Patent Publication Number: US-2015085754-A1

Title: Methods and apparatus for enhanced frequency measurements

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     1. Field 
     Aspects of the present disclosure relate generally to wireless communication systems, and more particularly, to enhanced frequency measurements. 
     2. Background 
     Wireless communication networks are widely deployed to provide various communication services such as telephony, video, data, messaging, broadcasts, and so on. Such networks, which are usually multiple access networks, support communications for multiple users by sharing the available network resources. One example of such a network is the Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN). The UTRAN is the radio access network (RAN) defined as a part of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), a third generation (3G) mobile phone technology supported by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). The UMTS, which is the successor to Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) technologies, currently supports various air interface standards, such as Wideband-Code Division Multiple Access (W-CDMA), Time Division-Code Division Multiple Access (TD-CDMA), and Time Division-Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access (TD-SCDMA). For example, China is pursuing TD-SCDMA as the underlying air interface in the UTRAN architecture with its existing GSM infrastructure as the core network. The UMTS also supports enhanced 3G data communications protocols, such as High Speed Downlink Packet Data (HSDPA), which provides higher data transfer speeds and capacity to associated UMTS networks. 
     As the demand for mobile broadband access continues to increase, research and development continue to advance the UMTS technologies not only to meet the growing demand for mobile broadband access, but to advance and enhance the user experience with mobile communications. 
     In some wireless communication networks, under-utilization and/or inefficient allocation of available communication resources, particularly frequency measurements, may often lead to degradations in wireless communication. Even more, the foregoing resource under-utilization and/or inefficiencies inhibit user equipments and other network devices from achieving higher wireless communication quality. Thus, improvements in frequency measurements are desired. 
     SUMMARY 
     The following presents a simplified summary of one or more aspects in order to provide a basic understanding of such aspects. This summary is not an extensive overview of all contemplated aspects, and is intended to neither identify key or critical elements of all aspects nor delineate the scope of any or all aspects. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of one or more aspects in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later. 
     In one aspect, a method of operating a user equipment (UE) for wireless communication comprises receiving a measurement configuration message indicating a Dedicated Channel (DCH) measurement occasion (DMO) gap for inter-radio access technology (IRAT) measurements of a first technology type during operation of the UE according to a second technology type. The method further comprises determining an adjusted DMO gap based on at least one DMO gap adjustment rule, wherein the adjusted DMO gap is shorter in duration than the DMO gap. Moreover, the method comprises performing a frequency measurement for the second technology type during the DMO gap in one or more open time slots made available by the adjusted DMO gap. 
     In another aspect, a computer program product for wireless communication comprising a computer-readable medium includes at least one instruction for causing a computer to receive a measurement configuration message indicating a Dedicated Channel (DCH) measurement occasion (DMO) gap for inter-radio access technology (IRAT) measurements of a first technology type during operation of a user equipment (UE) according to a second technology type. The computer-readable medium further includes at least one instruction for causing a computer to determine an adjusted DMO gap based on at least one DMO gap adjustment rule, wherein the adjusted DMO gap is shorter in duration than the DMO gap. Moreover, the computer-readable medium includes at least one instruction for causing a computer to perform a frequency measurement for the second technology type during the DMO gap in one or more open time slots made available by the adjusted DMO gap. 
     Further aspects include an apparatus for wireless communication comprising means for receiving a measurement configuration message indicating a Dedicated Channel (DCH) measurement occasion (DMO) gap for inter-radio access technology (IRAT) measurements of a first technology type during operation of a user equipment (UE) according to a second technology type. The apparatus further comprises means for determining an adjusted DMO gap based on at least one DMO gap adjustment rule, wherein the adjusted DMO gap is shorter in duration than the DMO gap. Moreover, the apparatus comprises means for performing a frequency measurement for the second technology type during the DMO gap in one or more open time slots made available by the adjusted DMO gap. 
     Additional aspects include a user equipment (UE) apparatus for wireless communication comprising a memory storing executable instructions and a processor in communication with the memory, wherein the processor is configured to execute the instructions to receive a measurement configuration message indicating a Dedicated Channel (DCH) measurement occasion (DMO) gap for inter-radio access technology (IRAT) measurements of a first technology type during operation of the UE according to a second technology type. The processor is further configured to execute the instructions to determine an adjusted DMO gap based on at least one DMO gap adjustment rule, wherein the adjusted DMO gap is shorter in duration than the DMO gap. Moreover, the processor is configured to execute the instructions to perform a frequency measurement for the second technology type during the DMO gap in one or more open time slots made available by the adjusted DMO gap. 
     To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the one or more aspects comprise the features hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims. The following description and the annexed drawings set forth in detail certain illustrative features of the one or more aspects. These features are indicative, however, of but a few of the various ways in which the principles of various aspects may be employed, and this description is intended to include all such aspects and their equivalents. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The features, nature, and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the detailed description set forth below when taken in conjunction with the drawings in which like reference characters identify correspondingly throughout and wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram of a communication network including an aspect of a user equipment that may enhance frequency measurements; 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram of an aspect of the DMO gap adjustment component of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3   a  is a conceptual diagram of an example single frame DMO gap; 
         FIG. 3   b  is a conceptual diagram of an example adjusted DMO gap, e.g., according to  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4   a  is a conceptual diagram of an example two frame DMO gap; 
         FIG. 4   b  is a conceptual diagram of an example adjusted DMO gap, according to  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a flowchart of an aspect of the DMO gap adjustment features at a user equipment, according to  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 6  is a block diagram conceptually illustrating an example of a wireless communication system including an aspect of the user equipment described herein; 
         FIG. 7  is a block diagram conceptually illustrating an example of a frame structure in a wireless communication system including an aspect of the user equipment described herein; and 
         FIG. 8  is a block diagram conceptually illustrating an example of a Node B in communication with a UE in a telecommunications system, where the user equipment may be the same as or similar to the user equipment described herein. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The detailed description set forth below, in connection with the appended drawings, is intended as a description of various configurations and is not intended to represent the only configurations in which the concepts described herein may be practiced. The detailed description includes specific details for the purpose of providing a thorough understanding of the various concepts. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that these concepts may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and components are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring such concepts. 
     The present aspects generally relate to enhancements in frequency measurements. Specifically, in some communication technology types (e.g., time division technologies such as TD-SCDMA), particular time slots may be designated with certain predefined communication characteristics. For example, in time division technology, TS0 and/or Special slots may generally be utilized to obtain inter/intra frequency measurements at every occurrence within a frame and/or subframe. That is, a user equipment (UE) may obtain inter/intra frequency measurements at every TS0 and/or Special time slot occurrence to facilitate, for example, cell reselection and/or handover. However, in some non-limiting cases, measurements on TS0 may be limited by the network to a particular technology type (e.g., LTE), which may be different from the current operating technology (e.g., TD-SCDMA) of the UE, thereby resulting in excessive inter/intra frequency measurements for the network designated particular technology type. 
     For example, a UE may be configured by the network with an idle interval or DCH measurement occasion (DMO) gap, during TD-SCDMA connected mode operation, to perform inter-radio access technology (IRAT) measurements, e.g., to switch over to make LTE measurements. During the idle interval or DMO gap, however, the UE cannot perform measurements in its currently operating technology or any other technology (e.g., when operating in TD-SCDMA, the UE cannot perform TD-SCDMA (home RAT) or GSM (IRAT) measurements during an LTE DMO gap). As such, as a result of the configured idle interval or DMO gap for performing LTE measurements, the UE may fail to utilize opportunities for making frequency measurements, which can lead to call failures, for example, during handover scenarios. However, the entire idle interval or DMO gap may not be necessary for conducting IRAT measurements of the network identified technology type (e.g., LTE). 
     Accordingly, according to aspects of the present apparatus and methods, an adjustment of DMO gap may be made to provide efficient frequency measurement allocation. Accordingly, in some aspects, the present methods and apparatuses may provide an efficient solution, as compared to current solutions, to enhance handover/reselection by efficiently allocating frequency measurements for each time slot of a DMO gap. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , in one aspect, a wireless communication system  10  includes at least one UE  12  in communication coverage of first network entity  14  (e.g., base station). UE  12  may communicate with network  16  by way of, for instance, first network entity  14 . In some aspects, UE  12  may also be in communication coverage of second network entity  15 , which may be a suitable handover/reselection candidate. Further, UE  12  may communicate with first network entity  14  and second network entity  15  via one or more communication channels  17  and  18 , respectively, utilizing one or more RATs (e.g., TD-SCDMA). In such aspects, the one or more communication channels  17  and  18  may enable communication on both the uplink and downlink. Moreover, for instance, communication using the one or more communication channels  17  and  18  may be conducted by way of a time division technology (e.g., arranged in one or more frames  19 ). For instance, each frame of frames  19  (e.g., Frame N ) may include one or more time slots each capable of communicating measurement and/or data along one or more communication channels (e.g., communication channel  18 ). 
     As a non-limiting example, UE  12  may utilize time slot 0 (TS0) and/or Special (“S”) time slots to conduct inter/intra frequency measurements on communication channel  18  for the purpose of determining whether second network entity  15  is a suitable handover/reselection candidate, or for conducting actual handover/reselection. For instance, each TD-SCDMA frame includes one or more TS0 and/or Special (“S”) slots during which UE  12  may make measurements in its currently operating technology. For example, in TD-SCDMA, base stations such as network entities  14  and  15  are configured to broadcast pilot signals during the TS0 slot, and so UE  12  can make TD-SCMA measurements in the operating frequency or in different TD-SCDMA frequencies during this slot. 
     In some aspects, UE  12  may also be referred to by those skilled in the art as a mobile station, a subscriber station, a mobile unit, a subscriber unit, a wireless unit, a remote unit, a mobile device, a wireless device, a wireless communications device, a remote device, a mobile subscriber station, an access terminal, a mobile terminal, a wireless terminal, a remote terminal, a handset, a terminal, a user agent, a mobile client, a client, or some other suitable terminology. Additionally, first network entity  14  and second network entity  15  may each be a macrocell, picocell, femtocell, relay, Node B, mobile Node B, UE (e.g., communicating in peer-to-peer or ad-hoc mode with UE  12 ), or substantially any type of component that can communicate with UE  12  to provide wireless network access at the UE  12 . Further, first network entity  14  and second network entity  15  may be different cells located at the same network entity. 
     According to the present aspects, UE  12  may include DMO gap adjustment component  20 , which may be configured to provide efficient frequency measurement allocation for one or more technology types, thereby enhancing handover and/or reselection procedures. For example, DMO gap adjustment component  20  may be configured to determine at least an adjusted DMO gap  38 , based on communication received from the communication component  22 , and to provide the adjusted DMO gap  38  to the measurement component  24  for subsequent measurement (e.g., IRAT measurements). For instance, adjusted DMO gap  38  is allocated across fewer time slots than a network-specified DMO gap, thereby making available one or more of the time slots during the network-specified DMO gap for performing other measurements. Further, based on the improved frequency measurement allocation determined by DMO gap adjustment component  20 , handover/reselection component  26  may receive handover/reselection frequency related information, as measured by communication component  22 , in order to maintain a continuous active/connected state and prevent service disconnection. It should be understood that DMO gap adjustment component  20  may conduct one or more procedures to enhance or efficiently allocate frequency measurements of designated frame durations in active/connected state or idle state. Further aspects of DMO gap adjustment component  20  are described herein with respect to  FIG. 2 . 
     In additional aspects, communication component  22  may be configured to transmit and receive wireless communications (e.g., one or more frames  19 ) with one or more network entities (e.g., first network entity  14 ). For example, in an aspect, the communication component  22  may transmit and/or receive data or information on or during one or more frames  19  from one or more network entities (e.g., first network entity  14 ). In some aspects, communication component  22  may provide or otherwise automatically transmit data or information received from network  16  to any one or more of various components and/or subcomponents of UE  12  (e.g., DMO gap adjustment component  20 ). Further, communication on the one or more communication channels (e.g., communication channels  17  and  18 ) may be conducted using time slots (e.g., time division multiplexing). Additionally, communication component  22  may include, but is not limited to, one or more of a transmitter, a receiver, a transceiver, protocol stacks, transmit chain components, and receive chain components. 
     Further, measurement component  24  may be configured to conduct inter/intra frequency measurements for signals from network entities operating according to one or more technology types on at least one frequency for enhanced cell reselection/handover. In such aspects, measurement component  24  may receive or otherwise obtain scheduling information (e.g., adjusted DMO gap  38 ) for the purpose of facilitating frequency searching in one or more modes (e.g., connected and/or idle), and for subsequent forwarding of the measurement results to handover/reselection component  26 . Further, in such aspects, DMO gap adjustment component  20  may transmit or communicate adjusted DMO gap  38  to measurement component  24 , where adjusted DMO gap  38  includes (directly or indirectly) scheduling information relating to open time slots, thereby enabling measurement component  24  to conduct one or more searches different from the IRAT measurement typically associated with the network-specified DMO gap. Upon locating one or more suitable handover candidates for handover/reselection in the designated technology type (e.g., TD-SCDMA), based on the measurements made in the open time slots created by adjusted DMO gap, measurement component  24  may transmit or provide the measurement results (e.g., one or more suitable frequencies and/or cell identifiers) to handover/reselection component  26 . 
     Moreover, in an optional aspect, reselection/handover component  26 , which may be configured to conduct cell handover/reselection based on the one or more frequencies (e.g., TD-SCDMA frequency) received or otherwise obtained from measurement component  24 . For instance, reselection/handover component  26  may handover and/or reselect to a suitable cell (e.g., second network entity  15 ) based on the measurement results received or obtained from measurement component  24 . Further, in some aspects, handover/reselection component  26  may include measurement component  24 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 2 , an aspect of the DMO gap adjustment component  20  of UE  12  may include various components and/or subcomponents, which may be configured to provide enhanced frequency measurement allocation for one or more technology types in order to improve handover/reselection. For example, DMO gap adjustment component  20  may receive or otherwise obtain measurement configuration message  28  from the network  16  ( FIG. 1 ), via, first network entity  14  ( FIG. 1 ). In some aspects, measurement configuration message  28  may include a network-specified DMO gap  30 , a network-specified DMO gap periodicity  32 , and optionally an indication of a first technology type  34  for which searching and measurements are to be conducted during the DMO gap  30 . 
     Specifically, in such aspects, DMO gap  30  enables or otherwise may be used to control UE measurement activities on inter-frequency or IRAT cells while UE  12  ( FIG. 1 ), for instance, is in an active/connected state. That is, DMO gap  30  may include a network-specified IRAT measurement duration for a first technology type  34 . DMO gap  30  or network-specified IRAT measurement duration may be any network-determined measurement time period during operation according to second technology type  46  in which UE  12  may switch communication resources, e.g., communication component  22 , to permit IRAT measurements of first technology type  34 . As an example, DMO gap  30  may be any network-specified duration defined in a unit of time (e.g., seconds, milliseconds, etc.). As such, during operation according to second technology type  46  (e.g., TD-SCDMA), measurement component  24  may execute DMO gap  30  to conduct IRAT measurements on or for first technology type  34  (e.g., LTE). Additionally, DMO gap periodicity  32  may configure a DMO gap occurrence (e.g., frequency or DMO gaps) at a network-specified interval. For instance, as an example, DMO gap periodicity  32  may be any network-specified duration defined in a unit of time (e.g., seconds, milliseconds, etc.) 
     Further, DMO gap adjustment component  20  may include one or more DMO gap adjustment rules  36 , which may be executed by DMO gap adjustment component  20  to shorten DMO gap  30  and define adjusted DMO gap  38  to enable other measurements. For example, in an aspect, the one or more DMO gap adjustment rules  36  may be configured to adjust DMO gap  30  based on a predetermined knowledge that the duration of DMO gap  30  may not be used in its entirety for IRAT measurements for the first technology type  34 , in combination with predetermined knowledge of where relevant time slots, such as TS0 and Special time slots, are located in a frame. In other words, DMO gap  30  may include or otherwise contain available time slots (e.g., open time slots  40 ) that may be used or allocated for measurements for other technology types (instead of first technology type  34 ) without experiencing degradations in IRAT measurement quality for the first technology type  34 . 
     Accordingly, in order to enhance the measurement allocation for UE  12  during a given DMO gap  30 , DMO gap adjustment component  20  may be configured to determine adjusted DMO gap  38  based on at least one DMO gap adjustment rule  36 . For example, adjusted DMO gap  38  may be have its start position at some time slot subsequent to the start position of DMO gap  30 . That is, DMO gap adjustment component  20  may determine adjusted DMO gap  38  for the purpose of at least opening or making available time slots for measurements in at least another technology type, e.g., TS0 and/or Special time slots for TD-SCDMA. Additionally, in some aspects, adjusted DMO gap  38  may be shorter in duration than DMO gap  30 . For example, adjusted DMO gap  38  may be truncated in that one or both of the start time and end time may be different from that of DMO gap  30 . Moreover, rather than being a single, continuous time period, adjusted DMO gap  38  may include a plurality of adjusted DMO gaps  38  within DMO gap  30 , e.g., leaving open TS0 and/or Special time slots for TD-SCDMA measurements. In some aspects, DMO gap  30  may be dynamically adjusted to determine adjusted DMO gap  38  based on how long the first technology type (e.g., LTE) needs to complete or conduct measurements. 
     As a non-limiting example, DMO gap adjustment component  20  executing DMO gap adjustment rule  36  may transform DMO gap  30  having a 10 ms time period, such as by truncating or adjusting the time period to 7 ms, in order to define adjusted DMO gap  38 . Additionally the start time or position may be shifted by, for instance, 3 ms. As such, the time slots (e.g., TS0 and/or Special time slot) that were originally scheduled or intended for IRAT measurements of the first technology type (e.g., LTE) may be assigned or allocated to perform frequency measurements (e.g., intra-frequency measurements) of another technology type (e.g., TD-SCDMA) to facilitate handover/reselection. Further, the foregoing adjustments may be based on one or more DMO gap adjustment rules  36 . For example, DMO gap adjustment rules  36  may include one or more rules that control the adjustment of DMO gap  30  by DMO gap adjustment component  20 . In an aspect, DMO gap adjustment rules  36  may shift an initiation of the IRAT measurement of the first technology type  34  by at least one time slot. In other aspects, DMO gap adjustment rules  36  trigger an adjustment of DMO gap  30  based on one or more triggering parameters, such as, but not limited to, receipt of measurement configuration message  28  and low signal strength or quality of serving cell (e.g., first network entity  14 ,  FIG. 1 ). 
     Moreover, DMO gap adjustment component  20  may be configured to determine one or more open time slots  40 . For instance, DMO gap adjustment component  20  may determine one or more open time slots  40  using DMO gap adjustment rules  36  and/or adjusted DMO gap  38 . That is, upon determining adjusted DMO gap  38 , DMO gap adjustment component  20  may determine or otherwise detect one or more open time slots  40 . In such aspects, open time slots  40  may be one or both of TS0  42  and optionally special time slots  44 . The open time slots  40  may optionally be made available to the second technology type  46 , which may configure to instruct measurement component  24  to perform inter/intra frequency measurements on, for example, TD-SCDMA. In other aspects, open time slots  40  may be available time slots following IRAT measurements of the first technology type  34 . In such cases, open time slots  40  may optionally be made available to the third technology type  48 , which may configure or instruct measurement component  24  to perform inter/intra frequency measurements on, for example, GSM. 
     Referring to  FIG. 3   a , in an aspect, an example diagram of a measurement allocation scheme for a single frame DMO gap  64 , which may be the same as DMO gap  30  described above, is illustrated. In this example, Frame N    62  may be a single frame of 10 ms duration. Further, every frame may include two subframes each having time slots TS0 to TS6. As described herein, TS0 may typically be designated for inter/intra frequency measurements for a particular technology type (e.g., TD-SCDMA). However, the network-specified DMO gap  64  for IRAT measurement  66  on a different technology type (e.g., LTE) may prevent inter/intra frequency measurements for the particular technology type. As such, during an active/connected state, a UE (e.g., UE  12 ,  FIG. 1 ) may require handover/reselection, yet may be unable to perform one or more inter/intra frequency measurements on the particular technology type, resulting in network disconnection and/or call drop. 
     Referring to  FIG. 3   b , in another aspect, illustrates an example diagram of an enhanced measurement allocation scheme using DMO gap adjustment component  20  ( FIGS. 1 and 2 ) for a single frame  62 . Specifically, DMO gap adjustment component  20  ( FIGS. 1 and 2 ) may determine adjusted DMO gap  68 , which may be the same as adjusted DMO gap  38  described above, for Frame N    62 , which results in open time slots  72 . As such, open time slots  72 , which may be the same as open time slots  40  described above, may be used for inter/intra frequency measurements  70  for a particular technology type that may be the current operating technology type (e.g., TD-SCDMA). Accordingly, in this example, during an active/connected state, a UE (e.g., UE  12 ,  FIG. 1 ) may be able to perform one or more inter/intra frequency measurements on the particular technology type, and perform handover/reselection to a suitable cell for service continuity. 
     Referring to  FIG. 4   a , in an aspect, an example diagram of a measurement allocation scheme for a dual frame  82  DMO gap  84 , which may be the same as DMO gap  30  described above, is illustrated. In this example, Frame N  and Frame N+1  may be a dual frame  82  of 20 ms duration. Further, every frame may include two subframes each having time slots TS0 to TS6. As described herein, TS0 may typically be designated for inter/intra frequency measurements for a particular technology type (e.g., TD-SCDMA). However, the network-specified DMO gap  84  for IRAT measurement  86  on a different technology type (e.g., LTE) may prevent inter/intra frequency measurements for the particular technology type on, for instance, TS0. As such, during an active/connected state, a UE (e.g., UE  12 ,  FIG. 1 ) may require handover/reselection, yet may be unable to perform one or more inter/intra frequency measurements on the particular technology type, resulting in network disconnection and/or call drop. 
     Referring to  FIG. 4   b , in further aspects, illustrates an example diagram of an enhanced measurement allocation scheme using DMO gap adjustment component  20  ( FIGS. 1 and 2 ) for a dual frame  82 . Specifically, DMO gap adjustment component  20  ( FIGS. 1 and 2 ) may determine adjusted DMO gap  90 , which may be the same as adjusted DMO gap  38  described above, for Frame N  and Frame N+1 , which results in open time slots  88  and  92 . Open time slots  88  and  92  may be the same as open time slots  40  described above. As such, open time slots  72  may be used for inter/intra frequency measurements  70  for a particular technology type that may be the current operating technology type (e.g., TD-SCDMA). Accordingly, in this example, during an active/connected state, a UE (e.g., UE  12 ,  FIG. 1 ) may be able to perform one or more inter/intra frequency measurements on the particular technology type, and perform handover/reselection to a suitable cell for service continuity. Further, open time slots  92  may be used for IRAT measurements of a technology type that is different from the IRAT measurements of the adjusted DMO gap  90  and the open time slot  88  frequency measurements. 
     Referring to  FIG. 5 , in operation, a UE such as UE  12  ( FIG. 1 ) may perform one aspect of a method  100  for enhancing frequency measurements. While, for purposes of simplicity of explanation, the methods herein are shown and described as a series of acts, it is to be understood and appreciated that the methods are not limited by the order of acts, as some acts may, in accordance with one or more aspects, occur in different orders and/or concurrently with other acts from that shown and described herein. For example, it is to be appreciated that the methods could alternatively be represented as a series of interrelated states or events, such as in a state diagram. Moreover, not all illustrated acts may be required to implement a method in accordance with one or more features described herein. 
     In an aspect, at block  102 , method  100  includes receiving a measurement configuration message indicating a DMO gap for an IRAT measurement of a first technology type. For example, as described herein, UE  12  may execute DMO gap adjustment component  20  ( FIGS. 1 and 2 ) to receive or otherwise obtain a measurement configuration message  28  indicating a DMO gap  30  for an IRAT measurement of a first technology type  34  (e.g., LTE) from communication component  22 . In other aspects, as described herein, UE  12  may execute communication component  22  ( FIGS. 1 and 2 ) to receive the measurement configuration message  28  indicating a DMO gap  30  for an IRAT measurement of a first technology type from network entity  14 . Further, in some aspects, the measurement configuration message  28  may include a DMO gap periodicity  32  that configures a DMO gap  30  and/or a corresponding adjusted DMO gap  38  occurrence at a network-specified interval. Additionally, the DMO gap  30  may include a network-specified IRAT measurement duration for the first technology type  34 . 
     Moreover, at block  104 , method  100  includes determining an adjusted DMO gap based on at least one DMO gap adjustment rule. For instance, as described herein, UE  12  may execute DMO gap adjustment component  20  ( FIGS. 1 and 2 ) to determine an adjusted DMO gap  38  based on at least one DMO gap adjustment rule  36 . In some aspects, the adjusted DMO gap  38  is shorter in duration that the DMO gap  30 . Further, the one or more DMO gap adjustment rules  36  may shift an initiation or start point of the IRAT measurement of the first technology type  34  by at least one time slot (e.g., shift from TS0 to TS1). 
     In addition, at block  106 , method  100  includes performing frequency measurements during open time slots. For example, as described herein, UE  12  may execute measurement component  24  ( FIGS. 1 and 2 ) to obtain the measurement information (e.g., open time slots  40 ) from DMO gap adjustment component  20  and perform at least one frequency measurement during one or more open time slots  40  made available by the adjusted DMO gap  38  for a second technology type  46 . In some aspects, the second technology type may be TD-SCDMA. Additionally, in such aspects, the one or more open time slots may be at least one of a TS0  42  and a special time slot  44 . In other aspects, measurement component  24  ( FIGS. 1 and 2 ) may obtain the measurement information (e.g., open time slots  40 ) from DMO gap adjustment component  20  and perform at least one frequency measurement during one or more open time slots  40  made available by the adjusted DMO gap  38  for a third technology type  48 . In such aspects, the third technology type  48  may be GSM. 
     Further, at block  108 , method  100  may optionally include performing IRAT measurements during the adjusted DMO gap. For instance, as described herein, UE  12  may execute measurement component  24  ( FIGS. 1 and 2 ) to obtain the measurement information (e.g., adjusted DMO gap  38 ) from DMO gap adjustment component  20  and perform at least one frequency measurement during the adjusted DMO gap  38  for the first technology type  34 . In some aspects, the first technology type  46  may be LTE. 
     Turning now to  FIG. 6 , a block diagram is shown illustrating an example of a telecommunications system  200  in which UE  12  discussed herein, and/or its corresponding DMO gap adjustment component  20 , may operate, such as in the form of or as a part of UEs  210 . The various concepts presented throughout this disclosure may be implemented across a broad variety of telecommunication systems, network architectures, and communication standards. By way of example and without limitation, the aspects of the present disclosure illustrated in  FIG. 6  are presented with reference to a UMTS system employing a TD-SCDMA standard. In this example, the UMTS system includes a (radio access network) RAN  202  (e.g., UTRAN) that provides various wireless services including telephony, video, data, messaging, broadcasts, and/or other services. The RAN  202  may be divided into a number of Radio Network Subsystems (RNSs) such as an RNS  207 , each controlled by a Radio Network Controller (RNC) such as an RNC  206 . For clarity, only the RNC  206  and the RNS  207  are shown; however, the RAN  202  may include any number of RNCs and RNSs in addition to the RNC  206  and RNS  207 . The RNC  206  is an apparatus responsible for, among other things, assigning, reconfiguring and releasing radio resources within the RNS  207 . The RNC  206  may be interconnected to other RNCs (not shown) in the RAN  202  through various types of interfaces such as a direct physical connection, a virtual network, or the like, using any suitable transport network. 
     The geographic region covered by the RNS  207  may be divided into a number of cells, with a radio transceiver apparatus serving each cell. A radio transceiver apparatus is commonly referred to as a Node B in UMTS applications, but may also be referred to by those skilled in the art as a base station (BS), a base transceiver station (BTS), a radio base station, a radio transceiver, a transceiver function, a basic service set (BSS), an extended service set (ESS), an access point (AP), or some other suitable terminology. For clarity, two Node Bs  208  are shown, each of which may be the same as or similar to one of first network entity  14  second network entity ( FIG. 1 ); however, the RNS  207  may include any number of wireless Node Bs. 
     The Node Bs  208  provide wireless access points to a core network  204  for any number of mobile apparatuses. Examples of a mobile apparatus include a cellular phone, a smart phone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a laptop, a notebook, a netbook, a smartbook, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a satellite radio, a global positioning system (GPS) device, a multimedia device, a video device, a digital audio player (e.g., MP3 player), a camera, a game console, or any other similar functioning device. The mobile apparatus is commonly referred to as user equipment (UE) in UMTS applications, but may also be referred to by those skilled in the art as a mobile station (MS), a subscriber station, a mobile unit, a subscriber unit, a wireless unit, a remote unit, a mobile device, a wireless device, a wireless communications device, a remote device, a mobile subscriber station, an access terminal (AT), a mobile terminal, a wireless terminal, a remote terminal, a handset, a terminal, a user agent, a mobile client, a client, or some other suitable terminology. For illustrative purposes, three UEs  210  are shown in communication with the Node Bs  208 , each of which may include DMO gap adjustment component  20  of UE  12  ( FIG. 1 ). The downlink (DL), also called the forward link, refers to the communication link from a Node B to a UE, and the uplink (UL), also called the reverse link, refers to the communication link from a UE to a Node B. 
     The core network  204 , as shown, includes a GSM core network. However, as those skilled in the art will recognize, the various concepts presented throughout this disclosure may be implemented in a RAN, or other suitable access network, to provide UEs with access to types of core networks other than GSM networks. 
     In this example, the core network  204  supports circuit-switched services with a mobile switching center (MSC)  212  and a gateway MSC (GMSC)  214 . One or more RNCs, such as the RNC  206 , may be connected to the MSC  212 . The MSC  212  is an apparatus that controls call setup, call routing, and UE mobility functions. The MSC  212  also includes a visitor location register (VLR) (not shown) that contains subscriber-related information for the duration that a UE is in the coverage area of the MSC  212 . The GMSC  214  provides a gateway through the MSC  212  for the UE to access a circuit-switched network  216 . The GMSC  214  includes a home location register (HLR) (not shown) containing subscriber data, such as the data reflecting the details of the services to which a particular user has subscribed. The HLR is also associated with an authentication center (AuC) that contains subscriber-specific authentication data. When a call is received for a particular UE, the GMSC  214  queries the HLR to determine the UE&#39;s location and forwards the call to the particular MSC serving that location. 
     The core network  204  also supports packet-data services with a serving GPRS support node (SGSN)  218  and a gateway GPRS support node (GGSN)  220 . GPRS, which stands for General Packet Radio Service, is designed to provide packet-data services at speeds higher than those available with standard GSM circuit-switched data services. The GGSN  220  provides a connection for the RAN  202  to a packet-based network  222 . The packet-based network  222  may be the Internet, a private data network, or some other suitable packet-based network. The primary function of the GGSN  220  is to provide the UEs  210  with packet-based network connectivity. Data packets are transferred between the GGSN  220  and the UEs  210  through the SGSN  218 , which performs primarily the same functions in the packet-based domain as the MSC  212  performs in the circuit-switched domain. 
     The UMTS air interface is a spread spectrum Direct-Sequence Code Division Multiple Access (DS-CDMA) system. The spread spectrum DS-CDMA spreads user data over a much wider bandwidth through multiplication by a sequence of pseudorandom bits called chips. The TD-SCDMA standard is based on such direct sequence spread spectrum technology and additionally calls for a time division duplexing (TDD), rather than a frequency division duplexing (FDD) as used in many FDD mode UMTS/W-CDMA systems. TDD uses the same carrier frequency for both the uplink (UL) and downlink (DL) between a Node B  208  and a UE  210 , but divides uplink and downlink transmissions into different time slots in the carrier. 
       FIG. 7  shows a frame structure  250  for a TD-SCDMA carrier, which may be used in communications between UE  12  and one or both of first network entity  14  and second network entity  15  discussed herein. The TD-SCDMA carrier, as illustrated, has a frame  252  that may be 10 ms in length. The frame  252  may have two 5 ms subframes  254 , and each of the subframes  254  includes seven time slots, TS0 through TS6. The first time slot, TS0, may be allocated for inter/intra frequency measurements and/or downlink communication, while the second time slot, TS1, may be allocated for uplink communication. The remaining time slots, TS2 through TS6, may be used for either uplink or downlink, which allows for greater flexibility during times of higher data transmission times in either the uplink or downlink directions. A downlink pilot time slot (DwPTS)  256 , a guard period (GP)  258 , and an uplink pilot time slot (UpPTS)  260  (also known as the uplink pilot channel (UpPCH)) are located between TS0 and TS1, and may optionally be referred to as a special time slot. Each time slot, TS0-TS6, may allow data transmission multiplexed on a maximum of, for instance, 16 code channels. Data transmission on a code channel includes two data portions  262  separated by a midamble  264  and followed by a guard period (GP)  268 . The midamble  264  may be used for features, such as channel estimation, while the GP  268  may be used to avoid inter-burst interference. 
       FIG. 8  is a block diagram of a Node B  310  in communication with a UE  350  in a RAN  300 , where RAN  300  may be the same as or similar to RAN  202  in  FIG. 6 , the Node B  310  may be the same as or similar to Node B  208  in  FIG. 6  or the network entity  14  in  FIG. 1 , and the UE  350  may be the same as or similar to UE  210  in  FIG. 6  or the UE  12  in  FIG. 1  including DMO gap adjustment component  20 . In the downlink communication, a transmit processor  320  may receive data from a data source  312  and control signals from a controller/processor  340 . The transmit processor  320  provides various signal processing functions for the data and control signals, as well as reference signals (e.g., pilot signals). For example, the transmit processor  320  may provide cyclic redundancy check (CRC) codes for error detection, coding and interleaving to facilitate forward error correction (FEC), mapping to signal constellations based on various modulation schemes (e.g., binary phase-shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK), M-phase-shift keying (M-PSK), M-quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM), and the like), spreading with orthogonal variable spreading factors (OVSF), and multiplying with scrambling codes to produce a series of symbols. 
     Channel estimates from a channel processor  344  may be used by a controller/processor  340  to determine the coding, modulation, spreading, and/or scrambling schemes for the transmit processor  320 . These channel estimates may be derived from a reference signal transmitted by the UE  350  or from feedback contained in the midamble  214  ( FIG. 6 ) from the UE  350 . The symbols generated by the transmit processor  320  are provided to a transmit frame processor  330  to create a frame structure. The transmit frame processor  330  creates this frame structure by multiplexing the symbols with a midamble  214  ( FIG. 6 ) from the controller/processor  340 , resulting in a series of frames. The frames are then provided to a transmitter  332 , which provides various signal conditioning functions including amplifying, filtering, and modulating the frames onto a carrier for downlink transmission over the wireless medium through smart antennas  334 . The smart antennas  334  may be implemented with beam steering bidirectional adaptive antenna arrays or other similar beam technologies. 
     At the UE  350 , a receiver  354  receives the downlink transmission through an antenna  352  and processes the transmission to recover the information modulated onto the carrier. The information recovered by the receiver  354  is provided to a receive frame processor  360 , which parses each frame, and provides the midamble  214  ( FIG. 6 ) to a channel processor  394  and the data, control, and reference signals to a receive processor  370 . The receive processor  370  then performs the inverse of the processing performed by the transmit processor  320  in the Node B  310 . More specifically, the receive processor  370  descrambles and despreads the symbols, and then determines the most likely signal constellation points transmitted by the Node B  310  based on the modulation scheme. These soft decisions may be based on channel estimates computed by the channel processor  394 . The soft decisions are then decoded and deinterleaved to recover the data, control, and reference signals. The CRC codes are then checked to determine whether the frames were successfully decoded. The data carried by the successfully decoded frames will then be provided to a data sink  372 , which represents applications running in the UE  350  and/or various user interfaces (e.g., display). Control signals carried by successfully decoded frames will be provided to a controller/processor  390 . When frames are unsuccessfully decoded by the receiver processor  370 , the controller/processor  390  may also use an acknowledgement (ACK) and/or negative acknowledgement (NACK) protocol to support retransmission requests for those frames. 
     In the uplink, data from a data source  378  and control signals from the controller/processor  390  are provided to a transmit processor  380 . The data source  378  may represent applications running in the UE  350  and various user interfaces (e.g., keyboard). Similar to the functionality described in connection with the downlink transmission by the Node B  310 , the transmit processor  380  provides various signal processing functions including CRC codes, coding and interleaving to facilitate FEC, mapping to signal constellations, spreading with OVSFs, and scrambling to produce a series of symbols. Channel estimates, derived by the channel processor  394  from a reference signal transmitted by the Node B  310  or from feedback contained in the midamble transmitted by the Node B  310 , may be used to select the appropriate coding, modulation, spreading, and/or scrambling schemes. The symbols produced by the transmit processor  380  will be provided to a transmit frame processor  382  to create a frame structure. The transmit frame processor  382  creates this frame structure by multiplexing the symbols with a midamble  214  ( FIG. 6 ) from the controller/processor  390 , resulting in a series of frames. The frames are then provided to a transmitter  356 , which provides various signal conditioning functions including amplification, filtering, and modulating the frames onto a carrier for uplink transmission over the wireless medium through the antenna  352 . 
     The uplink transmission is processed at the Node B  310  in a manner similar to that described in connection with the receiver function at the UE  350 . A receiver  335  receives the uplink transmission through the antenna  334  and processes the transmission to recover the information modulated onto the carrier. The information recovered by the receiver  335  is provided to a receive frame processor  336 , which parses each frame, and provides the midamble  214  ( FIG. 6 ) to the channel processor  344  and the data, control, and reference signals to a receive processor  338 . The receive processor  338  performs the inverse of the processing performed by the transmit processor  380  in the UE  350 . The data and control signals carried by the successfully decoded frames may then be provided to a data sink  339  and the controller/processor, respectively. If some of the frames were unsuccessfully decoded by the receive processor, the controller/processor  340  may also use an acknowledgement (ACK) and/or negative acknowledgement (NACK) protocol to support retransmission requests for those frames. 
     The controller/processors  340  and  390  may be used to direct the operation at the Node B  310  and the UE  350 , respectively. For example, the controller/processors  340  and  390  may provide various functions including timing, peripheral interfaces, voltage regulation, power management, and other control functions. The computer readable media of memories  342  and  392  may store data and software for the Node B  310  and the UE  350 , respectively. A scheduler/processor  346  at the Node B  310  may be used to allocate resources to the UEs and schedule downlink and/or uplink transmissions for the UEs. 
     Several aspects of a telecommunications system has been presented with reference to a TD-SCDMA system. As those skilled in the art will readily appreciate, various aspects described throughout this disclosure may be extended to other telecommunication systems, network architectures and communication standards. By way of example, various aspects may be extended to other UMTS systems such as W-CDMA, High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA), High Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA), High Speed Packet Access Plus (HSPA+) and TD-CDMA. Various aspects may also be extended to systems employing Long Term Evolution (LTE) (in FDD, TDD, or both modes), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) (in FDD, TDD, or both modes), CDMA2000, Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO), Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Ultra-Wideband (UWB), Bluetooth, and/or other suitable systems. The actual telecommunication standard, network architecture, and/or communication standard employed will depend on the specific application and the overall design constraints imposed on the system. 
     Several processors have been described in connection with various apparatuses and methods. These processors may be implemented using electronic hardware, computer software, or any combination thereof. Whether such processors are implemented as hardware or software will depend upon the particular application and overall design constraints imposed on the system. By way of example, a processor, any portion of a processor, or any combination of processors presented in this disclosure may be implemented with a microprocessor, microcontroller, digital signal processor (DSP), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic device (PLD), a state machine, gated logic, discrete hardware circuits, and other suitable processing components configured to perform the various functions described throughout this disclosure. The functionality of a processor, any portion of a processor, or any combination of processors presented in this disclosure may be implemented with software being executed by a microprocessor, microcontroller, DSP, or other suitable platform. 
     Software shall be construed broadly to mean instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executables, threads of execution, procedures, functions, etc., whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise. The software may reside on a computer-readable medium. A computer-readable medium may include, by way of example, memory such as a magnetic storage device (e.g., hard disk, floppy disk, magnetic strip), an optical disk (e.g., compact disc (CD), digital versatile disc (DVD)), a smart card, a flash memory device (e.g., card, stick, key drive), random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM), electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM), a register, or a removable disk. Although memory is shown separate from the processors in the various aspects presented throughout this disclosure, the memory may be internal to the processors (e.g., cache or register). 
     Computer-readable media may be embodied in a computer-program product. By way of example, a computer-program product may include a computer-readable medium in packaging materials. Those skilled in the art will recognize how best to implement the described functionality presented throughout this disclosure depending on the particular application and the overall design constraints imposed on the overall system. 
     It is to be understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps in the methods disclosed is an illustration of exemplary processes. Based upon design preferences, it is understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps in the methods may be rearranged. The accompanying method claims present elements of the various steps in a sample order, and are not meant to be limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented unless specifically recited therein. 
     The previous description is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the various aspects described herein. Various modifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other aspects. Thus, the claims are not intended to be limited to the aspects shown herein, but is to be accorded the full scope consistent with the language of the claims, wherein reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless specifically so stated, but rather “one or more.” Unless specifically stated otherwise, the term “some” refers to one or more. A phrase referring to “at least one of” a list of items refers to any combination of those items, including single members. As an example, “at least one of: a, b, or c” is intended to cover: a; b; c; a and b; a and c; b and c; and a, b and c. All structural and functional equivalents to the elements of the various aspects described throughout this disclosure that are known or later come to be known to those of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to be encompassed by the claims. Moreover, nothing disclosed herein is intended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether such disclosure is explicitly recited in the claims. No claim element is to be construed under the provisions of 35 U.S.C. §212, sixth paragraph, unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase “means for” or, in the case of a method claim, the element is recited using the phrase “step for.”