WO2025171599A1

WO2025171599A1 - Multiple ssb-less scell activation enhancement

Info

Publication number: WO2025171599A1
Application number: PCT/CN2024/077288
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jie Cui; Dan Wu; Dawei Zhang; Manasa RAGHAVAN; Peng Cheng; Qiming Li; Xiang Chen; Yang Tang
Original assignee: Apple Inc
Current assignee: Apple Inc
Priority date: 2024-02-16
Filing date: 2024-02-16
Publication date: 2025-08-21
Anticipated expiration: 2026-08-16

Abstract

An apparatus configured to process, based on signals received from a base station, secondary cell (SCell) activation commands for multiple SCells, wherein each of the multiple SCells are cells that are currently not transmitting synchronization signal blocks (SSB-less SCells) and activate each of the multiple SCells based on the corresponding SCell activation command and reference activation information of an active reference serving cell, wherein the reference activation information comprises timing information, frequency information and automatic gain control (AGC) information.

Description

Multiple SSB-less SCell Activation Enhancement

BACKGROUND

A network may support devices that use network energy savings ( “NES” ) features. These types of features may provide cost, complexity reduction and/or energy saving benefits. In some examples, NES includes cells muting certain reference signals (RS) such as synchronization signal block (SSB) transmissions, e.g., SSB-less cells.

User equipment (UE) may be configured with a carrier aggregation (CA) capability where the UE is configured with a primary cells (PCell) and one or more secondary cells (SCells) . The UE may use the SSBs for activation of SCells. However, if one or more SCells are SSB-less SCells (e.g., the SCells are operating in NES mode) , the UE may not be able to activate the SCell.

Summary

Some example embodiments are related to an apparatus having processing circuitry configured to process, based on signals received from a base station, secondary cell (SCell) activation commands for multiple SCells, wherein each of the multiple SCells are cells that are currently not transmitting synchronization signal blocks (SSB-less SCells) and activate each of the multiple SCells based on the corresponding SCell activation command and reference activation information of an active reference serving cell, wherein the reference activation information comprises timing information, frequency information and automatic gain control (AGC) information.

Other example embodiments are related to an apparatus having processing circuitry configured to generate, for transmission to a user equipment (UE) , secondary cell (SCell) activation commands for multiple SCells, wherein each of the multiple SCells are cells that are currently not transmitting synchronization signal blocks (SSB-less SCells) , wherein the multiple SCells comprise intra-band SSB-less SCells and at least one of the intra-band SSB-less SCells are transmitting Tracking Reference Signals (TRS) and send the SCell activation commands to the UE.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Fig. 1 shows an example network arrangement according to various example embodiments.

Fig. 2 shows an example user equipment (UE) according to various example embodiments.

Fig. 3 shows an example base station according to various example embodiments.

Fig. 4 shows a first example timing diagram for multiple SCell activation for intra-band SSB-less SCells according to various example embodiments.

Fig. 5 shows a second example timing diagram for multiple SCell activation for intra-band SSB-less SCells according to various example embodiments.

Fig. 6 shows a third example timing diagram for multiple SCell activation for intra-band SSB-less SCells according to various example embodiments.

Fig. 7 shows an example of a reference cell chain where one SSB-less SCell is a reference cell for another SSB-less SCell according to various example embodiments.

Fig. 8 shows an example timing diagram 800 for multiple SCell activation for inter-band SSB-less SCells according to various example embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The example embodiments may be further understood with reference to the following description and the related appended drawings, wherein like elements are provided with the same reference numerals. The example embodiments relate to various methods performed by a user equipment (UE) to activate multiple secondary cells (SCells) that are SSB-less SCells.

The example embodiments are described with regard to a user equipment (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 the network. Therefore, the UE as described herein is used to represent any appropriate type of electronic component.

The example embodiments are also described with regard to a fifth generation (5G) New Radio (NR) network and cells that are next generation node Bs (gNBs) . However, reference to a 5G NR network and gNBs is merely provided for illustrative purposes. The example embodiments may be utilized with any appropriate type of network (e.g., 5G-Advanced, 6G, etc. ) and base station.

Some example embodiments are also described with reference to carrier aggregation (CA) . In CA, a UE may communicate in the downlink (DL) or uplink (UL) with multiple cells of a network to increase throughput. CA includes the UE associating with a Primary Cell (PCell) and one or more Secondary Cells (SCells) . Different band combinations of CA may be served by the PCell and SCell, e.g., the PCell may serve a first component carrier (CC) of a CA band combination (e.g., CC1) to the UE and the SCell may serve a second CC of the CA band combination (e.g., CC2) to the UE. Thus, in CA, both the PCell and the SCell are considered to be serving cells. However, the example embodiments are not limited to CA scenarios and may be implemented when a UE is not operating in CA mode.

The example embodiments describe operations for a UE to activate multiple SSB-less SCells. The example embodiments include operations for prioritizing one of the SSB-less SCells to activate and using information related to the prioritized SCell to activate the other SSB-less SCells. These and other example embodiments are described in greater detail below.

Fig. 1 shows an example network arrangement 100 according to various example embodiments. The example network arrangement 100 includes a UE 110. The UE 110 may be any type of electronic component that is configured to communicate via a network, e.g., mobile phones, tablet computers, desktop computers, smartphones, phablets, embedded devices, wearables, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, etc. An actual network arrangement may include any number of UEs being used by any number of users. Thus, the example of a single UE 110 is merely provided for illustrative purposes.

The UE 110 may be configured to communicate with one or more networks. In the example of the network arrangement 100, the network with which the UE 110 may wirelessly communicate is a 5G NR radio access network (RAN) 120. However, the UE 110 may also communicate with other types of networks (e.g., sixth generation (6G) RAN, 5G cloud RAN, a next generation RAN (NG-RAN) , a long-term evolution (LTE) RAN, a legacy cellular network, a wireless local area network (WLAN) , etc. ) and the UE 110 may also communicate with networks over a wired connection. With regard to the example embodiments, the UE 110 may establish a connection with the 5G NR RAN 120. Therefore, the UE 110 may have at least a 5G NR chipset to communicate with the 5G NR RAN 120.

The 5G NR RAN 120 may be a portion of a cellular network that may be deployed by a network carrier (e.g., Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, etc. ) . The 5G NR RAN 120 may include base stations or access nodes (Node Bs, eNodeBs, HeNBs, eNBS, gNBs, gNodeBs, macrocells, microcells, small cells, femtocells, etc. ) that are configured to send and receive traffic from UEs that are equipped with the appropriate cellular chip set. In the network arrangement 100, the 5G NR RAN 120 deploys a gNB 120A.

Any association procedure may be performed for the UE 110 to connect to the 5G NR RAN 120. For example, as discussed above, the 5G NR RAN 120 may be associated with a particular cellular provider where the UE 110 and/or the user thereof has a contract and credential information (e.g., stored on a SIM card) . Upon detecting the presence of the 5G NR RAN 120, the UE 110 may transmit the corresponding credential information to associate with the 5G NR RAN 120. More specifically, the UE 110 may associate with a specific base station, e.g., the gNB 120A.

The network arrangement 100 also includes a cellular core network 130, the Internet 140, an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) 150, and a network services backbone 160. The cellular core network 130 may refer to an interconnected set of components that manages the operation and traffic of the cellular network. It may include the evolved packet core (EPC) and/or the 5G core (5GC) . The cellular core network 130 also manages the traffic that flows between the cellular network and the Internet 140. The IMS 150 may be generally described as an architecture for delivering multimedia services to the UE 110 using the IP protocol. The IMS 150 may communicate with the cellular core network 130 and the Internet 140 to provide the multimedia services to the UE 110. The network services backbone 160 is in communication either directly or indirectly with the Internet 140 and the cellular core network 130. The network services backbone 160 may be generally described as a set of components (e.g., servers, network storage arrangements, etc. ) that implement a suite of services that may be used to extend the functionalities of the UE 110 in communication with the various networks.

Fig. 2 shows an example UE 110 according to various example embodiments. The UE 110 will be described with regard to the network arrangement 100 of Fig. 1. The UE 110 may include a processor 205, a memory arrangement 210, a display device 215, an input/output (I/O) device 220, a transceiver 225 and other components 230. The other components 230 may include, for example, an audio input device, an audio output device, a power supply, a data acquisition device, ports to electrically connect the UE 110 to other electronic devices, etc.

The processor 205 may be configured to execute a plurality of engines of the UE 110. For example, the engines may include an SCell activation engine 235. The SCell activation engine 235 may perform various operations related to activating multiple SSB-less SCells. To provide some general examples, the SCell activation engine 235 may perform operations such as, but not limited to, prioritizing one of the SSB-less SCells to activate and using information related to the prioritized SCell to activate the other SSB-less SCells. These and other operations are described in greater detail below.

The above referenced engine 235 being an application (e.g., a program) executed by the processor 205 is merely provided for illustrative purposes. The functionality associated with the engine 235 may also be represented as a separate incorporated component of the UE 110 or may be a modular component coupled to the UE 110, e.g., an integrated circuit with or without firmware. For example, the integrated circuit may include input circuitry to receive signals and processing circuitry to process the signals and other information. The engine may also be embodied as one application or separate applications. In addition, in some UEs, the functionality described for the processor 205 is split among two or more processors such as a baseband processor and an applications processor. The example embodiments may be implemented in any of these or other configurations of a UE.

The memory arrangement 210 may be a hardware component configured to store data related to operations performed by the UE 110. The display device 215 may be a hardware component configured to show data to a user while the I/O device 220 may be a hardware component that enables the user to enter inputs. The display device 215 and the I/O device 220 may be separate components or integrated together such as a touchscreen.

The transceiver 225 may be a hardware component configured to establish a connection with the 5G NR-RAN 120, an LTE-RAN (not pictured) , a legacy RAN (not pictured) , a WLAN (not pictured) , etc. Accordingly, the transceiver 225 may operate on a variety of different frequencies or channels (e.g., set of consecutive frequencies) . The transceiver 225 includes circuitry configured to transmit and/or receive signals (e.g., control signals, data signals) . Such signals may be encoded with information implementing any one of the methods described herein. The processor 205 may be operably coupled to the transceiver 225 and configured to receive from and/or transmit signals to the transceiver 225. The processor 205 may be configured to encode and/or decode signals (e.g., signaling from a base station of a network) for implementing any one of the methods described herein.

Fig. 3 shows an example base station 300 according to various example embodiments. The base station 300 may represent the gNB 120A or any other type of access node through which the UE 110 may establish a connection and manage network operations.

The base station 300 may include a processor 305, a memory arrangement 310, an input/output (I/O) device 315, a transceiver 320, and other components 325. The other components 325 may include, for example, an audio input device, an audio output device, a battery, a data acquisition device, ports to electrically connect the base station 300 to other electronic devices and/or power sources, TxRUs, transceiver chains, antenna elements, antenna panels, etc.

The processor 305 may be configured to execute a plurality of engines for the base station 300. For example, the engines may include an SCell activation configuration engine 330. The SCell activation configuration engine 330 may perform various operations related to configuring a UE to activate multiple SSB-less SCells. To provide some general examples, the SCell activation configuration engine 330 may perform operations such as, but not limited to, providing activation commands to activate multiple SSB-less SCells and providing configuration information to prioritize one of the SSB-less SCells to activate. These and other operations are described in greater detail below.

The above noted engine 330 being an application (e.g., a program) executed by the processor 305 is only an example. The functionality associated with the engine 330 may also be represented as a separate incorporated component of the base station 300 or may be a modular component coupled to the base station 300, e.g., an integrated circuit with or without firmware. For example, the integrated circuit may include input circuitry to receive signals and processing circuitry to process the signals and other information. In addition, in some base stations, the functionality described for the processor 305 is split among a plurality of processors (e.g., a baseband processor, an applications processor, etc. ) . The example embodiments may be implemented in any of these or other configurations of a base station.

The memory arrangement 310 may be a hardware component configured to store data related to operations performed by the base station 300. The I/O device 315 may be a hardware component or ports that enable a user to interact with the base station 300.

The transceiver 320 may be a hardware component configured to exchange data with the UE 110 and any other UEs in the network arrangement 100. The transceiver 320 may operate on a variety of different frequencies or channels (e.g., set of consecutive frequencies) . Therefore, the transceiver 320 may include one or more components to enable the data exchange with the various networks and UEs. The transceiver 320 includes circuitry configured to transmit and/or receive signals (e.g., control signals, data signals) . Such signals may be encoded with information implementing any one of the methods described herein. The processor 305 may be operably coupled to the transceiver 320 and configured to receive from and/or transmit signals to the transceiver 320. The processor 305 may be configured to encode and/or decode signals (e.g., signaling from a UE) for implementing any one of the methods described herein.

As described above, NES may include a cell muting SSB transmissions. However, UEs may measure the SSBs for various purposes including SCell activation. When an SSB-less target cell is being activated as an SCell, the UE may use the timing and automatic gain control of a current serving cell (e.g., a reference serving cell) for activation of the SSB-less SCell when there is a relationship between the reference serving cell and target SSB-less SCell, e.g., the reference serving cell is a QCL-typeC source cell. This solution may work when there is one SCell to be activated. However, the scenario is more complicated when there are more than one SSB-less SCells to be activated.

The example embodiments provide operations for a UE to perform when multiple SSB-less SCells are to be activated. The following scenarios describe examples where two (2) SSB-less SCells are to be activated, e.g., SCell1 and SCell2. However, the principles described herein may be extended to more than 2 cells. In a first set of examples, a scenario is described where the two SSB-less SCells are intra-band SSB-less SCells and at least one SSB-less SCell is using a tracking reference signal (TRS) .

In some example embodiments, the UE may differentiate whether the SSB-less SCells will serve intra-band contiguous component carriers (CCs) or non-contiguous CCs. When the SCell1 and SCell2 are intra-band contiguous CCs, in a first option, the SCell with the smallest TRS periodicity is used for activation, and then the other SCell (s) activation may be performed by reusing all the AGC and time/frequency (T/F) information of the SCell with the smallest TRS periodicity. In this manner, no additional time is used for the activation of the additional SCell (s) beyond the SCell with the smallest TRS periodicity.

Fig. 4 shows a first example timing diagram 400 for multiple SCell activation for intra-band SSB-less SCells according to various example embodiments. The timing diagram 400 shows a timing 410 for a first SCell1 and a timing 420 for a second SCell 420 to be activated. As shown in Fig. 4, the UE may receive the SCell activation command in a Medium Access Control-Control Element (MAC-CE) . The UE may take a number of milliseconds to process the MAC-CE (e.g., 3 milliseconds (ms) ) .

In this example, both SCells are using TRS. The TRS periodicity of SCell1 is 40ms while the TRS periodicity of SCell2 is 80 ms. As described above, the UE may select the SCell to be activated that has the smallest TRS periodicity, e.g., SCell1. The UE may then use the AGC and T/F information for this SCell for the activation of both SSB-less SCells, e.g., SCell1 and SCell2. As described above, the AGC and T/F information for SCell1 may be the AGC and T/F information of a reference serving cell. As shown in the timeline 410 of Fig. 4, the SCell activation for SCell1 may occur after receiving several samples of the TRS, (e.g., 2 samples) , plus 2ms for processing the TRS and a valid Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) uncertainty period. At the time marked valid CQI reporting, the SCell1 is activated.

Fig. 4 also shows the timeline 420 for the activation of the SCell2. However, this timeline assumes the SCell2 is activated independently of the SCell1. As described above, this is not the case in this example. Rather, the UE will activate the SCell2 using the same timeline as the SCell1, e.g., using the AGC and T/F of SCell1 once the UE determines the SCell1 has the shortest TRS periodicity. Thus, the total delay for multiple SCell activation may be the shortest SCell TRS periodicity (T_{first_TRS}) + TRS processing time (T_TRS) + valid CQI reporting uncertainty (5 ms) .

In a second option, the SCell with the smallest estimated activation delay may be prioritized for activation and the AGC and T/F information from this SCell may be used for the other SCell (s) . In this manner, no additional time is used for the activation of the additional SCell (s) beyond the SCell with the smallest estimated activation delay. The estimated activation delay may be derived based on time uncertainty of the first arrival TRS and the TRS periodicity or the valid CQI reporting delay.

Fig. 5 shows a second example timing diagram 500 for multiple SCell activation for intra-band SSB-less SCells according to various example embodiments. The timing diagram 500 shows a timing 510 for a first SCell1 and a timing 520 for a second SCell2 to be activated. As shown in Fig. 5, the UE may receive the SCell activation command in a Medium Access Control-Control Element (MAC-CE) . The UE may take a number of ms (e.g., 3 ms) to process the MAC-CE.

In this example, both SCells are using TRS. The TRS periodicity of SCell1 is 40ms while the TRS periodicity of SCell2 is 80 ms. As described above, the UE may select the SCell to be activated that has the estimated activation delay, e.g., SCell2 in this example even though the SCell2 has a longer TRS periodicity because SCell2 has a shorter valid CQI reporting uncertainty. The UE may then use the AGC and T/F information for this SCell for the activation of both SSB-less SCells, e.g., SCell1 and SCell2. As described above, the AGC and T/F information for the SCell2 may be the AGC and T/F information of a reference serving cell. As shown in the timeline 520 of Fig. 5, the SCell activation for SCell2 may occur after receiving several samples of the TRS, (e.g., 2 samples) , plus 2ms for processing the TRS and a valid Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) uncertainty period. At the time marked valid CQI reporting, the SCell1 is activated.

Fig. 5 also shows the timeline 510 for the activation of the SCell1. However, this timeline assumes the SCell1 is activated independently of the SCell2. As described above, this is not the case in this example. Rather, the UE will activate the SCell1 using the same timeline as the SCell2, e.g., using the AGC and T/F of SCell2 once the UE determines the SCell2 has the shortest estimated activation delay. Thus, the total delay for multiple SCell activation may be the SCell TRS periodicity for SCell with the smallest estimated activation delay (T_{first_TRS}) + TRS processing time (T_TRS) + valid CQI reporting uncertainty (5 ms) .

In a third option, one of the SCells may be using an aperiodic TRS (A-TRS) . In the above examples, it was described that both SCell1 and SCell2 were using periodic TRS. In this example, one SCell (e.g., SCell1) may be using periodic TRS but the second SCell (e.g., SCell2) may be using A-TRS. In this third option, the SCell using A-TRS may be prioritized for SCell activation and the AGC and T/F information from this SCell may be used for the other SCell (s) . In this manner, no additional time is used for the activation of the additional SCell (s) beyond the SCell with the smallest estimated activation delay.

Fig. 6 shows a third example timing diagram 600 for multiple SCell activation for intra-band SSB-less SCells according to various example embodiments. The timing diagram 600 shows a timing 610 for a first SCell1 and a timing 620 for a second SCell2 to be activated. As shown in Fig. 6, the UE may receive the SCell activation command in a Medium Access Control-Control Element (MAC-CE) . The UE may take a number of ms (e.g., 3 ms) to process the MAC-CE.

In this example, the SCell1 is using periodic TRS and the Scell2 is using A-TRS. As described above, the UE may select the SCell to be activated that uses the A-TRS (e.g., the Scell2) . The UE may then use the AGC and T/F information for this SCell for the activation of both SSB-less SCells, e.g., SCell1 and SCell2. As described above, the AGC and T/F information for the SCell2 may be the AGC and T/F information of a reference serving cell. As shown in the timeline 620 of Fig. 6, the SCell activation for SCell2 may occur after receiving several samples of the A-TRS, (e.g., 2 samples) , plus 2ms for processing the TRS and a valid Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) uncertainty period. At the time marked valid CQI reporting, the SCell1 is activated.

Fig. 6 also shows the timeline 610 for the activation of the SCell1. However, this timeline assumes the SCell1 is activated independently of the SCell2. As described above, this is not the case in this example. Rather, the UE will activate the SCell1 using the same timeline as the SCell2, e.g., using the AGC and T/F of SCell2 once the UE determines the SCell2 is using A-TRS. Thus, the total delay for multiple SCell activation may be the time to receive the first A-TRS (T_{first_ATRS}) + the time to receive the second A-TRS (T_GAP) + A-TRS processing time (T_ATRS) + valid CQI reporting uncertainty (5 ms) .

In a fourth option, a rule may be defined to select the SCell that may be prioritized for SCell activation and the AGC and T/F information from this SCell may be used for the other SCell (s) . The example rule may be that the SCell with the smallest index or Physical Cell Identity (PCI) may be prioritized. The PCI and/or SCell index for activation may be pre-configured via radio resource control (RRC) signaling during SCell addition.

In a fifth option, the network may configure the SCell that may be prioritized for SCell activation and the AGC and T/F information from this SCell may be used for the other SCell (s) . For example, the network may preconfigure the priority of the SCells for future multiple SCell activation in the RRC message for SCell addition. The priority may be configured on a per SCell basis, or multiple SCells may be configured in a prioritized group. The SCells in the same group may share the same activation priority.

In a sixth option, if the SCell 1 is the reference cell of the SCell 2, then SCell 1 may be prioritized for activation and the AGC and T/F information from the SCell1 may be used for the SCell2. In this example, the SSB-less SCell1 may have a reference serving cell and then the SSB-less Scell1 may be configured to be the reference serving cell for the SSB-less SCell2.

Fig. 7 shows an example of a reference cell chain 700 where one SSB-less SCell is a reference cell for another SSB-less SCell according to various example embodiments. In Fig. 7, an activated serving cell is configured as an intra-band reference cell 710 for a higher priority SSB-less SCell 720. In this example, higher priority of the SSB-less SCell 720 is defined with reference to the other SCell (e.g., SSB-less SCell 730) to be activated. In the chain 700, the higher priority SSB-less SCell 720 may be the reference cell for the lower priority SSB-less SCell 730. Thus, the higher priority SSB-less SCell 720 may be activated using the AGC and T/F information of the reference cell 710. After activation, the lower priority SSB-less SCell 730 may be activated using the AGC and T/F information of the higher priority SSB-less SCell 720.

In the above examples, the intra-band contiguous CCs and non-contiguous CCs were differentiated. In other example embodiments, the UE may not differentiate intra-band contiguous CCs and non-contiguous CCs. In these example embodiments, the same options that were described above for the intra-band contiguous CCs may be applied to either intra-band contiguous CCs or non-contiguous CCs.

In a second set of examples, a scenario is described where the two SSB-less SCells are inter-band SSB-less SCells. In a first case, if both SCells have the same reference cell, e.g., a same active serving cell as the reference cell, the SCell 1 and SCell 2 may be activated independently. For example, the UE may obtain the AGC and T/F information for the reference cell and perform an independent activation for each SSB-less SCell in parallel, e.g., using the TRS or A-TRS used by each SSB-less SCell. Because the reference serving cell and the SCell 1 and SCell 2 are inter-frequency band cells, the SCell 1 and SCell 2 may use an AGC refinement and/or T/F tracking adjustment on the AGC and T/F information of the reference serving cell because it is an inter-frequency cell.

In a second case, if SCell1 is a reference cell of SCell2, and an active serving cell is the reference cell of SCell1 (e.g., as shown in the example of Fig. 7) , there may be multiple options that may be used for activation of the SCells.

In a first option, the SCell 1 and SCell 2 may be activated independently, e.g., both SCell 1 and SCell 2 may use the AGC and T/F information from the active serving cell in parallel. In the first option, the SCell1 and the SCell2 may again use the AGC refinement and/or T/F tracking on the AGC and T/F information from the active serving cell.

In a second option, the activation of the SCell1 may be prioritized and then the AGC and T/F information of the activated SCell1 may be reused to activate the SCell2. In the second option, the SCell1 may again use the AGC refinement and/or T/F tracking on the AGC and T/F information from the active serving cell and then the Scell2 may use the AGC refinement and/or T/F tracking on the AGC and T/F information from the SCell1 to account for the cells being inter-frequency cells.

Fig. 8 shows an example timing diagram 800 for multiple SCell activation for inter-band SSB-less SCells according to various example embodiments. The timing diagram 800 shows an example of the second option for inter-frequency band SCell activation where one of the SCells is prioritized over the other SCell. The timing diagram 800 shows a timing 810 for a first SCell1 and a timing 820 for a second SCell2 to be activated. As shown in Fig. 8, the UE may receive the SCell activation command in a Medium Access Control-Control Element (MAC-CE) . The UE may take a number of ms (e.g., 3 ms) to process the MAC-CE.

In this example, the SCell1 is prioritized over the SCell2. Thus, referring to the timeline 810, the UE may use the AGC and T/F information of the active inter-frequency reference serving cell (with AGC refinement and/or T/F tracking applied) to activate the SSB-less SCell1. As shown in the timeline 810 of Fig. 8, the SCell activation for SCell1 may occur after receiving several samples of the TRS, (e.g., 2 samples) , plus 2ms for processing the TRS and a valid Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) uncertainty period. At the time marked valid CQI reporting, the SCell1 is activated.

Fig. 8 also shows the timeline 820 for the activation of the SCell2. As shown in the timeline 820, the UE receives the MAC-CE but since the SCell2 is a lower priority, the UE waits while the SCell1 activation is performed. When the SCell1 activation reaches the point where the TRS have been activated, the UE may commence with the activation of the SCell2. As described above, the UE may use the AGC and T/F information of the SCell1 (with AGC refinement and/or T/F tracking applied) to activate the SSB-less SCell2. As shown in the timeline 820 of Fig. 8, the SCell activation for SCell1 may occur after receiving several samples of the TRS, (e.g., 2) after the SCell1 activation, 2ms for processing the TRS and a valid Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) uncertainty period. At the time marked valid CQI reporting, the SCell1 is activated.

Examples

In a first example, a method comprising processing, based on signals received from a base station, secondary cell (SCell) activation commands for multiple SCells, wherein each of the multiple SCells are cells that are currently not transmitting synchronization signal blocks (SSB-less SCells) and activating each of the multiple SCells based on the corresponding SCell activation command and reference activation information of an active reference serving cell, wherein the reference activation information comprises timing information, frequency information and automatic gain control (AGC) information.

In a second example, the method of the first example, wherein the multiple SCells comprise intra-band SSB-less SCells and at least one of the intra-band SSB-less SCells are transmitting Tracking Reference Signals (TRS) .

In a third example, the method of the second example, further comprising determining a first intra-band SSB-less SCell is serving a component carrier (CC) that is contiguous to a CC being served by a second intra-band SSB-less SCell.

In a fourth example, the method of the third example, wherein, when activating each of the multiple SCells, the method further comprises prioritizing one of the first or second SSB-less SCell having a smallest TRS periodicity for activation, wherein activating the first and second SSB-less SCells is based on the reference activation information for the one of the first or second SSB-less SCell having the smallest TRS periodicity for activation, wherein activating the first and second SSB-less SCells is performed in parallel.

In a fifth example, the method of the third example, wherein, when activating each of the multiple SCells, the method further comprises prioritizing one of the first or second SSB-less SCell having a smallest estimated SCell activation delay, wherein activating the first and second SSB-less SCells is based on the reference activation information for the one of the first or second SSB-less SCell having the smallest estimated SCell activation delay, wherein activating the first and second SSB-less SCells is performed in parallel.

In a sixth example, the method of the fifth example, wherein, the estimated activation delay for each of the first and second SSB-less SCells is based on (i) a time uncertainty of the first arrival of a TRS and TRS periodicity of the prioritized first or second SSB-less SCell, or (ii) a valid CQI reporting delay of the prioritized first or second SSB-less SCell.

In a seventh example, the method of the third example, wherein one of the first and second SSB-less SCells are transmitting aperiodic TRS (A-TRS) , and wherein, when activating each of the multiple SCells, the method further comprises prioritizing the one of the first or second SSB-less SCell transmitting A-TRS, wherein activating the first and second SSB-less SCells is based on the reference activation information for the one of the first or second SSB-less SCell transmitting A-TRS, wherein activating the first and second SSB-less SCells is performed in parallel.

In an eighth example, the method of the third example, further comprising processing, based on signals received from the base station, an SCell addition configuration for each of the multiple SCells comprising an SCell index or Physical Cell Identity (PCI) , wherein activating the first and second SSB-less SCells is based on the reference activation information for the one of the first or second SSB-less SCell having a smallest SCell index or PCI, wherein activating the first and second SSB-less SCells is performed in parallel.

In a ninth example, the method of the third example, further comprising processing, based on signals received from the base station, a SCell priority information comprising a priority for the first and second SSB-less SCells, wherein activating the first and second SSB-less SCells is based on the reference activation information for the one of the first or second SSB-less SCell having a highest priority, wherein activating the first and second SSB-less SCells is performed in parallel.

In a tenth example, the method of the ninth example, wherein the SCell priority information is provided on a per SCell basis or as a priority group comprising the multiple SCells.

In an eleventh example, the method of the third example, wherein the first SSB-less SCell is the active reference serving cell for the second SSB-less SCell, wherein the first SSB-less SCell is activated based on the corresponding reference activation information and, after the first SSB-less SCell is activated, the second SSB-less SCell is activated based on the reference activation information of the activated first SSB-less SCell.

In a twelfth example, the method of the second example, wherein a first intra-band SSB-less SCell is serving a component carrier (CC) that is contiguous or non-contiguous to a CC being served by a second intra-band SSB-less SCell.

In a thirteenth example, the method of the twelfth example, wherein, when activating each of the multiple SCells, the method further comprises prioritizing one of the first or second SSB-less SCell having a smallest TRS periodicity for activation, wherein activating the first and second SSB-less SCells is based on the reference activation information for the one of the first or second SSB-less SCell having the smallest TRS periodicity for activation, wherein activating the first and second SSB-less SCells is performed in parallel.

In a fourteenth example, the method of the twelfth example, wherein, when activating each of the multiple SCells, the method further comprises prioritizing one of the first or second SSB-less SCell having a smallest estimated SCell activation delay, wherein activating the first and second SSB-less SCells is based on the reference activation information for the one of the first or second SSB-less SCell having the smallest estimated SCell activation delay, wherein activating the first and second SSB-less SCells is performed in parallel.

In a fifteenth example, the method of the fourteenth example, wherein, the estimated activation delay for each of the first and second SSB-less SCells is based on (i) a time uncertainty of the first arrival of a TRS and TRS periodicity of the prioritized first or second SSB-less SCell, or (ii) a valid CQI reporting delay of the prioritized first or second SSB-less SCell.

In a sixteenth example, the method of the twelfth example, wherein one of the first and second SSB-less SCells are transmitting aperiodic TRS (A-TRS) , and wherein, when activating each of the multiple SCells, the method further comprises prioritizing the one of the first or second SSB-less SCell transmitting A-TRS, wherein activating the first and second SSB-less SCells is based on the reference activation information for the one of the first or second SSB-less SCell transmitting A-TRS, wherein activating the first and second SSB-less SCells is performed in parallel.

In a seventeenth example, the method of the twelfth example, further comprising processing, based on signals received from the base station, an SCell addition configuration for each of the multiple SCells comprising an SCell index or Physical Cell Identity (PCI) , wherein activating the first and second SSB-less SCells is based on the reference activation information for the one of the first or second SSB-less SCell having a smallest SCell index or PCI, wherein activating the first and second SSB-less SCells is performed in parallel.

In an eighteenth example, the method of the twelfth example, further comprising processing, based on signals received from the base station, a SCell priority information comprising a priority for the first and second SSB-less SCells, wherein activating the first and second SSB-less SCells is based on the reference activation information for the one of the first or second SSB-less SCell having a highest priority, wherein activating the first and second SSB-less SCells is performed in parallel.

In a nineteenth example, the method of the eighteenth example, wherein the SCell priority information is provided on a per SCell basis or as a priority group comprising the multiple SCells.

In a twentieth example, the method of the twelfth example, wherein the first SSB-less SCell is the active reference serving cell for the second SSB-less SCell, wherein the first SSB-less SCell is activated based on the corresponding reference activation information and, after the first SSB-less SCell is activated, the second SSB-less SCell is activated based on the reference activation information of the activated first SSB-less SCell.

In a twenty first example, the method of the first example, wherein the multiple SCells comprise inter-band SSB-less SCells and at least one of the inter-band SSB-less SCells are transmitting Tracking Reference Signals (TRS) .

In a twenty second example, the method of the twenty first example, wherein the active reference serving cell is a same cell for each of the multiple SCells, the multiple SCells are activated independently based on the reference activation information of the active reference serving cell.

In a twenty third example, the method of the twenty first example, wherein a first SSB-less SCell of the multiple SSB SCells is the active reference serving cell for a second SSB-less SCell of the multiple SCells, wherein activating the first and second SSB-less SCells is based on the reference activation information for the first SSB-less SCell, wherein activating the first and second SSB-less SCells is performed in parallel.

In a twenty fourth example, the method of the twenty first example, wherein a first SSB-less SCell of the multiple SSB SCells is the active reference serving cell for a second SSB-less SCell of the multiple SCells, wherein the first SSB-less SCell is activated based on the corresponding reference activation information and, after the first SSB-less SCell is activated, the second SSB-less SCell is activated based on the reference activation information of the activated first SSB-less SCell.

In a twenty fifth example, a processor configured to perform any of the methods of the first through twenty fourth examples.

In a twenty sixth example, a user equipment (UE) comprising a transceiver configured to communicate with a base station and a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and configured to perform any of the methods of the first through twenty fourth examples.

In a twenty seventh example, a method comprising generating, for transmission to a user equipment (UE) , secondary cell (SCell) activation commands for multiple SCells, wherein each of the multiple SCells are cells that are currently not transmitting synchronization signal blocks (SSB-less SCells) , wherein the multiple SCells comprise intra-band SSB-less SCells and at least one of the intra-band SSB-less SCells are transmitting Tracking Reference Signals (TRS) and sending the SCell activation commands to the UE.

In a twenty eighth example, the method of the twenty seventh example, further comprising generating, for transmission to the UE, an SCell addition configuration for each of the multiple SCells comprising an SCell index or Physical Cell Identity (PCI) , wherein activating the SSB-less SCells is based on the SCell index or PCI.

In a twenty ninth example, the method of the twenty seventh example, further comprising generating, for transmission to the UE, a SCell priority information comprising a priority for the SSB-less SCells, wherein activating the SSB-less SCells is based on the SCell priority information.

In a thirtieth example, the method of the twenty ninth example, wherein the SCell priority information is provided on a per SCell basis or as a priority group comprising the multiple SCells.

In a thirty first example, a processor configured to perform any of the methods of the twenty seventh through thirty first examples.

In a thirty second example, a base station comprising a transceiver configured to communicate with a user equipment (UE) and a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and configured to perform any of the methods of the twenty seventh through thirty first examples.

Those skilled in the art will understand that the above-described example embodiments may be implemented in any suitable software or hardware configuration or combination thereof. An example hardware platform for implementing the example embodiments may include, for example, an Intel x86 based platform with compatible operating system, a Windows OS, a Mac platform and MAC OS, a mobile device having an operating system such as iOS, Android, etc. The example embodiments described above may be embodied as a program containing lines of code stored on a non-transitory computer readable storage medium that, when compiled, may be executed on a processor or microprocessor.

In some embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory memory element) may be configured so that it stores program instructions and/or data, where the program instructions, if executed by a computer system, cause the computer system to perform a method, e.g., any of a method embodiments described herein, or, any combination of the method embodiments described herein, or, any subset of any of the method embodiments described herein, or, any combination of such subsets.

In some embodiments, a device (e.g., a UE) may be configured to include a processor (or a set of processors) and a memory medium (or memory element) , where the memory medium stores program instructions, where the processor is configured to read and execute the program instructions from the memory medium, where the program instructions are executable to implement any of the various method embodiments described herein (or, any combination of the method embodiments described herein, or, any subset of any of the method embodiments described herein, or, any combination of such subsets) . The device may be realized in any of various forms.

Embodiments of the present invention may be realized in any of various forms. For example, in some embodiments, the present invention may be realized as a computer-implemented method, a computer-readable memory medium, or a computer system. In other embodiments, the present invention may be realized using one or more custom-designed hardware devices such as ASICs. In other embodiments, the present invention may be realized using one or more programmable hardware elements such as FPGAs.

Although this application described various embodiments each having different features in various combinations, those skilled in the art will understand that any of the features of one embodiment may be combined with the features of the other embodiments in any manner not specifically disclaimed or which is not functionally or logically inconsistent with the operation of the device or the stated functions of the disclosed embodiments.

It is well understood that the use of personally identifiable information should follow privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or governmental requirements for maintaining the privacy of users. In particular, personally identifiable information data should be managed and handled so as to minimize risks of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of authorized use should be clearly indicated to users.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made in the present disclosure, without departing from the spirit or the scope of the disclosure. Thus, it is intended that the present disclosure cover modifications and variations of this disclosure provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalent.

Claims

An apparatus comprising processing circuitry configured to:

process, based on signals received from a base station, secondary cell (SCell) activation commands for multiple SCells, wherein each of the multiple SCells are cells that are currently not transmitting synchronization signal blocks (SSB-less SCells) ; and

activate each of the multiple SCells based on the corresponding SCell activation command and reference activation information of an active reference serving cell, wherein the reference activation information comprises timing information, frequency information and automatic gain control (AGC) information.
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the multiple SCells comprise intra-band SSB-less SCells and at least one of the intra-band SSB-less SCells are transmitting Tracking Reference Signals (TRS) .
The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:

determine a first intra-band SSB-less SCell is serving a component carrier (CC) that is contiguous to a CC being served by a second intra-band SSB-less SCell.
The apparatus of claim 3, wherein, when activating each of the multiple SCells, the processing circuitry is further configured to:

prioritize one of the first or second SSB-less SCell having a smallest TRS periodicity for activation, wherein activating the first and second SSB-less SCells is based on the reference activation information for the one of the first or second SSB-less SCell having the smallest TRS periodicity for activation, wherein activating the first and second SSB-less SCells is performed in parallel.
The apparatus of claim 3, wherein, when activating each of the multiple SCells, the processing circuitry is further configured to:

prioritize one of the first or second SSB-less SCell having a smallest estimated SCell activation delay, wherein activating the first and second SSB-less SCells is based on the reference activation information for the one of the first or second SSB-less SCell having the smallest estimated SCell activation delay, wherein activating the first and second SSB-less SCells is performed in parallel.
The apparatus of claim 5, wherein, the estimated activation delay for each of the first and second SSB-less SCells is based on (i) a time uncertainty of the first arrival of a TRS and TRS periodicity of the prioritized first or second SSB-less SCell, or (ii) a valid CQI reporting delay of the prioritized first or second SSB-less SCell.
The apparatus of claim 3, wherein one of the first and second SSB-less SCells are transmitting aperiodic TRS (A-TRS) , and wherein, when activating each of the multiple SCells, the processing circuitry is further configured to:

prioritize the one of the first or second SSB-less SCell transmitting A-TRS, wherein activating the first and second SSB-less SCells is based on the reference activation information for the one of the first or second SSB-less SCell transmitting A-TRS, wherein activating the first and second SSB-less SCells is performed in parallel.
The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:

process, based on signals received from the base station, an SCell addition configuration for each of the multiple SCells comprising an SCell index or Physical Cell Identity (PCI) ,

wherein activating the first and second SSB-less SCells is based on the reference activation information for the one of the first or second SSB-less SCell having a smallest SCell index or PCI, wherein activating the first and second SSB-less SCells is performed in parallel.
The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:

process, based on signals received from the base station, a SCell priority information comprising a priority for the first and second SSB-less SCells,

wherein activating the first and second SSB-less SCells is based on the reference activation information for the one of the first or second SSB-less SCell having a highest priority, wherein activating the first and second SSB-less SCells is performed in parallel.
The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the SCell priority information is provided on a per SCell basis or as a priority group comprising the multiple SCells.
The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the first SSB-less SCell is the active reference serving cell for the second SSB-less SCell, wherein the first SSB-less SCell is activated based on the corresponding reference activation information and, after the first SSB-less SCell is activated, the second SSB-less SCell is activated based on the reference activation information of the activated first SSB-less SCell.
The apparatus of claim 2, wherein a first intra-band SSB-less SCell is serving a component carrier (CC) that is contiguous or non-contiguous to a CC being served by a second intra-band SSB-less SCell.
The apparatus of claim 12, wherein, when activating each of the multiple SCells, the processing circuitry is further configured to:

prioritize one of the first or second SSB-less SCell having a smallest TRS periodicity for activation, wherein activating the first and second SSB-less SCells is based on the reference activation information for the one of the first or second SSB-less SCell having the smallest TRS periodicity for activation, wherein activating the first and second SSB-less SCells is performed in parallel.
The apparatus of claim 12, wherein, when activating each of the multiple SCells, the processing circuitry is further configured to:

prioritize one of the first or second SSB-less SCell having a smallest estimated SCell activation delay, wherein activating the first and second SSB-less SCells is based on the reference activation information for the one of the first or second SSB-less SCell having the smallest estimated SCell activation delay, wherein activating the first and second SSB-less SCells is performed in parallel.
The apparatus of claim 14, wherein, the estimated activation delay for each of the first and second SSB-less SCells is based on (i) a time uncertainty of the first arrival of a TRS and TRS periodicity of the prioritized first or second SSB-less SCell, or (ii) a valid CQI reporting delay of the prioritized first or second SSB-less SCell.
The apparatus of claim 12, wherein one of the first and second SSB-less SCells are transmitting aperiodic TRS (A-TRS) , and wherein, when activating each of the multiple SCells, the processing circuitry is further configured to:

prioritize the one of the first or second SSB-less SCell transmitting A-TRS, wherein activating the first and second SSB-less SCells is based on the reference activation information for the one of the first or second SSB-less SCell transmitting A-TRS, wherein activating the first and second SSB-less SCells is performed in parallel.
The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:

process, based on signals received from the base station, an SCell addition configuration for each of the multiple SCells comprising an SCell index or Physical Cell Identity (PCI) ,

wherein activating the first and second SSB-less SCells is based on the reference activation information for the one of the first or second SSB-less SCell having a smallest SCell index or PCI, wherein activating the first and second SSB-less SCells is performed in parallel.
The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:

process, based on signals received from the base station, a SCell priority information comprising a priority for the first and second SSB-less SCells,

wherein activating the first and second SSB-less SCells is based on the reference activation information for the one of the first or second SSB-less SCell having a highest priority, wherein activating the first and second SSB-less SCells is performed in parallel.
The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the SCell priority information is provided on a per SCell basis or as a priority group comprising the multiple SCells.
The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the first SSB-less SCell is the active reference serving cell for the second SSB-less SCell, wherein the first SSB-less SCell is activated based on the corresponding reference activation information and, after the first SSB-less SCell is activated, the second SSB-less SCell is activated based on the reference activation information of the activated first SSB-less SCell.