Patent Application
20250142436
The following relates to wireless communications, including an enhanced user equipment mechanism to increase the chance for inter-radio access technology redirection.
Wireless communications systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, and so on. These systems may be capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing the available system resources (e.g., time, frequency, and power). Examples of such multiple-access systems include fourth generation (4G) systems such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) systems, or LTE-A Pro systems, and fifth generation (5G) systems which may be referred to as New Radio (NR) systems. These systems may employ technologies such as code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), or discrete Fourier transform spread orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (DFT-S-OFDM). A wireless multiple-access communications system may include one or more base stations or one or more network access nodes, each simultaneously supporting communication for multiple communication devices, which may be otherwise known as user equipment (UE).
The described techniques relate to improved methods, systems, devices, and apparatuses that support an enhanced user equipment (UE) mechanism to increase the chance for inter-radio access technology (IRAT) redirection. Generally, the described techniques provide for a UE initiated IRAT redirection procedure from a lower priority level radio access technology (RAT) to a higher priority level RAT when a UE is in a connected state with a cell of a lower priority level RAT.
A UE in a connected state with a cell of a first RAT type may trigger a UE initiated redirection procedure to a neighboring cell of a different, higher priority level, RAT type if the network does not configure the UE to perform connected measurements for cells of the higher priority level RAT type. A UE that is in a connected state with a cell of a first, lower priority, RAT type may receive an indication of candidate neighbor cells of a higher priority level RAT type. The indication of candidate neighbor cells may be received, for example, in system information block (SIB) 24 or in a background public land mobile network (BPLMN) search. The UE may perform UE initiated measurements on the indicated candidate neighbor cells of the higher priority level RAT type. The UE may trigger an IRAT redirection procedure to one of the candidate neighbor cells of the higher priority level RAT if the UE finds a suitable cell based on the UE initiated measurements.
A wireless communications system may include various communication devices, such as a user equipment (UE) and one or more base stations, which may provide wireless communication services to the UE. Each base station may provide coverage for the wireless communication services via a cell, which may be a geographic coverage area in which each base station provides coverage for the UE. The UE may support communication according to one or more radio access technologies (RATs). The UE may operate in various modes, for example, an idle mode or a connected mode. If operating in the connected mode, the one or more base stations may manage mobility procedures for the UE based on cell measurement reports received from the UE.
In some cases, one type of RAT may be preferred by the UE (e.g., be indicated as having a higher priority level) as compared to another type of RAT. For example, 5G new radio (NR) may be associated with a higher priority level as compared to 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE). If a UE is camped on a cell of a first RAT type in the wireless communications system, the UE may perform different procedures to connect to another cell based on whether the UE is in an idle state or a connected state. The network (e.g., the base station associated with the connected cell) may transmit information about neighboring cells in a system information block (SIB) 24. If the UE is camped on a cell of the first RAT type in an idle status, the UE may relay to the candidate cells indicated in SIB24 to perform an inter-radio access technology (IRAT) selection procedure to a cell of the higher priority level RAT type. If the UE is in the connected state, the UE relays to cells configured by the network for connected measurements, and then performs an inter-radio access technology handover procedure to the higher priority level RAT type. In some cases, however, while the UE is in the connected state on a cell of the first RAT type, the network may only configure the UE to perform measurements for cells of the first RAT type, or the network may not configure the UE to perform measurements for cells of the second, higher priority level, RAT type. As a result, the UE may be unable to change to a cell of the higher priority level RAT type when the UE is camped on a cell of a lower priority RAT type in a connected state.
A UE in a connected state with a cell of a first RAT type may trigger a UE initiated redirection procedure to a neighboring cell of a different, higher priority level, RAT type if the network only configures the UE to perform measurements for cells of the first RAT type, or if the network does not configure the UE to perform measurements for cells of the higher priority level RAT type. A UE that is in a connected state with a cell of a lower priority level RAT type may receive an indication of candidate neighbor cells of a higher priority level RAT type. The indication of candidate neighbor cells may be received, for example, in SIB24 or in a background public land mobile network (BPLMN) search. The UE may perform UE initiated measurements on the indicated candidate neighbor cells of the higher priority level RAT type. The UE may trigger an IRAT redirection procedure to one of the neighbor cells of the higher priority level RAT if the UE finds a suitable cell based on the measurement procedures. Accordingly, a UE may redirect to a cell of an indicated higher priority level when operating in a connected state with a cell of a lower priority level.
For example, the UE may initiate an IRAT redirection procedure with a target cell of the higher priority level RAT type based on determining that a measured signal strength or signal quality associated with the target cell exceeds a threshold. In some examples, the UE may initiate an IRAT redirection procedure with a target cell of a set of candidate cells of the higher priority level RAT based at least in part on determining that a measured signal strength or signal quality associated with the target cell is the highest among the measured signal strengths of the set of candidate cells.
In some cases, the UE may trigger the UE initiated measurements on the indicated candidate neighbor cells of the higher priority level RAT type based on determining that the network has not configured measurements on the indicated candidate neighbor cells For example, the UE may make the determination if the network does not configure the UE to perform measurements on the indicated candidate neighbor cells of the higher priority level RAT type within a threshold period of time after receiving the indication of the candidate neighbor cells in a system information block. In some cases, the UE may maintain a database of candidate cells of the higher priority level RAT type. The UE may trigger the measurements based on the database of the candidate cells of the higher priority level RAT type (e.g., when the UE detects that it is within a physical proximity of a candidate cell stored in the database).
Aspects of the disclosure are initially described in the context of wireless communications systems. Aspects of the disclosure are further illustrated by and described with reference to wireless communications systems and process flows. Aspects of the disclosure are further illustrated by and described with reference to apparatus diagrams, system diagrams, and flowcharts that relate to an enhanced UE mechanism to increase the chance for IRAT redirection.
The base stations 105 may be dispersed throughout a geographic area to form the wireless communications system 100 and may be devices in different forms or having different capabilities. The base stations 105 and the UEs 115 may wirelessly communicate via one or more communication links 125. Each base station 105 may provide a coverage area 110 over which the UEs 115 and the base station 105 may establish one or more communication links 125. The coverage area 110 may be an example of a geographic area over which a base station 105 and a UE 115 may support the communication of signals according to one or more radio access technologies.
The UEs 115 may be dispersed throughout a coverage area 110 of the wireless communications system 100, and each UE 115 may be stationary, or mobile, or both at different times. The UEs 115 may be devices in different forms or having different capabilities. Some example UEs 115 are illustrated in
The base stations 105 may communicate with the core network 130, or with one another, or both. For example, the base stations 105 may interface with the core network 130 through one or more backhaul links 120 (e.g., via an S1, N2, N3, or other interface). The base stations 105 may communicate with one another over the backhaul links 120 (e.g., via an X2, Xn, or other interface) either directly (e.g., directly between base stations 105), or indirectly (e.g., via core network 130), or both. In some examples, the backhaul links 120 may be or include one or more wireless links.
One or more of the base stations 105 described herein may include or may be referred to by a person having ordinary skill in the art as a base transceiver station, a radio base station, an access point, a radio transceiver, a NodeB, an eNodeB (eNB), a next-generation NodeB or a giga-NodeB (either of which may be referred to as a gNB), a Home NodeB, a Home eNodeB, or other suitable terminology.
A UE 115 may include or may be referred to as a mobile device, a wireless device, a remote device, a handheld device, or a subscriber device, or some other suitable terminology, where the “device” may also be referred to as a unit, a station, a terminal, or a client, among other examples. A UE 115 may also include or may be referred to as a personal electronic device such as a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a tablet computer, a laptop computer, or a personal computer. In some examples, a UE 115 may include or be referred to as a wireless local loop (WLL) station, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, an Internet of Everything (IoE) device, or a machine type communications (MTC) device, among other examples, which may be implemented in various objects such as appliances, or vehicles, meters, among other examples.
The UEs 115 described herein may be able to communicate with various types of devices, such as other UEs 115 that may sometimes act as relays as well as the base stations 105 and the network equipment including macro eNBs or gNBs, small cell eNBs or gNBs, or relay base stations, among other examples, as shown in
The UEs 115 and the base stations 105 may wirelessly communicate with one another via one or more communication links 125 over one or more carriers. The term “carrier” may refer to a set of radio frequency spectrum resources having a defined physical layer structure for supporting the communication links 125. For example, a carrier used for a communication link 125 may include a portion of a radio frequency spectrum band (e.g., a bandwidth part (BWP)) that is operated according to one or more physical layer channels for a given radio access technology (e.g., LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, NR). Each physical layer channel may carry acquisition signaling (e.g., synchronization signals, system information), control signaling that coordinates operation for the carrier, user data, or other signaling. The wireless communications system 100 may support communication with a UE 115 using carrier aggregation or multi-carrier operation. A UE 115 may be configured with multiple downlink component carriers and one or more uplink component carriers according to a carrier aggregation configuration. Carrier aggregation may be used with both frequency division duplexing (FDD) and time division duplexing (TDD) component carriers.
In some examples (e.g., in a carrier aggregation configuration), a carrier may also have acquisition signaling or control signaling that coordinates operations for other carriers. A carrier may be associated with a frequency channel (e.g., an evolved universal mobile telecommunication system terrestrial radio access (E-UTRA) absolute radio frequency channel number (EARFCN)) and may be positioned according to a channel raster for discovery by the UEs 115. A carrier may be operated in a standalone mode where initial acquisition and connection may be conducted by the UEs 115 via the carrier, or the carrier may be operated in a non-standalone mode where a connection is anchored using a different carrier (e.g., of the same or a different radio access technology).
The communication links 125 shown in the wireless communications system 100 may include uplink transmissions from a UE 115 to a base station 105, or downlink transmissions from a base station 105 to a UE 115. Carriers may carry downlink or uplink communications (e.g., in an FDD mode) or may be configured to carry downlink and uplink communications (e.g., in a TDD mode).
A carrier may be associated with a particular bandwidth of the radio frequency spectrum, and in some examples the carrier bandwidth may be referred to as a “system bandwidth” of the carrier or the wireless communications system 100. For example, the carrier bandwidth may be one of a number of determined bandwidths for carriers of a particular radio access technology (e.g., 1.4, 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 40, or 80 megahertz (MHz)). Devices of the wireless communications system 100 (e.g., the base stations 105, the UEs 115, or both) may have hardware configurations that support communications over a particular carrier bandwidth or may be configurable to support communications over one of a set of carrier bandwidths. In some examples, the wireless communications system 100 may include base stations 105 or UEs 115 that support simultaneous communications via carriers associated with multiple carrier bandwidths. In some examples, each served UE 115 may be configured for operating over portions (e.g., a sub-band, a BWP) or all of a carrier bandwidth.
Signal waveforms transmitted over a carrier may be made up of multiple subcarriers (e.g., using multi-carrier modulation (MCM) techniques such as orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) or discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-S-OFDM)). In a system employing MCM techniques, a resource element may consist of one symbol period (e.g., a duration of one modulation symbol) and one subcarrier, where the symbol period and subcarrier spacing are inversely related. The number of bits carried by each resource element may depend on the modulation scheme (e.g., the order of the modulation scheme, the coding rate of the modulation scheme, or both). Thus, the more resource elements that a UE 115 receives and the higher the order of the modulation scheme, the higher the data rate may be for the UE 115. A wireless communications resource may refer to a combination of a radio frequency spectrum resource, a time resource, and a spatial resource (e.g., spatial layers or beams), and the use of multiple spatial layers may further increase the data rate or data integrity for communications with a UE 115.
One or more numerologies for a carrier may be supported, where a numerology may include a subcarrier spacing (Δf) and a cyclic prefix. A carrier may be divided into one or more BWPs having the same or different numerologies. In some examples, a UE 115 may be configured with multiple BWPs. In some examples, a single BWP for a carrier may be active at a given time and communications for the UE 115 may be restricted to one or more active BWPs.
The time intervals for the base stations 105 or the UEs 115 may be expressed in multiples of a basic time unit which may, for example, refer to a sampling period of Ts=1/(Δfmax·Nf) seconds, where Δfmax may represent the maximum supported subcarrier spacing, and Nf may represent the maximum supported discrete Fourier transform (DFT) size. Time intervals of a communications resource may be organized according to radio frames each having a specified duration (e.g., 10 milliseconds (ms)). Each radio frame may be identified by a system frame number (SFN) (e.g., ranging from 0 to 1023).
Each frame may include multiple consecutively numbered subframes or slots, and each subframe or slot may have the same duration. In some examples, a frame may be divided (e.g., in the time domain) into subframes, and each subframe may be further divided into a number of slots. Alternatively, each frame may include a variable number of slots, and the number of slots may depend on subcarrier spacing. Each slot may include a number of symbol periods (e.g., depending on the length of the cyclic prefix prepended to each symbol period). In some wireless communications systems 100, a slot may further be divided into multiple mini-slots containing one or more symbols. Excluding the cyclic prefix, each symbol period may contain one or more (e.g., Nf) sampling periods. The duration of a symbol period may depend on the subcarrier spacing or frequency band of operation.
A subframe, a slot, a mini-slot, or a symbol may be the smallest scheduling unit (e.g., in the time domain) of the wireless communications system 100 and may be referred to as a transmission time interval (TTI). In some examples, the TTI duration (e.g., the number of symbol periods in a TTI) may be variable. Additionally or alternatively, the smallest scheduling unit of the wireless communications system 100 may be dynamically selected (e.g., in bursts of shortened TTIs (STTIs)).
Physical channels may be multiplexed on a carrier according to various techniques. A physical control channel and a physical data channel may be multiplexed on a downlink carrier, for example, using one or more of time division multiplexing (TDM) techniques, frequency division multiplexing (FDM) techniques, or hybrid TDM-FDM techniques. A control region (e.g., a control resource set (CORESET)) for a physical control channel may be defined by a number of symbol periods and may extend across the system bandwidth or a subset of the system bandwidth of the carrier. One or more control regions (e.g., CORESETs) may be configured for a set of the UEs 115. For example, one or more of the UEs 115 may monitor or search control regions for control information according to one or more search space sets, and each search space set may include one or multiple control channel candidates in one or more aggregation levels arranged in a cascaded manner. An aggregation level for a control channel candidate may refer to a number of control channel resources (e.g., control channel elements (CCEs)) associated with encoded information for a control information format having a given payload size. Search space sets may include common search space sets configured for sending control information to multiple UEs 115 and UE-specific search space sets for sending control information to a specific UE 115.
Each base station 105 may provide communication coverage via one or more cells, for example a macro cell, a small cell, a hot spot, or other types of cells, or any combination thereof. The term “cell” may refer to a logical communication entity used for communication with a base station 105 (e.g., over a carrier) and may be associated with an identifier for distinguishing neighboring cells (e.g., a physical cell identifier (PCID), a virtual cell identifier (VCID), or others). In some examples, a cell may also refer to a geographic coverage area 110 or a portion of a geographic coverage area 110 (e.g., a sector) over which the logical communication entity operates. Such cells may range from smaller areas (e.g., a structure, a subset of structure) to larger areas depending on various factors such as the capabilities of the base station 105. For example, a cell may be or include a building, a subset of a building, or exterior spaces between or overlapping with geographic coverage areas 110, among other examples.
A macro cell generally covers a relatively large geographic area (e.g., several kilometers in radius) and may allow unrestricted access by the UEs 115 with service subscriptions with the network provider supporting the macro cell. A small cell may be associated with a lower-powered base station 105, as compared with a macro cell, and a small cell may operate in the same or different (e.g., licensed, unlicensed) frequency bands as macro cells. Small cells may provide unrestricted access to the UEs 115 with service subscriptions with the network provider or may provide restricted access to the UEs 115 having an association with the small cell (e.g., the UEs 115 in a closed subscriber group (CSG), the UEs 115 associated with users in a home or office). A base station 105 may support one or multiple cells and may also support communications over the one or more cells using one or multiple component carriers.
In some examples, a carrier may support multiple cells, and different cells may be configured according to different protocol types (e.g., MTC, narrow band IoT (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB)) that may provide access for different types of devices.
In some examples, a base station 105 may be movable and therefore provide communication coverage for a moving geographic coverage area 110. In some examples, different geographic coverage areas 110 associated with different technologies may overlap, but the different geographic coverage areas 110 may be supported by the same base station 105. In other examples, the overlapping geographic coverage areas 110 associated with different technologies may be supported by different base stations 105. The wireless communications system 100 may include, for example, a heterogeneous network in which different types of the base stations 105 provide coverage for various geographic coverage areas 110 using the same or different radio access technologies.
The wireless communications system 100 may support synchronous or asynchronous operation. For synchronous operation, the base stations 105 may have similar frame timings, and transmissions from different base stations 105 may be approximately aligned in time. For asynchronous operation, the base stations 105 may have different frame timings, and transmissions from different base stations 105 may, in some examples, not be aligned in time. The techniques described herein may be used for either synchronous or asynchronous operations.
Some UEs 115, such as MTC or IoT devices, may be low cost or low complexity devices and may provide for automated communication between machines (e.g., via Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communication). M2M communication or MTC may refer to data communication technologies that allow devices to communicate with one another or a base station 105 without human intervention. In some examples, M2M communication or MTC may include communications from devices that integrate sensors or meters to measure or capture information and relay such information to a central server or application program that makes use of the information or presents the information to humans interacting with the application program. Some UEs 115 may be designed to collect information or enable automated behavior of machines or other devices. Examples of applications for MTC devices include smart metering, inventory monitoring, water level monitoring, equipment monitoring, healthcare monitoring, wildlife monitoring, weather and geological event monitoring, fleet management and tracking, remote security sensing, physical access control, and transaction-based business charging.
Some UEs 115 may be configured to employ operating modes that reduce power consumption, such as half-duplex communications (e.g., a mode that supports one-way communication via transmission or reception, but not transmission and reception simultaneously). In some examples, half-duplex communications may be performed at a reduced peak rate. Other power conservation techniques for the UEs 115 include entering a power saving deep sleep mode when not engaging in active communications, operating over a limited bandwidth (e.g., according to narrow band communications), or a combination of these techniques. For example, some UEs 115 may be configured for operation using a narrow band protocol type that is associated with a defined portion or range (e.g., set of subcarriers or resource blocks (RBs)) within a carrier, within a guard-band of a carrier, or outside of a carrier.
The wireless communications system 100 may be configured to support ultra-reliable communications or low-latency communications, or various combinations thereof. For example, the wireless communications system 100 may be configured to support ultra-reliable low-latency communications (URLLC). The UEs 115 may be designed to support ultra-reliable, low-latency, or critical functions. Ultra-reliable communications may include private communication or group communication and may be supported by one or more services such as push-to-talk, video, or data. Support for ultra-reliable, low-latency functions may include prioritization of services, and such services may be used for public safety or general commercial applications. The terms ultra-reliable, low-latency, and ultra-reliable low-latency may be used interchangeably herein.
In some examples, a UE 115 may also be able to communicate directly with other UEs 115 over a device-to-device (D2D) communication link 135 (e.g., using a peer-to-peer (P2P) or D2D protocol). One or more UEs 115 utilizing D2D communications may be within the geographic coverage area 110 of a base station 105. Other UEs 115 in such a group may be outside the geographic coverage area 110 of a base station 105 or be otherwise unable to receive transmissions from a base station 105. In some examples, groups of the UEs 115 communicating via D2D communications may utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system in which each UE 115 transmits to every other UE 115 in the group. In some examples, a base station 105 facilitates the scheduling of resources for D2D communications. In other cases, D2D communications are carried out between the UEs 115 without the involvement of a base station 105.
In some systems, the D2D communication link 135 may be an example of a communication channel, such as a sidelink communication channel, between vehicles (e.g., UEs 115). In some examples, vehicles may communicate using vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications, or some combination of these. A vehicle may signal information related to traffic conditions, signal scheduling, weather, safety, emergencies, or any other information relevant to a V2X system. In some examples, vehicles in a V2X system may communicate with roadside infrastructure, such as roadside units, or with the network via one or more network nodes (e.g., base stations 105) using vehicle-to-network (V2N) communications, or with both.
The core network 130 may provide user authentication, access authorization, tracking, Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity, and other access, routing, or mobility functions. The core network 130 may be an evolved packet core (EPC) or 5G core (5GC), which may include at least one control plane entity that manages access and mobility (e.g., a mobility management entity (MME), an access and mobility management function (AMF)) and at least one user plane entity that routes packets or interconnects to external networks (e.g., a serving gateway (S-GW), a Packet Data Network (PDN) gateway (P-GW), or a user plane function (UPF)). The control plane entity may manage non-access stratum (NAS) functions such as mobility, authentication, and bearer management for the UEs 115 served by the base stations 105 associated with the core network 130. User IP packets may be transferred through the user plane entity, which may provide IP address allocation as well as other functions. The user plane entity may be connected to IP services 150 for one or more network operators. The IP services 150 may include access to the Internet, Intranet(s), an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), or a Packet-Switched Streaming Service.
Some of the network devices, such as a base station 105, may include subcomponents such as an access network entity 140, which may be an example of an access node controller (ANC). Each access network entity 140 may communicate with the UEs 115 through one or more other access network transmission entities 145, which may be referred to as radio heads, smart radio heads, or transmission/reception points (TRPs). Each access network transmission entity 145 may include one or more antenna panels. In some configurations, various functions of each access network entity 140 or base station 105 may be distributed across various network devices (e.g., radio heads and ANCs) or consolidated into a single network device (e.g., a base station 105).
The wireless communications system 100 may operate using one or more frequency bands, typically in the range of 300 megahertz (MHz) to 300 gigahertz (GHz). Generally, the region from 300 MHz to 3 GHz is known as the ultra-high frequency (UHF) region or decimeter band because the wavelengths range from approximately one decimeter to one meter in length. The UHF waves may be blocked or redirected by buildings and environmental features, but the waves may penetrate structures sufficiently for a macro cell to provide service to the UEs 115 located indoors. The transmission of UHF waves may be associated with smaller antennas and shorter ranges (e.g., less than 100 kilometers) compared to transmission using the smaller frequencies and longer waves of the high frequency (HF) or very high frequency (VHF) portion of the spectrum below 300 MHz.
The wireless communications system 100 may also operate in a super high frequency (SHF) region using frequency bands from 3 GHz to 30 GHz, also known as the centimeter band, or in an extremely high frequency (EHF) region of the spectrum (e.g., from 30 GHz to 300 GHz), also known as the millimeter band. In some examples, the wireless communications system 100 may support millimeter wave (mmW) communications between the UEs 115 and the base stations 105, and EHF antennas of the respective devices may be smaller and more closely spaced than UHF antennas. In some examples, this may facilitate use of antenna arrays within a device. The propagation of EHF transmissions, however, may be subject to even greater atmospheric attenuation and shorter range than SHF or UHF transmissions. The techniques disclosed herein may be employed across transmissions that use one or more different frequency regions, and designated use of bands across these frequency regions may differ by country or regulating body.
The wireless communications system 100 may utilize both licensed and unlicensed radio frequency spectrum bands. For example, the wireless communications system 100 may employ License Assisted Access (LAA), LTE-Unlicensed (LTE-U) radio access technology, or NR technology in an unlicensed band such as the 5 GHz industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) band. When operating in unlicensed radio frequency spectrum bands, devices such as the base stations 105 and the UEs 115 may employ carrier sensing for collision detection and avoidance. In some examples, operations in unlicensed bands may be based on a carrier aggregation configuration in conjunction with component carriers operating in a licensed band (e.g., LAA). Operations in unlicensed spectrum may include downlink transmissions, uplink transmissions, P2P transmissions, or D2D transmissions, among other examples.
A base station 105 or a UE 115 may be equipped with multiple antennas, which may be used to employ techniques such as transmit diversity, receive diversity, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communications, or beamforming. The antennas of a base station 105 or a UE 115 may be located within one or more antenna arrays or antenna panels, which may support MIMO operations or transmit or receive beamforming. For example, one or more base station antennas or antenna arrays may be co-located at an antenna assembly, such as an antenna tower. In some examples, antennas or antenna arrays associated with a base station 105 may be located in diverse geographic locations. A base station 105 may have an antenna array with a number of rows and columns of antenna ports that the base station 105 may use to support beamforming of communications with a UE 115. Likewise, a UE 115 may have one or more antenna arrays that may support various MIMO or beamforming operations. Additionally or alternatively, an antenna panel may support radio frequency beamforming for a signal transmitted via an antenna port.
The base stations 105 or the UEs 115 may use MIMO communications to exploit multipath signal propagation and increase the spectral efficiency by transmitting or receiving multiple signals via different spatial layers. Such techniques may be referred to as spatial multiplexing. The multiple signals may, for example, be transmitted by the transmitting device via different antennas or different combinations of antennas. Likewise, the multiple signals may be received by the receiving device via different antennas or different combinations of antennas. Each of the multiple signals may be referred to as a separate spatial stream and may carry bits associated with the same data stream (e.g., the same codeword) or different data streams (e.g., different codewords). Different spatial layers may be associated with different antenna ports used for channel measurement and reporting. MIMO techniques include single-user MIMO (SU-MIMO), where multiple spatial layers are transmitted to the same receiving device, and multiple-user MIMO (MU-MIMO), where multiple spatial layers are transmitted to multiple devices.
Beamforming, which may also be referred to as spatial filtering, directional transmission, or directional reception, is a signal processing technique that may be used at a transmitting device or a receiving device (e.g., a base station 105, a UE 115) to shape or steer an antenna beam (e.g., a transmit beam, a receive beam) along a spatial path between the transmitting device and the receiving device. Beamforming may be achieved by combining the signals communicated via antenna elements of an antenna array such that some signals propagating at particular orientations with respect to an antenna array experience constructive interference while others experience destructive interference. The adjustment of signals communicated via the antenna elements may include a transmitting device or a receiving device applying amplitude offsets, phase offsets, or both to signals carried via the antenna elements associated with the device. The adjustments associated with each of the antenna elements may be defined by a beamforming weight set associated with a particular orientation (e.g., with respect to the antenna array of the transmitting device or receiving device, or with respect to some other orientation).
A base station 105 or a UE 115 may use beam sweeping techniques as part of beam forming operations. For example, a base station 105 may use multiple antennas or antenna arrays (e.g., antenna panels) to conduct beamforming operations for directional communications with a UE 115. Some signals (e.g., synchronization signals, reference signals, beam selection signals, or other control signals) may be transmitted by a base station 105 multiple times in different directions. For example, the base station 105 may transmit a signal according to different beamforming weight sets associated with different directions of transmission. Transmissions in different beam directions may be used to identify (e.g., by a transmitting device, such as a base station 105, or by a receiving device, such as a UE 115) a beam direction for later transmission or reception by the base station 105.
Some signals, such as data signals associated with a particular receiving device, may be transmitted by a base station 105 in a single beam direction (e.g., a direction associated with the receiving device, such as a UE 115). In some examples, the beam direction associated with transmissions along a single beam direction may be determined based on a signal that was transmitted in one or more beam directions. For example, a UE 115 may receive one or more of the signals transmitted by the base station 105 in different directions and may report to the base station 105 an indication of the signal that the UE 115 received with a highest signal quality or an otherwise acceptable signal quality.
In some examples, transmissions by a device (e.g., by a base station 105 or a UE 115) may be performed using multiple beam directions, and the device may use a combination of digital precoding or radio frequency beamforming to generate a combined beam for transmission (e.g., from a base station 105 to a UE 115). The UE 115 may report feedback that indicates precoding weights for one or more beam directions, and the feedback may correspond to a configured number of beams across a system bandwidth or one or more sub-bands. The base station 105 may transmit a reference signal (e.g., a cell-specific reference signal (CRS), a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS)), which may be precoded or unprecoded. The UE 115 may provide feedback for beam selection, which may be a precoding matrix indicator (PMI) or codebook-based feedback (e.g., a multi-panel type codebook, a linear combination type codebook, a port selection type codebook). Although these techniques are described with reference to signals transmitted in one or more directions by a base station 105, a UE 115 may employ similar techniques for transmitting signals multiple times in different directions (e.g., for identifying a beam direction for subsequent transmission or reception by the UE 115) or for transmitting a signal in a single direction (e.g., for transmitting data to a receiving device).
A receiving device (e.g., a UE 115) may try multiple receive configurations (e.g., directional listening) when receiving various signals from the base station 105, such as synchronization signals, reference signals, beam selection signals, or other control signals. For example, a receiving device may try multiple receive directions by receiving via different antenna subarrays, by processing received signals according to different antenna subarrays, by receiving according to different receive beamforming weight sets (e.g., different directional listening weight sets) applied to signals received at multiple antenna elements of an antenna array, or by processing received signals according to different receive beamforming weight sets applied to signals received at multiple antenna elements of an antenna array, any of which may be referred to as “listening” according to different receive configurations or receive directions. In some examples, a receiving device may use a single receive configuration to receive along a single beam direction (e.g., when receiving a data signal). The single receive configuration may be aligned in a beam direction determined based on listening according to different receive configuration directions (e.g., a beam direction determined to have a highest signal strength, highest signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), or otherwise acceptable signal quality based on listening according to multiple beam directions).
The wireless communications system 100 may be a packet-based network that operates according to a layered protocol stack. In the user plane, communications at the bearer or Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer may be IP-based. A Radio Link Control (RLC) layer may perform packet segmentation and reassembly to communicate over logical channels. A Medium Access Control (MAC) layer may perform priority handling and multiplexing of logical channels into transport channels. The MAC layer may also use error detection techniques, error correction techniques, or both to support retransmissions at the MAC layer to improve link efficiency. In the control plane, the Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol layer may provide establishment, configuration, and maintenance of an RRC connection between a UE 115 and a base station 105 or a core network 130 supporting radio bearers for user plane data. At the physical layer, transport channels may be mapped to physical channels.
The UEs 115 and the base stations 105 may support retransmissions of data to increase the likelihood that data is received successfully. Hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback is one technique for increasing the likelihood that data is received correctly over a communication link 125. HARQ may include a combination of error detection (e.g., using a cyclic redundancy check (CRC)), forward error correction (FEC), and retransmission (e.g., automatic repeat request (ARQ)). HARQ may improve throughput at the MAC layer in poor radio conditions (e.g., low signal-to-noise conditions). In some examples, a device may support same-slot HARQ feedback, where the device may provide HARQ feedback in a specific slot for data received in a previous symbol in the slot. In other cases, the device may provide HARQ feedback in a subsequent slot, or according to some other time interval.
A UE 115 may support communication according to one or more RATs and various base stations 105 and corresponding cells may be associated with different RAT types. The UE 115 may operate in various modes, for example, an idle mode or a connected mode. If operating in the connected mode, the one or more base stations 105 may manage mobility procedures for the UE 115 based on cell measurement reports received from the UE 115.
In some cases, one type of RAT may be preferred by the UE 115 (e.g., may be indicated as having a higher priority level) as compared to another type of RAT. For example, NR may be associated with a higher priority level as compared to LTE. If a UE 115 is camped on a cell 110 in the wireless communications system of a first RAT type, the UE 115 may perform different procedures to connect to another cell based on whether the UE 115 is in an idle state or a connected state. The base station 105 associated with the cell 110 upon which the UE 115 is camped may transmit information about neighbor cells 110 in a system information block (e.g., SIB24). If the UE 115 is camped on a cell 110 of the first RAT type in an idle status, the UE 115 may relay to the candidate cells 110 indicated in SIB24 to perform an IRAT selection procedure to the higher priority level RAT type. If the UE 115 is in the connected state, the UE 115 relays to cells 110 configured by the network (e.g., the base station 105 associated with the cell 110 upon which the UE 115 is camped) for connected measurements, and then the UE 115 performs an IRAT handover procedure to another cell 110. In some cases, however, the base station 105 of the first RAT type may only configure the UE 115 to perform measurements for cells of the first RAT type while the UE 115 is in the connected state on a cell 110 of the first RAT type, or the base station 105 may not configure the UE 115 to perform measurements for cells of the second, higher priority level, RAT type. As a result, the UE 115 may be unable to change to a cell 110 of the higher priority level RAT type when the UE 115 is camped on a cell 110 of a lower priority level RAT type.
A UE 115 in a connected state with a cell 110 (e.g., in a connected state with a base station 105) of a lower priority RAT type may trigger a UE initiated redirection procedure to a neighbor cell 110 of a different, higher priority level, RAT type if the network does not configure the UE 115 to perform measurements for cells of the second RAT type. A UE 115 that is in a connected state with a cell 110 of a lower priority level RAT may receive an indication of candidate neighbor cells 110 of a different, higher priority level, RAT type. The indication of candidate neighbor cells 110 may be received, for example, in SIB24 from the base station 105 with which the UE 115 is connected, or in a BPLMN search. The UE 115 may perform UE initiated measurements on the indicated candidate neighbor cells 110. The UE 115 may trigger an IRAT redirection procedure to one of the neighbor cells 110 of the higher priority level RAT if the UE 115 finds a suitable cell 110 based on the UE initiated measurements.
The UE 115 may measure reference signals transmitted by the candidate cells to perform the UE initiated measurements. The UE 115 may select a target cell based on the UE initiated measurements, for example based on a measurement parameter, such as reference signal received power (RSRP). Additionally or alternatively, the UE 115 may select a target cell based on additional measurement parameters, such as a measured reference signal received quality (RSRQ), SNR, or signal to interference and noise ratio (SINR). For example, the UE 115 may initiate an IRAT redirection procedure with a target cell 110 of the second, higher priority level, RAT based on determining that a measured signal strength associated with the target cell 110 exceeds a threshold (e.g., an RSRP above a threshold). Additionally or alternatively, in some examples, a UE 115 may initiate an IRAT redirection procedure with a target cell 110 of the second, higher priority level, RAT based on determining that a measured RSRP and SINR for the target cell are both above a threshold. In some examples, the UE 115 may initiate an IRAT redirection procedure with a target cell 110 of a set of candidate cells 110 of the second, higher priority level, RAT based at least in part on determining that a measured signal strength associated with the target cell 110 is the highest among the measured signal strengths of the set of candidate cells 110 (e.g., the target cell may be associated with the highest measured RSRP).
In some cases, the UE 115 may trigger the UE initiated measurements on the indicated candidate neighbor cells 110 based on determining that the base station 105 with which the UE 115 is connected has not configured measurements on the indicated candidate neighbor cells 110. For example, the UE 115 may make the determination to trigger the UE initiated measurements if the base station 105 of the first RAT type with which the UE 115 is connected does not configure the UE 115 to perform measurements on the indicated candidate neighbor cells 110 within a threshold period of time after indicating the candidate neighbor cells 110 in a system information block. In some cases, the UE 115 may maintain a database of candidate cells of the higher priority level RAT type. The UE 115 may trigger the UE initiated measurements based on the database of the candidate cells of the higher priority level RAT type (e.g., when the UE 115 detects that the UE 115 is within a physical proximity of a candidate cell stored in the database). In some cases, the UE 115 may receive an indication of candidate neighbor cells via performing a BPLMN search. If the UE 115 determines that the network has not configured the UE 115 to perform measurements on the higher priority level cells indicated via the BPLMN search, the UE 115 may trigger the measurements on the higher priority level cells indicated via the BPLMN search.
The UE 115-a of wireless communications system 200 may support communication according to two or more RATs. As illustrated, the UE 115 may operate in a connected state 205 with the base station 105-a, which may be associated with a first RAT type.
In some cases, one type of RAT may be preferred by the UE 115-a (e.g., may be indicated as having a higher priority level) as compared to another type of RAT. For example, the UE 115-a may receive an indication from a user to assign a higher priority level to one RAT type as compared to another. For example, a user may assign NR a higher priority level as compared to LTE, and the user defined priority assignments may be stored in a preferred cell information block 215 of memory 230 of the UE 115-a. As another example, the UE 115-a may be configured with a priority hierarchy for RAT types that may be stored in a preferred cell information block 215 of memory 230. For example, the UE 115-a may be configured with a priority hierarchy where NR may be assigned a higher priority level as compared to LTE.
The base station 105-a may configure the UE 115-a to perform cell measurements and transmit measurement reports to the base station 105-a in order to manage mobility procedures for the UE 115-a. The base station 105-a may transmit information about neighboring cells in SIB24. When the UE 115-a is in the connected state with the base station 105-a, in order to connect to a different cell, the UE 115-a relays to cells configured by the base station 105-a for connected measurements, and the UE 115-a performs a redirection or handover procedure to a target cell based on the connected measurements. While the UE 115-a is in the connected state 205 with the base station 105-a, however, the base station 105-a may only configure the UE 115-a to perform connected measurements for cells of the same RAT type as the base station 105-a, or the base station 105-a may not configure the UE 115-a to perform connected measurements for cells 110-b and 110-c of the second, higher priority level, RAT type. As a result, the UE 115-a may be unable to change to a cell 110-b or 110-c of the higher priority level RAT type when the UE 115-a is camped on the cell 110-a of a lower priority level RAT type.
When the UE 115-a is in the connected state 205 with the base station 105-a, the UE 115-a may trigger a UE initiated redirection procedure to a neighboring cell 110-b or 110-c of a different, higher priority level, RAT type if the base station 105-a does not configure the UE 115-a to perform measurements for cells of the second RAT type. The UE 115-a may receive an indication of a set of candidate neighbor cells of a different, higher priority level RAT type. For example, the UE 115-a may receive an indication of cells 110-b and 110-c. The indication of candidate neighbor cells may be received, for example, in an SIB24 transmitted from the base station 105-a, or via a BPLMN search performed by the UE 115-a. The UE 115-a may perform UE initiated measurements 220 on the indicated candidate neighbor cells 110-b and 110-c. The UE 115-a may trigger an IRAT redirection procedure 225 to one of the neighboring cells 110-b of the higher priority level RAT if the UE 115-a finds a suitable cell (e.g., cell 110-b) based on the UE initiated measurements.
The UE 115-a may measure reference signals transmitted by the base stations 105-b and 105-c associated with the candidate neighbor cells 110-b and 110-c to perform the UE initiated measurements 220. The UE 115-a may select a target cell 110-b based on the UE initiated measurements. For example, the UE 115-a may select a target cell 110-b based on a measurement parameter, such as RSRP. Additionally or alternatively, the UE 115-a may select a target cell 110-b based on additional measurement parameters, such as a measured RSRQ, SNR, or SINR. For example, the UE 115-a may initiate an IRAT redirection procedure 225 with a target cell 110-b of the second, higher priority level, RAT based on determining that a measured signal strength associated with the target cell 110-b exceeds a threshold (e.g., an RSRP above a threshold). Additionally or alternatively, in some examples, a UE 115-a may initiate an IRAT redirection procedure 225 with a target cell 110-b of the higher priority level RAT based on determining that a measured RSRP and SNR for the target cell 110-b are both above a threshold. In some examples, the UE 115-a may initiate an IRAT redirection procedure 225 with a target cell 110-b of a set of candidate neighbor cells (e.g., cells 110-b and 110-c) of the higher priority level RAT based at least in part on determining that a measured signal strength associated with the target cell 110-b is the highest among the measured signal strengths of the set of candidate neighbor cells 110 (e.g., the target cell 110-b may be associated with a higher RSRP than the cell 110-c).
In some cases, the UE 115-a may trigger the UE initiated measurements 220 on the indicated candidate neighbor cells 110-b and 110-c based on determining that the base station 105-a with which the UE 115-a is connected has not configured measurements on the indicated candidate neighbor cells 110-b and 110-c. For example, the UE 115-a may make the determination to trigger the UE initiated measurements 220 if the base station 105-a does not configure the UE 115-a to perform measurements on the indicated candidate neighbor cells 110-b and 110-c within a threshold period of time after indicating the candidate neighbor cells 110-b and 110-c in a system information block (e.g., SIB24). In some cases, the UE 115-a may maintain a database 210 in memory 230 of candidate cells of the higher priority level RAT type. The UE 115-a may trigger the measurements based on the database 210 of the candidate cells of the higher priority level RAT type (e.g., when the UE 115-a detects that the UE 115-a is within a physical proximity of a candidate neighbor cell stored in the database). In some cases, the UE 115-a may receive an indication of candidate neighbor cells via performing a BPLMN search. If the UE 115-a determines that the network has not configured the UE 115-a to perform measurements on the cells indicated via the BPLMN search, the UE 115-a may trigger the measurements 220 on the cells indicated via the BPLMN search.
During the UE initiated IRAT redirection procedure 225, the UE 115-a may camp on the target cell 110-b, and acquire information associated with the target cell 110-b. For example, while camped on the target cell 110-b, the UE 115-a may request radio resources from the target base station 105-b. In some examples, during the UE initiated IRAT redirection procedure 225, the UE 115-a may enter an idle state with the base station 105-a and then move to a connected state with the target base station 105-b through an RRC connection request.
At 305, the UE 115-b may communicate with the base station 105-d in a connected state, where the base station 105-d is associated with a first RAT type.
In some cases, at 310, the UE 115-b may receive, from the base station 105-d, a system information block (e.g., SIB 24) that indicates a set of candidate neighbor cells of a higher priority level RAT as compared to the RAT type of the base station 105-d. For example, the system information block received at 310 may indicate base stations 105-e and 105-f. In some cases, the UE 115-b may receive an indication of a RAT priority scheme. In some cases, the UE 115-b may receive an indication that the base station 105-d is associated with a lower priority level RAT than the base stations 105-e and 105-f. For example, the UE 115-b may receive an indication from a user to assign a higher priority level to one RAT type as compared to another. For example, a user may assign NR a higher priority level as compared to LTE, and the user defined priority assignments may be stored in memory of the UE 115-b. As another example, the UE 115-b may be configured with a priority hierarchy for RAT types that may be stored in a memory of the UE 115-b. For example, the UE 115-b may be configured with a priority hierarchy where NR may be assigned a higher priority level as compared to LTE. When the UE 115-b is in a connected state with a base station 105-d of a lower priority level and the UE 115-b receives an indication of candidate neighbor cells (e.g., base stations 105-e and 105-f) of a higher priority level, the UE 115-b may receive an indication, for example from memory of the UE 115-b, that the candidate neighbor cells are associated with the higher level of priority as compared to the base station 105-d.
At 315, the UE 115-b may determine a set of candidate neighbor cells of a higher priority level RAT as compared to the base station 105-d. For example, the UE 115-b may determine that base stations 105-e and 105-f are candidates for an IRAT redirection procedure based. In some cases, the candidate neighbor cells (e.g., base stations) may be indicated in a system information block (e.g., SIB24) received from the base station 105-d. In some cases, the UE 115-b may receive an indication of candidate neighbor cells via performing a BPLMN search which may indicate a proximity of base stations 105-e and 105-f. In some cases, the UE 115-b may maintain a database in memory of candidate cells of the higher priority level RAT type. In some examples, the candidate cells may be determined based on the database, for example, when the UE 115-b is within a threshold proximity of candidate cells stored in the database.
At 320, the UE 115-b performs measurements on the indicated or determined candidate neighbor cells (e.g., the cells associated with base stations 105-e and 105-f). For example, the base stations 105-e and 105-f may transmit reference signals that the UE 115-b may measure. The UE 115-b may measure the signal strengths and/or signal qualities associated with cells associated with the base stations 105-e and 105-f based on the transmitted reference signals. For example, the UE 115-b may measure an RSRP, RSRQ. SNR, and/or SINR associated with the cells associated with the base stations 105-e and 105-f.
In some examples, the UE 115-b may trigger the UE initiated measurements on the determined or indicated candidate neighbor cells (e.g., the cells associated with base stations 105-e and 105-f) based on determining that the base station 105-d has not configured measurements on the indicated candidate neighbor cells. For example, the UE 115-b may make the determination to trigger the UE initiated measurements if the base station 105-d does not configure the UE 115-b to perform measurements on the indicated base stations 105-e and 105-f within a threshold period of time after transmitting the system information block at 310. In some cases, the UE 115-b may trigger the measurements based on a database of the candidate cells of the higher priority level RAT type (e.g., when the UE 115-b detects that the UE 115-b is within a physical proximity of a candidate neighbor cell stored in the database). In some cases, where the UE 115-b may receive an indication of candidate neighbor cells via performing a BPLMN search, if the UE 115-b determines that the base station 105-d has not configured the UE 115-b to perform measurements on the cells indicated via the BPLMN search, the UE 115-b may trigger the measurements on the base stations 105-e and 105-f associated with the candidate neighbor cells indicated via the BPLMN search.
At 325, the UE 115-b may select a target cell based on the measurements performed at 320. For example, the UE 115-b may select a target cell based on the cell associated with the highest signal strength or signal quality (e.g., the highest RSRP, RSRQ. SNR, or SINR). In some examples, the UE 115-b may select the target cell based on the target cell being associated with a measured signal strength or signal quality that exceeds a threshold (e.g., exceeding a threshold RSRP, RSRQ, SNR, or SINR). For example, the UE 115-b may select the cell associated with the base station 105-e as the target cell.
At 330, the UE 115-b initiates and performs an IRAT redirection procedure with the base station 105-e of the target cell. In some examples, the IRAT redirection procedure may be a UE initiated LTE to NR redirection procedure. During the UE initiated IRAT redirection procedure, the UE 115-b may camp on the target base station 105-e, and acquire information associated with the target base station 105-e. For example, while camped on the target base station 105-e, the UE 115-b may request radio resources from the target base station 105-e. In some examples, during the UE initiated IRAT redirection procedure 225, the UE 115-b may enter an idle state with the base station 105-d and move to a connected state at 335 with the target base station 105-e through an RRC connection request. At 335, the UE 115-b may communicate with the base station 105-e in the connected state.
The receiver 410 may provide a means for receiving information such as packets, user data, control information, or any combination thereof associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels related to an enhanced UE mechanism to increase the chance for IRAT redirection). Information may be passed on to other components of the device 405. The receiver 410 may utilize a single antenna or a set of multiple antennas.
The transmitter 415 may provide a means for transmitting signals generated by other components of the device 405. For example, the transmitter 415 may transmit information such as packets, user data, control information, or any combination thereof associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels related to an enhanced UE mechanism to increase the chance for IRAT redirection). In some examples, the transmitter 415 may be co-located with a receiver 410 in a transceiver module. The transmitter 415 may utilize a single antenna or a set of multiple antennas.
The communications manager 420, the receiver 410, the transmitter 415, or various combinations thereof or various components thereof may be examples of means for performing various aspects of an enhanced UE mechanism to increase the chance for IRAT redirection as described herein. For example, the communications manager 420, the receiver 410, the transmitter 415, or various combinations or components thereof may support a method for performing one or more of the functions described herein.
In some examples, the communications manager 420, the receiver 410, the transmitter 415, or various combinations or components thereof may be implemented in hardware (e.g., in communications management circuitry). The hardware may include a processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof configured as or otherwise supporting a means for performing the functions described in the present disclosure. In some examples, a processor and memory coupled with the processor may be configured to perform one or more of the functions described herein (e.g., by executing, by the processor, instructions stored in the memory).
Additionally or alternatively, in some examples, the communications manager 420, the receiver 410, the transmitter 415, or various combinations or components thereof may be implemented in code (e.g., as communications management software or firmware) executed by a processor. If implemented in code executed by a processor, the functions of the communications manager 420, the receiver 410, the transmitter 415, or various combinations or components thereof may be performed by a general-purpose processor, a DSP, a central processing unit (CPU), an ASIC, an FPGA, or any combination of these or other programmable logic devices (e.g., configured as or otherwise supporting a means for performing the functions described in the present disclosure).
In some examples, the communications manager 420 may be configured to perform various operations (e.g., receiving, monitoring, transmitting) using or otherwise in cooperation with the receiver 410, the transmitter 415, or both. For example, the communications manager 420 may receive information from the receiver 410, send information to the transmitter 415, or be integrated in combination with the receiver 410, the transmitter 415, or both to receive information, transmit information, or perform various other operations as described herein.
The communications manager 420 may support wireless communications at a UE in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. For example, the communications manager 420 may be configured as or otherwise support a means for communicating, in a connected state, with a first cell associated with a first radio access technology. The communications manager 420 may be configured as or otherwise support a means for receiving an indication of a set of candidate neighbor cells associated with a second radio access technology, where the second radio access technology is associated with a higher priority level than the first radio access technology. The communications manager 420 may be configured as or otherwise support a means for performing measurements on the set of candidate neighbor cells associated with the second radio access technology. The communications manager 420 may be configured as or otherwise support a means for initiating an inter-radio access technology redirection procedure to access a target cell of the set of candidate neighbor cells associated with the second radio access technology based on the measurements.
By including or configuring the communications manager 420 in accordance with examples as described herein, the device 405 (e.g., a processor controlling or otherwise coupled to the receiver 410, the transmitter 415, the communications manager 420, or a combination thereof) may support techniques for more efficient utilization of communication resources by providing procedures for connecting with a higher priority level RAT.
The receiver 510 may provide a means for receiving information such as packets, user data, control information, or any combination thereof associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels related to an enhanced UE mechanism to increase the chance for IRAT redirection). Information may be passed on to other components of the device 505. The receiver 510 may utilize a single antenna or a set of multiple antennas.
The transmitter 515 may provide a means for transmitting signals generated by other components of the device 505. For example, the transmitter 515 may transmit information such as packets, user data, control information, or any combination thereof associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, information channels related to an enhanced UE mechanism to increase the chance for IRAT redirection). In some examples, the transmitter 515 may be co-located with a receiver 510 in a transceiver module. The transmitter 515 may utilize a single antenna or a set of multiple antennas.
The device 505, or various components thereof, may be an example of means for performing various aspects of an enhanced UE mechanism to increase the chance for IRAT redirection as described herein. For example, the communications manager 520 may include a First RAT Manager 525, a Candidate Cell Manager 530, a Cell Measurement Manager 535, an IRAT Manager 540, or any combination thereof. The communications manager 520 may be an example of aspects of a communications manager 420 as described herein. In some examples, the communications manager 520, or various components thereof, may be configured to perform various operations (e.g., receiving, monitoring, transmitting) using or otherwise in cooperation with the receiver 510, the transmitter 515, or both. For example, the communications manager 520 may receive information from the receiver 510, send information to the transmitter 515, or be integrated in combination with the receiver 510, the transmitter 515, or both to receive information, transmit information, or perform various other operations as described herein.
The communications manager 520 may support wireless communications at a UE in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. The First RAT Manager 525 may be configured as or otherwise support a means for communicating, in a connected state, with a first cell associated with a first radio access technology. The Candidate Cell Manager 530 may be configured as or otherwise support a means for receiving an indication of a set of candidate neighbor cells associated with a second radio access technology, where the second radio access technology is associated with a higher priority level than the first radio access technology. The Cell Measurement Manager 535 may be configured as or otherwise support a means for performing measurements on the set of candidate neighbor cells associated with the second radio access technology. The IRAT Manager 540 may be configured as or otherwise support a means for initiating an inter-radio access technology redirection procedure to access a target cell of the set of candidate neighbor cells associated with the second radio access technology based on the measurements.
The communications manager 620 may support wireless communications at a UE in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. The First RAT Manager 625 may be configured as or otherwise support a means for communicating, in a connected state, with a first cell associated with a first radio access technology. The Candidate Cell Manager 630 may be configured as or otherwise support a means for receiving an indication of a set of candidate neighbor cells associated with a second radio access technology, where the second radio access technology is associated with a higher priority level than the first radio access technology. The Cell Measurement Manager 635 may be configured as or otherwise support a means for performing measurements on the set of candidate neighbor cells associated with the second radio access technology. The IRAT Manager 640 may be configured as or otherwise support a means for initiating an inter-radio access technology redirection procedure to access a target cell of the set of candidate neighbor cells associated with the second radio access technology based on the measurements.
In some examples, to support receiving the indication of the set of candidate neighbor cells associated with the second radio access technology, the SIB Manager 645 may be configured as or otherwise support a means for receiving a system information block that indicates that the set of candidate neighbor cells support the inter-radio access technology redirection procedure.
In some examples, to support receiving the system information block, the SIB Manager 645 may be configured as or otherwise support a means for receiving the system information block from the first cell.
In some examples, the BPLMN Search Manager 650 may be configured as or otherwise support a means for performing a background public land mobile network search, where the indication of the set of candidate neighbor cells is based on the background public land mobile network search.
In some examples, to support initiating the inter-radio access technology redirection procedure, the IRAT Manager 640 may be configured as or otherwise support a means for initiating a UE initiated LTE to New Radio redirection procedure.
In some examples, the Candidate Cell Manager 630 may be configured as or otherwise support a means for receiving a second indication that the second radio access technology is associated with the higher priority level than the first radio access technology.
In some examples, the performing the measurements on the set of candidate neighbor cells associated with the second radio access technology is based on receiving the second indication that the second radio access technology is associated with the higher priority level than the first radio access technology.
In some examples, the IRAT Manager 640 may be configured as or otherwise support a means for selecting the target cell from the set of candidate neighbor cells based on the target cell having a highest signal strength of the set of candidate neighbor cells.
In some examples, the IRAT Manager 640 may be configured as or otherwise support a means for performing the inter-radio access technology redirection procedure to access the target cell, where performing the inter-radio access technology redirection procedure includes. In some examples, the Second RAT Manager 655 may be configured as or otherwise support a means for camping on the target cell. In some examples, the Second RAT Manager 655 may be configured as or otherwise support a means for acquiring information associated with the target cell. In some examples, the Second RAT Manager 655 may be configured as or otherwise support a means for entering the connected state with the target cell based on the acquired information.
In some examples, the IRAT Manager 640 may be configured as or otherwise support a means for determining that the target cell has a signal strength exceeding a threshold for performing the inter-radio access technology redirection procedure, where the initiating the inter-radio access technology redirection procedure is based on the determining.
In some examples, the Candidate Cell Database Manager 660 may be configured as or otherwise support a means for maintaining a database of the set of candidate neighbor cells associated with the second radio access technology, where the indication is received via the database.
In some examples, the IRAT Manager 640 may be configured as or otherwise support a means for determining, after receiving the indication, that the first cell has not configured the measurements for the set of candidate neighbor cells associated with the second radio access technology. In some examples, the Cell Measurement Manager 635 may be configured as or otherwise support a means for triggering the performing of the measurements on the set of candidate neighbor cells associated with the second radio access technology based on the determining.
The I/O controller 710 may manage input and output signals for the device 705. The I/O controller 710 may also manage peripherals not integrated into the device 705. In some cases, the I/O controller 710 may represent a physical connection or port to an external peripheral. In some cases, the I/O controller 710 may utilize an operating system such as iOS®, ANDROID®, MS-DOS®, MS-WINDOWS®, OS/2®, UNIX®, LINUX®, or another known operating system. Additionally or alternatively, the I/O controller 710 may represent or interact with a modem, a keyboard, a mouse, a touchscreen, or a similar device. In some cases, the I/O controller 710 may be implemented as part of a processor, such as the processor 740. In some cases, a user may interact with the device 705 via the I/O controller 710 or via hardware components controlled by the I/O controller 710.
In some cases, the device 705 may include a single antenna 725. However, in some other cases, the device 705 may have more than one antenna 725, which may be capable of concurrently transmitting or receiving multiple wireless transmissions. The transceiver 715 may communicate bi-directionally, via the one or more antennas 725, wired, or wireless links as described herein. For example, the transceiver 715 may represent a wireless transceiver and may communicate bi-directionally with another wireless transceiver. The transceiver 715 may also include a modem to modulate the packets, to provide the modulated packets to one or more antennas 725 for transmission, and to demodulate packets received from the one or more antennas 725. The transceiver 715, or the transceiver 715 and one or more antennas 725, may be an example of a transmitter 415, a transmitter 515, a receiver 410, a receiver 510, or any combination thereof or component thereof, as described herein.
The memory 730 may include random access memory (RAM) and read-only memory (ROM). The memory 730 may store computer-readable, computer-executable code 735 including instructions that, when executed by the processor 740, cause the device 705 to perform various functions described herein. The code 735 may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium such as system memory or another type of memory. In some cases, the code 735 may not be directly executable by the processor 740 but may cause a computer (e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform functions described herein. In some cases, the memory 730 may contain, among other things, a basic I/O system (BIOS) which may control basic hardware or software operation such as the interaction with peripheral components or devices.
The processor 740 may include an intelligent hardware device (e.g., a general-purpose processor, a DSP, a CPU, a microcontroller, an ASIC, an FPGA, a programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic component, a discrete hardware component, or any combination thereof). In some cases, the processor 740 may be configured to operate a memory array using a memory controller. In some other cases, a memory controller may be integrated into the processor 740. The processor 740 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., the memory 730) to cause the device 705 to perform various functions (e.g., functions or tasks supporting an enhanced UE mechanism to increase the chance for IRAT redirection). For example, the device 705 or a component of the device 705 may include a processor 740 and memory 730 coupled to the processor 740, the processor 740 and memory 730 configured to perform various functions described herein.
The communications manager 720 may support wireless communications at a UE in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. For example, the communications manager 720 may be configured as or otherwise support a means for communicating, in a connected state, with a first cell associated with a first radio access technology. The communications manager 720 may be configured as or otherwise support a means for receiving an indication of a set of candidate neighbor cells associated with a second radio access technology, where the second radio access technology is associated with a higher priority level than the first radio access technology. The communications manager 720 may be configured as or otherwise support a means for performing measurements on the set of candidate neighbor cells associated with the second radio access technology. The communications manager 720 may be configured as or otherwise support a means for initiating an inter-radio access technology redirection procedure to access a target cell of the set of candidate neighbor cells associated with the second radio access technology based on the measurements.
By including or configuring the communications manager 720 in accordance with examples as described herein, the device 705 may support techniques for improved communication reliability, more efficient utilization of communication resources, and improved utilization of processing capability by providing procedures for connecting with a higher priority level RAT.
In some examples, the communications manager 720 may be configured to perform various operations (e.g., receiving, monitoring, transmitting) using or otherwise in cooperation with the transceiver 715, the one or more antennas 725, or any combination thereof. Although the communications manager 720 is illustrated as a separate component, in some examples, one or more functions described with reference to the communications manager 720 may be supported by or performed by the processor 740, the memory 730, the code 735, or any combination thereof. For example, the code 735 may include instructions executable by the processor 740 to cause the device 705 to perform various aspects of an enhanced UE mechanism to increase the chance for IRAT redirection as described herein, or the processor 740 and the memory 730 may be otherwise configured to perform or support such operations.
At 805, the method may include communicating, in a connected state, with a first cell associated with a first radio access technology. The operations of 805 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 805 may be performed by a First RAT Manager 625 as described with reference to
At 810, the method may include receiving an indication of a set of candidate neighbor cells associated with a second radio access technology, where the second radio access technology is associated with a higher priority level than the first radio access technology. The operations of 810 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 810 may be performed by a Candidate Cell Manager 630 as described with reference to
At 815, the method may include performing measurements on the set of candidate neighbor cells associated with the second radio access technology. The operations of 815 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 815 may be performed by a Cell Measurement Manager 635 as described with reference to
At 820, the method may include initiating an inter-radio access technology redirection procedure to access a target cell of the set of candidate neighbor cells associated with the second radio access technology based on the measurements. The operations of 820 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 820 may be performed by an IRAT Manager 640 as described with reference to
At 905, the method may include communicating, in a connected state, with a first cell associated with a first radio access technology. The operations of 905 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 905 may be performed by a First RAT Manager 625 as described with reference to
At 910, the method may include receiving a system information block that indicates that a set of candidate neighbor cells support an inter-radio access technology redirection procedure. The operations of 910 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 910 may be performed by an SIB Manager 645 as described with reference to
At 915, the method may include receiving an indication of a set of candidate neighbor cells associated with a second radio access technology, where the second radio access technology is associated with a higher priority level than the first radio access technology, and where receiving the indication of the set of candidate neighbor cells associated comprises receiving the system information block. The operations of 915 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 915 may be performed by a Candidate Cell Manager 630 as described with reference to
At 920, the method may include performing measurements on the set of candidate neighbor cells associated with the second radio access technology. The operations of 920 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 920 may be performed by a Cell Measurement Manager 635 as described with reference to
At 925, the method may include initiating an inter-radio access technology redirection procedure to access a target cell of the set of candidate neighbor cells associated with the second radio access technology based on the measurements. The operations of 925 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 925 may be performed by an IRAT Manager 640 as described with reference to
At 1005, the method may include communicating, in a connected state, with a first cell associated with a first radio access technology. The operations of 1005 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1005 may be performed by a First RAT Manager 625 as described with reference to
At 1010, the method may include performing a background public land mobile network search. The operations of 1010 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1010 may be performed by an BPLMN Search Manager 650 as described with reference to
At 1015, the method may include receiving an indication of a set of candidate neighbor cells associated with a second radio access technology, where the second radio access technology is associated with a higher priority level than the first radio access technology, and where the indication of the set of candidate neighbor cells is based on the background public land mobile network search. The operations of 1015 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1015 may be performed by a Candidate Cell Manager 630 as described with reference to
At 1020, the method may include performing measurements on the set of candidate neighbor cells associated with the second radio access technology. The operations of 1020 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1020 may be performed by a Cell Measurement Manager 635 as described with reference to
At 1025, the method may include initiating an inter-radio access technology redirection procedure to access a target cell of the set of candidate neighbor cells associated with the second radio access technology based on the measurements. The operations of 1025 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1025 may be performed by an IRAT Manager 640 as described with reference to
At 1105, the method may include communicating, in a connected state, with a first cell associated with a first radio access technology. The operations of 1105 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1105 may be performed by a First RAT Manager 625 as described with reference to
At 1110, the method may include receiving an indication of a set of candidate neighbor cells associated with a second radio access technology, where the second radio access technology is associated with a higher priority level than the first radio access technology. The operations of 1110 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1110 may be performed by a Candidate Cell Manager 630 as described with reference to
At 1115, the method may include performing measurements on the set of candidate neighbor cells associated with the second radio access technology. The operations of 1115 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1115 may be performed by a Cell Measurement Manager 635 as described with reference to
At 1120, the method may include initiating an inter-radio access technology redirection procedure to access a target cell of the set of candidate neighbor cells associated with the second radio access technology based on the measurements. The operations of 1120 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1120 may be performed by an IRAT Manager 640 as described with reference to
At 1125, the method may include performing the inter-radio access technology redirection procedure to access the target cell, where performing the inter-radio access technology redirection procedure includes. The operations of 1125 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1125 may be performed by an IRAT Manager 640 as described with reference to
At 1130, the method may include camping on the target cell. The operations of 1130 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1130 may be performed by a Second RAT Manager 655 as described with reference to
At 1135, the method may include acquiring information associated with the target cell. The operations of 1135 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1135 may be performed by a Second RAT Manager 655 as described with reference to
At 1140, the method may include entering the connected state with the target cell based on the acquired information. The operations of 1140 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1140 may be performed by a Second RAT Manager 655 as described with reference to
At 1205, the method may include communicating, in a connected state, with a first cell associated with a first radio access technology. The operations of 1205 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1205 may be performed by a First RAT Manager 625 as described with reference to
At 1210, the method may include receiving an indication of a set of candidate neighbor cells associated with a second radio access technology, where the second radio access technology is associated with a higher priority level than the first radio access technology. The operations of 1210 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1210 may be performed by a Candidate Cell Manager 630 as described with reference to
At 1215, the method may include performing measurements on the set of candidate neighbor cells associated with the second radio access technology. The operations of 1215 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1215 may be performed by a Cell Measurement Manager 635 as described with reference to
At 1220, the method may include determining that the target cell has a signal strength exceeding a threshold for performing an inter-radio access technology redirection procedure. The operations of 1220 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1220 may be performed by an IRAT Manager 640 as described with reference to
At 1225, the method may include initiating the inter-radio access technology redirection procedure to access a target cell of the set of candidate neighbor cells associated with the second radio access technology based on the measurements, where the initiating the inter-radio access technology redirection procedure is based on the determining that the target cell has a signal strength exceeding a threshold for performing the inter-radio access technology redirection procedure. The operations of 1225 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1225 may be performed by an IRAT Manager 640 as described with reference to
At 1305, the method may include communicating, in a connected state, with a first cell associated with a first radio access technology. The operations of 1305 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1305 may be performed by a First RAT Manager 625 as described with reference to
At 1310, the method may include receiving an indication of a set of candidate neighbor cells associated with a second radio access technology, where the second radio access technology is associated with a higher priority level than the first radio access technology. The operations of 1310 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1310 may be performed by a Candidate Cell Manager 630 as described with reference to
At 1315, the method may include determining, after receiving the indication, that the first cell has not configured the measurements for the set of candidate neighbor cells associated with the second radio access technology. The operations of 1315 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1315 may be performed by an IRAT Manager 640 as described with reference to
At 1320, the method may include triggering the performing of measurements on the set of candidate neighbor cells associated with the second radio access technology based on the determining. The operations of 1320 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1320 may be performed by a Cell Measurement Manager 635 as described with reference to
At 1325, the method may include performing the measurements on the set of candidate neighbor cells associated with the second radio access technology. The operations of 1325 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1325 may be performed by a Cell Measurement Manager 635 as described with reference to
At 1330, the method may include initiating an inter-radio access technology redirection procedure to access a target cell of the set of candidate neighbor cells associated with the second radio access technology based on the measurements. The operations of 1330 may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1330 may be performed by an IRAT Manager 640 as described with reference to
The following aspects are given by way of illustration. Examples of the following aspects may be combined with examples or embodiments shown or discussed in relation to the figures or elsewhere herein:
Aspect 1: A method for wireless communications at a UE, comprising: communicating, in a connected state, with a first cell associated with a first radio access technology; receiving an indication of a set of candidate neighbor cells associated with a second radio access technology, wherein the second radio access technology is associated with a higher priority level than the first radio access technology; performing measurements on the set of candidate neighbor cells associated with the second radio access technology; and initiating an inter-radio access technology redirection procedure to access a target cell of the set of candidate neighbor cells associated with the second radio access technology based at least in part on the measurements.
Aspect 2: The method of aspect 1, wherein receiving the indication of the set of candidate neighbor cells associated with the second radio access technology comprises: receiving a system information block that indicates that the set of candidate neighbor cells support the inter-radio access technology redirection procedure.
Aspect 3: The method of aspect 2, wherein receiving the system information block comprises: receiving the system information block from the first cell.
Aspect 4: The method of any of aspects 1 through 3, further comprising: performing a background public land mobile network search, wherein the indication of the set of candidate neighbor cells is based at least in part on the background public land mobile network search.
Aspect 5: The method of any of aspects 1 through 4, wherein initiating the inter-radio access technology redirection procedure comprises: initiating a UE initiated LTE to New Radio redirection procedure.
Aspect 6: The method of any of aspects 1 through 5, further comprising: receiving a second indication that the second radio access technology is associated with the higher priority level than the first radio access technology.
Aspect 7: The method of aspect 6, wherein the performing the measurements on the set of candidate neighbor cells associated with the second radio access technology is based at least in part on receiving the second indication that the second radio access technology is associated with the higher priority level than the first radio access technology.
Aspect 8: The method of any of aspects 1 through 7, further comprising: selecting the target cell from the set of candidate neighbor cells based at least in part on the target cell having a highest signal strength of the set of candidate neighbor cells.
Aspect 9: The method of any of aspects 1 through 8, further comprising: performing the inter-radio access technology redirection procedure to access the target cell, wherein performing the inter-radio access technology redirection procedure comprises: camping on the target cell; and acquiring information associated with the target cell; and entering the connected state with the target cell based on the acquired information.
Aspect 10: The method of any of aspects 1 through 9, further comprising: determining that the target cell has a signal strength exceeding a threshold for performing the inter-radio access technology redirection procedure, wherein the initiating the inter-radio access technology redirection procedure is based at least in part on the determining.
Aspect 11: The method of any of aspects 1 through 10, further comprising: maintaining a database of the set of candidate neighbor cells associated with the second radio access technology, wherein the indication is received via the database.
Aspect 12: The method of any of aspects 1 through 11, further comprising: determining, after receiving the indication, that the first cell has not configured the measurements for the set of candidate neighbor cells associated with the second radio access technology; and triggering the performing of the measurements on the set of candidate neighbor cells associated with the second radio access technology based at least in part on the determining.
Aspect 13: An apparatus for wireless communications at a UE, comprising a processor; memory coupled with the processor; and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to perform a method of any of aspects 1 through 12.
Aspect 14: An apparatus for wireless communications at a UE, comprising at least one means for performing a method of any of aspects 1 through 12.
It should be noted that the methods described herein describe possible implementations, and that the operations and the steps may be rearranged or otherwise modified and that other implementations are possible. Further, aspects from two or more of the methods may be combined.
Although aspects of an LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, or NR system may be described for purposes of example, and LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, or NR terminology may be used in much of the description, the techniques described herein are applicable beyond LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, or NR networks. For example, the described techniques may be applicable to various other wireless communications systems such as Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Flash-OFDM, as well as other systems and radio technologies not explicitly mentioned herein.
Information and signals described herein may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.
The various illustrative blocks and components described in connection with the disclosure herein may be implemented or performed with a general-purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, a CPU, an FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices (e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration).
The functions described herein may be implemented in hardware, software executed by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software executed by a processor, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Other examples and implementations are within the scope of the disclosure and appended claims. For example, due to the nature of software, functions described herein may be implemented using software executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hardwiring, or combinations of any of these. Features implementing functions may also be physically located at various positions, including being distributed such that portions of functions are implemented at different physical locations.
Computer-readable media includes both non-transitory computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A non-transitory storage medium may be any available medium that may be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer. By way of example, and not limitation, non-transitory computer-readable media may include RAM, ROM, electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), flash memory, compact disk (CD) ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other non-transitory medium that may be used to carry or store desired program code means in the form of instructions or data structures and that may be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer, or a general-purpose or special-purpose processor. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of computer-readable medium. Disk and disc, as used herein, include CD, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and Blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above are also included within the scope of computer-readable media.
As used herein, including in the claims, “or” as used in a list of items (e.g., a list of items prefaced by a phrase such as “at least one of” or “one or more of”) indicates an inclusive list such that, for example, a list of at least one of A, B, or C means A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C). Also, as used herein, the phrase “based on” shall not be construed as a reference to a closed set of conditions. For example, an example step that is described as “based on condition A” may be based on both a condition A and a condition B without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In other words, as used herein, the phrase “based on” shall be construed in the same manner as the phrase “based at least in part on.”
The term “determine” or “determining” encompasses a wide variety of actions and, therefore, “determining” can include calculating, computing, processing, deriving, investigating, looking up (such as via looking up in a table, a database or another data structure), ascertaining and the like. Also, “determining” can include receiving (such as receiving information), accessing (such as accessing data in a memory) and the like. Also, “determining” can include resolving, selecting, choosing, establishing and other such similar actions.
In the appended figures, similar components or features may have the same reference label. Further, various components of the same type may be distinguished by following the reference label by a dash and a second label that distinguishes among the similar components. If just the first reference label is used in the specification, the description is applicable to any one of the similar components having the same first reference label irrespective of the second reference label, or other subsequent reference label.
The description set forth herein, in connection with the appended drawings, describes example configurations and does not represent all the examples that may be implemented or that are within the scope of the claims. The term “example” used herein means “serving as an example, instance, or illustration,” and not “preferred” or “advantageous over other examples.” The detailed description includes specific details for the purpose of providing an understanding of the described techniques. These techniques, however, may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the concepts of the described examples.
The description herein is provided to enable a person having ordinary skill in the art to make or use the disclosure. Various modifications to the disclosure will be apparent to a person having ordinary skill in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Thus, the disclosure is not limited to the examples and designs described herein but is to be accorded the broadest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.
The present Application is a 371 national stage filing of International PCT Application No. PCT/CN2021/126640 by Ren et al. entitled “AN ENHANCED UE MECHANISM TO INCREASE THE CHANCE FOR IRAT REDIRECTION,” filed Oct. 27, 2021, which is assigned to the assignee hereof, and which is expressly incorporated by reference in its entirety herein.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/CN2021/126640 | 10/27/2021 | WO |
