components beyond those shown in
(106) As used herein, wireless device (WD) refers to a device capable, configured, arranged and/or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and/or other wireless devices. Unless otherwise noted, the term WD may be used interchangeably herein with user equipment (UE). Communicating wirelessly may involve transmitting and/or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and/or other types of signals suitable for conveying information through air.
(107) In some embodiments, a WD may be configured to transmit and/or receive information without direct human interaction. For instance, a WD may be designed to transmit information to a network on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the network.
(108) Examples of a WD include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, a mobile phone, a cell phone, a voice over IP (VoIP) phone, a wireless local loop phone, a desktop computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless cameras, a gaming console or device, a music storage device, a playback appliance, a wearable terminal device, a wireless endpoint, a mobile station, a tablet, a laptop, a laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), a laptop-mounted equipment (LME), a smart device, a wireless customer-premise equipment (CPE). a vehicle-mounted wireless terminal device, etc. A WD may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3GPP standard for sidelink communication, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) and may in this case be referred to as a D2D communication device.
(109) As yet another specific example, in an Internet of Things (IoT) scenario, a WD may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and/or measurements and transmits the results of such monitoring and/or measurements to another WD and/or a network node. The WD may in this case be a machine-to-machine (M2M) device, which may in a 3GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one example, the WD may be a UE implementing the 3GPP narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT) standard. Examples of such machines or devices are sensors, metering devices such as power meters, industrial machinery, or home or personal appliances (e.g. refrigerators, televisions, etc.) personal wearables (e.g., watches, fitness trackers, etc.).
(110) In other scenarios, a WD may represent a vehicle or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and/or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation. A WD as described above may represent the endpoint of a wireless connection, in which case the device may be referred to as a wireless terminal. Furthermore, a WD as described above may be mobile, in which case it may also be referred to as a mobile device or a mobile terminal.
(111) As illustrated, wireless device 110 includes antenna 111, interface 114, processing circuitry 120, device readable medium 130, user interface equipment 132, auxiliary equipment 134, power source 136 and power circuitry 137. WD 110 may include multiple sets of one or more of the illustrated components for different wireless technologies supported by WD 110, such as, for example, GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, WiMAX, or Bluetooth wireless technologies, just to mention a few. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chips or set of chips as other components within WD 110.
(112) Antenna 111 may include one or more antennas or antenna arrays, configured to send and/or receive wireless signals, and is connected to interface 114. In certain alternative embodiments, antenna 111 may be separate from WD 110 and be connectable to WD 110 through an interface or port. Antenna 111, interface 114, and/or processing circuitry 120 may be configured to perform any receiving or transmitting operations described herein as being performed by a WD. Any information, data and/or signals may be received from a network node and/or another WD. In some embodiments, radio front end circuitry and/or antenna 111 may be considered an interface.
(113) As illustrated, interface 114 comprises radio front end circuitry 112 and antenna 111. Radio front end circuitry 112 comprise one or more filters 118 and amplifiers 116. Radio front end circuitry 114 is connected to antenna 111 and processing circuitry 120 and is configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 111 and processing circuitry 120. Radio front end circuitry 112 may be coupled to or a part of antenna 111. In some embodiments, WD 110 may not include separate radio front end circuitry 112; rather, processing circuitry 120 may comprise radio front end circuitry and may be connected to antenna 111. Similarly, in some embodiments, some or all of RF transceiver circuitry 122 may be considered a part of interface 114.
(114) Radio front end circuitry 112 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or WDs via a wireless connection. Radio front end circuitry 112 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 118 and/or amplifiers 116. The radio signal may then be transmitted via antenna 111. Similarly, when receiving data, antenna 111 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by radio front end circuitry 112. The digital data may be passed to processing circuitry 120. In other embodiments, the interface may comprise different components and/or different combinations of components.
(115) Processing circuitry 120 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software, and/or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other WD 110 components, such as device readable medium 130, WD 110 functionality. Such functionality may include providing any of the various wireless features or benefits discussed herein. For example, processing circuitry 120 may execute instructions stored in device readable medium 130 or in memory within processing circuitry 120 to provide the functionality disclosed herein.
(116) As illustrated, processing circuitry 120 includes one or more of RF transceiver circuitry 122, baseband processing circuitry 124, and application processing circuitry 126. In other embodiments, the processing circuitry may comprise different components and/or different combinations of components. In certain embodiments processing circuitry 120 of WD 110 may comprise a SOC. In some embodiments, RF transceiver circuitry 122, baseband processing circuitry 124, and application processing circuitry 126 may be on separate chips or sets of chips.
(117) In alternative embodiments, part or all of baseband processing circuitry 124 and application processing circuitry 126 may be combined into one chip or set of chips, and RF transceiver circuitry 122 may be on a separate chip or set of chips. In still alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 122 and baseband processing circuitry 124 may be on the same chip or set of chips, and application processing circuitry 126 may be on a separate chip or set of chips. In yet other alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 122, baseband processing circuitry 124, and application processing circuitry 126 may be combined in the same chip or set of chips. In some embodiments, RF transceiver circuitry 122 may be a part of interface 114. RF transceiver circuitry 122 may condition RF signals for processing circuitry 120.
(118) In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein as being performed by a WD may be provided by processing circuitry 120 executing instructions stored on device readable medium 130, which in certain embodiments may be a computer-readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by processing circuitry 120 without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device readable storage medium, such as in a hard-wired manner.
(119) In any of those embodiments, whether executing instructions stored on a device readable storage medium or not, processing circuitry 120 can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to processing circuitry 120 alone or to other components of WD 110, but are enjoyed by WD 110, and/or by end users and the wireless network generally.
(120) Processing circuitry 120 may be configured to perform any determining, calculating, or similar operations (e.g., certain obtaining operations) described herein as being performed by a WD. These operations, as performed by processing circuitry 120, may include processing information obtained by processing circuitry 120 by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored by WD 110, and/or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination.
(121) Device readable medium 130 may be operable to store a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, etc. and/or other instructions capable of being executed by processing circuitry 120. Device readable medium 130 may include computer memory (e.g., Random Access Memory (RAM) or Read Only Memory (ROM)), mass storage media (e.g., a hard disk), removable storage media (e.g., a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and/or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device readable and/or computer executable memory devices that store information, data, and/or instructions that may be used by processing circuitry 120. In some embodiments, processing circuitry 120 and device readable medium 130 may be integrated.
(122) User interface equipment 132 may provide components that allow for a human user to interact with WD 110. Such interaction may be of many forms, such as visual, audial, tactile, etc. User interface equipment 132 may be operable to produce output to the user and to allow the user to provide input to WD 110. The type of interaction may vary depending on the type of user interface equipment 132 installed in WD 110. For example, if WD 110 is a smart phone, the interaction may be via a touch screen; if WD 110 is a smart meter, the interaction may be through a screen that provides usage (e.g., the number of gallons used) or a speaker that provides an audible alert (e.g., if smoke is detected).
(123) User interface equipment 132 may include input interfaces, devices and circuits, and output interfaces, devices and circuits. User interface equipment 132 is configured to allow input of information into WD 110 and is connected to processing circuitry 120 to allow processing circuitry 120 to process the input information. User interface equipment 132 may include, for example, a microphone, a proximity or other sensor, keys/buttons, a touch display, one or more cameras, a USB port, or other input circuitry. User interface equipment 132 is also configured to allow output of information from WD 110, and to allow processing circuitry 120 to output information from WD 110. User interface equipment 132 may include, for example, a speaker, a display, vibrating circuitry, a USB port, a headphone interface, or other output circuitry. Using one or more input and output interfaces, devices, and circuits, of user interface equipment 132, WD 110 may communicate with end users and/or the wireless network and allow them to benefit from the functionality described herein.
(124) Auxiliary equipment 134 is operable to provide more specific functionality which may not be generally performed by WDs. This may comprise specialized sensors for doing measurements for various purposes, interfaces for additional types of communication such as wired communications etc. The inclusion and type of components of auxiliary equipment 134 may vary depending on the embodiment and/or scenario.
(125) Power source 136 may, in some embodiments, be in the form of a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources, such as an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet), photovoltaic devices or power cells, may also be used. WD 110 may further comprise power circuitry 137 for delivering power from power source 136 to the various parts of WD 110 which need power from power source 136 to carry out any functionality described or indicated herein. Power circuitry 137 may in certain embodiments comprise power management circuitry.
(126) Power circuitry 137 may additionally or alternatively be operable to receive power from an external power source; in which case WD 110 may be connectable to the external power source (such as an electricity outlet) via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Power circuitry 137 may also in certain embodiments be operable to deliver power from an external power source to power source 136. This may be, for example, for the charging of power source 136. Power circuitry 137 may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from power source 136 to make the power suitable for the respective components of WD 110 to which power is supplied.
(127) Although the subject matter described herein may be implemented in any appropriate type of system using any suitable components, the embodiments disclosed herein are described in relation to a wireless network, such as the example wireless network illustrated in
(128)
(129) In
(130) In
(131) In the depicted embodiment, input/output interface 205 may be configured to provide a communication interface to an input device, output device, or input and output device. UE 200 may be configured to use an output device via input/output interface 205.
(132) An output device may use the same type of interface port as an input device. For example, a USB port may be used to provide input to and output from UE 200. The output device may be a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, an emitter, a smartcard, another output device, or any combination thereof.
(133) UE 200 may be configured to use an input device via input/output interface 205 to allow a user to capture information into UE 200. The input device may include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a web camera, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional pad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smartcard, and the like. The presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. A sensor may be, for instance, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, another like sensor, or any combination thereof. For example, the input device may be an accelerometer, a magnetometer, a digital camera, a microphone, and an optical sensor.
(134) In
(135) RAM 217 may be configured to interface via bus 202 to processing circuitry 201 to provide storage or caching of data or computer instructions during the execution of software programs such as the operating system, application programs, and device drivers. ROM 219 may be configured to provide computer instructions or data to processing circuitry 201. For example, ROM 219 may be configured to store invariant low-level system code or data for basic system functions such as basic input and output (I/O), startup, or reception of keystrokes from a keyboard that are stored in a non-volatile memory.
(136) Storage medium 221 may be configured to include memory such as RAM, ROM, programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, floppy disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, or flash drives. In one example, storage medium 221 may be configured to include operating system 223, application program 225 such as a web browser application, a widget or gadget engine or another application, and data file 227. Storage medium 221 may store, for use by UE 200, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.
(137) Storage medium 221 may be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as redundant array of independent disks (RAID), floppy disk drive, flash memory, USB flash drive, external hard disk drive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, high-density digital versatile disc (HD-DVD) optical disc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-Ray optical disc drive, holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, external mini-dual in-line memory module (DIMM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as a subscriber identity module or a removable user identity (SIM/RUIM) module, other memory, or any combination thereof. Storage medium 221 may allow UE 200 to access computer-executable instructions, application programs or the like, stored on transitory or non-transitory memory media, to off-load data, or to upload data. An article of manufacture, such as one utilizing a communication system may be tangibly embodied in storage medium 221, which may comprise a device readable medium.
(138) In
(139) In the illustrated embodiment, the communication functions of communication subsystem 231 may include data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communications such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication such as the use of the global positioning system (GPS) to determine a location, another like communication function, or any combination thereof. For example, communication subsystem 231 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, Bluetooth communication, and GPS communication. Network 243b may encompass wired and/or wireless networks such as a local-area network (LAN), a wide-area network (WAN), a computer network, a wireless network, a telecommunications network, another like network or any combination thereof. For example, network 243b may be a cellular network, a Wi-Fi network, and/or a near-field network. Power source 213 may be configured to provide alternating current (AC) or direct current (DC) power to components of UE 200.
(140) The features, benefits and/or functions described herein may be implemented in one of the components of UE 200 or partitioned across multiple components of UE 200. Further, the features, benefits, and/or functions described herein may be implemented in any combination of hardware, software or firmware. In one example, communication subsystem 231 may be configured to include any of the components described herein. Further, processing circuitry 201 may be configured to communicate with any of such components over bus 202. In another example, any of such components may be represented by program instructions stored in memory that when executed by processing circuitry 201 perform the corresponding functions described herein. In another example, the functionality of any of such components may be partitioned between processing circuitry 201 and communication subsystem 231. In another example, the non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware and the computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.
(141)
(142) The method may begin at step 612, where the wireless device (e.g., wireless device 110) may obtain configuration information indicating that the wireless device should determine whether a paging occasion at least partially overlaps in time with a synchronization signal. For example, some wireless devices may be agnostic as to whether a paging occasion overlaps with a synchronization signal. Other wireless devices, such as those described herein, may be configured to compare a paging occasion configuration and a synchronization signal configuration to determine overlap. The wireless device may be pre-configured based on a standard specification, network operator preference, or any other suitable configuration. The wireless device may obtain the configuration from a network node.
(143) In some embodiments, the obtained configuration information may indicate a frequency multiplexing pattern to use when the wireless device determines that a paging occasion at least partially overlaps in time with a synchronization signal. The pattern may include one of 3GPP 5G NR CORESET-SSB multiplexing patterns 2 or 3, or any other suitable frequency multiplexing pattern.
(144) The wireless device and its serving network node should share the same configuration so that the wireless device knows what transmissions to expect from the network node. For example, if the network node is configured to transmit according to multiplexing pattern 2, then the wireless device should be configured to receive according to multiplexing pattern 2.
(145) At step 614, the wireless device obtains a first paging occasion configuration and a first synchronization signal configuration. The wireless device may obtain the configuration according to any of the examples and embodiments described above (e.g., via signalling of a paging search space, via calculations based on frame numbers, via standard specification, etc., or any suitable combination).
(146) At step 616, the wireless device determines that a paging occasion specified by the first paging occasion configuration at least partially overlaps in time with a synchronization signal specified by the first synchronization signal configuration. For example, the paging occasion configuration includes a pattern of one or more paging occasions and may also include a pattern of monitoring occasions within each paging occasion. Similarly, the synchronization signal configuration includes a pattern of one or more SS Burst Sets and a pattern of SS Block (SSB) transmissions (each occupying 4 OFDM symbols) within each SS Burst Set. One or more of the paging occasions may overlap with one or more SS Bursts. The wireless device determines any overlap according to any of the embodiments and examples described above.
(147) As some examples, the wireless device may determine that the paging occasion at least partially overlaps in time with the synchronization signal (e.g., duration of a SS Burst Set) if a network node uses all synchronization signal beams specified by the 3GPP 5G NR standard specification for the carrier frequency band. In some embodiments it may comprise determining that the paging occasion at least partially overlaps in time with the synchronization signal (e.g., SS Burst Set) plus a guard time or that the paging occasion occurs in the same slot as at least part of the synchronization signal (e.g., at least one SSB transmission of the SS Burst Set). In some embodiments it may comprise determining that at least part of the paging occasion is located in the same radio frame, or half frame, as the synchronization signal (e.g., SS Burst Set).
(148) In some embodiments the paging occasion comprises a plurality of monitoring occasions and determining that the paging occasion at least partially overlaps in time with the synchronization signal (e.g., SS Burst Set) comprises determining that at least one monitoring occasion of the plurality of monitoring occasions at least partly overlaps in time with the synchronization signal (e.g., SS Burst Set). In some embodiments, the paging occasion comprises a plurality of monitoring occasions and the synchronization signal (e.g., SS Burst Set) comprises a plurality of synchronization sequence transmissions, and determining that the paging occasion at least partially overlaps in time with the synchronization signal (e.g., SS Burst Set) comprises determining that at least one monitoring occasion of the plurality of monitoring occasions at least partly overlaps in time with at least one of the synchronization sequence transmissions.
(149) At step 618, the wireless device modifies at least one of the paging occasion configuration for the at least partially overlapping paging occasion and the synchronization signal configuration for the at least partially overlapping synchronization signal to frequency multiplex the paging occasion and the synchronization signal. For example, for an overlapping paging occasion the wireless device may modify the configuration for that particular instance to be frequency multiplexed with the synchronization signal.
(150) Frequency multiplexing the overlapping paging occasion and the synchronization signal is advantageous, for example, when the network node uses analog transmit beamforming and can only transmit in one beam direction at a time. Transmitting paging transmissions frequency-multiplexed with SSBs efficiently uses the downlink transmission resources (which otherwise risk being wasted). From the perspective of the wireless device, frequency-multiplexing of SSBs and paging transmissions (e.g., PDCCH transmissions (and/or PDSCH transmissions)) enables the device to receive the SSB (e.g., to acquire/tune downlink synchronization) and the paging transmission simultaneously, thus facilitating shorter wake time for the wireless device than if the SSB and the paging transmission have to be received separately (i.e., separated in time).
(151) In some embodiments, the wireless device may only modify the paging occasion configuration for the overlapping occasion. In some embodiments, the wireless device may only modify the synchronization signal configuration for the overlapping occasion. In some embodiments, the wireless device may modify both.
(152) At step 620, the wireless device receives the paging occasion and the synchronization signal according to the at least one of the modified paging occasion configuration and modified synchronization signal configuration. For example, the wireless device receives the synchronization signaling and the monitors the paging occasion simultaneously based on the frequency multiplexed configuration.
(153) Modifications, additions, or omissions may be made to method 600 of
(154)
(155) The method may begin at step 712, where the network node (e.g., network node 160) may obtain configuration information indicating that the network node should determine whether a paging occasion at least partially overlaps in time with a synchronization signal. For example, some network nodes may be agnostic as to whether a paging occasion overlaps with a synchronization signal. Other network nodes, such as those described herein, may be configured to compare a paging occasion configuration and a synchronization signal configuration to determine overlap. The network node may be pre-configured based on a standard specification, network operator preference, or any other suitable configuration. The wireless device may obtain the configuration from another network node.
(156) In some embodiments, the obtained configuration information may indicate a frequency multiplexing pattern to use when the network node determines that a paging occasion at least partially overlaps in time with a synchronization signal. The pattern may include one of 3GPP 5G NR CORESET-SSB multiplexing patterns 2 or 3, or any other suitable frequency multiplexing pattern.
(157) A wireless device and its serving network node should share the same configuration so that the wireless device knows what transmissions to expect from the network node. For example, if the network node is configured to transmit according to multiplexing pattern 2, then the wireless device should be configured to receive according to multiplexing pattern 2.
(158) At step 714, the network node obtains a first paging occasion configuration and a first synchronization signal configuration. The network node may obtain the configuration according to any of the examples and embodiments described above (e.g., via signalling of a paging search space, via calculations based on frame numbers, via standard specification, etc., or any suitable combination).
(159) At step 716, the network node determines that a paging occasion specified by the first paging occasion configuration at least partially overlaps in time with a synchronization signal specified by the first synchronization signal configuration. For example, the paging occasion configuration includes a pattern of one or more paging occasions and may also include a pattern of monitoring occasions within each paging occasion. Similarly, the synchronization signal configuration includes a pattern of one or more SS Burst Sets and a pattern of SS Block (SSB) transmissions (each occupying 4 OFDM symbols) within each SS Burst Set. One of more of the paging occasions may overlap in time with one or more SS Bursts. The network node determines any overlap according to any of the embodiments and examples described above.
(160) As some examples, the network node may determine that the paging occasion at least partially overlaps in time with the synchronization signal (e.g., SS Burst Set) if a network node uses all synchronization signal beams specified by the 3GPP 5G NR standard specification for the carrier frequency band. In some embodiments it may comprise determining that the paging occasion at least partially overlaps in time with the synchronization signal (e.g., SS Burst Set) plus a guard time or that the paging occasion occurs in the same slot as at least part of the synchronization signal (e.g., at least one SSB transmission of the SS Burst Set). In some embodiments it may comprise determining that at least part of the paging occasion is located in the same radio frame, or half frame, as the synchronization signal (e.g., SS Burst Set).
(161) In some embodiments the paging occasion comprises a plurality of monitoring occasions and determining that the paging occasion at least partially overlaps in time with the synchronization signal (e.g., SS Burst Set) comprises determining that at least one monitoring occasion of the plurality of monitoring occasions at least partly overlaps in time with the synchronization signal (e.g., SS Burst Set). In some embodiments, the paging occasion comprises a plurality of monitoring occasions and the synchronization signal (e.g., SS Burst Set) comprises a plurality of synchronization sequence transmissions, and determining that the paging occasion at least partially overlaps in time with the synchronization signal (e.g., SS Burst Set) comprises determining that at least one monitoring occasion of the plurality of monitoring occasions at least partly overlaps in time with at least one of the synchronization sequence transmissions.
(162) At step 718, the network node modifies at least one of the paging occasion configuration for the at least partially overlapping paging occasion and the synchronization signal configuration for the at least partially overlapping synchronization signal to frequency multiplex the paging occasion and the synchronization signal. For example, for an overlapping paging occasion the network node may modify the configuration for that particular instance to be frequency multiplexed with the synchronization signal.
(163) Frequency multiplexing the overlapping paging occasion and the synchronization signal is advantageous, for example, when the network node uses analog transmit beamforming and can only transmit in one beam direction at a time. Transmitting paging transmissions frequency-multiplexed with SSBs efficiently uses the downlink transmission resources (which otherwise risk being wasted). From the perspective of the wireless device, frequency-multiplexing of SSBs and paging transmissions (e.g., PDCCH transmissions (and/or PDSCH transmissions)) enables the device to receive the SSB (e.g., to acquire/tune downlink synchronization) and the paging transmission simultaneously, thus facilitating shorter wake time for the wireless device than if the SSB and the paging transmission have to be received separately (i.e., separated in time).
(164) In some embodiments, the network node may only modify the paging occasion configuration for the overlapping occasion. In some embodiments, the network node may only modify the synchronization signal configuration for the overlapping occasion. In some embodiments, the network node may modify both.
(165) At step 620, the network node transmits the paging occasion and the synchronization signal according to the at least one of the modified paging occasion configuration and modified synchronization signal configuration. For example, the network node transmits the synchronization signaling and any paging information simultaneously based on the frequency multiplexed configuration.
(166) Modifications, additions, or omissions may be made to method 700 of
(167)
(168) Virtual apparatuses 1600 and 1700 may comprise processing circuitry, which may include one or more microprocessor or microcontrollers, as well as other digital hardware, which may include digital signal processors (DSPs), special-purpose digital logic, and the like. The processing circuitry may be configured to execute program code stored in memory, which may include one or several types of memory such as read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory, cache memory, flash memory devices, optical storage devices, etc. Program code stored in memory includes program instructions for executing one or more telecommunications and/or data communications protocols as well as instructions for carrying out one or more of the techniques described herein, in several embodiments.
(169) In some implementations, the processing circuitry may be used to cause obtaining module 1602, determining module 1604, modifying module 1606, receiving module 1608, and any other suitable units of apparatus 1600 to perform corresponding functions according one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. Similarly, the processing circuitry described above may be used to cause obtaining module 1702, determining module 1704, modifying module 1706, transmitting module 1708, and any other suitable units of apparatus 1700 to perform corresponding functions according one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.
(170) As illustrated in
(171) As illustrated in
(172)
(173) In some embodiments, some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines implemented in one or more virtual environments 300 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes 330. Further, in embodiments in which the virtual node is not a radio access node or does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node), then the network node may be entirely virtualized.
(174) The functions may be implemented by one or more applications 320 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) operative to implement some of the features, functions, and/or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein. Applications 320 are run in virtualization environment 300 which provides hardware 330 comprising processing circuitry 360 and memory 390. Memory 390 contains instructions 395 executable by processing circuitry 360 whereby application 320 is operative to provide one or more of the features, benefits, and/or functions disclosed herein.
(175) Virtualization environment 300, comprises general-purpose or special-purpose network hardware devices 330 comprising a set of one or more processors or processing circuitry 360, which may be commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) processors, dedicated Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), or any other type of processing circuitry including digital or analog hardware components or special purpose processors. Each hardware device may comprise memory 390-1 which may be non-persistent memory for temporarily storing instructions 395 or software executed by processing circuitry 360. Each hardware device may comprise one or more network interface controllers (NICs) 370, also known as network interface cards, which include physical network interface 380. Each hardware device may also include non-transitory, persistent, machine-readable storage media 390-2 having stored therein software 395 and/or instructions executable by processing circuitry 360. Software 395 may include any type of software including software for instantiating one or more virtualization layers 350 (also referred to as hypervisors), software to execute virtual machines 340 as well as software allowing it to execute functions, features and/or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein.
(176) Virtual machines 340, comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 350 or hypervisor. Different embodiments of the instance of virtual appliance 320 may be implemented on one or more of virtual machines 340, and the implementations may be made in different ways.
(177) During operation, processing circuitry 360 executes software 395 to instantiate the hypervisor or virtualization layer 350, which may sometimes be referred to as a virtual machine monitor (VMM). Virtualization layer 350 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to virtual machine 340.
(178) As shown in
(179) Virtualization of the hardware is in some contexts referred to as network function virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry standard high-volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers, and customer premise equipment.
(180) In the context of NFV, virtual machine 340 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each of virtual machines 340, and that part of hardware 330 that executes that virtual machine, be it hardware dedicated to that virtual machine and/or hardware shared by that virtual machine with others of the virtual machines 340, forms a separate virtual network elements (VNE).
(181) Still in the context of NFV, Virtual Network Function (VNF) is responsible for handling specific network functions that run in one or more virtual machines 340 on top of hardware networking infrastructure 330 and corresponds to application 320 in
(182) In some embodiments, one or more radio units 3200 that each include one or more transmitters 3220 and one or more receivers 3210 may be coupled to one or more antennas 3225. Radio units 3200 may communicate directly with hardware nodes 330 via one or more appropriate network interfaces and may be used in combination with the virtual components to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a radio access node or a base station.
(183) In some embodiments, some signaling can be effected with the use of control system 3230 which may alternatively be used for communication between the hardware nodes 330 and radio units 3200.
(184) With reference to
(185) Telecommunication network 410 is itself connected to host computer 430, which may be embodied in the hardware and/or software of a standalone server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server or as processing resources in a server farm. Host computer 430 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider or may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. Connections 421 and 422 between telecommunication network 410 and host computer 430 may extend directly from core network 414 to host computer 430 or may go via an optional intermediate network 420. Intermediate network 420 may be one of, or a combination of more than one of, a public, private or hosted network; intermediate network 420, if any, may be a backbone network or the Internet; in particular, intermediate network 420 may comprise two or more sub-networks (not shown).
(186) The communication system of
(187)
(188) Communication system 500 further includes base station 520 provided in a telecommunication system and comprising hardware 525 enabling it to communicate with host computer 510 and with UE 530. Hardware 525 may include communication interface 526 for setting up and maintaining a wired or wireless connection with an interface of a different communication device of communication system 500, as well as radio interface 527 for setting up and maintaining at least wireless connection 570 with UE 530 located in a coverage area (not shown in
(189) Communication system 500 further includes UE 530 already referred to. Its hardware 535 may include radio interface 537 configured to set up and maintain wireless connection 570 with a base station serving a coverage area in which UE 530 is currently located. Hardware 535 of UE 530 further includes processing circuitry 538, which may comprise one or more programmable processors, application-specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays or combinations of these (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. UE 530 further comprises software 531, which is stored in or accessible by UE 530 and executable by processing circuitry 538. Software 531 includes client application 532. Client application 532 may be operable to provide a service to a human or non-human user via UE 530, with the support of host computer 510. In host computer 510, an executing host application 512 may communicate with the executing client application 532 via OTT connection 550 terminating at UE 530 and host computer 510. In providing the service to the user, client application 532 may receive request data from host application 512 and provide user data in response to the request data. OTT connection 550 may transfer both the request data and the user data. Client application 532 may interact with the user to generate the user data that it provides.
(190) It is noted that host computer 510, base station 520 and UE 530 illustrated in
(191) In
(192) Wireless connection 570 between UE 530 and base station 520 is in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to UE 530 using OTT connection 550, in which wireless connection 570 forms the last segment. More precisely, the teachings of these embodiments may improve the signaling overhead and reduce latency, and thereby provide benefits such as reduced user waiting time, better responsiveness and extended battery life.
(193) A measurement procedure may be provided for monitoring data rate, latency and other factors on which the one or more embodiments improve. There may further be an optional network functionality for reconfiguring OTT connection 550 between host computer 510 and UE 530, in response to variations in the measurement results. The measurement procedure and/or the network functionality for reconfiguring OTT connection 550 may be implemented in software 511 and hardware 515 of host computer 510 or in software 531 and hardware 535 of UE 530, or both. In embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or in association with communication devices through which OTT connection 550 passes; the sensors may participate in the measurement procedure by supplying values of the monitored quantities exemplified above or supplying values of other physical quantities from which software 511, 531 may compute or estimate the monitored quantities. The reconfiguring of OTT connection 550 may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing etc.; the reconfiguring need not affect base station 520, and it may be unknown or imperceptible to base station 520. Such procedures and functionalities may be known and practiced in the art. In certain embodiments, measurements may involve proprietary UE signaling facilitating host computer 510's measurements of throughput, propagation times, latency and the like. The measurements may be implemented in that software 511 and 531 causes messages to be transmitted, in particular empty or ‘dummy’ messages, using OTT connection 550 while it monitors propagation times, errors etc.
(194)
(195) In step 610, the host computer provides user data. In substep 611 (which may be optional) of step 610, the host computer provides the user data by executing a host application. In step 620, the host computer initiates a transmission carrying the user data to the UE. In step 630 (which may be optional), the base station transmits to the UE the user data which was carried in the transmission that the host computer initiated, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step 640 (which may also be optional), the UE executes a client application associated with the host application executed by the host computer.
(196)
(197) In step 710 of the method, the host computer provides user data. In an optional substep (not shown) the host computer provides the user data by executing a host application. In step 720, the host computer initiates a transmission carrying the user data to the UE. The transmission may pass via the base station, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step 730 (which may be optional), the UE receives the user data carried in the transmission.
(198)
(199) In step 810 (which may be optional), the UE receives input data provided by the host computer. Additionally, or alternatively, in step 820, the UE provides user data. In substep 821 (which may be optional) of step 820, the UE provides the user data by executing a client application. In substep 811 (which may be optional) of step 810, the UE executes a client application which provides the user data in reaction to the received input data provided by the host computer. In providing the user data, the executed client application may further consider user input received from the user. Regardless of the specific manner in which the user data was provided, the UE initiates, in substep 830 (which may be optional), transmission of the user data to the host computer. In step 840 of the method, the host computer receives the user data transmitted from the UE, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure.
(200)
(201) In step 910 (which may be optional), in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the base station receives user data from the UE. In step 920 (which may be optional), the base station initiates transmission of the received user data to the host computer. In step 930 (which may be optional), the host computer receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the base station.
(202) The term unit may have conventional meaning in the field of electronics, electrical devices and/or electronic devices and may include, for example, electrical and/or electronic circuitry, devices, modules, processors, memories, logic solid state and/or discrete devices, computer programs or instructions for carrying out respective tasks, procedures, computations, outputs, and/or displaying functions, and so on, as such as those that are described herein.
(203) Modifications, additions, or omissions may be made to the systems and apparatuses disclosed herein without departing from the scope of the invention. The components of the systems and apparatuses may be integrated or separated. Moreover, the operations of the systems and apparatuses may be performed by more, fewer, or other components. Additionally, operations of the systems and apparatuses may be performed using any suitable logic comprising software, hardware, and/or other logic. As used in this document, “each” refers to each member of a set or each member of a subset of a set.
(204) Modifications, additions, or omissions may be made to the methods disclosed herein without departing from the scope of the invention. The methods may include more, fewer, or other steps. Additionally, steps may be performed in any suitable order.
(205) The foregoing description sets forth numerous specific details. It is understood, however, that embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known circuits, structures and techniques have not been shown in detail in order not to obscure the understanding of this description. Those of ordinary skill in the art, with the included descriptions, will be able to implement appropriate functionality without undue experimentation.
(206) References in the specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “an example embodiment,” etc., indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but every embodiment may not necessarily include 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 implement such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments, whether or not explicitly described.
(207) Although this disclosure has been described in terms of certain embodiments, alterations and permutations of the embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the above description of the embodiments does not constrain this disclosure. Other changes, substitutions, and alterations are possible without departing from the scope of this disclosure, as defined by the claims below.
(208) At least some of the following abbreviations may be used in this disclosure. If there is an inconsistency between abbreviations, preference should be given to how it is used above. If listed multiple times below, the first listing should be preferred over any subsequent listing(s). 1×RTT CDMA2000 1× Radio Transmission Technology 3GPP 3rd Generation Partnership Project 5G 5th Generation 5GC 5th Generation Core 5G-S-TMSI temporary identifier used in NR as a replacement of the S-TMSI in LTE ABS Almost Blank Subframe ARQ Automatic Repeat Request ASN.1 Abstract Syntax Notation One AWGN Additive White Gaussian Noise BCCH Broadcast Control Channel BCH Broadcast Channel BWP Bandwidth Part CA Carrier Aggregation CC Carrier Component CCCH SDU Common Control Channel SDU CDMA Code Division Multiplexing Access CGI Cell Global Identifier CIR Channel Impulse Response CMAS Commercial Mobile Alert System CN Core Network CORESET Control Resource Set CP Cyclic Prefix CPICH Common Pilot Channel CPICH Ec/No CPICH Received energy per chip divided by the power density in the band CRC Cyclic Redundancy Check CQI Channel Quality information C-RNTI Cell RNTI CSI Channel State Information DCCH Dedicated Control Channel DCI Downlink Control Information div Notation indicating integer division. DL Downlink DM Demodulation DMRS Demodulation Reference Signal DRX Discontinuous Reception DTX Discontinuous Transmission DTCH Dedicated Traffic Channel DUT Device Under Test E-CID Enhanced Cell-ID (positioning method) E-SMLC Evolved-Serving Mobile Location Centre ECGI Evolved CGI eNB E-UTRAN NodeB ePDCCH enhanced Physical Downlink Control Channel EPS Evolved Packet System E-SMLC evolved Serving Mobile Location Center E-UTRA Evolved UTRA E-UTRAN Evolved UTRAN ETWS Earthquake and Tsunami Warning System FDD Frequency Division Duplex GERAN GSM EDGE Radio Access Network gNB Base station in NR GNSS Global Navigation Satellite System GSM Global System for Mobile communication HARQ Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request HO Handover HSPA High Speed Packet Access HRPD High Rate Packet Data ID Identity/Identifier IMSI International Mobile Subscriber Identity I-RNTI Inactive Radio Network Temporary Identifier LOS Line of Sight LPP LTE Positioning Protocol LTE Long-Term Evolution MAC Medium Access Control MBMS Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Services MBSFN Multimedia Broadcast multicast service Single Frequency Network MBSFN ABS MBSFN Almost Blank Subframe MDT Minimization of Drive Tests MIB Master Information Block MME Mobility Management Entity mod modulo ms millisecond MSC Mobile Switching Center MSI Minimum System Information NPDCCH Narrowband Physical Downlink Control Channel NAS Non-Access Stratum NGC Next Generation Core NG-RAN Next Generation RAN NPDCCH Narrowband Physical Downlink Control Channel NR New Radio OCNG OFDMA Channel Noise Generator OFDM Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing OFDMA Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access OSS Operations Support System OTDOA Observed Time Difference of Arrival O&M Operation and Maintenance PBCH Physical Broadcast Channel P-CCPCH Primary Common Control Physical Channel PCell Primary Cell PCFICH Physical Control Format Indicator Channel PDCCH Physical Downlink Control Channel PDP Profile Delay Profile PDSCH Physical Downlink Shared Channel PF Paging Frame PGW Packet Gateway PHICH Physical Hybrid-ARQ Indicator Channel PLMN Public Land Mobile Network PMI Precoder Matrix Indicator PO Paging Occasion PRACH Physical Random Access Channel PRB Physical Resource Block P-RNTI Paging RNTI PRS Positioning Reference Signal PSS Primary Synchronization Signal PUCCH Physical Uplink Control Channel PUSCH Physical Uplink Shared Channel RACH Random Access Channel QAM Quadrature Amplitude Modulation RAN Radio Access Network RAT Radio Access Technology RLM Radio Link Management RMSI Remaining Minimum System Information RNA RAN Notification Area RNC Radio Network Controller RNTI Radio Network Temporary Identifier RRC Radio Resource Control RRM Radio Resource Management RS Reference Signal RSCP Received Signal Code Power RSRP Reference Symbol Received Power OR Reference Signal Received Power RSRQ Reference Signal Received Quality OR Reference Symbol Received Quality RSSI Received Signal Strength Indicator RSTD Reference Signal Time Difference SAE System Architecture Evolution SCH Synchronization Channel SCell Secondary Cell SDU Service Data Unit SFN System Frame Number SGW Serving Gateway SI System Information SIB System Information Block SIB1 System Information Block type 1 SNR Signal to Noise Ratio SON Self Optimized Network SS Synchronization Signal SSS Secondary Synchronization Signal S-TMSI SAE-TMSI TDD Time Division Duplex TMSI Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity TDOA Time Difference of Arrival TOA Time of Arrival TSS Tertiary Synchronization Signal TS Technical Specification TSG Technical Specification Group TTI Transmission Time Interval UE User Equipment UL Uplink UMTS Universal Mobile Telecommunication System USIM Universal Subscriber Identity Module UTDOA Uplink Time Difference of Arrival UTRA Universal Terrestrial Radio Access UTRAN Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network WCDMA Wide CDMA WG Working Group WLAN Wide Local Area Network