Patent Publication Number: US-2016249320-A1

Title: Mobile terminated performance in multi subscriber identity module multi standby mobile communication devices

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     To alert a mobile communication device to an incoming mobile terminated call (MTC), one or more base transceiver stations (BTSs) in a communication network may broadcast paging messages on the paging channel (PCH). As such, a mobile communication device may routinely monitor the PCH for paging messages. 
     In a multi-subscriber identity module (SIM) multi-standby (MSMS) mobile communication device, a single radio frequency (RF) chain may be shared between multiple subscriptions. However, a conventional MSMS mobile communication device may not tune-away from activities (e.g., short data packet transmission) on one subscription in order to permit another subscription to utilize the RF chain to receive paging messages. Thus, at least one subscription in a conventional MSMS mobile communication device may be unable to monitor the PCH on a consistent basis and may miss paging messages as a result. 
     Missed paging messages may cause the corresponding MTC to fail. Consequently, a user may miss voice calls despite having sufficient coverage from the communication network. Moreover, when a mobile communication device misses and fails to respond to a paging message, the communication network may repeatedly broadcast the same paging message. Thus, missed paging messages may also cause an increase in the signaling load of the communication network. 
     SUMMARY 
     Apparatuses and methods for improving mobile terminated performance in MSMS mobile communication devices are provided. 
     According to the various embodiments, there is provided a method. The method may include: detecting that a short data packet transmission will be performed on a first subscription over a first time period; determining whether a page reception will be performed on a second subscription during a second time period that includes at least a portion of the first time period; and in response to determining that the page reception will be performed on the second subscription during the second time period, deferring the short data packet transmission on the first subscription until after the page reception on the second subscription is performed. 
     According to the various embodiments, there is provided a mobile communication device. In some embodiments, the mobile communication device may include a control unit and an RF chain. 
     The control unit may be configured to: detect that a short data packet transmission will be performed on a first subscription over a first time period; determine whether a page reception will be performed on a second subscription during a second time period that includes at least a portion of the first time period; and in response to determining that the page reception will be performed on the second subscription during the second time period, defer the short data packet transmission on the first subscription until after the page reception on the second subscription is performed. 
     According to various embodiments, there is provided a mobile communication device. In some embodiments, the mobile communication device may include: means for detecting that a short data packet transmission will be performed on a first subscription over a first time period; means for determining whether a page reception will be performed on a second subscription during a second time period that includes at least a portion of the first time period; and in response to a determination that the page reception is scheduled to be performed on the second subscription during the second time period, means for deferring the short data packet transmission on the first subscription until after the page reception on the second subscription is performed. 
     Other features and advantages of the present inventive concept should be apparent from the following description which illustrates by way of example aspects of the present inventive concept. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Aspects and features of the present inventive concept will be more apparent by describing example embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a system diagram illustrating a network environment for various embodiments; 
         FIG. 2  is a block diagram illustrating a mobile communication device according to various embodiments; 
         FIG. 3A  is a timeline illustrating a sequence of activities performed on multiple subscriptions according to various embodiments; 
         FIG. 3B  is a timeline illustrating a sequence of activities performed on multiple subscriptions according to various embodiments; and 
         FIG. 4  is a flowchart illustrating a process for scheduling activities performed on multiple subscriptions according to various embodiments. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     While a number of embodiments are described herein, these embodiments are presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope of protection. The apparatuses and methods described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms. Furthermore, various omissions, substitutions, and changes in the form of the example apparatuses and methods described herein may be made without departing from the scope of protection. 
       FIG. 1  is a system diagram illustrating a network environment  100  for various embodiments. Referring to  FIG. 1 , a mobile communication device  110  may communicate with a first communication network  120  using a first subscription  142 . The mobile communication device  110  may also communicate with a second communication network  130  using a second subscription  144 . In various embodiments, the first communication network  120  and the second communication network  130  may each be, for example, but not limited to, a wireless or mobile communication network. 
     The first communication network  120  may include a plurality of BTSs including, for example, but not limited to, a first BTS  125 . The second communication network  130  may also include a plurality of BTSs, including, for example, but not limited to, a second BTS  135 . A person of ordinary skill in the art can appreciate that the network environment  100  may include any number of communication networks, mobile communication devices, and BTSs without departing from the scope of the present inventive concept. 
     The mobile communication device  110  may communicate with the first communication network  120  on a first subscription  142  via the first BTS  125 . For example, the mobile communication device  110  may acquire the first communication network  120  on the first subscription  142  and camp on the first BTS  125 . The mobile communication device  110  may also communicate with the second communication network  130  on a second subscription  144  via the second BTS  135 . For example, the mobile communication device  110  may acquire the second communication network  130  on the second subscription  144  and camp on the second BTS  135 . 
     In various embodiments, the mobile communication device  110  may perform various activities on the first subscription  142  including, for example, but not limited to, the transmission of short data packets to the first BTS  125  on the random access channel (RACH). The mobile communication device  110  may also perform various activities on the second subscription  144  including, for example, but not limited to, the reception of paging messages broadcast by the second BTS  135  on the PCH. A person of ordinary skill in the art can appreciate that the same or different activities may be performed on the first subscription  142  and the second subscription  144 . Moreover, the activities performed on the first subscription  142  may be independent of the activities performed on the second subscription  144 . 
       FIG. 2  is a block diagram illustrating the mobile communication device  110  ( FIG. 1 ) according to various embodiments. Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , in various embodiments, the mobile communication device  110  may include a control unit  210 , a communication unit  220 , a first SIM  240 , a second SIM  250 , a user interface  270 , and a storage unit  280 . 
     In various embodiments, the mobile communication device  110  may be any device capable of wirelessly communicating with one or more communication networks. In various embodiments, the mobile communication device  110  may be, for example, but not limited to, a smartphone, a tablet PC, or a laptop computer. 
     In various embodiments, the communication unit  220  may include an RF module  232 . The RF module  232  may be part of an RF chain  230 . In addition, the RF chain  230  may include, for example, but not limited to, an antenna  234 . Although the mobile communication device  110  is shown to include a single communication unit (e.g., the communication unit  220 ), a person of ordinary skill in the art can appreciate that the mobile communication device  110  may include additional communication units without departing from the scope of the present inventive concept. 
     In various embodiments, the first SIM  240  may associate the communication unit  220  with the first subscription  142  on the first communication network  120  while the second SIM  250  may associate the communication unit  220  with the second subscription  144  on the second communication network  130 . 
     In various embodiments, the first communication network  120  and the second communication network  130  may be operated by the same or different service providers. Additionally, in various embodiments, the first communication network  120  and the second communication network  130  may each support the same or different radio access technologies (RATs), including, for example, but not limited to Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), Long Term Evolution (LTE), and Time Division-Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access (TD-SCDMA). 
     In various embodiments, the user interface  270  may include an input unit  272 . In some embodiments, the input unit  272  may be, for example, but not limited to, a keyboard or a touch panel. In various embodiments, the user interface  270  may include an output unit  274 . In some embodiments, the output unit  274  may be, for example, but not limited to, a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a light emitting diode (LED) display. A person of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that other types or forms of input and output units may be used without departing from the scope of the present inventive concept. 
     In various embodiments, the control unit  210  may be configured to control the overall operation of the mobile communication device  110  including controlling the functions of the communication unit  220 . In various embodiments, the control unit  210  may include a scheduling module  215 . In various embodiments, the control unit  210  may be, for example, but not limited to, a microprocessor (e.g., general-purpose processor, baseband modem processor, etc.) or a microcontroller. 
     In various embodiments, the storage unit  280  may be configured to store application programs, application data, and user data. In various embodiments, at least some of the application programs stored at the storage unit  280  may be executed by the control unit  210  for the operation of the mobile communication device  110 . 
     In various embodiments, the control unit  210  may be configured to determine when an activity on one subscription may conflict with an activity on another subscription. For example, the mobile communication device  110  may perform page receptions on the second subscription  144  according to a schedule (e.g., every 470 milliseconds (ms)). The control unit  210  may detect a short data packet transmission on the first subscription  142  that may conflict with a scheduled page reception on the second subscription  144 . 
     Performing the short data packet transmission on the first subscription  142  may prevent the performance of the scheduled page reception on the second subscription  144 . Thus, the control unit  210  may defer the short data packet transmission on the first subscription  142  in order to utilize the RF chain  230  and perform the scheduled page reception on the second subscription  144 . The short data packet transmission on the first subscription  142  may be performed after the scheduled page reception is performed on the second subscription  144 . 
       FIG. 3A  is a timeline illustrating a sequence  300  of activities performed on multiple subscriptions according to various embodiments. Referring to  FIGS. 1-3A , in various embodiments, the mobile communication device  110  may perform activities on the first subscription  142  and the second subscription  144 . 
     In the sequence  300 , the mobile communication device  110  may be about to perform a short data packet transmission  310  on the first subscription  142  over a first time period  332 . However, the mobile communication device  110  may also be scheduled to perform a first page reception  322  on the second subscription  144  during the first time period  332  required to perform the short data packet transmission  310 . 
     The mobile communication device  110  may perform page receptions on the second subscription  144  based on a schedule that corresponds to a length of a discontinuous reception (DRx) cycle associated with the second subscription  144 . In addition to the first page reception  322 , the mobile communication device  110  may perform, for example, but not limited to, a second page reception  324  and a third page reception  326  on the second subscription  144 . 
     A same amount of time (e.g., 470 ms) may elapse between the first page reception  322  and the second page reception  324 , and between the second page reception  324  and the third page reception  326 . Based on the page reception schedule, the mobile communication device  110  may be scheduled to perform the first page reception  322  at a first time T 1 . 
     The performance of the short data packet transmission  310  on the first subscription  142  may conflict with the first page reception  322  that is scheduled to be performed on the second subscription  144 . For example, the first page reception  322  may be scheduled to be performed during the first time period  332  required to perform the short data packet transmission  310 . 
     To determine whether a conflict exists, the control unit  210  may look ahead over an amount of time and determine whether the first page reception  322  will be performed during at least a portion of the first time period  332  that may be required to perform the short data packet transmission  310  on the first subscription  142 . Thus, the control unit  210  may look ahead over a second time period  334  to determine whether the first page reception  322  will be performed during the second time period  334  that includes at least a portion of the first time period  332 . 
     For example, the short data packet transmission  310  may be performed over the first time period  332  starting at a second time T 2  and ending at a third time T 3 . The first time period  332  may be, for example, 10 ms or another length of time. The control unit  210  may look ahead an amount of time (i.e., the second time period  334 ) to determine whether the first page reception  322  will be performed during at least a portion of the first time period  332 . The second time period  334  may be, for example, 5 ms or another length of time. As such, the second time period  334  may start at the second time T 2  but may end at a fourth time T 4  before the end of the first time period  332  at the third time T 3 . 
     A person having ordinary skill in the art can appreciate that the control unit  210  may look ahead over a different length of time in order to determine whether the first page reception  322  will be performed during the first time period  332 . Thus, the second time period  334  may have a shorter, longer, or same length than the first time period  332  without departing from the scope of the present inventive concept. 
     A length of the second time period  334  may be determined based on a condition of the radio channel on the second subscription  144  between the mobile communication device  110  and the second communication network  130 . For example, the second time period  334  may overlap with at least a portion of the first time period  332 . During the second time period  334 , the control unit  210  may be able to utilize the RF chain  230  to perform a page reception (e.g., the first page reception  322 ) on the second subscription  144 . Consequently, the control unit  210  may defer any short data packet transmission that may be performed on the first subscription  142  (e.g., the short data packet transmission  310 ) during at least a portion of the second time period  334 . 
     Although the second time period  334  is shown to start at time T 2  and end at time T 4 , a person having ordinary skill in the art can appreciate that the second time period  334  may start and end at different times without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. The length of the second time period  334  may also be different without departing from the scope of the present inventive concept. In addition, the second time period  334  may overlap with a different portion of the first time period  332  without departing from the scope of the present inventive concept. 
       FIG. 3B  is a timeline illustrating a sequence  350  of activities performed on multiple subscriptions according to various embodiments. Referring to  FIGS. 1-3B , in various embodiments, the mobile communication device  110  may defer the short data packet transmission on the first subscription  142 . 
     In order to permit the first page reception  322  to be performed on the second subscription  144 , the control unit  210  may be configured to defer the short data packet transmission  310  on the first subscription  142 . In the sequence  350 , the control unit  210  may not perform the short data packet transmission  310  on the first subscription  142  over the first time period  332  that starts at time T 2 . Instead, the control unit  210  may perform the first page reception  322  on the second subscription  144  at time T 1 . After performing the first page reception  322 , the control unit  210  may perform the short data packet transmission  310  on the first subscription  142  at a fifth time T 5 . 
       FIG. 4  is a flowchart illustrating a process  400  for scheduling activities performed on multiple subscriptions according to various embodiments. With references to  FIGS. 1-4 , in various embodiments, the process  400  may be performed by the control unit  210 , for example, by the scheduling module  215 . 
     The control unit  210  may detect that a short data packet transmission  310  will be performed on the first subscription  142  over a first time period  332  ( 402 ). For example, the control unit  210  may detect that the short data packet transmission  310  will be performed on the first subscription  142  over the first time period  332 . 
     The control unit  210  may determine a time when a page reception will be performed on a second subscription  144  ( 404 ). For example, the control unit  210  may determine when a page reception will be performed on the second subscription  144  based on a schedule. Page receptions may be performed on the second subscription  144  according to a schedule (e.g., every 470 ms) that may correspond to the length of the DRx cycle associated with the second subscription  144 . Based on the page reception schedule, the control unit  210  may determine that the first page reception  322  will be performed on the second subscription  144  at time T 1 . 
     The control unit  210  may determine whether the page reception will be performed on the second subscription  144  during a second time period  334  that includes at least a portion of the first time period  332  ( 405 ). For example, the control unit  210  may determine whether the first page reception  322  will be performed during the second time period  334 . The second time period  334  may overlap with at least a portion of the first time period  332  over which the short data packet transmission  310  may be performed on the first subscription  142 . For example, both the first time period  332  and the second time period  334  may start at time T 2 , but the second time period  334  may end before the first time period  332  at time T 4 . Alternately, the second time period  334  may start during the first time period  332  (i.e., after time T 2  but before time T 4 ). 
     The control unit  210  may determine that a page reception is not scheduled to be performed on the second subscription  144  during the second time period  334  ( 405 -N). For example, the control unit  210  may determine that the first page reception  322  is not scheduled to be performed on the second subscription  144  during the second time period  334  if time T 1  is not equal to or greater than time T 2 , and/or if time T 1  is not equal to or less than time T 4 . 
     If the first page reception  322  is not scheduled to be performed during the second time period  334 , then the control unit  210  may determine that no page reception will be performed during at least a portion of the first time period  332  over which the short data packet transmission  310  may be performed. As such, the control unit  210  may perform the short data packet transmission  310  on the first subscription  142  ( 406 ). For example, the control unit  210  may utilize the RF chain  230  to perform the short data packet transmission  310  on the first subscription  142  at time T 2 . 
     Alternately, the control unit  210  may determine that a page reception will be performed on the second subscription  144  during the second time period  334  ( 405 -Y). For example, the control unit  210  may determine that the first page reception  322  will be performed during the second time period  334  if time T 1  is equal to or greater than time T 2 , and time T 1  is less than or equal to time T 4 . 
     The control unit  210  may determine that the first page reception  322  will be performed during the second time period  334 , which includes at least a portion of the first time period  332  over which the short data packet transmission  310  may be performed. As such, the control unit  210  may determine that the performance of the short data packet transmission  310  on the first subscription  142  may conflict with the scheduled performance of the first page reception  322  on the second subscription  144 . 
     If the control unit  210  determines that a page reception will be performed on the second subscription  144  during the second time period  334 , the control unit  210  may defer the short data packet transmission  310  on the first subscription  142  ( 408 ). For example, the control unit  210  may not utilize the RF chain  230  to perform the short data packet transmission  310  on the first subscription  142  until after the first page reception  322  is performed on the second subscription  144 . 
     Instead, the control unit  210  may perform the page reception on the second subscription  144  ( 410 ). For example, the control unit  210  may use the RF chain  230  and perform the first page reception  322  on the second subscription  144  at time T 1 . 
     The control unit  210  may perform the short data packet transmission  310  on the first subscription  142  after the page reception on the second subscription  144  is performed ( 412 ). For example, after the control unit  210  utilizes the RF chain  230  to perform the first page reception  322  on the second subscription  144 , the control unit  210  may utilize the RF chain  230  to perform the short data packet transmission  310  on the first subscription  142  at time T 5 . 
     Although the process  400  is described with respect to the first subscription  142 , a person having ordinary skill in the art can appreciate that the process  400  can also be performed with respect to the second subscription  144  without departing from the scope of the present inventive concept. 
     The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope and spirit of the protection. For example, the example apparatuses, methods, and systems disclosed herein may be applied to multi-SIM wireless devices subscribing to multiple communication networks and/or communication technologies. The various components illustrated in the figures may be implemented as, for example, but not limited to, software and/or firmware on a processor, ASIC/FPGA/DSP, or dedicated hardware. Also, the features and attributes of the specific example embodiments disclosed above may be combined in different ways to form additional embodiments, all of which fall within the scope of the present disclosure. 
     The foregoing method descriptions and the process flow diagrams are provided merely as illustrative examples and are not intended to require or imply that the operations of the various embodiments must be performed in the order presented. As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art the order of operations in the foregoing embodiments may be performed in any order. Words such as “thereafter,” “then,” “next,” etc. are not intended to limit the order of the operations; these words are simply used to guide the reader through the description of the methods. Further, any reference to claim elements in the singular, for example, using the articles “a,” “an,” or “the” is not to be construed as limiting the element to the singular. 
     The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and operations described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and operations have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present inventive concept. 
     The hardware used to implement the various illustrative logics, logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the various embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented or performed with a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but, in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of receiver devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration. Alternatively, some operations or methods may be performed by circuitry that is specific to a given function. 
     In one or more exemplary embodiments, the functions described may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored as one or more instructions or code on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium or non-transitory processor-readable storage medium. The operations of a method or algorithm disclosed herein may be embodied in processor-executable instructions that may reside on a non-transitory computer-readable or processor-readable storage medium. Non-transitory computer-readable or processor-readable storage media may be any storage media that may be accessed by a computer or a processor. By way of example but not limitation, such non-transitory computer-readable or processor-readable storage media may include random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), FLASH memory, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that may be used to store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that may be accessed by a computer. Disk and disc, as used herein, includes compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk, and Blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above are also included within the scope of non-transitory computer-readable and processor-readable media. Additionally, the operations of a method or algorithm may reside as one or any combination or set of codes and/or instructions on a non-transitory processor-readable storage medium and/or computer-readable storage medium, which may be incorporated into a computer program product. 
     Although the present disclosure provides certain example embodiments and applications, other embodiments that are apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, including embodiments which do not provide all of the features and advantages set forth herein, are also within the scope of this disclosure. Accordingly, the scope of the present disclosure is intended to be defined only by reference to the appended claims.