Abstract:
Managing radio resources across dual networks includes a wireless mobile device connecting to a first wireless network using a first radio access technology. The wireless device may notify the first network of a capability to be temporarily non-responsive to the first network while maintaining a signaling connection to the first network. The wireless device may communicate with a second network. The wireless device may return to communicating with the first network subsequent to communicating with the second network, and in response to communicating with the second network for less than a predetermined amount of time, the wireless device may send a scheduling request to the first network. In response to receiving a grant acknowledgement from the first network, the wireless device may send a buffer status report that includes a value such as zero to indicate that the wireless device has returned to and can communicate with the first network.

Description:
PRIORITY CLAIM 
     The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/599,289, entitled “Method for Implementing Autonomous Management of Radio Resources Across Dual Networks”, and filed on Aug. 30, 2012, whose inventors are Tarik Tabet, Syed A. Mujtaba, Xiaowen Wang, Paul Flynn, Kee-Bong Song, Vinay Majjigi, Youngjae Kim, Yuchul Kim, and Christian Mucke, which claims benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/622,732 entitled “Method for Implementing Autonomous Management of Radio Resources Across Dual Networks” and filed on Apr. 11, 2012, whose inventors are Tarik Tabet, Syed A. Mujtaba, Xiaowen Wang, Paul Flynn, Kee-Bong Song, Vinay Majjigi, Youngjae Kim, Yuchul Kim, and Christian Mucke, and which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     1. Technical Field 
     This disclosure relates to wireless communication devices, and more particularly to single radio wireless devices communicating on multiple radio access technologies. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Wireless networks continue to evolve as new communication technologies develop and standardize. Wireless network operators can deploy new communication technologies in parallel with earlier generation communication technologies, and wireless networks can support multiple communication technologies simultaneously to provide smooth transitions through multiple generations of mobile wireless devices. A representative wireless network may include simultaneous support for the 3 rd  Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE) wireless communication standard and the 3 rd  Generation Partnership Project 2 (3GPP2) CDMA2000 1× (also referred to as 1×RTT or 1× or IS-2000) wireless communication standard. This representative “simultaneous” wireless network can support circuit switched voice connections through a first wireless network that uses the CDMA2000 1× wireless communication protocol and packet switched connections (voice or data) through a second wireless network that uses the LTE wireless communication protocol. The 3GPP wireless communications standards organization develops mobile communication standards that include releases for Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Long Term Evolution (LTE) and LTE Advanced standards. The 3GPP2 wireless communications standards organization develops mobile communication standards that include CDMA2000 1×RTT and 1×EV-DO standards. 
     Some mobile wireless devices may include functionality to support simultaneous access to more than one wireless network and thus more than one radio access technology. Some of these devices include dual circuits to access two such networks. Although useful, some of these dual devices consume a great deal of power when compared to their single circuit counterparts. 
     More particularly, the single circuit devices which may be referred to as single chip device or single radio devices, may also support access to more than one radio access technology and thus more than one wireless network. However, the single radio devices may only access one network at a time. For example, a single radio user equipment (UE) device may connect to or camp on an evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (eUTRAN) of the LTE wireless network and also connect to or camp on a radio access network (RAN) of the CDMA2000 1× wireless network, but not to both wireless networks simultaneously. Some of these UEs may camp on one of the networks and then tune away from that network at some interval to check for incoming messages or calls on the other network. 
     However, there may be issues that arise when the UE tunes away from the first network because the first network may have no knowledge that the UE has tuned away. For example, the first network may waste downlink capacity by unnecessarily allocating downlink resources to the UE during the tune-away operation. As another example, the first network may penalize the UE by reducing its future downlink allocations, for example, since the UE does not respond to commands from the first network during the tune-away operation. 
     SUMMARY OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
     Various embodiments of a method for implementing autonomous management of radio resource across dual networks are disclosed. Broadly speaking, a method is contemplated in which a wireless mobile device may operate in a first mode according to a first radio access technology such as the LTE wireless protocol for example, to communicate with a first wireless network. The wireless mobile device may notify the first wireless network of a capability to operate in a second mode and to be temporarily non-responsive to the first network while maintaining a signaling connection to the first wireless network. For example, the wireless mobile device may tune-away from the first wireless network to monitor activity such as paging activity on a second wireless network. Accordingly, the wireless device may notify the first wireless network of this capability. The wireless device may, subsequent to operation in the first mode, operate in the second mode according to a second radio access technology such as the IS-2000 wireless protocol to communicate with the second network. The wireless device may return to operation in the first mode subsequent to operation in the second mode, and in response to operating in the second mode for less than a predetermined amount of time, the wireless device may send scheduling request to the first wireless network. In response to receiving a grant acknowledgement from the first wireless network, the wireless mobile device may send a buffer status report that includes a predetermined value such as zero, for example, to the first wireless network to indicate that the wireless mobile device has returned. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram of one embodiment of a wireless communication system. 
         FIG. 2  is a block diagram of one embodiment of a wireless communication device shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a flow diagram depicting the operation of one embodiment of the wireless communication device shown in  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 4  is a message flow diagram depicting the flow of messages between a network and the wireless communication device of  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2  before a tune-away timer expires. 
         FIG. 5  is a message flow diagram depicting the flow of messages between a network and the wireless communication device of  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2  after a tune-away timer expires. 
     
    
    
     Specific embodiments are shown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the drawings and detailed description are not intended to limit the claims to the particular embodiments disclosed, even where only a single embodiment is described with respect to a particular feature. On the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives that would be apparent to a person skilled in the art having the benefit of this disclosure. Examples of features provided in the disclosure are intended to be illustrative rather than restrictive unless stated otherwise. 
     As used throughout this application, the word “may” is used in a permissive sense (i.e., meaning having the potential to), rather than the mandatory sense (i.e., meaning must). Similarly, the words “include,” “including,” and “includes” mean including, but not limited to. 
     Various units, circuits, or other components may be described as “configured to” perform a task or tasks. In such contexts, “configured to” is a broad recitation of structure generally meaning “having circuitry that” performs the task or tasks during operation. As such, the unit/circuit/component can be configured to perform the task even when the unit/circuit/component is not currently on. In general, the circuitry that forms the structure corresponding to “configured to” may include hardware circuits. Similarly, various units/circuits/components may be described as performing a task or tasks, for convenience in the description. Such descriptions should be interpreted as including the phrase “configured to.” Reciting a unit/circuit/component that is configured to perform one or more tasks is expressly intended not to invoke 35 U.S.C. §112, paragraph six, interpretation for that unit/circuit/component. 
     The scope of the present disclosure includes any feature or combination of features disclosed herein (either explicitly or implicitly), or any generalization thereof, whether or not it mitigates any or all of the problems addressed herein. Accordingly, new claims may be formulated during prosecution of this application (or an application claiming priority thereto) to any such combination of features. In particular, with reference to the appended claims, features from dependent claims may be combined with those of the independent claims and features from respective independent claims may be combined in any appropriate manner and not merely in the specific combinations enumerated in the appended claims. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     As mentioned above, some wireless devices may have the capability to operate in a number of radio access technologies. Further, some devices may operate in a primary technology or standard, and operate in one or more additional technologies when the primary technology is unavailable, or the device selects a different technology. More particularly, as described further below a wireless device may operate in a radio access technology that is compliant with the 3 rd  Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard. As such, the wireless device may operate using an Internet Protocol (IP) using packet switched techniques. The wireless device may also operate in a radio access technology that is compliant with one or more versions of the older code division multiplex (CDMA) CDMA2000 standards such as the CDMA2000 1× (typically referred to as IS-2000) standard, for example. In this operational mode, the wireless device may operate using circuit switched techniques for both voice and data. For a variety of reasons including higher data rates, the wireless device may preferentially operate according to the LTE standard, and then seamlessly switch to the IS-2000 standard as necessary. For example, the wireless device may tune away from the LTE mode for short durations to monitor IS-2000 activity such as to check for incoming calls, for example. 
     However, as mentioned above, when the wireless device enters tune-away operation, the network to which it was connected may not know that the device has tuned away. Thus to manage radio resources across networks, in the following embodiments of  FIG. 1  through  FIG. 3 , a wireless communication system and device are described in which a wireless device may notify the first network that it supports the tune-away mode. The first network may acknowledge that it also supports the tune-away mode. To reduce the need for the wireless device to perform a random access channel (RACH) procedure upon returning from the tune-away mode, and to reduce unnecessary resource scheduling by the first network, the wireless device may be configured to notify the first network of the tune-away capability, to keep track of the duration of the tune-away mode when it enters the tune-away mode, and to perform a procedure to notify the first network that it has returned. 
     Turning now to  FIG. 1 , a block diagram of one embodiment of a wireless communication system is shown. It is noted that the system of  FIG. 1  is merely one example of any of a variety of wireless communication systems. The wireless communication system  10  includes a base station  102 A which communicates over a wireless transmission medium (as indicated by the zig-zag) with one or more user equipment (UE) devices (e.g.,  106 A through  106 N). The base station  102 A is also coupled a network  100 A via another interface, which may be wired or wireless. The wireless communication system  10  also includes a base station  102 B which communicates over a wireless transmission medium (also indicated by the zig-zag) with UE devices  106 A. Similar to base station  102 A, base station  102 B is also coupled another network (e.g.,  100 B) via another interface, which may be wired or wireless. It is noted that components identified by reference designators that include both a number and a letter may be referred to by the number only where appropriate. 
     The base stations  102  may each be a base transceiver station (BTS) or cell site, and may include hardware that enables wireless communication with one or more of the UEs  106 . The base stations  102  may also be equipped to communicate with the network  100 . Thus, the base stations  102  may facilitate communication between the UEs  106  and/or between the UEs  106  and the networks  100 . The communication area (or coverage area) of a base station  102  may be referred to as a “cell.” In various embodiments, the base stations  102  and the UEs may be configured to communicate over the transmission medium using any of various wireless communication radio access technologies such as LTE, GSM, CDMA, WLL, WAN, WiFi, WiMAX, etc. 
     In one embodiment, each of the UEs  106 A- 106 N may be representative of a device with wireless network connectivity such as a mobile phone, a hand-held device, a computer or a tablet, or virtually any type of wireless device. As described further below, the UE  106  may include at least one processor (shown in  FIG. 2 ) that is configured to execute program instructions stored in a memory (also shown in  FIG. 2 ). Accordingly, in some embodiments, the UE  106  may perform one or more portions of the functionality described below by executing such stored instructions. However, in other embodiments, the UE  106  may include one or more hardware elements and/or one or more programmable hardware elements such as an FPGA (field-programmable gate array) that may be configured to perform the one or more portions the functionality described below. In still other embodiments, any combination of hardware and software may be implemented to perform the functionality described below. 
     As described further below in conjunction with the descriptions of  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 3 , in some embodiments, the UE  106  may be configured to initiate a connection to more than one wireless network, while communicating with only one network at a time. Thus, the UE  106  may maintain a signaling connection with more than one network, while communicating with another network. More particularly, the UE (e.g.,  106 A) may preferentially communicate with one of the networks (e.g.,  100 A), and then tune away from that network at predetermined intervals to listen or monitor the other network (e.g.,  100 B) for activity. To more effectively manage network and UE resources, the UE  106  may be configured to notify the network  100 A that it is capable of tuning away from the network  100 A to another network (e.g.,  100 B). The network  100 A may then acknowledge the notification. Once the UE  106  initiates the tune-away mode, the UE  106  may start a timer to track the duration of the tune-away mode. When the UE  106  returns from the tune-away mode, the UE  106  may check the timer to determine whether a predetermined time threshold has been exceeded. If the threshold has not been exceeded, the UE  106  may issue a scheduling request to the network  100 A, which notifies the network that the UE  106  is back. If the network  100 A acknowledges the request with a grant, the UE  106  may send data if it has data to send, or it may send a buffer status report that is set to a predetermined number such as zero, for example. However, if the predetermined time threshold has been exceeded, the UE  106  may initiate a scheduling request using a random access channel (RACH) procedure. 
     Referring to  FIG. 2 , a block diagram of one embodiment of a user equipment (UE) device shown in  FIG. 1  is shown. It is noted that components that correspond to components shown in  FIG. 1  are numbered identically for clarity and simplicity. The UE  106  includes processor(s)  202  (or processor core(s)  202 ) which is coupled to display circuitry  204  which is in turn coupled to the display  240 . The processor(s)  202  is also coupled to a memory management unit (MMU)  220  and to a receiver/transmitter (R/T) unit  230 . The MMU  220  is coupled to a memory  206 . The UE  106  also includes an I/O interface  210  that is coupled to the processor(s)  202 , and may be used for coupling the UE  106  to a computer system, or other external device. It is noted that in one embodiment the components shown within UE  106  of  FIG. 2  may be manufactured as stand alone components. However, it is contemplated that in other embodiments various ones of the components may be part of one or more chipsets, or they may be part of a system on chip (SOC) implementation. 
     In various embodiments, the processors  202  may be representative of a number of different types of processors that may be found in a wireless communications device. For example, processor(s)  202  may include general processing capability, digital signal processing capability, as well as hardware accelerator functionality, as desired. The processor(s)  202  may include baseband processing and therefore may digitally process the signals received by the R/T unit  230 . The processor(s)  202  may also process data that may be transmitted by the R/T unit  230 . The processor(s)  202  may also perform a number of other data processing function such as running operating system and user applications for the UE  106 . 
     In one embodiment, the MMU  220  may be configured to receive addresses from the processor(s)  202  and to translate those addresses to locations in memory (e.g., memory  206 ) and/or to other circuits or devices, such as the display circuitry  204 , R/T unit  230 , and/or display  240 . The MMU  220  may also return data to the processor(s)  202  from the locations in memory  206 . The MMU  220  may be configured to perform memory protection and page table translation or set up. In some embodiments, the MMU  220  may be included as a portion of the processor(s)  202 . The display circuit  204  may be configured to perform graphics processing and provide display signals to the display  240 . 
     The R/T unit  230  may, in one embodiment, include analog radio frequency (RF) circuitry for receiving and transmitting RF signals via the antenna  235  to perform the wireless communication. The R/T unit  230  may also include down-conversion circuitry to lower the incoming RF signals to the baseband or intermediate frequency (IF) as desired. For example, the R/T unit  230  may include various RF and IF filters, local oscillators, mixers, and the like. Since the UE  106  may operate according to a number of radio access technologies, the R/T unit  230  may include a corresponding number of RF front end portions to receive and down-convert, as well as up-convert and transmit the respective RF signals of each technology. For example, in one specific implementation, the R/T unit  230  may include an LTE front end and an IS-2000 front end. 
     In various embodiments, the processor(s)  202  may execute software stored with a memory such as memory  206 , for example, to perform functionality associated with the tune-away mode as mentioned above. In other embodiments however, the UE  106  may include hardware associated with the processor(s)  202  and/or the R/T  230  to perform functionality associated with the tune-away mode as mentioned above. In still other embodiments, the UE  106  may include any suitable combination of hardware, firmware and/or software to perform functionality associated with the tune-away mode as mentioned above, and described further below in conjunction with the description of  FIG. 3 . 
     In  FIG. 3 , a flow diagram depicting the operation of one embodiment of the wireless user equipment device shown in  FIG. 2  is shown. Referring collectively to  FIG. 1  through  FIG. 3  and beginning in block  301  of  FIG. 3 , the UE  106  may be connected to a first wireless network (e.g., NW 1 ) and may be operating, for example in the LTE timeline. During initiation of the connection, in one embodiment, the UE  106  may send a radio resource control (RRC) message to the network NW 1  (block  303 ). In one embodiment, the RRC message may include a UE capability information message that would notify the network that the UE  106  supports tune-away mode. In one embodiment, the notification may be included within the information elements within the message and may include a new value of an existing parameter of the radio access technology (RAT) type. In another embodiment, the notification may be included within the message and may correspond to a new information element within the UE-EUTRA Capability container information element. In another embodiment, the notification may be included within the message and may correspond to a new value of an existing parameter of the feature group indicator (FGI). In addition, the UE  106  may also include in the RRC message information about the start time and periodicity of the tune-away mode. 
     In response to the RRC message the network (NW 1 ) may respond to the UE  106  with an acknowledgement message that indicates that the NW 1  supports the tune-away mode (block  305 ). More particularly, in one embodiment, the network may respond with an RRC reconfiguration message that may include a new information element. This RRC reconfiguration message may follow the exchange of UE capability information. However, it is noted that there is no requirement for the UE  106  to send the notification message to the network, and there is no requirement for the network to respond with the acknowledgement messages described in blocks  303  and  305 . 
     During operation in the LTE timeline, the UE  106  may, at predetermined intervals, tune away from the LTE timeline to another network such as for example, an IS-2000 network (NW 2 ) to monitor IS-2000 paging activity (e.g., check for any incoming IS-2000 calls or data activity) (block  307 ). For example, in one embodiment, the UE  106  may check for QPCH indicators, or the UE  106  may check for IS-2000 paging messages. However, prior to entering the tune-away mode, the UE  106  starts a tune-away timer to track the duration that the UE  106  is tuned away from the NW 1 . In one embodiment, the tune-away timer of the UE  106  may correspond to a software-controlled timer, while in alternative embodiments, the UE  106  may include hardware timer logic. 
     Operation may continue in the IS-2000 timeline for an indeterminate amount of time depending on what type of activity is occurring (block  309 ). Generally, in the tune-away mode, if the signal strength allows for checking of the QPCH indicators and there are no incoming calls, the time spent away from the LTE timeline may be relatively short. However, if the UE  106  is required to service an incoming circuit switched call, for example, the duration could be long. 
     If operation in the IS-2000 timeline is complete (block  309 ), then the UE  106  may check to see if the elapsed time according to the tune-away timer has exceeded a predetermined time threshold (block  311 ). If the elapsed time has exceeded the predetermined time threshold, the UE  106  may initiate a scheduling request (SR) to the NW 1  using a random access channel (RACH) procedure (block  325 ). The RACH procedure may correspond to a re-initiation of a timing synchronization between the UE  106  and the NW 1 . There may be various reasons for initiating a RACH procedure. For example, due to LTE inactivity during the tune-away, there is now a reduced period of time until the UE  106  must send a RACH for time alignment. In addition, in the case of any downlink data, the network NW 1  may be unaware of the sync state of the UE  106 . Thus, the network NW 1  will send a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) command requesting a RACH procedure. Further, in the case of any pending uplink data, the UE  106  will likely have to send a RACH on the uplink if the tune-away timer has expired. This may help reset any timers at the NW 1 . 
     However, if the elapsed time has not exceeded the predetermined time threshold, the UE  106  may assume that the timing relationship between the UE  106  and the network NW 1  is still valid. Accordingly, the UE  106  may simply send an SR to the network NW 1  (block  313 ) using the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) configuration. If the UE  106  receives an acknowledgement grant from the NW 1  (block  315 ), the UE  106  may determine if there is any data to send (block  321 ). If there is data to send, the UE  106  may send data to the network NW 1  (block  323 ). However, in one embodiment, if there is no data to send (block  321 ), the UE  106  may send a buffer status report to the NW 1  on the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), for example. The buffer status report may include a predetermined value such as zero, for example (block  319 ). In other embodiments, the value may be some other predetermined value. The buffer status report having the predetermined value (e.g., zero) may serve to notify the network NW 1  that the UE  106  is back from the tune-away mode. 
     Referring back to block  315 , if the UE  106  does not receive a grant message from the network NW 1  in response to the SR sent by the UE  106 , the UE  106  may retry the SR a predetermined number of times. In one embodiment, the predetermined number of retries may be programmable. If at any time the network NW 1  responds with a grant, the UE may respond as described above in conjunction with the descriptions beginning in block  321 . If the number of retires has been exceeded (block  317 ), the UE  106  may be forced to initiate an SR using the RACH procedure as described above in conjunction with the description of block  325 . 
     Accordingly, providing a notification to a network such as NW 1  that the UE  106  supports tune-away operation, and receiving an acknowledgement from the network NW 1  that it also supports tune-away operation, may allow a single radio implementation such as the UE  106  tune-away to another network NW 2  without causing undue burden on the network NW 1  or on the UE  106  due to unnecessary RACH procedure initiations. 
     In  FIG. 4 , a message flow between the UE  106  and the network NW 1  in which the tune-away timer has not expired is shown. In  FIG. 5 , a message flow between the UE  106  and the network NW 1  in which the tune-away timer has expired is shown. 
     Although the embodiments above have been described in considerable detail, numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated. It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to embrace all such variations and modifications.