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BR-112019006817-B1 - METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR WIRELESS COMMUNICATION AND COMPUTER-READABLE MEMORY

BR112019006817B1BR 112019006817 B1BR112019006817 B1BR 112019006817B1BR-112019006817-B1

Abstract

Coverage enhancements and optimizations related to coverage mode switching are discussed for user equipment (UEs) that can switch between varying coverage extent (CE) and non-CE operating modes. In such enhancements, paging uncertainty and delays can be reduced by sending alerts simultaneously or using historical information across multiple coverage modes available to UEs. Random access procedures can be improved by providing CE-mode random access procedures that are available when normal-mode random access attempts fail and before declaring a radio link failure. Additional aspects include enhancements for more advanced UEs to improve coverage in normal-mode operations by leveraging techniques used for narrowband CE-mode operations, including transmission replay and gapless transmission scheduling across hopping narrowband frequencies.

Inventors

  • Kapil Bhattad
  • Hao Xu
  • Alberto RICO ALVARINO
  • Peter Gaal
  • Masato Kitazoe
  • Sharad Sambhwani

Assignees

  • QUALCOMM INCORPORATED

Dates

Publication Date
20260317
Application Date
20170808
Priority Date
20161004

Claims (15)

  1. 1. Wireless communication method characterized in that it comprises: performing, on a user equipment, UE, (115), measurements to determine UE (115) coverage conditions, including channel conditions and connection conditions at its current location, and to determine whether UE (115) coverage conditions support narrowband frequency hopping for transmissions; determining (1000), on UE (115), whether UE (115) coverage conditions support narrowband frequency hopping for transmissions, wherein narrowband frequency hopping includes uplink data transmission without a gap between hopped frequencies; and indicating (1001), by UE (115) and in response to the determination that UE (115) coverage conditions support narrowband frequency hopping for transmissions, that UE (115) is configured with capabilities to support narrowband frequency hopping without a gap.
  2. 2. Method, according to claim 1, characterized in that it further comprises: detecting, in the UE (115), the data for uplink transmission, wherein the transmission of data without the gap between skipped frequencies includes transmitting the data, by the UE (115), on the skipped frequencies without retuning a wideband baseband radio of the UE (115) between two frequencies of the skipped frequencies.
  3. 3. A method according to claim 2, characterized in that a first frequency of the skipped frequencies is a frequency of a first narrow band, and a second frequency of the skipped frequencies is a frequency of a second narrow band, and wherein the data transmission skips between the first and second frequencies without retuning.
  4. 4. Method, according to claim 1, characterized in that the determination includes determining coverage conditions that support communications in a coverage extension mode, CE, wherein the CE mode includes narrowband frequency hopping without the gap.
  5. 5. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the gapless data transmission includes narrowband frequency signaling.
  6. 6. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the UE (115) is configured for advanced communication operations in Advanced Long Term Evolution, LTE-A.
  7. 7. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that it further includes: determining, by the UE (115), that the UE (115) is configured with smaller capabilities to support narrowband frequency hopping with a retuning gap.
  8. 8. Device (115) configured for wireless communication, the device characterized in that it comprises: at least one processor (280); and a memory (282) coupled to at least one processor (280); wherein the at least one processor (280) is configured to: perform, on a user equipment, UE, (115), measurements to determine coverage conditions of the UE (115), including channel conditions and connection conditions at its current location and to determine whether the coverage conditions of the UE (115) support narrowband frequency hopping for transmissions; determine (1000), on the user equipment, UE, (115), whether the coverage conditions of the UE (115) support narrowband frequency hopping for transmissions, wherein the narrowband frequency hopping includes uplink data transmission without a gap between hopped frequencies; eindicar (1001), in response to the determination that UE (115) coverage conditions support narrowband frequency hopping for transmissions, that UE (115) is configured with capabilities to support narrowband frequency hopping without a gap.
  9. 9. Apparatus (115), according to claim 8, characterized in that it further comprises configuration of at least one processor (280): for detecting, in the UE (115), the data for uplink transmission, wherein the transmission of data without the gap between skipped frequencies includes transmitting the data, by the UE (115), on the skipped frequencies without retuning a wideband baseband radio of the UE (115) between two frequencies of the skipped frequencies.
  10. 10. Apparatus (115), according to claim 9, characterized in that a first frequency of the skipped frequencies is a frequency of a first narrow band, and a second frequency of the skipped frequencies is a frequency of a second narrow band, and in which the data transmission skips between the first and second frequencies without retuning.
  11. 11. Apparatus (115), according to claim 8, characterized in that the configuration of at least one processor (280) to determine coverage conditions that support communications in a coverage extension mode, CE, wherein the CE mode includes narrowband frequency hopping without the gap.
  12. 12. Apparatus (115), according to claim 8, characterized in that the transmission of gapless data includes narrowband frequency signaling.
  13. 13. Device (115), according to claim 8, characterized in that the UE (115) is configured for advanced communication operations in Advanced Long Term Evolution, LTE-A.
  14. 14. Apparatus (115), according to claim 8, characterized in that it additionally includes configuration of at least one processor (280) to determine, by the UE (115), that the UE (115) is configured with smaller capabilities to support narrowband frequency hopping with a retuning gap.
  15. 15. Computer-readable memory characterized in that it comprises instructions stored therein, the instructions being executed in a processor of a user equipment, UE, (115) to cause the UE (115) to perform the steps as defined in any of claims 1 to 7.

Description

Cross-reference to related requests [001] This application claims the benefit of Indian patent application no. 201641033860, entitled “COVERAGE ENHANCEMENT AND NORMAL MODES SWITCHING RELATED OPTIMIZATION,” filed on October 4, 2016, and US non-provisional patent application no. 15/670,697, entitled “COVERAGE ENHANCEMENT AND NORMAL MODES SWITCHING RELATED OPTIMIZATION,” filed on August 7, 2017, the disclosures of both of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety as if fully set forth below and for all applicable purposes. BACKGROUND Field [002] Aspects of the present disclosure relate generally to wireless communication systems and more particularly to coverage enhancement and optimization related to normal mode switching. Background [003] Wireless communication networks are widely used to provide various communication services such as voice, video, packet data, message sending, broadcast, and the like. These wireless networks can be multiple access networks capable of supporting multiple users by sharing available network resources. An example of such a network is the Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN). UTRAN is the radio access network (RAN) defined as part of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), a third-generation (3G) mobile phone technology supported by the Society for 3G (3GTT) project. Examples of multiple access network formats include Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) networks, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) networks, Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) networks, Orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA) networks, and Single Carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) networks. [004] A wireless communication network can include several base stations or B nodes that can support communication to various user equipment (UEs). A UE can communicate with a base station through downlink and uplink. Downlink (or forward link) refers to the communication link from the base station to the UE, and uplink (or reverse link) refers to the communication link from the UE to the base station. [005] A base station can transmit control information and data on the downlink to a UE and/or can receive control information and data on the uplink from the UE. On the downlink, a transmission from the base station may encounter interference due to transmissions from neighboring base stations or other wireless radio frequency (RF) transmitters. On the uplink, a transmission from the UE may encounter interference from uplink transmissions from other UEs communicating with neighboring base stations or from other wireless RF transmitters. This interference can degrade performance on both the downlink and uplink. [006] As the demand for mobile broadband access continues to increase, the possibilities of interference and congested networks grow with more UEs accessing long-range wireless communication networks and more short-range wireless systems being deployed in communities. Research and development continue to advance UMTS technologies not only to meet the growing demand for mobile broadband access, but to advance and improve the user experience with mobile communications. SUMMARY [007] In one aspect of the disclosure, a method of wireless communication includes switching a coverage mode, in an UE in idle mode, between a coverage enhancement (CE) mode and a non-CE mode, and transmitting a UE mode indicator, wherein the mode indicator identifies the coverage mode to which the UE has switched. [008] In a further aspect of the disclosure, a method of wireless communication includes detecting, at a base station, a paging opportunity for a UE served by the base station, and transmitting a page associated with the paging opportunity in accordance with a UE CE mode and a UE non-CE mode. [009] In a further aspect of the disclosure, a method of wireless communication includes monitoring, by an UE, for a page according to a coverage mode from a plurality of candidate coverage modes accessible to the UE, and initiating communication in response to the detection of the page. [010] In a further aspect of the disclosure, a wireless communication method includes detecting, in an UE in idle mode, data for uplink transmission, executing a random access procedure according to a non-CE mode, determining a failure of the random access procedure and executing the random access procedure according to a CE mode. [011] In a further aspect of the disclosure, a wireless communication method includes detecting, in an idle UE, data for uplink transmission, executing a random access procedure simultaneously according to an CE mode and a non-CE mode, initiating communication according to one between CE mode or non-CE mode in response to the detection of a successful random access procedure in a corresponding between CE mode or non-CE mode, and initiating communication according to non-CE mode in response to the detection of the successful random access procedure in both CE mode and non-CE mode. [012] In a further aspect of the di