WO2025111919A1

WO2025111919A1 - Radio resource management categorization enhancement for extended reality

Info

Publication number: WO2025111919A1
Application number: PCT/CN2023/135382
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jie Cui; Chunxuan Ye; Dawei Zhang; Haitong Sun; Qiming Li; Yang Tang
Original assignee: Apple Inc
Current assignee: Apple Inc
Priority date: 2023-11-30
Filing date: 2023-11-30
Publication date: 2025-06-05
Anticipated expiration: 2026-05-30

Abstract

In one aspect, a method performed by a user equipment (UE) in communication with a network, includes receiving, from the network, a measurement configuration from the network that configures L1 measurement associated with the extended reality (XR) network traffic, and receiving, from the network, a channel configuration associated with the XR network traffic. In response to receiving the measurement configuration and the channel configuration that are associated with the XR network traffic, and the UE performs a first of a plurality of network activities, based on a prioritization of the plurality of network activities, where the first of the plurality of network activities has a higher priority than a second of the plurality network activities that the UE refrains from performing when the first and the second of the plurality of network activities are scheduled to be performed at a conflicting time.

Description

RADIO RESOURCE MANAGEMENT CATEGORIZATION ENHANCEMENT FOR EXTENDED REALITY

FIELD

This invention relates generally to wireless technology and more particularly to categorizing telecommunication behavior for extended reality applications.

BACKGROUND

Fifth generation mobile network (5G) is a wireless standard that aims to improve upon data transmission speed, reliability, availability, and more. The wireless standard includes numerous procedures that may be implemented by a transmitting device or a receiving device that improves the latency, the speed, and the reliability of uplink and downlink transmissions.

Extended reality (XR) is a term that describes immersive technologies and experiences. XR may include augmented reality (AR) , virtual reality (VR) , mixed reality (MR) , and other technologies and experiences relating to immersing a user's senses in an alternate digital environment. XR applications typically rely heavily on real-time processing, for example, to update the user's position or angle in response to user movement relative to the virtualized environment, or to update objects, sounds, appearances, etc., in the virtualized environment of the user. Some considerations regarding how to manage network measurements and data transfer relating to XR is needed.

SUMMARY

Aspects of the present disclosure relate to 5G new radio (NR) operating in the licensed spectrum or in the shared and unlicensed spectrum (NR-U) .

In an aspect, a method is performed by a user equipment (UE) in communication with a network. The method includes sending, to the network, a request for extended reality (XR) network traffic, receiving, from the network, a channel configuration associated with the XR network traffic, receiving, from the network, a measurement configuration from the network that configures L1 measurement associated with the XR network traffic, in response to receiving the measurement configuration and the channel configuration that are associated with the XR network traffic, and performing a first of a plurality of network activities, based on a prioritization of the plurality of network activities, where the first of the plurality of network activities has a higher priority than a second of the plurality network activities that the UE refrains from performing when the first and the second of the plurality of network activities share a common time resource.

In an embodiment, the plurality of network activities include, in an order of high to low of the prioritization: performing the L1 measurement associated with the XR network traffic, transmitting or receiving the XR network traffic over a respective channel, performing Random Access Channel (RACH) measurement associated with a RACH reference signal (RS) , performing a non-XR L3 measurement in a measurement gap, performing a special SI reading, and performing the non-XR L3 measurement outside of the measurement gap, performing a non-XR L1 measurement, and transmitting non-XR network traffic over a respective channel. In an embodiment, in response to a RS associated with the L1 measurement that is associated with the XR network traffic and a RS associated with the non-XR network traffic being the same L1 reference signal, a priority of performing a measurement with the same L1 reference signal is a higher than each of the other network activities.

In an embodiment, the plurality of network activities include, in an order of the prioritization from high to low: performing Random Access Channel (RACH) messaging associated with a RACH reference signal (RS) , performing an L1 measurement associated with the XR network traffic, transmitting or receiving the XR network traffic over a respective channel, performing a non-XR L3 measurement in a measurement gap, performing a special SI reading, performing the non-XR L3 measurement outside of the measurement gap, performing a non-XR L1 measurement, and transmitting non-XR network traffic over a respective channel.

In an embodiment, the plurality of network activities include, in an order of the prioritization from high to low: performing Random Access Channel (RACH) messaging associated with a RACH reference signal (RS) that is associated with the XR network traffic, performing an L1 measurement associated with the XR network traffic, performing RACH messaging associated with a non-XR RACH RS, transmitting or receiving the XR network traffic over a respective channel, performing a non-XR L3 measurement in a measurement gap, performing a special SI reading, performing a non-XR L3 measurement outside of the measurement gap, performing a non-XR L1 measurement, and transmitting non-XR network traffic over a respective channel.

In an embodiment, the prioritization is determined based on receiving, from the network, a first respective flag that indicates whether the L1 measurement, an L1 RS, or a RACH occasion is associated with the XR network traffic. In an embodiment, for each of the L1 measurement, the L1 RS, or the RACH occasion that is indicated as being associated with the XR network traffic, the prioritization is further determined based on receiving, from the network, a second flag indicating whether the L1 measurement, the L1 RS, or the RACH occasion is to be prioritized by the UE.

In an aspect, a method is performed by a network in communication with a user equipment (UE) , including receiving, from the UE, a request for extended reality (XR) network traffic, sending, to the UE, a measurement configuration from the network that configures L1 measurement associated with the XR network traffic, and sending, to the UE, a channel configuration associated with the XR network traffic. In an embodiment, the method includes sending, to the UE, a first respective flag that indicates whether the L1 measurement, an L1 reference signal (RS) , or a RACH occasion is associated with the XR network traffic. In an embodiment, for each of the L1 measurement, the L1 RS, or the RACH occasion that is indicated as being associated with the XR network traffic, sending to the UE, a second flag indicating whether the L1 measurement, the L1 RS, or the RACH occasion is to be prioritized by the UE.

In an aspect, a base station (e.g., a node of the network) , comprises a transceiver configured to communicate with a user equipment (UE) , and a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and configured to perform the methods described herein from the perspective of the network. In one aspect, a processor (e.g., a baseband processor) of a UE is configured to perform the methods described herein from the perspective of the UE. Other technical features may be readily apparent to one skilled in the art from the following figures, descriptions, and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is illustrated by way of example and not limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings in which like references indicate similar elements.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example wireless communication system, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 2 illustrates uplink and downlink communications, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example block diagram of a user equipment (UE) , in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example block diagram of a base station (BS) , in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example block diagram of cellular communication circuitry, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of an XR capable UE that may implement categorization for XR related network operations, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example process for a UE to categorize and prioritize activities for XR, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example process for a network to categorize and prioritize activities for XR, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 9 shows a diagram illustrating example operations for categorizing and prioritizing measurement and network traffic for XR, in accordance with an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A method and apparatus is described that relates to wireless communication between a UE and network and operations that provide for radio resource management categorization enhancement for extended reality. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that aspects of the present disclosure may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known components (e.g., network and UE components) , structures, and techniques have not been shown in detail in order not to obscure the understanding of this description.

Reference in the specification to “some aspects” or “an aspect” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the aspect can be included in at least one aspect of the disclosure. The appearances of the phrase “in some aspects” in various places in the specification do not necessarily all refer to the same aspect.

In the following description and claims, the terms “coupled” and “connected, ” along with their derivatives, may be used. “Coupled” is used to indicate that two or more elements, which may or may not be in direct physical or electrical contact with each other, co-operate or interact with each other. “Connected” is used to indicate the establishment of communication between two or more elements that are coupled with each other.

The processes depicted in the figures that follow, are performed by processing logic that comprises hardware (e.g., circuitry, dedicated logic, etc. ) , software (such as is run on a general-purpose computer system or a dedicated machine) , or a combination of both. Although the processes are described below in terms of some sequential operations, it should be appreciated that some of the operations described may be performed in different order. Moreover, some operations may be performed in parallel rather than sequentially.

The terms “server, ” “client, ” and “device” are intended to refer generally to data processing systems rather than specifically to a particular form factor for the server, client, and/or device.

FIG. 1 illustrates a simplified example wireless communication system, according to some aspects. It is noted that the system of FIG. 1 is merely one example of a possible system, and that features of this disclosure may be implemented in any of various systems, as desired.

As shown, the example wireless communication system includes a base station 102A which communicates over a transmission medium with one or more user devices 106A, 106B, etc., through 106N. Each of the user devices may be referred to as a “user equipment” (UE) .

The base station (BS) 102A may be a base transceiver station (BTS) or cell site (a “cellular base station” ) and may include hardware that enables wireless communication with the UEs 106A through 106N.

The communication area (or coverage area) of the base station may be referred to as a “cell. ” The base station 102A and the UEs 106 may be configured to communicate over the transmission medium using any of various radio access technologies (RATs) , also referred to as wireless communication technologies, or telecommunication standards, such as GSM, UMTS (associated with, for example, WCDMA or TD-SCDMA air interfaces) , LTE, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) , 5G new radio (5G NR) , HSPA, 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (e.g., 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD) , etc. Note that if the base station 102A is implemented in the context of LTE, it may alternately be referred to as an ‘eNodeB’ or ‘eNB’ . Note that if the base station 102A is implemented in the context of 5G NR, it may alternately be referred to as ‘gNodeB’ or ‘gNB’ .

As shown, the base station 102A may also be equipped to communicate with a network 100 (e.g., a core network of a cellular service provider, a telecommunication network such as a public switched telephone network (PSTN) , and/or the Internet, among various possibilities) . Thus, the base station 102A may facilitate communication between the user devices and/or between the user devices and the network 100. In particular, the cellular base station 102A may provide UEs 106 with various telecommunication capabilities, such as voice, SMS and/or data services.

Base station 102A and other similar base stations (such as base stations 102B ... 102N) operating according to the same or a different cellular communication standard may thus be provided as a network of cells, which may provide continuous or nearly continuous overlapping service to UEs 106A-N and similar devices over a geographic area via one or more cellular communication standards.

Thus, while base station 102A may act as a “serving cell” for UEs 106A-N as illustrated in FIG. 1, each UE 106 may also be capable of receiving signals from (and possibly within communication range of) one or more other cells (which might be provided by base stations 102B-N and/or any other base stations) , which may be referred to as “neighboring cells” . Such cells may also be capable of facilitating communication between user devices and/or between user devices and the network 100. Such cells may include “macro” cells, “micro” cells, “pico” cells, and/or cells which provide any of various other granularities of service area size. For example, base stations 102A-B illustrated in FIG. 1 might be macro cells, while base station 102N might be a micro cell. Other configurations are also possible.

In some aspects, base station 102A may be a next generation base station, e.g., a 5G New Radio (5G NR) base station, or “gNB” . In some aspects, a gNB may be connected to a legacy evolved packet core (EPC) network and/or to a NR core (NRC) network. In addition, a gNB cell may include one or more transition and reception points (TRPs) . In addition, a UE capable of operating according to 5G NR may be connected to one or more TRPs within one or more gNBs.

Note that a UE 106 may be capable of communicating using multiple wireless communication standards. For example, the UE 106 may be configured to communicate using a wireless networking (e.g., Wi-Fi) and/or peer-to-peer wireless communication protocol (e.g., Bluetooth, Wi-Fi peer-to-peer, etc. ) in addition to at least one cellular communication protocol (e.g., GSM, UMTS (associated with, for example, WCDMA or TD-SCDMA air interfaces) , LTE, LTE-A, 5G NR, HSPA, 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (e.g., 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD) , etc. ) . The UE 106 may also or alternatively be configured to communicate using one or more global navigational satellite systems (GNSS, e.g., GPS or GLONASS) , one or more mobile television broadcasting standards (e.g., ATSC-M/H or DVB-H) , and/or any other wireless communication protocol, if desired. Other combinations of wireless communication standards (including more than two wireless communication standards) are also possible.

FIG. 2 illustrates UE 106A that can be in communication with a base station 102 through uplink and downlink communications, according to some aspects. The UEs may each be a device with cellular communication capability such as a mobile phone, a hand-held device, a computer or a tablet, or virtually any type of wireless device.

The UE may include a processor that is configured to execute program instructions stored in memory. The UE may perform any of the method aspects described herein by executing such stored instructions. Alternatively, or in addition, the UE may include a programmable hardware element such as an FPGA (field-programmable gate array) that is configured to perform any of the method aspects described herein, or any portion of any of the method aspects described herein.

The UE may include one or more antennas for communicating using one or more wireless communication protocols or technologies. In some aspects, the UE may be configured to communicate using, for example, CDMA2000 (1xRTT/1xEV-DO/HRPD/eHRPD) or LTE using a single shared radio and/or GSM or LTE using the single shared radio. The shared radio may couple to a single antenna, or may couple to multiple antennas (e.g., for MIMO) for performing wireless communications. In general, a radio may include any combination of a baseband processor, analog RF signal processing circuitry (e.g., including filters, mixers, oscillators, amplifiers, etc. ) , or digital processing circuitry (e.g., for digital modulation as well as other digital processing) . Similarly, the radio may implement one or more receive and transmit chains using the aforementioned hardware. For example, the UE 106 may share one or more parts of a receive and/or transmit chain between multiple wireless communication technologies, such as those discussed above.

In some aspects, the UE may include separate transmit and/or receive chains (e.g., including separate antennas and other radio components) for each wireless communication protocol with which it is configured to communicate. As a further possibility, the UE may include one or more radios which are shared between multiple wireless communication protocols, and one or more radios which are used exclusively by a single wireless communication protocol. For example, the UE might include a shared radio for communicating using either of LTE or 5G NR (or LTE or 1xRTTor LTE or GSM) , and separate radios for communicating using each of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Other configurations are also possible.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example simplified block diagram of a communication device 106, according to some aspects. It is noted that the block diagram of the communication device of FIG. 3 is only one example of a possible communication device. According to aspects, communication device 106 may be a UE device, a mobile device or mobile station, a wireless device or wireless station, a desktop computer or computing device, a mobile computing device (e.g., a laptop, notebook, or portable computing device) , a tablet and/or a combination of devices, among other devices. As shown, the communication device 106 may include a set of components 300 configured to perform core functions. For example, this set of components may be implemented as a system on chip (SOC) , which may include portions for various purposes. Alternatively, this set of components 300 may be implemented as separate components or groups of components for the various purposes. The set of components 300 may be coupled (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) to various other circuits of the communication device 106.

For example, the communication device 106 may include various types of memory (e.g., including NAND flash 310) , an input/output interface such as connector I/F 320 (e.g., for connecting to a computer system; dock; charging station; input devices, such as a microphone, camera, keyboard; output devices, such as speakers; etc. ) , the display 360, which may be integrated with or external to the communication device 106, and cellular communication circuitry 330 such as for 5G NR, LTE, GSM, etc., and short to medium range wireless communication circuitry 329 (e.g., Bluetooth^TM and WLAN circuitry) . In some aspects, communication device 106 may include wired communication circuitry (not shown) , such as a network interface card, e.g., for Ethernet.

The cellular communication circuitry 330 may couple (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) to one or more antennas, such as antennas 335 and 336 as shown. The short to medium range wireless communication circuitry 329 may also couple (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) to one or more antennas, such as antennas 337 and 338 as shown. Alternatively, the short to medium range wireless communication circuitry 329 may couple (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) to the antennas 335 and 336 in addition to, or instead of, coupling (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) to the antennas 337 and 338. The short to medium range wireless communication circuitry 329 and/or cellular communication circuitry 330 may include multiple receive chains and/or multiple transmit chains for receiving and/or transmitting multiple spatial streams, such as in a multiple-input multiple output (MIMO) configuration.

In some aspects, as further described below, cellular communication circuitry 330 may include dedicated receive chains (including and/or coupled to, e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly. dedicated processors and/or radios) for multiple radio access technologies (RATs) (e.g., a first receive chain for LTE and a second receive chain for 5G NR) . In addition, in some aspects, cellular communication circuitry 330 may include a single transmit chain that may be switched between radios dedicated to specific RATs. For example, a first radio may be dedicated to a first RAT, e.g., LTE, and may be in communication with a dedicated receive chain and a transmit chain shared with an additional radio, e.g., a second radio that may be dedicated to a second RAT, e.g., 5G NR, and may be in communication with a dedicated receive chain and the shared transmit chain.

The communication device 106 may also include and/or be configured for use with one or more user interface elements. The user interface elements may include any of various elements, such as display 360 (which may be a touchscreen display) , a keyboard (which may be a discrete keyboard or may be implemented as part of a touchscreen display) , a mouse, a microphone and/or speakers, one or more cameras, one or more buttons, and/or any of various other elements capable of providing information to a user and/or receiving or interpreting user input.

The communication device 106 may further include one or more smart cards 345 that include SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) functionality, such as one or more UICC (s) (Universal Integrated Circuit Card (s) ) cards 345.

As shown, the SOC 300 may include processor (s) 302, which may execute program instructions for the communication device 106 and display circuitry 304, which may perform graphics processing and provide display signals to the display 360. The processor (s) 302 may also be coupled to memory management unit (MMU) 340, which may be configured to receive addresses from the processor (s) 302 and translate those addresses to locations in memory (e.g., memory 306, read only memory (ROM) 350, NAND flash memory 310) and/or to other circuits or devices, such as the display circuitry 304, short range wireless communication circuitry 229, cellular communication circuitry 330, connector I/F 320, and/or display 360. The MMU 340 may be configured to perform memory protection and page table translation or set up. In some aspects, the MMU 340 may be included as a portion of the processor (s) 302.

As noted above, the communication device 106 may be configured to communicate using wireless and/or wired communication circuitry. The communication device 106 may also be configured to determine a physical downlink shared channel scheduling resource for a user equipment device and a base station. Further, the communication device 106 may be configured to group and select CCs from the wireless link and determine a virtual CC from the group of selected CCs. The wireless device may also be configured to perform a physical downlink resource mapping based on an aggregate resource matching patterns of groups of CCs.

As described herein, the communication device 106 may include hardware and software components for implementing the above features for determining a physical downlink shared channel scheduling resource for a communications device 106 and a base station. The processor 302 of the communication device 106 may be configured to implement part or all of the features described herein, e.g., by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium) . Alternatively (or in addition) , processor 302 may be configured as a programmable hardware element, such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) , or as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) . Alternatively (or in addition) the processor 302 of the communication device 106, in conjunction with one or more of the other components 300, 304, 306, 310, 320, 329, 330, 340, 345, 350, 360 may be configured to implement part or all of the features described herein.

In addition, as described herein, processor 302 may include one or more processing elements. Thus, processor 302 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) that are configured to perform the functions of processor 302. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., first circuitry, second circuitry, etc. ) configured to perform the functions of processor (s) 302.

Further, as described herein, cellular communication circuitry 330 and short-range wireless communication circuitry 329 may each include one or more processing elements. In other words, one or more processing elements may be included in cellular communication circuitry 330 and, similarly, one or more processing elements may be included in short range wireless communication circuitry 329. Thus, cellular communication circuitry 330 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) that are configured to perform the functions of cellular communication circuitry 330. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., first circuitry, second circuitry, etc. ) configured to perform the functions of cellular communication circuitry 230. Similarly, the short-range wireless communication circuitry 329 may include one or more ICs that are configured to perform the functions of short-range wireless communication circuitry 32. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., first circuitry, second circuitry, etc. ) configured to perform the functions of short-range wireless communication circuitry 329.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example block diagram of a base station 102, according to some aspects. It is noted that the base station of FIG. 4 is merely one example of a possible base station. As shown, the base station 102 may include processor (s) 404 which may execute program instructions for the base station 102. The processor (s) 404 may also be coupled to memory management unit (MMU) 440, which may be configured to receive addresses from the processor (s) 404 and translate those addresses to locations in memory (e.g., memory 460 and read only memory (ROM) 450) or to other circuits or devices.

The base station 102 may include at least one network port 470. The network port 470 may be configured to couple to a telephone network and provide a plurality of devices, such as UE devices 106, access to the telephone network as described above in FIGS. 1 and 2.

The network port 470 (or an additional network port) may also or alternatively be configured to couple to a cellular network, e.g., a core network of a cellular service provider. The core network may provide mobility related services and/or other services to a plurality of devices, such as UE devices 106. In some cases, the network port 470 may couple to a telephone network via the core network, and/or the core network may provide a telephone network (e.g., among other UE devices serviced by the cellular service provider) .

In some aspects, base station 102 may be a next generation base station, e.g., a 5G New Radio (5G NR) base station, or “gNB” . In such aspects, base station 102 may be connected to a legacy evolved packet core (EPC) network and/or to a NR core (NRC) network. In addition, base station 102 may be considered a 5G NR cell and may include one or more transition and reception points (TRPs) . In addition, a UE capable of operating according to 5G NR may be connected to one or more TRPs within one or more gNBs. In some aspects, the base station can operate in 5G NR-U mode.

The base station 102 may include at least one antenna 434, and possibly multiple antennas. The at least one antenna 434 may be configured to operate as a wireless transceiver and may be further configured to communicate with UE devices 106 via radio 430. The antenna 434 communicates with the radio 430 via communication chain 432. Communication chain 432 may be a receive chain, a transmit chain or both. The radio 430 may be configured to communicate via various wireless communication standards, including, but not limited to, 5G NR, 5G NR-U, LTE, LTE-A, GSM, UMTS, CDMA2000, Wi-Fi, etc.

The base station 102 may be configured to communicate wirelessly using multiple wireless communication standards. In some instances, the base station 102 may include multiple radios, which may enable the base station 102 to communicate according to multiple wireless communication technologies. For example, as one possibility, the base station 102 may include an LTE radio for performing communication according to LTE as well as a 5G NR radio for performing communication according to 5G NR and 5G NR-U. In such a case, the base station 102 may be capable of operating as both an LTE base station and a 5G NR base station. As another possibility, the base station 102 may include a multi-mode radio which is capable of performing communications according to any of multiple wireless communication technologies (e.g., 5G NR and Wi-Fi, LTE and Wi-Fi, LTE and UMTS, LTE and CDMA2000, UMTS and GSM, etc. ) .

As described further subsequently herein, the BS 102 may include hardware and software components for implementing or supporting implementation of features described herein. The processor 404 of the base station 102 may be configured to implement or support implementation of part or all of the methods described herein, e.g., by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium) . Alternatively, the processor 404 may be configured as a programmable hardware element, such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) , or as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) , or a combination thereof. Alternatively (or in addition) the processor 404 of the BS 102, in conjunction with one or more of the other components 430, 432, 434, 440, 450, 460, 470 may be configured to implement or support implementation of part or all of the features described herein.

In addition, as described herein, processor (s) 404 may be comprised of one or more processing elements. In other words, one or more processing elements may be included in processor (s) 404. Thus, processor (s) 404 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) that are configured to perform the functions of processor (s) 404. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., first circuitry, second circuitry, etc. ) configured to perform the functions of processor (s) 404.

Further, as described herein, radio 430 may be comprised of one or more processing elements. In other words, one or more processing elements may be included in radio 430. Thus, radio 430 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) that are configured to perform the functions of radio 430. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., first circuitry, second circuitry, etc. ) configured to perform the functions of radio 430.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example simplified block diagram of cellular communication circuitry, according to some aspects. It is noted that the block diagram of the cellular communication circuitry of FIG. 5 is only one example of a possible cellular communication circuit. According to aspects, cellular communication circuitry 330 may be included in a communication device, such as communication device 106 described above. As noted above, communication device 106 may be a user equipment (UE) device, a mobile device or mobile station, a wireless device or wireless station, a desktop computer or computing device, a mobile computing device (e.g., a laptop, notebook, or portable computing device) , a tablet and/or a combination of devices, among other devices.

The cellular communication circuitry 330 may couple (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) to one or more antennas, such as antennas 335 a-b and 336 as shown (in FIG. 3) . In some aspects, cellular communication circuitry 330 may include dedicated receive chains (including and/or coupled to, e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly. dedicated processors and/or radios) for multiple RATs (e.g., a first receive chain for LTE and a second receive chain for 5G NR) . For example, as shown in FIG. 5, cellular communication circuitry 330 may include a modem 510 and a modem 520. Modem 510 may be configured for communications according to a first RAT, e.g., such as LTE or LTE-A, and modem 520 may be configured for communications according to a second RAT, e.g., such as 5G NR.

As shown, modem 510 may include one or more processors 512 and a memory 516 in communication with processors 512. Modem 510 may be in communication with a radio frequency (RF) front end 530. RF front end 530 may include circuitry for transmitting and receiving radio signals. For example, RF front end 530 may include receive circuitry (RX) 532 and transmit circuitry (TX) 534. In some aspects, receive circuitry 532 may be in communication with downlink (DL) front end 550, which may include circuitry for receiving radio signals via antenna 335a.

Similarly, modem 520 may include one or more processors 522 and a memory 526 in communication with processors 522. Modem 520 may be in communication with an RF front end 540. RF front end 540 may include circuitry for transmitting and receiving radio signals. For example, RF front end 540 may include receive circuitry 542 and transmit circuitry 544. In some aspects, receive circuitry 542 may be in communication with DL front end 560, which may include circuitry for receiving radio signals via antenna 335b.

In some aspects, a switch 570 may couple transmit circuitry 534 to uplink (UL) front end 572. In addition, switch 570 may couple transmit circuitry 544 to UL front end 572. UL front end 572 may include circuitry for transmitting radio signals via antenna 336. Thus, when cellular communication circuitry 330 receives instructions to transmit according to the first RAT (e.g., as supported via modem 510) , switch 570 may be switched to a first state that allows modem 510 to transmit signals according to the first RAT (e.g., via a transmit chain that includes transmit circuitry 534 and UL front end 572) . Similarly, when cellular communication circuitry 330 receives instructions to transmit according to the second RAT (e.g., as supported via modem 520) , switch 570 may be switched to a second state that allows modem 520 to transmit signals according to the second RAT (e.g., via a transmit chain that includes transmit circuitry 544 and UL front end 572) .

As described herein, the modem 510 may include hardware and software components for implementing the above features or for determining a physical downlink shared channel scheduling resource for a user equipment device and a base station, as well as the various other techniques described herein. The processors 512 may be configured to implement part or all of the features described herein, e.g., by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium) . Alternatively (or in addition) , processor 512 may be configured as a programmable hardware element, such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) , or as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) . Alternatively (or in addition) the processor 512, in conjunction with one or more of the other components 530, 532, 534, 550, 570, 572, 335 and 336 may be configured to implement part or all of the features described herein.

In addition, as described herein, processors 512 may include one or more processing elements. Thus, processors 512 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) that are configured to perform the functions of processors 512. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., first circuitry, second circuitry, etc. ) configured to perform the functions of processors 512.

As described herein, the modem 520 may include hardware and software components for implementing the above features for determining a physical downlink shared channel scheduling resource for a user equipment device and a base station, as well as the various other techniques described herein. The processors 522 may be configured to implement part or all of the features described herein, e.g., by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium) . Alternatively (or in addition) , processor 522 may be configured as a programmable hardware element, such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) , or as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) . Alternatively (or in addition) the processor 522, in conjunction with one or more of the other components 540, 542, 544, 550, 570, 572, 335 and 336 may be configured to implement part or all of the features described herein.

In addition, as described herein, processors 522 may include one or more processing elements. Thus, processors 522 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) that are configured to perform the functions of processors 522. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., first circuitry, second circuitry, etc. ) configured to perform the functions of processors 522.

5G supports multi-antenna transmission, beam-forming, and simultaneous transmission from multiple geographically separates sites. Channels of different antenna ports that are relevant for a UE may differ, for example, in terms of radio channel properties. QCL antenna port may be geographically separated.

5G physical channels provide flexible communication between the 5G base stations and the UEs. 5G NR has specified the physical channels for 5G networks that can be used either for Downlink or Uplink communication. 5G NR physical channels used for uplink communication includes the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) , the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) , and the physical random-access channel (PRACH) . Uplink signals such as DM-RS, PT-RS, and SRS are also supported. 5G NR supports the simultaneous transmission on PUSCH and PUCCH. PUSCH is typically used to carry the user data and optionally, can carry uplink control information (UCI) . PDSCH stands for Physical Downlink Shared Channel and is a channel used to deliver data from the base station (e.g., gNb) to the user equipment (UE) in the downlink direction. PDSCH supports high data rates and low latency for a wide range of applications and services. It uses advanced modulation and coding schemes, as well as multiple antenna techniques such as MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) , to maximize spectral efficiency and improve the overall performance of the network. PDSCH is also used in conjunction with other channels, such as the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) and Physical Hybrid ARQ Indicator Channel (PHICH) , to support features such as channel state information reporting, scheduling and retransmission of data packets, and HARQ (Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request) feedback. PDSCH enables the delivery of high-speed data and low-latency services to users in the downlink direction, and supports a range of advanced features and capabilities that promote efficient and reliable operation of the network. Physical broadcast channel (PBCH) includes physical layer error protection and formatting, as well as being located in a predefined position for FDD/TDD radio frames. Physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) is generally used by the network to carry scheduling information to individual UEs such as resource assignments for uplink and downlink data, and downlink control information (DCI) .

PRACH is used for initiating contact between a UE and network. When a UE tries to connect to a network for the first time or after a period of inactivity, it may perform a RACH procedure over PRACH to connect. The UE and network may engage in a RACH procedure which may include a sequence of predefined signaling between UE and gNB (Network) in order for UE to obtain Uplink Synchronization and a specified ID for the radio access communication. This RACH procedure may be contention based or non-contention based.

Carrier aggregation (CA) is a technique that mobile carriers may use to increase network capacity and speeds. CA operations may include using or combining multiple carriers simultaneously to create a wider channel for data transmission and reception, which may result in increased data throughput and reduced latency. CA may be performed by splitting and combining signals in the media access control (MAC) layer, whereas dual connectivity (DC) uses traffic splits in the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer.

A UE may change physical location within a network. The network may include a plurality of cells (e.g., base stations) . When UE moves from one location to another, the network may designate a different cell to be the main cell or serving cell for the UE. In the handover procedure, a UE may send a measurement report with neighbor cell PCI and signal strength to the serving cell. The network may look at various conditions (e.g., triggering events) and if one of conditions are satisfied for a triggering event, start the handover procedure to the best target cell according to the triggering event. The target cell of the network may complete the handover procedure with the UE. The target cell may be within the same radio access technology (RAT) or a different RAT.

Generally, a network may configure a UE through radio resource control (RRC) signaling. How the network configures a UE may depend on various factors including network conditions (e.g., bandwidth, coverage, network capabilities, etc. ) and UE conditions (e.g., UE capabilities, UE model, UE location, UE state, etc. ) .

Radio resource management (RRM) is an umbrella term that includes multiple techniques and algorithms that the network performs to share network resources (e.g., the available spectrum) among users (e.g., UEs) on the network. RRM considers various factors such as, for example, efficient energy usage, throughput, delays, packet loss. RRM includes algorithms that the network implements in view of various input factors (e.g., power usage, routing, traffic, UE types, etc., ) to allocate resources effectively, the details of which are outside the scope of the present disclosure.

XR applications become more popular as technology advances. UEs on a network may include hardware and software (e.g., displays, head up displays, pass-through displays for ‘smart glasses’ , stereoscope dual displays, speakers, cameras, a depth camera, localization algorithms, etc. ) that run XR applications to provide a user with an XR experience. Some XR applications may rely heavily on real-time data such as, for example, to process and sync user location, orientation, to sense the physical environment around a user, to update objects in a virtualized environment, to synchronize a virtualized environment with the sensed physical environment.

As with non-XR services, a UE may perform network measurements to support downlink and uplink of data for the XR service. For example, a UE may measure a reference signal associated with a downlink channel for data of that XR service. For the purpose of the present disclosure, and XR service is interchangeable with an XR application and includes a plurality of software instructions that are grouped together to provide a common experience to a user (e.g., an immersive game, an immersive movie, etc. ) .

The prioritization for XR services in the context of allocation of network resources should be considered, such as how to prioritize performing XR network traffic and measurements over the other network activities such as non-XR related network traffic and measurement. To exchange data between the UE and network, and use this data to present an XR experience, the UE may need to perform L1 measurement, link monitoring, and/or a beam measurement, to ensure the link reliability for XR network traffic.

Aspects described in the present disclosure consider both the measurement type and traffic type, to determine how to prioritize activities when an XR service is performed or to be performed by a UE. A UE may categorize different activities for RRM related behaviors. With the categorization of XR activities, UE and NW can determine which network resource consuming activity shall be prioritized over the other, or how to allocate the network resources for different RRM behaviors.

Categories of activities may include:

1. L3 measurement for mobility: measurement gap (MG) based measurement, non-MG based measurement

2. L1 measurement: radio link monitoring (RLM) measurement, Beam measurement, beam failure detection (BFD) /candidate beam detection (CBD) measurement

3. Traffic: data channel, control channel, system information (SI) reading (special) -special SI information may be designated as ‘high priority’ compared to non-special SI information.

An example of prioritization (e.g., legacy prioritization) may include, from high to low priority: RACH related RS > L3 measurement in MG > special SI reading > L3 measurement non-MG > L1 measurement > network traffic. It should be understood that in the present disclosure, prioritization described in terms of ‘A> B’ may be understood to mean that activity A has a higher priority than activity B, and if they have a scheduling conflict (e.g., have overlapping resources in the same time window) then activity A is performed instead of activity B. In addition, when network traffic collides with a MG, the UE may perform the measurement in the MG rather than receive or transmit the network traffic, and when network traffic collides with non-MG measurement, the UE or network may apply a scheduling restriction. Typically, during a measurement gap, uplink and downlink is disabled.

It is considered that XR traffic typically includes real-time traffic that needs a reliable connection between UE and gNB, and in some scenarios, XR network traffic should have higher priority than measurement activities.

The prioritization rule when considering XR could be: XR network traffic >RACH related RS (e.g., a RACH preamble (msg 1) , msg 2, msg 3, msg 4, etc. ) > L3 MG > special SI reading > L3 non-MG > L1 > Traffic. When XR traffic collides with MG, the UE or network may drop (e.g., ignore) the MG. When XR traffic collides with a non-MG measurement, the UE or network may keep XR scheduling and drop (e.g., not perform) the measurement.

Although an XR service may need to prioritize the communication of XR network traffic, this communication may rely on certain measurements. For example, the UE's transmission or reception of XR network traffic may rely on some network measurements to be performed. As such, aspects of the present disclosure categorize and prioritize XR related measurement with respect to legacy (e.g., non-XR) related measurements.

Existing UE and network behavior is described in the specification as follows:

1. TS38.133 describes a scenario of when the legacy traffic collides with a measurement gap (MG) . During the per-UE measurement gaps the UE is not required to conduct reception/transmission from/to the corresponding NR serving cells for SA (with single carrier or CA configured) except the reception of signals used for RRM measurement (s) , PRS measurement (s) and the signals used for random access procedure in some cases.

2. TS38.133 describes a scenario of the legacy traffic colliding with non-MG based measurements. For UE which does not support simultaneousRxDataSSB-DiffNumerology the following restrictions apply due to SS-RSRP/RSRQ/SINR measurement. If deriveSSB_IndexFromCell is enabled the UE is not expected to transmit PUCCH/PUSCH/SRS or receive PDCCH/PDSCH/TRS/CSI-RS for CQI on SSB symbols to be measured, and on 1 data symbol before each consecutive SSB symbols to be measured and 1 data symbol after each consecutive SSB symbols to be measured within SMTC window duration. If the high layer signalling of smtc2 is configured (in TS 38.331) , the SMTC periodicity follows smtc2; Otherwise, the SMTC periodicity follows smtc1. If deriveSSB_IndexFromCell is not enabled the UE is not expected to transmit PUCCH/PUSCH/SRS or receive PDCCH/PDSCH/TRS/CSI-RS for CQI on all symbols within SMTC window duration. If the high layer signalling of smtc2 is configured in TS 38.331, the SMTC periodicity follows smtc2; Otherwise, the SMTC periodicity follows smtc1. If the following conditions are met: the UE has been notified about system information update through paging. The gap between the UE’s reception of PDCCH that UE monitors in the Type 2-PDCCH CSS set that notifies system information update, and the PDCCH that UE monitors in the Type0-PDCCH CSS set, is greater than 2 slots. The UE is expected to receive the PDCCH that the UE monitors in the Type0-PDCCH CSS set, and/or the corresponding PDSCH, on SSB symbols to be measured.

Aspects described may categorize network measurement activities with respect to XR and non-XR services, and then prioritize performing these XR measurement activities according to the determined priority, in view of other activities (e.g., other measurements or network traffic) . In 5G NR, measurements for signal quality or strength (e.g., RSRP, RSRQ, SINR, etc. ) may be performed and reported at Layer 1 (Physical Layer) and Layer 3 (RRC Layer) . A UE can use one or more antennae to perform the measurements at specified frequencies and times, and provide the measurements (e.g., RSRP) at Layer 1 to the network when sending Channel State Information (CSI) . Similarly, the UE may provide these measurements at Layer 3 to the network when sending an RRC Measurement Report to gNB.

To perform the measurement, a UE may generate RSRP measurement results (e.g., synchronization signal-RSRP) , which may be determined by measuring a reference signal (RS) , such as, for example, the synchronization signal, a physical broadcast channel demodulation reference signal (PBCH-DMRS) , or other reference signal. While performing measurements for L1, UE may also measure channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) .

Regarding Layer 3 (L3) Measurements, L3 measurements may be used for RRM decisions which typically involve a relatively long-term view of channel conditions. For example, handover procedures may be triggered after Layer 3 filtering, to help prevent the UE bouncing back and forth between serving cells. The UE may perform filtering measurements at Layer 3 to remove the impact of fast fading and to help reduce short term variations in results. L3 measurements can be either ‘beam level’ or ‘cell level’ , both of which may be reported to the network within an RRC message in what may be referred to as a Measurement Report (MR) . Beam level measurements may be generated directly from the L1 measurements by applying L3 filtering. Cell level measurements may also be derived from the L1 measurements using the pre-defined rules.

Layer 1 (L1) Measurements may be used for applications that must react with minimal delay, for example, beam management procedures which require the UE to rapidly switch between beams. A UE may filter measurements at Layer 1 to help remove the impact of noise and to improve measurement accuracy. L1 measurements are ‘beam level’ . The measurements may be performed for radio link management (RLM) , a beam measurement, beam failure detection (BFD) , or candidate beam detection (CBD) . Regarding BFD, the UE may detect a beam failure if, for example, RSRP for the current connected beam goes below a certain limit. UE may use a specific Reference Signal (e.g., CSI-RS or other RS) to detect the beam failure. Once this happens, for CBD, UE may measure other beams to determine a candidate beam (e.g., based on which beam index has the strongest signal) .

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of an XR capable UE 602 that may implement categorization for XR related network operations, according to an embodiment.

When UE is configured/scheduled with XR traffic (e.g., the UE has sent a request to send or receive XR network traffic, and the network has configured the UE to send or receive this XR network traffic and related measurements) , categorization enhancements are as follows. UE shall categorize activities 632 into XR related measurements, XR related network traffic, non-XR measurement, non-XR network traffic.

UE categorized activities 632 for prioritization may include one or more of:

· (1) XR L1 measurement 606, this may include, for example, L1 measurement for radio link management (RLM) , a beam measurement, or BFD/CBD;

· (2) XR network traffic 608, this may include receiving or transmitting XR network traffic over a control channel (e.g., PDCCH, PUCCH, etc. ) and data channel (e.g., PDSCH, PBCH, PUSCH) , for UL and/or DL;

· (3) non-XR related L3 measurement without MG 626;

· (4) non-XR related L3 measurement with MG 624;

· (5) non-XR related L1 measurement 620;

· (6) non-XR traffic related network traffic 614 which includes receiving or transmitting non-XR network traffic over dedicated control channel or data channel for both UL and DL;

· (7) special SI reading 628, which may include the SI information and PDCCH when the SI is changed; and

· (8) RACH related RS 630; which may include RACH procedure signaling (e.g., transmit or receive) .

An XR capable UE 602 may categorize and prioritize the categorized activities 632 under different embodiments, as described. XR capable UE 602 may be a UE (e.g., as described in other sections) that operates one or more XR services 604. The XR service 604 may perform one or more XR related operations such as presenting a mixed, augmented, or virtual reality environment to a user, localizing the user in the XR environment, updating virtualized objects in the XR environment; synchronizing the XR environment with the physical environment, providing an immersive and dynamic audio output, etc., XR service 604 may process sensed or obtained data with minimal delay (e.g., without permanent storage, solely delayed based on unavoidable communication, buffering, and processing latency, etc. ) . This may be understood as real-time processing. For example, to synchronize virtual objects in the XR environment with the user's movement and/or with the physical world, the XR capable UE 602 may sense user movement (e.g., with image processing, depth cameras, a gyroscope, accelerometer, etc. ) , perform localization algorithms, obtain a constant data feed defining the XR environment from the network, and process these continuously and simultaneously to generate and update the XR environment. To obtain channel resources for data transfer for an XR service 604, the XR capable UE 602 may perform one or more XR L1 measurements 606 to select and promote reliable data transfer of the XR network traffic, and communicate the XR network traffic 608 over dedicated UL and DL channels.

XR capable UE 602 may run one or more non-XR services 610 as well, such as, for example, background services, operating system services (e.g., file management, resource management, etc. ) , web browsing, or other traditional non-immersive services. The one or more non-XR services 610 may be associated with non-XR measurement activities 612.

A new prioritization mechanism for new behavior categorization in XR is described. When UE is configured or scheduled with XR network traffic, and the UE is configured as to which resources (e.g., signal components such as reference beam, time domain resources, and frequency domain resources) will be dedicated with the XR network traffic, the UE will proceed to block 618 to perform activity categorization and prioritization. The XR capable UE 602 may implement one or more priorities according to different embodiments, to generate prioritized activities 622. The XR capable UE 602 may flag the XR traffic and XR traffic related measurement in different ways.

In an embodiment, the network can flag the XR network traffic during the scheduling or channel configuration, and can flag L1 measurement or L1 RS during the measurement configuration or measurement resource configuration, and can flag RACH occasion for XR during the RACH configuration. Alternatively, in an embodiment, the UE can indicate that the requested network traffic, or service, or channel, is associated with an XR service 604. In this case, the network can flag this XR traffic during the scheduling or channel configuration, and can flag L1 measurement or L1 RS during the measurement configuration or measurement resource configuration, and can flag RACH occasion for XR during the RACH configuration. Regardless of whether the network or UE initiates the flagging, the ‘flag’ indicates whether or not traffic or measurement is XR or non-XR related.

In an embodiment (e.g., Option 1) , the UE may set prioritized activities 622, in an order of high to low of: performing the L1 measurement associated with the XR network traffic, transmitting or receiving the XR network traffic over a respective channel (e.g., dedicated to the XR service 604) , performing Random Access Channel (RACH) measurement associated with a RACH reference signal (RS) , performing a non-XR L3 measurement in a measurement gap, performing a special SI reading, performing the non-XR L3 measurement outside of the measurement gap, performing a non-XR L1 measurement, and transmitting non-XR network traffic over a respective channel.

In this option 1, the priority may be summarized by the below table 1.

Table 1 (above)

Under option 1, if the XR related L1 RS is the same reference signal as the non-XR L1 related L1 RS, this RS based L1 will be prioritized over L3 measurement, MG, RACH, XR and non-XR traffic related channel and special SI reading. For example, in response to a RS associated with the L1 measurement that is associated with the XR network traffic and a RS associated with the non-XR network traffic being the same L1 reference signal, a priority of performing a measurement with the same L1 reference signal (regardless of if it is associated with XR or non-XR services) is a higher than each of the other network activities described.

In this regard (e.g., under option 1) , edits to the existing UE or network behavior (e.g., as agreed upon in a specification) may include that: If the following conditions are met: -the UE has been scheduled XR related L1 measurement (e.g., RLM, BFD/CBD, L1-RSRP/L1-SINR) , or scheduled to receive XR traffic over the PDSCH, the UE is expected to receive the corresponding PDSCH for XR scheduling, and/or do the XR related L1 measurement, on those SSB symbols to be measured for other RRM purpose if those SSB symbols are not configured for XR L1 measurement. During the measurement gaps the UE: is not required to conduct reception/transmission from/to the corresponding NR serving cells except the reception of signals used for RRM measurement (s) , PRS measurement (s) , the signals used for random access procedure and the signals used for XR related L1 measurement and XR PDSCH/PDCCH according to existing guidelines. Other options for prioritization mechanisms for new behavior categorization in XR may be adopted as well.

In an embodiment (e.g., option 2) , when the UE is configured or scheduled with XR network traffic and L1 measurement that is associated with the XR network traffic, the UE may generate prioritized activities 622 in an order of the prioritization from high to low including: performing Random Access Channel (RACH) messaging associated with a RACH reference signal (RS) , performing an L1 measurement associated with the XR network traffic, transmitting or receiving the XR network traffic over a respective channel (e.g., UL or DL control or data channel) , performing a non-XR L3 measurement in a measurement gap, performing a special SI reading, performing the non-XR L3 measurement outside of the measurement gap, performing a non-XR L1 measurement, and transmitting non-XR network traffic over a respective channel.

In this option 2, the priority may be summarized by the below table 2.

Table 2 (above)

The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of network activities include, in an order of the prioritization from high to low: performing Random Access Channel (RACH) messaging associated with a RACH reference signal (RS) that is associated with the XR network traffic, performing an L1 or L3 measurement associated with the XR network traffic, performing RACH messaging associated with a non-XR RACH RS, transmitting or receiving the XR network traffic over a respective channel, performing a non-XR L3 measurement in a measurement gap, performing a special SI reading, and performing a non-XR L3 measurement outside of the measurement gap, performing a non-XR L1 measurement, and transmitting non-XR network traffic over a respective channel.

In option 2, RACH is for link recovery, thus, the UE may give RACH procedure signaling the highest priority. In an embodiment, The RACH signaling can be further categorized as: XR related RACH (e.g., used for XR link recovery, like candidate beam detection) and non-XR related RACH. XR related RACH may be assigned (at block 618) higher priority than XR related measurement and traffic, and XR related measurement and traffic may be assigned higher priority than non-XR related RACH. In this embodiment, prioritization from high to low may include: performing Random Access Channel (RACH) messaging associated with a RACH reference signal (RS) that is associated with the XR network traffic, performing an L1 measurement associated with the XR network traffic, performing RACH messaging associated with a non-XR RACH RS, transmitting or receiving the XR network traffic over a respective channel, performing a non-XR L3 measurement in a measurement gap, performing a special SI reading, performing a non-XR L3 measurement outside of the measurement gap, performing a non-XR L1 measurement, and transmitting non-XR network traffic over a respective channel.

In an embodiment (e.g., option 3) , the prioritization may be controlled by the network 616. The network may provide indications as to how to prioritize the various categorized activities 632. The network may flag the L1 measurement, or L1 RS, or RACH occasion for XR or for non-XR. Then, by default like in option 1 and option 2, if the activity category (e.g., the L1 measurement, L1 RS, or RACH occasion) is flagged as being associated with XR service 604, then the UE will prioritize this activity over XR network traffic 608 and other non-XR activities (e.g., 614, 620, 624, 626, 628, non XR RACH signaling 630) . Additionally, for XR related L1 measurement or L1 RS or RACH occasion, network can explicitly indicate (through signaling or configuration) if such activity can be prioritized or not. In this case, even assuming that the L1 measurement is for XR, the network 616 may indicate to XR capable UE 602 whether or not it should be prioritized above non-XR activity, or the same as XR activity. If the network 616 indicates that it should not, then the UE 602 may treat the XR L1 measurement 606 as being equal in priority to non-XR L1 measurement 620, and resort to existing prioritization rules which disregards whether or not the measurement is related to XR service 604.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example process 700 for a UE to categorize and prioritize activities for XR, in accordance with an embodiment. Although the example process depicts a sequence of operations, the sequence may be altered without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. For example, some of the operations depicted may be performed in parallel or in a different sequence that does not materially affect the function of the process. In other examples, different components of an example device or system that implements the process may perform functions at substantially the same time or in a specific sequence.

Process 700 may be performed by processing logic of a UE (e.g., a processor coupled to computer readable memory) which may include a combination of hardware (e.g., passive or active electronic components, programmable logic, a processor, etc. ) and software (e.g., machine-executable instructions stored in computer-readable memory) .

At block 702, processing logic sends, to the network, a request for extended reality (XR) network traffic. For example, in response to the UE running or initializing an XR service, the UE may send this request to the network to obtain one or more UL or DL channels to exchange data to be processed for the XR service. In an embodiment, the request may include a flag that indicates that the requested traffic is for an XR service.

At block 704, processing logic receives, from the network, a channel configuration associated with the XR network traffic. For example, the UE may receive which physical channels are to be used for UL or DL of data for that XR service. The physical channels may include control channels (e.g., PUCCH, PDCCH) and/or data channels (e.g., PUSCH, PDSCH) that are to be used for the XR service. At each of block 706 or block 704, the network may flag the channel configuration or measurement configuration as being associated with XR network traffic.

At block 706, processing logic receives, from the network, a measurement configuration from the network that configures L1 measurement associated with the XR network traffic. The measurement configuration may define the network resources to measure (e.g., which signal to measure, the time slots that it can be measured, etc. ) .

At block 708, in response to receiving the measurement configuration and the channel configuration that are associated with the XR network traffic, processing logic performs a first of a plurality of network activities, based on a prioritization of the plurality of network activities, wherein the first of the plurality of network activities has a higher priority than a second of the plurality network activities that the UE refrains from performing when the first and the second of the plurality of network activities share a common time resource. For example, processing logic may perform an L1 measurement that is associated with the XR service over a measurement (e.g., an L3 or L1 measurement) that is not associated with the XR service, if the measurements are scheduled to overlap in the time domain. In another example, processing logic may perform data transfer of the XR network traffic over non-XR measurements or non-XR network traffic. Other examples are described where the first activity has a higher priority than the second activity according to option 1 or option 2, as described.

Processing logic may prioritize the categorized activities, as described with respect to FIG. 5. For example, according to option 1, processing logic may perform the following, in an order of high to low prioritization: performing the L1 measurement associated with the XR network traffic, transmitting or receiving the XR network traffic over a respective channel, performing Random Access Channel (RACH) measurement associated with a RACH reference signal (RS) , performing a non-XR L3 measurement in a measurement gap, performing a special SI reading, and performing the non-XR L3 measurement outside of the measurement gap, performing a non-XR L1 measurement, and transmitting non-XR network traffic over a respective channel.

In an embodiment, according to option 2, processing logic may perform the following, in an order of high to low prioritization: performing Random Access Channel (RACH) messaging associated with a RACH reference signal (RS) , performing an L1 measurement associated with the XR network traffic, transmitting or receiving the XR network traffic over a respective channel, performing a non-XR L3 measurement in a measurement gap, performing a special SI reading, and performing the non-XR L3 measurement outside of the measurement gap, performing a non-XR L1 measurement, and transmitting non-XR network traffic over a respective channel.

In a variation of option 2, processing logic may perform the following, in an order of the prioritization from high to low: performing Random Access Channel (RACH) messaging associated with a RACH reference signal (RS) that is associated with the XR network traffic, performing an L1 measurement associated with the XR network traffic, performing RACH messaging associated with a non-XR RACH RS, transmitting or receiving the XR network traffic over a respective channel, performing a non-XR L3 measurement in a measurement gap, performing a special SI reading, performing a non-XR L3 measurement outside of the measurement gap, performing a non-XR L1 measurement, and transmitting non-XR network traffic over a respective channel.

In an embodiment (e.g., option 3) , processing logic may determine the prioritization based on receiving, from the network, a first respective flag that indicates whether the L1 measurement, an L1 RS, or a RACH occasion is associated with the XR network traffic. In an embodiment, for each of the L1 measurement, the L1 RS, or the RACH occasion that is indicated as being associated with the XR network traffic, the prioritization is further determined based on receiving, from the network, a second flag indicating whether the L1 measurement, the L1 RS, or the RACH occasion is to be prioritized by the UE. In such a manner, the network may flag each activity as being XR or non-XR related, and flag whether or not those XR related activities should be prioritized as such. For the activities that are flagged for XR prioritization, processing logic may use the priorities defined under option 1 or option 2. If not flagged for XR prioritization, processing logic may use existing prioritization rubrics, such as, for example: RACH related RS > L3 measurement in MG > special SI reading > L3 measurement non-MG > L1 measurement > network traffic. Under this legacy rubric, when network traffic collides with a MG, the UE may perform the measurement in the MG rather than receive or transmit the network traffic, and when network traffic collides with non-MG measurement, the UE or network may apply a scheduling restriction.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example process 800 for a network to categorize and prioritize activities for XR, in accordance with an embodiment. Although the example process depicts a sequence of operations, the sequence may be altered without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. For example, some of the operations depicted may be performed in parallel or in a different sequence that does not materially affect the function of the process. In other examples, different components of an example device or system that implements the process may perform functions at substantially the same time or in a specific sequence.

Process 800 may be performed by processing logic of a network (e.g., one or more nodes of a network and components thereof) which may include a combination of hardware (e.g., passive or active electronic components, programmable logic, a processor, etc. ) and software (e.g., machine-executable instructions stored in computer-readable memory) . Process 800 may correspond to process 700, from the perspective of the network (e.g., one or more network nodes) .

In an embodiment, at block 802, processing logic receives, from the UE, a request for extended reality (XR) network traffic. In an embodiment, the UE flags whether or not the requested traffic is for XR. Alternatively, the processing logic may infer that the network traffic is XR network traffic, based on contextual information such as the type of UE, the type of data requested, previous requests for network traffic, etc. At block 804, processing logic sends, to the UE, a channel configuration associated with the XR network traffic. At block 806, processing logic sends, to the UE, a measurement configuration from the network that configures L1 measurement associated with the XR network traffic.

In an embodiment, processing logic sends, to the UE, a first respective flag that indicates whether the L1 measurement, an L1 reference signal (RS) , or a RACH occasion is associated with the XR network traffic. This may be done through separate signaling, or the same signaling as blocks 806 and 804. In an embodiment, for each of the L1 measurement, the L1 RS, or the RACH occasion that is indicated as being associated with the XR network traffic, processing logic may send to the UE, a second flag indicating whether the L1 measurement, the L1 RS, or the RACH occasion is to be prioritized by the UE. The UE may prioritize and perform the measurements according to the flags.

FIG. 9 shows a diagram illustrating example operations for categorizing and prioritizing measurement and network traffic for XR, in accordance with an embodiment. User equipment 902 may be coupled to a network 904 which may comprise one or more base stations. UE 902 and Network 904 may perform operations shown to prioritize and manage network operations in view of a XR service.

In an embodiment, at operation 906, the UE 902 may send, to network 904, a request for extended reality (XR) network traffic. In an optional embodiment, the request may include a flag that the requested network traffic is to be processed by or for an XR service. In another embodiment, the network may infer that the requested network traffic is associated with XR (e.g., an XR service) based on contextual information such as, for example, the UE type, the type of data requested, or other contextual data.

At operation 908, the UE 902 may receive, from the network 904, scheduling information for XR network traffic channel. The network may flag this channel (e.g., a control channel and/or a corresponding UL or DL data channel) as being dedicated to the XR service. The scheduling information for the XR network traffic and associated channels may be referred to as a channel configuration that is associated with the XR network traffic.

At operation 910, the network may provide the measurement configuration and measurement resource configuration to the UE. The network 904 may flag that this measurement configuration and/or measurement resource configuration is associated with the XR service (e.g., to measure resources for data transfer for the XR service) . The measurement configuration or measurement resource configuration may be referred to collectively as a measurement configuration. It may define how the UE is to perform L1 measurement associated with the XR network traffic.

In an embodiment, at operation 912, the network may indicate prioritization for XR related traffic channel and XR related measurement, and non-XR activities. For example, as described under option 3, the network may provide a flag indicating whether or not an activity is related to XR network traffic, and a second flag indicating whether or not that activity should be prioritized based on its XR status.

At operation 914, the UE 902 may perform measurements and network traffic transfer based on the categorization and prioritization of activities. The UE may use operations 908 and 910 as a basis or trigger to perform the categorization and prioritization of the categorized activities (e.g., based on the prioritization described with respect to option 1 or option 2) . For example, the UE may see that it is configured to receive or transmit XR related traffic over the channel as configured in operation 908. The UE may see that it is to perform measurements for the XR related traffic on specified resources, via operation 910. The UE may perform a first of a plurality of network activities, based on the prioritization of the plurality of network activities, wherein the first of the plurality of network activities has a higher priority than a second of the plurality network activities, when the two activities share a common time resource (e.g., at the same time) .

Portions of what was described above may be implemented with logic circuitry such as a dedicated logic circuit or with a microcontroller or other form of processing core that executes program code instructions. Thus, processes taught by the discussion above may be performed with program code such as machine-executable instructions that cause a machine that executes these instructions to perform certain functions. In this context, a “machine” may be a machine that converts intermediate form (or “abstract” ) instructions into processor specific instructions (e.g., an abstract execution environment such as a “virtual machine” (e.g., a Java Virtual Machine) , an interpreter, a Common Language Runtime, a high-level language virtual machine, etc. ) , and/or, electronic circuitry disposed on a semiconductor chip (e.g., “logic circuitry” implemented with transistors) designed to execute instructions such as a general-purpose processor and/or a special-purpose processor. Processes taught by the discussion above may also be performed by (in the alternative to a machine or in combination with a machine) electronic circuitry designed to perform the processes (or a portion thereof) without the execution of program code.

The present invention also relates to an apparatus for performing the operations described herein. This apparatus may be specially constructed for the required purpose, or it may comprise a general-purpose computer selectively activated or reconfigured by a computer program stored in the computer. Such a computer program may be stored in a computer readable storage medium, such as, but is not limited to, any type of disk including floppy disks, optical disks, CD-ROMs, and magnetic-optical disks, read-only memories (ROMs) , RAMs, EPROMs, EEPROMs, magnetic or optical cards, or any type of media suitable for storing electronic instructions, and each coupled to a computer system bus.

A machine-readable medium includes any mechanism for storing or transmitting information in a form readable by a machine (e.g., a computer) . For example, a machine-readable medium includes read only memory ( “ROM” ) ; random access memory ( “RAM” ) ; magnetic disk storage media; optical storage media; flash memory devices; etc.

A baseband processor (also known as baseband radio processor, BP, or BBP) is a device (achip or part of a chip) in a network interface that manages radio functions, such as communicating (e.g., TX and RX) over an antenna.

An article of manufacture may be used to store program code. An article of manufacture that stores program code may be embodied as, but is not limited to, one or more memories (e.g., one or more flash memories, random access memories (static, dynamic, or other) ) , optical disks, CD-ROMs, DVD ROMs, EPROMs, EEPROMs, magnetic or optical cards or other type of machine-readable media suitable for storing electronic instructions. Program code may also be downloaded from a remote computer (e.g., a server) to a requesting computer (e.g., a client) by way of data signals embodied in a propagation medium (e.g., via a communication link (e.g., a network connection) ) .

The preceding detailed descriptions are presented in terms of algorithms and symbolic representations of operations on data bits within a computer memory. These algorithmic descriptions and representations are the tools used by those skilled in the data processing arts to most effectively convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. An algorithm is here, and generally, conceived to be a self-consistent sequence of operations leading to a desired result. The operations are those requiring physical manipulations of physical quantities. Usually, though not necessarily, these quantities take the form of electrical or magnetic signals capable of being stored, transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated. It has proven convenient at times, principally for reasons of common usage, to refer to these signals as bits, values, elements, symbols, characters, terms, numbers, or the like.

It should be kept in mind, however, that all of these and similar terms are to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels applied to these quantities. Unless specifically stated otherwise as apparent from the above discussion, it is appreciated that throughout the description, discussions utilizing terms such as “transmitting” , “sending” , “selecting, ” “determining, ” “receiving, ” “forming, ” “grouping, ” “aggregating, ” “generating, ” “removing, ” or the like, refer to the action and processes of a computer system, or similar electronic computing device, that manipulates and transforms data represented as physical (electronic) quantities within the computer system's registers and memories into other data similarly represented as physical quantities within the computer system memories or registers or other such information storage, transmission or display devices.

The processes and displays presented herein are not inherently related to any particular computer or other apparatus. Various general-purpose systems may be used with programs in accordance with the teachings herein, or it may prove convenient to construct a more specialized apparatus to perform the operations described. The required structure for a variety of these systems will be evident from the description below. In addition, the present invention is not described with reference to any particular programming language. It will be appreciated that a variety of programming languages may be used to implement the teachings of the invention as described herein.

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.

The foregoing discussion merely describes some exemplary aspects of the present invention. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from such discussion, the accompanying drawings and the claims that various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

A method performed by a user equipment (UE) in communication with a network, comprising:

sending, to the network, a request for extended reality (XR) network traffic;

receiving, from the network, a channel configuration associated with the XR network traffic;

receiving, from the network, a measurement configuration from the network that configures L1 measurement associated with the XR network traffic;

in response to receiving the measurement configuration and the channel configuration that are associated with the XR network traffic, performing a first of a plurality of network activities, based on a prioritization of the plurality of network activities, wherein the first of the plurality of network activities has a higher priority than a second of the plurality network activities that the UE refrains from performing when the first and the second of the plurality of network activities share a common time resource.
The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of network activities include, in an order of high to low of the prioritization: performing the L1 measurement associated with the XR network traffic, transmitting or receiving the XR network traffic over a respective channel, performing Random Access Channel (RACH) measurement associated with a RACH reference signal (RS) , performing a non-XR L3 measurement in a measurement gap, performing a special SI reading, and performing the non-XR L3 measurement outside of the measurement gap, performing a non-XR L1 measurement, and transmitting non-XR network traffic over a respective channel.
The method of claim 1, wherein in response to a RS associated with the L1 measurement that is associated with the XR network traffic and a RS associated with the non-XR network traffic being the same L1 reference signal, a priority of performing a measurement with the same L1 reference signal is a higher than each of the other network activities.
The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of network activities include, in an order of the prioritization from high to low: performing Random Access Channel (RACH) messaging associated with a RACH reference signal (RS) , performing an L1 measurement associated with the XR network traffic, transmitting or receiving the XR network traffic over a respective channel, performing a non-XR L3 measurement in a measurement gap, performing a special SI reading, performing the non-XR L3 measurement outside of the measurement gap, performing a non-XR L1 measurement, and transmitting non-XR network traffic over a respective channel.
The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of network activities include, in an order of the prioritization from high to low: performing Random Access Channel (RACH) messaging associated with a RACH reference signal (RS) that is associated with the XR network traffic, performing an L1 measurement associated with the XR network traffic, performing RACH messaging associated with a non-XR RACH RS, transmitting or receiving the XR network traffic over a respective channel, performing a non-XR L3 measurement in a measurement gap, performing a special SI reading, performing a non-XR L3 measurement outside of the measurement gap, performing a non-XR L1 measurement, and transmitting non-XR network traffic over a respective channel.
The method of claim 1, wherein the prioritization is determined based on receiving, from the network, a first respective flag that indicates whether the L1 measurement, an L1 RS, or a RACH occasion is associated with the XR network traffic.
The method of claim 6, wherein, for each of the L1 measurement, the L1 RS, or the RACH occasion that is indicated as being associated with the XR network traffic, the prioritization is further determined based on receiving, from the network, a second flag indicating whether the L1 measurement, the L1 RS, or the RACH occasion is to be prioritized by the UE.
The method of claim 1, wherein sending the request, receiving the measurement configuration, and receiving the channel configuration is performed with radio resource control (RRC) signaling.
A non-transitory computer readable memory storing instructions that, when executed by a processor of a user equipment (UE) , causes the processor to perform the method of any one of claims 1 –8.
A user equipment (UE) comprising a base band processor, configured to perform the method of any one of claims 1 –8.
A method, performed by a network in communication with a user equipment (UE) , comprising:

receiving, from the UE, a request for extended reality (XR) network traffic;

sending, to the UE, a measurement configuration from the network that configures L1 measurement associated with the XR network traffic; and

sending, to the UE, a channel configuration associated with the XR network traffic.
The method of claim 11, further comprising sending, to the UE, a first respective flag that indicates whether the L1 measurement, an L1 reference signal (RS) , or a RACH occasion is associated with the XR network traffic.
The method of claim 12, further comprising, for each of the L1 measurement, the L1 RS, or the RACH occasion that is indicated as being associated with the XR network traffic, sending to the UE, a second flag indicating whether the L1 measurement, the L1 RS, or the RACH occasion is to be prioritized by the UE.
The method of claim 11, wherein receiving the request, sending the measurement configuration, and sending the channel configuration is performed with radio resource control (RRC) signaling.
A network node, configured to perform the method of any one of claims 11-14.