WO2024011516A1

WO2024011516A1 - Methods and devices for reporting in-device coexistence interference

Info

Publication number: WO2024011516A1
Application number: PCT/CN2022/105766
Authority: WO
Inventors: Wenting LI; Jing Liu; He Huang
Original assignee: Zte Corporation
Priority date: 2022-07-14
Filing date: 2022-07-14
Publication date: 2024-01-18

Abstract

The present disclosure describes methods, system, and devices for reporting in-device coexistence (IDC) interference. One method includes transmitting, by a user equipment (UE), an in-device coexistence (IDC) report to a base station by: receiving, by the UE, a report configuration from the base station; and in response to a trigger condition, transmitting, by the UE, the IDC report to the base station, the IDC report comprising at least one IDC-affected bandwidth unit. Another method includes receiving, by a base station, an IDC report from a UE by: transmitting, by the base station, a report configuration to the UE; and receiving, by the base station, the IDC report from the UE in response to a trigger condition, the IDC report comprising at least one IDC-affected bandwidth unit.

Description

METHODS AND DEVICES FOR REPORTING IN-DEVICE COEXISTENCE INTERFERENCE

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure is directed generally to wireless communications. Particularly, the present disclosure relates to methods and devices for reporting in-device coexistence (IDC) interference.

BACKGROUND

Wireless communication technologies are moving the world toward an increasingly connected and networked society. An emerging trend in mobile communications is the parallel usage of multiple radio technologies in user equipments (UEs) , including but not limited to, mobile devices, tablets and other communications modules. In order to support this parallel operation, the devices are equipped with more than one radio transceivers, which are located extremely close to each other. When one or more radio transceivers operates, one or more nearby transceivers may interfere from each other, resulting in in-device coexistence (IDC) interference.

The present disclosure describes various embodiments for reporting IDC interference, addressing at least one of issues/problems associated with IDC, providing improvement in the technology field of wireless communication and increasing its efficiency and performance.

SUMMARY

This document relates to methods, systems, and devices for wireless communication, and more specifically, for reporting IDC interference. The various embodiments in the present disclosure may be beneficial to improve IDC reporting, to decrease the IDC interference, increase resource utilization efficiency, and to boost performance of the wireless communication.

In one embodiment, the present disclosure describes a method for wireless communication. The method includes transmitting, by a user equipment (UE) , an in-device coexistence (IDC) report to a base station by: receiving, by the UE, a report configuration from the base station; and in response to a trigger condition, transmitting, by the UE, the IDC report to the base station, the IDC report comprising at least one IDC-affected bandwidth unit.

In one embodiment, the present disclosure describes a method for wireless communication. The method includes receiving, by a base station, an in-device coexistence (IDC) report from a user equipment (UE) by: transmitting, by the base station, a report configuration to the UE; and receiving, by the base station, the IDC report from the UE in response to a trigger condition, the IDC report comprising at least one IDC-affected bandwidth unit.

In some other embodiments, an apparatus for wireless communication may include a memory storing instructions and a processing circuitry in communication with the memory. When the processing circuitry executes the instructions, the processing circuitry is configured to carry out the above methods.

In some other embodiments, a device for wireless communication may include a memory storing instructions and a processing circuitry in communication with the memory. When the processing circuitry executes the instructions, the processing circuitry is configured to carry out the above methods.

In some other embodiments, a computer-readable medium comprising instructions which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to carry out the above methods.

The above and other aspects and their implementations are described in greater detail in the drawings, the descriptions, and the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A shows an example of a wireless communication system include one wireless network node and one or more user equipment.

FIG. 1B shows a schematic diagram of in-device coexistence interference within a same UE.

FIG. 2 shows an example of a network node.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a user equipment.

FIG. 4A shows a flow diagram of a method for wireless communication.

FIG. 4B shows a flow diagram of another method for wireless communication.

FIG. 5 shows a schematic diagram of a non-limiting embodiment for wireless communication.

FIG. 6 shows a schematic diagram of another non-limiting embodiment for wireless communication.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure will now be described in detail hereinafter with reference to the accompanied drawings, which form a part of the present disclosure, and which show, by way of illustration, specific examples of embodiments. Please note that the present disclosure may, however, be embodied in a variety of different forms and, therefore, the covered or claimed subject matter is intended to be construed as not being limited to any of the embodiments to be set forth below.

Throughout the specification and claims, terms may have nuanced meanings suggested or implied in context beyond an explicitly stated meaning. Likewise, the phrase “in one embodiment” or “in some embodiments” as used herein does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment and the phrase “in another embodiment” or “in other embodiments” as used herein does not necessarily refer to a different embodiment. The phrase “in one implementation” or “in some implementations” as used herein does not necessarily refer to the same implementation and the phrase “in another implementation” or “in other implementations” as used herein does not necessarily refer to a different implementation. It is intended, for example, that claimed subject matter includes combinations of exemplary embodiments or implementations in whole or in part.

In general, terminology may be understood at least in part from usage in context. For example, terms, such as “and” , “or” , or “and/or, ” as used herein may include a variety of meanings that may depend at least in part upon the context in which such terms are used. Typically, “or” if used to associate a list, such as A, B, or C, is intended to mean A, B, and C, here used in the inclusive sense, as well as A, B or C, here used in the exclusive sense. In addition, the term “one or more” or “at least one” as used herein, depending at least in part upon context, may be used to describe any feature, structure, or characteristic in a singular sense or may be used to describe combinations of features, structures or characteristics in a plural sense. Similarly, terms, such as “a” , “an” , or “the” , again, may be understood to convey a singular usage or to convey a plural usage, depending at least in part upon context. In addition, the term “based on” or “determined by” may be understood as not necessarily intended to convey an exclusive set of factors and may, instead, allow for existence of additional factors not necessarily expressly described, again, depending at least in part on context.

The present disclosure describes methods and devices for reporting in-device coexistence (IDC) interference.

Next generation (NG) , or 5th generation (5G) , wireless communication may provide a range of capabilities from downloading with fast speeds to support real-time low-latency communication. New generation (NG) mobile communication system are moving the world toward an increasingly connected and networked society.

An emerging trend in mobile communications is the parallel usage of multiple radio technologies in user equipments (UEs) , including but not limited to, mobile devices, tablets and other communications modules. In order to support this parallel operation, the devices are equipped with more than one radio transceivers, which are located extremely close to each other. When one or more radio transceivers operates, one or more nearby transceivers may interfere from each other, resulting in in-device coexistence (IDC) interference.

As shown in FIG. 1B, due to extreme proximity of multiple radio transceivers within a same UE, the transmit power of one transmitter may be much higher than the received power level of another receiver. For a non-limiting example, the UE may include a first transceiver for a long term evolution (LTE) , a second transceiver for GPS, a third transceiver for WiFi, and/or a fourth transceiver for bluetooth (BT) . There may be IDC interference between any combination of the above described transceiver. For example, when the first transceiver is transmitting or receiving on one frequency carrier or a combination of more than one frequency carriers, there may be a first interference 182 to the second transceiver, and/or a second interference 184 to the third transceiver; and/or when the third transceiver is transmitting or receiving on one frequency carrier or a combination of more than one frequency carriers, there may be a third interference 186 to the second transceiver, and/or a second interference.

In some implementations, to solve these issue, IDC related mechanism may be introduced. For example, in the LTE, the IDC may be triggered for both the serving frequency and non-serving frequency when the network indicates to report IDC assistance information. Furthermore, both the current experiencing IDC problems and the potential IDC problems on the secondary frequency and the non-serving frequency (for which a measurement object is configured) may be reported. In some implementations, a similar IDC scheme may be introduced for the new ratio (NR) and/or evolved universal terrestrial radio access (EUTRA) and NR duel connectivity (EN-DC) case.

In some implementations, a bandwidth part (BWP) concept may be introduced to the wireless communication system. For each cell, a network may configure multiple BWPs for a UE, and only one BWP may be activated at a time. Meanwhile, the UE may report its capability according to the network’s requirements. For the dual connection (DC) /carrier aggregation (CA) , the network may configure the BWP of each band entry according to the UE’s band combination (BC) capability. The network may switch the BWP by at least one of the following: a radio resource control (RRC) signaling, a downlink control information (DCI) , a BWP inactivity timer, or a random access (RA) procedure. In some implementations, the RRC signaling may have a longest delay. With all of these methods, each BWP may be activated or deactivated individually by its corresponding control information. For example, in the DCI, there is a bandwidth part indicator to indicate which BWP may be activated/inactivated of the current serving cell, for example as shown in Table 1.

Table 1 Value of BWP indicator field

In some implementations, a dormancy BWP may be introduced, in which a cell group concept may be introduced. The network may switch a group of secondary cells (SCells) into the respective dormant BWP through the DCI. When the dormant BWP is configured for the Scell, the network may also configure the dormant cell group it belongs to; and/or then in the DCI, a bitmap may be introduced for the dormant feature. The bitmap size is equal to the number of groups of configured SCells where each bit of the bitmap corresponds to a group of SCells. In some implementations, this group-based concept may only be limited for the dormant BWP.

In some implementations, the UE BC capability may be implemented for any combination of the configured BWP. In other words, all of the possible combinations of the configured BWPs on the different bands may satisfy the requirement of the reported UE BC capability. In some implementations, this implementation may negatively affect the system performance seriously.

The present disclosure describes various embodiments for reporting IDC interference, including configuring and/or managing the BWPs more efficiently, addressing at least one issue/problem associated with IDC reporting, for example but not limited to, an IDC scheme based on the carriers, thus the affected frequencies may not be adequately indicated.

FIG. 1A shows a wireless communication system 100 including a core network (CN) 110, a radio access network (RAN) 130, and one or more user equipment (UE) (152, 154, and 156) . The RAN 130 may include a wireless network base station, or a NG radio access network (NG- RAN) base station or node, which may include a nodeB (NB, e.g., a gNB) in a mobile telecommunications context. In one implementation, the core network 110 may include a 5G core network (5GC) , and the interface 125 may include a new generation (NG) interface.

Referring to FIG. 1A, a first UE 152 may wirelessly receive one or more downlink communication 142 from the RAN 130 and wirelessly send one or more uplink communication 141 to the RAN 130. Likewise, a second UE 154 may wirelessly receive downlink communication 144 from the RAN 130 and wirelessly send uplink communication 143 to the RAN 130; and a third UE 156 may wirelessly receive downlink communication 146 from the RAN 130 and wirelessly send uplink communication 145 to the RAN 130. For example but not limited to, a downlink communication may include a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) or a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) , and a uplink communication may include a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) or a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) .

FIG. 2 shows an exemplary a radio access network or a wireless communication base station 200. The base station 200 may include radio transmitting/receiving (Tx/Rx) circuitry 208 to transmit/receive communication with one or more UEs, and/or one or more other base stations. The base station may also include network interface circuitry 209 to communicate the base station with other base stations and/or a core network, e.g., optical or wireline interconnects, Ethernet, and/or other data transmission mediums/protocols. The base station 200 may optionally include an input/output (I/O) interface 206 to communicate with an operator or the like.

The base station may also include system circuitry 204. System circuitry 204 may include processor (s) 221 and/or memory 222. Memory 222 may include an operating system 224, instructions 226, and parameters 228. Instructions 226 may be configured for the one or more of the processors 124 to perform the functions of the base station. The parameters 228 may include parameters to support execution of the instructions 226. For example, parameters may include network protocol settings, bandwidth parameters, radio frequency mapping assignments, and/or other parameters.

Figure 3 shows an exemplary user equipment (UE) 300. The UE 300 may be a mobile device, for example, a smart phone or a mobile communication module disposed in a vehicle. The UE 300 may include communication interfaces 302, a system circuitry 304, an input/output interfaces (I/O) 306, a display circuitry 308, and a storage 309. The display circuitry may include a user interface 310. The system circuitry 304 may include any combination of hardware, software, firmware, or other logic/circuitry. The system circuitry 304 may be implemented, for example, with one or more systems on a chip (SoC) , application specific integrated circuits (ASIC) , discrete analog and digital circuits, and other circuitry. The system circuitry 304 may be a part of the implementation of any desired functionality in the UE 300. In that regard, the system circuitry 304 may include logic that facilitates, as examples, decoding and playing music and video, e.g., MP3, MP4, MPEG, AVI, FLAC, AC3, or WAV decoding and playback; running applications; accepting user inputs; saving and retrieving application data; establishing, maintaining, and terminating cellular phone calls or data connections for, as one example, internet connectivity; establishing, maintaining, and terminating wireless network connections, Bluetooth connections, or other connections; and displaying relevant information on the user interface 310. The user interface 310 and the inputs/output (I/O) interfaces 306 may include a graphical user interface, touch sensitive display, haptic feedback or other haptic output, voice or facial recognition inputs, buttons, switches, speakers and other user interface elements. Additional examples of the I/O interfaces 306 may include microphones, video and still image cameras, temperature sensors, vibration sensors, rotation and orientation sensors, headset and microphone input /output jacks, Universal Serial Bus (USB) connectors, memory card slots, radiation sensors (e.g., IR sensors) , and other types of inputs.

Referring to FIG. 3, the communication interfaces 302 may include a Radio Frequency (RF) transmit (Tx) and receive (Rx) circuitry 316 which handles transmission and reception of signals through one or more antennas 314. The communication interface 302 may include one or more transceivers. The transceivers may be wireless transceivers that include modulation /demodulation circuitry, digital to analog converters (DACs) , shaping tables, analog to digital converters (ADCs) , filters, waveform shapers, filters, pre-amplifiers, power amplifiers and/or other logic for transmitting and receiving through one or more antennas, or (for some devices) through a physical (e.g., wireline) medium. The transmitted and received signals may adhere to any of a diverse array of formats, protocols, modulations (e.g., QPSK, 16-QAM, 64-QAM, or 256-QAM) , frequency channels, bit rates, and encodings. As one specific example, the communication interfaces 302 may include transceivers that support transmission and reception under the 2G, 3G, BT, WiFi, Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) , High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) +, 4G /Long Term Evolution (LTE) , and 5G standards. The techniques described below, however, are applicable to other wireless communications technologies whether arising from the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) , GSM Association, 3GPP2, IEEE, or other partnerships or standards bodies.

Referring to FIG. 3, the system circuitry 304 may include one or more processors 321 and memories 322. The memory 322 stores, for example, an operating system 324, instructions 326, and parameters 328. The processor 321 is configured to execute the instructions 326 to carry out desired functionality for the UE 300. The parameters 328 may provide and specify configuration and operating options for the instructions 326. The memory 322 may also store any BT, WiFi, 3G, 4G, 5G or other data that the UE 300 will send, or has received, through the communication interfaces 302. In various implementations, a system power for the UE 300 may be supplied by a power storage device, such as a battery or a transformer.

The present disclosure describes several embodiments of methods and devices for reporting in-device coexistence (IDC) interference, which may be implemented, partly or totally, on the wireless network base station and/or the user equipment described above in FIGs. 2 and 3.

In various embodiments, FIG. 4A shows a flow diagram of a method 400 for wireless communication including transmitting, by a user equipment (UE) , an in-device coexistence (IDC) report to a base station. The method 400 may include a portion or all of the following steps: step 410, receiving, by the UE, a report configuration from the base station; and/or step 420: in response to a trigger condition, transmitting, by the UE, the IDC report to the base station, the IDC report comprising at least one IDC-affected bandwidth unit.

In various embodiments, FIG. 4B shows a flow diagram of a method 450 for wireless communication including receiving, by a base station, an in-device coexistence (IDC) report from a user equipment (UE) . The method 450 may include a portion or all of the following steps: step 460: transmitting, by the base station, a report configuration to the UE; and/or step 470: receiving, by the base station, the IDC report from the UE in response to a trigger condition, the IDC report comprising at least one IDC-affected bandwidth unit.

In some implementations, the report configuration indicates at least one of the following: whether the IDC report is supported; a granularity for the IDC report; and/or a scope of resource that the IDC report is required to cover.

In some implementations, in additional to a portion, any one, or all of the described implementations/embodiments, the scope of resource comprises at least one of the following: one or more cell, and/or one or more frequencies.

In some implementations, in additional to a portion, any one, or all of the described implementations/embodiments, the base station transmits a radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration message to the UE, the RRC reconfiguration message comprising the report configuration.

In some implementations, in additional to a portion, any one, or all of the described implementations/embodiments, the trigger condition comprises at least one of the following: when the UE is experiencing IDC interference on the at least one IDC-affected bandwidth unit; and/or when the UE expects to experience IDC interference on the at least one IDC-affected bandwidth unit.

In some implementations, in additional to a portion, any one, or all of the described implementations/embodiments, the IDC-affected bandwidth unit is a bandwidth part (BWP) .

In some implementations, in additional to a portion, any one, or all of the described implementations/embodiments, the BWP is a configured BWP.

In some implementations, in additional to a portion, any one, or all of the described implementations/embodiments, the report configuration indicates a granularity of the BWP or granularity of PRB per BWP for the IDC report.

In some implementations, in additional to a portion, any one, or all of the described implementations/embodiments, the IDC report comprises at least one of the following: one or more single BWP; one or more first-type BWP combination; and/or one or more second-type BWP combination.

In some implementations, in additional to a portion, any one, or all of the described implementations/embodiments, each of the one or more first-type BWP combination comprises at least two BWPs; and/or the at least two BWPs comprises a first BWP and a second BWP, wherein: the first BWP and the second BWP are configured in a carrier for the UE, and/or the first BWP is configured in a first carrier for the UE, and the second BWP is configured in a second carrier for the UE.

In some implementations, in additional to a portion, any one, or all of the described implementations/embodiments, each of the one or more second-type BWP combination comprises at least one BWP and at least one frequency, wherein the at least one BWP is configured in a first carrier for the UE, and the at least one frequency is configured in a second carrier for the UE.

In some implementations, in additional to a portion, any one, or all of the described implementations/embodiments, the first carrier belongs to a new radio (NR) radio access technology (RAT) .

In some implementations, in additional to a portion, any one, or all of the described implementations/embodiments, the first carrier and the second carrier belong to a same RAT.

In some implementations, in additional to a portion, any one, or all of the described implementations/embodiments, the first carrier and the second carrier belong to different RATs.

In some implementations, in additional to a portion, any one, or all of the described implementations/embodiments, the IDC report further comprises a victim type for each of the one or more single BWP, each of the one or more first-type BWP combination, or each of the one or more second-type BWP combination.

In some implementations, in additional to a portion, any one, or all of the described implementations/embodiments, the UE receives a reconfiguration message from a master cell group (MCG) , the reconfiguration message comprising the report configuration, wherein a secondary cell group (SCG) indicates BWP information to the MCG for the report configuration.

In some implementations, in additional to a portion, any one, or all of the described implementations/embodiments, in response to receiving the IDC report based on BWP, the MCG transfers the IDC report to the SCG.

In some implementations, in additional to a portion, any one, or all of the described implementations/embodiments, the IDC-affected bandwidth unit is a physical resource block (PRB) .

In some implementations, in additional to a portion, any one, or all of the described implementations/embodiments, the report configuration indicates a granularity of the PRB for the IDC report.

In some implementations, in additional to a portion, any one, or all of the described implementations/embodiments, the IDC report comprises at least one of the following: one or more PRB list; one or more first-type PRB combination; and/or one or more second-type PRB combination.

In some implementations, in additional to a portion, any one, or all of the described implementations/embodiments, each of the one or more PRB list comprises one or more PRB range in one or more carrier for the UE.

In some implementations, in additional to a portion, any one, or all of the described implementations/embodiments, each of the one or more first-type PRB combination comprises at least two PRB lists; and/or the at least two PRB lists comprise a first PRB list and a second PRB list, wherein: each of the first PRB list and the second PRB list comprises one or more PRB in a carrier for the UE, and/or the first PRB list comprises one or more PRB in a first carrier for the UE, and the second PRB list comprises one or more PRB in a second carrier for the UE.

In some implementations, in additional to a portion, any one, or all of the described implementations/embodiments, each of the one or more second-type PRB combination comprises at least one PRB list and at least one frequency, wherein the at least one PRB list comprises one or more PRB in a first carrier for the UE, and the at least one frequency is configured in a second carrier for the UE.

In some implementations, in additional to a portion, any one, or all of the described implementations/embodiments, the PRB list is indicated by at least one of the following: a center frequency of a carrier in which the PRB list is, an offset from which the PRB list starts relative to the center frequency of the carrier, a width of the PRB list, a center frequency of the PRB list, and/or a PRB index being a lowest PRB or lowest sub-carrier in the PRB list.

In some implementations, in additional to a portion, any one, or all of the described implementations/embodiments, the width of the PRB list is expressed by one of the following: a number of at least one PRB, a number of at least one carrier, or a combination of at least one PRB and at least one carrier.

In some implementations, in additional to a portion, any one, or all of the described implementations/embodiments, the first carrier and the second carrier belong to a same radio access technology (RAT) .

In some implementations, in additional to a portion, any one, or all of the described implementations/embodiments, the one or more second-type PRB combination belongs to intra-RAT combination.

In some implementations, in additional to a portion, any one, or all of the described implementations/embodiments, the one or more second-type PRB combination belongs to inter-RAT combination.

In some implementations, in additional to a portion, any one, or all of the described implementations/embodiments, the IDC report further comprises a victim type for each of the one or more PRB list, each of the one or more first-type PRB combination, or each of the one or more second-type PRB combination.

In some implementations, in additional to a portion, any one, or all of the described implementations/embodiments, the UE receives a reconfiguration message from a master cell group (MCG) , the reconfiguration message comprising the report configuration, wherein a secondary cell group (SCG) indicates PRB information to the MCG for the report configuration.

In some implementations, in additional to a portion, any one, or all of the described implementations/embodiments, in response to receiving the IDC report based on PRB, the MCG transfers the IDC report to the SCG.

First group of embodiments

The present disclosure describes various non-limiting embodiments for reporting IDC report, which may take BWP-level as non-limiting examples. The embodiments may be generally applied to other levels of IDC reporting, for example but not limited to, carrier level, PRB level, subcarrier level, and the like.

In various examples of how to report the BWP level IDC, a UE may report the BWP-based IDC, including at least one of the below types: a first type (type 1) IDC that is caused by a single BWP, a second type (type 2) IDC that is caused by BWP combination, and a third type (type 3) IDC that is caused by BWP and frequency combination. In some implementations, the type 3 IDC may include intra-radio access technology (RAT) and/or inter-RAT.

In some implementations, for the type 1, the UE may indicate the affected one or more BWPs. For the type 2, the UE may indicate one or more BWP combinations. For the type 3, the UE may indicate one or more BWP and frequency (including intra RAT and inter RAT) combination.

In one non-limiting example of BWP based IDC types, the BWP and carrier configuration are as below: for the serving cell and carrier info of the NR side, for the primary cell (PCell) : f1 UL BWP 0/1/2, and DL BWP 0/1/2; for the secondary cell (Scell) : f2 UL BWP 0/1, and DL BWP 0/1/2/3; and non-serving cell f4. This configuration may indicate that the Pcell is on the f1, and configured with UL BWP 0/1/2 and DL BWP 0/1/2, and the Scell is on the f2, and configured with UL BWP 0/1 and DL BWP 0/1/2/3. The frequencies of the EUTRA (also referred as Eutra) side are as below: the frequencies of the Eutra measurement objects are f5 and f6.

The different IDC Interference types are as below.

For Type 1 IDC, Pcell: f1 UL BWP 0/1 and DL BWP 0/2; Scell: f2 UL BWP 0 and DL BWP 0/3.

For Type 2 IDC, f1+f2: f1 UL BWP 0 +f2 BWP 0.

For Type 3 IDC of intra-RAT, f1+f4: f1 UL BWP 1+ f4 (BWP+ frequency combination) ; f2+f4: f2 UL BWP 0 + f4 (BWP+ frequency combination) .

For another Type 3 IDC of inter-RAT, f1+f5 (EN/NE-DC BC) : f1 UL BWP 0 + f5.

In some implementations, to report the above BWP level IDC types, the signaling structure may be designed as below.

For Type 1 IDC wherein the single Carrier ->Affected BWP:

For Type 2 IDC wherein the UL CA/DC case, affected UL BWP combination:

For Type 3 IDC of intra-RAT wherein Affected UL BWP+NR Frequency combination:

For Type 3 IDC of inter-RAT wherein Affected UL BWP+Eutra Frequency combination: a similar structure as Type 3 of intra-RAT may be reused, and the difference may be that the frequency is Eutra frequency.

In some implementations, the structure for Type 3 IDC of intra-RAT and Type 3 IDC of inter-RAT may also be merged with a choice structure.

In some implementations, for a BWP-based scheme, the affected PRBs for each BWP may be introduced to further optimize the BWP-based scheme.

In various examples of how the network configures the BWP level reporting, the network may indicate it supports/or requires BWP_level IDC interference reporting.

In one non-limiting example, the network may configure BWP reporting with the below field in a RRC reconfiguration message:

IDC-BWP-AssistanceConfig-r18 ENUMERATED {true} ;

In some implementations, the network may also indicate its supported granularity, e.g. BWP granularity or PRB per cell granularity or per PRB per BWP. In some implementations, the network may configure which BWP level information need to be report, e.g. the network may indicate which cells or which BWPs are required to report BWP-level IDC.

In another non-limiting example, the network may configure BWP reporting with the below field in the RRC reconfiguration message:

idc-AssistanceConfig-r18 SetupRelease {IDC-AssistanceConfig-r18}

IDC-AssistanceConfig-r18 : : = SEQUENCE {

candidateServingCellIndexList-r18 CandidateServingCellIndexList-r18 OPTIONAL, --Need M ... }

In some implementations, the network may configure BWP reporting with the related frequency or indicated the BWP index, for example, the UE may report IDC only for a frequency or BWP index when the frequency is within a related frequency range/list or the BWP index is within a indicated BWP index range/list.

In some implementations, the IDC reporting may also be configured by the network, e.g., in the other configuration signaling, which level shall be reported, e.g., BWP level/PRB level/PRB per BWP level.

In various examples of what a trigger condition is and/or how the UE triggers the IDC reporting, the UE may trigger the BWP level IDC reporting when the UE is experiencing or expects to experience upon activation IDC problems on the configured BWP.

In one non-limiting example, as shown in FIG. 5, the UE may be connected to a first cell (cell1) with an initial BWP (BWP 0, 510) and a dedicated BWP (BWP 1, 520) . There are three examples for interference cases, an interference case 1 (531) , an interference case 2 (532) , an interference case 3 (533) . When there is no IDC interference on the initial BWP0 and BWP1, there is no need to report IDC issue on the corresponding carrier.

For the interference case 1, the UE may report the affected BWP 0 and BWP 1, since both the BWP 0 and BWP 1 overlaps with the interference case 1.

For the interference case 2, the UE may report the affected BWP 1 but may not report BWP 0, since there is no IDC interference from the interference case 2 on the BWP 0 and there is IDC interference from the interference case 2 on the BWP 1.

For the interference case 3, the UE may not trigger the BWP-level IDC reporting, since there is no IDC interference from the interference case 3 either the BWP 0 or the BWP 1.

In some implementations, the UE may report assistance information modification. For example, once the network reconfigures the BWP, the UE may determine whether it also needs to the modification of the IDC assistance information reporting. When the IDC assistance information are different from the previous one, the UE may report the BWP based IDC again.

In some implementations, a prohibit timer may be introduced to prevent the UE from sending the IDC unified air interface (UAI) too frequently. For example, before the prohibit timer expires, the UE is prohibited from sending the IDC UAI, and the prohibit timer may be reset after it expires.

In some implementations, the victim type may be reported per BC (for CA or DC) . For the BWP level reporting, the BWP-level victim type may be supported, which means that for each BWP, or each BWP combination or each BWP and frequency combination, a victim type may be indicated.

In some implementations, for a multi-RAT duel connectivity (MR-DC) case, a secondary cell group (SCG) may indicate the BWP/PRB/carrier information to a master cell group (MCG) for the IDC reporting configuration. Then, the MCG may indicate it to the UE by the reconfiguration message. In some implementations, when the MCG receive the BWP based IDC information, the MCG may transfer it to the SCG.

In some implementations, related to the carrier on which the BWP is configured, the carrier/carrier combination list may be reported, and the BWP-level information may be seen as supplementary information.

Second group of embodiments

The present disclosure describes various non-limiting embodiments for reporting IDC report, which may take PRB-level as non-limiting examples. For a PRB based scheme, the IDC interference may be reported at the PRB level. The embodiments may be generally applied to other levels of IDC reporting, for example but not limited to, carrier level, BWP level, subcarrier level, and the like.

In various examples of how to report the PRB level IDC, a UE may report the PRB-based IDC, including at least one of the below types: a first type (type 1) IDC that is caused by PRBs on a single carrier, a second type (type 2) IDC that is caused by combinations of the PRBs on the different frequencies, and a third type (type 3) IDC that is caused by PRBs and frequency combination, which may include intra RAT and inter RAT.

In some implementations, for the type 1, the UE may indicate the affected PRBs on one or more frequencies; for the type 2, the UE may indicate combinations of the PRBs on the different frequencies; for the type 3, the UE may indicate PRBs and frequency including intra RAT and inter RAT combination.

In one non-limiting example of PRB based IDC, the carrier configuration is as below: Pcell f1; Scell f2; and non-serving cell f4. The frequencies of the Eutra measurement object is f5 and f6.

The different IDC Interference types are as below.

For Type 1 IDC with single carrier: Pcell f1; Scell f2; and non-serving cell f4.

For Type 2 IDC with combinations of the PRBs on the different frequencies: f1+f2: f1 PRB ranges +f2 PRB ranges (intra-RAT combination) ; and f1+f5 (EN/NE-DC BC) : f1 PRB ranges + f5 PRB ranges (inter-RAT PRB combination) .

For type 3 IDC with UL CA or DC in the same RAT as intra-RAT IDC: f1+f4: f1 PRB ranges+ f4; and f2+f4: f2 PRB ranges + f4.

For type 3 IDC with UL CA in the different RATs as inter-RAT IDC: f1+f6 (EN/NE-DC BC) : f1 PRB ranges + f6.

In the present disclosure, each type IDC may include multiple PRB ranges. The PRB range may be referred as a PRB list comprising one or more individual discrete PRB index and/or one or more range of PRB indexes.

In some implementations, a PRB range in a carrier may be indicated/configured by one of the following options. For Option 1, the PRB range/list is indicated/configured by a center frequency of the carrier, an offset from which the PRB range/list starts relative to the center frequency of the carrier, and a width of the PRB range/list.

For Option 2: the PRB range/list is indicated/configured by a center frequency of the PRB range/list, and a width of the PRB range/list.

For Option 3: the PRB range/list is indicated/configured by a dedicated start PRB index (PRB0 is corresponding to the lowest PRB of this carrier. In some implementations, the PRB range/list is indicated/configured by a start subcarrier and the affected bandwidth implicitly or explicitly. In some implementations, the implicitly method may refer to that the UE may indicate a resource indicator value (RIV) value as the BWP configuration has done. In some implementations, a common SCS may be used.

In one non-limiting example, FIG. 6 shows an IDC interference PRB range/list 610. For option 1: the UE may indicate the PRB range/list by the center frequency of the carrier (fx 620) , an offset (622) and a width (624) . The offset/width may also be expressed by a number of PRBs or sub-carriers.

For option 2, the UE may indicate the PRB range/list by the center frequency of the PRB range/list (fy 630) together with the width.

For option 3: the UE may indicate the PRB range/list by the start PRB (PRBm 640) (or the start subcarrier z) , and a bandwidth/width (e.g. n PRBs/n sub-carriers) implicitly or explicitly.

In some implementations, the signaling structure may be designed as below.

For type 1 IDC wherein the single Carrier ->Affected PRBs:

For Type 2 IDC wherein the UL CA/DC case, affected UL PRB combination:

For Type 3 IDC wherein the affected UL PRB+NR Frequency combination of intra-RAT:

For Type 4 IDC wherein the affected UL PRB+Eutra Frequency combination of inter-RAT: a similar structure as Type 3 of intra-RAT may be reused, and the difference may be that the frequency is Eutra frequency.

In various examples of how the network configures the PRB level reporting, the network shall indicate it supports/or requires PRB_level IDC interference reporting.

In one non-limiting example, the network may configure BWP reporting with a below field in a RRC reconfiguration message. In some implementations, the network may indicate it supports/or requires PRB_level IDC interference reporting.

IDC-PRB-AssistanceConfig-r18 ENUMERATED {true}

In some implementations, the network may also indicate its supported granularity, e.g. PRB per cell granularity or per PRB per BWP.

In another non-limiting example, the network may configure for which carriers the PRB level are required with the following.

idc-AssistanceConfig-r18 SetupRelease {IDC-AssistanceConfig-r18}

IDC-AssistanceConfig-r18 : : = SEQUENCE {

PRBrequiredCarrier SEQUENCE (SIZE (1.. maxcarrier) ) OF ARFCN-ValueNR ... }

Third group of embodiments

The present disclosure describes various non-limiting embodiments of the network configuration for the different RAT IDC reporting. The potential IDC interference types may be reported based on the network configuration as the following: Type 1: (potential) interference from/to a single frequency; Type 2: (potential) interference caused by the 3GPP intra-RAT UL CA BC or UL DC BC (NR-DC) to the DL reception of non-3gpp RAT; and Type 3: (potential) interference caused by the 3GPP inter-RAT UL DC (EN-DC or NE-DC BC) BC to the DL reception of non-3gpp RAT.

In some implementations, various MR-DC architectures may be considered, including but not limited to the below 4 scenarios: Scenario 1: IDC reporting when UE is working at Single CC/CA-->SA case; Scenario 2: IDC reporting when UE is working at NR-DC; Scenario 3: IDC reporting when UE is working at NE-DC; and Scenario 4: IDC reporting when UE is working at EN-DC. The IDC types under each scenarios may be reported as shown in Table 2.

Table 2: IDC interference type for each working scenario

In some implementations, for the NE-DC, the UE also reports LTE type 1 interference, in the other config of reconfiguration message, it may indicate Eutra (single carrier) .

In some implementations, for the EN-DC the UE also report NR type 1 interference, in the other config of reconfiguration message, it may indicate NR (single carrier) .

In some implementations, for the NE-DC, the UE also report LTE type 2 interference, in the other config of reconfiguration message, it may indicate Eutra (CA or DC) .

In some implementations, for the EN-DC the UE also report NR type 2 interference, in the other config of reconfiguration message, it may indicate NR (CA or DC) .

In some implementations, for the NR SA, the UE also report type 3 interference, in the other config of reconfiguration message, it may indicate MR-DC (EN DC or NE-DC) .

In some implementations, for the NE-DC, the UE also report type 3 interference, in the other config of reconfiguration message, it may indicate MR-DC (EN DC or NE-DC) .

In some implementations, based on various described embodiments, the network may configure the IDC reporting with RAT information, single carrier/CA/DC information, PRB/BWP information, and/or any combination of them.

The present disclosure describes methods, apparatus, and computer-readable medium for wireless communication. The present disclosure addressed the issues with IDC interference reporting. The methods, devices, and computer-readable medium described in the present disclosure may facilitate the performance of wireless communication by reporting IDC interference, thus improving efficiency and overall performance. The methods, devices, and computer-readable medium described in the present disclosure may improves the overall efficiency of the wireless communication systems.

Reference throughout this specification to features, advantages, or similar language does not imply that all of the features and advantages that may be realized with the present solution should be or are included in any single implementation thereof. Rather, language referring to the features and advantages is understood to mean that a specific feature, advantage, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present solution. Thus, discussions of the features and advantages, and similar language, throughout the specification may, but do not necessarily, refer to the same embodiment.

Furthermore, the described features, advantages and characteristics of the present solution may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. One of ordinary skill in the relevant art will recognize, in light of the description herein, that the present solution can be practiced without one or more of the specific features or advantages of a particular embodiment. In other instances, additional features and advantages may be recognized in certain embodiments that may not be present in all embodiments of the present solution.

Claims

A method for wireless communication, comprising:

transmitting, by a user equipment (UE) , an in-device coexistence (IDC) report to a base station by:

receiving, by the UE, a report configuration from the base station; and

in response to a trigger condition, transmitting, by the UE, the IDC report to the base station, the IDC report comprising at least one IDC-affected bandwidth unit.
A method for wireless communication, comprising:

receiving, by a base station, an in-device coexistence (IDC) report from a user equipment (UE) by:

transmitting, by the base station, a report configuration to the UE; and

receiving, by the base station, the IDC report from the UE in response to a trigger condition, the IDC report comprising at least one IDC-affected bandwidth unit.
The method according to any of claims 1 to 2, wherein:

the report configuration indicates at least one of the following:

whether the IDC report is supported;

a granularity for the IDC report; or

a scope of resource that the IDC report is required to cover.
The method according to claim 3, wherein:

the scope of resource comprises at least one of the following:

one or more cell, or

one or more frequencies.
The method according to any of claims 1 to 2, wherein:

the base station transmits a radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration message to the UE, the RRC reconfiguration message comprising the report configuration.
The method according to any of claims 1 to 2, wherein:

the trigger condition comprises at least one of the following:

when the UE is experiencing IDC interference on the at least one IDC-affected bandwidth unit; or

when the UE expects to experience IDC interference on the at least one IDC-affected bandwidth unit.
The method according to any of claims 1 to 2, wherein:

the IDC-affected bandwidth unit is a bandwidth part (BWP) .
The method according to claim 7, wherein:

the BWP is a configured BWP.
The method according to claim 7, wherein:

the report configuration indicates a granularity of the BWP or granularity of PRB per BWP for the IDC report.
The method according to claim 7, wherein:

the IDC report comprises at least one of the following:

one or more single BWP;

one or more first-type BWP combination; or

one or more second-type BWP combination.
The method according to claim 10, wherein:

each of the one or more first-type BWP combination comprises at least two BWPs; and

the at least two BWPs comprises a first BWP and a second BWP, wherein:

the first BWP and the second BWP are configured in a carrier for the UE, or

the first BWP is configured in a first carrier for the UE, and the second BWP is configured in a second carrier for the UE.
The method according to claim 10, wherein:

each of the one or more second-type BWP combination comprises at least one BWP and at least one frequency, wherein the at least one BWP is configured in a first carrier for the UE, and the at least one frequency is configured in a second carrier for the UE.
The method according to claim 12, wherein:

the first carrier belongs to a new radio (NR) radio access technology (RAT) .
The method according to claim 12, wherein:

the first carrier and the second carrier belong to a same RAT.
The method according to claim 12, wherein:

the first carrier and the second carrier belong to different RATs.
The method according to claim 10, wherein:

the IDC report further comprises a victim type for each of the one or more single BWP, each of the one or more first-type BWP combination, or each of the one or more second-type BWP combination.
The method according to claim 7, wherein:

the UE receives a reconfiguration message from a master cell group (MCG) , the reconfiguration message comprising the report configuration, wherein a secondary cell group (SCG) indicates BWP information to the MCG for the report configuration.
The method according to claim 17, wherein:

in response to receiving the IDC report based on BWP, the MCG transfers the IDC report to the SCG.
The method according to any of claims 1 to 2, wherein:

the IDC-affected bandwidth unit is a physical resource block (PRB) .
The method according to claim 19, wherein:

the report configuration indicates a granularity of the PRB for the IDC report.
The method according to claim 19, wherein:

the IDC report comprises at least one of the following:

one or more PRB list;

one or more first-type PRB combination; or

one or more second-type PRB combination.
The method according to claim 21, wherein:

each of the one or more PRB list comprises one or more PRB range in one or more carrier for the UE.
The method according to claim 21, wherein:

each of the one or more first-type PRB combination comprises at least two PRB lists; and

the at least two PRB lists comprise a first PRB list and a second PRB list, wherein:

each of the first PRB list and the second PRB list comprises one or more PRB in a carrier for the UE, or

the first PRB list comprises one or more PRB in a first carrier for the UE, and the second PRB list comprises one or more PRB in a second carrier for the UE.
The method according to claim 21, wherein:

each of the one or more second-type PRB combination comprises at least one PRB list and at least one frequency, wherein the at least one PRB list comprises one or more PRB in a first carrier for the UE, and the at least one frequency is configured in a second carrier for the UE.
The method according to any of claims 22 to 24, wherein:

the PRB list is indicated by at least one of the following:

a center frequency of a carrier in which the PRB list is,

an offset from which the PRB list starts relative to the center frequency of the carrier,

a width of the PRB list,

a center frequency of the PRB list, or

a PRB index being a lowest PRB or lowest sub-carrier in the PRB list.
The method according to claim 25, wherein:

the width of the PRB list is expressed by one of the following: a number of at least one PRB, a number of at least one carrier, or a combination of at least one PRB and at least one carrier.
The method according to claim 24, wherein:

the first carrier and the second carrier belong to a same radio access technology (RAT) .
The method according to claim 24, wherein:

the one or more second-type PRB combination belongs to intra-RAT combination.
The method according to claim 24, wherein:

the first carrier and the second carrier belong to different RATs.
The method according to claim 24, wherein:

the one or more second-type PRB combination belongs to inter-RAT combination.
The method according to claim 21, wherein:

the IDC report further comprises a victim type for each of the one or more PRB list, each of the one or more first-type PRB combination, or each of the one or more second-type PRB combination.
The method according to claim 19, wherein:

the UE receives a reconfiguration message from a master cell group (MCG) , the reconfiguration message comprising the report configuration, wherein a secondary cell group (SCG) indicates PRB information to the MCG for the report configuration.
The method according to claim 32, wherein:

in response to receiving the IDC report based on PRB, the MCG transfers the IDC report to the SCG.
A wireless communications apparatus comprising a processor and a memory, wherein the processor is configured to read code from the memory and implement a method recited in any of claims 1 to 33.
A computer program product comprising a computer-readable program medium code stored thereupon, the computer-readable program medium code, when executed by a processor, causing the processor to implement a method recited in any of claims 1 to 33.