US-20260128971-A1 - RADIO LINK MONITORING FOR AIR-TO-GROUND NETWORKS

US20260128971A1US 20260128971 A1US20260128971 A1US 20260128971A1US-20260128971-A1

Abstract

A UE includes a set of transceivers and a processor. The processor is configured to transmit an indication that the UE is operating in an air-to-ground (ATG) flight mode or an ATG ground mode. The indication that the UE is operating in the ATG flight mode or the ATG ground mode is based on location information of the UE. The processor is configured to receive a configuration that includes an out-of-sync threshold or an in-sync threshold. The out-of-sync threshold or the in-sync threshold is associated with the ATG flight mode or the ATG ground mode. The processor is configured to determine an out-of-sync indication or an in-sync indication based at least in part on the out-of-sync threshold or the in-sync threshold, and to transmit the out-of-sync indication or the in-sync indication. In some examples, the out-of-sync threshold or the in-sync threshold corresponds to a distance-based threshold or a time duration-based threshold.

Inventors

Yuexia Song
Xiang Chen
Jie Cui
Qiming Li
Dawei Zhang
Yang Tang
Manasa Raghavan
Rolando E. Bettancourt Ortega

Assignees

APPLE INC.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20221011

Claims (20)

1 . A user equipment (UE), comprising: one or more transceivers; and a processor configured to, transmit, via the one or more transceivers, an indication that the UE is operating in an air-to-ground (ATG) flight mode, the ATG flight mode based at least in part on location information of the UE; receive, via the one or more transceivers, a configuration that includes an out-of-sync threshold or an in-sync threshold, the out-of-sync threshold and the in-sync threshold associated with the ATG flight mode, the out-of-sync threshold corresponds to at least one of a first distance-based threshold value or a first time duration-based threshold value, and the in-sync threshold corresponds to at least one of a second distance-based threshold value or a second time duration-based threshold value; determine an out-of-sync indication or an in-sync indication based at least in part on the out-of-sync threshold or the in-sync threshold; and transmit, via the one or more transceivers, the out-of-sync indication or the in-sync indication.
2 . The UE of claim 1 , wherein: the out-of-sync threshold is the first distance-based threshold value; the in-sync threshold is the second distance-based threshold value; and the out-of-sync indication or the in-sync indication is determined based at least in part on a first distance from the UE to a serving cell of the UE.
3 . The UE of claim 2 , wherein: the out-of-sync indication is further determined based at least in part on a second distance from the UE to a next cell after the serving cell in a path of a plurality of cells that corresponds to an expected trajectory of the UE; and the in-sync indication is further determined based at least in part on a third distance from the UE to a last cell before the serving cell in the path of the plurality of cells that corresponds to the expected trajectory of the UE.
4 . The UE of claim 1 , wherein: the out-of-sync threshold is the first time duration-based threshold value; the in-sync threshold is the second time duration-based threshold value; and the out-of-sync indication or the in-sync indication is determined based at least in part on a first time duration associated with a first transmission between the UE and a serving cell of the UE.
5 . The UE of claim 4 , wherein: the out-of-sync indication is further determined based at least in part on a second time duration associated with a second transmission between the UE and a next cell after the serving cell in a path of a plurality of cells that corresponds to an expected trajectory of the UE; and the in-sync indication is further determined based at least in part on a third time duration associated with a third transmission between the UE and a last cell before the serving cell in the path of the plurality of cells that corresponds to the expected trajectory of the UE.
6 . The UE of claim 1 , wherein the configuration that includes the out-of-sync threshold and the in-sync threshold includes one or more distance-based thresholds.
7 . The UE of claim 1 , wherein the configuration that includes the out-of-sync threshold and the in-sync threshold includes one or more time duration-based thresholds.
8 . The UE of claim 1 , wherein the configuration that includes the out-of-sync threshold and the in-sync threshold is received via radio resource control signaling.
9 . A user equipment (UE), comprising: one or more transceivers; and a processor configured to, transmit, via the one or more transceivers, a first indication that the UE is operating in an air-to-ground (ATG) ground mode, the ATG ground mode based at least in part on first location information of the UE; receive, via the one or more transceivers, a first configuration that includes a first out-of-sync block error rate (BLER) threshold or a first in-sync BLER threshold, the first out-of-sync BLER threshold and the first in-sync BLER threshold associated with the ATG ground mode, the first out-of-sync BLER threshold or the first in-sync BLER threshold correspond to BLER thresholds for a terrestrial network, and the first evaluation period corresponds to an evaluation period for the terrestrial network; determine, during a first evaluation period, an out-of-sync first indication or an in-sync first indication based at least in part on the first out-of-sync BLER threshold or the first in-sync BLER threshold; and transmit, via the one or more transceivers, the first out-of-sync indication or the first in-sync first indication.
10 . The UE of claim 9 , wherein the processor is configured to: transmit, via the one or more transceivers, a second indication that the UE is operating in an ATG flight mode, the ATG flight mode based at least in part on second location information of the UE, the second location information different from the first location information; and determine, during a second evaluation period, an out-of-sync second indication or an in-sync second indication based at least in part on the first out-of-sync BLER threshold or the first in-sync BLER threshold; wherein, the second evaluation period corresponds to an evaluation period for the ATG network and has a duration that is different from a duration of the first evaluation period.
11 . The UE of claim 9 , wherein the processor is configured to: transmit, via the one or more transceivers, a second indication that the UE is operating in an ATG flight mode, the ATG flight mode based at least in part on second location information of the UE, the second location information different from the first location information; receive, via the one or more transceivers, a second configuration that includes a second out-of-sync BLER threshold or a second in-sync BLER threshold, the second out-of-sync BLER threshold and the second in-sync BLER threshold associated with the ATG flight mode; and determine an out-of-sync second indication or an in-sync second indication based at least in part on the second out-of-sync BLER threshold or the second in-sync BLER threshold.
12 . The UE of claim 9 , wherein at least one of the second out-of-sync BLER threshold or the second in-sync BLER threshold has a value different from a value of a corresponding one of the first out-of-sync BLER threshold or the first in-sync BLER threshold.
13 . The UE of claim 9 , wherein the processor is configured to: transmit, via the one or more transceivers, a second indication that the UE is operating in an ATG flight mode, the ATG flight mode based at least in part on second location information of the UE, the second location information different from the first location information; receive, via the one or more transceivers, a second configuration that includes an out-of-sync threshold or an in-sync threshold, the out-of-sync threshold and the in-sync threshold associated with the ATG flight mode, the out-of-sync threshold corresponds to at least one of a first distance-based threshold value or a first time duration-based threshold value, and the in-sync threshold corresponds to at least one of a second distance-based threshold value or a second time duration-based threshold value; and determine an out-of-sync second indication or an in-sync second indication based at least in part on the out-of-sync threshold or the in-sync threshold.
14 . The UE of claim 13 , wherein a determination of the out-of-sync or in-sync second indication is performed absent an evaluation period.
15 . A network device, comprising: one or more transceivers; and a processor configured to, receive, via the one or more transceivers, an indication that a user equipment (UE) is operating in at least one of an air-to-ground (ATG) ground mode or an ATG flight mode; transmit, via the one or more transceivers and based at least in part on the indication, a configuration that includes an out-of-sync threshold or an in-sync threshold; and receive, via the one or more transceivers, an out-of-sync indication or an in-sync indication based at least in part on the out-of-sync threshold or the in-sync threshold.
16 . The network device of claim 15 , wherein: the indication is that the UE is operating in the ATG ground mode; and the out-of-sync threshold comprises an out-of-sync block error rate (BLER) threshold or the in-sync threshold comprises an in-sync BLER threshold, the out-of-sync BLER threshold and the in-sync BLER threshold associated with the ATG ground mode.
17 . The network device of claim 15 , wherein: the indication is that the UE is operating in the ATG flight mode; and the out-of-sync threshold comprises an out-of-sync block error rate (BLER) threshold or the in-sync threshold comprises an in-sync BLER threshold, the out-of-sync BLER threshold and the in-sync BLER threshold associated with the ATG ground mode and an altitude of the UE that fails to satisfy an ATG threshold altitude.
18 . The network device of claim 15 , wherein: the indication is that the UE is operating in the ATG flight mode; and the out-of-sync threshold comprises an out-of-sync block error rate (BLER) threshold or the in-sync threshold comprises an in-sync BLER threshold, the out-of-sync BLER threshold and the in-sync BLER threshold associated with the ATG flight mode and an altitude of the UE that satisfies an ATG altitude threshold.
19 . The network device of claim 15 , wherein: the indication is that the UE is operating in the ATG flight mode; and the out-of-sync threshold comprises an out-of-sync distance-based threshold or the in-sync threshold comprises an in-sync distance-based threshold, the out-of-sync distance-based threshold and the in-sync distance-based threshold associated with the ATG flight mode and an altitude of the UE that satisfies an ATG altitude threshold.
20 . The network device of claim 15 , wherein: the indication is that the UE is operating in the ATG flight mode; and the out-of-sync threshold comprises an out-of-sync time duration-based threshold or the in-sync threshold comprises an in-sync time duration-based threshold, the out-of-sync time duration-based threshold and the in-sync time duration-based threshold associated with the ATG flight mode and an altitude of the UE that satisfies an ATG altitude threshold.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD This application relates generally to wireless communication systems, including air-to-ground (ATG) networks. BACKGROUND Wireless mobile communication technology uses various standards and protocols to transmit data between a base station and a wireless communication device. Wireless communication system standards and protocols can include, for example, 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) long term evolution (LTE) (e.g., 4G), 3GPP new radio (NR) (e.g., 5G), and IEEE 802.11 standard for wireless local area networks (WLAN) (commonly known to industry groups as Wi-Fi®). As contemplated by the 3GPP, different wireless communication systems standards and protocols can use various radio access networks (RANs) for communicating between a base station of the RAN (which may also sometimes be referred to generally as a RAN node, a network node, or simply a node) and a wireless communication device known as a user equipment (UE). 3GPP RANs can include, for example, global system for mobile communications (GSM), enhanced data rates for GSM evolution (EDGE) RAN (GERAN), Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN), Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN), and/or Next-Generation Radio Access Network (NG-RAN). Each RAN may use one or more radio access technologies (RATs) to perform communication between the base station and the UE. For example, the GERAN implements GSM and/or EDGE RAT, the UTRAN implements universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS) RAT or other 3GPP RAT, the E-UTRAN implements LTE RAT (sometimes simply referred to as LTE), and NG-RAN implements NR RAT (sometimes referred to herein as 5G RAT, 5G NR RAT, or simply NR). In certain deployments, the E-UTRAN may also implement NR RAT. In certain deployments, NG-RAN may also implement LTE RAT. A base station used by a RAN may correspond to that RAN. One example of an E-UTRAN base station is an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) Node B (also commonly denoted as evolved Node B, enhanced Node B, eNodeB, or eNB). One example of an NG-RAN base station is a next generation Node B (also sometimes referred to as a g Node B or gNB). A RAN provides its communication services with external entities through its connection to a core network (CN). For example, E-UTRAN may utilize an Evolved Packet Core (EPC), while NG-RAN may utilize a 5G Core Network (5GC). BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS To easily identify the discussion of any particular element or act, the most significant digit or digits in a reference number refer to the figure number in which that element is first introduced. FIG. 1 illustrates an example wireless communications system including an example UE and example ground stations of an ATG network. FIG. 2 shows a first example method of wireless communication by a UE. FIG. 3 shows a second example method of wireless communication by a UE. FIG. 4 shows an example method of wireless communication by a network device. FIG. 5 illustrates an example architecture of a wireless communication system, according to embodiments disclosed herein. FIG. 6 illustrates a system for performing signaling between a wireless device and a network device, according to embodiments disclosed herein. DETAILED DESCRIPTION Various embodiments are described with regard to a UE. However, reference to a UE is merely provided for illustrative purposes. The example embodiments may be utilized with any electronic component that may establish a connection to a network and is configured with the hardware, software, and/or firmware to exchange information and data with a network. Therefore, the UE as described herein is used to represent any appropriate electronic device. 3GPP systems such as, for example, NR, may support ATG network deployments. In some embodiments, an ATG network may provide in-flight connectivity for an aircraft, or devices therein, using ground stations or cell towers (i.e., network devices, which in some cases may include base stations). The ground stations of an ATG network can be similar to gNB deployments in terrestrial networks, but the antennas of a ground station of an ATG network may be oriented towards the sky. In some instances, the inter-site distance between ground stations of an ATG network may be larger than a typical range of distances between corresponding ground stations of terrestrial networks. In some embodiments, the aircraft in an ATG network may be an airplane, but it is not limited to such. For example, the aircraft may alternatively be a drone, a balloon, a blimp, a rocket, a low-orbiting satellite, or other type of airborne vehicle. For purposes of this description, an aircraft is just one type of UE that may communicate within an ATG network. FIG. 1 illustrates an example wireless communications system 100 that may include an ATG network. The ATG network may include a UE 102 and multiple ground stations 104 (e.g., ground station 104a, ground station