Methods and apparatus for adaptive measurement configuration selection in a vehicular device

Certain aspects of the present disclosure relate to methods and apparatus for adaptive antenna switching for measurements, for example, in high gain automotive devices. According to certain aspects, a method is provided herein for wireless communications. The method generally includes selecting, based on one or more conditions, a first measurement configuration that uses at least an external antenna mounted on a surface of a vehicle for one or more measurements or a second measurement configuration that uses at least an internal antenna associated with the vehicle for the one or more measurements; performing the one or more measurements using the selected measurement configuration; and sending a report based on the one or more measurements. The techniques for measurement configuration selection may allow the device to achieve the benefits of both the high gain external antenna and the lower gain internal antenna(s) depending on the current conditions.

BACKGROUND

Field of the Disclosure

The present disclosure relates generally to wireless communication and, more particularly, to methods and apparatus for adaptive measurement configuration selection in a vehicular device, for example, an automotive device having a high-gain antenna.

Description of Related Art

Generally, a wireless multiple-access communication system can simultaneously support communication for multiple wireless terminals. Each terminal communicates with one or more base stations via transmissions on the forward and reverse links. The forward link (or downlink) refers to the communication link from the base stations to the terminals, and the reverse link (or uplink) refers to the communication link from the terminals to the base stations. This communication link may be established via a single-input single-output, multiple-input single-output or a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system.

A high gain antenna can be used to provide wireless connectivity to vehicular devices, such as automotive devices like automobiles. In some aspects, the automotive devices are generally considered wireless terminals (e.g., or user equipments (UEs)) and can communicate with base stations (BSs) as they drive within coverage of the BSs. Although, there may be benefits realized by using the external antenna, there may be scenarios where using the external antenna is not desired.

Accordingly, techniques for selecting when to use the high-gain antenna for these types of vehicular devices are desirable.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure relates generally to wireless communication, and more particularly, to methods and apparatus for adaptive measurement configuration selection, for example, in a vehicular device such as an automotive device having a high-gain antenna.

Certain aspects of the present disclosure provide a method for wireless communications. The method generally includes selecting, based on one or more conditions, a first measurement configuration that uses at least an external antenna mounted on a surface of a vehicle for one or more measurements or a second measurement configuration that uses at least an internal antenna associated with the vehicle for the one or more measurements; performing the one or more measurements using the selected measurement configuration; and sending a report based on the one or more measurements.

Certain aspects of the present disclosure provide an apparatus for wireless communications. The apparatus generally includes means for selecting, based on one or more conditions, a first measurement configuration that uses at least an external antenna mounted on a surface of a vehicle for one or more measurements or a second measurement configuration that uses at least an internal antenna associated with the vehicle for the one or more measurements; means for performing the one or more measurements using the selected measurement configuration; and means for sending a report based on the one or more measurements.

Certain aspects of the present disclosure provide an apparatus for wireless communications. The apparatus generally includes at least one processor configured to select, based on one or more conditions, a first measurement configuration that uses at least an external antenna mounted on a surface of a vehicle for one or more measurements or a second measurement configuration that uses at least an internal antenna associated with the vehicle for the one or more measurements; perform the one or more measurements using the selected measurement configuration; and output a report for transmission based on the one or more measurements; and a memory coupled with the at least one processor.

Certain aspects of the present disclosure provide a computer readable medium having computer executable code thereon. The computer executable code generally includes code for selecting, based on one or more conditions, a first measurement configuration that uses at least an external antenna mounted on a surface of a vehicle for one or more measurements or a second measurement configuration that uses at least an internal antenna associated with the vehicle for the one or more measurements; code for performing the one or more measurements using the selected measurement configuration; and code for sending a report based on the one or more measurements.

Other aspects, features, and aspects of the present disclosure will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, upon reviewing the following description of specific, exemplary aspects of the present disclosure in conjunction with the accompanying figures. While features of the present disclosure may be discussed relative to certain aspects and figures below, all aspects of the present disclosure can include one or more of the advantageous features discussed herein. In other words, while one or more aspects may be discussed as having certain advantageous features, one or more of such features may also be used in accordance with the various aspects of the invention disclosure herein. In similar fashion, while exemplary aspects may be discussed below as device, system, or method aspects it should be understood that such exemplary aspects can be implemented in various devices, systems, methods, and computer readable media.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Antennas may be used on vehicles (e.g., or other devices) to enable wireless communications between one or more components of the vehicle and other devices in the area, and/or to enable wireless communications for devices within the vehicle to communicate with other devices. In one example, one or more external antennas may be used on top of a vehicle, such as an automobile. The one or more external antennas may have high gain. Due to the high gain, vehicular antennas may sustain a call for longer periods of time than, for example, smartphones when traveling out of coverage (e.g., cell edge scnearios). While high gain antennas may have benefits, there may also be scenarios for which it is preferable not to use the high gain external antenna. In certain aspects of the present disclosure, a vehicular device not only includes an external antenna but also includes one or more internal antennas.

Aspects of the present disclosure discuss techniques for adaptive configuration (e.g., antenna switching), for example, for measurements in high gain automotive devices. For example, based on particular conditions or triggers, the device may dynamically select between measurements configurations that use an internal lower gain antenna, the external high gain antenna, or both antennas. Thus, the device may be able to select the appropriate configuration based on the current conditions.

The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any aspect described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspect. Several aspects of telecommunication systems will now be presented with reference to various apparatus and methods. These apparatus and methods will be described in the following detailed description and illustrated in the accompanying drawings by various blocks, modules, components, circuits, steps, processes, algorithms, etc. (collectively referred to as “elements”). These elements may be implemented using hardware, software, or combinations thereof. Whether such elements are implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system.

Single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) is a transmission technique that utilizes single carrier modulation at a transmitter side and frequency domain equalization at a receiver side. The SC-FDMA technique has similar performance and essentially the same overall complexity as those of an OFDMA system. However, an SC-FDMA signal has a lower peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) because of its inherent single carrier structure. The SC-FDMA technique has drawn great attention, especially in the uplink communications where lower PAPR greatly benefits the mobile terminal in terms of transmit power efficiency. Use of SC-FDMA is currently a working assumption for uplink multiple access scheme in the 3GPP LTE and the Evolved UTRA.

An access point (“AP”) may comprise, be implemented as, or known as NodeB, Radio Network Controller (“RNC”), eNodeB (eNB), Base Station Controller (“BSC”), Base Transceiver Station (“BTS”), Base Station (“BS”), Transceiver Function (“TF”), Radio Router, Radio Transceiver, Basic Service Set (“BSS”), Extended Service Set (“ESS”), Radio Base Station (“RBS”), or some other terminology.

An access terminal (“AT”) may comprise, be implemented as, or be known as an access terminal, a subscriber station, a subscriber unit, a mobile station, a remote station, a remote terminal, a user terminal, a user agent, a user device, user equipment (UE), a user station, a wireless node, or some other terminology. In some implementations, an access terminal may comprise a cellular telephone, a smart phone, a cordless telephone, a Session Initiation Protocol (“SIP”) phone, a wireless local loop (“WLL”) station, a personal digital assistant (“PDA”), a tablet, a netbook, a smartbook, an ultrabook, a handheld device having wireless connection capability, a Station (“STA”), or some other suitable processing device connected to a wireless modem. Accordingly, one or more aspects taught herein may be incorporated into a phone (e.g., a cellular phone, a smart phone), a computer (e.g., a desktop), a portable communication device, a portable computing device (e.g., a laptop, a personal data assistant, a tablet, a netbook, a smartbook, an ultrabook), wearable device (e.g., smart watch, smart glasses, smart bracelet, smart wristband, smart ring, smart clothing, etc.), medical devices or equipment, biometric sensors/devices, an entertainment device (e.g., music device, video device, satellite radio, gaming device, etc.), a vehicular component or sensor, smart meters/sensors, industrial manufacturing equipment, a global positioning system device, or any other suitable device that is configured to communicate via a wireless or wired medium. In some aspects, the node is a wireless node. A wireless node may provide, for example, connectivity for or to a network (e.g., a wide area network such as the Internet or a cellular network) via a wired or wireless communication link. Some UEs may be considered machine-type communication (MTC) UEs, which may include remote devices that may communicate with a base station, another remote device, or some other entity. Machine type communications (MTC) may refer to communication involving at least one remote device on at least one end of the communication and may include forms of data communication which involve one or more entities that do not necessarily need human interaction. MTC UEs may include UEs that are capable of MTC communications with MTC servers and/or other MTC devices through Public Land Mobile Networks (PLMN), for example. Examples of MTC devices include sensors, meters, location tags, monitors, drones, robots/robotic devices, etc. MTC UEs, as well as other types of UEs, may be implemented as NB-IoT (narrowband internet of things) devices.

An Example Wireless Communication System

FIG. 1illustrates an example system100in which aspects of the present disclosure may be utilized. For example, the vehicular transceiver108may select, based on one or more conditions, a first measurement configuration that uses at least an external antenna mounted on a surface of a vehicle for one or more measurements or a second measurement configuration that uses at least an internal antenna for the one or more measurements. The vehicular transceiver108can perform the one or more measurements using the selected measurement configuration and send a report based on the one or more measurements.

In one aspect, the system includes one or more base stations102and110that transmits and receive signals using a forward link (FL)104and a reverse link (RL)106. A vehicular transceiver (VT)108(e.g., such as an automobile), which may be considered a user equipment (UE), in communication with the base station102may also transmit and receive signals using the forward link104and reverse link106. In one aspect, the vehicular transceiver108may include at least one high gain external antenna and at least one lower gain internal antenna(s). The high gain vehicular antenna may be mounted in any suitable location, for example, on a top surface of an automobile. Another base station110is also shown.

FIG. 2illustrates example components of the base station/eNB110(e.g., such as the BS102,110illustrated inFIG. 1) and VT/UE120(e.g., such as the VT108illustrated in illustrated inFIG. 1), in which LTE-based communications may be used to implement the system. In aspects, other radio access technologies (RATs) may be used for communications between the vehicular transceiver and BSs.

FIG. 2illustrates a block diagram of one example of base station110and a user equipment120(e.g., which may be a vehicular transceiver) in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system. Transmitter system210and receiver system250may be examples of the present disclosure, according to certain aspects.

At UE120, antennas252athrough252rmay receive the downlink signals from BS110and/or other BSs and may provide received signals to demodulators (DEMODs)254athrough254r, respectively. The antennas252a-252rmay include one or more high gain external antenna(s) and one or more lower gain internal antenna(s). Each DEMOD254may condition (e.g., filter, amplify, downconvert, and digitize) its received signal to obtain input samples. Each DEMOD254may further process the input samples (e.g., for OFDM, etc.) to obtain received symbols. A MIMO detector256may obtain received symbols from all R demodulators254athrough254r, perform MIMO detection on the received symbols if applicable, and provide detected symbols. A receive processor258may process (e.g., demodulate and decode) the detected symbols, provide decoded data for UE120to a data sink260, and provide decoded control information and system information to a controller/processor280. A temperature sensor284(e.g., a thermocouple) may sense a temperature (e.g., an ambient temperature or a temperature of the UE) and supply information regarding the temperature to the controller/processor, receive processor, and/or transmit processor. The controller/processor may store information regarding the operation of a crystal oscillator (e.g., a crystal oscillator in a demodulator) at the temperature in memory282. While receiving a signal, the controller/processor and/or receive processor may use information regarding the operation of the crystal oscillator and the temperature in determining a precision of the crystal oscillator. A channel processor may determine reference signal received power (RSRP), received signal strength indicator (RSSI), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), and/or CQI, etc.

Controllers/processors240and280may direct the operation at BS110and UE120, respectively. Memories242and282may store data and program codes for BS110and UE120, respectively. A scheduler246may schedule UEs for data transmission on the downlink and/or uplink. The controller/processor280and/or other processors, components and/or modules at the UE120may perform or direct operations, for example, operations600inFIG. 6, and/or other processes for the techniques described herein for adaptive measurement configuration selection in a vehicular device. In certain aspects, one or more of any of the components shown inFIG. 6may be employed to perform example operations600, and/or other processes for the techniques described herein.

FIG. 3shows an exemplary frame structure300for FDD in LTE. The transmission timeline for each of the downlink and uplink may be partitioned into units of radio frames. Each radio frame may have a predetermined duration (e.g., 10 ms)) and may be partitioned into 10 subframes with indices of 0 through 9. Each subframe may include two slots. Each radio frame may thus include 20 slots with indices of 0 through 19. Each slot may include L symbol periods, e.g., seven symbol periods for a normal cyclic prefix (as shown inFIG. 3) or six symbol periods for an extended cyclic prefix. The 2L symbol periods in each subframe may be assigned indices of 0 through 2L−1.

In LTE, an eNB may transmit a primary synchronization signal (PSS) and a secondary synchronization signal (SSS) on the downlink in the center 1.08 MHz of the system bandwidth for each cell supported by the eNB. The PSS and SSS may be transmitted in symbol periods 6 and 5, respectively, in subframes 0 and 5 of each radio frame with the normal cyclic prefix, as shown inFIG. 3. The PSS and SSS may be used by UEs for cell search and acquisition. For example, the PSS may provide the UE with information regarding the physical layer identity (e.g., 0 to 2) of an LTE cell. An LTE cell belongs to one of three groups of physical layer cell identities, and the physical layer identity may indicate which group. The PSS may also be used by the UE in symbol timing detection, frequency offset detection, etc. The SSS may provide the UE with information regarding the physical layer cell identity group number (e.g., 0 to 167) and may be used by the UE for radio frame timing detection, cyclic prefix length detection, time division duplexing (TDD)/frequency division duplexing (FDD) detection, etc.

With the physical layer identity (e.g., from PSS) and the physical layer cell identity group number (e.g., from SSS), the UE may determine the physical layer cell identity (PCI) for a given cell. Once the UE knows the PCI for a given cell, as described below, the UE may know the location of reference signals transmitted from the cell and may be able to receive and decode system information (e.g., used for acquiring the cell) transmitted from the cell.

The eNB may transmit a cell-specific reference signal (CRS) across the system bandwidth for each cell supported by the eNB. The CRS may be transmitted in certain symbol periods of each subframe and may be used by the UEs to perform channel estimation, channel quality measurement, and/or other functions. The eNB may also transmit a physical broadcast channel (PBCH) in symbol periods 0 to 3 in slot 1 of certain radio frames.

The PBCH may carry some system information (e.g., the master information block (MIB)) that, in general, may be used by UEs for initial access to the cell, and the like. For example, the PBCH may carry information regarding system bandwidth, number of transmit antennas, system frame number, etc. The eNB may also transmit other system information such as system information blocks (SIBs) on a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) in certain subframes. The eNB may transmit control information/data on a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) in the first B symbol periods of a subframe, where B may be configurable for each subframe. The eNB may transmit traffic data and/or other data on the PDSCH in the remaining symbol periods of each subframe.

The PSS, SSS, CRS, and PBCH in LTE are described in 3GPP TS 36.211, entitled “Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA); Physical Channels and Modulation,” which is publicly available.

FIG. 4shows two example subframe formats410and420for the downlink with a normal cyclic prefix. The available time frequency resources for the downlink may be partitioned into resource blocks. Each resource block may cover12subcarriers in one slot and may include a number of resource elements. Each resource element may cover one subcarrier in one symbol period and may be used to send one modulation symbol, which may be a real or complex value.

Subframe format410may be used for an eNB equipped with two antennas. A CRS may be transmitted from antennas 0 and 1 in symbol periods 0, 4, 7, and 11. A reference signal is a signal that is known a priori by a transmitter and a receiver and may also be referred to as pilot. A CRS is a reference signal that is specific for a cell, e.g., generated based on a cell identity (ID). InFIG. 4, for a given resource element with label Ra, a modulation symbol may be transmitted on that resource element from antenna a, and no modulation symbols may be transmitted on that resource element from other antennas. Subframe format420may be used for an eNB equipped with four antennas. A CRS may be transmitted from antennas 0 and 1 in symbol periods 0, 4, 7, and 11 and from antennas 2 and 3 in symbol periods 1 and 8. For both subframe formats410and420, a CRS may be transmitted on evenly spaced subcarriers, which may be determined based on cell ID. Different eNBs may transmit their CRSs on the same or different subcarriers, depending on their cell IDs. For both subframe formats410and420, resource elements not used for the CRS may be used to transmit data (e.g., traffic data, control data, and/or other data).

The wireless network may support hybrid automatic retransmission request (HARQ) for data transmission on the downlink and uplink. For HARQ, a transmitter (e.g., an eNB) may send one or more transmissions of a packet until the packet is decoded correctly by a receiver (e.g., a UE) or some other termination condition is encountered. For synchronous HARQ, all transmissions of the packet may be sent in subframes of a single interlace. For asynchronous HARQ, each transmission of the packet may be sent in any subframe.

A UE may be located within the coverage of multiple eNBs. One of these eNBs may be selected to serve the UE. The serving eNB may be selected based on various criteria such as received signal strength, received signal quality, pathloss, etc. Received signal quality may be quantified by a signal-to-noise-and-interference ratio (SINR), or a reference signal received quality (RSRQ), or some other metric. The UE may operate in a dominant interference scenario in which the UE may observe high interference from one or more interfering eNBs.

Example Adaptive Measurement Configuration Selection in a Vehicular Device

As described above, one or more external high gain vehicular antennas may be used on vehicles, such as the vehicular transceiver108(e.g., or other devices). In some cases, the one or more antennas may provide for long term evolution (LTE) communications between the vehicle and a network. In other cases, other radio access technologies (RATs) may be used for the communications. In one example, one or more external antennas may be used on top of a vehicle, such as automobile. These one or more external antennas may have high gain. Due to the high gain, vehicular antennas may sustain a call for longer periods of time than, for example, smartphones when traveling out of coverage (e.g., cell edge scnearios). Higher gain may translate to lower transmit power and, thus, to reduced power consumption and device heating, etc.

Due to the high gain, the vehicles with one or more high gain external antennas may remain on the cell for a longer duration and reselection may not be triggered, or may be delayed. Inter-radio access technology (IRAT) and/or single radio voice call continuity (SRVCC) failures may occur at border areas. Also, public land mobile network (PLMN) cell dragging issues may occur when traveling across countries, in one example, crossing the U.S./Canada border. Since the high gain allows the vehicle to remain on the cell longer, even after crossing the border, the vehicle may remain on the network, for example, instead of roaming. In some cases, even though the vehicle is able to remain camped on the cell (e.g., still meets the cell selection criteria), the vehicle may not be able to complete uplink transmissions. For example, the reference signal receive power (RSRP) may be good (e.g., because of the high-gain antenna), although the reference signal receive quality (RSRQ) is not good.

FIG. 5is an example diagram illustrating downlink uplink mismatch and cell dragging when a vehicle with a high gain external travels at cell edge. As shown inFIG. 5, the vehicle502may be camped on the cell506in the HPLMN504. As shown, the vehicle502may leave the HPLMN area504and enter the VPLMN area508, but may remain camped on the cell506, even though the cell510in the VPLMN area508may be better (e.g., closer). As shown inFIG. 5, although the vehicle502is able to stay camped on the cell506for the downlink, uplink transmissions from the vehicle502to the cell506may fail (e.g., as represented by the “X” on the arrow going from the vehicle502to the cell506).

In other words, the one or more high gain vehicular antennas may improve coverage and/or call success rate at cell edge scenarios, reduce uplink power requirements (e.g., saving battery and/or reducing heating), improve throughput due to high channel quality information (CQI) reports, and improve voice over long term evolution (VoLTE) call quality due to high signal to noise ratio (SNR) getting the device a higher rate codec; but, in scenarios may create uplink downlink imbalance which may lead to uplink failures, lead to SRVCC failures due to the device not reporting measurements in time for IRAT handover, lead to border PLMN cell dragging where the device is still on the home PLMN but cannot complete calls when deep into the visiting PLMN area (e.g., due to downlink uplink imbalance), and/or can lead to uplink failures such as in underground parking where there is a large attenuation but the device is still on the weak LTE cell due to marginal pass in LTE downlink cell selection.

Accordingly, techniques for switching between configurations, for example, measurement configurations that use a high gain external antenna and/or a lower gain internal antenna to avoid some of the issues discussed above are desirable.

Techniques and apparatus are provided herein for adaptive measurement configuration selection and antenna switching for measurements in vehicular device, such as high gain automotive devices. For example, by monitoring for various conditions/triggers, the device can determine whether to perform measurements using an external antenna, internal antenna, or both depending on the various conditions/triggers.

FIG. 6is an example flow diagram illustrating example operations600for adaptive configuration (e.g., antenna configuration via antenna switching), for example for measurements in high gain automotive devices (e.g., such as vehicular transceiver108), in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The operations600may begin, at602, by selecting, based on one or more conditions, a first measurement configuration that uses at least an external antenna mounted on a surface of a vehicle for one or more measurements or a second measurement configuration that uses at least an internal antenna associated with the vehicle for the one or more measurements. At the604, the device performs the one or more measurements using the selected measurement configuration. At606, the device sends a report based on the one or more measurements.

According to certain aspects, a measurement configuration may include which antennas are used to perform measurements, which antennas may be deactivated or set to a low power mode, and/or what types of measurements are being performed by the antennas. The antennas can include a high-gain external antenna, for example, mounted to a vehicle such as on the top surface of an automobile, and/or a lower gain antenna, for example, which may be an internal antenna (e.g., internal to the device, such as located somewhere within the vehicle). Measurements can include signal and/or mobility measurements, for example, related to reporting for handover and/or cell selection or reselection.

According to certain aspects, the techniques described herein may be applicable to selection of measurement configurations that use antennas having a wide variety of gain, and, which may be applicable to a wide variety of different vehicular devices.

As will be described in further detail below, the selection of the measurement configuration can be based on various conditions, for example, one or more predefined triggers related to which configuration should be used. For example, a measurement configuration that uses the internal antenna for handover/cell selection related measurements may be selected when use of the external antenna might lead to one of the issues described above (e.g., cell dragging, uplink failure, SRVCC failure, and/or call failure underground, etc.).

According to certain aspects, the device (e.g., a vehicle having an external high gain antenna and a lower (e.g., low) gain internal antenna(s)), may operate according to a first configuration (e.g., measurement configuration) and/or a default measurement configuration. For example, the device may use the external antenna, for example, for measurements and the internal antenna(s) may be deactivated. For example, this may allow the device to achieve the benefits described above (e.g., such as improved coverage, reduced heating, battery savings, improved call quality, and/or improved call success at cell edge, etc.). Upon detecting a “trigger” condition, the device may switch to a second configuration (e.g., a second measurement configuration) that uses one or more internal antennas, for example, for the measurements (or that uses both the external and internal antennas).

As will be described in more detail below, the antenna switching may be accomplished using a hardware and/or software switch (e.g., a radio frequency (RF) switch) between the internal and external antenna(s), and/or can be accomplished using a separate RF chain (e.g., narrowband or wideband) for the external and internal measurements.

According to certain aspects, both the one or more external and the one or more internal antennas may be used for measurements. In one example implementation, the device may only report measurements for cells seen by both the external and internal antenna. As an illustrative example, if the external measures cells a1, a2, a3, a4 with reference signal receive power (RSRP) r1, r2, r3, and r4, respectively, and the internal measures cells a1, a2 with RSRP rr1, rr2, respectively, then the device may only report measurements for the cells a1 and a2. According to certain aspects, when the external and internal antenna(s) are used, the device may find the difference between the measurements using the external and internal antenna and may apply an offset when reporting the measurements (e.g., measurements on the serving and/or neighbor cells).

According to certain aspects, although the internal antenna(a) may be deactivated for certain measurement configurations that use the external antenna, the external antenna may not be deactivated, even for measurement configurations that use the internal antenna(s) for the mobility related measurements. For example, channel state information, channel quality information (CQI) and/or rank indicator (RI) measurements may be performed using the external antenna, regardless of which measurement configuration is selected. Additionally or alternatively, uplink transmissions and/or downlink demodulation may also be performed using the external antenna, regardless of which measurement configuration is selected.

Example RSRQ-Based Switching

According to certain aspects, one condition (e.g., trigger) that can be used for measurement configuration selection is reference signal receive quality (RSRQ). For example, if the RSRQ fails to satisfy is below (e.g., is below) a first threshold criteria or value (threshold s) for the RSRQ, then the can switch to (e.g., select) a measurement configuration using the internal antenna, for example, for the handover/cell selection related measurements and reporting. If the RSRQ satisfies (e.g., exceeds) a second threshold criteria or value (threshold sb), then the device may switch back to (e.g., select) a measurement configuration using the external antenna (e.g., the default configuration).

The first and second threshold values may be different values, for example, to provide a hysteresis for the switching and prevent toggling between configurations. Time hysteresis may also be employed along with signal level hysteresis to prevent toggling between configurations.

FIG. 7is an example graph700illustrating RSRQ over time and adaptive configuration for measurements (e.g., via antenna switching) based on the RSRQ, in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure. InFIG. 7, the curve702may represent the RSRQ over time. As shown inFIG. 7, at704, the RSRQ falls below the threshold s. At this point, the device may use the internal antenna for the measurements. At706, the RSRQ may go above the threshold s, but the device does not change measurement/antenna configuration until the RSRQ exceeds the threshold sb at708. At that point, the device switches back to a configuration using the external antenna.

Example Uplink Power-Based Switching

Additionally or alternatively, according to certain aspects, one condition (e.g., trigger) that can be used for measurement configuration selection is uplink power (e.g., physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmit power). For example, the device may identify an uplink downlink imbalance. In one example, if the device is uplink power limited and/or has a high uplink block error rate (BLER), the device may switch to (e.g., select) a configuration that uses the internal antenna(s) for the signal and/or mobility related measurements. In aspects, the device may be able to find a better cell and/or RAT using the internal antenna. If the uplink power and/or BLER improves, the device may switch back to a configuration that uses the external antenna for the measurements.

FIG. 8is an example graph800illustrating uplink transmission power and BLER over time and adaptive configuration for measurements (e.g., via antenna switching) based on the uplink transmission power and BLER, in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure. InFIG. 8, the curve802may represent the PUSCH transmission power over time and the curve1004may illustrate the uplink BLER over time. As shown inFIG. 8, at806, the PUSCH transmit power may exceed the max transmit power limit and at808the BLER may reach a threshold. At this point, for example, the device may use the internal antenna for the measurements.

Example RACH Failure-Based Switching

According to certain aspects, one condition (e.g., trigger) that can be used for measurement configuration selection is random access channel (RACH) failure. For example, after a number of failed RACH attempts or a duration of attempting, the device switch to (e.g., select) a configuration using the internal antenna. In one example implementation, the device may have a timer (e.g., a T300 timer) associated with the RACH attempts and a counter that count a number of consecutive times that the timer expires without a successful RACH attempt. If the number of times satisfies a threshold number of tries, n, and the device has VPLMN cells in its database, then the device may switch to the internal antenna. If the internal antenna also fails its RACH attempts, the device fall back to one of the VPLMN cells. According to certain aspects, the device may switch back to a measurement configuration using the external antenna for the mobility related measurements once the RACH succeeds.

Example Configuration Selection

Additionally or alternatively, according to certain aspects, the configuration selection (e.g., antenna switching) may be accomplished using hardware and/or software (e.g., a RF switch) between the internal and external antenna, or can be accomplished using a separate RF chain (e.g., narrowband or wideband) for the external and internal measurements.

FIG. 9is a block diagram illustrating a configuration900of an antenna switch hardware and/or software after the duplexer on the reception path, in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure. InFIG. 9, the switch may be between the one or more external antennas and the one or more internal antennas. For example, as shown inFIG. 9, the switch906may be in between the one or more external antennas902and one or more internal antennas904. The switch906may be after the duplexer908on the reception path. For this switching configuration, an additional receive filter910may be used.

FIG. 10is a block diagram illustrating a configuration1000of an antenna switch hardware and/or software before the duplexer, in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure. For example, as shown inFIG. 10, the switch1006may be in between the one or more external antenna1002and one or more internal antenna1004. The switch1006may be before the duplexer1008on the reception path. For this switching configuration, an additional receive filter may not be used.

In some cases, transmission may be disrupted due to the antenna switching. The device may boost the transmit power when the switch is made to the internal antenna and can revert back to the lower transmission power if the devices switches back to the external antenna.

FIG. 11is a block diagram illustrating both at least one external and at least one internal antenna available for measurement, in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure. InFIG. 11, a separate RF chain is used for the at least one external antenna1102and at least one internal antenna1104. For this switching configuration, an additional receive filter1106may be used.

The techniques described above for adaptive configuration (e.g., antenna configuration via antenna switching), for example, for signal and/or mobility related measurements in vehicular devices having a high-gain antenna may allow for selective use of internal antennas to achieve improved performance (e.g., mobility performance). The techniques described above may apply to various types of antennas designs having various antenna gains, and that may be suitable to various types of vehicles and/or automobiles. The techniques may permit the device to take advantage of the extended coverage and/or demodulation of the high gain antenna(s) and/or the use of internal antenna(s) for reporting under certain conditions in order to improve performance (e.g., mobility performance).

In some cases, rather than actually transmitting a frame, a device may have an interface to output a frame for transmission. For example, a processor may output a frame, via a bus interface, to an RF front end for transmission. Similarly, rather than actually receiving a frame, a device may have an interface to obtain a frame received from another device. For example, a processor may obtain (or receive) a frame, via a bus interface, from an RF front end for transmission.

For example, means for selecting, based on one or more conditions, a first measurement configuration that uses at least an external antenna mounted on a surface of a vehicle for one or more measurements or a second measurement configuration that uses at least an internal antenna for the one or more measurements may include the controller/processor280and/or any other component of the UE120illustrated inFIG. 120and/or one or more components (e.g., cross switch906,1006) illustrated inFIGS. 9-11. The means for performing the one or more measurements using the selected measurement configuration may include the Controller/Processor280, antenna(s)252a-252r, MIMO Detector256, Demodulator(s)254a-254r, and/or Receive Processor258of the UE120illustrated inFIG. 2, for example. The means for sending a report based on the one or more measurements may include the Controller/Processor280, Transmit Processor264, TX MIMO Processor266, Modulator(s)254a-254r, and/or antenna(s)252a-252rof the UE120illustrated inFIG. 2, for example.

In addition, means for deactivating, means for computing, and/or means for adjusting, may comprise a processing system, which may include one or more processors, such as the Controller/Processor280, Receive Processor258, and/or the Transmit Processor264of the UE120illustrated inFIG. 2, for example.